Alchemist (30 page)

Lyle’s resolve
suddenly faltered; a look of fear on his face. It passed in an
instant and his manner grew defiant once more – but it was there
and Terry had seen it. “We will do as you see fit then.” He spat.
But it was still a submission, no matter how he said it.

“Good.” Terry
turned away and stomped up the staircase carved into the stone wall
of the underground caverns. “I’m going to find the others.” She
shouted back to him, but her mind was on other things. Suddenly she
was scared. Terry did not know what she had done but somehow,
somehow some lost part of her had come through and it had
frightened her uncle; and it terrified her not knowing what it had
been.

Rescue

Two miners made
their way down the long mineshaft. They chatted idly, unfazed by
the murky gloom that surrounded them. The only light to accompany
them on their descent were the ones attached to their helmets.
There where light dotted every one hundred yards or so along the
left wall, but they offered poor illumination and only seemed to
heighten the darkness between them where none of their shine
reached at all. One of the miners reached around and wiped the back
of his neck as a freezing drip landed on him. “Fuck! I hate it when
it gets down your neck!” He cursed, wiping it away.

“I’ve had it go
right down my spine a couple of times.” His companion said.

“That’s even
bloody worse.” Agreed the first miner as his boots squelched
through a muddy puddle in the dark, damp hole in the Earth they
found themselves descending into.

But not every path
of water trickling down the walls was benign. Once they were gone,
several started flowing against the pull of gravity and pooled into
one spot on the floor, before taking the shape of Faye. She looked
up and down the shaft cautiously to make sure no-one was around.
Spying not a single soul she pushed away from the wall and headed
after the miners, careful to not stray from the shadows lest she be
seen.

Above ground,
Terry laid waste to the mine workers. A straggler ran this way and
that, screaming. She was on in him moments, sinking her long fangs
and serrated mandibles through his spine and belly. With a snap of
his back and a thrash of the head he was silenced.

She let the fat
sack of meat fall to the ground before picking it up again from a
better angle. Tipping her long neck back, she forced it down her
throat whole. Around her the bodies of two dozen men and women
littered the muddy entrance.

“Terry.” Lyle
called, as he rounded the back of a truck. He stood mutely when he
laid eyes upon the carnage. She ignored him. A long, sticky tongue
shot from her mouth, wrapping round the legs of one of the bodies
several feet away. With a flick of her head, the corpse shot into
her mouth. Throwing her head back again, her mandibles forced it
down. The tips of her armour flexed slightly in a ripple that
passed through her body.

“So much for doing
it quietly then?” he asked angrily, stomping through the puddles of
mud and blood that ran together.

Terry twisted her
long neck around and hissed at him through barred teeth.

Lyle staggered
back, shocked. “What is wrong with you? We don’t have time for
this, we need to get inside.”

She shrieked at
him, turning her large frame completely around to face him.

Realising
something was wrong he raised his hands and slowly backed off.
“Terry? What’s the matter?”

Her pupils
suddenly widened and she straightened her neck, her hackles
dropping. She looked about, puzzled.

“Are you ok?”

Terry grunted and
shook her head, blinking as if she was dizzy.

Lyle knew what had
caused the strange behaviour but did not give voice to it. Now was
not the time. “Come on.” He said, heading away from the
entrance.

Several minutes
later the Alchemists had rendezvoused with Connor, who had stayed
out of sight while they had taken care of the workers. He knew
better than to get in the way when Alchemists went on a killing
spree.

“Is this it?”
Connor asked, as they met at the yawning entrance to the mine. They
were dwarfed by the concrete mouth that stood before them and the
straight muddy track that ran inside. It had been carved out to be
used for large trucks and other equipment; a testament to the major
mining operation that was taking place within.

“What do you
mean?” Terry asked, as she began walking.

“I thought there
would be giant doors or something but this is wide open.”

She gave him a
funny look. “This isn’t Goldeneye.”

“
Yeah, I
know, but considering what Rufus said they were getting up to down
there, I thought it would have been a lot more
security.”

