The Crystal Call

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The muscles in his abdomen ached with the fear of leaving him behind. He produced a painful sigh. Quickly walking away from the room before he could change his mind, Dakota headed for the arched hallway that provided the only architectural connection between their housing and the rest of main building.

When he reached the other side, he found a terrifying sight. Much of the structure’s front façade had collapsed, including part of the second level. He didn’t dare try and cross the full length of what remained, either, as it dipped low in the middle, ready to fall the moment something put weight on it.

He swallowed, but his mouth felt dry. All that smoke and dust. He needed to cough, but he didn’t dare make any noise. It could mean the difference between seeing Terrell again or not.

But there were other options. He could jump down onto the flat roof that led to the military complex where both he and Terrell worked. Perhaps Kenna had gone there to look for them, or to join the fight. If not her, Darrin might be there, hunkered down in one of the classrooms. But a large portion of the fighting seemed to be in that direction, with gunfire dominating the noise. If he wanted to go there and survive, he would have to make it safer.

So, he chose another path. A rickety hidden stairway led upwards to the remnants of a clock tower, now predominantly used by lookouts—when anyone could be spared for such a “non-essential” duty. But for his purposes, it would be perfect. Out of the way. Shielded enough by heavy brick and stone that he wouldn’t get himself shot. High enough to possibly spot someone important if they were out in the open. And he could bolt the access shut so that it would be unlikely, even if the creatures found his hideout, that they might reach him. Dakota couldn’t think of anything better.

He opened the concealed door, which blended into the wood paneling on the northern wall. The stairs were homemade. Shoddy. Tacked to the edges of the chimney-like tower with large nails that seemed too frail to hold anyone. But soldiers made this route every day. If it could hold them and their gear, it could hold him. He made the journey as fast as possible to help ease his concerns.

Once he reached sunlight, Dakota took only a few seconds to secure the door before moving to the edge. Using it as cover, he scanned the area, hoping to spot Ken. But all he saw was the gray and brown blur of the mutant army, slowly trying to breach buildings in all directions. He had to stop them. They would annihilate the city’s people if they got the chance. With his heart racing, he picked through the pile of talismans dangling from his neck and tried to make a decision on what to use and in which order.

Eventually, “A’lund eta ma,” he pronounced with such gentleness that he may as well have been speaking his lover’s name. He glared at the creatures below, and, extending his arm, willed them to do his bidding.

The partial humans didn’t react. Not too surprising. The crystal purportedly worked on all mammals, but not once in his experience did it hold any sway over human beings. Though the monsters seemed more like animals hitching a ride in people casings, they still had some of the original DNA.

But he didn’t need them to fall under his command. The mutated dogs and cats and boars and whatever else they kept on chains, hardly domesticated to begin with, were easily swayed to turn on their captors. All at once, the four-legged experiments bulked. They pulled on their restraints. If they broke free, the creatures immediately turned aggressive and attacked any living thing that was closest, including their handlers and the other fighters. If their leashes didn’t snap, they simply doubled back and killed the bastards on the other end.

Dakota watched with dark amusement as the jaws of creatures ripped into flesh. The confused screams. The chaos. Maybe he couldn’t find Ken, but if she’d been hurt, he would certainly act out revenge on her behalf.

As anticipated, the city soldiers took this event as a sign of weakness. They began firing on the pseudo-humans and killing them with greater speed and accuracy. If they questioned why the little balls of fur and teeth wanted to hurt their masters, it didn’t seem to affect their ability to put the enemy down. Dakota smiled as the bad guys had to refocus their energies on fighting their own pets.

But even this setback wouldn’t be enough to turn the tide, he thought. One by one, the animals fell, either to the destructive whims of the other monsters or to showers of gunfire. Increasingly, Dakota had fewer minions at his disposal. He needed to do something more.

And somehow keep their side alive and shooting.

