Rise of the Fallen: Ascensionis

by Danny R Negron

  Barbara's expression is that of both shock and utter fear. She looks at him and asks, “You ever hear the legend of the wendigo, Henry?”

  “I kinda remember.”

  “Cannibals. Human beings that devour other human beings.”

  “Lovely. Try calling Indrid.”

  Barbara begins to wonder if Indrid did in fact manage to survive that monstrous explosion. It's worth a shot. She takes out her phone and notices the complete lack of coverage. She says in a bewildered manner, “No signal.”

  Henry becomes equally confused and asks, “What?”

  While looking at her phone, Haruka says, “Same here. This is not good, guys. Communications are being jammed...like what usually happens in a black-op.”

  After several minutes of silence, Barbara thinks about her previous telepathic conversations with Indrid and whispers, “I wonder...”

  Haruka looks up at her and asks, “Huh?”

  Barbara closes her eyes and replies, “I'm gonna try something and I hope it works.”

  In the blue skies of Nevada, Indrid's ship can be seen heading toward Area 51 at an extraordinarily high rate of speed. She asks the A.I., “What is the status of communicating with Ludwig?”

  “Unable to establish a connection due to network failure.”

  “Keep trying.”

  For some odd reason, Indrid is also unable to telepathically contact him. What is happening? Is she too late? Suddenly, she hears a very faint voice calling out to her and gasps when she finally recognizes who it is. “Barbara.”

  The space craft comes to abrupt stop and Indrid concentrates completely on her telepathic communication. She asks, “I am unable to contact Ludwig. Is he with you?”

  “There isn't time to explain. He's with Diana Garrison creating this vaccine that'll make shit worse. Go!”

  Indrid knows precisely where to go and doesn't waste another minute. The space craft turns around in midair and, in the blink of an eye, disappears into the nearby cloud bank.

  In the meantime, at the entrance of Bradley International Airport, the disguised Rikki Hillman is awaiting her ride outside. A limousine parks right in front of her and she begins to walk toward it while placing a phone call. The driver opens the passenger door and she quickly steps inside. As the door closes, she says to person on the other line, “Mission accomplished, sir.”

  “Excellent work, Agent Hillman. You are to now await further instructions.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

  Diana's cell phone rings and she quickly answers it. She asks, “Yes? What is it? This had better be important, Philip.”

  Her mouth drops open from shock and she looks up at Dr. Frankenstein. He asks, “Miss Garrison?”

  She replies in horror, “There are reports of people getting sick at various airports.”

  Dr. Frankenstein rises up to his feet and says, “This is an airborne virus, Miss Garrison. We need to act quickly and quarantine them as soon as possible.”

  “Understood. I'll contact FEMA right away and also ensure a media blackout. Is there any progress with the vaccine, doctor?”

  “Yes. However, I will need more time to test it.”

  Diana looks at Gary Jaeger in order to get his unspoken opinion. He grins and gives her a confident nod. She finally replies, “Thank you, Dr. Frankenstein.”

  Indrid arrives at the StarSun pharmaceutical plant located in Hudson, New York. She scans the facility and says in a stern manner, “I am assuming that they are using some kind of advanced technology to mask the exact location of both Ludwig and Diana Garrison. Access their network and connect me to their security cameras.”

  Inside of one of the research laboratories, Gary Jaeger suddenly receives a phone call from the chief security officer. This not good. He answers it and places the phone next to his ear. He hears a panicked voice saying, “We have a network breach.”

  Damn it. There's no time to test the vaccine. He disconnects the call and gives Diana a concerned stare. She notices this and, afterwards, looks up at the security camera as it focuses on her. She smiles deviously and whispers, “You're too late, Indrid Cold.”

  Diana reaches into her purse and takes out a miniature version of a tranquilizer gun. She then points it at a bewildered Dr. Frankenstein. She tells him, “I really do appreciate what you've done for us, doctor. Enjoy your life as a wendigo.”

