Deadrise 2: Deadwar (29 page)

Afterwards, Jenkins had returned to his office in the Main House. He had been sleeping here the past three day as things had gone cold as ice between he and Patty. It was the nature of their relationship. She had been offended at how he put David up on a pedestal, calling him better than anyone of the civilians. And he was. So was Patty. She was just too damn pig-headed and self-righteous to shut her mouth and realize it. Losing Matt and Susan hadn’t helped matters. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet behind his desk, popped the lid and took a long pull.

Matt and Susan were dead…cold and buried in the ground. Only David and his mother, Mac and himself were left. He took another pull from the bottle. It had hurt when Ron and Rick had died, but Matt and Susan… There was no describing the anguish he felt. It was like a black hole of dull, gnawing anxiety eating its way into his stomach and brain simultaneously. He took another long swig, grimacing hard against the soothing fire that flowed down into his belly. It wouldn’t fill the hole, but it would soothe it for a while. Soon enough he was able to turn his attention to other business.

Council elections were to be held in a week's time. That would allow natural leaders to emerge from the salvage and recovery from the attacks, giving the people natural choices to choose from. As expected, Samantha Young had already risen to the occasion. She had naturally assumed Susan’s duties, and with the Councils full support was sure to take the seat. More than likely she could be counted on to vote lockstep with her husband and Jenkins. Norris was also a shoe in. His treatment of the wounded the past three days had become legendary among the rainbow lake population. He had barely slept. Moving from patient to patient with a fierce intensity, actually wrestling two different patients back from the brink of death with his skills. He too would be a guaranteed victor, and would have the full support of the Council. Jenkins was unsure of how much he could influence Norris on Council votes. Unlike Doc Reilly who had been content to focus on the hospital and let the other Council members worry about the rest of the community, Doc Norris seemed eager to focus his attention community wide. He had some ideas and opinions about what could make things runs more efficiently. Jenkins was always open to new ideas and opinions, so long as the one giving them didn’t forget the chain of command.

Jenkins shook his head. His paranoia was trying to run rampant again. Doc Norris was a good man. He had been a soldier in the United States National Guard when he first arrived at Rainbow Lake, a medic to be precise. Doc Reilly had needed an assistant desperately so Jenkins had granted him a discharge from the Militia so he could apprentice under Doc Reilly. Jenkins would arrange to meet with him later today. He took another swig from the bottle. The warm glow in his belly was beginning to spread throughout his body, calm and soothing…

CHAPTER 43

Friday, March 22, 2002

Rainbow Lake, UT

11:28 PM

Late that night, Zack came. He radioed ahead an hour before his arrival and landed a mile away in the woods. When he arrived on foot at the cemetery, Jenkins, David and the baby, Doc Norris, Lucas Casey and Patty were all waiting for him. He didn’t say a word to any of them, merely striding past to kneel at Matt and Susan’s grave.

He thought back to the day, almost a year ago, that he and Matt had first decided to flee their house. Susan's family who lived next door had joined them. That had started a tragic chain of events that had culminated in Matt and Susan’s death and his own transformation into an inhuman monster. He didn’t think of these things often as they had a tendency to cause pain and anxiety.

He began to weep.

He could sense the humans standing about grow tense and uncomfortable…such human emotion from his inhuman form unnerved them all but Jenkins and David. Those two knew his pain. He could see it in their eyes, their faces, and their very stance. David walked over slowly and laid a hand on his shoulder. That simple gesture of human empathy and compassion overwhelmed him and he began to sob harder…

After a couple of minutes Zack composed himself. The time for mourning was over. He stood and faced the Council.

“I must examine the child.”

“Why?” Jenkins asked.

“She is special.”

“We know that.” Jenkins said.

“Do you?”

“We know she’s immune to the plague.”

“Please…let me examine her. I will not harm her. David, please?” With some reluctance, David handed him the child. He held her close, taking several deep sniffs, breathing her scent in. It was different. She was human, but different than the rest. He licked her flesh, tasting her. There to was a distinct difference. A tangy, wild gaminess that was not present in other humans. And finally he probed her mind, which was radiating an aura like a lighthouse.

“This child is very, very special. Not only is she immune to the plague, she also has a strong, latent psychic ability.”

“What do you mean?” Jenkins asked.

“Inside this child lies an untapped reservoir of psychic power, undeveloped, as is her mind. But as she grows, that power will begin to manifest itself.”

“In which way?”

“Telepathy, empathy, possibly telekinesis or other, unknown abilities. Like I said, this child is very special. She must be protected at all costs.”

“We plan on doing that.” Jenkins said.

“I cannot stress to you the importance of this child. Word of her birth will spread.”

“How will word of her spread?” Patty asked. “We are an isolated community.”

“She is a beacon of light in a world of darkness. Word of her light will spread. Others will attempt to possess her. Power mongers who wish to use her to control others.”

“Who?” Patty asked.

“Mordecai Necrotura for certain.” Jenkins answered.

“And he is but one.” Zack said solemnly. “When the Krylok hear of her, they will stop at nothing to eradicate her.”

“What should we do?” David asked.

“Prepare yourselves. Recall all of your forces, double your defensive efforts. Your enemies will be coming…it is only a matter of when. I will stay close to help protect her. I can scout the area for intruders, possibly neutralize them before they arrive.”

“Won’t that just attract the Krylok that much quicker?” Patty asked.

“Would you rather they attack after you have fended off two or three incursions by other enemies? It would be better to deal with them first, while your defenses are strong.”

“Can we fight them off?” Jenkins asked.

“Yes. While they will be relentless in their attacks, the Overlord will never commit more than half of its forces. It fears the subordinate Krylok will form alliances and move against it. My guess is that they will not attack with more than three ships. And should the first attack be beaten back, it will weaken the Overlords position even more as few Krylok will be willing to die for him. Handing the Krylok a defeat will most likely create a power struggle amongst the remaining creatures.”

