Höllenbadt: Book two of the Torus Saga

by Berg, Michael

  The latest fluctuations in the amplifier did not trouble him. It was not stability he sought at present – he was looking for a way to get past the machine of the authorities defences. He was quieter now in mind. The periodical rush of thoughts came and went similarly to how his madness itself did fluctuate. This was not in any sense fluctuating between normal and insane – he was never normal. It was merely the nature of his ways, and so his actions and internal thoughts did reflect this.

  Destruction had been continuing and he assisted this by sending subtle behaviour changing viruses to people. He would taint their dexterity a little so as to cause what they saw as accidents. They would not care about taking care of property and so buildings became more and more ramshackle, as did their appearances. It was a slow grinding but he was content with its pace. A slow grind can often be so much more rewarding as he watched the pain and the suffering grow. This was his garden and so he would see his crops grow – at times to death. And…the equations and sequences were working well. He was making progress each day and even his minions he saw as pathetic, sensed his mood change, and so they tended his every command, including the former leader of the dark sect, who had taught him all he needed to know about making viruses. It was just that his maniac self was seeking the aspirations of power and self importance, yet he wanted nothing in recognition, no words, no ceremonies, for his recognition came from the people and the obvious effects he was having on them everywhere. The idols of himself installed all about, served both as a reminder to the people, and as a reminder to him of his maniacal presence.

  This was his gratitude, the suffering, the pain, and the destruction. Some would cry out in anguish when his viruses touched them, calling him the devil. But he was not the devil - he was nothing of such ways. For the devil wished life for itself, whereas, the Agent did not even want that…but he was alive, and so he had to act, otherwise how would he manifest such futility?

  They had found a cave under a rocky outcrop in a field to spend the night out of the rain. It had not ceased since they had left the snowline just beyond the forest, days before. It was soaking them all and the tube overhead was not sufficient to keep them dry when the winds were blowing. John built a fire at the entrance to the cave and they decided to wait at least a day to see if the rain petered out. After two days of sitting around with Frieda with the cart also in the cave, the rain finally began to lift.

  “If we can travel well, we should be level with San Francisco by the end of this day,” John said looking out at the breaking sky. “The transit we are following takes a southerly route well to the east of the city.”

  “We will have to be alert John.”

  “Yes, I know. I am thinking of drifting away from the line and keeping to the foothills of the mountain range. That way, we will be as far from the city as possible. There is a major junction of lines to the east and that is bound to have drawn someone.”

  “But they are not all bad John, as you said.”

  “Indeed. It is not a fear thing – there must be others out there like us. It is just a precautionary measure I feel we should take.”

  “Then I think it is best we go that other way John. Your feelings are normally correct.”

  “Who are you?” A voice came from within the trees. “Where are you going?”

  “Who are you?” Come out. We cannot talk to someone we cannot see.”

  “I won’t tell you my name, but I’ll talk. I’m not one of those people you know.”

  “What people?”

  “The ones who are appearing around here in growing numbers.”

  “How many numbers?”

  “Dozens…but there will be more. This is just the start.”

  “Are they danger…hey come out and talk!” The stranger appeared, but was still hiding his lower half of his body behind a tree.

  “Well…are they dangerous? You tell me. I’ve been here for weeks now and as far as I can tell, some are and some aren’t. How many have you seen?”

  “You are the first. John, I think we can trust him.”

  “How do you know that Carmel?”

  “His fear is based on being scared. He doesn’t seem like a threat.”

  “And I’m not a threat. If you want to survive out here, you are going to need to be though. As I said, it is going to get worse.”

  “Why do you think so?”

  “I just told you.”

  “No, I mean why do you think it is going to get worse? It might not.”

  “Look lady, my head is not in the clouds. I have seen a few things not far from here that might make you change your mind.”

  “But if you fear other people, won’t you come to realise those fears?”

  “I hope not. I’m doing my best to stay alive and that means to stay hiding. I only spoke to you two because for some reason my gut told me you were alright.”

  “Keep going with your ‘gut’, it serves you well.”

  “All it mostly does is remind me how hungry I am. It is hard getting food around here, and dangerous.”

  “Then why not move on?”

  “Where to? It has to be worse the further south you go. And me, alone? I don’t have transport like you. I’m by myself.”

  Carmel looked at John and he instantly knew what she was thinking. He didn’t mind but he looked back at her trying to emphasis they must be cautious. “Would you like to come with us? But only if we can trust you not to steal our things when we sleep. We’ll be watching.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know you, or where you are going. I don’t want to go south, it’s too dangerous.”

  “Ok, but think about it. It is up to you to choose.”

