Shades of Gray
#5
Night of the Twilight
The Chimera Strain
Kristie Lynn Higgins
SHADES OF GRAY: Night of the Twilight- The Chimera Strain
Text Copyright © 2009, 2011 by Kristie Lynn Higgins
Cover Art Copyright © 2009
Smashwords Edition
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“In this wondrous dark world, I see a place where even the dead move about. Where a Chimera runs rampant across the land and a Jackal seeks revenge. I see the Twilight of the Closing Of Days. And I see it fall on a day with a number that is also the year.”
From the Assembled Works
Ginn L. Irynkissgthie
525 B.D.C.
“Woe to those who witness a glimmer of the Twilight. A blink of existence when death is not the end and yet death is the only escape. Where time is a friend and an enemy. And there seems no escape.”
From the Assembled Works
Ginn L. Irynkissgthie
525 B.D.C.
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Chapter One
Night Of The Twilight
The year 32 A.D.C...
October 32 (six days in the future)
UnDay (A day that is not marked by Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc. A day to celebrate spirits, monsters, and the darker side of man.)
12:22 A.M...
16 minutes after Zero Hour (the birth of the Chimera Strain)
Hellenistic Sector, Business Vicinage...
Sphinx Corporation Third Branch Office...
“The Twilight is here!” With arms lifted, Anubis, the Jackal of Death proclaimed in a deep resounding voice, “And I am the one who ushered it forth! Me! I'll...” The naked mutated man stood in the hall outside of Lab 33-284. Seeing the room distracted his thoughts, and he dropped his hands. “This is the place. The Hades’ hole where it all began. No.” He shook his head as madness took up residence in his mind. “Puck! The past doesn’t matter. Only the future.” He lifted his arms again and proclaimed, “The future I’ll bring!”
The tall muscular built Anubis blankly stared at the floor with mad pitch-black eyes. “Me.” He pointed at his chest, the one marked with a skull scar, as pain surged through his body. “I am the creator!” It was pain that he was able to push to the side, for the most part. “I am the god of it!” Anubis held a music player in his left hand. “I will bring about the Twilight!”
The music player had a part in making the contagion.
Liquid scarlet trickled from his mouth. The runny evidence boasted of two victims. They were his first two. Saps who had once been the ones victimizing him. He took his revenge and infected them with the Chimera Strain. His stomach rumbled and churned with complaint. It was the dominate side effect of the contagion.
“The Hunger, it’s still with me. Will I ever be able to satisfy it?” Sanguinary drool dripped from his chin to the white tiled floor and splattered on his bare foot. Anubis sniffed the air. He took a deep breath as if smelling steak on the grill.
“Someone else is here.” He looked up like a demonic wild dog and started through the hall. “I smell their blood.” His pace turned into a sprint. “And they're close.”
A man walked out of a door, one of many labs on the floor. The man held a H.H.C. and scanned files on the small device. A name badge Charleston was clipped to his white lab coat. He typed a few notes on the H.H.C. “It should do it. Now I can go home. See the wife and kids.” He pulled up a picture of them on the device. “My little rug-rats, I haven’t seen you in two weeks.” He placed the H.H.C. in his lab coat pocket and glanced around the hall. “No one’s here. I guess it’s late. Still, a little creepy, like I’m the only man on the planet.” He started through the hall. “If I hurry, I’ll be home in two hours.” An odor distracted him. “Hades! What's that stench?” He peeked around the next corner, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. An elevator waited with its doors open. He waved a hand in front of his face. “Ah! What died? I better let maintenance know. It could be a dead rat up in the ducts. And those things can smell for weeks if they aren't removed.”
Charleston headed for the open cab, when he heard the pat-pat of bare feet. He turned as someone ran up behind him. Charleston saw a deranged naked man charging around the corner. “Whoa!” he yelled, taking two steps back.
“There he is,” Anubis thought, sliding to a halt. “The one whose savory vital fluid called for me. It pleaded for me to come and take it!”
“My Zeus! What happened to you?” Charleston stepped forward, but decided not to get too close. “I’ll call for a medical team.” He reached into his lab coat for his cell phone.
“Medical team?” Anubis leapt for the man, tackling him to the floor. “You have things all wrong.” Anubis stood on his chest in a crouched position and looked down at him. “So very wrong.” He looked at him with his ravenous eyes.
The fall knocked the wind out of Charleston, and his cell slid across the floor out of reach. He gasped and choked, “What are you?” Charleston took a deep painful breath and managed to yell, “Get off me!” The thing before him was horrifying with bereaved-burgundy splattered all over its skin and raging-roseate staining its fingers. It repulsed him so much, with its foul breath and gore covered teeth, that Charleston couldn’t bear to look into its face. He turned, sickened, and wanted to vomit. “My Zeus! What are you?” The monster in human form didn’t answer, so Charleston shouted again, “What are you?! For the love of Zeus! What are you?!”
Anubis placed a red tinged hand over the screaming man’s mouth. He leaned to him and whispered, “Shh... No need to get all carried away. No one’s going to hear you. Now...” Anubis grabbed his throat. “If you stay still this shouldn’t hurt.” He chuckled. “At least, not that much.”
Charleston tried to fight his attacker, but the scarred man was more powerful, inhumanly more powerful. Desperate, he choked out, “Get off me! Get off me!”
“I can’t hold it back anymore,” Anubis told the man. “This craving's so strong.” He opened his mouth, baring his inch long canines.
