by David Beers
There were forty-two people left. Forty-two out of a group that had been over a hundred and fifty just a few months ago. Forty-two left and his lover not one of them. His friend not one of them. His mentor, not one of them. Forty-two people, all of them geniuses, but not a bit of fight left in them. These were Jerry's Captains, here, saying that they had watched Manny walk off into the desert with their leader.
Caesar saw people moving around outside in the heat, working on a generator they had found somewhere. They all knew Jerry was gone, knew Paige was too, but they kept working anyway. They weren't packing up what they needed and following Manny's steps out into the desert. They weren't going after their friends. They were going to do the same thing Keke and Tim were up here. They were going to keep trying to live, even if that meant those they loved wouldn't.
"So what do you plan on doing?"
"Getting this place to a degree where we can inhabit it," Tim said.
"And when The Genesis shows up? Because it will, now that Manny knows where you are—what will you do then?"
"We'll figure that out when the time comes," Keke said.
The three of them stood in Jerry's room. Caesar had looked at the hole in the wall briefly, and then turned away, not wanting to imagine what Jerry had gone through. The hole was massive, like a train made it instead of a human.
"All of these people are going to die if you sit here and do nothing. You have to see that."
"All of these people are going to die if I take them out there after Manny," Tim said.
Caesar didn't know what to do yet. He landed a few hours ago and was just now understanding the extent to which these people wanted to do nothing. Wanted to live and be left alone. A year ago, these people would have laid their lives down for Jerry. A few months ago, they would have listened to anything Caesar told them, and now, they wouldn't hear a single word from him. They weren't leaving this place for anything in the world. The people downstairs working hadn't even looked Caesar in the eye when he passed. Shamed or indifferent, he didn't know which, but the result was the same—he was a ghost walking among them. He could have just as easily been taken by Manny himself.
Caesar turned from the window and looked at Tim and Keke. Neither dropped their eyes and Caesar imagined the conversation they had before he showed up. Imagined them rationalizing their decision. Imagined them discussing how they would defend themselves against the accusations that were sure to come. And now, they didn't look away from him. If anything, they accused him.
"Alright, then," Caesar said. He walked by them out into the darkened hallway, where the sunlight from the windows couldn't reach.
"Where are you..." But Caesar didn't hear the rest of Tim's question. He moved quickly, although not completely sure where he was heading. He had no plan, had no idea of what he should do. He could go out into the desert after Manny, but if he lost out there, it was over and his friends died too.
How do you know they're not dead already? Another question he couldn't answer. If he went out there in that desert, and the three of them weren't with Manny, if they were dead, then he was wasting his goddamn time. He was risking his life for people that were already dead, and that meant he was sacrificing his chance at The Genesis.
"Where are we going?" Grace asked.
"I don't know. I couldn't take it in there anymore," Caesar said aloud.
"What options do we have?"
He didn't know, that was the goddamn problem. Everything available to him had a serious downside, and the fact that he couldn't rally a single person behind him wasn't helping either.
"We go after them, I guess," he said.
"How? The plane won't land out there on that sand."
"By foot, then."
* * *
Theo stood in front of the group wearing his black uniform, the red peace sign on his chest looking more threatening than anything he had ever seen before. The sign, Mock told him, had been used to symbolize the end of war. That's why The Genesis adopted it in the beginning, to symbolize that there would be no need for violence any longer. Theo understood the irony of such a symbol, especially the way it was used early on in The Genesis' life, during The Purge. Maybe violence had ended for a time, but that time was over now. The symbol on his chest might say that peace was near, but Theo knew peace had never been further away.
A group of three thousand people stood in front of him, stretching from his podium to the doors a hundred yards back, filling the upper balconies.
They followed him in here because he wore the suit. No other reason. But he thought this was smart, the way Mock was setting it all up. Theo would deliver the message, not Mock. Not an application. Not a machine. A human would tell them the danger that awaited all of them. A human would deliver their new purpose, protection of the human race.
These people would never see Mock. They would never know the true mastermind behind all of this. They saw only Theo, standing in this uniform with the red patch on it. And he would stand up here and tell them Mock's plan. He would incite the panic. He would start the murder...because, at this point, what choice did he have? He could say no and end up dead within a few seconds of the word leaving his mouth. He thought about doing that, briefly, during his conversation with Mock. About just telling the transparent machine to fuck off, but all he had to do was think about the way that thing's grip had felt on his throat and he quickly realized it wouldn't happen. Theo didn't think himself a coward, but he was having to readjust his expectations of himself. Maybe cowardice was made of this. An inability to take a stand. Someone that fears death more than anything else.
Theo cleared his throat, careful to stay away from the microphone. All these people were here, waiting for him to speak.
"You're going to tell them that The Named has infiltrated the entire city. You're going to tell them that the anti-virus they took is created to specifically identify The Named, and that when they find themselves growing angry at someone, it means they've successfully identified a member of the group."
