Jimmy had said that Jack’s chute would not open, which would have been potentially fatal for them both. Emmy had assumed that he was joking, but now another thought occurred to her. If he had been telling the truth then this was not only further evidence of his fallibility, but it also provided a common denominator – her. Maybe it was because of her immunity to the radiation, which gave him his power, or maybe it was something that she was not seeing yet, but for some reason Jimmy’s gift was not one hundred percent accurate when she was around him. Her very presence on the mission was nullifying his effectiveness.
‘Get Esteban on the radio now,’ she said ‘We have to stop them.’
‘The orders are for radio silence,’ replied Jack. ‘We don’t want to give away our presence too early.’
‘It’s not too early; it’s too late – look.’
She drew his attention to the power generator. Two coiled cylinders rising to about ten feet in height glowed with latent electrical power before disappearing behind an explosion of pure light. The brightness stabbed at the onlookers’ eyes like a tidal wave of broken glass.
Both the scientist and the soldier raised their arms to protect their vision. Only when the heat subsided did they know it was safe to look again. Something had changed, however. Upon lowering their guard they could see a figure standing between the two cylinders as if whoever it was had been created within the burst of energy. Worse still, this figure was clearly not human, though it did resemble a man in shape. Its entire body sparkled like it had been carved from solid diamond. Once it moved away from the cylinders, they burst back into life.
The first shots originated a good distance from where Emmy was and she guessed that Esteban was the source. Almost immediately, Jack added to the barrage of fire. In doing so, he also gave away their position.
***
Charlie’s fingers itched above the abort button. This was no videogame, though it certainly felt like one. He had created the ultimate in drone warfare. His worst fears about how the general intended to implement his research were coming true and it was Emmy in the firing line. She had once been his partner. More than that; she had once been his friend, practically a little sister. Now he was using a heavily modified version of the work she had created against her. It was not right.
‘This is too dangerous,’ he said. ‘The technology is still untested. We do not even know what will happen if our guys make physical contact. It could be fatal.’
The general was unmoved by the possibility.
‘Is she with them?’
Charlie knew that he could not lie. Emmy’s energy signature was unique. The general only had to check the logs.
‘Yes. She and three others. I am guessing these will be soldiers.’
‘In that case, they know the consequences they face and we should expect resistance.’
‘Consequences?’
‘This is warfare. There are always casualties.’
Charlie had heard enough. He slammed his palm down onto the abort button. Its effect was immediately apparent.
Nothing happened.
Somebody had disengaged it before the mission had even begun. The frustrated scientist looked to the general, hoping to find some evidence of reason within his commander’s staunchly fierce countenance.
There was none.
‘Did you really think I would trust a half breed like you with that level of control,’ the general said. ‘Once she entered the picture, it was only a matter of time before you became compromised. As of this moment, I am taking you off the mission.’
Tao motioned for two subordinates to escort Charlie away from the console. A replacement scientist immediately took his place.
‘All that matters is getting the girl,’ the general told his new Chief of Operations. ‘Instruct our men to eliminate her companions.’
‘As you wish, General,’ the scientist replied.
‘No!’ screamed Charlie.
He attempted to wrest free of the guards, but their grip was too strong. The more he struggled, the tighter and more powerful their hold on him became. He was their prisoner now. There was now nothing he could do to help his friend.
***
Esteban emptied an entire magazine and not one of his bullets had any effect. It was as if every one of them had missed its target. He knew this was impossible because he was too good a marksman. The reason the bullets failed was because his target was not human. If he had any chance of getting through this he needed to raise his level of attack substantially.
The first grenade went wide of the target and impacted into the snow, which muffled much of its explosive power. The second was a direct hit, but it did not detonate. Instead it appeared to be completely absorbed into the body of the hostile. If it had any effect at all, it was simply to have strengthened an already superior foe.
‘Speak to me, Jimmy,’ he called out. ‘How do we get out of this one?’
The young Australian did not reply. He was in a state of complete shock and disbelief. He wore an expression, the exact like of which Esteban had seen only once before; at the train crash. The kid’s psychic intuition had misfired again. He had led them down a blind alley.
‘Shit!’ Esteban cursed to himself. Their only option was retreat. ‘Fall back,’ he then shouted, whilst laying down a barrage of ultimately pointless cover fire for his teammates to get away.
His priority had to be ensuring both Jimmy and Emmy’s safety no matter the cost he may have to bear.
Jimmy had been in the most advanced position when the attack started and was, therefore, the most vulnerable. Without the benefit of his additional sense he was also completely helpless. This was a fact that the inhuman attackers were quick to pick up on.
Esteban ran towards the boy, but when he got to within just feet of him, one of the enemy combatants was already there. He emptied a fresh magazine into the target’s centre point without even drawing its attention. The soldier then dropped his rifle and withdrew a blade despite knowing that it was likely to be just as ineffective as the bullets had been.