Charleston's eyes widened as he shook his head, thinking, “This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening! My wife... My kids...”
Anubis lashed out, sinking his fangs into the man’s neck near his shoulder. The life liquid entered his mouth and gave him some eating pleasure. He had a sense of enjoyment, but something was missing. The satisfaction of the Hunger wasn't there. He never felt like he was full or that he had at least lessened the need for blood. Anubis pulled back, ripping skin and muscle with his teeth. He chewed on the flesh, hoping that was what he needed. Anubis swallowed and waited. The Hunger didn’t lessen. Actually, it grew even more voracious.
“Puck! What's wrong? Why didn't it gratify the Hunger?”
Blood gushed from the wound, saturating Charleston's coat collar. His screams fell silent, and his body went limp.
Anubis examined the man, and the way his lifeless form felt to him was different from his first two victims.
“He’s dead. He died much faster than the others.” Anubis looked at the music player. He placed its ear piece in the dead man’s ear and pressed play.
After a few seconds...
“Nothing. Nothing’s happening.”
Disappointed, he stood. “It looks like they need to be alive to hear the melody. Yes, they must be alive for the final element to take hold and begin the transformation. After that, they can die.” Anubis pulled on the cord, and the ear piece popped out. “I have failed.” He started back to Lab 33-284. “I was careless, too rough with my victim. Their death has to be slow. Yes, it has to be slow and allow the Chimera Strain to take hold.” Very few times in his life had he been annoyed with himself, and this was one of them. “Puck! I've failed.”
“I can’t worry about that now. I can’t undo death.” He looked at his hands. “At least, I think it’s beyond my power. Maybe... No, that kind of thinking is only a distraction. I have other things to worry about.” As the excitement of the hunt vanished, his walked turned into a trudge.
“I'm the carrier of the Chimera Strain! Me, a once lowly man, now have the power to destroy the whole world!” He put a hand to his stomach. “All I have to do is gain more control. I need to let the victim bleed, but not kill them right away. That’s all I have to do.” Anubis dug his nails into his abdomen and cursed, “Puck! The Hunger, it's like its gnawing at my gut.” He paused and leaned on a wall. “This will drive me insane. I have to satisfy it. I have to make it go away. But I just fed. Will nothing satisfy the Hunger?” He clenched his teeth and ranted, “I can’t let it dominate me. I have to be the master. The master!”
Anubis had been known as Wilbert Williams, an Illicit Closer a.k.a. the Jackal. His new name suited him better. The man he was was dead and a plague coursed through his veins. It was a sickness of the mind and body. And as he proclaimed, he carried the infectious super-virus. With the transformation of his mentality and physical appearance, so changed his name.
“I’ll be the master. And I’ll bring death to the world!” Anubis licked gore and bits of flesh from his mutated canines. “I will be.” He started for the lab again. “If I can get this Hunger under control.” His stomach rumbled again and turned its rampaging on itself.
The PP BL-S caused insufferable agony to flood his body. But pain didn’t hinder his purpose. “It drives me, urges me to take my revenge!” He balled his hands and shook a fist toward the heavens. “Take my revenge on this cruel world! I need a plan.” He grabbed his stomach again. “But the Hunger...”
At times, the Chimera Strain muddled his mind. “I remember... I remember... Pain. At first it was fire.” Brain-sick with confusion, he grabbed his eyelids with his finger tips. “It was endless scorching, baking, and frying.” Anubis pulled at them, making his bloodshot eyeballs bulge. “My whole body burned with pain." It muddled his thoughts. “The Twilight's near.” He dropped his hands from his face and searched the empty passage. “Its Herald proclaims it!” As if talking to someone, he questioned, “Can’t you hear it?!”
Slowly, clear thinking returned to him along with the memory of the past few days. “I remember agony. And a chill follows the scorching.” Anubis wrapped his arms around his unclad, transmuted, disfigured frame. “Torment so cold it burns my body, burns my body more than the heat.” His stomach growled. More focused, he stopped and returned to his birthing place. “Must keep my plan on track.” Anubis stared inside Lab 33-284 at the two men he had infected successfully.
They moaned as the infection took its course. One, Dr. David Tenes was the man who injected him with the PP BL-S. The other, Din Lay, happened to be at the wrong place at the most convenient time. That was, convenient for Anubis. Din Lay was the one who brought the music player.
Anubis couldn’t help but take pleasure in their torment. He leaned on the door frame and asked maliciously, “How are daddy’s boys?”
The two men didn’t answer as their bodies convulsed. The Chimera Strain transformed them and created mindless creatures with human forms. They were becoming something unlike Anubis. Maybe they were becoming something even more frightening.
“We're missing one,” Anubis thought. “Dr. Tenes’ assistant, Mike. The one who did this to my head.” He raked his hand over stubble of gray hair. Anubis looked to the examining bed where they had restrained him. He thought back, thought back to the beginning, the beginning of his metamorphosis. “You injected me with the PP BL-S. And used me like some guinea pig. You thought you could advance your placing in this world at my expense. Hah! Now who’s the asphole?”
Anubis entered the room. “It was the beginning.” He leered, pleased with watching the two infected men as they transformed from brilliant scientists to mindless minions. Anubis walked over to Dr. Tenes and looked at his bald head. “I wish you had hair, so I can do to you what you ordered your assistant to do to me.” Anubis turned to a mirror in the lab. “Not that my appearance matters anymore. I won’t be picking up chicks with my looks.” He snarled at his reflection. “It will be more like chase the ladies, till I can take a bite out of them.” Anubis knelt between the two men and rubbed the one man's bald head like petting a cat. “What do you think, Dr. Tenes? Am I all you dreamed I’d be?”
