Apex 3: Shaylo Attacks

by Adam Moon

  Apex 3

  (Shaylo Attacks)

  Adam Moon

  Apex 3 copyright © Adam Moon 2014

  All rights reserved

  If you haven't read the first two installments, you can find them here:

  Table of Contents:

  Chapter 1: Three Days Later

  Chapter 2: Executive Order

  Chapter 3: Phase

  Chapter 4: Gory Intel

  Chapter 5: Tour of the Universe

  Chapter 6: Swarmed

  Chapter 7: Canyon Defense

  Chapter 8: Shaylo the Soldier

  Chapter 9: Demon Unchained

  Chapter 10: Jack the Ripper

  Chapter 11: Uninvited Guest

  Chapter 12: Alien Abduction

  Three Days Later

  It had been three days since Commander Delacourt had been abducted by the lone Grey alien near the entrance of the mountain bunker in Cheyenne. Jack knew deep down that Delacourt was already dead and in a way, he was glad. The Commander was a jerk but after he became infected with the alien contagion he became a monster, hell bent on murder.

  Jack and Melanie were back home in Ault, Colorado doing their best to try and relax even though they knew the second wave of alien attacks was coming soon. They’d barely survived the first wave. Mankind had nearly been eradicated and those who remained struggled for normalcy in a world gone haywire.

  The two soldiers infected with the same contagion that had transformed Jack and Melanie into super humans with unexplainable abilities were back at the mountain bunker in Wyoming undergoing testing.

  The Grey captives from the bunker had escaped and there were reports from around the world that they were liberating other Grey prisoners held at various military bases.

  The world should’ve been warned that the Grey second wave was coming but the United States government thought otherwise. They deemed the escaping Greys as a more clear and present threat.

  It wasn’t the first time a government, acting for the people, failed them miserably, and Jack could only hope they’d made the right decision to concentrate on the Earthbound Greys rather than those circling in orbit, waiting to pounce.

  Home

  Jack’s mom hated his new role. He had no official title and received no remuneration for his efforts but that was fine by him. He just wanted to be useful.

  Whenever reports came in that Greys were being freed, it was his job to stop the escape. He’d get a phone call from his new handler; a guy named Smith who he’d never even met in person, who worked for the now defunct Homeland Security. Smith would supply him with coordinates and whatever intel was available and then he’d teleport to the location and get to work. It wasn’t easy but it had to be done.

  The captive Greys had surrendered a month ago even though they were winning the war. To Jack, it seemed more and more like it was a tactical surrender because now that reinforcements had shown themselves, the captive Greys escaped and were making a comeback.

  His mom put a plate in front of him at the kitchen table. He thanked her and then wolfed down the toast and eggs like it was the first meal he’d had in days.

  She leaned against the counter, watching him eat. He’d changed in fundamental ways since he was infected with that alien mist. He exhibited two powers: teleportation and a kind of telepathic empathy; a skill he was still trying to master. His body had changed too. His skin was tough enough to stop bullets and his frame had filled out with musculature.

  She asked, “What do you want for your birthday?”

  He hadn’t even considered that birthdays would be celebrated anymore. Everything had changed. Trivialities no longer mattered the way they used to. Maybe his mom was just holding on to old habits to help her make sense of the new world they found themselves in.

  He said, “I really need some new clothes. Mine are all too small.”

  She laughed. “That’s because you hulked out.”

  He chuckled along with her.

  She said, “I bet the girls just love you these days. You’re a handsome young superhero without a girlfriend. They must be climbing over each other to get to you.”

  Jack knew she was just teasing him. He’d been too busy to care about girls in the past few days. And no girl in her right mind would like him if she knew what he’d done or what he was capable of doing.

  He lied to appease her. “I’m beating them off with a stick.”

  Just then his phone chirped, saving him from more of the awkward conversation.

  It was Smith. “Hey Jack. We have contact in San Diego at their naval station. It’s the same Grey crew but they’ve somehow managed to acquire their old weapons. We only know they found them because they’re using them against the base as we speak.”

  Jack didn’t know where the military base in San Diego was located but he didn’t have to. He could just teleport to the city and then use his new empathic ability to pinpoint the area with the most emotional distress, leading him to the base.

  He said, “If they have their weapons, I’ll need help. Let me call Melanie.”

  “I already thought of that. I’ve got Sally Hopkins ready and waiting for you. She’s already been debriefed.”

  Jack wanted to tell his handler that he didn’t trust Sally or her fellow soldier Hank Beltran but he held his tongue. He needed help and there was a very real chance Melanie would decline if asked anyway. More and more, she refused to put herself in a fight, saying she’d only use her powers if she came under attack. He understood the sentiment. They’d seen enough death to make God cry. But he couldn’t stand idly by as other human beings suffered and died.

  “Alright then. Is she still at the mountain base?”

  “Yes. She’s been instructed to wait for you by the entrance.

  “I’ll be there in a few seconds.”

