by K. T. Tomb
“I’m curious, Ellisia. How are the lights still operational? I thought all of the power was taken care of with the computer virus.”
Ellisia looked up at the closest light.
“It’s an emergency power system activated only when the main power is cut off.”
“So, that means there is a possibility that the main power can be restored through the emergency power generator?” Sulina asked, as if she already knew the answer.
“I’m not sure,” Ellisia replied. “I never received my complete training on that aspect of the facility. I’m sure if there is some source of power that there would be a way to tap into it. The only problem with that is the emergency power grid isn’t set up to provide power to the entire complex. It would burn out before you had a chance to power up the entire grid.”
Sulina turned her attention away from the door for a moment.
“Would you be able to find that emergency power source, Ellisia?”
Ellisia smiled.
“I know exactly where it is. I suppose you want me to find it and try to restore power to the control center. If I do that, you still won’t be able to do anything from the control center. Everything else takes power of its own.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Sulina said as she sneered. “You work on that and Morina and my minions will work on getting us to the fourth floor.”
Ellisia looked concerned.
“I won’t be able to contact you if I’m able to switch the power. None of the emergency lights will be functioning either.”
Sulina smiled as she placed a reassuring hand on her newly-formed Fallen’s shoulder.
“Come to the control center whether you succeed or not. The emergency lights not functioning will be exactly how we will know if you’ve succeeded. How many metal doors do you have to power yourself through?”
Ellisia counted silently. “Only two.”
“Then get started,” Sulina urged. “The rest of us have to make our way to the control center. That’s the last known whereabouts of my dear sister. I want to make sure that the lack of oxygen in her giant metal tomb was more than enough to finish her for good.”
Ellisia started on her mission, as two of the others started to work on opening the door to the stairwell.
Morina crossed her arms in disgust.
“What if we find sister dearest still alive? How much could that turn the tide in favor of the Daughters?”
Sulina’s eyes became dark as she clenched her fists.
“Not to sound overly dramatic, but that could win the war for them.”
Chapter Eleven
Knight was slammed hard into a rock formation, which caused him to not only straighten up slightly, but it also made most of the breath that he frantically held onto to evacuate his lungs. He was swallowing water and started to panic. His arms flailed and his mind raced as he fought to avoid drowning. No breath was coming to him; he could feel his lungs burning for lack of oxygen and could feel them filling with water as well. In the next moment, he ceased flailing and withdrew into his thoughts.
I am the Chosen One but I won’t make it to help the Daughters of Eve. I betrayed the Daughters. I betrayed Geronimo. More importantly, I betrayed Jess.
Jess was all he could think of as he felt himself blacking out. He pictured how beautiful she was when she smiled at him. He had failed his love. With the last force he had left in him, even handle Eden’s he called out to her.
“I love you, Jess!”
As Knight yelled, he felt as though he was being pulled up into something he thought he would never experience again: air. Though breath would not enter him, he could feel his body being placed on the soft ground. He felt himself give in to the darkness. Jess smiled as she stood over him.
“I love you too, Evan Knight.”
That was the last thing he heard before darkness settled around him.
***
Geronimo felt the searing pain from where his leg had been grazed by a bullet. Why the leg of all places? He gritted his teeth and ran harder toward the tank. It was no longer the lumbering speed—or lack thereof, which worried him—but the fact that trying to breathe was becoming a lot more difficult. He was shocked that he hadn’t been mowed down by the automatic weapons he had heard. He hadn’t worried about turning and trying to get off a few shots of his own; he had just kept zigging and zagging as he sprinted.
He was only about 20 yards away from his tank when he realized that he heard something strange. Nothing. No longer did he hear weapons firing or bullets hitting the ground around him. He fell to the ground, turning to look over his shoulder as he considered what might be waiting for him at the tank and scrambled into a low place which gave him some cover if he remained pretty flat. If they had stopped firing, then maybe they had discovered the tank and had another surprise waiting for him.
He could see no one behind him or in front of him. That was more frightening to him than gunfire. At least, with gunfire, you knew where your enemy was. Giving his lungs a chance to catch up on gathering in some much-needed air, he decided that he had come too far to stop and he wanted that tank. If that was his time, then he was going out swinging. He would rather go out inflicting as much damage as the tank could manage.
In spite of how he had preached to Knight and Jess about staying focused and not being distracted, his own thoughts turned to Molly. Would he see her again? He remembered her dressed in her wedding dress. It was an off the shoulder Chantilly lace trumpet gown. It had lace layered into the gown. It had taken them a couple of years to find the perfect gown for Molly. That’s the one that made her heart melt when she saw it. He paid almost $2,000 for it, which had set him back considerably on his meager department salary. She was worth it.
He even bought the wedding gown preservation kit, though he thought it was a waste of money. Whatever Molly wanted, she got.
He smiled as he remembered her as she had walked down the aisle toward him. The sight of her had taken his breath away. She had her auburn hair up in a bun with loose strands that fell perfectly on both sides of her face. She had small eyes. When he first met Molly, he had to look closely to see what color they were. Brown.
