“At least we have help from the inside,” Jen said.”
“Help? What kind of help?”
“They’re called the Keepers,” Jen answered.
“They’re a mutation of my virus programming, and they have joined our side. They oppose the alien programming to take us over.”
“Keepers of our Freedom, huh, I like it,” Ben smiled.
“We should call our new movement the Keepers of Freedom,” Griffin added.
“...and I’ll bet we’ll be able to find a lot of folks that would join our ranks,” Calvin nodded.
“So, umm, Unc?”
“Yeah, little buddy? What is it?”
“How about chipping me? You know, one for the road and all.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Jen smiled, “I kind of like you all subdued like this...”
“Oh, stop!”
Calvin opened the case and loaded the injector with one of Rhode’s chips, “Na, don’t worry now, we’ll get ya all fixed up in a jiffy.”
Griffin and Beverly lifted Bennie to expose the back of his neck. Cal rose the injector tip and placed it on the back of his neck, “This won’t hurt a bit,” he said, pulling the trigger.
“OUCH! Hey, you lied!”
“Yeah, well, that’s what Rhodes told me.”
Bennie shot his head forward, and stared straight ahead. His eyes began to turn the familiar green glow as blue lights traveled all across his face and traveled down his neck and arms. His arms and legs began to twitch, his muscles quivered. Then he moved them and turned, kicking his legs over the edge, they dropped to the floor with a thud.
“Guess, I’m not all whole just yet,” he said in a euphoric state. “But oh man, does it ever feel good to move again.”
Jen smiled and hugged him around his neck, “I’ll bet it does.”
“I was gonna have you shoot me to get it over with.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, Ben. I would’ve loved you no matter what.”
Bennie lifted himself to a standing position. His legs wavered slightly, as Jen caught him.
“No...no, don’t help me. I need to do this on my own.”
“Sure Bennie,” Jen said hesitantly.
He slid one foot out in front of him and put his full weight on it, then shuffled his other foot forward. Slowly, he took his first steps and then turned and smiled, “I’m good to go!”
Beverly cried and turned to Griffin, and the two hugged. Calvin placed his hands on his hips and smiled.
* * *
Coupeville, WA
Condemned 1900’s Military Instillation
Fort Casey Lighthouse
September 28 2067 Sunset
Bennie sat on the tall green grass on the hill just outside the old Fort Casey Lighthouse, he sat with his legs folded, looking out over Puget Sound, taking in deep breaths of fresh air, and listening to the crashing waves over the cliffs below.
Jenny approached him from the switchboard, getting some fresh air of her own. She sat next to him on the hill and leaned over with one arm around him, “Just thought you might like to know that Cal has established contact with J on a secure channel.”
“That’s great news! What about the others?”
“J said there’s no sign of Doctor Rhodes or Trudy.”
“Too bad...we lost a good one, that Dr. Rhodes.”
“I know...we’ll make new allies.”
“I’m sure we will.”
“Whatcha thinkin’ about?”
“Oh, just all the things that Uncle Calvin told me...thinking about my Dad and wondering what he’s doing these days.”
“I’m sorry you lost contact with your Dad.”
“It’s okay, Jen. We weren’t that close.”
“He did love you. You know that, don’t you?”
“I know, but I don’t love what he did. Sometimes I just wished I hadn’t of lived through the accident.”
Jenny slapped him on the arm, “Hey now, you would’ve wanted to die and not be with me?”
“No, it’s not that at all, Jenny...and you know it...it’s just sometimes, things don’t come out right and I trip all over my own tongue.”
She smiled at him and sat quiet for a few minutes, absorbing the breathtaking sunset. The bright red sun colored the clouds giving them an orange glow. The cool on-shore breeze was refreshing. The smell of salt water filled their senses as the waves continued to crash below them.
Bennie all at once stood and pulled on Jenny’s arm, coaxing her to her feet, “Come on. I want to show you something.”
He trotted over to the door on the old lighthouse and pulled off a loose board covering the entry.
