Now
They had left Mother Madrigal behind. She was out of sight, but Cal still felt her presence seeping into his thoughts. It was a familiar feeling. He realized that, though it seemed impossible, it had been with him for quite some time. Many months, maybe even going back a year. Somehow the Mother’s songs had wormed their way into his brain without him being conscious of it.
If he had a moment to stop and focus he’d try to rebuild his telepathic wall. The sphere had proved effective at blocking out the Mother’s influence before.
Unfortunately, a quiet moment wasn’t possible.
They were being harried.
The corrupted, normal and enhanced, were on their heels.
They had bypassed the black cloud blocking the street, the Inheritor called Brynax’s doing, by taking to the rooftops.
Brightstrike was fixed to PJ15’s back. Held in place by tendrils, while they fired hard light flechettes at their pursuers.
A swarm of insects rose up out of the gap between rooftops ahead of them. The one called Tylox was nearby.
They didn’t have time to alter their path. Cal and PJ15 leapt through the cloud. The insects stung and bit, but couldn’t get through the armor.
Cal smashed the insects surrounding him with telekinesis. PJ15’s power armor speared them by shooting out thousands of tiny, needle-like protrusions.
“Any luck reaching base camp?”
“Negative,” Brightstrike said.
“I, as well, have been unable to reach Communicator Dreylox 7193,” PJ15 said.
“Same here.”
Cal bit back a curse. Their comms were still being jammed somehow. He couldn’t think of a solution. Let alone think clearly. One moment he was running next to PJ15 and Brightstrike. The next, Remy and Eron were there. Nila. He saw her sweet face. He felt grateful at the gift. Until he realized that it was Mother Madrigal messing with his mind again.
He plucked one of his last grenades from his belt and threw it over his shoulder. He guided it with telekinesis to explode right above Gyxdor as the behemoth was mid leap over the gap. The force of the blast wouldn’t really hurt, but it did cause Gyxdor and a few corrupted to fall into the gap.
The projections in Cal’s face-plate were flickering, but he was able to read the distance to street level. Gyxdor had a long way to go.
Their surroundings brightened as they made their way to a higher section of the city. To think that the sun was still out. Cal felt like he had spent days down in the darkness, but it hadn’t even been half a day.
“My energy reserves are nearing critical levels,” Brightstrike said flatly.
“Save it for when we need it,” Cal said.
An extremely large gap loomed ahead. There was a street down below. Cal could fly himself across just fine. The problem was that he was very tired. He didn’t think you could carry his teammates along.
The dilemma was replaced by an even greater one.
Mother Madrigal suddenly emerged up from the edge of the rooftop. Her skin cloak unfurled to reveal three of the Inheritors.
Cal recognized Zeyt, the acid spitter, Tylox, with growths that produced insects. The third he didn’t recognize, which meant it must be Brynax, the darkness creator.
Cal could escape. All he had to do was fly over, but that meant abandoning PJ15 and Brightstrike. He glanced over at them. He saw Flo standing beside them. Silent, but with a look of hatred and betrayal on her young face.
“Too young…” Cal whispered.
“I order you two to return to base camp at all possible haste.” Cal’s voice was barely audible, but the Threnosh heard him.
Before they could protest he grabbed them in a telekinetic grip and threw them over the Mother and the Inheritors.
Cal watched with satisfaction as great, gray wings emerged from PJ15’s back and jets at their boots flared to life.
Mother Madrigal alighted on the rooftop. Her skirt of skin swept the ground with a tantalizing swish.
Cal blinked and shook his head. He was hanging on the imaginary ledge with two fingertips.
He roared an inarticulate battle cry and sent a wave of telekinetic force at the Mother. She leaned into the wave, but he pushed her back until she was at the edge of the rooftop.
Cal cut the wave. The Mother pitched forward. He sent a wave at her feet, if she even had any. She fell forward. Without her footing, he swept her off the rooftop with one last shove.
Pain bloomed in Cal’s brain. He felt wetness leaking down his cheeks, his lip, his ears.
“You don’t belong on our world.” Zeyt spat a glob of caustic liquid.
