by C C Sommerly
Why did everyone keep questioning that color of blue? I needed to find out why this was so unusual. First, the Boss went nuclear about it and now the Delegate’s Assistant was acting odd. Odd seemed to be an ongoing theme with these “underground folks.” The more time I spent with the hybrids and in the “Underground,” the less I felt secure in knowing what they did and whether it was truly government sectioned. Even seeing the Boss’ mage fire, it was hard not questioning whether this was really the truth and if they were being honest with me.
Growing up, my father always said, “God, country, family.” My nation was only second to God and while I was not a perfect soldier, I did love my country and would willingly give my life for its people. Although, as one of these “hybrids” did that still make me American or a human? I was a freak, some sort of messed-up government-sanctioned experiment. Why would my parents even let them experiment on their child? Did they even want me or love me if they would let their baby be experimented on? And what happened to my real parents if I was adopted? Why hadn’t they kept me? Would they have loved me more than the parents I had growing up? Is this why I never felt like I belonged? Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I glanced at the rest of the team hoping my internal freak out wasn’t obvious. Thankfully, they were patiently waiting on the records results and didn’t seem to have noticed.
“Well, it seems that particular demon type is not one of our registered or approved demons,” said Miss D’Minico.
“He had a tattoo, so that means he’s registered,” said Reese.
She squinted her eyes and with a voice heavy with annoyance asked, “And I suppose humans have never stolen identities, so any demon with a badge must surely be legit?”
Her attitude was really starting to wear on me. I didn’t have much patience to begin with and combined with the stress from being in the same city as “the incident,” she was wearing down what little patience I had.
“So, are we operating as if this demon is in fact a ‘rogue’ and can be treated as one under the treaty mandates?” asked Reese.
“Actually, we’d like you to bring him for us to deal with. Capture and contain, not kill.”
“That’s easier said than done,” said Reese.
“Are you suggesting the Bureau cannot handle this tasking, if that is who you really represent? Although, I wasn’t aware of their jurisdiction in this regard,” she rose out of the chair with an icy glare. “You can be assured that I will be sharing this entire encounter with the Delegate. If you are not being truthful, we will find out.”
“Do what you feel necessary, I am confident you’ll find that our credentials are valid,” said Reese smoothly.
And with that, she showed us out of the office and out to the embassy door. “And, please go through the proper channels next time. We won’t be as forthcoming with information in the future. This was an exception, an isolated one,” which she ended up shutting the door behind us.
We headed back towards the Metro, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were missing something. Her reaction seemed off.
“Listen, I think we should go check out the nearest demon relations’ committee location. Don’t they have some sort of community building or office near here?” I asked.
“I’d like to hear your logic for doing this and how you think it will help” said Reese.
“I know I’m new to all of this, but I’m thinking that we need more information on demons and what a better place than somewhere that is tasked with fostering relations between us and demons?”
“Go on,” said Reese.
“Wouldn’t they be able to tell us about the different demons? I’m sure they get plenty of interested humans seeking out how to ‘relate’ to demons? We can see what educational materials they have or if they know anything about what these midnight blue horns might mean.”
Since they weren’t shutting the idea down, I continued, “I also noticed that seems to be a sore spot for the Boss and then the Delegate’s Assistant.”
“I don’t see why we couldn’t make a slight detour. The Boss didn’t give us a specific time to be back. And, what harm could there be in checking this out Reese,” said Ruthie.
She was so quiet that I tended to forget she was there. I’m sure it was intentional. She had this predatory stare that when she looked at you, some deep and instinctual urge made you want to stay safely far away. I still hadn’t forgotten her “I’m the Grim Reaper” intro.
“Oh, and when do I get one of those handy Bureau badges?”
“When the Boss says you can,” said Reese.
Chapter 36
We entered the Demon Relations Center. It was more like a recreation center than any kind of office. Over the years there have been enough horror stories about rogue demons and Demented to keep people wary of demons. As I watched the children running down the hall chasing after a ball, their lighter ringing down the hall, I only felt dread.
More and more humans had come to be accepting of demons, ironically more accepting than they had been of women and minorities in times past. The demon propaganda about being simply angels of a different realm and misunderstood was an easy lie people fell for. And, evidently they felt enough at ease to entrust their children’s safe keeping to a place ran and frequented by demons. The newer generation were being raised thinking demons were a friendly neighborhood creature and it made me positively ill.
We went into the main office and inquired about any handouts or pamphlets under the guise of being interested in joining. A gregarious woman literally latched onto Reese’s arm and dragged him around the room, scooping up pamphlets and other various handouts, while she maintained a steady dialog. She must be related to Thomas, the young guy who met me at the Underground and who also suffered from word vomit. Reese looked around wildly for help, but all of us were stifling our laughter. It was entirely too enjoyable to see the cold and calm man that was usually unflappable be completely out of his element and anxious.
“And this here, is our brochure about demon types. We call it our Foolproof guide to Making Demon Friends. Funny, ain’t it?”
