Awoken

by Timothy Miller

  Lina met his determined gaze for a long moment, and then she sighed as if in resignation. “All right, Mike. You win.” She turned to Jericho. “Hey, short stuff. You think you can take one of those overgrown puppies down there?”

  Jericho grinned. “This one has killed many of the Fallen, little sister.”

  “Hang on a minute,” Michael said. “You can’t—”

  “Then let’s go.” Lina sprang from her belly, racing down the hill. Jericho was only a step behind her.

  33

  Stones and Hounds

  The hounds took notice of Lina and Jericho in the same moment. Lifting their massive heads, they watched the intruders come, but made no move toward them.

  “Come back here, you idiots!” Michael shouted. Scrambling to his feet, he ran after his friends. “Come back!”

  But Lina and Jericho were far ahead. Bounding on all fours, they crossed the creek before he was halfway down the hill.

  At the creek, Lina curved toward the hound on the right while Jericho went left.

  The hounds growled at them, their black lips peeled back to reveal long, harsh fangs.

  Michael ran faster, leaping over rocks and brush at breakneck speed. He had to stop them. Lina moved like a tigress and had skin like solid rock, but the hounds outweighed her by a hundred pounds at least. And Jericho, though agile, would barely make a mouthful for them.

  Jericho reached his hound first. It lunged at him, but the dollman moved like lightning. Leaping over the dog, he alighted behind the hybrid, just out of reach.

  The hound whirled and charged after the little man. At that exact moment, Lina spun away from her opponent’s back. It twisted to bite her, and Jericho struck its exposed throat as if he and Lina had orchestrated the entire maneuver. Snarling and slashing, the three tore at one another and rolled into the creek.

  The second hound sprang to its brother’s aid. Seizing Jericho’s leg in its teeth, it pulled him away from the first hound’s throat and shook him like a rat.

  Curling toward his attacker with a savage growl on his lips, Jericho scraped his claws across the hybrid’s sensitive nose and eyes; it continued to shake him despite the wounds.

  Meanwhile, Lina locked her legs around the first hound’s ribs like a determined bull rider. The dog rolled and she lost her grip long enough for the hound’s teeth to close on her hand.

  Lina shrieked. Seizing the hound’s muzzle with her free hand, she gave a sudden, twisting jerk. Its neck gave with a crunching snap! and it dropped to the ground.

  Just then, a dozen hounds rushed out of the cave.

  Lina’s eyes widened. Pulling her hand from the hound’s mouth, she rushed toward Jericho and his attacker. “Hang on, Shorty,” she yelled. “I’m coming.”

  Before she could reach them, a small rock struck the head of the hound holding Jericho, opening a wide gash in the animal’s skull. The dog staggered, and Jericho fell from its jaws. The hound shook its head drunkenly, and then a head-sized boulder blasted it from its feet.

  In the dry creek bed, Michael stood amidst a spinning cloud of rocks and pebbles, his eyes blazing with silver stonesong. He lifted his burning gaze to the pack of hounds racing out of the cave.

  “You killed Diggs.” Rocks shattered in a rippling circle around him. “And now you want to kill my friends.” The stonesong burned like fire in his veins, tearing up his insides and filling his mouth with blood. He didn’t care. “You will not touch them!”

  A wall of broken stone and earth burst from the ground in front of the charging hounds. Fifty feet long and half as thick, the wall rose like a tidal wave and then came crashing down on the hybrids like the fist of God.

  When the dust settled, there was no sign of the hounds. They’d been buried completely beneath tons of rock and dirt. Michael felt them there, sensing with the stonesong the tiny hollows of fading life under the earth.

  Lina and Jericho hurried over to him. The dollman limped a little. “You’re bleeding, Mike,” Lina said.

  Michael touched a finger to his temple. It came away wet and sticky. A stray flying pebble or stone must have clipped him. The cut wasn’t deep. He hadn’t even felt it. “It’s nothing. How are you?”

  She wiped her palm against her tattered dress. “Fine. He barely broke the skin. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Severing his connection with the valley floor, he shook his head. “I buried them alive, Lina. So no, I’m not okay. But I won’t let them hurt you, not ever again.”

