Terra Nova (The Variant Conspiracy Book 3) (22 page)

Chapter 31

“We got it!” I thrust my arm over my head brandishing the dagger. I quickly retracted it when I noticed how much attention I drew from Kibera residents milling around the edges of our one-time campsite.

All my friends were clustered around Faith’s old fire pit, which she had re-ignited after sunset. The night sky blotted out most of the world around them.

I handed the dagger to Josh. He tucked it in his belt. It went without saying that Josh was the only one of us with enough skill to stab Ilya without killing him by accident.

“Are we ready to go?” said Cole.

“Gemma should stay behind,” said Josh.

“Will someone stay with her?” I asked.

“I can take care of myself,” said Gemma through her signature pouty face.

“Your sister is right. You’re our only healer. We need you safe and sound, not just for Ilya. More of us are likely to get hurt before this is over,” said Josh.

“I will stay,” said Mr. Mbele.

“Okay, final checks. Anyone hurt? Anyone have any questions?” said Josh.

Everyone shook their heads.

“Wait, give me a minute to see if I can still connect to Ilya,” I said.

“You told us the demon got him,” said Cole.

“But when Ivan was possessed, a part of him hung on, his consciousness. If I can connect to Ilya and warn him, maybe there’s something he can do to help. Or at least be ready to fight for his life when the creature inside him is killed,” I said.

“Do it.” Faith’s dark eyeliner had mostly worn off, but I could see where tears had streaked a hint of black down her cheeks.

“As fast as you can. If you can’t reach him, we still have to go,” said Josh. He checked his weapons one last time.

I ran off into the trees, treading on bits of plastic and paper until I found a large acacia. I sat down cross-legged against the tree and picked up the medallion around my neck. I closed my eyes.

Ilya, can you hear me? Tell me you’re still in there somewhere. Please say something
.

The fire cracked and snapped in the distance. I heard the chatter of indistinct Swahili outside the trees.

I opened my eyes to see Innoviro’s old Victoria office, gutted as it had been when Melissa and I popped back in weeks ago. I took a step forward, listening. Only daylight from the windows lit the empty office.

Urgency pushed me ahead and suddenly the office came to life. The fluorescents overhead popped to life. Computers and cabinets and chairs all slipped back into existence exactly where they had been. But the space remained unoccupied.

I walked back to my old desk. A pang of regret stabbed my chest. It had not been so long ago that I thought I had the best job in the world. I had a beautiful apartment. I had a future. I swallowed hard and carried on to Ivan’s office.

Ilya sat at his father’s desk, clicking away on a keyboard.

“Ilya, is that you?”

Ilya made eye contact, but there was no flicker of recognition in his amber irises. “Who are you? This is a private office.”

“It’s me, Irina, your sister. Your twin sister.”

“I don’t have a sister. Don’t be ridiculous,” said Ilya.

“Yes, you do. Listen, we don’t have time. You’re not safe here. You’re trapped in your own mind. Obviously you’ve lost your memory. We’re going to try to help you, but you have to be ready to fight.”

“Fight who? What are you talking about? Listen, if you don’t get out of here, I’m going to call our head of security. By the time he’s done with you, you’ll be the one with no memory. Now get lost!”

I could see he was getting angry, but I had to try. “Your father, Ivan, wasn’t who you thought he was. He’d been possessed by an alien parasite as long as you’ve been alive. The demonic thing that had control of your father’s body now has you. This isn’t Innoviro. You’re trapped in your own mind. You have to wake up! You have to remember!”

Ilya stood up with a surge of rage. “Get the fuck out of here you creepy little brat! I don’t know where you get the nerve to come in here making up stories about my father, but I’m not going to just sit here and take it.” He stormed toward me.

I backed out of the office. Ilya slammed the door in my face. I felt my limbs shaking. Time grew short, but I had to try once more. I couldn’t leave him like that.

I opened the office door and Innoviro disappeared. I was back in the urban sewer below the building. The dark wet catacomb was silent except for the plink-plink-plink of dripping water down a distant pipe.