A cloud of darkness emerged from Brynax.
Tylox released swarms of insects from the growths all over their body.
“Your mother is a freaky skin monster.”
Cal plucked the glob out of the air with his telekinesis. He did the same with the insects, compressing them into a tight ball. The effort sent a jolt of pain that had him seeing bright stars.
“Let’s see what happens when I mix the two.”
To no one’s surprise the insects melted into goo. Which Cal divided into three equal parts and sent flying toward each Inheritor.
“You can have them back.”
All three dived out of the way.
Brynax’s gathering cloud dispersed with the break in concentration.
Cal drew all the knife blades he had remaining. They orbited around him like asteroids.
“Acid spit, alien bugs and a weird cloud.” Cal’s grin was unhinged, “and all I’ve got are some knives. I can’t help, but feel a little insecure.”
“That must be why you run away constantly.”
Cal spun around and took a fist bigger than his head right in the face. Knife blades scattered as he went flying. He was caught off guard. He didn’t have the time to brace or otherwise protect himself with his telekinesis.
He tumbled across the rooftop like a crash test dummy with his arms and legs flailing. Only his superhuman level of durability allowed him to avoid any broken limbs.
He pushed himself to his hands and knees. His face-plate had finally cracked open. It had served him well. He pulled it off.
He watched through blurred vision as the Midtown Mauler plodded toward him on heavy steps.
“No… that’s wrong,” he muttered.
The Midtown Mauler wasn’t a lumbering giant. It, she, was a lithe predator. Like a tiger stalking her forest realm. Queen of all that she oversaw.
The mauler in Cal’s vision shifted into Gyxdor. A behemoth of muscle. Like some kind of comic book character come to life.
“Eron would’ve tripped out over this.”
Cal turned his head to one side. A pair of legs stepped up next to him. His brother was here to save his sorry ass. He blinked and the legs vanished. There was nothing there.
Nothing.
Cal had nothing left.
There was too much noise in his thoughts. He saw the truth of it now. What lay at the root of the last couple of years. Why he was on an alien world in the first place. Away from his home and everyone he cared about. He couldn’t escape it. The guilt. And now his bill was about to come due.
“Is this all that you are? The Mother shared her thoughts with us. You were her most precious prize and yet you break so easily,” Gyxdor said.
The behemoth reached out to grab Cal.
The Midtown Mauler’s pale fingers, tipped with sharp nails, drew close to Cal’s face.
He slapped the hand away and burst forward with desperate strength. He drilled a right straight into the mauler’s face. Gyxdor’s stomach.
The behemoth let out a breath of air. Gyxdor was more surprised than hurt, but they doubled over nonetheless. This brought their face right up to Cal’s.
He slammed his helmet into Gyxdor’s nose-less face. The impact jarred him, but it was nothing like the punch that Gyxdor landed on the side of his head.
Cal’s brain rattled in his skull. His vision went black.
“Enough of this farce. Show me your true power,” Gyxdor roared as they grabbed Cal by the neck and flung him off the roof.
Cal woke up to the sight of the ground rushing at him. He couldn’t understand it. What was happening to him?
He pushed off against the ground with the last desperate burst of telekinetic power within him. It was enough to cushion his fall. Barely.
Cal flopped over onto his back. It was a struggle to breathe. The slightest movement brought pain that made his eyes water. He tasted the coppery tint of the blood as it bubbled out of his mouth.
The sun’s rays hurt his eyes. He was so close.
A dark shadow appeared over him to provide some respite.
Cal had lost his grip on the edge.
“What… are… you…?” Cal’s voice was soft, weak. Only one being heard him.
He felt a dozen hands lift him up and wrap him in a blanket.
Warmth.
He tried to fight it. Tried to rebuild the telepathic shield around his mind, but something was wrong. His telepathy wasn’t responding to his will. Something had broken within him.
His strength failed. His will failed. He failed.
For the first time since the spires appeared on his home world nearly seven years ago he let go of his burdens. He allowed his eyes to close.
“Sorry…”
Cal succumbed to the darkness for the first time.
----------------------------------------
“Status report,” Salamander said into the comms.
