by Jay Vielle
“Mom,” Tommy said. “You recognize us, don’t you?” he said. Laura nodded but didn’t speak.
“Mom, we came a long way to find you. Can you talk to us?” Vinny said. Laura made a pained face, then shook her head ever so slightly.
“Mom, we think we have a cure for this,” Tommy said. “It’s why we’re here. We want to help you.”
Laura straightened even more and released her sons’ hands, and a slight noise came from her. She shook her head again.
“Yes, Mom. We can help you. But you have to come with us,” said Vinny. “We’ve got this whole big set-up.”
Laura backed away again, and the mutates began to grumble and move nervously. They tightened their grip on Jake, and he winced and made a grunting sound out of discomfort. Laura screeched at him and pointed her finger, and the mutates began to pull on him. Jake hollered.
“Mom, no. Dad brought us here. He never stopped looking for you. We came all the way from home. Dad worked it all out. He took horses, boats, even stole stuff just to get here and find you. Don’t hurt him,” Vinny said.
Laura scowled at Jake. Vinny lay a hand gently on his mother’s shoulder.
“Mom, don’t hurt him. He loves you. Won’t you come with us?” Vinny said.
Laura stood motionless for a moment. Tommy and Vinny moved closer and each took one of her hands. She winced and made a gesture at Jake. The mutates put him down on his feet, but still held tight to his arms so that he wouldn’t escape.
“You understand us, right?” Tommy said. “You can understand what we’re saying?”
Laura nodded.
“But you can’t speak to us?” he said.
Laura shook her head no.
“So, if you can understand us, you know that we want to help you?” Tommy said.
Laura nodded again.
“Then won’t you come with us?” Tommy asked again.
Laura shook her head.
“But why not? You know we can help; you know we don’t want to hurt you. Why can’t you come with us?
Laura lifted her hands, palms up, and gestured them at the mutates.
“Because you’re their leader?” Vinny said.
Laura nodded.
“But we’re your children,” Vinny said. “Your sons. Your own flesh and blood!”
Laura reached her hands up to both of their faces and gently caressed them. She looked sad, and leaned in to touch her forehead to theirs. Her white hair fell into their faces. Her skin was a glistening orange, and the juxtaposition of her alien look and her pleading sons was palpable. I felt myself choking up.
“I get it,” said Vinny. “It’s like a queen bee. The hive can’t function without one. You can’t just leave them, or they couldn’t make decisions for themselves.”
Laura smiled and nodded.
“So you’re choosing them over us?” Tommy said. Laura patted both of their shoulders to show off their large deltoids.
“Yes, we’re grown now and big and strong, but we need you,” Vinny said.
Laura pressed her lips together tightly and gazed into her sons’ eyes with a look of sadness.
“So does this mean good-bye?” Tommy said.
Laura pursed her lips and shrugged.
“Mom, we can’t leave you. We don’t want to leave you,” Tommy said.
Laura leaned in and hugged both of her sons together. They stayed that way for a while, nearly a full minute motionless. Tommy was crying. Vinny was fighting it, but losing the battle. Finally, Laura took a big, deep, audible breath, and backed away from her sons. She patted them both, then took another two steps back.
“And what about Dad?” asked Vinny.
Laura’s face changed. The tenderness fled, her mouth and eyes lost all expression, and she glowered at Jake without making a motion or a noise.
“I’m sorry for everything,” Jake said. “I failed you.”
Laura’s face then turned to a sneer. She swallowed hard, and struggled to open her mouth. Then she pointed to Jake, and said “Kill him.”
Tommy and Vinny both shouted “no,” and the mutates began to howl all and once and turned to converge on Jake.
“Oh shit, no,” I yelled. The Colonel reached for his holster and pulled out his pistol. The mutates began pulling on Jake’s body.
And Laura Fisher dropped to the ground.
The mutates shrieked and turned towards her slumped body.
