The Bridge (Para-Earth Series) (45 page)

             
“The bullets aren’t doing anything, Luv,” muttered a voice in Ronnie’s ear. 

             
“Alex?” she smiled with relief, she had been hoping his silence was because of the intense concentration and not something worse.  “Hurt or not, they seem to be keeping it at bay,” she told him.

             
“It doesn’t like the feel of the impacts,” Alex told her.

             
Apparently Roy had been listening, because he suddenly called for heavier firepower as the first flares were tossed at the unearthly being. 

             
Several of the tendrils caught fire, but were immediately thrust into the waters below and extinguished. 

             
In retaliation, a number of thin rope-like limbs shot out from between the stonework and began reaching for individual threats.  One officer was impaled, while several others were forced to use their rifles as clubs to keep the offending appendages at bay.

             
Ryan was not so lucky.  One of the black limbs had seized him and was starting to lift him off the ground, when Julie rushed forward sword in hand.  With one swipe she severed the appendage, which like the earlier ones, crumbled and fell apart.

             
Another large tendril grabbed what was left of one of the flattened police cars and lifted it high into the air to use as a club.  This proved to be a mistake.  Lighting struck the vehicle as it was raised, and the electricity raced down the arm and towards the main body.  But the stricken limb disintegrated and fell away before reaching its target. 

             
The cry of pain the creature emitted would haunt all who survived the battle for the rest of their lives.  But when asked about it later, none could say whether they had heard the sound with their ears or inside their heads. 

             
Nonetheless, a new method of attack had been shown to the defenders. 

              Thinking quickly Roy ordered the patrol cars to be pulled up to the water’s edge and for his people to break out the jumper cables.

             
“What do you have in mind, Old-Timer?” asked Ronnie.

             
“Some of those black root-things are spilling out between the stones and into the water,” he pointed out. “If we can get a strong enough charge, maybe we can electrocute the damn thing.”

             
Alex spoke up, “Chief, just beyond those trees is a generator house.  I saw it on the plans of the estate.”

             
Peterson nodded and shouted instructions to three of his officers to check it out.  “And try and find some long cable we can run from it to the stream.”

              As the men took off, Ronnie turned to her two loves and said “Alex, I want you to stay put.  I’ll get someone to move you and the baby…”

             
“No, her mum is coming.”

             
“What?”

             
“Rachel’s coming for her,” he repeated, trying to be heard over the sound of gunfire. “She can’t stay with us, Luv.  I’m the only thing keeping her going.  She’s not going to last long once she’s taken from me.”

             
Veronica looked at the child and knew he was right.  In the dream reality they had learned that the child had been fed upon and healed repeatedly, which helped keep the creature alive.  Her very structure had become altered over time allowing her to appear as a teenager or an infant.  But now, with her link to the thing severed, she was stuck in this withered form which was beyond anyone’s help.

             
Ronnie swallowed hard, “You’ve been keeping her out of its reach psychically and physically, haven’t you?”

             
He nodded and touched her hand.  Once more they were together in that psychic reality he had made for them.  Looking down, Veronica saw the babe as she should have been happy and whole. 

             
When she pulled away, the image had not changed, “Alex? Are you…”

             
“No,” he shook his head, “It’s her.  She’s got powers even greater than mine. That’s why it wanted her in the first place. But she liked what showed her.  She doesn’t want to go back to the thing because she knows ...AAHHHH!” 

             
“ALEX!” screamed Veronica as she was knocked to the ground and watched helplessly.  The creature had burrowed one of its limbs through the ground to in order to reach them.  Now it had both Alex and the baby.

             
“HOLD YOUR FIRE!” cried Roy, seeing the change in their situation. “IT’S TAKEN HOSTAGES!”

              Held high in the air with his charge, Alex got a good look at the black appendage.  He could see it was made up of hundreds, no thousands, of purplish-black strands covered in scales.  What was this thing?  There was only one way to find out, so he grabbed the limb and opened his mind…

              Suddenly, there was no longer any rain falling.  The sky above was clear and the stars were shining.  Far below, he beheld trees unlike anything he’d ever seen before.  Not even in fantasy books.  Was this where the creature had come from?  Where was this place? 

             
He felt himself being swung around and spotted two moons, one smaller than the other.  This place was so alien yet it felt familiar, why?  He looked up at the stars again and suddenly realized he could recognize every constellation and their positions! 

             
They were still on Earth.  But, no man had ever stepped foot on this one, because he never evolved here.  Whatever had caused the formation of two moons had altered how life had developed here.  He wondered if the laws of science had taken a different course as well.

             
The baby in his arms shivered with fear. This was what she had known for the last 16 years, trapped in a doorway between two versions of Earth. A portal that refused to close and might one day let other beings, like this one, pass through.

             
Then he noticed several voices chanting.  They seemed to be coming from far away…

              Julie was still holding the sword as she bent down to retrieve the wooden cane that doubled as a scabbard.  Something about the curved lip at the top of stick had struck her as odd.  The lip had a squared off edge, and there was an indentation in the ball of the sword handle that was about the same size.

