by Ahadi, Kion
“Don’t be scared son, we will be ok now,” Peter whispered.
“I’m not scared,” I replied and that was the truth, I was just glad to avoid or delay any potential violence. The minutes passed in silence as we carried on driving across the forest road – no one sure how to start the next conversation. We eventually reached Lone Pine Canyon Road and followed it till we could take Interstate 15 north towards Barstow. We passed through the small town of Victorville. It was after 2 a.m. and the roads were quiet and deserted. I was glad to be driving with the benefit of streetlights again. There was still no sign of the car that had been following us earlier.
“Neither of you seem that frightened by what we witnessed,” Nadia said breaking the long silence.
“Nadia, I was in the armed forces for over half my life, I know the government has been covering up information about extraterrestrial visits for over half a century, if not longer. They have secret deals at the highest levels with the visitors. Some type of agreement to get more advanced technology for which they have allowed these aliens to have bases here. They have even given them permission to experiment on people!” Peter made the final remark with obvious disapproval.
“We have some close friends who have told us in confidence that they were abducted and medically experimented on,” said Mary.
“Given the size of the universe it is only natural that there would be life elsewhere,” Peter added. I was impressed by Nadia’s grandparents. They were very rational about the whole subject.
“This belief and knowledge they already have makes life so much easier, and gives us less to explain when we reach Sedona,” Nadia sent me her thought.
***
Vlad sat down opposite Paymon. The cafe they were in was practically empty. The two men had become close friends during the last few weeks. They regularly met for lunch and discussed work and family. Making himself comfortable Vlad picked up his mug of tea and took a sip.
“So my friend, what is on your mind?” he said feeling refreshed.
Paymon was obviously agitated about something.
“It’s the job Mr Aleintchev has me doing, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever had to manage before. We have spent most of this week drilling a deep network of tunnels under his land. Today we will link it to what seems to be an ancient catacomb beneath his mansion,” Paymon said trying to look sincere.
“You are getting well paid for it so what’s the problem? Aleintchev is a mysterious man, but he must have some important use for what you are doing. Now what is really bothering you?” Vlad replied. He was perceptive enough to know there was more going on.
Paymon sighed. Vlad was a sharp man and someone he had grown to respect. If he had to share his thoughts with someone there was no one better.
“Well Mr Aleintchev sent me a gift last night, two attractive young women to be precise. I think you know what I mean!” Paymon said not really wanting to elaborate. He waited for a reaction.
Vlad looked unfazed, “I take it you refused?”
“Of course! What do you take me for?” Paymon said raising his voice at what he saw as an insult.
“Then forget about it. Aleintchev is a rich bachelor, and not necessarily a moral one. He is used to buying anything and anyone he wants. He enjoys over-indulging. He thinks everyone is like him.”
Paymon relaxed. The simplicity of Vlad’s view was cathartic. He was right, why was he so distraught? He was reading into things too much. It was just a kind gesture by someone with a different set of values.
“Should I tell Megan?” Paymon asked.
Vlad considered his words, “Honesty is always a good policy, but you know how women can react. Nothing happened so there is nothing to really say.”
“Do you think Aleintchev will be offended?” Paymon added getting his last concern out in the open.
Vlad grinned, “No I doubt it, he will now realise the depth of your commitment to your family. There is nothing wrong with that is there?”
“I guess not.”
***
We had passed Barstow and joined Interstate 40 which would take us to Sedona. We were nearing the Mojave National
Preserve when in the distance I could see there was another vehicle ahead of us on the road. We seemed to be gaining on it very quickly and as we got closer it became obvious that it was completely stationary in the middle of the freeway. I had to break sharply to avoid crashing into the back of it. We stopped with a jolt. As far as I could tell the car was empty but its lights had all been left on. Further up the road there was a long stream of vehicles that also looked like they had been abandoned. I switched off the car engine and headlights.
