by Dan Glover
"Yes, Lady Lily... we had the entire ventilation system installed especially for you. I designed it myself so I know exactly where it goes. I'd go through it myself if I could fit. I can't. Maon is our only chance. Otherwise, we're all going to suffocate."
"I can do it, mom. Let me go."
Lily finally turned him loose as Nate hugged his family tightly and after wiping away the tears streaking Lily's face he put his hands upon Maon's shoulders as he knelt before him looking him in the eyes.
"Okay son... go. Remember, if you can't get out of the other end, don't give up. Fight... get mad if you have to. It is up to you now."
Chapter 41—Impressions
Lauren was torn between two desires.
She dove deep beneath the surface of Lake Baikal feeling the pressure inside her body equalize with the pressure outside as her gills worked their magic. Lily was beside her as they danced a vortex around one another.
Lauren was excited for her lover and yet a tad envious too. She loved Nate but the thought of him with Lily maddened her in a way with which she was not familiar. She understood this was the only chance to revive her species but she bitterly resented the fact that she couldn't herself bear a child too.
Losing her son Bilbla still haunted Lauren's nightmares. He was born thousands of years ago before the time of the Great Freeze when thirty meters of ice hardened over the surface of the Lake all year around. The news of a boy being born to the tribe was cause for month-long celebrations upon each anniversary of his birth.
Baby Bilbla grew quickly into a man. As was the wont of the few male members of their species he was intensely curious and just as forgetful. His artistic work on the underwater castle in which they lived was much renowned as he learned to incorporate materials never before considered. By combining living luminescent algae into the sandstone walls the rooms emitted a light all their own even when the sunlight vanished under the surface of ice.
Bilbla learned to channel the warm currents from gaping bottomless fissures slowly splitting apart to heat the waters of the castle enabling their people to live lives free of chill and allowing them to grow abundant food supplies which fed them all when heretofore starvation was a very real danger.
Bilbla then promptly put aside all his previous work to become a great artist.
His curiosity took him into places most of their people feared to go: deep and dark caverns carved out by earthquakes and the movement of the land millions of years ago and now filled with hidden dangers such as giant eels and erupting magma. He brought back treasures that all marveled at: enormous diamonds the size of his balled up fist, clear quartz which turned purple when touched, and emeralds that glittered with an inner fire making them seem alive.
"You must take care, my son. These jewels you bring home are but poor trinkets compared to your life which you risk each time you go in search of them."
"Never worry about me, my mother. I am one of the immortals. One day when the ice melts our kind will leave this Lake and come to dominate the world above. I have walked the land and breathed the air. These chattering monkeys who make so much trouble for one another will never survive the Deep Freeze. When the earth warms once again—as it will—we will come to rule the land as well as the waves."
Bilbla was right: over the course of time the ice above melted away freeing their people from the confines of the Lake. A small settlement comprised of a half dozen hardy souls flourished upon the land as—just as he foretold—the chattering monkeys in the trees had vanished, perhaps chased away by the cold or by privation.
But then they returned.
Lauren and Lily were at that time still enamored of the Lake and the splendid castle in which they lived quite comfortably with the other females of their species. They had no desire to break the surface, to breath the air above rather than the waters below, and to risk the ever-present wrath of the carnivores that frequented the surrounding forests and mountains.
One horrible day Lily came to her in great despair. She explained how she and Bilbla were swimming deep beneath the surface when a monster of the Lake appeared.
It carried off Bilbla in its maw.
Lauren knew those monsters of the deep were driven upward by filth the monkey people dump into the pristine waters of the Lake. Lauren could not believe Bilbla was gone. She insisted upon going herself to witness this terror. Lily accompanied her. Though they searched the waters as deeply as their bodies could stand, they found no sign of him.
Now, all the males of their species were dead. Their passing signaled the beginning of the slow decline of her race. The women disappeared one by one until only she and Lily survived.
The impressions formed in that time left an indelible mark upon Lauren. She took to going among the monkey people at times when she discovered her propensity for causing them sickness and death. It was her revenge.
She promised herself that one day she would be the demise of the entire race of humans just as they were responsible for the death of her son and for the hope of the tribe's future.
Now that Lauren had succeeded in laying waste to the human race with a single kiss, Lily wished to restore them. And yet Lauren knew it was not only to save the humans, but to rescue their own race as well from the brink of oblivion: a mingling of the species.
She wondered if following the path of the music that led in that direction was worth the pain that would inevitably result.
Chapter 42—Amanda
"How could they escape?"
Marilyn was livid upon returning to the Orchardton Hall only to discover Natalia and Lauren were not in the dungeon. At first she believed they were merely hiding somewhere. But along with several members of the People they combed the caverns without success.
"The catacombs lead out under the city. I explored them all with Ginger when we were little girls."
Though Marilyn believed Amanda was mildly autistic she was the only one who seemed to know anything. Her face reminded Marilyn of a rabbit the way her nose twitched. She felt like choking the life out of the girl.
Amanda had met her in the courtyard. It seemed as if the girl had been waiting for her, as if she was in on the secret coup. Had Kirk told Amanda of their plan? It didn’t make sense that he would have, unless he was having an affair with her too.