  Dr. Frankenstein grits his teeth in anger as he comes to the realization that Diana is not after profits, after all. She is going to use his vaccine as the second phase of transforming everyone on this planet into superhuman cannibals. He informs, “Transforming everyone will eradicate your food supply, Miss Garrison.”

  “Only certain blood types will be immune. You're not, by the way.”

  Suddenly, the room becomes illuminated briefly by a bright flash and Indrid can now be seen hovering above everyone. Dr. Frankenstein knows exactly what is going to happen next and shuts his eyes tightly while covering his ears with his hands. Gary Jaeger sees this and does the exact same thing. Diana curses at herself for gloating too much and, while taking aim, shouts, “No, you don't!”

  Indrid transforms into a fiery, winged creature and begins to let out an ear-piercing shriek which causes everyone in close proximity to become extremely nauseous.

  Diana then feels a painful burning sensation in her eyes. She is familiar with Indrid's power of crippling her foes with that blood curdling scream and temporarily blinding them as well. She pulls the trigger and collapses to the floor seconds later. After another flash of bright light, Gary kneels down next to Diana and asks, “Miss Garrison?”

  “Never mind me. Did I hit him?”

  Gary turns his head to look at her tall bodyguard as he kneels down to pick up a small dart. He says to her, “No.”

  Dr. Frankenstein hears Indrid cry out in his mind, “Ludwig! Are you hurt?”

  He uncovers his ears and opens his eyes to find that he is on board her ship. After feeling his own chest, he replies, “I'm fine. Thanks to you. I knew you survived that explosion.”

  “It will take more than that. Barbara is waiting, Ludwig.”

  “Right. Let's go.”

  Inside of Area 51, Marise Rondeau answers her phone and asks, “Yes, mon maître?”

  Diana is heard telling her, “You can retrieve my son now, Abaris. No deviations from the plan.”

  “Of course not, mon maître. I shall make our chat brief.”

  “Abaris!”

  She disconnects the call and grins deviously while looking at the doorway of Frank Garrison's room. After putting up with this charade of being a soldier, the moment that she has been waiting for is finally here.

  Inside the same room, Alexandria and Joshua are both intently watching Brian Gunn's special report on the mysterious disappearance of the airliner. Frank shakes his head in disbelief and says, “I can't believe you two watch that garbage. He's an opportunist.”

  Everyone becomes startled by Abaris as she says, “It would take one to know one. Eh, bien-aimé?”

  That youthful voice. Frank hasn't heard it since those days of DNA manipulation experiments being conducted by Project Paperclip. He gives her a frightened glance and asks, “Marise...Rondeau?”

  While slowly walking to his bedside, she replies, “Qui est adorable! You remember me! I am touched.”

  As Abaris takes a flower from the vase and smells it, Joshua asks her, “How do you know each other?”

  She gives him an innocent stare and asks, “He never told you about me?”

  Frank tells her coldly, “You look the same, Marise.”

  Abaris shoves the flower into his nose and says, “One of the side effects when one's DNA is mixed with a god's.”

  He slaps the flower away and she tells him laughingly, “Si vulgaire! Marise Rondeau is dead, just so you know. You may call me by my proper name, mortel. Abaris the Hyperborean.”

  “You're here to kill me?”

  Joshua lunges at Abaris and attempts to
forcefully restrain her with his bare hands. She somehow anticipates this and quickly dodges his attack. He then feels the sharp pain of his arm getting twisted behind his back followed by the ice cold tip of a handgun being placed on his temple. Abaris whispers into his ear, “Vilain garçon.”

  As a strange, thick mist appears behind Abaris, she shouts at Frank, “I really am tempted to kill you. But I promised your daughter, mon maître, that I would only retrieve her son. What she has in store for you is far more gratifying than firing a bullet into your head.”

  Alexandria cannot believe what she just heard and covers her mouth with her right hand. She gives Frank a concerned look and finds that he is not too surprised. Instead, his reaction is that of disappointment. Joshua is just as confused as Alexandria and asks Abaris, “Wait...what?”

  Abaris pretends to seem astounded by Joshua's question and asks Frank after letting out a gasp, “You didn't tell him?”