“This is just the
entrance. Wherever they are doing the experiments is where we’ll
find the security.” Lyle said.

“What’s the plan
then?”

Terry looked at
him, her metal-clad feet squelching with each step. “You’re going
to burn the place down.”

Rufus leapt to his
feet as a waterfall started cascading down from ceiling vent. He
had never been so relieved when it turned out to be his
rescuer.

“Faye!” he
exclaimed, running to her.

She flung her arms
round him as they embraced. “Rufus!”

Stepping back, he
took her hands and looked her up and down in marvel. “You’re even
more radiant than I remember.”

She smiled. “You
certainly haven’t lost your charm. It is great to see you,
especially after all that’s happened.”

His expression
grew sombre. “Terry told me, I am sorry.”

She lowered her
gaze and nodded. “Thank you.” She wiped the corner of her eye and
forced a smile.

“We’ll get him,
don’t worry.”

She looked around.
“I know, but first we have to get out of here.”

The place Rufus
had been locked was little more than a large storage room. Dirty
shovels and drills took up nearly half the space, although it was
clear that his captors had cleared some of the floor space for his
occupancy. A crumpled sleeping bag and a dirty pillow was the only
charity she saw. She could see Rufus had fashioned a desk out of
the chassis of an old digger and an old tyre to sit on. His
would-be desk was cluttered with scraps of paper and an empty plate
and cup.

“What have you
been designing?” she asked, picking up a drawing.

“Nothing, I dare
not. It would look very suspicious.” He sighed and she could see
regret in his eyes. “Besides, my works have already done enough
damage without me giving them anymore. So I just draw to pass the
time.”

“It’s pretty.”
Faye said, admiring the detail in the sketch. It was a pencil
drawing of an orchid.

He smiled. “Thank
you. Pen and paper are the only things they’ve given me to pass the
time.”

Sitting the
drawing down, Faye headed toward the double metal doors at the
front of the storage room. “Is there anyone guarding the other
side?” she asked.

“I think so. I’ve
seen people a few times when they’ve bought me my food and they’re
always armed.”

“Then I will just
have to stay fluid.” She said, eyeing up the doors. She looked back
at him. “Where is your real body?”

“Still at home,
fortunately. They don’t know.”

“Good. Stay here.”
She said. Returning to liquid state, Faye rushed the gap between
the two doors. It took some effort, but her fluid form managed to
force its way through.

Rufus heard
shouting and gunshots. But it was the muffled sound of choking that
made him wince. A couple of minutes crept passed in silence and
then the doors suddenly opened. Faye took her hand off the control
panel.

“Are you okay?”
Rufus asked, as he hurried out.

“Yeah, I’m fine.
Let’s go.”

Rufus hesitated as
he saw the body of one of the guards. The man was pale and soaked,
as if he had drowned. His features were fixed in an expression of
horror. Rufus could not tear his gaze away from the man; his glassy
stare sent a chill down his spine. He must have been terrified, he
thought, feeling a great swell of pity for the man – despite
imprisoning him.

“Rufus.” Faye
called, snapping him out of his reverie.

He looked at her,
distant for a moment. “Sorry, I...” he hurried over to her. “I’ve
been in this body for too long. Their sentiments are starting to
get to me...”

A screaming miner
fled, his running footsteps ringing loudly through the tunnel, his
scream echoing off the dark, wet, walls. Terry ran him down easily,
despite the narrow, twisting terrain. In fact, she found this
environment the easiest to negotiate. Her ancestors came from the
soil and they had lived beneath it for millions of years. The miner
did not stand a chance.

As she homed in,
she felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins and the saliva
building in her mouth. Despite her upbringing among men and her
constant battle to control her instincts over the years, secretly
she had missed it all and now she chose to no longer fight her
primeval urges to hunt, kill and feed; regardless of the prey.

