by D. B. West
The Situation Room was silent as Scott Lansfield received the file. Director Spencer sat quietly as the President and his Cabinet reviewed the footage from the fire in the intensive care unit at Chapel Hill. “This footage was gathered by a camera attached to a machine monitoring the brain function of the patient, Mr. George Morrison. I was told that this type of monitoring is standard for patients suspected of having suffered brain damage. It was quite helpful, as there are normally no cameras in patient rooms,” Director Spencer advised.
Director Spencer reviewed the file on his tablet as it was played in the Situation Room. While the camera was positioned to focus on the patient, its angle was wide enough to capture the two young men in the frame. “There was no audio available, unfortunately,” Director Spencer said.
After a few minutes, the President turned back to the Director. “Explain what we just witnessed,” he said sternly.
“I’m not sure I can,” Director Spencer replied. “We’ve spoken with the nurse who was present, and other witnesses at Chapel Hill. What we know is that the patient, George Morrison, was taken off life support in the presence of his two sons, Jason and Tyler Morrison. We know that the suspect in the arsons, Samuel Dufresne, appeared in the room. Somehow he ignited the entire room, as you witnessed, and somehow…Mr. President, we just don’t know anything more than what you saw. One of the young men, Tyler Morrison, was able to hold the fire away from both he and his brother. George Morrison then appears to have risen from his bed and killed the suspect, Samuel Dufresne. George Morrison was, and is, dead.”
The President sat quietly for a moment, then whispered to his chief of staff, Scott Lansfield. “These aliens, be it the ones you have in custody, or these Abbadon, are targeting specific individuals,” the President finally said. “This Zion you spoke with indicated that these individuals would be targeted because they could be threats, due to…powers…they may possess, correct?”
“Yes, Mr. President. In this case, we are not sure which of the Morrison family would have been the target,” Director Spencer said. “Due to this uncertainty, local police have been assigned to the young man named Jason Morrison, who is in critical condition at Chapel Hill. He suffered severe burns to his lower extremities and required dual amputations below the knees. The younger of the pair, Tyler Morrison, suffered injuries as well. His were…unusual.”
“What do you mean?” the President asked.
“He suffered two collapsed lungs, which required chest tubes to be placed, and some cardiac damage. He was also suffering from an odd form of exposure. The doctors indicated he appeared to have been taken from normal air pressure, placed into a complete vacuum, and then been slammed back into normal air pressure immediately.”
“He was exposed…to a vacuum?” the President stammered. “All right. Director Spencer, can either of those young men be brought to your lab as well?”
“The younger one, Tyler Morrison, is stable enough for transport, sir. Jason Morrison, due to his burns and the loss of limbs will need to remain at Chapel Hill. Local police have been assigned to provide guard for him around the clock,” Director Spencer replied.
“Have Tyler Morrison brought to your lab as well. Director, we are sending you more staff from Washington immediately to supplement your team. Do whatever you can to find out why these individuals are manifesting these abilities. We need to know why these aliens came yesterday, and what their true intentions are with our people. Have your interviews with them provided any new information?” the President demanded.
“The one named Zion maintains that he came to warn us about these Abbadon creatures, and has repeatedly offered logistical support in fighting them. He insists that they will appear in force, soon, and has advised that we ready ourselves for a full scale invasion.”
“Has he given you any indication where, or how this might occur?” President Clark asked.
“He claims not to know. However, he says that we should go to a full scale war footing, and be prepared for an invasion on our own soil. The other subjects, Oraki, agreed that these Abbadon may well come against us. Orak has stated that his people, the Elvahn, will come to our aid once they are aware of what is happening here on Earth. Unfortunately, he also advised that due to the explosion yesterday upon their arrival, their ability to assist us may be delayed.”
President Clark muted his end of the video conference, while he and his Cabinet conferred. Director Spencer waited patiently, until the President returned. “Director, I will be addressing the nation shortly. We will be activating every unit of every branch of our military and be standing by for any assault that may be forthcoming. We will prepare to defend our land against any incursion by these creatures. For your part, have your team continue interviewing the aliens you have in custody. Proceed with running your tests on Sergeant Jeffries, Katie Dufresne, and Tyler Morrison.” Motioning to his chief of staff, the President continued. “Contact Scott with any updates, and prepare a full report on any findings for a meeting you two can coordinate for tomorrow. General Hubbard will be in touch with you shortly as well to discuss the disposition of our forces in your area. For now Director, get back to work. We will talk soon.”
Flipping off the display, the President ended the conference. Director Spencer turned his television to the local news channel in preparation for the President’s upcoming announcements. There was no regular programming today, every channel had suspended their normal broadcasting schedule to replay the footage of Delmont Jeffries casting down the alien insect.
Between airings, the newscasters speculated on what the President would say to the world, while cutting to footage of the National Guard all across the country mobilizing to keep order, as citizens swarmed to grab groceries, gas, and ammunition. Well… the Director mused …at least aliens are good for the economy. This is going to be bigger than Black Friday…or this might be the blackest Friday of all time…
CHAPTER TWENTY
Orak and Aki huddled together on the cot in the containment room, looking to any observer as though they were sleeping. Sheltered between their bodies, they watched the small screen where Orak had tapped into the exchange between the President and the Director.
