And It Arose from the Deepest Black (John Black Book 2) (19 page)

Interlude

Opposites. Magnets. Attracting. The undeniable pull. Getting closer. Getting stronger.

Changing.

Syncing.

Locked.

Coming together.

One side pulls harder than the other.

There are more.

11

“Johnny?” Holly asked as I popped into the kitchen.

Yeah, Hol?
Mom, busy making our breakfast, still had time to roll her eyes. I forgot she might resent our mental conversation. “What’s up, Holly?” Mom nodded in appreciation. I gave her a wink.

Holly was absent-mindedly scratching one arm, but her eyes were fixed on mine.
Johnny, the burn. I don’t like it.

You mean the sunburn feeling?

Uh huh.

Still getting worse?

I think so.
She kept scratching at her arm, harder than before. So much I wondered if she would make herself bleed.

Suddenly noticing my stare, Holly dropped her hands into her lap.
Sorry. I can’t help it.

* * *

“High five!” Bobby said, one hand raised. I just gave him an annoyed look. “Come on, man, you’re a hero!”

“What are you talking about, Bobby?”

“Johnny, look. Even back when
I
was the biggest jerk around,
I
didn’t like Lawrence Blatnik. Everyone wanted to loosen a few of his teeth. You’ve done the community a great service.” Bobby laughed at his own joke.

And I couldn’t help but smile. “It did feel good.”

“Of course it did! And, with any luck, Lawrence will fly under the radar for a little while.”

Bobby was smiling, but his eyes told the truth. Something was bothering him. Still, teenage boys aren’t known for their particular skill at sharing feelings. So when I asked him a question, I may have skated around what was really on his mind. “Do you want a sandwich or something?” See? Maybe that was changing the subject. Perhaps.

“Nah, I ate at home.”

Four hours later, Bobby finally spoke up. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, the kind of fall day when the weather is just right — cool with a little breeze, but enough sun to keep you warm and comfortable. The leaves were starting to turn, so the world was flush with color in places that were normally muted green or brown. From above our heads, the occasional red or yellow leaf would decide to go AWOL and jump to its imminent death.

Bobby and I didn’t really have a place to hang out, not like the self-storage building or the warehouse. We pretty much stayed around my house, but even we couldn’t avoid going outdoors when the day was so inviting. So we ended up aimlessly walking, making our way to Merrick Park, probably drawn by the
ding
of aluminum bats striking balls, the indistinct voices encouraging pitchers and batters and fielders alike, but mostly pitchers, as long as they weren’t belly-itchers. Beside one of the ballparks, we found an empty set of risers and sat down, watching a bunch of 10-year-olds in red take the field while other kids in green and white came up to bat.

“I’m torn, Johnny,” Bobby finally said.

“Go on.”

“Well, you know I came back here with you, and that was my choice. I don’t want you to think you forced me or something…”

“But?”

“But I’m torn. Pip is out there, by herself, tracking two Gorgols and Jake. I feel like I should help her.”

“Then you should,” I said.

Bobby nodded slowly. A boy in green and white made contact and sent the ball looping into left center field. Mass chaos ensued. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen 10-year-olds play baseball, but it isn’t the fluid game you might be familiar with from the pros. The runner advanced all the way to third before the red team got things under control. “I don’t think we’re looking at athletic-scholarship material here, Johnny,” Bobby said with a laugh. “Anyway, I want you to know that I completely understand your point of view. Who are we to just decide to kill the Gorgols? And I respect you for thinking that, especially if they’re coming toward Holly.” Now it was my turn to nod, although I didn’t say anything. “Lately, I’ve been following things pretty closely on the news. The creatures are really going to town in some places.”

“Going to town when they go to town?”

“Right,” Bobby said with a smile. “I mean they’re really destroying things, any place they run into. And Pip is still tracking them. I’ve heard reports and seen her in some of the video clips. As for us…”

“I know.”

“They think we either
died
from our wounds or just
gave up
.” Bobby sighed. “I’m not sure which of those I like the least.”

“We sort of did give up — well,
I
gave up. You chose to leave with me.”

“Yeah.”

“And now you regret it?”

“No, Johnny. Not really. But I do find myself wanting to help.”

