Chapter 15 #6
Benedict’s expression didn’t change. “Well,” he said quietly, “unless you can, as you so charmingly put it, ‘fuck us all up in one go’…” His smile widened. “…then I couldn’t care less about your threats. My men are trained to die.”
He dropped his hand. “GET THEM!”
The command hit like thunder.
In an instant, the Lucent surged forward, a tidal wave of black armour and noise. The ground shook beneath their charge.
And the world collapsed into chaos once more.
Chapter 18
“Oh Fuck”
The group fought hard. Blood slicked the ground, thick and dark under the grey sky. Every turn they made there was another Lucent waiting — another body to strike down, another face twisted with that same hollow obedience.
Lucy pushed her powers to the limit, her eyes flashing purple as she reached into the minds of the enemy.
Turn on each other. Her voice echoed through their heads.
Two Lucent soldiers froze, then spun, firing at their own ranks before collapsing themselves.
She could only control two at a time, but even that gave the others a few precious seconds.
Sam moved like liquid shadow, slicing through the lines with terrifying precision. She ducked low, blades flashing, cutting at Achilles tendons so her enemies dropped screaming to their knees before she slit their throats.
I can’t keep doing this! Lucy shouted through the mind-link, her voice shaking. There are too many!
Corey’s voice thundered back. You have to keep going! Push! Davina, Are you ok?
Yes, Davina said back as the vines from the forest pulled Lucent back in
For every Lucent that fell, another stepped forward. They showed no fear, no hesitation. They were raised to die, and it showed.
Corey barked through the link again, breath ragged. We need to get closer together, now!
Upstairs, Barnaby watched the battle unfold across his monitors, each screen flashing with chaos. His hands trembled over the controls as he tracked the figures outside Lucy’s attacks, Byron’s hammer-like strikes, Davina’s whirling vines. But there were too many red blips on the motion scanners.
“It’s too much,” he whispered. His stomach turned as gunfire flared on the screen. “They’re going to die…”
Tears blurred his vision. Then one of the cameras caught it, the circle closing in. The Lucent were surrounding them. His chest seized.
“This can’t be the end of my family,” he gasped.
He bolted up from the chair. Mary grabbed at his arm as he passed the door. “Barnaby, stop!”
But he slipped free, stumbling down the hall. He snatched the rifle from the side table near the stairs and ran. The front door slammed behind him, the sound like a gunshot in itself.
He hit the back garden at full sprint, the night air cold on his face. “Leave my family alone!” he screamed, firing wildly into the backs of the Lucent ranks. Bullets cut through armour, dropping them instantly, but his clip emptied fast.
When the gun clicked empty, every head turned toward him. Dozens of rifles swung his way.
“Barnaby!” Mary’s voice tore through the dark. She appeared in front of him just as the first volley fired.
The bullets hit her instead. Each impact snapped through the air, dull and wet. She didn’t cry out, just staggered back as blood bloomed through her shirt.
“No!”
Lucy’s scream ripped through the field. Corey froze mid-swing. Even the Lucent hesitated as Mary fell to her knees, then onto her side.
Barnaby ran to her, sliding across the grass. “Mary! Mary—Mum!” His voice broke. “Mum, no, please no…”
Corey’s gun lowered slowly. “She’s gone,” he whispered, disbelief shaking every word.
The woman who had raised them, their anchor, lay still in the dirt.
Benedict raised one gloved hand, and the Lucent halted instantly. “Are you done now, Lucy?” His voice was smooth again, almost kind. “Will you come with me before anyone else has to die?”
Lucy didn’t answer. Her eyes were fixed on Mary’s body and the darkness coiling around it.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” she whispered. “Something’s… moving.”
None of the others saw it at first, but Lucy could. The shadows crawling beneath Mary’s skin. The way her body trembled as if something inside was breaking loose.
Then it began.
Mary’s body convulsed violently. Bones cracked, skin stretched. Her arms and legs elongated with horrifying ease, her frame widening, twisting. Teeth sharpened, eyes turned black as ink. The sound of tearing flesh filled the air.
“What the fuck is that?” Corey muttered, stepping back.
“I—I don’t know,” Davina whispered.
“Neither do I,” Byron said, his voice low, steady but tense.
They all stood frozen as Mary — whatever she’d become — lifted her head and screamed. It wasn’t human. The Lucent opened fire, but it only made her faster. She tore into them with monstrous strength, rending bodies apart, devouring as she moved.
