We Shall Be Monsters Read online

  Appropriate for Teens, Intriguing to Adults

  Immortal Works LLC

  1505 Glenrose Drive

  Salt Lake City, Utah 84104

  Tel: (385) 202-0116

  © 2019 Ryan Decaria

  www.madsciencefiction.com

  Cover Art by Monika Clarke

  https://www.behance.net/munchyqart/

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For more information email [email protected] or visit http://www.immortal-works.com/contact/

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN 978-1-7339085-6-6 (Paperback)

  ASIN B07XSMP39Z (Kindle Edition)

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  To Suzanne, my co-creator of our own three little monsters. May our experimentation never end.

  Anika rested her elbows on the bar in front of her and peered through binoculars, searching for the dark olive of an alligator in a mélange of swamp-green foliage. Her best friend, Billie, perched next to her on the makeshift hunting blind, a raised seat at the top of a scaffolding wired to a tree at the edge of the playground. Their friend, Sasha, spun on the merry-go-round below, wearing a meat vest a la Lady Gaga.

  A series of baited hook lines, nets, and tripwires designed by the brightest young minds Moreau High had to offer lay in a circle around the playground. Sasha had kept her Goth makeup for the evening but wore grey sweats under all the raw meat. She dragged her shiny combat boot as she spun, leaving a deepening groove in the dirt.

  Alligators didn’t much care for Sasha’s normal scent—a byproduct of Dravovitch reviving her from the dead along with super strength fueled by electricity via the metal coil in her chest. When the gator attacked, Sasha could handle it, even if the three-hundred-pound force of nature wormed through their traps.

  Billie shook the bar, causing their little tower to wobble. “Are you sure this thing is stable?”

  Anika kept watch. “Not if you keep shaking it.”

  The physics club had constructed the roost from their disassembled bleachers and strapped it to a tree for support. Turned out Blake was the only thing keeping the girls on the lacrosse team committed, and he was still laid up in the infirmary at the lab going on a third week. Without girl’s lacrosse, the town’s only sports teams were the Science Olympiad and the chess club, neither of which needed rickety bleachers.

  Anika had brought Blake back from the effects of his father’s wayward experiment, but he couldn’t quite shake the lingering effects of having become an insect. Sasha, the alligator, and Anika were also experiments. Billie, having arrived in town a few weeks ago, was quite possibly the only kid in town not the result of scientific experimentation. Of course, she wasn’t exactly normal, either, since she was masquerading as a Norwegian foreign exchange student to keep her true identity secret.

  “I love you, babe,” Billie grumbled, “but this plan’s never going to work.”

  Anika lowered the binoculars. “What’s wrong with the plan?”

  Billie swung her 90s-vintage Dr. Martens under the bench, causing the tower to sway. She wore a glossy maroon pullover with euro-cut jeans and a blonde shoulder-length wig. Her thick eyeliner and bright red lipstick were a poor attempt to seem European. “Over the last week,” she said. “I’ve watched every episode of Swampazazi Boys. We ain’t dealing with no ordinary animal. It’s a monster in every sense of the word.”

  “Not my first monster.” Anika admired the layout of her trap, but her confidence in the plan wavered.

  In the three weeks since they’d inadvertently released the gator from the lab, the beast had, presumably, eaten four dogs, three cats, and a pygmy goat out of people’s yards. The students of Moreau High had built every gator-catching contraption found on YouTube, but the traps were always empty, sprung or not.

  “Don’t get cocky,” Billie said. “Professionals do this every day. We don’t have to take this on by ourselves.”

  Anika had seen firsthand what this particular gator could do. Two labcoats were dead, and Anika couldn’t shake the image of the gator flinging Agent Macy, Anika’s half-sister, around by her arm. The FBI agent was a tiny ball of muscle but was no match for the mammoth lizard. Macy lay in a coma in the room across from Blake, in the medical center of Dravovitch’s laboratory.

  Anika scanned the playground, unsure what was hungrier—the alligator or the guilt gnawing at her heart.

  As sensible as it seemed, Anika couldn’t ask her father for help. Darik Dravovitch was the CEO of an actual mad science laboratory, and if he ever found out Anika had snuck into his laboratory the night the alligator escaped, she was ruined. The lab acknowledged the alligator incident but, as far as her friends could tell, they were doing nothing to address the problem.

  “We can’t trust my dad or anyone at the lab.” Anika scanned the bushes again for movement. “We can’t go public. Too many secrets at risk.”

  “Why not rip off the Band-Aid and expose the scientists?”

  Anika rubbed her belly, a vain attempt to ease the growing ball of stress that was attempting to create an ulcer in her stomach wall. “Even if we could convince someone they were unethical and mad, it’s the kids at our school who would suffer most. And that’s a big if. My mother has been trying to bring down my father’s lab for the last sixteen years. No one believes her.”

