Using our grappling hooks, we make our way over the enormous wall that protects the dome from the outside world. My feet land hard on the ground. I look up. For a moment I forget why we're on this mission. For a moment, my breath is taken away by what lies before me: a planet undiscovered. Nothing about it is beautiful in the traditional sense, yet it's breathtaking. Its beauty lies in the unknown. It makes me realize how minuscule we are in this great big universe. The fact that Environettix thinks they can control this place and mold it to what they want it to be, seems even more absurd now that I am beyond the perceived safety of the dome.
My moment of wonderment is ended abruptly by a shrill noise in the distance. The creatures. They might not know of our location yet, but they're out there: waiting. My hand instinctively moves toward the knife strapped to the side of my leg.
"We better get going," Kelly states.
We begin walking, searching the area for threats, before moving into formation at a jogging pace. Coven leads. Kelly and I flank him on either side in a triangle formation, keeping an eye out for unwanted visitors. Thanks to the intel that Kelly and his team have gathered, we know a general direction in which to head. There should be a place to rest, about halfway to our destination. Intel says that it's abandoned. We can only hope our intel is correct.
Thanks to our Mod status, we're able to maintain a steady pace and are making excellent time, although it's hard to have any true sense of time without the approaching sunrise. I much prefer the dark though over the simulated sunlight in the dome. It never felt real. It served as a constant reminder that we'd never again feel the warmth of the actual sun on our skin.
Kelly and Coven have already needed to use one oxygen bottle each while my lungs maintain optimal performance. I pull to the lead and let them fall behind in the wing positions. Every footstep produces a ring of light around it, illuminating our path through the dark, just like the ground in the dome. In some ways it's helpful, but it is also dangerous: alerting our predators to our location. The ring of light dissipates quickly after each step, but not quick enough to hide our location from the watchful eyes of bloodthirsty creatures of the night.
We keep up the pace for many hours. The people we left behind in the dome are most likely awake by now, but we don't know for sure. The bubble is long sense out of view. I should be scared, but instead I feel a sense of calm being away from that cage, away from Cassius Tarquin's reach, if only temporarily. I wonder if my brother is awake yet. If they've discovered what we've done. If they are on our trail. If Cassius will be expecting our arrival before we even get there. Running through the abyss leaves too much time to consider hypotheticals.
I fall into a rhythm, one foot after the next. I focus on my breathing, trying to block out unwanted thoughts of what might be happening, or God forbid, what already happened, to Wyler. I don't let myself think about what might happen if we don't get to him in time or if we don't make it to him at all.
I'm deep into my running trance, when I realize that it's quiet, too quiet. I've been so focused that I haven't thought to check and see if Kelly and Coven are behind me. There's no time to stop. I glance over my shoulder to my right and see Coven, jogging at a steady pace, his eyes are to the ground, focused on his steps. He looks tired. It might be time for another oxygen bottle. I look to my left to see if Kelly is the same, but Kelly isn't there. My head turns on a swivel, looking around but I can't find him. I come to a screeching halt. Coven, not expecting me to stop so suddenly, nearly topples over trying to slow himself down. His breathing drags.
I turn around to see Kelly standing about 10 yards back. He's looking at something, head up toward the horizon, back the way we came. I look to Coven, who just shrugs his shoulders, leaning over, resting his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. I take a few steps forward, trying to figure out what Kelly is looking at, and then I see it. Dust clouds. Enormous ones. Swirling towards us.
At first, I wonder if it's dust being kicked up by a vehicle. Maybe Environettix has already discovered we've escaped. But then, I see the dust clouds spiral into one, creating a giant wall of rock and ash headed straight our way.
"Run!" Kelly yells. He turns, waving his arm for us to move, as he sprints away from the violent dust storm.
I take off running in the direction that we were headed when I see the unthinkable. An identical wall of debris is heading towards us in the opposite direction. It whips and spirals in furious circles, spreading out to the size of a football field. We all come to a stop, assessing the situation. The two walls are closing in on us.
"That way!" Kelly shouts, pointing at a large rock formation that we can use for cover.