  Lina gave him an odd look, and then turned away. “I care about you, too,” she said shyly.

  Michael’s cheeks grew warm. “Um…we should probably…” He coughed into his fist. “Let’s get going before anything else can go wrong.”

  Jericho beamed. “To the home of the People, Awoken,” he agreed excitedly, running ahead. “Come, this one will show you the way.”

  Michael chuckled. VEN had chased them across half the country, but here they were. They had made it. “You’ve done a bang-up job so far, Jericho. Lead the way.”

  Lina’s smile was more reserved. “Mike?”

  “Yeah?”

  She bit her lip uncertainly. “When this is all over, I mean, if I’m normal again…”

  “You will be.”

  Jericho trotted happily into the crack in the cliff. “Come,” he called, disappearing into the narrow opening. “Come.”

  Lina stopped just outside the opening, and Michael halted next to her. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Aren’t we…?”

  Lina stepped closer to him, and he suddenly forgot what he’d been about to ask. As always, the earthbone inside her called to him, but its melody seemed strangely distant. His attention was engulfed, instead, by the ocean-green depths of her half-lidded eyes and the lavender smell of her long silver hair.

  “Mike,” she breathed. She leaned into him, her lips inching closer to his own.

  “That’s how we do it, amigo!” someone shouted. “Don’t stop on our account!”

  Michael spun.

  Approximately thirty men, led by a pair of large black hounds, were emerging from the trees behind them. Some were in camouflage fatigues and carried the harpoon-like shock rifles. Others wore grey lab coats and bore large packs on their backs. A few had the dark suits and sunglasses of belua.

  Smiley waved from the front of the group, where he and another belua flanked an older man dressed in a pristine white lab coat. “Howdy, amigo!” he called. “I was just thinking about you!”

  The men were roughly a hundred feet away, but Michael hesitated. He had no idea how many men and hounds were concealed in the surrounding trees, nor what lurked in the cave. Every instinct told him to run, but he had no idea which direction to take.

  As if sensing Michael’s thoughts, the man in the white coat raised a hand. The majority of the men halted and began unloading packs and equipment as the man in the lab coat and the two belua continued on toward the cliff and Michael.

  “Please, do not run,” the man in the lab coat called. His voice was smooth, with no hint of falsehood, and not unkind. “We are not here to hurt you.”

  “And you wouldn’t make it very far,” Smiley added, grinning evilly.

  The man in the white coat cast Smiley an irritated look. “This doesn’t concern you anymore, Nabal,” he said crisply. “Please, stop talking.”

  Smiley’s face darkened, but he answered with a respectful “Yes, doctor,” and fell back a step.

  Michael tensed, glancing uncertainly at Lina and then Jericho. They returned his gaze evenly, but said nothing, ready to follow his lead. They trusted him. Michael knew he should run, but he was curious despite his fear. The way the white-coated man had so easily cowed Nabal meant he was someone important, someone in charge. Michael knew he and his friends should probably make a break for the tunnel. But if they did, they might be blowing their only chance of getting some real answers from VEN.

  “Who are you?” Michael demanded as Smiley and the white-coated man ap
proached. “What do you want?”

  “You may call me Doctor Equinox,” the man in white answered. “And what I desire should be obvious at this point. I want the earthbone. Not for myself, you understand, but for the betterment of all mankind. You may be too young to fully comprehend the gravity of our situation, but this world is crumbling beneath the crushing weight of war, disease, famine, and poverty. Humanity is suffering, and I believe earthbone to be the key that will deliver us from our torment.”

  “Your VEN buddies are the only ‘torment’ I’m worried about right now, Dr. Frankenstein,” said Michael, clenching his teeth. “Don’t come any closer.”

  A heavy thumping filled the air. Three helicopters cleared the tree line above the hill, their engines kicking up cyclones of grey dust as they descended toward the creek bed.

  “Come now,” said Equinox, spreading his arms as if to encompass everything around them. “I intend to save the world from itself. A grand ambition perhaps, but one I am convinced is quite possible. And you, my young friend, can help me to do it.”

