Extinction Cycle Dark Age (Book 3): Extinction Ashes

by Smith, Nicholas Sansbury

“I’m sure we can help find that for you in the CIC,” Nguyen said. “I’ll send one of my men back with Ron. Is there anything you else you need?”

  “Not yet, but give us a second,” Kate said. “Maybe we can send some useful intel back to the CIC with them. Sammy, see if there are reports of any attacks planned for other outposts.”

  Moments later Sammy had a list of outposts that had come up in her queries.

  Kate thought of all the men, women, and children at those outposts. They had to warn them.

  “Sammy, make sure this list of outposts is comprehensive,” she said. “Sergeant Nguyen, Ron and your man can give President Ringgold this list when they go back to the CIC.”

  Nguyen sent Ron and a soldier off to the CIC.

  At least now the people in those outposts would have a fighting chance at escaping, even though she wasn’t sure if there was anywhere to escape to.

  But Kate was no longer content with learning how to listen to the Variant communications. They had designed this software for another purpose, and now that Sammy had cracked the code on all the monsters’ signals, they would put it to the real test.

  “You designed this software for communicating with the masterminds, too,” Kate said. “I don’t want to just be passive observers. I want to be pro-active. We need to disrupt their communications. It’s time to send some signals of our own.”

  Sammy took a deep breath and nodded. Her fingers danced across the keyboard as she prepared to send out the signals.

  “I’ve already identified the source nodes for the masterminds where most of these signals originated from. We now have a complete range of signals we can deliver thanks to our work in the bunker,” Sammy said. “If we try to spoof them, we should be able to route a message through the masterminds that can be disseminated to the other nodes and the end-user Variants and collaborators.”

  “English?” Nguyen asked.

  “We can tell the Variants what to do,” Kate said.

  “That means, if it works, we can call off the attack,” Leslie said.

  “Maybe,” Kate replied. “Okay, Sammy, where do we begin?”

  “We have comprehensive examples of the language the monsters use to give each other commands now. All I have to do is model our signal off that…” Sammy said. “And when you’re ready, I’ll send it.”

  Kate read over the command. It mirrored the cadence and manner of text-based messages they’d seen the masterminds send to each other.

  Delay attack on Danbury until tomorrow night.

  This is what they had been working for. Kate had hoped they would be able to test this in a laboratory setting, but as they had learned when they first tried observing the Variant signals out here, a laboratory setting just wasn’t good enough.

  She tried to take solace in the fact that they now had a full library of signals from Variants and sources of all sorts. Hopefully this time they would do better than when their failed experiments resulted in her husband and the other soldiers getting attacked by the red vines.

  If this succeeded, they could change the face of this war. They could interfere with the commands between Variants, and even if they couldn’t get the masterminds to do exactly what they wanted, they could sow confusion in their ranks.

  But it could also backfire spectacularly, Kate realized.

  She thought they had all the data they needed this time to make it work.

  With no other choice, Kate gave the order.

  “Send the message,” she said.

  Sammy pressed a single button that could change everything. The rest of the team gathered around. All of them no doubt feeling their kicking hearts as they waited to see if the Variants would acquiesce.

  A computerized reply from a mastermind appeared on their screen a moment later.

  Kate clenched her hands together and bent down to read it.

  Message unclear. Biological signature indeterminate. Suspected error.

  “What does that mean?” Leslie asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Sammy said.

  She sent a few more inquiries, and the responses all came back the same.

  “It’s not working…” Sammy leaned away from the computer. “Why isn’t it working?”

  She sounded desperate.

  “This biological signature thing doesn’t make sense,” Kate said. “What’s it asking for?”

  Sammy read the text again. “I think I know what’s going on. We’re sending messages through a computer. Everything we’re reading is actually coming from masterminds, though, not computers.”

  “I thought the software was ready,” Leslie said. “Did we do something wrong?”

  “The truth is, my algorithms do a good job translating the signals into a language we can understand. Think of it like a computer dictation program. For instance, when you dictate something, your computer transcribes the words you say into text on your screen.”

  Nguyen sighed. “So? What’s the problem with that?”

  “When the computer transcribes all that, you lose things like tone and volume. All those subtle clues that tell you whether a person is sarcastic or angry or serious, for instance.”

  “Well, how do we do that?” Leslie asked.

  Kate had kept quiet to consider the implications of what Sammy had said. She didn’t like what she was about to say, but there was only one way Kate could think of to inject the biological signature their messages were missing.

  “We need to connect with the webbing,” Kate said.

  “I thought we already were,” Leslie said.

  “No,” Kate said. She put a hand over her chest. She recalled the story she heard of Dohi being captured. How the webbing had subverted his consciousness. And how the webbing had captured Beckham and those outpost soldiers elsewhere in this tunnel.

  The webbing wasn’t just capable of connecting to the network—it was designed to integrate with human and Variant bodies.

  “We need a biological connection,” Kate said.

  “Jesus, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Leslie asked.

  “She’s right, we need a person instead of just a computer to connect to the network,” Sammy said.

  “That’s insane,” Nguyen said.

