Chapter 29: 28: HOUNDS

They were all going to die. That’s what Talitha dreamed and many did, and she was no better off for the knowledge. Her classmates—the other seniors of Altir. The juniors—horror came for them that Harvest.

She stumbled alone among hissing creatures, cowering every time she heard sprays of bullets and screams, playing as dead as what was around her whenever someone came too close. She'd entered a dark sleep after Spencer bit her and awoke into actual hell. She ran—and didn’t know to where she was going, every avenue looked the same in her panic. Shadows lurked everywhere and all of them meant her harm. All that mattered was that she was fleeing somewhere away.

Talitha was human, as far as she knew. She felt human—like herself, mortal—however, she knew something was wrong. It was plain for her to see—to feel. Pain reverberated with every movement but the pain felt far away, as if she were both feeling and not feeling it, like the agony she’d suffered in salugalu. However, this time pain stemmed from a real source and distortions of reality—the lights, sounds, and death around her—were worse than any part of her bad trip.

Still, a face she thought she’d never see again appeared as she wandered in fear, surrounded by blood and snarling creatures. And he was good, not like the others.

Adam…Adam was there.

Somehow, he’d found her in the nightmare, a brilliant sight within the shadows, the blue of his eyes gleaming as familiar as always, an icy anchor in a world without sense. She was destroyed and a walking shell but he stayed patient with her state. She was sure she made him nervous despite what he said, the sight of her and the fact that she still walked. No explanation was available for her condition. She barely understood what had happened herself.

Visions of Spencer overpowering her—both in the past and earlier that night—melted with sensations of blinding pain that wracked her from the bite. Felt like her head would fall clean off of her body if not for the binding that Adam had applied tight around her. Blurred memories of Kalum fleeing while she was down, a flurry of activity and harrowed screams, remained neverending. Kalum was in danger—maybe already hurt—and there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing she could do for anyone, not even herself. Numb to constant terror and overwhelmed with an absence of hope, she trudged alongside Adam a listless zombie, unable physically to speak a word.

Adam paused when she pulled on him with fevered force, bearing her weakened frame against his to rest for that moment. He turned to face her and his clear gaze, bloodshot from strain and the damage inflicted on him, passed over her. In her daze she thought he might disappear if she let go so she tightened her grip, panicking that he might be just another hallucination. That would make more sense than his sudden appearance.

Parasites shuddered around them. Their noise pierced the rotunda and a spasm of a memory returned to her, that she’d shuddered like them, toppled by an unseen force that stole away her senses. She was lost there, in jolting nothing, until she could open her lids and gaze into the same blue that watched her now.

Talitha lowered her hand from holding the wound on her throat and touched her chest over her heart, lingering there until Adam cemented what the movement meant. His attention followed as her hand moved to his chest and rested over his heart, lingering there as well. She needed him to understand what seeing him meant to her in that moment, even if she couldn’t say it out loud. He studied her as she pulled back.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice quiet. “No problem. I’m also glad I found you…that I could see you again. Means a lot. A whole lot. More than you could ever know. If I think about this too hard I think my heart’s going to explode.”

Yes. She understood the feeling.

“We’re getting out of here,” he said, wiping a smudge of red and dirt away from her face. “And we’re leaving together. All right? You and me, we’re going home and this will be the last of this nonsense. Tonight sucks and I always thought Blood Fang was shite, both the song and the fucking album with the same fucking name. How fucking clever, so you never know which one they’re referring to. You like the dumbest shit sometimes, Li.”

A faint smile flashed on her face before a wave of sharp stinging pain made her grimace and close her eyes. They waited a moment until she recovered and was ready to move.

Adam reached the exit first and paused, gesturing for her to wait and pointing her a few paces away. He rested his shoulder against the door and craned his head to listen. Fear prickled Talitha. Breath rattled in and out of her as wet and rattled as she was.