“This doesn’t look good. I will get out and investigate everyone else remains in the car,” I said to the others. Nadia nodded, her grandparents seemed too exhausted to argue.
I stepped out into the night air poised for anything. There were around twenty abandoned cars on the road. I examined the first one. The door was unlocked and it was empty. In the distance about three hundred metres away from my current position was some sort of roadblock. I crouched down and, using the cars as cover, made my way up the road for a closer look. About three cars from the roadblock I could see more clearly. Several large trucks were parked on the opposite side of the blockade. Then I noticed people moving about near the trucks. There was a group of five soldiers all with guns. These weapons were pointed at another group of people, all men. They were civilians as far as I could make out. The men were being loaded into the back of one of the trucks.
“CYRUS – the car that was following us earlier has just pulled up behind us,” Nadia’s thought invaded my mind.
“Stay in the car I am on my way,” was my telepathic reply.
I moved briskly back towards the SUV. I crouched low like a stalking tiger. I quickly assessed the situation: two smartly dressed men were walking towards our car, both had handguns ready. I knew these were not real men but synthetic humans. They were grown by the Ari-an in chambers beneath the earth, they had no soul energy. Operating like organic machines they were programmed to follow orders without question. Possessing human bodies they were not very powerful, unlike the android Nergal. I knew I could disable these two men easily even though they had guns. I only feared for the safety of Nadia and her grandparents. I picked up a solid stone from the ground. One of the men walked towards the driver’s side of the SUV, while the other approached the passenger end.
“Nadia tell everyone to crouch under their seats now,” I sent my mental message.
“Ok Cyrus done,” was Nadia’s response.
In a lightning movement I sprang up from behind the car and threw the stone at the head of the armed man walking up to the passenger side of the car. It struck the side of his temple with such accuracy and ferocity he didn’t even make a noise as he fell senseless onto the tarmac. His companion was so focused on the potential occupants of the SUV he did not even have time to turn as I charged him from my hiding place. Before he could register surprise I had him on the ground, disarmed. A powerful blow to his face knocked him unconscious. As I picked up his gun, the car they had emerged from screeched into life. The driver who I had not been aware of or factored into my attack strategy sped towards me. My supernatural speed saved me from significant injury as I hurled myself onto the bonnet before being run over. I managed to grip a windscreen wiper as we raced towards the blockade. Quickly gaining my balance and composure I took aim and shot the driver through the windscreen, killing him instantly. The car came to an abrupt halt. The soldiers were alerted to the commotion. Moving with urgency I jumped off the bonnet and opened the driver’s door of the car. I grabbed my dead assailant and tossed him outside. I dived into the driver’s seat just as bullets started whistling past. The soldiers had opened fire.
“CYRUS ARE YOU OK?” Nadia’s message exploded into my mind.
“YES make sure you all stay hidden!”
As I peeked above the steering wheel two more gunshots fired, pene
trating and rupturing the windscreen. I could discern three soldiers hiding behind the road barrier and using it as cover to take shots at me. I pressed my foot down on the accelerator and decided to ram the roadblock. The car built up speed quickly and in a matter of seconds I came crashing through the makeshift road barrier. A scream notified me that I had hit one of the soldiers on the way through. I rolled out of the car as it smashed into the back of one of the parked trucks, the impact moving the far heavier vehicle slightly forward. The other truck zoomed off up the freeway. The surviving two soldiers who had been behind the blockade were running towards the truck I had crashed into. Before they could reach it I fired my gun. I shot the first man in the back of the head, and the other was wounded in the leg as he tried to climb up to open the cabin door of the truck.
I ran up to the wounded soldier. He was in agony, holding his heavily bleeding leg. He had dropped his gun in the commotion. I stood over him, adrenaline and rage pumping through my body. I stepped on his injured leg and pushed down on the open wound.
“Who are you, what do you want?” he spurted through tears of pain.
