Chapter 21: The Horde Mother

No! It’s not the end! This is only the beginning!

When the gas dissipated, it became easier for Éclair to see with the illumination from their suits and the digital lenses in her mask. The cavern was much larger than Éclair thought it was, stretching out for miles in every direction. The roof of the cave hovered at least a few hundred feet above their heads. But one fact became evident above all else; they were surrounded by corpses. Sticking out of the ceilings and walls of the catacombs were hundreds of thousands of tentacles; attached to each of the tentacles were people. The poor souls hung loosely like puppets on strings swaying silently in the darkness. Unlike Grafael and the pirates, these people were already completely infected by the virus, possessing the twisted features and rotting flesh of Parasite Zombies. Mangled, misshapen wretches with vagrant expressions dangled from the noose-like tentacles. Countless victims, far too many to count, stretched out as far as the eye could see. Éclair gasped at the magnificent horror that had become her reality as she instinctively took hold of Ryan’s arm for support.

“THEY ARE OUR CHILDREN NOW,” said the voice of the Horde. “WE CARE FOR THEM.”

The voice didn’t echo so much anymore, and Éclair traced the sound to its source. A horrible creature slithered out of the darkness towards them. It was slightly larger than a normal Parasite, and infinitely more disturbing. The creature had the torso of a woman, but that is where its human qualities ended. It had slimy, pale gray skin so placid that the flesh appeared dead. In place of legs, it had a long tail with dozens of mandibles jutting out from the sides that jittered across the ground like centipede legs. At the end of its tail was a long stinger-like protrusion of bone that curved at a slightly downward angle. Its arms were long and gangly with oversized three-fingered hands that could fit around Éclair’s waist. As it moved, it dragged its large bulk forward with its skinny arms using hook-like claws that clicked against the floor. Its head was shaped almost humanoid, but lacked all the basic features such as eyes, a nose, or a mouth. Instead, a blank canvas of gray, wrinkled flesh greeted Éclair in place of a face. But worst of all were the tentacles. In place of hair were thousands of strands of thin tentacles stretching out above it and vanishing into the darkness, making their length immeasurable. Some strands of tentacle-hair splintered off to form more strands of hair, and so on, making it impossible to determine just how many tentacles this creature possessed. In a terrible realization, Éclair understood that each infected victim must’ve been attached to one of those hair-tentacles, including Grafael and the pirate crew.

Shocked by the horrific creature’s appearance, Éclair backed away. Ryan stepped forward, placing himself between her and the creature.

“What ... what are you?” Éclair asked.

“SSSOME HAVE CALLED USSSS,” screeched the voice that emanated from the creature. As it spoke, its featureless face pulsated, like the rippling caused by a stone as it hits the water. “HORDE MOTHER. OTHERSSS CALL USSSS PARASSSITE QUEEN. WE CARE NOT. WE NO LONGER HAVE A NAME SSSINCE WE BECAME ... MORE.” The creature advanced forward.

Or less, thought Éclair with revulsion. Less than human. Less than sentient. All semblance of dignity and individuality forsaken for the anathema of life.

Ryan tensed as the Horde Mother approached. “That’s close enough!”

“GIVE USSSS WHAT WASS PROMISSSED AND REMOVE,” insisted the Horde Mother. As she spoke, a few Parasites behind them slithered forward to settle within striking distance of the pair.

“Ryan,” whispered Éclair in growing alarm. “I think we should do as she says.”

“And if she brings the gas back?” replied Ryan quietly.

“They could kill us without the gas if they wanted to,” said Éclair. “We need to find out more about her ... what she wants. There may be a way to talk ourselves out of this.”

“Éclair,” said Ryan shakily. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed given how good I am at acting calm, but I am seriously freaking out right now!”

“Don’t you think I feel the same? But it’s too late for second-guessing now!” Éclair retorted, already regretting her decision to drag Ryan into this mess as their prospects for survival grew slimmer.

Éclair heard Ryan take in a muffled breath as his back stiffened. “Just tell me we’ll be okay, and I’ll believe you. Tell me even if you don’t believe it yourself.”

Éclair faced Ryan. For a moment, she could see his face through their visors as they drew closer to one another. “We’ll be okay, Ryan.” Even though she didn’t believe it, saying it did make her feel better.

“WE GROW IMPATIENT!” said the Horde Mother with a rancorous hiss. More Parasites drew forward as if in response to her rising temper.

Éclair stepped in front of Ryan deliberately, and said in a loud voice, “We will remove our helmets!”

The Parasites paused their advance, and the Horde Mother dragged herself forward expectantly, her jittery fingers twitching a bit. Éclair mentally gave the command for the helmet to vanish. The face mask slid away, letting Éclair’s hair fall more loosely around her shoulders. Ryan did the same, leaving both of them almost completely exposed to the Parasite Queen.

Without warning, the Horde Mother suddenly lurched forward, stretching out one of her long arms and seizing Éclair by her face. The monster’s massive hand wrapped completely around Éclair’s head. Her hook-like claws cut lightly into the back of Éclair’s skull and the side of her face. Éclair was lifted a few feet from the ground, hanging by her head clenched in the Horde Mother’s merciless grip. Éclair gave out a muffled scream of pain and surprise as the creature’s slimy palm covered her mouth, suffocating her.

