The Aberration (11 page)

“Did you think you could fool me so easily?  We both know that you started this.  It began when you murdered Reese.  A sacrifice is always necessary for a beacon to open.  It was
you
that Drake saw on the stairs.  You must have run into Greg there.  And you slaughtered him for being in the way. ”

The Other One continued to stare at Guy, expressionless.

Guy pointed the dagger at him.  The ravens flew around him, forming a mass that mirrored that darkness that swirled around the Other One.

“You manipulated the lights, sent your creatures after us, tried to kill me before I could make it up here to stop you.  But you didn’t count on us working together.  Making a stand against you.  And now I have you.” 

The Other One’s bloodless lips twisted.  “You have nothing.  Nothing but a head full of madness and self-delusion.  You have to stop it, Guy.  If you don’t, then you’ll do this again and again…”

The wind shrieked as it whipped around them.  The Others screamed along with it, their wings spreading out as they tried to cling to the ebony towers. 

Guy felt his mouth curve in a tight smile.  “No.  No more lies.  This is where it ends… for both of us.  You know it as well as I do.”

The Other One stood even taller, swelling along with the billowing shadows.  “Then you know nothing.  Because it never ends.  Not now, not ever!”  The ebony wings that unfurled from his back stretched beyond vision, blackening the entire horizon. 

“You must accept it, Guy.  Accept your madness!” 

Guy leaped into the embrace of darkness.

The Other One shrieked when the dagger sank into his chest.  Flames exploded from his eyes and mouth as he staggered backward.  The Others screamed with him before they burst into fiery corpses that fell from the towers and plummeted into the waiting darkness.

The sky rained ravens.

The air blackened with their feathery bodies, drowned in their guttural cries.  They assaulted the Others as they fell, feasted on the smoldering remains. 

The Other One was a shrieking, flailing mannequin; an inferno in the shape of a man that pulled Guy in its fiery embrace.  They toppled backward.  The railing was no match for the conflagration; it surrendered without protest, abandoned them to the embrace of open air.

The Other One’s howls were matched only by the sound of ravens, which plunged into his body despite the flames. Guy’s vision was obscured by thousands of glittering onyx eyes and shuffling feathers; their cries ringing in his ears.

Flames engulfed him, searing into his marrow, melting his bones into slag.  He could not tell if he screamed or laughed.  It was agony. 

It was ecstasy. 

The tower crumpled in the wake of the flames, the entire fortress falling floor by floor.  Flames seared the air as the onyx stone imploded with a furious roar.  The ravens continued to rain without cessation, until all Guy could see was fire and feathers.  Nothing else existed in the world.

He fell forever.

Postlude

Agent Lee surveyed the scene beside Captain Forrester.  The place was a disaster.  Smoke billowed and smothered the air, casting a shadow across a sky that should have been glowing with morning light.  Rubble lay everywhere, the ruins strewn across the landscape were more like the remnants of some ancient civilization than a modernized milling facility.

Forrester had the look of a man who wanted to be elsewhere.  Lee couldn’t blame him.  It was hard even know where to start in a scene like this one.

The Captain sighed heavily as he turned from the damage.  “Anything else you need?”

“No, I think that’s it.  We’ll take it from here.”

“Well, don’t hesitate to ask if you lack for anything.”

Forrester walked toward a group of policemen and spoke to them.  Agent Lee turned to his partner.

“What do we got, Olivia?”

Olivia brushed a stray strand of her pulled-back blond hair from her face.  She was dressed similar to Lee in dark slacks and an FBI jacket over her buttoned shirt.  She paused from recording some imagery with her tablet computer.

“Massive explosion.  The entire building is history.  Don’t see these very often anymore.”

“Anyone got a theory on the cause?”

“Not yet.  With dust and enclosed spaces there’s always a risk of explosions in mills, though all the modern ones are constructed to reduce that chance as much as possible.”

She slid some tables over on the tablet, looking at the data projections.  “Still, something like an overheated bearing in an elevator leg might ignite the dust and cause an explosion.  That could cause a chain reaction, but…”

“But that wouldn’t bring down the entire building, would it?”

Olivia shook her head.  “All estimates indicate negative on that.  Best guess is that an explosive was detonated.  No evidence to support that yet, but…”

Lee grunted.  “Yeah, well it’s a hell of a mess.  How many dead?”

“Six unaccounted for.  There’s a crew trying to salvage any body parts for identification.  Not going to be easy, with the exception of one.”

“How’s that?”

“You’re going to have to see it.”