“I want to wipe you from the face of this earth,” I said with hatred welling from every pore of my body. I put more pressure on the wounded leg. The soldier groaned trying desperately to push my foot off. I smiled at his pathetic attempts to defend himself. I wanted to tear him apart. My body swelled with enormous energy. The man at my feet became small, so insignificant, I should crush him.
“Stop it Cyrus,” said Nadia’s sweet voice. I turned around leaving my hapless victim writhing in pain on the ground. Nadia was standing beside the SUV looking at me, a hint of sadness on her beautiful face which sparkled like a diamond. Peter and Mary got out the car and gawped at the carnage around them and then their weary eyes rested on me.
“I thought I told you to stay put!” I barked angrily at Nadia. She had driven up the road without my permission. The fact that she had risked her safety made me insane with anger.
“Steady on, we were worried about you,” Peter said walking to stand near Nadia defensively.
“Do I look like I need help?” I asked sarcastically. I turned and viciously kicked the moaning solider in the face knocking him out cold. I glanced back at Peter; he was looking nervous and uncertain. I couldn’t help feeling fired up and confrontational, I was brimming with raw energy from the passion of battle. A banging noise coming from the back of the truck caught my attention.
“Please get back into the SUV,” I said sternly to Nadia and her grandparents. I waited for them to comply with my request. Once they were safely in the car I walked over to the truck, the type used for the haulage of cargo over long distances. The side of the attached trailer was where the banging noise was coming from. The car I had crashed into the truck was trapped under the carriage of the trailer. I climbed onto the car using it to reach the door handle to the trailer. I yanked the handle and pulled open one of the heavy metal doors. Light streamed into the gloomy interior from a nearby streetlamp. I could see hesitant movement inside at the far end of the trailer.
I opened both the trailer doors and jumped back down off the car. Slowly men emerged from the back of the trailer; one by one they jumped onto the road in front of me, fifteen in total. They were visibly shaken as they took in the scenes of the fierce fracas.
One man in his fifties with brown hair spoke, “Where is the other truck? My wife was put in the other truck.” A few others started asking similar questions.
“It left that way,” I pointed in the direction the vehicle had gone. “What happened to you?”
“We were told we had to go to Mojave National Preserve to be decontaminated because of a virus outbreak,” one man said. Others had been told the same thing. They had all been driving along the freeway only to be detained at the roadblock.
“There is no virus outbreak, you were conned. Get back in your cars and leave here. I suggest you do not head back to the coast!” I shouted over the symphony of voices and questions being bombarded at me.
“How can I leave without my wife?” the same man with brown hair demanded.
“Who are you to tell us what to do, why should we believe you?” another protested. The men were beginning to get rowdy. I tensed for action.
“Because he is telling you the truth,” Nadia said her voice resonating with authority. The men fell silent. Nadia came and stood next to me. She had ignored my instructions again!
“These soldiers, if that is what they really are, meant you all harm. Those of you who have lost a loved one stay. The rest of you go back to your vehicles and leave.” Nadia’s calm power subdued everyone. They obeyed her words like repentant children. Eleven men left quietly, four remained.
For the first time I carefully studied the faces of the men left before us. Their expressions were anxious and weary. They had unexpectedly been torn from their nearest and dearest. The collective worry they exuded troubled my conscience. I stepped backwards, ashamed of my prior nonchalance. I knew a dreadful fate would befall their loved ones underground. I needed to help these people.
“I will take you to find those taken from you, we will get them back,” I said suddenly and confidently. The atmosphere shifted and surprised faces regarded me animated with a renewed optimism.
I took Nadia’s hands in mine. “Take your grandparents to Sedona, I will catch up with you after I have helped these men,” I whispered and then gently kissed her lips. I looked deeply in Nadia’s eyes which shone with a powerful love, energising me. We both knew my safe return was not a guarantee. “Go now,” I murmured. She slowly released her hands from mine and then turned and went back to the SUV.
Nadia entered the car.
“Is Cyrus not coming?” Peter asked.
