Clickers III (32 page)

away and vomited onto the floor.

Tony turned around to face Clark, who was still standing next to the portal.

“I’m sorry, man.”

“I really thought you were going to shoot me.”

“I thought about it,” Tony admitted. “Figured I could plant one in your leg, just to throw them off guard, you know? But even a round this size could cripple you for life, so I did the next best thing.”

“You were certainly convincing.”

“With Ruby dead, they couldn’t read our thoughts, but just in case, I had to play along. Make sure they didn’t know what I was up to.”

“What if you’d missed?”

“I told you before, when we first left the landing strip— I never miss. But seriously, I’m sorry for putting you through that.”

“It’s all right.” Clark took a deep, shuddering breath. “Let’s just get out of here, okay?”

“Hang on. Got to finish with the magic words.”

“Well, do it th—”

The other-dimensional ocean churned as two enormous tentacles shot through the doorway. They were immense, with girths larger than the mid-section of a human being. They reminded Tony more of snakes than they did tendrils. One of the appendages grabbed Diamond’s body and lifted him off his feet. Blood immediately splashed on the floor, and Tony and Clark both saw with mounting horror that the tentacles were lined with suckers that bore razor sharp teeth.

Mouths
, Tony thought.
The fucking thing has mouths on its tentacles
!

The other appendage whipped toward Clark, but he ducked low and rolled forward, away from the portal. The tendril cut the air where he’d been standing, while the other one yanked Diamond’s corpse through the doorway. For a moment, they saw him floating in the water on the other side. Then the tentacle pulled him toward the light. As Tony and Clark stared, dozens of other tentacles erupted from the light and surged toward them.

“Get the fuck out of there,” Tony shouted at Clark. “Move, goddamn it!”

If Clark responded to him, Tony couldn’t tell, because at that moment, a crippling pain rammed through his head. Shrieking, Clark grabbed the sides of his own head and rolled around on the floor. Jennifer remained kneeling, cradling her own head, as well.

Tony screamed. The pain became blinding. It was so great that it eclipsed everything in his mind. His eyes watered, and for a brief moment he wondered if his head had exploded and blood was pouring out of his eyeballs. Then he wondered if that was what happened when you had a brain aneurism. Old Man Marano’s father had died of a brain aneurism. He’d shit himself in the aftermath. Of all the ways he could choose to die, Tony decided this wasn’t one of them.

Suddenly, Tony was gripped by an unnerving—and nauseating—sensation. It felt as if he’d left his body, and was sailing straight through the doorway and into the vast ocean on the other side. He glimpsed something impossibly huge—a creature so large that it hurt his eyes to look at it. Its bulbous head reminded him of a hot air balloon, and the beard of tentacles that hung below its enormous yellow eyes writhed like giant snakes. From the neck down, the shape was human—except for its size, green skin, and scales. Its hands were webbed and clawed. Tony stared into its eyes and felt the eyes stare back.

It was aware of him.

The yellow eyes grew brighter and the portal seemed to bulge in mid-air. The pain in Tony’s head ratcheted up again. The fillings in his teeth throbbed. The portal shimmered, growing larger, and several more tentacles thrust through the opening. Stunned, Tony could only watch. He probed an aching tooth with his tongue and felt it wiggle. His mouth tasted like blood.

“Tony,” Clark wailed, “say the fucking words!”

Shaking his head, Tony licked his lips and yelled,
“Ia verm
… Goddamn it!”

“Verminus,”
Clark and Jennifer shouted in unison.

“Ia verminus Leviathan. Ia destrato Leviathan. LEVIATHAN.”

The pain vanished as abruptly as it had begun. Tony’s ears rang in the aftermath, and his sinuses drained down the back of his throat. He smacked his lips again and tasted more blood. On the other side of the portal, the tentacles hung limply. Something that sounded like a thousand crossbreeds between a blue whale and a lion roared. The light began to dim.

“
I bind and banish you,” Tony continued, “according to the Law. You may not pass through the door. Go now and bother this Earth no more.”

