<h1></h1>


    “


    “IYou


    “Might be dangerous in there,” Jake shrugged.


    “The clerk recorder’s office has been cleared and reclaimed. It’s not a spawn place or encounter… whatever.”


    “Encounter Challenge, but sometimes they turn into Spawn Points.”


    Detective Ordonez made a disgruntled noise in her throat. It sounded like a growl to Jake.


    “Right, keeping my mouth shut… except, just cause its back to a normal building doesn’t mean monsters can’t go in there. Lots of dark corners they can hide in. I’ve been in there a few times. Those stacks are spooky, like a horror movie. Especially if you’re in there alone. Your steps just echo and the lights are on sensors, so they sort of follow where you walk and if you stop moving for long enough…” Jake shuddered.


    “Not too late to turn around. In case you forgot there isn’t any power in there.”


    Detective Ordonez sighed.


    “Jake.” Detective Ordonez drew her Glock from its holster.


    “What? Oh, right.” Jake did the same with one of his smartphones. “It’s the shield spell. I figure I can be the meatshield, while you shoot.”


    “Huh?”


    “I mean I’ll tank… er, block for you.”


    “Like a lineman?”


    “Uh, yeah, totally like that.”


    “That means you’re in front.”


    “Um, sure. Where are we going?”


    “I need to check birth records first. Then property records.”


    Jake stood still.


    “I thought you’ve been here before.”


    “Just a few times. I don’t remember where any of that stuff you just mentioned is.”


    “Did you hear that?”


    “The only thing I can hear is your breathing.” Detective Ordonez snapped.


    “Maybe we should’ve brought Cal and Bennett along.”


    “Just shut up.”


    The detective was deep into a file cabinet. It was extremely dusty. Who knew when the last time human hands had touched the files? Four years at a minimum since the spires appeared. Probably even longer.


    “Good thing they kept the paper as back ups,” Jake said.


    Detective Ordonez ignored him.


    She found the birth certificate she was looking for, which led her to another file. This in turn led her to another file with an address.


    “Okay, now what? You haven’t mentioned what we’re after,” Jake said.


    Detective Ordonez debated sending him away. Except, he was a big man. A useful shield to stand behind if she was being honest.


    “Just following a hunch. We’re going to Midtown.”


    <hr>


    The gremlin alpha roared.


    “Hold your fire! You’re up.”


    Flo grunted and glowered, but she jumped over the railing. She cleared the entire floor seating area and landed on the court. The glossy floor broke under her feet.


    “C’mon you stupid bitch!”


    The human-sized gremlins surrounding the much larger alpha came at her all at once.


    They moved in slow motion to her eyes.


    Flo speared one through the chest with her hand. She swept it off her arm with contemptuous ease to knock the gremlins on her right like bowling pins.


    A gremlin on her left slashed down at her face.


    She let if come within inches before she dipped her head to the left and under. She broke its back with an elbow.


    The gremlins were mindless. An intelligent being would reconsider when realizing how outclassed they were. Instead they attacked with redoubled fury.


    A smirk crossed her blood-stained face as she beat the rest of the gremlins to death with the arm.


    Flo spun around and the threw the arm.


    The gremlin alpha was faster than the human-sized gremlins despite its greater size and mass.


    Flo slipped on the blood-slicked basketball court.


    The monster plowed into her.


    Her diminutive form went tumbling past half court and straight into the base of the hoop. The metal structure crumpled and broke.


    Men and women armed with a mixture of guns and bows watched with concern from above. They looked to their leader.


    “Hold your fire.”


    Flo emerged from the tangle of the hoop with a maniacal smile on her face. If it was concerning for the people watching through binoculars they would never say. She was vital to their goals of reclaiming the city, piece by piece, from the monsters.


    She grabbed the remains of the hoop and swung it with her best impression of swinging for the fences. She cracked the gremlin alpha with the hoop and backboard and sent it flying into the stands.


    Flo jumped up after the gremlin alpha and brought the broken remains of the basketball hoop down in an overhead smash. The sound it made was like a car crash that echoed through the empty, cavernous arena.


    She brought the hoop up and slammed it back down.


    This time the gremlin alpha caught it with both of its massive hands.


    The gremlin alpha lifted the hoop. Flo went with it.


    The monster scattered seats as it burst out of the stands and rushed at the much smaller girl.