  After a minute of silence, she comes to the realization that he is unwilling to reply and takes a step backward into the thick mist. She then says, “Shame on you. No matter. He'll soon discover what he truly is. Rather ironic...I remember how much I despised the fact that you left me behind and adopted her. Now...she is my master. Who just happens to hate you as much as I do. You see, I know what you did to her tribe. You are indeed a monster, bien-aimé.”

  Alexandria and Frank observe the mist as it swallows up both Abaris and Joshua. The ear piercing sound of a woman shrieking in fear suddenly fills the entire room followed by the crashing of a tray as it hits the floor. This makes Alexandria quickly walk toward the mist while calling out frantically, “Hello?”

  They have all disappeared! This Abaris girl can teleport. She focuses her attention on the tray below to discover three empty cups and a puddle of coffee. The nurse seems to have been unintentionally pulled into the mist.

  Frank lowers his head in shame and says, “Diana was a member of a Maori tribe located in New Zealand. We got the order to wipe them out. Seemed like the higher ups didn't find the idea of cannibals living nearby a prosperous city very pleasant.”

  Alexandria slowly turns her head to give him her undivided attention. He continues, “It was a massacre. But we had no choice. When you're a soldier, you follow the orders of your superiors. That's it. I found her crying in her dead mother's arms. I stopped a fellow soldier from firing. I decided that the baby deserved a chance. To prove that it had something to give back. So...I adopted her. Damn it. I need a whiskey right about now.”

  Alexandria replies without hesitation, “And you never thought of mentioning this before? Not even to Josh?”

  “I confessed what happened to her tribe on her sixteenth birthday. After that, our relationship went south. She stopped having breakfast with me. She even abandoned her original goal of joining the Army.”

  Both David and Sajjad arrive at the doorway. David asks, “What happened here? Where's Joshua?”

  Alexandria is at a loss for words. She lowers her head to look at the mess on the floor and asks herself that very same question. Where is he right now?

  Chapter XVI

  Joshua sees nothing beyond the thick mist. Gradually, an opening appears and he then feels a hand shove him forcefully. He lands on the floor and raises his head to find his mother with a face he has never seen before. A face of brutal evil. He asks angrily, “Mom? What the hell is going on?”

  Before Diana even has a chance to reply, she observes the nurse screaming in fear and confusion. Abaris shoots her in the back of her head which causes blood and brain matter to get splattered in close proximity of Diana. The CEO feels some droplets land right on her chin and lower lip.

  Joshua witnesses his own mother lick the blood from her lips and takes a step back away from her. As he shakes his head in disgust, Abaris whispers into his ear, “This is what you are, mon enfant. Embrace it. Do not fear it.”

  Without turning his head to look at her, he asks, “What do you mean?”

  He gets startled by the loud, monstrous voice of his mother shouting, “I have had just about enough of your selective memory...You are a wendigo!”

  Joshua stares at her and feels his heart sinking all the way down to the pit of his stomach. He doesn't want to believe what he heard but his flashbacks of eating bloody human flesh as a small child confirm this to be a highly possible fact. Nausea completely overwhelms him and he covers his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from vomiting. Abaris appears next to him and adds, “You had quite an appetite.”

  Joshua hears the muffled sound of a gun firing and winces in reaction to a sharp sting in his back. Abaris shot him with a tranquilizer dart! His vision becomes blurred and he loses consciousness soon afterward.

  Diana gives her son a cold look and says, “You're just like your father. Pathetic.”

  She turns around and begins to make her way toward the door. Just as she exits the room, she tells the tall, Russian bodyguard, “Bring him.”

  Meanwhile, Barbara is standing outside next to Henry while biting her artificial fingernails. While exhaling cigarette smoke, he tells her in a concerned manner, “I sure hope the doc's okay.”

  Barbara suddenly hears Indrid's voice asking, “Barbara? We are almost there. Are you all safe?”

  She thinks in response, “We're okay. So now you know about this craziness?”

  Haruka watches in amazement as both Barbara and Henry become consumed by a bright light. In the blink of an eye, they disappear completely. She gazes at the sky and says, “Good luck to all of you.”

