A Beast with a Smile {Book 1}

Chapter 28 (Scarlett): Search and Rescue

Clark passed out soon after we escaped the horde of demons. Archy called them Oscure. They were what remains of humans after being exposed to a high dosage of Chromium. The things that they kill also turn into the Oscure, like a disease.

If Clark hadn't accidentally triggered his powers, we would have all been cursed to the same shadowy fate.

I shivered. The elemental clones disappeared once we were a safe distance away inside the abandoned sewer and Clark fell hard into the disgusting green water. I pulled him out quickly and threw his regular five year old body over my shoulder, feeling proud about his bravery.

"There must have been a miniature war down here," Archy said, holding up a rusty assault rifle.

He disintegrated it to replenish his lost light. The water was a bottomless pit filled with forgotten weapons and armor. The walls were scratched deep with black, long indents. The floor was stained with a thick paint of silver.

"They were probably trying to kill the Oscure," I concluded, wanting to separate us from them even more.

The rain had yet to give up; I could hear the thunderous pounding of the storm throughout the sewer.

Anything was better than those terrible shrieks.

Car lights passed by through a drain on the roof in the distance. We were getting closer to the facility and I couldn't decide which was better, the nest of shadows or the army of trained killers.

Voices rang along the walls as Archy pulled me to the wall under the drain.

"Sir, I have urgent news from the skywatch," a soldier called nervously as he ran through the rain.

"What is it, Private Jenson? You better not tell me you lost them. I'm in a good mood and it's a really bad idea to ruin it," Tyler answered.

Jenson stuttered, trying to format the perfect response, "We found where they landed, sir. The builder's blood soaked the ground and fragments of his helmet were found around the area, along with the tracks of the abomination twin."

"And where did they lead?" he asked viciously, as cold as the frozen air.

"To the Oscure nest. We entered the cave prepared to shoot to kill," the soldier cowered beneath his words.

"But what?" Tyler asked impatiently and annoyed.

"The Oscure filled the room. No one could have survived the attack."

Tyler audibly signed at the news. I could hear his boots squeaking as he paced back and forth.

"Did you see them die?" he asked, stopping his pacing.

"No, sir. It was too dangerous to go any further in the room."

I heard Tyler mutter something, holding back his anger.

"Thank you for your service, soldier," he said oddly happy.

"Thank you, sir. Wait, why? No! No! No! Please..." Jensen's voice was muffled by choking and the popping of steel on bone.

I pressed my free hand on my mouth to hold in my terror. The sound of a man's spine being pulled through their mouth will never leave my memory. The loud plop of the uninhabited body clapped through the drain like a drum. Archy's face had turned a sickly green. He grabbed my arm and we ran away from the scene.

Archy puked all over the white carpet of the room we crashed into. We had entered the Utah facility through a new doorway that Archy created by absorbing a sewer wall. The room was white and every wall except the one we broke down were clear glass panes.