by Anne Rasico
“Take the shot, Lars,” Brooklyn shouted.
“Drop your weapon now. I’m losing it,” Preston shrieked with his finger on the trigger. “Take the shot, Lars! Take the shot NOW!” Brooklyn screamed. A deafening bang echoed the walls of the room. Brooklyn flinched when she heard what sounded like a fire cracker going off in her ear.
Preston fell to the ground, landing on his side; his eyes wide open as Ivan’s gun fell to the floor. Brooklyn’s face and torso were splattered with blood and skull fragments. Blood began to leak from a hole in the back of his head and pool around him. Puzzled, she looked behind her to see Caleb standing in the doorway with a gun in his hand. “Caleb!” she cried, “You shot him?!” He nodded as he opened the door and motioned for someone to come inside. Marcus and Zane both ran inside with weapons in hand.
Zane put his gun away as soon as he saw Trent and ran to untie him. “Are you guys alright?” Zane said.
“We’re ok. You did it, man. You did it!” Trent exclaimed.
“We did it,” Zane said.
“Put your hands where I can see them,” Marcus told Freeman, pointing his gun at him. “Don’t shoot!” Freeman cried flailing his arms.
“All of you get up against the wall,” Marcus ordered aiming his gun at the lab coats and then at Ivan. “He’s ok,” Brooklyn said, glancing at Ivan, “We don’t need to tie you up, do we?”
Ivan shook his head. “But he’s one of them,” Marcus protested.
“Not anymore,” Ivan replied. He picked up his gun from the floor and placed it in its holster. Marcus glanced suspiciously at him for a moment before turning his gaze back to Freeman and the lab coats. Once untied, Trent ran over to Brooklyn. He unfastened her restraints and lifted her up from the table as Lars came down the stairs.
Caleb stood beside Brooklyn, Trent, and Zane. “I can’t believe you shot somebody. I didn’t know you had it in you,” Trent exclaimed.
“I should’ve been helping you guys all along, but I was too afraid of being caught. You were out trying to make a difference and I was busy being a coward, like I always have been. I wasn’t going to let you down this time,” Caleb said.
“Well, you certainly came through for us today,” Trent replied.
“How did you guys get in here?” Brooklyn asked Lars, wiping her face with her sleeve. “Zane used his technical brilliance to shut off the security cameras and outside phone lines and I used my years of military experience to tactically penetrate this sick compound,” Lars said.
The six of them glanced over at Marcus who had cuffed Freeman and the lab coast’s wrists with flex cuffs. “We need to get out of here. Zachary and Min are outside keeping guard,” Lars said. He motioned for everyone to follow him as he crept toward the side door. “Are we just going to leave them here? They should be dealt with,” Marcus said, gesturing towards Freeman and the doctors.
“We don’t have time to deal with them. We have to move now, brother!” Lars exclaimed. Marcus reluctantly followed them as they cautiously stepped out the side door, one by one.
As soon as they were outside, Lars saw Min breathlessly slumped against the wall with her gun in her hand. “What’s going on?” Lars said, moving toward her.
“We just got ambushed. They got Zachary; he’s down,” Min said.
“Oh no!” Zane cried.
“Who’s Zachary?” Brooklyn said.
“He’s……He’s a friend,” Zane stammered.
“Where are they?” Lars asked.
“Two of them are in front of the building, using their vehicle as a cover; there’s another one, but I don’t know where he’s shooting from,” Min replied.
Lars leaned against the wall as he slowly moved closer to the edge in an attempt to peer around the corner of the building. The moment he reached the edge, a shot rang out, missing his face by inches and covering him with chips of paint. “Holy hell they’re close!” he cried, jumping back.
“Why don’t we go back into the building and out through the utility room to the roof and down the fire escape stairs,” Marcus suggested.
“We don’t know where the third shooter is. He could already be on the roof for all we know, and that could give the other two a clear shot” Lars said.