The infected, or maybe zombies was a better term, turned and faced Anubis. They heard his calling, and they moaned again, unable to speak, and drool ran from their mouths.
“No answer? That’s okay. I’m all I ever dreamed. And that’s what matters.” Anubis stood. “Do you remember how this all started?”
The zombies joined their master, but said nothing. Dr. Tenes hand bled were Anubis had bitten off his pinky, and the red liquid covered his lab coat. Blood gushed from Din Lay’s neck where his master had chomped on him. Their stomachs rumbled as the Hunger hit them and feeding dominated their thoughts.
Anubis roared and spoke in a reverberating voice, “I do. I can clearly remember the beginning. You asked me if I felt any pain.” He mocked Dr. Tenes. “What are you experiencing right now, my dear scientist? Do you feel any pain?” His sneer faded. “In your state, do you feel anything? Probably not. I had hoped you would suffer longer.” He stepped to the side as his minions slowly walked out of the lab. “I believe I hear your minds or at least what is left of them.” A wicked grin spread across his face. “So you too have the Hunger. You have an insistent craving for human blood. At least, that is something. I won't be alone in my urge.” He hurried past them to the door. “Come.” Anubis felt as if his stomach was eating itself again. “We must hunt. For that's all we can do, for the Hunger will never go away. And in the end, it may drive me mad. But until then, I'll take my revenge and see how much I can puck up this world!”
CHIMERA STRAIN REPORT:
12:28 A.M.
Infected- three. About .00011% of the 23,286 present at the Third Branch Office. The Twilight nears.
Chapter Two
Barbra And Johnny
The present...
October 26...
Tuesday...
1:47 P.M...
Hellenistic Sector, Business Vicinage...
Sphinx Corporation Third Branch Office...
Level 301...
A brother and a sister, both fair haired and dressed in black, paused outside the George A. Romero Hologram Room. She straightened her skirt then inserted a card in a reader by the door.
The computer read the file and stated in a male robotic voice, “Program uploaded. You may proceed in. Program will last twenty minutes.”
Somberly, they stepped forward, activating the automated door. It slid to the side with a whoosh, and they entered. The room housed paneling that enabled the walls to project a day with normal small clouds that let in the sun. It was a place where plants and animals thrived. Everything within the room was a hologram.
The man adjusted his suit, glanced at a H.H.C., and motioned for his sister to follow him down a row of light generated gravestones. He held a wreath.
The woman seemed lost, but remembered her part, “They otta make the day the time changes the first day of summer.”
“What?” the man asked. “What are you talking about, Barbra?”
She looked around the make believe world. In the distance, a clock sat on a black cast iron pole near a winding side walk. Barbra examined the hands. “Well it’s eight o’clock, and it’s still light.”
He glanced at his watch. “It’s actually a little before two p.m.”
“Johnny please,” she pleaded. “Stick to the script. The one we always do. It makes it easier. Easier for me to deal. Anyway, that’s how I programed this hologram room. It is eight here.”
“Yeah, eight here and not a Dry Cloud in the sky. We both know this is all fake.”
“Johnny, please.”
He nodded and thought, “It might make it easier for you, but I think it’s a little weird.”
Johnny said, “But if it makes you happy...”
She started again, “Well it’s eight o’clock, and it’s still light.”
Johnny cleared his throat, changed the file on his H.H.C., and read, “A lot of good the extra daylight does us, now we still have a three hour drive back. We aren't going to be home till after midnight.”
Irate, Barbra snapped, “Well if it really bugged you Johnny, you wouldn’t do it.”
He chuckled and pointed at the hologram graveyard. “You think I want to blow Tuesday on a scene like this?” He glanced at the H.H.C. “You know, I figure we’re going to have to move mother out here or move the grave into the Valhalla Sector.”
“She can’t make a trip like this.”
“Ohh... You don’t know that she can’t.” He looked to her purse. “Is there any of that candy left?”
She looked inside. “No.”
Johnny thought, “Why can’t the answer ever be yes.”
He continued with the script, “Look at this thing.” He held up the circle wreath of flowers and read on it, “We still remember.” Johnny shook his head. “I don’t. You know, I don’t even remember what the man looks like.”
Barbra walked ahead, stopped, and looked back. “Johnny, it takes you five minutes.”
“Yeah, five minutes to put the wreath on the grave and six hours to drive back and forth. Mother wants to remember so we trot two hundred miles into the Hellenistic Sector, and she stays at home.”
She put a hand to her hip. “Well we’re here, John. Alright.”
In the distance, the door to the hologram room opened. A black man slowly trudged in, dragging his left leg.
The siblings walked to the graves.
Barbra asked, “Which row is it in?”
He nodded to the one they stood in. “Well, there’s no one around.”
“Well, it’s late. If you had gotten up earlier.”
“Ahh... Look. I already lost an hour sleep when the time changed.”
“I think you complain just to hear yourself talk.” Barbra continued past the gravestones and pointed. “There it is.”
Johnny knelt and placed the real wreath of flowers next to the gravestone of generated light. “I wonder what happened to the one from last year. Each year we spend good credits on these things. And we come out here, and the one from last year is gone.”
