Recalling

"Hit him again!" Supriya ordered. Everyone stepped back from Private Zhao, and another electrical surge flowed through his heart. He took in a huge breath, and the monitor showed his heart now beating, though the young man didn't wake. "Doctor Mescal, continue to monitor him. Doctor Kumar, increase Sardoso's ketracelinate dosage–"

"Rakoto to Sharma!"

"–by 10 cc's. Sharma here!"

"Charlotte-17's implants have just been pinged in your Infirmary! She registers as present in room 13, and her biometrics show serious injury!"

Moving as fast as her short stride allowed, Supriya zipped to the closed door. She grabbed the handle…

But Wilma Taibei's hand seized her wrist, stopping her from opening the door. "Wait! Something's very wrong."

"Charlotte's back and she's injured! Let go or–"

"You can't see what I see," Wilma hissed, her voice now much lower. "Charlotte looks... distorted. The mattress is punctured in a hundred places, and small wounds are actively appearing all over her body!"

Not tall enough to see through the small window, Doctor Sharma couldn't give full credence to the far younger Wilma.

And then Charlotte screamed.

Two male Doctors hurried over, clearly intending to force Wilma aside, but Niko shouted, "She's right!" When the Doctors stopped and turned, he whispered, "Keep the door shut…or it'll kill all of you..."

Then Charlotte's screams clarified into words.

"Run! Stay away! Lamia… is here!"

Charlotte felt sharp pains all over her body as needle teeth sunk in. Her light armor weave should have been able to stop them, but Lamia must be enhancing them as it had done with Elsa's pencil. The armor offered very little resistance, and soon she'd been pierced in at least a hundred places. Undulating, flowing flesh engulfed her, and a booming voice growled, "Take… me… BACK."

I didn't anchor myself to Lamia before projecting… but it anchored itself… to me… And without even being able to project its mind… how?

Though tremendously larger than young Elsa in this form, the hideous thing still weighed very little. It pinned Charlotte down, not with its mass, but by engulfing the hospital bed. Its strength defied description, and no amount of struggle budged it in the slightest. The sensation of being Watched beat upon Charlotte, as Lamia's awareness pressed in on her from every direction. But she also felt a separate, less invasive version of the sensation. One of her colleagues must be Watching as well. For their sake, Charlotte hoped they'd turn away…

The monster carefully avoided causing lethal injury, but dozens of barbed needle fangs pierced Charlotte's body. She clamped her eyes shut, for she doubted she could hold on to sanity if she continued to observe the hellish thing that enveloped her. Its translucent form was positively filled with needle-thin teeth and bladed bones. The stench was horrific, the touch of the amorphous, flowing flesh was nauseating, and pain flooded her with adrenaline. But all of this paled compared to the greater implications of her blunder.

If I'd just let Lamia torture me to death on Eden, the crisis would be over… But by bringing it here…

Many of her coworkers would die. Possibly even some of the other Watchers. The weight of this disaster pressed far harder than the certainty of her own fate.

But blaming herself… wouldn't change anything. The enemy had thrown off their plans with an ability that shouldn't be possible, but Lamia was still cut off from its source of sustenance. Earth was even farther from Elpis than Eden was, so its powers might fade even more quickly. Only one other Watcher was strong enough to give Lamia what it wanted, and Niko would never break under torture. The enemy's as good as dead. Elpis is safe, and the Unwanted will never again be taken by this monster. The only question is… how many of my colleagues will die before Lamia starves?

Then, the horrid thing grew still. It paused its assault on Charlotte, as if pondering. Then, a low, ominous whisper. "What… what is this…?" Then, it laughed. "So… after taking me from my place of safety, you flee to yours. I sense… five others like you nearby…"

This revelation nearly stopped Charlotte's heart.

It continued. "I can't guess how Watchers become immaterial and fly… but it's clear you can't do so perpetually… or while I have you trapped. How about a little deal? Take me home, and I'll kill you swiftly. Your pain will end, and no one else from this place needs to die. But if you refuse… if I eventually give up on you, I'll hunt until I find one of the others. They will suffer just like you are suffering now."

A fang in Charlotte's shoulder stirred, tearing the wound wider. She screamed, but she refused to speak.

