Cascade box set 2, p.31
Cascade Box Set 2, page 31
Up until now they had been surprised by the lack destruction in the structures around the highway, especially seeing they were moving into what were more heavily populated areas, but as the gloom descended ahead of the night, it was obvious most of the buildings around them had suffered lots of attacks of some kind.
“Don’t reckon we’ll find anyone alive from here on,” said Fiona. She then quickly realized the ramifications of the words that just came from her mouth. “I mean of the people that lived here from before.”
Zach smiled. “People can be pretty resilient.” He then noticed a dark black shape against the sky. “What’s that over there?”
She slowed and tilted forward to try and see. “Some kind of old building, let’s check it out.”
After turning down a few streets, the road climbed and they came out onto a long street, lined with shops. Most of them were open to the elements, with their fronts missing.
“Look,” said Fiona looking straight ahead.
About a hundred yards in front of them were a mass of twisted vehicles, all heaped together to form what looked like a barricade.
“Stop,” said Zach.
She did and Zach jumped out switching on his flashlight and pulling his rifle from his back. The Humvee behind had also stopped and Bower leaped out, running up to Zach.
Both of them swept their lights over the wall of broken metal and plastic. Zach then realized that a part of it had collapsed.
“Do we really need to be doing this?” said Bower watching where Zach was heading.
“Nope.”
Bower sighed, then followed.
Zach clicked on his radio, talking quietly. “Everyone stay with the vehicles, and stay on the big guns in case things get hot. Over.”
Once they climbed over the remains of cars and trucks, they lifted their flashlight beams and looked out onto a scene of devastation. A few Humvees, together with a full battle tank sat amongst small pillboxes made from sandbags. Darkened patches covered most of the ground, which in the light of their flashlights looked devoid of color but Zach and Bower new what they were.
They walked forward avoiding most of the wreckage.
Bower looked inside one of the Humvees. “Looks undamaged from what I can see.”
Zach then jumped up on the tank, and looked inside the open hatch. Pointing his light down to the dark pit of the interior he leaned in. “Same with the tank, not seeing any damage.”
They both stood and looked around them. The silence was so complete that they could still hear sounds coming from those they had left just a few hundred yards away. Their radios then came to life.
“I’m sensing things coming our way. Over.” said Diaz.
“How long we got? Over.”
“A few minutes at most, they are moving lightning quick.”
Zach scanned the area around them. As he lifted his lights beam an impressive second empire three story building came into view looming over them. Part of its masonry on the right wing had been completely destroyed, but most of it still seemed intact, and it was definitely the highest point in the area.
He clicked on his radio. “Leave the Humvees, get everyone over here now, we’re going to hide inside the old courthouse.”
Bower wasn’t sure of the plan, but repeated the order to his people.
Soon everyone was running towards them, carrying their guns and packs.
“If we’re going to hide we better be doing it now, because they are not far!” said Diaz.
Zach ran towards the large light gray building, running up the stone steps. “This way!”
Sandbags lay scattered including some forming a small wall in front of the large arched entrance. Zach climbed over, and pushed the secure looking doors open.
“I can hear them,” said Harper behind him, as everyone climbed over the obstruction.
“Come on, everyone inside,” said Bower, pushing people forward. Once the last had entered the building, he ran in with them and pushed the doors closed. He then looked up at the stone and marble, his flashlight following his gaze. “Hey this is some b—”
He realized the others were standing silent in front of him, and then he realized why. Bodies laid around the large hallway like forgotten dolls.
Fiona kneeled near one. “Not seeing any E.L.F damage to them, I think—”
A crunching noise came from the street outside.
“What is that? It sounds like white noise?” said Harper.
“Everyone kill your lights,” said Zach.
Each one turned their lights off plunging them into the absolute darkness. The intensity of the sound outside increased.
“It’s like a swarm of some kind,” whispered Hayes.
“Wait here,” said Zach. He remembered that there was a grand staircase to his left, so he reached out and immediately felt the cold metal bannister. Using that as a guide he put his boot on the first step and then the second, each time checking for anything blocking his path. He ascended quickly until the steps stopped. First floor.
Spreading his arms outwards, he moved forward until he felt a wall. He knew the direction of the door they came in from so he knew which direction to go in, to get to a room which overlooked the street. Soon he felt an opening, and then he saw a faint light coming from outside. Carefully but as quickly as he could he moved into the room, bumping into furniture until he was at the window. They stood at least seven feet high, and were mostly covered in large pieces of wood.
Zach stepped closer to one of the sources of light, and looked through a small gap between the planks. A feeling of dread descended on him. He recognized what was outside. He had seen them before. First at the prison in New Mexico and more recently in Dallas.
A mass of darkness just visible in the light from the moon flowed along the street, sometimes stopping to poke into a recess or an opening in a building. Even though it looked like one semi-solid creature he knew it was made up of hundreds if not thousands of smaller beings, all with razor sharp claws and fangs.
