Rise of the Fallen: Ascensionis

by Danny R Negron

  As she walks away, Dawn gazes at the architecture of the vessel and asks, “What kind of submarine is this?”

  Alexandria is relieved to find her in a better mood and replies cheerfully, “Oh, it's not a submarine. This is actually the southwestern section of Atlantis.”

  Dawn is shocked at her explanation and asks, “This is part of a city?”

  Alexandria tugs on her arm and replies, “Come on. Let me show you around.”

  While walking with her, Dawn says to Henry in a low voice, “This all seems like a dream.”

  Alexandria cannot help but think about Joshua, his grandfather and Phoebe. The fact that the people that she cares about are now missing makes her feel a sudden chill.

  Chapter XVII

  Diana Garrison observes the scenes of utter fear on the news and says to herself, “An eye for an eye, dad. This is just the beginning.”

  Abaris sits next to her and says coldly while crossing her slender leg over her knee, “Your son has become too attached to that little girl, mon maître. He will become a liability.”

  Diana does not argue with her mainly because she is correct. She should have paid more attention and had him monitored much more closely. She takes a deep breath and says, “I blame myself, Abaris. This is rather disappointing.”

  “Shall I kill him?”

  Diana cannot believe that it has come to this. She cannot allow anyone to betray her, however. She replies nonchalantly, “Yes.”

  Abaris admires her master's ruthlessness and grins deviously as she rises to her feet. She is startled by the sensation of Diana grabbing her wrist and turns her head to look down at her.

  “Wait, Abaris. Is it possible to obtain the surveillance footage from Area 51 during their escape?”

  Abaris is thoroughly enjoying what Diana has in mind. This is much more fun than assassination, indeed! She replies, “Of course we can, mon maître.”

  Melanie gradually opens her eyes as she regains consciousness. Her vision clears up and she looks at the familiar young man sitting beside her bed. He says in a soothing tone, “Hey. You're awake.”

  She sits up and asks, “Wh-what happened? Where am I?”

  “Easy. You're in our underground shelter. Rikki says it's a slow process but your old memories will return, Melanie.”

  Terry is in the living room eating his potato chips while intently viewing Brian Gunn's special report on the outbreak. Rikki appears behind him and can't help but chuckle. She then asks, “You watch that shit?”

  “Shhh.”

  The familiar theme of Rambo is heard followed by the usual montage of images showing the American flag as well as the All Seeing Eye of the Illuminati. He is finally seen in what looks like a newsroom and begins speaking.

  “Welcome back to the show, everyone. In case you're just tuning in, at 7:45 PM Eastern Time, the major news networks began reporting about people getting sick at Bradley International Airport. Not more than an hour later, the same thing happened at various other airports around the country. One tragic event seems unplanned but to be followed by others leads one to conclude that it's obviously a well-coordinated attack. Whether it's homegrown or terrorism from abroad has yet to be determined and, frankly, it's way too early to know for sure. I will say this. If a vaccine is created within the next two to three weeks, it's definitely homegrown.”

  Although Rikki does find the undercover agent who is masterfully acting the part of conspiracy guru amusing, much of what he is saying is true. It is very sad that many innocent lives will be lost but this has to be done for the sake of capitalism.

  Meanwhile, everyone aboard the section of Atlantis stares in awe as it slowly reattaches itself to the majestic, underwater city. David tells Sajjad, “This never ceases to amaze me.”

  Commander Derceto tells everyone authoritatively, “The queen wishes to meet with all of you.”

  Dr. Frankenstein advises Dawn, “It's time. Just remain calm and hold your ground.”

  Henry pats her back and says, “You can do this.”

  She nods and repeats his words, “I can do this.”

  As the group walks toward the entrance of the city, Alexandria continues to look at the ocean and whispers, “Josh.”

  The towering doors of the throne room open and Queen Thessalonike can be seen sitting down on her throne. She is wearing a lovely, white evening gown with a turquoise cloth tied around her waist. Right away, Dr. Frankenstein can sense her frigid stare and recognizes the fact that she is extremely upset. Upon allowing an outsider to enter Atlantis, he has forsaken an oath of secrecy. The doctor lowers his head and greets her by saying respectfully, “My queen.”

