"Won’t this blasted car go faster? Dear Lord, if only I had wings!"
The Humvee swung onto a side road, crossed a field, and found the mountain path; a path for people, not cars, but that did not stop the Reverend. The vehicle violently bounced over rocks and scraped against trees as Johnny drove with furious determination.
---
The ship—as long as a commercial airliner but wider—descended upon the mountainside. Its sickly hide pulsated. Support ribs ran its length. Short and long tendrils sprouted from the body in no discernable pattern. The horrid vehicle rumbled as it hovered low over the meadow.
A membrane on the side of the craft drew open. Two humanoids—the shells of human beings--in dark robes with thin swords on rope belts jumped from the dark confines of the craft.
Nina watched as the intruders approached, her face alternating expressions of confusion, of anger, then confusion again, then anger won out. She pointed them to Trevor, who writhed on the ground nearly unconscious. They hauled him into the waiting craft.
The Humvee skidded to a stop among the rocks and grass of the mountain clearing, its tires going flat, side panels dented and ripped, and a trail of dust billowing behind. Jerry Shepherd leapt from the passenger’s side before the wheels had stopped turning.
"Nina! Get away from there!"
A bulge massed on the skin of the craft. That bulge formed a long barrel.
"Lord have mercy!" Reverend Johnny raced toward Shepherd. "Take cover!"
"He murdered Scott!" Nina yelled from the hovering ship. "He killed the man I loved! He killed the man I was going to marry! He's going to pay!"
Shepherd’s face corkscrewed and his mouth gaped not at the sight of the strange alien craft, but at Nina’s words. His confusion blinded him to the looming threat.
The organic protrusion on the ship literally spit its fire: the barrel curled and straightened, curled and straightened, at lightning speed. Reverend Johnny tackled Shepherd and the two rolled to cover next to the Hummer. Jon and Lori exited the car but a shower of pellets bounced off the hood and forced them to cover, too.
Nina climbed on to the waiting ship. The membrane closed. The covering fire of the side gun stopped. The monstrosity rose into the sky then flew south, taking Nina and Trevor away.
17. The Order
"Name: Bore Bug
Secondary Name(s): Burn Bugs; Torture Beetles; Bore Beetles
Classification: Insect, small
Physical Characteristics: Black and red; beetle-like w/pincers; ½"-1" in size
Description: Created by The Order. A swarm of Bore Bugs is poured upon a restrained target. The creatures bore into the skin and out again causing significant pain. While they leave wounds the Bore Bugs do not cause permanent damage and therefore are ideal for repeat use on the same victim to inflict maximum suffering."
--Excerpt from Hostiles Database 1st edition.
The chair cascaded across the Command Center, bouncing into a corner. Jon refused to acknowledge the pain in his foot as he walked to the desk and slammed his M4 on top.
His wife told him to, "Calm down."
Shep, Omar, Stonewall, and "Bear" Ross stood nearby watching Jon’s tantrum. Others gathered in small groups downstairs where they mingled nervously, like shepherd-less sheep.
Forty minutes had past since the monster-ship disappeared over the southern horizon. Dustin McBride and Dante Jones went to spread the word of Trevor’s abduction to the farms.
Stonewall said, "I beg your pardon, but it occurs to me that we need to carefully weigh our options. I suggest a more constructive course than furniture-kicking."
Lori asked, "Can’t we get the helicopters after them? Maybe they can shoot it down?"
"Great idea," Jon scoffed. "Did you get your pilot’s license yet?"
Shepherd added, "Nina and Trevor were the only ones who knew how to fly them."
"Wait a second," Lori remembered, "didn’t they rescue a pilot from the Red Hands?"
Ross knew to whom Lori referred.
"He didn’t fly helicopters. He’s a student pilot. Hasn’t even learned how to land yet."
Stonewall quipped, "Hmm, that should make his next lesson quite interesting."
"Enough!" Jon snapped. "I’m glad you find this funny cause I sure as hell don’t."
"Easy, fella," Shepherd said. "No one is laughing."
