Maniacs in The Fourth Dimension (16 page)

''You're squeezing my hand,
Cleit.''

''Sorry.''

The posse
returned. Jove told them that someone said that they can suck
somebody's shrimp. I don't have any idea what he's talking about.
He got a whole lotta 'fuck yous' from them. He tends to get those.
I think he even likes when people tell him that.

Lempo speaks. Listen.

''I found the
dimension of dogheads. There's a lot of them, and when I say a lot
I mean countless numbers, and that means unlimited amounts of
energy for us. Amounts of energy that could catapult us to the very
end, to the final level, if we seize the opportunity. We can take
'em, if we all go, if we work as a team.''

''When you say take 'em, I
presume you mean kill them all.''

''That's the way it goes.''

They all
started squawking, horny for killing.

''You know,
this isn't some video game on your computer in which you commit a
genocide over zombies every time you play, and it doesn't make you
a Hitler. These are real living creatures. If you massacre them,
that will be actual genocide. Ethnic cleansing at
least.''

''Breaks my heart'', said the
sociopath: ''Let's fuckin' go, everybody who wants to go,
c'mon!''

One by one, they all joined him
and Lempo. Emily too.

''For fuck's sake, Emily!''

''We all make our own choices,
Cleit. I'm sorry.''

''From here,
we go only on
ward'', said Lempo: ''We're
not coming back for those who stay.''

''No. I impose a veto.
Embargo.''

''You don't get to impose a
veto.''

''Doesn't the fact I got you all
here mean anything?''

''You get a
thank you'', said the sociopath: ''Let's fuckin' go.''

''Lempo,
wait! Those creatures might be intelligent, they stand on two feet,
maybe they study physics, take kids to school, wear
hats!''

''They sleep in a cave. Goodbye,
Cleit.''

Shit.

''Kirsten,
don't do this!''

''It's Kristen. Bye.''

They
disappeared. Shit. Only Jove and I remained. End of the road for
us.

''Not even for fuck's sake,
huh?''

''Oh, fuck
y-''

Chapter forty five

It started as
I planned
. We sneaked into the cave where
they sleep. Monsters. Hundreds of them. I felt their precious
energy pulsating with the beating of their hearts. We attacked them
with brute force, and I thought we have them all. But, they started
building some energy spheres around their bodies, it was a complete
surprise to us. They would absorb a hit, or two. It only slowed us
down. But, then they started jumping. Shifting dimensions. We tried
following them, but, it was impossible, there was so many of them.
Some even jumped to level one, to our home. To the park. I fought
them there. Seems like time doesn't pass there, it's always the
same day. The day we left.

And then he
appeared. He walked into the park with his hands in his pockets.
That Holodnik guy. I screamed at him. 'Run!', but he just stood
there. Just stood there. One beast ran at him, hit him, and he fell
to the ground. Instead of running, he got up and just glared around
surprised, like he doesn't see anything, like a stupid animal that
can't recognize danger. That stupid look in his eyes. I can't find
the words for it, but I will never, never get it out of my mind.
Why didn't you run? Why did you just stood there, fool?! Jaws went
for his neck and he was dead in a second. He didn't even defend. He
just stood there.

His killer
didn't get very far, he was next one to die.

No, Cleit,
they don't wear hats. But, you were right. I caused an innocent man
to die. There's no turning back now.

Chapter forty six

''Not even for fuck's sake,
huh?''

Opened jaws
appeared in front of my face. The doghead grabbed me, and tried to
bite off my head, but I took a strong hold of his upper jaw. Then
he switched levels, and kept switching so fast that it gave me
vertigo. His energy burst sucked Cleit in. I guess that's what
happened, because Cleit kept appearing where ever we would, a split
second later, too late to get the animal off me. I can't even
recall the places he switched, it was happening so fast. I remember
that in one moment we were in some place completely white, no up or
down, just white emptiness. He switched again, and we were under
water. Salt water filled my nostrils and my mouth. That's where
Cleit finally got him of me, and he switched one more time, and
left us where we are now.

''Oh, sweet Jesus, oh sweet
Jesus…''

''Are you hurt Jove?!''

''No, I don't think so… All
limbs attached, I think.''

''Cough the water out. You'll be
fine.''

''Did you see
him, his head?! It was an alsatian.''

''Looked like
a wolf to me. Shit. You see what happened? It's all their fault.
What the fuck did they think?! That those creatures won't defend?!
That animal almost killed you, thanks to Lempo and his murderous
posse.''

''What is this place?''

''I don't know.''

Looks like
ruins of some massive stone temple. Young fig trees are growing
from ruptures in the floor. There was big fig trees but someone cut
them down. Charred wood and ash.

''Looks like people were here
not too long ago. They were trying to warm themselves.''

''Where do
you think the alsatian took us? Backwards or further
on?''

''I have no idea. Look.''

Empty tuna cans.

''The label's
in Russian. Cyrillic. We just might be close to home. Let's go
back, I had enough of this shit.''

''Try. I
already did. It's not working.''

Oh, fuck.

''Nothing's happening.''

''No. We're stuck here.''

