The Law of Averages

Book 2: Chapter 156: Lair

Several things happened in very quick sequence. False Cannibal shredded the remains of the trawler net keeping him trapped. Dan sucked the creature's dismembered arm into t-space. False Cannibal roared, either in pain or rage or both, and leapt towards Dan. Dan changed the destination of his trashcan-portal to the bottom of the Marianas Trench, and the ocean rushed out to greet his opponent. False Cannibal was big, and fast, and strong, but there was a whole heck of a lot of water suddenly in his face.

False Cannibal vanished from sight as a raging river suddenly appeared in the middle of the street. Dan's veil, cast out like a sensor net, tracked his opponent's impacts as its body pinwheeled across the street, ricocheting off cars and walls and light poles. The greater part of Dan's focus lay in his immediate surroundings, sweeping nearby buildings for civilians who might be brave or stupid enough to go outside. The rest of his attention rested in hammerspace, flicking through a dizzying array of random crap that he'd stored in case it would one day be useful.

The mission had changed. This was obviously not Cannibal, and obviously nowhere near as obscenely dangerous as Cannibal, which meant Dan's goal became capture, not kill. Fortunately, he had a number of options that even a super strong, super durable opponent should be stymied by. He could play keep away all day, but he didn't have that kind of time. The real key was hitting False Cannibal hard enough to put him down, but not so hard as to splatter him across the landscape. It was a delicate balance, and one that Dan hadn't quite mastered. Fortunately, he had a hardy test subject to—

Dan paused, checked his veil.

The fucker had run again!

Dan pursued, forced to play it safe as they entered a small residential block, filled with low-rent apartments. His veil immediately pinged a half dozen living people, with more appearing every second. False Cannibal charged down the middle of the street, cloaked in darkness and rain. Intercepting him here would be too dangerous, at least if he wasn't ready to kill. The risk of collateral damage was too great. Maybe that was why False Cannibal had chosen this direction. Maybe it knew, or sensed, what Dan wanted, and would force his hand.

He kept himself ready, certain that, any moment now, False Cannibal would veer off into the nearest apartment building to wreak havoc. Dan wasn't sure what he would do if that happened; probably something incredibly lethal. Yet, the creature continued to flee, not even glancing towards the populated buildings in its mad flight from Dan. His veil continued to sweep the buildings, making sure that no residents would be stupid enough to run out into the open. He felt each life ping against his veil. He noted their locations, but something seemed off about it all.

It took Dan a few second to figure it out. Where were all the people? He was picking up dozens of individuals, but this was an entire block of apartments. There should be hundreds. Even with the evacuation being sounded, the majority of citizens had stayed inside and waited for escort. They were conditioned that way, trained to listen and obey when bad things started happening.

Dan thought back to the buildings False Cannibal had run through, to the bodies he'd found. How long had this creature been eating its way through the city? He could look for corpses with his veil, but he didn't have the focus to spare, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. There was only one certainty, now: He needed to end this chase. Unfortunately, False Cannibal was not making it easy.

It kept itself on the ground, having apparently learned not to stay airborne. That was... problematic. Dan preferred his enemies reckless and stupid. This one had just enough cunning to be dangerous. Strangely, he felt no fear. Not even a hint of it. His heart hammered in his chest, and water had soaked through his clothes. His eyes were filled with spots and his ears were ringing, but Dan had never felt so alive. Alive, and filled with angry, righteous purpose.

His target veered away from the apartment block, crashing through a steel door and entering some kind of factory. Dan didn't hesitate. As soon as the door buckled, he willed himself inside. He had no idea what to expect, but trusted his Navigator to get him where he needed to be. He appeared on top of a catwalk, high above the factory floor. It was pitch black inside, but he heard the crash as False Cannibal plowed through the entrance. Dan launched another gas lantern down towards the floor, catching sight of False Cannibal sprawled across the floor in a pool of blood.

That was surprising. Dan had assumed the wound would have closed up by now, or at least slowed its bleeding. Instead, blood was practically fountaining out of False Cannibal, so fast and freely that Dan was honestly confused at how the creature was still conscious. Cosmic bullshit, his brain immediately supplied him. False Cannibal had more blood than it should. Dan couldn't just wait it out. It might take literal hours.

