Chapter 28 - Reckoning - Part II
She was lost.
A million memories surrounded her. Encircling her like a swarm of stars in the night sky, each a glittering jewel of recollection. She tried to find her way, but she did not know where to go. Drawing near one of the memories, she was pulled into it without warning…
"Mommy, I don't want to go to school," said the child. Her mother beamed warmly and gave her a comforting hug. "Don't worry little Mia. You'll love it. I know you'll make new friends."
She was confused. Who was the child? Who was the woman? Another image came…
"See Brother Marc!" yelled the girl, excited at her ability to navigate the treacherous path. She stood on the narrow ledge, a bottomless black pit in front of her. She balanced with remarkable ease as she traveled on the constricted rim. Behind her, in the dim darkness, a tall young man with spiky brown hair clapped his hands and said, "Very good. Mia, you're a natural."
Was she Mia? Was that her name? More memories came, faster than before...
"Whisper Winds, may I help you with the dishes?" asked Mia as the other Soul cleaned up after dinner...
"Mia! Get down from there!" scolded the old Nun as Mia hung from the old pipes in the shower room...
"Hello, my name is Mia!" said the girl as she grinned at the fair-skinned, blond-haired Soul like a wolf might smile at young fawn in the woods…
The woman with the waves of golden hair and blue-gray eyes, she knew her. Her name was...Melanie. No that was not right. Petals Open to the Moon? No...still the wrong name. Who was she?
Trying to find answers, she tried to pull away from the countless slivers of memories. They were not shiny gems, but shards of sharp glass. And they cut into her…
The black-eyed monster of a man stood over her. He is a killer. He murdered Tim. He bent down and closed the distance to her. Asking if, like him, she is also from the Facility.
The Facility. She had been looking through memories for the Facility. It was important. Something was there. Something dark and hateful. She had to remember. It was why she was here…
"Doctor Dobson, I've got instructions to transfer her..."
Midnight blackness surrounded her. But there are sounds in the dark. Hoots and clicks. A language never uttered by a Human was being spoken... Then they were there... The Vultures. Three of them, tall and thin, with dull gray skin. Their wings enfolded and wrapped around their bodies, like shaded cloaks. Their burning yellow-red eyes glared balefully.
A man speaks. He has a gaunt face and thinning hair. Glowering angrily at the Vultures, he questioned them. "What is the point of these experiments? What could you possibly learn from sewing parasites into their brains?"
Warbling hoots come from the Vultures and understandable words soon follow in an artificial voice. "There is much we need to know about how the parasites control your bodies."
"You promised to help us!" shouted the man.
One of the Vultures answered, "Patience, Major Ashby."
"We are losing this war. You know how to fight the parasites, what are you waiting for!?"
The Vultures were silent for a long time. Finally, the false machine voice replied, "We are few and our strength is almost gone. Your kind must be ones to carry the battle."
The man named Ashby scowled and turned on his heel, marching away furious. The Vultures watched him leave. More hoots and clicks came from their lipless mouths. Even though the Human was far away and out of earshot, their words were still translated.
"The weapons are nearly ready."
The Vultures, that was the memory she had been searching for in this dark place. There should be none alive. They should be long gone, living on now as nothing but memories passed down from one generation to the next. But what she had seen was not a twisting of fact and fiction turned into a nightmare. It was a real. Somehow, someway, they had found their way to Earth. They were working with the Humans. Planning, preparing...
"The weapons are nearly ready."
The others must be warned. She had to find her way back. How did she leave this place?
"Help me!" she cried into the darkness. Hoping someone might hear her. But there was no reply in this shadowy place, lighted only by the embers of memories. She began to run, trying to escape. Rushing away from the shards of the past, she ran as fast as she could, but no matter the direction she traveled the darkness and the endless memories remained.
She was lost.
####
"Just a guess, but I think this is the right place."
Kyle's comment was the understatement of the year, thought Jodi as she surveyed the mass of people streaming from the airport's terminals. They joined an already large group assembled in the shadow of the Theme Building, the distinctive circular structure in the center of LAX. The white stucco building resembled alien craft which had just landed on its four arched legs. The comparison was fitting as the crowds surrounding it were made up of Souls.
"I see a lot of smoke come from somewhere on the runway," spoke up Jared. His hands were tight on his Jeep's steering wheel as he attempted to navigate the swarm of vehicles madly trying to enter and exit the surrounding parking lots. With a disturbed shake of his head, he added, "I think they blew up a shuttle or something. So much for stopping this insanity before it started."
They veered past a group of Souls. Two stocky men were carrying a woman. Bright red blood was covering her forehead and running down across her face. She was not moving as the men transported her and Jodi could not tell if she was alive or dead.
"Put your sunglasses on," instructed Jared. "I don't want to give ourselves away if we can help it."
Jodi pulled a pair Kyle had given her from her pants pocket. As she put them on she felt Sunny writhe within her, aggrieved over the unfolding carnage. She desperately wanted to run into the mob of Souls and help her injured people. But she was still firmly stuck in the back of her head, unable to do anything. Jodi found herself pleased by this fact.
