The God Peak

by Patrick Hemstreet

  The room wasn’t quite empty, Chuck realized, as overhead lights snapped on following their progress across the concrete floor. There were large tables or workbenches, several of which were damaged, and beyond them was a mound of wreckage. As they drew near, their footfalls echoing eerily on the hard, polished cement, he realized that it was a huge robot of a type he’d never seen before. The torso was immense and the head had a clear, bubble face mask that was pitted and shot through with crazing. It took him a breathless moment to realize that the robot had been intended to hold a human pilot and that the rust-colored stains on the bot and the walls and floor around it were dried blood.

  “Dear God, what is that?” The words sprang from his lips before he could think better of saying them.

  “That,” said Sara, “was a little top secret number that General Coward”—she emphasized the C—“had hidden deep in the bowels of Olympus. He threw it at us in a sort of last-ditch kamikaze attack.”

  “The—the pilot . . .”

  “The pilot didn’t survive,” said Sara coldly. “Like I said, it was a suicide mission. He wasn’t supposed to survive, and Coward didn’t care.”

  “It was Lieutenant Reynolds,” Mike murmured.

  Chuck felt suddenly queasy. “How did—”

  “You’d have to ask Tim,” Mike said. His voice sounded flat and dead.

  “Our chariot awaits,” Sara said brightly. She stopped to wave at a structure that was both minimalistic and elegant.

  In the rear of the room, in a pool of bright light, was a clear Plexiglas tube with a gleaming cylindrical car that seemed to have no mechanical means of locomotion. Three ribbons of anodized steel ran up the length of the tube as far as Chuck could see—which was the point at which it disappeared into the rocky ceiling.

  “Zeta powered?” Chuck asked, pushing the words out with an effort.

  Sara nodded. “Wave of the future. Zeta-vators. No mechanical parts to go wrong. You just hire a Zeta to ride folks up and down as necessary. See, you’ve become a job creator. Hop in.” Sara waved at the car and its clear door opened, sliding back along a nearly invisible track.

  Under normal circumstances, Chuck would have been impressed beyond measure. Mike’s talent was phenomenal. Chuck hadn’t even considered how zeta abilities could adapt to improve such mundane technologies. He entered the car with deliberate hesitation. The way it disappeared into the solid rock of the mountain really did make him sweat, but far more sweat-inducing was the idea that Sara and Mike might see something they shouldn’t from their observation deck. He was stuck, and could only hope the tour of the observation deck wouldn’t be too revealing or too long.

  Down at Beta base camp, Team Chuck was in recovery mode. The blown BPM machine had burned a hole through the white canvas roof of their lab tent and filled it with acrid smoke. The SUV was still sitting where it had come to an unceremonious and violent stop, its windshield a mess of spiderweb fissures. Lanfen had rolled it back onto its tires. While she examined the vehicle to see if it was still roadworthy, Dice, Brenda, and Mini cleaned up the lab and hauled ruined equipment out into the clearing; Joey babysat Tim.

  Lanfen was no auto mechanic, but she worked on her motorcycle regularly and figured that qualified her to at least spot any major damage. She had just determined that the SUV’s injuries were not fatal when she felt a tug of angst from Chuck. Startled by how crystalline his distress was, she straightened and peered up over the treetops at the mountain. She felt a swift charge of concern from close by and glanced across the clearing to see Mini staring up at the peak, as well.

  “You felt that, too?” Lanfen asked.

  Mini turned to look at her, nodding. “What should we do?”

  “Hurry.”

  Chuck stepped out of the elevator onto the observation deck and went immediately to the northernmost corner of the structure, peering out toward where the Deep Shield camp had once sat.

  “Wow,” he said, making his voice as cheerful as possible. “You’ve got an awesome view of the park from up here. Is that where the Deep Shield camp was—that burned area?”

  Mike crossed to where Chuck was standing and followed his gaze. “Yeah. That was . . . it was scary.”

  Chuck nodded. “I saw the video. Tim’s constructs look realistically solid. The soldiers had no idea they were shooting at each other.”

