Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs 1: The Never Hero
Page 39
It wasn’t a question; it was a statement of comprehension. Insight into the alien had struck Jonathan so suddenly, he just blurted out the words as they came to him. He saw so clearly now what had led Heyer and mankind to this terrible point.
Heyer took a long breath.
“My brother’s madness was too sympathetic, Jonathan. I can’t say what I would do to save man if they were going extinct. It all seems so easy, I know, but if your Mother was about to commit some atrocity, and you were given the option of stalling her in the hopes that you could find a solution, don’t you think you would have tried to save her life first?”
“I don’t know what I would do, Heyer,” Jonathan said. “I can admit that much.”
Heyer seemed to relax at this. He was plainly defensive over the life of his brother and the decisions he’d made to preserve it.
“I believe now,” Heyer said, “that it may not be my choice any longer.”
“You had a chance once didn’t you?” Jonathan asked. “You sympathized with him, and you couldn’t kill him. I spent all this time thinking that you kept me in the dark because you didn’t want the government cell knowing what you were up to. That was really only half of it though, wasn’t it? You didn’t want me to know the truth about the Ferox. You were afraid I’d hesitate, like you did. You were afraid it would get me killed.”
“It’s painful to kill the enemy you understand, to make a villain of the desperate. I feared endangering your life if I gave you any sympathy for the Ferox. It only would have made it harder to do what you inevitably must.”
They sat for a while then. Jonathan still trying to make all the pieces fit in his head, still trying to see what plan the alien could possibly have in the midst of such a complicated mess. Heyer, too, seemed caught up in his own thoughts. When they both seemed ready, Jonathan asked the question.
“Heyer,” he said, “you said you had a plan. Please tell me there is a light at the end of this tunnel.”
The alien nodded.
“I activated you, Jonathan. I have had your name in the registry of compatible subjects for years. You could be the strongest combatant they’ve ever faced,” Heyer said, “but physical reasons aside; strength alone does not make a General.”
“What?” Jonathan asked.
“Many die in their first confrontation with the Ferox,” Heyer said. “But some are like you, Jonathan. They refuse to lie down. I have been activating those amongst mankind with the higher compatibilities to their devices. The most likely to win. I have been increasing their numbers slowly as to not raise the Ferox loss rate too noticeably. I have done this, because a war will soon be upon us. If we wish to contain it, we will need an army. That army will need a leader. That leader will have to be human.”
“You want me to lead an army?” Jonathan asked, “I don’t know the first thing about leading.”
“I activated you now to give you the time to become the man we’ll need you to be,” Heyer said. “I told you I did my best to follow my moral compass, but I can’t shoulder this alone. I need a voice from your species. I need someone who knows what we are up against and understands what will be required to stop extermination. I need someone who can tell me when I’ve lost my way. I chose you to be my compass, because I know you will not abandon mankind to fate, not at any cost.”
Jonathan felt sick.
He found his legs wouldn’t hold him. He sat on the bench, afraid to hear anything more the alien had to say.
“There must be someone else, there must be someone who wants this, someone experienced in war. I’ve never led anyone; I’m twenty-two…” Jonathan trailed off. The number of reasons the alien had to be wrong about this decision were too numerous to bother listing.
Heyer nodded at Jonathan’s reasoning.
“I have not voted in a human presidential election for quite some time, Jonathan. Admittedly, it may not be my place. Still, do you know what really stops me from selecting a candidate?”
Jonathan listened but mostly focused on containing his nausea.
“It’s a paradox, I know. It just seems that anyone smart enough to know the responsibility of such a seat of power would never be dumb enough to apply for it. I only trust a man with power when he is wise enough not to want it.”
Jonathan felt like climbing into himself.
“Dams the Gate,” Jonathan whispered, “that was the name the Ferox gave. Seems like more than a name now, seems like a sick joke.”
Heyer became so silent then. Jonathan, looking up to him, thought perhaps he, too, needed to sit down. Instead, the alien seemed to be blinking at him like he was in shock, like he had just been hit with a tranquilizer dart and wasn’t quite sure what was happening.
“Jonathan, are you absolutely sure that was the name the Ferox gave?” Heyer asked.
“I’ll never forget that name,” Jonathan said.
Heyer stepped forward, still seemingly caught up in his own thoughts, and placed a hand on Jonathan’s shoulder.
“I think we’ve discussed enough tonight, Jonathan,” Heyer said. “I have to go. I will see you again, once you’ve had enough time to process all this. Stay diligent in your training.”