"Perhaps you think they can simply escape me… After all… by means that I find baffling… they can simply fly away… But I know they won't. Your weak, sentimental friends dare not retreat beyond my ability to sense them… Do you know why?"

A different tooth stirred. This time, by focusing on the examples of Niko and Maximus, Charlotte managed to stay silent.

"If I sense that the others like you have fled the area… if I sense they're retreating beyond my reach… then I will have nothing to lose… If I believe they aren't fighting fair, I'll accept my fate… and all I'll have left… is vengeance!"

Charlotte shrieked as her left foot was wrenched around a hundred eighty degrees, and she heard bones break and soft tissues snap.

"In that event… I'll employ all of my power to punish this world. I'll open random gateways until I find a population center. Then, for as long as my strength lasts, I will unleash slaughter. Do you have any notion what I'm capable of when killing is my only goal?"

The terrible thought plagued Charlotte only briefly. She knew this would not come to pass. Her allies would have heard this terrible ultimatum. She knew the Organization would do the right thing. Watchers might be considered the most important humans alive, but only because they could serve humanity. Niko would not project the other Watchers to safety if it would mean leaving Lamia with no purpose but assaulting a civilian population. No… their Organization was made up of the best humanity had to offer, and in more than just competence. They would face this crisis, and the risks. Charlotte's blunder, or more accurately Lamia's unpredictable power, might have brought deadly danger to HQ, but they would rally. They would face this, and they would win.

Losing patience with her silence, Lamia returned to the slow, brutal, non-lethal demolition of Charlotte's body. Even as the agony threatened to break her mind, as she felt her left foot tear away, Charlotte committed to the only remaining course that would let her contribute. The longer I last… the longer I trick this monster into thinking that I can return it to Elpis… the longer the others will have to prepare for the coming fight. Hasina will use every second I give her, and lives will be saved.

She heard rippling flesh tear open, as Lamia created yet another mouthlike orifice. It pulled in Charlotte's broken leg. "Take… me… HOME!"

"I… will… NOT!"

For every single second she suffered, others would be given time to prepare.

Fixing her mind on an image of Klaus, and strengthened by the heroism of the Eighth Maximus, Charlotte endured.

Peng said I'd be the best at this… I'm Charlotte's best chance to escape!

Niko projected his mind into Infirmary room 13. Lamia's grotesque, oversized form was far worse than anything the boy had imagined, but he hoped this wouldn't matter. He sent his mind into the beast, trying to find Elsa's brain so he could hold position there. In a battle of pain tolerance, with both of them enduring the mental burning Peng described, Niko was sure he'd win.

But he failed.

The thing hadn't just expanded and altered Elsa's body, her brain was stretched and changed as well. Niko found what was once a human brain, deep within the horrible mass of unrecognizable flesh and weaponized bone. But it was spread out and reshaped. He could sense various, conflicting emotions, but the transference wasn't sufficiently concentrated to cause actual pain. It might allow someone to anchor to Elsa and project Lamia away, but he wouldn't even consider that while Charlotte was alive and trapped within this thing.

Niko's heart sank. The method they'd use to save multiple Unwanted, and which Anya and Peng had refined into a painful attack, couldn't work on this abomination. He had no way to help Charlotte...

Then his heart sank further, when 17 let out another piteous wail.

Peng-24 seethed as he Watched Squad 4 gather around the fallen soldier. Peng hadn't known him. He'd never put much thought into the hundreds of Security personnel who guarded HQ… at least not before today. But those soldiers had thrown themselves into defending Peng. The broken, lifeless figure, clad in white but staining the ice red… that was someone who'd died for him. Sure, they effectively kept Peng prisoner here. But they'd also risked their lives to keep him safe.

Niko's perspective had left the area, which was probably a blessing. This loss must hit him hard, and continuing to Watch the aftermath might have messed the kid up pretty bad. Niko couldn't stand even disappointing people. The knowledge that someone died for him would be crippling, probably even worse than losing his eyes.

But Peng wasn't sad.

He was furious.

Thousands of people had tried to kill him… and Anya.

And they had killed one of his guardians.