Beyond their earlier brief collaboration on figuring out where the recently freed humans had gone, Jodi had pushed the Soul away. She was furious with the alien in the back of her head, everything that had gone wrong with her life was Sunny's fault. And she was enraged with Kyle for loving Sunny, it was so clear when he had swooped in to rescue her. His face had radiated absolute joy at seeing her - Sunny, not Jodi. She had been giving both of them the silent treatment since they headed towards the airport.
'I said I was sorry,' intoned Sunny for something like the tenth time. 'You can be mad at me if you want, but it's not right to blame Kyle. How was he supposed to know it was you and not me?'
'It doesn't matter what he knew. I've seen it in your memories. It was more than just you wanting him. Maybe it didn't start out that way, but it's clear to me he's been feeling the same way for a while.' Jodi was annoyed her admission brought a little thrill of joy to Sunny.
'How can you possibly love him?' pressed Jodi. 'He's not a Soul. He can't love the real you.'
'I don't know,' sniffed Sunny defensively. 'I just do. The dreams I used to have...'
Jodi irritably interrupted, 'Those dreams were my memories. You don't have anything to even base a relationship.'
'Fine!' snapped Sunny with rare irritation. 'It doesn't matter anyway. Kyle has you now. And there are more important things happening. My kind are being hurt… and killed.' A widening fear was flourishing in the Soul. 'Your people are going to destroy the cryotanks and the Souls inside to punish us for what we've done.' A profound mental sigh came from Sunny as she tried to get a handle on her emotions. 'Then we will respond, and more Humans will die. Please, Jodi, put aside your anger and try to stop this.'
That grated on Jodi because she knew Sunny was right. Granted she felt very justified in her anger, but she was also being childish and petty. There would be time later to sort out their feelings with Kyle...hopefully. As what to do about the rebels' apparent attempt to seize the cryotanks? Jodi was not sure how she felt.
They were moving at a crawl, waylaid by both traffic and the frightened mob. It was readily apparent there was lots of confusion and fear. No seemed to know exactly where to go, their only driving thought was to keep clear of the buildings. Through her tinted specs, Jodi saw more injured Souls with blood and bullet wounds, more evidence of the violence from inside the airport. A woman clutched two young children close as she tried to run. A gray-haired man with blood covering his white shirt stumbled along. Jodi's stomach twisted with regret and disgust.
A man in a uniform approached them. He was not a Seeker, but he appeared to be some form of airport security. He rapidly tapped on the driver side window. Even as Jared rolled it down the man was speaking, fast and stressed. "You can't stay here! There is great danger...Humans are attacking anyone inside the airport!"
"We here to picking up a friend..." Jared tried to explain, but the man was already moving on to the next car in line. Urgently trying to pass his warning.
They managed to crawl forward, but at an ever slowing pace. Too many people were jamming up the lane. Jared suddenly veered sharply, taking them off the road and heading into a short-term parking lot. It was already crowded back with both cars and people, but he was not bothering to finding a place between two painted lines. He took the first clear spot he could find, wedging the Jeep at an angle at the corner of the lot. Half on the pavement and half on the grass.
"This is going to have to do," said Jared as he turned the engine off. "We'll have to cover the rest of the way on foot."
Kyle was studying the nearby entrance to one of the terminals. "I think I see people inside. Can't tell if they're armed or not. But it's a safe bet they are."
Turning in his seat, Jared pushed his sunglasses down his nose so he could get an unrestricted view of the glass-enclosed entryway. "Yeah, looks like," he agreed. Glancing to Jodi, he asked, "Do you know any of them? Would they let you approach?"
Jodi was also examining the nearest entrance and shook her head. Indistinct shapes moved within the airport terminal. "I'm not sure," she said, "and given what happened when they learned Sunny was talking to me I don't think they'll be very friendly."
Jared was silent in thought. His eyes wondering over the vastness of the complex. "LAX is huge. There's no way they can cover everything. We just need to find a way in."
"And then what?" asked Jodi. "What's the plan?"
Seeing the unfolding chaos, she wondered if there was any way to stop it. Sunny was also anxiously fretting. Things were fast spiraling out of control and neither one of them saw an easy way to end the bloodshed. She heard Jared let out a pensive sigh, "Find Mel. Rescue Mel. Then get the hell out of here." As if reading their dual minds he added, "I don't know how to stop this. It's bigger than us. If we can get Mel and regroup back at the caves, maybe we can figure out our next step."
'But the cryotanks...' moaned Sunny as she heard Jared's pronouncement. She pictured hundreds of the silver cylinders ripped open and her people's fragile bodies throw to the ground to shrivel in the hot sun. Despair flooded from the Soul and washed into Jodi's mind.
'I'm sorry, Sunny,' Jodi whispered in response to the little Soul's grief. In her own mind, she pictured Carol, Jake, Jeremy, Samantha and everyone else she had gotten to know at the hospital. They were not evil people. But they were scared and angry. And people like Director Smith and Craig Williams seemed all too eager to bend her friends' pain to their advantage.
"Jodi? Are you okay?"
Kyle's concerned words pulled Jodi out of her shared internal sorrow with Sunny. He reached out and touched her face and it was only then she felt the dampness on her cheeks.
"Baby, talk to me," pleaded Kyle.
"It's Sunny, she's thinking about the Souls being pulled out of the cryotanks and left to die," she muttered as she wiped away the tears with the back of her hand. A little frown of confusion perched on his pale brow. "It's like our emotions are tangled together or something," she tried to explain. "I feel what she feels."
