The Ark Series (Book 2): The Ark of Attrition

by Scott Kotrous

  “Wow, I figured a girl like you would have needed to be wined and dined a little more?”

  “Well, to be fair, usually I would have. The few other boyfriends I’d had in the past all came from money, and they liked to spend it on me. But I think that’s what was one of the things I really liked about him, he wasn’t trying to impress me with material things or fill my head with what he could do for me, or how he could spoil me. There was just something about him that was so honest and so down to earth. I’d never met anyone like him before, and I don’t know if it was a combination of his mysterious demeanor or old world charm that swept me off my feet, but I just fell in love with him and his outlook and drive for life.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Well, here was this creative risk-taker who wasn’t afraid to put himself out there in the world. And I was this conservative conformist, who was always afraid to create anything, just because I knew I couldn’t handle the consequences of failure. But John was nothing more than society’s definition of a failure, someone who attempted numerous creative outlets from anywhere from writing music to writing screenplays, to even writing a book, all of which he failed at. But what made me truly fall in love with him was his ability to always get back up again after getting knocked down; it’s just something I always admired about him.”

  “Wait, John wrote a book? I didn’t know that.”

  “Not many people do. It’s something he doesn’t tell people.”

  “Well what happened with it, did he only write one?”

  “Yeah, only one. After we started getting serious he knew he had to pursue more of a realistic career and no longer go after creative pipedreams that weren’t leading to any success. Not to mention, that after he wrote that book it was ripped apart by a few critics and it absolutely devastated him. And so he pursued a few connections he had made and some how got in to producing, and the rest, they say, is history.”

  “So the great invincible John Angelite has a sensitive side, interesting.”

  “He would kill me if he knew I was telling you this but, oh yeah, John has a very sensitive side, and he didn’t take what the critics said about his work very well. And so he never wrote again and went after a safer path in production, and something he didn’t have to put himself out there so much.”

  “So some little critic was what got to him, how sad.”

  Kate drops her head and hesitates before going on. “It’s not sad, it’s just the reality of the world. People can be so harsh and mean sometimes, especially with things that people put their heart into. I mean, it’s just fiction, why can’t people just be entertained?”

  “I have to agree with you on that, I used to criticize movies all the time, but then I ended up hating every movie I watched and didn’t want to watch them anymore. Eventually I got to a point of looking past the lack of realism in movies and just started enjoying them and like you said, just being entertained.”

  “I’m the same way. And I used to be the same way with movies as well. Now I just sit back and enjoy, and I’m a lot happier now that I can do so.”

  Adam finishes the last of his champagne and seems to ignore what she just said, then inches toward Kate. “You know, we really have a lot in common, too bad we never met years ago.”

  Kate quickly turns away, not sure what he meant by that. She then reaches across the table and grabs a glass just as Adam grabs the same one and their hands touch. She looks up to see a look from Adam that made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. And just like that, he moves in for a kiss, catching Kate off guard. “Whoa—hey. What are you doing?”

  Adam instantly realizes his mistake, and backs away. “I didn’t, ah—mean to do that. I—it was an accident, I apologize. I just thought since we haven’t heard from John or anyone from the convoy . . . I’m sorry, it was a mistake.” Adam drops his head and backs away and doesn’t say anything.

  Kate proceeds to gather the glasses. “It’s okay, it was a mistake. And just because I haven’t heard from John in a while doesn’t mean something’s happened to him.” She grabs the last of the glasses and turns to walk out but then stops herself. “I love my husband very much so make sure something like this never happens again, okay, Adam.”

  Adam drops his head and then bobs it up and then down in agreement. Kate nods her head, walks out of the room, and goes back to the apartment.

  Chapter 23

  Simon tries his best not to appreciate the hot meal that’s been made for he and his group. There’s not a chance he’ll forget what these men really want—his son. And he knows that the Major’s hospitality and friendly behavior is just a ploy to get him to let his guard down and give in to what they will eventually ask of him.

  The Major walks in the room with a sinister looking grin on his face and walks directly up to them. “Well good morning, gentlemen, I’m glad to see you’re getting a nice hot meal. Was the sleeping arrangements sufficient enough?”

  Jason puts down his water glass and looks at him. “They’re fine. So what’s on your mind today, Major, you look rather chipper today.”

  The Major sits down with them and grabs some of the food in the middle of the table. “Well, I know I wasn’t going to get any information from Simon concerning his son so I went ahead and transported Doctor Reynolds and his wife to the base, and he was more than happy to tell me where we could find Peter.”

  Simon slams his fork on the table and looks at the Major. “What did he tell you?”

  “Just that your group was on its way to Boulder when we intercepted you. And that’s where we should find your boy.”

  Simon stands up and slams his hands on the table. “That son of a bitch! I warned him! Where the fuck is he… that piece of shit!”

  Jason grabs Simon’s arm. “Simon, relax.”

  “Well now just calm down, Simon, there’s no need to get all worked up. We just need to talk to your boy, that’s all.”