"So you think they are hiding in the catacombs, Amanda?"
"No, Miss Marilyn... I think they got out that way. There are doors at the end of the tunnels. The wood is rotten so it's easy to kick them in. We used to do it all the time."
"Ginger knows this too."
"Of course she does, Miss Marilyn. She's my best friend. She knows everything I know. If I was trapped down there, that’s how I would get out."
She thought better of asking Amanda how she knew that the Ladies had been lured into the dungeon and locked in... the only thing that mattered was that she did know. If Kirk hadn’t told her, someone else must have done so... but who?
Marilyn realized that they were all dying even now. She felt a dull ache in her bones that she had no sense of prior to leaving the headquarters of the old Centers for Disease control. She believed once she was back home and in close proximity with Lauren that the symptoms would abate. They were only growing worse.
Rushing into the castle with Amanda she discovered Kirk in the kitchen. He looked terrible. Streaks of blood ran from his eyes as he staggered across the room.
"We have to get everyone together and go back to the CDC, Kirk. We will all be dead by tomorrow if we stay here."
"I I I don’t ffffeel well, Mmmarilyn."
"You're such an idiot, Kirk. I should just leave you here."
The man collapsed at her feet, his body racked by convulsions. She kicked him thinking he was playing around. When blood began oozing from his nose and ears she realized it was no game.
"Come on, Amanda. We have to go... right now."
Marilyn led the way out of the castle as Amanda followed.
"But what about Kirk and the others... shouldn�
��t we try and help them?"
"There is no time. Either come with me and live or stay here and die. It's your choice."
"Please give me a minute, Marilyn. I need to go back inside for just a second. Don’t go without me!"
"You have one minute, girl... and then I'm leaving."
She rushed out the back door to the limousine hoping there was enough gas in the tank for one more trip. The path took her past the carriage house behind Orchardton Hall where she had worked with Karen on various projects as a wave of nostalgia washed over her.
Marilyn planned on destroying the laboratory behind the castle but now it was too late. A bad feeling was creeping up her spine. If Lauren and Natalia escaped so easily she wondered if the group she left back at CDC headquarters had managed the same feat.
Her hand trembled as she turned the key in the ignition. The passenger door opened as Amanda slid into the seat but she didn’t shut the door.
"You aren’t going anywhere, Marilyn."
Amanda had a hand gun pointed at Marilyn's midsection. Her finger was on the trigger and there was a deadly light in her eyes. Marilyn doubted the gun would fire... it was old, it looked dusty, and the inside of the barrel seemed to be full of rust. The pistol was used years ago to chase away wild dogs but now a shotgun was kept at the ready.
"What is this about, Amanda? Don’t you want to come with me? Don’t you want to live?"
"I heard the two of you talking the other night... I was outside the window picking herbs for our dinner. I only caught a snatch of your conversation but now it all makes sense.
"I should have gone to the Ladies right then and there but I never thought you were serious. I told myself I was hearing things... that you and Kirk were discussing something else and I had misunderstood you.
"But I heard right. You two want to take over Orchardton Hall. You talked Kirk into killing Ginger."
"Nonsense... I did no such thing."
Dots of perspiration broke out on Marilyn's brow. The pain in her bones turned into a burning sensation, as if her blood was on fire. She didn’t realize Amanda fired the gun until she pulled the trigger again. The second bullet followed the first tearing through her abdomen and exiting in the small of her back.
There was no sound.
She felt no pain, only a mild sort of surprise that this could be happening to her. She planned on living forever. She was going to be the new mother of the People who would repopulate the earth and subdue it, just as the bible said. God made her a promise. She would be the queen forever.
I'm going inside now, Amanda.
She tried speaking and yet the sounds only echoed in her own head. Her mouth would not form the words. Marilyn attempted to open the car door but her arm would not move. She had forgotten how to breathe as well except in fits and starts. An acrid odor lodged in her nostrils. She wondered what was burning until she realized it was her own flesh.
Chapter 43—Quagmire
"Is the whole world turning to shite?"
"I'm quite sure I don’t know, Mr. Thomas."
After arriving to investigate the disappearance of Maxwell Corrigan, the man was in a temper. Not only had the Prime Minister's personal appointee in charge of finance disappeared but the doctor in charge of the facility had turned up dead. Marilyn was left to provide answers for which she pretended she wasn’t quite prepared.
"If you don’t know, Dr. Compton, please get me someone who does."
"Yes sir... I'll do my best."
Karen had not responded to her emails or the voicemails she left. Despite reassuring herself that Karen had her back, Marilyn felt adrift, alone at sea, in real danger of being charged with espionage and quite possibly murder. And now news had arrived that Hector Ramirez died on the plane ride back to Moscow. Marilyn decided to wing it... to divulge what she knew and hope for the best. She printed out a page filled with nonsense to lend authenticity to her words.
"I've just been given this information, Mr. Thomas. Dr. Ramirez suffered a hematoma after being mugged at the train depot Moscow a month ago. The doctors in charge of his case advised him not to travel by plane as his condition could worsen with the changing air pressures involved. I suspect his death is directly attributable to this."