She looked around the quiet landscape. “Well, the flowers die. And the caretaker or someone takes them away.”
He stood. “Yeah, a little spit and polish could clean this up. Sell it next year. I wonder how many times we bought the same one.”
She knelt by the tombstone.
After a minute, Johnny said impatient, “Hey, come on Barb. Temple was this morning.”
In the distance...
The black man, dressed in a white business shirt and tan pants, lumbered aimlessly in a circle till he spotted the siblings. His eyes were vacant. He started toward them, dragging his leg.
At the grave...
Johnny glanced at the H.H.C. again and read his line, “Hey, I mean praying’s for temple. Come on.”
Barbra lifted her head. “I haven’t seen you in Zeus' Temple lately.”
He chuckled. “Well, there’s not much sense in me going to temple. Do you remember one time when we were small and we were out here?” He pointed to a tree. “It was from right over there, I jumped out at you from behind a tree and grandpa got all excited, and he shook his fist at me, and he said, ‘Boy, you’ll be damned to Tartarus.’” Johnny laughed. “You remember that?” He pointed to the tree again. “Right over there. You used to be really scared here.”
“Johnny!”
He put the H.H.C. away. Johnny knew the next couple of lines by heart. “You’re still afraid.” Actually, he enjoyed them.
She no longer acted. “Stop it now! I mean it!”
With a big smirk on his face, he taunted in a ghoulish voice, “They're coming to get you, Barbra.”
“Stop it!” She walked towards the entrance. “You’re ignorant.”
He repeated in the same ghoulish voice, “They’re coming for you, Barbra.”
“Stop it! You’re acting like a child.”
He ran and grabbed her from behind. “They’re coming for you.” Johnny pointed to the man. “Look! There comes one now.”
She tried to quiet him. “He’ll hear you. No need to go off script. Our trip is done. We can leave.”
Her brother wouldn’t stop the acting, “Here he comes now. I’m getting out of here.” He ran ahead of her, around the other man, and neared the entrance.
Barbra felt bad that her brother was so rude and went to apologize to the man.
The black man turned and opened his mouth as the brother walked by, but said nothing and turned to the sister. He lunged for her.
“Johnny!” she screamed as the man grabbed at her arms. She stepped back, and he fell to the ground. “Johnny, help me!”
The man started for her again.
Her brother turned, saw she was in danger, and ran at the man, pulling him off of his sister.
“Hey!” The man raised his hands. “Wait a minute. Don’t get the wrong idea. I tripped and fell that’s all. I hurt my leg earlier.” He looked to her. “Sorry. My name’s Ben, and I’m the Chairman’s assistant. I was sent to bring you upstairs. The Chairman heard you were here and wants to see you.”
“Us?” she said.
“Yes. So if you don’t mind.” Ben motioned for the exit as the program shut off, and the area reverted to an empty room. “Let’s head up to his office.”
“I’m famished,” Barbra said. “We need to stop somewhere first so I can eat.”
“That’s fine.” Ben removed a cell phone from his pocket. “I’ll call the Chairman and let him know you will be up later. Come this way, and I’ll take you to the Deli Shop.”
The siblings nodded and followed him out.
Chapter Three
Where’s Kat?
Tuesday...
2:29 P.M...
Hellenistic Sector, Residential Vicinage...
“Katharine...” Kim ran out of the front lobby of the Nexus Apartments.
She thought, “Where are you? If I was you, where would I run?” Desperate, Kim hurried her pace as dark Dry Clouds grumbled overhead as the storm sent down sheets of Tainted Rain. The oily black water soiled her teal pant suit and darkened her blonde hair. “I should have never let you leave. You could be anywhere by now.” Reddish-blue lightning streaked across the barriercumulus as Kim ran across the street and entered Zeus Park. “Katharine, where are you?”
She hurried along a path that wound through the park and searched aimlessly. Transgenic Maples, grass, and bushes lined the pathways. “Is she here? Is Katharine here? I don't see her.” Tears ran down her face. “I’m sorry. I’m such an idiot! I should’ve never told you... I should've never told you until I was a hundred percent sure.” In the distance, Kim saw a brick bridge and bolted for it. “It was stupid of me. I should have waited, but I was impatient. I had to tell you. I can admit it now. I was excited. I was excited you were my sister. I hid those feelings. I hid those feelings even from myself. And look what it has cost me. I have no idea what it cost you. And for that, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” She quickened her pace. “But I was so sure.” She thought back to Monday around 9:30 in the morning.
"For me, it had come down to the moment of truth. A moment I dreaded. Again I lied to myself. I was really overjoyed, scared out of my mind, yes, but overjoyed. I didn't hate the fact you were my sister. It was... It was just... I'm such an idiot! I should have never let you leave the apartment! I should have kicked Stephanie out!"
"I can remember standing at the end of the kitchen counter and staring at the kit I had tested your blood with. I'd been floored by the results. Not only did I have a sister, but at the time, I thought it was you, Katharine. I squeezed the kit in my fist, gathering my courage, then went and sat across from you at the table. A small round surface separated us, but it felt to me as if we were universes apart. What was holding me back? Or what was I afraid of? Connecting with someone, maybe. Maybe I was afraid of caring for someone again. Caring for someone and then have them taken away from me just like my mom."
"You had asked me, 'Does your father know the name? Your father must know the name of the project.'"
"I told you no then I opened the kit, removed the test stick, and placed it in front of you."
