“Ah. Big Ben.” He smiled warmly at the innocence of the little knick-knack, and all of a sudden felt tears building in his own eyes, as ideas of Tolu laughing with her apparently new-found friend Kaz scorched at his aching heart. Quickly recognizing that he would soon be crushed by the weight of his sorrows if he kept on, James reached for composure by clearing his throat and refocusing his attention to the detail of the little item, running his finger along the smooth, protruding bumps of the clock hands and window panes.
“Hmm…” His fingertip had detected a strangely rough edge where the small tower began its peak. He pushed against the roughness and a tiny crack appeared, which he opened further by pulling slightly on each end of the trinket. “Hey, it opens,” he stated with mild surprise. Faaiza leaned in to see. James gave one good tug, and the triangular pinnacle holding the clock face slid completely off, exposing something squat, silver and rectangular.
“It’s a thumb drive!” Faaiza exclaimed. “Quick, give me a laptop.”
“Outside,” reminded James. “We don’t want to be stuck in here if there’s another quake.”
The two hurried through the door and managed to gulp in a breath of fresh air before they looked up and froze in their tracks.
“The sky!” Faaiza sputtered as she pointed toward the southeastern horizon. The grey clouds overcasting the heavens seemed to be converging at a single point, where they lazily churned like froth around a dent of bluish-purple haze in the atmosphere. As they stared, a fork of thorny lightning flashed out in violent purple hues straight toward the distant ground beneath it.
“What is that?” Faaiza’s eyes were wide with fright.
“I don’t know,” answered James apprehensively, “but I have a feeling it won’t be the last strange thing we’ll be seeing in the days ahead. Come on, let’s get out of here.” They picked their way through chunks of concrete and steel debris that had been shaken loose by the quake until they came upon an abandoned SUV; Faaiza hotwired it to start, and they took off toward the airport.
*
The eerie lightning flashed down again and again upon the GED skyscraper, hurdling through the mere infrastructural barriers to strike directly into the heart of the three obsidian tablets. The stones glowed from within like embers of a dying fire, casting a crimson hue, thick like blood, across the faces of the summoners. Eyes closed and arms raised, two prominent figures stood before the tablets. One of them, slowly lowered an arm and, with movements equal to a caress in gentleness and reverence, moved the two pieces of the broken third tablet together. As if they had been comprised of molten metal instead of ancient stone, the two parts immediately clung to each other and fused seamlessly into one. After a final strike of the wicked light, the glowing stones immediately faded back to their natural obsidian; and the arms of the attending men lowered to their respective sides.
“Now, all is prepared,” spoke the prophet in short breaths. “The power is restrained no longer. In five days, the stars will be aligned and the cosmic cycle made complete. In five days, you, my dear Silas, will rise to the highest honor and be heralded with the highest praise:
“The Savior is come.”
Chapter 107
James looked over at the sleeping woman, Faaiza, and thought about what his life had been like at her age. As a young man, he never would have imagined that he would be living out his current situation. Heck, he would never have imagined this even a few months ago! The world had completely changed at a moment’s notice. Everything he loved was gone. Everything he had believed in had been centered on false foundations. And every part of the life he had built for himself had been smashed to pieces. He was now on the run with no idea where he could go, on a mission with no idea how to fulfill it. All he knew was that he had to keep moving.
Faaiza had been able to get them aboard a cargo plane to France by adding them to the passenger list as medical technicians of specialized equipment. They were sitting in the belly of the plane now in hard seats, backs against the metal side, and surrounded by net-covered crates presumably full of the equipment they were supposed to be experts in. Faaiza had fallen asleep just after take-off. But James, though his body was feeling worn down, couldn’t get his mind to rest.
He pulled a laptop out of his bag and stuck the Big Ben drive they’d found into the USB port yet again. He had scanned the contents only a couple times before, and briefly. But immediately he had been shocked to discover that this little drive was full of GED secrets. Who put them there and how they got them in the first place were questions that had been burning in James’ brain; and he worked fervently now to try and find some clue.
The files and folders were indistinguishable from each other—their names a mass of random numbers and letters. It would take more time than they had to explore the contents of each. Selecting another random folder, part of a file name immediately caught James’ eye. The extension was .mp4…a video. He clicked it open and squinted. The quality wasn’t the best, and the words were muffled. But James’ stomach suddenly lurched as he recognized the tall man the camera was pointing at. Maximos! He turned up the volume a little more and placed his head closer to the laptop speakers.
“Yes, sir,” he could hear. “They are waiting only for your word to begin mass producing and distributing the vaccine.”
“Good, good. Of course it’s too early for that yet, things will need to escalate before—Who’s there? Security!”
The sound of huffing and puffing filled the video and the visual went wild as flashes of indeterminate objects were snapped up by the camera. Suddenly, the picture jolted and went still, staring up at a high, dark ceiling. A head bent over the camera to pick up the device, which must have been dropped, and James gasped out loud. The face that had been haunting him for the last several weeks was now looking down at him and, almost as if space, time, and reality didn’t exist, seeming to plead to James for help.
