Eric rolled his head around his shoulders to loosen up his neck muscles, “God that sucks ass. How can I trust that you won’t stab me in the back when you don’t even know from one day to the next what you will do?”
Destiny stood up to her full height and walked halfway across the room, “Me? What about you? How many of your little partners have to end up dead or demonic before someone starts asking questions about what you are really doing behind closed doors?”
Eric stood as well, “Are you suggesting that I had something to do with any of the people who were with me dying or getting turned?”
“Yes!” Destiny said proudly.
Eric thought back and shook his head at the memories before answering, “Sam was quickly turning into a zombie and someone had to put her down before she turned all the way. It was the right thing to do. Bart was a victim of his own courage. Sage Thorn turned against the contract lifestyle a long time before you claim to have done so, but some hot blond put a fucking bullet in his head.”
Destiny closed the distance between them and said with a sultry look in her eyes, “Anyone we know?”
Eric shoved her backwards hard enough for her to fall back onto the couch, “Fuck no, I have no idea who she is! Oh and on to Mandy; that little slut surprised everyone including the angels themselves with her betrayal.”
After slowly picking herself up off of the couch Destiny walked towards Eric again, “I wonder how long I have to hang around you before something takes me out too. What excuse will it be for you when I get taken down? Will I start to look like a zombie? Maybe I’ll just be too courageous to live any longer like Bart. Oh, no, I know. Maybe you’ll just be such a bad lay that I’ll switch sides like Mandy.”
Eric swung a left fist at her face but she ducked. His breath left in a huff as she slammed her foot into his stomach. A quick uppercut caught him in the forehead and he lost his balance before falling back and onto the kitchen floor.
Destiny smirked at him, “Fool me once, shame on you Bayne. Try a sucker punch twice and get your ass whipped!”
Eric stood up, “You want to fight this out?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind me kicking your ass again.”
Eric surged forward but stopped just before he reached Destiny. She had thrown a punch that would have probably come close to knocking him down again if he had continued. With the slight pause he was able to sweep his leg around and caught her heels perfectly. She fell to the floor and Eric pounced as she tried to roll away. Destiny tried to elbow him with her left and right arms but only served to get both arms hooked by Eric. He lifted her up, brushing her body against his on the way up.
Destiny growled in pain and then laughed, “Feels like you want to do something other than fight lover-boy.”
Eric looked down as if he didn’t already know what she was referring to. He shook his head and shoved her all the way across the room onto the couch. He watched as she lay on the couch and Eric thought for a moment that he had ended the fight in his favor with the throw. It wasn't long before he saw how wrong he was.
She looked over her shoulder with a sultry glance and began to run her fingers across her ass, “I like it rough big boy. You want to try and finish the job?” Destiny finished with an insulting laugh as she felt herself over.
Eric knew a loss when he saw one. He walked towards the back door as she laughed and stopped at the now open door just to say, “Slut.”
Destiny smiled, “You’re the one who is excited lover-boy. Maybe you’re the slut. Hm,” she licked her lips, “Let’s find out.”
“Bitch!” Eric ignored her laughter as he walked out and slammed the door. He needed to get himself together before that fight could continue. Maybe, he thought for a moment, it would be best if he didn’t fight her sexy ass in the living room from now on.
Chapter 3
Official meetings with the suits at Organic Ascendancy almost always went by a certain pattern. Dr. Genesis Cain was a woman of habit and therefore her organization was as well. For as long as Peyton Terry had been lead planner, the meetings were like clockwork. Everyone who was invited was at least five minutes early and started a low toned running conversation while they waited for the meeting to be called to order. Dr. Cain would call the meeting into order on the hour, minute and second that she said she would in the meeting information that was handed out to invited O.A. members.
She would then take control of the meeting. She did at least seventy-five percent of the talking in most of their get-togethers and she was the one who gave permission for someone else to speak. No matter how the meeting went or how drastic the information discussed, Dr. Cain would sum it up and send everyone away whenever she chose to. It was her company and they were her meetings because she was the President of O.A. and what she said is what happened.
