The Keras Genome

by Kurtis Eckstein

  Noah was overwhelmed with emotions. They were so powerful that he couldn’t move. He loved her. He loved her – the ‘I would kill for you,’ ‘I would die for you,’ kind of love. What he thought he had felt for Riley was nothing in comparison to how he felt about Madison. It was as different as the sun and the moon – the difference between the source of light versus a tiny reflection of light. Just as the sun was hundreds of times larger than the moon, his love for Madison was thousands of times more powerful than what he thought he felt for Riley.

  He grabbed at his chest, physically hurting by the fact that he had upset her in this way. He had betrayed the one person who he loved the most in life – the one person who he loved more than life. She was his everything.

  Noah tried to get ahold of himself. He needed to focus. He needed to find her. Looking down the street, he forced himself to start walking again. He slowly took step after step, making his way down the sidewalk. Despite the flashback, he still couldn’t quite remember where her house was. He desperately hoped he would recognize it when he saw it. He needed to see her. He needed to grovel at her feet and apologize. With this memory, Riley had already become an afterthought .

  Looking around, the road was mostly empty except for a navy-blue car with darkly tinted windows. As Noah approached the car, the back window rolled down. Immediately suspicious, he stopped. The car then began rolling slowly towards him, until he could see a woman’s face staring directly at him. She was dressed nicely in business professional attire, but her look was serious.

  “We have your friend Madison – she’s safe. Get in, if you want to keep it that way.”

  Chapter 6: Attack

  Noah opened the door and slid into the backseat with the woman. The driver was a relatively normal looking black guy in casual clothes. The guy in the passenger’s seat also looked fairly normal, except for the handgun pointing at Noah.

  Dammit! Noah thought. He was both pissed that they had Madison and pissed that he had a gun pointed at him again. Questions flooded his mind. Who were these people? What did they want with him? Were they the military? Does the military even take hostages? Were they that desperate?

  “Close the door.” She demanded when he didn’t automatically do it.

  Noah obeyed immediately. She then began checking his pockets, taking out his keys and phone. His wallet was still in his backpack in his car. Satisfied that he didn’t have anything else on him, the woman held up a tablet streaming a video. A man in a charcoal colored suit was staring directly at Noah. He was about to speak, but without thinking Noah interrupted.

  “Where’s Madison?” He demanded. “I want to see her.”

  The man had an irritated expression, but he complied by moving the camera to an image of Madison in an interrogation room. She looked stressed, with her elbow on a metal table and her forehead resting in her hand. He wondered how long she had been in there. Had they kidnapped her right after she had left school? The man pointed the camera back at himself and began to speak.

  “She’s safe. We’ve just been questioning her.” His voice was gruff. And despite his youthful appearance, his face was heavily wrinkled. His blue eyes were piercing and cold as he continued. “Now. We need you to take a ride with us. Your friend will be waiting here for you. If you want her to stay safe, then I suggest we don’t have any problems from you. Are we clear?”

  Noah nodded in response.

  “Are we clear ?” The man wasn’t satisfied with the nod.

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” He gave a curt nod, and the screen went black.

  Without a word, the driver pressed on the gas pedal and they started off down the road. Surprisingly, the woman next to him sat back and relaxed, holding the tablet in her lap, but the man in the passenger’s seat stayed vigilant with his gun ready. Out of habit, Noah took the time to buckle his seatbelt. The man with the gun watched him carefully as he did.

  Noah was relieved that Madison was okay, but worried that he wouldn’t be able to help his captors out like they thought. Clearly, they were desperate for answers, since they would resort to first torturing him and then kidnapping the person he cared most for .

  Suddenly, he wondered if Riley was alright, questions again flooding his mind. Had they kidnapped her too? Wouldn’t they have mentioned her if they had? How had they known to kidnap Madison instead of Riley? It was bad enough that he didn’t understand what was going on with his love life, never mind understanding what these people wanted to know from him.

