12-. The Diablo's Crusade
Pt. 2
Watching every move so as not to knock over any of the dirty dishes, Ronnie put the tray in which her grandmother had brought her dinner a few hours ago into the sink and trying not to make any noise loud enough to wake anyone up, she went out into the dining room of her grandparents' apartment confident that she had managed to go completely unnoticed.
Tiptoeing, she was just about to reach the front door when the lights in the room flickered on and a pair of shadows settled at her back. The girl didn't have to turn around to guess that she had been discovered by the people she specifically didn't want to disturb.
"You see, dear? I told you it wasn't a thief... but that doesn't mean I'm calmer, now you tell me, what are you doing awake at this hour?" After letting out a mute curse, Ronnie had no choice but to turn around and face her grandparents. "Do you think that by sleeping at this hour you'll be able to get up tomorrow to go to school, Ronalda?"
"But it's not that late, Grandma, it's not even eleven o'clock... besides I don't feel so sick to my stomach anymore and..."
"Stomach? I thought you said you couldn't have dinner with us because you were so busy with your homework for tomorrow."
Ronalda cursed herself again when she realized rather late that she had forgotten her own excuse. She rarely managed to fool her grandparents and whenever the senile couple discovered her they always punished her severely. She was already resigning herself to her inevitable punishment and lecture but before Hector could start listing the rebellious and misguided behaviors he noticed in his granddaughter, which he did whenever he was angry, it was Rosa who spoke first.
"Hector, please don't, didn't you say it was already too late at night? Let's scold her tomorrow at breakfast when her mother is present!" The older man's gaze shifted from his granddaughter, still dazed in the doorway, to his wife. The woman didn't seem too happy about being forced to leave her warm bed in the middle of the night... it would be best to obey without complaint or squeamishness.
Without making eye contact with his wife, Hector turned on his heels and started walking back to his room, "In the meantime I propose that we all go to sleep at once. Good night Ronnie."
"And as for you, chamaca," said Rosa grinding her teeth in front of Ronnie Anne's face as soon as her husband's silhouette disappeared behind the door of their room, "you better go to sleep, do you hear me?"
As soon as she heard those words being snarled intimidatingly into her neck, Ronnie turned again towards the door to leave her grandparents' apartment once and for all but before she could even set foot out of it, a claw-like hand closed over her left arm and with a strong tug pulled her back into the department.
Despite it being mid-November, a little cold sweat began to trickle down the young girl's forehead as she felt her grandmother's stern gaze still focused on her. Perhaps she hadn't completely escaped the scolding after all.
"But before you go to bed, which you should have done a while ago, I want you to say hello to your man for me, okay?" And with a mischievous smile and a slight push she pulled her granddaughter into the hallway that separated the two apartments and closed the door behind her, leaving the embarrassed teen alone.
Running out of the chance to argue with her grandmother with the usual "he's just a friend!", Ronnie had no choice but to enter her mother's apartment and sneak into her room with all possible caution.
After entering her small room, once a simple closet, Ronalda let out a sigh of relief and forgetting all pretense of going unnoticed she threw herself on her bed falling face first on the mattress a few inches away from her laptop.
Not too bothered by the bump on her forehead and using the fingers of her right hand to comb her hair a little, the girl reactivated the video call and immediately afterwards a pale, distracted face appeared covering most of the screen; happy to discover that "her man" was also giving himself an impromptu combing of his hair.
"Come on hair, mate with me and I'll...!" Lincoln's face lit up red as he saw his lady-friend reconnect sooner than expected. As fast as humanly possible he moved both hands away from his unruly locks and continued with the conversation as if nothing had happened. "Oh! Hi Ronnie, you didn't take long at all to come and go and... I guess everything went well."
Behind the albino boy she could only see an empty living room and an old television off, the lights in the living room and the dining room were on and you could hear some voices and noises in the background. Even though it was late at night, no one in the Loud house was getting ready to sleep.
"Nah, my grandparents caught me halfway through and promised to make my life miserable tomorrow morning for not going to bed early," A deafening noise of pots and pans clanging together interrupted her. Frowning hastily, Lincoln turned to his right, right at the dining room of his home, and the noise stopped immediately, "although it seems that only city folk get scolded for staying up late... you and your sisters know that today is Sunday and that tomorrow is not a holiday, right?"
"What can I say? It's the advantage of our parents only being able to spend one night alone during their anniversary," a slight blush settled on Lincoln's cheeks and if only for an instant a genuine smile lit up his face, except where his skin was covered with scars, giving him a younger, more innocent look, a look Ronnie could hardly see anymore. "For the next ten days we will be celebrating the birthdays of seven of my sisters which means that for the next ten days none of us will have to go to school."
From the dining room came some cheers and whistles celebrating Lincoln's words, Ronnie could recognize the voices of some of the albino's sisters. Everyone in the Loud house seemed to be in excellent spirits and the Latina wanted to get involved, if only from a distance, in the happiness.
"One week off from school. That's great! Even by my new standards of city coolness... in fact it's way too cool for the Lincoln Loud I know... tell me! What have you done to my friend?!" Both teenagers laughed heartily at the comment, Ronnie being careful not to let her laughter wake her mother and Lincoln being careful not to let his sisters see him blush and smile like a fool.
