by Jason Luthor
“We have identified several cages with victims inside as well as fought off a few of the creatures. They’re half humans, but they’ve definitely been changed.”
“Yeah. Those.”
“They’re not . . . scavengers, are they?”
“I don’t think so.” Vick’s been wearing a smile most of the time he’s been here, but now it falls off. “Yeah. They really only want Mike. They kept me alive as an experiment but didn’t need any of the rest of the team. I’m pretty sure they . . . you know. Hunted them down.”
Abbott’s voice pitches low. “I’m sorry, Vick. I know they were yours.”
It takes him a second as he looks away, and even in the low light, I can see his eyes shimmering. “Yeah, well, did my best. Don’t know what I’m supposed to tell their families when I get home.”
“You tell them the truth. That their loved ones were heroes.”
“Right, that’s what they were.” He almost sounds like he doesn’t believe it, and for a second Vick just sits there, looking at the floor and watching his finger scratching into the carpet. “Anyway, they want Mike because they think he can cause a massive incident. Worse than the last one.”
“How is that possible? What would Mike have to do with that?”
“How? Well, we both know how. You just have to stop and think about it. We’ve both had people under our command with, well, let’s call them ‘special’ abilities. Somehow they know just the right turn to take or can tell when danger’s coming, like they can predict it.”
The commander’s fingers fold into one another as his head rests on the wall. “He’s a precog.”
The fact that he’s willing to say it out loud means Abbott basically doesn’t care whether we find out what’s going on anymore or not. I mean, I recognize the word from my convo with dad. Everyone else though? They’ve never heard it. Dodger’s already raising her hand when the commander interrupts her. “Precognitives are people with limited psychic ability. That allows them to predict an event up to seconds before it happens, which makes them useful for detecting if danger is present. They’re even able to tell when you’re about to punch or pull a trigger. For that reason, almost every Scavenger team has one. Joanne was ours.”
Tommy’s head snaps up. “Aw, no way! No wonder I couldn’t ever hit her.”
“Precisely. They’re not typically very powerful, but they do have just enough skill to help anticipate a dangerous situation.”
Vick waves at him to stop. “Except that’s not the case here. Mike’s special. Think about the best precog you’ve ever had serve under you. They’re like oil lamps or matches. Mike on the other hand? He’s more like an explosion.”
“You’re saying he’s powerful.”
“Right, he just doesn’t have any control over it. When his mood goes, the effect he has on the Creep is ten times worse than if you or I had a meltdown.”
Abbott glances over to me. “Do you have any knowledge of this?”
I’m not sure if I’m supposed to even be talking about what dad said to me because I don’t know what could get him in trouble. Then again, everything’s on the line now. That doesn’t mean I actually have much to say. “Dad did say that David specialized with precogs.”
“Is that all?”
“Pretty much. What else would I tell you? Yeah, David was experimenting on humans, not just because of the Creep, but to test how psychic abilities worked. At least, that’s what I thought he was doing.”
“So, we have a man loose, in this Tower, who is familiar with manipulating the Creep not only using traditional methods, but who also has intimate knowledge of how precognition works and how it interacts with the environment? Not to mention that this same man seems capable of infecting people in such a way that morphs them into these beasts we’ve been finding.”
Vick waves over at Abbott. “It’s not like this would be any fun if it were easy.”
“You always were like that.” Abbott’s eyes pass over Vick’s legs. “You’re not able to walk, are you?”
“At the moment? All signs point to no.”
“That’s not good. I can’t leave you here alone.”
“You can’t go short handed, either,” he argues. “You’re going to need all the weapons you can get.”
It doesn’t seem to matter what Vick says, though. Abbott’s already looking around the room. “I need someone to stay with the commander here,” he says. “Shields. You’re a medic. Maybe it would be best if you stayed behind?”
The lieutenant’s already opening his mouth when Dodger’s voice cuts in. “Sir, no,” she says as she gets to her feet. “I’m not nearly as good a shot as the lieutenant, and who knows what you’re going to find when you go after Mike. It’d be better if I helped keep the room safe. It’s not like we don’t know why I’m here. I mean, really, I’m the tech girl. Shields has a ton more experience than me, and he can hit a bullseye on the other side of a hall.”
Abbott gets up and looks her in the eye. “You’ll be entirely alone. If you stay behind, you won’t have reinforcement, and I can’t promise you that we’ll be back. There’s no telling exactly what we’ll be up against. If we don’t come back, it will be your duty to return Commander McGill to the extraction point. Should that happen, you will have to be able to hit your target. Many of them, most likely. Can you protect him while he recovers?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do my best.”
The commander tried to hold back his frown, but it’s there. “Use the supplies you’ve obtained during the Scavenging to help him. Nothing’s wrong with his legs, at least not structurally. He just needs some time to recover. It takes a bit if you’ve been off your feet as long as he has.”
Dodger nods. “I will, sir.”
“Good.” Abbott looks around the room. “I’m going to scout the hall and make sure nobody’s coming to see what happened to the lab. The rest of you have thirty before we move out.”
After Abbott’s out the door, I give Dodger a thumbs up. “You okay?”
