Amongst the Fallen

by Devin Lee Carlson

  “We don’t need your help.”

  “You will never get inside the DanJal base alive.”

  “Text me the location,” Ariane said.

  “Suit yourself.” Sabree envisioned the ledge behind the Colton ranch. As his body misted, he saw compassion in Ariane’s tear-filled eyes.

  25

  CARRY A BIG STAKE

  M uffled chatter roused me from what felt like a recuperative sleep. From my peripheral vision, I saw several men dressed in gray scrubs, uncertain whether they were doctors or scientists. Then the pain in my lungs seized, cramping the muscles. I couldn’t catch my breath. My chest ached. I tried to move, only to discover someone had strapped me to a metal table. A wheezing breath escaped when I struggled against the restraints.

  A feminine voice called my name. “Colton? Are you awake? You’re being evaluated at one of the DanJal base camps.”

  Wide-eyed, I stared at the woman whose platinum braid fell along the small of her back. Something about her seemed familiar—a face from the past. The muzzle secured over my mouth and the Kevlar straps binding my chest and limbs prevented the slightest movement. I blinked back tears and tried to nod but winced instead. A tap, tap knocked against my mind. Sabree never tried to speak to me telepathically. Why should she? Nope, no one entered my mind without permission.

  The woman spoke into the tablet she held. “He doesn’t seem to exhibit the ability to communicate telepathically.” She tried a different approach. “My name is Serine. I belong to the DanJal clan. Do you understand?”

  Visions of her holding an amber dome flashed in my mind. The wall erected in my mind allowed me to ignore her telepathic assaults while I studied her angelic features. I nodded without averting my gaze.

  The creature’s alabaster complexion harmonized the opalescence of her green eyes, which twinkled with unmistakable compassion. She showed no emotion. In my favor, she loosened the muzzle to allow speech. “How long have I been here?” I asked, unable to keep quiet.

  “Twenty-four hours. Your chest wound has nearly healed. Wayde would like to have a word with you.”

  The mere mention of the name made my fangs extend and my heart pound against my chest. “Wayde?” I growled through clenched teeth. My breaths wheezed as I wrestled with the straps. Overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness and little strength, I had no idea how to escape. The odds were against me, certain Wayde had already located the flash drive in my pack. I squeezed my eyes shut and swore softly. Along with two different colored drives, Wayde now had the next clue.

  Serine leaned over me. “Relax. He only wants to ask you a few questions.”

  “I have a few of my own. You’re from the DanJal clan. Do you know what happened to Azumi and her unborn child?”

  “He was your child too.”

  “A boy? She delivered already. What happened to them?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say.” She turned away to wave the four men over.

  Wayde, Chase, Dr. Chambers, and someone I didn’t recognize gathered around the bed, perched like vultures in wait for their prey to expire. The long-limbed man was DanJal, yet I couldn’t detect his aura as one of the Fallen. A flicker of tiny flames danced across the stranger’s eyes. Before I could address him, the nastiest of the vultures spoke.

  “Welcome, Colton,” Wayde said. “Consider this your final chapter—the last stop before your ultimate destination. No need for you to waste time on any more scavenger hunts. We will contact the people who hid the drives. You will surrender the list of participants one way or another. My men will have little trouble convincing them to hand over their clues. We have already collected a red one and, today, a yellow drive. Apparently, Duncan chose primary colors to label them, which leaves blue to complete the set.”

  I eyed all four men and swore. I flinched when Chase stepped forward brandishing a fist in my face.

  “Oh, don't worry,” Wayde said waving Chase back. “He won't hurt you, although our camp motto is speak softly and carry a big stake.”

  “Go to hell.”

  Wayde leaned closer, his warm breath intruding on my personal space. “We’re already in hell,” he said. “You're in my jurisdiction, which means you do as I say. And this time, the Caderen pest, Sabree, will not be around to screw things up.” He fashioned his hand to imitate a knife and slid it across his throat to express my fate. Wayde and his men left the room.

  The immortal with the fiery gaze lagged behind and said, “Fear not, these small minds will never discover your truth.” His laughter faded down the hall.