"God, Ronnie! You don't know how much I needed to laugh like that... I really needed..." and though he was still smiling, Lincoln's lips relaxed until his perfect white teeth, most of them artificial, stopped showing.
Trying to keep Lincoln from remembering his fight with his best friend for the last nine years, Ronnie hurried to speak" and so, tell me who's the lucky one to open the week of festivities, Linc? I hope it's not Lynn, being the first one to party would make her Lynnsufferable... sorry, I think even Luan would feel sorry for that one huh, Lincoln?"
Contrary to the effect she had hoped to get from her comment and joke, Lincoln's smile disappeared completely and the joy on his pale face was replaced by a serious and empty expression.
"N-no Ronnie, it's not Lynn" Lincoln paused for a moment to sigh, "Leni's the one who would be the first...no, sorry, she's the first of the ten days of birthday parties" the blood instantly froze in Ronnie's body, she had screwed up. "In fact we're getting ready to visit her tomorrow, well her and everyone at the hospital...it'll be something like community service so I'll spare you the details" Lincoln's face changed for a moment from an insensitive expression to one full of pain only to reflect apathy again the next second "I have to go now Ronnie, Lola always overdoes it with sugar and we don't want the cake to give the doctors diabetes..."
She'd screwed it up, and big time, there was no doubt about that. Trying not to sound too desperate, Ronnie managed to get Lincoln's attention before he ended the video call. The idea that was beginning to form in her mind was risky, to say the least, but there was no way in hell she was going to let the "viedo call" with her best friend end on a sour note.
"Lincoln... I don't think I ever got to give you your birthday present... and maybe this won't make up for it completely but at least it would be something, wouldn't it?" partially overcoming her natural shyness, Ronnie put one of her hands into her hoodie pocket and took out her cell phone, without taking more than half a minute she chose one of the many pictures she had taken last weekend after Carlota had practiced her hair and make-up on her... and without thinking too much not to chicken out, she sent a picture to Lincoln. "I hope this doesn't go to your head, you hear me Loud?!"
Lincoln's smile returned to his face as he saw his friend so embarrassed and nervous. Amused by the way the Latina avoided looking him in the eye, he asked, "Why would a message from you go to my head?"
"I don't know... why don't you open it and find out for yourself?" Ronnie replied in the best imitation she was capable of of of the flirtatious tone her cousin and aunt used... and very rarely her own mother when she thought no one was watching.
"I don't have my cell phone with me, I give it to Lucy and Lily to watch the last episodes of... of a show they watch" the girl's blood froze for the third time in the day, Lincoln, noticing it, couldn't do more than ask worriedly. "Ronnie, are you all right? What did you send me...?"
But before Lincoln could finish his question, a piercing, high-pitched, and utterly panicked scream rang out from behind the albino, interrupting him; a scream that had surely been heard throughout the whole neighborhood.
"Ronalda, what did you send me?!"
Ronnie Anne struggled to find her voice, to tell him that she had sent only a picture, a not-so-innocent picture showing just a little more skin than usual because she was only wearing a towel. But just as the girl just managed to pull herself together and was beginning to stammer out her first excuses, a girl with black hair and a bright red face approached from the dining room towards the computer in the living room and her big brother.
"Next time you want to send each other these... things," Lucy spat out the last word and her body shivered almost imperceptibly under her black dress, "do it when an innocent baby isn't using the device, will you? Lily's still too young to see things like that."
And with an even redder face, if such a thing were possible, Lucy handed the cell phone back to Lincoln, who, realizing what his "birthday present" had been, was beginning to blush like his sister and Ronnie on the other side of the computer screen.
"Don't worry, Daddy!" Lily exclaimed happily after following Lucy into the living room. Unaware of the awkward atmosphere she had helped create, the little girl wrapped her arms around her big brother. "I've seen girls like that before! Like Luna's friend, Sam."
"What?!" Lincoln and Lucy shouted at the same time.
All the sounds of the Loud house suddenly fell silent after the words of the youngest of the clan. The sisters, who until that moment had stayed away from the living room and their brother's video call, began to gather in the room with looks of shock and terror.
Believing that her sisters, and "daddy", were upset with her, and not absolutely furious with the alleged child molester who had been dishonest on them all for years, Lily lowered her head and apologetically spoke again.
"I wanted to play a video game but Lana was out with Lola and you weren't home to turn on the game console so Luna lent me her cell phone. Her gallery is full of pictures and videos of Sam's..."
"Lily!" Luna shouted in complete embarrassment. Her cheeks were beginning to flush and her eyes were watering.
But no one paid much attention to the rocker anymore. All the Louds suffered a mixture of equal parts shame and relief, relief that Luna's girlfriend wasn't a sick degenerate who was lurking after their baby sister. Luan began to laugh nervously as the expressions of all her sisters softened. Even Lincoln hugged the little blonde baby and allowed himself to let out a few laughs of relief.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Louds seemed to have forgotten about Lincoln's "birthday present" and that she was still on video call, Ronnie disconnected. She turned off the laptop and tossed the device onto the pile of clothes farthest away from the bed only to focus completely on her cell phone. Terrified she discovered that Wassup no longer allowed her to delete the photo she had just sent.
