Winds Of The Apocalypse (22 page)

Jon let out a sigh. "It’s not a chamber per say…It's more like a void space, a place where they can keep the souls of their victims in limbo. They feed on their life force, their essence, or rather, what's left of it after the body dies. They created that ‘room’ on the first time they came here and the family of the assholes that brought them here was guarding it
in exchange for their fortune.”

"It sounds like they had made a deal with th
e devil." Casey shook her head.

"Didn't t
hey know what they were doing?"

"They knew." Jon growled. "But gre
ed is a powerful moving force."

"Right.”
Casey agreed. "So besides the secret room thing what did the apocalypse’s had to gain from the arrangement?" Jon shook his head.

"That was about it, the souls of children. That's what they are feeding on, remember? That is what makes them so strong, what gives them the strength to cross into our world and get such a strong hold on it."

"But how could that family had done it? Gather so many children to feed the monsters?

No one saw it? No one noticed that their children were missing?" Colin question
ed in disbelieve.

He had trouble imagining that parents were just giving their kids up for no apparent reason to be served as food to a bunch of monsters, this weren't the ancient times and the monsters weren't gods!

"Children going missing for years and no one knew? How can that be?" Colin asked, talking almost to himself. Jon moved away from the bed and came to sit on the chair by the wooden table.

"Until now no one cared about the kids they were taking. The souls in that room are ancient, with the exception of Din the youngest soul in there is about fifty years old, more even. The family that had struck the deal only took the forgotten children, runaways, orphans, children who were sent here during the
evacuations of the world wars.

Kids off the street and the gutters, from the lowest places of life.
Children who were lost anyway. They weren't important enough so no one came looking…Until now that is, Din is important to you."

Casey looked at J
on. The rest of them sat quiet.

'So much information…' She thought. 'And how did he get it?' She narrowed her eyes. "Jon." Casey got up from her sit on the be
d and came to stand beside him.

"How do you know all that?" Sh
e queried and Jon smiled sadly.

"That’s a simple question, little sister.” Jon sighed in forlorn, closing his eyes for a moment. “I am one of them." He said, opening his eyes and staring directly into Casey's brown orbs. “I am one of the kids they were feeding on."

His sad words had sucked the warmth out of the room.

Collin shuddered. Casey felt the chills running down her spine and she knew that her friends had felt the same way as she did. It was the fear and the confusion that everyone were now thrown in, the fear that they were on to something they didn't really want to hear.

"But I saw you…" Toby whispered. “When I and Din were down at their lair we saw your body."

"What?" Casey whipped he
r head at Toby. "You saw what?"

"My body."
Jon repeated what Toby had just said. "I am not surprised." Jon said, nodding to himself as if the whole thing made perfect sense to him.

"They are taking it out of the chamber sometimes to keep me from dying, they don't want to lose their control over me so they let my soul out, kind of to regenerate, That’s why I am able to be with you right now, I wouldn't have if I was still in the room like I was in the past several years.”

He flinched involuntarily as he remembered the feel of the chamber crushing down on him. "When you are in there…" He whispered his distress clear to his siblings.

”When your soul is in there it’s almost impossible to concentrate on anything else but remindi
ng yourself to keep breathing."

"Why…?" Casey asked, gulping, she wasn't sure that she was ready for the answer. "Because…"Jon bit his lip
. ”Because it takes all that you have in you to block the pain that the monsters are putting you through."

He lowered his head, looking at the floor; he didn't
want to keep thinking about it.

There was a moment o
f silent and then Morgan spoke.

"How long can a soul survive in there if they don’t let you out?" He asked, maintaining a practical view
, as far as he could handle it.

Jon shrugged. "Years I believe, decades. I have only my experience to go on but since there are very old souls still lingering in there I would say more than fifty years for sure, unless the monsters are taking them out like they are doing to me, then I can account for only five years but it's still is a lot of t
ime until it becomes critical."

He wrapped his arms around himself. "You have to understand that there are reasons the apocalypse prefer children, they are not just some sick pedophiles." He let out a little laugh at his own j
oke and then his face hardened.

"A soul, especially one of a child, the younger the better is a really powerful thing to handle. And to control once you wild its power means imminent
strength boost for the beasts."

Morgan nodded. "Ok, I understand." He said. "Well then Jon is right. We will proceed with our original planning. We will get my body out of the hospital and then after we hide it somewhere in this mansion we will
go save Din from the monsters."

He looked at Toby. "Is that ok with eve
ryone?" He asked him specially.

Toby didn't seem to be too happy with the arrangement but he didn't protest, the rest of them nodded, agreeing that this was the best course
of action to take at that time.

"Ok." Morgan smiled, "So since we are already on the subject we should probably think about where we are going to keep my
body ones we get it back here…"

Morgan looked at h
is friends. "Any suggestions?" 

"I know a place." Toby crocked as Colin grabbed his reached out hand and help
ed him into a sitting position.

"When I scanned the school with Din," He paused for a second; the thought of Din was still hard on him. "We …" He continued. "We went up to the ethic
of this old place...

You should really see it guys, as far as we could tell it was quit deserted.

No one goes up there. It’s the area where they keep the generators in case of a black out, remember? Like in the summer storm last year when Kafka howled us all to the main lobby so we won’t disturb the maintenance guys? That's where they went."

