The Children of New Earth (19 page)

Micah finally stopped in front of what seemed like a hardware store. She took out a gun and signaled for me to stay outside. She took a quick look around the area and decided it was OK to talk out loud.

“I know what we need, just gonna grab some stuff and get out,” she whispered, then looked over my shoulder. “Can you search these cars? Pick up anything that might be useful.”

“You sure?” I protested her decision as quietly as I could. “What if there’s a Swarm, or worse?!”

“You can stop time, right? If anything comes you’ll have all the time in the world to come warn me,” she answered.

“I can’t actually stop time- “ I started, but she was already in the store, leaving me alone in the dead quiet of this ghost town.

She was gone for what felt like hours. I scanned my surroundings constantly, waiting for some inevitable attack. The silence should’ve been calming but it was actually quite unsettling. I walked up to the nearest car; it was a dark blue with one door on either side. The windows were shattered and the tires ripped to shreds. The side door opened with a low creak, and little pieces of glass broke off onto the pavement. I sat down on the seat and began to search. The box between the seats had a few loose papers, nothing of interest. Another compartment in front of the seat contained a first aid kit, which I stuffed into my pack, along with a couple batteries I found under the seat.

The next few cars were devoid of anything useful. I wandered the area, trying to stay within the vicinity of the store Micah was in. It was then that something on the ground caught my attention. It was a family photo with a man, a woman, and a little girl. As I picked it up, I could almost hear their voices. Their conversations, their banter, their laughter. I shut my eyes and the voices grew louder. But my trance was distracted when Micah finally returned.

“Hey, find anything?”

I opened my eyes and blinked, inhaling sharply as I did so. “What? Y-yeah a couple things.”

“Alright, let’s go meet Raphael.”

I hesitated a moment before placing the photo on the windshield of a nearby car, feeling it would be disrespectful to just leave it on the ground. I then followed Micah to our next destination. As we walked, the wind got quieter and the sky grew darker. But what really frightened me was what I saw after we turned at the next intersection.

There, in the middle of the street, sat a skinny, shivering, human-like thing. I only knew what it was by the sound of its weeping. I turned nervously to Micah, afraid that she had been affected by its toxin. But she calmly signaled me to stay quiet and motioned for us to move onto the sidewalk.

We slowly walked alongside the buildings, moving around the Siren, hoping it wouldn't sense our presence. Micah had her gun at the ready, but I knew it would take more than a few bullets to stop the Demon. Still, it brought some degree of comfort.

We were almost past the Siren when it suddenly stopped crying and looked up. We quickly ducked behind a nearby car and held our breath. I heard sniffing, followed by a muffled growl. I peeked over the car door and saw its black eyes and disfigured face through the grimy windows. Just then, I could’ve sworn the Demon turned its head to look straight at me. I dared not move, and stared back into those lifeless eyes completely paralyzed. However, much to my relief, it put its head back down, and once again began to weep.

Micah and I cautiously stood up and continued onward. We made it past the Siren, and I let out a sigh of relief when we turned the next corner. My heart was still racing, but Micah seemed totally unfazed. Granted, this was only my second Siren, and the first one had nearly killed me.

I took a minute to compose myself while Micah impatiently kept watch. We arrived at the pharmacy a few minutes later, where Raphael was waiting for us.

“Got the pills,” he said quietly.

“Got the parts,” Micah replied.

“Got the…other stuff.” I added.

Then Micah abruptly looked to her right and began to whisper. “What’s up?…yeah we got it…no it’s fine just a Siren…yeah…wait you need that now?…is it finished?…alright then, see you in a bit.”

I knew what her power was, but it was still a bit odd watching her use it. In her mind, Michael was standing right next to her, but Raphael and I couldn’t see or hear him. Regardless, from what Micah said, it seemed like there was one more thing we had to collect.

“They need a radio,” she informed us.

“You’re telling me that, in your entire military base, there isn’t a single working radio?” I asked skeptically.

“It’s a long story that this is neither the time nor place for,” Raphael said. “Let’s just get it over with.”