He could hear his heart beating so loud in his ears he wasn’t sure it couldn’t be heard by the creatures outside. Even large singular E.L.F’s could be handled with enough firepower, but these things, he wasn’t sure what would stop them. Even Abbey wasn’t able to affect them.
The dark form moved to the bottom of the stone steps, with parts reaching out from the overall shape and then recombining with it, almost as if it was searching.
Zach watched. Keep moving. Nothing to see here.
Something slammed against the wooden boards and all light from outside was extinguished.
Zach jumped back.
The boards creaked and strained, and an incessant scratching and scraping noise played out across the whole building.
The creatures were just a few feet away from him, on the other side of the flimsy pieces of wood, barely held to the wall with nails and screws.
He stood, not wanting to breath or move. His mind flashed to those downstairs, and hoped they had enough sense to do the same. Every few seconds the room around him would become visible again, as the creatures jostled against the building, and the light would be enough to seep through the gaps. Then the void would return.
Zach thought the noise would never stop, and then it did. His eyes had adjusted now and he could see he was standing in a kind of large meeting room, with a long table and chairs alongside it. He tentatively stepped forward and looked through the same gap he had a moment before. The creatures had gone. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
There was a noise behind him.
“Diaz say’s they’re moving away,” said Bower. “Did you see what they were?”
“I’ve come across them a few times, too many times.”
“What are they?”
“Something to be avoided. This building might have a basement, might be a good place to hold up for the night. Right now though I’m going to see how high I can get within this building.”
“I’ll come with you.” Bower then clicked on his radio and told the others to explore the building and keep a lookout for a basement.
Keeping their flashlights mostly pointing to the floor, so not to alert anyone or thing outside of their presence they ascended the wide staircase until they came out to the top floor. A sign on the wall mentioned a clock tower, with an arrow. Following it they came to an open door with a small set of stairs which they quickly moved up, coming out into a small room. Inside were some rifles, and boxes of ammo.
Bower picked up one of the rifles. “There might be a lot more supplies around this place. In the daylight we should see what we can find.”
Zach spotted another door and what looked like beyond, another set of stairs. He moved into the stairwell and looked up. A spiral staircase ascended upwards into shadows. He gripped the railing and walked up eventually stepping out onto wooden boards. In front of him was an intricate mechanism, which linked to the large clock face on the outside. There were also two small windows. Bower appeared behind him, and they both walked forward and looked through each of them.
“Can’t really see much of anything out there, even with the moon it’s just darkness,” said Bower.
There was silence from Zach.
Bower looked across to him. “See anything?”
“Yeah.”
Bower walked towards him. “What?”
“Lights. There are lights in the sky.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Abbey’s eyes flickered open. She thought she heard a noise. She lay huddled up in a corner of an office, waiting for it to repeat itself. It didn’t. Her head throbbed. She could feel them. The E.L.F’s, large and small, some alone, some in packs all around the huge lumber yard she had found refuge in for the night.
Mo wasn’t able to fly for long after they jumped off the rooftop, so in short bursts of flight, they made it a short distance further on until the sun was too low to provide any light for navigation. They were in the middle of nowhere, with not even a small town in sight, but eventually came across a large clearing, with piles of cut wood in the middle of the expanse of forests. It was the only place she could sense that wasn’t full of creatures. On landing, she spotted the office buildings where the business of the place would have happened, and hoped it would provide shelter.
She reached into her pack, and pulled out the bottled water, undoing it and taking a sip. The pain continued between her temples. Looking back at her pack, the box of painkiller tablets peeked out of one of the side pockets. Pulling them out, she realized how light they felt, and didn’t bother opening the cardboard flap to discover what she already knew. She threw the box away.
Light was coming through the blinds but she had no idea what time it was. She felt drained. Maybe her E.L.F senses had increased or maybe there were just more creatures in the area she was in, but most of her night had been one of headaches and the constant sensation of things nearby.
She pulled herself up by leaning on a chair and stretched. The noise happened again and she froze with her arms spread out above her head. Outside?
She walked to the blinds and carefully pulled one of the slats down, more light flooded into her room making her squint. Once her vision cleared, her heart missed a beat. In the parking lot outside the building she was in were ape like creatures, standing on two legs. They seemed to be searching. There was also something strange about them, something she had not seen on any other E.L.F. Are some of them wearing armor?
One of them looked up at the window and she quickly let the slat drop and pulled back.
She also suddenly felt Mo circling high above. He was watching those beings as well.
Grunts and clicking noises emanated from outside, each with a different tone and inflection. Are they communicating to each other?
She wasn’t sure to feel fear or fascination, but she knew she wanted to know more about the strange creatures outside. She closed her eyes and let her mind relax despite the pain from the headache, and projected herself into the world beyond the room she was in, searching for the minds of the creatures.