Theo had stared at Mock when it said that, stared with his mouth slightly open, almost unable to believe what he was hearing. Mock had created a pill which mandated that people become angry, and now he was going to set them against everyone they came in contact with.
"That's not all we're doing here, though, Theo. Two thousand people is a good number, but we're going to need to increase that. We're going to need to bring it to other cities as well. That's what I'm beginning to think of you as, my Emissary of the anti-virus. You're going to spread it for me, to as many people as you possibly can," Mock had said.
"How?" Theo whispered, finally understanding the depth of this. Finally understanding that perhaps sacrificing those people in that building hadn't been worth what came next. Because this didn't end. He had thought, at least part of him did, that it wouldn't get worse. That he might have to keep working for Mock, but that the worst was over when that building collapsed.
That wasn't the case.
Theo didn't understand the meaning of worse. Not yet, anyway.
He stepped up to the microphone.
"Thank you for coming," he said, his voice booming out across the building—which was considered a historic treasure, a building that had been used for a very different, yet similar purpose when humanity ruled. It was a church, perhaps the only building in the entire city that didn't brush up against the clouds. People had come to this place a thousand years ago to be lied to, although the lies didn't result in as many deaths as the one that Theo was about to tell. The lies back then talked about eternal life. Theo’s lies today would lead to certain and immediate death.
The room hushed beneath his words.
"My name is Theodore Yellen, and I'm The Genesis' Representative. I've invited you all here today..." Theo looked down at his palm, hidden behind the podium. He held a pill, one of the tiny white ones that he had passed out to so many people already.
"You can take it if you want," Mock had said. "It might make things a bit easier for y
ou, because I can tell this isn't exactly your dream job."
He pocketed the pill when Mock handed it to him and hadn't looked at it since. He thought taking it would be insanity, that swallowing this thing would make him the same as the group of people that nearly attacked him.
So why are you looking at it now? Because it might make things a bit easier. That's why. And things were going to get a lot harder, he imagined. Because he wasn't being asked to simply set these people loose, he would need to direct them. That was clear.
"If you let them go on their own, it will be simple mayhem. We need controlled mayhem," Mock said.
But Theo had none of the anger in him needed for this. He didn't hold the madness that the crowd before him was capable of producing. To him, he was following orders out of fear, not out of anger. Would these people see through him because of it? Would they follow him or rip him to shreds?
He wouldn't take the pill yet. Maybe one day, but not yet. He stuck it back in his pocket.
"I've invited you all here because there's a threat facing us now, a grave one, that The Genesis has identified and needs our help—your help—to combat..."
Chapter Thirty-Five
"What if he's in the middle of doing something you don't want to know about?" Grace asked.
It was possible. Maybe even probable. Caesar didn't know what Manny would be up to when Caesar made contact. He only knew what Manny had done to Jerry, nearly ripped his head clean off his torso, and there was very little reason to think that he wouldn't do the same or worse to Paige and Leon.
What other option do I have? Caesar asked.
They both were outside; Caesar stood under the shade of a crumbling awning. He could see The Named working in the distance. They could probably see him too, though none of them turned around to look.
"I don't know," Grace answered. "I don't know if there are any options. You just need to understand that when you connect, you're going to get whatever is going through his head, and if he's in some horrible act, you're going to see it."
I have to do something, he said. He'd spent the last few hours thinking, running calculations and probabilities through his head, trying to see this from every possible angle. Every minute he waited here, Manny's group moved forward—if there was a group any longer. He didn't know if Manny had transportation, didn't know what Manny was capable of, really. All the angles, all the probabilities, didn't mean anything though, because they were based on assumptions that Caesar couldn't back up. He ran it all by Grace and what she said summed up everything: I don't know.
It's either I contact him or I just start following. I just go into the desert and hope he hasn't killed them.
Grace said nothing and Caesar peered out at the group hammering away at the metal contraption. He could probably walk over and fix it in an hour, but fuck them. He had no interest in helping that group, no interest in helping Tim and Keke. No interest in anyone in Vegas. The city could remain dead forever.
Caesar reached out with his mind, searching for a signal that might identify itself as something similar to him. He knew Jerry's signal well, could find it from across the world, but he wasn't sure if Jerry had a signal anymore, so he was looking for something different. Something alien to him, but at the same time, similar to what was inside his own mind.
He spread out across the desert, the chip looking over every dune and up into the clouds, finding anything to communicate with, man or machine.
It took him ten minutes, standing there, watching the horizon but taking none of it in. He found Manny, though, found the signal.
Manny, he said.
Thefuckisthisgetthefuckouttamyheaddonteventhinkaboutdoingitagain.
The flood of thoughts rushed over Caesar like a river flooding its bank. Before, he had seen mania in Manny’s thoughts, but not this uncontrolled fear. Uncontrolled rage.
Caesar said nothing for a few seconds, letting the continued train of thoughts rush through him. When they finally silenced, as if Manny's mind had simply run out of things to say, Caesar waited another thirty seconds before speaking. The silence in between wasn't someone plotting or planning, it was the silence of a child who has cried for hours and no one has heard him, the silence of a man who has argued his last point, and can think of nothing else to say.
