Devoured World: Volume One

by Fleet, Ricky

  Boarding the elevator, the captain gave his verdict. “I think we can safely call that a pass. Which of you are going to join me in the baking metal cans?”

  A series of non-committal mumbles came over the radio and Bateman chuckled to himself.

  Chapter 26

  Research Facility – Poseidon

  Secret location in the Atlantic Ocean

  Four hours and one thousand miles were nearing their end. Howling wind hammered at the aircraft, causing General Ashdown to glare at the lightning torn black clouds. Below, the ocean was a raging tempest. Waves fifty feet high crashed against the unyielding research platform. The shuttle circled twice and then moved in under the cover of the soaring laboratory structure. Slowing as it neared the landing pad, hydraulic legs absorbed the mild impact. An automatic door sighed open, revealing the waiting scientists. Steps emerged from the body of the craft, angling down to the ground.

  “Right this way, General,” said Professor Ennis, ushering Ashdown and her team quickly towards the aircraft hangar. Opening the door via a palm reader, they hustled inside and shook the moisture from their clothes.

  “It’s so good to see you again, General.”

  “No need for the formalities, Pauline,” Ashdown replied, hugging her tightly.

  “How’ve you been, Lisa?”

  “Exhausted. I’m surviving on about four hours sleep a night at the moment.”

  “I couldn’t cope with your responsibilities. I don’t know how you do it.”

  “We all have our part to play. I can imagine your job is no less stressful.”

  “I look through a microscope all day, it’s easy.”

  “You’re forgetting the work you do in trying to find a cure for the infection. It’s bad enough knowing those things are outside the walls, but you have them locked up in here with you.”

  “We have a few dozen; your training centres have thousands.”

  “Ours are bred to be butchered. We don’t have to study the bloody things.”

  “We try to think of them as pets,” Pauline chuckled. “Horrific, psychotic, murderous pets.”

  “I take it they aren’t at the ‘put a lead on them and take them for a walk around the block’ stage?”

  “Not quite,” Pauline replied, guiding her through the facility.

  The sterile reception area was brilliant white and smelled of a mild disinfectant. Every member of staff was dressed in white uniforms, giving the bizarre impression at times of floating heads and hands set against the camouflaging effect of their clothing.

  “Doesn’t this give you a headache?” Lisa asked, squinting against the glare.

  “You get used to it. Care to join me for a drink before we go over the latest results?”

  “I’d love to.”

  “I’ll open a bottle of single malt. It’s a stunning vintage.”

  “You’ll have to tell me your source one day.”

  “I’m afraid that if I told you I’d have to kill you. I’ll take their identity to the grave!”

  “That’s very loyal, I respect that. You do know that I could always have a team of Shadow operators follow your every move?”

  “I think that would be classed as malfeasance in public office. Corruption doesn’t become you,” Pauline said, inviting Lisa into her office.

  The desk was pure white, as were the chairs, walls, floor, lights, ceiling, cabinets, computers. Lisa gladly accepted the goggles from her friend, the dark lenses suppressing some of the dazzling brightness.

  “Thanks.”

  Moving to the wall, a panel lowered, and a shelf slid out with a collection of bottles and glasses.

  “Ice?”

  “No thanks, just a splash of water.”

  Dropping two cubes into her own, Pauline added a generous measure of brown liquor to the tumblers. Sipping at the beautifully aged whiskey, Lisa sighed and closed her eyes. The burning warmth reinvigorated her soul.

  “I could’ve just explained the results over video call,” Pauline said, knowingly.

  “You know I can’t resist your secret stash. Hell, I’d fly two thousand miles to get a taste. Three even.”

  “And I suppose seeing your old friend doesn’t come into it?”

  “Hmm, a hundred and fifty-year-old friendship, or a hundred and fifty-year-old Scotch?” Lisa replied, turning slightly in her chair and cradling the drink protectively.

  “Charming.”