“Mom?” Tommy yelled. Then he looked at her. In her back was a dart. Then the mutate closest to Jake dropped, a dart showing on his neck. The other mutates scattered, and the gunfire opened. Tommy, Jake, and Vinny all dropped to the ground. Loud pops could be heard. They weren’t random. They seemed to be purposeful. A few seconds would go by, another pop, and another mutate would drop.
The Colonel suddenly remembered his walkie, and turned the volume up.
“This is Eagle One. Status report,” he said.
“Eagle One, this is Bravo One. We see you. Don’t move, we have the situation in hand.”
Voices were yelling at the Fishers to stay on the ground. Mutates dropped left and right. Suddenly there were only five remaining upright, and they sprinted past us up the stairs and out onto the Mall grounds.
“Holy shit,” said Jake. “Are you boys alright?”
Tommy and Vinny were lying in fetal position covering their heads with their arms.
“Boys,” Jake said. “Are you okay?”
The boys looked up, stretched out, and slowly rose to their feet.
“What happened?” Vinny asked.
“I’d say Team Bravo happened,” Jake said.
“Are you alright, sir?” one of the soldiers asked Jake.
“Fine, soldier. Just fine. You guys came in the nick of time,” Jake said. “Many thanks.”
The soldier patted Jake on the shoulder and walked up to the Colonel.
“Nicely done, Bravo. You acquired Target Prime along with one of her flock, neutralized the threat, and no civilians got hurt. Fantastic work, gentlemen,” the Colonel said.
“Hoo-ah, Colonel,” said one of the soldiers.
“Alright, let’s get Mrs. Fisher and her friend, here, back to the Pentagon medical tent, pronto. There’s still a lot of work to be done,” the Colonel said. “You okay, Jake?”
“Yeah. A little freaked out,” he said.
“A little?” I asked.
“Okay, a lot freaked out. Those things are superhumanly strong, and Laura was in complete control of them. How does she do it?” Jake asked.
“That’s one of the things we’re going to look into, Marine. For now, know that you accomplished your mission successfully. Well done,” the Colonel said.
“I almost got myself and my sons killed,” said Jake. “You guys saved the day. Much appreciated.”
“Alright Eddie,” the Colonel said. “Let’s get you back to your parents.”
“Your parents?” Jake asked.
“Oh yeah, I found my parents. They were in an underground bunker at the bottom of the Environmental Protection Agency. We were hunting mutates in front of it, and a bunch of people just came out of the building. They were there. They’re waiting for me back at the Pentagon,” I said.
“Wow. This thing is turning out to be an ‘All’s well that ends well,’ kind of day, ain’t it?” Jake said.
“So far so good,” I answered. “I mean, the rest is up to Wendy and the CBYRNE team, but this part of it seems like it’s gone well, all things considered.”
“Unbelievable couple of days, huh?” Jake said. “I can’t believe we pulled this off. I haven’t even thought about how we’re going to get home.”
“Home! Oh shit!” I yelled.
“What? What’s wrong?” Jake asked.
“I just remembered--Maureen called. They said there was big, big trouble back home. But you had just been captured so I had to hang up on her,” I said.
“We’ll call her back, don’t worry,” said Jake. “How much trouble can you get in
up in little old Emmitsburg, anyway?”
CHAPTER 28
Oleg Stravinsky was lying down on the couch in Father Joe’s office. He had the moist cloth Addie Segen gave him on his head and a bag of ice on top of that. Father Joe was tense. He began to pace around the room uncharacteristically.
“Oleg, this is a problem that is best solved quickly. If they have figured out the connections, and that information gets out, this whole thing is in danger. That’s not just my problem, but your government’s as well. Don’t you have something in place for this kind of thing?” Father Joe said.
“Yes. Yes, we do. We have a small unit in this region for—problem solving. But they will not be that easy to contact now. You may remember that Sergei and his men were in charge of this, and then Sergei was killed because of his foolish affiliation with cheap criminals. His unit is still operational in Virginia, but Sergei’s right-hand man was also killed. Moscow has not appointed replacements, so I’m not sure how to contact them. I was only given contact information for Sergei and his lieutenant for purposes of compartmentalization. I will need some directions from my superiors.”