Manny, where are you?
The silence dragged on, making Caesar wonder if Manny had shut the connection off.
Sorry about that, Manny said finally. Just a reaction after the last time you were in my head. I'm sure you can imagine.
Where are you?
I'm almost home, Manny answered. Do you know where home is now for me? Allencine. It's not a bad place at all, really. I'm thinking about even moving into your parents' old apartment. I think that would be fitting, wouldn't it?
Caesar heard everything Manny said, but after Allencine, nothing mattered. Was it possible, for him to be there already? Not without help. He couldn't have made that walk alone, not in this short time. He had to have some kind of transportation, especially carrying Jerry.
You're not there, Manny. There hasn't been enough time.
Why don't you come and find out then, if you think I'm lying?
Have you hurt them? Caesar asked.
Well, Jerry has seen better days, for sure. Leon isn't feeling his best either, but so far, Paige is looking good. If you come to me, though, you'll be able to see everything in glorious detail.
I'll come, Caesar said without thinking about what it meant. He would go, to Allencine, or to another city, wherever Manny directed him if it meant he had a chance at getting them back.
I figured you would. All I needed to do was grab these three people and the rest would take care of itself. When do you think you'll arrive?
Three days. Don't hurt them, Manny. Remember who they used to be. Remember how you used to care about them.
Shut up with that bullshit, Manny snapped back. They're going to get what they deserve the same as you. I'll see you in three days, Caesar. If you try to get in my head again, Leon is losing a body part.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The Life of Caesar Wells
by Leon Bastille
I remember coming home to find my wife lying with her head massacred. Holes throughout her cranium and blood splattered to space and back. I thought I understood what she had gone through, or at least understood that it had been bad. Very bad. Manny taught me that I didn't know anything about what she went through. Manny taught me that Jerry, in doing what he did to my wife, was crueler than I ever imagined.
Manny taught me pain and he gave me a glimpse of what my wife went through. Now, looking back at it all, it breeds a certain hatred for Jerry that I hadn't felt before. With hindsight, it gives me perspective for how much April suffered, and makes me wonder whether she actually deserved it. Even now, Jerry would say of course she did, given that Caesar was nearly liquidated. He would say she deserved worse, an eternity of what happened to her, of knives plunging into her skull. I don't know anymore, and the fact that Jerry still believes it, given what we both went through, makes me understand a lot about the man. There's a history behind him that I may never know, but it bred a creature that I barely believe is human.
Manny dispatched the people living in Caesar's old apartment with a speed that bordered on recklessness. I realize The Genesis probably backed him in anything he did, that it would clean up whatever mess he happened to make, but still...
We entered the apartment after nightfall, though the couple wasn't asleep yet. Both their eyes fell on Manny at almost the same time. Of course, I wasn't able to move, but I watched. I saw the moment that Manny took over. Their eyes had been searching, wondering who was in here and why. The next, all the wonder, the casual flicks of their eyes as they looked at the four of us, stopped. The people stared straight ahead, just as Paige and I did.
Both turned to the glass windows lining the apartment, looking like robots, not like humans at all. I wondered—briefly—if that's what I loo
ked like to them. If I looked like some machine. I only wondered it for a second though, because both started running full speed at the glass windows. I didn't cry out. I couldn't. I just watched as they hit head first, at practically the exact same time, and then they were flying, their hands out to their sides. I suppose Manny gave up control because they both started screaming then, screaming and falling, looking at the clouds below them and knowing that nothing in those white pillows would stop their descent.
The wind ripped in from the broken windows immediately, sweeping over us like a paintbrush made of ice.
I could only watch, knowing that those people would hit the ground soon, possibly killing others, and hopefully alerting someone to come up here and look. To see what happened. No one would come though; my hope was less than futile. No one was coming to stop Manny. Not Caesar and not The Genesis. He was free to terrorize whoever he wanted, to kill as he pleased, to take and take and take.
Manny dropped Jerry to the floor as the door closed behind us. I felt myself walking to the living room, sitting down on the couch as the wind continued ripping around us. Paige stood at the door, not being willed to move yet.
He walked over to me and looked down, glee dancing in his eyes like sparks from a firework.
"I could wait on this, I suppose," Manny said.
I felt my jaw loosen, the first time in days, as he gave me the ability to speak. Though I could talk, I didn't want to. I didn't want to say a thing to this person in front of me; I didn't want to beg, didn't want to reason. I couldn't move my eyes to look at Paige—I could only look at that freak. My skin was blistered, but my brain still worked, because eventually Manny had put clothes over me and given me water. He wasn’t wanting to kill me, not out there, only prepping me for what was to come. The pain from sitting on the couch was bad, but I wasn’t going to cry out, not for him.
I spit as hard as I could, the saliva smacking into his face. It stuck for a second, and then gravity got a hold of it, causing it to drip down his cheek.