“Still, three ships…” Lucas said aloud, giving Jenkins a grim look. “Do you think the missile defense system could handle them?”

“I don’t see why not. Especially with Zack in the mix fighting.”

“Who else do we have to worry about after we fight off the Krylok?” Lucas asked. “Besides Hill Air Force Base who else is in the area?”

“There is the Aryan Nation of God north in Sun Valley Idaho. They are White Supremacist Christian Fundamentalists. There is also the Kingdom Of Tahoe to the west, remnants of the US military that have pulled together in the plains states and the Pirate Lords of the west coast. Those are just to name a few in the area. Worldwide…” Zack let his words hang.

“We are fucked…” David said, pretty much echoing everyone’s thoughts.

“No you are not. Although power mongers will seek to possess her, so to will others flock to her, to serve and protect her… To worship her…

She is the next step in human evolution, the fulcrum around which this deadly new world will revolve…”

Everyone present looked down upon the baby, who had fallen asleep in David’s arms, the weight of Zack’s words truly sinking in. This newborn child was the Messiah…

CHAPTER 44

Thursday, May 30, 2002

Rainbow Lake, UT

5:18 PM

It was only three days after being released from Outpost 7 that Gabriel’s sentience began to evolve into self-awareness. The change had been subtle at first: whereas before
It
had been an unthinking killing machine that was unleashed mercilessly by
Its
new Master Mordecai Necrotura, now
He
found himself taking more time to hunt and kill and testing new and horrific tortures upon his victims. And he got plenty of opportunity to hone those talents as he was sent out to the nearby islands searching for human survivors to feed Mordecai’s hunger and serve as sacrifice for his
Communion
. Furthermore he derived a strange…
pleasure
from his work. His Masters approval had been the closest thing to pleasure he had even experienced, and this new sensation was intoxicating, more so than his Masters approval. Gabriel found himself craving it more and more. He tried to hide it from his Master, because somehow he knew that the Master would not approve of such thoughts and would punish him. And amazingly so, he was successful. If there were any thoughts of his that he didn’t want to share with the Master, he could block them out and his Master would be none the wiser.

There were other changes as well. He felt more connected with his body. Like all Sentinels, he could produce slugs from his body mass, but the Master had forbidden it. But Gabriel did it anyway, whenever the Master was not looking. And now he found he was able to telepathically control the slugs, telling them where to go. He could even re-absorb them back into his body; it was how he hid them from Master. He suspected he would be able to control any Sentinel or Hybrid creature his slugs created, although he had yet to test that assumption. His telepathic powers had expanded and now included telepathy, presence sense and minor telekinesis.

Exactly one month after his release, Gabriel achieved true sentience, cemented by a single idea…

I have no Master… I am free…

This truth came to Gabriel like a blinding, white-hot light in the center of his brain. He had grown beyond his Masters control. Of that Gabriel was convinced. Gabriel suspected that he could kill Master Necrotura any time he wished. And somehow Gabriel sensed that it would be the right thing to do. He had been human once, over three decades ago, but any memory of that life was lost to him.

Free. Free from the Krylok who had created him and free from Mordecai Necrotura. Free to pursue his personal agenda in a wide-open world. And with his new found self-awareness and freedom Gabriel chose to continue to serve as attack dog for Mordecai Necrotura. Gabriel reasoned that so long as Mordecai Necrotura continued to believe him loyal, he would be able to use that to his own benefit. Honing his powers, perfecting his control over his slugs and Sentinels. Until the time was right for him to strike at Mordecai’s throat when he least suspected it, killing him and his Templars and taking control of his island and all the resources it contained. Because in his self-awareness Gabriel had found that above all else there was one thing that he truly craved… Power. Since his creation Gabriel had been a pawn to those who wielded power over him. Now that he was free, he would never allow anyone or anything to wield it over him again. The only way he could ensure such a thing was to amass as much power as possible and enforce his will upon others.

Exert his power over them. And his time would come. He just had to show patience and cunning, two traits all Sentinels had an abundance of.

It was with these thoughts that Gabriel had set off on his current mission. Mordecai Necrotura had sent him out with twenty-four of his Templars, all the way to Utah. They had landed two days ago in a private airfield east of Provo and then covertly made their way towards Rainbow Lake. They were just a few miles away now and the Templars had broken up into six four-man teams and were dispersing to their assigned positions. Once there they would co-ordinate with agents Mordecai had placed inside the Rainbow Lake community to abduct the human child, now almost two months old, and return her to Necrotura Island. Gabriel was to act as a rogue, moving about the lake, causing chaos, killing where he could and even herding and directing newly awakened zombies as the people of Rainbow Lake were killed in the attacks.

Gabriel had felt the psychic pulse of the girl’s birth. Strangely enough, it had been within hours of Gabriel achieving his own Sentience. He found the coincidence profound. But was it coincidence? Many times he had heard Mordecai Necrotura prattle on about fate and destiny, and what was this sign if not fate and destiny. Surely it was no coincidence. Gabriel had been self-aware for only two months and already he had come to realize that all things, alive and dead were simply individual pieces of a greater whole, connected by some unseen, intangible source, but
felt
none-the-less. Many of the humans he had captured and killed prayed to and worshipped this…Source, as if it were some sentient and temperamental parental figure that lived in the sky. But Gabriel perceived it differently. This Source was not sentient but the raw, primal, chaotic energy of the universe. And by simply looking at the stars at night one could understand that even in that maelstrom, there was still and underlying order to things. A pattern. Signs of this pattern were everywhere if one only had the perception to notice them.