"Sounds good…" Morgan tapped his chin. "And are you sure it’s s
afe to leave my body up there?"

Toby nodded. "Unless we have another freak storm I'm positive. Nothing but some old furniture, the generators and some cobwebs. No one but maintenance goes there anyway and they only check it like ones a year or so to make su
re that everything is in order.

The genitor doesn't even clean up there…It’s like a big shit hole and smells like moss but it’s perfect if you want to conceal a body."

Morgan made a face of disgust but then he smiled.

"All right."
He brushed his palms against each other. "Then it’s a plan."

"
Mmmm…Wait." Casey said. "There is one more thing that we haven’t considered."

She looked at her friends.
"Transportation.” She said. “How do we get to the hospital and back?"

Morgan frowned, he hadn't thought about it. "We can’t actually take a cab again…Could we?" Casey continued to wonder.

"Ohm…" Morgan blushed; he wasn't really sure what to do about that. “No….we won’t really be able to explain the body in the back sit,” He smirked. “And any way, a cab is not big enough for a hospital bed and for all of the equipment that we are going to get out of there.”

"We can take my dad's truck." Colin got up from the bed as well, joining Casey and Morgan who
currently stood by the doorway.

"Your dad's truck?"
Morgan narrowed his eyes. "Two problems with that genius. One, we need to get it from your house no?"

"No." Colin looked at the curtained window.
"It's here in the parking lot."

"Huh?" Morgan blinked. "Why?"
 

"Because…" Colin blushed. "My dad is the member of the school board that supervises this year." He said almost
inaudibly and everyone laughed.

"Your dad is here to supervise over you?
Lame!" Morgan declared and then shook his head as Colin forcefully shoved him.

"And that's why I didn't t
ell you that sooner ghost boy!"

"Ok, ok, then this brings me to our second problem. Who is going to drive it? Cuss I'm very doubtful that your dad will be up for the idea."

Colin puffed his chest. "I will drive it you moron, my dad gave me lessons over spring break."

Morgan smiled at him.

“And you don't think that this is slightly illegal? You don't even have your learners permit yet."

Colin looked at him as if he had ju
st said that the world is flat.

"We are going to kidnap a comatose guy from the hospital in the middle of the night Morgan. I really think that if the cops bust us they will first address the so called corpse in the back and then they will think to actually check that the driver is under aged."

"Hmm, he has a point there." Casey agreed. "But try not to kill us. I do want to get back here in one peace and still have a fighting chance against the monsters." She said to Colin who laughed.

"I'll do my best.” He promised.

"Ok, then it’s settled." Morgan said. "Colin will drive us to the hospital and then we will kidnap my body and bring it back here."

He looked at Toby. "Oh, and you need to sit this one out Toby, I'm sorry, but you are injur
ed, it will only slow us down."

"I know." Toby agreed. "I'll cover for you if Kafka will notice you disappeared on her." "Ok, good." Morgan
looked back at Casey and Colin.

"You guys go get some rest for now, we still have a few hours till dark and I really will feel better if I knew that you are go
ing on this mission refreshed."

Casey laughed.
'”Ok, but what about you and Jon?"

"Jon?" Jon smiled. "Well, we don’t really need the same rest that humans do, we will be ok."

"Ok." Colin agreed as he stretched, headed for the doorway. "Rest sounds actually good at the moment and I am currently starving so I will go eat something in the cafeteria before I head to bed."

"We will meet back here in three hours." Casey said and Colin put his thumbs up and then he left them, silently closing the door behind hi
m as he walked out of the room.

“I should get some sleep too.” Casey y
awned. "I haven’t slept since…"

She glanced at Morgan.

”Since they found me?" Morgan frowned.

"Sorry…" Cas
ey mumbled. 

"Don’t be sorry Casey, just get some rest.” Morgan sighed and Casey smiled and leaned over to her siblings to quickly hug them, then she stretched as well and already half asleep crawled into her bed on the ot
her side of the room from Toby.

"Sleep well little sister." Mor
gan whispered. "You too Toby." 

Toby laughed. "Yes mom.” He said, groggily turning over
and curling up into the covers.

“How’s your back?” Jon asked Toby as he leaned over him to inspect the gash visible through his torn up
shirt.

“It’s not deep.” Toby mumbled.
”I don’t even feel it anymore.”

”Hmm...” Jon looked over the wound. The blade barely grazed the skin but a long line of dry blood stretched from Toby’s shoulder blade all
the way down to his tail bone.

Jon helped Toby remove the blood soaked shirt and then he and Morgan bandaged Toby’s leg and wounds, making sure that their friend was comfortable enough to try and sleep.

A couple of minutes later both Casey and Toby were softly snoring, Casey cuddled against Morgan's lap while Morgan sat down on the bed beside her and Jon joined him at the edge of the bed.

Morgan gently stroked Casey’s hair, going over wi
th Jon on their escape tactics.

If push comes to shove, they decided, they will have to leave the body behind and ge
t Casey and Colin out of there.

Morgan still hoped that his mother will come to her senses cuss getting Casey off the revenge path in case her plan goes into action will be close to no
nexistent, he was sure of that.

Chapter eleven: The kidnapping

Night found Casey all dressed in black and standing at the entrance of the school next to her brothers, waiting outside for Colin to arrive.