Kyle appealed to Jared, "Can't we try to rescue some of the cryotanks?"
Jared's expression remained impassive. He again searched the nearby entryway into the airport. Carefully assessing possible routes into the building. "It's going to depend if you can talk them down, Jodi," he said as he turned back to her, his expression grim. "While we were held captive they kept our contact with the others really limited. Most of them don't know us and those that do think we're in league with the Seekers."
'Please, Jodi,' begged Sunny. 'Please help us...'
"Alright! Alright!" she snapped, a little louder than she meant to from the surprised looks on the both men's faces. "I can't make any promises," she told both Jared and Kyle and the Soul within her, "But I will try."
####
As absurd as it sounded, there were times Melanie wished Wanda was still in her head and running the show. Melanie had been the impulsive one, stronger willed. Wanda had been the voice of reason and wisdom. Together they had made a pretty good team. They had escaped the Seeker, struggled in the desert, and managed to survive in the caves until people had begun to accept the idea Wanda was not going to hand them over to the Seekers.
Given her current situation, having her 'Soul Sister' in her head would have certainly been helpful. Melanie was completely out of her depth. She sat in one of flight controller chairs in the LAX's traffic control tower, trying to make sense out of what she had seen and what she was now watching.
The top of the tower was laid out as an octagonal room, with large windows giving an unobstructed view of the surrounding airport and runways. An excellent view of the spreading chaos Craig Williams had unleashed on the Souls. Out on the tarmac fires were blazing. Something had made a massive explosion not long ago. The fire had spread to a nearby sky bridge and shuttle. Both continued to burn even as crews of firefighters wrestled to get it under control. Oily, smoldering clouds drifted upward and cast a hazy shroud over the airport. Inside the control room, banks of computer monitors displayed data on hundreds of shuttle flights for a good portion of the western part of the country. Melanie could hear increasingly urgent radio messages from flights inbound to the airport. Requesting updates on flight patterns and what runway they should use. Calls that were not going to be answered.
But she paid little attention to these distractions. Her focus was almost entirely on the middle-aged man laying on the floor. He had been, up until about a half an hour ago, a Soul working as a traffic controller. Williams had needed the control room intact and not wanted to risk the use of guns or explosives. His team had used gas grenades loaded with CURE to knock out the Souls in the room. The others in the tower had been taken away, but Craig had ordered this man to be left behind. He wanted Melanie to watch.
"Uhhhh," mumbled the man, his voice soft and dream like. Melanie could see his eyes shifting rapidly under his eyelids.
Williams was sitting a nearby chair. "Don't ask me how it all works," he said without looking at her. His eyes were also focused on the still sleeping figure. "You'd need one of our Docs to explain it. Sufficient to say when it does work, the Human is up and going in about an hour."
"And when it doesn't?" inquired Melanie tightly.
"Mostly its lights on, but nobody is home," said Williams mildly. "I might not be a scientist, but even I can understand you can't return a Human mind to a body that never really had one."
He gestured in the air as if he was calculating some long math problem. "There's a whole slew of variables involved if we can bring someone back. Their age, length of time they've been under control, genetic factors, stuff like that. Our success rate has been around seventy percent."
Her next question came out completely flat and devoid of emotion. "They created this CURE stuff, didn't they?" She already had a pretty good idea of the answer.
"Yes," replied Williams directly.
Neither one of them had to say who they were talking about - The Vultures. An alien race who had come long ago to the Souls' home world. Wanda had rarely thought about them, her peoples' past interaction with them far too disturbing for the Soul. But Melanie had recognized the dying creature in the laboratory almost immediately from Wanda's memories. Quite the shock for her. And then Williams had unleashed one revelation after another on her. It left her feeling dizzy. Well, that, and the fact the bastard had hit her when she struggled in her restraints.
Turning her gaze from the unconscious man, she peered intently at Craig Williams. He had a closed off expression on his face. Guarded and precise. The look was not unlike Uncle Jeb's poker face, but there was something underneath his calm exterior that made her shiver.
She had tried fighting him, physical and verbally, to no avail. Letting out a controlled sigh she considered what to do. She might not have Wanda with her, but she could imagine what her sister would do if she were here. Wanda would seek peace, it was her nature. She could talk and get Williams to stand down...Maybe. Melanie had to admit there might not be any combination of words that could stop Craig Williams. The man was iron-willed. He had made it very clear she was not getting away from him. She had a metal shackle connecting her leg to one the control room's desks. Yet he did appear to need her. It was evident he was trying to convince her of his cause and that was something she could work with.
"You know," she said quietly, doing her best to draw in her still simmering anger with the man, "when I was first running with my brother I kept hoping and praying to see the army come rolling in to fight the Souls. You'd think with all those tanks, guns, and missiles we'd be a lot harder to take down. But it never happened."
"Most of the military was already compromised by the time the general population figured out what was going on," said Williams with a grunt. "Hell, most of the Seekers' hosts are from the army or police."
"Was that what happened to you? Was the Soul in you a Seeker?"
He eyed her silently, his face darkening ever so slightly. This would be like walking through a minefield, thought Melanie. If she misstepped she could send Williams into a rage, as he had been in Chicago – strangling Wanda as he snarled about slaughtering all the Souls. But if she could get him to start trusting her, find out more about his plans, maybe she could stop him.
