Bridgers 3_The Voice of Reason Read online

  Desmond opened his eyes. He repeated the sounds, doing his best to emulate Reason’s voice. When he was finished, he was pleased with the result but sure he could do better with a bit of practice.

  Again the cave was silent.

  Reason’s expression was hard to read. Perhaps it was fear, or maybe pity. He looked Desmond in the eye. “I was once a young ’un like you, of a mind to do whatever my ornery notions conjured up. But the mongrels… the mongrels will steal away your youth’s vigor like possums steal eggs. Your moral fiber will vanish, just like that, until they go to shittin’ it out, but by then you won’t want it back.”

  14

  Venomcrook

  September 2 - 11:58 AM

  Infinity stared at the refugees on the other side across the bridge-in site. The tension in the air was palpable. She stood with these nineteen refugees around the portion of the site’s perimeter not occupied by the mongrels’ bubble, ready to act the moment group thirteen arrived. There was no way to know exactly when that would be, but it had to be getting close.

  The man directly across from Infinity was standing poised with his legs slightly bent, ready to jump into the midst of the new arrivals. The woman to his right was watching the ground before her and narrowed her eyes. She seemed calm, but her chest was heaving as if she’d just been running. The man to her right was holding his eyes closed, looking almost peaceful but for the fact that his lips were moving slightly as if he were giving himself a silent pep talk.

  These were good people, ready to risk their lives, and Infinity was encouraged by their mettle. They were doing this because she had asked for volunteers. Perhaps these nineteen would inspire the others.

  A blast of displaced air hit Infinity’s face, forcing her to blink. Twenty bodies appeared a split second later within the bridge-in site and dropped several inches to the ground. Infinity and the nineteen volunteers rushed forward, as they had rehearsed. Each picked a new arrival, threw one hand around to grasp the back of the person’s neck, and clamped the other hand over the person’s mouth.

  But the new arrivals doubled over in their need to retch, closing the gaps between their bodies. Some volunteers had to push their way past others to get to the new arrivals in the center of the formation. One of the volunteers tripped, knocking over several others. Some of the newcomers cried out in alarm before their volunteers could reach them.

  “What the hell are—” a man began to shout before being silenced.

  Infinity heard the now-familiar splatter of a mongrel projectile hitting the man’s skin. She silently glared at the volunteers, hoping they’d remember what they’d trained to do in this scenario. And they did—they each gripped their chosen newcomer and forced the person to look them in the eye rather than watching the man who’d spoken. Infinity saw that the man was already buckling at his knees. Admirably, his handler, a woman in her forties, stayed with him, stifling his cries the best she could.

  Infinity’s newcomer, a pale guy with wide, terrified eyes, tried to turn his head toward the source of the muffled screams. But Infinity forced him to look at her. Still gripping the back of his neck and covering his mouth, she waited for him to get past the worst of his retching and then began backing away from the bridge-in site, pulling him with her. The other volunteers were doing the same, and soon the entire group—except for the transforming man and his handler—had moved silently out of the bridge-in site.

  Over the shoulder of the guy in her grip, Infinity saw the fallen man begin to writhe. And still his handler refused to release him, trying her best to keep him from panicking the other new arrivals.

  Infinity continued guiding her newcomer through the forest until she could no longer see the mongrel bubble. Only then did she speak in a whisper. “Your life depends upon you staying silent. Do you understand?”

  The man, still wide-eyed, nodded.

  She released his neck and mouth and put a finger to her lips. She heard several other nearby volunteers whispering the same words to their newcomers. Your life depends upon you staying silent. Do you understand?

  Soon all of the volunteers and their newcomers had joined the remaining refugees another fifty yards out from the bridge-in site. At this point, Oliver Hanley and several others took over. They took the newcomers aside from the other refugees and began orienting them to the nightmare they’d bridged into.

  Infinity watched in the direction of the bridge-in site until one last refugee appeared, the woman who had stayed behind with the doomed newcomer.

  The woman approached and stopped before Infinity. Her eyes were red, as if she’d been crying.

  “That was damn impressive,” Infinity said. “You saved lives by keeping him quiet. What’s your name?”

  The woman wiped her eyes. “Lottie.”

  “You have my respect, Lottie. We have twenty-three more groups coming. Can I count on your help with them?”

  Lottie pursed her lips and nodded. “He started changing shape, turning green. I couldn’t watch anymore—I left him there. I didn’t even know his name.”

  “There was nothing you could have done.”

  Lottie nodded again. But there was a vacant look in her eyes, as if she understood the hopelessness of their situation. She stepped over to join the others.

  Infinity did another head count. She came up with 164. Since group thirteen had just arrived, there should have been 260. That meant that ninety-three had died or had gotten lost after fleeing the bridge-in site. Assuming Desmond, Arty, and Gretchen were still alive.

  In spite of this appalling loss of people under her protection, her mind turned to Desmond. She had told him if he hadn’t returned by group thirteen’s arrival at noon, she would assume he was dead. But now that noon had come and gone, she wasn’t ready to make that assumption. In fact, she’d go looking for him if she had to.