Rage spiking, power surging, Peng launched his mind after the retreating enemy vehicles, eager to choose his first target. Give me an excuse…

One of the tanks spun its turret around, aiming for the gathered soldiers kneeling by their fallen comrade.

Without hesitation, Peng shot his mind inside the tank, reached out mentally, and crushed the gunner's throat. Peng's physical body never could have mustered that level of strength, but with this power roaring within him, it felt easy.

A confused crewman shoved the dead gunner aside and took his place at the controls.

Peng executed her too.

Trachea, spine, and everything in between smashed in his invisible grip. The tank driver turned, horrified, and Peng pondered whether or not he deserved the same treatment…

"Priority alert! HQ is breached!"

That shout scattered Peng's thoughts. Never before had Chief Hasina Rakoto sounded scared… but she did now.

"The Lamia entity's invaded the facility! Repeat: Lamia is on Earth, in our Infirmary! It has Charlotte at its mercy!"

Second Lieutenant Eléa Blanchet jumped. The adrenaline from the battle still pulsed through her, and she had yet to accept Anderson's death. But now, the Watchers faced a greater threat than even the artillery strike on HQ, and Blanchet froze up. Lamia… an invisible mass-murderer with powers far greater than Charlotte's… How are we supposed to protect anyone from that, especially with most of our forces scattered along this perimeter, having just fought an entire–

"All frontline squads!" Chief Hasina all but shouted over the comms. "Return to HQ at maximum speed! But I need reinforcements faster than your vehicles can deliver them! I want the best soldiers of each squad to take all remaining emergency medical pods! Move move move!"

Captain Martins was already running toward the Kratos gunship, since Squad 4's other pods had already been used to launch wounded soldiers back to HQ. At his order, the gunship descended, preparing to land. After deploying him, his experimental transport had suffered moderate damage and fled the battlefield. But the gunship's medical pod was nearly as fast, just far less comfortable.

Snatching a rifle from a subordinate, Blanchet sprinted after him.

Of course the Captain should return to HQ, but he wouldn't be the only one.

The gunship touched down, Benicio jumped inside, and Blanchet climbed in behind him. He slid into the pod on his back, and before the hatch could close, Blanchet squeezed in beside him.

"What? Lieutenant! These pods aren't built for two!"

"Roll onto your side, Captain. We'll fit better back to back."

"I don't have time for–"

"The Watchers are in danger! Niko's in danger! From Lamia!"

Without another word, the Captain rolled onto his side and triggered the pod to launch.

Indecision tore at Hasina Rakoto's heart. Charlotte-17 faced deadly peril, and her implants warned she'd already suffered maiming injury. The invisible Lamia tortured her at that very moment. But should Hasina's forces try to engage? Though most of her soldiers had yet to return to base, she still had dozens who'd remained at HQ throughout the battle. With a word or the tap of a key, she could order all of them to converge on the Infirmary and attack. None of her men would even hesitate to face such a monstrous enemy, not with a Watcher in mortal peril. Despite the enemy's invisibility, telekinesis, hideous body-morphing, and who knows what else, her soldiers would stream in to face it, paying any price.

If Hasina believed such a bloody assault could kill Lamia and save Charlotte, she would give the order. Despite the pain she already felt from losing just one soldier, she would have thrown every man she had into such a nightmare, and none of them would question the decision.

But she doubted such an attack could succeed.

Actually rescuing Charlotte… was likely impossible. And not just because of how severe her injuries already were. Many of 17's implants, including her audio receiver, had already been destroyed, and her biometrics told a story of horrible suffering.

As the person ultimately responsible for the safety of every Watcher, this thought tore at Hasina. Losing Klaus-21 still felt like an intensely personal failure, despite knowing that such an event never could have been foreseen or prevented. The idea that Charlotte, a Watcher of such strength and drive, was in the Infirmary and still couldn't be saved… It was the closest to helpless Hasina had felt in decades.

But that horrible truth was difficult to deny… when it came from Charlotte herself.

A steady string of text appeared on one of Hasina's screens, and it was a constant source of pain. Between bouts of screaming and unintelligible babbling, Charlotte would occasionally rally, growing lucid enough to subvocalize short messages. Her surviving implants relayed those silent words to Hasina, who forced herself to process the data without dwelling on the agony of its source.

