“They’re preparing their masters’ return to the surface,” said Lauren.
“Exactly. This is how those creatures planned their invasion: first, the conflict with North Korea escalates. That’s where we are now. In a few hours, Russia will join forces with China to support the Korean attacks. Europe will clearly join forces with the United States. Nuclear ballistic missile fire exchanges will intensify until declaration of a ceasefire.”
“Is there any uncertainty in these predictions?” asked Lauren.
“Unfortunately not. The process is no longer stoppable.”
“What will be left of our planet? Our ecosystems?”
“Hominum primus isn’t looking to destroy life, Agent Chambers. He will wipe out almost all the megacities, but like us, he can’t do without Earth’s natural resources. He also needs living humans.”
“They’re going to enslave us,” she assumed.
“They already have enough servants—more than they need.”
“In that case, what do they want to do with us?”
He hesitated for a moment to form his answer. “We’re going to serve as a form of nourishment they will use for their regeneration, Lauren.”
“Vital fluid,” she said, remembering the paleographer’s writings.
The knot in her stomach tightened again. She waited for him to continue without really wanting to hear what he was going to say. It was as if her body refused to imagine the horror taking shape.
“The vital fluid is a substance contained in every person’s body in minute proportion,” Jim said. “Hominum primus must receive this fluid in quantities sufficient for regeneration to take place. The problem is that a considerable number of people must die to revive a single individual of their species.”
“What are the proportions?” she asked.
“Eight hundred people for one of the creatures.”
“How many of them are there? Have you been able to assess their demographics on Earth and below the surface?”
“The crypt you discovered in the forests of St. Marys, as well as all the opened ones, contained only a small fraction of their population. The first ones regenerated were the strategists.”
“Where are the others?” Lauren asked, not without apprehension.
“There’s one crypt left—the last and the largest one of all. It’s located somewhere under the Central Siberian Plateau in Russia. According to our sources, it contains several million of these beings, all warriors who will swarm the Earth and annihilate our species.”
“Is there any way to prevent their invasion?”
“Yes, there’s only one: we have to destroy that crypt before they open it.”
“If I understood correctly what Eliott explained to me, only the Sentinel is capable of opening a crypt.”
“Exactly,” said Jim.
“And I suppose to destroy this crypt, you’ll have to get inside, right?”
“Yes. That’s where you come in, Lauren.”
She looked at him wide-eyed. “I have to admit, I’m not following you.”
“In less than nine months, another being will be able to open that crypt, Lauren.”
It took her a few seconds to figure it out. Instinctively, she put her hands on her belly.
“How could you know? A few days ago, I didn’t know, myself!”
“We guessed. And we weren’t wrong.” He turned toward her and smiled at her warmly.
There was much kindness in his eyes, as well as hope.
Hope for the whole human race.
35
Meadow Creek resistance base, Idaho
The medical team took care of Lauren as soon as she arrived. They gave her an intravenous sedative. A young nurse named Aiyana watched over her during the five days she spent in bed. She was of Native American descent, with jet black eyes and long, straight hair like a raven’s feathers.
She told Lauren the whole story of the Brotherhood of the Dawn and its ongoing struggle until now. It had arisen in Mesopotamia during the same time the Order of the Adepts had formed. Like the Order, it had remained secret for thousands of years.
“Why the name, ‘Brotherhood of the Dawn’?” Lauren asked.
“One day,” replied the young Native American woman, “Drebba the Wise gathered brave men who lived on the Nineveh plateaus. That was fifteen thousand years ago. And he said:
“‘The father teaches his son how to milk the animals, watch over the flocks, and protect them from the dangers that descend in hordes from the woods at night. Throughout his history, man will experience great suffering because he must fend for himself. For no father will have taught him how to protect himself from evil. My brothers, know that the father of man is awaiting his time in the belly of the earth. One day, he will come back to feed on his son. But know that this father is not a father. He will have raised man as a beast. He will have taught him evil, and he will feast upon his flesh when the day of his kingdom comes again.
“‘At the dawn of this day, we will be there, and we will deliver man from the bleak fate in store for him.’”
The young woman paused for a moment of silence before resuming in a murmur, “That day has come, Lauren. Dawn is rising on Earth.”
“If you’ve always known,” Lauren asked, “why didn’t you spread the information so that humanity could fight them?”
“Who would have believed poor enlightened fools? We were and still are a minority. There were already a lot of Adepts, Lauren, really a lot. The balance of power with their Order was impossible for us. The Elders have always been masters in assassination, concealment, and conspiracy. Even now, they’re everywhere . . . and nowhere. But we can act because many of them are still dormant under the Earth.”
She paused for a moment. “But once they’ve regenerated, it will be too late.”
“What are our chances of defeating them?” Lauren asked. “Jim told me you were planning to infiltrate their big crypt.”
“Yes. Once we’ve made it inside, we’ll go down into its heart and place a charge of explosives powerful enough to destroy it from the inside.”
“Your plan is simple.”