His companions were not faring any better. The second attacker had been drawn toward them by the gunfire. Emmy knew the bullets would be no use and was trying her best to come up with an alternative. She tipped open her pack and sifted through the contents for anything that may be of use. Emergency rations, camera, radio, phone; she had an idea, but one thing was still missing.
‘Jack, I need you,’ she called out, but the soldier was too distracted to respond.
She had figured out what the attackers were. They were astral travellers who had harnessed enough electrical energy to create a second body outside of their own. This would make them completely impervious to conventional weapons, but they were not unstoppable. The fact they were using electrical energy was her one hope. Of course, she still did not have everything that she needed.
Jack had stopped firing his gun and was fast depleting his complement of hand grenades. He lobbed them in quick succession in the hope their effects would be accumulative. The explosions slowed his attacker, but that was all they did. After the final explosive was spent, the being advancing on him did not show any sign of damage or injury.
With no means left with which to defend himself, Jack was grabbed by the throat and lifted two feet above the ground. Emmy could see the agony etched on the soldier’s face as his tormentor tightened its grasp. The electricity that gave it form and substance scorched the young soldier’s flesh. His skin blistered like snags on a barbeque. It was not long before his body fell limp, only to be discarded into the snow like a used battery.
The astral being was now between Emmy and Jack’s pack. Having just witnessed what this thing was capable of, she instantly dismissed any thoughts of attempting to get past it. If a fully trained and armed soldier could be defeated with such ease, she stood no chance. Her only hope was if Esteban was carrying the same kit.
She turned and threw herself down a slope, rolling until she reached the bottom
. Once she got back to her feet she scanned the area for Esteban and Jimmy. The soldier was on the floor, but it was Jimmy who was in immediate danger. The enemy being grabbed hold of him, but it did not go for the kill like the other had done with Jack. Instead, it kept him held at arm’s length before leaping into the air, clearing the walls of the compound in a single bound.
The other hostile was not yet ready to flee. Like a mountain lion stalking its prey, it slowly made its way down the slope toward her. She knew it could cross the distance between them in an instant, but guessed it saw no need for urgency due to its impossible advantage. The irony was, the longer it delayed, the more that advantage switched to Emmy.
She located Esteban’s pack just a few feet from where he lay. He was obviously hurt, but the cool mist ascending from his mouth confirmed he was still breathing. Whether he would survive the encounter now rested firmly with her. It only took her a moment to find what she was looking for.
Like Jack, Esteban had been carrying plastic explosive with blasting caps and copper firing wire. By stripping the wires and using the copper to create a coil connecting the camera flash to her phone battery, she was able to construct a makeshift device capable of emitting an electromagnetic pulse. It was crude, but it was her only hope.
She worked as fast as she could and just as she was completing her construction the astral being finally caught up with her. Her time was up and unfortunately for her, she was left needing more. Her device was incomplete. It still needed a trigger switch.
‘Wait,’ she said to the being. ‘You don’t have to do this. Can you hear me?’
His lack of a response told her it did not, although it could have been that it simply did not understand English. With no face to read, she had no way of telling. She needed a different tactic.
‘Charlie!’ she cried out. ‘Charlie, if you can hear me you have to stop this. Call your men off, please.’
She wanted to run, but the astral soldier pre-empted her move and slapped her down with all the ease of swatting a fly. She landed face down in the snow, its coldness stinging her skin.
All hope was dwindling, but she could not give up. Not with so much at stake. The strength to get back on her feet deserted her and she was left instead to crawl. Then she felt something grip the back of her jacket and hoist her back onto her feet. It was Esteban.
‘I’m assuming you have a plan,’ he said.
‘Call me.’
‘What?’
‘You still have your sat phone, right? Call me.’
Before he could ask any further questions she pushed him to the side, making sure she was the one the being followed. She then sprinted over to where her bespoke EMP device had fallen and scooped it up into her hands as she passed. The astral soldier was onto her immediately.
She ducked as it swung for her head and in doing so she lost her balance. This time her attacker could not miss. As it loomed over her, she could have sworn that if it had a face, it would have been smiling, such was the malevolence in its posture. What it did not realise was that she was now the one who had set a trap. She lifted the EMP over her chest and as soon as the speakers came to life, signalling an incoming call, she thrust it up into the air.
‘It’s for you,’ she shouted at the astral soldier.
The flash initiated and with it, discharged the Electro Magnetic Pulse. As the being was composed entirely of electrical energy it felt the blast just like a human soldier would had it been a conventional explosive. Without so much as scream or a whimper, it was gone. It dematerialized before her eyes.
‘Has that thing got any more juice in it?’ Esteban asked as he caught up with her.
‘Unfortunately not, it was a one shot deal. If my theory is correct, his consciousness will have returned to his body, but there’s nothing to stop him coming back.’
‘That was an astral traveller?’
‘I’ll explain later, but first we’ve got to get out of here. They’ll be back at any moment.’
‘Maybe not,’ replied Esteban. ‘Perhaps I can buy us a little more time.’
