Chapter 15

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The Facility had fallen eerily silent. Patricia Jenner lie on the ground, unmoving, her mouth slack and drool finding its way down her chin. The Taggarts had fled, Jackie having finally convinced his father it was time to leave and half-dragging him to their truck in a hurry. It was doubtful the old farmer was truly done with this battle, but for now his injured back and bruised ribs meant he likely wasn't going to be coming back anytime soon.

The men hired by Patricia remained, their eyes riveted onto the female heradus who was trying to break the chains holding the other, larger creature. Goliathus did not move, his head hung low and he kept a horrible grimace plastered onto his face.

Alonus worked quickly, occasionally glancing back at the men as if challenging them to interfere, but not one of them moved. All of them had suffered injury from the wind attack, and most of them were in a state of shock, some standing and leaning against the wall, others remaining on the ground where they lay. Perhaps they were trying to feign death. It didn't really matter to Alonus, she simply wanted to get the job done and get out of this horrible place.

"You might want to aid me, Goliathus. You are much taller than me and twice my weight."

He didn't move, and Alonus chuffed at him angrily. She fought back insulting remarks in her mind, knowing it wouldn't do her any good. With all the strength she could muster, she broke the chains and he was at last free.

"Let us get out of here. You must fly. I will guide you until you can get yourself repaired."

Still, he said nothing. He was at least standing, but all she could hear was his labored breathing. His black blood oozed all around him, subsequently causing small pools to form on the floor.

His mother sighed, taking a few paces backwards. She drew a deep breath and gave out a terrible, shrieking cry. Goliathus roared out angrily, shaking his head against the painful noise.

Mother you never should have come.

We need to get out of here. Where is your dwelling?

He showed her the images mentally, of a cave hidden deep within Bells' Rock.

A nice, deep cave. A good home. But have you defiled it?

Defiled it?

Of course. With those monstrous human remains you call "art".

Goliathus snorted, and she felt his anger. But to this he did not reply.

Fine. Let us just go there, and be out of this hell hole. We will deal with what we must later. But first...I want to burn this place down to the ground. Is there oil here? Something that will burn?

Again she was met with silence. Furious now, Alonus shrieked out again, loud and piercing.

ANSWER YOUR MOTHER!

I do not know! They took me here to torture me, I had no time for a tour. He growled.

It looks like I will have to go and bring you something to repair yourself since you choose to stand there and sulk. She snapped open her wings and was about to make her exit when her son's response stopped her cold.

There is no need for that. Those sniveling cowards over there will do nicely. The one named Michael, particularly. He laughed when that bitch tortured me.

And faster than anyone might expect for such an injured creature, he ran, snarling in rage, at the hired men. The screams had barely started, however, when Alonus reacted and dashed in front of him, colliding with him and both went sprawling to the ground.

NO! You will not kill another human so long as I live!

The resulting waves of anger that flooded her were burning hot, enough to actually cause fear to well within her. Goliathus, even with no arms or eyes, was a dangerous, frightening creature. It reminded Alonus so much of her grandfather. The thought only made her anxiety worse.

For a moment, it seemed as if her son was confused by her fear, but he screamed out at her and then went back after them with renewed fury.

He lept upon them with all of the savage ferocity of a hoard of starving wolves, and there was little Alonus could do to stop him. She began to weep bitterly as she had done nearly two thousand years ago, to see such uncontrolled blood lust controlling him with incredible, malevolent power.

When it was over, she said nothing to him. Goliathus, with renewed vision, could now see the form of his mother whom he had thought had become nothing but a faded memory. And with his great, demonic hunger satisfied, he now marveled at the sight of her.

You have not changed at all. And now, I see you whole again. He actually gave a slight grin, but she continued to frown at him miserably.

And what do I see, Goliathus? Not my son. No...my son is gone. At her renewed tears, Goliathus went still.

You have been gone from me for as long as I can remember. And then... she stopped, shaking her head. Never mind. Right now, all I want to do is burn this place down. Help me do it. Before we light the fire, we must take Patricia with us.