  “Where the fuck is Marshal?” Simon rips his arm away from Jason’s hand and continues to stare at the Major.

  “I’m sorry but he told us how you acted last time you spoke and that it wouldn’t be a good idea if you met.” The Major leans back in his chair. “Your suspicious behavior is most concerning to me, Doctor, and it makes me think you’re hiding something and that you know something you’re not telling us. Now may I remind you that this is part of National Security, and it’s imperative that we speak to your son.”

  Simon pushes his chair back and leans in closer to the Major. “You’re not going near my son, do you hear me? It will be over my dead body that you’re able to go near him.”

  “Well that will be your decision, Doctor,” the Major said.

  Both Dave and Jason stand up prompting multiple soldiers to move forward. “Whoa, Major. Exactly what are you implying?” Jason said.

  The Major looks at his men. “Stand down men, stand down.” He directs his attention back to Simon. “Meaning when the time comes you’re either with us or against us. And that the US military is obligated to investigate all leads that may result in the wellbeing of this nation.”

  “Okay, you need to explain what you guys are talking about. We need to be in the loop on this,” Jason said.

  The Major goes onto explain to Jason and Dave what Doctor Marshal had explained to Simon. That if in fact Peter’s DNA had successfully bonded with the NT-19 strain, then he may carry the antibodies necessary to develop not only a vaccine, but possibly a cure. Simon interrupts multiple times do to his anger and frustration, but the Major continues. He tries to reassure Simon that Peter wouldn’t become some kind of lab rat and that the military just needed to do a few tests on his blood and DNA in order to rule out a possible lead to a cure.

  “Well, that explains why you were acting so strange when we left Marshal’s house and why you wanted to get out of there so quickly. But, Simon, what if Peter holds the key to all of this and that in fact he could some day eventually lead us to a cure, wouldn’t you want that? For the good of
mankind?” Jason said.

  Simon looks at Jason and shakes his head. “That’s not the whole story, Jason, why don’t you ask the Major why he really wants my son.” He looks right at Major Stevens. “Go ahead, Major, tell them. Tell them why you really want my son, why don’t you tell them everything?”

  The Major takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh. He looks away and wipes the front of his teeth with his tongue. He sits up in his chair and looks around, then cracks his knuckles and neck, leans in, and lowers his voice. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with here boys. This is something that’s beyond me or you, or even your son Simon. There are powers that be that will do anything to get their hands on what Peter can potentially be. And they will go to any length to obtain what they’re looking for.”

  “Just fucking tell them, you son of a bitch!” Simon raises his voice but quickly lowers it when he sees soldiers step a little closer to them.

  The Major shakes his head and hesitates before going on. He tells them what Simon already knows how the NT-19 strain was originally designed by the military as a way to enhance their soldiers in the field by leveling the playing field a bit. He educates them on the fact that the US Military was losing it’s war on terror, and so they needed an upper hand. Something that could give their soldiers the fighting ability and strength of ten men. All with superior fighting skills, strength, stamina, agility, and recovery time on the battlefield. It was something they had been working on for years before it was hijacked by terrorists and turned into the monster creating biological weapon that they’ve all come to know.

  Simon grits his teeth and stares right at the Major. “So these fuckin’ assholes—these Frankenstein makin’ wannabe’s tried to create some kind of super soldier, and they think Peter may be the test subject they’ve been looking for so that’s the real reason they want Peter . . . so they can find out how to make more of them just like him.”

  Jason jerks his head back and looks at his brother not saying a word and then at the Major. “Is that true, you think Peter’s this super soldier you’ve been trying to create for the past few years? You think because he was able to tolerate this biological weapon you created his DNA could be used to create more of your super soldiers?”

  The Major leans back in his chair and locks his fingers behind his head. “Well we just don’t know, do we?” He leans forward again and gets close to the table. “But what we do know is that your son was bit by one of these infected creatures and survived. You yourself, Simon, told Doctor Reynolds that none of the treatment you administered on your son at the time he was bit later had no effect on any of the samples you obtained. So it’s only natural to think that it’s something within your son that was able to overcome this biological weapon and gave him the ability to survive it.”

  “You’re not going near my son.”

  The Major looks at Dave and then Jason. “So what do you think, boys? You’ve had extensive time with Peter, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary with him? Maybe a change in his behavior after he was bit… a little more aggressive possibly?”

  Dave and Jason glance at each other, but then quickly look away.

  “Ah, yes, the good ol’ brotherly bond in obvious full effect. You just gave me the answer I was looking for; you most certainly have noticed a change in his behavior, you know what I say is true.”

  “What the hell are you talkin’ about, Major? We didn’t give you shit!” Jason said, taking offense.

  “Gentlemen, I’m a highly trained military commander with extensive training and experience in detecting human behavior traits and cues that tell me exactly what someone is saying without them saying a word. So, gentlemen, I have everything I need at the moment, and I just want to let you know that we will be sending out a convoy in the next day or two to Boulder to try and locate Peter. We would like for you to accompany us and think it would be a good idea. If you have any questions please let one of the officers know and they will rely it to me.”