Dakota carried plenty of violent talismans, which worked wonders if he was by himself and fighting some foe, since he’d be the only person who needed immunity. Hell, he carried one, causing loud noises, that could stop everyone in the area without killing them. But that, too, would make the innocents immobile. So, what then?

His fingers found the right stone before he was willing to admit he should use it. The smooth, cold crystal almost felt like in contained more power than some of the others. Like the necklace hung just a little heavier, like it stayed cool on its own, despite the warm, September weather and his own body heat. This talisman held a firm position on the group’s “too scary and devastating to use” list. But what would Adelaide, who once owned this rock and helped decide which ones should be restricted, say if she saw this army? She’d protect herself at any cost. That was all he wanted to do.

Besides, a powerful talisman didn’t mean it wasn’t easy to control. Even if a few human soldiers got caught up in his plan, it would still be worth it to stop the army and save as many people as possible.

With less confidence, “Ba’dorn…eta ma.”

He only knew the name because Terrell insisted on adding the “new” crystals to his notebooks. And this particular one helped identify the volcano-making stone. It wasn’t anything like that, but it shared one categorical quality that extended beyond similarities in name and material. Like Ken’s tornado-builder, this one created a natural disaster, powered only by magic. And all it required were the words Dakota just uttered.

Slowly, the air thickened with moisture. He thought perhaps he even smelled the ocean on the invisible water droplets. Above, the clouds, normal and consistent, began to churn. The wind picked up. Thunder cracked. Lightning lit up the sky. And rain came down in droves. Confident that he wouldn’t be noticed, Dakota stood up in the tower and tried to direct the storm toward the invaders and away from the wounded capitol building. He put his hand out as far as it would go and focused. Stay small, he told the typhoon. Stay near the ground.

“But eat everything in your path,” he exhaled.

The wind whistled through his hideout. It pulled at him, threatening to drag Dakota down to the grass and mud below. He braced himself, holding on with his free hand.

It didn’t take long.

The hurricane—constructed out of thin air in the middle of Virginia—easily destroyed the fungus-infected creatures first. Then the normals, their heavy gear and masks useless against the storm. Finally, the dentist’s-worst-nightmare things were weakened enough that the home team soldiers, who braved an advance, inevitably took them out, one at a time. Though he could hardly see, Dakota tried to time his tempest so that it wouldn’t kill all the men and women on their side, too.

He waited until he could spot an exterior piece of a nearby building sweeping through the air, only to crash into the battlefield and take out at least three enemy combatants. Putting his hand down, he clung to the tower ridge. “Ba’dorn eta ko. A’lund eta ko!” He swiped at the air. The hurricane and his other active attack needed to dissipate as quickly as possible, so he tried to force them. His mind cut gashes into the storm, throwing it off balance and ruining its perfect spiral. Lightning shot out at him in protest, but it missed, striking an old tree that barely survived the invasion thus far.

Moments passed. A standard thunderstorm lingered for a few more minutes, but even that went away with time. He watched for at least half an hour as the City Guard reclaimed control, finishing off most of the enemies and capturing a handful of the wounded. With unsteady legs, he left the tower, climbed all the way down to the ground level, and began searching for familiar faces.

When he found none, except the half-crushed body of his daughter’s friend Darrin, he began walking back toward the as-yet still relatively unaffected living quarters. But the last person he wanted to see found him.

“Holy f**k, it’s you,” said a voice that could only be Cortez.

He sighed. “Not now.”

“Don’t let any of the guys hear you talk back to me,” she instructed, catching up to Dakota and stopping him with a grasp on his shoulder. “They’ll kill you for that.”

He clenched his jaw and tried to remain patient. “Well, they could try.”

The general looked him over for a minute or so before pulling the necklaces out of his shirt. The one responsible for the hurricane still glowed slightly in the aftermath. She wrapped her hand around it before glaring at him. “What’s this?”

“You know what it is.”