“The child you’re carrying is our only hope, Lauren.”
“I won’t sacrifice him. I’ll die instead, but I won’t sacrifice him.” She had spoken like a she-wolf with flames in her eyes.
Aiyana looked down. “He’ll survive. You can be sure.”
Lauren looked carefully at the young Native American woman. “How can you be so certain?”
“We’ve been planning this attack for years. The infiltration plan we’ve developed is flawless.”
“In that case, I’ll take part in the infiltration and destruction of the crypt,” Lauren said. “It’s the only condition I require for my child to serve your cause.”
“I’ll tell the others. Your request is perfectly legitimate.”
Lauren fell back on the bed. She was breathing hard and still exhausted. Aiyana stood up.
“I’m going to let you get some rest. You need it.”
She said good-bye with a faint smile and left the tent.
Lauren watched her as she turned away and walked through the canvas door. She laid her hands on her stomach, listening for the life growing inside her, and then fell back to sleep.
*
Eliott woke up with a start to a clatter of metal against the siding of the tractor-trailer.
“Get up, monster—we’re here!” barked a mercenary.
The door at the back of the truck rattled as it rose.
It was dark outside. Frigid air rushed into the truck. He opened his eyes only a slit, so they wouldn’t see he was watching their every move. He lay completely still. As soon as the men let down their guard, he would escape into the icy expanses. Maybe he’d snatch one of them in his jaws and devour him once he’d gotten away.
One of them approached the reinforced cage. He banged on the steel bars with the barrel of his machine gun.
“Hey, did you hea
r that, animal? Get up!”
He didn’t move.
Another mercenary climbed onto one of the uprights of the huge metal cube and unlocked the cage. Eliott’s hands and feet were still chained to the steel frame. Suddenly, the men backed away and climbed out of the trailer. He hadn’t expected that. Why are they leaving me? Then he heard footsteps on the icy snow that covered the ground outside. They were sinking heavily into the ice. It wasn’t a human. It was far too big. He smelled the same odor he remembered from the crypt.
A tall silhouette appeared at the entrance of the trailer. It approached Eliott and placed one of its knotty, black hands on his head.
He held still, waiting for the right moment to escape.
“Don’t try to escape. It won’t be possible now.” The Hominum primus left its hand on the still, black carcass. It was looking at its creature with the eye of a benevolent father.
“Where are we?” Eliott asked.
“Close to the entrance, Sentinel.”
Eliott lifted his clenched jagged fangs toward the Elder’s dark, glistening body. “I’m not going to open it. You can’t force me to. I know it.”
The being smiled grimly. By your hands, the door will open. Eventually, your spirit will give in.”
“We’ll see.” Eliott let his face fall back to the ground. He was exhausted, unable to rid himself of the Elder’s telepathic hold on him.
36
March 5, 2018
Weeks and months passed. After a period of recovery, Lauren received training from specialized instructors, many of whom had been part of the FBI. They taught her various skills, including how to build equipment, explosives, and handmade communication systems from recovered parts and used or old equipment. The resistance had anticipated the conditions in which its soldiers would soon have to fight. Lauren also underwent training in guerrilla warfare, although she already knew almost as much as her instructors did.
The Dawn resistance fighters knew how to operate on all types of terrain. They had established their bases across every continent. The largest one was in Nepal, in the Rajpur region, nestled in the Himalayan foothills at an altitude of sixteen thousand feet. The one in Meadow Creek had twenty thousand soldiers. They had set it up in a vast cavern, partly overrun by pine forest. Buildings of dried gray clay came to the edge of the cave, all connected by a maze of staircases. A high waterfall poured from the top of the rocky ceiling to form a lake in the middle of the grotto, supplying water to the entire base.
The Brotherhood of the Dawn had infiltrated the political and military sectors. Over the centuries, it had modeled its strategy on that of the Order of the Adepts, but the soldiers of the Dawn were significantly fewer in number. Still, their advantage was that they could hide more easily. The Dawn had therefore focused on the quality of its agents rather than on the size of its forces. Hunted by the Adepts since the early days of humanity, the soldiers of the Dawn had become nomads by necessity. Many had entered the monastic orders of various religious sects. In this way, the brave warriors strengthened themselves both in combat and in spirituality.
One morning, after Lauren had finished her sword training, the camp leaders summoned her for an audience. She went to put her weapon in her tent and then to the command quarters dug into the higher levels of the base. After following a long corridor lit only by torches, she arrived at the massive entrance to the meeting room. She knocked on the wooden door.
“Come in, Lauren,” replied Jim’s familiar voice.
She entered the room, which wooden pillars supported, and walked toward the table where five resistance leaders sat.
One of them motioned for her to sit down. She pulled out a chair and sat down across from them.
“You’re almost ready, Lauren,” said the man they called Coyote, a puny guy who was quick and agile in the field.
Lauren only nodded.
Another spoke. “You requested permission to participate in the final operation with us.”
“Yes.”
“We approve your request unanimously.”