  “I’ll think, but one thing. You had better find somewhere safe for the night. And soon too. There is only a few hours left and you want to make sure you get well out of sight.”

  “Ok. Bye then.”

  “Good bye.”

  “He did seem Ok.”

  “A bit paranoid to me Carmel, but he was right, it will become more dangerous.”

  “We will go further east then, the snow line is a good idea. Then we stay with it as much as possible.”

  They drove on for two more hours before they decided to look for a place to stay the night. They had made good mileage in that time, and could see the snow line in the distance.

  “We will be there early tomorrow if we leave at dawn.”

  “We should leave earlier than that John. I feel we should. At least an hour or so before the sun comes up. Best if we leave before it gets light.”

  “Why do you think so Carmel?”

  “I don’t – I just feel it. That man we saw earlier was right. I could see in his eyes that he was telling the truth. It was like they told me without him knowing they were.”

  “Do my eyes say things I am not actually speaking?”

  “Yes. Often. I see thoughts behind your words, and I see feelings when we do simple things. You are most diligent in how you apply yourself John, and this is reflected in your eyes.”

  “As you are too Carmel. Take your engine for instance.”

  “I would like to run it again. It has been some time since that first night at the farm. Do you think we could run it tonight John?”

  “Maybe. We’ll see what it is like where we stay.”

  As it turned out, they managed to find an old roadside store with a garage out the back, where they all huddled together around the small light generated by the steam engine. There were no whistles, or loud hisses of steam – just a gentle chugging for a low light. All three of them, which included Frieda of course, could relax more than they had for a while, enjoying the comfort of light and being in a building for the first time after many nights on the road.

  When John and Carmel both heard a slight sound as if a person was outside the building, John was not concerned. When he saw Carmel’s face… “sh, don’t worry. I am sure I know who it is.” He went to the dirty glass window and cleared a section to look through. It w
as not who he thought.

  Immediately his face changed to being very concerned and he quickly withdrew. “Sh, it is not who I thought it might be. Just wait…” They heard the person moving along the wall and then watched as the person tried the door handle. It could turn, but John had placed some old furniture against it, so it could not be opened more than an inch or two.

  “Open the door. I can see your light. You are taking a big risk with that on. Should have covered the window shouldn’t you. Now you’ve done it. Let me…I want to get in. I haven’t seen a light about these parts in years – expect for firelight. Show it to me…go on.”

  “Who are you and stop being so loud?”

  “Just let me in. You’ll regret it if you don’t. Let me in!”

  “Regret what? We don’t do anything to regret.”

  “Let me in. I’ll do a deal. You let me in and show me the light, and…give me something to eat and I might think of letting you go.”

  “How can you stop us?”

  “I can. Let me in. I want to see it.”

  “Look through the window.”

  ‘It’s dirty…and I want something to eat. You must have food.”

  John looked at Carmel as he considered what they could do. The person was insistent, but he was not violent yet. He could have smashed the window after trying the door, and fortunately, the large door at the other end of the building, had a working lock on the inside.

  John decided the window was the best option, “I’ll clear a patch for you to look through, and you can have some bread and a vegetable. I…we don’t want trouble, but we are prepared to fight if we need to.”

  “That will be useless if you don’t let me see it. I can have many more people here tonight if I tell them what is on offer in this little garage. Show me the light.”

  “Ok…wait.” John picked up the food and took it to the door first, where a hand was waiting. Then he went to the window and cleared one of the small square panes for the stranger to look through, before retreating in case the stranger smashed his way in.

  At first they thought they were only seeing part of the stranger’s face behind the glass, but it seemed odd. As they looked a little deeper, they could see the man was missing almost a third of his face – actually, almost missing. The affected portion of his head appeared to be in a state of flux. There was a definite fuzziness and as they looked further, it appeared as though it was gradually collapsing inward upon itself. It startled them. He looked as if he was being slowly sucked into a void that appeared to come from the side of his face, yet it did not. Such was his state - the flux would make the void appear and disappear, as his very organic tissue seemed to phase in and out of existence.

  Carmel placed her hand over her mouth – not hiding a scream, but from shock. The man was so confronting in this state that she was unable to take her eyes off him. John was simply staring – knowing what he saw, and knowing where it came from.

  “Yeah, take a good look. And get used to it! There are more like me in these parts and not all of them give any hoots about a little light. But it is pretty. And hide that engine – they’ll steal that, and some will kill for it. I’m warning you. Lucky I am not one of those real bad ones…I am just tired and this thing. That Agent…I hope I see him wherever I am going. He did this and he’ll pay.”

  “I can help you…” John began.

  “No you can’t. Nobody can do anything about this. It is too late. I wouldn’t trust you anyway.”

  “I can slow it down.”