He slipped outside through the opening and Talitha froze, gaze trained onto the small slip of exterior she could see from her vantage point. Seconds passed by too slow and her racing heart sent throbbing aches from her throat into her body. Her lids fluttered and she was sure she'd faint again. Too difficult to remain standing...to stay alert. Everything was difficult. She rested against the wall for support, remaining still until Adam’s masked, blood-streaked figure slipped back into the temple.

“This way,” he said, waving her along. “The garden’s through here. We’ll cut across to get back to the city streets. Think I heard aircraft passing by too. Means help’s already on the way. This is almost over.” His bright gaze scanned her quickly and she shifted away from the wall so he wouldn’t notice how much she needed it. “It’s slippery out there,” he said. “Just rained and there’s a mist of it still out there. Sky’s dark and gray. Does kind of look like night. Need to be careful—and fast. Are you ready?”

She nodded. Slightly.

Cool air struck Talitha’s skin as they hurried down a flight of stairs that led from the temple to the bordering garden, pausing every few meters to allow her several seconds of rest. She glanced up at the sky as they moved but saw no twin lights in the sky—no Ascension, no rising of the moons. No signal that zero hour, and Harvest, had arrived. Not yet.

The faint glow emanating from the solar orbs strung across the grounds provided low illumination. Adam directed her through plasticine nature displays as soft mists around them slowly condensed to a heavy fog, rolling through the grounds and occluding the furthest points from them in every direction. Gunfire, this time expelled outside, made them stop in their tracks mid-run. Talitha surveyed the garden’s towering topiary sculptures, tall humanoid figures and animals that represented mythical deities from native lore. The pieces showed signs of long neglect within their dusty and dilapidated forms. Overturned benches littered the artificial plots of flowers and trees, residual evidence of the chaos that occurred long before that night.

Talitha’s gaze settled on a lone parasite—a husky boy dressed as a seafaring Old-World sailor—wandering through the shrubs as listless as the leaves and branches he scraped through. Silence followed as she and Adam searched for further danger, hearing only sporadic hoots from a wild owl somewhere nearby. The calm lasted long enough for Adam to nod at her, gesturing that they should move.

“Can’t hang around here,” he muttered. “Whoever’s shooting isn’t far, though we need to be far from them. Far from here.”

They broke into another swift walk watching the spaces around them carefully, advancing another distance before Adam stopped again, this time to stand aside. A lupine shadow entered their path from within the green, slipping past them before disappearing into a row of shrubs nearby. Talitha glanced at Adam, who'd frozen at the sight.

“Animal,” he said. “Looked like…a dog. But bigger. Maybe…a wolf? There’s a lot of that in those mountains. If there’s a problem with the protective shields bordering Kidish those things have no issue coming inside.” Talitha tensed as Adam pushed her behind him as cover, brandishing the knife in preparation to attack. “Stay still. I don’t know what that thing's going to do around us. Might get ugly and if it does, you need to run. Fast.”

They waited another long moment and a rustle to their right spiked both of their attention to the noise. Under the glow of the solar lamps Talitha spotted movement again, the same shadow now winding through plots of imitation flowers. Adam saw it too and trailed the movement of the lumbering figure with the point of the blade, tensing under Talitha's grip.

She sucked in a sharp breath when the beast emerged from its prowl. Adam kept his focus on the creature—or rather, more accurately, what was left of it. The beast looked like the same kind of species they’d seen in the Earth Tomes but it had to be a native Ipirian breed, judging by its size and powerful limbs. Fur lay matted on its form from blood wounds and injury, sprouting in tufts all over its body in dark disarray, and sharp fangs extended from its panting mouth. Slick gore soaked most of its head as if somebody had shot at it from the back and caved in part of its skull. Discolored, dilated black pupils stared them down as rasped, heavy panting emanated in the silence.

“Thing’s infected,” said Adam, remaining calm—Talitha had no idea how he could be so calm at such a moment. “Look at it. That’s not normal. Those growths on its body…it mutated, like everyone else inside. This outbreak's out of control.”