And just like that, the floating doorway disappeared. Tony had expected more. He wasn’t sure what, exactly. A flash or a bang, maybe. Something a bit more definitive, at least. Noisier. Instead, the opening simply vanished, plunging them into darkness again. Tony picked up Ruby’s flashlight and turned it on. It had been undamaged in the fight.

The beam seemed to keep the blackness at bay.

“Is that it?” Clark asked, his voice unsteady. He stood up slowly and brushed dirt and debris from his pants. “Did we win? Is it over?”

Tony shrugged. “I guess.”

“It’s sort of anti-climatic.”

“What, not getting eaten by a big, giant squid-monster ain’t good enough for you?”

“No, it’s not that. I guess I’m just used to a more…
normal
fight.”

“Me, too. Fuck this magic shit. I’ll stick with shooting motherfuckers.”

Behind them, Jennifer screamed. Both men whirled around and Tony trained the flashlight beam at where she was pointing. A baby Clicker charged across the chamber, claws raised, pincers clacking together greedily. Bits of Susan’s flesh dangled from them. Before either man could react, Jennifer grabbed a large rock and threw it at the creature, smashing the infant into jelly. Then she turned and faced them. Tony was surprised to see her grinning.

“
Now
it’s over.” She walked over to Tony and brushed the hair out of his eyes. “I couldn’t let you have all the fun.”

Tony reached for her, but froze when Jennifer flinched.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I… just…”

“It’s who I was,” Tony said. “It’s not who I am now, but it’s still a part of me. You know? Maybe that’s why the spooks believed I was special. Maybe that thing inside of me—the part of me you’re scared of right now—is needed sometimes.”

“Tony…”

He held his arms out wide. “Friends?”

Wiping her eyes, Jennifer nodded. Tony hugged her and then shook hands with Clark. Then the three of them laughed.

“The Dark Ones,” Clark said after their initial happiness had subsided. “Are they gone?”

“Amethyst must have been right,” Tony said. “They must have fled. If there were any still around, they’d be charging in here by now.”

“We should do the same then.” Clark started forward. “I don’t want to be stuck down here if that flashlight goes out. Who knows how long the batteries are good for.”

Side by side, they walked out of the main chamber and headed back down the tunnel. Jennifer squeezed Tony’s hand and stifled a sob when they found Susan’s remains, but otherwise, they walked in silence and stared straight ahead. It wasn’t until they found Wade’s mangled body that they stopped.

“Sorry about your friend,” Tony said, staring down at Wade’s corpse.

“It’s okay,” Jennifer sighed. “I’m more worried about you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Are you okay?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Jennifer paused. “Well, what Amethyst said back there. What he made you do. I just wondered if you were okay?”

“Haven’t felt better.” He gave her a wink, then turned to Clark. “You still up for a trip to Vegas?”

Clark grinned. “You’re damn right I am.”

“Good. You can buy the first round then. Come on, Jennifer. We’re going to Vegas.”

And with that, the three of them continued on their way. Without Ruby or Josel to guide them, they got lost several times. They went slowly at first, until they confirmed that there were no Clickers or Dark Ones left in the tunnels. At least, no living ones. They did stumble over several dead creatures in the dark. The corpses were already beginning to stink, fouling the air in the caverns. It was a long time before they reached the exit, and they stopped several times to rest. When they finally got outside, the sun was shining. Birds sang overhead. A warm, salty breeze buffeted them as they stood amidst the destruction.

Tony inhaled, breathing deep, and closed his eyes. “God, that sun feels good.”

“It does,” Jennifer agreed. “I could lay down right here and go to sleep.”

“There will be time for that later,” Clark said. “All the time in the world. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives,” Clark said.

“Ya know,” Tony replied, “I once shot a motherfucker for saying that.”

“And that was it?” Rick asked.

“Pretty much,” Tony said, nodding.

