by Adam Moon
The sight of her made the Captain’s heart sink. That human female was a physical reminder of her own cowardice.
The young, heavily built man with her might have been the human that destroyed their mother ship. There was no way to be sure since none of them had been on it when it happened, but he exuded an odd aura that left her ill at ease.
The sight of their orbiting ship blowing up, along with the sight of the girl’s strange powers had been enough to convince the Captain that the only way to eradicate the species was to surrender and wait for the inevitable reinforcements.
She wanted nothing more than to rush forward and snatch the girl’s throat in her fist and squeeze the life from her but that would be a mistake, especially if the young male was who she thought he was; superior, just like his female counterpart.
Anticlimax
Watson pointed and said, “This is all they do all day long. They just sit there silently brooding.”
Delacourt shook his head. “I wish I had some suggestions for you, but our captives are the same way and nothing we’ve done has broken them.”
Melanie stared intently at the taller one in the center. The aliens all looked the same, but there was something about the way the tall one regarded her that forced her to take notice. It gave her the willies.
Watson had originally planned to have the teenagers showcase their abilities in front of the aliens. The idea was simple intimidation. If the aliens were scared enough, maybe they’d start to talk or at least try to find a way to communicate. But the last thing he wanted to do now was to stoop to Delacourt’s level, especially in front of him.
Jack waved to the cluster of aliens in a mock cheerful way and then sarcastically said to Watson, “Well, that was enlightening. Is that it then?”
Watson smiled and lied. “I just thought you’d like to see them for yourselves. Let’s go. I need to find out the status of my men and you two are probably getting pretty bored following me around.” The last part was a ruse. He knew they weren’t getting bored of him; he was tiring of babysitting them when so much was going on around him that required his attention.
Jack turned to Melanie. “Do you want to go and practice some more?”
Before she could respond, Delacourt blurted out, “I’d like to watch you two in action if you’ll allow it.” Then he turned to Watson and said snidely, “That is, if Commander tight-ass will let me out of his sight for a second.”
Watson scowled so Delacourt tried a different tactic. “If you were a guest on my base, I’d let you have the run of the place. We’d have treated you like royalty. Come on, man. I can be trusted. I’m a Goddamn General and a base Commander just like you are.”
Watson didn’t have the time to get into petty arguments so he went against his gut instinct. “Go on then. I’ll be back around in about two hours.”
To Jack and Melanie, he said, “If either of you have a problem, let me know.”
Delacourt lips pursed in agitation but he kept them shut. Watson disliked him already, and for no good reason. After all, it was Watson who’d screwed up, not him. The orb had been intact the whole time it was in his custody, but the second Watson was put in charge of it, it all went to hell. That was why he’d made it his new mission to do everything in his power to make sure the teenagers were entrusted in his custody instead of Watson’s, whether the kids liked it or not. They could be exceptional military assets if they were molded properly. Watson could just keep the knocked out idiots for all he cared. He seriously doubted they’d make full recoveries any time soon anyway. He just had to see for himself if their abilities could live up to his expectations.
Putting Delacourt in his Place
Jack hated to showcase his powers in front of the weird little Commander but he was too polite to cause a fuss. Every time he teleported an object, the Commander looked around the room feverishly, trying to find out where it had reappeared. When Jack teleported his own body across the room, the Commander smiled in a way that sent chills up his spine.
Delacourt asked, “How do you do it, son?”
Jack tried to put it into words but the truth was that it was instinctive for him now. “I just focus on what I want to influence and then I try to think of where I’d like that thing to go. I get a kind of tunnel-vision when I do it and all I see is what I want to teleport.” He didn’t mention that sometimes his abilities worked independently from his intentions or that when he got furious, they worked on some type of supercharged autopilot.
Delacourt yawned before Jack had finished the last sentence and then turned to Melanie. “What can you do?” He ogled Melanie’s body without any attempt to hide the fact.
She shook her head in disgust. “I think it’s called telekinesis but I can do more than just move things with my mind, I can affect them too. Watch this.” Then she smiled impishly and winked at Jack as her eyes scrunched in concentration and her hands engorged in blood. When Delacourt saw that she was staring at him, he panicked. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
His arms shot straight up into the air until they would rise no more. And then his entire body started to float upwards, as though he were being lifted by the hands. He stopped rising when his feet dangled a foot from the ground.
Melanie said, “Don’t ever call me names again and don’t ever stare at me that way again. Do you understand?”
Delacourt adjusted to the situation with lightning speed. His astonishment was short lived, lasting a few meager seconds. “You don’t intimidate me, you little bitch. Is this all you’ve got?”
Melanie concentrated harder and an audible thud came from the vicinity of Delacourt’s crotch region. He winced and pulled his knees up to his chest to guard his balls from further attack.
Jack’s whimsy quickly morphed into sadness. It was a shame that some people wouldn’t listen to reason. It was horrible that violence or threats of bodily harm were necessary to make some people act like human beings. It upset him that Melanie was the one doling out the violence. She was better than that, but what choice did she have besides allowing the jerk to insult her and treat her like a second class citizen.