Geronimo wanted to see his wife again. He would see her again.
Snap out of it, he chastised himself, bringing himself back into focus.
He eased himself up from the ground and directed all of his attention toward reaching the tank as he began his final dash. Ten feet from his objective, a soldier appeared from behind the tank with his weapon drawn. Another stood on top of the tank itself. Without slowing down, Geronimo gripped the handle of the Mac 10 and kept moving forward. He was taking back that tank and nothing in the world would keep him from it or from seeing Molly again.
Nothing.
Without hesitation, Geronimo put two well-placed rounds between the eyes of the soldier on the ground. Before he fell, Geronimo wrapped an arm around him and turned him before falling to the ground; his pistol coming loose from his grip and clattering uselessly away from him. The soldier’s body was in front of him and he used it as a shield while the Iranian standing on top of the tank opened fire with his automatic weapon. Geronimo’s human shield was riddled with bullets but worked perfectly with only a few stray bullets whizzing past their intended target and hitting the ground.
The frustrated soldier on the tank ran out of options at the same instant that he ran out of ammo. The incessant clicking sound told Geronimo all he needed to know. He dropped his shield as he dove for the legs of his next opponent.
The Iranian fell forward onto the ground. Geronimo knew from his youth on the streets that it was time for some good old-fashioned street fighting. He kicked the Iranian several times in the face.
“Where’s your damn smile now, you little shit? Where is it?” he yelled in triumph.
He looked up after he realized that he probably wasn’t alone. He saw several Iranian heads pop up from behind the trucks. Geronimo smiled.
“Come and get
me, you fuckers!” Leaving the Iranian unconscious and bleeding, he scrambled up and into the tank, ready for battle.
Geronimo was tired of running. It was his turn to go on the offense. It was time for them to burn.
***
Evan Knight spit up what he believed to be several gallons of water and he coughed as he tried to sit up. His lungs burned. Jess kept him still.
“No, Evan Knight. You must recover. You almost died.”
There was a light around Jess. Knight saw the vision before him and forgot for a moment where he was.
“Am I dead?” he asked calmly.
“That’s a strange question,” Jess responded, with a questioning look. “You are obviously talking and thankfully breathing.”
Knight sat up.
“Just thought I saw an angel… never mind. Some Chosen One I turned out to be. I can’t even handle Eden’s version of Schlitterbahn.”
“Schlitter what?”
“Yeah. Never mind that.”
“Maybe you should avoid frivolous words and focus more on staying alive.” Shala stepped out from the forest. “If you are indeed the Chosen One.”
Jess excitement could not be contained as she rushed to hug her sister.
“Shala! Thank God! How goes the war? What of Mother Daughter?”
Shala looked suspiciously at Knight as he struggled to his feet. She cautiously approached him.
“You don’t look like much, Evan Knight.”
“Oh yeah? Well, it’s what you don’t see that’s… pretty special,” he replied. He then realized that he had no idea how to respond to her and what he had said was pretty stupid. “At least you know my name. That has to mean something.”
“It means that I have good hearing,” Shala said with a bit of acid in her tone. “I heard Jessima call you by name.”
Jess brought Shala over to Knight.
“Evan Knight. I would like to introduce my sister, Shala IL Eve. Shala, this is the Chosen One.”
“We’ll see,” Shala responded nonchalantly.
She walked up to Knight and was easily a foot taller than he was. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders. She was as beautiful as Jessima.
“I don’t see anything special. As you probably know, Mother Daughter is… dead.” She put on a show of holding back a tear as she continued, “The war is imminent. The mortals have infiltrated Eden. There is more, Jessima. We have a traitor.”
“I know,” Jess replied.
Shala looked shocked at her sister’s response.
“You… know? How?”
“Mother Daughter reached out to me just before… I assumed that every sister received the telepathic message that I did.”
Shala’s concerned look didn’t get past Knight.
She’s hiding something.
“The war has taken all of our time,” she responded, as if talking to herself. “We have the both of you here now, so our numbers have increased by two. I hope that’s enough. I will say one thing about this Evan Knight: He must be something special to behold the sight of Eden and not even flinch.”
Up to that point, Knight had not had a chance to look around. He didn’t realize where he was until that moment. He looked back at the pool he emerged from and then the forest in front of him. He beheld the lush green landscape that he had only seen in paintings. His paintings.
In spite of the fact that much of Eden was overcome by thicket, the part that he could see around him seemed to sparkle with fresh innocence and virgin beauty. The water was crystal clear. Trees he had only seen in his visions were far more brilliant in color. The sky above seemed bluer as did the soft fluffiness of the clouds floating aloft in its midst.
Nature at its best and most perfect surrounded him. His mouth dropped as even the air around him seemed sweeter and unpolluted, especially after having so little of it only moments before. He felt alive in Eden; more alive than he had ever felt in his life. He not only saw, but felt, the connection to the visions and paintings which had frustrated him for years. Until he’d started his research on Eden, he had no idea where the inspiration came from to paint the hidden paradise, but it was laid out before him with intense familiarity as he took it all in.
