yesterday, she felt safe, and leaned back in the car, trying to relax.
I hate this car.
She never could stand the family car; a Jetta, and this wasn’t much better, though she admitted to herself that no car made could accommodate long bony wings. So she got out and pressed on, being drawn down to the lake.
Anna came to stand on the banks of Lake Bomoseen, knee-deep in snow, looking out over the frozen expanse. She remembered how beautiful it all looked to her the last time she was here, and it only seemed more so now. Though the air was cold, she felt warm, and comforted, by something unseen yet benevolent. If not for the pounding in her skull, she thought she would be at peace.
And yet, she felt like she was giving up on her life. Though her mother was dead, her father and all her friends still lived, and she knew she had come to a turning point. To move forward, meant moving into another life and abandoning all she was, all she had known before.
I feel like one of those refugees I see on TV. I always wondered why they couldn’t make things work, and stay in their homes. Now I know sometimes you just don’t have a choice.
She walked out onto the surface of the lake, treading carefully as not to slip. When she got a third of the way out, she got to her knees.
It’s here I’m supposed to be, but what should I do?
She pulled off her coat, and spread her bloody skeletal wings. A thin membrane now connected the delicate bones, but she thought it still to be one of the most disgusting things she had ever seen. She sat back on her hips, and began to cry.
“I’m here . . . what now?” she whispered aloud. “I can’t go anywhere else. I need help! My mother’s dead, and I’m all alone.”
The throbbing in her head pounded, and with each strike Anna felt like she would lose consciousness. She screamed aloud, brought up her fists, and pounded on the frozen surface.
“Help me!” she yelled, bringing both her fists down impotently. “Can’t someone help me?” She struck the surface three more times, barely making a sound. Finally, as she felt she was about to lose consciousness, she spread her wings even wider, and felt some ethereal strength focus within them. She brought up her right fist once more, and struck like a sledgehammer onto the surface of the lake. She fell to the side, as darkness consumed her.
Briefly she opened her eyes, and found she was descending through the ice itself. Except she knew it wasn’t just ice; she was being pulled through to another world, another plane of existence. Her ears were filled with the muted sound of scraping metal, as brilliant prisms of color assaulted her eyes. Two strong hands grasped either side of her, and she slipped back into oblivion, tired but comforted.
She woke to her own screams.
Her head felt as if it would burst. Her vision as distorted; the world around her seemed squashed into a sloppy oval, and in it two women could be seen with great green wings.
“She’s waking up,” she heard.
“Why is she all alone?” asked a taller woman beside the first. “Where’s Hélène?”
“My mother . . .” groaned Anna, “my mother . . .”
“Yes?” asked one of the green-winged women.
“My mother died. She was . . . consumed.”
Anna’s vision slowly focused, and the face of one of the women could be discerned. Bronze, with wrinkles around pearl-blue eyes, Anna knew she had seen that face before.
“Who?”
“Who we are is immaterial. What you need to know is that one of the Ilkyion laid eggs inside you, and they have matured. You are about to give birth.”
Anna couldn’t help but cry.
“I know this sounds bad, but in truth it’s even worse,” said the tall woman. “This child, once born, will be a young Ilkyion, and it will want to eat you. It is the way of things.”
“Eat me?”
“Yes. You will need to kill it.”
“But I’ve already killed someone,” moaned Anna, writhing in pain. “How can I kill my own child?”
“It’s not your child,” rebuked the short one. “It’s an infestation, and you must commit to killing it! The Ilkyion know of our motherly inclinations, and it will amplify those feelings. They have great psychological prowess, which is how their species has survived the plague of man and machine. You must learn how to overcome it.”
Anna bucked and writhed in pain. “Can’t you help me? I’m only fourteen -- I just got my wings. I just lost my mother, and I don’t know where my father is. I --”
The taller green-winged woman slapped Anna’s face hard. It pressed a button within her, and despite the pain, Anna bolted upright.
“Damned you!”
The shorter woman nodded with approval. “It’s that kind of fight we need, young child. It’s coming soon, and we cannot help you.”
