Emergence (Book 4): Eradication

by Sawyer, JT

  She heard a crunching sound below and glanced over the railing. Selene caught the faint movement of two creatures floating over the corpses of the drones, smashing bone and skulls as they moved. Their shapes resembling phantoms in the slowly dissipating yellow mist. The alphas—God, no!

  Chapter 19

  Reisner was the last one to climb inside the Blackhawk. His body ached from fatigue and he felt like his arms were sheathed in granite sleeves. He buckled in next to Ivins, both men gazing out at the concrete emission stacks, whose venting had begun to slow to normal levels. Both men stared in silence at the small mound of sand and rocks near the entrance gate. Reisner couldn’t help feeling responsible for Blevins’ death, and he kept replaying the battle over in his head, wondering what he could have done differently. He glimpsed the half-mile-long field of dead drones encircling the administration building. The death toll was staggering. He stared transfixed at all of the thousands of creatures, unable to even see the pavement beneath the bodies. He wished that they could blanket the earth in the bioagent, destroying the creatures en masse instead of risking the lives of more men on future operations. For now, this is the way it will have to be—boots on the ground like throughout most of our history on this planet.

  As the helicopter peeled away and arced to the east, the co-pilot leaned back, tapping Ivins on the shoulder and pointing to the audio speaker above.

  “We are under attack,” said Tso in a frantic voice. “The lobby has been breached by hundreds of creatures and we are all heading to the roof, but the helicopter from Creech is delayed.”

  Reisner’s eyes widened and he swung his head towards the co-pilot. “Where the hell is that other helo out of Nevada?”

  “They’re still forty minutes out.”

  “Tell ’em we’re on our way and can be there in fifteen,” said Ivins, who leaned in towards the pilot. “Push it to the edge, chief.”

  Reisner thought of Selene and the others trying to hold off an invading legion of drones and alphas. Their only chance was to slow the creatures’ progress towards the roof, but they didn’t have enough firepower or trained personnel to even make that happen. Selene, hold on. He felt his weary body ready to send more hate downrange as he watched the blur of terrain below speed by them. The other operators were already swapping out fresh magazines in their vests, and he began robotically going through the same motions as he kept glancing at his wristwatch.

  Chapter 20

  Selene watched the alphas slowly bypassing the dead drones below as the two creatures cleared the fourth floor landing. She knew they would be on the roof within minutes. She pulled back from the railing and trotted up the remaining flights of stairs to the last floor. Exiting the hallway, she sprinted past her office, stopping to grab her shoulder bag and hastily grabbing a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall beside the door. Selene sprinted off in the other direction towards the emergency stairwell, retrieving one more fire extinguisher before she ascended.

  Arriving on top of the building, she felt the blast of desert wind upon her face and saw Tso and the sixteen other personnel huddled in a circle around their stash of scientific gear off to the side of the helipad, where the faint glow of landing lights cast an eerie glow upon the terrified crowd. Her heart sank when she realized Noveck wouldn’t be leaving with them, the image of his glassy eyes still seared in her brain. Selene stepped forward, frantically searching the inky sky for the flashing lights of the helicopter, but she felt like she was staring into an indifferent abyss.

  “We’re on our own for now—the helo from Creech is still a long way out. I radioed Ivins and they’ll be here in fifteen minutes or so,” shouted Tso as he and Kurt ran up. The young man took one of the fire extinguishers that Selene extended out and followed her to the stairwell door. Several people ran up to assist her but she motioned them back.

  “Stay with the others—look for anything that can be used as a weapon. The drones are all dead from the bioweapon but the alphas will be up here soon,” she said as they busied themselves tearing through the maintenance locker near the air-conditioning vents.

  Selene returned to the stairwell entrance, locking the door and smashing the numeric security keypad to the right with the butt of the fire extinguisher. Then she backed up four feet, placing the extinguisher in an upright position on the ground and indicating with a nod for Kurt to do the same.

  The first slam on the steel door behind her caused Selene to gasp and nearly fall over. How could they have gotten here this fast? She shot her gaze back up to the empty night sky, her heart sinking. Where’s the fucking helicopter? Fifteen minutes—that’s insane. We need them here now! Selene ran back to where she had set her shoulder bag down and fumbled through the papers and medical supplies, searching for the spare pistol magazine. She felt something heavy and lifted out the 15-round black magazine, then slid the Beretta out from her waist and tried to align the magazine properly with the Beretta’s mag-well in the dim light, shoving it forcefully in place with her shaking hands.

  The slide was still locked back on her Beretta and she wanted to shake the weapon, hoping the pistol would chamber itself like in a video game. She pressed on one of the side buttons and saw the slide rush forward as a round was chambered, the pistol rocking forward in her loose grip.

