Born of Chaos

by Jeff DeMarco

  Taylor continued on, prodding the body to start.

  “Looks an awful lot like you’re trying to bring a corpse to life.” A hint of laughter in Luca’s voice. “Dude’s been dead for a week, at least. Blood’s congealed; pipes are all clogged up… Taylor?” He found a towel at the edge of the desk. “Taylor!” He threw the towel at him.

  Taylor looked up; an evil blood-shot stare.

  “You know me, man.” Luca kicked his legs out, lounging. “You wanna make zombies, go make zombies… but you’re wasting your time.”

  Taylor’s malevolent façade broke into a blank, frustrated stare.

  “What are you doing, anyhow?”

  Taylor shook his head. “Don’t know.” He dug at his sleepless eyes with bloody fingers. “Been so wrapped up with seeing how far I can push myself; how far I can push human anatomy. I can’t… stop.”

  “You’re different.” Luca studied him. “And not like normal different.”

  “You know what it is to be free?” Taylor eyed him, curiously. “To have your dreams, your wishes, desires, all within your grasp?”

  Luca looked at him, blankly.

  “It’s…” He looked down at his bloodied hands. “… Amazing,” he whispered.

  Luca looked down at him. “You know who you remind me of, right?”

  A mood seemed to stir within Taylor, he stared up at him. “What is it that you’d like, Luca?”

  “Should know me well enough by now…’ Luca laughed, sarcastically. “I don’t want a damn thing from you.”

  The mood seemed to dissipate as quickly as it arrived.

  “There,” Luca said. “What is that?”

  “What’s, what?”

  “That.” Luca stood, walked to Taylor. He put both hands on his head. “I can feel it, see it.”

  Taylor shoved his hands off and backed away.

  “Like a damn machine… a parasite.” He circled towards the door. “Billions of them… woven into your DNA.”

  Taylor stood there, halfway between suppression and attack. His body coiled, but holding back. “Go,” he whispered.

  “You need help, little dude.” Luca backed slowly towards the tent flap.

  Taylors body clenched. “Go,” he whispered once more.

  “Serious help.” Luca backed out of the tent.

  CHAPTER 53

  “He wasn’t the one that released the virus.” Michael bent down to pick up another stick. “But he ordered it. President Kreuson and Colonel Petersen were just pawns in his game.”

  “Still,” Erica threw her pile of sticks onto two parallel branches, a makeshift litter. “They’ll need to be dealt with.”

  He studied her. “Death?”

  She gave him an odd glance. “Did I say death?”

  He thought a moment. “Say Adolph Hitler were here, in front of you… would you kill them?”

  “They attacking me?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “No.”

  “There’s your answer.” She reached up, broke a dead limb off of a tree. “All life, no matter how evil or destructive… deserves a chance to atone for the sins of its past.”

  Michael stopped. “But all things die, eventually. You wouldn’t kill to prevent the slaughter of billions?”

  “You were with Jacob. You knew what he was, what he did and you did nothing… Why?”

  “Hmm.” Michael wiped the sweat from his brow. “Fair point.” He bent down for another stick. “Suppose out of fear. Didn’t want to sacrifice myself to kill him.”

  Erica smiled a smug grin. “If it makes you feel any better, a part of me hopes they do attack me.”

  “Exceptions,” Michael mumbled. “They’ll be the death of us.”

  They each picked up an end of the litter, firewood stacked horizontally across and walked back to camp.

  “It’s not your fault.” Ari’s voice was faint in the distance. “You don’t need to beat yourself up about it… you couldn’t help it.”

  “If I had just paid more attention,” Kristin’s voice was raspy, the aftermath of tears. “maybe-“

  “Listen,” Ari stopped tying pine boughs to their lean-to. “You can play the ‘what if’ game all you want. God knows I have. It solves nothing. You can’t go back in time, you can’t change things. Accept that it happened, learn from it, be thankful that you got some closure, and most of all, let it go. It takes time, trust me, I know. And others would be ecstatic to have closure the way you did.”

  “I’m not happy about that, either.” Kristen gripped a crossbeam, bent it to its breaking point, then ‘snap,’ the wood splintered up into her face.

