with them.
Red continues to color the water, and the air is thick with the tangy, copper scent of blood as the infected Taxin begin to feast on Ólafur’s legs. One grapples with him, and he holds it off valiantly until another one springs up, latching onto his neck. Rather than wait for them to get any closer, I yell, “Lilibeth, run!”
We run to the cars, with two females in my arms and one in hers. I can hear splashing as the infected Taxin reach the shallows, but we beat them to the car, climbing into the cruiser and shutting the door just in time to see one of the Taxin officers collapse against the hood. His mouth is opening, screaming silently as three transitioned females snarl and clamp onto his body.
Their eyes roll back into their heads as they begin to feast. Breathing heavily, I look in the seat behind us. We managed to get seven Taxin females into the back before they left the water, but none of them look good. There’s probably a reason why they live in the water at this age. Their listless stares don’t even appear to acknowledge the chaos around us.
Lilibeth jumps in her seat as the radio crackles to life. “All available units needed at Karsnesskoli Elementary. All available units needed at Karsnesskoli Elementary. We have a situation …”
The radio voice drifts off, and I look over at Lilibeth’s stricken face. “What?” I quiz her. “How far away is the school?”
“Only half a mile or so. Fuck! They’re probably just letting the kids out. We have to phase over there now!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- Lilibeth
I don’t wait for Nikon. As bad as I feel for these Taxin in the back seat of this cruiser, I can’t wait around.
Watching the Taxin females floating effortlessly underwater earlier, I was struck by how much they reminded me of mermaids. With the slightly formed chest and full body scales, it isn’t a stretch to think they may be the source of the myths in the past. I’m not sure I believe they haven’t been breeding on Earth long before this like the Taxin claim.
What did Ólafur say? They did this only once before? Slow moving and with their tails almost separated, they must develop a lot like tadpoles. The adult male Taxin had been holding many of them, stroking and showing affection to them like toddlers. Now, it’s all turned to shit!
The almost lifeless bodies sitting in the backseat of the police car don’t show any reaction as I disappear from their view. This is the best we can do. It’s clear there won’t be any police responding to the mess here if they’re calling all available units over to the school.
From the school’s parking lot, I already hear gunshots. Phasing into the elementary school’s entry, I stay in the gateway like Nikon showed me, knowing that I’m invisible to everyone—or should I say every thing—around me. There are infected Taxin everywhere outside! It’s like the road incident all over again as they stumble around mindlessly, tripping over each other. I spot my Uncle Gunnar out in the parking lot, set up behind his cruiser’s door, and I phase directly behind him.
“Uncle Gunnar!” He startles as I settle my hands on his shoulders. He’s using his vehicle door window to stabilize his shots, picking off infected when they get too close. “Where’s Eva?” I yell directly in his ear.
Shrugging, he lets off another round or two just as I notice Nikon standing in the gateway right in front of him. Shooting through him, Gunnar pauses, looking over his shoulder to answer. “Fuck if I know! I hope she’s not in there, but it’s hard to say. We aren’t sure how many of the students and teachers got out yet. They came out of the sea out back …”
Letting off another shot, he only slows the Taxin stumbling toward us. Phasing over to it, I flicker into Earth’s dimension enough to grab her, phasing her to dust before concentrating on getting to Eva’s classroom.
The first thing I notice as her room solidifies around me is the teacher. She’s on the floor and looks pretty … well, dead, already being devoured by three Wen females. Miss Montrel did manage to close the door partly, but not all the way. Most of the Taxin chaos is in the hall where I can see multiple bodies littering the floor and being fed on like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Numerous groans and grunts fill the air,