And, they weren't done with him yet. During the prior process, the Beast had been struggling against his restraints, moaning and grunting in loud, defiant bursts as he tried to lunge at the worker with his open mouth. When, a second worker pressed buttons on a remote control, the red light on the box lit up, and the Beast's body went limp—everything but his mouth which continued to make incessant noises.
The crowd began a new chant as the first worker returned with a tool that looked like a pair of long-handled wire cutters. "Shut him up…shut him up…" With one swift move, the worker shoved the device into the Beast's throat and lacerated his vocal chords. The crowd cheered then went silent.
Worker number two began typing into an electronic tablet then shouted, "This dude's over the hill. I'm sending him to the street crew."
"Boo…" someone started in the crowd. Then, others joined in. A few others countered, "Pyramid…pyramid…"
Ignoring the chants, the workers released the graying Beast. Cheryl watched with amazement as he stumbled up the ramp of a waiting truck on his own without trying to attack any of the human workers. Then, the process began again as another snarling Beast was chained to the wall. Her screeches were so ear-splitting, the workers decided to take care of her vocal chords before attaching the black box.
After they had processed a couple more, Aidan confirmed that he was as tired of being a spectator as she was. The crowd didn't seem to agree. They roared with laughter at the feral antics of every new Beast, seeming to enjoy watching the workers tame them into compliance. It was almost two hours before the event started to wrap up and the crowd started to disband.
When they had a chance to move, no amount of counter-shoving allowed Cheryl and Aidan to head back the way they'd come, towards Philip and Ashley's apartment. Since, it was useless to attempt to fight their way upstream, they gave up and flowed along with the tide of spectators. After a few minutes, they neared the base of the pyramid where bottlenecks formed as people stopped to gawk. Having little choice, Cheryl and Aidan stood next to the roped off area to get a closer look like the others.
The massive base of the structure was uniformly square and mind-boggling progress had been made on it in just the last twenty-four hours since she'd seen it from the outskirts of Sedona. Except for a crane and a couple of bulldozers, there was very little mechanical equipment around, and she couldn't imagine how they'd put so many more of the huge limestone blocks in place in such a short time, using the Beasts for labor. It was hard to tell what the finished structure would look like, but at this point, with the bases of what looked like the start of dual staircases on either side, it seemed like it was going to look more like one of the pyramids built by the Aztecs or Mayans than like the more streamlined Egyptian style.
"I still don't get it," she said to Aidan. "What a waste of time when the rest of the country is suffering so much. Why go to so much trouble?"
"They obviously have their own agenda and aren't interested in saving the masses."
Still unable to move, they listened to the conversations around them.
"…see that chick with the messed up face do some work…"
"…can't wait until it's done and the Cyclops is installed…"
"…look…they're testing!"
Cheryl watched as a set of human trainers wearing black aprons came into the pyramid area, leading a crew of Beasts. It was fascinating to watch the Beasts automatically head towards an assigned task like groups of worker bees. Some were programmed to wield sledgehammers and chisel, working on the rough edges of the huge stone blocks, while the stronger and more able-looking ones harnessed themselves to blocks in preparation to move them.
All seemed to be on task—except one. One young male Beast, fairly human-looking from behind, except for some exposed ribs on his back side stood still, even after a worker prodded him with some sort of electric wand that crackled with electricity when it was shoved into his back. The creature turned around and bared his teeth then lunged at the worker. The startled man stumbled backwards, tripped over a rock and fell to the ground. The Beast jumped on top of him and began snapping his jaws as the screaming worker tried to fend him off.
A second later, the Beast's head burst like a watermelon, showering a red and black rain in a wide arc around the terrified worker before collapsing onto his chest. As the man heaved the corpse off of him, another worker, holding a remote, ran towards him.
"You all right, man?"
"No. No. Damn rogues. I'm done…outta here…"
The crowd booed when he threw his helmet on the ground and stomped off, leaving the work area.
When the cleaning crew, another group of remote-controlled Beasts, came to haul the body away and take care of the mess, enough of the crowd had dissipated for Cheryl and Aidan to work their way in between people and escape the congregation. They were making their way towards a hole that would lead them back to the street when a gray-haired gentleman grabbed Aidan's arm.
"Thank you for your selfless contribution, sir." He pointed towards Aidan's patch then put his palms together and gave a quick bow.
Aidan didn't seem to know how to reply other than giving the man a nod and a smile.
"Oh…don't be so modest, young man. You've done a great thing for the cause! When Cyclops is complete, the rewards to all citizens will be immeasurable." After that, he disappeared into the sea of people.
"What was that all about?"
"I don’t know," Aidan said. "I guess he thinks I gave up my eye voluntarily."
"I've seen a few other people wearing patches. Maybe you're part of some group of martyrs for the cause."
Aidan smirked. "The cause…Aaargh! Whatever it is, I hope it involves a merry band of pirates."
***
Later that night, they were lying on opposite sides of Philip and Ashley's bed when Cheryl started to wonder how many secrets Aidan had kept from her. She turned to face him and said, "You never did explain why you gave a false name when we got to the fort."
He threw his head back and laughed. "It's a funny story, actually. I didn't want to be blacklisted because of my military history."