    Flo swiped at the huge monster. Its tough skin was no match for her nails. She gouged chunks of flesh with every strike. It grew desperate as she easily dodged all of its attacks.


    An opening appeared.


    She shoved its face roughly back with her free hand as she pulled her arm out with a squelching sound.


    The monster gurgled as its blood poured out of the hole in its throat.


    Flo stared at it.


    She appeared outwardly contemptuous, but inwardly the fire burned and threatened to explode.


    Take it. Make its strength yours. You need every scrap of power. Be the avenger. Your family demands it.


    Flo silenced the inner voice. This time.


    It was a close thing. She had failed more often lately.


    “Thank god she’s on our side. Send a message to the interim governor.”


    “Yes sir. What do you want it to say?”


    “Golden 1 Center spawn point cleared. Reclaimed for the great state of California.”


    <hr>


    “That hunch of yours working? Cause I’m confused. Why are we looking at a bunch of messed up houses?”


    SkillsDetective


    A battered car lay on its side. Its front end was crumpled. Oil stained a wide circle of asphalt beneath it.


    The detective saw, knew that the car, powerless and driverless, had somehow been crashed right into a gremlin alpha.


    She stepped over a broken light pole. She saw the path it took through the air after the monster had ripped it from the ground and flung it at a target in the distance. Its height and arc revealed that the target was man-sized, shorter than the average.


    Her eyes were drawn to the row of homes. Tall and narrow with a small space in between marked by a wooden fence. She saw the homes as they once were. She saw them as they were now. Lived in, but well-maintained with love and care by their owners. Shattered and broken, filled with detritus of absence and the touch violence.


    Several of the homes had caved in front sections with a distinct outline. She saw the monster being shoved forcefully into the homes. Wood snapped, glass shattered. The noise startled the detective, until she realized that it had happened a long time ago.


    Detective Ordonez blinked as if coming out of a trance. She found herself standing in front of a home.


    “Um… is that it?”


    She looked at Jake as if realizing he was there for the first time.


    “Are you okay, boss? You’re not scowling at me and it’s kind of freaking me out. That and the fact that you were randomly walking up and down this street completely ignoring everything I said for like the last thirty minutes.”


    “Gates…”


    “Shutting up. Got it.”


    Her age lined up, but what about the rest of her family? As far as the detective knew she was living alone.


    The entire front of the home was crushed. There was no way inside.


    “From the inside,” Detective Ordonez whispered.


    “Great, more creepy dark places.” Jake fumbled at the unlit lantern at his belt.


    Detective Ordonez left her lantern untouched. Her steps were sure as she descended the steps into the dark basement.


    “Wait!” Jake struggled to lit his lantern. He shined the light after the detective even though she took no notice.


    The past was obscured even to her inexplicable sight. As if something stronger overrode her skills. As if the marks left by the past were too much to comprehend.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    “What’re we looking for… again?”


    “Do me a favor, Gates. Check out the inside of the house. I need a second.”


    “Uh… sure.”


    Jake reluctantly climbed up the basement steps. He was relieved when the lantern light revealed that the entrance into the house was crushed in.


    “Sorry, boss. Looks like that damage from the outside is blocking the way.”


    “We’ll try the back,” Detective Ordonez said.


    They had to circle around the left side of the home to reach the backyard and enter.


    The family pictures displayed all over the interior confirmed at least one thing for the detective.


    “Hey, that’s Flo. Was this her house? Why are we here?”


    “I’m worried about Flo.” She couldn’t tell Jake the whole truth. He wouldn’t be able to keep cool around Flo. “She’s been unreliable lately.”


    “You’re talking about when she ran off the other night? Yeah that was messed up, but maybe she was stressing out about the op at the Golden 1 today.”


    Detective Ordonez seized the opening Jake unwittingly gave her.


    “You might be right, but I can’t have unprofessional behavior on my task force.”


    “So, you wanted to talk to Flo’s parents to see what was up.” Jake scratched at his scraggly beard. “They must’ve moved somewhere else after what happened here.”


    Detective Ordonez had some ideas on where to proceed next. She resolved to keep Jake out of it.


    “Not a word to Flo. For all her power, she’s still a teenage girl.”


    “I’m counting on you.” Detective Ordonez scowl was hidden by the darkness of the interior. She had zero faith in Jake’s ability to do what he said. It was a good thing that Flo was off for the night’s investigation with Cruces.


