Chapter 24
***
The noise the monster is making is enough to make my teeth hurt. It gives me and the rest of my companions a sense of a primitive fear and the need to run. I gesture to Holliday and he grabs Mabel by the arm and pulls her tight against him. He does this just in times as the hissing bark changes to that of a crackling crunching sound like something is snapping bones in half with it’s teeth. Very unhealthy.
I see the outline of a form. It looks mostly like an alligator; only this thing seems to be warm blooded. It glows from all the internal heat it is giving off. From behind me Mabel starts to whimper. I am glad Holliday has a firm hold of her. She could ruin everything if she moves too soon.
“I am going to try something,” I say over my shoulder to Holliday.
That is all the warning he gets as I lift my hands to my mouth and make a noise. It is low and eerie. The noise of the beast of doom, I have always called it. Mabel screams, the monster hisses in response. I can see it hesitating but not fleeing as I had hoped.
Damn Mabel.
I ignite my blade once more and point it at the monster. It flinches from the light but doesn’t move. It is then I realize the damn thing can’t back up it can only turn around. But it is confused enough by our noises that it just stays put.
“Round two, ” I say and charge the monster. When I get with in a few feet of it I stab the ground with my sword and drag it right causing the street to tear. Then I add as much gravity as I can to the area without killing us. The street under the monster collapses under it . The Monster gives a roar of confusion as it disappears into the sewers.
“We move now.” I snap at Mabel.
She gives me a half nod and holds back another whimper. Holliday release his grip on her arms. She points left past the old sea-saw toward another exit. We leave the park in fast jog that slows only a little bit as we get a few blocks away.
Mabel doesn’t talk for the rest of the time she leads us she only looks worriedly over her shoulder at us every now and then. For which I am grateful for. I don’t think I want to hold a conversation while jogging.
It is 10 blocks before we come the place Mabel was heading for. The building she leads us to has the look of a governmental building. An old school or something I think to myself.
“Hey, Mabel,” Holliday breaks the silence. “What was this building?” He asks.
“I think it was for people who were visiting the city. You know tell them what to see and how to get there.” She says.
I look over the outside of the building to see if gives any kind of identity. And sure enough there is plaque on one of the walls. it is grim covered and hidden by some bushes. I blink twice to bring the words into focus. It reads. (something about the wonderful city of Saint Louis and it’s gate way to the rest of America.)
“Are we close to the river?” I wonder out loud.
“Yeah, I think so,” Mabel says. “there’s a big sewer line around here. We used to dump our trash down there. but lately the Twister have taken over so we had to find a new place.” she lets us know this little bit of trivia.
“Speaking of the Twister,” Holliday says as his looks around. “Where are our wonderful hosts? You’d think they would be guarding their place?”
“Hey, you’re right,” Mabel now is suspicious too. she starts whipping her head around as if to catch sight of a guard.
“It would seem we are going to have to make our own entrance,” I say and wave a hand at the front door.
The doors bang open as I send a blast wind through them.
Mabel jumps and lets out another one of her screeches.
“Oh, knock it off Mabel, ” I say to her as I stride by, shaking my head at how jumpy she is.
***
The lobby is empty as we walk in. I look around for some hint of where the Twisters could be. There is only a dull silence around us. As if the Twisters had abandoned this place.
“Any ideas?” Holliday asks Mabel. He too is looking sharp. He has his guns out and carefully pointing into the dark corner of the room.
“I don’t know” Mabel all but whines in her distress. “I have never been in here since the Twisters took over.”
“Fine, We will just have to trust the Universe to guide us.” I say. I close my eyes and seek the peace within myself. I seek the form and spirit of Saul. To my delight I can feel him near by. I smile as the knowledge comes to me.
“Down,” I say. “We need to go down.”
I exchange a look with Holliday. He nods and points to a door off to the left of the lobby. It has some faded letters over it. Emergency Exit.
I go over and knock on the door.
“You’re late,” says a voice on the other side.
“Ran into some trouble,” Holliday says. “Where are the prisoners?”
“In the pit. It should be a good time.”
Holliday and I scowl at the voice on the other side of the door.
“Open up,” I say and put a lot of persuasion into my voice. The door clicks and opens in a few inches. I give the door a kick and the guard standing behind it gets slammed in the head.
…
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