“Heyer, why are you—”
The alien was gone before he finished.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2005 | 8:00 PM
HOURS had passed in the garage before Jonathan had come to grips with enough of what he had been told to walk into the house. Until then, he’d just sat, thinking over every revelation, clinging to the small threads of hope the alien seemed to have. He was more afraid of the future than he’d ever been.
When he finally rose to his feet and walked into the living room, he was surprised to find that everyone was home. Collin and Paige sat at the table. Collin looked cheerful; he was studying of all things, which was odd. Hayden was on the couch, Leah and Jack beside him, he was watching Star Wars again. Jack waved when he entered. He hadn’t expected his neighbors to just be hanging out in his home, but Leah and Paige were friends, so it was probably to be expected now. He was just glad she was there.
How Jonathan was to behave around her was unclear. That such a worry could even enter his consciousness, given what he now knew, was absurd to him. How could his mind so obviously prioritize the wrong concerns? As everyone was present, and Jack right beside her, it didn’t seem like a question he needed to feel out just then, so he sat down on the couch. Just close enough to Leah as to betray no meaning. He liked the idea of watching a movie now. He’d done enough heavy lifting with his brain for the day.
“Jack’s never seen Star Wars,” Leah said as Jonathan sat. “Hayden couldn’t let this be.”
Jonathan nodded. This, of course, made perfect sense.
“Hayden?” Jack asked. “How many times have you seen this?”
“I don’t know, kid,” Hayden said. “Probably fifty.”
“Wow,” Jack said, “and you never get sick of it?”
Hayden shrugged.
“Just one of those things,” Hayden said. “Every time I watch it, I get giddy with the same feeling I had the first time. I can’t help wishing a wise old man would show up and train me to use the super powers I never knew I had.”
A groan escaped Jonathan’s lips. He hadn’t expected it, or to sound like he found what Hayden said so silly as to be offensive.
“Oh yeah, Tibbs?” Hayden asked, wanting an explanation for the response he’d gotten.
It was Jonathan’s turn to shrug.
“Any old man ever shows up and offers to train me to use super powers, I’d assume he wants me to fight a war he can’t fight for himself.” Jonathan said. “Sometimes wanting something is better than having it.”
Hayden looked like he was going to argue, launch into a long-winded rant. Instead, he seemed to get lost thinking about it.
“Might have a point,” he said.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2005 | 8:00 PM
SHE blazed down the freeway, the lights of the city fading behind her as she turned onto Interstate 280. She poured on the throttle dangerously, pulling herself down tight around the sports bike to cut the air.
Rylee, now committed to leaving, was making a conscious effort not to look in the rear view, not to even let the thought gain ground in her mind. The more distance she put between herself and Manhattan, the less likely she was to turn back when her resolve wavered.
She had little on her, just her gear and what she’d crammed into the knapsack strapped to her back. She wasn’t leaving behind anything she couldn’t replace. All she needed was the bike and her stuffed bank account. They gave her the freedom to go where she pleased, the freedom to run.
She’d planned it for weeks now. She didn’t know if he could track her. Maybe it didn’t matter where she was. Maybe he could find her anywhere. She wasn’t letting herself worry about the consequences of rebellion. The chance had to outweigh the repercussions. To Rylee, what mattered was that she was doing something, anything, to take matters into her own hands, to control what she could.
If he wanted her, he was going to have to chase her down. If he didn’t like what she was up to, he would have to find a way to stop her. She had no idea how far he might take it. She supposed it would depend on how much it interfered with his schemes, but Rylee didn’t believe he would kill her. He seemed to need her too much.
Seattle.
It had to be a city on the other side of the damn continent, but she knew it was the place to start. There was something important there, something he was trying to protect, something she could leverage.
She needed to know what that man valued. If she could take it away, she might be able to take her life back.
Dear Reader
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COMING SOON FROM T. ELLERY HODGES
The working title of The Never Hero sequel is: The Never Trespass (due out in 2015).
Also in production for 2015: Rolly - The Broken Mind Sagas
Rolly awoke in the days after the grid went down. Until then, she'd spent her entire existence locked up in a padded room within the mind of Molly. It has been three years since Molly went to sleep, and Rolly has kept their body alive, surviving in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. Now, something has brought Molly back to the surface. She intends to use Rolly as a weapon, but the girl who has been sleeping through the worst period in human history has a conscience, and its liable to get them both killed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
T. Ellery Hodges lives with his wife and son in Seattle, Washington. He is currently hard at work on the sequel to The Never Hero. If you’d like to know more about T.Ellery, visit his blog at: www.telleryhodges.com or find him on twitter @telleryhodges. Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook!