Read Online Infernal Father of Mine by John Corwin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John Corwin
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hunger
mixed with an almost instinctual sense of duty. Despite the alien
emotions, I felt a peculiar familiarity with whatever stalked us
through the shroud of fog.
The last time I'd felt such a presence hadn't
been so long ago. "It's a minder." I shuddered. The things looked
like large flying jellyfish with ghostly tentacles.
"Exactly." He continued walking.
"You already knew?" The last time I'd
encountered a minder was at La Casona. Battle mages with the Black
Robe Brotherhood and a group of the creatures had chased me and my
friends while we lured them away from their
headquarters.
He cast a backward glance over his shoulder,
dodging another parking meter without even looking. "I suspected.
You confirmed."
Chills crawled up my back. "Those things live
here. If one of them catches us it'll suck our brains
dry."
"I don't think minders actually kill what they
eat," David said. "Though, I have heard of possible brain
damage."
"I need my brain as functional as possible,
thanks." Extending my essence in all directions, I detected a few
more blips on the radar. Whether they were minders or not, I
couldn't tell. I'd seen one of them turn an entire group of kids
into compliant little zombies. Granted, the minder had been
protecting the boundary of La Casona and the secrecy of the
Obsidian Arch within, but it was still creepy.
"I think we're heading in the right direction."
David acted as if we weren't being stalked by one or more creatures
of pure nightmare.
I opened my mouth for a retort when the ground
rumbled beneath my feet. We stopped in our tracks as the fog
cleared around us, revealing a cracked gray road running several
hundred feet in either direction before vanishing into a wall of
fog. We were in the ghetto for sure, though I didn't recognize this
part of town. Dilapidated houses with worn, wooden siding lined the
road in either direction. The church remained shrouded in fog
somewhere behind us. Parallel-parked cars lined the sides of the
road.
Before I could open my mouth to ask a stupid
question, the ground buckled. Cars bounced like toys. David and I
stumbled backward as a pickup truck teetered on two wheels before
crashing on its side. The road cracked and crumbled with tremors.
Cars bounced, alarms wailed, houses collapsed.
"Are they having an earthquake in the real
world?" I asked, trying to keep my feet.
"Watch out!" David said, pulling me from the
center of the street as a two-story house toppled over.
A complete set of railroad tracks plowed
through the center of the street. Vines crept along the gravel bed,
growing insanely fast. Within a minute, the railroad tracks ran the
length of the fog-free zone. A railroad crossing sign sprouted
between my feet. I leapt back with a yelp as it sprang up where my
crotch would have been. A bell started dinging. The rumble of a
locomotive sounded from somewhere in the wall of thick fog to my
right. Its horn sounded a warning as a bright headlight suffused
the mist.
A male scream jerked my attention to the
left.
A red sedan sat in the middle of the railroad
crossing. "Help me!" shouted a man inside the car. I saw his feet
pound against the window over and over again, his screams never
diminishing.
I didn't have a clue what was happening.
Frankly, I didn't care. A man was about to meet a gruesome end if I
didn't help him. I raced to the car. "Hold on, I'm gonna get you
out of there." I jerked on the door handle, but it didn't budge. I
punched the window. Despite feeling as if I'd just broken my fist,
it didn't so much as crack the glass. The man cranked the ignition
on the car. The starter whined. The engine thrummed to life. Just
as hope entered the driver's eyes, the engine shuddered and
stopped.
"No!" he shouted, pounding the steering wheel.
He looked at me.
I pounded the bottoms of my fists against the
window. "Unlock the doors!"
His eyes widened, and I suddenly realized he
apparently wasn't looking at me, but at the rapidly approaching
train. The earth
mixed with an almost instinctual sense of duty. Despite the alien
emotions, I felt a peculiar familiarity with whatever stalked us
through the shroud of fog.
The last time I'd felt such a presence hadn't
been so long ago. "It's a minder." I shuddered. The things looked
like large flying jellyfish with ghostly tentacles.
"Exactly." He continued walking.
"You already knew?" The last time I'd
encountered a minder was at La Casona. Battle mages with the Black
Robe Brotherhood and a group of the creatures had chased me and my
friends while we lured them away from their
headquarters.
He cast a backward glance over his shoulder,
dodging another parking meter without even looking. "I suspected.
You confirmed."
Chills crawled up my back. "Those things live
here. If one of them catches us it'll suck our brains
dry."
"I don't think minders actually kill what they
eat," David said. "Though, I have heard of possible brain
damage."
"I need my brain as functional as possible,
thanks." Extending my essence in all directions, I detected a few
more blips on the radar. Whether they were minders or not, I
couldn't tell. I'd seen one of them turn an entire group of kids
into compliant little zombies. Granted, the minder had been
protecting the boundary of La Casona and the secrecy of the
Obsidian Arch within, but it was still creepy.
"I think we're heading in the right direction."
David acted as if we weren't being stalked by one or more creatures
of pure nightmare.
I opened my mouth for a retort when the ground
rumbled beneath my feet. We stopped in our tracks as the fog
cleared around us, revealing a cracked gray road running several
hundred feet in either direction before vanishing into a wall of
fog. We were in the ghetto for sure, though I didn't recognize this
part of town. Dilapidated houses with worn, wooden siding lined the
road in either direction. The church remained shrouded in fog
somewhere behind us. Parallel-parked cars lined the sides of the
road.
Before I could open my mouth to ask a stupid
question, the ground buckled. Cars bounced like toys. David and I
stumbled backward as a pickup truck teetered on two wheels before
crashing on its side. The road cracked and crumbled with tremors.
Cars bounced, alarms wailed, houses collapsed.
"Are they having an earthquake in the real
world?" I asked, trying to keep my feet.
"Watch out!" David said, pulling me from the
center of the street as a two-story house toppled over.
A complete set of railroad tracks plowed
through the center of the street. Vines crept along the gravel bed,
growing insanely fast. Within a minute, the railroad tracks ran the
length of the fog-free zone. A railroad crossing sign sprouted
between my feet. I leapt back with a yelp as it sprang up where my
crotch would have been. A bell started dinging. The rumble of a
locomotive sounded from somewhere in the wall of thick fog to my
right. Its horn sounded a warning as a bright headlight suffused
the mist.
A male scream jerked my attention to the
left.
A red sedan sat in the middle of the railroad
crossing. "Help me!" shouted a man inside the car. I saw his feet
pound against the window over and over again, his screams never
diminishing.
I didn't have a clue what was happening.
Frankly, I didn't care. A man was about to meet a gruesome end if I
didn't help him. I raced to the car. "Hold on, I'm gonna get you
out of there." I jerked on the door handle, but it didn't budge. I
punched the window. Despite feeling as if I'd just broken my fist,
it didn't so much as crack the glass. The man cranked the ignition
on the car. The starter whined. The engine thrummed to life. Just
as hope entered the driver's eyes, the engine shuddered and
stopped.
"No!" he shouted, pounding the steering wheel.
He looked at me.
I pounded the bottoms of my fists against the
window. "Unlock the doors!"
His eyes widened, and I suddenly realized he
apparently wasn't looking at me, but at the rapidly approaching
train. The earth
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