The animal sauntered a few paces closer, sniffing the ground and the air. They waited as it approached before moving away—as it came closer another time to inspect them to make sure they were nothing of interest. It returned to concealment within the tangle of artificial plants and Adam waited for a while longer, watching until he was satisfied it was gone.

“Okay,” he said with a low exhale, pointing ahead, his attention trained on the shrubs. “We're good. Go. Hurry. I’ll be right behind you.”

Talitha walked swiftly, holding the bandage for support as her gaze skirted over everything in her path, every shadow that threatened to hold more danger. Every unexamined corner contained potential to ruin their progress. Mid-step, she heard Adam catch up to her and maintain pace at her side for a few meters before moving a few steps ahead.

They continued through the garden and Adam spotted an arched gateway to the left, gesturing at Talitha to stay low. He made her wait again with a raised palm as signal and slipped outside first, exiting the temple grounds through the open gate. He returned within moments, faster than last time, and waved her along with a brisk hand. She approached with caution, glancing behind every step of the way.

Through the exterior gate she spotted Westmont’s town square, now dark and empty without the bustle of festive students. The streets extended into bleak emptiness, promising further terror to anyone who dared to explore the shadowed routes. A faint feeling returned to Talitha—maybe from the wound, from the immense loss of blood, maybe from fear—and she dropped to a crouch by the gate as they exited, her body trembling against her will.

“Li,” Adam said when he spotted her falter, kneeling by her side and resting the back of his hand against her forehead. “You’re cold. Too cold. But you’re sweating. You’re sick...really sick. And…you’re shaking. A lot. This isn't normal. Please tell me you’re still with me.”

Talitha’s lids drifted open to reassure him that she was there. She couldn’t see his face behind the mask to judge his expression but she could tell by his tension that her condition—and perhaps his own—weighed on him despite his attempts to stay controlled. She mimicked his movements, resting the back of her hand against his forehead. He rustled, first from confusion and then from recognition.

“Me? You’re worried about me?” He pushed her hand aside. “I’m fine. Dizzy. Thirsty, yeah. Things hurt and a hot shower would be really nice right now. I don't know if I'll ever sleep again...or if I want to. But I’m fine.”

She reached for his head again, lingering there before he shook her off again.

“I said I’m fine,” he replied brusquely. “Don’t do that. You’re throwing me off when I need to focus. We’re not out of here yet and I have make that happen.”

Talitha didn’t stop, instead attempting the same gesture until he snapped.

“Fucking hell, Li! Even when you can’t talk you still find a way to tell me I’m full of shit over and over again. It's not funny like when I do it to you.” He lifted his mask up to reveal his tired and wounded face, offering her a weary smile. “We would’ve had a better time at that parade. I'm just going to come right out and say it. You owe me both koujons and pistols after this. It's the least of the debts you're racking up here.”

Talitha smiled back, a flicker of humor reaching her through her haze. Aye…the thought of a simple parade in Capitol City was a nice one. Furry stuffed long-tailed koujons and water pistols with colored sparks and automatic fire. If only they had gone there instead.

Adam reached forward once more, this time to tuck her hair behind her ear and smooth her rustled appearance.

“Listen, mate," he said. "Not sure what’s going to happen anymore, to us or to anyone else. I have to be honest. I’m not my brother. I’m not my father. I’m not any other Pendergast either. I’m myself. All I know is whatever happens next we’ll get through it together. That's what I can promise. I'll be right here.”

She gave him a short nod. His tone gentled further.

Talitha caught hold of him before he released her. Thoughts of her fight with Gracie—what Gracie had drunkenly slurred, the media’s incessant rumors—all of it flashed with meaning. Adam helped her up, demeanor serious like before, the gentleness he'd displayed vanished. He raised her face to examine her closer. “Now that I’m sure of what Spencer was—what I knew could happen, judging by the business he ran and who he circled with—I should’ve said something sooner. At least you’d know where I stood all this time...what I thought of you. The things I really wanted to tell you when we were talking. It would've been worth it...to take the risk. Who knows.”