Goliathus' eyes narrowed, but he complied.

A brief search of the place found large containers of gasoline for the trucks, and after pouring it all over every possible inch they could cover, both inside and out,they ignited it with a pack of matches...and watched it burn for a while from above.

/

Patricia was nearly sick with the fear and shock she was experiencing. She continued to stare at her brother who looked exactly the same as he had the day the Creeper took him.

Barabas moved closer to her, and she immediately backed away from him.

"Stay away from me!" She croaked, the words coming out with great effort.

"I am not here to harm you. Rather, I think we should talk...this moment has been a long time in coming. Do you not recognize this boy behind me?" The priest stepped to the side, so that she had a clearer view. Trisha just shook her head wildly. "No, no..that's not even possible. This whole thing is not possible!"

"Easy, Trish. It's ok. Listen...just listen to him." Darry's voice. So familiar, so pleasant. Oh, there had been times that Trisha had found him annoying, had told him to shut up because he had pestered her or made some sarcastic comment one too many times. But not now. Not now. She wanted to run to him, embrace him, and never, ever let him go.

And yet her feet wouldn't move.

"I want to tell you my story. It is important that you listen to me; to abandon your fear and realize the truth." He came a bit closer, and Trisha seemed mesmerized by his deep, commanding voice.

"Patricia Jenner, I am Barabas, an ancient Roman priest...and I am the father of Goliathus, whom you call the Creeper."

/

The flight home carried with it a dark, unrelenting atmosphere. His mother was not just displeased with him. No...as he looked at her with her blonde waves trailing behind her in the wind, he knew that his mother despised him.

But she had rescued him. Even more amazing, she was here.

How was that even possible? Ami had said-

This Ami. This "breeder" you chose. Have you given her the blood exchange?

The unexpected question caused Goliathus to look at her, slowing his wingbeats to try and keep pace. Blood exchange? Why on all this earth would I do that for any human?

Not even this one?

It took him a while to respond. I see no reason to.

She is not worthy? Is that what you are implying? Her golden eyes were on him, glistening with anger.

Why would she be?

Goliathus do not play the stubborn bull with me. She has borne a child for you.

And that makes her worthy?

Of course it does! She loves that child...this Solarus, whom I am so anxious to meet. Worthy hardly describes her!

Goliathus snorted loudly. Humans are food...cattle for the picking. No human is worthy to me...even her.

The awareness of this lie surprised Goliathus. He loathed how it made him feel. For just one fleeting moment, shame actually weighed on his heart.

His mother wheeled sharply, suddenly coming towards him. She gripped his shoulders, dug in her claws painfully, and he realized she was trying force him to the ground. Rather than fight her, he relented and headed to land.

When they did, her disgust, sadness, and outrage overwhelmed his senses.

You will stop eating humans. He had never heard his mother speak this way before, so low and set in stone. This was not a compromise. It was a demand. The realization of this bristled him, his own anger rising to her in a defiant challenge.

You will not stop me.

Listen to me. You have no need of humans. You would regenerate just fine with animals.

Of course I know this, mother. But I choose to eat humans. I always have.

And you are a monster because of it!

He chuckled. And you...are a fool. A weak fool, who saw first-hand the destruction humans are capable of. We are a superior race. I feast on humans because they are pathetic and cruel. Do you not remember what they did to us?

That Goliathus...is borne of fear. Humans hate us because they do not understand us. And they fear what they do not understand.

He snorted, incredulous. And so...this justifies them torturing us?

Alonus sighed, glancing towards the star-lit sky. It was not always this way, my son. Once so many years ago, we knew many humans such as Barabas...and Ami...even the Woman of the Seeing Eyes...Jezelle. Humans who could put aside their fear and realize we can be allies...even friends. Such times are long gone, and I saw first-hand those relationships severed. But Goliathus...we caused it. Don't you understand?

He tilted his head. Understand what?

We ruined the relationships with humans as much as some did with us. Our hunger caused great evil, and their hatred as well.