-o-
Trying to contain all her anger, fear, and spite, Ronnie opened the door through which Mrs. Kernicky had exited a few moments before. With what little vision the tears of courage gave her, she made out an elegantly furnished room, a few oil paintings and a set of finely carved wooden furniture reigning over the room. Of the dozen or so acolytes present none turned around to face her even though Ronnie had slammed the door as she entered; their bodies covered in somber red robes and coarse cloth gave them all the stereotypical image of a random satanic worshiper. Behind them, an older man, stocky and rather tall for his age was kneeling over the unconscious body of her Aunt Frida.
As soon as their gazes met, both she and Brother Blood froze in their places. The acolytes finally turned and the air in the room began to warm.
Despite being aware of the untimely manner in which her 'sneak attack' was unfolding. Ronnie found a moment to study her opponent and felt hopelessly intimidated after doing so... because she managed to read the old man's confident expression in front of her without any problems.
From the direct way they had been attacking her the last few days, Ronnie guessed that Brother Blood's church had infiltrated the highest levels of local government.
The fact that the cult leader no longer made the slightest effort to hide his identity made Ronnie Anne realize that she wouldn't get out of the fight alive if she didn't act seriously. She had to remember why she had gone into the very center of the cult, remember what her mission was «Burn everything and everyone» a voice in her mind told her.
"Sebastian Blood!" Ronalda wailed, trying not to shake her voice, "You can't hide behind puppets anymore!"
She hoped to get some sort of reaction with her words but all she got was Sebastian smirking, showing his teeth in a sneer filled grimace but instead of laughing as she thought he would, the white haired man just straightened up in his place how tall he was, even more intimidated, Ronnie wanted to take a step back as she discovered that the older man was not only tall, but quite burly as well.
"I am...!" the man's expression changed in an instant as did his tone of voice, "I am... I am the puppet, the puppet that carries out her every command," and as soon as he uttered those words, the expression on the aged face changed again, "now go away and don't come back... or meet your doom, little girl!"
Ronnie's arms and legs trembled as her hands became engulfed in orange flames. She stretched her arms forward as far as she could in a foolish attempt not to damage her friend's clothes. Then something clicked in her brain, the clothes she was wearing weren't hers...they were her only friend's clothes in town and she had to avenge her.
"I won't keep running away," she replied, rejecting Brother Blood's suggestive promise with a groan and a shaken voice. And instead of putting her emotions aside to coolly concentrate on the fight, Ronnie summoned all her bad feelings from the river of memories running through her mind and used them to fuel the fire.
The acolytes snorted and gasped before abandoning their upright posture, bent their legs slightly and spread their feet apart, ready to surround the heretic girl. Ronnie would not allow them to corner her. She lunged at the leader with both hands covered in flames above her head. The old man pulled away from her at the last instant, he was certainly agile, but he didn't manage to keep one of the girl's burning palm from striking his shoulder. The resulting burn was intense, enough for Brother Blood to lose his balance and fall heavily to the polished stave floor, his wound beginning to bleed copiously. The man writhed in pain and tried to cover the entire burn with both hands.
The Latina was about to annihilate her enemy with a great flare when she saw out of the corner of her eye that the other cultists had finally surrounded her.
Ronnie turned just in time to see an acolyte leap towards her, the face behind the red robe resembling the face of a hyena with grey fur and black claws for fingers, ready to tear her face. Ronnie managed to deflect the attacker's claws with her arms, sending the hyena-creature crashing into another acolyte whose gray, misshapen skin of face and arms sported seams and rips planned to mimic the sackcloth of a scarecrow. As soon as she did that the flames that covered her hands went out; she was tired after all, she hadn't eaten or slept well for days. «Now I would like to surrender, please» she thought as she struggled to catch her breath.
Sebastian Blood sat up quickly behind Ronnie's back, attentive to every movement of the young Latina as with both legs and one hand, the other still covering his wound, he leaned on the ground. Their gaze met; Ronalda did not see a sweet little old man, she did not see the trusted leader of a charitable congregation, before her was only the empty and absent gaze of the evil being who had taken everything from her. Ronalda's fury returned and with it the flames grew again in her hands, only this time intermittently. Brother Blood lunged at her and Ronnie went running to meet him. When the old man tried to punch her with the only hand he had free, Ronnie slipped under the arm that was headed for her face and grabbing one of his shoulders spun behind him and ended up riding on his back. She'd applied that move a hundred times. A fiery hand embedded itself in the man's throat, sinking swiftly into the flesh like warm butter until it stopped at the bones of the throat. Mounted as she was on top of the old man it was only enough to kick behind his legs to force him to his knees as he squealed like a pig in the slaughterhouse from the burns spreading across his body. Then she embedded her other fire-engulfed hand on his clean-shaven chin, preventing him from breathing or moving his head and hurting him badly at the same time. A long time ago, almost in another life, she had learned to do that move to immobilize and humiliate those who picked on her at school. Ronnie Anne, the only Latina girl in the whole town, was good at fighting bullies. Her mother said worried that it was in her nature to fight. One day she even managed to show off for her only friend's family by pinning down the star athlete of practically every student athletic club in town in a similar fashion. She had done it while they were playing wrestling, but the expressions of surprise and celebration from all the Loud sisters and him had made her feel much better than she was used to, that moment had made her feel accepted and loved. But that had been a long time ago, almost in another life.