  After an eerie silence, Alexandria confesses, “It was me, mom. I'm the one who told her our secret.”

  The queen replies coldly, “Then you have disappointed me. By allowing this outsider to enter our city, you have placed all of us in danger.”

  Dawn interrupts them by asking, “Excuse me, your highness. But isn't Dr. Frankenstein human? Wasn't he an outsider at one point?”

  Henry whispers to her, “Good one.”

  Queen Thessalonike does not appreciate Henry's comment. She rises to her feet and shouts, “We will deal with this matter at a later time. Earth is being devastated at the present moment by this dreadful disease and I fear the worst is yet to come.”

  As the queen walks down the marble steps, she adds, “If a wendigo is indeed behind all of this, I am assuming that her next move is to convert the humans.”

  Dr. Frankenstein strokes his goatee and advises, “Unfortunately, this is where my vaccine comes into the picture. Miss Garrison may very well introduce her version of a New World Order.”

  He looks at Thessalonike and continues, “I was fooled.”

  David takes a step forward and recommends to everyone, “Let's kill her before she even has a chance to offer anything.”

  Dr. Frankenstein replies, “That would seem to be the logical solution, David. However, she will more than likely be heavily guarded by those already serving her. We need to accept the possibility that she may very well have the world's military forces at her disposal.”

  He pauses for a moment and adds, “This is a well-structured strategy which may have taken years of planning. Who knows how many people within the government she may have recruited during that time.”

  Barbara asks him, “What do we do then? Let her win?”

  “We wait...and pray for a revolution of some kind. In the meantime, we need to find my brother, Phoebe and Frank Garrison.”

  Henry scoffs and says, “A revolution. Those numb-skulls up there are going to hear what she has to say and eat it all up. No pun intended.”

  “Yes. I agree with you, Henry. Once the vaccine has been administered, she will, undoubtedly, control them similar to how the queen bee controls a hive.”

  Commander Derceto stands next to Queen Thessalonike and says to everyone, “There is a possibility that not all of Earth's inhabitants are infected. Perhaps that can lead to this revolution that you are speaking of, doctor.”

  Dr. Frankenstein looks at her and replies, “As time goes on, I am sure that the uninfected will be considered dangerous terrorists and hunted down like animals. There are a few that may fight back...at least, that is what I'm hoping for.”

  The queen orders loudly, “For now, we will do as Ludwig recommends. We will wait...and pray. You all have fought bravely and deserve to rest. That is all.”

  As everyone proceeds to exit the throne room, Queen Thessalonike shouts, “Ludwig, Alexandria, Henry and...Dawn McPherson.”

  The four turn around to listen to her. She says, “Given the circumstances, I have decided to allow her to stay here.”

  Dr. Frankenstein smiles and then bows his head. He then says, “Thank you, Thessa.”

  Alexandria pulls on Dawn's hand and says warmly, “Come on, Dawn. I'll show you your room.”

  After they both exit the throne room, Queen Thessalonike glances at Dr. Frankenstein in a
concerned manner. She wonders how he is coping with all that has happened so far...and prays that he does not give up the fight.

  The following morning, a door slides open and Diana is seen with a sadistic smile on her face. In her presence are captains of industry as well as powerful political figures from around the world. While the Russian wendigo, and Abaris, accompanies her, she addresses everyone by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our new world.”

  One of them shouts in a southern American accent, “This is all very impressive, Miss Garrison! And the vaccine?”

  Diana gives him a soulless stare and replies, “It will be administered to the public within a few hours, Governor. We're almost there.”

  One of the women asks, “So...all is going according to plan?”

  “Of course. It's over now so just relax.”

  Diana walks toward the long, wooden table and sits down on the office chair. Her son is sits down next to her with a look of anger on his face. Once he saw the altered surveillance footage, it didn't take him long to side with her. She then sees a group of about twenty wendigos dressed in business suits and grins at them while saying, “Breakfast is served. Enjoy.”

  Shortly afterwards, agonizing screams and the sound of ripping flesh are heard and Diana's face gets splattered with droplets of blood. Abaris cannot contain her excitement and lets out a maniacal giggle.