“What are we going to do then? There’s no other way out of here,” Caleb exclaimed. “Everybody go back inside the building now,” Ivan instructed, “I have an idea.”
“DON’T SHOOT! DON’T SHOOT! It’s Ivan!” Ivan shouted, coming around the corner with his hands in the air. The two security guards behind the van lowered their weapons as soon as they saw him.
“Ivan, what’s going on in there?” one of them cried. The third guard stood at the edge of the roof, looking puzzled. Ivan motioned for him to come down.
“I’ve got the intruders subdued inside. They’ve killed Preston. I need your help keeping them under control,” he reported.
“Right through here,” Ivan said, holding the side door for the three guards as they walked inside. The moment they stepped in, they saw Brooklyn and Trent sitting on the floor with their wrists duct taped behind their backs, writhing and squirming.
“Where are the rest of them and why are Mr. Freeman and the doctors bound and gagged?” one of the guards demanded. Freeman attempted to scream through the duct tape on his mouth, but it was to no avail.
The guards glanced to the right to see Lars, Marcus, Min, Zane, and Caleb standing in a semicircle, yielding their guns.
“You might want to surrender your firearms,” Ivan suggested, pulling his gun from its holster.
“What the hell is this?” they exclaimed.
“It is what it is,” Ivan said plainly.
“Oh God,” Zane cried when they had reached the parking lot. Zachary lay on the ground with a bullet hole to his forehead and a pool of blood surrounding him; his eyes were fixed as if he were still staring at the person who shot him. “I’m so sorry I got you into this mess,” Zane said kneeling beside him. Trent, Brooklyn, Caleb, and Lars gathered around Zane while Min, Marcus, and Ivan looked on.
“He wanted nothing more than to be involved in this. He was a warrior,” Caleb said.
“I would’ve gotten arrested back in Helena if not for this guy, and I never would’ve been able to come and save you,” Zane turned towards Trent and Brooklyn, “Tommy and Davie were smart to stay behind.”
“He was a true brother and he will be missed, but we need to leave now before more guards show up,” Lars cautioned.
Zane nodded. He reached down and closed Zachary’s eyes. “The keys are still in the ignition,” Min said opening the door of the security van.
“The security guard should be driving the security van. It’ll look less suspicious on the highway,” Marcus gestured towards Ivan. Ivan climbed into the driver’s seat and started the van. The rest of the group piled inside as Ivan sped away.
Brooklyn was shaken and overwhelmed. She sat in silence while everyone else argued over which road to take. Trent stared at her until he could not contain his thoughts any longer. “I’m so glad you’re ok, Brook. I can’t believe I almost lost the most important person in the world to me,” he blurted.
“Let’s not talk about it,” Brooklyn said, not wanting to relive what had just happened.
“I can’t take this anymore! Just tell her!!” Zane exclaimed in frustration. Trent could feel his face begin to flush.
“Butt out,” he snapped.
“What do you want to tell me? You regret that we broke up in high school, you were miserable during the two years I spent in a coma, and you’re hopelessly in love with me?” Brooklyn said turning towards Trent.
Everyone turned to face Trent and Brooklyn. Trent’s eyes widened as his face felt redder still. “Uh yeah, I really couldn’t have said it better myself,” he said in an unusually high voice.
“I kind of figured it out in the armored van,” Brooklyn smiled. Without another thought Trent drew Brooklyn into his arms and kissed her passionately. She threw her arms around him, hold
ing him tightly. The van erupted with cheers and claps.
“It’s about damn time,” Zane said.
“It’s been a hell of a day, but now thanks to Brooklyn, there is new hope for the resistance,” Lars said turning in his seat to face them.
“What do you mean?” Min asked.
“Brooklyn has a Titanium-Aluminum Triphorate rod in her arm that makes her immune to microchips,” Lars explained.
“Are you serious? That’s incredible!” Min cried.
“We could find a scientist to develop a Titanium-Aluminum Triphorate implant and the government and ICS would never even know,” Caleb suggested.
