Page 54 of Godslayer
Second, a deep, thrummin’ bass rumbles through the cabin. A low-frequency hum that rattles through my bones like the whole train is fighting against some invisible force trying to tear it apart.
Third, the air shifts. A pressure wave slammin’ through the tunnel like a silent explosion. My ears pop and the lights flicker erratically.
And then—silence.
This is when my brain catches up, finally understandin’ what is happening.
There’ssomeoneon the track ahead.
And his eyes are glowing a familiar bright blue.
14 - CLARA
When I open my eyesafter the sudden lurch, I am disturbed to find that my body has shifted so far forward, I’m pressed up against the glass at the front of the train.
And that’s when I see him.
A man.
A very tall man with lots of muscles and tattoos.
Not to mention,glowing blue eyes.
But this man isn’t Tyse.
He’s someone else.
Someone outside on the tracks.
“Don’t move, Clara,” Tyse whispers. “Just stay right where you are.”
Which is a pretty awkward position because my nose is actually touching the glass. But I’m not gonna argue because I’m fairly certain that the man outside is an augment and even though I’m only familiar with one very specific augment, it doesn’t take a very active imagination to understand that augments aren’t anything I want to meet up with in a dark tunnel in any dimension.
Tyse is on his feet, one hand pressed towards the man outside, palm forward. “We’re just passin’ through. Whatever this is, whoever you are, we’re just passin’ through.” He talks in a normal voice, but it’s clear that the other augment can hear him because he cocks his head as he takes a few steps forward.
The man says, “There is no ‘just passing through’” as his eyes flash bright blue. “Don’t care where you’re going. Don’t care where you’re coming from, either. This section of the line belongs to Epsilon. If you come in, you owe. If you wanna leave, you pay.”
“What the hell is happening,” I whisper.
Tyse doesn’t respond, but I do catch him tensing up when I speak. He wants me to stay quiet. But it’s too late, because the augment’s glowing blue eyes lock with mine and the resulting smile that creeps up his face as he takes me in is enough to send shivers sliding down my spine.
The augment takes a step forward and, in this moment, everything changes.
Weapons are drawn and fired before any human could’ve made a decision to do it. Then Tyse grabs me by the arm and drags me to the back of the train car. Everywhere around me, there are explosions. Weapons being fired by more than just one man.
Tyse is yelling, talking to me, I think, but I can’t be sure because my ears are ringing, and I can’t understand him. All sound is coming at me like I’m underwater—muddled, distorted, echoing.The next thing I know, there’s silence, and darkness, and I’m gasping for breath. Wheezing as I choke on the air filling my lungs. I look up, see Tyse’s panicked face, then, underwater again. But I’m not wet, so it’s not water. Still, when we come out of it, it’s like a resurfacing because I gasp, sucking in air. And this time, it’s something I actually breathe.
“Holy fuck,” Tyse is saying. “Holy fuck.Holy fuck!” Over and over again. “Are you OK? Can you breathe?”
I can, but when I try to talk, I just start coughing. He kneels down, pulling me up into a sitting position and claps me on the back like I’m choking on food.
My hand comes up, grabbing his arm. “I’m OK,” I croak. I’m not sure that I am, but I say it anyway. “I can breathe now. It’s just…” I pause to gasp a little. “I couldn’t. There was something wrong with the air.”
“Yeah,” Tyse says, relaxing just a bit. “I took us to the wrong dimension, I guess.”
I blink up at him. “What?”
“Yeah. To get away from the augment ambush. There were dozens of them, not just the one.”