  Phoebe feels something wet on her face and she opens her eyes to find Fluffy's wagging tongue. She holds him in her arms and asks, “Where are we?”

  The canopy of the escape pod is completely covered with grass and mud making it impossible to see what is outside. Phoebe pushes the button to open but it doesn't even budge. Her hair fades to white as she says in a scared tone, “It won't open.”

  She begins to push every single button that she sees until, finally, a hiss can be heard emanating from behind her seat. Fluffy growls and barks while Phoebe covers her ears. The canopy makes a loud popping sound as it unhinges itself and flies several feet into the air. Fluffy jumps out and Phoebe shouts as she tries to grab him, “Hey, wait!”

  He leaps off of the pod and runs away until he disappears into the forest. Phoebe's hair changes to a fiery reddish color as she yells angrily, “Fluffy! I'm supposed to take care of you!”

  She cautiously climbs out and, as soon as she steps on the wet ground, slips and falls head first into a puddle of mud. Phoebe pushes herself out of the slimy mess and groans in disgust. She wipes her face repeatedly with her hands and shouts, “Ewww! Yucky!”

  The sound of Fluffy barking can be heard while she rises to her feet. Phoebe immediately starts running towards his direction and shouts, “I'm coming so stay where you are!”

  After several minutes of struggling her way through the numerous obstacles of branches and huge stones, Phoebe finally spots Fluffy growling at something hiding inside of a damp cave. She picks him up and scolds him by saying, “Don't run away like that, Fluffy! You can break out here!”

  A shadow of a humongous mass emerges from behind them which makes Fluffy growl and reveal his teeth. Phoebe slowly turns around to look up at the creature and her hair becomes orange while she asks curiously, “Are you lost too, mister?”

  She sees him trying to cover his face while shouting, “Don't look at me!”

  Phoebe becomes perplexed by this and tilts her head. She asks, “Why not? You look lost, too. Doesn't that make you my friend?”

  He looks at her and asks, “Friend?”

  Phoebe walks closer and replies, “Yeah! You can be my friend! It's better than being alone.”

  The creature says in a sad voice, “Friend good. Alone bad.”

  Her hair changes to a bright yellow and she smiles while saying, “I like you. I'm Phoebe. What's your name?”

  The creature hesitates for a moment before finally replying, “You Phoebe. I Wolf.”

  Phoebe picks up Fluffy and hugs him while telling Wolf, “This is Fluffy. I'm taking care of him.”

  Wolf grins as he looks at the both of them. All of a sudden, he hears from a distance the sound of human feet crushing branches. He whispers to Phoebe, “People coming.”

  Before she even has a chance to reply, Wolf picks her up and begins running extremely fast. He leaps upward, extends his long arm and swings from one tree to the other without any kind of effort.

  Henry materializes and looks down in frustration at the broken branches underneath his foot. He hears Barbara's voice say sarcastically, “Smooth.”

  Henry replies into his wrist, “I'm not a goddamn ninja. I don't get this, doc. Why can't Indrid just teleport him?”

  Dr. Frankenstein informs him, “Wolf still possesses the mind of a child, Henry. If Indrid teleports him without any kind of warning, he'll tear the ship apart.”

  Barbara says while pointing a sniper rifle in response, “This tranquilizer better knock him out. That's all I'm sayin'.”

  The doctor replies, “There is no way to knock him out, Barbara. I just need enough time to confront him.”

  Barbara waits patiently while scanning the entrance of a cave. Wolf arrives and the sight of Phoebe in his arms makes her whisper, “Phoebe. I'm here, girl.”

  Dr. Frankenstein hears this and asks, “She's still with him?”

  “Yes. I'm taking the shot.”

  Wolf gradually lowers Phoebe to the ground and tells her, “Phoebe is safe.”

  She giggles and shouts, “That was fun, Wolf! Let's do that again!”

  He laughs loudly and uses his finger to stroke her yellow colored hair. The sensation of a sharp sting on his back makes him grunt and swiftly turn around. Phoebe asks, “What's that thing sticking out of your back, Wolf?”