“The problem is that Freeman and doctors know. I saw her medical chart on their computer. We should’ve killed them when we had the chance,” Marcus said from the passenger seat.
“If it’s in her chart, anyone from the government can access it. Killing them wouldn’t have made a difference. They know of her advantage, but they don’t know of our plans,” Lars replied.
“The U.S. has already lost half of its police force. There may not even be enough people to enforce the microchip bill soon,” Zane said.
“That’s true. The resistance will continue to grow, and if the government is outnumbered, there isn’t much they can do to control us,” Caleb agreed.
“They won’t go down easy. These are sick and powerful people we’re dealing with and they’ve already gone to a lot of trouble for the microchip bill,” Trent remarked.
“Trent’s right. If we respond by rioting and outwardly protesting, they’ll only try to control us as quickly as possible. Our actions against them must be done quietly and discretely, that way they won’t know what hit them,” Brooklyn said.
“ICS and the government don’t stand a chance against a combination of brilliant minds like ours,” Caleb declared.
“I sure hope you’re right, because this is not even the beginning of the end,” Trent said.
EPILOGUE
“Bring it in, Caleb! Come on, man, you’re going to lose it,” Zane cried as Caleb fought to reel in the enormous bass on the other end of his fishing rod. Zane and Caleb sat on a boat with a red haired girl named Julia in the middle of a quiet Vermont lake. Caleb was trying to impress her, but failing miserably. Caleb heaved with all of his might and swung the giant bass onto the floor of the boat.
“That’s the biggest bass I’ve ever seen,” Julia exclaimed, wide eyed. Caleb smiled as he felt like he had finally succeeded. Lars fished on the shore line and Brooklyn and Trent on the dock. It had been Zane’s idea to come to Vermont and after much arguing, the group had finally agreed. Zane insisted that Vermont was a perfect place to lay low because it was so small and secluded.
No one knew the real reason behind Zane’s desire to live there. When Ben and Brian were younger Zane spent many nights watching zombie movies with them. They all agreed one night that if there ever were a zombie apocalypse, they would go to Vermont because there always seemed to be a colony there in every movie. Even though the microchips did not produce real zombies, Zane believed it would be the clue his brothers needed to find him.
The decision had paid off, for when they arrived in Vermont they found a large community of people without microchips who happily welcomed them. News traveled fast and Zane, Trent, and Brooklyn had become heroes to many. They were weary of Lars, Min, and Marcus at first but decided that any friend of Zane’s was a friend of theirs. The community was filled with people of diverse backgrounds, including a machinist who was busily trying to create a Titanium-Aluminum Triphorate implant based on what Zane, Trent, Caleb, and Brooklyn had told him.
“How have you caught five fish and I’ve only caught two?” Brooklyn complained.
“I told you to use worms for bait and not grasshoppers,” Trent said.
“But they’re live bait. What fish doesn’t want live bait?” Brooklyn insisted.
“Apparently these fish,” Trent replied.
“Hey Lars, how are you making out?” Trent called.
“I got ten, brother. These grasshoppers make good bait,” Lars called back. Brooklyn sighed in frustration.
“Don’t worry, babe. There’s plenty of fish for everyone,” Trent assured, putting an arm around her. Brooklyn rested her head on his shoulder.
“How long do you think it’ll be before we have to run again? You know that ICS and the government haven’t forgotten about us. We won’t be able to hide from them forever,” Brooklyn said after a minute.
“With any luck we’ll have a Titanium-Aluminum Triphorate implant soon. That will foil their plans,” Trent said.
“It won’t be very helpful if they decide to shoot us,” Brooklyn replied.
“None of us will go gently into that good night. There are a lot of people fighting for the same cause now,” Trent said.
“I got it!” Caleb shouted across the lake, holding a line with the bass on the end of it. “Well done, brother,” Lars shouted.
Trent smiled. “He’s really trying to win Julia over isn’t he?” he chuckled.
