abnormals underground 01 - one to five, page 32
I spotted text on the side of the bus before my brain could complete the thought.
Gobekli Tepe. A small cartoon picture of the ruins was at the end of the letters as if punctuating its point.
I almost did a happy dance. My mark had led me to a way to reach the ruins, which these people had just come back from. Cameras were everywhere. I hadn't thought about it being a place for tourists, just scientists digging up ancient history. This meant that Xavier must have made it there and I had fallen off the bus after all.
But it also meant he was close to where the Dark Council met and possibly in very bad danger.
I watched as the bus rolled away to park behind the building. I would have to take one there. I had money, but I wasn't sure if this company would take it. It was also getting very late in the day. They couldn't be running too many more tours.
The tired, hungry tourists all filed away from the bus and towards their cars and cabs, which were parked and waiting in another nearby lot. I watched the Bahamas backpack vanish around the corner of the main building while other tourists—fresh ones—filed out of the main building with tickets in their hands. I caught irritation and impatience in the air. Judging from the looks on one man's face, they had been waiting for a long time and there was now no bus in sight.
“We've been waiting an hour,” a man said to his wife. “If we hadn't bought these tickets, we'd be eating dinner already.” He spoke with a heavy Australian accent.
“Can we exchange them?” his wife asked. “I'm tired of listening to you complain.”
“The counter is closed,” the man said, answering my question about whether or not I could still buy tickets today.
Other people complained in different languages. Clearly something had gone wrong here and things were running behind schedule. I walked in through the gate, ignoring the guy in the parking booth who was reading a magazine. He couldn't charge me for walking in but he smelled like pasta. Even that scent got my stomach roaring again.
“Well, why don't we go?” the woman asked. “We're not going to be able to see the ruins until nightfall and then what kind of experience is that going to be? I wanted photos.”
I walked up to the line and cleared my throat. I had to be careful. I hadn't had the chance to file my teeth in forever and I had forgotten how awkward it was to speak and hide them at the same time. It was different with Xavier but these were Normals.
“Excuse me,” I said, hiding the Hello Kitty cane behind me. At least I hadn't lost the glamour. “I need to meet my boyfriend at the ruins, but I've dropped my ticket somewhere and I can't find it.” My mind scrambled. “How much are they? If you don't want yours, I'll buy it from you.”
The man gave me an impatient look. “At this rate, you're better off walking to the ruins.”
“We're tempted to let you have ours,” the woman said. “The organization here is terrible.”
“I can see that,” I said, digging into my pocket. My stomach rumbled again. I needed sustenance and soon. There was no way I could go into battle like this. Why couldn't I run into one jerk that I wouldn't have to feel too guilty about biting? I didn't want to risk giving my condition to anyone who was innocent, even if it was just a one in five hundred chance they'd have the bad gene.
A toilet flushed in the office. No one but me could hear it but time was running out. The sun was almost kissing the horizon by now and this had to be the final tour of the day.
“We should come back tomorrow,” the man said. “I'm really thinking about selling you my ticket. There is no money back from what I understand.”
“That's stupid,” I said. “I can buy your ticket. I have...let's see...” I dug through my pocket and found a few bills. I pulled out ten...twenty dollars. “Is this good?”
“You have a deal,” the man said, taking my bills and handing me his ticket. “Have a good night visiting the ruins. Hopefully, you can see something.”
He and the woman walked off towards the office, grumbling about the price of parking, and I stood there with the paper ticket in my hand, clearly printed off from a computer. These people had paid more than I'd paid for the ticket. I hoped exchange rates made it only look bad.
I got into the back of the line. My stomach growled worse than ever, so much that a couple of Nigerian tourists turned and looked at me for a second. My hunger was getting too intense and now I would be on a bus with a bunch of people, some of whom had eaten dinner already. Some exotic local dish filled the air, coming from an old retiree two spots ahead of me in line. I was going to die on the ride to the ruins. My legs were shaking. It was getting to be crunch time.
I waited for the bus to come out from the back of the building, but instead, a plain green bus pulled up on the street and then pulled into the parking lot. It must be some kind of backup bus since it looked older than the white one that had retreated to the back lot. Mechanical problems, maybe. All over the world, they slowed things down.
The door opened on the green bus and the driver inside smiled at everyone. He wore a button-up shirt that matched the olive color of the bus. People filed on, tired of waiting, and handed their tickets to the guy. I was the last. He gave me a friendly thanks in Turkish (I thought) and directed me to sit.
I sat as far as I could from everyone else, all the way in the back. My crossed swords mark still tingled, telling me that I was heading in the right direction. At least I didn't have to test directions every few seconds anymore, making sure I was going the right way. It was even more annoying than GPS but at least my mark didn't talk to me. I had to snicker at the thought.
I set the Hello Kitty cane against the seat to make sure no one sat next to me. This final tour wasn't big at all. Only about half of the bus was filled but the old exotic dish man sat across from me, permeating the air with that smell. I was going crazy. I might not be able to resist much longer. I could only pray that the bus ride wouldn't be very long, that I could find some other source of sustenance than an innocent tourist who looked too frail to handle a bite, whether or not he turned.