Bennie leaned down and crawled through the opening, followed by Jenny, “Where you taking me, Bennie?”
“You’ll see...I used to come here growing up and I just loved it.”
He took the rusted spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse, then turned and offered his hand to help Jenny ascend to the top with him.
The two stood looking at the disappearing sun as it lowered below the horizon.
“Oh, Bennie! The view is just beautiful.”
Bennie smiled and placed his arm around her, “Yes, yes it is...just like you.”
“Oh Bennie...”
He turned her to face him as the last of the sun shown between them, “Jenny Rubinstein? Will you marry me?”
Jenny cried tears of Joy and wrapped her arms around him and gave him a squeeze, “Oh yes, Bennie...YES!”
The two looked at each other, their eyes changed to a soft green glow and then they pressed their lips together as the sun faded, disappearing below the horizon.
# # #
SNEAK PEEK
If you enjoyed A M P Phase 1: The Gamma Project, I’ve included a special preview for the second book in the series.
A M P
(Amplified Mental Projection)
Phase 2: The Vanguard
Chapter 1
Coupeville, WA
Condemned 1900’s Military Installation
Fort Casey Switchboard
October 1, 2067 05:00
Jenny tossed and turned in her sleep. Images of Calvin, Jen, and Doctor Rhodes ran through her mind. Images of them taking off in their open-air jeep from the checkpoint, in a desperate attempt to flee the city.
The two Vanguard standing on each side of the expressway, took a stance as if they were mounting a motorcycle. The aerodynamic cycles formed beneath them as extensions of their cyborg-human hybrid bodies. The two Vanguard sped down the highway after their suspects.
“We’ve got Company,” Rhodes shouted from the back of the jeep. Remembering the gift from Sly, he flipped a tarp off from a few rail guns lying in the back of the jeep. The tarp was sent sailing into the air, covering one of the Vanguard.
No longer able to see, the Vanguard slammed into the Jersey barrier. It flew head first into the oncoming lanes where it was killed by an oncoming truck.
The truck swerved from side to side, then tipped over, and slid down the freeway. Sparks shot out from behind it as it dug deep grooves in the pavement.
The surviving Vanguard was reporting to his commander, when another bike sped up on his left.
Rhodes fired one of the rail guns from the bed of the jeep, sending rounds at the cyborg-hybrid pursuers.
“They’re just bouncing off!”
“Keep shooting, Doctor!” Jen shouted, “keep them distracted!”
She turned in her seat and closed her eyes, but before she could find any AMP’d strength, the rider of the new bike jumped onto the Vanguard, taking him down to the pavement.
Rhodes shouted with glee, “It’s Trudy! She’s taking this one down.”
The two hit the ground, sliding along the freeway on top of the bike. She held her hands on the other’s head, pressing it down to the sliding pavement beneath. The moving pavement ground away the head of the cyborg-human hybrid, killing it quickly.
Trudy rolled on the ground, growing her
own armor to protect her body as she slid to a stop. Then she got up and waved them on as they sped down the road.
Five more Vanguard zipped passed Trudy on the side of the expressway, screaming after the escaping jeep.
Trudy panicked and tried to grow another cycle, but had to wait several seconds to repair the damage to her circuits from the fall.
“We‘ve got more incoming!” Rhodes shouted, “Can’t this thing go any faster?”
“I’m giving it all she’s got. That’s all there is, there ain’t no more!”
Calvin handed Jenny the pen in his pocket, “Here, divide this up between you two, and get them off us before they call in more!”
Jenny took the pen and gave herself a smaller dose since she could rely on her emotions to do the rest, “I’ve got this!” she turned toward the approaching bikes and raised her arms to them.
The first three Vanguard began shooting rounds from their arm-mounted weapons. They steered between shots as they each took turns trying to disable the jeep.
Jenny was able to deflect the approaching rounds from her slight AMP charge, but knew that this would drain her pretty fast.