  “Welcome to Moreau, Florida. Home of the megalomaniacs and all their freaky experiments.” Billie plucked a leaf from the branch over her head. “Your new friends are almost as weird as you.”

  “I’m glad you’re here.” Anika patted Billie’s knee. “Well, not right here. I wished you’d stayed home tonight.”

  Moreau was built around the science laboratory in the middle of an isolated splotch of Florida swampland at the heart of Lightning Alley. Billie was staying at Misty’s house, which was one of the safer places in a town full of mad scientists. Misty’s dad was one of them, but had reasons to keep mutual secrets safe.

  “I’m a part of this, Anika.” Billie grabbed the binoculars from her and scanned the field. “I’m going to help you with all your crazy.”

  “It’s not safe.”

  “Which is why we ne
ed an expert.” Billie shrugged. “Like Darwin from Swampazazi.”

  “We can’t.” The last thing they needed was a backwoods celebrity and a camera crew revealing Moreau’s dirty little secrets to the world.

  Billie lowered the binoculars. “Do you want to take out this croc or not?”

  “Alligator.” Anika closed her eyes, recalling the grinning mouth and beady eyes peering at her through the glass at the lab.

  “If we want to take out this gator, Darwin can help us.”

  “He’s a reality TV guy,” Anika said. “He’s not going to help us, which is irrelevant, since we’re not going to ask him.”

  “Well…” Billie blew a strand of blonde hair out of her face. “He already said he would.”

  Anika grabbed Billie’s shoulder. “What did you tell him?”

  Billie pulled away. “That we needed help dealing with a freaky smart gator everyone else was ignoring, and that my best friend was trying to catch it herself, which he said was stupid.” Billie tapped the side of her temple. “Smart guy.”

  Anika let her hand fall into her lap. “Billie, you can’t tell people about this place.”

  “Relax.” Billie tried to brush the stray strand of hair into place. The wig, a hand-me-down from another of their friends, wasn’t cooperating. “I didn’t compromise anybody. He’s good at keeping secrets.”

  “Because no one can understand a word that comes out of his mouth.” Anika tried to fix the wig, but the renegade strand kept falling into Billie’s face.

  “Let’s just say he’s interested,” Billie said, “and he’s agreed to keep it quiet.”

  “Will you two knock it off,” Sasha whispered from below. “The alligator will hear your chirping.”

  Billie cupped her hands around her mouth and spoke in a mock radio voice. “Roger that, Frankenberry.”

  Sasha growled at them. Anika could hardly believe Sasha had once been a cheerleader. Sasha had gone from blonde and perky to Goth and broody, from murder victim to avenger, and from social outcast to one of Anika’s best friends and protector. Anika needed to keep Sasha’s secrets safe from the prying eyes of the outside world.

  “Seriously,” Anika whispered to Billie. “What were you thinking?”

  Billie tried to tuck the strand into the wig’s elastic band. “I was thinking, ‘how in the heck am I going to keep my best friend alive long enough to bring her father’s empire crumbling down?’ That if I could find someone we could trust who actually knew something maybe we’d have a chance. So, you could stop beating yourself up and actually, you know, enjoy life again.”

  Anika plucked a clippie out of her own wild hair, which was a ‘gift’ from her father and a dead giveaway to their genetic connection. There was no taming it, no matter how many clippies she used. Anika pulled the strand of hair out of Billie’s face, fixing it into place with the clippie. “Why do you care so much?”

  Billie leaned her head on Anika’s shoulder. “You saved me.”

  A year ago, Billie had been spiraling out of control and was contemplating the unthinkable. Her mother was an addict with an abusive drug-dealer boyfriend. She was about to be expelled from school and had two looming court dates. Anika had butted into Billie’s life and helped her through the worst of it. “You should get as far away from me as possible. You deserve to be safe.”

  “Hey, I killed a man.” A wry smile broke out on Billie’s face. “You don’t come back from something like that.”

  “You don’t know for sure,” Anika said. Billie had run over Warren, her mother’s boyfriend, with her car as she fled from him. “And it was self-defense.”

  Across the field, the brush rustled. Below, Sasha stopped her spin, and bolted upright. She pulled a thawed slice of veal away from her neck as she craned for a better view into the brush. Anika hated using Sasha as bait, but the girls wouldn’t let Anika do it herself.

  Anika grabbed the binoculars, searching for signs of the gator.

  Nothing.

  The moment passed, and Billie swung her legs again. “I like it here. Plus, I think my Norwegian accent’s pretty good.”

  Anika chuckled. “Your accent is terrible.”

  “I know, right?” Billie pulled a compact from her bag. “Who decided Norwegians wore so much makeup?” Billie struggled to keep the mirror steady as she refreshed her thick eyeliner.

  “Hey,” Anika said. “Linh chose that girl’s photo based on an algorithm. You have to look roughly like her.”