Anna could feel the two women move back, as she sat on the edge of the bed. All she could do was hold her head in place, as whatever was inside her had reached critical mass.
Suddenly her hands were pushed aside by an invisible force. As she focused, she could see black smoke begin to swirl in-between her hands. It soon coalesced into a small, pale-white child.
It rest in her hands, and to Anna it looked like a small human child. She lowered it instinctively to her chest, and could feel wetness as the infant fed. She lay back on the bed, tired.
How is it I’m a mother? And why do they want me to kill this child?
As she lay, she could feel wetness beneath her, and as she looked down, she saw it was red.
Blood?
She sat up, and saw the child had a mouth spread wide, ringed with teeth, and it was slowly consuming the flesh of her chest. Instinctively, Anna threw the child across the room. It skidded on the smooth marble floor until it hit a far wall.
“Now kill it!” screamed the shorter woman. “Focus your power, and burn it!”
Anna weakly spread her wings, trying to create a sphere of power like her mother did, but the image of the boy she killed came back to her.
I could barely kill him; how can I kill something so small?
Slowly, she watched as the infant turned itself over, and began to crawl. It opened its mouth, moaning softly, as it followed the bloody trail back to Anna. She could only watch in horror as it climbed the leg of the table she was on and clawed up her leg, back to her chest.
The first incision was painful, but after a few seconds, Anna capitulated to the sensation. Even in that infant’s comparatively small mouth, she could see the same endless void she had seen before. She knew in it lay the source of great fear for her and her people, but also a place where immense power could be mined. But she was young, and possessed neither the wisdom nor strength to plumb its depths. Her strength faded as she listened to the slurping her child was making.
Perhaps it will be all over soon. Maybe it just wasn’t meant for me to go on. At least I’ll get to see my mother.
The image of her mother fighting to save her played over and over in Anna’s mind, but it had little effect. She never was much for tough challenges; it was her father who always saved her, by taking her out of soccer camp, or getting her classes changed.
Dad!
Anna knew if she died, she would never see her father again. She sat back up, though it was infinitely tougher the second time, and wrapped her hands around the slimy creature. It twisted and moaned, struggling against her, and was so covered with blood that she couldn’t get a good grip.
“Get off me,” she moaned. “Get offa me!”
Finally she got her hands under its shoulders, and yanked it off. It kicked and screamed, and already seemed to be almost twice the size as when it was born. With all her strength she threw it again across the room, but it didn’t go as far, and this time the creature was stronger, landing on its feet and arms.
Anna brought up her wings one more time, higher and wider, and it took all her strength to do so. She knew if she didn’t kill it now, that it would be the death of her.
“Come on, Anna,” s
aid the taller woman, “remember your mother!”
“Do it for Hélène, who sacrificed her life so you might live,” added the other.
The creature got up on its legs, and began to sloppily run back towards Anna.
Not for my mother, but for my father.
Anna brought the tips of her wings together, and just before it got to the table leg she let loose a great blue blast.
The infant was knocked back, singed, but mostly unaffected.
“You’ll need to do better than that,” scolded one of the women. “Get rid of it!”
Anna managed to slip off the table, and stand on her feet, as the creature started to run again. This time, it wasn’t as clumsy in its movements and was more careful in its approach. Anna mustered the strength within her wings, brought them together, and waited, feigning defeat. The beast drew closer, and as it almost touched her leg, Anna unleashed all she could.
“Just . . . die!”
Thankfully, it was enough. A pile of ash rest where her child once stood.Anna collapsed on the floor, as the two women rushed to her aid.
“You have passed the test, dear Anna,” said one, as the other nodded in approval. “We all must pass that test at some point in our lives. We will heal you, and care for you, and you will take your place among us.”
“I . . . I didn’t think of my mother when I killed that thing, I thought of my father,” she said stutteringly, “and when I am healed, I will go back to him!”
One of the women sighed, in obvious disappointment. “You still have so much to learn. One only hopes you will learn quickly.”
THE END
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