Chapter forty seven

Malmurna. I
haven't been honest with you. Laszlo is not my real name. I'm not
even one of them. I'm one of the Kril. The Kril have egziled me to
the realm farthest from Luminscence, farthest from the Source, to
live with time, entropy, and humans. They made me wear a human
body. Laszlo is the first human name I heard, name of the first
human I met. Malmurna, I can't hear your voice yet. Long has passed
since the last time I've heard the speaking of metal, or the
speaking of stone. But, I'm finally building my way home. I'm
accumulating energy, I'm growing back to what I was before the
exile. I'm still far from that, I know, but it's important that I
found the way. I was trapped in the world of humans for far too
long. I've lost hope in return. I've almost become one of them.
Ignorant of the Source. But, how can I know It, if I can't feel Its
energy, if Its energy doesn't reach the human realm? I wondered too
long through their world looking for a way. If it lasted for any
longer I would have killed myself. They know nothing of the Source
and it doesn't bother them. Malmurna. I apologize to you. I didn't
let you taste the blood of dogheads. Slippery bastards. I devoided
you of your purpose. Now, I promise you blood of many creatures if
you promise to cut through anything that stands on my way home.
Soon, I will hear you speak Malmurna, and you will reveal your name
to me, and I will reveal mine. Soon.

Chapter forty eight

It was
getting late, and Hubert finally agreed that there's no more point
in sticking around. I took his car keys, and we headed for his car,
parked couple of blocks away.
He overdid
the booze.

Oh, by the
way, we managed to make a photo with Sacha. It was when security
finally caught him and pulled him down. I gave my cell to this cool
guy, big Sacha's fan, and he took a couple of shots of Hubert and
me with Sacha, before con's security pushed us away from him.
Pretty cool, ha?

Anyway, I said to Hubert, that
science will explain all today's paranormal events, just not today.
And Abraxas, well, his long gone.

And then he
appeared. Him, Abraxas. Hubert saw him first. He was standing on
the street corner in front of us. He wasn't clearly visible in the
dusk. Man in the black suit, with a black hat. There was something
wrong with the picture. His feet weren't touching the ground, he
dangled in the air. This realization scared the shit out me. But,
Hubert kept walking towards him.

''Hubert, no! There's something
wrong with him!''

''It's okay.''

No, it's not.
Hubert stopped in front of him. I forced myself to go
closer.

''What in the
saint's name…''

It looked like a sticky
mannequin freshly painted over to have clothes and facial features,
facial features that were melting off!

''Hubert, what the fuck is that
thing?!''

He touched
the thing's shoulder with his hand, his hand sticked for the paint.
I pulled Hubert's hand to stick it off, and the diabolical
mannequin just shaked in the air. And it wasn't attached to nothing
anymore. The mannequin was the end of illicium of a demonic
anglerfish whose gruesome eyes stared at Hubert and me. It looked
like it was smiling. Its teeth were sticking out of it monstrous
jaw.

''You gotta
be fuckin' kiddin' me.''

You know that
feeling of some sudden heat you feel all over your body when you
get really, really scared?

''AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!''

Next thing I remember is lying
on the ground and Hubert waking me.

''Edwin. Edwin, wake up.''

''Did it go away?''

''The monster is dead. He saved
our asses.''

He stood next
to Hubert. Bearded guy in shorts, with a bush hat on his head, that
kind that has one side of the brim pinned to the side of the hat.
He helped me up.

''Marco Engelherz.''

German. He
speaks in accent.

''I'm Edwin.''

Some savanna's around us, the
city's gone.

''What happened? Where are
we?''

''I already
explained the circumstances to your friend, and he thinks I'm
crazy.''

''I want to hear it
anyway.''

''Oke. You
encountered en telepsychic predator, telepsychic means that it can
register brain waves, which means that it can see inside de mind of
its pray, and then it uses its… its antena to form that what will
attract de prey. It finds dimensional cracks through which it
inserts de antena, staying invisible for de victim and lures it in
its otherdimensional jaws. Its en true wonder of nature. You were
lucky I happened to be there.''

''You, you killed it?''

''Ya. I'm en
hunter.''

''It lured us where?!''

He looked around.

''Two
eighty-nine, I think.''

''Two eighty-nine what?!''

''Dimension two hundred
eighty-nine.''

''Well, how do we go
back?!''

''Look, I'm
just human, like you and your friend, I can't detect dimensional
cracks.''

What. Do. We. Do.
NOWFORFUCK'SSAKE?!

''Your best option would be to
stay with me, until some solution for your situation presents
itself. Ya?''

Hubert
agreed. The hunter put a camera in my hands, and asked me to take
photos of him posing with the monster he killed. I messed up first
couple of shots, because my hands shaked. I can't even look at the
dead thing. It came from my nightmares.

''It's en
beautiful trophy, but too big to load it on de jeep. It will have
to stay here. Pity. Do you want that I take en picture of you with
it?''

''No! No. Let's just go.''

Chapter forty nine

No road, no
path Jove and I could take outside the temple, just jungle on all
sides, but the temple is too big to be obscured by it. Looks like
Greek, or Roman architecture. We went downhill, through the jungle.
Jove murmured something about how Emily might come back for us,
since Lempo declared that he won't. He thinks that Emily has such
feelings for me. There's plenty of adult males left in the pack for
her to find new emotional anchor. Old Cleit served his purpose. She
already saved my life enough times to owe me nothing. The universe
will pair her up with someone more alike. L. E. M. P. O.