"No," said Williams after a long pause. "Pale Light Gleaming was just a first wave settler. He was far too mild-mannered to be a fighter. He just used me to help take apart all our weapons. Made sure the only ones with those tanks, guns, and missiles were the Seekers."
Melanie reflected on his account and what she knew about the Souls. "Most of the Souls can't fight. Is that the plan? Take out the Seekers and force the rest to leave the planet?"
"My plan? Or the Vultures?" asked Williams with a knowing smile. "Take a guess at what they want."
"Revenge," answered Melanie with a shudder.
Still smiling, he nodded. " The first conversation I had with one of the Vultures was short and sweet. 'Kill the Souls. Kill all of the Souls,' he said. They want to destroy every parasite in existence."
"And you don't?" scoffed Melanie. "You honestly don't want revenge as well?" Frustrated, she shook her head angrily. "I don't get it, Craig...The Vultures swoop in with this CURE, give us the means to take back the planet, and you turn around and kill one."
"You do not see the big picture, Melanie! You still don't get the reality of the situation. You've got to think, not be a child..." He bit back his irritation and went on in a calmer voice. "I know I threw a lot at you all at once. Vultures are here. They've been here a long time. They've been influencing us. People's ability to resist the Souls isn't random chance."
"How do you know all this?" she challenged. "Did the Vultures tell you? If they've been planning all this for so long, why did they let the Souls win in the first place?"
Williams leaned forward in his seat, his voice intense. "Now you're asking the right questions! And the answer is – No, the Vultures lied. They've been lying to us since the beginning. They were hidden right under our noses. The big deep, dark secret of the Facility. But the others..." he trailed off with a sad shake of his head. "You see Melanie, most of the Facility is made up of a bunch of egg head scientists. Real smart, but the kind who can't see the forest for the trees types. And they talked themselves in circles until they talked themselves right past the reality of what the Vultures are."
Stretching his arms wide in an act of self-laudation "But I saw the truth from the moment they revealed themselves. They way they looked, the names they had - Pazuzu, Asag, Lilu. All names of demons. Names we gave to them long ago.
See, they waited till we were good and desperate. When we had no choice but to take their hand and their magic CURE." His smile came back. The one that made her very uneasy. "Hard to say no to the devil when he comes calling."
It was working, he was beginning to open up and share. Williams was still cagey about his overall plans, but she was learning. But before she could ask more questions, a startled gasp came from the unconscious man laying on the floor.
Taking both Melanie and Williams by surprise, they turned to see he was now awake. His hazel eyes, now without a trace of silver in them, were open. He stared at them in stunned silence. Swallowing hard, his jaw began to work slowly.
"Umm, what? Where...am...I?" said the unknown man.
"Welcome," replied Williams gamely. "Do you remember your name?" To Melanie, he stated in a lowered voice, "It always helps when they can remember their own name."
Melanie knew this to be true. The former Healer Candy had been like this after the Soul Summer Song had been removed. Confused and disorientated. It had taken her over a day to wake up and many more days to recall her original name. She wondered when using CURE just how long it would take.
"I'm...Umm...I'm Raindrop..." and then his eyes became impossibly huge in horror. "NO!" he shouted. "My name is Dan!" Then his eyes started darting all over the room, wildly panicked. "My wife was acting strange...I came home and she..."
Dan trailed off as his frantic inspection of the control room finally rested on Craig Williams and his silver-ringed eyes. "Oh God! Get away from me!" he shouted as he pressed into the floor, terribly frightened. To Melanie, it looked like he was trying to force himself into the floor to get away from the other man.
"It's okay, you're safe," assured Melanie as she tried to calm him down.
"W-Who are you?" asked Dan, still panicked and more than a little confused.
Williams let out a tired sigh at the man's fright. He made a vague gesture to his eyes and their alien appearance. "Always the same thing for me. We'll need to get one of the others to help our new friend Dan." He grabbed his radio from a nearby workstation. "Madison, come in. We'll need to get Marge or Carol up here. We've got another recovery."
A long stretch of silence came from the radio. Williams scowled. He was pressing on the radio's send button when it let out a squawk. "Sir," came Madison's voice, stressed high with urgency, "There's a situation at the hangars."
####
"Shoot it! Shoot it!" yelled Connie as she dove to the floor.
Above her, two of the Spider's long arms narrowly missed her. She rolled to the side, hoping to escape the alien, but the multi-limbed creature pivoted nimbly on its legs and pounced. Covering the distance to Connie in a little more than a blink of an eye, four of its arms pinned her to the floor of the hangar. She let out a cry of pain as the Spider held her down.
Everything had been going so well ruminated Noah grimly as he and the others faced off against the alien Spider. Work on the spaceship had begun without a problem. They had just gained access to the ship's computer core when the Spider had attacked. The alien must have been hiding in one of the other ships. Maybe it had been observing the Humans or been busy with repair work and had not noticed their initial intrusion. But whatever it had originally been doing, the Spider was swiftly and efficiently taking apart his team. Tyler already lay unmoving on the ground from where the alien had jumped him.