“Well your superiors had better get their fucking game faces on, because this needs fixing now,” Father Joe said.
“I am surprised at you, Joseph. You are rarely like this. You never seem to be nervous, yet now you pace, and curse, and show me a side I have not seen before. Relax. We will be fine,” Oleg said. “I have already sent a message and should be hearing back soon.”
“Don’t tell me to relax. I have too much invested in this to let you fuck it up now,” Father Joe said.
Oleg’s face changed. His lips pressed together tightly. He reached up to his head and took off the ice bag and rag and sat up. He blinked from the temporary vertigo, then looked at the charismatic preacher standing rigidly beside him.
“I think it is a good time to remind you that you are not the only one invested in this venture,” said Oleg. “I was sent here because of my lifetime of study of the English language and American culture. My government took great and expensive pains to protect you and your town from what was coming, and we are supporting your efforts now. Mistakes were made, yes. Both by Sergei and by myself. Sergei’s attempts to service his physical addictions and to try and profit from them are unfortunate, but I had known him for years, and those weaknesses had never prevented him from getting the job done.”
“Well this time it did,” said Father Joe.
“As I said before, his men will do the job now once their leader has been appointed. You see, Joseph, leaders can be replaced, yes? It can be difficult if a leader is powerful, or charismatic, but just like the sea, some waves are larger than others—but new ones never stop coming in. Do we understand each other?” Oleg said.
Father Joe understood well. Leaders can be replaced, no matter how big they are. He had let himself become too self-important—a hazard of the kind of position he held. With so many sycophants in his flock, it was easy to let your own importance blind you from the job at hand. He had let himself forget that—and Oleg’s cold veiled threat had reminded him. He shuddered for a moment, then took a deep breath and steadied himself.
“We understand each other. I apologize for my—temporary lack of faith,” Father Joe said. Oleg lay back down and placed the ice and cold compress on his head.
“No problem,” Oleg said. “We all have moments of weakness, nyet?”
Mark, Morgan, and Estela all squeezed into the back of Maureen’s car. Al was driving, and had to scrunch his legs a bit to allow for room for the new passengers in the back.
“I hope this isn’t a long ride,” Mark said.
“It’s not. I live just outside Taneytown, just a few miles away,” said Maureen.
“I told you we should’ve taken the Mazda,” Al said.
“You and the damn Mazda,” said Maureen.
“How long are we going to stay there, with you?” Morgan asked.
“I don’t know. We need to hear back from Eddie and the Colonel. God, I hope Jake’s alright. The last thing Eddie said was that his wife was about to kill him,” Maureen said.
“His wife?” said Mark.
“She’s one of those mutates,” said Morgan.
“Sí, we saw her on television. One of the tall leader types,” said Estela.
“Oh shit, no!” said Maureen. “I half didn’t know what Eddie meant, but if Jake’s wife is one of those, she very well might be trying to eat him right now.”
“Come again?” said Mark.
“She’s a mutate. You know, those creatures. Orange skin, white hair, eat people,” said Maureen.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” asked Mark. “Is this some zombie movie thing?”
“No, it’s real. I forget--you weren’t with us. We saw them. Twice. They attacked us. They’re some kind of thing that was created by the Russian bomb things. I’m not sure why. It’s what Wendy and the Colonel were working on,” Maureen said.
“Wendy. I met her. When you guys came back to the school. I don’t know this Colonel guy, though,” said Mark.
“Well, the short version is something in the Russian bombs killed most people, but in some people created these things the Colonel called ‘mutates.’ Most of them revert back to like a cave-man kinda thing, but some of them look more like regular people, just with different colored skin and hair, and those are the leaders of the groups they travel in. Anyway, they are carnivorous and attack people. It’s freaky as hell.”
Just then Maureen’s phone rang.