  “As always.”

  “I think you’ll be pleased with the results of the physical trials. When I say they’re far in advance of any spawnlings we’ve had before, I’m not exaggerating. The greatest leap has been Andrew Burton. Cardiovascular system; eighteen percent increased capability. Strength; twenty- three percent. Healing capability; two and a half times faster than previous clones. Night vision has also gone from one in five candidates to one in three.”

  “That’s incredible. What’s different?”

  “Honestly? We don’t know. We carried out our routine gene-splicing techniques during incubation. We’re working on a theory which we hope to turn into fact. We hope that it will eventually let us further boost our soldiers fighting capability.”

  “You’re telling me it might just be a fluke?”

  “I’m afraid so. Valen’s of the opinion the genetic sequencing has reached a point where the body is starting to take over. I’m not sure I agree with that.”

  “He’s suggesting the new recruits could keep getting stronger without being cloned?”

  “If Valen’s theory is correct, yes. I suspect it’s an aberration, a blip in the technique driven by an evolutionary need to compete with the new apex predators. It’s been seen in nature for thousands of years when a species comes under threat.”

  “As far as memory of my biology classes go, most of the time the adaptations in physical traits came too late to help.”

  “Then let us pray we aren’t among those poor species.”

  “I’ll drink to that.”

  They sat in silence for a minute, sipping their Scotch, comfortable enough in each other’s company to forego inane conversation.

  “Did you want a few hours to look over the data together? I can order some food if you’d like.”

  “No, we can do that when I’m back on base. I’m here to drink and see our friend.”

  “There hasn’t been much in the way of good news, I’m afraid.”

  “Still, I owe him a visit. It’s been over a year since I last saw him.”

  “Ok, finish your drink and I’ll get the security detail to take us below.”

  ∞∞∞∞∞∞

  “How’s he been?”

  “Much the same. A bit bitey.”

  “I take it his theories about environment and domestication didn’t pan out?”

  “Sadly not. He’s just another mindless monster now. I’ve been reluctant to begin brain surgery in case we had some other breakthrough, but I guess the time’s up.”

  “What makes you think that it’ll work on him when it didn’t on any of the other ten, twenty, fifty thousand test subjects?”

  Pauline turned to Lisa, a tear trickling down her cheek. “Hope is all we have.”

  “I’m sorry. I just miss him.”

  “We all do.”

  Climbing down the stairs under the ever-watchful gaze of the sentry turrets, the thick, reinforced glass dipped below the ocean’s surface. In place of chaos came serenity. A few fish were braving the upper reaches of the water as the winds drove it with greater ferocity against the platform. A further twenty feet and the surging bubbles of crashing waves disappeared completely.

  “I love it down here,” Lisa said quietly.

  The tranquillity provided a respite from the dead world above, not that they truly deserved it. For decades, mankind had been dumping their rubbish in the oceans. Plastics, chemicals, secretly dumped nuclear waste material, anything that was inconvenient to their consumer driven lifestyle. The voiceless inhabitants of those dark reaches had
suffered for man’s folly. Now the opposite was the case; the depths thrived with resurgent life following the nuclear war. Contaminants were diluted and absorbed by the newly evolved creatures. Without a constantly replenishing source of unwanted detritus, the mighty seas were cleansing themselves. As the land fell further into horror and ruin, the underwater realm teemed with newfound vitality.

  “It’s remarkable.”

  Pauline nodded as the guard let them through. “It’s a shame we never appreciated it before the end. Do you think in some small way we deserved our fate?”

  “We were assholes, sure, but I think global extinction is a bit overkill for being douches.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “Besides, they’re swimming around down here as happy a pig in shit while we struggle to make it through another year.”

  “How the tables have turned, eh?”

  “I imagine when our visitors arrive our fishy friends may not fare any better than we will.”

  “Probably not.”

