Waltz

by thiswayandthat

[written before the last episode] Everything seems so much more slow now. R for gore.

Waltz

By thiswayandthat

- Carolina Beach, NC, February 2006-

The waves came gently at last, lapping softly at the sand, in a cruel mockery of what sin it had committed just hours ago. There was a large tree trunk propped up on a hidden rock in the dark water, and under it a pair of slitted green-gold eyes watched its kin pull himself slowly, painfully, out of the water. A groove in the coarse land showed his slow progress to the still and silent lump of soaked clothing which he now sat beside. The creature under the trunk swam slowly forward.

Miles Bennett lifted his gaze from his stricken best friend to Nimrod. He blinked blearily and sighed. "Nim... just... just stay there, alright?"

Phil groaned slightly beside him. Miles looked down. The redhead was tensed. Miles twisted painfully around to scan the shore around him. His eyed alighted on a piece of glass a few feet from him - not an uncommon sight, but this one was large and jagged.

And very, very sharp.

Miles heaved himself to his knees, and flopped uselessly back to the ground, albeit slightly closer to his quarry. 'This hurts,' he thought dazedly. 'I need to help Phil. Phil hurts.'

He raised his arms, wincing, and pushed himself up. He groaned at the weight on his battered limbs, but pushed himself forward, and fell again. He glanced up, feeling a slight twinge behind his eyes, and stretched out his arm. The glass cut his hand, and he gasped, but held on, and pulled himself back to Phil.

'This will hurt.'

He closed his eyes and raised the side of the glass to his cheek. He pressed, and felt a sharp pain all over the side of his face. But no blood.

'This will hurt a lot.'

He took a deep breath and turned the glass so the sharpest corner prodded his flesh. He jerked his hand. Red blood fell from from the cut, superficially very shallow, but then something in his face just... burst.

Miles screamed lowly and fell the short distance to the sand. He lay gasping as a greenish blue liquid leaked from the pocket in his face he had just shattered. Shaking, his hand went up to pull some of the substance from his face and pulled it to his chest. He breathed slowly on it and it slowly attained a slightly solid form. He stared at it and picked up the chunk of glass again.

The skin on his side was harder to cut. He jabbed it twice before it broke, and this time there was only a small amount of blood before another greenish substance - more of a grey this time - spurted quickly out. Miles flinched and put down the piece of glass. He tried to pick it up and his fingers burned. He paused for a moment, before moving the blue-green gelatin to his other hand. The burning stopped.

'Oh.'

He moved it back to the original hand and picked up the greenish gray one. It faded to a silvery gray and no longer burned his hand. He shifted so he could see Phil's face. He dropped the gelatin into Phil's mouth and somehow coaxed it down his friend's throat. 'This is harder than they make it look in movies,' he thought with furrowed eyebrows as he felt it slide slowly down under his hand. The other was easier, though; it seemed to glide after the gelatin on its own accord. Miles pulled away from Phil slowly.

The water was cold. Under the tree it was dark, and the pupils were no longer slits. The creature knew its kin was warm. He inched towards the shore and the two slumped forms laying on the sand. Dried blood ran down the groove where Miles Bennett had struggled to his friend, and Nimrod smeared it in the wet sand with his feet and tail. He lay beside his kin and slept, and envisioned was the broiling and thrashing water, and the dock under which he and the others hid, and the boy hanging on desperately to the ladder of the boat, and the ominous green lightening in the distance.

- Chicago, IL, February 2006 -

Laura Daughtrey found that her fate had perfected the art of irony, and she was annoyed.

She sat quietly in the Sulzer Regional Library, flipping through an aquarium manual which she didn't like. This was one of the few, though; the Library had a surprisingly good selection for a public library. The material was mostly more simple than what she was used to, but she had found some books which would help her. Hot vent ecosystems were definitely not helping her now; southeast Asian swamps would be so much more welcome now. But she would take what she could get. Laura only hoped what she had read was true.

She needed to look a few things up on the internet to confirm, but... 'I have to get some sort of job, or someplace to stay, or... anything. Oh my God, how did this all happen?'

She almost let the book fall from her limp fingers, but she caught it and snapped it closed, listening to the sound echo. It went into the pile of books she had read, and there were no more in the unread pile. She didn't know the guidelines for out-of-staters borrowing books, and she didn't want her name put down right now. Eventually, but definitely not now. She carefully and slowly reshelved all the texts she'd pulled out - quite a few. She sat for a long time before leaving, and she walked in the too-full streets with no cars. She made her way to the utterly empty Lake Shore Drive; there were buses running along the highway at thirty minute intervals. Even so, it was almost an hour later that she walked up the grand front stairs of the Shedd Aquarium.