             
Suddenly, the sound of chanting reached her ears.  Looking up she saw a fire erupt in a clearing on the other side of the stream.  Several figures danced around the blaze, all dressed in animal skins.  There was a bear, a great eagle, a deer and a white wolf who seemed to be the leader. 

             
The man’s eyes were bright and his voice loud, as he stared at her from across the water.  Julie couldn’t understand all of the words they were singing, but they seemed to stir something within her.  Looking down at the blade and stick in her hands, she suddenly slid the squared off lip into the slot in the handle.  The tip of the blade extended several inches past the wooden shaft. 

             
“An Atlatl,” she breathed and stared up at the battle.  The police were being forced to halt their attack because the creature and grabbed Alex and the baby as hostages.

             
Now her heart began pounding in time with the chanting, and a smile crossed her lips.  The thing had been afraid of the blade before.  Drawing her arm back she carefully took aim.  The moment had to be right, or she might hit Alex and the baby.

              Nearby, Cassandra saw the change in the woman she had been secretly longing for and struggled to her knees to get a better look.  Immediately she was struck again by the site of Julie’s muscular form, as she raised her make-shift AtlAlt and took aim. 

             
Under her breath Cassie whispered, “You’re only going to get one shot Sweetie, make it count.”

             
A moment later, the creature raised its captives high into the night sky.  Instantly, Julie’s arm shot forward, launching the blade.  The weapon flew with missile-like precision at the main body of the creature, piercing several waving tentacles as it traveled, never veering from its mark and…

              Alex felt rain hitting his face once more, and a sound that could have been a scream pierced his mind.  The thing had been hurt.  Twisting around, he saw the sword sticking out of the creature’s body.  As he watched, a swirling mass like a whirlpool began to form around the weapon. 

              Back on the ground, Julie gazed in wonder at what she’d done.  She’d managed to severely wound the creature.  Turning back to the encampment across the stream she saw chanting and the dancing had come to a halt.  The leader, with his White Wolf pelt, was nodding at her with approval, while his companions slowly shrank into the skins they were wearing.  A moment later, the ‘animals’ headed off into the woods.  Now only he remained in the clearing.  Turning away he began a new chant.  She soon noticed that as his song grew louder so did the storm.

             
Just then a hand fell on her shoulder and she heard Peterson say, “That was impressive, using the blade like that.  But, now we’ve lost our best weapon.”

             
“I’m not sorry,” Julie replied, looking over at the thing as it writhed in pain.  “Take a look at its wound.”

             
Roy followed her gaze and gasped. 

             
The swirling effect around the blade was growing larger and more turbulent.  It was as if the creature’s body was trying to tear itself apart. 

             
As they watched in amazement, his shoulder radio came to life and a voice said, “Chief, the cars are in position, and we’ve got the cables hooked up to the batteries.  Give the word and we’ll toss the live ends into the water.”

             
Grabbing the microphone he replied, “Good, wait for my signal.  Ryan did you get that?”

             
“Copy that, Chief,” the young officer replied. “We’re inside the generator house.  Wilson and Rogers are headed your way with some cable.  Once we finish hooking it up at this end, we should have more than enough power to fry that thing.”

             
“Good.  Let me know as soon as you’re ready.  Out,” releasing the button on his radio, Roy stared at their adversary, “I just hope it works.”

             
“It will,” Julie replied, listening to the chant that no one else seemed to hear.

              Veronica watched anxiously for an opening that would allow them to resume their attack.  Although Alex and the infant were still in the thing’s clutches, its movements were becoming awkward and clumsy.

             
Suddenly the strange being thrust a number of its tentacles into the waters.  Once there they began to pulse, while the whirlpool effect around the wound seemed to slow.  Was it somehow healing itself?  “GET SOME OF THOSE LIGHTS AIMED AT THE WATER.  WE NEED TO SEE WHAT IT’S DOING!” she shouted to her team.

             
The scene beneath the bridge was illuminated.  Several officers screamed, while another fainted at the hellish nightmare taking place in the water. 

             
There were bodies in the water, a hundred or more.  Each one was in a different stage of decay and covered in mud and silt.

             
‘They must’ve been buried beneath the water,’ she realized.   Then she noticed that some of the bodies were decomposing right before her eyes.  It took her a moment to realize that one of the deadly appendages had been attached to them.

             
“Jesus Christ it’s feeding on them,” she heard one of her colleagues murmur.

             
As the defenders watched helplessly, a tentacle shot out of the water and grabbed the nearest officer.  The man didn’t even get a chance to scream before his features and body began to melt and dissolve as he tried to fight it off.  Within seconds he was swallowed by the appendage while still struggling.  Several people had to look away. 

             
Julie drew up next to her. “Did you see tha…” the brunette began when another tentacle shot out of the water headed towards them. 

             
Instinctively Julie held up the wooden cane in her hand to block it. A moment later there was a bright flash and then the limb fell to the ground, twitching spasmodically.

             
Veronica took aim and fired at the offending limb.  Instead of being absorbed like before, the bullet pierced the black tissue doing real damage.  A moment later it became still.

             
“Holy shit, there was a mouth at the end of it!” cried Julie in disbelief.