"I laugh now as I think back. You glanced at the device and your eyes widened. You gave me a puzzled look and innocently asked, 'You’re pregnant?'"
"I was so mad and yelled at you. I can remember screaming, 'I’m not pregnant! Why would you even think that? What in this conversation has led you to believe...'"
"After a little more discussion, I told you I tested your blood while you were asleep. You didn't understand why I would test your blood. You had no clue what I was about to tell you and asked me, 'What does that mean?'"
"I took a deep breath and told you that means you’re my sister."
"You couldn’t believe it and asked me, 'Are you sure?'"
"I told you as sure as this test was. It was when it happened. It was when you got so upset with me. You showed more emotion at that point than when you discovered Stephanie was really my sister. Thinking about it now, I must have really caught you off guard. It must be why you exploded when I first told you you were my sister. And maybe deep down, you later expected to be rejected as my sister. So when the second shock came, you were able to keep everything bottled inside."
"I can still hear you screaming at me when I first told you we were siblings. You said, 'You’re making this up? Would you say something like that to me just to be mean? To see how I would react? The thing is you would. So did I do something to make you mad at me? Did I do something stupid again? I've helped clean up. I've kept my area tidy."
"I felt so bad and didn't know what to say to you. You looked like you were about to cry."
"You continued as I remained silent. I was shocked by your outburst. You said, 'Why are you messing with me?! It's not funny! This is too cruel even for you. Why are you saying such lies? You shouldn't say something like that. Not to me!' You wrapped your arms around yourself and whispered, 'Not to me.'"
"This wasn’t the reaction I expected, actually it floored me. I thought you would be overjoyed like I was. I thought you would be elated to discover who you were or at least happy. But no. There was fear in your eyes. It broke my heart to watch you. I didn't understand what you were afraid of. Before I could say anything, you continued your rant. You yelled, 'I knew you were cruel.' You took a few steps back from me as I felt as though you had hit me in the face. You continued, 'That you didn't want me here. That you only tolerate me, but this is beyond... This is beyond... Sheez! If you wanted to be mean, why didn't you just tell me to get out! You didn't have to be so unbelievably cruel to me!'"
"Your eyes reddened and I thought you were crying. I've never seen you this upset. Maybe I did go about it all wrong. No. I know now that I did go about it all wrong."
"You screamed, 'I can't believe you! Why say something like that to me even if you're just joking? Why would you say something like that? Sheez! If you wanted to hurt me, why didn't you punch me?' You whispered, 'At least that wound would heal.'"
"I never imagined you would react this way. I thought it would be a celebration. I was so disappointed and asked you if you really believed I was messing with you. Your answer still hurts. But what did I expect? I had treated you like dirt. No, I treated you like trash."
"You replied, 'Yes! So many have. Why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you mess with my emotions? Test me? See how I'll react? Prove a point?'"
"Thinking back, you distanced yourself from the situation. You must have really thought I was a jerk."
"At the time, I couldn't understand why you wouldn't believe me. I asked you if you really thought I could be that cruel. I told you I had lost my mom. I asked you if you really thought I would be so cruel as to dangle family in front of your face as a joke. It was when you sent my past words back at me. You shot them at me like poison dipped arrows."
"'Yes, I believe you would be so mean. You've been trying to teach me not to trust you. Well you did it! Are you happy? I can't trust anything you say.' You started to limp out of the apartment."
"I grabbed your arm and said in a gentler tone, 'This isn't what I intended. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I lied to you in the past. I'm sorry I was the kind of person who hated how trusting you were. I wanted you to see the world as I did. I'm sorry I hurt you, but believe me now. I'm not lying."
"'I want to believe.' You turned and faced me. 'You wouldn't believe how much I want to believe you. Believe that I finally have my answers and that I have family. That you're my...'"
“I interrupted you and told you, 'Then believe. It's that easy. Believe.'"
"'You have to understand where I’m coming from. The Council has done nothing but test me.” You looked to my hand that grabbed your arm then placed your hand on mine. 'I want to believe what you're saying is true–' You dropped your hand. '–but I also don’t want to be manipulated and fooled just to see how I would react.' Your lips quivered. 'That would be cruel. For you to say we're sisters and then take it back later. That would be so heartless.'"
"I'm such an idiot. You stood there and pleaded with me, pleaded with me not to lie to you. I am heartless. I'm a wretched person. For Ares' sake! What kind of monster am I?"
"I reach the brick bridge’s tunnel and run through it. You're not here. Where are you? Where did you go? Panting and cold, I lean against the wall. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I told you you were my sister. I fist my hand. If only she had not showed up. If only..."
"Stephanie arrived late last night and proclaimed she was my sister. Why did she have to come into my life? Why? It’s bad enough Stephanie is my sister. But... What that fact did to you when I finally brought home the truth... I can never forgive myself for. I can never forgive myself for what I did."
"I go back through the tunnel and start for home. Why couldn’t you have been my sister, Katharine? Why did it have to be her? I'm sorry. Please come back. Don't leave me."
Chapter Four
Mr. Pinchbeck And Maven Crackerjack
2:32 P.M...
Hellenistic Sector, Trade Vicinage...
The Factory...
Moments earlier...
“Good-bye, Mr. Crackerjack.” The Rogue thrust its knife forward, and the force of the strike embedded the blade inches into the rock wall. Blood trickled down the Bowie’s handle and covered its hand. The Rogue withdrew its knife, and Maven’s body slumped down to the sand. It questioned, “Was that quick enough for you?”
