Chapter 10
/
As Ami slowly came to the first thing she noticed was that the light of the sun was hurting her eyes. Forcing her eyelids open, she saw that it was morning and she was lying down on the furs, facing the entrance. The fires in the cave had almost died out completely, and her body felt like a stone. Struggling to move she managed to get into a sitting position.
Barabas?
She was back to the real world, but the ghost was nowhere to be found.
Ami cringed at the terrible headache raging in her head. God, but what she'd do to get some Tylenol right about now. On that thought she decided she needed a drink of water very badly, her mouth was as dry as dust.
Slowly she got to her feet and took careful, shaky steps to search her camping bag...and found there was only one water bottle left with less than half of the liquid remaining.
Well, better than nothing. She polished it off and then wondered what she was going to do about getting more food and water. If she couldn't eat enough, then surely Solarus would-
Wait...Solarus? Her energy suddenly seemed to return in full force.
Spinning around, Ami's eyes wildly searched about but she didn't see him anywhere. With growing panic she peered over the edge of the entrance...no, she didn't see anything down there. Blindly she raced into the back room...the feeding room...and then stopped dead in her tracks. The place was a workshop of horrors...nothing new really...but there was an old wooden table with ropes...obviously where still living victims were tied...and the wood had become nearly black with layers and layers of blood soaked into it. There were bodies all over the place as usual, but here...they seemed more haphazardly arranged...almost as if Goliathus were rushing, or maybe even caring less about how they looked.
Signs of his claws were everywhere...large grooves in the wood, white scratch marks upon the walls...and even some of the bodies had claws marks rent deep into the preserved flesh, along with bits and pieces missing. Had he had some sort of...episode?
Ami searched around, her curious nature always getting the best of her.
"Solarus? Are you in here?" Damn but where had the child gone off to? If anything happened to him, she'd never forgive herself!
Mumma!
Ami blinked at the tiny sting in her head, more like a tickle. She looked around carefully, trying not to disturb anything or even touch it for that matter...but it didn't seem her son was in here.
Hopefully, this time around, she might be able to talk to him mentally without causing him pain.
Where are you, Sollie? Momma's looking for you.
She heard a squeal in her mind.
No...talk...noooo. Talk? Mumma.
Where are you, baby?
Where. You? Baby!
Ami sighed. Solarus was perhaps old enough to understand for all she knew, but apparantly not old enough to make any sense.
He seemed, at least, to be all right. But she had to find him. It was then she noticed an old, rickety bookcase crammed with books, papers, most of them furred with mold but a few looking in halfway decent condition. There was a particularly interesting journal, hand-made it seemed, and some crudely drawn figures of what had to be heradus on the front. There were two...Goliathus obviously, flying near the moon and another one...more slender and with long hair.
Alonus?
There was also a man, looking up at them. The bald head, toga, and dagger told Ami immediately who it was, but the picture was odd. What did it mean?
Ami opened it up, and saw an angry, slanted sort of writing in thick black ink. It was actually in English, and a collection of chaotic thoughts that sometimes didn't make sense. Scanning the pages she stopped when she came towards a more recent entry.
Ami is sad today. At times...the way she looks at me...it reminds me of my mother's eyes. The way she would stare at me with levels of infinite sadness.
This breeder. She is a pesty creature. At times I would rather kill her, but then I laugh at myself...killing her for sure would kill my own race. Who else exists, but myself?
Mother has been gone for millennium. I only knew of her.
I still remember her. This heradus memory...a curse in itself. I remember everything...even the tortures of my tormentors.
I have seen father lately. He has been wandering for so long, but I had not seen his ghost for many years. It must be Solarus. Did he come to see his grandson? Charming.
I could care less. I cursed him to wander, since I am cursed with this addiction to human flesh.
I crave it, and yet I also hate it.
Why am I writing this? I do not know. So many thoughts troubling me that have not been on my mind for more centuries than I can count. I am tired of it. I want it gone. So much easier to know nothing but hate and hunting, killing and eating.
It is a wretched existence...but an existence all the same.
Ami looked over the journal for a while, until thoughts of Solarus jump-started her worry again and she carefully put the journal back on the shelf.
She had to find that child. Not for Goliathus, not for the heradus race...it was important, yes...but that baby meant more to her than life itself.
/
"Jackie, god dammit! Get in the driver seat and be ready to take off!" For hours the Taggarts had been looking for the Creeper...and now, he had found them. In his usual fashion he had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, screeching and divebombing the truck, attempting to grab one of the two, but Jack Sr. had fended him off with a good 'ol rifle, blowing huge chunks out of his chest and leg. Still, both of them knew this wouldn't hold him off for long.
Jackie was in the back of the parked truck, trying to help his father maneuver the giant pole-puncher harpoon. His father kept trying to shove him away.
"Dad I'm not gonna just sit here and do shit! If we aim this thing right we'll get him square on!" The Creeper howled and dove again, this time something whistled through the air and Jackie hit the deck, narrowly avoiding getting impaled with a shuriken.
"Don't you get it Jackie?" his father asked, lowering his voice. "It's just a distraction, Trisha is gonna handle the rest. "
"I don't trust that crazy bi-"
"Dammit just listen to me, ok? Now get this thing started. GO!"