Jake and Elliot took aim and fired, but their bullets were ineffectual against the thick scales of the creature. It leaped again, off Connie, and struck out with three of its arms at the two men. Elliot was quickly knocked over from the first two. But Jake was fast enough to scuttle out of the way from the last arm. In rapid succession, he fired away at the Spider. Two bullets struck one of its many eyes, and the creature wheeled back.
Diego along with Mandy and Liang managed to close the distance to the agile Spider and now fired off their own guns. Mandy managed to land a hit on one of the legs and the alien stumbled. But it was quick to recover. Even with damaged eye and limb, it was still very dangerous.
This was not going to work, realized Noah. The alien had too many arms and eyes. And Spiders did not process pain in the same way a Human did. It could continue to function even with multiple injuries. And the thick hide could protect it from most of their weapons. Yet it did have weaknesses.
Noah focused on the parasite still stuck in his head. It had been a Spider in another world before it stole his life. Memories of a gray, cold world filled his mind. The Soul's name on that world had been Evaluator of Samples. A name that simply reflected its function, for the Spiders had no concept of imagination or abstract thought.
Through the bizarre tapestry of memory, Noah focused on the creatures' anatomy. As advanced as their minds were, the Spiders' bodies were actually very simple. Uncomplicated organs maintained an organic structure which was entirely dedicated to the three brains. Each one was well protected behind the dense carapace of the Spider's body. The three minds were tied together by a thick neural cord. A concentrated mass of neurons allowing the separate parts to work together as one. And there in the Soul's memories, Noah found the Spiders' Achilles Heal.
"Shoot at the segment between the legs! Just above the eyes!" he cried out.
"What!?" yelled back Jake. One of the Spider's arms latched on to him and it swiftly dragged the man down.
He did not have time to explain. Noah ran forward, firing his gun. Up until today, he had never actually used one. It felt so heavy in his hand, and it's recoiled surprised him. His two shots went wide, missing the alien completely.
"Ahhh!" cried Jake as the Spider latched a second arm on to him.
Noah gritted his teeth and took aim again. He fired two more times. The first shot did nothing, but the second landed on the seam between one leg joint and the next. Just right of the damaged eye. The whole body of the Spider suddenly shuddered. Taking a steadying breath, Noah fired three more times. Each shot struck the vulnerable spot between the sections of scaly armor on the Spider, tearing into the neural cord.
Half the Spider's limbs stuttered and flailed about. It began to retreat, but its motion was far less coordinated. It stumbled and swayed as it tried to get away.
"What the hell did you do?" asked Jake as he struggled to his feet.
Panting, Noah managed to wheeze out, "Hit it in it's...vulnerable spot. The spot between the legs...and to the right of their eyes, the armor is weak."
Jake frowned. "How?" he began and then stopped. He shook his head, amazed. "You pulled how to do that from your worm?"
"Yeah," breathed out Noah as he felt his racing heart start to slow down. The Spider was trying to crawl back toward one of the spaceships. He watched as Mandy, Elliot, Liang and Diego advanced on the wounded alien, none of them having any intention of letting it get away.
Jake's eyes narrowed with apprehension. "What was that Spider thing doing here?"
"I think it was one these ship's pilots," guessed Noah
The other man shook his head again, a mix of anger and disbelief finally settling on his face. "Com'on," said Jake as both he and Noah looked to where Connie and Tyler lay on the ground. They had taken only a few steps towards the two when Connie let out a moan of pain. Haltingly she was trying to right herself.
"Easy there, little lady," spoke Jake gently as he went to one knee to help up the diminutive woman. To Noah, he said, "Go check on Tyler."
Noah nodded and crossed over to where the teenager lay face down. Reaching down, he was going to try to see how badly Tyler was hurt when he saw the bent angle of the boy's head, it was twisted unanaturally and there was a slowly widening pool of dark red blood forming under the his head. Tyler was dead. Noah was not sure the Spider had purposefully killed the boy or not. He found he did not care.
A strong shudder of despair ran through Noah as he straightened up. He saw Connie was leaning on Jake as the two approached. They too saw Tyler was gone. Jake said nothing, but his face darkened in a cold rage while Connie let out a muffled sob. But her cries were drowned out by the staccato sound of multiple guns firing at the same time. The others were busy finishing off the Spider. Tyler would be avenged.
Even as the gunshots trailed off, a shout drew Noah's attention. Spinning around he spotted three figures in black running through the hangar's open bay doors. Joe, Madison, and Tom sprinted towards them, their weapons were drawn, worry heavy on their expressions.
"Have they gotten in? Who were you shooting at?" demanded Madison as she drew to a stop.
"Gotten in? What?" said Jake puzzled. He began to explain, "There was a Spider here. We think it was one of the pilots. We took care..."
"No," interrupted Joe. "Haven't you seen? A bunch of worms are massing at the airfield and heading this way. We've tried to disperse them, but they keep coming. They must have figured out what we're doing. We just barely managed to outmaneuver them and get here first."
"We've been a little busy," replied Noah hotly. "How many parasites are coming?"
Tom pointed out towards the area outside the hangar. The spaceships being loaded with cryotanks still sat deserted on the runway. But beyond the giant ships Noah could see a growing crowd steadily approaching.
"Yeah," added Tom nonchalantly, doing his best to cover his worries, "only a couple hundred buggers coming right at us."