  After passing through decontamination, the chief scientist led the war weary soldier into the uppermost holding area. Fourteen floors lay below their feet, housing more of the human infected. ‘The Dungeon’, the guards liked to call it. Deeper still were a small selection of the mutated beasts, but in general they were far too volatile to risk experimentation and were largely ignored.

  “Ready?”

  “Not really but it’s my duty,” Lisa replied.

  Two buttons were affixed to the wall on the side of the cell. Pressing the green one, the secondary alloy barrier dropped into the floor, revealing the room beyond. Twin layers of eight-inch-thick bulletproof glass separated them from the bound individual on his upright gurney. For a split second it looked as if he might recognise them, remember what they had once meant to him. That brutal illusion was swiftly banished as he commenced gnashing and straining to be free of the thick metal clamps.

  “Hi, John,” said Lisa.

  A shriek followed by a trail of drool was his reply.

  “He hasn’t degenerated any further since you last came,” Pauline explained.

  “That’s good,” murmured Lisa. Her fierce veneer always fragmented as soon as she saw him.

  John Callaghan had been like a father figure to the two ladies for over a century. One of the founding members of the Genesis Initiative, he had been instrumental in the clone program. His achievements were largely responsible for the continuation of humanity. Spending the first few years in their bunker hiding from the nuclear winter, he had nurtured their special gifts. Pauline for her brilliant, inquisitive, scientific mind, and Lisa for her uncompromising, strategic, military expertise.

  “I’ve been delaying the order to remove the amygdala for a while now. Perhaps it’s time?” Pauline asked.

  “We won’t ever be able to cure him if you do that.”

  “There is no cure.”

  “You never know…”

  “I thought you were meant to be the pragmatic one.”

  “Not when it comes to him,” Lisa offered.

  The twist of fate which had doomed her guardian was still etched in her mind. She had been in Tempest City on an inspection of the perimeter defences when he had asked her to observe a revolutionary new procedure; the very same one which Pauline was now considering. By removing the aggression centre, the mutants became docile. In truth, they became vegetables. Their blood and saliva still teemed with infection, and it was this which had cruelly stolen him away. Sixty hours without sleep and a slip with a scalpel was all it took. The small cut on his knuckle transmitted the virus and within an hour he was locked away, shrieking for warm flesh.

  “We could always just end it?”

  “You know he wouldn’t want that,” Pauline replied, staring at the red button.

  As soon as the clamps were secured, they’d moved him to the transport elevator and Dr Callaghan made it clear his job was far from over. He had secured a promise from each of the other scientists they would use him to beat the vile infection. Since that day, none of the vaccines were successful. Their microscopic foe was far too clever, mutating rapidly to protect itself from the attempts to kill it.

  “Can’t we at least pad the restraints? He’s rubbed himself raw.”

  It was worse than that; the constant thrashing at the sight of a meal so close was gouging into the flesh, exposing bone and muscle. A wet, red mouth scored into his stomach from the motion was close to spilling the intestines. They both knew the damage was short lived and if left alone he would heal in a few short hours.

  “Let’s go,” sighed Lisa. “I always convince myself this is a good thing until I see him.”

  “Time to get drunk?”

  “Absofuckinglutely.”

  Pressing the green button, the barrier rose to conceal John again. In the darkness he fell silent, the drip of his tainted blood the only sound.

  Chapter 27

  Good morning.

  “Like hell it is,” Tamsin muttered, attempting to rub the sleep from her eyes.

  The conversation had gone on for a while longer before she’d finally retired to bed. After tossing and turning for a further hour, exhaustion eventually claimed her. A fitful sleep had broken the three meagre hours into half hourly portions of sweat and nightmare. Images of machines rising from a blazing world, destroying infected and human alike. Other dreams showed betrayal, with her creation enslaving the remaining people before summoning their alien aggressors from across the stars. Grateful grey beings elevating the AI to become their new God. Experimentation, cruelty, feeding, horror, extinction. The computer-generated face of her late husband, cold and gloating.