I do not understand.

You are not the first. The first to...fall prey to this addiction.

Goliathus blinked, not showing emotion but inside he was clearly intrigued. And...?

Your great grandfather. Ramonus. And others before him.

Ramonus? Goliathus searched his memory, but no image came.

You never met him. But he was far more terrible than even you. He ate humans with such a terrible greed that even very young children...infants...were not safe from him. Fresh tears sprang to her eyes, but she composed herself quickly, blinking them away.

Infants. Goliathus could not recollect ever going so far as to attack the young human children. Teenagers...but not children. Why was that? Why should he even care? But for some reason...the thought of eating children had never been appealing. Perhaps it was because it simply seemed pointless...like eating a tiny fish caught on a line instead of throwing it back to mature.

What became of him? Your grandfather?

Alonus suddenly seemed to deflate, her wings now hanging limply to her sides.

What became of him...I hope...is nothing.

The vague answer confused Goliathus, but he decided that for now, he would not press the issue. He attempted to shrug off the conversation and lept back into the sky. She followed him, but lingered behind.

/

Ami had been sitting in the cabin all day, bored and listening to the ticking of the clock on the wall. Solarus had been strangely quiet, occasionally looking up towards the window and out to the sky. She'd watch him, as his eyes moved, like he was seeing some invisible thing.

I hate not knowing what's going on. What do you see, Solarus?

Mumma. They come.

Huh?

Daddy...he coming. With grandmumma! Suddenly he bubbled over with excitement, actually standing now on two little chubby legs and making his way to the window. With a flap or two, he grabbed onto the sill.

Ami sprang from the couch, for some odd reason, she felt like she would get into trouble if he found her here. The fear was renewed. Grabbing Solarus, she gathered only what she could in a big hurry before bursting out the door and scrambling down the hill. Huffing and puffing, she tried to go as fast as her legs would carry her down the gravel-covered hill and made her way back to the cave. Solarus clung to her, protesting, and greatly confused by her actions.

Danger? Where mumma going?

But she didn't answer him, and kept running.

/

I think I see it, over there.

The two heradus had reached Bells' Rock. Goliathus took a deep breath of the crisp air, very glad to be back home. He wondered about Ami, wondered what had happened to her, or how she had managed to survive. Her supplies had been low when she left...and she was all alone...no, he didn't care. So long as his breeder lived, that was all which mattered.

This was once very old farmer's land.

Yes mother. It was. He answered simply, and angled down to the right to circle around once before landing near the little brick house.

When Alonus followed suit she took a few steps closer, and stood for several long minutes staring at the makeshift doors and window coverings of deerskins.

You made these?

Goliathus glanced them over, seeming uninterested. No. The woman did. She asked for deer, I hunted them.

Did you eat them?

Eventually. He made a grimace. Dull, boring meat.

His mother looked for one moment like she might scream again, but she held her silence. You have truly been corrupted. Deer are delicious. So are cows and horses. All of these big animals which we have always fed on.

He grunted, and walked quickly past her, heading for his cave.

Do you want to see inside, mother? You will live here now, I presume? This is a good cave, as you say. Perfect for us.

He turned back to her, but the look of distaste remained. I shall not go into any cave you have defiled. I will live with Ami in her house...for now. Where the two of us shall eat dull, boring deer meat. Her eyes narrowed.

He stood, staring at her a long while, before turning his back and flying the rest of the way to his cave. In that moment, Alonus felt him block her out. She took Patricia into the house, where she settled the still, unconscious woman onto Ami's makeshift bed. This woman her tortured her son. Now, she would have to guard her from him, for surely Goliathus would try everything he could to kill her.

/

Ami kept running in the dimming light of evening, nearly tripping over several rocks or small holes in the ground along the way. She cursed and muttered under her breath. Finally, she found that small pathway she had once encountered Barabas on. At the top she froze. She could see the two figures standing there, one tall and forboding, the other barely visible. That one's eyes shone however, and Ami knew who it was. She felt such incredible relief at seeing her.