####
The sound of their feet treading lightly on the tiled floor of LAX's Terminal 3 was the only noise to be heard as Jodi, Kyle, and Jared guardedly made their way deeper into the empty airport. There was no one in sight, but everywhere there were signs of people leaving very abruptly. Bags and suitcases were strewn about, laying where they had been abandoned. A nearby coffee shop, a little bistro with a semi-circle of tables and chairs nestled in-between the other stores along the walkway, had steam still coming off cups and plates of half-eaten food.
The smell warm bread reached Jodi's nose, and her stomach rumbled unhappily. She was starving and had no idea the last time she had eaten solid food. It would have been easy to step out of the shadows and retrieve some of the discarded meal. Unfortunately going out in the open would have made them visible to the many security cameras around the airport. It would make them a quick and easy target for the Facility's forces.
Jared seemed to have an almost inhuman ability to find a route keeping them in the shadows and out of direct view of the cameras in the Terminal. Kyle was nearly as good, he had helped her maneuver in precise movements designed for stealth and concealment. They had traveled in a zig-zag path, hiding behind half-walls, shrouding themselves in the dark spaces. It honestly surprised Jodi. Kyle had never been one for subtlety or keeping himself hidden.
'He had to learn how,' answered Sunny in her mind. 'Kyle stole what he needed from us to survive. We Souls are watchful, so he had to adapt. So did Jared and all the other Humans.'
What it must have been like for Kyle to endure all that time while on the run from the Souls. The whole world turned against him and the other surviving humans. Jodi had seen it in his eyes. A stern hardness which had never been there before. She wondered how Kyle had kept going for all those years.
'You, Jodi,' whispered Sunny. 'The thought of saving you kept him going.'
Then she was gone, pulling herself to the back of Jodi's consciousness. Everything happening at the airport terrible frightened the Soul within her. Sunny was doing her best to rein herself in and keep her fear from leaking into Jodi. Trying in any way she could to help. It was odd, Jodi realized she felt a bit lonely when Sunny was not there in her thoughts.
A little snort of amusement made it's way out of her. Of all the insanity going on, the fact she was somehow becoming friends with the alien who had stolen her body was completely ridiculous.
Kyle heard her short giggle and turn a questioning look her way.
Keeping her voice low, she said by way of explanation, "It's nothing, just me and Sunny talking."
A smile crept its way onto his face. "Just like Wanda and Melanie, but in reverse."
"Wanda was in Melanie for what? A whole year?" Jodi let out a breath. "I don't know how they did it. We've only been like this for less than a week, and I think I'm going crazy."
"Well, you are hearing voices in your head," teased Kyle.
Jodi shook her head in frustrated amusement. "Lughead, that is such a lame joke."
Kyle's smile broadened into a grin. "Ah, come on, Jodes, bad jokes are what I'm good at."
She wanted to kiss him. With Sunny, Kyle had been protective, holding her, comforting her, but they had not gone further. A certain reluctance had held both of them back. Namely...her. But she was back now. Her timing could have been better, but in this world who knew how much time you had. As if her body was moving on it own, she leaned in towards him and Kyle mirrored her movement.
They both heard it at the same time and froze. Voices. Urgent and worried voices, but the words still softly spoken:
"I can't get a signal...maybe we should try a regular phone."
"We tried already, the line was dead. But someone by now must have contacted the authorities."
"I know I saw those people with weapons at the entrance. They must be Humans. The Seekers are going to have a tough time."
"Perhaps we should hide here, wait for help to come. It could be dangerous outside."
There were five of them. Two men and three women. They huddled close together as they walked the Terminal. Two of the women were older, with graying hair. The other woman was younger, with a dark complexion and wiry hair. Her arm was around one of the men, holding him close for support. He was taller, with his hair cut down to just a blond fuzz on his head. As they came closer, Jodi could tell the other man was really just a boy, his lanky body awkwardly moving into his teenage years.
Five Souls, who had somehow managed to escape the rampaging Humans. They were coming from the opposite direction. Their steps careful and cautious as they traveled down the broad and empty concourse. But not that careful. Souls were not used to hiding or stealth. In their world, there was no need.
"Ah, damn it," sighed Jared in a resigned tone. "They're not paying attention to the security cameras. They're going to be spotted."
"We could warn them off," suggested Kyle.
Jared's face twisted into a frown. "Might be too late. The Facility must have their hands full keeping this place locked down. Make sense for them to use the airport's security system. They may know these five are already here."
They were close now. If Jodi stepped out of the shadows, the Souls would easily see her. What would they do when they saw her eyes lacked a shimmer of silver? Could she warn them? Would they listen to her, or see her as the enemy?
But Jared had been right. It was already too late. The sound of feet slapping hard against the tile floor echoed from further down the terminal. Shouts came as well, angry shouts. The five Souls stiffened in alarm, fear blooming on their faces.
"Stop right there!" bellowed a voice from down the wide corridor.
Jodi stepped out of their shadowed hiding spot. Sunny was not trying to urge her on. No, this was Jodi's decision. The Soul was frozen by fear in the back of Jodi's mind. Terrified by the likely outcome of these five Souls soon-to-be encounter with armed Humans. And Jodi was just as afraid too, but for a different reason.
Three figures in black were running right at her with their weapons out. The man in the middle, leading this small squad, had sun-drenched skin and an all too familiar face. His eyes widen into utter astonishment as he ran up.