A single hooded figure sat on a patch of cardboard, hunched over a book.

“Ilya? Is that you?” My voice echoed.

“Irina?”

“Yes, yes it’s me! Can you remember what happened?”

“Not really. How did we get back to Victoria?” Ilya’s voice quivered with confused fear.

“This isn’t really Victoria. We’re in your mind. Do you remember giving yourself up to Ivan and Tatiana? You were going to try to fight the demon. It took your body, but I think you can still fight it. I’m not sure how it works. Maybe you have to stand up, call it out and confront it. I don’t know. Even if it won’t fight you in your mind, we’ve got the weapon Ivan mentioned. We found the dagger used to kill Ulu’s body however many thousands of years ago. We’re going to use it now—” My speech was cut off by a swift yank to the back of my collar.

Something picked me up and flung me across the room into a puddle of grime. Ilya sat weak and confused on the ground. I scrambled up to see the creature Ulu in his original battle glory, standing between me and my brother. His helm was gone and his glistening black head was ready to strike.

This one is mine. And you will die! Leave here now, interfere no further, and I will give you a quick death. Fight again and you will writhe in agony for a thousand years
. The creature’s mouth did not move. His forked tongue flicked at me as he spoke. His glowing red eyes bore into me.

“No, you’re going to die. We’re going to send you back to nothingness where you belong. You can’t have our world.”

He moved toward me. I held out my astral arm, praying my telekinesis would keep him at bay. The creature marched effortlessly toward me. I panicked and let go of Ilya’s medallion.

Back in the urban Nairobi woods outside Kibera, the sky had grown darker. How long had I been gone? I squinted into the night searching for Faith’s fire. I leapt to my feet and ran back to the campsite.

“Ilya’s mind is there, but he’s a mess.”

Faith’s face crumpled with grief. She put her hand over her mouth. Cole put his arm around her.

“Then, we don’t have any time to lose,” said Josh.

Melissa swooped her arm through the air and a portal appeared just as a sickeningly familiar sound beat the air over our heads. A giant snake bat dove down at Cole as though it sensed the most dangerous target among us.

I lifted my hands to focus my telekinetic energy trying to grip it mid-air. The creature slowed until I felt a thick muscular tube knock the wind out of me sending me to the ground face-first. I saw a massive tail slip back up off the dirt and into the air.

“Melissa! Use a portal!” shouted Josh as a snake bat dove at him.

“To where? You want to unleash these things somewhere else?” said Melissa.

“Faith, nuke ‘em!” shouted Cole.

Jonah shot a high-pressure stream of water at one, but his target dodged. I scanned the sky. Over a dozen giant flying monsters were circling us.

Faith’s stream of fire connected with one and the animal let out a cry of pain. It crumpled and fell to the ground still burning.

“There are too many!” said Jonah as his stream of water sent one animal somersaulting backward.

“We need to retreat!” said Cole.

“I’ll take us to Cairo!” said Melissa.

She swooped her arm through the air and her silver oval reappeared. Gemma ran through and the rest bolted behind her. Jonah grabbed my hand as a bat dove right for me. He yanked and I ran, tripping over my feet as I fell last through the portal.

Back in the alley in front of Tarak’s house, the once dusty ground was wet and muddy. Rain fell down hard.

Within moments, I could tell there was something wrong with the rain. My eyes burned. My skin stung. Cole pounded on the door. “Tarak! It’s the variants from Innoviro. From America. Are you home?”

Tarak’s door promptly opened. Giorgio stood in the entryway. “My friends, what are you doing here?”

“May we come in? There’s something in the rain. It burns,” said Jonah.

“Acid rain is from the explosion. A refinery on the edge of the city had large accident. News tells us all stay inside until rain stops. I have not been able to go home,” said Giorgio.

“Another disaster. We should assume everything is part of
The Compendium
now, fat lot of good it’ll do us,” I said.