Adam paused for a prolonged moment and searched for words.

“That’s all,” he finished after a few moments. “I’ve got nothing clever to say and I'm making a fool out of myself. Don't mind me.”

Talitha caught hold of him before he released her. Thoughts of her fight with Gracie—what Gracie had drunkenly slurred, the media’s incessant rumors—all of it flashed with meaning. Adam helped her up, demeanor serious like before, the gentleness he'd displayed vanished.

“Let’s go.” He shoved the mask back into place. “If you can. Don’t want to hang around here too long. Jackal’s got to have men patrolling and you can’t run fast.”

Talitha followed using the gate as support and dizziness clouded her steps. She peeked at Adam’s back several times, mouth pressed tight, unable to form speech to respond to him about anything he'd said or what weighed on her mind in turn. Not that she’d have the right words to say anyway—to explain to him how matters never would be as simple as he wanted—even if she had a voice.

They paused at the archway to view the town of Westmont stretched out before them, the paths laid in multiple gridlocking avenues leading to the main square. Westmont was desolate, save for light emanating from the temple, and the town had gained a grim emptiness after Jackal’s onslaught on the students. No one, short hours ago, had worried about what sort of danger their solitude in the middle of nowhere might bring them—in fact, that was part of the draw, another source of excitement. However, now approaching zero hour, their distance from Altir had morphed the celebration into terror.

Adam’s head swerved in the misty dimness as they exited the garden onto the paved street. Every avenue surrounding the temple looked the same, daunting and full of trouble. He pointed toward the rear of the temple connecting to the plaza to other Westmont municipal facilities.

“I’ll leave you over by City Hall,” he said. “We know the parasites won’t come after you for…whatever reason, and we'll use that to our advantage. If you stay put you should be fine until Union shows up. Even if Jackal’s men come through they’ll think you’re dead like the others, so make sure to act like it. Keep out of sight.” He glanced at her. “I've got to get back in that temple and try again, see if anyone else is stuck that I can help. When our side gets here I’ll come back to find you and make sure they treat you right. Stellar?”

Fear struck Talitha at Adam's words, at the thought of him leaving—and to head back to danger. Danger he didn’t know how to handle, as he'd said himself with brutal honesty. She grabbed him again.

Don’t go, she urged without sound.

Sharp pains pierced her as she mouthed the words, straining to make noises that wouldn’t come. Her eyes burned because she was about to cry. Again. Adam, beloved Adam, a mate closer than a mate for as long as she'd been in Union society, might never come back. If anything went wrong, as was sure to happen, he'd be gone like everyone else. Dead. Adam would be dead.

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Right now he wasn't dead. He was with her and—

Don’t, she repeated.

He stayed silent, watching her. The knife flipped once—twice—in his grip.

Don’t. Don’t leave.

“I have to,” he said. “You, out of everyone, know why I’m doing this. I won’t run if I can help. I'd never forgive myself for leaving someone behind if I could've saved them. But I’ll come back for you soon. Just wait.”

No.

She snagged him in a sudden embrace. He caught her fast, circling his arm around her waist to steady her, accepting her tight hold. She uttered silent words that he strained to understand, a frown forming on his face.

“Li…you know I won’t leave you behind,” he said quietly. "I can't. I'd never. I promise I’ll be back. Please believe me."

A piercing howl and a volley of new gunfire jolted them apart from the desperate embrace. In a single, swift motion and without thinking, Adam swept Talitha off the ground into his hold and sprinted away from the noise.

He ran toward an alley behind the rear of the temple, keeping low within the plots of artificial grass. His breath huffed as he reached the partition and turned the corner, making quick progress with leaping strides until another gunshot struck the ground near his leg, the ammunition whizzing by fast enough to stir the fabric of his trouser leg. He stumbled to a stop when another bullet cracked, striking the gate with a loud metallic clamor. His back hit the gate and he looked side to side, holding onto Talitha's crumpled form as he searched for the source.