And now Ronalda, almost at the end of her rope, was fighting to subdue a dangerous man and keep his club of lunatic followers at bay, a dangerous cult full of bloodlust. She wasn't in the backyard of a cozy suburban home, or fighting in the neat hallways of an elementary school. She was in real danger. She could feel the way her arms and the flames that covered them gave way to exhaustion. As soon as her strength faded, the other acolytes would finish her off. «Yup... now I would really like to give up.»
Her weakness irritated a part of her mind. The voices in her head reminded her of everything that had been taken from her, everything she'd lost; her mother... Nikki and the boys... and the certainty that even if she was victorious in the battle she'd never get her life back, she'd lost the world. Then, letting out a primal scream, she pulled Sebastian's chin and neck hard in opposite directions. The bones of his neck and both collarbones gave way, allowing the man's head to turn more than two hundred degrees toward his back.
As soon as she snapped Brother Blood's neck, the rest of the hooded cultist collapsed under their own weight, sputtering and trembling. One of them, a particularly large and burly acolyte, the one closest to the corpse and by extension Ronalda, slumped forward forcing the girl to leap backwards to avoid the humanity that nearly fell on her.
Against all predictions, Ronnie had managed to defeat the leader of the Church of Blood without taking any damage... or so she thought as she saw Sebastian Blood's lifeless and burning body and his now unconscious puppets at her feet. She was so relieved to have gotten her revenge on the one she believed was responsible for her suffering that she didn't notice someone approaching her from behind until she felt a pair of cold, slender hands firmly grasp her left arm and twist it until the elbow cracked to the pressure and after a sharp snap it bent unnaturally until it hit her back.
The pain from the fracture and the little adrenaline that still coursed through her veins allowed her to break free from the grip of that new enemy with a weak flare that was extinguished almost instantly.
With tears beginning to trickle down her face, Ronalda turned as quickly as she could and found herself staring into the face of a silver-haired woman with a pair of eyes that glowed with a strange red light. Miss Kernicky's face was barely visible in the shadows of the room.
The next few moments were confusing for the Latina.
She watched as a fist came towards her face and hit her with incredible force. She saw her feet leave the ground as her body was thrown upward from the blow. She saw a storm of kicks and punches hit her before her back even hit the ground.
And when all the beating was over, she felt her ribs, which seemed to have become elastic, buckle and give way as her back crashed on one of the hard walls of the place.
The warm yellow light emitting from the decorated lamps in the room was extinguished by the blow, leaving the flames emanating from Sebastian Blood's corpse as the only source of light. The new dancing light seemed to be red to Ronalda as her eyes began to fill with her own blood. And despite suffering from crippling pain in her sides and broken arm, Ronalda did not change her expression of hatred as she watched the old woman approach with a steady, rhythmic pace.
"Did you really think that taking down the leader of the Church of Blood would be that easy? As she approached, Kernicky smiled, baring her teeth menacingly. "It is said that Brother Blood is immortal... that through supernatural means he achieves his goals and I am very close to achieving mine, soon all the gifted of the city will obey me and will march by my side to cleanse this city of all the corruption and filth that sickens it..."
"Dirty tricks to hide from your persecutors and stupid lies to enslave innocent people" A mouthful of blood caught in Ronalda's throat and made her cough, but she did not abandon her expression of hatred and contempt.
Seeing that the Latina's defiant attitude did not relent and that despite her wounds she was still alert and on guard, Kernicky's cruel and aggressive grimace transformed into a pleasant and full smile, a motherly smile like the ones she always showed in the building.
"Oh, my pretty little woman, who would see you now so... so brave and bold?" The old woman tried to put a hand on Ronalda's shattered shoulder, who, although she was weak, tried to hit the old woman without success, "but deep down we both know that you're still just Ronnie Anne."
Kernicky tried to get closer again, this time pinning her victim down by resting one of her knees on the girl's broken ribs. "The same Ronnie Anne who murdered her mother in a blind rage" Ronalda closed her eyes and let out a scream of pain as she felt her ribs and her broken shoulder buckle under the weight of the old geezer who kept her immobile, "you wanted to stop me but you couldn't even save your friends… You didn't even warn them of the danger they were in from being just near you," Kernicky's thin, cold hands clutched at Anne's swarthy cheeks and her fingers forced her eyelids open.
"And now, Ronnie Anne's next big achievement will be to bring her power to the doors of my temple for me to use. And you know what the best part is? That there's no one out there looking for you anymore! Everyone thinks you're responsible for the last fires! Everyone thinks you're a monster to be forgotten!"
Ronalda's teary, terrified gaze met the glowing eyes of the true Sister Blood. Soon, all her courage, fear, and pain were lost in a red light that prevented her from looking away.
Those eyes were filled with an impossible scarlet glow, a menacing glow that sought to control everything, to consume any will and replace it with the imperative voice of the leader of the Church of Blood.
If she did nothing, it would all be over for the girl terrifyingly soon.
-o-
With over one million five hundred six thousand nine hundred fifty square foots of parking for any kind of vehicle, hundreds of different stores, a small garden on the upper floors that offered a great view of the town, famous banks and state-of-the-art ATMs, the "Grand Central" mall was a world apart. With newer and more expensive technology than many of the surrounding town halls in Royal Woods could afford, it was the crown jewel of the town, and the target of the interested eyes of anyone who considered themselves "somebody".