Jon eyed the older man. "Except for your girl, Nina. She must be laughing good."
Shepherd’s brow drew sharp.
"I reckon you should explain that, son."
"You saw what she did. She tricked Trevor to hand him over to those things. She was yelling something at you. I reckon you should share it with the rest of us."
Everyone stared at Shepherd. Omar coughed a puff of smoke.
Stonewall struggled to maintain calm in his voice: "Did Mr. Brewer suggest that Nina Forest engineered this abduction? Did I hear that correctly?"
Jon barked, "Damn straight, you heard it right."
"No, that’s not possible," Lori jumped to Nina’s defense but they did not listen to her.
Jerry Shepherd told them, "She was yelling that Trevor murdered Scott."
"Scott?" Ross did not know of Scott.
Jon told him, "He was the fourth person with them when their chopper crashed. We spent almost three days looking for Nina and this Scott guy. We only found Nina."
During the course of the conversation, Omar’s head swiveled back and forth as if watching a tennis match. He finally broke in, "I ask for your excuse in my asking, but why would Mr. Trevor be wanting to murder someone?"
"He didn’t," Shepherd said and squeezed his eyes shut tight.
Lori narrowed her eyes and walked to Shep with her head tilted.
"There's something more. What is it?"
Shep said, "As I recall, she said she loved Scott and she was going to marry him."
Stonewall concluded, "Avenging her dead lover? How romantic."
"No, no," Shepherd grimaced.
Lori finished his thought: "Nina wasn’t involved with this Scott guy. Or anyone."
The conviction in her voice surprised Shep and he eagerly agreed.
"That’s right. They hated each other and not in that way boys and girls hate each other then end up in the sack. He wasn't a very open-minded fella and she had no respect for him."
Jon groaned. "Fine. Great. So where the hell does that leave us?"
"Seems to me we have one other problem to consider," Shepherd said and turned his head toward the door. As usual, two Doberman Pinschers guarded that door, sitting so firm and rigid that it might have qualified as ‘attention.’
Stonewall gave voice to the concern: "I say, without their Master around, is it conceivable they may turn on us? How gruesome a thought."
A booming voice grabbed their attention: "Rejoice with Him, O heavens, and let all the angels of God worship Him, for he will avenge the blood of his servants!"
Reverend Johnny stormed into the room carrying a metal box. He placed it atop the map on the desk and opened the lid. A putrid smell seeped into the air from the green carcass inside.
Stonewall pinched his nostrils. "I say, what fiendish mess have you visited upon us?"
Jon peeked into the box and observed, "That’s the creature from last night."
Reverend Johnny said, "I recognized the ship that spirited away our friends. It was a ‘Chariot’ driven by The Order, not quite an animal yet more than machine."
Lori stumbled with the words as she said, "Nina gave Trevor to The Order?"
Shepherd quickly replied, "That makes no sense."
"Is it possible that Ms. Forest was having an implant?" Omar asked.
Jon said, "She had no blotches. She was never alone to get them. I don’t think they could’ve gotten into her apartment to implant her without the alarm sounding--wait a second…she was alone…once. For three days. Back when you first crashed. Wow."
Reverend Johnny fiddled with the dead mass in the b
ox.
Lori did not believe it. "No, she would’ve shown signs a long time ago."
"Cast your eyes upon this fiend," Reverend Johnny interrupted. "I think it shall reveal answers unto us."
He pulled loose a messy, slimy chunk of the creature, a sort of pouch made of a clear, plastic-like flesh.
"I have conducted many exams of The Order’s machinations and have come to recognize this part of their biotechnology. This organ produces a transmission. Yes that’s it—a signal."
Stonewall asked, "So it could roust reinforcements? Or send a message on our whereabouts, perhaps?"
"I fear we are dealing with something even beyond my direct experience," Johnny cautioned. "But the Lord has blessed me with the intelligence to venture a guess as to the purpose behind this vile creature. You say Ms. Forest disappeared for three days?"
"Yep," Shepherd answered. "But that was a good month and a half ago. She’s shown no signs of an implant. She was acting all normal up ‘til this afternoon."