“I’m dying.” Maven’s vision blurred as he stared at the sand. He lifted his eyes and looked to the Rogue standing over him. It smirked at him as he repeated, “I’m dying.” He examined his hand as blood dripped to it. Maven stared at the crimson liquid. “I’m leaving so many things undone.” He closed his eyes to rest in death. “What a shame...”
“What are you doing?” The Rogue knelt beside him and removed his handkerchief from his vest pocket. “You are not dead.”
Maven blinked open his eyes. “I’m not?”
“No. Now get to your feet.” It stood. “We have work to do.”
He also stood. “I don’t understand.”
“I changed my mind. I am not going to kill you.” It wiped blood from the blade with the handkerchief. “At least not yet.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You keep repeating the same sentence. What is there to understand?” The Rogue handed the soiled cloth back. “I decided I can risk it. I need your mind and your passion for the truth. I need you to help me.”
“With what?” He took the handkerchief.
“I need to know all I can about the Rushlight. The only thing I need to know from you is if I can trust you. Can you keep my secret?”
Blood dripped to Maven’s hand again, and he put his palm over a cut on his right cheek as he nodded. A thought came to mind, and he asked, “If you changed your mind, why did you cut me?”
“A reminder of our pact. Every morning when you see the scar, it will remind you to keep my secret. I in turn will keep you alive.”
“Normally, I wouldn’t agree.” Maven put the cloth to his cut. “You are an Un-Man and most likely a murderer, but I don’t believe anyone else would give me the opportunities to find the secrets of Arcamedes and Ginn. Not like you can.” Maven held out his hand. “So I will make a pact with a mechanical Hecate. I agree to keep your secret.”
The Rogue glanced at his hand and shook it. “Then like I said, let us get back to work.”
Chapter Five
Barbra And Johnny Meet The Chairman
2:39 P.M...
Hellenistic Sector, Business Vicinage...
Sphinx Corporation Third Branch Office...
Level 150...
Ben escorted Johnny and Barbra to his boss’ office. They exited an elevator and headed for a waiting room as the young black man limped.
“Hi, Cathy,” Ben yelled to her as she sat at her desk. “This is Barbra and Johnny. The Chairman requested to see them.”
The secretary looked up. “I will let Mr. Griffin know they are here. They can have a seat while they wait.” She noticed his limp. “Did you hurt yourself playing softball again?”
“Yeah. Slid hard into third base.”
Cathy shook her head. “What am I going to do with you?”
Ben grinned, turned to the siblings, and motioned to two light brown couches. “You heard the lady. If you would like, you can sit. Sounds like it will be a couple of minutes.”
The siblings nodded and sat.
“I’m off,” Ben said. “I have practice. If you need anything ask Cathy.” Ben left.
Johnny glanced at the coffee table. “Look here, a History of Noir.” He picked up the large text, opened the cover, and peered at a paper tucked in a clear plastic pocket. The book was registered to the Sphinx Corporation Third Branch Office.
“Can’t you stop reading even for a few minutes?” Barbra crossed her legs and smoothed her hand down her black skirt. “Sometimes it gets annoying.”
“Nope.” Johnny grinned. “How about I read out loud? You know, to pass the time.”
“How about you don’t?” Barbra leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “And I'll quietly sit here and rest my peepers.”
Her brother ignored her and he started, “In the year 527 B.D.C., the Neoteric World was discovered by Christopher Columbus and Ponce de Leon. The voyage was a joint venture between the Valhalla, Sphinx, and Isis Corporations. They laid claim to the lands of the east coast. This started a land rush and other business entities followed suit.”
Barbra opened one eye. “You do know I know all of this.”
Trying to rile her, Johnny read on. “The lands were occupied by tribes of people and clashes occurred between the natives and corporate military. The battles were bloody and costly for the corporations. After five decades of nonstop fighting, the threat of bankruptcy leered over those in the Neoteric World. The Corporate Senate negotiated with the diverse tribes covering the land. They came to an agreement and signed a contract known as the Great Neoteric Accord. This gave the two newly formed corporations of the native tribes leasing rights for the next five hundred years on property in the Neoteric World.”
She grumbled and closed the one eye. “Any five year old knows this.”
He gained ground in their endless battle. “The tribes of the north formed the American Nations Corporation and the tribes of the south formed the Inca Corporation. With their new found–”
Barbra huffed and opened her eyes. “I might murder you!”
“–source of income, the two newly formed corporations rose in power.” Johnny smiled, relishing in his victory. “In 451 B.D.C., the world’s corporations moved their main head quarters to the northern part of the Neoteric World, thus forming Noir, a mega-city. In 404 B.D.C., the North Continent was officially named Noir. In 379 B.D.C., the Corporate Senate moved its head quarters to Noir.”
“Will you can it!?” Barbra stood and paced the waiting room. “Why do you think the Chairman wants to see us?”
Johnny shifted position on the couch and glanced at the secretary. The older woman spoke on the phone.
“I don’t know,” he answered his sister. “The only thing Ben said was that Mr. Griffin wanted to see us.”
Barbra sighed, impatient, and turned her gaze to a few landscape paintings decorating the open room’s white walls. She smiled. The paintings incited a little solace, but didn’t distract her from her worries. “I don’t know. A man in Mr. Griffin’s position usually doesn’t care about the little people around him.” Barbra sighed again and turned to the secretary as the woman answered a second phone on her desk.