  From the kitchen, the automated coffee synthesizer pinged. Staring at the bubbling liquid, Tamsin felt a wave of revulsion and picked up the decanter. Stumbling to the sink, she tossed the contents away, dropping the glass vessel in the process. Hitting discarded plates and cups, it shattered into a hundred pieces, splashing coffee over the worktop and white tiles.

  “Shit!”

  Getting hold of herself, Tamsin leaned against the counter, resting her head against the wall unit door.

  What’s got into you? she wondered. The fantasies were so vivid, it was as if they were a vision of things to come. Glancing over at the merry greeting, she bared her teeth and snarled an almost animalistic sound. Filling a jug with fresh water, she ignored the message and made for the server. Raising the sloshing container above the whirring fans, she twisted her wrist. The meniscus lapped at the funnel, splashing over and pouring into the machine. A heavy crack followed by the fizzing of fried circuits brought Tamsin to her senses and she tossed the remaining liquid away as if the jug itself was electrified. The trickling water found its way between conductors and processors, sending arcs of errant power crackling across the critical components.

  “Oh God, what have I done?” she sobbed as the flowing lights started to dim. Gone was the melodic rhythm of sentience. The pulses weakened, then died completely. A haze of smoke carried through the vents, stinking of charred insulation. In the kitchen, the smoke alarm started to shrill.

  “Shut up!” Tamsin screamed.

  Beating at the device with a wet towel, it tore free of the fixings and went clattering onto the floor. At least the noise had stopped.

  “Miss Harlen, are you ok?” asked a male voice.

  Whirling on her heels, she frantically looked for the source. It took a second for her racing mind to catch up with the unfolding events and see the green light on her intercom system. It was just the building’s supervisor checking on the alarm.

  “I’m fine,” she called out, unconvincingly.

  “Are you sure, miss? My systems show your alarm has been damaged.”

  Taking a calming breath, she tried to regain her composure. “Yeah, it’s just me being silly. I burnt my breakfast and accidentally knocked it loose. I’ll pay for it to be fixed.”

  “Miss, you sound… upset. Are you sure you’re ok?”<
br />
  Why won’t you just fuck off! she wanted to yell at the innocent man. Her guilt was eating away at her like an acid.

  “Yes, honestly. I’ve just had a rough night. Thanks for being so nice.” Stupid, you sound crazy.

  “Well, if you’re sure. I’ll send an engineer up while you’re at work to get it up and running again.”

  They’d discover her secret! “No! You can’t!”

  The voice hardened at her erratic outburst. “Why not, miss? Are you sure you’re ok? Do you need me to call the police?”

  “I… I meant I’m not feeling very well,” she blustered. “I’ve been sick twice and don’t want to pass my germs on to anyone else. I’m probably just going to go back to bed.”

  She held her breath while the silence from the intercom stretched out for several seconds. It felt like hours.

  “Ok, I’m really sorry to hear that, Miss Harlen. You rest up now and let me know when it’s a good time to pop in. Can I get you any medicine while I’m out later?” he replied, seemingly satisfied with her justification.

  Just leave me alone!

  “No, I’m going to sleep it off. I think I’ve just been working too hard and picked up a twenty-four-hour bug.” That might give her enough time to dispose of the electronic corpse. Or at the very least a chance to break it down and hide bits of it around the apartment.

  “Well I hope you feel better soon. I’m going to increase the sensitivity on your other smoke alarms just in case you have a real emergency.”

  “Thank you, have a nice day.”

  “You too, miss. Goodbye.”

  The green light switched back to red and Tamsin slumped down at the kitchen table. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her whole body trembled, rattling the table legs against the floor. Her lungs drew in ragged gasps as she wept uncontrollably.

  It was just a program! No, it was Greg, or at least a part of him! You killed the only thing that has made you feel something for decades. Murderer! No, it was just a machine.