  As they drove onto the interstate, Noah tried to figure out what he would say when they interrogated him. Would they believe him that he had amnesia? He knew they hadn’t last time. Would they hurt Madison, instead of him, to try to get him to talk? The thought of her being tortured made his blood boil. He hoped the reason they kidnapped Madison was to only use her as a tool for compliance, rather than a tool for interrogation.

  Just outside the city, the driver took one of the first exits off the interstate. It was a business road that didn’t even have a gas station off the ramp. There were no buildings in sight. After a few miles, thick trees lined both sides, constricting Noah’s view. The street was completely abandoned except for them. Even after a few more miles of driving, he still hadn’t seen another vehicle since the interstate.

  Noah decided that his best option was to try to figure out what they wanted from him before he got there. That was his best chance to keep Madison safe. He doubted his three escorts would talk, but it couldn’t hurt to ask. He also doubted the guy with the gun would actually shoot him unless he became hostile, and Noah didn’t even think he was capable of aggression.

  Looking at the woman, he decided she was his best chance of breaking their defenses. She seemed the most relaxed. “Can you please tell me what they want from me?”

  All three of them eyed him cautiously, the driver glancing back in the rearview mirror. She didn’t immediately reply, and he began wondering if she would, but then she spoke.

  “They don’t tell us that stuff kid.”

  “Laura...” The driver spoke her name as a warning to not say anything else.

  She got hostile with him fast, “Shut up Mitch, I'm not going to say anything I shouldn’t.”

  Noah wasn’t sure if she just didn’t like Mitch, or if they were close enough that they fought like a couple. Based on Mitch’s reaction, it seemed like the latter. Noah could hear him retort under his breath. “You always did have a soft spot for minors.”

  Hearing Mitch’s comment, Laura made a sour face and then looked at Noah again. “Look kid, they don't tell us the details. They only tell us your description – name, race, height, weight, stuff like that – and that you’re armed and dangerous.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “And they tell us what to watch out for, like how you might pretend you don’t know anything.”

  “I really don’t remember!” Noah exclaimed.

  “Look kid. Don’t bother. It’s not our job to decide what happens to you.” She paused again before continuing. “But I'll tell you this…I don't know what you did, but it must have been pretty serious. I've never seen them kidnap a citizen to use as a hostage.”

  “Laura!” The driver scolded.

  She continued anyway, speaking more to herself. “Let alone a kid. Poor girl.”

  “Dammit Laura!” The driver sounded pissed now. He took a second to calm himself and then spoke more evenly. This time his tone was almost endearing, as if he knew she couldn’t help herself due to Noah’s age. “Shit Laura. You’re going to get yourself fired.”

  Noah immediately wanted to ease their concerns. He was thankful they were telling him anything, no matter how insignificant, so he interjected. “It doesn't benefit me in any way to let anyone know what you just told me.”

  In response, the guy in the passenger’s seat spoke, relaxing a little. “Shit kid, what the hell did you do anyway? It’s not like pretending you can't remember is going to get you out of this situation.”

/>   “Sam!” Mitch exclaimed.

  Sam just ignored him, looking back at Noah expectantly.

  “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.” Noah stated simply. He knew the whole thing sounded crazy. None of it made sense.

  Unexpectedly, Mitch seemed interested now, although he didn’t say anything. He only glanced curiously at Noah through the rearview mirror again. Sam kept probing. “We've heard a lot of crazy shit in our career. Just say it. Worst case is we just don't believe you. ”

  Noah realized he was right. This might be his only chance to get someone to believe him. He doubted they could help him, but he wouldn’t know unless he tried. Tentatively, he spoke, “Someone is framing me, and I don't know how or why. I honestly can't remember anything before yesterday at 9 PM. Nothing. It’s all gone. I…” Noah paused before continuing, taking a deep breath. “I woke up next to a bunch of dead bodies in some warehouse, scared out of my mind. A bunch of guys in military uniforms came in and arrested me. Then, they took me to this place where they started torturing me because I couldn’t remember how I got there or what had happened.” He felt relieved to finally tell someone the whole story.

