the mixture of Human and Taxin, are all in full protective gear as they attempt to control the Taxin rather than eradicate them. Phasing a short distance away, I let them move in and take over, before noticing that Lilibeth has cleared all the Taxin in the area around the bus doors.
However, it only takes a second to realize something has gone wrong. For some crazy reason, it looks like the male inside the bus has already transitioned. Could that even be possible?
She’s holding his arm, which hangs out of the door, mangled and broken, and looks to be trying to transition with him. The tell-tale shimmer in the air around her as she concentrates lets me know what she’s attempting to do. It’s a valiant effort, and as I slice through three lumbering Taxin that round the bus, I yell, ““Lilibeth! It’s not as easy … with bigger … beings.”
“Jón!” Lilibeth yells, staring at the small child I see in the driver’s seat. My heart accelerates as she says, “I’ve got him! Open the door, and I’ll pull him out.”
She doesn’t have him! He’s twice as large as her! The only reason he hasn’t started eating her alive or the children inside of the bus is because he’s trapped between the two doors.
But the boy doesn’t know this. Obeying her immediately, he lets go of the pressure he was maintaining and races back down the aisle that runs through the middle of the bus. At the same time, Lilibeth shouts, “Hey!”
That’s all it takes. The man loses his balance as he turns, and I watch drool fly from his gaping mouth while he focuses his attention to Lilibeth. He falls on top of her as I phase over, distraught that she’s done something so stupid.
“Lilibeth!” Sure, it’s noble that she’s essentially sacrificing herself for them, but I’m not sure how I would stop the blood loss if he rips her neck open.
She doesn’t even attempt to stop him, hugging him tight and phasing with him before I realize what she intends. She’s that fast! My mouth hangs open as I watch him explode into fine dust on top of her in the gateway of our dimension. Impressive!
Phasing into our gateway beside her, I drop to my knees, gathering her into my arms as she sputters, gagging and spitting. “Dis … gust … ing!” As she spits out the fine remains of the man she pulled into our dimension, and I rub her back lightly.
“Should I get you a drink?” Crouched on her knees, she glances up quickly, noticing something behind me which causes her to scramble to her feet and phase to the Earth dimension completely.
I don’t understand? In our gateway, nothing can harm us, and she’s acting as if she’s protecting me from something. Following her back to the Earth’s dimension, I turn to see a Taxin in full military garb walking toward the bus.
I realize immediately what Lilibeth intends to do when she materializes right in front of him. Letting out a feral cry, she races toward him, intending to attack and phase with him like she just did with the transitioned man.
Only this isn’t a Wen-infected transitioned!
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- Lilibeth
Knowing this man … or whatever he is now, wants desperately to go after the children on the bus galvanizes me to hold onto him tightly. It seems like every time I’ve phased it’s gotten easier. Even though I couldn’t do it with just holding onto his arm, it’s a piece of cake now that he’s trying to eat me.
With his guttural snarls in my face and disgusting drool dripping on me, I phase as quickly as I can, closing my eyes against the fine powder he becomes.
Ugh, disgusting! I sit up immediately, struggling to recover from when he knocked the air out of my lungs when he fell on me.
Thankfully, strong arms wrap around my back, helping me up, and I lean over my knees, spitting the foul dust out. It isn’t ladylike—but none of this is. I can’t believe what a shitshow this entire thing has become.
The children! I didn’t tell Jón to lock up the door after I pulled their teacher away! What if one of the crazy Taxin is inside the bus now?
“Should I get you a drink?” Nikon asks, as I look up, afraid I’ve let too much time pass without making sure the kids are alright.
We’re still in the gateway to our dimension, and I can clearly see the bus beside me