A smile lit up the young agent’s face.
“Where are we with our little hero?” Jim asked, looking at Lauren’s rounded belly.
“Five months to go,” she answered.
“Perfect,” Jim responded.
“Have you been able to locate the cell phone matching the number I gave you?” she asked.
The man looked solemn. “No, Lauren. I’m sorry; we know it’s important to you.”
She stood up holding her belly and left the room in silence, her eyes lowered to the ground. When she reached her tent, she lay down on her bed. She was so full of sorrow that she was afraid it might affect the child. She stroked her pregnant belly and spoke to the little being inside.
“Your father will be back, Matthew, for sure. He won’t leave us alone. And we’re going to save the world. You haven’t been born yet, but what you’re about to accomplish is written. Since the dawn of time, Matthew, it’s been written. You’re a real little hero, you know? That’s what they call you here.”
She suddenly stopped talking. She’d heard a noise at the tent’s entrance.
Aiyana, the young Native American woman, appeared in the doorframe. “May I come in?” she asked softly.
Lauren answered with a smile. “Of course.”
Aiyana came and sat in a chair near the bed. “I talked to a shaman from my tribe. I gave him the pearl necklace Eliott had given you. He saw Eliott.”
Lauren stared at her, eyes full of hope.
The young Native American laid her hand on hers. “He’s all right,” said Aiyana. “His heart is strong, and he’s still extremely brave.”
“Where is he?” Lauren asked, squeezing her hand.
“The shaman couldn’t see where exactly, but Eliott’s very far away—across the seas.”
“Do you think he might be near the last crypt in Siberia?” Lauren asked.
“It’s likely, yes. The shaman saw much snow and ice.”
“If that’s the case, it means they’re going to have him open the crypt soon. May God help him resist them.”
“The shaman told me there was still much light in his mind, but his body . . .”
The Native American stopped, seemingly looking for the exact words the old shaman had spoken.
“But his body was no longer that of a man.”
Lauren felt slashed open.
Young Aiyana continued. “They’re not able to open the crypt for now. We’re sure of this because several sabotage operations have seriously damaged the sites where they were manufacturing their large extractors. They will now face a considerable delay in their plan for regeneration.”
“That will allow time for Matthew’s birth.”
“Yes, that’s why we’re content to delay the opening. According to our calculations, they will not complete the large extractors for six months.”
“We’ll strike before then,” Lauren said angrily.
Aiyana made a soothing gesture with her hand. “Yes, Lauren, but above all, you need to rest. Don’t foster any hatred. What you’re about to accomplish is a great gift for humanity.”
Lauren pulled herself together. “You’re right, but it’s hard for me not to think about what those creatures did to Eliott.”
“We’ll do everything we can to bring him back to human form when we’ve finished with Hominum primus.”
“Do you think he has any chance of becoming a man again?”
The young woman gave her a confident smile. “He’s from the Tolowa tribe. The Tolowas were brave and strong. I have no doubt about it, Lauren. Eliott will return as a man among men.”
37
The intercontinental nuclear missile strikes killed more than twenty million people worldwide. The bombings leveled the cities of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris, London, Pyongyang, Hamhung, Chongjin, Shanghai, and Beijing.
The economic crisis was intensifying at the speed of an inf
erno in the winds of war. Everywhere, in the ruined cities across the world, looting, murder, insurrections against totalitarian regimes, and all types of violence were on the rise. Civil wars broke out in Eastern Europe, North Africa, India, the Philippines, Mexico, China, and Russia.
Armed forces weakened by the fighting on multiple fronts were no longer able to provide protection for the civilian populations. Looters and hordes of rebels of all kinds squabbled over what remained of the big cities hit by missiles. In every economic sector, production had fallen to less than fifteen percent. The UN military forces had taken control of the industries able to provide essential supplies to the rebellious and wounded populations. All attempts to restore some semblance of order through provisional political agreements were like stabbing swords into water. Chaos had invaded the Earth and plunged all its peoples into an impenetrable cloud where human nature returned to the animal state.
Hominum primus was waiting in the shadows. It enjoyed seeing the light fade and the flame of hope go out. It watched patiently as the cogs of its Machiavellian gears turned, one by one.
March 21
On the first day of spring, life was blossoming. The date certainly hadn’t been a random choice. The first deportations to the extraction camps began. Hominum primus didn’t care about the ethnic or religious affiliation of the people it was leading to death. All that mattered was the vital fluid they contained. For extractors to function, operators had to load them with live human organic matter. Any type of person was suitable for extraction.
The Order of the Adepts had formed private security militias through its agents who had infiltrated the armed forces. The purpose of these militias was to secure cities, protect industrial sites still in operation, and protect the interests the Adepts’ financiers held. Very cleverly, corrupt politicians voted to allow the militias to gain autonomy. They were then able to offer their services to the overwhelmed armed forces. Soon, they had gained control of certain sectors. These included prisons, which were growing ever more crowded, and hospitals, which were overflowing with wounded and sick people.
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