“You can excuse me from my classes?” Bark was astonished; he did not believe anyone had that ability.
Toshi smiled confidently. “Oh, the staff listens to me. They know better than to argue.”
Bark looked at his arms and legs, and then at his sensei. “Do I look any different?’’
Toshi shook her head. “Not that I can tell, and I do pride myself on observation.”
Bark sat up a little more and stretched his arms over his head. “I had a nightmare. I was a wolf. My body had changed into a horrible monster. I killed everyone. I even killed Snow.” He got lost in the memory of that terrible dream. “I can almost still smell the blood. Oh, God, how could I have killed her?” He was starting to panic.
Toshi took him by the shoulders and forced him to look into her eyes. “Inu-chan, calm down. You haven't killed anyone, and I don't believe you're turning into a wolf, or even more of a dog. You're more human than you want to believe. Only a man with a true, human heart would worry about harming others.”
“I’m so scared, Sensei.” There was real fear in his eyes.
Toshi let out a sigh and shook her head. “Come with me. We will go see Dr. Stone again and he will tell you that you are fine.”
Bark did not argue. He was afraid of seeing the doctor, but he had to listen to this. He had to know if he was still mutating.
“Dr. Ogle, have you finished analyzing that data?”
Dr. Ogle nodded. “Take the card from my box. You can plug that into the computer and see what I came up with.” His eyes looked over to a small slot on the side of his box. It opened and pushed out a small data card that held the information he had analyzed.
“I can see some benefits to that head box thing. You can process data like a computer.”
Dr. Ogle shook his head. “The box may have a valuable connection with my head and brain, but it’s not as good as you might think.”
Dr. Stone plugged the card into the computer and watched the data come onto the screen. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t stay in here forever. If I don’t get a body soon, I'll die.”
“But, why would you do that?”
William laughed. “I hadn't planned on losing control of my body. This was only temporary. Now, unless they can get my body back, I may be looking at my end.”
Josiah sternly shook his head. “No, I won’t allow it. I'll help you fix this.”
"I hope you can. I seem to have run out of options.” He wanted to change the subject, so he said, “What do you think of the results?”
Josiah looked at the screen. There in front of him were several digital representations of DNA strands and biological cells. The doctor rubbed his chin. “It doesn’t look good. But, I also don’t see what I feared.”
“I know. The cellular alterations are very good. Whoever designed this mutation process was a genius.” Ogle looked at the screen, seeing his thoughts literally translated into specs.
“I wish I had had the opportunity to study the laboratory where Bark was mutated. See the raw data, machinery used, and experiments. I’m sure it was a horrible laboratory run by a maniac, but his work is impressive none the less.”
Dr. Ogle nodded, “I don’t think I’ve seen work this well designed outside of my own genetic experimentation. Fortunately, I only worked with theoretical data and simple specimens, not living beings, certainly not anyone against their will.”
Dr. Stone was about to say something when the door to his infirmary opened. Toshi and Bark came in. Toshi appeared calm and collected as always, but Bark looked like a puppy being brought in for his shots. The doctor approached Bark with a professional smile. “Bark, what a coincidence. We were just looking at some data for you.”
Bark was breathing shallowly. He gulped and asked in a dry voice, “Am I going to be okay?”
Toshi walked him around to a table and made him sit on it. “I will go and get you a glass of water. You listen to the doctor.”
Josiah retained that doctor’s smile, the one where it’s obvious that he was trying to soften a pretty harsh blow. “Bark, your body is undergoing some mutations. We have found new levels of alterations to your DNA that weren’t there the last time I checked.”
Bark frowned and slightly whimpered. Since he only wore a pair of briefs, it was quite apparent that he was shaking. “Am I going to lose my mind?” He looked like he was about to cry.
Josiah continued to smile. “Son, listen to me. The changes are not that drastic yet, and it is very likely that they won’t get that far. Right now, all we can find are minor changes to the mutations that make you stronger and more resistant to energy weapons.”