The bus got rolling, quickly backing out of the parking lot like the driver knew we had to hurry. We moved out of the city outskirts and through open country, through overused brownish farmland that had a few sheep and goats grazing in places. Some of the tourists took pictures and I couldn't smell any nerves on the bus. These people were relaxing and having fun now. I wished I could be among them, taking photos of the world.
It wasn't until fifteen minutes into the ride that I began to feel it: a horrible, distinct sense of dread.
It started in the pit of my stomach as if it were coming from a distant storm, but as the bus rolled across the rolling, hilly country, it got worse and worse, filling my whole body. It reminded me of the feeling I got around Shadow Wraiths and I searched the dimming countryside for any sign of them, but they were a no show...for now. Shadow Wraiths could pop out of walls and leak out of the surroundings, sneaking up on you and passing on their curse, but this sense of dread was somehow stronger. I was approaching something terrible and Xavier had been in this area for hours. I wished I could mentally reassure him that I was coming, but there was no way I'd focus in this.
My mark tingled more and more. Hot, hot, scorching. I had gone the right way. He was at the ruins, all right, lying in this dread-filled area but at least he was still alive. That could mean a lot of things, though. Thoreau liked to employ Shadow Wraiths. If one had touched him...no. Thoreau wanted me to bite Xavier so I could gain the full access to his powers. He wouldn't have Xavier turned into a Shadow Wraith. That wouldn't serve much purpose. Those monsters were reserved for me. The Wraiths were supposed to bring out something terrible by touching me. I didn't even want to think about what that could be.
The bus ride stretched out longer and longer. At last, I noticed something in the growing dark.
A large, round hill stood out from the rest of the mostly flat, rolling landscape. The dread rose to a scream inside of me. I seemed to be the only person affected by this. Others were snapping pictures like nothing was wrong, like they weren't headed to some center of darkness as the sun was going down.
I couldn't see any ruins from here. It was just a hill, but then I remembered that most of the ruins were buried under layers and layers of earth. The builders had filled them in more than once to keep them preserved, as if they wanted them to remain here for the use of the Dark Council. I wouldn't see any ruins until I was there.
We climbed the hill and the bus finally pulled into a concrete lot and stopped. There were a bunch of shops in progress here, buildings that were half built for tourists that smelled of fresh paint and new lumber. The tourists got off the bus and my mark tingled so much that I wanted to scratch it off. I searched the parking lot for Xavier but he wasn't anywhere. I knew he was here. The mark wouldn't be like this if he wasn't.
“Xavier?” I called once I got off the bus. By now, it was dim enough for me to take off my hat. The sun was sinking under the horizon now and a name-tagged man who was leaning against a gift shop said something in Turkish, probably about it being too late for a tour. The place did look closed. The shops were dark and there was a metal cage half-drawn over the entrance of a small restaurant. Other tourists grumbled and stood between the twin rows of tourist buildings while an argument broke out between a ticket holder guy and the name tag guy. I couldn't blame them. Maybe the atmosphere of the place was driving everyone's anger up and bringing out the worst in people.
A big part of me wanted to run. Nothing good could happen here.
But not without Xavier and not without saving the Underground.
I turned to the right first, towards a sign that hung above one of the shops. Exotic food smells flowed out of the little restaurant. The light was on inside and a woman was wiping a back counter. I rushed in and bought something that looked like a pita wrap from the now-irritated woman, but at least she gave me the last sandwich from behind the glass.
Xavier would need this.
The tingling on my mark had faded a bit while I was in the restaurant. Xavier was in the opposite direction, then. The ticket holder must have won the argument with the name tag man because he was waving the others towards the end of the little road, towards where the ruins must be. It was the way I had to go, too.
Xavier must be hidden, then, somewhere in the ruins themselves.
I had no choice but to follow the tour group with the possible pita wrap in one hand and my fake cane in the other. I wished I could eat Normal food but it would only make me throw up. It wouldn't be a good way to sneak around here. The tour guide clicked on a flashlight and turned onto a wooden walkway that was elevated over the rest of the place. Boards creaked and ropes kept people away from the site as we ascended a hill and then stood over the first set of ruins.
We all crowded together as we looked down at a ring of T-shaped stone pillars with faint animals carved into them. I caught glimpses of snakes, gazelles and other local wildlife, preserved even after so many thousands of years. The dread feeling rose from the ground, worse than ever, and yet tourists were talking amongst themselves about how amazing this site was in a variety of languages. Well, I thought. They all spoke with the same amazed tone.
And there was still no Xavier. I didn't care about the site right now. I knew the truth.
We moved on to another round set of ruins. There were many of them here. Too many, some of which hadn't even been unearthed yet. The tour guide spoke in Turkish, even though most of the crowd couldn't understand him, and he was absorbed in shining the flashlight on a large pillar with a snake carved onto the side.
My mark throbbed. Now was my chance.
I ducked and slipped under the rope. They wouldn't notice me missing unless the driver did a head count before people got back on the bus.
