Sanctuary's Aggression Complete Collection Box Set: A Post-apocalyptic Survival Thriller Series

by Maira Dawn

  "I saw you on TV at the Marine Center, and I've known of Atlantians for some time now. I even had the pleasure of meeting a few of them before... well before... they would take them away." The doctor looked away. "Besides, I'm used to people who are, shall we say, different. That's what I do here—genetic manipulation."

  "What do you mean?"

  Dr. Smith-Harnett pulled a remote from his pocket and smiled. "This!"

  With one click, over a dozen of the rooms lit up. Each one held an occupant. The rooms were decorated as if the permanent habitat of these people, not sparse, but full of personality and completely different from the rooms he had first peered into. Blues, pinks, purples, greens each room with had a comfortable setting and a normal, bright-eyed human—sort of.

  One held a man so tall, the ceiling was adjusted to contain him. Another used a treadmill, his feet moving so fast it smoked. A woman raised her head from the book she read and waved—her very long, rabbit-like ears. A second woman tipped her head, offering a slight smile then slinking out of sight. But not before her eyes flashed white at Jorah.

  Doctor Smith-Harnett's threw an arm toward them. "Changed DNA like Atlantians but, unfortunately, without the finesse."

  A bolt of shock ran through Jorah. Atlantians hadn't known precisely why their DNA was different from humans. Had it started here? In this lab?

  “We’re all stuck here,” the doctor continued with a proud note to his voice. "But I make sure they have good living arrangements. Same as me."

  Jorah looked from the doctor to the people and back again. This solved the last piece of the puzzle. "How do you make them like that?"

  "Well, it is a bit of a procedure, first we..."

  "Do you have a—what do you call it—a shot?"

  "Well, we have been using a DNA machine, but I have recently developed something." The doctor bristled with excitement and walked over to a drawer. He removed what looked like a blue hard-plastic pistol. "It's a DNA gun. Injects the DNA right into a person via a small bullet."

  "I need that," Jorah said, quickly snatching the gun from the doctor. "Along with any 'bullets' that will make us Atlantians what we are."

  The doctor threw up his hands, looked around, and raised his voice. "What are you talking about? We aren't working on Atlantians. That is the last thing the History people want."

  "What is the closest thing to it?"

  Dr. Smith-Harnett looked from Blake to Jorah and waved them closer as he looked at the corners of the ceiling. "I have a secret project based on Atlantian research." He chuckled.

  Jorah realized the doctor was trying to avoid cameras or listening devices, so he nodded for his men to destroy them. Turning their weapons to lasers, a few dramatic blasts of sparks took care of the problem. Dr. Smith-Harnett laid out a bag of plastic vials on a metal table. Each contained a small pellet.

  He pointed from the pellets to the gun. "These go in there. I've put in every kind of DNA that could account for the differences in Atlantians. Well, what I know anyway. But you can't use these. They're too powerful. I've only ever mixed one other DNA with humans, I don't know what would happen with so many, but I suspect it would kill a person.”

  Jorah stared at the vials and ran a hand around his neck. The decision weighed heavy on him. This was either the right DNA for Vince's brother to take back in History to save the world. Or it was the wrong one, and it would kill all their Atlantian ancestors, ensuring the end of their race and the total destruction of mankind.

  Dr. Smith-Harnett laid his hand over the vials. "You can't. Do you understand that whoever you use them on could die?"

  It was almost as if that is what made up Jorah's mind. He considered The Great Destruction, the historic event that would make them who they are and pushed aside the doctor's hand, grabbing the DNA gun and all the vials. "We will all be dying anyway."

  A loud bang sounded from the main room. Jorah signaled the doctor to stay back as he and his men took the lead. A line of humans loaded with heavy artillery, dressed mainly in black, stood in front of the only exit. Seeing Jorah's group, an unarmed short but muscular man dressed in a suit took a step forward and crossed his arms.

