All Worlds: Fantasy And Science Fiction Series Starters

by Vangjel Canga

  End Kimberly's view...

  Outside at the corner, the Rogue peeked around as it processed the information it overheard. Theresa Griffin was murdered and that might be something interesting to investigate later, but first thing was first. The Rogue started through the hall. Ms. Griffin had gotten sloppy and left Pandora all by her lonesome, and it was time for it to say hello. The Rogue paused. It detected someone approached and ducked back around the corner before they spotted it. The Rogue didn't recognize him. Whoever he was, he was interrupting the Rogue's play time, but it would wait. It ducked inside a supply closet. For a chance alone with Pandora, it would wait.

  * * *

  The new Sanctum...

  Within the makeshift Chamber...

  Several analysts activated the equipment, and the computers and large flat screen monitors powered up, casting the dark room in a blue glow. Shadows cast across the faces of the Council as they sat in chairs in the middle of the Chamber and stared at the monitors. Four security personnel set up a rectangular table before them.

  Ms. Nona looked over reports a supervisor handed her, and then she said, "There is still no word on Argus and no word from the Factory. I fear Argus and the Factory may have been compromised. There are reports across Noir of T-3s hitting different facilities belonging to the Factory."

  "Do you believe they have lost control and that the T-3s have taken over?" Mr. Morta asked.

  "Yes," Ms. Nona replied.

  Mr. Decuma started his report, "The second project, Cerberus, has been activated; it will be operational in two days."

  Mr. Morta nodded.

  A supervisor handed Ms. Nona another H.H.C. and the councilwoman relayed, "We have a problem. The tracking device we implanted in Pandora is no longer functioning."

  "What about her bio-readings? Are we still detecting them?" Mr. Morta asked.

  "Yes, it appears to be sleeping," Ms. Nona replied. "Pandora's stats have improved but are not within normal ranges."

  "Should we send a team to the last place the beacon relayed so they may extract the project?" Mr. Decuma asked. "We cannot have it running rogue."

  Mr. Morta said, "Pandora is far from rogue. Let her continue as a sub-project. We still may acquire valuable information from her bio-readings. Let us see what she does now that she is on her own."

  Mr. Morta knew Pandora needed to enjoy her freedom while she had it, for he wouldn't be able to hold back the Hands of the Fates forever.

  Mr. Decuma's view...

  I stare at my counterpart. She? Her? Are they merely a slip of the tongue or has Mr. Morta forgotten the project's place? I pause in my thoughts then decide that the development needs to be monitored. We cannot have a project influencing one of the Council. I will make sure of it.

  Chapter Thirty

  When Everything Is At Its Bleakest

  10:43 P.M...

  Hellenistic Sector, Residential Vicinage...

  Katharine's view...

  The cold room smells antiseptic, and the lingering dust makes me sneeze as I wake, blinking my eyes open. At first I believe I'm still at Etna Toys, but then I notice I'm lying on a bed in a hospital room and that the lights are off. A window on the far side of the room looks out on a dark parking lot, and light from a street lamp trickles in. I thought Kimberly had...

  I try to move, but my arms and legs feel heavy. I remember I'm at Asclepius Hospital and that the doctor gave me some injections. I try moving again, but I feel so weak. One of the injections must not have worn off. I see that a blanket covers me up to my chin. A little less groggy, I move my wrists and realize it's not the medicine that's making my arms and legs feel heavy. The door creaks open and interrupts my thoughts as a man in a white lab coat walks in backwards, holding a clipboard. Here's Brian, so I can ask him.

  He flips a switch, and I squint as the bright lights flicker on. I watch as Brian walks over to a drawer, opens it, removes a plastic package, lays it on a tray, and removes a scalpel from it. He turns with the instrument in his hand, and the small blade glints in the light as I gasp. It's not Brian who stands before me but the Rogue, the blackguard of my nightmares. I force myself to exhale. The bio-mecha warning should have alerted me to its presence. Maybe the drugs Brian gave me has interfered with my ability. My breathing increases as I realize I'm powerless to save my own life. I franticly look to the door. I could cry out, but I don't know if anyone's out there.