- Carolina Beach, NC, February 2006 -

Nimrod was away catching fish when Phil finally woke up. Miles viewed this as a stroke of good luck, as the first thing his best friend did was scream, flail, and hit Miles over the head. This might have been because Miles had been waving a burned fish around and had hit him with it, but the sleep he had been caught in was a restless one in either case. Miles was simply glad he had conscious human company again.

Phil was groaning on the ground. He was talking, too, and that was good. "I feel like hell, man..."

"Uh," said Miles. "Yeah. I know. ...I did too, when I first woke up."

Phil rolled over and got sand in his eyes. He tried to rub it it out, failed, and squinted at the wide-eyed boy sitting next to him. "Dude, what happened to your face?"

Miles smiled. "You just hit it."

"No, I mean that... You don't see that much blood anywhere except hospitals, man."

"Oh...yeah, uh... I cut it."

"...Why?" asked Phil incoherently.

"I don't know. I just did."

Phil got up slowly, in the pained manner of all his actions so far. He looked around.

The ground was sand, and the tall grass was greenish yellow, and mostly bent, down the slope. Phil was partly amazed it was all still there. 'So we're... by the beach.' He could hear the water, and he shivered. Miles had apparently turned into an impromptu boyscout, because some drier bits of grass were in a small pile next to some ashes, and... a cooking pot. "Where did you get that?"

"Found it in the rubble."

"What?"

Miles gestured away from the crest of the hill into the distance, where, beyond a stand of almost branch-less trees, Phil could see what was, supposedly, once a house. "What...

"What happened?"

"There was a lightening storm with a big wave... and an earthquake. I... stayed in the water. You were on the beach down there. Bruised. Dehydrated, I think... Maybe one of your bones was broken. I don't know. It's okay now."

"But..." Phil waved his hand at the house. "That... It looks like a hurricane came through here, dude..."

"Maybe one did. I don't know. There... There aren't many people around. Li- live ones, anyway..."

Phil slumped down to the ground. "What... what happened to my family...? My mom and dad..."

"I... don't know. I know where Savannah is. She's... mostly okay. I should go see her soon. She might wake up."

Phil's eyes widened slightly, and he choked, "Dude, what about your-"

"They're... not here."

Phil frowned. Miles stared over crest of sand at the water.

The tide went down, and with it went a little more debris, but it left the bodies of the creatures who died in the water. The smell of dead fish wafted over the ridge. Phil's mind cleared, and he remembered Miles bursting into his kitchen the night before the storm. It was darker earlier; Miles had taken him... where?

"I'm... kinda hungry."

"Me too, Phil."

The aquarium. Why? Phil frowned. To see someone... Who...?

"What... what about that girl...Catherine...?"

"Caitlin. Her name was Caitlin."

"Wh-... Is she...?"

"I... can't feel her. Can't smell her. Can't see her... She's gone." Miles stared resolutely out over the water.

"Oh," said Phil tactfully. "Geez... sorry dude."

Miles didn't answer. Phil fidgeted with nothing he wanted to think about. Nimrod waited in the water for Miles to call him.

- Chicago, IL, March 2006 -

Laura was at the desk in Amazon Rising when she first met the girl. It was early, and Laura was predicting a slow day, as she did, and as it was, every day. It was near the end of her shift, and the girl stopped in front of the last tank in the exhibit - a relatively small and inconspicous setup with common tank fish - neons, hatchetfish, some small catfish and a pair of turtles. She frowned and crouched down. Laura, with nothing to do, watched her blatantly. The girl was soon stretched out along the marble base of the tank, and a while later a short woman and small girl approached her. Her face turned to them and marred with a frown and her mouth opened to say something -

"Hey, Laura, end of the shift," said the young man she hadn't noticed sit down next to her. She jumped and cried, "Dan! You scared me!"

"It does tend to be what I'm best at, yeah," her coworker grinned.

"Whatever you say, intern," Laura grumbled.

"Hey, that was low..."

Laura laughed lightly and got up, wandering out of the exhibit to go down to the new exhibit, which was slightly more populated (by people, anyway) than the Amazon exhibit. When she caught sight of the girl cooing at a small gecko, she blinked and she opened her mouth - and closed it, because she didn't know if that was against the rules.

'Against the rules,' she thought. 'I'm starting to think like I'm in school again.'

Then she girl turned around, and something in her eyes sparked, and she ran towards Laura - to slowly press her hands to the glass of a tank next to Laura containing a few bearded dragons. Laura groaned mentally.

"Aww, they're so cute..." she said softly, and Laura, not realizing she was talking to herself, said, "Um, I suppose."

The girl jerked away from the glass and glanced wild-eyed at Laura for a moment, before she calmed and said nervously, "Oh, um, yes, uh... hi...?"

