The Deep Beneath

by Natalie Wright

  “I cannot allow that,” Tex said. He stepped toward the soldiers.

  They backed up. “Don’t … don’t hurt us.”

  “I do not intend to harm you, but I must get to the other side of this town, and I will not allow you to stop me.” Tex took another step toward the soldiers with his arm outstretched toward them, his palm facing them. He intended the gesture to calm, but it apparently had the opposite effect.

  One of the soldiers fired his weapon. Tex heard the bullet scrape the metal of the rifle barrel before he saw the spark of fire. His actions were instinctual. He manipulated the molecules in the air around him and formed a gelatinous barrier between himself and the bullet. The barrier slowed the tiny but lethal missile down. Tex reached out his hand and plucked the bullet from the air. He unceremoniously dropped it to the ground.

  The soldiers took a few more steps backward. As they did, there was movement at the ship that got everyone’s attention.

  Two panels formed out of the smooth metal on each side of the orb. The panels opened, and without warning, the ship fired a white-blue light at the soldier who had shot at Tex. The soldier looked down at where his stomach used to be. There was a hole shot clear out. He fell down, a look of shock plastered on his face. Bloody foam spilled from his mouth and his legs twitched like a dying rabbit. The rifle fire and grenade blasts halted. The large, cavernous hold that housed the small town fell silent save for the sound of the man’s jerking legs knocking against the brick on which he lay.

  The silence was broken by a shout. “Rocket launchers fire. Now!”

  The A.H.D.N.A. soldiers scrambled to grab for rocket launchers. Only the soldier nearest to them knew that Tex was in Aphthartos. The soldier was preoccupied with watching his comrade die. But Tex knew that the man would eventually alert others to their position.

  Tex recalled Erika’s words from the night they met, asking him not to kill. Though he had not attempted it previously, he wondered if he could close off the man’s oxygen just to the point of knocking him out rather than killing him. He was just about to try it when the laser weapon fired again.

  The soldier would not be a problem to him. The man fell to the ground, hugging his gut as though he could force his intestines back into the hole from which they spilled.

  Tex did not watch the man further. He again knelt low to the ground and shuffled to the next clump of bushes. His companions were there waiting for him.

  The small town erupted with the blast of rocket fire as the soldiers launched round after round of rockets at the orb. But the high-powered weapons had no more effect on the orb than rifle bullets or grenades.

  “What now?” Jack asked.

  Tex peered over the hedge. They were closer to the street he needed to go down, but still at least a hundred yards away.

  “I see only a few soldiers between here and the street on the far side. If we stay low and stick to the shadows, they may not see us.”

  “My thighs are burning,” said Erika.

  Tex did not comprehend Erika’s reference to her thighs being on fire. They clearly were not aflame. But he did not ask for clarification. His curiosity would have to wait.

  “Stick together and stay low and quiet,” he said. He set off again toward his destiny and hoped that his human companions would follow.

  26

  HOUSE #232-A

  Tex’s patch job had mended Erika’s broken bones, but her shoulder still throbbed. Their getaway was in the center of the town. So why was Tex taking them away from it? Erika was still unsure what had happened while she was unconscious, so she withheld her questions and focused on keeping up with Tex. She trusted that since he wanted to get away from A.H.D.N.A. as much as she did, he must have a good reason for taking them away from the ship that was their apparent salvation.

  She walked as quickly as she could in a squat position. The four played the darkness and the soldiers’ preoccupation with the alien space ship to their advantage. Tex moved so fast it was like his feet were on rollers. The three shuffled as fast as they could to keep up with him while throwing looks over their shoulders to make sure they didn’t have trouble coming up from behind. The four circled the town wide to the right, staying on the dark sidewalks.

  Tex pulled ahead of them by at least twenty yards and stood at the street he seemed destined to take. He looked back at them and waved his hand to encourage them on.

  Ian easily closed the gap, and Jack was nearly there. Erika lagged behind the others. She was concentrating on getting to Tex and did not notice anyone around her until he spoke.