Ryan roared in outrage, igniting his hand with his red flames and jumping forward. He slammed a fiery fist into the Horde Mother’s face, smashing it completely and caving it inwards. But as he struck her, her face almost seemed to inflate itself back into its original shape, like a balloon being blown up. Ryan raised his other arm for a second attack, but about a dozen tentacles from the Parasites behind entangled him and dragged him backwards. At least three Parasites grappled with Ryan, trying to force him to the ground as he cursed and grunted with exertion.

Seeing Ryan’s distress brought Éclair to her senses as she took hold of the Parasite Queen’s bony arm and sent a wave of Ice Elemency coursing through the creature’s limb. Vapors of mist emanated from Éclair’s hands and the glowing blue lines on her gloves became brighter from the presence of her psions. Ice soon covered the Horde Mother’s arm, spreading all the way up to her armpit and crawling up her shoulder. The Horde Mother hissed in annoyance and slammed Éclair hard into the ground, cracking the rock. Éclair lost all coherence as her head hit the floor, her breath completely driven from her lungs. The action had been so violent that Éclair’s ice shattered from the Horde Mother’s flexing arm.

Ryan let loose an anguished scream at Éclair’s plight. Even through her dizziness and whirling headache, Éclair could see him as he broke through the restraints of the Parasites’ tentacles. Ryan struck out savagely in a desperate bid to get to her as more Parasites surrounded him. He bit and clawed like a wild beast, much as he had back in the pit, as the bloodlust of battle took him over. Swatting two Parasites away with a flurry of fire-enhanced kicks and punches, Ryan jabbed both fists forward into the third Parasite that blocked his path. His hands buried themselves deep into the creature’s abdomen, and his fingers appeared out of the Parasite’s back, covered in its orange blood. With a mighty heave, Ryan drew his hands apart, tearing the monster in half with a sickening squelching noise. Roaring madly, Ryan used each half of the downed Parasite like clubs, batting the other Parasites back as he spun in a circle. He was a magnificent sight to behold, covered in the blood and guts of the creatures as he tore through their ranks with wild abandonment. Ryan then sent one half of the dismembered Parasite tumbling into his assailants, giving himself an opening to reach Éclair.

Ryan’s back faced away from the Horde Mother for a split second as he threw the second half of the Parasite’s body behind him. The Horde Mother let loose a shriek at Ryan’s onslaught, raising one hand while pinning Éclair to the ground with the other. She pointed at Ryan with three fingers. Those digits then shot from her hand like spears, stretching forward on a thin wisp of flesh still attached to the knuckles. The fingers impaled themselves right through Ryan’s armor, going through his shoulder, arm, and near his spine to burst out of his middle. Ryan reared back his head and let loose a wheezing gasp as the breath was completely driven out of him. The Horde Mother’s fingers then tore from Ryan’s body, returning back to their point of origin, the claws now slicked red with his blood. The Parasites took advantage of their leader’s efforts, tackling the dazed Ryan to the ground as they opened their jaws to devour him.

A suppressed scream escaped Éclair’s lips as she realized that Ryan was about to die. She struggled against the Horde Mother’s grip, managing to wriggle her mouth loose and take in air at last.

“STOP!” screamed Éclair desperately. “DON’T HURT HIM AND I’LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT!”

The Horde Mother then turned her faceless head down towards Éclair. As she did, the Parasites halted their assault instantly, like they were aware of their Queen’s distraction.

“Just let him live,” pleaded Éclair, tears mixing with the blood on her face. “Please let him live, and I’ll get you whatever it is you want, I swear it.”

The Parasite Queen hissed softly as she leaned down closer to Éclair’s face. The vile woman smelled like a corpse, and Éclair thought she could feel hot breath on her as the creature spoke even though the Horde Mother didn’t appear to have a mouth.

“WE WANT THE ONE. AND NOW WE WILL SSSSEE IF YOU ARE SSSHE,” replied the Horde Mother.

The Horde Mother lowered her outstretched arm and held her palm in front of Éclair’s face. A slit of flesh opened from her palm and dozens of tiny, wire-like tentacles, glowing with a faint green light, seeped out of the opening. The tentacles slowly wiggled their way onto Éclair’s face, feeling around her head and body. The worm-like appendages felt cold and clammy like the Horde Mother’s hand against her chin, but they somehow seemed more violating as they poked and prodded Éclair from the neck up. Éclair used up all of her willpower not to squeal as the tentacles went up her nose, into her ears, across her lips, and even around her eyelids.

Then the glowing tentacles withdrew back into the Horde Mother’s hand. The Horde Mother’s head twitched a bit as the surface of her featureless face seemed to bubble like boiling water. Out of the bubbles came shapes and crevices that slowly morphed themselves to resemble a face. A girl’s face with a small, delicate nose, high cheekbones, and violet eyes. Éclair realized in shock that it was her own face now staring back at her. The face still possessed the Horde Mother’s gray skin, but every other detail was spot on.