He took a step forward and said, “Let him down. If he steps out of line again, I’ll teleport his head away from his body.” It was a lie to frighten Delacourt but it worked because the moment he was dropped to his feet, he issued a hasty, albeit half-hearted apology.
Melanie just turned her back on him. Jack couldn’t help but wonder if she was turning from him out of anger or if she turned away out of shame that she’d been reduced to a vicious bully in order to stop his bullying.
Delacourt turned to Jack and said weakly, “I’m so sorry if I’ve offended either of you. I’ve spent my entire life around foul mouthed soldiers who shrug off insults like so much water, and sometimes I forget to act civilized around strangers. In fact, if either of you wanted to, I could give you both a personal tour of a real military base. It would be my pleasure, to make amends for being so insensitive.” He held his breath, knowing full-well he’d already ruined his chances of tricking either of them into coming onto his base. His insults towards the muscular girl were inevitable because he just couldn’t help himself. It was his way, and most of his subordinates forgave him for it automatically which only made him more brazen about it. It was a social problem he barely recognized in himself because no one had the authority to challenge him. But he knew he had to try and get these punks to come along peacefully; especially now that he knew they couldn’t be made to come by force.
Jack said, “I’m not interested and although it’s not my place to speak for Melanie I’ll tell you she probably won’t take you up on your offer either.”
Melanie said, “That’s right,” through gritted teeth.
Delacourt’s shoulders slumped. Even his back-up plans were falling apart. He was officially outside his comfort zone. He normally got exactly what he wanted without any fuss, but today was proving to be a challenge.
But if anyone was
up for a challenge, it was Commander Delacourt.
He had an epiphany. Maybe he couldn’t get the teenagers to agree to join him and maybe the two infected soldiers would never recover. But that didn’t mean all was lost. In fact, his newest idea had him downright giddy with all the possibilities. It was what he had wanted all along, if only it worked now that everything had unraveled into such an uncontrolled mess. There was personal danger involved too which always gave an added thrill.
He scowled at the punk kids and walked out of the unfinished room without so much as a goodbye.
The Search
Delacourt had no idea where he was and had only a vague notion of what he was looking for. But time was on his side because Watson, the only person in the bunker who had the authority to question him or stop him, was indisposed.
He approached a female soldier. “Where can I find the science wing?”
“Oh, we don’t have anything like that, sir. We have a medical wing. Is that what you mean?”
“How about an R&D department? Do you have anything like that?”
“We have a reverse engineering sector. It’s new, so we can try and figure out how to operate the alien space suits.”
“Where is that located?”
“It’s on the north end. I could take you there if you’d like.”
“No. Just point me in the right direction.”
As he headed off, he felt like he should tell the girl to keep their conversation to herself, so that Watson didn’t figure out what he was up to. But he knew if he said anything suspicious she’d just go find him and then the jig would be up.
His pace quickened. He was scared half to death about the future now, but conversely, he’d never felt more alive.
The reverse engineering department was a joke. It consisted of a single male troop sitting at a desk, prodding an alien suit with the eraser end of a pencil. But at least the lighting was better than anywhere else in the cavernous bunker. That meant he didn’t need to go poking around in the dark all damn day to find his prize.
Before the dopey looking man even saw him, Delacourt demanded, “Tell me where the contagion is being stored.”
“The man stood and rubbed his eyes to get them back into focus. “I’m not allowed to let anyone near it,” he saw the General’s stripes and added “sir.”
Delacourt said, “As you can see, I’m not just anyone. I’m a General and I’m a base Commander just like your Commander Watson. He instructed me to retrieve the contagion and bring it to him. His men are dying. He insisted that additional contagion might help.”
“That makes no sense, sir. Let me just get confirmation on that.”
Delacourt pulled his sidearm out and aimed it at the troop. “I don’t think so.”
The dopey guy had guts though. He smirked arrogantly and tapped his hip. “I have one of those too. Let’s just see who…”
Delacourt shot him in the midsection. The guy’s eyes went wide and he buckled over, slumping to the floor painfully. Delacourt wished he could have made it a headshot but he needed answers. He towered over the fallen man and shot him again, in the thigh this time. The injured soldier cried out in agony. Delacourt reached down and put a hand over his mouth to silence him, so he would listen. “Tell me where it is.”
“It’s in that locker over there.” He nodded to a single, large locker six feet away.”
“What’s the combination, or key code, or whatever?”
“It’s just a cooler. It doesn’t lock. No one thought it would be necessary to lock it up all the way in here.”
“That’s because all of Watson’s men are fools.” Delacourt snarled as he confiscated the fallen man’s sidearm.
He tucked it into his waistband, making him feel like a thug or some kind of old fashioned gangster. The thought thrilled him. He made his way over to the cooler and, sure enough, it wasn’t secured. He hefted the door open and saw his prize immediately since it was the only thing inside.