With a yell of frustration Jackie finally complied, leaping off the side of the truck and quickly getting into the driver's seat. He jammed the key into the ignition and started the engine...waiting for his dad's next instruction, but not liking any of this one damned bit.
Not far away, Patricia Jenner was watching the entire scene with a pair of binoculars. She could see him clearly, and ground her teeth in her utter hatred. Still, she'd have to wait until the right moment. Getting too impatient to nail the bastard could ruin everything she had worked so hard on to accomplish. Trisha leaned against the large black truck carefully hidden amongst the bushes and trees. A few silhouettes of highly camouflaged men holding some kind of long, pointy weapons could be seen, remaining as still as possible. Trisha narrowed her eyes with a slight grin. Just a few more minutes...
/
Sollie? Sollie answer mamma! Where are you?
After thoroughly searching the rooms of the cave for an hour Ami had satisfied herself that her child wasn't in the cave. Pulling a handful of hair in her rising panic she decided to leave the cave and search outside. Carefully she climbed out, stretching each foot towards each rocky foot hold slowly and with extreme caution. The rocks were slippery today from a previous rain, and the last thing she needed was to fall and get seriously injured. After several grueling minutes she finally reached the bottom. For a while she just stood there, scanning the area for any signs of movement.
"Solarus?"
Mumma. Flay! Flay?
Flay? Did he mean...play?
You want to play? Ok, let's play a game! But you have to tell me where you are!
Game! Flay game!
Ami heard a rustle, from up above. Her eyes shot up immediately only to see Solarus perched on a high branch in a tree, and upon meeting her gaze he squealed with a laugh, his tiny wings flapping in excitement.
Flay game?
Ami held her hands up towards him. Solarus, come down. Now. Please!
He looked down, his happy expression quickly diminishing.
No down. Nooo.
How did you get up there? Ami had a sudden thought and looked over her shoulder back towards the cave entrance. It was almost level with where Solarus had perched himself in the tree.
He glided! My little Solarus is gliding already... Ami smiled faintly, but it didn't last.
"Solarus, you come down, now!"
He whimpered, tears forming in his eyes. Down. No. Down.
Ami took a deep breath, trying to figure out what to do. She couldn't go climbing up that tree...it was a pine and didn't have any branches close to the ground. And Solarus was rather high up. Her body...it was skinny as a rail, and at times, Ami had even felt short of breath. For days she hadn't eaten properly, and the strength just wasn't there. They had to leave the cave...and go in search of supplies in a nearby town. How Ami would manage to do this she wasn't sure...but one way or the other...staying in the cave just meant rotting away to death.
Okay Solarus this is what you do...you open up your wings like this... Ami held out her arms far from her sides. Solarus tilted his head at her then copied her with a giggle, holding out his arms.
No...your wings, baby. Not your arms!
Wins?
No not wins...wings. Just glide down to mamma, ok? Glide down!
The increased frustration and worry in Ami's mindvoice caused Solarus' lower lip to start quivering. He bent forward, still clutching to the perch, then quickly leaned back. Shaking his head he then started crying.
Ami sighed, slapping a hand against her forehead and pulling on her hair again. Maybe this would require a harsher method.
Ok fine, if you won't come down, then stay there, and mamma is going back to the cave without you.
With that, Ami turned her back and slowly started to walk away. Solarus' cries grew louder, but she continued to walk.
No! Mumma, no weave! Mumma!
Ami heard the faintest sound of rushing wind, then was startled by a weight hitting her back and she felt claws digging into her skin. He scrabbled, causing her more pain, but managed to pull himself over her shoulder and then down into her arms.
Mumma. No weave Sollie.
She burst out into laughter, not being able to help it, and nuzzled him with tears in her eyes. "You are a heap of trouble, you know that? A heap of trouble. C'mon, we need to go. We can't stay in the cave any longer."
Go? Cave.
Yes they would leave. And Ami prayed that whatever powers-that-be would keep her strength miraculously going for the long days ahead.
/
After a few hours Ami had gathered all she could in the big duffle bag. Some clothes, a few remaining candles with matches, a canteen for water she'd hopefully find along the way, about a handful of jerky that smelled like old shoe leather, a tiny sliver of soap, and all the money she could find. Counting it she had well over three hundred dollars...but it wouldn't do her any good if she couldn't find the town. Thankfully, Goliathus had all kinds of things on his bookshelf including maps. She had found one for the local area, although map-reading was not one of her talents.
In all honesty the whole trip was suicide, probably. Where was Barabas? How did he expect her to wake up this Alonus without his help?
That damned crazy priest. He was asking a lot from her, and she didn't have a whole lot to give. She could barely walk half a mile without needing to catch her breath. At some point as they set out on their journey...just Ami and little Solarus hidden as well as possible under a black hoodie...she neared a large pond formed by rainwater and had stood near it for several minutes, staring...and not recognizing the stick thin girl dressed in shabby clothes staring back at her with big, worried eyes. The duffel bag hanging from her back looked ridiculous, bulging out from both her sides like it was mocking her.