“No. He will help those men, he will join us later,” Nadia said, covering up her sadness.
“Will he be ok?” Mary asked in a concerned voice.
“He’ll be fine,” Nadia answered, trying to sound convincing. Unlike her, Mary didn’t know the full extent of the danger Cyrus would face in the rescue attempt.
“We should at least say goodbye properly,” Mary said still feeling worried.
“I am sorry Grandmother. There is no time, your well-being is the most important thing,” Nadia replied, starting the car. Mary waved Cyrus farewell, reluctantly accepting that was the only goodbye she would be permitted.
“Why are you crying?” Peter probed as they pulled away from the remains of the roadblock.
“I miss Cyrus already,” Nadia answered, her voice listless.
“I am sure he will find his way back to us. I don’t know where he gained those skills, but he is a formidable warrior,” Peter added with a tinge of admiration.
“Try to sleep. We still have some way to travel,” Nadia requested.
“Ok dear,” Peter said squeezing her hand affectionately, before closing his eyes.
At least Cyrus was beginning to behave in a way which reflected his transforming energy, Nadia thought. She held on to this thought as she drove. It helped her feel less melancholy.
***
“Search the area, bring any guns and communication devices you find back here,” I told the men. I walked over to the truck cabin and searched it; the only useful things I found were a first aid kit and some bottled water. I walked back to the soldier with the wounded leg. I cleaned and bandaged it and revived him with some water. He was delirious when he regained full consciousness.
“You will lead us to where you were going to take these people or I can leave you here to die like a dog,” I said as I kneeled over him.
He stared up at me through hazy eyes, “I will guide you,” he mumbled.
“What is your name?”
“Eric.”
The men returned, they had retrieved some handguns, a machine gun, mobile phones and a few handheld transceivers. One of the men had a van, which could seat us all in comfortably including the wounded soldier. In total six women were missing. One of the
men had been travelling with his wife and two teenage daughters, two men had been with their girlfriends, while the last man had lost his sister. We also knew that at least three other women who may have been travelling alone were missing, as that was the number of abandoned cars unaccounted for beyond the roadblock. It was 3.30 a.m. now and still dim. The men waited for me in the van. My eyes scanned the scene of the roadblock one final time. Something just didn’t seem right. I tried to dismiss the peculiar feeling as I got behind the wheel of the vehicle and, after a momentary glance at the wounded soldier in the seat next to me, I set off after the truck.
***
Nergal took the holographic viewer away from his black eyes. He had been intently watching the conflict unfold at the roadblock. He had been appalled by the simple emasculation of his minions, but enthralled by the eventual outcome of the dispute. His initial instructions to his agents had been to abduct Cyrus’s companions. They had been staking out the house for days. The plan was to take the grandparents at the airport and contact Cyrus with details of where he would have to go to secure their safe return. The objective was to draw Cyrus underground for Nergal’s nefarious purposes. The sudden late-night journey had caught the agents off guard and in the panic not to lose the targets, their cover had been blown. Nergal had been contacted and informed. There had been limited time to devise a new strategy so he ordered a roadblock to be set up as a contingency plan. A group of soldiers working at Mojave National Preserve had been despatched to intercept anyone travelling on Interstate 40, the one Cyrus was using. The order was to detain all travellers to make it seem as inconspicuous as possible, and transport them to the underground base. When Cyrus had left the car to investigate the roadblock, Nergal watching on the viewer, had ordered his pursuing agents to pounce from behind. How had Cyrus been able to predict their movements, Nergal wondered? He had not expected Cyrus to return so promptly and fight so successfully before his men had been able to secure the hostages. The speed with which Cyrus had disposed of his unit had been both terrible and thrilling to behold. The soldiers had also stood no chance. Nergal had already ordered another team from Edwards Airforce Base to go to the roadblock. They would not get there in time to stop Cyrus, but at least they would dispose of the bodies and cars. The Ari-an were well versed in covering their tracks.