Guardians: The Turn (The Guardians Series, Book 3) Read online

  “They aren’t shapes,” Marcus corrects me.

  “What are they?”

  “People.”

  I look closer and sure enough the floor of Difi is embedded with humans. They are struggling against the prison that traps them. Some have already lost the fight and look up at us with broken bodies and dead eyes.

  Freaking out, I look for another place to stand but literally every inch of Difi is paved with bodies. Before I can fully register what I’ve just seen, Marcus directs my attention to a great, white mountain off in the distance.

  “What is that on it, snow?” I ask.

  Marcus pauses. I hate when he pauses. Nothing good comes after that.

  “It’s not snow; it’s feathers.”

  “You mean…?”

  “Lucy has her servants rip the feathers off the Angel’s wings, then she adds them to the pile.”

  See what I mean?

  There are several white mountains throughout Difi. I think I’m going to be sick but I’m afraid to throw up on the people beneath my feet. Although I doubt being vomited on would really matter to them at this point.

  I turn my attention to what looks like a forest of giant oak tree with apples. Marcus and I go closer. There is a rusty, metallic scent in the air as we approach. The apples appear to be wet and dripping. We come in even closer and find that the fruit on the tree isn’t apple; it’s human hearts. The liquid dripping from them is blood.

  Suddenly a creature that looks like a cross between a Vulture and a lizard flies over towards us. It scoops up one of the hearts into his beak and flies away.

  “I’ve heard about them but I always thought they were myths; they’re called ‘Sansi.’ I’m told if there is no “fruit” on the tree, they come after live humans,” Marcus says.

  Great…

  “Well it looks like Lucy’s got a sense of humor,” Marcus says dryly. He points to the most absurd sight yet. A few miles past us there is an enormous marquee with golden arches.

  “Is that a McDonalds?” I ask.

  It isn’t; well, not exactly. It is a replica of the fast food chain’s logo. It has the exact same color and font, but instead the sign says “McDemons: Over Six Billion Slain.” There is a lifeless Angel posted on either side of the marquee.

  Suddenly a group of wild, unkempt humans in rags run out of the Forest and scatter in every direction. We aren’t sure if they mean us harm or not so Marcus holds on to me protectively. But the Mob runs right past us and keeps going.

  Then we hear a chorus of agonizing cries coming from the direction of the forest. We can make out a series of “No,” “Help,” and “Just kill me!” After awhile the words suddenly blend into a series of heart-wrenching screams. It sounds like someone is being ripped open, but given where we are, I’m sure a lot worse is being done.

  Marcus instinctively takes my hand and says he has to get me out of Difi. I tell him I’m not going anywhere without him. We walk the torture-paved grounds in hopes of finding Lake Sariah.

  We are a few miles past the cave we entered when a black panther with red stripes and three tails emerges from one of the white mountains and makes his way toward us.

  “Don’t panic, we can just fly over it,” Marcus says.

  A voice calls out from the forest. “No, don’t!” We turn to seek out the voice and find a disheveled-looking man hidden among one of the trees.

  “Trust me, you don’t want to be in the air when a Grinn is coming for you.”

  “That’s what you call that thing?”

  “No, I call him “cotton” cause he’s friendly,” the stranger mocks.

  “Who are you?” Marcus says, never taking his eyes off the scowling beast slowly making its way to us.

  “I’m one of the few Sellers who have survived this place this long. Listen to me.”

  Marcus and I exchange a quick glance and agree to follow the stranger’s advice.

  “What should we do?” I ask.

  “Lay down on the ground and find the deepest sorrowful thoughts you have. Then let him sniff you.”

  “This is crazy. I’m strong than that crazy thing. I can take him,” Marcus says.

  “You sound like the last Angel who was here.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “He went for some take out,” the stranger says. He signals for us to look at the mock McDonald marquee. “He’s the left one,” the stranger says. Marcus and I decide right then to lay down on the floor.