“Nothing has changed since the last time you inquired.” Telatrine’s reply was uncharacteristically curt. “We are in position and are waiting to receive Unseen and Adahn. And before you ask again. We still do not have any of the expedition team on the tactical map.”
“Understood.” Salamander switched channels. “Communicator Dreylox 7193, have you been able to establish contact with Honor or any on his team?”
“Negative, Salamander. I have complied with your commands, but have failed to reach the team.”
“Please continue your attempts.”
Salamander reviewed the tactical situation in City Section 85. They had claimed the control center after a fierce battle with a horde of corrupted. They had lost more of the baseline Threnosh soldiers in the effort. Now they were only waiting for the automated defenses to reinitialize and for the automated turrets and drones they had fabricated in section 115 to arrive and establish patrols.
Adahn’s program and device worked just as they had planned. All Salamander had to do was to place the small, glowing cube next to the command console in the control center and it was as if Adahn was there unlocking its protections and turning the system back on.
A second city section was claimed, but it would’ve been for naught if Honor’s task had failed. The wait for confirmation filled Salamander with an unfamiliar feeling. They kept thinking of what would happen if Honor didn’t return.
“Corrupted remnants appear to be withdrawing to section 64 and 68. First group of drones and automated turrets from section 115 have arrived. Setting them on tight patrol pattern and guard status around the control center,” Subcommander Tioga Blue 635’s voice came in on the comms.
“Status of reinforcement rate?”
“Within projections.”
“Acknowledged. You may withdraw your squad back to base camp once the rate reaches the fifty percent mark. I will remain inside the command center until further notice. Alert me if the corrupted return,” Salamander said.
They replayed the garbled message they had received from Unseen and Adahn for the third time. From what Salamander could decipher. Honor’s team had partially succeeded in their task. Adahn had extracted the information they went to birthing creche facility for. However, they had encountered some sort of new threat. Unseen and Adahn were on the run, while Honor, PJ15 and Brightstrike had stayed behind as a rearguard.
Part of Salamander wanted to rush off and face this unknown foe, but they knew their duty. Thus they waited. They trusted in Honor’s ability. He had yet to fail them. Even in their most desperate and precarious situations in the past the outworlder had always been able to engineer a successful resolution.
Salamander stood in silence for nearly an hour watching more of their drones and automated turrets arrive on the tactical map when a message appeared on their face-plate.
It was from Telatrine and it was terse, as usual.
Located Adahn and Unseen. Hostiles inbound. Engaging.
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Telatrine had set up positions at both ends of the wide bridge that spanned a chasm that separated this particular junction between city sections. The back end was manned by a partial squad of baseline soldiers along with Drega Tali and Rodinian. The two lacked direct offensive capabilities, so they were better off serving as additional shooters on the firing line.
Telatrine, along with Winding Myriad and Maul, were hidden at the front end of the bridge. They would be the ones that would meet Unseen, Adahn and their pursuers.
Unseen’s only message had been garbled, but they had spoken of a different type of corrupted. Telatrine had wanted to prepare for every eventuality. Unfortunately, they lacked resources, troops and time. The best they had was Rodinian and their traps. Dozens of which were now scattered along the main street that led to the bridge, on the bridge itself and a few more covering their line of retreat.
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Telatrine drew their chainsword from its metal scabbard. They inspected it closely, even though they had already done so after the tough battle to reclaim City Section 85 earlier in the day.
The fabrication facility in section 115 was a boon to Telatrine. Several of the chainsword’s teeth had been chipped or outright broken. They were able to have replacements made. They were of lesser quality than the spire originals, but they’d do until Telatrine could return to a spire and purchase a full repair.
They could feel the Universal Points they had obtained to date on their overall Task to reclaim Orchestral Meridian burning a hole in their pocket. To borrow a phrase from Honor. It had been explained to Telatrine once before, but they still didn’t entirely comprehend. Why did humans create containers that weren’t resistant to fire? It was inefficient.