We sprint as fast as our legs will carry us, which is much faster for me than for Kelly and Coven. I loop back to try and help them.
"No!" Kelly yells through labored breaths. "Go, go!" He signals toward the rocks. But I don't listen. I dash over to Coven, who seems to be struggling more than Kelly. I lift his arm up and around my shoulder.
"Come on!" I shout, as the sound of rumbling debris rises like a torrent of thunder rumbling across the land.
My assistance seems to give Coven added strength and he picks up the pace, matching mine. We make it to the boulders. I push his body into the opening. I look around for Kelly, who is only a few yards back, but the dust tornado is closing in.
"Run!" I scream at the top of my lungs, reaching my arm out to him. He slams into my body, pushing me behind the large rocks as dust and debris fall upon us. It's so forceful that it shakes the ginormous rocks, causing some loose pieces to tumble. Shards of rock rain down onto us. I cover my head with my arms. A sharp pain surges through my body, as something slices my forearm. Blood drips down onto my cheek.
The shaking begins to lessen as the storm passes over us and continues on in the direction of the dome. Turns out that bubble was keeping us protected from much more than we realized.
And just like that, the storm is over as quickly as it came. I cough and spit out clumps of dirt as the clouds of dust settle. Kelly climbs off of me and checks my body for damage. A look of panic spreads across his face as he sees the blood on my cheek.
"It's fine," I say, wiping it with my finger and smearing the blood, to show him that there's no damage. "It's my arm."
"Where's the first aid kit?" he asks, looking around for Coven who was carrying our medical supplies. Coven has stepped out from behind the rocks. He looks back at us with wide eyes.
"It's ok," I say. "The storm has passed. We're ok. And it's just a cut. I..."
He raises a hand to stop me. He points toward something in the distance. The dust is settling and I can see it now: a series of large cement blocks, surrounded by an enormous fence. It must be the abandoned building we were told about. I smile. My grin stretches from cheek to cheek. I'm about to jump for joy, when Coven holds his index finger up to his lips and points to something else in the distance. The dust has cleared to reveal a lot more than just the building.
Standing between us and our refuge, is one of the creatures. Its eyes are locked on us. It smacks its lips, revealing massive razor sharp teeth. It screeches, spreads its wings and begins to scrap at the ground with its claws. I know all too well what will come next.
"Are there others?" I whisper, looking around. In my last encounter with the creatures, they hunted together.
"I don't think so," Kelly says, assessing the situation. "This one must have gotten separated by the storm," he says through labored breaths.
Coven slowly removes the pack from his back, grabs an oxygen bottle, tearing it open with his teeth and sucking down the contents inside. He tosses the pack to me, since I'm closest, and raises his head towards Kelly, indicating that I should give him one. I fumble with the pack, hands shaking. Where is the oxygen? I can't find it. I rummage around frantically, keeping my eyes on the creature who is growing increasingly agitated.
"Got it," I say and toss the oxygen to Kelly, but my nervousness causes my hand to shake and it lands with a thud on the ground, a few feet from Kelly. In an instant our eyes move from the oxygen to each other to the creature. The sound has angered the beast. Kelly tries to reach for the bottle, but it's too late. The creature lets out one last piercing screech before it begins its descent upon us.
It races towards us at an astonishing speed. I dash over to Kelly, who is noticeably struggling with his breathing. Coven flails his arms around trying to get the creature's attention but its locked onto Kelly and I.
"Go, go, go!" I shout, pointing to a narrow crevice in the rocks, hopefully too small for the creature to squeeze through. Kelly seems delirious now, from the lack of oxygen. I pull him towards the crack and push him down inside. I look up to see the creature closing in on us. I slide onto my side like a baseball player sliding into home base. I almost make it into the hole with Kelly, but I'm just a second too slow. I feel myself being dragged backwards. I scream out in anguish, when I realize I'm not injured. It doesn't have me. It has the backpack which it is trying to tear to shreds to get to me. Kelly grabs my leg, trying desperately to hold on but he's too weak. He and the beast play tug-o-war with my body and it's becoming crystal clear who will win.