  Ari rushed to her, brushing the splinters from her face. “See what happens when you focus your rage on things that don’t deserve it… Focus it, use it, unleash it on the people who deserve it.”

  Kristen shook her head. “I don’t even know who that is anymore.”

  “General Nichols for-“

  “Hey guys!” Michael and Erica walked up with their load of firewood. “Hope we’re not interrupting.”

  “You are.” Kristen glared at them both.

  Michael dropped his end and sat cross legged at the fire. “Wonder what’s going on down there.”

  “Be thankful for a moments peace.” Ari resumed her task.

  “We should be down there.” He threw a stick into the flames. “In the thick of it.”

  “We go down there now, we die.” Erica took a branch, prodded the fire, propping logs up for airflow. “That what you want?”

  “When?” Michael shook his head. “I can’t see anything… They’ve set up radar jammers all around the fort. I get pieces, but it’s all hit and miss.”

  Ari grabbed another pine bough. “Dustin will-“

  “My dad will let us know… probably send up a flare when he needs us.”

  Ari smiled at her. “Until then, we wait.”

  Dr. Bariac walked in the laboratory, a sealed beaker in his hand. “Have you seen Taylor, lately?”

  “Yea.” Luca lazed away in his chair, reading an old magazine.

  “Well?” Bariac stared at him, annoyed. “He’s needed for an operation.”

  He cocked his head at the request. “I wouldn’t.”

  Bariac scowled at him; began pacing.

  His eyes shifted back to the magazine. “You can thank me later.”

  “Repugnant little…” Bariac stopped himself. “I don’t know where we went wrong with you.”

  “Forgive me, doc.” Luca dropped his magazine on the desk and stood. “Forgive me for keeping Taylor from ripping your head off and picking through your brain; for keeping you alive all this time; forgive me for being your guinea pig.”

  “I’m sorry.” Bariac’s posture slouched. “You’ve every right to-“

  “Blah, blah, blah.” Luca’s head bobbed. “You’ve every right to kill me. Give me a break… quit making excuses and fucking own it; own your actions, good or bad. You wanna do something to make up for all of it? Go pick the parasites off Taylor’s brain.”

  Bariac looked at him, puzzled. “Parasites?”

  Luca shrugged. “It’s why he’s acting so… insane.”

  Bariac walked to the refridgerator and put the beeker inside; an apparent purpose on his mind. “Since Israel, I’ve said that there was something missing from the genetic code… some sort of key.”

  Luca stared back, his attention captured.

  “The first injection you received intravenously was of my own design; manipulating your embrio’s code to assimilate genetic traits to that of early human. The second was straight from the source; ancient biological material. The third, I introduced a synthetic amino acid, creating a unique codon and RNA aminoacyl and tRNA Synthetase pair.”

  “Huh?” Luca stared, blankly.

  “A genetic modifier, made to mimic a bridge in the code, stabilizing the genetic structure.”

  Luca shook his head. “The hell did you do to us, Doc?”

  “Of course, you all share essent
ially the same capabilities, with some differences based on when in the gestational cycle the treatment was introduced, the volume of material presented and to what end your own genetic code would assimilate the treatment. I was more aggressive with you; as well, Jacob, Kristen, Michael and Erica… and Demetri.”

  Luca delved into Dr. Bariac’s mind. “The Russian.”

  He nodded. “After they captured me from Israel, Demetri and his sister were among my first; stolen along with me. Thankfully, neither had all three samples, as the American’s did.” Bariac stood. “Come. We’ll deal with Taylor later. You’re needed.”

  CHAPTER 54

  The windows broken out from the air traffic control tower, Luca looked out, buildings and fields in the distance; the ash and blackened earth of fires; scourged ground as a reminder of his attack. “There.” He lazed a point on the ground with a laser designator. “Two packs, maybe 33 Hunters.” The tan plastic military hardware sat on a tripod inside the air traffic control tower, overlooking the entire southwest corner of the post; out into the barracks and training area of east range, and into the northeast corner of Lawton.

  Lieutenant Alexander leaned into a corner, her hands gripped tightly to her rifle.