What began as a mere shopping district in the 1960s had become over the years a veritable fortress of luxury and comfort. The brands that owned stores there rose more and more one above the other, as if competing with each other for more space on the four floors that made up the building. Yes, the "Grand Central" plaza was a window from which a few privileged locals could look out over all of Michigan.
For all that, when people spoke of the disproportionate wealth that abounded in the country, that mall was the point of reference par excellence. "Grand Central" represented the profligate and self-indulgent character of all the wealthy of the town, the building was even better known than the Royal Woods delegation painted in mustard color.
As the team of policemen entered the first basement level of "Grand Central", Peter Highsmith could feel the oppressive weight of the structure over his head; so many tons of concrete, steel and glass, crammed with grumbling people and sweating workers keeping the local economy stable, secure and above the minimum necessary level.
He and his team had to wait several days for the public works department to grant them permission to enter and investigate, even sending the same inspector specially trained to identify toxic chemicals who had found the previous clandestine labs. The delegation would no longer ignore the increasing cases of people poisoning themselves inside the plaza, not now that they finally had evidence to back up their suspicions that something bad was going on in town.
The ultraviolet lights the inspector had brought with her found hundreds of minor leaks in the water and heating pipes, but any trace of a truly dangerous substance was still missing, surely it remained confused with the countless footprints and mysterious puddles that covered the ground.
"Unless we find something soon that shows otherwise, we still have no proof that our 'toxin' is actually in the pipes in this basement," Inspector McCann said, setting her special flashlight down on the floor. "If it was really here, it could have leaked from here into the sewer and then flowed freely to Moore Street or even to West Avenue."
"In other words, our evidence might as well be here as in any other building in town," added Pamela Foster, the fat officer about to have a heart attack from her claustrophobia.
"Probably."
Highsmith turned to look down the plumbing-filled hallway they had come through.
"Is it possible that we missed something along the way?"
"To us... yes, probably; but not to the UV lanterns or my sensors, such a thing is impossible."
Highsmith pointed to the cement-stained floor.
"Why do the stains end up here, just like that, all of a sudden?"
The red-haired inspector bit her lip to hide her smile before answering.
"Maybe our chemicals and toxins sprouted wings and flew away. Unless you're suggesting that maybe someone cleaned the place before we arrived," she thought for a moment, "in which case it's highly unlikely that we can prove it."
"Okay, let's not waste any more time and say that the lab we were looking for flew away," Pamela looked angrier than usual. "I'm sure there must have been some residue left in the drains, right?"
The inspector pinched her chin and sighed.
"We're going to need a lot of paperwork."
How many more orders?"
"Too many..."
"How long would it take to get them and investigate the whole place?"
"With all the stores and brands involved, the plumbing and drainage tunnel outfalls, going through the list of supplies purchased in the last few months plus analyzing all the waste that's been discarded lately... I don't even want to guess."
"Then we'll have to make do with checking the outer walls and gates separating the different areas of the square."
"Highsmith, not counting the parking lot and five floors of basement, this mall has three million two hundred twenty-nine thousand one hundred eighty square foots of construction. Wall-by-wall analysis would take several weeks... and I don't think they'll send me support to cover more ground," the inspector said cautiously. "The sooner we get started, the better."
Pamela pulled out her radio, she was about to broadcast the latest news to the entire squadron and order the retreat when the floor and walls shook.
"What was that, an earthquake?" asked the officer nervously.
Both the inspector and Agent Highsmith remained silent and shook their heads.
A second tremor shook the basement. The latter was strong enough to send a shower of dust from the concrete ceiling over their heads.
"I bet something hit the building," Highsmith said. "It wouldn't be the first time a drunk driver swerved off the road and ended up crashing into the mall."
The next tremor came with the sound of a distant explosion. The lights overhead went out for a moment only to come back on moments later, causing the less experienced cadets or officers to shift nervously behind them. They also heard the howl of sirens and horns.
"My radio doesn't work," Pamela commented after hitting the transmit button and hearing nothing but static on any frequency.
"We're underground, it's normal," the inspector explained without pausing in her search for the fluorescent green substance.
That answer did not reassure Highsmith, ever since a certain incident with the largest family in town he could "sense" danger, now all he could sense was frenzy and pain.
"Inspector McCann, which way is the nearest exit?"
"The tunnel on the left will take you to the West Street, the others will take you back to the cistern and from there to the interior of the mall."
"All right, Inspector, Foster and I need to withdraw urgently and we'll take half the men present with us. The others will stay behind to help you evacuate the building. Keep me informed of progress."
Surrounded by a dozen men, the two agents raced away. The floor vibrated again as they pushed their way through a crowd of terrified shoppers and vendors, even some of the local private security trying to get away from "Grand Central". Before the cops was a scene worthy of a typical movie shootout.
In the huge parking lot, customers and dispatchers hid under taxis and private vehicles, or ran to their cars in an attempt to flee. Shouting struggled with the representative hum of traffic. Further up West Street, taxis and transports of all kinds swerved in every direction, crashing into each other or into the walls of buildings as they tried to get away from the center of town.