Blood painted the ground. Limbs flew. The forest shook with gunfire and screams, but nothing could stop her. The more she tasted blood, the stronger she became.
One soldier tried to crawl away; Mary’s shadow fell over him. She grabbed his head and bit through his neck like it was nothing.
Barnaby watched in horror — and awe. His tears dried as his mind tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
“Mary…” Corey breathed.
Within minutes, it was over. The Lucent were gone, ripped apart, shredded, unrecognizable. The field was a graveyard.
Even Benedict stood motionless, staring at the carnage. For once, he said nothing.
Then Mary turned. Her glowing eyes locked on them, her family, and there was nothing human left in them.
She moved slowly, dragging one long arm through the dirt. The air around her pulsed with heat.
Barnaby took a hesitant step forward. “Mum…” he said softly. “Wow… you did such a great...”
Her arm shot forward, straight through his stomach.
“NOOO!” The cry tore from every throat at once.
Corey dropped to his knees. “Barnaby!”
Lucy screamed so hard her voice cracked. “Mary, please stop! Please!” Her eyes flared bright violet. “STOP!”
The command hit Mary like a wave of energy. She froze, her monstrous body shaking violently as her form began to shrink. The darkness peeled away like smoke.
Barnaby slipped off her arm, blood pouring down his side, and Mary collapsed beside him, her body small again in comparison to what she just was, human and trembling.
“I wanted to save you,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Lucy fell to the ground, gathering Barnaby in her arms. Tears streamed down her face, falling onto his. “No, not you… not you…”
She pressed her forehead to his, whispering frantically. “There has to be something, there has to be.”
Barnaby’s hand lifted weakly, his fingers brushing her cheek. “It’s okay, sis,” he whispered. “I love you.”
Then his hand dropped, and his eyes closed.
Lucy screamed, raw and broken.
The world around her blurred, and she was back in the void. there it was just like the other one the unobtainable golden orb, A sphere of crimson came spinning fast towards her. It slammed into her core, and her instincts took over.
When she came to, the energy burst outward from her palms. Red streams coiled around Barnaby’s body, swirling faster and faster until they became a storm. His blood slowly drew back into him.
Barnaby’s torn skin shifted. The edges of the wound drew together slowly, muscle pulling inward first, knitting with deliberate care. Skin followed, sealing in a smooth line that faded as it formed.
Lucy could see it, his spirit, faint and shimmering, sinking back into his chest.
Then he gasped.
His lungs filled with air again, eyes fluttering open and closed before his body went still, alive, but weak
The energy faded, and both lowered gently to the ground. Lucy collapsed beside him, her strength gone.
Benedict stared, eyes wide with awe. “She truly is… remarkable,” he murmured.
Byron turned and drove his fist straight into Benedict’s face. The man dropped instantly, unconscious before he hit the ground.
“Ethan,” Byron barked, “tie this prick up downstairs.”
Ethan nodded, dragging Benedict away. “I thought Mary had eaten him,” he muttered.
Mary looked away, ashamed, wiping blood from her chin.
“Mum,” Corey said quietly, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "Come with me.” Byron scooped Lucy into his arms while Corey lifted Barnaby. They made their way back toward the house, the sky above them turning blue while the earth around them, was blanketed in blood.
Chapter 19
Lucy woke after two days of sleep. The room was dim, a soft golden light seeping through the heavy curtains. Byron sat in the chair beside her bed, half-asleep but alert enough to notice her stir.
Her voice came out hoarse. “Was it a dream?”
Byron turned his head toward her, a tired smile tugging at his lips. “No, it wasn’t.”
She blinked, struggling to sit upright, the memory of the fight replaying in her mind like static. “Barnaby—” she gasped, shooting up too fast.
“Oh, no, he’s fine,” Byron said quickly, standing to steady her. “I think you may have… improved him.”
Lucy frowned, still foggy. “Improved him? How?”
“You’ll see.” He chuckled, helping her swing her legs off the bed. “Come on, you need to see it for yourself.”
He guided her carefully toward the front room where the sound of laughter filled the air. Everyone was there, Corey, Davina, Mandy, Michael, even Erin perched quietly beside her mother. Barnaby sat in the centre of it all, animated and radiant, talking faster than ever.
The second she opened the door, Barnaby leapt up and darted toward her. “Lucy!” he shouted, wrapping her in a bone-crushing hug.
“Barnaby,” she breathed, hugging him back tightly. “How do you feel?”
He stepped back, his grin wide enough to light up the room. “Whatever you did, you made me 2.0.”
Lucy blinked. “What?”