Telatrine was eager to go to a spire and see what upgrades and new equipment they could purchase. It was unfortunate that the only spire in Orchestral Meridian was deep in the heart of the city. They’d have to take an aerial transport several kilometers back to the mainland for the closest spire. It was difficult. Since they couldn’t spare the individuals and the transports for anything other than Task related operations. Perhaps now that the security station was producing drones and automated turrets, they would be granted the time to go to the spire.
Telatrine was eager for Honor’s return, so that they may broach the topic.
“Is that weapon not unwieldy?”
“Yes. It requires a great amount of physical strength and a willingness to accept strikes.” Telatrine regarded Winding Myriad with a critical eye. The Threnosh was much taller and much thinner. “It has proved effective in all my battles.”
“Perhaps, but it does limit you to single target dps,” Winding Myriad said.
“The noise my chainsword makes seems to attract hostile attention well enough. I believe I have provided sufficient aggro drawing duties to allow you to deal your damage.”
Winding Myriad inclined their head a fraction. “I concur. I withdraw my criticism.”
“Do not concern yourself. It was taken constructively.” Telatrine decided to be magnanimous. They had more important things to focus on.
“You need a weapon or weapons that destroy from a distance. You will defeat more enemies that way,” Maul said.
“Ah… but I noticed that you have a tendency to deplete your ammunition at a high rate,” Winding Myriad said. “My offensive armaments draw from my trueskin’s energy sources, which naturally replenish, allowing me to maintain both burst damage and damage over time.”
“Yes. You have stated this before, Myriad,” Maul said flatly.
“I request silence,” Telatrine said. If they allowed it the two of them would’ve have continued on the same track without resolution.
The trio fell silent and remained as such while they waited. There was nothing on the comms. Nothing on their sensors nor on the tactical map.
Until a small white dot blipped into view on the projection. Two white dots appeared.
“Adahn and Unseen,” Telatrine said.
An alarm blared as many red dots appeared close behind their teammates.
Telatrine subvocalized a text message to Salamander. They didn’t have time to speak and engage in another repetitive question and answer session with the second-in-command.
Telatrine zoomed in down the long, straight street with their helmet’s enhanced visual capabilities.
Unseen and Adahn appeared at the end. The latter appeared injured with one leg dragging along the ground, while the former half dragged, half carried them.
“They will be intercepted before they get here,” Maul said. Their power armor’s visual capabilities were superior to Telatrine’s.
“Can you provide cover fire without hitting them?”
“Yes.”
“Do it.” Telatrine switched over to a direct channel to Unseen and Adahn. “Incoming missile support. Do not stop moving toward us. We are on our way.”
A compartment on Maul’s shoulder opened and a small missile rocketed up in a high arc until it descended over the front rank of pursuing corrupted. When it was roughly ten meters above the monsters’ heads it exploded and showered a wide swath with deadly shrapnel.
Maul repeated the attack until they were out of missiles.
This bought Adahn and Unseen more time.
“Myriad, Adahn is injured. I require your levitate objects ability,” Telatrine said.
“Acknowledged.”
“Maul, continue to provide cover fire for us.”
Telatrine reluctantly placed the chainsword back in its scabbard. It didn’t appear as if they were going to be getting their hands stained in this engagement. The priority was the Task. And that was to get Unseen and Adahn back to base camp. Adahn had the information from the birthing creches that they needed.
As to the absences of Honor, PJ15 and Brightstrike, they would have the answer to that as well.
“We must move quickly, Myriad,” Telatrine said.
“I can hasten my steps. I do not believe that your trueskin has that ability.” Winding Myriad muttered something unintelligible while they waved their hands over their feet. A soft glow emanated from their hands and moved to suffuse their feet. The glow trailed light as they took off running down the street at almost fifty kilometers per hour.
“I wonder if they could do that to another.” Telatrine sprinted as well. Although not nearly as fast.
----------------------------------------
Cal stumbled out of the charnel room and back into the hallway. He kept going until he hit the wall. His legs gave out and he slid down to sit on the floor. The ax slipped out of suddenly weak fingers and clattered next to him.
The rest of the group found him in that position several minutes later.