“Do you think the Elvahn will be able to restore the Bore before the Abbadon come in force?” Aki asked.
“You know more about the damned thing than I do!” Orak snarled. “You tell me! We can’t just sit here and rely on them coming in time to head this off. I don’t know how Zion dominated that human, but I know he is the one who went after these people. He can feel them in the aether as clearly as we can. It’s the only explanation.”
“And now they are bringing them all here, ‘for their protection,’” Aki said. “Zion will either find another agent to get to them, or may even be allowed contact if the humans grow desperate.”
“We cannot allow him to get near them,” Orak thought. “He is already too strong for us to fight without Kio here. If he gains these humans’ abilities…I don’t even know what he might become, what he might be able to do. I do know this…he will feed these people to the Abbadon, every man, woman, and child if he thinks it will ultimately destroy them. We can’t let Zion lead them down that path.”
“Humanity is the only race we’ve ever found that can match the Abbadon for violence and cruelty. How can we stop them? They want to fight, they revel in it,” Aki said.
“That comes later,” Orak replied. “First, we must stop Zion from influencing them further, or bonding himself to any more of these aether sensitive individuals he has identified. I think I know how we can start, but I will need to speak to each of the three they are bringing here for ‘protection.’”
“Three…” Aki thought, awestruck. “You mean to make them a Trine!?!”
“It will protect them from Zion’s domination, and allow them to completely access the aether. They will be able to help their people fight the Abbadon, and help us bring Zion to justice before he leads them to destruction.” Orak’s thoughts
were grim, but determined.
“The Elvahn Assembly banished you for forming a Trine of your own…what will they do to us if we show humanity this power? We won’t have a home to return to…” Aki trailed off, before concluding the thought. “You’re right. This is Zion’s doing, not ours. We are protecting these people. If the Assembly can’t see that, then…”
“Then to hell with them,” Orak thought. “These humans have some wonderful expressions, don’t they?”
“So how do we go talk to these three?” Aki asked.
“That will be the easy part. We’re underground. Humans can’t see in the dark,” Orak replied.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Orak continued to surreptitiously monitor the security footage throughout the FBI headquarters for the next two hours. “Look,” Orak said to Aki. “They’ve put those men Tyler and Delmont in a room together.”
Aki glanced at the screen as Orak rolled his arm towards him, where two beds could be seen in the medical unit. Both of the men looked terrible. Delmont’s entire right arm was in a cast, and a bandage was wrapped around his head and left hand. It was impossible to tell if he was sleeping.
The man named Tyler lay a few feet away, his chest exposed to accommodate all the tubes that had been placed for his breathing. His head was moving back and forth, and as Aki stared at him, he thought “Is the skinny one singing? He looks awfully…happy?”
“Who knows with these humans. We will find out soon. Let me check on the other one,” Orak replied.
Tuning into the room of Katie Dufresne, they could see that she was sitting up in a bed with an oxygen tube running to her nose, and a nurse in the room talking to her.
“When can I see my family?” Katie asked the nurse.
“You’ll have to talk to the doctor about visitation,” the nurse replied calmly. “And the agents on duty. Remember, you were brought here for your protection.”
“Have the police caught him yet?” Katie asked. “At least tell me that. The agent I spoke to said that he started that fire, and that they were going to find him.”
“Dear, I don’t keep up with that business. Now, do you need anything to drink maybe? I can help with that, you know!” the nurse replied cheerily.
“What I need is to know what’s going on, and what happened to my friends! If you can’t tell me, I’ll go find someone that can!” Katie yelled, getting out of the bed and stomping towards the door. The nurse had left it cracked open, and when Katie threw it wide two soldiers came together to block her.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. You’ll need to stay in your room at this time,” one of the Guardsmen told her.
“Or what?” Katie demanded. “Are you going to shoot me?”
“No,” the soldier replied. “But she might,” he said nodding behind Katie towards the nurse.
Katie turned just in time to see the nurse plunge a small syringe into her arm. “I’m sorry dear, doctor’s orders,” the sadistic nurse said in the same cheerful tone, as she helped guide the wobbly young woman back to her bed.
After watching Katie Dufresne get knocked out, Orak flipped off the screen. “We’re going to the two men in the same room first. They will be easier to convince.”
“You’re going to give them a choice”? Aki thought, surprised.
“Of course I’m going to give them a choice,” Orak snapped. “If they choose wrong, I will do it anyway, but I will at least present it to them. We are civilized beings, after all. Letting the condemned choose the method of their execution is the very essence of civility.”
Aki chuffed out his wheezing laugh, then rolled off the bed. He stretched all of his legs, then shook himself lazily before padding over to the airlock. Looking back over his shoulder at Orak, he gave a wink, just as the lights went out throughout the entire building.
The emergency lights quickly flickered to life, but after only a moment they blinked off as well, leaving the entire floor in absolute darkness. As Aki forced the airlock door to cycle open, the pair could hear the guards outside cursing. The two soldiers had pulled out flashlights, and were a few feet away at the door to the observation room, talking to the technician assigned to watch the aliens.