The glove had been knotted at the end and then placed inside a Ziploc baggie to make sure none of the contents could possibly escape.
He pulled the glove out of the bag and then used a pair of scissors from the lone desk to cut off the knot.
The man on the floor yelled out, “You idiot! Don’t do that. We have no idea what it is or what it does.” His words came out raggedly because of the pain he was in but the conviction in his voice was evident.
Delacourt turned to face him, pulled out the gun from his waistband, and shot the man in the top of his head. The boom was louder than those his own firearm had made but soon that wouldn’t matter. By the time Watson arrived, he’d have already ingested the powder inside the glove and he’d probably be unconscious. Watson would have no absolute proof of what had happened so he’d do what was prudent: he’d place him in custody until he woke up to explain himself. This was the point of no return. If he didn’t ingest the contagion he was screwed. That realization steeled him to what he had to do. He brought the glove up to his face and breathed in. Nothing happened. The blue powder was already settled at the bottom. He tipped his head back and shook the contents towards his nose. Rather than particulate, so he could breathe it in, it simply slid towards his mouth. He heard footsteps running his way and voices calling out so he did the only thing he could do under the circumstance: he let it slide into his open mouth and he swallowed every last bit of it. It smelled like a chemical cocktail mixed with shit and it tasted like battery acid. He prayed it would still work. If so, then his ultimate goal would be realized. He’d become a superhuman.
Just then, the teenage boy Jack appeared before him out of thin air. But he was too late because Delacourt could already feel his senses wavering like flickering, fading lights. He managed a smile right before the floor rushed up to meet his falling body. Then the world went dark.
Aftermath
The crime scene had been investigated and cleaned right after Delacourt’s unconscious body had been latched to a bed in a holding cell under armed guard. It was pretty obvious what had transpired, but the military did not mete out vigilante justice so Delacourt would have a chance to defend his actions should he ever wake up. He’d most likely be shot for what he’d done.
Watson took a seat opposite Jack in his office and said, “What did he say when you got there?”
“I was too late. He cracked a grin and then his eyes rolled back and he hit the deck.”
“I feel sick to my stomach. But how could I know that a seasoned Commander would do something so treasonous and reckless.”
“He seemed like a prick but I wouldn’t have guessed he’d do something like that either.”
Watson rubbed his temples. “We don’t have any of the contagion left to synthesize now. He ate all of it. Between us, I hope it kills him.”
Jack got a pained look. “If it doesn’t, guns alone might not be enough to stop him if he acquires any abilities.”
“I don’t suppose I can talk you and Melanie into sticking around for a while longer?” He hated to ask but he had so few options available.
Jack scratched his head and shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “I don’t see how we have much choice. If he was evil enough to kill that man, I think it’s best if we’re around when he wakes up. I can contain him, or remove him if he gets unruly. But I can only speak for myself. You’ll have to ask Melanie if she’ll stay.”
Watson nodded. Then he said, “Ever since that man came into my life, it’s been a maelstrom of chaos and mayhem.”
Jack snorted. “I have a bad feeling that this is just the beginning.”
Watson looked like he wanted to cry.
Orbit
Shaylo’s ship was orbiting Earth at twice the distance of the moon’s orbit. He was no coward but he was no fool either. Those creatures had defeated the first invasion with relative ease. That had never been done before. They had scouted the planet long ago and deemed the inhabitants to be inferior in every way. So how had they done the impossible?
/> He said to his new first mate, “I want visual surveillance of as many population centers as possible. I want audio communications translated wherever you feel it’s necessary. I also want all anomalous activity investigated. They must have weapons we know nothing about. I want as much intel on those weapons as possible before we invade.”
“Yes sir.” The new first mate had no idea how to do any of that but she wasn’t about to tell that to Shaylo. She just had to learn fast and make no mistakes as she went. Her life depended on it.
Shaylo sighed. “You might as well see how many survivors are left, if any.”
Luckily, she knew how to do that and had already doe so. “I’ve already tried to track them down via their armor but the armor signatures are all devoid of biometric imprints. It’s safe to conclude that they all died.”
“I see. Good work. They’re lucky they all perished. No warrior should ever live to witness their own failure.”
“Shall I send High Command a status update?”
“What the hell do you mean? We haven’t accomplished our goals yet so there’s nothing to report. Leave them out of the loop until I tell you otherwise.”
“Of course, sir.” That made her nervous. She knew Shaylo answered to no one, but she’d assumed he paid homage to High Command like everyone else had to. If he had elevated himself above their influence then there was no way to predict what he might do to accomplish the mission.
Awake
Hank woke up to the sound of screaming. It took a full minute before he realized the screaming was coming from him. His bed was on fire.
He yanked against the restraints latching his wrists and legs to the bed. They snapped away easily. Smoke swirled upwards towards the ceiling. But it wasn’t so thick to cloud his vision. He saw Sally, prone on a bed across from him. He jumped up and ripped Sally’s restraints off like they were made of papier mache. Then he quickly checked his own body for burns. Amazingly he was unmarked.