Kindled, Part IV: The Beast Isn’t Stupid
And our heroes might be screwed
The alligator was moving slowly, a dark form with big scales that were barely visible in the dimness of the great room.
“I want you to backup very slowly until you’re behind me,” Leo said in a gentle voice.
After Lev had put himself behind him, Leo reached into his bag and came out with a sealed storage bag with a cut of meat in it. “POISON” was written on the side of the storage bag in big red letters.
Leo opened the bag and threw the steak at the alligator as it slowly drew closer to the two men. It stopped and poked at the fat steak with its snout. Then it started to produce a curious sound. It took several seconds before Lev realized that it sounded like laughter. As the alligator came closer, still moving slowly, the details of its form became apparent and Lev gasped.
Leo said, “Ah nuts!”
The alligator was wearing a helmet made of shiny chrome and white plastic. There were a few lights blinking on the top of the dome.
The laughter continued getting louder and louder until the weird beast stopped and said, “You think I fall for bad meat? It not so easy get by me!”
Lev tried his hardest to stop himself from urinating. It was a good distraction from the horrific creature that lay before him. He just focused on his pelvic floor muscles, shrinking his attention to the single task of not peeing, and shut out everything else, for he knew that panic could take him at any moment.
“Let us pass peaceably and you won’t be hurt!” Leo said. He was standing in a bold, dominant pose, his arms out and ready for action.
“You not strong. You die, not me!”
“Your response saddens me.” Leo snatched something from his hip. It was a handle. He made a whipping motion and a line of segmented monofilament jumped out of the device. It was about five feet long.
The Alligator looked unimpressed.
“Fell beast, do you have a name? I want to honor you when I tell others of your death.”
Laughter filled the colossal room again, echoing in a mad cacophony. “You can call me Cornelius!”
Leo made two quick movements with his weapon hand. The whip became rigid and then exploded into blueish light. Lev could feel the radiant heat pouring off of the weapon which now resembled a flaming sword.
“Let's dance!”
The alligator raised up its torso in a loud roar. As soon as it did Leo was running with amazing speed straight at the creature. It started to lower itself down but it was too slow, Leo was already there with a circular slash across the beast’s neck. There was the sizzle of flesh and muscle burning along with a crackling noise which must have been the sound of bone and cartilage being incinerated because before Lev knew it the alligator’s head was hitting the ground with a dull and wet THUD.
Leo stood panting, sword out and level, a giant carcass behind him and a massive smoking cranium in front. He looked alert, stern, and a little sad.
“Poor creature,” he said as he removed the helmet from the decapitated head.
Lev stood in amazement.
“You, you moved so FAST! And what is that weapon!?”
“It’s called a plasma blade. It’s what the high-up enforcers use.”
“Did you kill an enforcer?”
“Not me, but someone I know did. Now we have the design and can make as many as we want, as long as we can get the materials.
“Who’s we?”
“We call ourselves the Seekers. Don’t worry you’ll meet the others. You’re part of the team now!” Leo said in a chipper voice.
Lev’s face fell and his whole body seemed to be swallowed by a deep sadness.
“What’s wrong? Do you miss your old life? It’s a natural re — “
“I’m useless. I can’t do anything real! I can’t even maintain a jog for Jeff’s sakes!”
“Hey, heyyy,” Leo said in soft tones, “you’ll get stronger in time! I was just like you only a year ago, and look at me now! I need you, Levy. You’re gonna help us get to the bottom of this, I know it!”
Lev looked into Leo’s eyes, searching for a bit of hope.
“You may not believe in yourself yet, but you will. Until then, I’ll believe enough for the both of us. Now come on, there’s plenty to see.”
Lev nodded sullenly and forced his body to move forward.
