It shrieked a second time, trying its best to tell them to put away the offending source of light, but it was clear they wouldn’t listen, for the four wore the dreaded black clothes of its former tormentors.
Franklin turned and tried to run, his mind unable to believe what his eyes had just seen as the thing tore through the chain-link fence like it didn’t exist and got in close. The four guards were yelling while drawing their weapons, but it proved much too fast for them.
36
WITH EACH INSTANCE of darkness, it learned of its new senses. From sight, to smell, and hearing, it slowly mastered the way to find things in its environment. In time it could also sense something else: the currents of energy flowing from the machines, and the tiny bits of electricity the others emitted whenever they moved. These newfound capabilities also brought forth a distressing evaluation: the others had been severely limiting its potential during the time of its captivity. Memories of the pain and mistreatment brought forth new resentments, and doubled its rage at all of them.
Each time of night brought forth an ever-growing craving. The morsels of the previous evening were fine, but it needed much more, for a new sensation stirred within. Its own body seemed to be telling it what to do now, the insatiable hunger pangs for sustenance leading it out ever further. It soon realized it needed to double or even triple its range for the next step in its existence.
It had been wandering close to the wire barrier at the limits of its territory when it sensed something in the air, a looming opportunity when the flows of electric currents giving power to the blinding lights started to ebb before completely cutting off. It seemed to be the doings of others, and now the chance to venture forth and find more sustenance was a convenience it could not turn away from.
When one of the hated ones tried to blind it with a smaller beam of light it reacted swiftly, crossing the self-imposed limit of its old domain and gutting the weak prey with its claws. Another of the black-clad pain-givers tried to aim his weapon at it, only for his arm to be ripped out of the socket before he could fire.
The third one screamed into a small electrical device that sent out deafening squawks before he too was torn in half, when it closed in and reached into the man’s stomach, tearing out the ropy black tubes underneath the skin, and spilling the whole syrupy mess into the sand beside the small structure.
It caught up with the fourth hated one when the latter tried to run away, and its claws dug into the man’s back, ripping through the black garment before the talons felt the long curvature of bone underneath. The fourth was already making death noises when it snapped his spine and the prey went limp.
The fifth man wasn’t wearing the hated black, and this one kept stumbling around in the darkened jungle, making strange, unintelligible noises while flailing his hands up into the air from time to time. It followed at a discreet distance, for it was curious as to why this particular prey acted so unlike the others it had encountered before.
Its multiple senses felt the victim’s panic and confusion, the pungent, sticky sweat of fear cascading out from his skin pores. This one seemed to act like that one other, the kind man who had treated it somewhat mercifully in the past, yet deep in its repressed mind core there was another voice, one that told it not to trust any of them, for they would ultimately attempt to destroy it if given the chance.
After a few minutes of discreetly following the man, it finally decided that enough was enough, and bit off a portion of his rump. The weak, pathetic prey fell onto the grass, making mewling noises, before Proteus began munching on his throat and stomach, snapping a few bones to get at the rich, fatty marrow in their center.
Without the obstructing currents from the power house, it reached out with its senses and felt the potential buffet of tasty morsels at the cluster of large buildings out in the distance. Although there were still some sources of light that were unaffected by the lack of power from the main origin, the risk needed to be taken in order to succeed in its new task of growing and starting a brood.
It knew now that in order to survive it must have children. The expected pain from encountering the smaller lights would have to be tolerated and overcome. Since it could sense the lesser energy currents leading to the power sources that fed the blinding glows, then it would need to either move in between them using the shadows as cover, or find a way to destroy the feeds of flux powering those most hated of machines.
Yes, it needed to lay more of the eggs it carried. And in order to do that it needed live food. Lots and lots of food.
37
NICK DIRKSE PACED NERVOUSLY around the confines of the cottage’s living room. His thoughts were a confused jumble as he tried to think of a way to get past the security checkpoint at the edge of the resort. A part of him hoped the general manager would pay them a visit soon and be sympathetic to his suspicions about the goings on at the Morgenstern house, but he also knew how corporations worked, and there would be no chance of him ever getting permission to go there and take a look.
Steal a boat from the dock and bring it over to the other side? he thought. I’ll need the keys though. I don’t know how to hotwire those things.
He turned and glanced at his wife, who was sitting on the couch, using her laptop. Even if I could go, I’d hate to leave her and my son behind. Who knows what that bastard security chief will do if he finds out.
Cathy continued to stare intently at her laptop. Her emotions had settled down, and now she wanted to do something. “One of my clients is a retired FBI agent. I’ll call him as soon as I can get a signal on my phone.”
Nick shook his head. “I think they’re deliberately messing with our internet and cell signals.”
“Why would they do such a thing? They know we can sue the living—”
Her words were cut off in mid-sentence when the room’s overhead lights suddenly flickered and died. The bungalow’s emergency lighting by the wall consisted of a white metal box and two strobe lights jutting above it, and the device immediately activated, casting a powerful but limited illumination over the entire room.
Cathy gasped and looked up at her husband.
Nick just stood there, momentarily confused. “What the hell?”
She pointed out past the window and the darkness beyond. “It’s not just us. The lights are out all over.”
One of the bedroom doors opened, and Scott walked into the room and gave his parents a wild eyed look. “What happened? I was watching TV and then the power cut off.”
Nick quickly made his way towards the large windows of the room. It seemed like the entire resort had been hit by a power failure, and he could only see the less intense emergency lighting coming from the hotel. A number of guests in their formalwear could be seen drifting out of the nearby pavilion where the music and lights were also cut, and began spreading out along the twilit beach in confusion.
“Maybe they overloaded the power supply and it just tripped out,” Nick said.
Cathy gestured for her son to join her on the couch. “Just another in a long line of screw-ups in this place.”
Scott had hoped she would give him permission to go out onto the nearby beach, but it now seemed he was destined to just sit there until the power came back on. He sat down beside her with a sigh of resignation.
Cathy pushed her laptop sideways along the coffee table so her son could use it. “I’ve got some games on it. You might as well play something since I can’t send emails out either.”