"Jodi!?"
"Hi, Jeremy," said Jodi. She was surprised it came out far calmer than she thought possible.
Standing stiff and silent Jeremy Waller gaped at her. In fact, an odd hush had gone through surrounding space. Jodi was aware Kyle and Jarred had come out of their hiding spot as well, in an attempt to pull her back. The stood warily watching Jeremy. Behind her, the Souls were too terrified and confused by her sudden appearance to do anything. And the two men with Jeremy flanked him on either side, held blank, angry expressions as they took in everyone.
"Jodi?" began Jeremy after long seconds had passed. "What? How?" He appeared to be trying to believe what was seeing.
"Who is this woman?" asked one of Jeremy's companions. He was stocky and broad-shouldered.
The other man with Jeremy swept his gaze over Jared and Kyle. He was taller and leaner, with a pockmarked face. All three men gave a little start of recognition. Apparently, they had met before. "It's them," he said, "...the traitors."
Kyle snorted loudly. "Ah, not this crap again! How many times do we have to tell you, we don't work for the Seekers!"
One or more of the Souls behind Jodi must have moved. The action caused Jeremy and his team to refocus on the aliens with a swift and fierce response. Jeremy quickly side stepped her and brought his gun up, a large pistol. The other two did the same. "On the ground! Now!" barked Jeremy to the five Souls. "I will not give you a second warning!"
"Jeremy, please," whispered Jodi. "You don't need to do this."
He gave her a sidelong glance. "I kinda think I do."
Meekly the three women, the man, and the boy sat down on the floor. Their heads were bowed in despair, all of them were shaking in terror.
"You just going to shoot them?" asked Jared, keeping his voice even and measured.
The taller man gave Jared a quick glance of contempt and then returned his gaze to the Souls. "Shoot them? No, not if we don't have to." He appraised the five Souls quietly for a moment. Judging them. "We would have just kicked them out of here, but some of the buggers outside have got it in their head to resist. So, for now, we'll hold on to them."
"Yeah," said the shorter man. "They're starting to realize the Seekers aren't coming to rescue them."
From the floor, one of the older women managed to sputter out, "T-They're n-not?"
The stout man leaned down to the gray-haired Soul and his face broke into a terrible grin. "Trust me, I know, I used to be one."
His admission of his former identity caused a spasm of fear to run through the Souls. "They know...they know how to remove us..." whimpered the teen.
"Keith, I don't need them all stirred up and killing themselves," broke in Jeremy sternly, admonishing the other man. He looked down at the Souls, his face twisting with disgust. He did not seem to want to speak the following words but managed to get them out. "If you behave yourselves and don't fight us, we'll put you in cryotanks. No one will harm you."
With Jeremy's promise of their safety the Souls just stared up at him, slack-jawed in disbelief. Jodi was stunned as well. She had not expected Jeremy's offer. Was it just a lie? Meant to lull the parasitic aliens into not shredding their hosts' brains. Making it easier for their removal and disposal.
Jeremy turned away from the Souls. Apparently unconcerned if they believe him or not. His unhappy expression vanished when he moved closer to her. Again he stood staring at her. "How are you here?" he asked in a near whisper of a voice. "Director Smith said you were dead."
Jodi looked to Kyle and Jared, then to the Souls sitting cowering on the floor, and then finally back Jeremy. She took a deep breath and began, "Jeremy, you need to listen to me. All of you need to listen to me. Smith has been lying to you. Lying to all of us."
####
She was still lost.
With every bit of will she had, she fought her way out of the darkness. She had no idea how long she had been going. Every bit of her ached and she was so tired. But she had to go on.
"Wanda," came a voice from very far away. She felt herself freeze in place. "Please, Wanda," continued the faint words, "come back to us. Honey, we need you..."
'Wanda,' that was right. Her name was Wanda and voice was...Ian's! She remembered now. She began to run, fighting her way back to awareness.
"Mmm..." she heard someone faintly moan. She realized it was her own voice and she pressed on.
Little bits and pieces of sensation came back to her. She was laying down, a soft mattress was under her body. Her right hand felt warm, someone was holding it. More sounds came, a chorus of voices...angry voices.
"Grab him!"
"Let go!
"Please stop..."
With a rushing roar, the world came back, and Wanda's eyes flickered open. She stared up at the ceiling. More noises came, the sound of wood being hacked and splintered. Distant shouts. Her hand hurt and she tried to pull it away from the pain, but she could not budge it. With an effort, she turned her head to see what was causing the discomfort.
On the right side of the bed, Ian was standing with her hand in his, but he was facing away from her. His attention was entirely focused on the closed door to the room. He was squeezing her hand too tightly. She again gave a weak tug. Ian must have noticed her efforts for he whirled around in a blur to face her.
"WANDA!" cried Ian, falling to his knees by the side of the bed.
"Ian," she managed to croak out, "I was so lost...but I heard you..."
Before she could say more, he was scooping her up in his strong arms. Encircling her and holding her close. She tried again to speak, ask what was happening, but his mouth found hers. His kiss stole her breath and spread a warmth through her body.
From outside Ian's warm embrace, she heard Simon let out an irritated growl, "Oh for God's sake, stop molesting her, O'Shea."