I'm flailing around, trying to get free of the pack when I see Coven over my shoulder, sneaking up from behind. My eyes go wide. I have no idea what he's about to do. He's inches from the beast. It could turn and tear him to shreds at any moment. I try to grab for the knife on my thigh but the creature pulls me farther back. The knife is just out of reach. I have to get free from this pack.
Then I see Coven pull the grappling hook from behind his back and wrap it around the creature's leg, locking it securely into place. Its head whips in his direction, snapping at the device and then turning its rage toward Coven.
Coven takes off, sprinting towards the buildings. He runs as fast as his Mod legs will carry him, energy renewed by the oxygen bottle. The creature is on his tail, snapping at his heels when suddenly it's jolted to a stop. One end of the device is locked onto a large rock. I realize now what Coven's plan is, as I dash over to the device to help.
Coven stops, turns, mere inches from the creature as its jaw snaps open and shut trying to catch Coven. He gives a wicked smile before I tug on the wire three times and hit the button, causing the wire to recoil, pulling the creature with it. The beast is whipped backwards as I sprint back over to Kelly. Its body smashes into the rock, which comes crashing to the ground, dislodging the device slightly from where it was locked into place. The stone knocks the creature unconsciousness.
"Run!" Coven shouts, looking at me and waving me over to him. The creature begins to stir and regains consciousness. "Now," he commands.
The creature awakens and rises to its feet, stumbling around. It looks at Coven and then at Kelly and I, seeming to assess which target will be easier to devour. He gives up on Coven and turns his attention to Kelly, who can barely stand. Like any keen predator, he can sense his prey's weakness. I look from the creature to the building. There's no way I'll make it, especially with Kelly, but I won't leave him and Coven knows it.
A moment passes between us, a moment where we realize it's the last time we'll see one another. "I've got your back," Coven mouths, when he sees that we're out of options. Before I can object, before I can say goodbye; he turns and runs towards us in the opposite direction of the building, straight toward the creature, screaming at the top of his lungs, driving it away from us.
The creature thrashes violently, trying to free itself. The box attached to the rocks begins to rip away. It'll break free at any moment.
I swear. I want to scream. I don't want to leave Coven, but if I follow, we'll all die, including Wyler and he was the whole reason we came on this mission. I yank Kelly up and onto his feet carrying him as quickly as I can in the direction of the building. I don't look back, because I don't have the time and because I don't want to see the creature feasting upon my friend.
Kelly has become dead weight now, but I'm so close to the building. I can make it. I can make it. There's barbed wire fencing, but there's a hole in a section at the bottom. It's not big, but we can make it through. I set Kelly on the ground, grab a handful of dust and rocks and throw them at the fence to test if its electrified. The dirt falls to the ground, unfazed. The power is off.
I slide onto the dusty soil and squeeze through the opening. Then I drag Kelly's body through the hole. His clothes snag on the fence and I yank on him, ripping part of his pants.
I can't see Coven or the creature. I don't hear his screams which means the beast could be headed our way again or maybe by some miracle, he escaped. I pray he escaped. Whether its coming for us or not, there may be another one lurking in the shadows. It most likely belonged to a pack and they're somewhere out there, possibly looking for their lost family member.
I grab Kelly under the armpits and drag his body toward the door, praying that our intel is correct and the building is empty. I hold my hand up to the censor. Nothing happens, not even a light indicating my rejection, which means that the system isn't running. That's a good sign.
I push on the door, but despite the lack of power, I can't get in. I reach into Kelly's pack and remove a small round black device, sticking it to the door. Then I go back over to Kelly's limp body and cover him, before pressing the button on the remote. The device detonates, destroying whatever is keeping it from opening. I step over the debris and help Kelly inside.
We made it. We're in. We're safe. But then I notice that the door that I just blew open was barricaded from the inside. The remains of whatever they used, lies in a heap of gnarled metal from the explosion. There are claw marks on the door, small ones, not from one of the beasts. These marks were made by human nails, which means: whoever barricaded themselves in here, was trying desperately to escape. Whatever they were trying to keep out, must have made its way in.
I wonder if they made it out alive. I wonder if I will find their dead body in this place. But most of all, I wonder if we will meet the same fate.