Alonus...

The taller one, who she knew was Goliathus, walked away, opening his wings and heading for the cave entrance. Alonus then carried someone into the house and came back out a few minutes later. Ami wasn't sure who that was, although she had her suspicions. She took that moment to slowly and with growing nervousness head towards his mother.

As she started to move the shadowy figure turned to her, golden eyes blinking.

My dear Ami. You are here. Her voice was so silky and welcoming, with a kind of reassurance that truly baffled Ami. She was so entirely different than Goliathus that it seemed almost impossible that he was actually her son. Ami moved a bit faster now, her nervousness turning into reverence.

Alonus! It's awesome to meet you...as you should be. She smiled and Ami saw her glistening white teeth in response.

There will never be enough words to thank you. What you have done...no...it cannot be expressed properly.

Grandmumma!

Alonus moved a few steps closer, reaching out her arms. Ami handed Solarus over. She could now feel the intense affection between them, as if they had known each other forever.

Oh look at him. He is perfect.

I never knew I could love something so much. Ami smiled warmly. I can't imagine life now without my little Sollie.

Alonus nodded. I knew this love once.

Ami looked back towards the cave, and hated so much how the fear, even at the thought of him, kept returning.

Why Alonus? I do care about Goliathus...I love him. But he still frightens me. I can't-

And you are right to be wary. She chuffed angrily as she held Solarus close to her. For what he is now is a monster, and you are more than he deserves.

Ami shivered at her mental words. He wouldn't hurt me, would he?

She sighed deeply. Maybe... Her eyes gazed back at the cave, and for one moment she closed them as if trying to console herself. ...he wants to kill you. But he can't get himself to do it. You see I think he knows how you feel. I think he feels something for you as well. But whatever makes him feel, he wants to destroy. It has always been that way since his father betrayed him.

Barabas is truly sorry, though! He even said to me-

I know, Ami. I do. I know Barabas regrets. Unfortunately, the damage is already done. And now, there is a lifetime of healing ahead. I do not know if I can succeed. I do not know if he will ever change. But the plain fact is...you Ami, are still alive and breathing, and have been with him all this time. That is the one fact which Barabas is clinging to. She sighed again. The one fact that I am clinging to.

After giving little Solarus another tight hug, she handed the child back to her.

As much as I loathe all of this, I will help. I will do what I can.

If you do go in the cave, just avoid the back rooms. There are no bodies in the front ones.

Alonus shook her head. How horrible, for you to have to be amongst such gruesome human remains...to have seen all that you have seen. Goliathus will never have enough penance for it.

With that, the conversation was over. She headed towards the cave, with great reluctance. To go into that place would disgust her, but she knew staying out was not an option...she would have to face it all head on...and challenge her son in his own domain.

/

Darry was upset. This was the first thing that Patricia could sense, as she stared at the two figures in front of her. The cathedral was the strangest place she had ever seen. It was incredibly huge and looked as if it were still in a state of repair. She saw a turned over altar and heaps of dirt and wood...what looked like the remains of a coffin. The walls were covered all over in those hideous bodies...preserved forever in faces of torment and pain. Trisha remembered her brother telling her about it. How he sat in the car when he had finally escaped and looked so petrified and lost. Mumbling wide-eyed about bodies...the horrid bodies...hanging up on the walls of that little church's basement...and now it was all around her, ten times over of what he had seen.

At the very top she saw Barabas. She looked from the ceiling, to his ghostly form, and back again several times before finally prying her eyes from it and slowly sitting on a crude stone chair.

"That is me. But this...what you see now, is merely my energy. As is your brother." Barabas turned to him, and Darry frowned more deeply.

"Trisha. I want you stop this. Promise me you are going to stop this."

She shook her head at him and buried her face in her hands. "You've got to be kidding me..."

"No, no I'm not. You have to listen to this priest, Trisha. He will tell you everything, his entire story, and then you'll understand. Goliathus is not evil. He's just insane."