  “Plan on using that thing?” He looked back at Alexander. “Or just staring at me all pissed off.”

  Colby looked back. His hand shifted to the side, a signal to both – ‘cut it out.’ He slid over to the designator and clicked his hand mic. “Hammer 9, this is Rock 6. Check in follows.”

  A cool voice came across the radio. “Go ahead, Rock 6.”

  “Initial Position 34.631256, -98.382438, heading zero degrees, distance two kilometers, elevation 3-5-0, Hunters in wood line. Target location: 34.650086, -98.382523, Target marked by infrared laser, code 6330, laser to target line 8-4 degrees. Friendlies two kilometers west by southwest, marked by air traffic control tower. Egress at zero degrees. Engage with… crop duster. Copy?”

  “Haha.” The Marine Aviator laughed over comms. “Copy that, Rock.”

  The AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter flew slow, nearly clipping the tops of trees as it passed. The spray scattered in wisps of prop-wash as he passed over the target area. “The counter’s telling me I’ve got a good five bursts left on this canister… send some more grids.”

  Luca’s mind reached out further. “A lot less hunters than there used to be.”

  Alexander moved from the corner. “Maybe if you hadn’t tried to wipe us out with them.”

  “Well…” Luca stroked his chin, thinking of a reply. “Maybe if you had just given up?” An immediate regret at the weak comeback. “You know I could rip you apart at a glance, right?”

  “Ha,” she laughed sarcastically. “Goddamn kids think you can push us around,” her tone grew with her irritation. “one of these days, it’ll come back to bite you… more of us than there are of-“

  “Alexander.” Colby’s tone was quiet, but dominant. He pointed to the door.

  “Sir?” Her eyes shown a certain betrayal at his taking sides.

  “Got an angry one, there.” Luca whispered.

  Colby waited for the door to close. “Listen up, you little asshole.”

  “Excuse me?” Luca stared dead at him.

  “I call ‘em like I see ‘em, and right there… you… asshole.” He shifted away from the laser designator. “You’re what, 17, 18?”

  Luca nodded. “17.” His stare turned to one of confusion.

  “No doubt you’ll be in charge of someone, in time, if not all of us.” He stared back at Luca, his eyes almost father-like; though not a proud papa, rather an angry one. “I’ll let you in on a little secret… Good leaders motivate, shitty leaders intimidate.” He studied the boy. “If you want to be the latter… might as well shoot me now, ‘cause I’d never follow you.”

  At first, Luca’s face was defensive. Then he slumped in his chair, down-trodden at his mis-step.

  “Now go out there and apologize.”

  Luca looked at him, cockeyed. “What am I, two?”

  “You’ve any idea what you did to her?” Colby glared, a fire in his eyes. “What you did to all of us? Lucky I wasn’t the one to pick you up after the attack, else I’d have shoved a knife in your throat. Now get your little fu-“ He took a breath calming himself to a whisper. “Get out there… apologize.”

  He crossed his arms, the full weight of his actions now pressing down on him. “Not like it’s gonna do anything.”

  “I don’t care if you’re 5 or 50… simple apology is worth its weight in gold. Get it over with, and get your ass back in here and get me some grids.”

  Luca let out a disheartened sigh and shuffled out the door. An awkward walk up to her, standing on the metal grate outside the tower, “Sorry about what I said… and about the whole, attacking the base, thing.”

  “Really?” Her eyes narrowed on him. “You think an apology’s gonna make up for you killing my Soldiers, my friends?”

  “No, but I-“

  “But nothing!” she yelled. “Get outa here with your bullshit!”

  He scurried back into the control room. “That didn’t go well.”

  “You’ve done your part.” Colby smiled. “Doesn’t mean she has to forgive you.”

  “Well-“

  “It’s a start.” Colby put his hand on Luca’s shoulder, pressing him towards the laser designator. “I’m sure she’ll come around, eventually… or not.”

  Taylor poked his head outside the tent. “You there.” He pointed to a man, hugging his coat tightly. “Come in here.”

  “Me?” The man pointed to himself.

  Taylor nodded, waving the man in. “Open your coat, Steve.”

  The man cocked his head. “How’d you know my name?”