  “You’d think her algorithm could have picked someone a little less douchey.”

  Anika glanced in the compact’s tiny mirror and froze. In the tree behind them, fifteen feet above the ground, perched the alligator, his grin wide and eyes as beady as ever. A scar ran from its eye to its jawline, but no doubt he was the alligator from the lab. She’d recognize that maw anywhere. His front legs hung over the branch and his body and tail dangled behind it.

  The alligator was in the flunking tree!

  Panic rose in her chest. Anika took a deep breath, but she couldn’t keep her hands from shaking. Be calm. Casual. She grasped the bar with both hands. A single tear fell as she squeezed her eyes shut.

  It didn’t attack. Why hadn’t it attacked yet? Was it watching them?

  Wait. Was it listening to them?

  Anika’s heart raced. It could attack at any moment. Think!

  Billie kept on talking. “At least I get a fake identity for once. You’ve had like a dozen. I mean, Anika is a great name and all, but it’s not really your name.”

  Anika opened her eyes and squinted into the mirror. The alligator hunched three feet behind them. She no longer believed in the impossible, but this stretched the limits of what she could fathom. Climbing alligators were one thing, but it couldn’t possibly understand what they were saying. Could it?

  She had to stall. Get Billie ready to escape. Dart away at the exact same moment.

  Don’t panic.

  Anika struggled to keep her voice even. “Do you remember when we first met?”

  Billie raised an eyebrow. “Yeah.”

  “You tried to bully me into shoplifting for you.”

  “I was actually successful. I never told you about…”

  “Remember what you did when I called out for the clerk?”

  Billie nodded, her shoulders tensing as the implications of the memory sank in. She moved her hands from over the bar to underneath, readying to pull herself out of the makeshift hunting blind. “Good times.”

  Anika set the binoculars next to her, grasped the bar and whispered, “Go.”

  Anika flung herself to the ground, scraping her back against the wood, and landing in a heap. Billie hit the ground on both feet and grabbed Anika as the gator slammed into the hunting blind, snapping at them.

  Billie screamed.

  The blind leaned forward as the gator swung its giant tail, seeking purchase.

  Billie pulled her up, and they jumped out of the way as the blind crashed, flinging the gator across the grass onto its back.

  “Run,” Sasha screamed as the gator flipped over and reoriented itself toward Anika. Billie pulled Anika toward the car.

  The gator sprinted after them.

  The parking lot was too far away. The gator snapped at her heels. It was over.

  Sasha tackled the beast, sending them both into a roll.

  “The trap.” Anika changed direction, heading for the merry-go-round.

  “Anika, no,” Billie yelled. “Get to the car.”

  Anika ignored her and darted to the merry-go-round, hopping over the tripwires. The gator flung Sasha across the lawn. Billie ran for the car. It scanned the park until its gaze settled on Anika on the playground.

  It lunged toward her.

  This was it. This was the moment she’d planned. The details came down to this moment. Either she would capture the beast, or it would eat her. Either was fine. She deserved both outcomes.

  The gator crossed the park in a blur. So much green fur
y.

  Anika braced for the impact.

  The alligator halted inches before reaching the merry-go-round. It waved its snout back and forth, examining the framework of her traps. Anika held her breath as the gator strolled around the merry-go-round, looking for a safe way in.

  “Impossible.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth Anika knew, once and for all, the word meant nothing in this place. The gator was beyond intelligent. She had to get out of there.

  It snapped at the rigging and pulled a stake out of the ground. The trap would still spring, but it wouldn’t hold long. Another mistake. Anika kept putting her friends and herself at risk. And for what?

  Sasha yelled as she hobbled across the field toward her, but she wouldn’t make it in time. What could she even do? Billie was in the car, honking the horn, trying to distract the gator.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” Anika said.

  The alligator turned to stare at her, and grinned as it swung its tail through the mechanism, springing the empty trap.

  Anika bolted out the other side, sprinting for the car. The alligator hissed and charged after her.

  Anika tripped. Ate grass.

  She flipped over as the alligator lunged toward her.

  A gunshot.

  The bullet made a hole in the grass near her feet.

  The alligator froze, scanning for the source of the blast.

  Another shot hit the lawn a few feet from the alligator’s snout. The beast tore off toward the brush, zigzagging in a chaotic pattern. The next six shots missed wildly. The alligator disappeared into the brush and swamp water.

  Anika turned to find a balding man with a thin blond mullet and a scar across one eye striding across the park. His ragged goatee had a few polished stones woven in. He limped up to her and offered her his hand.

  “Im dwavin’, sits nis ta met ya. Swirly feela dat wa.”

  She took his hand, and he pulled her up. She threw her arms around him, pressing her face into his dirty white tank top. He smelled like fish guts. Anika let go of him, eyeing the large rifle he held away from her.

  “Darwin!” Billie rushed over. “You came. You saved us.”