Dr. Ogle spoke up. “The dog attributes could easily be just a minor side effect of being hit by the ray. They will most likely be temporary. And even if they do stay, they probably won’t get worse.” He was not used to dealing with patients.
Bark sort of flashed a snarl in Dr. Ogle’s direction and harshly stated, “No thanks to you.”
Dr. Ogle was just about to reply, but he saw Dr. Stone’s hand held up. Josiah looked back at the other doctor. “Let me, please.”
“Sorry, just trying to help.”
Josiah returned to his frightened patient. “Bark, we don’t know enough yet. Let me take a few more samples and run some more tests.”
“Can you tell me anything good,” Bark asked quietly.
Dr. Ogle piped in, “We found extremely high levels of adrenaline, melatonin, and dopamine in your system. It is quite possible that these chemicals are playing a role in your attitude changes.”
Bark did not see the good in that statement. “Doesn’t that mean that my body is changing to be even more animalistic?”
“No,” Dr. Stone replied, then corrected himself. “Well, not entirely. We aren’t sure the cause of these increases.”
Dr. Ogle piped in again with a humorous tone, “Maybe it’s like some kind of puberty. You aren’t really human.”
Bark growled at William and shouted, “I don’t need to hear jokes from you!”
Josiah stepped in between Bark and William. “Hey, calm down.”
“I'm sorry. I guess I'm feeling a little angry about this. I know that it wasn’t your fault, Dr. Ogle.”
Dr. Ogle let out a sigh. “I know that you are harboring anger toward me and my work, but please understand that I never meant to hurt you or anyone. That suit of armor was supposed to save lives.”
Bark snarled, “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I really want to tear the arms off of that thing you created. It might make me feel better.”
Dr. Ogle smiled. “I know. I spent a lot of years wanting to find the man who crippled me and make him pay. But, let me tell you something, hurting the armored body won’t make you feel better. In fact, it might make you feel worse.”
Bark sighed slowly. “I just wish there was some good news right about now.”
Josiah grinned and worked hard to find something to say. “Well, at least the mutations aren’t as bad as I expected.” As if that was good news.
“What mutations? What is going on here?” Snow stood in the doorway, her eyes wide and her arms still folded.
Bark looked up, the fear in his eyes turned to dire panic. “Snow.”
She walked over and looked at him. “Bark, what's wrong? What are you hiding from me? I deserve to know.”
Josiah cleared his throat. “Ms. Snow, what are you doing here?”
Snow looked at the doctor without any respect for his authority right now, for he was part of the conspiracy to keep vital information about Bark from her. “I came in for a stomach aid. After Bark ran out on our date last night, I haven’t felt good.”
Bark cast his eyes away from her and slumped his shoulders. “I'm sorry.”
She came over to him and took his hand. “Bark, I need to know what's wrong. I'm not just a friend. I love you. I want to know that you're okay, or if you need any help.
”
Toshi came in with the glass of water. “Oh, Ms. Snow. When did you come in?”
Snow looked at Toshi with the same expression she gave Josiah. “I just arrived. And I want some answers.”
Toshi handed Bark the glass of water and smiled at him. “I think she's right. Give her answers. Remember, Inu-chan, when we are with someone we love, we help them when they hurt. That is her responsibility and right.”
Bark let out a shaky sigh and then decided to oblige. He nodded at Josiah. “You can tell her. She deserves to know.”
Toshi, Snow, and Bark all looked at Josiah. He cleared his throat and then stood aside to show them the data simulations on the computer screen. “It seems that Bark’s DNA has undergone some mutations due to exposure to the same radiation used to initiate the mutations that first changed him.”
Snow took Bark’s free hand. “Is he going to be alright?”
Josiah did not want to say this – no doctor does – but he had to be honest. “I don’t know. We still have tests to run.”
Everyone frowned at the sound of loud lapping of water. They looked back at Bark and found him face-down in the glass using his tongue to lap up the water. He stopped and looked up, having only just realized what he was doing. He lifted his wet muzzle, closed his eyes, and said to Snow, “I'm sorry. I can't seem to control the dog in me sometimes.”