'What was that?'

"I'm not going to bite you."

"Uh... No, I guess not."

She turned back to the glass, with slightly pink cheeks. Laura found herself in a socially awkward situation. After a few moments, she asked, "So... what was it you were looking at in that tank?"

The girl jerked again. 'No, she isn't jerking, she's tensing. What the heck?'

"Um, which tank?"

"The one with the neons."

"Oh! Them. I was looking for all the cories they used to have there. They've been missing for the past few months."

"The cories?"

"Um, yes, there used to be dozens. There were very cute, all huddled together in places, and you know, the puffers in the tank with the pictus are missing, too, all but one."

"I'll ask. What's your name?"

"Andrea Burton..."

- Wilmington, NC, June 2006 -

The creature in the trees ruffled what feathers it had and growled down at the children on the road. It didn't want them there, and it didn't know why.

'- tank tank tank bird lab white- white- metal- waterwaterwater cold hurts air can't breathe find- Iderdex blast hurts hurts hurts-'

Words wafted up to it, the first in months. A woman's voice said them. "I don't think we should be here, Miles, this is worse than home. We need to go north, get somewhere with people, you know, we can't live on fish and rabbits and all this silly stuff you feed us-"

"Savannah, just be- Nim knows where he's going, he wouldn't take us somewhere he didn't think we needed to go..."

"Yeah, chill dude, everything'll be fine so long as the little monster's with us."

"Phil, Nim's not a little monster-"

"Miles, I don't care where your little Nimmy thinks we should go-"

"Savannah-"

The creature in the trees shrieked. These were those who would not go here. The thing on the forest floor beneath him growled and jumped at him. It caught the trunk and started climbing. The bird-creature shrieked again.

"Nim! Nim, what's-"

"See, see, we shouldn't be here, Miles-"

The thing in the trees jumped away from its pursuer. The feathers, while too few to aide flight (no, it was still too heavy for that, wrong shape of the arms), still hindered a smooth descent, and it crashed to the ground. Nimrod launched himself out of the tree after it, driving it to the road, and its brethren.

The bird-creature burst out of the thick summer foliage in the trees, and the children gasped at the thing before them. It looked somewhat human - somewhat, at least. The hair was dark and short and pointed strait up at the top, though it was fluffy - 'Feathers,' they all realized - and on the sides it was curly, lighter, and brown. The eyes were wide and completely gold but for the tiny pupil, and the ears were partially covered in black feathers. The elbows bow a few six inch pinions and some down. It wore a ragged t-shirt and a pair of ripped, loose jeans, the latter of which were on the verge of falling off its slim hips - and it was very slim for its clothes. Miles recognized it for what it was. Nimrod burst from the trees and menaced it against the fence. It shrieked again.

"Nim, stop!"

"Miles-"

"Nim!"

Nimrod backed away. The creature lowered itself to the ground and growled. Miles approached it carefully and slowly. "Um, hey..."

It gazed at him levelly. He crouched down.

'- children children girl girl daughter daughters- daughtry daughtrey-'

"Laur- a," it croaked. Miles fell backwards. Savannah screamed and Phil waved his arms around. It ignored them. "Laur-a," it croaked again.

Miles recovered and said, "Is... is that your name?"

It glowered at him and choked out, "No!"

"Uh..."

"Miles..." said Savannah quietly. "What... is that?"

He ignored her. "Hey... do you..." he swallowed. "Do you want to... come with us...?"

"...no...!"

He got up and backed away.

"That... was really wierd, man," said Phil. Savannah nodded, not taking her eyes off the birdlike human. "Er, so... what is it?"

"Him. That's him," said Miles quietly, moving back down the road. His comrades followed him. Nimrod lingered a moment, then took up a position a few meters in front of them. "He's... like me."

"Like you... how?"

"You know! Like me. Like... part... something else."

"Uh..."

"Oh. Oh...! My God, Miles!" cried Savannah suddenly.

"What?" He asked her irritably.

"It's following us!"

"Him. And I know he's following us, I asked him to."

"Why!"

"Well, uh... he's probably lonely..."

- Wilmette, IL, January 2007 -

Laura's back hurt from carrying the huge acrylic aquarium down to the basement and the display room. Andrea was grinning. 'It's amazing how differently she acts when she knows you,' Laura thought wryly. 'There's always the fact I'm lugging this manic piece of glass around fro her, too, I suppose.'

"Laura! Laura, come on!"

"It's not going to run away..."

"But how do you know that?"

"I have experience with this kind of thing. Solid acrylic is stationary and has no feasable method of moving on its own."

"Are you sure...?" she asked teasingly.

"Yes, move now so I can put this down..."

"No, put it on the stand!"