  “You there. Who are you, and where are you going?” The low, male voice came from behind her.

  Erika briefly considered ignoring the question, but she recalled the image of Dr. Dolan with a gunshot in his back, and she turned. A soldier walked toward her with his rifle in his hands at the ready. She looked down. There was a red dot over her heart.

  Tex, a little help here. She had scolded Tex for reading her thoughts but now wished that she hadn’t. Tex did not rush to her side. I’m on my own. “I’m – well, you see, I was –”

  The soldier came closer and squinted at her as if to see her better in the dusky light. “You one of the Makers’ kids?”

  Makers’ kids? Erika had no idea what he meant, but she went with it. “Yeah. That’s what I am.”

  “Wow, they’re quick. I didn’t expect anyone down here so soon.” The soldier was just a few feet from her now. He looked her up and down, and his eyes rested on the rifle she had slung across her back. “Stay where you are. I gotta call this in.” He kept his weapon trained on Erika and pressed a button on a small radio device he had fastened to his shoulder. “Yeah, I’ve got a …”

  Erika swung her knee up and connected with the soldier’s crotch. He coughed in pain as he doubled over. Before he had a chance to recover, Erika pulled the rifle off of her back and smacked the man in the side of the head with the butt end of her rifle. He looked up at her, his eyes wide with surprise and confusion. But that look quickly gave way to anger as his hand moved to the side of his head. He looked at his blood-covered palm then back to Erika.

  Erika was out of moves. The man was at least twice her weight. In hand-to-hand combat, she didn’t stand a chance once she no longer had the element of surprise.

  “I don’t know who you are, but you’re gonna pay for that.” The soldier took a swing at her.

  Erika tried to duck, but the soldier’s fist grazed her chin. Erika turned and intended to run, but the soldier caught her by her ponytail and yanked her back. I’ve got to cut this hair. Erika considered calling out for help but decided not to. It would only bring more soldiers over.

  The soldier had his arm hooked around Erika’s neck, pressing her back to him. His other arm reached toward the button on his radio. He pressed it, but before he could speak into the tiny speaker, his arm loosed its grip and Erika fell to the ground.

  She scrambled away before she got up. The soldier’s hands were at his throat, scraping at his neck with his fingers. Erika looked behind her, and Tex stood a few feet away, his eyes fixed on the soldier.

  “Don’t kill him,” she said. “Is there a way to knock him out or something?”

  “I will attempt it,” he said.

  The soldier gasped for air, but he stopped groping at his neck. He stared at her with bulging, frightened eyes as he fell to the ground.

  “Is he dead?” Erika asked.

  “I do not believe so.” Tex closed his eyes for a moment then opened them. “No, he is not dead. He is unconscious, but it will not last long. Please, we must hurry.” He scurried quickly back toward the street he had been standing near. Erika followed after him as fast as she could in the hunched-over position.

  There was a road sign that said simply “D Street”. It looked identical to all the others they had passed. The street was narrow and cobbled with tree-lined sidewalks on each side. The street could have passed for a typical street in any small, mid-century Americ
an town if it weren’t for the trees. They were unlike anything Erika had ever seen. They were fairly small and rather spindly. But the leaves were luminous and cast a green glow over the entire street. It was the most eerie yet beautiful thing Erika had ever seen. What was this place built for?

  After walking a couple of hundred yards down the street, Tex stopped on the sidewalk in front of a brownstone house with the number 232-A in tiles to the side of the door under a light. Away from the fighting, the street was quiet. There was only the faint echo of shouts and occasional pops that could have been fireworks if she hadn’t known it was gunfire. There was a magnetic card reader with a fingerprint scanner on the wall by the door. Who has Sturgis got stashed in there? Erika was almost afraid to ask. “What’s in there?”

  Tex walked up the concrete porch steps and approached the door. Without hesitation he pulled Freeman’s card and finger from his pocket.

  Surprise and disgust welled up inside Erika. “Did you just pull a finger from your pocket?”

  “Yes, he did,” said Ian.

  “Why?” asked Erika. But no one answered her question.