“It’s Eddie,” she said.
“Hello? Eddie?”
“Yes, it’s me. Are you guys alright? What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you in a minute. Did Jake get eaten?” asked Maureen.
“What? Oh, no. No, he didn’t. He’s alive. It’s all working out. So what’s going on there that is such a bad thing?” I asked.
“Well, the short version—Father Joe and the Church of Many Blessings have taken over the town, and apparently they’ve been in cahoots with the Russians all along. They put this stuff in the water tower that keeps you from getting killed by the radiation and the Ebola in the bombs, and now the Russians are here and they’re trying to kill people,” Maureen said.
“What? What the fuck? Maureen, hold on a sec. Let me put Jake on,” said Eddie.
“Where are you?” asked Maureen.
“At the Pentagon. I’m going to go talk to my parents. Here’s Jake.”
“Hello, Maureen?” Jake said. “I caught most of what you said, but I must not have heard it right. You say that Father Joe was working with Russians to take over Emmitsburg? Are you sure you’ve got this right? I know how you get sometimes, Maureen.”
Mark Longaberger reached for the phone. “Let me talk to him.”
“Jake? It’s Mark Longaberger. What she’s saying is accurate. We discovered that the Russians, in conjunction with Father Joseph Clarque, treated the town water to prevent us from succumbing to the radiation-Ebola combination.”
“You know about that?” Jake said.
“Yes. And the stuff they gave us apparently is the main reason why Emmitsburg survived. Father Joe was on the inside. Apparently the Russians he has partnered with wanted him on the inside to help them infiltrate this area. I’m not sure why they chose Emmitsburg, but here they are. And they’ve already tried to kill Morgan and Estela for stumbling onto the information. I managed to interfere with that, but they won’t stop there. Maureen is taking us to her place to hide out for a while, but we’re gonna need help. Big time help. I think more Russians are going to show up here, and we’re powerless to stop them. We were hoping your Colonel friend could help somehow,” Mark said.
“Okay. Let me talk to the Colonel. Things just got heavy here. Our timeline will be a little messed up. You all hide out with Maureen as long as you can, and don’t let anyone from the church or the school know where you are. We have a few things to get through here, then we’ll br
ing the cavalry. Somehow.”
Jake hung up, and Mark handed back the phone to Maureen.
“What did he say?” Maureen asked.
“He said they had to finish what they started down there, but that help would be on the way. And he said to sit tight and keep out of sight for a few days, and not to tell anyone that we’re staying with you,” Mark said.
“Well,” Maureen said. “I guess we lay low for a while. I wish we could know what’s going on over there, though.”
“We can,” said Al.
“What do you mean? How can we know what’s going on and lay low at the same time?” Maureen asked.
“The people at the school don’t know we have these three with us. They won’t even guess the connection. Especially not Mark. We can come and go as we please,” said Al.
“Maybe not as we please. We made it pretty clear we hate those fuckers the last time we were in the school, remember?” Maureen said.
“But there was a town meeting,” said Mark. “And everyone was invited. Maybe you could use that as your in.”
“I like it,” said Al.
“I don’t,” said Maureen.
“It is dangerous,” said Mark. “But it would allow us an upper hand. Them not knowing our connection is a huge advantage. You might be able to find some things out.”
“That’s how we got in trouble,” said Morgan.
“I’m not talking about breaking and entering,” said Mark. “Just espionage.”
“Oh, much safer,” said Maureen. “I feel better already.”
CHAPTER 29
I sat in a Pentagon office with my parents. They were drinking tea and getting caught up on everything that happened in the last two weeks. The office was empty except for a large television screen hooked to a cable dangling from the ceiling. The Colonel had found this nearby room vacated by one of his colleagues who had been transferred, and the room had not been reassigned yet. I was relieved beyond words. My parents had been in the back of my mind now for almost two weeks, and I felt powerless to do anything. Here I was riding horses and stealing boats and running from monsters, but unable to help those people most dear to me.