“Roland,” James spoke to the image as understanding slammed into him. This USB drive had belonged to Roland. How it had happened to get into the warehouse where he found it could only be answered in one way—perhaps God had meant for him to find it.
A renewed surge of determination flooded through him. He was not a desolate man running for this life without a clue. He had given himself to be a vessel to God, and God had given him the weapon to wield. James scanned the files in the video’s folder more fervently. He was close to something, he could feel it. Something he could use to destroy Maximos evil plans. Something to break his dastardly control over the people of the world. Something—
He paused as he clicked open a file with another obscure numerical title and scanned the contents. He scanned again, reading more carefully. Suddenly, his heartrate sped up and adrenaline coursed through his veins, fueling his brain as it automatically began formulating a plan almost faster than he could comprehend it.
“Faaiza. Faaiza!” he called with hushed urgency.
Faaiza’s eyes opened with the alertness of a cat. “What is it?”
“We need to get ourselves onto another flight as soon as possible. I know where we need to go.”
“Where?” she asked as she dug into her own bag and brought out her laptop.
“Northern Africa. We’re going to put a stop to the Rigula virus.”
Chapter 108
The cloud-covered moon had obscured their approach, yet released just enough light for James to recognize where he was going. It was just after midnight, and the pair had paused, crouching within the small, natural hills abutting the rear of the familiar complex.
“Are you sure it’s in there?” Faaiza frowned as she took another look through some binoculars. She’d nicked them from the abandoned jeep they had driven from the airfield where their 14-hour rickety flight on a makeshift medical transport to Africa had finally landed.
James nodded. “There’s no mistake. I don’t know how Roland got access to the files I found, but the information is clear. This branch of CellSens was sited to b
e a distribution center for the Rigula vaccine. The serum for the cure is in there.” He released a dark chuckle of irony. “I remember they had been building the new underground lab when I was still working here. We hadn’t been allowed near the construction, but that was not unusual. We were told it was just a new high-tech lab CellSens had received funding for. Another room where breakthrough discoveries and miracles would be made. Course none of us had any idea what it was really going to be used for.”
“It looks abandoned, now,” Faaiza stated. “Are you sure they didn’t cut and run after the initial upheaval caused by the…”
“By the Rapture,” he finished, quickly shutting his eyes against the pang in his heart. Though he knew Sarah and Tolu were now celebrating with God, the loss of their physical presence in his life stung strongly. He gritted his teeth against the sting. There was work to do. “No, I think it’s still in there. And don’t be fooled, it will be under guard.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
James took a minute to survey the rear of the main building facing them. “The main doors all had microbit or cardkey sensors. And I remember… there was a back door on one of these wings here somewhere…I didn’t personally use it…that was rumored to have a glitch. Someone would come out to steal a smoke or some fresh air and sometimes couldn’t get back in because the sensor wouldn’t accept their key. They would have to walk back around until they found a main entrance door. I remember the guards would joke about keeping a running tab on the ‘lock-outs.’”
“A glitch…” Faaiza caught on quickly. “And you’re sure they never fixed it?”
James shook his head. “Pretty sure. It would have been too entertaining to fix. And I doubt, with the world being turned on its head, that it ever became a priority of something to check up on.”
“If I can hack in through the Wi-Fi and find the glitched code, I may be able to manipulate it to do the opposite.”
“My thoughts exactly. Let’s go check it out.”
*
It took them the better part of half an hour to make their way down the hill and pick across the complex grounds to the first visible wing. There were no guards in sight, but several cameras—their protective baubles reflecting faint scraps of moonlight. Difficult but not impossible, they navigated their way under the guise of the shadows. Faaiza pulled her laptop out of her backpack and commenced to clacking the keys.
“I’m in,” she said after only a few minutes. “Now for baseline. I’ll copy the code for that main entrance scanner, then check it against the codes of each of the wing doors. The computer will find if there are any discrepancies.”
The minutes were hard to wait out. James’ adrenaline was trying to push him into some kind of action—do something. Anything! But he waited in silent patience and simply kept a look out for anyone who might be coming. Finally, Faaiza announced she had found it. A door on a wing to the west of them had several lines that did not match up to the other codes she had run.
Picking their way from blind spot to blind spot, they made it to the door in no time. Here, Faaiza again pulled out the computer and brought up the code. With a few moves, she was able to get the glitch to reverse, and the door unlocked with an audible click.
James grabbed the handle and opened the door slowly. The hallway was empty, and lit only with small, dim spotlights placed at three-yard intervals. There was going to be a camera somewhere just inside, he knew.
“Can you disable the cameras?” he whispered to Faaiza.
“Not all at the same time. But one or two as we move along.”
“Right. Flick the ones nearest to this door off for six seconds. We’re going in.”
