The Esoteric Design Read online

  “I can see you,” Aria called out quietly.

  The silhouette stirred, looking in each direction.

  “Sonar,” she muttered.

  “Ah-ha. Good choice,” Troy replied. His pale silhouette gave a small wave toward her.

  “So what are we going to do about that Spewer?” she asked.

  “Spewer,” Troy scoffed at her creative name for the giant. “Haven’t got a clue.”

  “There’s got to be something. A weak spot, anything.”

  “I didn’t notice anything, but it’s hard to see in this damn smoke.” Troy gasped and then coughed.

  “We’re going to need to get a closer look. Our best option for now is to use sonar. Once we’re close to it, if the smoke isn’t too thick, maybe we can get a better look,” she said.

  “Give it a surprise attack?”

  “Exactly. Come on, let’s move.” Aria turned to her right, looking at the building beside hers. “Stick to the rooftops.”

  With the help of the armored suit’s muscle enhancers, Aria and Troy were able to jump twice as far. Leaping, they traveled from rooftop to rooftop, following the sound of thunderous footsteps and screams. After a couple of blocks, Aria spotted the enormous demon.

  “Over here. On this side of the building,” she called over to Troy.

  “Well…let’s test out this suit’s attributes.” The man rubbed his armored hands together.

  “Troy,” Aria said in an aggravated tone. “Don’t kill yourself.”

  “Never, babe.”

  ‘Babe?’ Aria tilted her head.

  Watching tensely, Troy’s form backed up. Giving a couple nervous shakes of his hands, he took off at a full sprint, leaping from his rooftop, across the street and toward her building. Only, he wasn’t going to make it. He reached with his foot but missed, and his hands grasped out, the tips barely skimming the side.

  “Troy!” Aria called out loud as she darted to the edge of the building. Leaning over the side, she sighed harshly, cursing at the man’s stupidity. At least he wasn’t dead, just clinging for dear life on one of the windowsills fifteen meters above the streets.

  “Not too bad for a first try,” he said humorously.

  “Yeah, right. Don’t try that again,” Aria fumed.

  “Scared, Aria? Worried about me?” he taunted as he climbed the side of the building like a monkey toward the rooftop.

  “Please,” she scoffed, “it would be a waste of state-of-the-art body armor.” She helped tug him to his feet.

  “Ouch,” he said aloud, feigning hurt emotions.

  “Come on, we’re wasting time.” She patted his shoulder and led the way to the opposite side of the roof.

  Carefully edging to the side of the building, the two crouched next to a small barricade. Aria pressed against her helmet, her vision changing to real-time. Troy did the same, scrutinizing the brutal being far down below. Its massive hand picked up a smaller man and squeezed his middle. Troy gave an audible sound of disgust.

  “There’s still too much smoke,” Aria narrowed her eyes.

  “We need to get closer.” Troy looked over his shoulder. “If only there was some kind of rope or something up here.”

  “You really weren’t paying any attention to the suit’s tutorial, were you?” Aria stared at the man.

  “What?” He rubbed the back of his helmet sheepishly.

  Aria merely shook her head. Reaching into one of the squares of her suit’s utility belt, she pulled out a long cord with a silver rod attached to the end. Troy followed her actions.

  “It also serves as a zip-line,” she instructed, pointing to a switch on one side of the rod. “Don’t get your hand in the way of this end, though.” She then gestured to the end not attached to the rope.

  “Why?” Troy asked.

  Aria quickly aimed the tool toward the floor. A blue laser sparked outward like a blade. Launching from her hand, the rod sank and buried itself deep in the concrete of the roof at a violent velocity. She lifted her head. “That’s why.”

  “Duly noted.” Troy nodded.

  He repeated her actions and together they stepped over the barricade and speed-roped down the side of the building. Passing by the windows of each floor, they decided to make a stop only one level above the height of the Spewer. It was continuing its barrage, smashing and burning the bodies fighting against it, viciously roaring all the while.

  “Hey! O’er ‘ere!” Kovacevic shouted with a cigar between his teeth. He was covered in black soot and smears of blood and didn’t seem at all fazed by the smoke surrounding him.