"When she asked Trevor to go on a picnic." Lori remembered she had encouraged Trevor to go. Maybe she should not have stuck her nose in after all.
"Hear me out, friends. One thing my trials and tribulations have taught is that The Order is a clever bunch. Blasphemous, but clever. Based on the evidence my eyes show me and the words you tell about Ms. Forest, I must conclude that during her hiatus she was implanted with something new. Something that sat dormant until activated by this gruesome specimen."
"Good, God," Jon gasped. "Then they made sure we found her so we’d bring her back here. But why?"
Stonewall said, "We all know Mr. Stone is blessed with unusual…'assets,' that have given us a fighting chance. If The Order knew there was someone out there of his capacity…"
Jon completed the thought as he waved a small cloud of Omar’s smoke away: "They could find him by using a survivor to track him down and eliminate that threat."
Lori, relieved, said, "So Nina is innocent."
Shepherd remained puzzled. "That doesn’t explain why she thinks Trevor killed Scott or why she has memories of being in love with that guy."
The Reverend proclaimed, "Some revelations must wait."
"Excuse me for being such a pesky nose-sticker-in," Omar said as he took another nervous drag from his smoke. "But I do not see how this revelation changes the situation."
Reverend Johnny offered an answer.
"My friends, I have told you that The Order uses a bio technology and that technology can be countered by enzymes—specific enzymes. It’s as if each of their unholy creatures comes in batches from similar--but not identical--organic machines that vary from region to region. I have removed dozens of implants from The Order’s victims in the weeks before I found my home here. All of those implants shared a common source, just as this miserable creature in this metal box came from that same place. It’s the reason I was moving south when I had the fortune to make your acquaintance."
Jon led, "And that place is...?"
The Reverend removed the box and its messy contents from the desktop.
"Another blessing of saving a soul from The Order after implantation is that they have some recollection of the experience. I can tell you with confidence that The Order’s closest outpost—the one from whence all these beings have been constructed—is here…"
He slammed a finger onto the map, pointing to a mid-sized city to the south.
Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"That’s only two hours away on the turnpike." Lori sounded relieved.
Jon groaned and told her, "Two hours at sixty-five on a clear turnpike."
Stonewall McAllister explained further: "I fear that journey would be across a hostile landscape with ferocious beasts waiting at every turn. The comfort and seclusion of this estate has blinded some of us to the reality that awaits just a few miles over yonder."
"People, just so we’re clear," Jon said, "we’re talking about some sixty or seventy miles."
Lori asked, "Reverend, I want the truth. What do you think is going to happen to Trevor? If they wanted him dead, they would’ve killed him on the mountain. Can we save him?"
"Even if they violate him with an implant today we should have some time to remove it. Still, I cannot see the truth. If I’m right in what this vile creature did to Ms. Forest, even my knowledge of The Order is humble."
Shepherd’s eyes grew wide and in a panicked voice he asked, "What about Nina?"
"Again, Mr. Shepherd, I can not say. However, she was not showing any blotches on her skin. Perhaps she, too, may be salvaged."
Jon leaned low over the map and scratched his chin.
"What say you?" Shepherd asked Jon.
"What? It's not up to me."
"Yes, it's your decision," Shepherd said. "You've been Trevor's right-hand guy since we got here. He trusts your judgment. Seems to me this one is on your shoulders, like it or not."
Jon stood straight and glanced around the room. He saw all eyes on him.
"I owe him," Jon said. "I think we all do. So there really isn't much of a decision to make. Let's go. Let's go and get him back."
---
Trevor blinked his eyes open and found himself staring up at a softly glowing ball planted high in a black ceiling.
A woman's voice commanded, "Wake up you murdering son of a bitch."
His senses rebooted, one at a time.
Behind the voice, he heard a strange, unsettling sound; a noise like breathing, or perhaps a vibration from some arcane machine. The air felt warm and moist, but also carried a heavy, rotting feeling as if the air itself had spoiled.