  Tex swiped the card and placed the finger on the pad. The scanner buzzed red and the lock did not open. Tex wiped the finger on his shirt and tried again. Nothing. He scanned the severed finger again and again but with the same result.

  “Maybe Freeman didn’t have access,” said Jack.

  “Or maybe they found his body and locked out his codes,” said Ian. He walked up the steps and peeked in the dusty window to the right side of the door.

  “See anything?” asked Jack.

  “Nope. Just a dark, empty house filled with ugly furniture,” said Ian.

  Erika walked up the steps. “Why don’t we try common courtesy?” She knocked on the door. Though she had knocked with a normal amount of force, she could barely hear her own rapping. “Thick door.”

  Jack joined the rest on the small porch. He pounded with his fist, but it produced little more than a muffled knock.

  No one answered the door.

  “Whoever you’re looking for, either they’re not home or they can’t hear us,” said Erika. “What do you want to do now?” She addressed her comments to Tex.

  “You want in there?” Ian asked him.

  Tex nodded.

  “Then stand back,” Ian said.

  Tex, Jack and Erika retreated down the steps. Ian pointed his rifle at the box and pulled the trigger. The small box sparked, and exposed wires buzzed and sputtered. The lock clicked.

  “It scares me a little how much you seem to be enjoying using that thing,” said Jack.

  “Me too,” said Ian. “Try the door now.”

  Tex went up the steps, turned the knob and pushed the door open. It swung slowly, but Tex did not enter. There was no movement inside and no sound. The three stood silently behind Tex and waited for his next move. Finally, Tex walked through the doorway.

  “Do you think we should go with him?” asked Jack.

  Erika nodded and the three gingerly followed Tex inside. He was already climbing the narrow stairs just inside the small foyer and directly across from the door. Erika slowly began her ascent up the stairs, and Jack and Ian followed closely behind her.

  As she climbed, a voice croaked, “H.A.L.F. 9?” Tex didn’t respond. Erika continued to climb but stopped briefly at the landing to take it in. There was a small, empty bedroom off of the landing to the right and another empty room to the left. As she tiptoed down the hall, she passed a bathroom on the left, also empty.

  The last room was on the right. Her heart pounded from the adrenaline and fear of the unknown. Tex hadn’t said a word. What had he found in this room? She passed through the doorway and stopped in her tracks.

  Inside was Tex, curled into the arms of a man with snowy-grey hair and a straggly-haired beard. His dark, thick-rimmed glasses sat askew on his face. The man’s face was wet with tears. Tex’s body heaved with silent tears that gave way to a strange sort of screechy wail.

  Erika was shocked to see and hear Tex cry. He had appeared as stoic as a robot. She had been unsure if he could feel emotion let alone show it.

  The grey-haired man held Tex, and both seemed oblivious to the other three in the room. Erika’s nose was assaulted by the room’s dank, musty odor. It smelled like old people. How long has he been here?

  The man was unshaven and unkempt. His clothes hung on him like he’d gotten frail or lost weight. His red-rimmed eyes were smoky grey but shot red. Was it from crying? Or were his eyes red and tired before they got there?

  Erika, Jack and Ian remained silent. They were far enough away from the raging battle that inside the house they could not hear the sounds of gunfire.

  After what seemed like a small eternity, the old man broke the silence. “Are you going to introduce me to your friends? Did you meet them on the outside?”

  “Yes. They helped me, but I do not know if they are friends. Their assistance was … forced.”

  The old man frowned. He looked at them all standing behind Tex. “Are you being forced to be here now?”

  They shook their heads.

  The old man looked back to Tex. “I may be old, but I can tell a friend when I see one. You must excuse my dear boy for his lack of social skills. As you may have learned, he has had little opportunity to socialize with humans.”

  “We noticed,” said Ian. Ian stepped forward and held out his hand to shake. “My name is Ian. This is Erika and Jack.”