  The door burst open, tearing free of its bent hinges and clanking on the ground. The first alpha bounded through the opening, moving to the right, while the other leapt through in the opposite direction. Selene started firing at the fire extinguisher, missing her first three rounds but connecting with the fourth. The small explosion drove the second alpha into an upright vent, its face torn open by metal shrapnel. Selene focused all of her efforts on the injured beast and swung around, firing the pistol until it ran dry. The alpha slumped to the ground, clutching its ruptured throat from a single round that penetrated the cervical region. Kurt bolted over, grabbing the other intact fire extinguisher and slamming it into the side of the alpha’s skull until it stopped moving. Turning around, he was tackled from behind by the other alpha. It tore into Kurt’s abdomen, crunching down on the floating ribs and ripping into his organs. He shrieked and fell to the side, reaching for the fire extinguisher as the alpha continued its maniacal attack. Selene looked at her empty weapon then ran towards the creature, palming the empty Beretta. Four other people raced past her, their hands clutching pipes, screwdrivers, and wrenches. The alpha spun around and struck the first man in the jaw, sending him back, but the others kept charging like a pack of hyenas, their improvised weapons flailing in their arms. Selene saw a blur of movement as a large wrench struck the alpha on the shoulder, then a pipe bludgeoned it in the temple as the attackers kept pummeling the creature until it collapsed. The alpha disappeared out of sight as the enraged group continued the beating.

  Selene looked at her formerly meek staff in a different light, unaware they were capable of such violence but pleased by the outcome. Then she saw Kurt lying on his side and bolted over to him. His mouth was gurgling out blood as he gasped for air. He reached his left hand up towards her, pointing to something beyond her shoulder, his lips contorting as he tried to say something. She knelt down, holding his hand as he kept pointing. Turning, she saw the lights of an approaching helicopter just as Kurt exhaled for the last time. Selene caught his head and laid it down gently, then brushed her fingers over his eyelids to close them. The deaths of Noveck and Kurt within the past half hour had hammered through her tough exterior, and she felt cracks forming in the walls she had constructed to protect herself. She couldn’t hold back the pain welling up inside of her, and her tears ran freely as her body shuddered.

  She stayed near his body until the Blackhawk descended and the engine stopped. Selene saw Reisner running towards her and she stood up, walking, then trotting towards him. She fell into his embrace and wrapped her arms around him, the sobs draining out of her as she clutched his sides.

  Chapter 21

  Roland sat in his leather chair, his should
ers slumped down and his head sagging. His breathing was labored and he felt like a red-hot bayonet had been driven through the base of his neck. He had seen and felt the pain of tens of thousands of his brood screaming out before their deaths, and he felt a part of his own psyche cleaving away as if someone had taken a scimitar to one of his appendages.

  The attack had been extremely well coordinated and the barrage of simultaneous images from each of the nuclear reactor sites had been physically draining. It was difficult enough to direct the actions of two or three of his alphas in separate locations, but having so many reach out for help simultaneously had proven beyond his abilities. He tried to steady his breathing as he thought back to the nature of the assaults—precise attacks by skilled teams of soldiers. But, what stood out was the massive and instantaneous extermination of his drones—thousands screaming out in agony as a yellow mist cloaked them, causing them to choke before going forever silent.

  The Others have a powerful new weapon that can kill in seconds on a scale that poses a grave threat to all of us. He ran through a mental replay of each assault on the individual power plants, cataloging the tactics his alphas had used that were efficacious then relaying these to the rest of his brood throughout the world. He analyzed the memories of one attack in particular, where the yellow gas was unsuccessful in eradicating his drones. The heavy rains must have rendered it ineffective. He stood up, moving to the window of his office and staring out at the blood-red sunrise and the heavy build-up of cumulus clouds along the eastern horizon. When he was done, he recalled what his sister had revealed about the large-scale troop movements at MacDill.

  The far-reaching tentacles of his mind reached out to dozens of other alphas in the adjoining regions around Florida, his vigor returning as he spoke to them. There is a storm coming—our storm—and when it arrives it will cleanse the world of our enemies. We must move quickly while we have the advantage. You must relocate to the south using the cold surf along the coast to cloak your body heat and then await my orders. Roland sent them a mental image of the location he had in mind. Then he reached out to Katherine. Fifteen of us are on their way to your location. The rest will move up from the southern edge of the peninsula. Tomorrow they should be at your location. Until then, hide and be safe, my sister.

  Chapter 22

  Ivins instructed Murphy and the rest of his SEAL team to accompany Selene, Tso, and the remainder of the medical staff of the CDC to Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, assuring them that he and Reisner’s team would only be four hours behind them after their unsanctioned mission along the Colorado River. After that group departed, Ivins inspected the small police helicopter in the CDC parking lot that they had obtained earlier in the week. Twenty minutes later, the team stared at the empty CDC building that had been their refuge and the birthplace of the bioweapon that could turn the war in their favor.

  “You sure you still want to be in on this trip with me?” said Ivins as he pulled away from the CDC building and flew northwest. “If this little side mission to search for my wife and daughter gets back to HQ, your heads are going to be on the chopping block too.”

  Reisner stared back at the Blackhawk containing Selene that had departed and was now just a black speck in the northern skyline. “Wouldn’t miss it.” He motioned with his thumb over his left shoulder to the rest of his team. “Besides, these guys don’t officially exist, so who’s going to miss ’em?”

