Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
But then she’s gone, shuffled off to whatever underground bunker Vlad obviously has no interest in sharing with us.
“Phoenix,” Sabra calls uselessly. “We’re going to need you to contain them again.”
Phoenix doesn’t say anything, just lifts a hand in acknowledgment before she’s yanked around the corner. My constricted chest can’t quite loosen in relief. Does that mean they think it will actually work? Big inter-realm traveling energy-devourers will save us from a nuclear disaster?
“Layden,” Kharon demands. “Update.”
“There’s nothing,” Layden mutters, thumbs moving faster. “Just people freaking out about the warnings going off everywhere. Shit. Shit, shit, shit.”
The two babies start crying, and Kharon paces down the hall. “We can’t stay here.”
“Wait a second,” Layden says, dragging a hand through his hair. “Just wait a second.”
“We might not have seconds!” Kharon yells. The two dots on his neck are still dripping blood. Then he looks at his wife. “Maybe Luna and I can open another portal where we can hide?”
“Wait!” Layden shouts. “Here!”
“Here, what?” Remus growls, so tense beside me his body feels like marble.
“It’s happening!” he laughs.
“What?” Remus starts, but Layden shows us his phone.
I squint at the grainy footage, but the shape of the sky-whales is unmissable. It’s just hard to make out—
“What is it doing?” I ask, turning my head sideways as if that will help me figure it out any better. It sort of looks like the whale creature is just sitting on top of a building. Except now, instead of being translucent, it’s lit up from the inside like it’s got a hundred thousand lightbulbs inside its belly.
“Eating,” Layden laughs, sounding punch-drunk. He snatches the phone back, flips through something else, and turns it back to us, where another whale is doing something similar on a very different-looking building. And another, and another.
“They’re everywhere,” he says, still giddy.
“He’s right,” Sabra says. She sounds disbelieving. “The news is picking it up now. Unknown entities seen attacking nuclear sites in Russia, China, US, Europe,” she reads off, her thumb scrolling constantly. “Some countries actually launched missiles, but they were swallowed by the creatures midair. I mean, no one realizes that’s what’s happening. They’re just saying averted missile launches. Oh my god, I can’t believe it actually worked.” And then a few moments later, she breathes out, “Damn, they’re fast, too. They must’ve been really hungry.”
“Great,” Hannah says, clutching her crying daughter to her chest. “So where is Abaddon, and why isn’t he back yet?”
Kharon looks at her sympathetically. “He will want to ensure you are safe even if it means lingering in the sky and stopping any missiles headed your way himself.”
Hannah stomps impatiently, then starts pacing down the hall, bouncing their daughter on her hip and hushing her. “Everything’s going to be okay, baby. Daddy will be back any moment.”
“Come on,” Sabra calls, following after Hannah. “There’s a TV in here. I’ll put it on the BBC.”
We all head after her. It feels strange to just be watching the news with my big monster beau, but I’m glad that he’s by my side for once and not out in action.
Sabra turns on the gigantic TV and flicks through the channels until she finds one in English. I’m not sure if it’s the BBC, but British newscasters sit behind a desk. “Reports continue to flood in from all corners of the globe of the strange creatures. Initial reports indicate they are not attacking but rather somehow feeding off of nuclear material. No attempts to speak with the creatures have yielded any response. One attempt to fire on the creature only resulted in an explosion of the nuclear facility that should have been catastrophic, but no injuries were reported. . . You have to see it to believe it.”
The newscast desk is replaced with footage like we saw on Layden’s phone of a creature surrounding what I assumed was some sort of nuclear facility. You can see the light of a missile fired at the creature, but instead of hitting it or any sort of explosion, it’s just sort of. . . absorbed by the Devourer, who glows brighter and brighter.
“Governments are urging citizens to shelter in place at this time until we know more.”
We sit glued to the TV for the next half hour, with Layden occasionally adding more commentary when the news starts repeating itself and showing the same clips over and over.
About ten minutes in, Sabra starts asking the questions no one wants to hear. “This is great and all, but what about when they’ve finished with the nuclear energy? These things go for the most nutrient-rich sources of power first, but then they move on. Fossil fuels will be next. We’ve got to figure out how the hell we’re going to get rid of them.”
“Get Phoenix,” Kharon says. “She brought them. She can send them home.”