"And why did Dr. Ramirez board an aeroplane if he knew his health might well be at risk?"
"I gather he'd been ordered to return straight away."
"And just who was the idiot who provided such an order?"
"Why, by the Prime Minister, sir."
"I see."
Tommy Thomas had an irritating nasally voice that reminded Marilyn of her soon to be ex-husband who had that unfortunate accident just before she applied for the position at the CDC some seven years ago. She was cleared of any involvement and yet she remembered how interested Karen was in the incident during the interview process.
"I see that your husband passed away recently, Marilyn."
"We were separated and in the process of a divorce... but yes, he did, Dr. Pool."
"My condolences... may I ask what happened? I don’t mean to pry."
"It was all rather sudden. When he didn’t turn up for the court-ordered deposition hearing to determine division of spousal property the police went to his apartment. They found him dead. Apparently he mixed prescription drugs with alcohol, fell asleep, and never woke up."
"A big drinker, was he?"
"You could say that's what led to the parting of our ways."
"There's a note here that you were interrogated by the police. Why was that?"
"I suppose I was the last one to see him alive. You see, I visited his apartment the night before. He called me begging to reconcile. I felt sorry for him. He started crying, asking me to stop over so we could talk. I relented. When I got there, however, he was drunk. He lied saying that he hadn’t had a drink all day but he reeked of alcohol. He became abusive, calling me names and threatening me. So I left.
"The next day he turned up dead. So I suppose it was only natural to bring me in for questioning. I was totally forthcoming with the police officers. I answered every question they put to me. They said that there was no reason for me to hire an attorney though if I wanted one I could certainly bring one along. So I did.
"My attorney insisted that the interrogation be kept short and to the point. I think it surprised the police that I showed up with one. I guess most people don’t. But it scared me to think I might be a suspect in a murder. Looking back it was the best decision I ever made."
"You're a wise woman, Marilyn. Most people would go into something like that totally unprepared and then wonder why they ended up being charged with murder."
"I didn’t murder my husband, Dr. Pool."
"Call me Karen... I know you didn’t, Marilyn, and I apologize if it sounded as if I was insinuating that you did. I'm impressed enough with your credentials to make you an offer right now. Are you still interested in the position?"
"Yes, Dr. Pool... I mean, Karen... extremely interested. And I'm sorry to sound defensive... it's just that my in-laws still believe I had something do with my husband's death. They actually filed a civil suit against me... which went nowhere, by the way."
Marilyn sensed that Karen knew the truth. Yet she hired her anyway. When Karen took her into the compound where they'd be working together Marilyn got a glimpse at the specimen brought back from Lake Baikal. Her name was Lily. She looked like a normal woman but for being so tall and her webbed fingers and huge flat flipper feet and those gills.
"What did she do that she has to be locked up like that?"
"She hasn’t done anything, Marilyn. She carries a parasite that’s deadly to us. We keep her isolated to prevent infection."
"She's beautiful."
Lily was naked. Her long blonde hair cascaded over her chest barely covering her breasts as she walked over to the glass wall separating her from the doctors, staring at them intently with a slight tilt of her head.
"What's that where her ears should be?"
"Those are her gills."
"Can she talk?"
"Of course I can talk."
Marilyn was startled at the sound of Lily's voice. There was a distinctly alien accent that she couldn't quite place and yet the words were clearly enunciated English.
"What is your name? I haven’t seen you around here before."
"I'm Marilyn. What's your name?"
"You know my name already. Don’t play games with me and I won't play games with you, my darling Marilyn. I like you. Come inside with me. I'll teach you about things you never imagined were possible."
Marilyn felt as if they were alone in the compound even though Karen was standing not a meter away. She had an almost irresistible desire to do as Lily said: to open the steel and plastic door, to go to her.
"Come on, Marilyn... I need to show you the rest of the compound. Bye, now, Lily."
They walked out of the room down a corridor where they stopped to talk in private.
"If you're going to be working with Lily, you need to get used to her... she tempts me like that all the time."
"I'm sorry, Karen, but I'm getting the weirdest vibes. I swear if you weren’t here I would do just as Lily asks."
"That's why we always try to keep two people around when we are in her presence. Lily has some extraordinarily special gifts. We hope to learn much from her."
"What is she? Are there more of them?"
"I'm not sure... we found her on the shore of Lake Baikal in southeast Siberia. We thought she was dead at first. We had gone there to study a strange disease many of the villagers around the Lake were experiencing. Instead, we found Lily.
"She has the ability to breathe underwater so it's tempting to believe she's a mermaid. She has several anomalies that make her unique... she is the only one of her species we have ever discovered so does that mean there are others? We just don’t know.
"Yet there are clear indications her kind evolved from the same primate lineage as we did... we have the same DNA sequence... virtually identical, except for a good deal more fossilized retroviruses. We're not sure what that means. Still, she has certain innate abilities to protect herself—from human beings in particular, including the ability to cause that parasitic infection that we went to Lake Baikal to investigate in the first place.