Several more shots fired even though he'd stopped and paralyzed him in place. A loud voice barked, the sound echoing within the space.

“Freeze! Put the girl down. Drop your weapons!”

Adam set Talitha down at once at the command. Her jolting fear sublimated into a rush of intense relief when she spotted who it was that approached him, and saw that they weren’t figures in black. No, they were men in Union uniform—CDPD gear. Civil Defense, Union’s domestic police force. Legal officers that guarded all of Union's local territories. Talitha raised her arms in surrender and Adam did as well, obeying while they waited for the officers to reach their location.

The men reached the pair but said nothing, instead yanking Talitha aside as they shoved Adam to the ground. Her mouth dropped in shock as they clamped restraints around her wrists and pressed the muzzle of a pistol against the side of Adam's head, shoving his cheek into the dirt.

“What do you think—one or both of ‘em’s a piece of shit?” said the officer behind Talitha as gloved hands patted her down through her costume. “Look at him—he’s got our mask on, the latest head cage by the looks of it, and he’s carrying a knife with blood all over it. He's been busy. How many civils did he take out with his own hands? Probably stole that gear he's wearing like the others we're snagging. Maybe running off with his next target."

"She could be part of the action herself," noted a stern man with command stripes on the arm of his gear. "We've got a few hostile femmes in the mix."

"Looks messed up, though," said the officer with Talitha.

“They’re kids, Sarge,” added a third, circling with the others to aim weapons at Adam and Talitha. “Look at their faces. Still got baby fat on ‘em.”

“Most of hostiles here are kids, Deputy," replied the commander. "You can’t tell who’s who in this hellhole. Don’t go easy on them. Don’t trust a fucking word they say.”

“We’re not rebels!” choked Adam, his words muffled through the mask and the force pressing on him. “We’re residents! Students! Cloverland! We're trying to get the fuck out of here—Jackal’s the piece of shit you need to worry about!”

“Students, huh?” The muzzle threatened Adam again. “Where’d you get the gear? The weapons? You fight off some hostiles on your own or got lucky? Someone dropped expensive equipment in a war zone, I’m sure.”

“I killed one of them and took it.”

A scatter of laughter followed.

“Sure you did. You killed lots of ones. Your own classmates, you sick fuck.”

“I’m not a fucking rebel! ID me! I had nothing to do with this shit!” A heavy sigh followed. “I’m a Pendergast. You know what that means. So…please. I heard them call you Sergeant, right?”

More laughter. “You're a Pendergast, huh?” said the officer over him. “You must be the great Captain. Of course you are. It's an honor. I’m General Olet, sir. Nice to meet you.”

“The captain’s my brother!" spat Adam. "ID me, fuckface! Stop wasting fucking time—”

The sergeant shoved Adam’s head back down with the pistol as the officer behind Talitha shifted her around to face him.

“And who are you, sweetheart? Queen of the Solar Plains?” His helmet tilted to the side as he moved her head. She grimaced, closing her eyes. “What’s this injury? Were you bit? Are you infected?”

“She can’t talk,” grunted Adam. “She’s mute. It’s the injury. Talk to me. I’ll tell you what’s going on.” He stumbled when he was dragged to his feet, shaking his head with disorientation. He glanced at the officers holding Talitha. “Be careful. Don’t rough her up, she's not doing well. We’re on your side. I keep telling you that.”

The sergeant seized the bottom of Adam’s mask and ripped it off. The wounds on Adam’s face were wet, streaking red down his bruised face. He stared at the sergeant in defiance.

“You do look familiar,” said the sergeant, peering close at Adam. “Seen your mug around the feeds, for a while too. Lots of times. You've got a lot to say with a lot of nerve. Those eyes…cold as fucking ice.”

“You should recognize me,” replied Adam. “I am who I say I am.”

“The girl can’t talk, you say.” The sergeant gestured at Talitha. “You know what else can’t talk? Stage 7 bloodsuckers. Looks like she’ll be there real soon.”

