The Alchemist's Children: Panacea

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Frantic shaking jolted Callen from memories locked deep in the complexities of his mind. He felt two hands on his shoulders and the sound of Ania's frantic voice pleading for help overcame the words of their father. He groggily opened his eyes to see his sister's face in the dim light. Her eyes were wide with fear.

  "Ah...something's here," Ania said, struggling to find the words to describe.

  "What?" Callen yawned.

  "I heard a noise outside and looked I saw their colors..."

  "And..."

  "They're not human."

  "Wait, what? Slow down. Do you mean demons?" He felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck and a shiver roll down his spine as the fear began gnawing at the edges of his rational mind.

  "No...not them." She paused and took a breath. "I saw them exit the sewer and enter Rurik's pub...ah...like commandos...through a secret hatch like the one you and Sadie used a few weeks ago."

  "Then what?" He relaxed slightly, but the look of paranoia in his sister's eyes gave him little reprieve.

  "Like Beebles, the changing busboy at Helga's...but different..."

  "Like what Sadie said killed the waitress at Helga's?

  "I don't know..."

  "Show me." He grabbed his goggles off his desk.

  The siblings rushed next door into Ania's rectory room, which was heavily decorated with comic art. Callen reached for the lights instinctively, but Ania stopped him.

  "No, they might see us if we turn on the light," Ania said. "And we can both see in the dark!"

  "Force of habit," Callen said pulling his goggles over his eyes. He allowed his mind to sync with them and activated the night vision.

  They both climbed on Ania's bed, which was pressed up against the wall, under the window.

  "They came out of the sewer grate right there...the one to the left just outside the streetlight's glow," Ania explained. "They entered the pub in that alley."

  "Alright. I do not see anything out of the normal. You sure you saw something?" Callen asked.

  "Yeah," Ania said. "I can still see their prints."

  "Wait, what?" Callen asked. "They were walking on asphalt..."

  "When something with colors touches something they leave a color print on an object for a short time. Although, everything aside from the colors around the living things appear black, I can see the last bits of where they stepped beginning to fade on the hatch they entered the pub through. Can you zoom in with those things?"

  "Yeah. I'll start with the grate." He zoomed in on the grate, which had been moved. He saw fresh scratches on the metal. "Something definitely came out of there. There're scratches on the grate."

  "Like the ones in the tunnels that Sadie uses?" Ania asked.

  "How do you know about the scratches?" Callen asked.

  "How do you think we got the information about Dad and the lab off Lady Cole's computer?" Ania asked. "It's not like Sadie, Tende, or I am a hacker like you...so, the old fashioned way was called for."

  "Whatever they are, they've obviously been here before. They have to be what is bugging Felix's servers." Callen stated. "But why? No data was transferred from them."

  "What?"

  "Nothing." The streetlights flickered off. "Did that happen before?"

  "What?"

  "The lights flickered off in the street."

  "No idea," Ania said. "I don't see electric lights when I use my color vision." She paused. "Wait, they just popped out. See them." She whispered. "In the alley next to the pub."

  Callen zeroed in on the alley. The first creature, dressed in tattered military fatigues, climbed out from the hidden passage and it took cover next to the closest dumpster. It's one large robotic eye scanned the street while its robotic arm held an assault rifle at ready. Callen had seen a changeling before, so the characteristic long ears and pale skin weren't a shock to him. What caught his attention were their robotic parts. These creatures were cyborgs.

  Another creature left the passage carrying a box of stolen electronics. The second creature's electronic parts looked vastly different from the first. He just carried a knife on his belt and was at least half focused on keying up computer commands on a system of computers built into his arms. Callen reached into his pocket and felt the gear he had found in Felix's server room. It had to belong to these strange creatures.

  A few others, each lacking any robotic symmetry, followed after him with a few more boxes of parts. There were eight in total, and all of them were very well armed. Callen felt his stomach churn as images from his dreams popped into his mind. But before he could start drawing serious connections, he spotted his wrist computer in the box and his hellbreaker among the stolen equipment. He swore under his breath.

  "You see them?" Ania asked. "There colors are like nothing I have seen so far. What are they?"

  "No idea," Callen said. "They look like they're part changeling. But beyond that, they look like hairless gimped chimps with robotic parts."

  "Robotic parts?" Ania asked. "I can't see them, I just see a dark shape highlighted by plumes of color. The metallic haze over their auras must be related to that. Callen we gotta tell someone."

  "I'll tell Felix...grandpa and the others are still out," Callen said. He wished he had his wrist computer so he could get a scan of the creatures.

  The team of creatures headed across the darkened street to the sewer and began lowering the parts. After a few quick glances and moving lips, two hopped into the sewer with the boxes of parts. The one who Callen guessed was the leader turned towards the rectory. He shifted his assault rifle to his other hand. He barked something.

  Light flashed from the one with the computer arm's electronic headgear and rolled, like some sort of scanner over the building. His apish face wrinkled in a primal sneer. He pointed towards Ania's room. The six who didn't enter the sewer moved towards the rectory.

  Callen grabbed his sister and ducked, but he imagined it was too late. He cursed. "We gotta go. Now."

  "They're coming for us," Ania said. "I saw it."

  "Let's get Felix," Callen said. "He'll know what to do."

  "What about everyone else? What about Sadie and Tende?"

  "They've been here before, obviously. I don't know if starting panic will help. Felix will know what to do...come on."