Ian released her and to Wanda's humiliation, she flopped back onto the bed like a limp doll. She seemed to have no strength at all. Sucking in a breath, she managed to whisper out, "W-What's g-going on?"
"What's going on?" repeated Simon with a scowl. "Well, let's see." He counted away on his hand with a sarcastic glower. "First, you and that idiot Long Rivers thought it would be a good idea to dump you into Mia's neck. Second, in Mia's body, you took a trip down her memory lane. Third, you then screamed your head off about Vultures and went on to give Mia a grand mal seizure. Fourth, Long Rivers puts you back in your original body, or as original as anything your kind have stolen. And fifth, that was about twelve hours ago and now we have a squad of Seekers outside the door demanding to take Mia."
Wanda felt her body tremble as the events of last night came back to her. "Mia is..."
"In a coma," came Annie's sharp response. Rolling her head to the side, Wanda saw Simon's wife sitting beside the hotel room's second bed where Mia lay unmoving. "You nearly killed her."
What little strength she possessed drained away and Wanda sagged into the bed, despairing over the damaged she had done. She had never meant for this to happen. Not to cause more lives to be lost. Tears began to swell in her eyes.
"The weapons are nearly ready."
She stiffened, remembering the translated words of the Vultures.
There was more banging from the outside and loud shouts. Ian started speaking, his words coming out in a rush as he tried to talk over the outside noise. It was all too much, Wanda could not form the simplest of thoughts as she was assailed by the chaos of the outside world and the terrible knowledge gained from Mia's memories.
"Please, Ian," she begged. "Slow down...what's happening outside?"
Ian stopped and let out a shuddering exhale of frustration and anxiety. He must have been so worried about her. Beginning again, this time, slower, he explained how a group of Seekers had arrived earlier to collect Mia. Seeker Jade's host body had been safely stored and Jade herself waited in a cryotank to be inserted into the girl. Long Rivers and Nigel had tried their best to explain what had happened last night and repeatedly emphasized Mia was in no position to have another Soul placed into her. But the Seekers were adamant Mia be turned over to them. They wanted to see the memories for themselves. It would be regrettable if Mia were lost, but the information she had was too valuable. Their demands only served to enrage the Humans. They barricaded their home on the second floor the hotel to block the Seekers. The outside noise she was hearing were the Seekers steadily and methodically taking apart the Humans' hastily improvised barriers.
"I-I need to speak with the Seekers," said Wanda after she digested Ian's account.
Along with Annie, Simon was now checking on Mia, their backs to her as they performed an examination. But Simon's sarcastic wit had not gone anywhere. "Oh, you've got the magic words to make them leave us alone?"
"They don't need Mia," rasped Wanda. "I've seen them...I've seen it all..."
Ian's faced twisted with added worries. "Then the Vultures are really there at the Facility?"
She nodded. "It's so much worse than we thought. We've been so blind..."
A crunch and then another bang came from outside the room. Ian, Simon, and Annie had sealed themselves in here, the very last line of defense. Just before she had woken up, they had heard Scott and Jason being dragged away by the Seekers. Neither one was exactly sure what the Seekers were doing to the other Humans, but it could not be good.
Even though she felt like she had just run a hundred miles and could barely lift her head, Wanda steeled herself. "I can stop them," she insisted, "let them in. I will make them listen."
Simon fixed her with a very long and very intense stare. "I can't make up my mind if you are very brave or very stupid." He held up a small blade, a surgical scalpel. "This was all I able to keep after the Seekers stormed in here the first time. All my medical interments confiscated. Too many worries I might turn my tools on your kind."
He reached out with his free hand, and Annie took hold with a fierce grip. They shared a silent look which held more than any amount of words could ever convey. Holding the scalpel just as tightly as he held his wife, Simon turned to face the door. The last flimsy barrier keeping the Seekers out. "I can get one or two of them before they get me," he said grimly as the door began to creak.
"No! Please!" implored Wanda. "You don't need to do that! I know Jade and the Seekers have been unfair to you..."
"Unfair!" snapped Annie. "Do you ever have a gift for understatement."
Still kneeling next to her, Wanda could feel Ian bristle. "Hey! Let Wanda try. We aren't going to get out of this mess any other way."
"A mess she put us in," shot back Simon.
Any more debate was abruptly cut off as the door to the outside was flung open and darkly dressed Seekers pushed into the room, weapons at the ready. Their focus went immediately to Simon and his small blade. Swiftly and surely they took aim at the Human they saw as a threat.
Annie let out a cry as the Seekers target Simon.
Wanda was never quite sure how she managed it, but she forced her small fatigued body out of the bed. The hotel room where they had barricaded was cramped and the space between her bed and the door only a short distance. She jumped the gap, her arms and legs an uncoordinated jumble as she desperately tried to stop the unfolding tragedy. The lead Seeker, his eyes centered on Simon, suddenly widened in surprise as she clumsily flung herself in between the doctor and incoming Seekers.
The gun barked. Something stung her, hot and hard. Ian screamed. And then she was falling to the ground.
AN: The biology of the spiders and their vulnerability is of course made up, but I've been wanting to put them into a fight for a while. Hopefully it comes off sounding believable. The whole Reckoning chapter is getting to be a little long. But I promise it will be wrapped up in my next installment. Till then...
