Tark and Tee emerged from the Forest, flanked by Gal and a group of armed Outers.
There were no VIs in the clearing. The static creature had assumed a vaguely human shape. It stood at the mouth of the cave, just inside the force field, arms extended. Above each upturned palm floated a set of three squares. Little static pellets fired back and forth between the sets, as the squares dodged back and forth. One of the squares failed to dodge a pellet, and it disintegrated.
‘Wot’s it doin’?’ whispered Tark.
‘I have no idea,’ Tee answered.
The figure closed its hands into fists, crushing the remammg squares.
‘You can’t win,’ said the figure, its voice hollow and echoing.
‘Says you.’ Tark clutched his rapid-fire crossbow tighter.
‘Every move you make. Every step you take.’ Agrim mirthless laughter filled the air around them.
‘Brings you closer to me.’
‘You know what to do?’ said Tee, as he flicked the override switch on the IDD.
‘Ya bets.’ There was a grim determination in
Tark’s voice.
‘Pawns moving across a chessboard.’ There was more laughter from the figure.
‘Force-field,’ ordered Tee, taking aim.
Tark fumbled with the remote control device attached to his belt, dropped it, picked it up, and finally pressed the appropriate button. Gal rolled his eyes. The barrier shimmered out of existence and Tee fired.
Tee was barely able to hang on to the IDD as thedischarge arced through the air to the creature. The energy crackled with a bright intensity that made Tark and the other Outers shield their eyes. The creature screeched and writhed, caught in the fiery, electric grasp. And then everything went silent.
For a moment, it was impossible to tell what had happened. The static was frozen within the almost-human shape, arms thrown back, head tilted crookedly. Then it began to pulsate - slowly at first, then faster. Growing, it took a lumbering step forward.
‘I am ready,’ it boomed. ‘Ready to devour.’
‘Move,’ called Gal. Tee stepped aside as Gal and his team fired two rounds of static-tipped bolts. The creature laughed as the barrage melted into it.
‘Tark!’ Tee yelled, cradling the empty IDD in one hand, holding up the other.
Tark tossed the remote control to Tee, aimed hisrapid-fire crossbow and pressed the trigger. A volley of bolts flew at the creature. It held up one misshaped hand and they ricocheted back towards the Outers. Tark continued to fire as Tee dropped to the ground and the Outers scattered. One of them cried out and hit the ground, a bolt in his leg.
‘Stop!’ yelled Tee.
A bolt slammed into the barrel of the rapid-fire crossbow, knocking it from Tark’s hands.
The creature continued to grow, the static overflowing its human shape.
Tee hit the remote control and switched on the force-field.
A shimmer rippled through the air, catching the creature in its path. Sparks erupted and the creature howled; its growth halted.
‘I doubt that’s going to hold it for long,’ said Tee, getting to his feet.
‘Now wot?’ asked Tark.
‘We need to get back to base,’ Tee answered. ‘And prepare for an attack.’
He turned to Gal and the other Outers. The wounded man was being helped to his feet. ‘You come back with me. The rest of you, stay here and keep an eye on that thing.’ He met Gal’s steely gaze.
‘Do not engage it. And report any developments.’
‘I’m staying,’ announced Tark. Tee opened his mouth to protest, but Tark continued. ‘There ain’t nuthin’ I can do ta ‘elp ya prepare.’
Tee glanced at Gal.
‘Yeah, I knows,’ said Tark. ‘He’s in charge.’
‘Stay safe.’ Tee clapped him on the shoulder before heading off with the wounded Outer.
Tark picked up the rapid-fire crossbow, checked that it was still useable, and offered it to Gal. ‘Don’t has no effect on that thing in the cave. But if ‘em VIs came backs.’
‘You keep it,’ said Gal.
***
Tark stood a few paces from the other Outers. Theychatted amongst themselves in nervously hushed tones, but he silently stared at the creature. The air around it shimmered as it struggled against the force field. His eyes were glued to the eddying static but his mind thought only of Zyra. Where was she? Was she safe? Would he ever see her again? He couldn’t bear the thought of life without her.
‘I luvs ya.’ He mouthed the words quietly. Laughter boomed from the creature, breakinginto his thoughts.
‘Devour!’ it screamed and the force-field wavered.
‘Devour everything!’
‘That don’t sound good,’ said Tark.
Tark, Gal and the Outers watched in horrified fascination as a hole appeared in the shimmering air.
The creature poked a misshapen finger into the gap.
‘It’s breaking through,’ shouted one of the Outers. Static poured through the hole like a viscous liquid, pooling on the rocky ground. The creaturewithin the force-field diminished as the pool grew.
‘Shoot it!’ Gal ordered.
‘Tee said nots ta -’ began Tark.
‘Shoot it, or get out of the way,’ said Gal, loading his crossbow. ‘It’s fighting against the force-field. And it’s pushing its way out. It’s probably weakened. This may be our last chance to stop it.’
Gal aimed his weapon and fired. The other Outers followed his lead.
The bolts had no effect and the river of greycontinued to flow through the hole. Tark reluctantly aimed the rapid-fire crossbow.
‘Give me that!’ Gal snatched the weapon from Tark. ‘If we can’t stop it, you make sure to warn Tee.’ He tossed his communicator to Tark.
Without waiting for a response, Gal strode forward and opened fire on the expanding pool of static. The bolts dissolved into its grey depths.
The creature behind the force-field shrank intonothingness as its substance escaped through the hole. The static on the ground undulated and surged forward, gurgling over Gal’s booted feet.
Gal screamed. He saw his boots and leggings dispersing as the static rose to cover them. He forced himself to lift his eyes and continued firing.
‘Stay back!’ he called. Tark hesitated.
One of the Outers, a young woman with short blonde hair, ignored Gal’s order and dashed forward to help. Pulling off her cloak, she wrapped it around her hands and tried to wipe the static off Gal. The cloak stuck to it and moments later the woman’s arms were covered in spreading greyness.
‘Help!’ she cried, struggling in vain. ‘My arms! Ican’t feel my arms!’
‘Run!’ Gal yelled over his shoulder. The rapid-fire crossbow lost its solidity moments before the static rippled over it. ‘Run!’ The static rushed into Gal’s mouth, drowning his words. Seconds later he and the woman were gone - consumed.
Tark retreated to the Forest, fumbling with the communicator, trying desperately to recover from what he had just seen.
‘Comes on,’ Tark called to the remaining Outers, who were still gaping at the roiling static. ‘Gets back!’ His voice snapped them out of their shocked inaction.
The Outers turned to run, but it was too late. Awave swelled across the expanding surface of the static and rushed at them. They wailed like panicked children as the wave crashed down. It engulfed them, wiping them away with frightening ease, and rolled on towards Tark.
Haunted faces seemed to loom up out of the rushing swell, dead eyes fixed on Tark, their mouths wordlessly calling for him.
Tark ran. He stumbled over a tree root and crashed to the ground, the communicator flying off into the undergrowth. He picked himself up and struggled on for several minutes before allowing himself to glance back over his shoulder. What he saw made him stop and gape.
The creature was huge, and still growing. An amorphous blob of grey, a black maw in its centre. Images rippled across its surface. Faces, bodies, creatures - deformed and distorted. They extended from the conglomeration as if trying to escape, then snapped back to be swallowed into the swirling mass.
The static heaved across the landscape, consuming everything in its path. Animal life and vegetation disappeared into the expanding darkness at its centre. The only good thing about the feasting was that it slowed it down.
‘Devour!’ The word boomed through the Forest. Tark ran. He did not look back. But the hauntingsound of destruction followed him.