  Movement in the forest drew Infinity’s attention in the direction of the bridge-in site. Another figure was approaching. Seconds later the figure came into full view, walking on two feet and two hands. Infinity felt a rush of relief. It was Abel. She scanned the area around the musk monkey but didn’t see Desmond, Arty, or Gretchen. Her relief turned to alarm.

  She looked at the approaching figure again, squinting. It wasn’t Abel. It had larger eyes, which were farther apart. Its forehead had more gray than Abel’s. But like Abel, it carried a venomcrook.

  The creature stopped a few yards from Infinity and rose up onto its hind legs. It was definitely taller than Abel.

  Several of the refugees were now standing at Infinity’s side, staring at the musk monkey.

  Infinity wondered briefly if she should speak aloud but then decided to go ahead. “Who are you?”

  For a moment the creature remained silent, gazing at her. “That is an interesting question. I’m not entirely sure. My memories seem to be… somewhat scrambled. What I am sure of is my purpose.”

  “Okay, then what’s your purpose?”

  The creature raised its weapon. “I wield this venomcrook in service of the mongrels. The mongrels have determined that you—all of you—are a threat to the natural state of this land. My purpose is to persuade you to go elsewhere, far from this bailiwick.”

  Infinity took a deep breath, silently cursing Reece Eagleton for forcing the colony to bridge to this godforsaken world. “We can’t leave this area until the rest of our people get here. One day—in exactly one day, at noon tomorrow, the last of our people will arrive, and then we’ll leave. But not before.”

  The musk monkey gazed at her without changing its expression. “Few things are clear to me at this moment. Who I am, for example, and why I have memories that make no sense to me. But my purpose is perfectly clear. I suppose that’s what matters.” The creature raised its weapon even higher. “This device is quite astounding. It can persuade people—people like you—with pain or with pleasure. But did you know it can be instructed to do other things? I can apply pressure to this area right here,” the creature pushed with its
finger on what looked like an exposed tendon spanning the length of the weapon’s handle. “Just the right pressure will instruct the venomcrook to modify the substance administered by the claws. The venom, if you will.”

  Infinity felt adrenaline starting to flow through her body. Her muscles tensed.

  The musk monkey went on. “I received a rather cursory tutorial on this device’s functions mere minutes ago. The lesson was invigorating, but I believe some information was withheld, perhaps so that I could have the pleasure of experimentation. Well, no matter. I do know how the pleasure and pain functions work. And I do understand one other function.” It pushed on a particular area of the tendon near the top of the handle. “This configuration is perhaps the most useful. It will cause your bodies to transmogrify into creatures more suitable to the natural state of this land. I believe you have seen this work, have you not?”

  “Please just leave us alone,” a woman near Infinity said. “We’re planning to leave tomorrow at noon.”

  “My purpose is clear,” the creature repeated. It leapt at the woman without warning, striking her arm with the venomcrook. It then swung to the side with startling agility, striking a man’s shoulder.

  Infinity rushed forward, dropped to the ground, and swung her leg around, knocking the musk monkey’s feet from under it.

  The creature went down hard, but it rolled to its side and got to its feet in a blur. “For you, pain!” it cried, focusing for a split second on its venomcrook as it made an adjustment.

  This distraction was enough for Infinity—she might get only one chance. She feigned the same sweeping kick, and as the musk monkey leapt back to avoid her leg, she drove the knuckles of her right hand into the creature’s throat. She felt the satisfying impact of a solid hit, strong enough to disable any human. The creature’s neck structure was apparently not that different because the musk monkey crumpled immediately. The venomcrook flew from its hand as it grasped for its throat, and two of the weapon’s claws nicked Infinity’s thigh.

  She stared down at the scratches, each about an inch long. They were superficial, but a thin line of blood was forming along each cut.

  “Oh, shit,” she muttered. With the musk monkey gasping and writhing on the ground beside her, she pressed her hands to her thigh on either side of the cuts, forcing out more blood, hoping to purge the venom. But it was too late. Pain spread from the wound, as if her tissue were burning from the inside. Within a few seconds it had expanded to her lower leg and up to her hip.

  Infinity tried unsuccessfully to stifle a scream. She thought she had felt every kind of pain a person could feel. But this was beyond all of it. It was like the venom was seeking out every last nerve ending and abrading it with molten-hot sandpaper. Another involuntary scream erupted from deep within her.

  Sensing she was about to lose control of her body and mind completely, she gritted her teeth and grabbed the venomcrook by its handle. For a moment, the growing pain in her abdomen made her forget why she’d wanted to pick it up. Digging deep for the willpower to focus, she crawled to the musk monkey and swung the weapon at the creature’s chest, puncturing its skin in at least a dozen spots. She then grabbed the loose skin of the creature’s face with her other hand and forced it to look at her.

  “You—” Involuntary spasms in her throat interrupted her words as tormented moans rose from within her. Dark, colorless clouds began to obscure her vision. She grunted and pulled harder on the musk monkey’s face. “You feel that pain, motherfucker?”

  The creature started moaning desperately, and its hands moved from its crushed throat to its chest.