She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, and then a wave of energy shot down her arms, exiting her fingers. The powerful wave hit the three closest Vanguard, hurling them twenty feet into the air before slamming them hard into the pavement.
The two remaining Vanguard narrowed the gap on the jeep, firing as they closed in.
Rhodes yelled and continued his barrage of rail gun projectiles, “AMP me Jenny! All of it!” then he handed her his silver case. “Take this and make sure Bennie gets one of these!”
Jenny instinctively jabbed the rod to Rhodes’s plug on the back of his neck, sending the rest of the gamma waves into his chip. Then she quickly grabbed the case from Rhodes.
His eyes fired a brilliant green glow as he gritted his teeth. He tossed his weapon after it had emptied, then stood and took a stance at the rear of the jeep.
“Rhodes! What’re you doing?” Jen shouted.
Rhodes wasted no time in explaining. He leaped off the end of the jeep into the air, spreading his arms wide. He hit the two Vanguard, knocking them to the pavement.
The jeep sped away as Jenny screamed, “RHODES! NOOOO!”
The echoes of Jen’s screams persisted as her nightmare cleared into reality. Her screams shattered the still night even as the images of Doctor Rhodes faded.
Bennie laid next to Jen on the tattered mattress on this first day of October 2067. It had been two days since Calvin Jones and Jenny Rubinstein escaped from Seattle. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, “Hey Jen,” he groggily said, “Take it easy, now. What’s wrong? You were having one of those dreams again?”
All Jen could do was nod her head and collapsed into the comfort of Ben’s arms. The horror of Doctor Rhodes jumping off the back of the jeep continued to haunt her.
Bennie hugged her tight, and then reached over and kissed her head. He held his kiss for several seconds, letting his emotions build up. His eyes changed to a light green color as he brought up the small AMP effect, made possible by having one of the good doctor’s hybrid chips. A golden glow enveloped them both. Jen smiled, relaxed, and melted in her lover’s arms.
Then the golden glow faded and Bennie’s eyes returned to their natural brown color, “It’s going to be okay, Jen. Trust me.”
“I don’t know Bennie,” Jen wept, “It’s not fair that we lost Doctor Rhodes.”
“Listen, listen,” Bennie comforted, “J and Sly both report that the authorities never found a body.”
“...I know, but...”
“...but nothing. Don’t lose hope, Jen. I feel that he’s out there, somewhere.”
“Doctor Rhodes was a good man...”
“Doctor Rhodes was...is...a brilliant man. Good? Well, that’s debatable.”
“How can you say that?” Jenny asked, continuing to weep softly in his arms.
“He’s really the one that’s responsible for all this. He duplicated the chip.”
“Yes, but I got to know him over the last couple of years. He was a good man.”
“Well,” Bennie started, a feeble attempt to keep his personal feelings from upsetting Jen, “I suppose the Jury’s still out on that.”
“Oh Bennie...”
“I’m sorry, Jen. I’m trying my best to have an open mind here.”
“No, Bennie. I’m the one who should be sorry. I completely forgot all you’ve been through.”
“At least we have each other, right?” Bennie smiled, showing his teeth.
“Yeah, we do,” Jen answered, closing her eyes in his arms. “What time is it, anyway?”
“The holo-time says it’s o-five-hundred,” he rested his arm across Jenny’s chest.
She sat up again, “I can’t sleep anymore.”
“Come on, just relax. You should try...”
Jen jumped to her feet, dusted off her clothes, and grabbed Bennie’s arm. “Come on, let’s find out what’s going on out there.”
Bennie reluctantly got out of bed, buttoned his shirt and then followed the energetic Jenny through their door.
Calvin Jones was sitting at his control console, holding a lukewarm cup of coffee. His eyes focused on watching the five monitor satellite feeds he had tapped into earlier, from the old Fort Casey underground retreat.
“Hey Cal,” Jenny whispered, not wanting to awaken anyone else, “What’s happening?”
Calvin pivoted around to face the young couple, “Good morning, good morning,” he smiled, rubbing his tired eyes.