  The Spewer turned, growling menacingly at the general. Kovacevic laughed, pulling the cigar out of his mouth. “Hot damn, you’re a fiery one, ain’t ya?”

  Slowly, the beast circled, pounding heavily against the road. Its feet cracked the pavement with each step. Kovacevic mimicked the beast, growling in return.

  “He’s freakin’ nuts!” Troy readied his weapon.

  Kovacevic turned his gaze upward and looked directly at the two soldiers despite their cloaks being activated. He gave a quick wink as he puffed on his cigar, weapon in hand. “Surely you didn’t miss those nasty growths on his back.” He definitely had a keen eye.

  “Growths?” Aria gazed at the turning monster. Now, with its back to the pair, they could see massive, glowing welts on the Spewer’s backside lining its spinal column.

  “Whoa, check out those puss pockets,” Troy chuckled.

  “Don’t think they’re puss pockets. I bet that’s the fuel to his fire.”

  “Shoot first, ask questions later?” Troy aimed.

  “Always,” Aria replied.

  Together, they opened fire, ripping into the enormous, bubbling warts on the creature’s back. One pocket burst, sending the nasty ooze down the monster’s dorsal side. A second and then third quickly erupted. The Spewer twirled, howling in pain. With one swipe, its massive fist collided with Aria and Troy, sending them flying like rag dolls. Thanks to the ropes attached to their waists, instead of smashing against a wall into oblivion, they merely jolted at the extent of the rope’s length and came swiftly swinging back the opposite direction.

  To keep the Spewer distracted, Kovacevic fired his rifle into the creature’s back. It spun and tore after him, running at an erratic speed and undecipherable direction. Reaching out, the monster leaped for the man. Kovacevic jumped to the side, diving into an alleyway. The Spewer, giving a terrible howl, crashed into the side of an apartment complex. It made a massive hole in the building, and one after another, ten of the floors crashed down upon it.

  “Holy shit,” Troy grumbled, holding his head. “I think your head almost broke my head.”

  Aria moaned loudly, reaching for the cord to lift up her limp body. “You’re the one with the thick skull; not me.”

  “Hey! You rookies goin’ to sleep all day?” Kovacevic shouted at them.

  Uncloaking themselves, Aria and Troy slowly lowered onto the ground. The woman rolled her head and shoulders, her joints cracking in protest. Troy tried the same and winced. Yup, something was definitely broken.

  “Where’s Dovian?” Troy groaned.

  “He’s dealing with Mr. Badass,” Kovacevic answered, his voice barely audible over the gunfire consuming the city.

  “Euclid? He found Euclid?” Aria asked. Her heart was racing.

  “Damn right he did…and shit got real. I had to clear out. They were bringin’ down the place,” Kovacevic chuckled. “Euclid is a tough bastard, but he don’t stand a chance.”

  “How can you tell?” Troy asked.

  “Boy, that Dovian is one strong badass, if not a tad bit crazy. And, in war, crazy will get you far if you have the right amount of it. That Euclid chump, he’s too driven by his lunacy. It blinds him. It’ll be his downfall.” Kovacevic stubbed his cigar and promptly lit another.

  “Well, I hope you’re right about that,” Aria replied.

  A familiar clanging hum alerted Troy and Aria. It didn’t ta
ke a moment’s thought to register where the sound was coming from nor what caused it.

  “Move!” Aria shouted, running and pushing Kovacevic back into the alley just as a colossal shockwave drove past them. Troy dodged to the opposite alleyway, jumping behind a barricade.

  “I take it that’s one of those Brutes you told me about,” Kovacevic said. He was underneath the woman, her breastplate in his face as she pushed herself upward to look over her shoulder. He chuckled lowly. Aria looked down, her shocked face turning into one of disgust as the man smirked at her with a quirked eyebrow. She quickly shoved off him. “Now, don’t feel the need to move because of me,” he said with amusement.

  Aria ignored him, aiming her rifle as she neared the corner of the alley. She noticed Troy across the way signaling to her. Based on his gesturing hands, the creature was right around the corner.

  “It’s waiting for you,” Troy said in a slightly haunting tone.

  “Then shoot it, asshole.”