Images—memories—assembled like puzzle pieces fitting into place.
The mountain top…the thing in the sky…
Panic slammed his gut.
"Nina! Nina, are you okay?"
Her voice snarled, "I’m fine now that you’re going to pay for what you did."
A binding of some kind--wet rope?--restrained his arms and legs as he lay on a hard table. The area around him, beyond the rim of light cast from above, hid in darkness but he sensed a wide-open chamber.
A shiver shot through his body and he realized he wore no clothes. Interestingly, he still felt the slight weight of the key around his neck, yet he could not see it. Perhaps only his eyes could see that key, if it really existed at all.
Nina stepped into the light and glared at him with contempt.
"You killed Scott. I remember now."
His confusion and the horrid surroundings stayed any feelings of bashfulness. He lay naked, strapped to a table in front of her, but that seemed so very unimportant.
"Nina, what are you talking about? Where are we?"
"I brought you to The Order; your greatest enemy. They will do worse than kill you."
Her rage emanated so powerfully that Trevor immediately saw it as forced. Even in his groggy state of mind, he knew he had never met—let alone killed--Scott.
"What do you remember, Nina?"
"I remember you killing him. I found my memories. I saw you kill my lover."
"Your…lover?"
She spoke in short shots, as if reading bullet points from a script: "Yes, we were going to be married. We were in love. You killed him. I must have revenge."
Trevor pleaded, "Nina, this isn't you. They are controlling you, somehow. If I had killed Scott, you would have killed—not kidnapped--me. You aren't friends with these aliens! They are manipulating you. They gave you this idea so you'd give me to them. It must be an implant!"
"Shut up! You murdering bastard!"
Another voice interrupted from the darkness: "That’s enough for now, my child."
She hesitated, her brow furled, and then Nina reluctantly withdrew. A figure materialized and approached Trevor Stone.
He wore an ornate robe and slowly glided next to Trevor’s bound form. He may have been in his fifties but this man had changed from human to something different.
The skin on his face flaked, as if decay
ing but not dying. Scaly patches of green covered his throat. Emerald pupils with dark pulsating red veins sat where human eyes once lived. His clothing, a gold and red robe, gently writhed as if a mass squirmed beneath.
"Who are you?"
"I am a servant of the living God, Voggoth. A Bishop in his forces of righteousness."
Trevor tried to act brave, but fear tingled in his limbs and he trembled against the restraints. This was an evil place: the sound of the walls…as if they were alive; this horrid, warped man, the fact that Nina had trapped him here.
He wanted to scream I never wanted this! I didn't ask to be a leader!
Instead, his voice quivered, "A-Are you going to stick one of those things in me?"
"If only I could reward you by making you one with Voggoth. Alas, my son, your role in perpetuating the greatness of the one true God will take you on a much darker path. You will become a servant of my Lord in many different ways but you will not be one with Him. We have something different planned for you. Something painful. Very painful."
A mass moved on the ceiling; the light there flickered. Something big. Something spindly…insect-like.
"Wh-what are you going to do?"
He tried to find the courage to be a shining example of humanity in the face of this devil but he could not, especially as he caught a glimpse of what moved up there. It resembled a gigantic Black Widow spider: much bigger than a man. It dangled from the ceiling with its legs working feverishly on something.
Preparing.
"If we were to make you one with Voggoth and return you to your friends, they would discover your new found righteousness. We could give you one of the new sleeper implants, such as we gave your friend. It lay dormant for a long time, no larger than a freckle on her back, until the activation signal brought it to life but the purpose of the sleeper implant was much different then the goals we have set for you."
"Goals?"
The spider-thing blocked the main light as it hung from the ceiling, reaching out with its thin appendages toward the victim’s naked body.
A fright-filled groan slipped from his lips.
"You have already gained quite a following. Rumors of your fight to save your people have spread far. There are those who suggest your ability to adapt to your new role is evidence of mankind's strength. Now we shall dispel such notions while at the same time serving Voggoth's interests on this world."
Beyond Armageddon: Book 01 - Disintegration Page 23