  “A formality, really.” Taylor grabbed the zipper of Steve’s coat, ripped it down sharp. An assortment of cans and ripe fruits and vegetables rained down. “Justification for what I’m about to do…”

  Molly whimpered in a corner, afraid for what she would soon see.

  An unseen force pulled the man down, a look of terror in his eyes; his body pinned to the tent floor.

  “… What we’re about to do, actually.” He bent down and grabbed an apple, his mind exploring the cells, the mitochondria, the energetic adenosine triphosphate. It sucked from the apple, leaving it black and dead; absorbed into Taylor’s pores. “We’re going to look for your soul… if you have one.”

  “Please, I was just hungry…” A vision of his body, withered and dead, flashed before the man’s eyes. “… no.”

  Taylor put his hand on the mans chest; his mind exploring the heart, the sinoatrial node… He shifted his hands to the mans head. … up to the Thalamus. “Hmm.” His face shifted, confused by the seemingly self-generated series of electric clicks. adenosine triphosphate drained from the cells, leaving a dead mass of brain matter. At its core, a structure remained, unlike the other brain matter; where biological braincells functioned in tandem, working together like an electrical circuit, the structure felt more like a microscopic circuit board, neither biologic nor carbon based. ‘Why haven’t I seen this before,’ he wondered. What’s more, aberrant signal ran through his body, transmitting data packets back and forth. Just then, the medulla oblongata shuddered, as function interrupted, then the pons, just above. “Huh…” Taylor put his hand on the crown of the mans head; a seam of tissue in the cerebral cortex lit up like a Christmas tree.

  The man’s life; his wife and children, his will - to live, to exist, to continue on and fight for life. His fear, his sadness, his regret; neurons all fired, transmitted in a flurry of 1’s and 0’s.

  Taylor traced the ceaseless stream of signal; the electrons bursting through dormant pathways, bypassing the thalamus, into the brainstem.

  The man started to convulse; peculiar waves of electricity shooting through his body, aimed at re-starting the heart.

  “Sorry,” Taylor whispered. He placed his hand on the man’s chest, pulling the remaining
adenosine triphosphate from his cells, absorbing the energetic molecules in relative ecstasy. Disturbed by the continued convulsions, he grabbed a knife from the General’s desk.. “Why won’t you die?” He slammed it into the man’s chest.

  Moments passed into panic; the body remained in convulsion. A sudden impulse, a pang of guilt. His mind raced, his hands placed back on the man’s head. Stricken with memories, not his own; thoughts and wishes and desires, not his own. He searched the man’s mind, like racing through dark to find a light switch – though this switch turned on in darkness and would end in darkness.

  He felt the pressure build in him. Stress - unable to process the influx of raw data, except through his own senses. The pressure built and built, then shot like a wave of pressure, bursting through braincells and blood vessels, now liquid inside the skull, until finally the man’s body and his mind were at rest.

  CHAPTER 55

  Colby slumped into a seat in the dining facility tent and stared down longingly into his bowl of mush, wishing it were a cheeseburger.

  “Hey, Sir!”

  His drooping, tired eyes looked over.

  “Got a situation, Sir.” Staff Sergeant Rodriguez came running into the tent. “Those prisoners you let out…”

  He issued an apathetic, grumbling - “Mhm.”

  “… They’re back.”

  Colby shook his head. “And?”

  “You’d better just come with me, Sir.”

  Colby stood, labored, and meandered along with Sergeant Rodriguez.

  Colby and Rodriguez walked slowly out of the entry control point. At a hundred-meter standoff distance, Cortez stood on top of the ammo hauler with a bullhorn. “There he is!” Rounds popped off intermittently from behind him, one landing into Colby’s chest plate.

  He dropped with a thud; the pain in his chest growing. He felt under his body armor – the round hadn’t penetrated, yet he struggled to breath.

  Soldiers at the entry control point laid on the guns, letting off a devastating burst from the .50 caliber machine gun.

  “Hold your fire!” Rodriguez yelled out to the prisoners, grabbing Colby by collar. “Or we’ll light all your asses up.” He dragged him behind a concrete barricade.