  “You’ll be given a firearm when you arrive. They’re armed and you should be too.”

  “Don’t bother. I can’t use it anyway.”

  “Just point and squeeze.”

  “No thanks. I’ll talk to you later, Mr. Smith.”

  “Goodbye and good luck.”

  Jack’s mom was ashen when he hung up. “I wish you’d stop putting your life on the line for him.”

  “I can’t. I can help so I have to help. It’s my responsibility.”

  Her shoulders drooped and she stared at her feet. Finally she looked up and said, “I understand. I love you. You’d better come back to me in one piece.”

  “I will. Bye.” Then he concentrated and felt his molecules flutter with millions of vibrations per second as his body phased out and reappeared on a mountain in Wyoming facing a heavy steel nuclear blast door set into the side of it.

  Sally was waiting for him, armed to the teeth, clad in heavy bullet-proof armor from head to toe. She took her head armor off when she saw him and for the first time he noticed how beautiful she was. Her powers had filled her body out nicely. But she was also a murderous witch with a diamond heart and he couldn’t yet trust her.

  Jack laughed. “You’re the one person on the planet who doesn’t need armor.”

  She shrugged her toned shoulders. “I tried to tell them that but no one listens to me. So I guess I’m your sidekick or something, huh? I just love taking orders from a kid.”

  That was rich considering she was probably only a year or two older than he was.

  Jack ignored her sarcastic barbs. They had a history. Sally had tried to cut him in half just a few days ago. She could erect a force field that not only acted as a barrier but also repelled all that tried to penetrate it. A bullet would be ricocheted back at twice its original velocity. A person would be thrown back as though they’d been hit by a speeding truck. And if she erected it so th
at one half of you was inside of it and the other was outside, you’d be cut in two. Luckily for Jack, her force field couldn’t cleave through a body as strong as his had become.

  She’d tried to excuse her actions by saying she was under Delacourt’s control but he knew that was a lie because Delacourt was already gone by the time she attacked him. It would take time to build trust between them because of how they’d met, and if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t even sure it would be worth it.

  Commander Watson slipped out through the blast doors saying, “Good to see you, Jack.” His arm was in a sling and his left eye was yellow and puffy as the swelling healed. He’d suffered his injuries three days ago when his Grey prisoners escaped and attacked the base. He was one of only a handful of troops to survive.

  “I can’t say it’s good to be here. I don’t have too many fond memories of this place.” He stared at Sally as he said it but she just looked away. He couldn’t tell if she felt guilty about what she’d done or if she just couldn’t be bothered dealing with his accusatory statements.

  “I understand. I have a hard time sometimes coming to terms with what happened here too. We just got done cleaning up and putting things right again. We’ll be back to normal in no time. We humans are surprisingly resilient, you know?”

  Jack nodded. “I don’t mean to be rude but we need to move out as soon as possible.”

  “I just came out to say hi. It was good to see you. Good luck.” To Sally he said, “Good luck to you too.”

  She smiled at him but there was no warmth to it. Clearly she hadn’t volunteered for the mission.

  Jack grabbed her by the wrist and they vanished.

  San Diego

  When they reappeared in San Diego, Jack debriefed Sally on the situation they’d be facing. “They have strength in numbers. I’ve gone against them twice already since the last time I saw you but I can’t seem to kill as many as they release from custody. Each time I see them there are more than before.”

  “Well, you’ve got help this time and unlike you, I’m a trained warrior.”

  Jack snickered. Sally had no idea what she was talking about but he let her believe her own fallacies just to keep the peace. She’d see soon enough how formidable he really was. He just hoped she could keep up.

  He honed in on his empathic side and soon enough he felt the anguish emanating from far off. He looked to the east, where the tragedy originated from, grabbed Sally again and vanished.

  Below them was a firefight right out of a science fiction movie. The human soldiers fought with guns and tanks and fighter jets while the aliens used their mechanized armor and newly acquired laser rifles to wreak utter havoc.

  The humans didn’t stand a chance, although they were at least able to prolong the inevitable. There were around fifty aliens and it looked like they were all armed with their weird laser rifles. It didn’t matter that they were up against about a thousand human highly trained soldiers; they’d win in the end despite the unfair balance of troops.

  Jack was about to instruct Sally as to their plan of action when they came under attack from blinding lasers from below. Sally must’ve been practicing because she got her force field erected just in time, encircling them in a nearly opaque bubble that deflected the laser fire.

  Several Greys were now soaring up at them like whizzing bullets.

  If he could, Jack would have teleported all of their armor from their bodies or teleported their heads away from their shoulders, but he hadn’t had much luck concentrating on any more than a single target at a time.

  He saw the slender leader of the Greys pointing, issuing an order to its troops. And then, as one, they broke away from each individual skirmish and retreated into the sky, heading north. They knew they were outmatched. They had given up and were falling back.

  Jack was about to give chase when the sounds of human cries reached his ears. Men and women were on the ground dying. He had to help.