He sighed and followed her.  As they picked their way past debris and salvage teams, he slipped and just managed not to embarrass himself.  “Dammit!  Muddy as hell.”

Olivia nodded.  “The fire department had a time stopping the fire from spreading.”

“What did they do, drop a few loads by helicopter?  This place is
saturated
…”

“I noticed.  It’s possible the explosion could have ruptured the main water line…”  She led him directly to where an emergency crew crouched together at the far end.  On arriving closer it was clear that they were gathered around a corpse.

“One of the day shift supervisors identified him as Guy Mann, employee of six years.” 

Agent Lee snorted.  “Guy Mann?  Guess that’s better than John Doe.  You guys have a cause of death?”

One of the medics looked up.  “Flatline.  That’s all I can tell.  No sign of stroke or heart failure.  All organs seem to be intact.  Almost as if his brain just… shut off.”

Agent Lee peered over their shoulders.  The man on the gurney was the nondescript sort.   His clothes were scorched and torn in a few places. He lay as though asleep; his lips slightly curved in a peaceful smile.

Lee scratched his head.  “Ok, what’s so strange about a dead guy?”

Agent Olivia gave him an exasperated glance.  “Don’t you find it strange that the body is almost completely unharmed?  Only a few lacerations and bruises.  There’s hardly a scorch mark even though he was found in the middle of this wreckage.”

Agent Lee shrugged.  “Stranger things have happened.”

Another medic spoke up.  “He was covered in some black substance when we found him.  We thought he was severely burned.  But it was some type of… covering or something.  It deteriorated as soon as we peeled it off of him.”

“Some kind of fireproof shield, maybe.  Maybe he was responsible for the explosion.”

“It will be hard to prove that now,” Olivia said.  “What do you want to do?”

“Process him.  Maybe an autopsy will give us a few answers.  Check if he had any psyche records, mental illnesses.  Known associates.  Find out what kind of person he was.”

He turned away as they zipped up the body bag.  An emergency worker ran their direction, gesturing frantically.  “Over here!  We have someone!”

They turn and see a group of emergency workers supporting a blond man.  He was covered in soot, bruises and appeared to have a bloody bandage applied over his shoulder.

Agent Lee shared a smile with Olivia.  “I’ll be damned.”  The entire group scrambled toward the man, leaving the gurney where it sat. 

A young woman spotted the survivor from the group of family and friends who gathered behind the police barricade.  She dashed past the startled policemen.

“Michael!”

His weary eyes lit up at the sound of her voice.  By the time he turned, she was in his arms.  By that time Lee, Olivia, and a score of policemen, reporters, and workers arrived.  They surrounded Michael, pressing in and asking questions.  He held Cynthia close, a dazed expression on his face. 

Lee and Olivia managed to get close to him and tried to herd him through, brushing off the questions.

“Give the man some room, dammit.  Can’t you see he needs medical attention?  Back off, I said!”

~*~

The body bag unzipped. 

Guy slowly sat up and gazed around calmly.  A raven cawed loudly and landed on the stretcher.  It looked at Guy with knowing eyes before it flew away.  He followed its flight with his eyes before he dismounted from the gurney. 

With all the attention converging on Michael, no one noticed as he picked up a spare fireman jacket and boots.  He walked past scores of emergency personnel, keeping his eyes straight ahead.  No one bothered to stop him.

Just before he got to the road, he looked back.

Michael sat down on a gurney, answering questions from Agent Lee while Agent Olivia took notes on her tablet.  Cynthia sat next to him, clasping his hand.  Policemen were busy keeping the press barricaded from the scene.

Michael looked up, locking eyes with Guy.  His eyes widened in recognition.  The two men stared at each other.  Guy nodded slowly.

Michael nodded in return.

He turned his attention back to Agent Lee.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t hear that last question…”

Agent Olivia turned the direction that Michael was looking, but there was nothing beyond the road except the surrounding thicket.  A raven fluttered from the branches, cawing loudly.  The woods were tangled, smothered in smoke and distorted shadows…

A Word From the Author

First and foremost I thank you for taking the time to invest in this story.  My fans and readers are greatly appreciated.  As an independent author it is humbling to know that my words and stories find an audience that enjoy them.

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Thanks again.  I hope you will continue to enjoy my work as much as I enjoy writing it.

Non omnis moriar,

Bard Constantine

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bard Constantine is a novelist, poet, and screenwriter who currently resides in Birmingham, Al.  Updates on his work can be found online on Facebook, Twitter, and his personal website, knightvisionltd.com.