“We should tell Tarak you are here.” Giorgio escorted us into Tarak’s living room. “Tarak? You awake?”

“We won’t stay for long. We can’t. We’ve got to get back. We just needed an out,” said Josh.

“We also need your help. You and whoever else we can convince to come,” said Melissa.

“Hello there,” said Tarak as he entered the living room.

“Ivan is proving to be much trouble, yes?” said Giorgio.

“Ivan is dead. The alien parasite that had control of him has Ilya now,” I said.

“That’s terrible news. Of course we’ll come with you,” said Tarak.

“Thank you. We could use those laser-beam eyes of yours,” said Josh.

“Oh, and there is one more gift I hadn’t thought to demonstrate.” Tarak placed his hand on the mosaic tile at the center of his coffee table. His hand disappeared. He checked to make sure we were watching. He lifted his hand off the table and the mosaic pattern came with it.

“You’re a chameleon too?” said Jonah.

“Dude, wow. Just like Max, back in the States,” said Faith.

“Speaking of offence and defense, that reminds me, we’ve only got one handgun and two tranquilizer guns with three darts left. Can you help with weapons?” Josh asked Tarak.

“Unfortunately I don’t own a firearm. It’s too late to purchase anything in Cairo,” said Tarak.

“If you wanted more guns, why didn’t you just say so?” Melissa opened a portal and left us.

“I feel bad that we’re asking you both to risk your lives, but if you’d seen what Terra Nova can do to non-variant life, you wouldn’t hesitate,” I said.

“Don’t be silly, we should have come with you the first time,” said Tarak.

Melissa reappeared holding a large wood box with a latch. She placed the box on Tarak’s coffee table and opened it. Three large black handguns and several rectangular bullet clips challenged us.

“These are all nine millimeter semi-automatic pistols. If you don’t know how to use one, don’t try. These three were the only weapons left at Innoviro’s Mojave station. Josh and I can both use a gun. Who else?” Melissa chose a gun and loaded it with a clip. Josh did the same.

“I’d probably crush one in the heat of the moment,” said Cole.

“Giorgio and I will use fire. Tarak, you’ve got your own ammo. Irina can use telekinesis—and probably can’t fire a gun. So, Jonah, what do you say?” said Faith.

“I’ve fired a gun before, but I don’t think I’m a great shot.” Jonah eyed the weapons warily.

“Don’t shoot anyone who isn’t possessed or trying to end the world.” Josh passed a nine millimeter to Jonah who took it reluctantly.

“Don’t shoot yourself and you’ll be golden,” said Faith.

Chapter 32

“This portal will take us right back to the woods outside Kibera. We should assume those flying monsters are still there. Everyone, be ready to fight,” said Melissa.

We all studied the floating silver oval reluctantly. Cole left first. Faith, Giorgio, Tarak and the rest of my friends followed. Jonah squeezed my hand, let go and departed. I took one last imprint of Tarak’s living room as though a final piece of inspiration was forthcoming. I sighed and plunged into the portal.

Tarak’s cozy living room was replaced by an onslaught of shrieking, shouting, and flapping bat wings.

“Burn in hell, bitch!” Faith shot a dart of hot orange flame at a flurry of black wings and scales. The thing crumpled and fell.

Another bat dove hard at me, its bared fangs and red eyes ready to draw blood. An ice-blue streak of fire came out of nowhere and struck the bat out of the sky. I looked over to see Giorgio with his arm outstretched, glaring at the fallen bat. He glanced at me, nodded, and found another target in the sky above. He shot another streak of blue flame, but missed.

I heard a gunshot behind me. A whooshing sound followed and a limp bat landed on the dusty earth a foot in front of me. I whipped around to see Josh eyeing another bat.

Jonah knocked bats out too with jets of water while Tarak’s laser beams sliced into the melee. Cole plucked one animal off his back and ripped the thing’s head off with a quick jerk.