  "It looks like we are finally alone," the Rogue says as it walks to the left side of my bed.

  I follow it with my eyes, and it smirks at me like a devilish cat.

  "I thought you would be singing with the Erinyes after I left Etna Toys, but here you are alive and somewhat well. I guess we were meant to meet again. Lucky for me."

  It doesn't wear its sun glasses, and I can see its robotic eyes; its eyes show a hint of pleasure.

  "You amaze me again, but this time it was not your skills that saved you but Ms. Griffin." The Rogue chuckles. "Well, saved you the second time." It makes a gun with its hand and aims it at me. "The first time she did not really help you." It pokes my wounded shoulder with the barrel of its imaginary gun.

  I wince, too afraid to say anything.

  "I am still not sure why the Chairman's daughter is involved." The Rogue strokes my cheek with the blunt side of its scalpel, and I shrink from its touch. "I can investigate the reason in the future once our game has come to an end. I will need something to do once you are gone; though, I will have to say I love the time we have spend together." It scans me. "I detect your tracking beacon has been disabled."

  At first, I don't understand what it means, but then I remember the small piece of metal Brian removed from my shoulder.

  It seems to study my expression as it says, "Did you not know? How do you think the Un-Men always found you?" The Rogue strokes my hair with its hand. "How I keep finding you?"

  "What do you want?" I ask. "Why are you always toying with me?"

  "What do I want? You women, you both ask me the same thing, and I am surprised you do not know. I want what I have always wanted. Your death by my hands." The Rogue glances around the room and out the door's small window. "And here we are all alone, and you without your gun. It is a shame, not that a gun would have helped you. You have not been able to directly hit me in all our battles; though, I have been impressed with them in the past." It grabs my chin. "How are we going to play this time?" It glances at the scalpel it holds and throws the instrument across the room, embedding the blade half way into the wall. "Let us not play doctor again." It removes the lab coat that covers its suit and unsheathes its knife. "This is much better." The Rogue places the blade against my throat. "Pandora, you are the driving force that gives meaning to my existence."

  I force myself to stare at the Rogue as the blade slightly cuts me and a trickle of blood runs down my neck. I whisper, "And you're the bane of mine."

  "Let us begin this final battle. Your move Pandora. What are you going to do? What attack or tactic will save you this time?"

  End Katharine's view...

  Outside some distance away...

  Brian ran down the hall, shouting, "Kim!"

  Startled by his shouting, Kim sat up, searching his office over the barrel of her gun, and it took her a few moments before she realized she was at the hospital.

  Brian burst into the room. "We have a problem!" he shouted almost out of breath.

  Down the hall in the other room...

  "Your move Pandora. What are you waiting for? Do something! Do not look at me with that helpless face of yours! Attack! Counter my move! Why are you not doing anything? Why have you given up?" Her submissiveness frustrated it. "Do you want to die?" The Rogue cut her neck a little deeper, and a red trail of liquid flowed down its blade. "Fight me!"

  "I can't," she admitted. "I can't."

  "You cannot deny me!" The Rogue threatened, "I will kill you if you will n
ot fight me! I will bring a halt to our Endless Waltz."

  Kat remained silent, knowing there was nothing she could do, and her eyes burned as trepidation forcibly boarded her brain and hijacked control. Fear soaked through every action she took, making it difficult to move even the slightest bit. Her head jerkily turned like a robot's, and Kat had to force herself to breathe.

  "Fine then! I will gut you!" It threw back the blanket ready to cut her open and halted. "What is this?"

  In Dr. Chiron's office...

  Kim stood, lowered the gun, and asked, "What problem?"

  Brian told her, still trying to catch his breath, "One of the doctors... was over here with a nurse... and well, you can imagine why. Anyway... he found the woman you brought in. Come on." He started for the door. "My colleague remembered seeing her picture on one of the bounty shows they have on TV, and he turned her in. Noir Civil Police Force will be here any moment. You have to get her out of here."