Further still, a trailer engulfed in flames that was still moving in a straight line rammed violently with a public transportation bus and both vehicles ended up blocking the entire street.
Highsmith continued to watch the street scene for a few more seconds before looking up and shielding his eyes from the dusk light with one hand. The distant buildings burned faintly, nothing that could be considered deadly but would surely scare several civilians.
Suddenly something darkened the sky. Behind the thick clouds above his head, lights and flashes resembling shots of electrical energy were seen; a kind of thunder but much larger reverberated in the firmament.
Pamela's eyes were wild as she turned to look at her partner and superior.
"Peter, someone's attacking Royal Woods."
With his radio in his hand, Highsmith tuned in to the headquarters frequency and held it up to his ear.
"We're still unable to communicate with headquarters or the other patrol cars... Foster, we're cut off."
Highsmith's nostrils flared.
"We will hold this position until help arrives and we can begin evacuating the civilians!" he shouted to the men behind him. He turned to his partner and said, "You find the mayor... she's probably in her private office on the top floor."
-o-
She was walking, moving slowly up a steep, grey grassy slope. No noise could be heard. The things there were not at all familiar to her. Yet she knew the path she was on; in the distance was the huge river that appeared in her visions.
She tried to hurry on her way but found that a strange, black mud began to envelop her feet, making it difficult to move forward normally. However, Ronnie did not waver in her resolve to reach the river. Slowly she moved forward one foot and then the other. She advanced step by step, each step representing an effort. And each step more painful than the last.
Everything in that place was still. Not a breath of breeze stirred the gray plants and the branches of the few leafless trees on that steep hillside, nor did she hear any animal noises. In all that misty, gray valley only the river and she moved. Ronnie finally reached the edge of the immense body of water and saw there submerged the same women who spoke in her mind. But as she tried to dive into the water she found that the tide was moving away from the shore as she approached it, always keeping the same distance from each other, she also found that the mysterious mud now covered her above her calves and although she was no longer moving, the mud continued to sink her, swallowing her up little by little.
Then she understood, she had failed in her mission... she had failed the voices in her head and she would never be able to mend her mistake.
"Hold on!" Ronalda Manzano barked at her gran-granddaughter from the very edge of the river, "Just hold on!"
But the mud was already beginning to reach her shoulders and to take the breath out of her lungs because of its weight. In desperation, Ronnie could only scream for help and waved her hands. She wasn't ready to give up yet, but she didn't have the strength to keep fighting.
The mud was already covering her head and she had almost no air left in her lungs when she felt several hands, all of them the same, clinging to hers. All the hands were small and trembling, the hands of frightened little girls just like her.
-o-
As soon as she regained consciousness, Ronalda coughed up blood. As Kernicky's face was so close to hers, the bloody spittle ended up hitting the old woman's forehead, causing Sister Blood to close her eyes and take a couple of steps away from her victim.
Straining to breathe without choking on her own blood, Ronalda raised her head, and though she was no longer surrounded by the scarlet glow, all her eyes could see was a solitary painting on the opposite wall of the hall, the image of an owl framed by smoke and chaos, with huge, round eyes, and the effect of the dancing light of the fire that streamed from Sebastian Blood's body made it look as if the bird were flapping its wings. And then she saw something, the intense eyes of the creature, its elegant and serious gestures, were the same as the eyes and gestures of the women in her visions. Just like those of the girl who had been saved by Nikki.
"All right, all you had to do was ask me to put you out of your misery!" Kernicky roared as she wiped the blood from her face with one hand.
The old woman prepared herself and taking a little extra distance to throw one last kick with all her might, she lunged forward. But she could no longer finish Ronalda off with one last blow; the fire had been rekindled in the Latina's body and was now so hot that even Kernicky, with her almost unnatural control of her body and stamina, had to move a couple more steps away.
But Anne wasn't satisfied with just that show of strength; trying not to move her chest, the girl stood up. Then the fire that covered her grew even greater in size and intensity. The stave on the floor began to catch fire. The stones of the wall she was leaning against turned into an incandescent rock as the heat of the flames began to concentrate in one place; Ronalda had completely covered herself in a cocoon of fire.
The metal of the frames of all the nearby paintings began to flow freely as the canvases they once protected were burned in silence. The areas of the rock wall Ronnie had leaned against to stand up began to drip as if they were mere candle wax.
But Kernicky wouldn't let that silly girl burn the whole building in one last tantrum. Using her powers to control the will of everyone under her dominion, she ordered some of her acolytes, the one with the scarecrow face and a pair of twins with short red hair, to throw themselves into the flames and with their bodies finish breaking Ronalda's bones.
The three obeyed, but before any of the trio of puppets could get close enough, a flash of orange light, so intense it almost seemed white, blinded them all, Ronalda's silhouette was completely devoured by fire and the temperature in the room reached an impossible limit. A wave of embracing heat brought the puppets of Sister Blood, and the old woman herself, to their knees, all struggling to simply breathe.
Then Kernicky realized that there was nothing she could do with Ronalda in this state but wait for the last of her strength to burn out and once she was completely drained of power, finally kill her. Using a piece of the red robe of one of her pupets as a mask so that she could breathe as the temperature rose, Kernicky began to move towards the cellar's exit. But she hadn't even taken a couple of shaky steps when a geyser of fire exploded behind her, causing her to stumble and fall right next to Sebastian Blood's corpse. Where the fireball had been, now stood a humanoid creature, tall and intimidating as its head reached up to touch the ceiling of the basement, setting it ablaze where the two touched. A skeleton of bones that seemed to be made of rock that melted and hardened continuously, covered in orange flames that formed a crown of feathers at intervals.