"You told me you were dishonorably discharged from the Army, but you didn't say why."
He laughed again. "It's pretty dumb. I got the boot, because I pulled a prank."
"Must've been some prank," she said, leaning her head on her hand and staring into his one green eye. "I could use a good story."
"Long story short….from day one, the sergeant and I didn't get along too well. He was always up my ass about something or another. He had me on permanent latrine duty, and some of the guys thought it was real funny to see what kinds of messes they could leave for me to clean up. One day…I'd had enough. I decided that I was going to put that bathroom out of order for good. I got my hands on some explosives and I hitched one to every single toilet."
"You blew up the bathroom?"
"Sky high. It rained porcelain and shit that day."
"Holy crap!" she said, laughing at the visual. "But, that's not a prank—that's arson. Why aren't you in prison?"
"They never could prove it was me because I had an airtight alibi that night. But, they knew…so they gave me a dishonorable discharge on some other trumped up mess."
"That's really wild. I can't believe you did that."
"I wouldn't say I was the smartest kid on the block in those days—I was just the orneriest."
Really stupid, Cheryl thought as they closed their eyes later. Yet, she had some admiration for the chutzpah it took to do something so incredibly ballsy and rebellious. It was a trait that might come in handy if they ever found themselves in serious trouble. As she drifted off to sleep, she felt his leg bump against hers, probably on accident. She ignored it, still thinking of Mark out there somewhere in the darkness, either worrying about her…or having moved on to a new life down in Sabre…without her.
Chapter 21
"You don't have to do this," Cheryl said the next morning as Aida
n got ready for the job interview. "What if you say the wrong thing and they call security?"
"We're not going to make any more headway by wandering the streets. We need to get really inside."
"Yes…but this seems too risky. They could arrest you!"
"I won't let that happen. If the interview starts to turn sour, I'll find an excuse to get out of there."
"I still don't like it. What am I going to do while I wait to see if you got hired or fed to the Beasts?"
"Do some more reconnaissance. I bet a woman alone could snoop around a little more successfully than both of us could together."
She thought about that for a moment then decided he was probably right. There might be something to learn from hanging out at a nail salon, beauty parlor, or even just loitering around the park. She figured a single person might look less conspiratorial if cameras were watching.
When the time for the open interview period drew near, she walked half way to the building with Aidan then parted with him after telling him that she'd meet him outside in a couple of hours. Then, she wandered around the shops in the market area. Many of the stores that probably used to sell Native American goods, or were metaphysical stores and art galleries had been converted into massage parlors, bakeries, and even slave shops where one could purchase their very own Beast to use for domestic chores. She bypassed all those and headed for an electronics store, lured by the flashing images on the televisions she'd seen from the street.
Once inside, she found it odd that there were no computers inside—no tablets or other handheld devices that would allow someone to connect to the Internet. There weren't any radios or cellphones, either. But there were rows and rows of flat screen televisions. The volume was turned down, and all of them were tuned to what appeared to be a local news channel. The current story was a horrific video of a public execution carried out by throwing a prisoner into a small cage with a Beast. As the Beast began tearing away at the poor man's flesh, the video cut away, and the news anchor came on. The pretty brunette smiled as cheerfully as if she were talking about the weather. The caption behind her said, OBEY ALL LAWS.
Then, the anchor continued on to the next story. Another video popped on the screen. The caption said, Cyclops project moving along swiftly at Airport Mesa. A grinning man appeared next. He had black eyebrows and silvery hair brushed straight up from his forehead, and there was something strange about his eyes—something really freaky. As he talked and pointed to a chart that showed the level of pyramid completion that had been achieved that week, his peacock blue irises had something flashing and moving around inside them.
"Who is that man?" Cheryl said, speaking the words out loud unintentionally.
"You mean…the Senior Warden?"
Cheryl turned around and saw a gangly salesman with round glasses and curly brown hair. His name tag said, Ernie. Below his name, it said, Ask me how an implant can earn you a new television.
"You don't know who that is…you've either been living under a rock or…or you're some kind of idiot." Then, his cheeks blushed pink and he corrected himself. "I mean…sorry ma'am. That's a nice set there. I can show you some others."
"No thanks," she said, already backing away. "I was just looking." She hurried out the door and down the sidewalk.
A little while later, she sat on a bench outside the building where Aidan went to the interview and observed the people walking by. It was such a beautiful day with blue skies and temperatures in the low eighties; she almost wished she could just be one of the oblivious citizens of this O.N.E.-owned town and enjoy the day. After another twenty minutes of watching people pass back and forth, she wondered why she hadn't seen anyone walking a dog. Then, it dawned on her that she hadn't seen a single mammal in the entire city! There were birds on the rooftops, but no dogs in the parks, no cats on windowsills, not even a squirrel racing up a tree trunk. What had happened to them all?
She was musing that over when Aidan finally emerged from the building. When he saw her, he shook his head and cursed. "Son of a bitch!"
Cheryl gave him a death stare to shut him up then rose up, looking around to see if anyone had paid attention to his outburst. The only people nearby at the moment were a teenaged boy a few yards away who was kneeling next to a bicycle as he worked on the chain, and a man standing next to the curb who looked like he was waiting for a ride. Neither of them was looking their way.