This radio they were looking for was on the other side of town. Advancing further, we heard more and more unsettling noises; growling, moaning, scratching, and thumping coming from the houses and stores around us. I was very uneasy about the whole situation, but Micah urged me to stay quiet and keep moving. Apparently, no one came to this part of town often, but if they had to, they would get in and out safely so long as they were quiet.

Micah and Raphael finally stopped at an electronics store. From the outside, I could see that there were countless empty shelves and papers scattered over the floor. The back area wasn’t as well lit, but I saw the shadows move ever so slightly.

I glanced at Micah and Raphael, and their expressions told me she saw it too. It wasn’t an expression of fear, but rather annoyance and frustration. After thinking for a minute, Micah pulled me aside.

“Alright look, we don’t know what’s in there, and we need that radio,” she whispered. “I need you to use your power.”

“Um, are you sure?” I tried to express some degree of apprehension. “I don’t really know what it looks like.”

“It’s a radio,” she replied bluntly. “A box with a metal rod. Check the storage behind the counter, there should only be one or two left.”

“Can’t we just kill whatever’s in there?”

“I don’t want to risk a potentially noisy fight if I don’t have to.”

I had recently been trying to fight against my instinct to play it safe. Taking risks got people killed, but it also got things done. Just about every threat I’d come across since the Sanctuary, I’d either run from or let someone else deal with. But in this moment I decided to stop running and face my fears. Motivating myself by giving this speech in my head, I nodded to Micah and Raphael, who smiled and wished me luck. I approached the entrance of the store, relaxing my body and taking a deep breath. As I exhaled, feeling the wind slow to a near halt. The sounds of the Hollows could no longer be heard, and the shifting shadows became stationary. Then, I stepped through the doorway.

The sun illuminated only main area of the store. All the shelves and racks were empty, someone had clearly taken everything of use. I suspected it was the Neogens from Sanctuary, in need of these devices for whatever they were building. I arrived at the back of the store, where the light of the sun could not reach. I turned on my flashlight and jumped over the counter. There were several sets of shelves facing towards me and one more on the far wall, at the very back of the store. I looked down the first aisle and saw nothing of interest. The second was the same.

However, upon arriving at the third aisle, I jumped back in surprise. There stood a motionless Hollow, slowly turning its head, its lifeless eyes looking right at me. In my startled state, I used my power out of instinct, forgetting that it was already active. Only after this happened did I realize what I’d really done.

The creature froze. I had actually stopped time altogether. I was incredibly proud of myself for doing so, but equally embarrassed that it was in response to a harmless Hollow.

Satisfied that I was now completely out of danger, I began to search the shelves, which mostly held old wires and rusty tools. Finally, I checked the back shelf and was able to find two dusty old radios. They both looked exactly how Micah had described them: boxes with metal rods. I stuffed them in my backpack and leaped back over the counter. I then hesitated a moment, it didn’t sit right with me, just leaving the Hollow alone like that.

I unsheathed my knife and approached the creature. I looked at his face; emotionless, yet hinting at a subtle sadness. Having virtually all the time in the world, I developed a newfound clarity. This used to be a person, just like me. He had friends, a family, hopes and dreams. But by some stroke of bad luck, he fell victim to a terrible virus and wasn’t able to get the cure in time. Now his whole life had been reduced to a pointless existence. I didn’t know what happened after death. I suppose no one did. But even a chance at salvation was better than this.

Having decided to put further philosophical questions on hold, I swiftly stabbed him in the head, wincing slightly as I did so. As the blade tore the skin, my vision turned blurry and a purple image flashed before me. I made the mistake of shutting my eyes, and that’s when I saw her again, the Queen. This time we weren’t on a stormy mountain, but rather in the middle of a desert. I could only see her body as a silhouette against the bright sun, but she was clearly making that same beckoning motion. I quickly opened my eyes again and saw that the Hollow had collapsed, his dark red blood slowly pooling at my feet.

Shaking off what I’d just seen, I stepped out of the store and met Micah and Raphael outside. They were standing there just as I’d left them.

“That was quick,” Raphael said. “You were only in there for a few seconds.”