  Inside of Indrid's ship, Dr. Frankenstein shields his eyes from the bright flash. Upon opening them, he sees Barbara and Henry standing in front of him. Indrid arrives and tells Barbara, “Yes, I do.”

  Henry asks the doctor, “What now?”

  Dr. Frankenstein lowers his head and informs him, “Miss Garrison's plan has been set into motion, Henry. For now, we need to return to Atlantis.”

  Henry immediately becomes concerned about Ellie Larson and her granddaughter, Dawn McPherson. Will he be able to stand idly as they both become infected by this horrendous virus? No. He needs to save them from that awful fate. “Ummm...Doc? I really need to go to Corbin City.”

  Dr. Frankenstein takes a moment to think. Of course, Henry wants to rescue the damsel in distress. He grins and replies, “Indrid. You heard the man.”

  Rikki is staring at the front door of her apartment while holding the keys in her right hand. She listens to the breaking news being shown on her TV inside and thinks to herself, “Stop it, Rikki. You served your country. There is nothing to be ashamed of.”

  Rikki opens the door and says loudly while stepping inside, “I'm home!”

  Adam is sitting on the sofa as he watches the news report. He turns his head to look at the approaching Rikki and replies, “Oh, hey. How was work?”

  She sits down next to him and replies, “Okay.”

  Rikki can feel his inquisitive stare. Adam is probably aware of her involvement in the latest tragedy facing the citizens of the United States. He focuses his attention on the screen and tells her, “I hope Melanie's safe.”

  After an odd moment of silence, she says, “Don't you worry about her, Adam. I promised you that she'll be fine.”

  Rikki thinks about the possible consequences as a result of what she is thinking about doing. Not only is she risking her career, but also her very own life for becoming a rogue agent. She closes her eyes and mentally prepares herself. Time to meet up with a friend.

  Back inside of Frank's hospital room at Area 51, Jerry arrives at the doorway, out of breath, and shouts at everyone inside, “We have a problem! Several people here are infected!”

  Alexandria covers her mouth with her quivering hand as she thinks about her aunt's dire prediction. Frank lowers his head and whispers to himself, “Marise. How could you?”

  David punches the wall with his fist and says while growling, “I refuse to die like this!”

  Jerry holds back his t
ears as he thinks about Phoebe. A few minutes ago, he discovered that he himself had become infected by the deadly virus as a result of a mosquito bite. It seems unfair that he has spent such a short time with her. He clears his throat and explains to everyone, “We do have emergency escape pods that can be programmed to take us anywhere in the world.”

  Phoebe pulls on his lab coat and asks, “So we're going on a trip, Jerry?”

  Jerry grins and places his hand on her head. He replies, “Yup. Better go get Fluffy.”

  Phoebe's hair color immediately changes to a bright yellow as she gasps with excitement. She then runs away and screams, “Yay!”

  Jerry's facial expression becomes serious as he approaches Alexandria. He tells her in a low tone, “Alexandria. I think I'll be needing your help again.”

  “Huh? What is it, Jerry?”

  Sajjad says, “You are also infected.”

  Jerry glances at him and nods while saying, “Yes, that's right. Alexandria...I want you to take care of Phoebe.”

  She becomes saddened by his request and replies, “Jerry, no. I can't take her away from you.”

  “You have given me all that I ever wanted in my life. Another chance to be with my little sister. I refuse to take that vaccine and have her watch me become a monster.”

  As Jerry turns around to exit the room, he tells her, “I'll pretend that I'm escaping with all of you. That way, I can at least say goodbye to her.”

  As Alexandria watches him leave, she says to David, “We weren't able to stop this.”

  “Nope. I never thought I'd live to see the end of the world.”

  Dawn is at a Starbucks paying for her coffee while looking at the news on her smart-phone. She exits the establishment and makes her way to her Honda Fit. As she sits down on the driver's seat, Henry startles her by asking, “Where's mine?”

  Dawn almost loses her grasp of her coffee but somehow manages to regain control. She gives him a flustered look and says, “I should spill this all over you.”