  “Phoebe must run.”

  Her hair turns blue and she says sadly, “Oh, no. Not again.”

  Wolf then growls and yells, “Run!”

  As soon as she turns around to run, Barbara's legs are seen right in front of her. Phoebe looks up and smiles while shouting, “Barbara!”

  Wolf punches a tree and splits it in half while yelling, “You will not hurt friend!”

  Barbara says to her wrist, “Uh, doc...whenever you're ready.”

  On board Indrid's ship, Dr. Frankenstein strokes his goatee and says to Barbara, “He's in a rage. We'll need to wait until the tranquilizer calms him down.”

  Out of nowhere, the ship violently rocks toward the right as a result of it getting struck. The doctor asks Indrid loudly, “Did we hit something, Indrid?”

  She is confused as she glances at all of the screens. Indrid finally replies, “No. This is impossible. We are actually being attacked, Ludwig.”

  Dr. Frankenstein takes a moment to think. After getting hit again, he says, “I need you to change, David.”

  David sighs and mutters dourly, “I knew you were going to say that.”

  He growls as his shoulders begin to shift and crack. Henry stares as his snout forms and his teeth become elongated.

  Back on Earth, Barbara backs up until she reaches a boulder. She ducks to avoid Wolf's punch which pulverizes a chunk of it into a cloud of pebbles. She rolls on the ground and uses her hands to push herself up into the air. Barbara does a back-flip just as his other hand takes a swing and lands on her feet. She runs away from Wolf while yelling to her wrist, “Doc! In case you haven't noticed, your brother doesn't like me!”

  She gets hit by a tree limb and goes flying until her body impacts a tree to the extent that it falls over. Phoebe kneels down next to her and screams, “Stop fighting!”

  Barbara winces in pain as she pushes herself up into a sitting position. They both look up at Wolf as he growls. Suddenly, a bright light surrounds them and they disappear shortly afterwards.

  Wolf lets out a thunderous roar as soon as he appears on Indrid's ship. David immediately wraps his furry arms around his large body in an attempt to restrain him. Indrid pushes on the controls to dodge the incoming red laser pulse and says, “That aircraft is using similar technology, Ludwig.”
>
  He arrives at the cockpit and tells her, “Diana is not wasting any time. Let's try to outrun them.”

  Indrid's ship disappears into the horizon at a blazingly fast speed followed by the stealth fighter. David struggles as he tries his best to not lose his grip on Wolf. He yells in an inhuman voice, “Hey! I can't hold him much longer!”

  Wolf moves his head backwards and head-butts him very hard. He breaks free of David's grip and attempts to choke him. Indrid maneuvers skillfully while avoiding obstacles while the stealth fighter manages to keep up and fires two red pulses. Indrid shoots a tractor beam at the stealth fighter and puts the ship into reverse successfully evading the incoming fire. The pilot of the fighter witnesses his plane begin to spin uncontrollably and screams in fear.

  Dr. Frankenstein watches as the stealth fighter dives straight into the ground like a bullet. He says, “That was impressive, Indrid.”

  She grins and explains, “The pilot obviously lacked experience.”

  They both hear David gasp, “Guys! A little help here!”

  At this time, Barbara is desperately attempting to break Wolf's grip on his throat but is not succeeding. The tranquilizer serum is finally taking effect which makes him become woozy and, as a result, loses his grip on David's throat. Barbara pulls his hands away and David proceeds to take in big gulps of air. Dr. Frankenstein stands in front of his brother and says, “Wolf, calm down. It's me...your brother.”

  Wolf looks into his eyes and says, “Ludwig. Brother.”

  Phoebe's hair turns light purple and she says while hugging Wolf, “You're Luwig's brother?”

  As Dr. Frankenstein grins, Indrid advises, “We should expect another attack, Ludwig.”

  He immediately looks at Indrid and tells her, “Right. Let's go back to Atlantis.” The ship hums and dives into the sea below.

  Diana takes a bite of the raw human flesh on her plate and moans with pleasure. The President of the United States, Leland Townsend, cringes in disgust and almost pukes. Abaris chuckles at this display and says to Diana, “They survived.”