I rounded the corner of the main building and saw the others crouching over Eamon.
“Roderick!” I panted as I sprinted over to them. Roderick turned to look at me and stood up quickly. I launched myself into his arms and he enveloped me in one of his warm bear hugs.
“Ariah! I was worried!” He said as he hugged me tighter.
“I’m okay, but we need to get out of here.” I said and untangled myself from his arms.
He grabbed my shoulders and looked at me.
“What happened? Why…I mean…” Roderick looked puzzled and struggled to find the right words. “Why were you…flying?”
“I don’t know, like all of this, it’s a mystery. I have powers, it seems.” I said, feeling uncomfortable under his stare.
“What? How?” Roderick said with a surprised look on his face.
I looked up at him and data started to load into my vision.
NAME: Roderick O’Connoll
AGE: 18
SOUL AGE: Unknown at this time
SPECIES: Human
TIME: 11:12am Monday 30th September 2024
PLANET OF ORIGIN: Earth
DIMENSION OF ORIGIN: 3rd
HEALTH: 95/100
MAGIC: 0/100
STRENGTH: 95/100
AGILITY: 70/100
SPEED: 70/100
INTELLIGENCE: 90/100
SPECIAL SKILLS: To be confirmed once observed
WEAPONS: None at this date
WEAKNESSES: Injury in the small of back from where injured while snowboarding
How does it know this stuff? Roderick never told anyone about the snowboarding injury, Mom and I only knew because we’d been there with him. I wondered to myself.
I turned and looked at Reese, the data changing in my vision as I did so.
NAME: Reese Ramora
AGE: 18
SOUL AGE: Unknown at this time
SPECIES: Human
TIME: 11:12am Monday 30th September 2024
PLANET OF ORIGIN: Earth
DIMENSION OF ORIGIN: 3rd
HEALTH: 95/100
MAGIC: 0/100
STRENGTH: 95/100
AGILITY: 90/100
SPEED: 90/100
INTELLIGENCE: 95/100
SPECIAL SKILLS: To be confirmed once observed
WEAPONS: None at this date
WEAKNESSES: To be confirmed once observed
“Ariah? Ariah? Are you okay?” Roderick asked, still looking at me and waiting for me to respond to his questions.
I looked back at him.
“I’m okay, I think.” I said and shrugged, not really knowing what else to do.
The sound of crashing came from behind us and we both looked up to see the monster tumbling backwards into the main building of the school, bringing the entire brittle structure down around it. Dust filled the air, concealing the monster's body within it. We could hear its screeching resonate off the remaining buildings.
“Ariah I’m so glad you are safe, but we really need to go now. Eamon is not looking good.” Reese said as she got to her feet and gave me a quick hug, keeping a careful eye on the vicinity of the creature as she did so.
I nodded in agreement and we all bent down to pick up Eamon. Reese and I grabbed a leg each and Roderick lifted him from under the shoulders. We hurriedly carried him across to the car park and put him down on one of the grass verges, crouching and keeping low to the ground as we did so.
Roderick looked around and saw his car which luckily still looked intact. Some of the other cars in the car park had not been so lucky, with cracked windows and broken glass, they were undrivable and others having been flattened into nothingness. There were multiple piles of dust and burnt clothing lying haphazardly around the pavement but once again I tried not to think about who the dust used to be and kept focused on what we were doing.
“Stay here.” Roderick whispered. “I’m gonna go and see if I can get my car started.”
He ran, while keeping low, over to the car park. Reaching his car, he fumbled for the keys in his pocket, pulling them out with his hands shaking. Finding the right key, he then carefully put it in the door trying not to make any noise. Slowly, he opened the door and I felt a shiver run up my spine as I heard the squeak of it opening and saw Roderick grit his teeth in concentration as he tried to be as quiet as possible.
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I saw him get in and sit behind the steering wheel, he put his keys into the ignition and he started the engine, the sound of it turning over broke the silence. Roderick looked back at us with a look of concern on his face, hoping that he hadn’t alerted the beast to our location. He closed his door quietly and slowly drove over to where we stood, carefully avoiding piles of dust and debris as he did so.
I looked back at where the monster, Yverus, had fallen and saw it rise to its feet, looking across at Roderick as it did so. The stranger floated up into the air next to it as it started to move towards our direction.
Yverus lifted its hand up, extending its palm. It started to glow bright pink and bulge with crackling energy. Its health stats downloaded in my vision once more:
YVERUS…
STATUS UPDATE:
HEALTH: 30/100
Accelerating his speed, Rodrick quickly drove across the rest of the car park, jumping the kerb and screeching to a halt in front of us.
“Get in! We’ve got to get away from that thing!” He called out as he reached back and opened the back door for us. It swung open and revealed the back seat behind it. Roderick looked in our direction then looked up at the monster behind us. The look on his face changed to one of panic.
“Come on!’ He called again as we awkwardly tried to pick Eamon up. As we moved towards the car, I heard the engine rumble to a stop. Roderick began to try restarting it and the engine turned over again but didn’t start. He tried again and again, each time the engine sputtered but didn’t come to life.