  Truth? When the door shut, my attention shifted to Serine whose back was still turned. My heart hammered against my chest and my stomach churned as if I swallowed an eggbeater set on high. I wrenched my arms and legs against the restraints until my body wilted from exhaustion. After a few steady breaths, I gave in. “What are they going to do to me?”

  “Undo the wrong,” Serine replied without turning.

  Her answer made my heart skip a beat. The threat meant only one thing—they planned to destroy me.

  3 3 3

  One hundred and fifty miles southeast of the DanJal stronghold, the day after she and Jesse returned from Amboy Crater, Ariane walked onto the deck with one task in mind—recruit Sabree. The watchdog forever perched on the ledge with binoculars in hand was easy to find. She held her breath, having second thoughts. Should she dare ask?

  Not her fault that Wayde’s men took Brian. Still, she felt responsible because her brother pushed her to safety while he ran into Wayde’s open arms. She and Jesse had joined minds to organize a rescue, but neither knew how to break into the DanJal base. Their plan was doomed to fail without Sabree’s help.

  Ariane gazed skyward, her hand shielding the sun from her eyes. She had no idea why Sabree camped on top of the ledge—too hostile an environment for anyone. Why didn’t he just kill them all and end his revenge. What was his master plan? Was it revenge, torture, or the least unforeseeable reason like a crush on her? She laughed and turned to go back inside, paused, and then slapped an empty margarita tumbler off the patio table. Man up, girlfriend, Brian needs you.

  She marched over to the edge of the deck. “Sabree?” she hollered. “I know you’re up there. Get down here. We need to talk.”

  “Oui, Ariane Rose, your wish is my command.”

  She held a hand over her chest, never expecting him to pop in so quickly. His vibrant glow had deteriorated even more since the day he rescued her and Jesse from Wayde. She suppressed her pride to ask, “We need your help to rescue—” Ariane’s startled gasp cut her words short when the immortal sneered and disappeared. “Wait. Don’t leave.” This time she spun in the direction of the ridge and yelled up to him. “Sabree, please! Help us.”

  Minutes passed without a response or sound coming from his roost. Her shoulders slumped. “Damn you.”

  This time Sabree materialized in front of her. “I love to hear you beg.” He winked and leaned closer. “Of course, I’ll help. Brian is an endearing fiend. Who wouldn’t want to see his cheerful face again?”

  The man was talking about her brother, but Ariane giggled nonetheless. She couldn’t help it. The watchdog had made a valid point. “Thank you, Sabree. You won’t regret it.”

  “Au contraire, I already do.”

  Could she trust him? A godsend or a scam? Sabree had saved her and Jesse, claiming he could do nothing at the time to help Brian. Whether she believed him or not didn’t matter.

  “Ariane Rose?” Sabree asked, snapping his fingers in her face.

  “Look, I don’t know what you’re up to or why you’re hanging around, but Brian needs your help. You probably think he doesn’t deserve it, so if not for him, please do it for me.” Ariane despised having to plead with the immortal. His words echoed in her mind: I love to hear you beg. Desperation had paved her chosen path.

  “Oui, I will help, as long as you submit to my strategy only.”

  “Agreed.” Ariane released a deep breath. My hero
is my brother’s enemy.

  26

  WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE

  T oday was Brian Ross Colton’s final assessment. Mine. And tomorrow, Chambers had arranged to relocate me to the DanJal fortress in the Azores for further testing and eventual extermination.

  Strapped naked to a metal gurney, I hid mixed emotions behind an imaginary wall: dread, humiliation, hatred, and desperation. The DanJal technicians displayed little if any consideration for my state of undress or well-being.

  I was but a specimen, an infected creature handled with the utmost vigilance. Before each medical evaluation, several techs transferred me to the lab, my wrists and ankles shackled with titanium cuffs. Metallic dentures shielded my teeth to protect the technicians from bites. Good thing too, because I would’ve taken a big chunk out of them. Then my throat tightened as resentment threatened to erupt like lava, solidifying as it flowed over layers upon layers. None of them deserved to witness my raw emotions.