  Sam scoffed. “Torturing a kid. I don’t believe that. Our guys don’t do that shit.”

  Noah tried to defend himself. “I swear it happened! And then...” He trailed off.

  “Then what?” Laura asked. All of them seemed on edge, genuinely curious.

  “It...it happened again.”

  “What happened again?”

  Noah took another deep breath before he finished. “I passed out from the torture....and when I woke up there was blood everywhere. Everyone was dead, even people in the halls. I was still sitting in the chair. I hadn't moved.”

  “Bullshit.” Sam didn’t believe him.

  Noah wanted them to believe him. He needed someone to believe him. “It's the truth! Do you really think that I could kill all those highly trained men, who all had guns by the way, without even getting a scratch on me? Does that even make sense?” As he finished, he remembered the missing wound from his thigh and shivered. They didn’t seem to notice his reaction.

  Sam scoffed again as he sat forward in his seat. “Well kid, your story takes the cake, I'll tell you that.”

  Mitch, who had kept quiet while Sam questioned him, suddenly chimed in. "Was there anything else in the warehouse?"

  “Mitch?” Laura looked concerned.

  Sam leaned over in his seat, speaking quietly. “What do you know?”

  Mitch ignored them, staring at Noah in the rearview mirror. “Kid.” His expression was serious. “Was there anything else in that warehouse?”

  “Well...” Noah tried to recall the details. “There was this huge pile of black...pieces...of something.”

  Immediately, both Sam and Laura looked at Mitch for an explanation, but he kept staring straight ahead at the road.

  “Man, what is it?” Sam asked, waiting for a response. “Dude, tell me. Come on man!”

  Mitch was hesitant before he replied. “The kid...might actually be being framed.”

  Both Sam and Laura couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Sam seemed irritated. “Are you telling me you believe our men tortured him?”

  Mitch exploded back. “You and I both know they’ll do anything, anything , if the stakes are high enough! ”

  Dialing back his anger, Sam responded. “Shit man, what do you know?”

  The driver sighed. “Man, you know I can't tell you that. Do you want to get us both fired?”

  Sam leaned back in his seat again. “Shit, I don't like this.”

  “Me either man.” Mitch took a deep breath. Laura reached her hand forward, resting it on Mitch’s shoulder. He responded immediately to her touch. “There’s nothing we can do Laura. It’s out of our hands.”

  Sighing, she leaned back in her seat and looked out the window. Noah could tell she was really upset by this revelation. He was thankful they actually believed him, but in the end it was useless. As they said, there was nothing they could do.

  Mitch looked at Noah again in the rearview mirror. “Look kid, when you get there, just tell them exactly what you just told us. They just might believe you.”

  Noah nodded and relaxed a little himself, hopeful that the driver was right. Looking out the window, he suddenly became aware of the sound of a helicopter. He had noticed it earlier when he had been telling his story, but it was common for planes and helicopters to fly through the city.

  However, now he realized the helicopter hadn’t passed overhead, and it was getting louder. Trying to look for the source, he saw that there was a black helicopter trailing their car about a half-mile back. It was approaching much slower than it was capable, going only slightly faster their car .

  None of the three escorts seemed concerned, so Noah decided to ask. “That’s normal right?” He pointed back towards the aircraft.

  Mitch was the one who answered. “They aren’t taking any chances with you kid.”

  Looking to both Sam and Laura, neither of them seemed surprised that they had a helicopter escort. Noah sighed as he leaned back into his seat again. Remembering the last time he had been kidnapped by the military, he was glad he didn’t have handcuffs on, although he realized that was probably because they had him figuratively handcuffed with Madison. Looking at the clock up front, Noah saw that it was almost 4 PM. They had been driving for about thirty-five minutes.

  Unexpectedly, Laura seemed scared. “Mitch?” She was looking out her window up at the sky. “What is that ?”