  Simon slams his hand on the table and starts to say something but Jason reaches across the table and grabs his arm to stop him. “We would love to accompany you on this trip and know that Peter’s safety and wellbeing is your number one priority. Good day, Major.”

  The Major grins and walks off just as Simon rips his arm away from Jason. “What the fuck are you doing!”

  “Not here.” He motions for them to follow and an officer escorts them back to their barracks. Once they get back, Jason closes the door and Simon grabs him by the shirt.

  “Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea what they’ll do to my son!”

  Jason grabs Simon’s shirt as well and says in a low voice, “I’m trying to save your fucking son’s life, Simon. And make it so you’re not left behind when they go get him. Because I can assure you, you will never see him again if that happens. So you will be on board with all of this, and you will appear to be okay with this and you will appear to want what’s best for this nation or you will surely be cutoff from your son. Do you understand what I’m telling you, Simon?” Jason gets close to Simon’s face and looks right in his eyes. Simon relaxes his grip and lets go of his shirt and then backs away. “From now on, Simon, you will let me handle this situation because you’re too emotionally involved and unstable to make any rational decisions on what’s best for us, or your boy.” Jason grabs Simon’s shirt and slams him against the wall. “And if you ever question my loyalty to you—to Peter, then we’re gonna have a real problem. I owe you and your son not only my life, but my wife’s and brother’s lives when you took us in. And my integrity will not be questioned, do I make myself clear?” Dave grabs Jason’s shoulder and pulls him back. Simon nods his head and looks down at the ground, obviously ashamed by his behavior.

  Jason looks at Dave with disgust and pulls his shoulder away from his hand. “Get your fucking hand off me! I haven’t heard you say so much as a word ever since you dropped the bomb on us that you’re a fucking lying piece of shit! So are you ready to tell us the entire truth or are you still wallowing in your own self loathing sorrow?” Jason stares at Dave who just drops his head and doesn’t say a word. “That’s what I thought, listen, when you’re ready to grow the fuck up and tell me the truth then you can intervene when grownups are conversing, but until then, keep your tail between your legs and stay out of our way, got it!”

  Just as Dave almost completely raises his head, he quickly drops it again. Just as Jason turns to walk away, Dave grabs his arm. “I’m sorry I lied to you, and Mom and Pop. You have no idea how hard it is to live up to their or your expectations.”

  “Yeah, tell me somethin’ I don’t already know.”

  Dave lets go of his arm, but doesn’t look him in the eye. “You have no idea . . . you have no idea how hard Dad was on me when you left home. He started drinking on a regular basis and turned into something you would never recognize. But it doesn’t matter what I say right now because it’s not goin’ to change the fact that I lied to you and everyone else. Just know how sorry I am, and maybe someday you’ll know why I had to do it.”

  “Whatever. You’re just the same little boy as when we were going up, always lying, always getting into trouble. But I’m not goin’ to get you outta this mess like I used to do when we were younger, you’re gonna have to get yourself out. But until then, we need to put this shit aside and come up with a plan.”

  They eventually put their differences aside and get in a close circle to discuss their plans of action for when the time comes.

  Chapter 24

  Maggie shivers every time she hears the pounding on the steel door reinforcements.

  It’s relentless.

  The constant banging from what she assumes is from sledge hammers because it can be heard from within the bunker. She fears it’s only a matter of time before they take down one of the steel window or door covers and soon enter her house.

  She’s tried to keep her mind off of things by tending to Kristie, who is stable but still uncon
scious. She’s been relieved to see Mia recover from giving so much blood and glad to see her color come back. She hasn’t left Kristie’s side ever since, and Maggie doesn’t suspect she will anytime soon.

  They are completely in the dark from what’s going on outside since their attackers have taken out all of the exterior cameras. But they do have power back which is a relief to everyone, and it couldn’t have come at a better, more needed time. Even though temperature gauges are showing the outside temp to be in the mid-seventies, no one knows how long that will last, or if the snow will come back—but who knows, maybe that would be a blessing.

  Kelly continues to scan the radio channels and transmit their distress call, but so far without any luck. The hope that the extra power from the solar panels will give them the extra antenna boost they need to reach the outside world, and not be hindered by having to rely on the pedal generator to power their CB radio.

  The pounding is ruthless and nonstop, and it forces Kelly to pause her words while she broadcasts. She’s forced to change channels often when the assholes from outside find their frequency, cutting them off before they get too graphic on what they plan to do to them once they get in.

  Kelly stops broadcasting and drops her head on the table in frustration, tired of just receiving the outside scumbags transmission. But just when she’s about to give up, her finger instinctively hits the scan button, and she hears something she hasn’t heard before. It’s a different voice, although it’s weak and staticy, it’s definitely from someone she hasn’t heard before. She tries to fine tune the frequency but it just keeps dropping out or loses it altogether. Everyone stops what they are doing and rush over to her, eager to know what’s out there.