Chapter 109
Three corridors and a set of stairs later, James was beginning to feel uneasy. They hadn’t run into any guards. This either meant that he had been wrong and the serum had been moved or their odds of running into trouble were growing exponentially by the second. It was inevitable, he reasoned. Someone would spot them, and then he would have to make a choice. How bad did he want this serum and what was he willing to do to get it?
Please God… he began praying in his mind.
Suddenly, his arm flew out to stop Faaiza’s pace. A flicker a movement. James motioned for them to retreat back around the corner. Then they heard it. The quiet tread of a steady walk. It was coming closer. James gritted his teeth and braced himself…for what, he didn’t know. Then, a squeal from the rubber soles announced a change of direction—about-face. James breathed out in relief and took the chance to peer around the corner. The security guard was moving away, continuing on the path of his round. On the path they needed to follow. It was too dangerous, but James could see no alternative. Placing a finger to his lips to warn Faaiza, he waited until the guard turned a corner then motioned her forward down the hallway that had just been occupied. Another corner found them still safe, the guard was far ahead. James led them forward. They were getting close. Another short hall. Another corner…
“Hey!”
James had run right into a coming guard. He cringed as he prepared to…to do what he didn’t know. But suddenly his eyes caught those of the young man’s facing him who had been completely thrown off his guard.
“Excuse me,” James said to him with a measure of authority he was somehow able to muster. “I didn’t see you there.”
The young man blinked, processing. He wasn’t going to buy it. His brows began to furrow. James inwardly braced himself to run.
But the man’s eyes immediately grew bright, like a flash of lightning against a pillar of dark thundercloud.
“Mr. Mode? Is that you?”
Now it was James’ turn to freeze, his brain working quickly to pull up a name for the face….Bingo.
“Benjamin. Of course! What are you doing here?”
“Still working, and thankful for it. I had no idea when I applied to be a security guard for an obscure lab in the middle of nowhere that the job would be deemed “essential” during the end of the world. But here I am. Everything’s gone crazy, but I’m still strolling these halls as if nothing has changed.”
“Yet everything has changed,” James spoke more to himself than anyone.
Benjamin caught the tone of his words, then looked from his face to that of Faaiza’s and back again. They looked tired, dirty, and worn out. “Mr. Mode, what are you doing here?”
James weighed his options and answered, “We need to get into the subterranean lab.”
“Which one?” Benjamin asked in an almost too-casual-a-manner.
There was more than one? He hadn’t known that…it wasn’t in the files. James hesitated.
Benjamin frowned. “Mr. Mode, I didn’t know you very long; you moved soon after I started this job. You were a good man, pleasant and polite. But, it’s obvious you are not supposed to be here. Please tell me right now if we are enemies or friends,” he moved his hand slowly toward his radio. “Because I must do my job.”
“Wait.” James’ spoke slowly and cautiously. His eyes darted from Benjamin’s to the radio. “We’re on the same side, Ben. Listen. It’s true that we are here without authorization.” James paused. He could feel Faaiza’s tension roiling from behind him, anticipating that he was about to risk everything. But he felt he had no choice.
“Do you know what is being stored in the labs below?” James asked.
“Everyone knows.” Benjamin remained cautious, but his hand had stopped moving. “You even know what they were working on before you left…an experimental cure for AIDS.”
“No, Benjamin,” James said, “it’s not an experimental cure for AIDS sitting down in those labs. It’s the cure for the Rigula virus.”
“What? That’s impossible, Mr. Mode. I think if we’d discovered the cure for the scariest, deadliest virus of our time right here in these labs that the staff would have known about it. If we had the cure, it would have been distributed long before now. All those people, here, South America…if we had the cure, so many wou
ld have been saved.”
“They weren’t. Benjamin, not everyone’s heart is pure like yours. There is great evil at work in this world. You know I went to work at GED, of which CellSens is a subsidiary. I found some files, Ben, leading me here. And I ask you…what would you do? More people will die if they don’t get the cure, and we are standing right on top of it. Could you pace these halls day after day knowing the cure is within your power to give, but you have refused to give it?”
“What proof do you have?” Benjamin blurted out. James could see he was getting unsure, uncomfortable. They might stand a chance.
“That’s exactly it, Ben. I just need to know for sure or I won’t be able to live with myself…thinking I had the opportunity to help, to end the virus, and didn’t take it. How about you?”
Chapter 110
James, Faaiza, and Benjamin came down the last set of stairs, and Benjamin used his cardkey to open a set of doors. The hallway spread before them with low lights and warm air. There were two doors leading off the hallway on opposite sides—the two labs.
“Let’s try that one.” James pointed to the lab door on the left.
“I only have clearance to access that one,” Benjamin replied as he indicated the opposite door. “No security personal was given access to both labs. Just one or the other.”
“Is there someone here now who would have access to the other door?” Faaiza asked. Benjamin hesitated. He had understood James’ reason, but the instincts to do his job were still pricking at him. He wasn’t comfortable with this at all, and certainly wouldn’t want to get anyone else involved.
“Let’s just start with what we have,” James suggested, reading his face.
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