They were sitting on a hotel balcony, looking out over the strip and drinking top-shelf bourbon. The sliding glass doors were closed and the curtains drawn, so that they wouldn’t wake Jennifer, who was asleep in the luxury suite’s massive bed. An ashtray sat on the table next to Tony’s drink. Inside it, a cigarette had burned down to the filter. He hadn’t touched it since beginning his story.

“What about your friend? Clark?”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t know. I knew a guy here in town who could fix him up, no questions asked. Dude was a doctor. Got addicted to meth. The mob uses him to patch up guys who can’t go to the emergency rooms. He fixed Clark up. Then Clark stayed here for a few days. Had the suite next to us, actually. Then he told me that he had to take care of a few things, and that he’d be in touch. Haven’t seen him since. The hotel desk says he checked out.”

“I hope he’s okay.”

“He will be. Clark’s a tough motherfucker. You’d like him.”

“He’d have to be tough, I guess, to put up with you for very long.”

Both men grinned. Then Rick’s smile grew wider.

“The fuck is so funny?”

“You and Jennifer. I mean, come on, Tony. You didn’t see that coming.”

“No, I guess not. To be honest, I figured I’d hook up with Ruby when it was all over. I had plans for those mind-reading tricks of hers. Of course, she got killed before that could happen. But Jennifer—yeah. I don’t think anybody saw that coming, least of all her. I figured she’d be fucking repulsed by the person I am.”

“The person you are is somebody I’m proud to know. It’s obvious she feels the same way.” Rick took another sip of whiskey. Ice cubes rattled in his glass, clinking against the side. “What about the island? What’s to stop others from going there?”

“Livingston took care of the island. Did it all in secrecy. Not sure what. Made me swear to keep quiet about what happened to us there, but that’s cool, because in return, I got total freedom. No more witness protection program for me. Still, I’d love to know what his final solution was. You heard anything?”

“Just the same things you heard—that there was a volcanic eruption and that everyone on the island perished.”

“Yeah, total bullshit. I told Livingston he should nuke the fucking place, but he gave me some song and dance about how it would cause an international outcry. Ya know, he was a lot more ballsy before he became President.”

Rick nodded. “Well, he’s got to worry about the consequences of his actions, now. He’s a good man, though. I’ve known him a long time. He and I were there at the beginning. In a way, it’s sort of weird that he and I weren’t there at the end with you guys, to see this through.”

“Where the hell have you been, anyway?”

Rick drained his glass before responding. When he lifted the bottle to refill it, Tony noticed that his hand was trembling.

“I was in Tampa.”

“Tampa? But that’s near the water. I thought you don’t go near the water anymore.”

“I don’t,” Rick admitted. “But this time I had no choice. I was doing research for another book—a non-fiction book about the Clickers and the Dark Ones.”

“Let me guess. There’s a hive of them living somewhere off the coast of Florida?”

“Maybe,” Rick said, “but that’s not all. There have also been reports of giant ants in the region. Nothing concrete yet, but all indications are that there’s something occurring—something more than just an urban legend.”

Tony grinned. “Clickers versus giant fucking ants?”

Rick laughed, nodding. “Well, you couldn’t call them giant fucking ants. That would be like calling the Clickers giant fucking crab-scorpion-lobster hybrids. No, you’d need a catchy name. Something like the media would come up with.”

“Mandibles,” Tony said, and poured himself another drink.

“That’s not bad. Kind of catchy.”

“Maybe I’ll write a book,” Tony said. “Clickers versus Mandibles. That would be some wild shit.”

Rick snickered.

“What’s so funny?” Tony grinned. “I’m serious. I’m gonna write a fucking book.”

“Yeah, right. And maybe I’ll become a mob hitman.”

“Don’t.” Tony leaned back and drained his glass in one gulp. “It’s a hard knock life. I think I prefer this life instead. Gonna try it for a while. See what happens. Might be nice to go through a day without somebody—or some
thing
— trying to kill me.”

Nodding, Rick sipped his drink. “I couldn’t agree more.”

They sat and watched the sun go down, and when it finally sank below the horizon, it was still light outside. It was never truly dark in Las Vegas, and the ocean was far away, and that was how both men liked it.