  34

  Equinox

  Equinox crossed the creek, followed, a step behind, by Smiley and another belua.

  Michael’s eyes blazed silver. “That’s far enough. Don’t come any closer. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Equinox halted a dozen yards short of the cliff. His belua guards stopped with him. “Very well, Michael. I dislike raising my voice in conversation, but this will suffice.”

  “What are you doing, Mike?” Lina hissed. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “They would follow us,” Michael whispered back. “I think I can close the entrance, but I need a few minutes for the stonesong to recharge. I need to keep this guy talking until I’m ready.”

  The three helicopters landed and killed their engines. The men in grey coats began unloading boxed equipment from two of them. The last opened its doors to let out a group of black-suited belua and more camouflaged personnel.

  “I see Melina is still with you, Michael,” Equinox observed. “Although, I dare say, I scarcely recognized her. Her transformation has certainly progressed quickly. Incidentally, one of my men made a tape of your performance, Melina.” He applauded lightly. “Absolutely breathtaking. Bravo, my dear.”

  Lina’s eyes grew cold. “Oh please, please, hurt him, Mike.”

  “Shush,” Michael admonished. “You’re not helping.”

  “Sorry.”

  Equinox clucked his tongue. “Playful banter under duress? How typical of your generation. Seriously, children, have you not grown tired of running? Have you even considered why you are running? You should. I only want to help you. Indeed, that was my wish from the very beginning of this ridiculous chase. Come with me now, and I promise you will not regret the decision.”

  Michael laughed. “You mean we should give up? No thanks. We’d rather not spend the rest of our lives as prisoners in some laboratory.” He breathed deeply of the earthbone-saturated air. He could feel the stonesong getting stronger. It wouldn’t be long now.

  Equinox raised an eyebrow. “Prisoners? My dear boy, look at the men beside me. They are as much children of the earthbone as you. I see no chains upon them. Indeed, I reward them based upon their potential—their uniqueness, if you will. Both of you have such incredible potential, more than even you can possibly imagine. Why on earth would I lock you away?”

  Lina snorted. “What a load of crap. Your people have been trying to kill us for weeks.”

  Equinox smiled disarmingly. “Ah, Melina, you are too cynical. I never wanted you dead. I am not a monster. I only wanted you brought in so that I could monitor your metamorphosis. You are a marvel, Melina, a sparking jewel of scientific wonder. I would never hurt you willingly. I only want to help you.”

  “You lie.”

  “To what purpose, Melina?” Equinox asked. “I have the technology, the expertise to analyze what’s occurring inside you. More importantly, I have a vested interest in discovering the secrets of the earthbone mutation. Or didn’t Dr. Curtis tell you of the earthbone’s invasion of our atmosphere?” He gestured at the trees, many of which bore fantastic signs of mutation, like giant fruit or crystalline leaves. “Like this valley, our world will soon change. You two are merely the forerunners, the first shadows of the dawning future. You must see that by now. Only I can help you unlock your full potential. I have dedicated my life to bettering the wretched condition of humankind. I am on the cusp of achieving that goal. And you can both play very important roles in the new world I intend to create. Think carefully, children. Is that not something you wish to be a part of?”

  “I’m with Lina on this one, doc,” Michael said. The stonesong swelled, and he felt it reaching for the rocky walls of the tunnel. “The grinning wolfman behind you tried to kill us more than once. That kind of help we can do without.”

  Smiley took a menacing step forward. “You’ve got a big mouth, amigo. How about I make it a little bigger?”

  Lina growled and moved up next to Michael. “Come and try it, dogface.”

  Smiley pulled off his glasses.

  “That’s enough,” Equinox snapped. “I’ve had about enough of your insubordination, Belua Nabal. On your knees.”

  Smiley flinched back. “Doctor, I—”

  “Your knees,” Equinox repeated coldly. “Do not make me ask a third time.”

  Smiley reddened. Bowing his head, he knelt on the broken gravel.

