Chapter 8

The Reaver staggered back, bullets tearing into its sinewy flesh. It spun, snarling, to face its attackers. Muzzle flashes illuminated the shipping containers as the creature charged its tormentors. Relentless gunfire drowned its screeches, shifting from rage to panic as it collapsed onto the concrete.
The gunfire ceased, leaving my ears ringing from the deafening burst and its abrupt silence.
“Don’t let it get away!” Cato called, his voice sharp. My legs trembled with relief as my team emerged from the container shadows.
Violet light bled from the Reaver’s broken form, yet it clawed forward, dragging itself across the ground. Cato appeared beside me and shoved the gate open with ease, freeing me from its rusted bars.
“Lucky we got here in time, eh?” Jonas said, his grin rough as he stalked toward the downed Reaver.
I was shaking, struggling to steady myself. “How…?” I managed, reeling from how close I’d come to being Reaver food. Chani knelt beside me, her scanner humming as it checked my tether.
“THENA couldn’t pinpoint your signal,” she said, her brow creasing. “It dropped us at the far end of the wharf.”
“We heard gunshots,” Cato added, his tone clipped. “Figured it was the fool who wouldn’t stay put.”
“Cato…” I started.
He silenced me with a glare before turning to Chani. She nodded after a moment. “He’s banged up but alive.”
Cato waved her off. “We need an EZ—now.” He strode toward where Jonas has his weapon primed at the downed Reaver.
Chani whispered into her comms, coordinating and I used that time to scan for the kid, but he’d vanished—likely fled when things got dicey. Cato approached the Reaver’s twitching form and unloaded his clip. The creature convulsed, then erupted in a burst of purple light.
Chani pointed to a squat warehouse in the empty lot. “Extractor’s in place.”
Cato grunted. “Move out.”
“Wait,” I said, my voice firm despite Cato’s scowl. “I found the kid. The one we heard in the room.”
Chani’s brow furrowed. “What kid?”
Cato ignored me, marching toward the building. Chani gave me a strange look but followed. Jonas nudged me. “Let’s go, Sami.”
I trailed them, casting a wary glance at the silent container shed. A prickle of unease lingered, as if the danger hadn’t passed. Crossing the lot, I felt it again—a chill, like eyes on my back. Chani glanced over her shoulder, her frown mirroring mine, but she shook it off and kept moving.
We reached the warehouse, it had a small administrative wing attached. It's bay area had motorized doors, sealed tight. Cato led us to a side entrance, breaching it without issue. Inside, the air reeked of mildew, grease and rusted metal. Dim fluorescent light from outside seeped through high windows, casting faint glows across the cavernous space.
“Find the lights,” Cato barked. Jonas set off, his boots echoing.
Chani sidled closer, her voice low. “A child? You’re sure?”
I nodded, watching Cato squint at the shadows. I recounted the kid’s fleeting appearance, his eyes flickering with an odd glint. Chani stayed silent, pensive.
“There are no children in the Light,” she murmured, as if convincing herself.
A loud curse from Jonas snapped my knife into my hand. Cato and Chani drew their weapons, scanning the silent darkness of the warehouse's interior. I glimpsed a feline silhouette crouched above—then the lights flared, blinding me. I shielded my eyes, cursing their sudden sensitivity. Jonas must’ve found the switch.
“Cato!” Jonas shouted, panic in his voice.
Cato and Chani bolted toward him. I blinked, searching the rafters again, but the figure was gone. Maybe just shadows. I hurried after my team, reassured by their presence in this eerie memory-scape.
The warehouse was cluttered with tarp-covered crates, easy to navigate. Rounding a stack, I froze. Jonas knelt over a small figure, his knee pinning its heaving chest. Blood trickled from his nose. It took me a moment to recognize the kid.
I laughed, nerves fraying. The kid’s eyes snapped to me, wide with recognition. My team stared, their faces pale with terror. My laughter died.
“So…” I gestured at Jonas’s nose. “Meet the kid I mentioned.”
I crouched beside the boy. “He’s feisty but harmless.” Cato nodded, and Jonas eased off, wiping his nose.