  Back in the other room...

  "What is this?" the Rogue demanded as it looked down at Kat with her hands and feet in restraints. "Who did this? Ms. Griffin? Puck!" it screamed, waving its knife around. "How are we to fight when you are like this? I knew your shoulder wound would be a problem, but I was going to go easy on you to make up for it." It motioned to the restraints with its open hand. "But this..." It thought a moment and said, "It is not like I put you in them." The Rogue raised the knife and paused. "But does that make it fair?"

  Katharine's view..

  I stare at the ranting Un-Man in disbelief. I can't believe it hasn't killed me yet. It always seems to take pleasure in these games. I try to muster some anger, but I can't find the strength to rebel against my fate, so I forfeit my life to the bane of my existence.

  The Rogue paces the room, muttering, "What to do? What to do? I guess I will kill you." It walks over to me as if to cut my throat and exclaims, "Puck! I cannot. This is so unfair. I have waited all this time to kill you in battle, and you had to go and get yourself tied up."

  Confused over why it has delayed in ending me, I watch it pace the room like a mad man, and then I look to the door, hoping for help. Where's Kimberly? Did she abandon me again or did she make a deal with the Un-Man?

  End Katharine's view...

  The Rogue had an idea and said, "I know, I will release you then we can fight." It detected two people approaching the room, and it turned just as Kim and Brian burst in. "Puck!" the Rogue cursed and turned its knife on them.

  Kim opened fire on the Rogue twice, but it was too fast for her, and it moved out of the way of the speeding projectiles as if they were wads of paper she had thrown at it.

  The Rogue glanced at Kat and told her, "Another day." It ran for the window, crashing through it, and a few shards pinged to the floor as the majority of the glass fell outside.

  Careful of the broken glass, Kim rushed to the window to fire at the Rogue again. "It's gone!" She turned back as Brian started to release Kat.

  Kat looked at Kim and accused, "You tied me up and left me alone."

  Kim was taken aback by her accusation and the glare that woman gave her. Only her mother ever gave her that look, and Kim didn't know what to say.

  "I..."

  "She didn't tie you up," Brian said as he finished releasing her. "It was one of my colleagues, now both of you must leave. I'll try to stall the police."

  Kim removed her black jacket and threw it to Kat. "Here put this on. You running around in your bra might draw some attention."

  Brian helped Kat pull the jacket on, then he turned to a counter, and said, "Here." He handed Kim a bottle of pills. "Have her take these as directed, and she needs to stay immobile for about two weeks. If there are any problems, give me a call." He motioned to the wheelchair. "Now get out."

  She wheeled Kat to her car, helped her in, rushed around to the other side, and started up the vehicle. Kim drove, leaving the hospital and turned onto Healing Way, and a few moments later, two N.C.P.F. cars passed them with their sirens blaring and headed into Asclepius Hospital.

  Katharine's view...

  I lean my head on the passenger's side window as I feel deeply betrayed by Kimberly and my own weak self. I gave up and embraced my fate as the Council sees it, and according to them, I'm destined to be alone and hunted to my last gasping breath. I have to fight... so I have to keep my hope. I have to find something to believe in again.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  The Factory

  11:48 P.M...

  Hellenistic Sector, Trade Vicinage...

  At the boundary of Hellenistic Sector...

  Peters and Maxwell arrived at the gate leading into the Factory. No one manned the guardhouse, and the chain link gate stood open like it had been run over by a large truck. Their van's diesel engine rattled as it idled, and smoke rolled from the vibrating muffler.

  Unsure himself, Maxwell asked, "What do you think? Should we go in?"

  "I don't know. I haven't raised anyone on the radio." Peters gravely stared at the dashboard as if the answer would appear there, but it didn't. "Where else can we go? If the T-3s have gone rogue, what we need to stop them is in there." He pointed to the buildings in the distance.

  "I was afraid you were going to say that." Maxwell looked straight down the road as sweat speckled his forehead. "Until we know who's behind the T-3 attacks, there's no one we can trust." He released the brake, slowly pressed his foot on the gas, and the van crept across the road toward two large concrete buildings.