The world was mocking her, wasn't it? From the very first instance she had been abducted...the world had been laughing maniacally in her face.
/
The truck lurched forward as it turned sharply, and Jack Sr. tumbled out onto the pavement, grunting from the impact just as the heradus swept over his head, missing by a couple of inches. Quickly Jack scrambled to his feet, but his energy was waning...he was just too damned old for this shit, and the Creeper had not shown any signs of tiring. How much longer was Trisha going to draw this out?
Jackie shoved the driver's side door open and ran to this father. "Geezus, you ok?"
"Yeah, yeah, just peachy. Get back in the damned truck, you're just a sitting duck standing out here like this!" Jack grabbed his arm and led his protesting son back to the seat, and then the Creeper was suddenly next to them, glaring at them maliciously, his lips pulled into a snarl.
As if in slow-motion, Jack reached for the rifle across the front seat, grabbing it and spinning back around to fire, but his nemesis predicted this action and a clawed hand came down, raking across his face and down his chest. Jack screamed out in pain, dropping the gun in reflex, and it went off, firing harmlessly upwards towards the open sky. The Creeper moved back just slightly, startled from the blast, and then their was a strange, electric crackling that Jackie heard in his ears.
It looked like a sleek, black missile, but the glimpse of it was brief. It drove deep into the Creeper's side, and then Jackie's eyes went wide at the sight of lightning-like electricity bolts covering its body in the next moment.
The Creeper shrieked louder than before, falling to the ground and thrashing about as if in a seizure. Jack, bleeding but not seriously harmed, took this opportunity to grab his son and run around the truck to the flatbed, where they crouched down low, peering just slightly over the taillight to watch the action.
Trisha and her crew of ten men came out of hiding and into the open in a flash. More weird crackling sounds, and more of the strange weapons went hurling through the air, slamming into the Creeper again and again. He continued to scream, and the smell of his charred flesh began to permeate the air around them.
"How's that feel...you fucking monster?" Trisha simply folded her arms and watched, as the men continued firing, one after the other, until finally the Creeper went completely still as if dead.
"Tie him up with those silk ropes with as many knots as you can, and get him in the transport cage. If he even blinks, zap him again."
Trisha's crew of men were all strong and seemingly fearless, but they were a very select group. Not just anyone could know her plans, this had to be done with people she could trust. And money could talk to anyone ...even army soldiers. Even police. Hell, even FBI if she really wanted to. It wasn't really necessary though. These hardened soldiers were more than good enough. And, she had made sure to select people who had lost family...missing person's cases...all she was very certain the Creeper was responsible for.
Hadn't of taken much to convince these guys. They had only one goal on their minds and that made it easy to control them even more than the million dollars each to keep their mouths shut.
Revenge.
/
By the time night was falling, Ami was exhausted. She knew full well she couldn't travel by night, and so she found a small clearing in the woods and started a campfire. Once she got that going, she simply lied down on the ground to rest, using the duffel bag as a pillow. Solarus crawled up close to her neck and curled up, trying to stay warm. It could be awfully hot during the day, but the nights were chilly.
Ami didn't have a tent. If it rained, she would risk getting sick for certain, and they hadn't even traveled very far...maybe ten miles?
What the hell am I doing out here? I'll never make it-
Young Ami.
Solarus woke up quickly, looking past the flames of the fire. Ami saw it too, hovering slightly above the ground and glowing in the eerie dark halo.
What the hell...Barabas. Nice of you to show up.
Why have you left the cave?
Ami sat up, putting her arms around her knees while Solarus ducked behind her, afraid of the spirit.
I am running out of food, what do you think? I've been alone for weeks and without Goliathus to bring me supplies I'll just end up sitting in that cave to rot. I have to move on.
If you awaken Alonus, she can help you.
Excuse me but...how long is that going to take? I need supplies NOW, Barabas, not days or weeks from now.
I know of a place where you can get food. There is a cabin, not too far from here. My son was there recently, but thankfully the humans had gone. It is a place for relaxation...a "vacation" I believe you call it. There are canned goods in the basement...and a bed to sleep in.
That sounds marvelous. But how far is it?
Barabas pointed ahead, over some trees, but it was too dark for Ami to really see anything past the light of the fire.
A day's travel...maybe. It is far closer than the town, you would not make it past the rough terrain for that long. I will guide you up the mountain to where the cabin is.
You're insane, Barabas. I'll never make it.
He came down to the ground in an odd, hesitating motion as he neared. I cannot truly rest until my goal is accomplished, young Ami. I must make up for the great sins of my past. By helping you, I not only help my son...but also Alonus. You must persist, and not give up.
Ami sighed, reaching around her back for Solarus who was still staring at the ghost with eyes as wide as saucers.
I am SO tired. So, so tired.
That is why you need the cabin. It will be a place for food and supplies. I will share my energy if need be, young Ami. Rest here, tonight, and I will watch over you and my grandson.
Time is short. Already they have captured Goliathus. We cannot allow them to repeat the cycle of what has happened so many years ago...or I fear whatever good is left in his mind will be gone forever.
/
End Chapter 10