  “How?”

  “I have a little tech…”

  “Yeah and you could make it worse too. I don’t want your help. Save your tech…you will need it. Can I watch it… some more? I don’t want to come in though. I feel better out here – more ways to escape.”

  “Oh sure. Perhaps you could move it a little John so he can see it better?”

  John moved the light on its’ stand closer to the stranger, so he could see it more clearly. There he stayed until they awoke a few hours later and the engine had stopped – the light gone out.

  Immediately John went to get a phosphorous stick but Carmel stopped him, “Frieda is still asleep. I think it is Ok in here.” The stranger had left as soon as the light had run out.

  In the early hours when it was still dark at around four in the morning, though neither of them was carrying a timepiece, they took a gentle walk away from the garage heading towards the snow line a few miles away.

  “He was in an unstable state of flux. I have seen it before.”

  “A result of the vortex amplifier?”

  “Yes. The effects are growing…becoming more widespread. I saw it first near Seattle almost a year ago. I knew it was the amplifier creating the instability. The virus itself attacks the nano technology implants by changing a few sequences in their atomic structure, which cause the tech to mimic the white blood cells in the body. This over load of natural cells and the nano tech, eventually in a way, necrotizes the tissues.”

  “So it begins to rot?”

  “Well not actually rot – it consumes itself and looks like rotting. With the unstable flux created by the amplifier, the vortexes inside the cells are also rendered unstable and so the flux state begins to grow. There is no knowing where it could end…if ever.”

  “Is there really anything you can do John?”

  “Very little. Like I said to him, I can slow the growth by stabilising the vortexes for a while.”

  “And they are progressive so the…”

  “Stabilisation effect I render begins to breakdown and become part of the unstable vortex as it is consumed. And the virus is still there, but it too eventually fails. When I am not sure. It might take the whole consumption of the host body to eradicate it. With this, the entire host and virus disappear eventually I presume. I have not seen it in a state any more advanced than what we saw last night. ”

  “Do you think the Agent knows this?”

  “He might…maybe not. I don’t think he would care.”

  “I think you are right there John.”

  Chapter 9

  Old fixtures and furniture on the inside the nineteenth century wooden house, made it look as if they were in a museum. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, but was in still in the same place as it had been for almost a hundred years. They were on an old overgrown horse ranch and Frieda was enjoying her time in the closest horse stable just behind the house.

  “It looks strange John. There is the old architecture, yet it has this modern interior – for the time.”

  “Around turn of the century I think. There are still some places a bit like this in Alaska, but last time I was there, they had been used much sooner than this one. It looks as if it has been deserted for a long time.”

  “There was a time when people were made to leave places like these so they could be left to restore. I think they saw the interruptions to the ecology and they let it re-align. At least their intentions had some vision then John.”

  “Yeah. I suppose people just abandoned places like this with the way things changed at the end of the fossil fuels era. It was also a land grab though. The authorities are never devoid of some other agenda, be it power, money, political favour…re-election.”

  “It was also the people’s fault John. They kept looking to those leaders for guidance instead of listening to themselves. They would complain and hold no trust, yet they did nothing about it.”

  “Yeah, you can’t expect people who seek power, to actually get it right…without strings attached.”

  “It was a cover John. They used the end of fossil fuels and these ecological restorations as a means to bring in new rules and regulations – like they always have.”

  “And then we were subjected it again with the security chip thing eight years ago.”

  “There is a different type of imbalance this time. It is not the destruction of the ecologies so much as it is going within and this is why the nano tech is there. It reflects
the focus of humans as they look inside, thinking about it and now suffering because of it. There was a lot of selfishness John.”

  “You’re right Carmel. They lacked that giving nature you spoke about.”

  “Yes. Such inward focus often goes against the flow of life in progression. I tried it myself for many years and since I walked away, I have learned these things for myself.”

  “Well I am glad you left the services, otherwise you might have become something going inward against the flow - be it the Agent with those vortexes or the authorities.”

  “As evidenced by this very thing, this house. Such waste and abandonment. It is not a healthy way to be John.”

  “Yeah, they might have cleaned up the world and they might have cleaned up the efficiencies, but they still didn’t clean up their minds.”

  “Because they are not talking to their hearts John.”

  “Yeah, a heart removed from nature, becomes hard.”

  “I think I don’t want to stay in this house John. It is nothing like my house.”

  “I can feel it too. It is like nothingness, bland and …let’s go. I didn’t want to clean up any that dust anyway.”

  They spend the night in the horse stable next to Frieda, which made them happier after feeling awkward leaving her out of sight. Now as they lay near her, the shuffles and soft sounds she made, comforted them as they fell asleep.