She wrinkled her nose and narrowed her eyes. “Crowd control?”

“Saving your ass.”

Licking her lips, Cortez released both him and his magic rocks. “Did anyone see you?”

He shrugged. “I doubt it. But no one, and I mean no one, is going to think that storm came out of nowhere. Or that the zoo animals from hell just decided on their own accord that they’d rather eat their masters instead of us. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize magic these days.”

“Your intervention, while less than subtle, probably made the difference.”

Probably? “You may think it’s a win, but it’ll take years to rebuild what you’ve lost. Hundreds if not thousands of people are dead. The worst enemy imaginable not only knows where you are but thinks you’re not even that much of a threat. And I can’t find my—I can’t find Kenna, and a bunch of the others in my group.”

“Is that all?” She laughed. “Leave the cleanup to me and my people. That’s not your job. And that girl? She took off in one of your vehicles. She’s gone. Some of the troops spotted the SUV going at top speed on its way out of the city. They said there were other people inside, but they couldn’t see who. She was using a necklace, too, by the way. You never told me she was a firebug.”

“She’s not,” was his first response. But he relaxed a little. Someone had seen Ken. She did the right thing and left when she could. She likely had other survivors with her. Dakota would bet money that the boy Varaz was among them. His daughter would never leave unless she had people she wanted to protect. Though he would absolutely go looking for her, the chances of her survival were much higher now. “But thanks. She made a good choice.”

Cortez nodded. “That girl is a piece of work, though. She fried one of the giant pigs where plenty of survivors could see.” Her expression switched to delight. “With that said, I think we’ll all be having pork tonight.”

“Be careful. Some of these things have venom and secondary defenses.” Not that he thought the boars did, but just in case. No one would be able to say that he didn’t warn them.

Another nod, followed by the loss of her elevated mood. “Yeah, we figured. The tall fuckers have some sort of spores. It cleared up when the rain came down—”

“You’re welcome.”

“—but, anyway, it’s toxic to the lungs. Guys were falling over left and right, until they started tying rags around their faces.” After a pause, “I suppose it’s a better fate than what happened when they came in contact with the other things, though. I think people are calling them ‘Smilies.’ They showed up with an appetite, and I don’t think they cared if their lunch was still alive.”

Dakota shivered. What an awful name to call such f****d-up things. He understood that perhaps it made the soldiers feel better, but to him they were just another type of monster. One that cannibalized innocent people and soldiers alike. One that Terrell killed without a second thought.

“I won’t interrogate them,” he decided. “They have the mental capacity of a brain-damaged squirrel. And to be honest, if you put me in a room with one of them, I’d kill it, just on principle.”

She scoffed and patted his arm. “Don’t worry. The holding cells were all destroyed. We’re rounding some of them up so that we can get a handle on how they work, what they’re made of, etcetera. We just need to know how to kill them better. How to hurt them. Most of the fuckers can’t talk or won’t, even under—pressure. But we don’t need them to.”

Good. The monsters would be tortured, but not by him. He didn’t want to even look at them anymore. He did his part. He changed the outcome of the battle and killed most of the creatures. Now, all he cared about was his family. “I have to check on my group. If anyone asks, I’m officially on vacation, for at least a few days.”

Cortez grimaced, but eventually approved the idea. “I suppose you earned it.”

It didn’t matter to him whether he had or not. Dakota would do anything to find Ken, up to and including the inevitable trip outside their borders. He might never return. His vacation could be permanent.

Without so much as a goodbye, Dakota left the woman. He made his way to the blue door and used his personal set of keys to unlock it. A vested interest in checking on Terrell’s wellbeing hastened his step as he climbed to the second floor.

But before he could get to their shared suite, he heard a noise in one of the nearby rooms. A squeak. Some shuffling. It was Jaden’s quarters. He hadn’t even knocked to see if anyone was in there. He just assumed that there wouldn’t be. But the young lady wasn’t an official employee of the government. She spent most of her time caring for and educating the children of the group. In other words, she hadn’t been invited to the awards ceremony. She probably never left her room.