  Kovacevic waited, knowing she was communicating with her partner.

  “And alert it of my hiding place? I don’t think so,” Troy scoffed.

  “Then toss a frag out behind it so it thinks we’ve moved to a new location. Distract it!” she snapped.

  The woman suddenly jerked back as blood and brain matter splattered against the wall and pavement, interrupting their little argument. Next came the familiar deafening sound–Ba-Doom!

  She turned her head upward. They were near Ivory’s tower. Aria smiled and signaled with a raised thumb toward the blonde. She could see the rifle hanging slightly over the edge of the tower; Ivory must’ve still been watching through the scope.

  Ba-Doom!

  It sounded again, cracking against the wall beside Aria. The female jumped back.

  “What the hell?!” she shouted, moving to the side.

  Kovacevic grabbed the woman’s shoulder. Aria turned and followed the man’s gaze. Through a small window, Aria saw another Brute’s now decapitated body lying in the center of the kitchen floor of the apartment they were next to.

  “Quite the set of eyes,” Kovacevic mumbled. “Especially since there’s no window on her side to see by.”

  Aria quickly walked out of the alley and peered at the wall Ivory had shot through. Sure enough, there were no windows on that side of the building for the kitchen.

  ‘What the hell is going on with Ivory?’ Aria lifted her head.

  Another burst from Ivory’s sniper rifle sounded. A third Brute on the opposite side of Aria’s alley was taken down, then one more on Troy’s end. The deafening blasts continued endlessly as Ivory went on a rampage, unleashing dozens of rounds to targets across the city.

  “Damn. Remind me to never piss her off,” Troy called out.

  “There’s something going on, Troy,” Aria replied. “She shot this one without even knowing it was inside the building.”

  “X-ray scope?” Troy suggested with a shrug.

  “Not that I was aware of,” Aria replied.

  “Who cares? At least she’s a help, right?”

  Troy was right. Ivory actually was a huge help. Still, something about her insane accuracy didn’t settle well with Aria. Ivory could easily be a trained soldier, and they knew nothing about her. What if she was a spy or a traitor? She could’ve been keeping secrets from Aria and the others though that assumption didn’t quite make sense seeing as Ivory could quickly pick off Aria and Troy at any given moment. Still, loss of memory or not, there wasn’t a human alive capable of effortlessly picking off monsters as quickly as Ivory was. Not a single bullet fired by the blonde missed its target.

  There was a groaning rumble from beside Aria and Kovacevic. The two slowly turned toward the rubble of the destroyed apartment building the Spewer had crashed into.

  “Get out of there! It’s still alive!” Troy shouted.

  “We’ve got to move!” Aria called over her shoulder to Kovacevic.

  “Right with you darlin’.”

  The two rushed from their alleyway toward Troy’s. Giving a loud roar, the Spewer climbed its way out of the rubble, blood and hot liquid spilling from its body. As it struggled to its feet, parts of its flesh dangled from its backside, torn ragged from the explosions caused earlier from its own magma sacs.

  “Hurry, hurry, hurry-hurry-hurry!” Troy shouted, waving them toward him as he took off down the alleyway.

  Aria and Kovacevic followed closely behind his boot heels. The pounding footsteps neared, rising in volume as the beast growled its death call.

  “Split!” Troy shouted.

  As they exited the alleyway, Troy veered left, Aria took center, and Kovacevic went to the right. Of course, the Spewer didn’t want to slow down and only bothered with the easy route–following Aria. She knew what its course would be, and right before she entered the next alleyway, she dove right, hitting the ground and rolling back to her feet to make a mad dash away from the creature. With its momentum, the Spewer couldn’t turn in time. It ran right past the woman and into the next alley, howling all the way. Somewhere, Aria could hear Kovacevic’s loud laughter.

  ‘How could he find this amusing?’ Aria thought, running as fast as her legs could carry her.

  The earth started quaking. The Spewer decided to take a different approach, crashing through the buildings to catch up with the woman. With quickening speed, its bulky form smashed through the walls as if they were made of paper. Aria winced before the creature even made contact, slamming through the walls beside her. Luckily, she slowed, sliding on her backside as it clipped her legs and sent her spiraling onto her side. Something cracked in her lower back and hip. With the force like that, the monster could easily smash a person into pulp. Dazed, the woman painfully struggled to sit up, feeling the ground beneath her shake with each lurching step the massive creature made.