“It's flooded!” Roderick called out in fear and frustration.
“Keep trying!” I called as Reese and I dragged Eamon across the grass.
I looked back at the monster again, to check on its whereabouts. Yverus advanced towards us in big thundering steps, getting closer and closer but the floating figure seemed to be keeping the creature at bay with rounds of purple light streaks which lit up the sky around them.
YVERUS…
STATUS UPDATE:
HEALTH: 38/100
The stranger turned and looked at us then turned back to the monster, firing more lightning in its direction, hitting it in the side of the face. Yverus swotted at the bolts as if they were mosquitoes. It gave us enough time to get Eamon to the car. Holding the back door open with my hip, we manoeuvred Eamon up onto the back seat. Once he was perched on the edge of the seat, I rushed around to the other side of the car. I opened the other door and reached across, grabbing Eamon’s shoulders and dragging him into the backseat while Reese pushed from the other side so that he was laying down across it. Then I jumped in and put my legs under his head so it rested on my lap. Reese ran around the front of the car and opened the door on the front passenger side, jumping it as she did so. She shifted into the seat and closed the door with a bang, then put a hand on Roderick’s shoulder as he tried to get the car to start.
Roderick turned the engine once more and the engine turned again, this time roaring to life as Roderick pushed on the accelerator.
”Let’s get out of here!" He said as he put the car into gear, putting his foot down on the accelerator causing the back tyres to squeal on the asphalt as we took off across the car park.
I turned and looked out of the back window, just in time to see Yveus pushing the floating stranger away, sending him flying backwards across the dark sky.
Turning in our direction, the monster roared, smashing its fists against its chest and filling with more fury. It lumbered in our direction, giving chase to the car.
The floating figure righted himself and balled up his fists, pulling them up from his sides and sending a streak of light towards the monster. It connected with Yverus and there was an almighty bang as the lightning exploded into the creature's face.
YVERUS…
STATUS UPDATE:
HEALTH: 32/100
I looked back at Roderick.
“Can you make this thing go faster?” I said, fearfully. “You don’t have to obey any speed limits anymore.”
“I’m driving as fast as I can.” Roderick said through gritted teeth as he concentrated on the road and on avoiding debris that had fallen chaotically across it.
As we flew down the deserted streets, we saw piles of ash littering the sidewalks and peoples yards. I grimaced every time Roderick was unable to avoid hitting a pile that was on the road, sending dust flying up into the air in big billowy clouds.
“So the plan is that we’re gonna go to Reese‘s place first and get her parents.” Roderick said as he drove. “Then we’re going home to get Mom, then evacuate to the forest by the lake.”
“But she was at the gallery today.” I said.
“I think she’d be at home by now. She’d know to meet us there, I’m sure of it.”
“Do you think the forest is a good idea? Do you remember what the wood was like when you touched it? You said it was really hot. This thing seems to fry organic matter rather than man-made materials.” I questioned.
“I just don’t know Ariah. I think the forest is as good an idea as any.” Roderick replied, looking into the rear vision mirror to address me. “If we could get into the forest we could get up into the mountains and get a better vantage point of what this thing is up to. There are lots of caves up in the mountains too, so plenty of places to hide.”
“Hopefully that would protect us. The stone in the rock would act like the concrete maybe?” Reese added. “I think that’s what we need to do too.”
“Do you think anyone else has survived it?” I asked, looking out the window at the emptiness of our surroundings.
Reese turned in her seat and looked back at me.
“I think if we have, then others would have too.” She said and gave me a small smile. “Maybe others had the same idea as us and have been hiding in concrete areas as well where they wouldn’t have been affected.”
I turned and looked out of the back window again. Yverus and the stranger were now quite some distance away from us and I felt myself relax a little.
“I wonder if the army is on its way, the military should be taking control of this situation.” I said as I turned back to face the front and check on Eamon. His breathing was shallow but steady. I wiped his forehead with my sleeve, removing the beads of sweat from it.
“The army is gonna have to take that thing down but we don’t have any way of knowing what is going on without radios or the internet. I’m sure if we get on one of the main roads out of town we’ll come across others.” Roderick said gently.
I looked out the window hoping to see some sign of other life outside as we quickly drove the streets towards Reese‘s house. Only dust and partial bits of bodies seemed to remain on once busy streets. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I thought about all the lives that have been lost in such a short space of time.
“I wonder where that thing has come from? It’s not of this earth so is it an alien?” I thought out loud.
Reese turned to look at me again.
“I think it could be an alien but then what was the other thing, that person battling it? Where have they come from? Are they too?” She said, then turned back to look out of the front window. “They did seem to be trying to protect us.”
“Whatever it is, whoever it is, and wherever it comes from, it’s not a good thing.” Roderick said as he turned the car onto Reese’s street.
“But whoever is battling it obviously is good if they’re trying to protect us and help us get away. Maybe we need to find out more about them and then maybe they might be able to tell us what we need to do.” I replied.
“How will we do that? We can’t go back to the school.” Reese said, scanning the sides of her street for her house.
“Yeah, I think we are on our own for now.”