Reese just nodded. I doubt any kind of response was needed. The woman was a one-man talking show. We were just her accessories as she prattled on about the demons and how they were such a breath of fresh air and how we needed their influence to bring America back to greatness.
“Why settle with making America great when we can make the world great? And that we will. These demons are doing things we could only dream out,” she said.
And that right there was what I was afraid of. It wasn’t what they were doing in the public eyes, so much as what they were doing that no one was aware of. We had the unusual Demented behavior and some weird-ass demon that no one knew about, but all seemed to get spooked when they heard about. Things just weren’t adding up.
“And this month we’re having a special on membership, it’s two for one. Yep, two memberships for the price of one. We never get this deal, so it’s so perfect you all show up. And there’s an even number. Half of you get yours free. Ain’t that just special?”
I turned to take in the surroundings and see if I could glean any other details or “intel” from the office and came face to face with the Demon Delegate. A fear unlike any I had felt turned my insides to jelly and weakened my knees. It seems my moment of reckoning was finally upon me. And while I could pray for mercy, the coldness in the demon’s eyes promised pain beyond measure. I barely heard the woman’s chatter and she hadn’t yet realized her idol was here in the flesh.
“If it isn’t the demon slayer herself. Are you ready to finish the job? Perhaps, to attempt an end to my life? I am the only demon here, so your options really are limited.”
“Oh sir, so pleased you could join us,” said Millicent.
“Thank you, Millicent. If I could, would you kindly show these folks the facilities, except for this young lady. She and I have some catching up to do.”
“Well of course, I was just expla
ining our special and showing them these handouts that you gave us to give out to the folk. More than happy to serve sir.”
Reese went to stand next to me and I subtlety nudged him. I didn’t need his babysitting. I wanted it and dreaded being alone with the Delegate. And now that he was here, we might be able to get some answers.
“I … ah …,” I said, looking into his eyes that flashed with murderous rage, “Are you here to kill me?”
A mirthless laugh escaped his lips. “One day you will wish that I had. Oh no, I’m not here for that.”
The fear I felt moments ago was overridden by my normal brashness. “Then what? You’ve already robbed me of my career and dream job in the Elite Guard.”
“No, that was a career and while it was something valuable and maybe precious, it wasn’t what you loved more than anything. There will come a day when there is something you love more than life itself. And, I will take it from you.”
“I never meant to kill an innocent — even if it was a demon.”
“Whether you intended to or not, you did. You took my favorite from me.”
Scowling and unable to hide my disgust, “That slug was your favorite?”
“Yes, he, was special to me. Do you think that his appearance mattered in how he fit within my heart? You humans believe that you are the center of everything and that we must be fawning over your beauty and perfection. Have you ever considered that us demons do not all find you beautiful and handsome creatures? Our definition of beauty and perfection isn’t yours. He was perfect as he was, and you ended his life before he could morph into his true form.”
Reese, Ruthie and Ginger rounded the corner.
“Oh Teagan, we need to get back,” called out Ginger.
“Don’t stay behind on my account, Teagan. By all means, you have other things to do,” said the Delegate.
We stayed silent until we neared the Metro Station.
“So, were you able to get anything about of the Delegate? I’m assuming you asked him about the other demon,” said Reese.
“Actually, it didn’t come up, while I was too busy worrying for my life.”
“You’re such a drama queen,” said Ruthie.
“Drama Queen! I killed his son and you expect him to welcome me with open arms. Maybe with a fruit basket or champagne? Are you crazy? He could have killed back there and some people, heck most people would think I deserved it since I’m a murderer.”
“Just calm down. We didn’t ask him our questions because we already got some answers. We found an old demon book on the tour. Ruthie spotted it in one of the other rooms and we stole it. It has extensive details on the demons and their powers. We didn’t want the Delegate to know we have it, so we need to hurry,” said Reese.
Chapter 37
We went through the portal and found Thomas waiting for us. He put his fingers to his lips in a gesture for silence and we quietly exited the portal. He pulled up a paper and began furiously writing on it.
“Big Wigs are here unannounced,” Thomas said.
Big Wigs? Who or what was that? We were supposed to be an underground organization, so why would some executives or whoever be here and why now? This was the worst time. We finally had some clues about this mysterious demon. “Boss needs you all in the conference room,” Thomas wrote. “He asked that I warn you not to mention anything about the demon. And what are you guys doing in D.C.?” he added.
I went to leave the portal room and Ruthie grabbed me. She leaned close to whisper in my ear, “We need to wait until we know that we won’t be seen. This portal is only known to a select few, including those here in The Underground. Thomas will let us know when it’s safe.”
Thomas? Mr. Pimple Infestation of teenage angst was our scout? Sure, he would let us know when it was safe to leave through some magical means. The kid couldn’t even be old enough to drive and they expected us to trust him with his?
Ruthie continued to whisper, “The other squad was recalled, so they are either here or in-route.”