    “Where to next, boss?”


    “You’re free for the rest of the day. I suggest getting a couple of hours of sleep. We have a long night ahead of us.”


    “What about you?”


    “Skills


    They didn’t notice the eyes on them from across the street, inside a steel-barred window on a second floor.


    <hr>


    “Where’s Flo?” A scowl crossed Cal’s face when he realized that the teen was missing.


    “She’s off tonight,” Detective Ordonez said.


    “Why?”


    “It’s none of your concern.”


    “She gets a break cause she took out a gremlin alpha earlier today,” Jake said.


    “Oh yeah, that sounds cool,” Cal smiled. “Why don’t you tell me all about it?”


    Techmage


    “


    “


    “Why are you looking at me like I’ve got a present behind my back, Cruces?”


    “Because I can tell that you found something on our little problem.”


    “She’s a girl, not a problem.”


    “She’s got super human strength and she’s carrying a lot of hatred inside.”


    “I— I just know. It’s in her eyes when she looks at me. Or when she thinks no one is looking at her.”


    “Did you ever stop to think that she might have a good reason for that?”


    “It took me all day to find enough pieces to put a picture together,” Detective Ordonez said. “Do you remember about a year, year and a half back when you and your brother were helping with that spawn point?”


    “Totally saved your government.”


    “Gremlin alphas.”


    “You weren’t too concerned about collateral damage. I don’t know if it was you or your brother, but you were throwing cars around. Throwing the monsters around. Into houses,” Detective Ordonez’s voice went flat.


    “We were assured that the whole area was empty.” Cal didn’t like where this was going. “We made sure to ask.”


    “Does that really matter to the people in those houses?”


    “So, you’re suggesting that Flo was in one?”


    “The Browning family owned a house that you and your brother demolished in your fight with monsters. That much I’m certain of.”


    “DetectiveSkills


    “No, it really doesn’t. You need to find out what happened to the Browning family.”


    “I intend to.”


    “You guys find anything?”


    Jake and Bennett met Cal and Detective Ordonez.


    “No,” Detective Ordonez said.


    “Pick up anything, Bennett?” Cal said.


    “False alarm. That’s good right?” Jake grinned. “The mauler didn’t get anyone tonight.”


    “As far as we know,” Detective Ordonez said. “And there is a lot that we don’t.”


    <hr>


    <h1></h1>


    “I come when I decide.” She gave him a mirthless smile. “You have my payment?”


    “We agreed on Fridays.”


    “agreedecided


    “This is our home.”


    “And I pledge to continue doing my best out there against the monsters to help you and your family keep it. After all, it’s the sheep dog’s duty to protect the sheep.”


    “Alright. It’ll just take a few minutes to get the supplies together. After all, I wasn’t expecting you until Friday.”


    “Mind the tone, Mr. Khan. I’m being very patient with you, but that’s not unlimited. You have three minutes or my hand might slip.” She waved the small ball of fire next to the door frame in a vaguely threatening manner.


    The man tried to shut the door, but the young woman stopped him. He fumed, but relented and went back into the house.


    A pair of children peeked from the top of the stairs. The young woman smirked and gave them a small wave.


    The man appeared with a bag two minutes and forty-five seconds later. The young woman was counting down.


    “Cutting it close.” The young woman checked the contents of the bag. “Pleasure doing business with you. See you next week.” She smiled brightly and snuffed out the ball of fire in her palm.


    The young woman had a hop in her step as she went to her next collection stop.


    Flo made it to the police station just in time for the task force meeting. Returning the supplies had taken longer than expected. It was tough figuring out which supplies belonged to which households, plus she had to give them back without being spotted.


    She leapt down from the roof top and landed with barely a sound right behind that gigantic nerd.


    “Jesus!” Jake jumped when he finally noticed that she was there. “How’d you do that?”


    Flo frowned. He was such a lame-ass. She glared up at him.


    “What crime scene?” Flo’s heart jumped.


    “Warrior


    “How is she sure? I thought she was having a hard time telling the difference between the mauler’s kills and monster kills?”


    “Fine, let’s go then and I’m not slowing down for you.” Flo turned to go.


    “Ah,” Jake waved his notepad in her face, “but how are you going to know where to go. I have the addr—”


    “Soooo fast,” Jake said with undisguised awe.