  The man took Ian’s hand and gave it a strong shake. “A pleasure to meet you. I am Dr. Randall. Co-founder of this magnificent and horrible facility, co-creator of the miracle that is called H.A.L.F. 9, and a sorry old sot if ever there was one.”

  Erika had assumed that Commander Sturgis had offed Dr. Randall to get him out of the way. And Dr. Dolan had made it sound that way too. It seemed strange that Sturgis would keep him alive. There must be more to their relationship than we know. Or maybe she thinks she may still need him.

  Dr. Randall looked as if he would cry again. “I apologize for my state. I’m not exactly here of my own accord, and I wasn’t prepared for guests. So tell me, H.A.L.F. 9, what brings you to my corner of Aphthartos? I assume this is not a social call.”

  “I have a name now, Dr. Randall. I am Tex.”

  Dr. Randall smiled and shook his head slightly. “Kind of a strange name. How’d you come up with that?”

  “I named him,” said Erika. She stepped toward them. “Seemed to fit at the time.” And when Tex had worn the overly large cowboy hat, the moniker fit. But seeing him now, with his wavy, so-blond-it’s-almost-white hair falling in light curls at his neck, his trim figure decked out in what looked like hospital scrubs, he looked nothing like the name he’d adopted.

  “Okay then, Tex, to what do I owe the pleasure of your unexpected company?”

  “My alien cousins are here, Dr. Randall. They have come to rescue me from this life underground. They showed me that you were here. I would like you to come with me.”

  Dr. Randall’s face turned ashen. “Has it finally come to pass?” He rubbed his grizzled chin with his hand. “And you say they’re here? In Aphthartos? I heard commotion earlier, but I had no idea … And they have come for you? Why would they do that? How do they know about you?”

  “Because I told them,” Tex said.

  “But how?”

  “Up there I came to my full power. Up there, I can do things, Dr. Randall. Things you never told me about. Things I had not imagined.” Tex’s voice was higher and more animated than usual. He sounded like a child excitedly telling a story to his parent.

  “Tell me. I want to know everything.”

  “I hate to interrupt the reunion, but I think the catching up with each other will have to wait,” said Jack. “I’m not sure how long they’ll wait for you, Tex. And that soldier you knocked out may have alerted others to our position.”

  “Why would you want me to come with you? After all of the pain that I have caus
ed you. All that I have done?” Fresh tears spilled down Dr. Randall’s cheeks.

  “You are the only father – only family – that I have ever known. Of course I came for you.”

  Dr. Randall straightened his glasses, stood up to his full height and looked downward to gaze fully into Tex’s eyes. What he thought he’d find in the fathomless black orbs Erika could only guess. Looking into Tex’s eyes was like staring into a bottomless black lake.

  “I tried so hard to separate from you emotionally. Lilly was always there to remind me that you were an experiment. But from the start, I did not agree with her. It caused much friction between us, as you may have surmised. From the start, I thought of you as my son. You are my past and my future. Where you go, I shall follow.”

  27

  PICK YOUR POISON

  Ian led the group out of Dr. Randall’s prison home and down the street toward the center of Aphthartos. Once out of the house, Erika’s ears were assaulted with the sounds of guns firing, explosions, rocket launchers, the roar of fire and the screams and wails of injured and dying men.

  “I think we should hurry,” Ian said. “Dr. Randall, can you run?”

  “I’m old, not crippled.” Dr. Randall picked up his legs and jogged.

  Erika forced her legs to run as well. The bouncing made her shoulder throb, but she was glad that her legs were not as tired and her lungs not as taxed as they had been when she’d hiked up Bell Rock.

  Tex soon overtook them all. Though Erika watched him, she could not explain how he was able to move his short, thin legs so quickly.

  “I had not known of his speed and agility,” Dr. Randall said.

  “If that surprises you, wait until you see him do his translocation thing,” Jack said.

  “Temporal translocation? But how?”

  “You’ll have to ask him,” Jack said.

  When they got to the end of the street, Tex again hunkered down. The others followed suit. He knelt behind a row of bushes, and Erika stopped beside him. She peered over the hedge at a gruesome scene.