He pulled out his final hand grenade and threw it at the power generators. Having taken a significant beating fending off the attackers, his throw was not as accurate as he would have hoped. The explosive fell slightly short of where he had intended it too. Only minimal damage was done by the explosion, but he was confident it would be enough to cause a temporary disablement at the very least.
‘Where’s Jack?’ asked Esteban.
‘Up there. I don’t think he made it.’
‘And Jimmy?’
‘They took him. Chances are he’s alive, but there’s nothing we can do for him right now. We have to get out of here.’
‘Agreed. We’ll head back to the tunnels. We should be safe there. It’s unlikely they know about them.’
After confirming Jack’s demise, they followed their tracks back up the slope toward the mountain. After close to a mile a storm began sweeping its way through the valley. Within moments of the storm hitting they had become hopelessly lost. With the combined effects of fatigue, extreme cold and this new hazard it soon became too much for Emmy. She fell to her knees and then keeled forward before passing out. Esteban did not even notice. Within less than a minute, he too, was unconscious.
Chapter 28
The cell bore much similarity to the one that had initially held him back in Australia. At least there was no attempt at sensory deprivation this time so he guessed that whoever was holding him was not aware of his abilities. This was good. There was not a prison in the world that could hold Jimmy Johnson. All he had to do was wait for his escape route to be revealed to him.
In the meantime, he could only pray that no harm had come to Emmy and the soldiers. He knew they would disagree, but he saw the failure of the mission as entirely his fault. If not for his inability to predict the attack their plan would have succeeded. He had let them down.
It had started with the train. That was the first time one of his visions had not come to pass. Given that a hundred people should have died that day, he did not think that getting it wrong was such a bad thing. Since then it had been happening frequently, though he kept this to himself. That was why he was not concerned when he saw Emmy’s parachute accident. His predictions seemed even more likely to fail when she was involved.
A part of him hoped his failure signalled that he was recovering from the psychic radiation. His powers had manifested gradually so he saw no reason why they would not fade in the same way. In time he may even be free of the visions completely. When that day came, he may not have to die twice.
***
‘What went wrong?’ asked the general. ‘Your orders were simple. Bring the girl and eliminate the rest.’
‘I am sorry, General,’ replied Major Heng. ‘Perception can be misleading on the astral plane. Of the four individuals encountered, the one taken had by far the most unique energy signature. It was the only one to carry the infection referenced in Professor Nguyen’s notes.’
‘It was supposed to be a she and she is not infected. Your poor judgement could prove costly, Major. Do we even know what became of Dr Rayne?’
‘We cannot be certain, but we must assume that she survived. It is doubtful that anybody else would have been able to improvise so effective a weapon in so little time.’
‘And what about Lieutenant Yu?’
‘He was disorientated, but shows no lasting side effects. The only real damage was to the primary generator. Our engineers estimate it will be offline for 48 hours.’
‘In that case, I want it repaired and fully operational in 24. Do you understand, Major?’
‘Yes, General. I will relay this order at once.’
‘Excellent. Do not disappoint me again. You will return to your duties. I, meanwhile, have prisoners to interrogate.’
The major bowed, respectfully, before returning to his post.
General Tao’s next port of call was the infected boy they had apprehended in
Dr Rayne’s place. In all his experience working with the radiation in both animals and humans, it had been found to be highly unstable. Animals became aggressive and humans were driven insane. To have captured a survivor who did not display the negative effects was a gift from the Gods. This prisoner could turn out to be the key to unlocking the full destructive potential of this new technology. Ultimate power was within his grasp and he intended to reach out and take it.
***
When the general finally came, he was not accompanied by guards. They were not necessary. He had over thirty years of combat experience to his name. Charlie had not so much as been in a fight at High School. Any physical conflict between the two would be over in a heartbeat. It would also be Charlie’s last heartbeat. As both men were fully aware of the inevitable outcome of a fight neither needed to be on their guard.
The scientist remained on his bed, but swung his legs around to adopt an upright seated position. It is always best to stay below the natural eye line of a predator.
‘You will no doubt be glad to hear that your friend is still at large,’ the general said. ‘We do, however, expect this to be merely a temporary inconvenience. The means of her elimination is being put together as we speak.’
‘Elimination?’
Charlie could feel the panic building in the pit of his stomach. He had been betrayed. The plan had always been to bring her in. Convince her to defect. Elimination had never even been on the agenda. At least that is what he had thought. He now realised that he had been a fool to have trusted General Tao.
‘You should be pleased,’ the general told him. ‘Finally, your work will bear fruit. You see, I have taken the data you provided and used it on a little side project of my own. The hostage we took was the final piece of the puzzle.’
‘Hostage?’
‘Yes, one more precious than even Emmy Rayne herself. He is another survivor from Jackson’s Hill. The only to survive exposure to the radiation, I believe. He is now the key to achieving the full potential of your technology. A sample of his DNA is being examined as I speak. If my intuition is correct, we should be able to use it to synthesize a stabilizing compound for the radiation. Soon our dominance will no longer be confined to the astral plane.’
Diamond Sky Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 51