“Go, if that’s what you need to do,” I said. “But you know they’re coming here.”

Bobby thought about that for a moment. He scanned the area, taking it in. “I know. But… they’ll destroy this place. They’ll destroy
our hometown
.”

“Probably, if we let them,” I said.

He turned to me, a little too eager. “Then you’ll fight?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I don’t want to kill anymore. Besides, I don’t know how much Jake is pushing them.”

“Well, then, I know one thing for sure.”

“What’s that?”

“We can’t let them come here and destroy the place where we live. Where our friends live, our families. Even though my family sucks. I mean, I actually
like
your family.”

We shared a laugh, the kind of laugh friends can share no matter what they’re talking about. Life, death, anything from potato chips to terminal cancer — friends can find a laugh in any conversation. “But there’s more,” I said. “Jake thinks the Gorgols want to find us — well,
me
. For revenge, because I killed Omicron. And he actually thinks the Gorgols are here for revenge against all of humanity, for what we’ve done wrong to the world.”

“That would be something, huh, Johnny? The world pumps out giant monsters when it wants to knock mankind down a peg.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t know they might actually be coming for Holly.”

“Okay, so they’re coming to us, but we don’t want them to, because we like this stupid place and all of its stupid people, and Jake thinks the Gorgols want to avenge their dead and then avenge the world.”

“Correct,” I said. “So… What do you suggest, Bobby?”

His face became serious. “We go to them. Meet up with them before they come here and destroy everything. I have no idea what we’re going to do when we get there, but we have to go to them, so they don’t come here and mess everything up. Or hurt Holly.”

I’d like to say that I was altruistic and full of peace when I said, “You’re right.” But honestly, the bloodlust was there, too. Even I hardly noticed that one my hands was repeatedly balling itself into a fist.

Besides, I had a history of going to great lengths to protect my sister.

12

I was suspended, so no one thought twice when I didn’t show up for school the next day. Bobby skipped, too, mind-pushing his mom to call him out sick again. There was no saying how much longer that thin guise would last.

We followed the beacon. The weird, fuzzy one that Jake — I mean,
Ranger
— put out.

And so there we were, once again, headed directly for trouble, facing down a man who may or may not have been crazy, and his two lapdogs. His two giant, deadly lapdog monsters.

I had to tell myself that this wasn’t just a rehash. It wasn’t the bravado and stupidity of us flying west to kill Omicron. Jake had made it clear they were coming for me. And the Holly connection scared me.

Somehow, I had to reason with Jake. Or at least figure out clearly what the Gorgols wanted and try to resolve things without more killing, without letting them get to my sister. If Jake could tap into their minds, I figured I could, too. I just needed to do it a little more slowly and carefully, not like I had with Omicron.

Still, with all that running through my mind as we prepared to leave, there was something that stood out even more. Winner of The Most Insane Moment of the Day was this: Bobby stole his parents’ car.

Stole
is probably a harsh word. He borrowed it. He pushed his parents’ minds so they wouldn’t miss him or the car for a little while. And he was going to bring it back, assuming it didn’t become Gorgol toe cheese or something. I reminded him we should park a safe distance away.

So, you might ask, how did Bobby know how to drive? That’s the thing. He didn’t. Neither did I. We were about the right age for driver’s ed, but hadn’t actually gotten there yet. So Bobby winged it.

Turn the car on. Put it in D for drive. Big turny-wheel makes it go left and right. Right pedal is gas, left is brake. It’s not all that different from countless racing games we played. Bobby was good at those, and he was pretty good at real driving, too, after only a few minutes.

But the hat. My God, the hat.

Bobby figured that we’d get derailed pretty darn fast if some cop pulled us over thinking an underage kid was driving. So he also
borrowed
one of his dad’s hats. It was like a fedora or bowler, or maybe a sombrero. You can see that I don’t know hats. It was tan and roughly woven, with a bright blue satiny band in the middle. And a big white feather. An
actual
feather. What bird produced big white hat feathers? Condor. I’m going with condor.

“Shut up, Johnny,” Bobby said when I hopped in the car, took one look at him, and started laughing.