Snow held his hand up against her chest. “Please, don’t face this alone. I love you. That means more than anything in this universe.”
“Aww,” William stated at the romantic scene. After everyone shot him a confused look, he said, “Sorry. Go on.”
“I don’t know what to do.” Bark set the glass of water down and let go of her hand.
Josiah used a hypo-syringe for more blood. “That's where I come in. Leave it to me.” He reached around and pressed it up against Bark’s arm. After he finished, he returned to the diagnostic station and put in the vial. “Have a little faith Bark, you have two of the smartest geneticists on earth working on this. We will find a solution.”
Dr. Ogle smiled at the compliment. “Thanks. I'll do whatever I can to help you, Mr. Bark.”
Bark cleared his throat, closed his eyes, and pushed down the seething anger boiling in him toward doctor Ogle and his suit of armor. With a nod, he accepted.
Just then, the infirmary doors opened and Spark came in, battered and bruised, with Solstice in his arms. She was out cold, and her uniform was severely blackened.
“Spark, what happened,” Josiah asked.
He walked over and laid Solstice on one of the emergency care beds. “We failed.”
Chapter 10: Losing the Battle
“Her injuries aren’t fatal. She'll survive,” Dr. Stone reported to The General.
The General, Dr. Stone, Dr. Ogle, Spark, Snow, and Bark were all in the infirmary, The General having just arrived after the first news reports broke.
The General closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Thank you, Doctor. Now, Spark, care to explain what happened?”
Spark was leaning over the bed with Solstice, he grimly explained. “We thought we had it. The mission went exactly as planned. Our robot shot the body, and it went down. All we had to do was retrieve the body and bring it back. That's where it got crazy.”
Earlier:
“Okay, you take it by the arms. Spark, let’s each grab a leg,” Solstice commanded both the bot and Spark as they approached the body.
Solstice was the first one there, and the first to see that the arm was moving. She jumped back, but not quick enough. The body lifted its arm quickly and shot the center of her chest with a blast of green energy. Solstice was sent tumbling across the field in almost the same fashion as the body had been brought down.
“SOLSTICE!” Spark burst out at top speed to get between her and the now-standing body.
The body got to its feet and turned towards them. The speaker on it announced, “I'm Ichabod the Destroyer: Dr. Ogle’s masterpiece of destruction. This town will fall to my power.” It lifted its arm and shot a blast at Spark, which of course was dodged in a flash.
Spark dashed off at the body and intended to grab the arm and release a massive jolt of electricity. He saw the arm and reached out for it but, with incredible speed, the arm moved away and the body caught him off guard. It jutted out a foot and tripped Spark in a childish but effective fashion. Spark was sent tumbling over and over past the bot.
“STAND DOWN!” The security bot sprung right into action. It lifted its arm and trained its energy weapon on the body. It did not compute the fact that this energy weapon was not the normal laser attached to it, and it wouldn’t have any effect on the body.
“Oh shut up, you stupid automaton.” The body ran right at the bot, clotheslining it one direction and, just before the bot fell backwards, it came back and hit it again coming the other direction. The bot fell face first into the ground, two enormous dents on its surface.
Spark got back to his feet and took in a great breath. He concentrated to charge himself up to maximum power. The more energy he could generate, the faster he could move. The armored body turned to train its own arm lasers on Spark when, suddenly, Spark rushed right at him. He moved so fast that all he appeared to be was a yellowish blur. Spark got it by the arm and spun around and around with it, using centrifugal force to lift it off the ground. With a sudden stop, he threw it clear past the field and into the stadium seats. It crashed through the seats, through the concrete, and into the women’s bathroom.
Happy with his success, Spark returned to Solstice and knelt down to her. She was coming around. “Oh, my head. What happened?”
Spark grunted in frustration. “I don’t think we succeeded. It seems to have a mind of its own.”