  “Why do we need to think sorrowful thoughts?” I ask.

  “Grinns are blind. It can only see inner thoughts. It’s trained to look for hope. The kind that comes when you think you’ve escaped the clutches of Lucy. It finds you and destroys you. Now shut up and let the Grinn come to you.”

  Moments later the Grinn comes over to us. It growls and slobbers over our bodies. The stranger is right, the Grinn has no eyes. It sniffs every inch of us. It takes everything in me not to run screaming. Finally, the Grinn gives up and wanders away from us.

  The two of us lay on the ground for a few seconds longer. We look at each other and let out a sigh of relief. The stranger warns us that the Grinn may come back, so we hurry up off the floor and head towards him. He takes us into a cave hidden from view.

  “I’m Mode and this is my humble home.”

  “You’re Mode, the Seller that used to intern for Tony-Tone?” Marcus asks.

  “You two are friends of Tony’s?”

  “Kind of,” I reply.

  “So, he’s talked about me?” Mode asks.

  “Yeah…he mentioned you,” we didn’t think it would be a good time to mention that Tony hates him.

  “So, when did Tony finally embrace his dark side and make it to Difi?”

  “He didn’t. He’s still on Earth,” I inform him.

  “And you guys? Why are you here? I mean usually Angels come here in pieces when they come here.”

  “We didn’t die. We used the Port.”

  “Why would you come here?” Mode asks.

  “We’re looking for the key to a Scar Tony made,” Marcus says.

  “Why is Lucy keeping you alive?” I ask him.

  “She lets us roam and kills us when she can fit it into her schedule. She also likes her army of demons to stay sharp by hunting us and giving us over to the Gardener.”

  “Who is the Gardener?”

  “He’s a beast made of tormented soul and flesh. While Lucy handles the dismembering of Angels herself, she leaves most Sellers and humans to the Gardener. He debones them and feeds their remaining parts to the forest. That’s how the forest sustains itself. The Gardener is obsessed with the forest; especially the Sweet Trees. He dotes on them like they were his children.”

  “The trees with human hearts are called Sweet trees?” I ask.

  “This place has a flare for irony,”

  “Yeah, we got that,”

  “Listen, we need you to take us to Lake Sariah.”

  “Me? No. I died because I helped a Guardian.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “I gave Redd my Pawn. Then all of a sudden the powers that be decided that I am all bad and there is no more hope for me. So poof, just like that, my cycle ends, permanently. Now I’m here. And down here, it’s not a matter of if you die, but how.”

  “Lucy keeps you guys alive just to amuse herself?”

  “Yeah, I’m hoping for a clean death. You know something like a quick blow to the head but that’s what all doomed Sellers dream…”

  “Where were the screams coming from?”

  “Lucy’s house of horrors. She calls it the Asylum. That’s where humans go. Unless the Gardener wants some more bodies for his landscaping and foresting needs.”

  “Okay, you won’t take us to the Lake, but can you tell us where it is?”

  “Head toward McDemons, go about half a mile past it, then take a left.”

  “Thank you.”<
br />
  “Oh, and watch out for the Mother,” he says.

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s a Chaser that’s nearly as big as the white mountains. It’s known as the Mother of all Chasers. Its self-activating and can come at anytime.”

  “Anything else?” Marcus asks.

  “Avoid the Khi. They’re Lucy’s home-grown Army. They survey the grounds. If one of them sees you, they’ll signal for reinforcements. You don’t want that.”

  “What do they look like?” Marcus says.

  “They look like what would happen if man bred with Rottweilers. They fly on Ports. Once they hit the ground, be somewhere else.”

  “Mode, have you ever tired to escape?” I ask.

  “I’ve been hiding here.”

  “So you haven’t tried?”

  “No one gets out of here.”

  “Um…thanks,” I say.

  “Well, it’s different for you guys. You took the Port. If you can make it back to it you can get home.”

  “But you can’t use the Port?”

  “No. It has memory. It would not recognize me; therefore it would never work for me.”