“The hell is going on, Cruces?” Detective Ordonez swept her shotgun over the hallway before finally settling on keeping it and her eyes on the hole in the wall Cal had made. “Cruces? You aren’t bleeding. So, where’s the mauler? Damn it. Gates, get up here and cover that hole.”
Jake came up the stairs with a smartphone in each hand pointed at the hole.
Detective Ordonez focused on Cal for several seconds. “Cruces? Wake up your ass up! I can see that you’re fine.” She raised her voice. “Bennett, something’s wrong with you boss! Can you get up here and do something?”
Silence.
“Bennett?”
Soft steps on the stairs. A light person with small feet. No, that wasn’t exactly correct. The detective heard the truth with the abilities she gained from the spires. Small feet, but the person coming up was proportionally much heavier than the feet size suggested. They were purposefully lightening their steps, like tip-toeing to sneak past sleeping parents.
“Flo?” Detective Ordonez swung her shotgun and lantern down the dark steps.
The light revealed Flo slowly coming up the stairs. The girl’s eyes were focused. Her jacket was gone. Her hands were behind her back. There were small speckles of red on her shirt and jeans. More on her shoes.
The detective took all of this in and processed the information in a second. She came to a conclusion in a split-second.
“Stop right there!” Detective Ordonez brought her shotgun up and pointed it at Flo.
The pieces the detective had been gathering fell into place. The picture it revealed was horrifying.
Detective Ordonez made a calculation. Cruces wasn’t injured, which meant the hole in the wall wasn’t an immediate threat.
“Gates!”
“Huh?”
“Turn around and get those spells of yours on Flo.”
“Wha—”
Flo rushed up the stairs.
The detective squeezed the trigger, but her gun was already in Flo’s hand and was pointed at the ceiling. Wood splinters showered down.
The next thing Detective Ordonez knew was that she was tumbling down the stairs.
“Fu—”
Flo grabbed Jake by the front of his tactical vest and threw him through the wall into one of the bedrooms.
“You. Ruin. Everything.” Flo stood over Cal.
“I saw it all… lived it all… I am sorry for what happened to your family. What you… and your brother went through.” Cal’s voice was listless. Despondent.
Flo reached down with bloody hands and lifted Cal up by his jacket. He didn’t resist.
“Look at me!”
Spittle struck his face like a punch.
He reluctantly looked into Flo’s eyes. They shined in the light of the detective’s lantern that happened to land in just the right way.
Cal saw nothing but rage and pain. He almost connected with Flo, but he managed to pull his telepathy back. He slowly rebuilt the walls while he slowly began to get a grip back on his true self. Sharing the mauler’s, no, Freddie’s thoughts and experiences had been a mind shattering experience.
“Do you understand what you did to my family?” Flo ground her teeth. “You were supposed to be superheroes. When Floyd heard about you he was so excited.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Superheroes come to life. Just like the movies and cartoons.” Her voice went soft. “Instead you killed him… mom and dad—” She blinked. “Then you left me and Freddie trapped there… we waited weeks, months. None of you came no matter how loud I screamed, prayed, begged!” She roared.
“I’m sor— It doesn’t have to be like this. I think I understand what happened to you… after you had to…” Cal took a breath. “The transformation. What you and Freddie were forced to become. I think it can be controlled. Reversed in Freddie’s case. Let me help you. I’ll do everything in my power. I can give you Universal Points so that you can get all the tutorials for your superpower.”
Flo barked out a short, bitter laugh. “It’s too late for that. You don’t understand the hunger. It’s always there. It takes everything I have to keep it controlled. The only relief is when I eat— and it never lasts long enough.”
“But there has to be a way,” Cal pleaded. “Why would the spires create a power that turns people into…”
“Monsters?” Flo finished. “Because if it turns people like you into superheroes then maybe it needs supervillains for you to fight.” She pulled back on arm and aimed it at Cal’s face. Fingers lengthened, nails thickened and grew sharper. “It’s not fair. Floyd should’ve been the hero. Freddie shouldn’t be a monster.”
“What about you?” Cal searched Flo’s eyes for a sign. Anything that could avert what was to come.
“Avenger. For my family and everyone that your kind fails or takes advantage off.”