None of them noticed the pair as they eased out of the room and down the hallway in the opposite direction. Aki’s nails clicked quietly on the floor, but Orak’s heavy armor made no noise as the pair jogged away from their cell.
“Do you know where they are being treated?” Aki asked.
“Roughly. All three of them channel the aether unconsciously, like newborns. I should be able to pinpoint the sensation as we cross the halls,” Orak replied.
They moved through the facility slowly, melting into alcoves and shadows as other flashlight beams pierced the gloom. Orak abruptly stopped at a crossing hallway, patting Aki to signal him to turn around.
“We passed them,” Orak thought, going back to the previous hallway.
The pair crouched down by a glass walled office at the corner, peeking through to see another set of soldiers farther down the hallway. These two also had flashlights, and were steadfastly maintaining their guard even with the distraction.
“Can you handle this?” Orak asked.
“Easily. Watch this,” Aki responded. An instant later, the two guards flinched, dropping their flashlights. As they hit the floor, both of them blinked out, and Orak could hear them rattling across the floor as Aki pulled them down the hall.
“Hells bells, what are the chances of that happening?” one of the guards joked.
“Did you hear them go bouncing down the hall?” the other replied.
“Yeah. Here, bend down and help me feel around for them.”
As the pair of guards knelt down, feeling the ground around them, Orak and Aki nimbly stepped past them, then eased open the door to the treatment room.
“Bring the emergency lights back up in here. Keep them low, but I want Tyler to be able to see us,” Orak ordered.
A small light began to glow from over each bed, illuminating the two men. Delmont was sitting propped up, his head wrapped in bandages above his nose. It was obvious he hadn’t noticed anything was amiss so far. Tyler, however, had thrown off his sheets entirely. A hospital gown had been draped over him for comfort, but due to the tubes in each side of his chest, he was unable to wear anything further. He had thrown the gown to the floor, and lay on the bed completely nude while humming happily.
When Tyler saw Orak, he grinned broadly, and grabbed his penis. Shaking it back and forth, he began to sing in a high, off pitch voice:
Ooooooh, they locked me up in a cell,
and they got me high as hell.
So when the lights went out,
with a happy shout,
I started playing with myself.
Delmont turned his head towards Tyler and said, “Dammit man, enough with the singing! Doc, are you there? What the hell did you give this guy?”
Tyler, unperturbed, grinned over at Delmont as he burst into his next bastardized verse of a Billy Idol song:
When they steal my pants,
and I find my lance;
I’ll be playing with myself
Oooh-oooh-oh-oh.
Orak stomped over to the bedside while Aki lay down by the door, chuffing his wheezy laughter. “Stop that!” Orak demanded. “Can you even see who I am?”
Tyler squinted up at Orak in the dim glow from the emergency light, then shook his penis at the armored figure. “Are you the technician here to service my unit?” he asked, grinning broadly.
Aki’s tongue lolled out and he rolled onto his side wheezing as Orak fumed. Delmont turned his head towards them, and said, “He’s been like that for about an hour, since they came in and dosed him up with something. Is that you, doctor? What did you give him, anyhow?”
“Man, this ain’t no doctor,” Tyler said. “It’s some weird Blue Man Group looking fucker with a giant therapy dog. Dog?” Tyler said questioningly, squinting past Orak. “I take that back, dude broug
ht a giant therapy bear-thing. It’s cute. Bring that big cuddly bastard over here.”
“Ah, no thanks,” Aki said from the door. “No cuddles for you until you find some underwear.”
“Oh shit, man, this clown is a ventriloquist! He’s making the giant fuzz talk!” Tyler howled. “I love this hospital, man!”
Delmont was scowling under his bandages, and using his left arm to try to push himself up the bed. “What do you mean a giant talking dog? What color is it? Tyler, what color is it?” Delmont yelled, alarmed.
“I don’t know man, it’s dark in here. Green, I think?” Tyler said.
“It’s you…” Delmont said. “The white haired thing from the hospital. You come to finish this?”
“Calm down, both of you,” Orak ordered. “We’re here to help you. Delmont, we saw what happened to you, and we came to…”
Orak was interrupted as Tyler whipped his head to the side, and started his song again. “Well this isn’t going to work,” Orak muttered. “Aki, can you do anything to sober him up?”
“Sure, give him a couple of hours. If you mean right now, I doubt it. I don’t know what they gave him, and can’t make him metabolize it any faster if I can’t isolate it. I guess you could dump some water on him or try to scare him?” Aki offered skeptically.
Orak’s eyes narrowed as he looked over Tyler, noticing that the young man had a dark birthmark over his heart. Nodding to himself, Orak said, “Did you know that a soul can carry a scar from past trauma? If a soul was released from its physical body violently, sometimes a mark will form on its flesh during its next incarnation. Your kind call them birthmarks. We call them deathnotes. Some of my kind can read these notes, to look at a soul’s past. Would you like to see how?”
Tyler’s eyes were glazed and unfocused as he tried to look at Orak. “I’ve got a birthmark on this dick you can read, you Papa Smurf looking puppy-rapist,” he said, laughing.