“Little bugger jumped me,” Jonas grumbled.
Chani’s face was ashen. She turned to Cato “What does this mean?”
“No idea,” Cato said, his voice tight.
I helped the kid up. “If kids are in the Light, Bruma needs to know.”
Chani’s eyes widened. “If children walk the Light… everyone needs to know?”
The kid backed away, wild-eyed but silent. Jonas stepped closer, curious. “Does he talk?”
The boy retreated further.
“We can’t take it back with us obviously,” Jonas said, glancing at Cato.
“Him, not it” Chani corrected, her voice soft. “He’s just a scared boy.”
Cato shakes his head “Leave him. We have to get to the EZ and get out of here”
I faced Cato. “I know you’re pissed, but we can’t just leave him. Bruma would want to see this.”
Cato’s glare could’ve cut steel, but before he could reply, the lights flickered. The air hummed, a low buzz like a swarm of locusts. The kid collapsed, convulsing, his eyes rolling back. I knelt, pinning his shoulders as Chani cradled his head.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
Chani shook her head, baffled. The kid’s jaw then stretched impossibly wide, emitting a guttural, inhuman voice:
“Ya abna’ altarabi, hadha abni. Satatakhabatun fi eadhab abadi limuhawalatakum antizaeah miniy.”
“What’s he saying?” Jonas demanded, sweating.
Chani frowned. “It’s… sounds Arabic, no… coptic– but warped. I can’t make any sense of it.”
The boy froze, his sightless eyes locking onto me. “Dam alqidiysin,” the voice rasped. “Ant ana ahtajak.”
“Enough!” Cato barked. “We’re leaving— now.”
The kid’s laughter erupted, deep and unearthly, chilling my blood. Jonas pulled me back as the boy’s face twisted into a grotesque grin. Shadows flickered across the warehouse windows but my team mates are staring at the boy. I opened my mouth to warn them, but the windows shattered, showering glass as a Reaver launched through, crashing into crates.
Jonas’s curse was cut off as Cato and Jonas opened fire, their shots driving the creature back. Another Reaver leapt through, then another, their shrieks filling the air.
“Fall back!” Cato shouted, his voice cracking.
Chani led the charge towards the back of the warehouse leading to the administrative attachment. More Reavers leap at us from the sides but Chani doesn’t flinch or slow down. We make it to the back and she leads the way up a metal staircase. I followed, but suddenly, a Reaver erupted from beneath, shredding steel like paper. Its claws swiped, nearly decapitating Chani with brutal force. I dove aside, blinking furiously to get Chani’s hot blood out of my eyes.
I land on my shoulder and come up firing at the Reaver as it turns and leaps at me. Cato’s gunfire tore into the creature mid-air. I slash at another Reaver’s low swipe, as it tries to capitalize on my situation, its claws grazing my arm. Cato finished it off with a burst of shots.
“Chani?” Cato panted, frantic.
I shook my head, bile rising. Cato roared, unloading his weapon like a man possessed. A few unfortunate Reavers get turned to purple light. Jonas stumbled toward us, blood seeping from multiple wounds, one arm limp.
“Where’s Chani?” he croaked.
I shook my head again. Jonas closed his eyes, grief flashing across his face.
“We’re not making it, are we?” I said, the truth sinking in.
Reavers swarmed, cutting off escape. The roll-up doors tore open with a scream of metal, a sulfuric stench gagging me. More Reavers poured in.
A flicker in the rafters caught my eye—a figure, still there, watching. The Reavers parted, revealing the kid, unharmed, beside a tall man shrouded in a black cloak. Smoke curled from his form, his face hidden save for glowing green eyes.
Cato gulped. “Dear God…”
“God is not here, children of dust,” the man hissed, pointing at me. “Preserve that one. Kill the rest.”
Movement in the rafters caught my eye again as the figure leapt, beam to beam, straight for me. Cato’s eyes hardened; Jonas braced himself. The Reavers closed in. I shut my eyes, waiting for pain. A deafening bang rang out, and a force yanked me sideways into blinding white nothingness.