The secretary hung up and cleared her throat. “Johnny... Barbra...” Cathy started. “Mr. Griffin will see you now.”
The siblings headed for the office.
Johnny carried the history book with him and read, “Over the next three hundred plus years, the Earth lived in peace and harmony.” He stopped reading and commented, “Yeah right! You mean, besides a few hostile takeovers here and there.” He continued reading, “Then came Zero Day...”
“Johnny, please...” Barbra shouted under her breath, “Can it!”
The two paused outside of the Chairman’s office. They took a deep breath, both gaining courage. Johnny closed the book, opened the door, and they walked in. The Chairman glanced up from a computer and stared at them with his light blue eyes as they entered. He grinned, seeing them.
“Johnny. Barbra. Good to see you two.” He stood, walked to them, and kissed Barbra on the cheek and shook Johnny’s hand. The Chairman’s grin deepened as he motioned to two chairs in front of his desk.
They sat as he returned to his seat.
“It’s been a long time.” The Chairman leaned back. “What has it been? Has it been ten years?”
Puzzled, the siblings looked at each other.
“Sir, we aren’t sure what you’re talking about,” Johnny started. “Of course we know who you are, but I don’t think we’ve ever met.” He looked to his sister.
She nodded. “Yes, I don’t think we’ve ever met.”
“I guess you don’t remember.” The Chairman folded his fingers together and rested them on his chest. “I have been to your house several times. Your father and I were good friends.”
The siblings glanced at each other again and shook their heads.
The Chairman thought for a moment and then said, “I guess it has been longer than I remember. I believe you were both children the last time I came to your house.” He thought some more. “I remember now. It was a birthday party. I believe it was Johnny’s.” The Chairman nodded. “Yes, it was your eighth birthday party.” He glanced at a closed photo album on his desk.
“Eighth?” Johnny’s eyes widened, surprised by the history lesson. “That was over twenty years ago.”
“Twenty? It has been a long time.” The Chairman frowned, but it soon vanished. “No wonder you don’t remember me. Never mind that part then.”
“You said you knew our father,” Barbra stated.
“Yes, we were good friends. Which is why I wanted to see you two.” The Chairman couldn’t help but smile, knowing the gift he was going to return to them. “I would like to give you something. Something that belonged to your father.”
“What is that?” Johnny asked.
“You’ll see.” The Chairman placed a palm on the photo album. “It’s a surprise.” He removed his hand. “Anyway, I don’t have it here yet.” The Chairman stood. “Why don’t you two come back in a few days? I’ll have hover train tickets sent to you, so you don’t have to drive. Once the item arrives, I’ll send word and you can come at your leisure.”
“Something that belonged to our father?” A tear came to Barbra’s eye. “Yes. Yes I would like that. We have to come back Johnny. We have to see what it is.”
“Okay.” Her brother nodded. “We can do that.”
Chapter Six
Kat At The Third Branch Office
3:11 P.M...
Hellenistic Sector, Business Vicinage...
“I feel so lost,” Kat thought as she stepped from a hover train onto a platform and examined the dismal Dry Clouds that surrounded them. She put a hand over her heart as the muscle ached. It yearned for a family and a sister lost. “I feel so alone. What am I going to do?”
A see-through overhang protected the platform from the barriercumulus’ erratic weather. It also gave a clear view of the menace plaguing Noir. The mile thick puffy clouds seemed to stand still and stare down at the mega-city like a hungry dragon before it lunges for the throat of its prey.
She and Zax had taken the hover train from the Residential Vicinage. Zax had driven them to the station. He also had Kat leave her gun in the glove box of the vehicle. She wouldn't be able to take it in where they were going.
Kat dropped her hand, but not her hazel eyes. “What do I do now?” She searched the bleak Dry Clouds for answers. “Where do I go?” They offered no comfort. “How can I go on?” They offered her no answers. “What is there to fight for?” They only left her with the sense of hopelessness.
Zax exited behind her. He wore a white uniform and a white cap. She had been quiet the short trip in the taxi to the hover train station in the Residential Vicinage and the ride over on the hover train. He ignored the stares she received because of how dirty she looked. Zax didn’t care about her appearance, even though some might say she looked ordinary, that she easily blended into a crowd, and that nothing about her stood out.
He wondered, “Maybe we should've stopped somewhere so she could've cleaned up.” He glanced over the woman in her early thirties with short brown hair. “Kat’s covered in the residue left from Tainted Rain.” The blackish film covered her hair, face, and shoulders. “Not exactly the first impression you want to give people.”
He broke from his thoughts and told her, “There it is over there.” Zax pointed to a mega-building about a half mile away. “It's where you’ll be working, eating, and sleeping. That’s if I can get you that job I promised.”
“So here we are...” Kat thought as she lowered her eyes from the Dry Clouds and looked to the titan of a building in the distance. The Sphinx Corporation Third Branch Office towered over Enterprise Street. She stared at it with dread. Over the past year, the Factory and the Council hunted her. They sent bounty hunters, Life Closers, and bio-mechas after her.
She mumbled, “Now I’m going to enter the den of the hunter.”
The screeching of trains and the clamor and chatter of riders bombarded the area.
Zax turned to her. “What was that?”
She searched the crowd as people entered and left the hover train. “Nothing.” Kat wished she had her athletic jacket, feeling October’s chill.