Picking up the
pace, she ran up an outcrop of rock and leapt, landing squarely on
the man’s back. He screamed as he hit the ground. Crouching, she
plunged a two foot blade into the miner, ending his life. She
looked back up the tunnel, calling to her uncle in her native
tongue. The plate on her forearm withdrew to its natural position.
Her uncle’s reply came as she checked up and down the tunnel. She
allowed her tentacles to feast on the body. They ripped through
flesh and bone in moments and devoured it just as quick. By the
time Lyle and Connor caught up with her, the last of her tentacles
had retreated inside her body.

“There’s always
one that slips through your fingers.” She said, discarding the
man’s helmet into a nearby crevice.

“You caught him,
that’s all that matters.” Lyle said looking passed her down the
tunnel. “How much further do you think it goes?”

She followed his
gaze. “It can’t be much further.” Turning, she led the way.

Rufus threw
himself behind the drill, a hail of bullets ricocheting off the
machine behind him. The cold air stabbed at his lungs as he drew a
ragged breath, grateful he was still alive. Faye shivered next to
him. “Are you ok? She gave a nervous nod. “Did they hit you?”

“No, no, I’m
fine.” She insisted, her voice brittle. “I didn’t know that there
would be so many of them.”

He looked about
desperately. “We need to move.” His eyes darted back to her. “You
need to turn to water and get out of here. I’ll catch up.”

She shook her
head. “No, there’s nowhere for you to go.”

“Faye, I’m
grateful for you coming to find me but I’m not worth your life...”
Further conversation was cut off by a piercing scream and the ring
of gunshots. Tucking her head into her knees, Faye covered her
ears. Rufus froze, too scared to move.

Then as
suddenly as it had started it ended. It was so silent Rufus’s
heartbeat sounded like a jackhammer in his ears.
Did he hear footsteps?
He wasn’t
sure. He listened, trying to ignore his racing pulse. Yes, he could
definitely hear them...and they were coming
their
way. He gripped Faye’s arm and was about to
tell her to run when Terry stepped around the corner, her armour
and face splattered in blood.

“
There you
are.” She said, sounding somewhat irked. Faye flung her arms around
her, catching Terry off guard. Unsure how to react, she stood there
for a few seconds before slowly putting her arms around her crying
friend.

Rufus nodded at
her, his eyes wet with relief. But it was to be a fleeting
sensation, for a moment later his gaze met Lyle’s as the old
general and Connor appeared from amid the carnage. He stiffened,
his fear returning.

“Are you ok?”
Terry asked, looking at Faye. She gave a meek nod. “It’s alright
we’re getting out of here.”

“I’m sorry, they
took us by surprise.” The water elemental apologised, covering her
mouth. “I thought I was going to...” Her face sank into her hands
as warm tears began to stream uncontrollably down her cheeks.

Terry hugged her
again. “It’s ok.”

“It’s good to see
you again.” Connor said to Rufus. The two exchanged a firm
handshake and Rufus smiled, patting the young man hard on the
shoulder.

“Likewise, it has
been far too long.”

Connor looked
surprised. “You seem to be in very good spirits for someone who’s
been locked up for so long.”

Rufus’s grin
broadened but there was a glint of sadness in his eyes. “I’m just
relieved...that’s all...” A sheen appeared in his eyes and he wiped
them, and then said no more.

Connor gave his
old friend a slight nod and then turned to Faye, who had pulled
away from Terry. The two of them embraced.

Terry looked at
Rufus, making no effort to conceal her anxiety. “I was starting to
get worried about you.”

Rufus forced a
meek smile. “We might not have been ok if you had not arrived when
you did.” He extended his arms to her then stopped, hesitating. “Is
it ok?” he asked.

Terry sighed. “Oh
for goodness sake.” And she threw her arms around him.

Rufus laughed as
they parted. “I’m sorry, but last time you did almost skewer
me.”

Terry shrugged.
“What? I was upset and you were trying to hug me! Other children
might just hit you but you know I’m a little more dangerous.”

“That is
true...”

“If we
are
all quite finished.” Lyle interrupted, raising his
voice. Terry turned to his uncle, who stood with his arms folded
impatiently. He made no secret of the fact that he wanted to be
off.