  An eternity passed as two hundred yards rolled by under their tires, and they reached the buildings, and a dozen more stood behind those two. Nothing seemed out of place until they turned right at the buildings, and several employee cars bellowed with fire and/or were turned upside down. A couple of the cars in flames had corpses at the wheel, and a few bodies with bullet wounds were scattered about the road.

  Peters freaked. "Puck! Turn around! Let's get out of here!"

  Maxwell moved the gear shift to R, looked in his rear view mirror, and saw two dozen T-3s standing behind them. "Not a good idea."

  The armed T-3s started toward them, screaming, "Pretty poppets!"

  Peters turned, looking behind them. "Get us out of here! They're heading this way."

  Maxwell shifted back to D, and the van peeled off.

  "We'll head for our office!" Maxwell shouted. "We might be safe there!"

  He sharply turned at a corner, and the van squealed to a halt in the middle of the Factory. They jumped out of the vehicle, left the doors open, and ran for one of the concrete structures marked Research Building 10. Maxwell used his keycard to unlock the front entrance, and both men rushed down the dark hall; the smell of gunpowder filled the air. They cautiously made their way to the main security desk for the building, but no one manned it. The large pentagon shaped desk usually had at least four men manning it. Peters walked around to the back of it and to a swivel door, entered, went to the desk splattered with blood, and glanced at the monitors and saw that most of them were off-line.

  "Look at this," Peters said.

  Maxwell glanced around the large silent room first. He expected T-3s to march in weapons blazing but none did, so they were safe for the moment, and he joined Peters. The monitors showed security camera footage, and the one camera that was online filmed a lab room in shambles. The camera panned and showed people lying on the floor, and all of them were killed by gunshots.

  "I don't know if this was such a good idea." Peters stood in place like a skittish rabbit.

  "Maybe you're right," Maxwell stated. "This place might end up being our grave. Come on, let's get to our office."

  "Let's use the stairs. It's a few floors down," Peters insisted as he started off.

  "Wait." A little confused, Maxwell grabbed his arm. "A few floors? We're talking about five. Have you seen the shape I'm in? Are you trying to kill me?"

  "Which would you rathe
r be on? Would you rather be in an enclosed cab with no way out or the stairs with a few more choices?"

  Maxwell replied, "Right." He jogged for the stairs. "My New Year's Resolution was to exercise more."

  Peters followed. "Let's hope you live long enough to break another promise."

  They rushed down the five stories, and there was a dead S.C.M. on one of the landings.

  Peters up and stopped then uttered, "Hades! That's James. He manned the main security desk. I would bring him a coffee whenever I'd come in early. He..."

  Maxwell hurried past the S.C.M., reached for the exit door, and paused when his partner didn't follow. "Come on. Don't look at him." He leaned on his knees, caught his breath, and whispered, "We can't stay here."

  "I knew him." Peters couldn't look away from James' glassy stare and kept muttering, "I talked to him today. He has a wife and a kid."

  "Snap out of it!" Maxwell took a deep breath and grabbed him by the lab coat. "Come on! We have to keep going!"

  They ran through the exit and down the stairs.

  Sometime later...

  At room B10-104, Maxwell swiped his keycard, and a retina scanner beeped, prompting him to look into its viewer. The scan took twenty nerve racking seconds as Peters watched the hall. The door to their office opened, both men ran inside, and the door automatically shut and locked behind them. File cabinets and tables were in the first room that was their office, and a desk lamp lit up a small area in the otherwise dark room. They ran to another door, and it led to their lab. Maxwell unlocked it with his keycard, and they rushed in, and after they entered, Peters turned and locked the door with an electronic bolt as his partner switched on the lights. The lab lit up and cast shadows into the office. A dozen rectangular tables that were elevated at a ninety degree angle filled the second room along with an array of tools and electronic devices. The tables were used to work on the Un-Men. Both techs hurried to their computer.