Lamia had fully transformed the body of its child host into a huge, amorphous, nightmarish mass of flesh and teeth and bladed bone, and it had fully drawn Charlotte within itself. If soldiers poured fire into it, they'd likely kill Charlotte. The fragile woman might secretly welcome that as a mercy, but she was determined to withstand the torture for as long as possible. Lamia incorrectly believed that Charlotte might be able to return it to Elpis, and for as long as it focused its merciless hate on her, no one else had to die.

But sooner or later, Charlotte's heart would give out, or the monster would lose patience and execute her, or it would simply go too far and kill her without intending to. Then Lamia would most likely rampage through the facility, seeking another Watcher to torment. Charlotte advised Hasina to use this time to get people away from the Infirmary and prepare her soldiers. Lamia was capable of rapid healing, and it could create gateways to escape if cornered by more than it could handle. Actually killing it through direct assault would likely require firepower that could level HQ.

However, time might be their ally. Charlotte offered Hasina one hope. Despite the extreme and mysterious power of the enemy, it was cut off from its home. It might weaken with time, and possibly even starve. Using its powers or healing its gruesome form might hasten this, but the most useful strategy might be to avoid it.

While the weight of failure hung over Chief Rakoto, she still poured her mind and energy into limiting the damage. With basic mental commands, a blur of physical inputs on multiple boards and screens, and a constant string of spoken orders, Hasina mobilized all of HQ. Personnel of every department split up, forming groups large enough to potentially drive away Lamia if attacked, but not so large that a mistake in maneuvering could get many killed at once. Everyone was expected to arm themselves, including the Watchers, though she desperately hoped that last inclusion would turn out to be unnecessary. Her soldiers especially would move in very small squads, intended to harass the enemy while trying to channel it away from the Watchers.

So much would depend on Fawzia-11. Though her powers had grown weak with age, she still was the only Watcher with sufficient experience to speak freely during her Trance. Once the invisible Lamia began searching for other Watchers, tracking its position would fall on 11, who'd be able to continuously report on the enemy's movements.

I'm sorry 17. I am so sorry. First, I failed to protect the man who meant everything to you, the one whose worldview shaped you into the greatest Watcher in history. And now… I can't save you either. But I'll use every second you give me. I'll respect and uphold your decision to endure, to suffer, to hold the enemy in place and waste its time. Forgive me for failing you. And thank you for your choice. I will do everything in my power to prevent a wholesale massacre.

Every scream tore at Doctor Sharma's heart, but she obeyed her orders. With an unfathomable monstrosity in the room with Charlotte, none of Supriya's team could possibly help her. Instead, she'd focus on those she could save.

Trying to keep the volume down to avoid drawing additional attention, Supriya's people moved as quickly as their patients could handle. Doctors and nurses finished prepping the wounded, and at her order they flooded from the Infirmary. Supriya herself led Niko by the hand. The battered boy couldn't Watch while walking, and he insisted that all the gurneys go to soldiers with more serious wounds than his. Blood and ointments soaked through the hastily-applied bandage covering his eyes, but he never complained. They both struggled to keep up with the others, while Wilma Taibei hung back to stay at their side.

Wilma pressed a gauss pistol into Niko's hand. "I know you've lost your eyes. And unlike Anya, you're very limited in your physical options while Watching. But Corporal Gordon won't be needing it, as his anesthesia won't wear off for at least an hour."

"Thank you," Niko whispered, clutching the weapon tightly, and squeezing Supriya's hand all the tighter.

"If you are threatened directly, you must project yourself away," Doctor Sharma insisted.

"Of course he should try," Doctor Taibei agreed. "But if for any reason he cannot, Hasina wants him armed."

"I'd rather fight than leave all of you," Niko whispered. He stumbled on a dropped jacket, but Wilma helped Supriya to stop him from falling.

Before Supriya could beg for the boy to put himself first, Wilma employed the perfect reasoning to get through to him. "We know, Niko. You'd rather stand with us than leave us behind. But every last one of us, including the badly injured, would rather you escape. What matters more: What you want, or what everyone else wants?"

The boy fell silent.

Supriya smiled. I've never thought of Wilma as a "people person," but she clearly understands how Niko thinks.