Knight was impressed and a little intimidated by actually setting foot in what most people believed to be a place that had never existed.
“I have a couple of questions before we continue,” he stated, defying Shala’s overconfidence.
Shala got on her knees near the pool, cupped her hand in the water, and took a sip.
“You must think that we have all the time in the world, mortal.”
Knight turned his attention to the more familiar face of the two Daughters.
“Did that underground river lead to this pool, Jess?”
Shala grabbed Knight’s neck with one hand and lifted him into the air. Her rage was sudden and her action swift.
“Sacrilege! How dare you call a Daughter of Eve anything but her given name? I could kill you for that indiscretion!”
Jess pulled Knight out of Shala’s grasp, unconsciously forcing him backward into the pool. Jess matched Shala’s anger with an overpowering intensity of her own.
“Shala! Never lay your hands on the Chosen One again!” She took a defensive stance between Knight and Shala.
Shala stepped back in shock.
“You dare defend a mortal over a sister of the blood? You step too far in the wrong direction, Jessima. You allow him to disrespect you so flagrantly and in front of another Daughter! What has happened to you outside the walls of Eden? Where is my sister?”
Jess lowered her head as if she were ready to strike.
“I am well aware of who you are, but how soon you forget that it was my mission to retrieve the Chosen One…”
“Retrieve?” Knight interrupted as he pulled himself out of the pool.
Shala didn’t have the silver streak in her hair that Jess did. He also noticed a tattoo of some kind of bird that peaked out through Shala’s clothing. It was on her back and the wings stretched out to her shoulders. It was the most lifelike tattoo he had ever seen. So much detail. It was a falcon.
It was almost a replica of the eagle Jessima had emblazoned across her shoulders. What did they mean?
“Let me handle this, Evan Knight,” Jess replied, without taking her eyes off of Shala. “Shala, I completed my mission. Harm came to Mother Daughter while I was away, which was your charge to keep. There was a full complement of Daughters present and still…”
Shala narrowed her eyes.
“There is a traitor among us, sister. How do I know that it isn’t you?”
“I can respond with the very same question. Our welcome has been less than cordial thus far.”
Shala had a knowing smile and stepped back in an attempt to disarm the situation, at least physically.
Her words were far from disarming.
“You fell in love with this mortal. Or perhaps it was just that your loins ached for the touch of a man. Either way, it is no consequence to me unless this bond between you two jeopardizes Eden. Know this, Jessima IL Eve… if the protection of Eden depends upon destroying the Chosen One and his chosen mistress, then I will be honored to shed the blood of you both. The greater need of Eden will prevail… no matter what.”
“Now, can I get the answers to my questions?” Knight coughed out, while he rubbed his throat. “Did we come through that pool?”
Jess glanced in his direction and nodded.
“Good. See, now, that wasn’t so bad,” Knight beamed. “Now for my next question…”
He caught himself mid-sentence, having sudden second thoughts about asking any strategy questions in front of a possible traitor. “Hmmm, it seems I must have forgotten. Maybe later.”
Chapter Twelve
Geronimo was safely inside of the tank that he knew would end up either being his salvation, or his coffin. The tank was quickly surrounded by dozens of Iranians. He laughed, thinking that they were either extr
emely suicidal or a lot smarter than he was. He swiveled the turret around to not only see where they were, but also it helped to knock off anyone stupid enough to climb on.
He activated the laser rangefinder and the targeting computer came up directly in front of him. He smiled as he armed the 125mm smoothbore tank gun and set the tank in motion, just in case the soldiers swarming around him like roaches decided to get smart and plant some grenades around the tank tread.
He loaded the high explosive fragmentation projectile, followed by the separate propellant charge. He moved slowly toward the mountain with the turret still aimed at the trucks. “Sayonara, bitches!” he yelled as he let loose with the tank gun. He chuckled to himself as even he wondered why he used a Japanese phrase at that moment.
A loud boom came from the tank as the HEF hit the lead truck directly. The explosion was immediate. Any soldier in the area that didn’t get caught in the explosion was riddled with metal fragments and killed instantly.
The Iranians scattered as flaming debris fell to the earth all around the area. As soon as the smoke cleared, Geronimo loaded another HEF projectile, followed by another propellant charge. “Round two, bitches!” he yelled, followed by, “Whoo hoo!” once the round was sent on its way.
The second truck exploded in a ball of flame and shrapnel fragments, which caused more chaos among the remaining men. The smoke was thicker as Geronimo could see a soldier run past his tank every once in a while. He looked confused and realized that he still didn’t have as full of control over the tank’s weapons as he thought he had.
He spun the turret around as he tried to see what was going on behind him. He heard something big headed toward him. The engine sounded similar to the tank’s engine he was in. Then it hit him.
Evan is back! Evan’s back?
No, it couldn’t be; this vehicle was on the offensive. While he was having the time of his life knocking out Iranian trucks with his new toy, he had forgotten one important fact; Evan and Jess would have had to abandon the tank once they’d gotten close enough to their destination.