  Sara, lounging along the perimeter of the clear Plexiglas railing, laughed. “It was brilliant. Tim didn’t have to lift a finger against anyone. He just let them . . .” Her voice trailed off, then she said, “What the hell?”

  Chuck felt as if his heart had morphed into stone. He turned to look at Sara. She was standing at the rail about twelve feet to his right, her gaze directed down the slope below. Hoping that he might explain away whatever she was seeing, Chuck moved toward her until he could see what she was looking at—and knew there was no way. The Beta Camp was a mess. The tent had a large, charred hole in the top of it, and smoke was seeping out of the screened windows and open door. Mini—recognizable even from this distance—was stacking apparently ruined equipment in the middle of the glade while Lanfen crawled over one of their SUVs. Dice and Brenda were in the tent; he could see them in brief glimpses through the door and the hole in the roof. Eugene, Joey, and Tim were nowhere in sight. All in all, it was a pretty incriminating scene. It looked as if a battle had been waged and if these were the victors . . .

  Chuck tried to think of something to say. Anything that might make the obviously chaotic situation seem mundane.

  “Hey,” said Mike, casually, “it looks like Timmy blew out all the stops. I’d say he owes you some equipment.”

  “Where’s Tim?” said Sara through her teeth.

  “Probably trying to help clean up the mess,” suggested Mike.

  “I don’t see Tim helping to do anything,” Sara said. “Chuck, what’s in those modulars?”

  “They’re living quarters.”

  “There are six of you. One of those is big enough for that. What’s in the second modular?”

  “Equipment,” Chuck said. “You know me, I never go anywhere without all my toys.”

  “Where’s Tim?” she repeated. “What have you done with Tim?”

  “How would I know?” Chuck said truthfully. “I’m sure he’s fine. Why wouldn’t he be?”

  Sara advanced toward him. “You tell me, Doc. What did you do, throw in with the enemy?”

  “The enemy? What are you talking about? What enemy, Sara? Who do you think is your enemy? The U.S. government? Its people? Anyone who’s not a Zeta?”

  Chuck glanced down at the camp. Lanfen and Mini had both stopped in their tracks and were staring up at the mountain. Sara followed his gaze. So, she saw the same thing he did—the two women unfroze to exchange a glance before they launched back into fevered activity. Mini disappeared into the western modular and Lanfen parked the SUV back under its cedar tree—without bothering to get in and start the engine. Then she headed for the westernmost building.

  “Mike,” said Sara, not taking her eyes from the camp, “keep Chuck here. Don’t let him out of your sight. I’ll deal with him later.”

  “Where are you going, Sara?” Mike asked quietly. “You can’t think they’d hurt Tim . . .”

  She turned to look at him, her eyes glowing and a gleaming aura beginning to pulse around her. “I think they’re trying to pick us off one by one—that’s what I think. But they’ve bitten off a bit more than they can chew. Keep the traitor here.”

  “I’m not a traitor, Sara,” said Chuck. “I’m your friend. The Beta team are your friends. Possibly the only ones you’ve got in the world. You need to let us get you out of this mountain. There’s a facility we can take you to where we can—”

  “Where you can what, Chuck? Reprogram us? Manipulate us the way Deep Shield did?”

  “No, Sara. Listen to me, for God’s sake! Making people afraid of you isn’t going to achieve your goals.”

  “I’m doing this for God�
�s sake, Chuck. And right now, from where I sit, making people afraid of me is the only way to achieve my goals. These assholes aren’t going to change out of the goodness of their hearts. I’m going to ask you one more time: what have you done to Tim?”

  “I hope we’ve saved him.”

  Eyes blazing, Sara thrust one hand at him. He felt as if she’d hit him in the chest with a bowling ball. He flew backward through the air toward the transparent railing of the observation deck—and a very steep drop. A second blow forced him downward. He hit the deck and tumbled, head over heels, to fetch up hard against the railing.

  Dizzy, hurting, and breathless, Chuck watched as Sara leapt lightly to the top of the railing, then launched herself into the air and down the mountainside, soaring over the treetops, heading directly for the Betas’ base camp.