“Hey Unc,” Bennie acknowledged, with a nod.
“You get any sleep, Calvin?” Jen asked.
“Na. Not much,” Cal smiled, “Hey, want some coffee? It’s mostly fresh,” he pointed over at an old fashioned drip coffee maker.
The drip maker beeped three consecutive times, “Well, ok. It’s really a couple of hours old.”
“Sure, Unc. It’s still hot,” Bennie answered, then walked over to the coffee cart, “What some?”
“No thanks, Ben. You go ahead,” Jen answered.
“Okay,” Bennie took a cup from under the shelf and poured the last dribbles from the pot.
“It’s still hot,” looking over at Jen, “You sure? There’s enough.”
“I’ll wait for a fresh pot.”
“...and I’ll take that as a hint,” Bennie smiled.
“You’re bright in the morning, aren’t ya,” she winked.
“Very funny,” Bennie smiled back, and then proceeded to make a promised fresh pot.
“So, Cal. What is happening out there? Anything new?”
“Other than your typical friendly neighborhood alien takeover of Earth? No.”
“Be serious, Unc,” Bennie returned a glare. He turned back to the make-shift sink where he washed the burned-coffee stink out of the pot. Then filled it and poured it in the chamber. “Three scoops?”
“Yeah, make sure you heap them.”
“Heaping scoops it is.”
“Sorry, Ben. It’s the only way I know how to deal with it. If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry.”
“I know, Unc. This has been hard on everyone.”
“When was the last communique from J?”
“Twenty-three hundred, last night...and there were no updates. Trudy and Doctor Rhodes are missing. Sly is back at the Palomino club, and they’re keeping up all appearances of being rivals.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Jen motioned to one of the monitors, “Turn that one up.”
Calvin controlled the volume on the monitor, “Looks like it’s an early morning press conference.”
“Looks like Governor McCormick is going to make an announcement,” Jen said.
“Now we go live to the Governor’s mansion,” the TV reporter announced, “Governor McCormick is stepping up to the microphones now, he’s about to give a press release...we’re live, at the Governor’s mansion...”
“Ladies and gentlemen
, thank you for coming. I wanted to come before you this morning to inform you we have found the remains of Doctor Charles Rhodes, former United Territories of Land and Space’s top secret neural surgeon. Two and half years ago, Doctor Rhodes stole classified property from the naval base in Oak Harbor. Indications are that he has been working with a terrorist movement. Today, his body will undergo an autopsy to determine cause of death. Those results will be provided as soon as the medical examiner’s office releases the report.”
Ben and Jenny’s eyes glowed green with anger. Bennie spoke for the both of them, “He’s not dead! He’s lying!”
“Shhh, shhh, shhh,” Calvin motioned, “Listen...”
“Also, the head of this terrorist organization known as The Keepers of Freedom, Trudy Sasaki, remains at large.”
“I assure you, we will continue with martial law within the city of Seattle, until we have eliminated this threat. We have deployed the new Vanguard police squad within the city.
The response from the public has been overwhelming. The desire to become a member of the Vanguard is widespread, and our current centers are processing volunteers as efficiently as they can. We are opening new Vanguard recruitment centers at strategically selected locations. Three additional processing centers will be opened where the demand is exceeding our current center’s capacity.”
“I’ll bet they’re getting flooded with volunteers,” Bennie scoffed.
“In addition, we’re releasing fifty additional Vanguard. We have tightened the security measures at every checkpoint. As more Vanguard are processed and trained, they will be added to the ranks.
Once we have the city of Seattle secured, we will expand the program to Seattle’s neighbors. The Vanguard integration into our security measures will soon be in effect Statewide. We must prepare for the onslaught of these terrorists who dare to call themselves a freedom movement! They shall be found and brought to justice!”
Reporters began firing questions when the Governor paused, but he held up his hand, “I’ll respond to some questions at the end...thank you...please, wait...I have one more announcement.”
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