“He should get an ‘A’ for effort,” Brooklyn said. Their peaceful moment was interrupted by Bruce as he came running to the dock, flailing his arms. Bruce was a very high strung and nervous person. He and his British accent reminded Brooklyn of C3PO from Star Wars.
“Brooklyn, Trent, you must come quickly. It is terrible. I don’t know how they’ve found us but we must be under siege!” Bruce cried.
“What are you talking about?” Trent asked rising to his feet.
“There are two men here dressed in black. They say they’re looking for Zane,” Bruce exclaimed. Brooklyn reeled in her rod and set it on the dock.
“Zane, come to shore,” she called.
“This is so frightening and just when we thought it was safe again, here they come and-““Bruce,” Trent interrupted, knowing how he tended to ramble incessantly, “Just take us to them.”
Bruce led Trent, Brooklyn, and Lars to the two young, muscular, raven haired men dressed in black. Their features and haircuts were identical. The only thing that seemed to differentiate them was that one was taller than the other. By then they were surrounded by a group of people, including Min and Marcus. To no surprise, they had their guns drawn on them. “Who are you? Who sent you here?” Min demanded.
“We told you we’re here to see Zane Marsh,” the young men said with their hands in the air. Zane could not believe his eyes as he came running towards the crowd with Caleb and Julia. His stomach dropped as his mouth formed their names. “Ben! Brian!” he shouted.
“These are your brothers?” Marcus asked, shocked.
“Yes, now put your damn guns down!” Zane yelled. Min and Marcus lowered their weapons as Zane ran to his brothers, wrapping his arms around both of them. “I can’t believe you’re here,” he exclaimed.
“I can’t believe you finally cut your hair. When we saw your video on the news, you looked like a Neanderthal,” Brian, the taller one, said.
“How did you manage to come here without them following you?” Zane wanted to know.
“The military and police force have all but fallen. A lot has happened that you guys probably don’t know about,” Ben replied.
“Well, we’ve got a huge bass to grill thanks to me. We can discuss it over dinner,” Caleb said.
As the group sat around the camp fire feasting on Caleb’s bass, Zane enthusiastically told Ben and Brian his tales of being arrested by the police, rescuing Trent and Brooklyn from ICS, and the amazing Titanium-Aluminum Triphorate implant in Brooklyn’s arm. Trent and Caleb could see a light in Zane’s eyes they hadn’t seen since the death of his parents. “You’ve changed the world, big brother. We underestimated you all these years,” Brian said.
“That video you made started a huge movement. Former scientists from Prune Island starting coming forward with information they had about the government’s plans to use microchips for world domination and biological warfare. Many of them had solid evidence like
you and when they were never heard from again, it didn’t leave much doubt they had been telling the truth,” Ben said.
“Have the military and police force really disbanded?” Brooklyn asked.
“Not entirely but they’re not as strong as they used to be. Their loyalty to the government is gone. Everyone feels betrayed. Who can blame them? They’ve been lied to and controlled all of this time,” Ben replied.
“Is that how you managed to escape and come here without being followed”? Lars said, shoveling the rest of the food on his plate into his mouth.
Brian nodded. “After Zane’s video went mainstream, we were interrogated and beaten by so many government and military personnel, I lost track of who they all were. They refused to believe we didn’t know where Zane was. They even injected us with some junk they called ‘truth serum.’ All it does is make you hallucinate. Anyway, after they finally decided we didn’t know anything, they put us in a prison. Zane had gained an enormous amount of followers by then, including police officers and security guards, so we were set free,” he said.
“That’s incredible, but can’t the government track you since you still have the chips in your arms?” Caleb wanted to know.
“What??!! You mean the government knows where we are now because of them?! They’re going to send people here to wipe us all out!” Bruce cried rising to his feet.
“Bruce, will you calm down! My brothers wouldn’t endanger us,” Zane retorted.
“The microchips haven’t been used since you disabled them. They’ve gone back to the old cash system for now,” Ben said taking a sip from his plastic cup.