Trisha chuckled, but it was a bitter sound that died in her throat. "Yes Darry, it's insane. This whole damned thing is insane." Slowly she rose, and glanced over at Barabas, who met her stare instantly. It unnerved her, and made her stop farther away from him. "Darry I miss you so much. I wish, I wish I could have-"

"You couldn't have done anything. And you know it. Trish I can't deny that if our roles had been reversed I might have ended up doing the same thing you did. But I'm using this one last chance to make a difference. I don't want to see you get hurt, sis. I don't want you to continue with this mission...you've become obsessed. Psychotic almost. And I don't want to see you lose your sanity over this." He stepped closer, and Trisha opened her arms, hoping to touch him. Just to give him a hug. What she wouldn't do just to feel his arms around her again, and know her brother was there.

He did hug her, but it felt cold as ice.

No...her brother wasn't alive. This was just a cruel, twisted nightmare.

"It's not a dream. Listen to me, ok?"

Trisha looked up at him. Those sad brown eyes shouldn't really be there. But somehow they were.

"The bulla's power is gone. Alonus didn't lose it, she merely didn't realize that it faded away. And because of that, our energy is fading away, too. I have to go...my spirit doesn't belong here." Darry looked up at the bodies. "They don't belong here either."

Barabas gave a slight nod in agreement. "I shall last much longer either. It is really only because of your brother that I am here. But he speaks the truth, the strange power of the bulla is gone now. It is the few souls of the victims which remain that are sacrificing energy to keep me here now. Darry will have to go. I shall remain for as long as I can...I still have to do whatever work I can for my son until I know he is healed."

Trisha blinked, scarcely able to grasp what was being told to her. "Tell me something."

"Do ask."

"How...why did you father one of these creatures? How could you lie with that monster?"

Barabas went rigid and his gaze bored into her. Trisha held her ground as the priest neared, but this fear was more raw than what she had known with the Creeper.

"Do not call my Alonus a monster. That heradus has never feasted on a human in her life. She is not evil, she is not a man-eater, and she is not a monster."

Trisha shivered, but said nothing.

"She is also a queen. I know not if she speaks of royalty or simply her status as a female. Perhaps all female heradus are queens. What I do know is that they are a race that deserves another chance. You cannot judge all of them, and most especially Alonus, on the actions of my son."

With that Trisha felt words returning to her mind, but the priest did not let her speak. He continued to stare at her relentlessly, clutching his golden dagger tightly to his side.

"How are we as humans any better than him, anyhow? We too have our murderers, our rapists and psychopaths. We have men who abuse and kill children, who beat their spouses, and even women who do these things. Our race has also proven to the heradus that we are not worthy. From what my beloved has told me, there was once an alliance among heradus and human. But it was severed thousands of years ago. Our crime was to fear them, think them monsters, and turn on them. Theirs was to taste our flesh, and become addicted to it. We are not their normal...diet. My son is as a drug addict. He is addicted to something which curses him, and causes him to sleep. By breeding with a human woman, he has broken this curse and now remains awake. " Barabas stopped for a moment, turning to Darry who was listening, but also starting to fade.

The priest continued. "I am telling you, Patricia Jenner, to bring no harm to any of them...and Solarus especially." He lifted the dagger, pointing it towards her throat. "If any blood shall be shed, it will be yours, should you persue your quest. Leave them be."

At this Darry looked at the priest, pleading.

"I will do what I must Darius. To cause harm to your sister is not my desire. But I am desperate to protect them."

"C'mon Trish say you'll drop it. Please. I know it's hard, I know you want revenge. But I want all of this to be over." Darry's form was continuing to fade out of view. "Please, Trish. Please. It will end, it will. Let Ami do the work, trust me she will change him. " Now the wall was plainly visible behind him.

"Darry don't leave me..."

"Tell me you'll drop it! Please!" His voice, growing more echoey, was fading as fast as he was.

"Darry..." The tears poured down her face.

And an instant later, he was gone.

She woke up, gasping and struggling to breathe, and looked around at walls made of brick.

/