Terry was reminded of that as he saw the current meeting unfolding differently from any other he had ever been a part of; other than the one prior to it. They were the only meetings that included the now co-presidents. That was still somewhat surprising to him and the fact that he – the lead planner for the organization - was surprised was a problem. At least it was a problem to him. Instead of everyone arriving a few minutes early and talking the room into a low rumble, everyone was there several minutes early and sat in perfect silence.
The main reason for this was that for the second time in any of their time at the place, there was more than one person standing at the front of the room. Dr. Cain was there but standing right beside her was the tall and fluffy figure of Admiral Bullosky. Some said the man was a demon. Terry wasn’t the spiritual guy of the group but he certainly planned to find out if that was supposed to really be true or not. Dr. Cain had already told them to get accustomed to and more comfortable with Bullosky being around. Maybe Abel Nichols would be nice enough to be honest about it since he was the spiritual guy. Then again, at the present time Nichols looked about as stunned or shocked as everyone else.
Only three people in the room looked comfortable. One was Dr. Cain, another was the smug Bullosky and the third was the skimpy little attractive turncoat that went by the name Mandy. Literally everyone else in the room was clearly in a very stand-offish mood and the tension could be cut by a knife. The first meeting that included Mandy and Bullosky hadn’t really counted for much other than to announce that Destiny was gone and would not be coming back. The word was that she was dead along with Eric Bayne but something about that just gave Terry a bad feeling. He had known Destiny a very long time. It seemed to him that if indeed Bayne and especially Destiny had been killed, it would have created some kind of a tidal wave, lightning would have flashed or something other than nothing would have happened. Finally, the time for silence was over as Admiral Bullosky spoke to open the meeting. It was definitely the first time that had happened.
“Welcome to our first official meeting as the newly structured Organic Ascendancy,” Bullosky said in a calm tone. “The prior meeting was basically only for introductory purposes and to let everyone know what had happened to Eric Bayne and Destiny. While those two being taken care of is definitely a bitter mix to take down, I assure you that the human condition has never been in better hands. Our first order of business today is to let Dr. Isaiah Neal speak about developments in Project Seth as well as a few other advancements like cloning and possibly more advancements to the zombie-demon hybrids. He will have to wait however as first I want to open the floor up to questions. Anyone at this table may ask Dr. Cain or me anything at all and we will do our best to answer.”
Terry looked around the table and most everyone bowed their head in some thought. He had no problem thinking of a question however. He raised his finger quickly and was acknowledged by Bullosky. “I have two questions. Firstly, why do we need zombie-demon hybrid super soldiers, or whatever you call them, if we no longer have a threat in Eric Bayne? It seems silly to build an army if the war is already won. Second, I want to know why everyone has not been told the truth about what happen
ed to Destiny.”
A murmur rose around the table as several spoke up in worry about the comment. Dr. Cain said, “Mr. Terry, what in the world do you mean? I believe we already told everyone that we finally eliminated Bayne and that Destiny was lost in the process.”
“Yes,” Terry said, “I am aware of what we told them last meeting Dr. Cain. Thank you for reminding me. What I want to know is when they will learn the entire story. I believe it is a story of the resilience of O.A. and would do well to build pride in the strength of our organization. We should tell everyone the truth. I will volunteer to do so if you will give me permission.”
“No,” Dr. Cain said quickly, “There is no good reason to drag out all of the details of that situation Mr. Terry. Destiny should always be revered within these walls, no matter what happened in the end. To suggest that you should tell every detail is…”
“Brilliant,” Bullosky said. The expression of rage on Dr. Cain’s face was brief but visible to those who were paying close attention. Bullosky merely shrugged off her shock and turned to Terry, “Please inform the room of the details of the situation surrounding the one you call Destiny, Mr. Terry. Leave nothing out.”