I couldn’t count how many animals were swirling above us, but it seemed too many to fight. A huge bat darted up out of the fray and made eye contact with me. It opened its mouth and hissed as venom dripped from its fangs. The bat flexed its legs, two talon-tipped appendages that could rend flesh from bone. It dove at me and I dodged, only to fall to the ground.

The animal made a second pass as I scrambled. Two vicious clawed hands gripped my hair and pulled. I screamed in pain as I felt my scalp lifting. Something crashed into the bat and we tumbled together until a loud snap ended the grip on my head. I flailed at my head detangling my hair from crumpled talons. I wriggled free in time to see Cole pull another bat off Faith.

The torrent of wings overhead dwindled and more shots rang out. I searched the night sky and singled out a bat for myself. The rage of vengeance was fresh in my heart. I raised my arms to focus my energy and I caught one.

The animal’s body writhed against the force of my telekinetic grip, but I held it. I moved my arms apart slowly, visualizing the stretch in the animal’s mid-section. I concentrated on the joints where the wings attached to the body and I pictured a ball joint popping out of a socket.

I pulled harder and the bat wings separated from the snakelike body. The animal hissed and snapped as it fell to the ground. Its tiny little bat legs clawed at the earth while its tail flipped and flopped.

“Harsh, honey.” Melissa fired a single close range shot into the still biting head.

I felt my cheeks flush. I had killed one snake-bat to a handful for each of my friends. A single bat swooped back up toward the stars and Josh brought it down with three quick shots.

“Irina, are you all right?” Jonah had a horrified grimace on his face. I searched the sky frantically. I listened to the night for those horrific wings. The bats were gone. Dead creatures lay in twisted lumps around us.

My adrenaline started to subside. The stinging in my scalp took on a more stabbing sensation. I felt wetness in my hair and I looked down to see my hoodie and T-shirt soaked with blood.

Gemma leapt out from behind the nearby tree where she and Mr. Mbele had taken shelter. She ran to me and put her hands on my head. Her hands blinded me with golden light and I felt a tingling pulse all over my body. Without a word, Gemma ran to Cole next whose massive arms were both swollen and purple. Even in the dark of night, I saw giant black puncture marks all over his biceps. Thick yellow mucus oozed back out of the wounds as Gemma’s light flowed into Cole.

Tarak lay still on the ground. Giorgio stood guard over him and Gemma moved to them next. Before I could see what his wounds had been, Tarak stood up again. He took a step and dropped to his knees, weak, but recovering. I could only guess what the innocent bystanders in the slum thought as they watched a handful of people fight mutant snake bats and recover with what appeared to be magic. I caught my breath and turned around to survey what, if any audience we had accrued.

Dozens of terrified men, women, and children were frozen with fear and awe. My friends perused the small crowd which had watched our bizarre fight. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved.

“Listen!” Josh didn’t have to fight to keep the crowd’s attention. “There’s a man and a woman inside Kibera who did some terrible experiments. They made these animals. We’re going to fight them, but they’re planning to release a virus. It’s much, much worse than what you just saw.”

Jonah stepped forward, pointing toward Ivan’s compound. “The white man and woman in there are trying to make everyone very, very sick. Everyone will die. Take your families and go. Don’t wait, just go now. Go as far from here as you can.”

Not one person moved. I knew a language barrier was likely. Many of Kibera’s residents would only speak Swahili. Their array of frowns, wide eyes, and gaping mouths communicated their confusion and shock.

“Can’t you tell them?” Josh barked at Mr. Mbele.

He considered the onlookers gravely.

“Perhaps panic is what gives red boy and green woman their chance. We cannot have chaos underfoot now.”

“We don’t have time for this. The closer we get to morning, the less time we have,” said Cole.

“Follow me.” Josh marched toward the nearest entrance to Kibera.

“Whatever you two do, stay back and stay out of trouble,” I said to Gemma and Mr. Mbele.

“I will keep her safe,” said Mr. Mbele as the rest of our group followed Josh.

I hugged Gemma and ran, not daring to look back.

