Page 46 of Monstrous Baby
Instinct guided my wings, cupping the air to slow my chaotic tumble. Lifting and flicking one wing then the other to right my body in the air. Focusing on the sensation of air on my feathers. My eyes. My sight wasn’t blinded, though I couldn’t see much in the dark night sky. However, my echolocation had gone down along with the grid.
Stay in the air. Above the trees. I’m not injured.
Though the silence inside me was deafening.
While running diagnostics to get the grid back up, I reoriented myself using the lights of our house below, familiar even though I’d never needed to use the small solar lights lining the patio and walkways to guide myself before. I often flew at night on patrol. The grid was down, but my personal databanks were functional. I overlaid nighttime patrols with my current visuals and instantly felt more aligned.
Until I noticed the headlights turning in an arc back toward our house. The vehicle that had deployed the drone now drove up our driveway.
Toward Natalie.
I scanned the ground, looking for any sign of Kroktl or Axxol. I remembered roughly where they’d been located before the electromagnetic pulse wiped us out, but I couldn’t see them in the darkness. My eyesight wasn’t strong enough, and I didn’t dare dip lower until my echolocation was functional again. Though I had to warn them.
I screeched out a long, howling cry. It betrayed my location, so I flew a seemingly erratic crossing pattern over the house and out over the jungle. I even flapped one wing awkwardly, acting as if I were injured, trying to draw attention away from the house. Hopefully one of the squad would hear the warning.
Turning back to the north, I spied a flash of brilliant blue light. A jump.
Axxol? He might still be functional, though I couldn’t detect his signature yet.
But then a second blue jump ring glowed closer to the house.
Two. Two squads. One in Kroktl’s general location. The other near the house.
Our squad was defenseless. Our mate and youngling exposed. Betrayed.
Thinking quickly, I decided to do the unexpected. I was blinded anyway. I couldn’t do much from the sky until I got the grid back up. I needed time before my skills would be useful to the squad.
More importantly, Kroktl needed time to get to Natalie.
I screamed out another warning. Then I tucked my wings tight and plummeted straight toward the first jump ring I’d seen furthest from the house. Kroktl would have a better chance of reaching her with a little help.
Talons extended, beak cracked open to expose the rows of saw blade teeth, I screeched again, telling anyone who was listening where one of the squads had jumped.
Hasta la vista, baby!
20
NATALIE
One second, everything was fine. The next, complete silence echoed in my head.
The grid was gone. My squad…
Terror tightened my throat.Please, please be okay. My baby’s out there somewhere. My loves. If they’re hurt…
An image bloomed in my mind. Kroktl, crouched in the shadow of a large tree. A wave of comfort flooded me, though I couldn’t hear his words in my head. The grid was still down, so I wasn’t sure how I could still feel him. But I instantly knew he was still alive, unharmed, and above all, pissed.
Lohr shifted slightly above me, likely stunned by the unnerving absence of the grid. I’d only had access for a few weeks, though I felt the loss keenly. The constant sense of knowing and understanding without words. Feeling exactly where everyone was and what emotions they were dealing with.
I reached up and stroked the under-plating of his shell. “Kroktl’s okay,” I whispered. “I’m sure the others are too. What was that?”
“The drone released an electromagnetic pulse to disable us.” Snryx didn’t move away from his guarding position at the door,but one of his implements reached inside the tub to lightly touch me. “The grid’s gone but I can still feel you. Is that how you know Kroktl’s unharmed?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” I closed my eyes, trying to get a sense of Rizan or Axxol’s location, but I couldn’t feel them anywhere. “Why can’t I…” My words fell off into silence as realization dawned.
The marks. I bore Kroktl’s and Snryx’s bite marks on my body. I carried their blood, and they carried mine. Our cells were even more tightly coupled now. Even without the grid, we were still connected.
I focused on Kroktl, concentrating on my mark in his chest. Willing the mrion and Sirian cells inside him to come together quicker. Repair the grid. Get us back online with the others. Protect our baby girl.