  Sam saw where she was looking and looked himself. “Shit, is that a missile?”

  Laura was skeptical. “It looks more like a meteor.”

  Noah leaned towards Laura, so he could see for himself. A huge ball of fire was descending from the sky.

  “Shit,” Mitch said as he slammed on the breaks. The meteor slammed into the ground less than half a mile away. The energy from the collision hit the vehicle with such force that it flipped like a tin can, rolling over and over.

  Noah’s head hit the window repeatedly as the vehicle continued to roll multiple times. Sam had not been wearing a seat belt. He flew out of his seat, slamming into Mitch first, and then shooting right through his passenger’s window. Noah saw his leg get caught just as the car flipped again, rolling right over him, and then he was gone. The whole thing happened in the blink of an eye.

  On the last flip, the car teetered on its edge before slamming back down on all four tires. Still conscious, Noah grabbed his head moaning. He looked around and saw that both Laura and Mitch were unconscious. Noah expected the overhead helicopter to land and help them out, but instead it sounded like it was going in the direction of the meteor crater.

  Noah knew here was no point in him running away, since they still had Madison in their custody. He reached over to Laura and tried to wake her up. She was out cold. He looked around outside, but it was too dusty from the impact. He couldn’t see more than a couple of feet away.

  Laura groaned as she started to wake up. Looking around, she saw that Sam was missing.

  “Where’s Sam? Where’s Sam? ” She was rapidly becoming frantic. She reached towards Mitch and attempted to wake him up. Noah tried to think rationally.

  “We should get him out. They will probably pick us up in another car, or helicopter.” He pointed up towards the sky as he finished his sentence. Laura nodded and tried to open her door, but it wouldn’t budge. Noah tried his door and was able to get it open. He got out, and Laura followed behind him.

  They walked around the car and together they were able to force Mitch’s door open. Laura unbuckled his seatbelt, and Noah helped her pull him out. He began waking up as they got him to the ground.

  Mitch slowly rolled over and sat up, holding his head. Sam had hit him pretty hard before he had been thrown from the vehicle. Still collecting himself, they all suddenly heard rapid gunshots.

  “Shit.” Mitch scrambled to get to his feet.

 
“What’s going on?” Laura was still panicked, with a fearful expression on her face.

  Mitch started making his way to the trunk of the car. The sound of gunshots was intense, sounding like several Gatling machine guns, with rotating barrels, firing thousands of rounds per minute. He popped the trunk open and pulled out a single barrel machine gun, handing it to Laura.

  She accepted it without complaint, holding it like she knew her way around a gun, but her expression was confused. Just as Mitch began reaching back into the trunk, a huge explosion erupted in the sky and the gunshots stopped entirely. The air was still so thick with dust that they couldn’t actually see the helicopter falling to the ground, but the sounds were unmistakable.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” Mitch exclaimed as he pulled out a rocket launcher.

  “Mitch?” Laura sounded really scared now. “A bazooka? What’s going on?”

  “We need to go.” He began walking quickly, without waiting for them to follow. Noah and Laura both glanced at each other and then pursued after him .

  Mitch had a radio on his hip, which he grabbed and began talking, “Echo-Tango to Bravo-Alfa. We are under attack. Escort compromised. Repeat, escort compromised.” He put the radio back on his hip without waiting for a response, although one came within seconds.

  The radio produced static as a voice said, “Copy. Sending reinforcements to your location.” Noah wondered how they knew their location, but then realized that Mitch likely had a GPS on him somewhere.

  Despite carrying a rocket launcher that was almost as tall as him, Mitch was fast on his feet. Noah and Laura had to make an effort to catch up to him. Laura was in the lead, demanding to know what was going on as she trailed after Mitch.

  “Mitch, what the hell is happening? Who is attacking?”

  “It’s classified.”

  “Don’t give me that classified shit! What the hell is going on?” Laura looked sincerely pissed.