“YOU,” said Éclair’s face with the Horde Mother’s shrill voice. “ARE NOT ... THE ONE.”

The Horde Mother cocked her head to the side, seeming confused as she frowned down at Éclair with her own lips.

“Who ... who is ‘the one’? Why do you want this person?”

“THE ONE ISSS SSSHE WHO CAN HELP USSSS,” explained the Horde Mother. “SSSHE WHO CAN MAKE USSSS GROW.”

“Tell me her name and maybe we can go find her for you,” proposed Éclair, wondering if it was possible to trick this creature somehow. It did seem simpleminded enough at least.

The Horde Mother hissed and leaned down. Éclair’s face vanished from the Horde Mother’s head, rendering her faceless yet again. “YOU MAY NOT BE THE ONE, BUT THERE ISSS ... SSSOMETHING ABOUT YOU. SSSOMETHING FAMILIAR.”

The Horde Mother then released her grip from Éclair’s head and slithered back. Éclair sprang up clutching her throat and coughing. The absent pressure was a great relief to her as she massaged her chin and the small cuts on her face, healing the wounds quickly with Medical Elemency. She grew alarmed as she realized that she’d been cut by a Parasite, and wondered if she had the infection again. Curiously, as she checked for any signs of the infection in her bloodstream with a quick psionic scan, she found nothing.

I’m not infected even though she cut me! How strange. Is it because the cuts were superficial? Or maybe ... have I somehow acquired Ryan’s immunity? If so, was it due to our exchange of psions and blood? Or perhaps my own powers as a Child of Destiny are maturing?

As Éclair pondered this new development of her biology, the Horde Mother slinked away, her mandible legs clacking against the ground as she moved. The creature turned back to Éclair and pointed a bony finger out towards the far end of the cave.

“COME,” ordered the Horde Mother.

Éclair put her own questions on her newfound immunity aside as she focused on the more immediate problem. She pointed back towards Ryan who still lay on the ground with half-a-dozen Parasites piled on top of him. “He comes, too.”

The Horde Mother screeched in anger and rushed her, but Eclair held her ground.

“HE COMES, TOO!” repeated Éclair firmly.

The Horde Mother’s claws stopped mere inches from Éclair’s face. Then the creature backed away and turned towards her enforcers. The Parasites moved away from Ryan and left him lying panting in the dirt. As soon as they left him alone, Éclair rushed to Ryan’s side and helped him up to his feet with an arm under his shoulder. The blood from his wounds leaked out onto Éclair’s white armor. She put a healing hand of glowing blue energy to his shoulder to stop the bleeding, but he took her hand in his own.

“That’s alright, Éclair,” whispered Ryan as he leaned against her. “I’m already healing just like before.”

“I can help,” pleaded Éclair, overjoyed to hear Ryan speaking so confidently after such an injury.

“I don’t think they’ll let you,” whispered Ryan, nodding towards the Parasites that closed in around them. “It’s okay. I’ll be at fighting strength again in a few minutes. While she’s thinking that I’m hurt, I’ll wait for an opening.”

Éclair chuckled slightly, feeling emboldened by Ryan’s bravado. “You never give up, do you?”

“Don’t know how.”

“COME,” repeated the Horde Mother more insistently this time.

The Horde Mother skittered away, and Éclair followed. Ryan hobbled along on wobbly feet as Éclair supported his weight.

“By the way,” whispered Ryan with a grimace. Éclair could tell by the way he shivered that he was in a lot of pain despite what he said, but he still managed a confident smile. “I still believe you, you know.”

“Good,” said Éclair, wishing that she might draw strength from his confidence. “That makes one of us.”

The Parasite Queen led them away from the spot where Grafael and the other crewmen hung limply. As they passed under Grafael’s still body, Éclair wondered if he might be dead. But then she heard him groan and his body flinched slightly. Éclair felt steely resolve wash over her at Grafael’s vitality.

We’ll get you out of this, my friend. Somehow, we’ll save you from this awful place and make that witch pay for what she’s done!

The Horde Mother slowly guided them towards the cavern wall while many of her Parasite minions broke off from the main force and followed closely behind them. The Queen’s tentacles stretched to follow her as she walked, sometimes detaching from her head while other tentacles on the ceiling tethered themselves to her while she moved unhindered.

Her hair-tentacles can move autonomously from her, it seems, Éclair noted. So we can’t count on her getting snared on something. She’d just detach her tentacles if that happened.

As they moved closer to the wall, Eclair saw dimly glowing yellow lights that seemed out of place for a cave. The lights originated from several computer consoles built into the wall: ancient modules by the amount of dust on them. A small portion of the cave had floor plating built into it where the consoles rested. By the remains of test tubes and broken beakers, Éclair assumed it to be the ruins of an ancient, abandoned laboratory of some kind. Most of the consoles were dark or broken, but a few still seemed to be transmitting data. The Parasite Queen stopped at one functioning computer terminal and gingerly placed a giant, clawed hand over the display. Her sharp fingers scratched lightly against the glass of the computer screen.