Solstice took his hand and got back to her feet. Her uniform was torn, and she was a mess, but that mattered very little right now. “Looks like we're going to have to destroy it. Where is it?”
“I threw it pretty hard, it is….COMING!!” The body burst up through the seats near the hole it had previously made. It was flying right at them.
“INCOMING DANGER!” The security bot stood back up.
"No kidding.” Spark replied.
Solstice glared at the body and stood her ground. She held up both hands and focused the sunlight that was feeding into her. With a clear shot, she created a solar beam that sent the flying armored body out of control, crashing through the far goal post, and once again slamming into the seats. This time, it did not break through the ground, but it was dealt a pretty hard blow.
Spark’s eyes widened. “Wow, now that was a blast.”
She wasn’t one to brag, but she did enjoy this. “When I get a good, clear shot, I can do real damage.”
Spark frowned as he looked at the far end of the stadium. “Did we get it?”
“DANGER, ACTIVE WEAPONS,” the bot announced, its sensors at work.
“I guess not. Here it comes,” Solstice called out. The body lifted up from the stadium and flew right at them.
“You foolish people. I cannot be destroyed. I am Ichabod,” it announced in a strangely egotistical tone.
Solstice stood her ground and glared at it. “You're under arrest for the willful damage of public property, the endangerment and deaths of civilians, and –”
“HA! Stupid girl, I've barely begun. When I'm done, this whole town will be nothing but ruins. Starting with this stadium.” The body lifted both arms and sprayed the stadium with energy blasts.
“ENOUGH!” Solstice had heard and seen plenty from this thing. She released another blast of solar energy, only this time it missed its target. The body was much too fast for her.
The body dodged blast after blast with unimaginable speed. She was doing terrible damage to the stadium as she attempted to take the body out. It got Solstice with one blow, and then another, much like it had done to the security bot. Only Solstice did not dent; she went down. The body hovered over her
to deliver the final blast that would leave her with a sizeable hole in the chest.
Spark darted across the ground with his knees slightly bent. With an colossal leap, he shot into the air and used his momentum to shove the body away from its target. It tumbled through the air while Spark landed perfectly. He dashed back to Solstice and checked her. She was still alive, but unable to move on her own. “Come on, we can’t defeat this thing alone.” He scooped her up in his arms and ran with her.
“YOU WON’T GET AWAY THAT EASILY,” Ichabod shot at them with huge energy beams that broke the ground and made the field sink into the basements below. Spark dodged blast after blast. His intention was to get back to the shuttle.
“SECURITY BOT, DEFEND US!” Spark commanded knowing the bot was his only hope.
The security bot adjusted its parameters to combat the device and the jets in its feet lifted it into the sky. “DESIST, VILLAIN,” the bot announced, flying right at Ichabod.
Ichabod did not see it coming and was hit midsection by the bot, both flying through the air. Ichabod punched, shot, and kicked the bot, and the bot returned the fight in kind. Both crashed into seats and walls. Ichabod’s energy weapons blasted more and more of Neyland Stadium. The roof started to break, the concrete levels of seats cracked and crumbled, and the field below collapsed under the strain. The bot would not survive this battle long, but it was successfully distracting Ichabod.
Spark placed Solstice on the floor of the shuttle and jumped into the pilot’s seat. They had to lift off soon or the ground beneath them was going to give way. He prayed that their shielding would protect them; if not, this was going to be a short trip. The shuttle’s primary jets got it airborne just as the ground broke below them. They went up, and the stadium sank into rubble.
“Computer, alert status one. Scan for any pursuant enemies,” Spark ordered.
The computer announced, “Enemies on radar. No pursuit pattern detected.”
“Good, the shields are disguising us from its sensors still.” Spark programmed in the navigation to take them back to the UCH. “Computer, alert the police, state troopers, and national guard in and around Knoxville, Tennessee that there is a Class 10 enemy within the city limits.”
Descent Into Madness Page 9