"I'll put it wherever I want!"

"Laura...!"

"I'll move it later, when I feel less like a baseball bat that someone threw too forcefully at the ground."

"Oh, alright. But you'll help me with it tomorrow, right? I can't wait! Do you think the decreased light'll hurt the plants? I shouldn't've put them in grow-out tanks...!"

"They'll be fine, just like the others. Now let's go up and eat lunch, all this haggling and moving and buying of large pieces makes me hungry, even at work..."

In the kitchen, there was a note signed Karen - "Riley and I went to visit Aunt Maria. Back at two. Fresh bagels in pantry."

Andrea frowned. "I wanted her to see the tank."

"She'll see it soon."

Andrea didn't answer and moved to find the bagels. Laura sighed and poured two glasses of milk. She sat looking out the window at the cherry tree in bloom, and the bird-feeders, and the sparrows, while Andrea cut and toasted the bagels with much squeaking and yelping of "Ow!" and "Hot!"

"The bagels are ready. Get out the butter."

"Hm? Oh, yes..."

They sat at the pale wooden counter and ate slowly. Laura chewed and thought of her son. Andrea noted the solemn expression on her face and was quiet. When they were done and washing the small plates, Andrea said, "The Council has agreed to lift the ban momentarily and take search requests."

Laura started and dropped her plate in the sink, where it clattered but didn't break. "What... why now?"

"Everything else has been regulated at the major cities. I'm sure you know there isn't any more out-of country importation going on, and mostly everything's been converted to the new forms now..."

"So... um, when..."

"Yesterday. I put in one for my aunt and uncle... You know, just for my dad. He's attached to his family."

"Can you..."

"Sure. Need a name, and a blood sample for a relative, and a general area to search."

"Well... my son Jesse Daughtrey, for one, and... my ex-husband Sean Daughtrey, both in southern California... and a man called Jackson, anywhere along the northeast coast..." Laura hesitated slightly. "And Richard Connelly. North Carolina. Maybe."

"Alright. I can take the blood sample now, and if they find your son they can use his blood and yours to separate out the evil-ex's." Andrea grinned. "No more worrying, okay?"

"Alright..."

- Great Smoky Mountains National Park, February 2007 -

"Hey, Rich!"

Rich mumbled. He twisted on his tree branch, nearly fell off and swore. Miles grinned from the ground. "There's a car coming up the road, you know..."

"What!"

Rich grabbed the beaten hoodie hanging on the branch next to him and fell - this time a little more gracefully - off the branch, landing elegantly on his feet and took off, pulling the hoodie over his head and taking a pair of sunglasses out of one of the large pockets in his jeans. When he reached the road he peered carefully down it, gasped in shock, and shoved the sunglasses onto his face. Miles skittered out onto the road beside him. Savannah peered up at them from where she had been sitting just inside the tree line, and Miles called out, "Phil, Nim! Get out here!"

Nimrod was quicker than Phil, even with his large size - he was fast reaching six feet long. Phil, however, had soaked pant legs and was carrying a bag of dead fish - which was also getting very old.

The reason for all the commotion was that none of them had seen an operational car since before the storm. They had also not eaten much more than the fish and small game that Miles was so insistent on. And Rich too, come to think of it.

Phil dropped his fish next to the road, and Savannah got up to see what was going on. Only Rich and Miles could see and hear the car - while both of them had gotten mild side affects from Miles' unorthodox healing of them, neither was anywhere near the level of weird Miles and the bird-man rested comfortably on.

They all stood still.

Savannah jumped when she finally saw it - small and black, and indeed headed right towards them. It slowed at it neared, and finally it stopped a few feet from them. She realized they might look a little strange - maybe even a little intimidating. A huge lizard, a tall hooded man and some bedraggled teenagers - 'They probably think we're nuts,' she thought.

A pale, dark haired face popped out the driver's side window, grinning. "Hey, this isn't a blockade, is it?"

Rich laughed. "Not if you're going anywhere that has a name."

"Actually... I'm looking for a man by the name of Richard Connelly in this area. Lady in Chicago put in a search request. Anybody seen him?"

Rich looked warily at him and glanced Miles. The boy tilted his head and looked away.

"I'm him," said Rich. "I... Are you taking me... now?"

"Yeah, sure. And your little rats can come too." The man glanced at Nimrod. "Not too sure about Mister Moniter Lizard, though."

"Nim could probably hang onto the top, if you don't go too fast," said Miles. "Or sit on the floor in the back."

"Sure. Hop in, folks."

Rich slid around and got into the passenger side. Phil, Miles and Savannah piled into the back seat. After some coaxing, Nimrod curled up at their feet. The door closed. The sleek black car did a u-turn and headed back the way it had come.

- -