  He looked back at the quickly diminishing figures of the Greys and cursed under his breath. He’d do just about anything to stop them once and for all, if only so he could go back to living a normal life for awhile.

  He teleported Sally with him to the ground and then he went from soldier to broken soldier, helping those he could.

  He teleported the injured troops between Sharp Memorial, Scripps Mercy Hospital, and UCSD Medical Center so he didn’t overtax the doctors of any single hospital. The troops who were cognizant enough to understand what he was doing freaked out when he made them vanish and reappear miles away in an instant. Some of the others were too far gone to care.

  He wished he had it in him to put the worst of them out of their misery but he just couldn’t. What would he do anyway? Drop them in a volcano? Teleport their cells apart? Teleport their hearts outside of their chests? It was too much to consider so he took the cowards way out and let the doctors decide what was best.

  Sally was busy prepping the next injured soldier each time he came back to the base. In all, it took them about half an hour.

  They kept a cautious eye on the horizon the entire time just in case the Greys decided to make another run at the base but they must’ve decided it was more trouble than it was worth.

  Jack was caked in cool, thickening blood and Sally was sweating bullets, rubbing dark blood out of her weary eyes.

  She said, “I didn’t sign up for this crap?” Then she turned away from him, bent over and vomited all over the ground. Jack put a hand on her back but she shrugged him off and took a step away as she continued to heave.

  She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and faced him. “I tried to refuse the order to come here with you but Commander Watson has a way with words. He laid a guilt trip on me so thick I nearly drowned in it.”

  She must’ve really resented Jack or else distrusted him because she hated Greys and the mission should’ve allowed her to unleash her hatred upon them.

  Jack scowled. “I didn’t exactly want you here either, you know? I wanted to bring Melanie.” He bent down to wipe his hands off in the grass at his feet and then continued. “Why didn’t they send your buddy Hank? His refusal must’ve been more strident than yours, I guess.”

  “Wrong, stupid. He wanted to come. Watson thought he’d be a liability since his power basically turns him into a bomb. He would have killed a bunch of the Greys but he’d have killed all the people too.”

  Jack sniffed, making a mental note to avoid wiping his nose with his hand.

  Sally moved closer and said, “Your nose is bleeding.” There was genuine concern in her voice that would’ve been touching had it come from anyone else.

  Jack said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s just a side effect of my powers. Our bodies are stronger, and I think that’s so we can contain our powers, but sometimes they’re not strong enough. It’s a good thing we heal quickly.”

  She furrowed her brow. “I didn’t know we healed quickly. Is there anything else I should know?”

  Jack thought about telling her to go to hell but he was a gentleman so he gave in to her request for more info. “Your powers will grow in intensity over time and they might even morph. Melanie hasn’t had additional abilities surface yet but I have a new feeling sense that sort of works telepathically, from a distance. I can sense pain and fear and joy in others without ever even seeing them.”

  Sally chuffed. “That sounds like the dumbest ability on the planet. Who would want that?”

  Jack smiled cruelly. “You’re right. Your powers are so much better than mine could ever be.” Then he took a step backwards and said, “Ok, I’ll see you later, Sally,” and vanished, leaving her behind to mull over her misplaced arrogance, far from home

  A Favor for Watson

  He reappeared at the mountain bunker. A sentry, armed to the teeth approached him, noticed who he was and keyed his radio.

  Watson came out through the blast doors and looked around quizzically. “What happened to Sally? I just received a report that the Gr
eys retreated when you two arrived. How did she die?”

  Jack shook his head. “She’s not dead, sir. I just left her behind. She’s a bitch.”

  Watson was momentarily speechless. And then he let out an incredulous laugh that shook the mountains. “That’s no reason to leave someone stranded a thousand miles from home, Jack. Go back and fetch her for me, will you?”

  “Sorry, sir. She’s on her own. I’m also requesting that I never again be paired up with her.”

  “Listen, I know she has a history but she wasn’t herself. She was being controlled and you can’t hold her past actions against her.”

  “Sure I can. This history you speak of happened three days ago. The blood she spilled at this very base is probably still warm. She’s proven she’s weak of mind, her powers are unruly, and she’s a rude bitch with no regard for anyone but herself.”

  Watson stared at him like he was looking at a foreign object, alien in every way conceivable. “I’m asking you as a personal favor. She’s a good person and a valuable asset.”

  “I’ve done you enough favors for a lifetime. Goodbye.”

  When he vanished, Watson could barely believe his eyes. Jack was young and youth wasn’t always conducive for a level head but he’d never seen him act so callously before.

  He pulled his radio out to order a pick-up for Sally when Jack appeared before him with Sally in tow.

  Jack said angrily, “You’ve used up all your favors now, sir.”

  Sally wrenched her wrist away from his grasp and sneered. “You’re nothing but a whiny crybaby. Get a life, man.” Then she spat on the ground and brushed past Watson on her way into the mountain base.

  Watson opened his mouth but Jack cut him off. “Save it. I need to get going.”