“I could’ve been in there for hours and you’d never know.”

“Got me there. Any trouble?”

“Just a Hollow. He’s not longer with us.”

“Great,” Micah said. “And did you get the radio?”

“Not only did I get it, I got another one of it.”

“Perfect. Now, let’s head back,” Micah replied cheerfully.

We walked back towards the beach, moving as quietly as we could and trying our hardest to ignore the Hollows lurking about in the buildings around us. But it turned out those weren’t the ones we needed to worry about. As we turned at the next road, we found ourselves facing a huge crowd of them meandering about the street. After standing there for a moment, Micah stepped forward.

“Well? Let’s go then.”

Most of them didn’t even stop to look, or even notice we were there. Very few looked as they had when they were alive - or rather, more traditionally conscious. Since they hadn’t been given nourishment, nor did they have the mental capacity to seek their own, the Hollows’ bodies were frail and weak. Their eyes were droopy and unfocused, their gaits slow and staggered. I felt an urge to put an end to their misery, not out of fear but out of pity. But I knew Micah, in her rush, would have none of it. I considered stopping time, but I was still a little dizzy from my earlier use, and decided it’d have to wait.

We had just about cleared the street, and from our position it was a straight shot to the beach. But just as we did so, an upsetting sight caught my eye. It was a child. A little girl who had been infected by the virus, and was now a Hollow, roaming the streets without purpose. This made me stop in my tracks and seriously consider my earlier proposition.

“What are you doing?” Micah asked impatiently.

“It’s just a kid!”

“Yeah, she’s infected,” Micah stated. “There’s nothing we can do.”

“There is something,” I said, unsheathing my knife.

“You can’t kill all of them! We don’t have time!”

“I’m sorry Thran, but she’s right,” Raphael agreed.

Ignoring their warnings, I approached the Hollow and dispatched her the same way I did the last one. I felt a kind of relief as I did so, as if one more soul had been freed from this world. I reluctantly sheathed my knife, regretting that I couldn’t help the rest. Suddenly, a soft static began to sound from one of the radios. I fumbled around my backpack, trying to find switch it off. The Hollows turned their heads toward us, but made no further movements.

“Turn that off, will you,” Micah ordered, anxiously scanning the area.

When I finally found the volume dial, I quickly turned it to the off position. Unfortunately, just as it shut off, the radio released a brief loud, high-pitched tone. Silence fell over the town instantly, and the eyes of every Hollow was upon us. Seeing the way Micah was looking around, weapon drawn, I knew the infected horde before us was the last thing we had to worry about.

I had barely stood up and slung the backpack over my shoulder when an earsplitting cry came echoing from a nearby street. Followed by this was a deep, rumbling roar that sounded much, much more closer. Just then, as if the situation wasn’t bad enough, I heard the distant snarling of a Swarm racing through the streets in our direction.

“Fight? Or run?” Raphael asked.

“If you want to fight a Siren, a Minotaur, and a Swarm, be my guest.”

“A Minotaur?” I asked in disbelief.

Suddenly, as if to answer this very question, a massive beast smashed through a building at the far end of the street. Planting its feet firmly into the ground, literally exhaling steam through its nose, the Demon roared once more. The large creature was nearly fifteen feet tall with the legs and head of a bull and torso of a man. Two curved horns jutted out from either side of its head. Its dark red skin emanated smoke and the body was covered in pure muscle. The Hollows showed no fear, no sign of worry. Apparently taking this as a challenge, the Minotaur charged forward, trampling each and every Hollow and quickly making its way towards us.

Without further hesitation, we turned and ran as fast as our legs could carry us. The Earth began to shake as the Minotaur finished with the infected and was now pursuing us. The battlecry of a Swarm resonated throughout the streets, chasing us alongside a Minotaur and a screeching Siren. As I ran, feeling my breath waiver with each passing step, I told myself that the next time I was a situation like this, I’d turn around and fight. I was really getting tired of running.

“Michael,” Micah said, looking to her right. “We need extract…look behind you what does it look like…yeah ‘oh shit’ send the goddamn flyers!”