    “Sorry, nothing available. We’re going to have to go the old-fashioned way.”


    “Bikes?”


    “Uh… nothing available.”


    “Much appreciated,” Jake beamed. “But don’t worry too much. I’ve been doing a lot of cardio.”


    <hr>


    <h1></h1>


    He led the team as they moved quickly through silent and empty streets. The metallic surfaces were mostly clean aside from a fine layer of dust. It was an eerie experience. Like how he imagined exploring an empty science fiction-style starship. Of course an alien city on an alien world was probably sufficiently sci-fi enough to cross it off the list.


    He reined in the wonder. They were on a deadly serious Quest, Task for the Threnosh. They had all gotten the chime right before they had departed. Nice of the spires to give them a heads up that the birthing creche was significant. In his experience anything that got an official Quest proved to be important in some way.


    The team reached a large expanse of open space. It was about the size of two football fields and was framed by a mixture of tall and short buildings.


    Cal subvocalized a text message to Unseen.


    Can you get across and see if you can spot eyes or ambushes?


    Acknowledged.


    What do you guys think?


    The latest scan indicated that our route is clear of corrupted presence.


    Scans have been unreliable.


    We can cross the distance quickly. Adahn can be carried by Honor or PJ15.


    Unseen will discover if there are hidden hostiles.


    Cal kept his eyes on the open space. He tried to spot Unseen, but failed. He fought the temptation to drop his telepathic shield to search his surroundings for hidden monsters.


    I have crossed the distance. Scanner indicates that there are no hostiles. You are clear to proceed.


    It would be so much easier if they could trust their instruments. Cal took a deep breath and signaled his team. He gripped his recoilless rifle and sprinted out into the open space.


    Spread out. PJ15, you grab Adahn if there’s trouble.


    Acknowledged.


    Cal expected corrupted to start pouring out of the streets and buildings at any second. He was pleasantly surprised when his expectation wasn’t met. They made it to the other side without incident.


    The space in front of Cal rippled to reveal Unseen.


    Once again Cal took the lead as the team fell in formation behind him.


    They turned into a narrow alley that led to a dead end. It was a slightly dusty metallic wall that belonged to a building that rose thirty meters.


    Cal double-checked the map projected in his face-plate. They were still on the right track.


    We’re going up and over.


    Why are the lights on?


    It appears to be functional.


    Shall I scout ahead?


    Negative. There are probably hostiles all over this place. Not the time to split the party.


    The birthing creches were the most disturbing thing to date that Cal had seen on the Threnosh world. Minus Zalthyss eating two of his fingers.


    The individual birthing pods resembled metallic cocoons. They were tightly packed and hung from a vine-like tube structure that went up to the ceiling somewhere out of sight. A single birthing creche might contain a single section of a vertical stalk or it could be comprised of multiple stalks. According to the specs the facility rose up five hundred meters. The amount of Threnosh that they could birth was staggering.


    Adahn, are these things functional?


    They are.


    Can you tell what’s inside?


    I can only determine that the machinery is functioning within expected parameters.


    I suppose that means we need still need to get to the control center.


    Honor, I am concerned that we have not encountered any guardians.


    I want you to go invisible. Stay in range for an emergency data transfer.Once you get the information head straight for the base camp. Whatever happens we need to let the others know that this place is operational.


    Acknowledged.


    The rest of us continue to the control center.


    Cal followed the map. It led them straight to their destination. The oppressive feeling grew stronger with every step. He could feel it pushing in on his telepathic shield. Part of him was screaming to turn back and run as fast he could. To leave everything and everyone behind without looking back. He told himself to shut up.


    The doorway to the control center had something carved across the top. It was out of place. Threnosh signage was clear and clean. This was done by hand. Two words.


    Mother Madrigal


    What does that read to you guys?


    I do not know the words.


    Adahn and Brightstrike concurred.


    Adahn with me. Brightstrike and PJ15 be on guard.


    Cal stowed his rifle in its magnetic holder on the back of his armor and drew his ax. He may not have had access to his telepathy and telekinesis, but he still had his super strength.


    At his signal Adahn opened the door. The way looked clear, so Cal forged ahead.


    “Alright, Adahn. Get that data we need and make it quick. There’s something wrong with this place,” Cal said.


    “I concur.” Adahn hurried to the main control console and dived into the strange digital world only they could see.