Terry felt like he was more shocked with each passing moment that this guy was in the room. Instead of hiding his surprise Terry said, “I’m surprised that you are able to override the opinion of the long-standing president of Organic Ascendancy, Admiral.”
“Do as you were told Mr. Terry,” Bullosky said in a gruff tone of voice. “Inform the room about Destiny’s real story. Do so now.”
Irritation found its way to Terry’s face and he didn’t try to hide that either. Instead he said, “Sure, I’ll do exactly what you said.” He stood and looked at everyone at the table in turn. Finally he said, “Ladies and gentlemen Destiny’s death is something that I have not seen proof of but knowing what the plan was, I can assure you that it is very likely the truth. We were suspicious of Destiny when she went on the mission to remove and bring back the hand of Eric Bayne. She was gone longer than she needed to be and from some reports we received, it is believed that she was seriously considering double-crossing us at that time. When she did not do so, we were still not satisfied.
“Instead of just accepting that she was one of us still, we took careful detail in following her every word, breath and movement. She had been seen packing a large bag with more things than she would need for the final mission. This led us to grow more suspicious. That led to us offering her a position that we knew she would never accept. Instead of throwing it back in our faces, she calmly accepted it just like she was fine. That is when I knew she was planning a double-cross of her own. Instead of allow that, we did not tell her of the depth of our plan. Certainly she did not expect us to begin to work with the good Admiral, zombies and demons. When she was attacking the zombies, the team sent with her was able to fire stun bolts into her body. This allowed her to be used as bait for Bayne. When Mandy failed to double-cross him, plan B worked well as she led him directly into our trap.
“With both Bayne and Destiny surrounded by countless demons, zombies and hybrids, the trap was sprung and both were taken down. That is according to those who reported the situation. It is known that few if any demons, zombies or hybrids survived the mission either. That is the truth. Destiny died but she died a traitor to our cause.”
“Traitor my ass!” Nichols said loudly, “She was a warrior! She didn’t leave us; we left her with this hare-brained scheme of yours, Mr. Terry, and yours, Dr. Cain, to work with demons. I’ll tell you something else too. This is not a plan built of courage or guts. Working with these demons and zombies like this is simply the attitude of: if you cannot beat them, join them. It is based on cowardice! You are chief among them Mr. Terry!”
“Well,” Terry said, “I must say that we did not know exactly how this was going to work out. If I had known it would happen in this way,” he glanced at Bullosky, “I would not have been okay with such a drastic change.”
“That is enough!” Dr. Cain said, “You don’t have the authority to question such things Mr. Terry. When we need a plan worked out or smoothed in some way, we will contact you and ask for your opinion. This is humanity achieving godhood! Surely you did not think that such a transition would be easy! If you have something you do not approve of you are perfectly able to file an official complaint. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut. We had one chance to step towards the goal of ascending and we took it.”
“Yes,” Nichols said, “But at what price? We are meeting with and holding hands with those we pledged to fight just a short time ago. How is this winning Dr. Cain? It sure seems a lot like losing to me.”
“You are an ignorant fool!” the voice of Dr. Isaiah spoke up, “If you think the price we have paid, any price at all, is too high. You are foolish because you assume we can somehow achieve godhood without drastic cost. You are ignorant because you do not know the advancements that we have made in the short time since this alliance has formed. If you can both close your mouths, all of you in fact, for a few minutes, I will explain how you and I are achieving the status of a deity even as we argue and complain.”
Bullosky waited for a few moments of silence to drag on before he spoke up. “I trust we all could agree that we now are much more interested in what Dr. Isaiah has to say than we were before the confrontation.” He spared a quick glance at Terry and then at Dr. Cain before saying, “Trust my judgment humans. It has led me far in the past few centuries. Good doctor,” he said in a more cheery tone towards Dr. Isaiah, “Fill us in on the developments that you are so extremely excited about.”