“She’s got native ancestry. Vangrali. Pure-blood—so at least 98% undiluted Ipirian roots. There are no tests that can assess past that purity level. She was bit tonight but nothing touches her now, just like nothing touches me with this mask on. It’s how we survived. These rabids aren't interested in her.” Adam met Talitha’s eye from a distance before glancing at the sergeant again. “She’s one of them—born here but her roots are from there. Maybe she’s…immune to the bite somehow. I know that has to be important.”

“Immune, huh? No such thing. Not even for a pure-blood no matter how close to 100% they get. All natives go rabid these days after they make that turn and feed, and they get it just as bad as a human if they're pierced by a rabid. Just a matter of time as long as long as humans are stuck in this place. She’s as good as fried.”

“I’m sure you’ve seen the rapid mutation rate, like the turned are decaying right in front of your eyes. The infection’s activating after humans are dead, not before, and it’s never been like this even with a high parasite load. The embryo needs time to incubate, needs living blood to duplicate. None of that’s happening to her yet she still has a pulse. I felt it myself. I’d call that immunity or something close to it.”

“You know a lot for someone saying they’re not involved.”

“I don’t know shit. I just pay attention and I’m not a fucking idiot. My background does count for something here too, whether you like it or not. I know your eyes are working, Sarge.” A note of bitterness struck Adam’s tone. “Hope your brain’s working too. You’re here…arguing with me like this instead of doing your fucking job!”

The sergeant chuckled, glancing at the other officers, who shook their heads. “Don’t get smart, kid,” he said. “Terminating the infected and disabling hostiles became part of our job tonight. Keep running your mouth and we might think your little girlfriend's rabid no matter what you say. It’s our judgment in the interest of Union security. We can leave her buried right here in Westmont with all her diseases and you—well, you aren’t seeming so grateful yourself about your rescue.”

“Grateful for what—a fucking shakedown in the middle of a rebel attack?" Adam scoffed. "I guess you guys in Civil Defense must be desperate for your own scandal. You’ll be burned for the rest of your time on this planet if you try anything and I'll be the one to see to it. Kiss your badge and those stripes goodbye.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Yeah.”

“Heir to Silatem," the sergeant chuckled. "Pendergast. Threatening to burn me for the rest of my time on this planet. Kiss my badge goodbye.” He nodded. “You do sound like a billionaire’s kid. Maybe you’re the spook’s brother after all. Explains why you’re carrying so much anger. Daddy left everything to your brother and not to you, since you're just a runt trailing a pack of real wolves. Tugging on Mommy's ministry robes for your own shot. That’s what we say about you. Worse, even.”

Adam’s gaze narrowed. “You’re talking shit now. Guess you believe me if you're pulling personal insults. You know I can do what I said I'd do.”

Another long, animal-like howl pierced the building mist. The officers paused, returning to high alert and readying their weapons.

“Speaking of wolves…there's another of those damn demon dogs,” said the officer behind Talitha. “Must be the moons riling them up. They’re coming down from the mountains and they've picked up the sickness from these swarms. Turning just as fast as the kids and just as volatile. Great. Exactly what we need.”

The holds on Adam and Talitha were released as the officers changed formation, placing them in the middle. Adam moved to Talitha’s side and spoke to her in a low voice as they were surrounded.

“They won’t mess with us," he said. "We’ll be fine. The officers will do what they’re supposed to do. It’s process at this point.”

Talitha nodded. Adam did as well.

The sergeant gestured to his men. “Let the hostiles tend to the hounds,” he said. “Distract them for a while while we get these two to the cruiser. Notify Schulz that we might have the captain’s brother in custody with another student. We’ll have to leave the jammed vicinity to make that contact. Copy?” He waited until the men acknowledged before turning his attention back to Adam and Talitha. “Run when we say run. Stop when we say stop. Keep your mouth shut and follow direction. Got it?”

Adam remained emotionless. “Yeah,” he said. “Got it.”

“Good,” said the sergeant. “Let’s go.”

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