  Lanfen . . . Mini . . . I’m sorry.

  Chapter 21

  Rage

  Sara’s rage consumed her, drove her, lifted her over the trees and toward the Betas’ camp. The clearing was empty now, and her eyes scanned for a target. When Eugene emerged from the woods on the southern edge of the camp, she did not closely examine the relief she felt that Chen Lanfen was not the first person she saw. She did not want to face the martial arts master one-on-one. The most logical target was the one she was looking at now: Eugene Pozniaki, who, as far as she knew, had never shown any zeta potential.

  She aimed herself at him, letting her fury take her. Eugene was the weakest member of the team. She’d take care of him first, then figure out what they’d done with Tim. Eugene saw her when he was less than halfway across the clearing. He stopped and stared upward, then raised the alarm in an inarticulate squawk.

  Sara laughed and zeroed in on her target.

  At the sound of Eugene’s voice, Mini ran to the door of the habitat cabin and followed his gaze upward. Sara! Sara was airborne, soaring toward them, making the treetops toss in her wake.

  Mini stepped out onto the frame porch and faced the incoming threat. She had opened her mouth to call Lanfen out of the immersion cabin when she realized that Sara wasn’t aiming for her; she was targeting Eugene, who was still frozen halfway across the clearing.

  That was not going to happen. Mini leapt from the porch and sprinted toward the middle of the camp determined not to let Sara reach Eugene. By the time Sara had made it to the perimeter of the camp, Mini had put herself between the Alpha and Eugene.

  Sara pulled up just over the roof of the immersion cabin, hovering as if on invisible wings.

  “What have you done with Tim?” she demanded, her eyes literally shooting sparks. The sparks disappeared when they were less than three feet from her. Mini suspected they were projections, not creations.

  “Tim is fine, Sara. He’s just resting. Dice’s tests took a lot out of him.”

  “Liar. Let him go, or your boyfriend is going to pay for it.”

  “Eugene,” Mini said quietly, “go into the tent.”

  He hesitated, then sprinted into the lab tent. Sara snarled and darted after him.

  Mini moved as well, her hands sweeping forward to loose a barrage of tiny, fiery sprites at the other woman.

  Sara nearly laughed aloud. Was Mini really stupid enough to think she’d be deterred by a bunch of glowing pixies? She plowed into the midst of the swarm in disgust when she felt the first burns. It was like diving into a nest of fire ants.

  She let out an inarticulate roar of pain and rage and backflipped away from Mini’s tiny warriors, landing with both feet on the roof of the westernmost cabin. Sara suspected that was where Lanfen was hiding, but she was even less inclined to face her than before. Since becoming a Zeta she was accustomed to being in a position of strength. Her rage could not quell the fear she had for Lanfen. She would need Tim’s help to face her.

  First things first, though. The weakest members of Chuck’s team of elites were in that tent, so that was where she turned her fury.

  Chuck took the hand Mike extended to him and let the Alpha pull him up from the deck.

  “You okay, Doc?”

  “Nothing broken. A few bruises, that’s all. I’ll live.” He glanced up into Mike’s face. “If you let me.”

  He did not imagine the expression of pain that flitted across Mike’s face.

  “It’s not like that, Doc. I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m not gonna let Sara hurt you, either.”

  Chuck nodded. “I guess I owe you a big thank-you, then. You’re the one who knocked me out of the air, aren’t you? You saved my life. I’m pretty sure Sara intended for me to go over the edge.”

  Mike looked away toward the deck railing. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure she did.”

  “Mike, are you really doing this? Lording over people, flaunting your power like a demigod? I say this honestly, this isn’t you. This is not the Mike I know.”

  “You know I don’t. I just . . . I just want to stop men like Howard from hurting me or anyone else.”

  “Do you think Sara’s way is the right way to do that?”

  Mike shook his head. “Probably not. No. No, I don’t think her way is the right way. In fact, I think . . . I’m afraid that she . . .”

  “That she’s becoming like Howard?” When Mike didn’t answer, he pressed on.

  “Do you think she knows how you feel?”