The street leading to Ivan’s gate was deserted. Between the riot and the battle with the snake-bats, I hoped the missing residents chose to flee rather than hide. As we neared the gate, four figures blocked the way, armed and waiting for us. They raised huge automatic rifles, yelling something in Swahili I couldn’t understand.

“We don’t speak Swahili!” said Cole as we approached.

“Lower your weapons or we’ll have to attack!” said Josh. He stopped and held his arm out to restrain the rest of us.

Tarak, now fully recovered, pushed through and stepped around Josh. He shouted something back at the men.

“What are they saying?” I asked.

“They work for Ivan. They say we will be shot if we come closer,” said Tarak.

“Obviously, but what did you say back?” said Josh.

“I told them their master is the devil and we’ve come to send him back to hell. I told him to help the people of Kibera and get them out,” said Tarak.

The armed guards shouted something in Swahili again.

“They’re saying that we have to leave Kibera and Nairobi immediately, or they will kill us all. If we tell people to leave, they will kill us,” said Tarak.

“Irina, can you stop their bullets?” said Melissa.

“Those are automatic rifles. They’re going to fire countless bullets faster than I can see them. I don’t think I can stop them all.”

“Maybe you don’t have to stop bullets. Can you hold them still, just as they are?” said Jonah.

“Yeah. If they can’t move, they can’t fire,” said Faith

“I can probably hold them for a few minutes. Long enough for someone to get past and go inside,” I said.

“Hold them. I’ll handle the rest,” said Cole.

“Wait, we’ll both go. I’m the only one they can’t wound,” said Josh.

I stepped to the front of our group. I lifted my arms and concentrated. I focused on their hands, picturing them made of stone, not able to move a fraction of an inch.

“Okay guys, go,” I said.

Josh and Cole walked single file at first. When no shots came, Cole closed the distance quickly and one by one, folded each rifle in half. The guards stood frozen by my will. I let go. They remained unmoving with fear in their eyes.

Tarak shouted something in Swahili and the men took off, running into the depths of Kibera as fast as they could go.

“What was that?” said Melissa.

“I told them flesh was easier to bend than metal,” said Tarak.

“Let’s hope Ilya, Tatiana, Rose and Sage didn’t hear any of this,” said Josh.

“Remember, Ilya isn’t himself. When we find him, nothing that comes out of his mouth is from him. It’s the demon,” I said.

Josh adjusted the dagger on his belt, reassuring himself it was secure. Faith’s features crumpled briefly and quickly resumed shape as she turned toward Kibera with a glower of hatred.

“Okay everyone, before we go in, we need to get on the same page. We’re going in there to kill Tatiana and wound Ilya to kill the demon inside him,” said Josh.

“We shouldn’t leave the hedge site unattended,” said Faith.

“Our two fire-starters should stand guard. And they’ll need muscle.” Cole eyed Faith and Giorgio. The latter nodded.

“The rest of us will go into the compound. We stick together. And no talking. The demon in Ilya can probably hear us, but Tatiana, Rose and Sage can’t. I’m going to use hand gestures. I’ll keep it simple. Watch for my signals when there’s a door or a turn. Irina, stay close to me. You’re the only one that’s seen this place top to bottom,” said Josh.

Cole gripped the sliding metal gate and pulled. The frame creaked and snapped open. He lifted the metal door off the ground and threw it into the street, and then he, Faith and Giorgio ran back out of Kibera.

Josh led the way with his finger to his lips. My heart thudded in my ears. My lips were parched. I reached for Jonah’s hand with my left. With my right hand, I picked up Ilya’s medallion from where it hung on my chest and rubbed the tiny coin between my thumb and forefinger. In a last desperate attempt to coordinate with Ilya, I focused on his face and tried to hear his voice.

Brother, if you’re awake and if you know where you are, tell me now
.

We tiptoed down the corridor toward the open room at the heart of the compound’s upper level. No reply came from Ilya.

Ilya, please help me. Help us to help you
.

I’m so glad you’re here, child. I have so many lovely things to show you
, said the demonic voice I had come to loathe.