I slid quietly to the ground, crouching and ducking underneath the catwalk as the man above continued to speak. Check. I tapped the Hello Kitty cane on the ground and it snapped to its true form, the deadly sword I had taken from Thorne. The blade gleamed in the faint orange light. My mark throbbed now. I was very, very close to Xavier. I held my arm out to the left and the pulsing died a bit. I held it to the right. Stronger. He was somewhere beyond this circle of ruins.
I waited until the tour group moved on. The guide was in a hurry tonight. He shuffled everyone along and the beam of his flashlight moved on, getting further and further away from this site as more cameras clicked, desperate to catch something in the orange and purple light. Flashes accompanied the clicks. I remained underneath the catwalk until I was sure they had moved on.
“Xavier,” I whispered, creeping forward and past the second ring of pillars. I could move quietly and quickly, but if one of those lights flashed over here I would be caught. Every sense sharpened, despite my weak legs and my coming exhaustion. I climbed over a hill and then down again.
There were footsteps far behind me, crunching ground, not catwalk.
I stopped. They continued to approach and I sniffed the air, but the wind was going in the opposite direction so I had no way to identify my follower from smell alone. I turned and ducked behind one of the T-pillars and dared to peer out, but the hill was blocking my pursuer from view.
They might not even be coming for me but the thought vanished when the footsteps turned to a jog and a weapon cocked. A gun. Metal slid against metal and a bullet rolled around. I guessed whoever it was only a couple hundred feet away.
Of course this wouldn't be easy. I thought of the bus driver and the restaurant lady. Maybe a guard had seen me sneaking around. Maybe they didn't allow Abnormals here and I'd been caught. I couldn't afford to get shot right now. I still had my sword and I could still move a lot faster than normal, but one good shot would end the fight. I would take forever to heal, if I healed at all.
I really, really needed Xavier to be on his game, so I turned and ran as fast as I could across the dust, passing a third set of ruins and following the growing sensation in my mark. I left the tour group far behind and their voices and footsteps faded to almost nothing. This entire hill was large, so big that it would take some time to cross, and there wasn't much cover.
“Oh,” someone groaned to my left.
It was Xavier. I picked up his wood smoke smell but it was weak and there was no food smell to accompany it. He was drained worse than I was.
And the footfalls behind me stopped. I guessed that the person was maybe a quarter mile behind me. I had put some distance between us.
“Alyssa?” Xavier asked, weak.
I turned. There was a fourth ring of pillars to my left, one that was still being excavated, because the soil here was fresh and the whole place smelled like dirt. A few of the T-pillars rose above the dirt, half-buried, and nestled in between two of them was the form of Xavier, still in his white T-shirt and jeans.
“Xavier,” I said, running across the earth to him. I kneeled. “We got separated.”
The pulsing in my mark died now that its mission was complete. Xavier was very pale and shaking. Weak. I listened again, but my pursuer hadn't moved unless I just hadn't been paying attention.
“Weak,” he managed. “I'm never doing that again. We should have made our bond stronger first.”
“I got you food,” I said, glad I had done that before coming out here.
“This place is horrible,” Xavier said.
“I know,” I said. He'd been lying here for hours, unseen in this distant part of the ruins and too weak to get up. The dread feeling was worse than ever. I caught some voices from the tour group and the guide sounded more excited. “Sit up. You need to eat.” I grabbed Xavier's wrist. His pulse was fast and weak. Panic filled me. “You need to eat!”
I put my hand behind his back and propped him up. Even my influence wasn't helping him heal from this. I couldn't lend him energy. I set him against one of the T-pillars (sure to be a huge no-no on such an ancient site) and handed him the pita wrap. “I'm sorry it's not much, but it's something.”
“Thanks,” he said. “How far away did you land?”
I crouched next to him. “In the nearby city.”
“Wow,” Xavier said. “I knew the Transposition was going to be hard, but that was more than we could chew.”
“We can't make our bond stronger,” I said. “That would be very, very bad for the world.”
Xavier took a bite of the pita wrap and chewed. At least he still had the strength to eat and I didn't have to hand feed him. But walking? I wasn't going to put a bet on it.
“I know,” Xavier said. “But it would make these things a lot easier. Unless we do it, we're going to keep having these problems. We'll both be more powerful if you would just bite me and get it over with.”
My stomach rumbled. “I am not biting you,” I said. “Besides, it's a bad time to do it right now. We're above where the Dark Council likes to meet. Can't you feel it?”
The distant footsteps started again, then stopped. My pursuer was confused and didn't know where I'd gone, but sooner or later, they'd find me.
“Of course I can feel it,” Xavier said. “It's the worst sense of impending doom I could imagine. I bet that even some Normals can feel this. It's coming from underground. I've been going in and out of sleep all day here. And the nightmares...I don't even want to describe them to you.”
“You're talking more,” I said. He had gone through half the wrap by now. His strength was returning. He sat up off the T-pillar for a moment before slumping back to it.
“Alyssa, it could just be this dread messing with my mind, but when I was sleeping I saw things that shouldn't even exist. Or exist anymore, I should say.”
“Like?” I asked, checking the landscape around me again. I could no longer hear the tour group. It was almost as if they had vanished. Xavier was smelling stronger and stronger, though. My stomach roared.
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