  Once again Kate imagined the families like hers that were out there frightened in the face of unimaginable horrors.

  “I’ll do it,” Kate said.

  Sammy hesitated. “Are you sure?”

  “There’s no other way.”

  Nguyen looked between Kate and Sammy. “Use me. You’re too important, Doctor Lovato.”

  “Which is why I need to do it,” Kate replied. “I have the most experience interacting with the masterminds. Throwing you in there would be like dropping someone who can’t speak Spanish into Mexico City and telling them to blend in. It simply wouldn’t work.”

  Nguyen didn’t argue with that logic.

  “Leslie, cut off a piece of the webbing, and bring me one of the microarrays,” Kate said.

  Using a knife, Leslie cut off a foot-long length of red webbing from the wall. It pulsed in her hand like a worm as she brought it back to Sammy with the microarray.

  The computer engineer clipped the microarray to the webbing and attached the microarray to her laptop.

  “You’re just going to use this to plug into the webbing?” Leslie asked.

  “Yeah, basically,” Sammy said. “We learned from the webbing when it attacked our people and from the mastermind when we had it in our custody back in Manchester that these red vines can pierce a person or Variant’s skin. It can connect directly to their nervous system.”

  “My husband saw the head of a Variant in the tunnel when he was captured,” Kate said. “It was still alive, even without a body.”

  “Because of the webbing?” Nguyen asked.

  “I believe so. We accidentally activated the webbing before, and because of our mistakes, it tried to integrate him and a few other soldiers into the network.”

  “Shit,
so you’re going to try to do that again?” Nguyen said. “You’re not going to test this out on mice or something first?”

  Kate shook her head. “There’s no animal model for this, and it’s too late. We simply don’t have the time.”

  “Leslie, hold the webbing at the base of Kate’s neck,” Sammy said. “We haven’t run into any contaminants yet, but I want to minimize the amount of Kate’s skin exposed to the air just in case.”

  “Understood,” Leslie said.

  Kate sat down on a chair and felt the wet warmth of the webbing against the base of her neck.

  “I’m going to try the commands that triggered the webbing when it attacked your husband,” Sammy said. “If it works, you’ll be connected straight to the computer and the network almost immediately. The computer should still be able to translate the signals’ words so you can understand them, but now we’ll also have your additional tonal and contextual input.”

  Kate mentally steeled herself. She wasn’t sure she ever could prepare for something like this, but she did her best to manage her breathing and heart rate.

  “Do it,” she said.

  A click on the keyboard was the last thing Kate heard.

  Electricity jolted through her nerves, and her vision darkened. Pain swam through her body, filling her vessels with fire. She vaguely recalled Beckham saying he had experienced a similar sensation.

  Suddenly, she reached a strange clarity. The pain dissolved, and she heard voices in her mind.

  She was connected.

  Kate focused on the words they’d sent before.

  Delay attack on Danbury until tomorrow night.

  Over and over, she repeated those words in a commanding tone as the darkness in her vision filled with wild sparks.

  Countless voices chattered in her consciousness, some angry. Some in pain, others in shock.

  Suddenly another voice boomed past them.

  Confirm attack delay on Danbury?

  It was directed at her.

  Yes, confirm, she thought.

  The pain started to overwhelm her again, distracting her. The fire in her veins was too much, and she let out a scream.

  Her vision suddenly returned, and she opened her eyes to the web-covered tunnel. A masked face hovered in front of hers.

  It was Sergeant Nguyen.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Kate’s head throbbed, but she nodded. “I think so. I heard the voices. Thousands of them, like a hive of trapped minds.”

  “You sounded like you were being tortured,” Sammy said quietly.

  Kate sat straighter. She had never felt so exhausted. “Did it work?”

  “I…” Sammy turned to her computer to read the messages flickering over the screen.

  Leslie and Nguyen helped Kate to stand. She leaned down to read the text.

  Squinting, Kate read the last words that Sammy had intercepted from a mastermind.

  Attack on Danbury cancelled.

  It had worked.

  — 21 —

  Nick followed Pete under a canopy of pine trees outside the mountain base to greet the general of the New Gods. Now that it was dark, they expected the convoy to arrive soon, but they hadn’t heard anything from their contacts on precisely when they would arrive.

  Using his flashlight, Nick carefully made his way down the steep trail. As much as he wanted to meet one of the leaders responsible for planning this war over the last eight years, he had been distracted by thoughts of Ray and his wife.

  While his mind had drowned in those thoughts, Pete had hardly spoken about what happened in the stairwell. That changed now that they were alone outside.

  “Ray didn’t just trip down those stairs, did he?” Pete said. He brushed his dreadlocks over his shoulder and turned slightly for an answer.

  Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Pete held up a hand.

  “Don’t lie to me, Nick,” Pete said. “You know I hate liars.”

  Nick had seen Pete kill for less.

  “Ray said he fucked Diana,” Nick said. “I kicked his ass where he belonged, into a puddle of his own blood.”

  Pete reared back slightly.

  “Well, did he?”

  Nick swallowed hard. “I don’t know… If he did, I’ll…”

  “What you’ll do, is focus on our mission with the New Gods,” Pete said. “That’s an order.”