Sights, sounds and images flashed through her mind. Whoa.
This was new. These E.L.F’s had a sense of themselves that she had not felt in other creatures, even Mo.
A noise came from the room below her, making her freeze. Objects were being tossed around and falling off desks.
There was no point running, and she probably wouldn’t be able to shoot her way out, so she needed another option.
She grabbed the string for the blind and tugged it down, within a few pulls the blind was all the way to the top. She then unlatched the window and pushed it open as wide as it would go. The noise outside increased and a cool breeze brushed over her.
The creatures looked up and pointed.
That’s also new.
She then closed her eyes, and tried again to project her mind outwards, focusing on portraying herself as not a threat.
A noise came from behind her, making her turn around. One of the creatures was standing in the open doorway. In some ways it looked like Mo, large eyes and an ape like body but this creature’s skin was more lizard like with patches of scales. It also had no wings and she was fairly sure its head was larger than her pets.
She looked at her rifle lying on the ground. The creature’s eyes followed her gaze and it then grunted in her direction.
Surely it can’t know what that is?
Again she allowed positive calming thoughts to flow through her. The creature’s head nodded a few times, and again it grunted, but this time it backed out of the doorway, keeping its large eyes fixed on her.
“You want me to follow you?” She had to stop herself from laughing at the absurdity of what she just said, but after getting used to talking to Mo, talking to this creature even if it had no idea what she was saying wasn’t so insane.
The creature stamped its feet, continuing its grunting.
“Okay, I’m coming.” She leaned down picking up her pack and went to reach for her rifle, when the creature screeched at her, almost making her fall over backwards. Luckily a side unit was close enough behind her for her to lean on.
“Guess I’ll leave that here then.”
The idea that the strange being in front of her had any concept of a weapon was crazy, but then she had seen Mo play around with objects like he was trying to understand what they were, maybe just maybe these E.L.F’s learned the hard way that what was lying on the floor was capable of hurting them.
The creature backed away, keeping a good few feet of distance between it and her as she followed it along the corridor and then into the stairwell. Watching it slap away at the handle to open the stairwell door was surreal, but it happened. She then followed it down the stairs and finally it moved out into the parking lot. She half expected it to hold the door open for her, but it slammed shut behind it instead.
As she stood facing the closed door, the overwhelming feeling to turn and run back upstairs was almost too much to resist, but something told her to keep moving forward. This was a mystery, one she wanted to know more of.
She held the handle down and pulled the door open, as she did grunts and screeches echoed around the large space outside the building.
Some of the creatures jumped up and down on the spot, while others ducked their heads and others, although she couldn’t quite believe this when her eyes saw it, were holding metal poles and waving them around. These were also the ones whose bodies were clad in twisted metal, made from large cans that were around their arms and legs. These creatures weren’t something she or anyone she knew, had encountered before.
“Umm hello?” she posed to the E.L.F’s in front of her.
Their vocal noises calmed and one of them started walking forward from the middle of the pack. As it started to emerge she could see it also had items hanging from its torso but these looked more decorative. This is insane.
She watched as this particular creature, which was slightly larger than the rest stepped clear of the others, and slowly moved towards her. Then came a loud squawk from above their heads, Mo was hovering about a hundred feet up, just above the roof of the building behind her.
The screeches increased from the obviously agitated creatures, and some started throwing their poles at Mo.
“No! No! He’s with me!” Shouted Abbey. She then tried to make her pet feel at home, and he quickly ascended landing just to her side and spread his wings out. The other creatures continued their screeching and Mo replied with hissing and stamping his feet.
One of the armored creatures sprung forward holding one of its solid looking metallic clubs aloft.
No… this is all going wrong!
She jumped in front of Mo just as the club swiped through the air, catching the side of her face and knocking her unconscious.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Zach and Bower looked at the room full of ammo crates. They found them in a room inside the courthouse, the door being behind a small wall of sandbags.
Bower flipped the lid on one crate and pulled out a concussion grenade. “They had everything they needed to fight a small war.”
Zach walked to another open crate which contained rifles. “Everything other than enough people. Nobody was prepared for a war against monsters.”
“We should try and take as much of this stuff with us.”
“Agreed. Also when we get back to Brads, it might be worth some trips back out here to ferry the rest back.”
Bower looked at the wall to ceiling dark green boxes. “Yeah.”
Diaz entered the room. “I’m sensing E.L.F’s, different types in different directions.”
“Any coming this way?” said Bower.
“Not yet…”
Bower ignored Diaz’s implication. “Find Harper and Freeman, get them to take a crate of each type of grenade. I’m counting three types here. Also that looks like a shoulder-mounted launcher in that crate. We’re going to want that, and as many of its missiles as we can pile into the back of the Humvees.”