Dakota walked up to the door and knocked, his expression softening. Finding more former citizens of New Somerset still alive would be an achievement, even if none of them were his daughter.

There was no answer at first. After some movement inside the room, the partition swung open. Jaden stood, sweat beading on her forehead, with a letter opener in hand. She looked ready to lunge at any potential attacker—a poorly thought-out attempt to protect herself and her gaggle of kids. When she noticed it was him, however, her entire posture changed. She dropped the blade and embraced him. “Oh God, DC! We thought you might be dead!”

After a minute or so, he pried the woman off of him. “I’m glad to see you’re alive,” he returned. “And the children?”

She smiled. “We’re all here. When we heard the gunshots, we just hid in the rooms. Stayed away from windows. Didn’t answer the door for nobody. Is it over? Is it safe?”

Dakota hesitated before giving a shrug. “I don’t know. I’d stay here for now, if you can stand it. You did the right thing, hunkering down here. Those kids are alive because you did that. The battle is pretty much over, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the bad guys are still running around, trying to inflict as much damage as they can before someone takes them out. I’m gonna head to my room. You should probably stay here. If you need anything, just knock, okay?”

“What about KC?”

Of course, she had to ask. He tried not to get emotional. “She took off when the fighting started.”

“What do we do?”

Fuck if he knew anything specific. But, “I’m gonna go find her. Soon. I think you should stay behind, though. Keep up what you’re doing. It’s twice as dangerous out there than it is here. I can handle it, but I can’t ask you or anyone else to come with me.” He hugged her once more. “I’m glad you made it, hon. The world needs more people like you.”

She looked up at him, her eyes sad. “Stay safe.”

He bid her farewell and wandered back to his shared room. Instead of knocking, he simply unlocked the door and slipped inside.

Terrell sat up immediately, his eyes red and his face distraught. The lengthy time apart must have wreaked havoc on his emotions. Unquestionably, he came to the conclusion that Dakota perished. He assumed the worst. But now, only surprise and disbelief could be seen on his face. He didn’t seem to have the energy for happiness.

Feeling a little guilty, Dakota approached him with care and compassion. “Hey,” he said slowly. “I told you I’d come back. No worries.” But Terrell still looked like he might burst into tears again at any second. “I stopped the battle. It’s pretty much over. And you were right: Ken took the SUV and ran.”

Still upset, Terrell reached out and patted the bed in the hope that Dakota would come closer. “What did you—did you do to stop them?”

He painted on a gentle expression. “Glowing necklaces mostly.” The laugh he gave must’ve sounded forced. “And charm. Don’t worry about it. How are you doing? I missed you.”

The statements garnered a genuine smile, which quickly reminded Dakota of the change in Terrell. He could see the inch-long fangs clearly. But he hid his fascination. The last thing he wanted was to make Terrell feel uncomfortable, especially after he’d saved Dakota’s life. “I’m okay,” Terrell lied. “I was just—I was really afraid I’d never see you again, to be honest.”

Dakota approached and climbed up onto the bed. He ran his hand along Terrell’s jaw before leaning in for a long-awaited kiss. He felt the sharpness of Terrell’s new teeth against his tongue but made no issue of it. He knew Terrell would be self-conscious. After a minute or so, he finally pulled away. “I love you. I wouldn’t leave you behind to fend for yourself.”

“Do you? Even now that we’re not gonna die?”

“Absolutely. You know better than that. Do you have any idea how often I almost die? The threat of death doesn’t make me confess devotion to people. It just—I wanted to make sure you heard it, just in case. It’s no less true.” He genuinely, wholeheartedly believed it this time.

Terrell pursed his lips. “I needed to hear that,” he agreed.

“Good. Because it’s gonna happen a hell of a lot more.”