“I think so,” she nods as Tommy comes around to join us. “It looks like we’re all going to be splitting up though.”
“I mean, not forever. Just until we get back.”
“Are you sure everything’s going to be okay out there?”
Tommy slaps her across the back. “Come on. Don’t get messed up on us. Before you know it, we’ll be back here with Mike, and then we’ll all be able to head back home. It’ll be just another successful Scavenging in the books.”
As usual, Tommy’s the guy that can keep the smiles hanging, even if the mention of Mike’s name gets my stomach rolling like I’ve just gotten done eating too much candy. Maybe old Toolshed here should’ve been a Morale officer. Of course, Dodger looks relieved to hear him sounding so unrelentingly cavalier. “It’s not like you’re not right. I mean, it’s just that Utada . . .”
I give her a nod. “Hey. It’s like the commander said, you know? She knew what she was doing. It’s a part of the job. So, don’t think of it like she got killed. It’s more like, she went in knowing she was doing it for us.”
“You’re right. You’re always super tough, Jackie.”
That gets a laugh out of me. “Me? If this trip’s taught me anything, it’s that I’m not half as tough as I think. Things are way too real down here.”
“They really are, but at least we’re almost done.”
“Almost.”
Her eyes go off to Tommy. “What’re you going to do when we get back?”
“Me?” He jabs a pair of thumbs toward himself. “Psh. You know, be awesome, rock at basketball, my normal.”
“Ah.”
She doesn’t look impressed, and apparently Tommy’s starting to become a big boy because he immediately starts backpedaling. “I mean, I’m kidding, obviously. Really, I’ll probably end up just checking out a movie. Maybe we can all hang or something. Hey, we can even come up with some cool nickname for ourselves now that we’ll be vets. The terrible trio or som
ething.”
My hands covers my eyes. “Tommy. That is the worst. Just stop.”
“I’m just trying to think on my feet here.”
“That’s never been what you do well. Stick to the basketball and sports.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” he says with a wink and a smile.
God. When did I start needing that?
Researcher’s Log
Experiment results discussion
David Marshall recording
I wonder if I should rehash the past few months, which have been understandably difficult. I feel as if I’ve brought up the problems we’ve faced so many times that, well, my recordings are becoming little more than complaints. Still, it’s difficult to get around the fact that resources have dwindled to a degree I’d sincerely hoped we could avoid, even if our number of test subjects has been near adequate. Although, we’ve had to draw them from an increasingly high risk pool of emotionally unstable individuals with little to live for, and it should go without saying that our wealth of precogs has dried up. Still, these depressed individuals we’ve taken have been nearly ideal test subjects, even if they are not always willing. At least we’ve been able to tell them that, because of their sacrifices, they’re creating a glorious future for humanity.
The grim truth is that we’ve maintained our pool of subjects despite an acceleration in the number of deaths. That trade-off was necessary. The greater autonomy I’ve been granted has meant I’ve been able to make the hard decisions Tower Authority was not capable of allowing me. Of course, this has also meant I’ve had to modify my theories. It seems anyone with the correct temperament can bond to the Creep given a long enough exposure time, regardless of whether or not they are precognitive. This time frame is measured in months and occurs as the subject’s blood is slowly transformed by infested cells. In these subjects, we’ve observed a notable resistance to physical damage, whether by blunt force, stabbing, or gun fire. Their speed is greatly enhanced as well. These Creep Beasts are incapable of registering pain or fatigue and will literally run until their legs fall off. What’s a leg to them? The Creep in their system will simply generate new ones, given the right conditions. Regardless of how great the physical toll on their bodies, regardless of the damage, it is all mitigated by the cellular regenerative properties of the infected cells. And that, precisely, is why we conduct this research. To one day achieve a perfect union in which our minds continue to thrive even while our bodies are given the ability to regenerate. Imagine a world with no sickness, disease or death. Imagine having the mental capacity to control the Creep.
But even if we now know that almost anyone can be bonded with enough time, we’ve also established that only highly gifted precognitives have the capability to bond in the same way Sally did, and few of them have the sheer mental power to do so. Without that special ability, control of the Creep is impossible. A person has no chance of retaining any fraction of their self-awareness without it. This conclusion has some inevitable consequences for the future of the human population. After all, to achieve our glorious tomorrow, precognition will be a trait that needs to be bred for in future generations. This will inevitably form a two-tiered society, with precogs at the top and non-precognitives on the second rung. Over time, those without the ability should be bred out of society entirely, leaving a nearly immortal, psychic ruling class. Once this is achieved, departure from the Tower may not only be possible, but inevitable.
In the meantime, I’ve continued to closely study the reaction of bonded test subjects to a new device we’ve conjured up. It projects energy waves with similar properties to human telepathic projections and allows us a basic system of protecting ourselves. Essentially we can tell the Creep to stop attacking, although the command only last so long, and in the meantime, we’re forced to either run away or kill whatever infestation is rampaging out of control. It’s far more effective on bonded humans, who we can cause to act aggressively toward any person not wearing one of these devices. It should be obvious that I will be having these mass produced for everyone working on my team, though it will be difficult to do so given the lack of adequate resources we’ve run into. It will be a long process, but one we must struggle through, for the obvious reason that we must survive to complete our work. We must finally produce a fully bonded, conscious subject.