He asked, “Are you having doubts?”
Kat nodded.
“Do you want to go somewhere else?” He turned his head as if looking for a place to go.
She considered her answer and asked, “Do you know of another job that is not related to Sphinx?”
Zax thought a moment and answered, “No.”
“That’s what I thought.” Kat started for the line of taxies parked several feet from the platform as a rising dread slowly trickled up her spine. “Let’s go before they give the job away.” A feeling of trepidation spread over her body, and she balled her hands so they wouldn’t shake. Kat would have fled the other direction if another primal instinct had not kicked in. She would have taken off if it had not fought back her fear and pushed her forward. Her stomach grumbled, and she added, “After all, I do have to eat.”
Zax watched her walk off and wondered, “What am I doing? This was not part of the job R.G. gave me. I was only supposed to watch Kimberly and Katharine in their apartment. But then Stephanie showed up... and... I got involved.” He exhaled deeply and followed after her. “R.G.’s going to have my head.”
They both entered a cab, and Zax instructed, “Third Branch Office.”
Minutes later...
The taxi stopped in front of the mega-building and both Kat and Zax got out.
She stared up the steps leading to the entrance. “So I’m going to do it. I’m going to walk into this place. I’m going to walk in as if they have never tormented my existence. Never tried to kill me.” Kat turned and stared at the taxi as the cab pulled away. “None of this would be happening if...” She tried not to think about it. “If...” She tried not to linger on it. “If Kimberly...” But her heart was too broken not to tarry on what she almost had. She missed the could have beens. Kat was so close to having a family and a sister. “If only...”
“This way.” Zax headed up the stairs.
She snapped from her wishful thinking and followed.
“Hey Zax!” a Chinese man, with shoulder length black hair and wearing a rainbow colored lab coat, ran up the stairs after them.
“Hi, Din Lay. What are you doing here this time of day?” Zax folded his arms and eyed his friend. “I thought you worked nights?”
“I’ve been putting in some overtime. Another friend of mine, Maven Crackerjack, sent over a sheet of music entitled Closing Of Days. Pretty interesting stuff. I’m putting in the extra time with it.” Din Lay’s tone turned to excitement, “It was written by a man named Arcamedes...”
Zax yawned.
“Oh, that’s right. This kind of stuff doesn’t interest you.” Din Lay mumbled, “Lousy friend you are. You could at least pretend.”
“Where you headed?” Zax asked.
Din Lay pointed to a restaurant across the road. “I was actually on my way to grab some lunch. But I saw you and wanted to tell you our poker game tonight has been canceled.”
“Ah...” Zax complained. “And here I was hoping to win enough from you poor slobs to buy me a new pair of shoes.”
“Well, you’ll have to wait till next week for that.” Din Lay glanced at the woman with his friend. Her hair and t-shirt were soiled.
“She must have been caught in a storm,” he thought. “But it looks like it’s already dried. Why didn't she change? Or at least clean up?”
He asked, “Who’s your friend?”
“Oh, that’s right. Sorry.” Zax motioned to her. “Din Lay, this is Katharine. Katharine, this is Din Lay.”
Kat offered her hand, and they shook.
Din Lay leaned over and whispered, “So you finally found yourself a girlfriend? Though I would have to say, she looks a little worse for wear. Where did you pick her up, Wayfaring Lane?”
Zax elbowed the man in the ribs. “Don’t be rude.”
“Ouch!” Din Lay rubbed his side.
“It’s okay.” Kat looked down at her dirty self. “I know I don’t look all that great.”
Din Lay asked, “Were you caught in a Tainted Rain storm?”
She nodded.
Din Lay joked, “What? Were you kicked out of your house?”
Zax elbowed the man harder and under his breath yelled, “I told you not to be rude.”
“Ouch! Why do you keep doing that? It hurts.” Din Lay glared at his friend.
Zax motioned with his head to her.
Din Lay looked to Kat and saw the sad expression on her face. “Oh, sorry.” He shook his hand, trying to dismiss his impolite behavior. “I was only kidding. I didn’t know...”
“That’s okay.” She bowed her head. “How were you supposed to know I had to leave my home?” She glanced at Zax and noticed his worried look. She tried to lighten the mood and smiled, pointing, “Zax was kind enough to help me look for a job and get a new place to stay.”
“Oh...” Din Lay peered back at the Third Branch Office. “So you’re trying to get her a job here?”
“Yeah. Shades in the Bike Messengers told me he had an opening for the Graveyard Shift.”
Din Lay nodded his approval. “I guess that would be a good job. It comes with a place to stay and meals.”
Zax took a step up. “Well, we got to go. I want her to interview for it before the job’s given away.”
“Catch you later then.” Din Lay headed down the stairs. “Maybe at the next poker game, I’ll clean you out.”
Zax chuckled. “Yeah right.” He continued up the stairs. “Come on, Katharine. We’ll stop at a bathroom so you can clean up a bit.”
After about ten steps, Kat paused and looked at the massive building ascending into the Dry Clouds. Dread pressed upon her again as she thought, “I no longer have the tracking beacon imbedded in my shoulder. So what am I afraid of?” She wrapped her arms around herself. “Very few people know what I look like, know what the Pandora Project looks like.” Kat tried to convince herself, “I should be safe.” She stared at the menacing Dry Clouds gripping at the Third Branch Office like a hungry dragon. “So why do I have this feeling something bad’s going to happen?”