  “I know. I’m focused more than ever before.”

  “I told you I hate liars.” Pete stared at him. “You don’t seem focused. Ray didn’t exactly die on the stairs. He’s haunting your thoughts.”

  Nick held Pete’s gaze.

  “Fuck Ray,” Pete finally said. “We won’t need him for what’s next, especially if I’m right about the last part of this war.”

  He patted Nick on the back.

  But that didn’t help him feel any better. He couldn’t fathom Diana betraying him with Ray of all people. What could possibly be the reason?

  Focus, Nick. Focus.

  He pulled his coat hood up over his cap. As the minutes ticked by, the temperature continued to drop.

  Pete led them between the dense trees over a hidden trail until they reached an overlook. There was a sniper there in a ghillie suit.

  The sniper looked away from his scope, but remained in position.

  “You see anything yet?” Pete asked.

  “Nothing on the road, sir.”

  Nick stepped up to the edge of the rocky outcrop. A dirt road snaked through the valley below. That was where the general’s convoy should be coming from.

  They endured the cold in silence, waiting. Nick wiggled his toes and curled his fingers repeatedly to keep the blood flowing. A light drizzle made it worse. The cold rain stung his bearded face.

  The more time that passed, the more his mind drifted back to his wife and Ray. Had she really touched that filthy piece of shit?

  The thought broke his heart. Everything he had done was for her and their girls. Everything!

  He had risked so much to give them a life better than wasting away in that cabin, fighting to build a life for them here.

  A distant hum snapped him from his anger.

  Pete heard it too. He shouldered his rifle and looked to the sky.

  Had the military found them? They had been close before, bombing the exterior of the mountain where they kept some of their prisoners.

  “Get down,” Pete ordered.

  Nick scanned the clouds for an incoming drone, but spotted a small black helicopter. He recognized it as it grew closer. It was a Little Bird that Special Operators had once used. Figures rode on the platforms.

  “Oh fuck,” Nick said.

  He aimed his rifle, his heart pounding. If the military had brought one chopper, there would be more. While their small army here was well-armed, a Delta Force or Navy SEAL strike team landing in full force could be devastating.

  Pete’s radio buzzed.

  “We just received a message that the general is landing,” a voice said.

  The report sent a wave of relief through Nick. He lowered his rifle and exhaled.

  “Shit, let’s go,” Pete said. “We can’t be late.”

  “Watch the road,” Nick said to the sniper. “Make sure no one followed them.”

  The man nodded. Pete started back over the path, running fast. Nick followed, his flashlight bobbing. They took another rocky trail that was guarded by two sentries who saluted when they passed.

  Pete ignored them and continued until they came to a clearing. Lungs burning from the cold, Nick tried to catch his breath at the edge of the forest.

  The chopper had already landed, its rotors idle.

  A group of people entered another hidden opening into the mountain, this one meant for vehicles. Pete and Nick ran to catch up before the blast doors closed. Sporadic banks of overhead lights cast the corridor in a dim glow.

  Guards posted along the sides of the blast doors were on their knees, heads bowed at the envoy of five men dressed
in black fatigues. It didn’t take long for Nick to spot the leader.

  The general was nearly a foot taller than his men and much wider.

  “Welcome to Mount Katahdin,” Pete said. “I’m Commander Pete…”

  The general turned, his face no longer concealed by the shadows.

  Nick risked a glance, expecting the man to be part Variant.

  But this creature was all monster.

  A black robe covered the beastly frame of an Alpha Variant that looked as if he had survived from the first war. Nick hadn’t seen one for years.

  Before he could get a good look, Nick went down on a knee next to Pete, both bowing.

  “Show me…” said the general in a deep, crackly voice. It cleared its throat before continuing. “Show me the weapon.”

  “Yes, General,” Pete said.

  “Now,” the general boomed.

  Pete and Nick stood and hurried around the Alpha Variant and its entourage. The escorts walked like humans, but behind their masks Nick saw the golden eyes of the Scions. He had only seen a few of the biologically engineered super soldiers the New Gods had created, and being in their presence now was thrilling.

  The beasts cradled automatic rifles and had saw-toothed cutlasses strapped over their backs. These biologically engineered Scions were the apostles of the New Gods and the secret weapon that was winning the war.

  And the Allied States hadn’t even seen their full potential yet.

  VX-99 had indeed created the super soldiers it was designed to—and Nick was in their presence. He couldn’t help but feel some pride. After all, it was partly thanks to his research that they had found a way to use VX-99 on other creatures, like bats and dogs.

  But he couldn’t take credit for these men. That was done out west.

  Pete took them into the silo, passing down the corridors until they got to a blast door. He used a keycard to open it and then stepped onto a platform.

  “This is it,” he said.

  Nick followed him over the metal catwalk, keeping his gaze down.

  The general stepped onto the platform. His armored, reptilian feet and claws clicked on the metal. Pete turned on the lights, and Nick got his first good look at the creature examining the missile.

  Standing seven feet tall, with shoulders as wide as two men, the size alone impressed him, but it was the horrific face that made this Alpha a truly remarkable beast.