Thomas returned and ushered us out of the Boss’ office. We were led to a dwelling close to the office. Once inside, we found ourselves in a large, open room, with chair, a project screen, wall lined with white boards and a group of stuffy but intimidating suited government types. Ah, the big wigs, and they looked non-too friendly. I followed behind the others to our seats, which were off to the side. We received several questioning looks, but none of them said anything, so I certainly wasn’t going to say anything.
The Boss was at a podium and fiddling with some papers. He pointedly ignored us, but as I studied him closer, I noticed the slightest of trembling of his hands. Interesting, what about this group and their visit would rattle The Boss. If I hadn’t seen him go crazy over the demon, I wouldn’t have thought the man could be ruffled by anything. He was calm in the face of the storm.
Shortly after we settled down, the rest of the squad came in and sat down. The Boss cleared his throat and started his presentation with a PowerPoint that said, “Project Evolution (Hybrid) and Project Genesis (Super Soldiers) Update.”
“While I would have liked to prepare a more thorough and comprehensive presentation, the unscheduled nature of this meeting prevented that,” said the Boss.
“As you can see from the slide gentlemen, we currently have fifty active hybrids and three hybrids in the reversal trials.”
“Howard, can you explain why the number of hybrids hasn’t changed? I was under the impression that you had increased your numbers,” said a military officer.
“I’m not sure how that information would have gotten out since I haven’t released any project updates, but you are in fact correct. We did add one hybrid, but we also lost another that was part of the reversal trials, which is why the total number of active haven’t changed. Although, you will notice the number of those in the trials went down by 1. If you’ll let me continue, I’ll be more than happy to explain in more detail.”
“Actually, we want to see the lab,” said the same military guy as before. “We can review a printed version of the slide deck at a later time. We want to see what progress is being made first-hand and we are overdue for a lab visit. It’s a request we made nearly six months ago that has yet to be fulfilled. I would like to think the delay was unintentional and that it was merely an oversight on your part. While, you have maintained anonymity of this project, we all reside under the President’s control. And, we are fulfilling that request today per the President, General Gridley.”
He pulled a paper out of his briefcase. “As you can see from this signed Executive Order, we are directed to do a full tour of your lab and base facilities. It also gives us access to the trial participants.”
The Boss reddened as he read through the papers. “Well, gentleman, I won’t have it said that I’m not cooperative or being accommodating. We can continue this in the lab. I’m sure the good doctor will be thrilled to have the opportunity to discuss his project.”
Chapter 38
At the lab, we met Dr. Mendel, who was excitedly rubbing his hands together like a child on Christmas Day waiting to open presents. Another lab coat clad man stood next to him, his lab assistant, who was one of the most average and unremarkable people I had ever seen. He had washed out eyes that were some type of faded bluish gray and he stooped over, almost hugging himself as he waited in Mendel’s shadow.
The group clustered together in the hallway facing one of the stasis chambers. Each of the hybrids remained quiet, intently watching Dr. Mendel. I glanced around at the visitors. What would prompt them to suddenly show up unannounced just because they didn’t have approval for a formal visit and why did we all have to be here? I wasn’t even activated.
While the one officer that had previously spoken for the group, they seemed to be clustered around a middle age man in a suit. I suspected he was either the one in charge of the group or the most senior. He met my eyes and gave the briefest of nods before turning his attention back to the doctor. Interesting. No
t sure what the nod was for, but at least he wasn’t looking at me anymore. It’s always unnerving to have the person you are trying to covertly observe catch you in the act.
“As you see before you, this stasis chamber is one of four that we have here at the lab. Each holding tank is constantly watched, and body functions are carefully monitored during stasis.”
“And how does keeping them in stasis allow them to be combat ready? As we’ve seen with astronauts, there is a measurable decline in overall health from prolonged periods away from earth and this stasis would create a similar effect to anti-gravity,” said one of the government men.
Oh, they must have brought in their own scientist. The good doctor wouldn’t like this.
“That is entirely false in this case, as what I would expect from someone who doesn’t know better. This is not space and stasis aren’t just the soldiers floating in fluid like anti-gravity. We provide continuous pressure and have electrodes that stimulate muscle activity to keep each one in fighting form. Upon awaking, each will feel like they were in a standard sleep cycle — without any of the side effects that antigravity or coma patients receive.”
“And, what guarantee do we have that what you say is true? That they will be of sound body and mind? How many of these soldiers are awake,” said one of the government men.
“Did you come here to learn of the project or ridicule me and my greatest work? What I am doing here is unprecedented. When questioned about Project Evolution, they had doubts and the hybrids standing with you are proof of my success. This project will be even more successful.”
“Yes, but there were also unanticipated outcomes to that project. The need for activation and the resulting Dementing if they weren’t activated. We want assurances that when these soldiers are needed that they will be ready. That we won’t have dozens of Demented on our hands and no way to counter the demons,” said the government man, who seemed to be in charge.