A will greater than any ordinary human being could possess had transformed a girl into the infernal creature spoken of in the legends of the first Indigenous who had arrived after much travel to the territory that would become Michigan over the years, the same creature spoken of by some peoples in northern Mexico... Kernicky knew of those legends and stories because she had relied on them to investigate the whereabouts of that girl "touched by the devil" who had been banished from her ancestral home so many decades ago.
"There's a little girl somewhere. A little girl who is afraid." The creature said without moving its skeletal jaw as it approached the old woman on the ground. "She's afraid of what others will think of her. After all, she will be a leader and support figure for her kind," the skeletal face was blurred by a surge of heat and for a single instant it looked like the creature's face was that of a young indigenous girl, her skin irritated and ulcerated from the sun and malnutrition. "
She fears that the others will hate her for being born elsewhere and for having customs different from their own" and the face changed again, now a woman with the tired, sad look of a pilgrim.
"They make her feel bad just for being who she is so she decides to keep to herself and hide her aspirations and dreams from others" now the creature had the face of the hated woman who stopped her plans for almost half a century; Ronalda Manzano.
"But once she decides she will never be afraid again. Even in a place where she's different from everyone else she strives to be happy... I thought that by wishing for it I would get it..." and finally Ronnie Anne's face was revealed, just like the previous ones only for an instant before being replaced by the skull of fire. "There's a little girl somewhere... she's inside me. They're all inside me. And we won't be afraid anymore."
The thing walked up to the Sister Blood until it was a couple of steps away. The heat emanating from the Devil's body was enough to scorch Kernicky's skin. The old woman closed her eyes and waited for the blow with which the creature would end her life, but it was not to be. As her flesh began to boil over her bones and her eyes burned like coals in their sockets, she heard a thin body collapse next to hers.
With her last bit of strength Ronalda had not only destroyed her body but had also taken away her ability to use other people by burning out her eyes, but the girl had also used all her power and now rested motionless on the ground beside her enemy and the unconscious puppets.
"Too bad you tried so hard only to fail at the last moment, Santiago," Kernicky's voice sounded hollow and hoarse, like the hollow sound of a flute split in half.
"I may die along with you, but at least all the people you've used will be saved and will tell the police about everything you've done. It's over!"
Ronalda no longer expected any response to her words, so she was surprised when the next thing she heard from the wasted and burned old woman beside her was an impossibly vigorous laugh.
"Look around you, child. The whole place is being devoured by flames!" Sister Blood's words were followed by babbles and groans from the "acolytes", finally awakening from the mind control they had been under. "Do you really think any of my gifted ones will be saved once the roof gives way to the weight of the building over our heads? THEY WILL NOT LEAVE HERE ALIVE!"
At Kernicky's final taunt, Ronalda felt she had to get up once more to continue fighting for her life and the lives of others but as she tried to stand up she accidentally leaned on her broken arm. The intense pain paralyzed both her legs and her breathing, causing her to fall onto her face and onto her shattered ribs; causing her more agonizing pain than she was already in.
As soon as she heard the young Latina's pained sobbing, the old woman began to laugh with renewed strength, it seemed she would never stop laughing but even her amusement stopped when she heard a deep and intense groan from near her other side.
Fighting the agonizing pain that assaulted her chest with every breath she took, Ronalda managed to turn enough to see the hulking acolyte that had nearly crushed her during her fight with Sebastian regain consciousness. Tubes and small ducts filled with fluorescent green snaked through his shredded red tunic... they ran through his forearms and back, pushing his corpulence to a humanly impossible limit.
For a moment, just as he was just waking up, the creature only let out muffled sobs and rocked back and forth while he avoided raising his head and looking around. Seeing the extremely vulnerable and frightened attitude, Ronalda wanted to raise her voice and speak to him, to tell him that everything was alright now and that they wouldn't hurt him again... that was until something to his right caught the creature's attention; seeing the bodies of both Kernicky and Sebastian next to him, the wailing and whimpering gave way to fury and roaring.
Ronalda began to recoil in silence as, in a single blow, the thing made of pure muscle and fury reduced what was left of Sebastian Blood's corpse to pulp. Wasting no time, the thing raised its bloody knuckles again and unloaded its club once more on Kernicky's head, the old woman hadn't even been able to scream. Then the thing's eyes detected Ronalda... there was very little intelligence in that look, yet she could easily recognize fear and despair... also some faintly familiar traits.
"H-hi"
And as if hearing those kind words hurt him, the mountain of muscles and machinery walked away from his cousin, sobbing. The pipes embedded in his arms and back began to emit a pale, greenish light as his body seemed to grow even larger.
"Carl, w-wait, w-wait, please."
Then, at the sound of his name, the boy lifted his head and turned once more to his cousin, though he didn't come a step closer. Bruises and red spots ran down his neck and shoulders, where his flesh met the tubular implants. An expression of anguish and loss appeared on his small face. And almost like when he was younger and was scolded for mischief, he slowly approached Ronalda, barely holding back tears.