  The examinations and sample collections dragged on for days. I lost count of how many tests and days, my mind in a drugged-induced fog. Although ill-treatment from Wayde and the DanJal were a given, the cruelty in how they handled my care made me doubt my self-worth as a living being. Chambers and his technicians showed no mercy, remorse, or respect for my needs or modesty. Serine was no different except for the comment she made about the DanJal being more empathetic. More empathetic than what? The Game of Throne’s executioner?

  I squeezed my eyes shut, recalling the blood screens, tissue biopsies, and minor dissections the techs had performed on me, minus general anesthesia. Tears threatened to spill. My body shuddered from recollection of the unbearable spasms caused by lethal doses of toxins injected into my veins. All that torture just to validate my immortality. Today would be no different.

  Dr. Chambers entered the lab, his eyes affixed to the tablet in hand. He cleared his throat to announce his arrival to the subordinates. Behind him, Wayde strolled in and took his usual position against the wall, preferring to observe from a distance.

  My eyes followed the doctor as he circled the examination table. I gasped when the doctor placed the tablet on my bare abdomen, the metal as cold as his cruel heart.

  Chambers paused when I cringed. He dabbed his brow with the sleeve of his lab coat and then tapped the recorder app with his stylus. He walked about the gurney, testing the straps for integrity while my fingers drummed nonstop. Wayde nodded a go-ahead. Chambers spoke, announcing the date and time.

  “Final entry. The specimen, male, approximately twenty years old, has eyeteeth approximately 10 mm long that exceed 15 mm when fully extended. Vessels expand and turn red around the rims of his irises, reacting to emotions of anger, hunger, and anxiety. In contrast to the Fallen, the subject has body hair: facial, underarm, chest, legs, and pubic. He also has a navel; hence, another physical human characteristic. In contrast to the previous DNA test from a blood sample falsified by the Caderen infiltrator, Sabree, our recent assessment substantiates the Colton twins are partially human and Fallen. In addition, some undetermined code.”

  The mere mention of frenemy number one, delivered visions of the good old days with me suspended over the razor-sharp blades at the dog food factory. Despite the cruel lesson and the neck pinches, the immortal never tortured without reason. I grumbled a few curses as Chambers droned on, commenting next on the placement of my organs.

  “In particular, unlike the Fallen, Brian has only one heart, and like them, he has a simplistic digestive system.” In conclusion, the recitation ultimately led to the discussion of my sex organs.

  What a way to end the assessment. I chuckled to myself. Then my eyes popped open when Chambers mentioned Azumi. Her delicate system had failed during the birthing process; however, he made no mention of the child. I ground my teeth into the muzzle and my hands balled into fists. Thoughts of ripping Chambers and Wayde’s throats erased my mind of Azumi’s fate for the moment.

  “Colton’s quick reflexes and speed parallels those gifts prominent in the Fallen.”

  Wayde glanced at his watch and asked, “Done yet? I have an urgent meeting.”

  “Yes, almost.”

  “Good, email me the final report.” Wayde slapped Brian’s leg on the way out. “Good riddance, Colton. I’ll send my condolences to your dear sister.”

  Beware the next we meet.

  Discontent eclipsed the doctor’s expression. Chambers shook his head as he resumed the account. “As with the Fallen, except for hair and fingernails, anything extracted from his body disintegrates to dust, be it blood, saliva, tissue, or sperm. Against all odds, his sperm had somehow impregnated the human female. To ensure integrity, we encapsulated every sample into vacuumed containers. In conclusion, his mutated state is more analogous to the Fallen than the nosophor species. But I dare say, that unknown factor has me—”

  “The A-factor,” I snarled, my voice barely audible. There you have it, the rundown of my physiology. How often had I longed to learn more about myself, but never in such a coldhearted, analytical approach.

  Serine had entered the room shortly after Wayde departed and stood to the side so not to disturb the doctor’s narrative. For a moment, she glanced at me with an expression I recognized as awe. “Unknown factor?” she asked. “There will be no mysteries left once the examinations commence at the DanJal Headquarters.”