  Jorah looked him over, assuming that the human was trying to be intimating. He couldn't stop the little smirk as the human leader took another step forward, stomping his shoes against the floor like an angry toddler. Jorah shrugged a shoulder. They all seem small and rather childish to him. While he could accept that when he cared about them, when the humans became unreasonable, it irritated him.

  "How nice to meet you," the short leader said sarcastically. "And how nice of you to make this so easy for us."

  Jorah almost rolled his eyes. Instead, he turned to Dr. Smith-Harnett. The doctor trembled as his eyes scanned the new group and said, "I'm in trouble now."

  "These are the ones who keep you prisoner?" Jorah asked.

  "Yes, those are History's goons. The latest ones anyway. And that's the leader. He's a mean one."

  Jorah waved to the sick and infected people. "Did he do that?"

  "Yes."

  The leader tromped forward, upset Jorah didn't seem concerned about his tantrum or the muscle behind him. He opened his mouth to speak again.

  Jorah interrupted him. He smiled when he saw it irritated the leader that his pompous speech was disregarded so thoroughly. "I would give you mercy," Jorah said. "But you give none to others. You treat your fellow kind without care as if you are somehow above them when, in reality, you are far below."

  The History leader gaped at him.

  "What happens outside, on the other side of these doors is because of you. What will go on behind these doors will be because of you. I have no more breath to waste. I have to clean up the mess you have let loose on this world."

  Jorah turned to his men. "Throw them in there." He pointed to the room with the violent sick. "Treat them as they have treated others."

  The man in the suit and his men burst into laughter as they aimed their guns at Jorah's men. There was no doubt in their mind they would win this one too. They won them all.

  Before their fingers could twitch against the trigger, blue light danced between the two groups. The Atlantians fired their lasers, dropping their rivals to the ground instantly. The humans lay there aware and unhurt, but without the ability to move.

  Tears trailed down even the burliest of the men's cheeks as they watched their brothers dragged to their horrifying deaths. Jorah bent and patted the History leader on his limp shoulder. His face still wore shock over the quick turn of events.

  "Do not feel bad," Jorah said. "You did not have a chance at victory. With these six men, I could destroy cities."

  Jorah turned to Dr. Smith-Harnett. "You are free, and so are your enhanced people. I am not sure who will survive this disease, but for now, you have your freedom."

  Jorah took the lead as his men strode to the door. Blake glanced over his shoulder, waiting for the screams to start, but Jorah did not. He had learned long ago that for a leader, some decisions were hard to make, and some were not.

  This one had been the easiest of his life.

  Forty-Six

  Nick

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Sunny was pushing the last item in her suitcase when Ian heard a car enter the lane to the Reeves' house. As he moved to the window, she followed, and Ian pointed out the vehicle.

  "I swear," Sonora said. "How did you hear that?"

  He chuckled. "Hearing is different up here but easier compared to an earful of water." Peering out the window, Ian saw his father and rushed out the door and jumped down the stairs, three at a time, barely touching the wood banister.

  Sunny raced behind him, and he waved her on.

  Ian opened the kitchen door for his father and the others, at the door, stepping back to let them in. His stomach jumped in anticipation. Had they been successful?

  Jorah flashed Ian a triumphant look, the smile on his face growing. "It is done, my son! Your mission is comp
leted."

  Jorah pulled the vial from a pocket and clapped Ian on the shoulder. They both stared at it, hardly believing this day had come after decades of searching.

  "And these." Jorah pulled the vials and DNA gun out of a satchel. At Ian's confused look, Jorah explained their use. "These will be helpful to the man called the Traveler? It will give Atlantians their extra power."

  Excitement stirred in Ian. With this, at least some Atlantians would be saved from a fiery death. Their race would live on and grow into what it was today. “Everything is completed then."

  "Not quite. The human imbeciles have used up almost all the cure. We need Mako. If anyone can create more, it is her. Hopefully, there is enough for her to study. I have sent two guards for her. She will rise from the sea, and she will not be happy about it." Jorah chuckled. "It has been decades, if not centuries, since she has done so."

  Ian smiled. He could only imagine the lecture his father would receive. Mako was well-known for her fine scoldings. "I think it is time to call Nick Hartman."

  Jorah agreed, "It is."

  Ian pulled from his pocket the silver phone Vincent gave him, and which he had carefully guarded. He found Nick's number and punched send.

  A man answered on the first ring. His voice was deep and steady, but quick. "Hello?"

  "I'm Ian. Vince—"

  "Yes. I'm ready."

  Ian gave him the address to the Reeve's house.

  "I'll be there in twenty," Nick said and hung up.

  Ian took the phone from his ear and looked at it. Even though in the end Vince chose the right side, he spent much time on the wrong one. It had made Ian wonder what kind of man his brother would be.

  As surprised as he was to admit it, the short conversation had inspired confidence, and that was a good thing. The lives of every person he knew depended on Nick Hartman.

  When Nick Hartman stepped into the kitchen, everyone stopped and stared. Some in awe of what he would do, some sizing him up for the job ahead.

  Nick was a tall man for a human, coming in at six-foot-four-inches, and while he was thin, he had a wiry strength about him that could be seen beneath his dark blue henley shirt.

  Nikolaas Hartman had been born to one very dependable father and a somewhat flighty mother. Though he loved both of them equally, he had always been quite happy that it was him who took after his father.

  Dependability was stamped across every part of Nick. It was in the sure way he walked, the measured way he spoke, even in the calm, assured look as he assessed a room. Within minutes, they others felt as Ian did. No one doubted the impossible would be possible with this man.

  Nick's deep voice reassured the group even as he cautioned them of the dangers and uncertainties involved in his undertaking. "I want you to understand that no human has done what I'm attempting to do. I don't know exactly how or if this will work at all."

  Jorah nodded. "We understand. But do not fear, if you fail, we will never know."

  The others nodded. If Nick failed, all Atlantians would die at The Great Destruction thousands of years ago. If that happened, the whole timeline would change. Maybe there would never be DNA experiments, maybe this disease would never be created. Perhaps mankind would live in blissful happiness for centuries more, or maybe they would create something different, something worse. But, without a doubt, most of the people in this room would no longer exist.

  "That is true," Nick said. "My colleagues and I have done a lot of brainstorming on this. But there are so many variables and unknowns, it is impossible to predict an outcome. I will, however, do my best not to change the new future." His mouth turned down. "Of course, it could just open up a new timeline, and this one would stay the same."

  "You will do the best you can, given what you know," Jorah said. "It is enough."

  Nick nodded and listened with interest as the Councilman explained the vial, the DNA gun, and that Mako would make more of the cure as most of the others wandered to the living room. Nick would take both items back in time to the original Atlantis and inoculate their ancestors.

  Nick nodded. He stood lost in thought for a moment, then said, "I will need you to tell me everything about the time Atlantis was destroyed. Who your ancestors were, where they will be, anything you know that will help me find the right people to give these to."

  "I think we will agree that you should make the decision about who to inoculate," Jorah said. "There may be a problem getting to specific places."

  "True, but it is this group trying to help save everyone. Another group may not. I'm leaving behind a fiancée, and I figure her best chance is with the people in this room."

  Jorah agreed and glanced at Ian. "I will not argue the matter. When this is all over, I wish my family to be among those who survive. Thank you, Nick."

  Jorah and Ian walked Nick into the living room where Mike and Azurine handed out refreshments. It would have seemed a happy gathering, if not for the serious matter at hand.

  Ian sunk into the couch beside Sunny, wrapping his arm around her. Nick scanned the room and sat near them, asking how they met.

  Sunny's eyes brightened as she glanced at Ian. "I'm Blake's granddaughter and one-quarter Atlantian. Ian is entirely Atlantian." She gave Nick a small account of their meeting.

  Nick nodded thoughtfully, then pointed at Mike and Azurine. "I would like the history of both of your families too."

  Mike looked at him, confused. "Why?"

  "For this couple, who are at the center of this dilemma, to meet I'll need to do what I can to make sure you and all your generations of family survive. I have my own ideas of how I can do that."