“Please, it doesn’t have to be this way, I can help you and your brother,” Cal pleaded one last time.
Flo sneered. “What? You’ll keep is in cages? Feed us when we get hungry? How will you do that when only one thing can satisfy our hunger?”
Cal’s head dropped. His voice was barely a whisper. “There are bad people out there. Aren’t there? Like the gangbangers you killed?” He knew it was wrong when he said it. He didn’t truly believe his own words. Perhaps it was due to the guilt over his part in the events that destroyed an innocent family.
“That’s not something a true superhero would say.” Flo’s voice carried an edge. “You’ve let Floyd down. You don’t deserve your powers. You don’t deserve to live. And when I’m done with you I’ll make your brother pay. I’ll make everyone responsible pay.”
Time slowed down for Cal. He saw Flo’s shoulder tense. She had made up her mind. Probably had some time ago. She was going to drive her sharp nails into his face. The guilt made way for anger, resolve.
The teenager had suffered a tragedy, but he wasn’t going to let that cloud his judgment. She was going to go after Remy, which meant Megan, Tessa and Veronica were also in danger. Nila, as well, would be drawn into that fight.
How many others would Flo kill? Would they all deserve their fates?
Cal got ready. He’d wait for Flo to strike. Slip his head to one side to avoid her hand. Grab her wrist on the hand grabbing his jacket, pull it down. Bring his arm up under her chin, while moving around to get behind her. Lock his other arm to the back of her head and squeeze as tight as possible. They were probably evenly matched in strength. If he could get her in a chokehold then he could put her to sleep. She hadn’t shown anything that might have suggested that she could do without breathing.
Flo’s lip curled.
Cal heard movement to his left. Out of the corner of his left eye a large shadow cut off the lantern’s meager light.
Flo’s eye shifted in that direction. They widened a moment.
There was a bright flash of blue-white light that turned night into day for a split-second. Followed by a loud crack. The smell of ozone filled the hallway.
Flo was gone. She had been thrown into the room where her little brother was chained.
Only Cal’s enhanced perceptions combined with using his telepathy to further stretch out the time had allowed him to follow what had happened.
“I guess you weren’t lying about that spell being strong enough for an elephant,” Cal said.
“Yeah, got a pretty long cooldown though. Not to mention the drain on the battery and my mana” Jake grinned. “So… I just totally saved you, right?” He stowed the phone in his left hand and pulled out a different one, which he pointed at the hole in the wall.
“I suppose you did. Thanks.” Cal grabbed his ax from the floor. “Why don’t you check on Detective Ordonez. Then get out of here.”
“No way bro! You’ll need all the help you can get. There’s two of them.”
“Not the time to argue on this. I can’t focus on fighting them, while trying to protect you guys,” Cal said.
Whatever Jake was about to say was drowned out by the sound of the makeshift wrought iron door crashing into the opposite wall. It barely missed Jake thanks to Cal yanking him out of the way.
Flo stepped out into the hallway. Her long blond hair was standing up and pointing away from her head.
Cal caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye. He swung his arm out and caught the mauler, Freddie, by the throat.
Freddie gnashed his teeth. His mouth and jaw were grotesquely out of proportion to the rest of his body. He clawed at the sleeves of Cal’s jacket. Sharp nails cut through the kevlar fabric and scratched Cal’s arm.
Flo bristled.
Cal held out his other hand at her. “Wait. Just wait.” Freddie thrashed, but Cal was stronger. “Let me help you. At least let me try.”
Flo frowned. For a moment it looked like she was going to say something. Instead she moved.
There was a blur in front of him and Cal felt pain in his side. He felt wetness at his ribs. He blinked.
Flo was in front of him. Her fingers had pierced his side and she was trying to get a grip on a couple of his ribs.
“Sorry,” Cal whispered.
He squeezed Freddie’s throat cutting off the supply of blood and oxygen to his brain. At the same time he grabbed Flo’s wrist and pulled her fingers out of his side, while kneeing her in the chest.
The strike pushed her up and back. He shoved at her with his telekinesis, sending her crashing down the hall into the master bedroom.
Freddie’s body had gone limp.