  Infinity continued gripping its cheek while holding the venomcrook inches from its face. “Show me what to do with this to make it stop! Show me, and I’ll stop your pain too.”

  The creature’s mouth opened, emitting a totally alien, warbling cry.

  “Show me!” Infinity screamed, slamming the creature’s head against the ground.

  One of its lower hands shot up to the venomcrook’s handle, and its long fingers encircled Infinity’s grip on the weapon.

  She blinked several times, trying to force away the clouds from her vision. The musk monkey’s finger pressed against the lengthwise tendon, sliding it to the side once, twice, and then a third time. The creature pulled its hand away and tried to say something, but only tortured grunts came out.

  Infinity released the creature’s face and swung the weapon at its chest again. But its chest was covered by its four hands, so for good measure she struck its belly. She rolled away a few feet and tried to focus her attention on the musk monkey. Her arms and legs were now jerking involuntarily, and inhuman sounds were escaping her mouth with each violent jerk. She lost her grip on the venomcrook, and it fell to the ground.

  It was too late. She could barely see the musk monkey to know whether its pain had been reversed, and she could no longer control her fingers anyway. She cried out, “Kill me!”

  “Infinity, do you want me to hit you with it?” The woman’s voice seemed distant, and all Infinity could see now was clouds.

  “Do it!” she screamed.

  Something hit her thigh, just a light tap, barely detectable in the burning ocean of torment. Abruptly, the pain started to fade. A soothing numbness began spreading until her thigh no longer burned. But the numbness didn’t last. It blossomed from a simple lack of pain into a pleasurable sensation. The sensation spread, until half her body tingled with pleasure while the other half still burned. The physical clash of the two nearly broke Infinity, and blinding flashes of light filled her vision even though her eyes were closed.

  The pleasure continued spreading, overtaking the last remnants of pain and becoming a full-blown, toe-curling explosion of bliss. Infinity allowed it to take her away, no longer caring about anything else.

  She had no idea how long the feeling lasted, but suddenly she realized it was coming to an end. She opened her eyes. Naked refugees stared down at her. They were ugly and colorless, and she didn’t want to see their faces anymore. She saw the venomcrook in someone’s hand, and she reached out for it. The colorless idiot gave it to her, and she immediately flicked her wrist, puncturing her skin again.

  The euphoria returned, and this time it had no pain to overcome. Infinity curled up and shut out the rest of the universe.

  When she again opened her eyes, the ugly refugees were still there. Why didn’t they just leave her alone? Another flick of her wrist—back to the pleasure.

  “Infinity!”

  She moaned, trying desperately to cling to the last remnants of tingling euphoria.

  “Infinity, it’s me, Desmond. What happened?”

  “Rapture’s what happened,” another voice said.

  Infinity remembered that voice. It was that goddamn green monkey, Abel. She flicked her wrist again, but this time nothing happened. She opened her eyes.

  People were gathered around her, staring. And then she saw it—the venomcrook. It was in Desmond’s hand. The son of a bitch was holding it at his side like he owned the damn thing.

  She got to her feet. “Give me that!”

  He stepped back, taking it with him. “I think you’ve had enough,” he said.

  Infinity kicked him in the head. Her heel struck exactly where she’d aimed, just above the bastard’s right ear. He went down, dropping the venomcrook.

  She dove for it before anyone else could steal it from her, rolled onto her back, and dosed herself again.

  15

  Restraint

  September 2 - 12:41 PM

  White noise was all Desmond heard. Gradually, the noise began to recede, like a slow-motion wave on a beach. Then there were voices.

  “Get it away from her!”

  “I’m not touching that thing. You get it.”

  Desmond opened his eyes. The light sent a piercing pain through his skull. He rubbed his temple. Damn, it hurt. Abruptly, he remembered why. Infinity had kicked him—hard.

  He sat up, groaning. A few ya
rds away lay the still body of a musk monkey. It appeared to be dead.

  “Rapture madness, it’s called,” Abel said in his warbling voice. “I reckon she’s beyond help now. Best to go on and transfigure her into harmless varmints.”

  Abel stepped toward Infinity’s body, which was lying on the ground near the dead musk monkey. Abel tweaked something on the handle of its venomcrook, then leaned in to strike her prone body.

  “No!” Desmond tried to shout, but it came out garbled.

  Abel paused. “I seen this before. If it don’t kill her like it did that poor soul,” he pointed to the dead musk monkey, “it’ll turn her brain to mud. It ain’t pretty. Best to transfigure her.”

  Desmond got to his feet and staggered toward the body. “No! Don’t touch her.”

  Infinity was on her side, eyes closed. Her lips were pressed together. Her chest heaved, forcing a long, heavy breath through her nose. She was still gripping the venomcrook’s handle. Desmond carefully pulled it from her for the second time. Her fingers twitched, but otherwise she didn’t react.

  Desmond held the weapon out to Abel. “You take this. I don’t want it anywhere near her.”

  Abel took it without replying. The creature then went to a nearby tree and effortlessly climbed to its branches. He wrapped his tail around a limb and suspended himself. “She ain’t gonna be happy,” he said.