I say all this as if the goal is within reach. Well, no. We have yet to find a precog with the sheer telepathic power necessary to not only match Sally but surpass her. That trait will have to be identified, bred for, and the subject allowed a gradual bonding that will allow them to retain control of their minds. If the subject has the sufficient telepathic capacity to fend off the Creep’s own mental intrusions, I feel strongly that we can produce our first human-Creep hybrid with a fully intact mind. However, it is important that I calm myself. Such a subject has not yet been found and I do not have access to the large population of the Tower that I once did. Still, time will make a way. I am sure of it.
Recording Thirty-Three
I’ve literally just finished making my last recording when I hear the droning in my ear. It freaks me out at first, but I realize pretty quickly what’s going on. That still doesn’t make the headache that noise gives me any easier. Anyway, it’s only a few seconds before a voice pops into my head.
“Jackie.”
“Director,” I say, trying to be formal about this. I’m kind of not in the mood to be friendly friendly. “Been a while.”
“Things have been busy here on Floor 1, but rest assured, I have been keeping adequate track of your progress.”
“You and the rest of Floor 1, you mean.”
“Jackie. You and I both know the situation. They watch for entertainment. I watch to make sure our plans are successful.”
“Entertainment,” I laugh. “Are you talking about when Dodger nearly got eaten alive or when Jamila took a claw through her leg? Or maybe that freaked out creepy music coming through the radio? Got any ideas about those?”
“You’re angry.”
”Uh, yeah I’m angry.” I practically slam back into the couch. I’d be yelling all this if I didn’t have to whisper, since I don’t need the rest of the team hearing me. “Things are just hard, you know?”
“They’re not going to get any easier, particularly now that we know that Mike has some rather unique gifts. You understand that, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t think Abbott’s contacts in Tower Authority will want that boy’s power for themselves?”
“What? Why would they?”
“Why do all men and women crave power? What is Authority’s overriding imperative? To assert control over the Tower. You know this. You were tried by them and, regardless of what you may think of him now, don’t forget that Abbott was once willing to give you back up to them.”
“Yeah, but . . .” I don’t know what to say, you know? I mean, he’s right. “Yeah, okay.”
“Stay committed to the goal, Jackie. Now that we know what Mike is capable of, he is our top priority. Find him. Get him. Bring him back here.”
“What about finding ground level? I thought that was half the point?”
There’s a pause on the other end. Pygmalion doesn’t do that often. “Sometimes, we must make detours to reach our destination. I’m no happier about it than you are.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“I have to go. Good luck, Jackie, and remember: eliminate any threat that poses a risk to Mike. It is imperative we keep him from both the Cultists and from Abbott. You have to do whatever is necessary to prevent him from taking Mike to Authority.”
“Wait. What? What exactly are you telling me?”
“Simply that you must be vigilant and trust no one, not even Abbott. He serves a different master, one that would have us trapped in the Tower for all eternity. If he does try and steal the boy away, you must take certain actions to prevent that. I trust you’ll know what to do. If you falter, remember that Abbott would
have gladly thrown you back into Authority’s hands to be sent to Reinforcement.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I get it.”
“Good luck.”
The signal goes dead, and then I’m just sitting there again, alone in some Creep soaked living room that’s barely got any light. For a minute I just have to bury my head in my hands. I don’t want to think about this. He’s asking me to kill again, you know? And, I know that’s part of the job requirement, but he’s asking me to kill Abbott. I can’t believe I’m thinking it, but I can’t . . . I can’t do that. I don’t always know what to think of the commander, but I know he’s not . . . he wouldn’t send Mike to Authority, right? Then again, that’s what he tried to do to me once.
Almost as if he’s reading my mind, the commander throws open the door and light comes spilling into the room. He stands there and looks at me, and I can barely squeak an eye out through my fingers. For a second he looks kind of uncomfortable, but he sucks it up and walks over to me. “Are you alright, Coleman?” I don’t answer, and finally he takes a knee in front of me. “Jackie. I need you to keep it together for a little while longer.”
I’m staring at him from between my fingers before I finally drop them. I don’t know whether I’m depressed or pissed off at him. “Why were you going to take me to Reinforcement?”
“What?”
“Before we fought Sally, when you first found me and my dad, you were going to take me back to Reinforcement.”
“I wasn’t. I was sent to find you. That’s all.”
“But you know taking me back to Authority would’ve meant they would stick me up with that Creep juice and wipe my brain out!”
“There are rules we have to follow for the Tower to survive, Jackie. We knew ahead of time that your father would be necessary to bring down Sally, and I’m no fool. I knew he wouldn’t help without demanding your safety. I’m not a member of Security, Jackie. You were the first person sentenced to Reinforcement I’d ever dealt with. It’s not exactly a part of my job description. I had a strong feeling that because of your father’s importance that things would work out. I couldn’t understand how, but I knew it would.”