  “I’m sorry,” I say quietly.

  “Hey, I had my fun on Earth. I got to meet Redd in person. I helped history happen. Who knew my little Pawn, Benny Stone, had all that evil in him,” he says with admiration.

  Marcus decides to ignore the morally weak Seller and focus on the Lake. He asks if there is anything we should know about it.

  “You mean are there any sharks or terrible monsters lurking at the bottom?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What looms beneath the still waters of Lake Sariah is far worse than serrated teeth and fangs. At the bottom of Lake Sariah there lives the Judge and the Jury.”

  “Who is that and how many heads does it have?” I ask.

  “It’s not a thing. It’s a person. It takes into account all the decisions you’ve made in your life to get here. If it decides if you deserve to make it back up to the surface, it will let you go. If it decides that you have done an unthinkable thing, you will spend eternity at the bottom of the lake.”

  “How many are on the jury?”

  “One: You.”

  “What?”

  “The lake judges you as you judge yourself.”

  That doesn’t sound good…

  “Seriously?” Marcus asks.

  “If you hold yourself responsible, so will the lake,” Mode replies.

  “What if you just lie to the Lake?”

  “That would mean lying to yourself; a task even Ominus would fail.”

  * * *

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN: ROOT OF ALL EVIL

  We say goodbye to Mode and head back the way we came. I move to keep walking but Marcus pulls me back. He signals me to look a few yards ahead of us.

  “The Grinn is back,” he whispers. We stay back and watch the red and black panther with three tails. We now understand why Mode said not to be in the air. One of the tails stretches out several feet in the air and reaches the top of a Sweet Tree. It pulls out a screaming Seller.

  The man struggles and cries out for help. I think about maybe trying to help him and Marcus flashes me a warning with his eyes. I know he’s right; the guy is a Seller who deserves to be in Difi but still, it’s hard to watch.

  It turns out each of the Grinn’s three tails serve a function. The first tail reaches out and snaps up its prey. The second tail coils itself around the prey making it impossible for it to move. Then the third tail stabs the prey repeatedly with its claw like tip.

  The tail that is able to extend takes the corpse and inserts it into the Grinn’s mouth. Just then another Grinn shows up and the two begin fighting over the remains of the Seller. Marcus tells me now it a good time to go since the Grinns are distracted.

  We sneak past them. Or try to. The minute we set foot along the path, they turn toward us. They know we are there. They sense the hope we have that we might get away. It’s too late to get on the ground like before.

  The Grinns growl and come at us full-speed, but instead of attacking us, they start attacking each other. Apparently they disagreed over which one of them should have the pleasure of eating us. Marcus and I bolt as fast as we can towards the marquee.

  “Marcus, we need to stop. I need to catch my breath,”

  He doesn’t say anything. I turn and find he’s not there.

  “Marcus?”

  “Emmy, run!” he shouts.

  I look up to where the sound came from and I see him.

  Marcus has been taken by the Gardener. The being is nearly eight feet tall and seems as big as the mountains. Marcus looks like an Angel doll in the palm of his gigantic hands. The Gardener’s body is a swirly mass of discarded flesh. There is a red empty void where his eyes should have been.

  Marcus struggles against his captor. He tries to rip into the Gardener’s swirl of flesh, but every time he does, the flesh comes back together again.

  I scream at the beast to let Marcus go. I know it won’t help but I don’t care. I survey the area and try to block out Marcus’s voice telling me to run and save myself. I have to find something to attack the Gardener with.

  Then it occurs to me, maybe I don’t have to attack him. Maybe all I need to do is distract him. But how? I think back to what Mode said and it comes to me: I have to attack his children!

  I look off to the side and find the Gardener has amassed a pile of bodies and placed them in a giant metal bin. I run over and scour the bin for something that could cause damage. Among the bodies are massive metal tools. I pick the one that looks like it can do the most damage: an axe with a jagged, shark teeth-like edge. I shudder to think what he does with it.