  “Very good, Nabal,” Equinox said, turning his attention back to Michael and Lina. “Now, where were we? Ah, yes, the matter of Nabal’s trying to kill you. As you can see, I’ve had some disciplinary issues with him of late. The result of a few too many animalistic traits left over in his psychological makeup, I believe. I only recently became aware of Nabal’s disobedience. Please, accept my apologies.”

  Michael simply stared at the man, forgetting, for a moment, the stonesong and the hum of the tunnel. “Your apologies?” he echoed, his voice shaking with rage. “Diggs is probably dead because of that animal! How can you apologize for that?”

  Equinox tapped a finger to his chin. “So, our friend Dr. Curtis is missing. How unfortunate.” He sounded genuinely disappointed. “He was the first, you know. The first success in obtaining a human meld. What a waste.”

  “Diggs was more than that,” Lina interjected. “He was our friend!”

  Equinox frowned. “I can see that, Melina. Well, this certainly complicates matters.” He scowled at Smiley. “Tell me, children, if I were to kill Nabal, would that convince you of my good intentions?”

  Smiley stiffened, but said nothing, remaining on his knees.

  Michael’s jaw dropped. Equinox might have been asking if they’d care for a glass of lemonade for all the emotion in his voice. “What?”

  “Belua Nabal,” Equinox clarified. “If I eliminate him, would you consent to join me? Or, if you like, one of you may kill him. Make no mistake, a belua is a valuable asset. Lately, however, as in the case of Dr. Curtis, Nabal has made a habit of exceeding his authority. I could confine him if you prefer. But if it will win your trust, I will put him down.”

  “He’s bluffing, Mike,” Lina accused. “He wouldn’t kill one of his own.”

  Equinox folded his hands behind his back. “I never bluff, Melina. I take no joy in this sort of thing. As I said before, I am not a monster. Still, I understand your desire to see justice done on Dr. Curtis’s behalf. I’m offering you a life for a life. In addition, I am offering you both the chance to play a part in the remaking of this planet, in the recreation of our species. What do you say?”

  “What if I don’t want to live in a world full of mutants?” Michael asked.

  “Don’t think of it as mutation. Think of it as evolution,” Equinox said. “I understand your misgivings. Fear always accompanies the unknown, but earthbone is the Holy Grail of medical and biological research. Bonded correctly, it has cured every disease I’ve been able to culture. It can make us faster, stronger, and vir
tually invulnerable to infection of any kind.”

  “It turned me into a monster!” Lina cried.

  Equinox shook his head. “Such lack of vision. Look in the mirror, Melina. There are millions of young girls across this planet, but none like you. The earthbone has made you unique, better than before. It cured Dr. Curtis’s cancer. It can do so for others.” His expression turned wistful, almost rapturous. “Think of it. In a few years, every known disease shall have a cure. Famine will disappear, and deserts will flourish with healthy melded fauna. In time, death, itself, will retreat before the miracle of the melding.”

  “He’s crazy,” Lina said quietly. “Come on, Mike. Let’s go.”

  Michael nodded. Smiley was a psycho, but Equinox made him look as harmless as an eight-year-old Girl Scout. The stonesong was ready. It was time to end this.

  “I’m going to knock them back before I close the tunnel,” he whispered. “Get ready to run.”

  Lina tensed.

  “Now!”

  Bright bands of silver light exploded from Michael’s hands, merging with the tunnel floor. The earth heaved, and a two-foot wave of broken rock surged out from the cliff toward Equinox and his belua guards.

  Michael was careful to keep the wave from growing too high as he turned his attention to the walls. He didn’t want to kill anyone, only knock them down long enough for him to close the entrance to the tunnel. The walls cracked and shifted, and he backed deeper into the passage, keeping one eye on the VEN army outside.

  Equinox observed the approaching wave dispassionately until it was almost upon him. Then he lifted his hand and made a shooing gesture. The wave of earth collapsed. “You think to stop me with the stonesong, Michael Stevens? Oh, how little you understand.”

  A dagger of pain jabbed Michael’s skull, and he staggered as he felt the stonesong’s connection with the stones around him suddenly snap.