  Uncertain whether she meant to insult human technology or the good doctor’s archaic approach, I glanced at Chambers for his response.

  Ruthless as usual, his voice lowered to a growl. “The extra genome we found in his DNA goes beyond even your science. Good luck analyzing it, sweetheart.” Chambers snatched the tablet. “Take him to his room. My work is finished.”

  When the DanJal scientist rolled the gurney into the hall, Serine hissed, “Humans.”

  In the empty hallway, I braved a question. “What’s going to happen to me now?”

  “My clan will study your special gifts. You show promise of limitless speed. More importantly, we will evaluate your dreams to determine whether they are memories or actual events. Everything about you boggles the mind.”

  Mine too. The comment about my mystery genome twisted my guts, squeezing them like an overwound clock. “Welcome to my nightmare.”

  27

  GOOD TO THE LAST DROP

  S abree drove the Jaguar because misting in and out of the facility with Ariane and then with Brian in tow would be next to impossible. That and his reliability in misting had declined since the Amboy Crater rescue. Even after he drained a DanJal guard to secure Ariane a uniform, he still felt exhausted. The binge feedings failed to restore his overall strength and vitality. He never felt so anemic in all his thousands of years.

  Following a short spin around the DanJal compound, Sabree drove another lap to find a place to secure the Jag. Ariane sat beside him without saying a word until now, releasing a heavy sigh. He ignored her impatience and gazed into the rearview mirror.

  His once vibrant aura appeared withered and ashen. Even his hair lacked its usual luster and bounce. Unable to accept the wraithlike image, he stole a glance at Ariane. Her feminine profile was far less painful to behold than his deteriorating visage. Sabree drove to the backside of the facility. “We’ll hide the Jag here,” he said as he parked between an outbuilding and some tall brush. “Second thoughts?”

  “None at all.”

  “Let’s do this.” He jumped out of the vehicle and zipped around to the passenger door. His hand trembled as it hesitated over the handle. A battle ensued between two traits. His courteous manner ached for release, but the cynic inside him doubted she deserved his pampering attentions. Chivalry won out. Sabree opened the door and stepped aside. “Your stop, Ariane Rose.”

  As though his hand were contaminated, Ariane ignored the offer. She slipped out of the Jag, walked over to the building, and stared at the structure with her palm cupping her chin. She faced him. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

  �
�The DanJal disguised this containment facility to look like an adobe-style mission. Underneath the stucco-plaster cement are layers of lead walls.” Sabree pointed at the window behind her. “They’re fake.” He wrapped on the glass to prove his point. The window rocked like a framed picture. “On the sublevels, they fortified security by providing only one entry point via the elevator.”

  “It looks small from the outside.”

  “Looks are deceiving.” Sabree cuffed Ariane’s elbow and led her to the emergency exit. “You stand guard here like we discussed. Do not stray.”

  “Yes, sir,” Ariane said, saluting him. “Just be careful.”

  Missions that required forced entry into the DanJal site exhilarated Sabree. Although, with so many similar assignments under his belt, he considered them routine. Eyes closed, he imagined his body dissipating into a fine vapor. He opened them, relieved he materialized inside the collection lab, his entry uneventful except for breaking a few empty vials when his backside bumped into the counter. From the Intel he overheard on his prior reconnaissance, Wayde had arranged to transport Brian later today.

  A quick inspection revealed Brian’s backpack on top of the counter. The lab rats left no part of the pack unscathed, each side pocket torn apart and the inner lining sliced open. Sabree moved to the back wall of the lab and found a refrigerator labeled Toxic: Colton. He muttered an obscenity, wishing someone had posted the same caution label across Brian’s forehead before he fed on the ghoulish blood. No one to blame but himself for recklessly ignoring Cayiel’s orders.

  With only minutes to spare, he removed one vial at a time and read the label to determine which action to take. He punctured each capsulated tube with a single fang and drew in the cold contents. From the samples of blood alone, he drank nearly six pints. Feeding this way was a bit eccentric, but he could not see any reason to pass on a free snack.