  I run to the edge of the Forest and attack what the Gardener cares for most: the Sweet Tree. I swing the axe as hard as I can. As soon as the Axe makes contact with the tree trunk, the Gardener turns his attention over to me. Relieved that it’s working, I continue to destroy the tree.

  Unfortunately I’m not causing enough damage to get the beast to drop Marcus. I rethink my strategy and aim, not for the trunk of the Sweet Tree, but for its roots. I strike as hard as possible and a geyser of blood comes gushing out. The “fruits” on the tree dry up instantly. The Sweet Tree dies.

  The Gardener roars as if I had wounded him. He throws Marcus away and comes towards me. I drop the axe and run into the forest at top speed. The Sansi birds fly all around me in a frenzy. The Gardner’s massive hands cut through the air and reach out for me.

  I leap out of the way just as his hand hits the ground and makes a massive hole where I was standing few second ago. I land hard on my side. I gasp as the pain of the landing runs up my body. It hurts too much to stand, so I crawl through the floor of the forest looking for a place to hide.

  It’s too late. The Gardener grabs me by my foot and lifts me up. I’m dangling upside down several feet in the air. I kick and scream frantically hoping to be shaken loose. I know that if he drops me, I will break every bone in my body, but I would rather die that way than at the hands of a demented beast with a thing for organ harvesting.

  The Gardener lifts me up to his face and studies me. His eyes glow red with anger. He is about to crush me between his fingers like a fly. My heart races as I try repeatedly to break free.

  “Emmy, duck!” I hear Marcus shout. I don’t even think; I duck down just as a flaming tree comes hurling at the Gardener’s head. The tree makes contact with his head causing him to fall backwards and drop me. I go hurling into the air. Marcus catches me seconds before I hit the ground.

  Once I am safe, he takes off into the air. He rips a Sweet Tree from the ground. He holds it up to the blaze of fire in the sky. The tree goes up in flames. He uses the flaming tree to set the surrounding trees on fire. Soon the entire forest is ablaze. The Gardener tries to put out the flames but it expands too quickly.

  Marcus and I run towards the marquee. It
would be so much faster if he could fly us over to the lake but nothing says “Angel is present” like a set of white wings in the air. It feels like we’ve been running for hours although I’m sure it’s only been a few minutes.

  “Sorry, we have to stop…can’t…breathe,” I gasp.

  “You’re sweating,” he says.

  “Yeah, Walgreen’s was all out of ‘Hell proof’ deodorant”

  “What did you use to get to Difi, liquid Brom, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then you shouldn’t be sweating.”

  “The Brom only works for six hours.”

  “I didn’t know that. How much time do you have left?”

  I look at my watch.

  “An hour.”

  “We have to keep going.”

  “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

  “Wait, what is that?” Marcus asks. We hear the sound of destruction and white noise. It grows louder and louder. Marcus takes to the air and flies ahead to check it out. He calls out to me.

  “It’s the Mother, we have to—”

  Before he can finish, I spot the biggest tornado Chaser I have ever seen. It spins around and sucks in everything in its path. Marcus and I take off running. We desperately look for a place to hide. I turn back and find the Mother right on our heels.

  From the corner of my eyes, I spot body parts, Sweet Trees, and Grinns all caught up inside the Chaser. Marcus finds a makeshift cave and pulls us in just as the massive Chaser passes by us.

  The residual wind caused by the Chaser sends us flying across the cave and right into the wall. Finally, we drop to the floor. The sound of the Mother can be heard in the background along with a random scream from its next victim.

  “Are you hurt?” he asks, concern spreads across his face.

  “Not too bad, considering. You?”

  “I’ll manage.”

  “We should let the Mother pass before we go back out there,” he says.

  “You think she could come back around?”

  “I’ve never known a Chaser to do that but I’ve never seen one that big or that out of control. We need to play it safe; although we can’t stay here too long. You will be out of Brom soon.”