"It didn't go so well, hunh?" she whispered as he came to her side.
"No. That was more like an interrogation than an interview."
The man by the curb, a burly-looking sort with a trimmed, dark beard and a thick build, turned his gaze towards Aidan then approached them. "Turned down for a job?"
"Yeah…the bastard in there was more interested in my loyalty to O.N.E. than whether I could wire a circuit board."
"Shhh…" the man said as he put a hand on Aidan's shoulder and held a finger to his lips. He paused until the boy rode off on his bicycle then he kept his voice low. "You got some beef with the powers that be?"
"What's it to you?" Aidan asked, eyeing the man suspiciously.
"I work on a crew. We might have an opening, but…only for someone with a certain…disposition."
"What kind of disposition?"
"One that doesn't necessarily play well with others...and march in straight lines."
Cheryl watched as the two seemed to have a whole conversation after that, just by staring and blinking their eyes.
Aidan held out his hand. "I'm your man."
"Name's Vinny," the man said as a car pulled up beside them. "Let's go for a ride."
After Aidan introduced himself and Cheryl, Vinny leaned over the windowsill and spoke with the driver, a tall woman with a butch haircut and nearly invisible lips that formed a thin line. They exchanged a few words then the driver looked Aidan and Cheryl over and smiled. "Ruth," she said. "Nice to meet you…"
Going on intuition alone, Cheryl and Aidan hopped in the back of the car. They had no idea where they were heading…
As they moved through traffic, the conversation with Vinnie and Ruth was light and didn't yield any information about the potential job or where they were going. Cheryl's anxiety increased as they pulled into the parking lot of Milkman's Auto.
"Milkman's Auto…" Cheryl said out loud, thinking of Edmond and the strange coincidence.
Vinnie looked back at her and grinned. "My Uncle Antonio used to deliver milk. Then, the dairy closed, and he started this auto shop."
They rolled towards the closed bay doors. A second later, the doors opened and they drove inside. The doors shut behind them, and they were instructed to step out of the car. Amongst an assortment of cars and SUV's on lifts, there was a white truck parked inside, very similar to the O.N.E. trucks that they'd seen carrying armed men and Eaters. Vinnie led them towards it.
"It's okay," he told them in a whisper, after seeing their reluctance. "There aren't any cameras around here, and we stripped the truck and rebuilt it to make sure it's not bugged."
With that reassurance, they hopped in and sat on cushioned benches where the talk turned into another interview of sorts. In this one, Aidan didn't hold back any disdain for O.N.E. He told them about how he and the Vultures had encountered the men in the white trucks down in the Galiuro Mountains and seen them wipe out anyone in the area and release Eaters, his name for the Beasts.
"Doesn't surprise me," Vinnie said. When those bastards took over the town, they sealed it off. No one comes in—no one comes out without their approval. I'd heard rumors that they were scouring the countryside and exterminating survivors. The Beasts they released in your area were probably test driving new EM boxes that programmed them to hunt specific targets. You're lucky you made it out of there."
Cheryl agreed and chimed in about details of the attack where they lost Jasmine and Patrick. Then, Aidan told them how Jake had lured them this way, just using them as cover until he got to Sedona, and how they covertly entered the city.
"You're telling me you snuck in here with an execution excursion." Vinnie whistled. "Damn! You got some balls on you."
Ruth nodded in agreement. "We could use someone like you two." Then, her face went from a half-smile to rock hard serious. "There are almost three hundred of us now in the RT, working on taking them down."
Cheryl and Aidan stared at her with blank faces.
"Resistance Tribe," she said as she held up her index and middle finger, crossed over each other.
"Yeah," Vinnie said. "So, about that job I mentioned…we can get you clearance inside the factory that builds the EM boxes. We could use some more people on the inside, because we're bugging the programming and need to step it up to get more of them done."
"You're re-programming them, so they'll attack the guards?" Cheryl asked.
Ruth and Vinnie exchanged a glance.
"Our hackers aren't that good," Vinnie explained, throwing his hands up in the air. "We're just inserting a chip that will incapacitate them."
Cheryl remembered seeing the rogue Beast whose head exploded, presumably because the human worker had pressed a certain button on his remote control. "That's going to be risky, isn't it? You just start killing them off…they'll know something's up."
"That's why it all has to be timed precisely. Our Chief Information Officer is holding an update meeting tonight to give more of the details. You should come." The way he said it, it was more like a command than a suggestion.
"It sounds…" Chery said, fumbling for the right words. "It sounds a little ambitious given the lockdown O.N.E. has on this place.
"Look…if we're going to take this town back, we'll need as much participation from rational people like yourselves as we can get —people who haven't been brainwashed into obeying O.N.E. and seduced into their regime by all the bullshit candy dangled on every street corner. We need more people in the factory to crosswire the black boxes, people to take down the guards, to do lots of things to help press the reset button on this mess. If you join us, I don't think I need to explain the risks. Of course, if you don't want to sign up…"
Eaters (Book 2): The Resistance Page 26