Cal pressed his hand against the holes in his side to stem the bleeding. He quickly probed Freddie with his telepathy to make sure he was actually unconscious.
It occurred to him that he was going to need to lean on his telepathy to speed up his perceptions enough to keep up with Flo’s superior speed. Perhaps he needed to be more judicious in its use towards other purposes.
“Jake, chain him up.” Cal lowered Freddie to the ground.
“Holy shit! I didn’t even see her move. I knew she was fast, but I’ve never seen her move like that or not see or… you know what I mean, right?”
“Jake!” Cal snapped.
“Right, sorry. Chain up baby mauler. Got it… uh… what if he wakes up?”
“How long is the cooldown on that max power shock?”
Jake’s eye widened. “Got it, I’ll chain him up right away.”
Cal started toward the master bedroom when Detective Ordonez came charging up the stairs with her shotgun at the ready. There was a curtain of red covering her face. A nasty gash along her hairline was the cause.
Cal saw Flo emerge from out of the bedroom. Her eyes fell on Detective Ordonez as she came up the stairs.
The detective must’ve seen the look on Cal’s face since she spun around without hesitation. She was still too slow. Her death was sealed. Or it would’ve been if it wasn’t for Cal.
He pulled her out of the way with his telekinesis, while slowing Flo down at the same time.
“Help Jake keep an eye on the little one.” Cal pushed Detective Ordonez toward the hole in the wall with his hand. “No arguments. This is what I’m here for after all.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “Fighting monsters.”
An animal growl rumbled in Flo’s throat.
Cal planned to render her unconscious then figure out how to help her and Freddie. There had to be a way. What kind of system would turn people into monsters? There was no benefit to it for the transformed. The spires’ system was brutal, but it did reward succeeding against the struggle. Flo and Freddie had struggled more than anyone he knew.
Flo didn’t care about any of that.
Cal focused everything on Flo. All other unrelated sensory inputs were pushed to the back of his mind.
She charged. At the last second she went low and swiped at his knees with razor-sharp nails.
Cal jumped up and threw himself into a prone position in midair. He held himself in place for a split-second to land a downward punch on the back of Flo’s head.
Her face cratered the wooden flooring.
Cal dropped down on top of her. He spun on her back and tried to secure that rear-naked choke. He got his arm around her neck and was in the process of cinching it tight with his other hand on the back of her head when she pushed up. Violently.
Cal’s back slammed into the ceiling.
The move caught Cal off guard. The momentary surprise caused him to loosen his grip just a fraction. It was enough for Flo to pull his hand off her head and free herself when they hit the ground.
Flo slammed her head back into Cal’s face.
Cal scrambled back. The tears in his eyes blurred his vision. He threw his arms up to protect his face, but an attack didn’t come. He frantically wiped the tears away.
Flo was looking into the room she had used to keep her brother contained. There was a look of pure horror on her face.
There was a single gunshot.
It was muted for Cal. Like it came from somewhere in the distance, not from the room several feet to his left.
“NNNOOOOO!”
Cal heard Flo’s piercing cry. He saw her body start to change right in front of his eyes.
“You… die…” Flo’s voice was emotionless.
Her limbs lengthened and became more sinewy. Her muscles were taut, visible underneath pale, white skin. They were like coiled springs. The promise of power, strength and speed was evident at a glance. Her fingers grew even longer. The nails became like thick blades. Her feet burst out of her shoes. Her toenails grew curved, like claws.
It was Flo’s face that changed the most. Her nose crumbled away to reveal angular slits. Her mouth and jaw grew bigger, wider. Normal human teeth fell to the ground, replaced by sharp fangs. She opened and closed her mouth as if testing it. As if she was loosening it up for a big meal.
The way the jaw unhinged, Cal could picture Flo’s mouth swallowing a man’s entire head and biting it off at the neck.
He felt the hate and hunger emanating from Flo. The menace, the danger dwarfed anything he had faced before. The gremlin alphas were nothing compared to this. Terror gripped him in that instant. Only by strengthening the telepathic shield around his mind did he manage to stave it off.
The Midtown Mauler finally revealed itself.