I dramatically snapped to attention and saluted. “Aye aye,
mon capitan
! Should I cast off the lines?”

Bobby balled up a fist. “Don’t make me pop you. I do
not
look like a pirate, Johnny.”

My lip quivered with a coming wave of new guffaws. “Whatever ye say, cap’n!” The wave hit. I laughed.

“I’d punch you in the arm, but… you know.” Then Bobby couldn’t help it, and he laughed, too.

We sat like that in my driveway for a while.

Finally, wiping tears from my eyes, I asked, “I understand it’s a disguise, but why did you pick
that
hat?”

“Because,” Bobby said. “The old man never wears it. My grandma gave it to him, and he hates it. I figured he’d never miss it. And I figured it’d make me look older.”

“Mission accomplished, admiral,” I said.

“
Admiral
?” Bobby considered it, then nodded. “Admiral!” He smiled and tipped his hat. “Admiral…” And we set sail.

* * *

It wasn’t even two hours before we hit a snag.

“Ah crap!” Bobby said, looking down.

“What?”

“The gas light just came on. Did you bring any money?”

“Maybe?” I said, starting to fumble in my pockets. I pulled out a few crumbled bills, one of which was a ten. So we could buy some gas, but enough to get to the Gorgols and, with luck, return? Not a chance. That meant doing it
our
way.

We started looking for road signs, and pretty quickly found that there was gas available at the next exit. Bobby had been firmly entrenched in the right lane since the moment we got on the highway, so he was already well primed to get off. What he didn’t plan for was the people coming on. A blue sedan attempted to merge directly beside us, and a comedy of errors ensued. Bobby slowed down, the other driver slowed down. Bobby sped up, the other driver sped up. The merge area was ending quickly, so something had to be done. Finally, Bobby just hit the brake, nearly stopping in the middle of the road. The last we saw of the other driver, he was careening left onto the highway and mouthing something at us through the window. I’m pretty sure he was saying,
What’s with that hat?

At the gas station, Bobby started filling up. It was my job to go inside and make a few mental suggestions to the attendant, to ensure he believed that we were never there and never stole a tank of gas. Above the cash register hung a little TV that the attendant must have used to pass the time. And on the TV was our goal, the Gorgols themselves.

The video showed Alpha and Sigma, pounding their way through some wooded area. I was struck once more by the size and sheer power of Alpha. She was like a giant reptilian gorilla, with an extended, hooded neck and a long tapering tail. And the scales — those massive, granite scales, just like Omicron had. I knew how powerful Sigma was, but standing beside her mother, Sigma looked small. Well, not small. But slighter, more lithe.

And, of course, up on one of Alpha’s wide shoulders sat the khaki-covered form of Jake.
Ranger
.

The TV announcers spoke over the live footage.

“In an amazingly short period of time, the Gorgols have made it across most of the country.”

“That’s right, David. In another day or two, depending, they could reach the eastern seaboard.”

The view changed to a map, showing the past progress and forward projection of the creatures’ marathon.

“In fact, it seems the only thing that really slows them down is when they pause to destroy something.”

“Correct — other than that, they’ve been relentless in following this line. The problem is that we still don’t know exactly where this path will take them. It’s endpoint, assuming the ocean is an endpoint, is an area of marshy, indistinct shoreline. Not much there but a couple of farmhouses and maybe a duck blind.”

“Nevertheless, officials in populated areas along the route have begun initial evacuations.”

I had a decent sense of geography, especially after my long walk to find Sol. It looked like very little land separated the Gorgols from where I was standing. We’d be upon them sooner than I realized.

I had to talk to Jake. Luckily, I’d remembered to bring the paper with his phone number on it. I just needed a phone of my own.

At 15, I really should have had one. So many of my friends already did. Bobby didn’t, but that’s because his parents sucked, as you likely recall. For me, with a single working mom who had run through her insurance money and still had to support a disabled daughter — well, me begging her for a phone seemed a little crappy.

Luckily, virtually everyone else on the planet had one, so after a little push, the gas-station attendant offered up his phone.

Jake answered after only one ring. “Yes?”

“Jake, it’s me. John. We’re coming to meet you. Think you can control your pets long enough for us to talk?”

“Of course, John. Of course.”