"Ok," Niko whispered. "If I can use my powers to help, I'm still gonna do it. But if Lamia catches up to us, I'll try to get away."

"Good man," Wilma said, her voice just the right mix of confident and respectful. "If the worst happens, the greatest gift you could give all of us is the knowledge that you escaped."

Tácito Nelson strained with everything he had, helping a far younger archivist to lift the slab of reinforced concrete that had Private Cunningham pinned. Though extraordinarily tall, Tácito's beanpole build and largely sedentary lifestyle meant he had to push well past the pain threshold to match the strength of young Mr. Baker. Even so, they managed to heave the rubble aside. Tácito's hands were already raw, but he'd experienced greater immediate fulfillment in the last twenty minutes than he had from all his years with the Watchers. He'd personally gotten three soldiers free of the damaged sectors of HQ, and the rest of his team had rescued a dozen more. The top quality infantry armor worn by their soldiers had prevented any fatalities from the artillery detonations, but many had still been trapped or disabled.

A bitter wind howled, and snow swirled in through the huge break in the side of the facility. The blizzard that had swept across Antarctica since the start of the battle had finally reached HQ. The gaping jagged holes in the exterior were letting in quite a draft.

"Mr. Nelson!" The voice on the comm was Toshiko Yasuragi, who he'd placed in charge of the Archivists that hadn't joined either rescue party. "We've finished rendering the footage flagged by Fawzia-11. Much of it relates to Lamia's abilities and limitations. I'm forwarding it to the scientists, and we're compiling the most relevant data to share with Hasina and her forces. It can supplement the intel that… Charlotte… is sharing."

Tácito's heart ached at that, even as he helped Private Cunningham to his feet. The soldier had a badly broken arm, but he could walk.

"Thank you, Toshiko-san," Tácito said. "The Chief can use every bit of intel we can give her."

As if on cue, Hasina's voice came over the comm. "Well done, Archivists. That's the last of the soldiers trapped in the damaged areas. You'll be receiving specific orders soon. I know none of you signed up with the Organization expecting to take up arms, but the Watchers are in imminent danger. Our strategy will involve harrying the enemy without risking close proximity. If you receive movement orders, obey them immediately, as your survival may depend on it."

Heart pounding, Tácito signaled acknowledgement. He'd never so much as thrown a punch in all his fifty-five years, but now he drew the pistol he'd been issued at the start of this crisis. I may not be a good choice for fighting an invisible, extradimensional telekinetic, but that can be said about everyone but the Captain. If helping a few soldiers out from under some rubble felt like the greatest achievement of my life… I won't shy away from defending the Watchers.

The ancient one that humans called "Lamia" raged with frustration and growing fear. This miserable Watcher had stolen it away from the site of feeding, and there was no way to return without help. It detected not a hint of the distorted place where the Unwanted could be fed upon, and it felt its power gradually fading. It might have been helpless already if not for the surge of energy gained by killing that stoic Unwanted. The startlingly strong young man that had successfully landed a punch. It would not allow that fleeting rift to have been the last time it ever felt its true home.

Lamia needed this captured Watcher to return it to Elpis. It had drawn her fully within its amorphous, bloated form, inflicting agony without risking her life. Despite all the torment, all the maiming injury dealt to this fragile woman, it had made no progress. Though she screamed and wailed, the Watcher refused to take Lamia back to where it could survive, and no amount of pain would ever change her mind.

In a battle of wills, the ancient Lamia… had lost.

So be it. There were five other Watchers nearby. Lamia could sense them, though it couldn't determine their exact locations… yet. It knew they couldn't remain immaterial perpetually, and it was only a matter of time before it found one in the flesh. And it would torment that flesh.

The mutilated Watcher within Lamia's writhing form would never give in… but perhaps one of the others would.

With a vague sense of regret, a fleeting respect that could only have come from weak little Elsa, Lamia chose to end this Watcher's suffering... and the potential threat she still posed.

Deep within its undulating, shifting mass, thousands of needle teeth and hundreds of bladed bones squeezed… and stirred… and churned.

The unbreakable Watcher died.

Extruding serrated bony ridges all over its surface, Lamia smashed out of the small room and began to hunt.