  “Ouch,” said Nash.

  “Translate that to mean: he’d be lost without us,” said Porter.

  “More like the other way around in your case,” said Connelly.

  “We won’t be too far behind the others when they arrive at Creech,” said Ivins. His vision focused on the western horizon as he flew the helicopter over a low ridge of tawny peaks. He shot a quick glance back into the main cabin at the others, then over to Reisner. “I appreciate you all being here.”

  “We’ll get her done, sir,” said Porter. The rest of the team nodded, then Nash leaned in closer to Reisner in the co-pilot’s seat. “What was the after-action report from Dorr on the other nuke facilities?”

  “Ten of the sites were secured with minimal loss of life amongst our personnel—with the exception of Vectra Team in Washington.” Reisner let the last few words drag out like they were stuck in his throat. “Nine members of that elite group were...were wiped out. They were able to secure the outside doors to the reactor but at the expense of the entire team due to the bioagent being ineffective from the rainfall. That site is still not under our control, but the inner chambers also can’t be breached by any of the paras. Dorr is examining options for another assault when the weather clears, but now the paras know our tactics, which is going to make that problematic as hell.”

  “Jesus—all of those brothers went down in the fight,” said Nash, shaking his head.

  “We just need to take all of those motherfuckers out with the bioweapon then surgically attack each region using small units to take out the remaining alphas,” said Porter.

  Reisner slowly nodded. “Agreed, but our capability to do that is a few months away, given the current production time for Selene to create more. Right now, her focus and that of the staff on the Lachesis is going to be making enough to provide protection for any threats against MacDill.”

  Reisner glanced over at Ivins, who hadn’t said a word the entire time. He knew the man’s gaze was focused on more than the desert landscape ahead, and he hoped this brief mission would provide his friend with the answers he was seeking.

  Chapter 23

  Carl felt like his legs were pillars of stone from standing before the worktable for four hours as he and the two medical doctors continued making additional batches of the synthetic hormones and then separating the fluid into six-ounce glass vials. He had only stopped to eat once, but the bag of jerky tasted like he was chewing on an old mitt. He had learned from Jim and Evie that the creature named Roland was the one who ruled the others. Evie mentioned hearing him speak to Rose in the hallway outside, and they surmised that there was something significant about to unfold, given the frenetic mannerisms of the drones coming in and out of the estate’s lower levels. Their marching could be heard through the thick walls and hadn’t let up in three hours.

  How many can this place hold? thought Jim as he concocted another flask of the hormones.

  “What if they are preparing for an attack?” said Jim. “To defend this place—that could mean there are troops of ours on the way.”

  “Or the drones are going to launch their own assault somewhere else.”

  “Against who?” said Evie. “There isn’t anything of significance left in this region.”

  “There’s an army base of some sort in Florida,” said Carl. “Heard about it a few days ago on the shortwave at our cabin. They did a broadcast asking for anyone willing to join them in Tampa.”

  “That’s hours from here,” snapped Jim. “Why would they be coming this far north?”

  “Not sure, but they gave the impression that their base was a pretty decent stronghold,” said Carl.

  “So, what kept you from joining them?” said Evie.

  Carl raised an eyebrow. “Thought we had a good thing going out in the woods—just the eight of us living miles down a dirt road in an area I grew up in. Didn’t see any need to trade that in for life in the barracks with people telling me what to do.”

  Jim nodded up to the ceiling then swiveled his head around, staring at their surroundings. “Well, that’s what you ended up doing here anyway—shit, we all did.”

  The huge wooden door opened slowly and Rose slipped inside the room. She looked in either direction down the hallway before quietly closing it again, then slid the bolt into the security latch. She trot-walked over to the table next to Carl, her eyes moist and her cheeks flushed.

  “Please help me,” she said, grabbing Carl’s arm and clamping down on it as tears began streaming down her face.

  Carl turned towards her, removing his Latex g
loves and holding onto her hand. “What is it? Are you hurt?” He glanced over her figure for any signs of trauma.

  “No, not yet anyway.” She rubbed her fingers along her sweaty neckline like there was something irritating her skin. “I heard Roland talking to this woman who was brought in earlier today. She used to be a pediatric doctor. He was asking her about survival rates for babies who are delivered during various trimesters.” Rose thrust her hands along her sides, brushing her fingers over her midsection, which now revealed a slight bump as her blue shirt clung to her frame. “He kept mentioning my name, but how could he know, and why would he even want to know that?” She began sobbing, leaning against the table to support herself. “He’s a monster—one of those things. What is he going to do to me? I’m almost three months along.”

  Carl placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning in closer. Before he could say anything, his attention was diverted by the door opening again. This time it was slammed forcefully into the wall as a tall, slender man with silver hair walked inside. He strode with purpose and emitted a faint shrill sound as he angled his head back at the other creatures in the hallway, who abruptly stopped just outside of the entrance.