“I would be glad to. Thank you for the chance to work with you Admiral Bullosky. Not only you,” Dr. Isaiah pointed out, “But especially the specialists that you have afforded me in the last few weeks.” The doctor looked around the room, “This has been the most profitable time in my entire life. We have gone from crawling to leaping the distance of a football field. Whereas before we could enhance a few humans here and there, we now can do so much more. It once required one who was blessed with strength, fighting ability and an incredible threshold for pain for someone to achieve the level we had maxed out at; it is not that way now. Destiny was the best warrior we had once because of who she was and what she could do. That sort of thing will soon be irrelevant.
“Soon,” Dr. Isaiah continued with his eyes growing misty, “We will be able to sit back and do much of nothing while our experiments of today become tomorrow’s soldiers. If one of them falls in battle, we can simply revive them through a process some of you might have heard of; reanimation.”
“What?” Terry cut in with disbelief in his voice, “Don’t tell me you can bring things back from the dead.”
“We cannot directly resurrect someone or something from death, no. What we can do is reanimate the body of a dead being or object with the mind we choose to give them. Whereas cloning is going well but taking a long time, reanimation can give us a large group of soldiers in record time and we don’t even have to find more human bodies to get it done. We simply reanimate the ones that are currently dead with a flat-level mind and the great ability to fight with super-powers that would rival those of Eric Bayne if he were here to see them.”
“Hold on,” Abel said with concern on his face, “You are talking about creating our own zombies.”
“Not exactly,” Dr. Isaiah said.
“What do you mean?” Abel said again, “It is exactly that. Take a body that has died, reanimate it like a monster with a brain and skill set of your own making; for the time we live and the virus we have witnessed, that’s a zombie Dr. Isaiah.”
Dr. Cain spoke up again, “Call it a popsicle if you want to Abel; it is a great revelation for us to be able to create an infinite number of soldiers at any time we need them.”
“I would call it a popsicle if it were one but it is not; it’s a zombie,” Abel said refusing to let it go. “We have now traveled from fighting and killing zombies, to working wit
h them and now we are creating them alongside the demons that have been behind the worst virus outbreak in the history of mankind. This makes little sense. Again, back to the question that Mr. Terry asked that was not answered, why do we need an infinite number of warriors, zombies or whatever you call them? If Bayne is gone and a supposedly traitorous Destiny is gone as well; who is left to battle?”
Dr. Cain smiled, “Organic Ascendancy has gotten to this point by being prepared Abel. You are one of the key components to us being as prepared as we have been. Knowing that we have the ability to create such an instant army without the further cost of human lives is something that will help us all sleep better. What do your spiritual communications tell you?”
“Nothing!” Abel yelled as he stood, “The moment this demon stepped into this facility, the spirits that I was able to contact grew silent.”
“Are you accusing me of something Mr. Nichols?” Bullosky asked calmly.
“I certainly am!” Abel yelled and pointed in Bullosky’s direction. “You have somehow silenced the spirits I once talked to. Now I am completely blind in my work and you did it to cover up for something. What is it you vile demonic bastard?”
Bullosky smiled and looked down as he said, “I have been accused of many things in the countless centuries I have lived Mr. Nichols. Surely you do not expect that yours is somehow more meaningful or threatening than any others. Sit down, shut up, know your place and let Dr. Isaiah finish.”
“I will not sit down!” Abel said and took two quick steps away from his chair towards the co-presidents’ side of the meeting room. “I will not sit down and you certainly will not force me to be quiet. I have something else to say about Mr. Bayne and Destiny. I think… ah!” Suddenly Abel grabbed the right side of his neck and dropped to one knee. Mere seconds after that, he fell flat out on his face and was completely unconscious. Almost everyone, including Dr. Cain and Admiral Bullosky stood and looked in his direction as Dr. Isaiah checked on him. Quickly Isaiah stood up and was holding a small dart in his hand. He and everyone else looked to the only person at the table who was not checking in on Abel; Mandy.
The Great War (Surviving the Zombie Nightmare Book 5) Page 3