  Mike glanced up at him. “If she did, I’d probably be dead. Or exiled.”

  “Would you mind being exiled, really?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. But hell, Doc, what is there for me outside this mountain, huh?”

  “Your family?”

  Mike’s laughter was forced and grim. “What sort of future do I have with my family, Doc? I killed people.”

  “People who were trying to kill you.”

  “I could’ve sent them packing. I could’ve maybe knocked them out and—and put them someplace where they couldn’t cause any more trouble. I could’ve done . . . something else.”

  “The way Sara could have done something else besides kill Matt?”

  The look on Mike’s face was one of sheer desolation. “She didn’t need to do that, Doc.”

  “No, because Matt didn’t stage the attack.”

  “She can’t let herself believe that. You understand why.”

  “But you believe it. Don’t you, Mike?” Feeling a tug of emotion from Lanfen, knowing that Sara was hell-bent for destruction, Chuck moved a step closer to the Alpha. “You know this isn’t right, what Sara and Tim are doing. Yes, the world needs changing, and yes, we need to be in the vanguard of those changes—but not like this. By now, Dice has gotten Tim tranquilized. Come out of here with me, Mike. Help us get Sara under control.”

  “You won’t kill her?”

  “I don’t know how you can even ask me that. I have no intention to kill anyone, ever. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that’s never even an option, Mike. Everything. Help us. With your help, there’s no question that we can get all three of you to safety.”

  Mike’s eyes were eloquent with despair. “What’s the point? There is no safety out there. Not for me.”

  “There can be, if you—”

  “Can you un-zeta me, Doc? Can you take away all this crazy shit? Can you put me back the way I was—make me me again?”

  Chuck shook his head. “I’m sorry, Mike. I don’t know any way to do that—not for any of us. We’re who we are now. We will be who we become.”

  “Then I can’t go back out there. I can’t. I don’t want my family to see me like this.”

  “But you’re still—”

  Chuck wasn’t able to finish, as a strange exhalation came from the shadows in front of the elevator. He realized it was a child’s voice crying, “Daddy! Daddy!” And then Mike’s son, Anton, appeared out of nowhere and ran into his father’s arms. Mike gave the child his entire attention—everyone else was forgotten.

  Chuck wasn’t sure whether to rejoice or gnash his teeth. “Lorstad,” he said quietly, and the other man stepped out of the shadows
and into the sunlight. “You couldn’t keep out of this, could you?”

  “Are you sure you really wanted me to? I suspect that young Anton will be able to accomplish what even you could not.” Lorstad gestured at the father-and-son reunion.

  Mike looked up at the two other men over his son’s head. Tears filled his eyes and they blazed with anger. “Why? Why did you do this? Why did you have to bring him into this?”

  “Because,” Chuck answered, wishing to God that he didn’t have to, but knowing Lorstad would never know how to, “we need to bring you out. I can’t un-zeta you. I can’t do it for any of us—not even myself. But you are a good man, a father, a husband. You are not the loathsome idea you have projected onto yourself.”

  The Alpha was shaking his head and mouthing no, no, no. He tightened his embrace on Anton, and Mike the devoted father returned. Mike the Zeta, the crusader for a new world, the dread knight of the new dark goddess, all melted away. His perspective shifted back to its original view. He loved his family and wanted to provide for them; what’s more he didn’t want to be apart from them. In a strange way he felt gratitude toward Lorstad for bringing his boy to him.

  Chuck drew closer to him and looked him right in the eye. “Mike, you don’t have to be Sara or Tim. You’re not them. You’re nothing like them. They don’t want to go back. Neither of them is ready to sacrifice this power. You are. In my estimation that makes you the only one worthy of having it in the first place.”

  Mike swallowed. “What do I do?”

  “Come down off this mountain with me, Mike. Do it for Anton. For your family. For the rest of humanity. Help us find a way to fix the world without hurting people.” He held his breath, unsure how the engineer would respond. Mike wasn’t even looking at Chuck—instead his eyes were lost even as his son clung tightly to his neck. Slowly, Mike began nodding, his jaw set. Chuck knew that look.