"Easy, Carl," Ronalda crawled toward the immense humanity staggering in her direction, even though every movement was agony. "Dude, I'm so happy to see you're alive!"
One of the "acolytes" stood up in the back of the room, startling Carl and causing him to clutch one of his cousin's hands, as if seeking some kind of protection from the stranger.
A flash from the nearby fire lit up the mutated boy's face. Beneath all the bruises and swelling, he still looked as innocent and lost as any child should after being kidnapped.
«It's over, we're going to die.» Said the voices in Ronalda's head as Carl squeezed with an almost crushing force her unraveling hand as he watched the freed acolyte approach them «but he doesn't have to die here with me, none of them have to die.»
"Carl...? Carl, you have to listen to me!"
She had to slap her free hand several times on his cousin's muscular shoulder to draw his attention away from the dazed acolyte struggling to move forward and the others barely awake.
"There's a way out," said Ronnie. "It's a hidden door in the wall behind me, do you want to come out, right?" The boy's eyes lit up and he shook his head with excessive force, "Great! But first you have to let go of me..."
If she still had any complete bone left in that arm, it would probably have broken when Carl squeezed his fingers harder. The poor boy was too scared to make the trip alone.
"You're going to be all right, man. I promise you, Carl, it's safe," Ronalda slowly and tactfully used her free hand to open the claw that had her broken arm imprisoned, "besides, you have to take Aunt Frida first. Would you do me that favor? Once you've got her out of here you can come back for me and we'll both go home, okay?"
The boy didn't need to be told twice. Quickly moving away from his cousin, Carl took hold of his mother's unconscious body as gently as his new constitution would allow him, and carrying it as if the woman were made of paper, the chemically implanted humanity sped out of the door that Ronalda had left open.
And as soon as she saw them walk away, Ronnie Anne lost consciousness from the pain in her wounds.
-o-
Only when she felt the cold air hit her face did Ronalda realize that she had not been delirious for the past few minutes. She had watched as a group of silent hooded men struggled to stand. She had watched as they all approached her and surrounded her. She had watched as one of them, a bald, bulky, grey-skinned man removed his red robe and covered her with it. And she watched as they lifted her off the ground and carried her through the door and up the stairs.
It wasn't until the "gifted" that had been under Sister Blood's control left her lying on the concrete of a sidewalk that her mind came back to process everything clearly.
The sun was beginning to set on a horizon full of thunderstorms, she was lying half-naked on an icy sidewalk, right next to a burning building where she could still hear some screams of children and caregivers trapped inside.
But neither the hooded men, nor the few orphans and volunteers who had managed to get out moved to help, they were all in shock at the horrific and surreal scene they were witnessing. And when she tried to get up and help on her own, she found that her body couldn't even straighten up; she was beyond exhaustion. She had given her all to stop Kernicky and she could no longer do anything for anyone.
But the voices trapped inside The Hive did not stop in their desperate pleas for help. With each passing second the cries became more desperate. With each passing second one more room filled with flames and one voice was silenced. Help was needed!
"The orphanage!" Ronalda shouted as soon as her lungs gathered the necessary air. "We must do something...! It can't end like this!"
All the "gifted" who had been saved from the fire turned to look at her; even though every movement was torture, Ronalda struggled to crawl back into the flames. She was willing to die in order to remedy the situation.
The scene of that teenage girl struggling with her broken body to do something impossible was the impetus for everyone to break their initial stupor.
"Maybe we can do something," said the hyena-faced woman, "if we can make a small breach in one of the walls, people might..."
And then she fell unconscious in the middle of the group. Carl let out a yelp and put one of his burly hands to his neck before he fanietd just like the gray-furred woman a moment before; Ronalda, as well as the scarecrow man, saw that several darts were embedded in the boy's muscular back. He and the bald man who had given her his tunic to cover her naked body tried to flee the scene but they hadn't even taken a couple of steps when they also fell unconscious.
It was then that Ronalda felt a needle plunge into her shoulder and inject her with a cold substance, she felt fatigue immediately as well as a pair of arms grabbing her by the armpits and pulling her into a black van she hadn't seen before. The last thing her eyes saw was the orphanage beginning to collapse in flames.
-o-
The caravan of vehicles in which the "gifted" survivors of the Church of Blood were locked up drove away from the scene just as the fire department and a few police cars arrived to extinguish the wreckage of the orphanage. None of the officers or firefighters noticed for a moment the pickup trucks with no license plates and tinted windows speeding away.
"Doctor Santiago, we captured the target and a group of suspects without casualties," the driver of the flagship vehicle reported over the radio, "shall I report our progress to the White Queen?"
Arturo kept silent for a second until his brother-in-law, Carlos, left the hotel room with Carlota, the man with glasses mustn't listen to his conversation or he would find out that the doctor had changed sides. "Captain, we can't establish any kind of communication with Royal Woods because of the thunderstorm. We'll update the White Queen on all developments when the clouds dissipate... in the meantime proceed as planned."
"Then we'll take them to Belle Reve, over and out."
The doctor threw his cell phone as far away as he could, the device shattering as it hit the wall of the room. He'd turned his back on the Casagrande family again, but at least this way he'd be with his daughter...
That's all folks!