Questions and conclusions raced through his mind, and by the time False Cannibal had staggered upright, Dan knew what he had to do. His lantern struck the floor and shattered, but without rain to snuff it out, the oil lit up like a torch. False Cannibal whipped its head towards the sudden light, and Dan willed himself into its blind spot.

He wasn't willing to test the creature's reflexes, so he stayed well out of range. The instant he appeared, he fired off a ball bearing at the crook of False Cannibal's knee. Against the real Cannibal, it would've bounced off without leaving a mark. Against this poor imitation, the chunk of massively accelerated steel slammed into the bend of its leg, and sent it sprawling down to one knee. The damage was less than superficial; force alone had moved it, but it was enough. It hit the pool of its own blood, slipped forward, and flailed for purchase.

Dan's veil whipped out below it, and a new door opened. False Cannibal's leg dropped through the portal, sinking down past the ankle. Dan's fist punched through the exit doorway, and False Cannibal lost another limb. The creature screamed, and this time it was absolutely in fear, not rage. It scrambled upright and leapt away, its powerful muscles carrying it all the way across the factory, despite its single leg.

Dan let it go, taking the time instead to snuff out the fire he'd caused. His veil tracked the creature as it scaled a walkway and leapt out through a distant window. Dan willed himself outside, watching coldly as the rabid thing crashed back down to the ground. Lightning lit the sky and the street below it. The road was flooded, water roiling and bubbling. False Cannibal crawled, broken, bleeding, through muddy brown water, inching its way towards a distant building. Thunder rumbled, wind howled, and Dan watched his enemy slowly die.

…He should probably call this in, while the thing was still alive. He keyed his radio.

"Transport-4 to control, subject is badly injured, but secure. No other enemies"—He paused, then swept his surroundings again, just to be sure—"in sight. Please send a bus to..."

Where the hell was he?

Dan mentally replayed his frantic pursuit and compared it to the map of the city that he'd memorized. They'd moved a lot further than he'd realized, while caught up in the moment. He tried to remember the blurred, dark shapes of buildings racing past, and a chill stole over him as he connected landmarks with shapes on the map. He was at the center of the cordon.

Dan immediately blinked backwards, appearing prone on a nearby roof landing. He held himself low and still, heart racing, half-expecting to hear the distant crack of gunfire over the pounding rain. His veil drilled a hole in the ledge in front of him, and he stared down at False Cannibal, still struggling weakly towards a distant building. The same building, Dan now realized, was the one that Champion was supposedly holed up within.

Then, where were the People? Did they not have scouts? Was nobody on watch? It was a ridiculous assumption, and Dan immediately dismissed it. He looked back at the False Cannibal, watching the creature's dogged, determined movement. He recalled a stray thought that had earlier crossed his mind, when trying to guess where it was heading.

Back to its lair?

Dan turned, faced the other building, and waited for the lightning.

Flash.

Rumble.

Boom.

He took in what he could. It was some sort of industrial warehouse. He could see loading bays and lines of garage doors. Water ran down a ramp and pooled at the edge of the street.

Flash.

Rumble.

Boom.

False Cannibal crawled, one arms-length at a time, towards the edge of the sidewalk. Rawls screamed for information over the radio, but Dan could barely hear him. His veil extended towards the warehouse, a long, narrow tendril, seeking life.

Flash.

Rumble.

Boom.

The rain fell in horizontal sheets, splattering against the concrete walls and steel doors. There was a visitor's entrance of some kind. Water pooled inside of it. The glass was broken. The door was a twisted wreck.

Flash.

Rumble.

Boom.

His veil crawled up the handicap ramp and in through the doors, barely outpacing the False Cannibal. At this distance, things were muddled and slow. He felt like he was tied to a rack, pulled taut and stretched. Tendrils extended, feelers searching.

Flash.

Rumble.

Boom.

False Cannibal made it to the entrance, up to the broken doors, and pulled itself inside. It crawled forward, focused in a single direction, and Dan's veil went on ahead. He felt the edge of a desk, rubber wheels connected to steel. Some kind of dolly. Then wood, a closet, hanging open.

Flesh. Dead and cold and gnawed on.

Dan keyed his radio.

"Get to the center of the cordon," he said. "I think I've found what's left of the People."