  “Aria! Get out of there!” Troy screamed fearfully into her head.

  Aria felt a tight sensation in her chest. Focusing her vision, she finally realized she was being lifted into the air by the disgusting creature. It gurgled at her, hot ooze dripping onto her helmet and chest. The woman struggled, groaning, as she was tightly clamped in its fist.

  “Troy!” she gave a raspy scream, feeling as if her insides were going to burst.

  Gunfire erupted. Troy was making a mad dash toward the woman and her captor. Screaming and shouting, he sent a barrage toward the creature. The bullets barely caused the monster to flinch. Another male holler sounded–Kovacevic. He, too, joined in, shooting at the monster’s backside and the last remaining sacs. Then, there was Aria’s lifesaver–the sound of Ivory’s rifle.

  The Spewer howled, dropping Aria. She landed hard on her back, wheezing as the air crushed from her lungs. In a millisecond, Troy was at her side, throwing hundreds of questions her way. He opened her helmet and stared into her glazed eyes. She was dizzy, the sounds of the war and Troy’s constant questions numbing her brain. Aria tried focusing on the shrieking monster. The final sac bubbled, growing larger and larger. The beast stomped backward, attempting to gather its footing as it turned, looking upward at Ivory in the tower. A sickening plop sounded, and the monster’s flesh began to boil and distend. He was going to burst, and he was heading at full speed toward Ivory’s tower. Growling with an inhuman voice, the monster stumbled and crashed into the lowest level of the tower just as its body ballooned and burst into a colossal explosion of flame and magma. The stone and metal erupted to pieces. The hot liquid instantaneously ate through the support beams, and slowly the tower began to twist and fall toward the ground with Ivory at the very top.

  “Ivory!” Aria tried to shout, but the pain was too much as the air escaped her lungs. She wheezed.

  Aria could see the woman, a tiny silhouette with a speck of blonde. Having removed her helmet during her sniping, it rolled across the tower floor, clattering against the stone. Ivory’s hands gripped the sides of the lookout window in an attempt to stabilize. If she didn’t fall out, she was surely going to
be smashed upon impact. And at the moment, they were all being surrounded by dozens of Brawlers, some already scaling the falling tower.

  “Dovian! Dovian! Where are you?!” Aria mentally called out. “Help Ivory!”

  Dovian watched from his tower as the giant beast crashed through the wall of the city; tiny prickles traveled up his spine as a familiar presence neared. The Sorcēarian, taking the ferocity of the new beast into account, stepped over the side of the tower. He readied himself to make a plunge to dispel the creature before it could do too much damage. He froze mid-step, however, as his eyes locked onto similar ones on the streets below near the reactor.

  “Hello, Dovian,” the low, silky voice of Euclid rang out in Dovian’s mind.

  Dovian frowned, his large hands gripping the windowsill on either side of him. For a tiny second, he took his gaze back over to the fire-breathing monster wrecking Saray. Giant orange sacs trembled with each ferocious step the massive demon took.

  ‘The two will surely notice the giant’s weakness,’ Dovian reassured himself as he caught Aria and Troy’s heat signatures nearing the vicious creature.

  Dovian quickly looked upon his enemy, Euclid, once again. He was waiting patiently for Dovian, his gold clawed fingertips lightly tracing lines down his own face, his smile twisting crookedly. The sight of the raven-haired man was more than infuriating to the other Sorcēarian. Without anymore hesitation, Dovian dropped from the height of his tower, thick wings of midnight-black erupting from his back. He spiraled to the streets and then darted horizontally toward Euclid. As soon as Dovian moved to ram against the other man, Euclid disappeared into thin air. Dovian’s body wrecked into the thick, barricaded door of the reactor, sending the massive barrier into pieces as he broke through. He tumbled and rolled, his scaly wings of midnight folding in to protect his body. He spun to his hands and knees, facing the busted entry, and met Euclid’s amused gaze watching from the outside. Dovian growled lowly, his teeth clenching.