Chapter 64: The Echo Hunter

Another day of driving on empty streets.

“Almost there,” Marcussaid from the driver’s seat. His eyes scanned the GPS that was miraculously still functional.

“Thank God,” Ivan sighed, relieved. “I’m sick of seeing the city. I need a drink, a soft bed, and a woman who doesn’t look at me like I’m about to eat her.” He shot a playful glance at Cassia, who rolled her eyes.

Ember smiled. She felt the hope radiating off everyone when Marcus said they were almost there. Throughout the journey, she had been checking on the AB and CE. It has been steadily climbing, and she is happy about it. From the 10,000 AB she spent before, she still has a long way to go.

She should thank Cassia and Ivan. Those two are like rabbits in heat. She made sure to ask the CE to give her some contraceptives. There were both male and female contraceptives. Everyone got one, and it lasts for six months. The happiest person when they found out was Ivan.

Since that day, he hasn’t let go of Cassia. She knew he loved having sex, but hearing them that often was getting old. Even Adrienne and Alex have started to join the fray.

She still remembered she woke up in the middle of the night once and saw Sarah and Marcus going at it. Ember looked over at Aiden. She didn’t know what to say. Since the last time they had sex, he hadn’t touched her again. It wasn’t for a lack of trying.

Ember was convinced the universe was conspiring against her.

Ember was lost in her thoughts when she heard it. The sound was so out of place that it took her a moment to register what it was.

A crying baby.

It sounded like a desperate wail of distress. It cut through the hum of the engine. Marcus stopped the motorhome, his eyes following the sound of the cry. It was coming from the remains of a daycare. It was just ahead; they hadn’t passed it yet.

“Keep driving,” Aiden said, his voice flat.

“But…it’s a baby,” Maya said, sitting up in her seat. Her eyes were fixed on the ruins.

“It’s a trap, is what it is,” Ivan said, his tone dismissive.

“We can’t just leave it!” Maya insisted. “What’s the point of surviving if we can’t even save a child? Where’s our humanity if we just leave it to die?”

“Humanity doesn’t mean shit if we’re dead.” Aiden didn’t look back as he spoke. He kept his eyes on the road as Marcus started the motorhome again.

“We aren’t a rescue squad. We aren’t the salvation of the world. We’re trying to get to our base and stay alive. That’s it,” Aiden shot back.

“Please,” Maya pleaded. “We need to do something. We can’t leave it out there like that.”

Ember felt that familiar contradiction in her heart. She knew there might be a trap. Rationally, she doesn’t want to go. But a part of her wanted to make sure the baby was safe.

“I’m with Aiden,” Alex said. “We should keep moving. Stopping in a dead city to chase a ghost isn’t what we need to do now.”

As they debated, the baby’s crying continued. It was relentless.

“I was thinking,” a small, quiet voice said. It was Chloe. She had barely said two words since leaving the library. “A baby that small…it shouldn’t have survived until now. If it were really alone, it would have died. It needs milk, warmth, and someone to take care of it. It doesn’t sound weak. It sounds healthy…really healthy.”

A cold silence washed over everyone. Chloe’s logic was more chilling than Ivan’s dismissive statement. She was right. For a baby on its own, the crying is too…robust.

“See?” Ivan said, “Trap.”

Maya looked defeated. “But what if we’re wrong?”

Before anyone could answer, Sarah leaned forward. Her gaze was on the ground outside the vehicle. They had been moving at a snail’s pace while they talked.

“Stop the car,” she said. Her voice was higher than normal.

“What is it?” Ember asked.

“Look,” she pointed outside.

They all peered through the window. The ground in front of the daycare was covered in rubble, but they noticed something else. There was a pair of footprints. These footprints were clearly not human.

They were large. Twice the size of a man’s hand with the long, splayed toes, each ending with a sharp claw-like mark. The silence in the vehicle made things worse. Now, tensions were high.

The baby’s cry. The sound of contention in the first place was now the source of their horror. This was no longer a moral conflict. If those footprints indicate anything, this may well be life or death.

“Back up. Slowly,” Aiden whispered.

Marcus put the motorhome into reverse. The engine made a whining sound as he eased the vehicle back down the street. They kept their eyes locked on the daycare.

The baby’s cry suddenly stopped.

The silence that followed was even more terrifying.

Something moved in the shadows. It was a limb. Long and jointed like a spider leg. Except for the fact that it was covered in a black shell. It was as thick as a man’s thigh. It tapped the ground, making a clicking sound.

Another limb emerged. The creature pulled itself out of the darkness. It was larger than anything they had ever seen. There was no head or eyes that they could see. It was all one massive carapace supported by eight legs. Its body was low on the ground.

As it fully emerged into the light, they saw the source of the sound. On its back were two armoured plates; between the plates was a sack. From the sac, the sound of a baby crying echoed. This time it was louder and more desperate.

The creature swiveled what they assumed was its head. A thin antenna unfurled from the front of the carapace. It twitched and quivered.

They watched it as it turned, the antenna searching.

“Drive,” Ember breathed. “Now.”

Marcus didn’t need to be told twice. He slammed into drive and floored it. The motorhome lurched forward, screeching in protest.

The creature reached instantly. The antenna moved as soon as the vehicle did. It let out a shriek that sounded nothing like a baby. It was fast, terrifyingly so. Its eight legs moved in a blur. Despite the massive body, it was able to keep up with the vehicle.

It crashed into the side of the vehicle like a battering ram. The vehicle lurched forward. The metal groaned and buckled.

“Hold on!” Marcus yelled as the vehicle scraped the road.

The creature struck again. This time, using one of its legs. The leg, tipped with a claw, was sharp. It tore a long gash into the side of the vehicle, narrowly missing the place Ivan and Cassia had been sitting.

Aiden had his pistol out, leaning out the passenger window, firing shot after shot. The bullets ricocheted off the carapace, leaving shallow scratches.

“Fuck!” he yelled. “We need to lose it!”

Ember’s mind scrambled for a way to get away from the creature. She looked at the buildings on either side of them, at the alleyways and tight spaces.

“Marcus! Turn into the alley!” Ember shouted.

Marcus hesitated, looking through the rearview mirror at the thing following them.

“Do it!” Aiden yelled.

Marcus swore, but he turned the steering wheel. The vehicle swung violently, the side mirror scraping against the side of the alley. The creature, unable to follow, skidded to a halt at the entrance. IT let out a piercing shriek as it stood watching them leave.

They drove downt he narrow alley that threatened to close in on them. Marcus had to slow down to carefully maneuver the pathways. They heard the creature behind them. Its legs scratching at the trying to find a way in.

“It’s on top of us!” Alex yelled.

They could see the silhouette block out the light from the sky as it started climbing. Its legs found cracks and crevices to hold on to.

Ember hit Marcus on the shoulder, “Faster!”

Marcus floored it. The engine made a grinding noise, but no one paid attention to it. Everyone wanted to get as far away from that monster as possible. Marcus drove without looking back. He didn’t stop. He stopped listening to everything and focused on the road.

He didn’t stop driving until Aiden told him to pull over.

They all stumbled out of the vehicle. They looked at the massive gash in the side of the motorhome. Everyone stood looking at the gash, unable to make a sound, adrenaline still pumping in their veins.

“What the fuck was that?” Fernando muttered to himself.

Everyone wanted an answer to that question. But who would actually be able to provide it?

Whatever it was, they were not its opponent. And right now, they knew the world was far scarier than anything they had ever imagined.

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