  Nick went on to explain. "You see, someone has already tried this and failed or else Atlantians wouldn't exist now. I suspect the cure or Atlantan DNA was also be given out to some humans. That is why a few humans either get a mild case of this AgFlu or don't get it at all."

  "So, you think we're all a little bit Atlantian?" Mike asked.

  Nick smiled. “Perhaps. If that is what happened. Though it would be more proper to say some humans have a bit of the DNA we are going to inject into those from Atlantis. The Atlantian people only mixed with other DNA-enhanced people, so their differences grew stronger with each generation. Any humans injected mixed with others who did not have the enhanced DNA, so it diluted. But it is apparently enough for them to be naturally immune to the disease. Of course, those getting the inoculation are only getting that, but it will help them and their decendents survive."

  He ran a hand across his chin. "And that way, if this disease is again created and released, at least some will live, whatever timeline it is."

  Mike shook his head. "This is even more difficult than I imagined it would be."

  Ian agreed. It made his head hurt just to think of everything that could go wrong. He tightened his arm around Sunny just as a sharp knock sounded on the kitchen door.

  Forty-Seven

  You Would Be Surprised

  Chapter Forty-eight

  A thump at the door alerted everyone Mako had arrived. Sonora peeked into the kitchen as her father hurried to the door and opened it to two large Atlantian guards. Both scanned the room with stern expressions. Though Mike was a tall man himself, he took a couple of quick steps backward.

  Beside Sonora, Ian smirked and murmured, "Of course, she brought the largest Atlantians she could find."

  The guards parted, and a long, thin woman peeked between them, scanned the room, then bustled in.

  "Jorah? Jorah?" Once she spotted him, she huffed, "I will never forgive you for this. For centuries, I will harbor this grudge. I have been to land exactly two times. Both ended in horrible circumstances. You know I hate it here. So open, so much sun!" She shuddered.

  Jorah strode to her and put an arm around her, which she shook off. "I apologize, my friend. I had no choice. Was the problem explained? Did you bring everything you need?"

  "Yes, of course. What kind of fingerling fish do you think I am? My life is science."<
br />
  When she tsked Jorah as if he were an errant child, it took all Sonora had not to giggle. When Jorah actually looked abashed, she put a hand to her mouth to stifle her amusement.

  Ian leaned and whispered in Sonora's ear. "Mako used to care for my father sometimes when he was a child."

  Sonora and Ian exchanged an amused glance before she ducked her head against him, trying to contain her laughter. Ian trying to swallow his own chuckles, didn't help her.

  The Atlantian woman scanned the kitchen. "Is this where I am required to work? Can I switch to our language now so I can voice my full displeasure? I have only been speaking English for the sake of our hosts."

  "No, please," Jorah rushed to say. "Continue in English. For our hosts, of course."

  "For my father's sanity, more like it, as she will be kinder," Ian mumbled.

  Sonora flashed him a look. "Stop! I'm having enough trouble not laughing."

  Ian's chest rumbled as he held back a chuckle.

  "Fine then," Mako said. She turned toward her growing audience. "Who is the woman of this house?"

  Azurine stepped forward. "I am."

  "I am sorry to degrade your home. I am aware you are used to these... conditions. I apologize now for any other disparaging comments I make. This is certainly not my usual working environment."

  Azurine hid a quick smile. "I understand."

  "No, but you will. I understand you will soon be at Atlantis."

  "It seems that is the case."

  "Then, you will see why I consider your... this room woefully inadequate." Mako waved her hand at the room.

  Azurine nodded. "Well, it isn't a science lab, which is what I understand you would rather have."

  "Understand that what I would rather have is anything under the sea, but this will have to do."

  The Atlantian scientist walked around the kitchen, testing the water, opening the oven and inspecting the stovetop. "You cook in here?" When Azurine nodded, Mako raised an eyebrow. "Then I suppose it will do. Well, you are certainly an outstanding woman. I like you. I would like you to assist me."