Cascade Collection

by Phil Maxey

  They had all been treated as heroes on returning to the camp. Being offered improved accommodation, and Zach and his group were made permanent members of a new rescue squad, for finding survivors and other tasks. Last night though was personal. Zach and Fiona had been gathering evidence on the Hell Fire gang on each mission beyond the walls, until they finally caught wind of someone who was a former member, a man who managed to escape the clutches of the gangs ruthless leader who Zach knew to be called Geneva.

  It took them two days of tracking through south Texas, avoiding run-ins with E.L.F’s best they could. Mostly they needed solid information on the Hell Fire gang’s main base of operations. Zach and Fiona had discussed their plan to bring them to justice many times in the weeks prior, and it all revolved around learning where the gang called home.

  Putting on his boots and a jacket, he exited the rear of the home taking his axe with him, and looked out over the lake. It was a bright day, and the newly built skyscrapers amongst the gun towers glistened in the noon sun across the bay as his boots crunched the morning frost. Whereas before, his current location would have been a sleepy town that people retired too, now it was part of a thriving community of homes that had sprung up around the lake. The water still bothered Zach though. For the first few weeks, he slept in the sunroom at the back of the house, facing the ripples lashing against the ice, waiting for something to climb out of the water in the dead of night. He knew that wasn’t possible though. He had seen with his own eyes, how the camp engineers had sealed off both ends of the Colorado river, that flowed into the lake with large meshed gates. They had even managed to get the dam started again, which meant candles were now only used during the infrequent power shortages. Most lights still had to be turned off at night though, to stop the camp becoming an ever greater beacon for whatever was alive outside the walls. But even though a semblance of normality was returning to the millions inside, his mind was still tormented by two issues. One he hoped would be resolved soon after the trial started and the other…the other he wasn’t sure how to resolve.

  Walking over to the log pile he grabbed a foot long log and placed it on the ground. Then taking the axe, he swung and brought it down neatly cleaving the log in two, wincing he held his shoulder but did it once again. He found when he wasn’t on missions and wasn’t helping the prosecution in Tinley’s trail, he would spend time out here by the lake. The sound of the lapping water helped him think, but today it wasn’t working. Seeing what Cal did surprised them all. They had seen him put the whammy on smaller creatures, but nothing as big as that snake E.L.F. He truly had become a charmer of these things, but unbeknown to the others, that wasn’t what was troubling Zach. Ever since Trow told him about the other person that had been affected by whatever the Cascade was, he wondered how he would tell her.

  She has a right. You would want to know. He brought the axe down again, this time a little too hard and the blade stuck in the iced up earth. He struggled pulling it out, and swore as the pain increased in his shoulder. Tinley’s bullet had passed straight through, but not without tearing some muscles that most people took for granted. The cold didn’t help, and he looked forward to when frost wasn’t covering the grass between the back of his house and the lake shore.

  He dropped the axe to the ground, and looked towards the house. What if she’s like Cal? What if she’s not human anymore? What if…

  “Stop!” he had meant for the words to stay as thoughts, but they escaped out into the midday air as soon as they entered his conflicted mind.

  The curtains for the main bedroom moved slightly, and he sighed, feeling guilty for waking her. Scooping up the splinters he picked up the axe and walked back to the sun lounge, Abbey was already in the kitchen, with the TV on.

  “Couldn’t sleep?” she said while cracking some eggs into a pan.

  “Got a few hours, you?”

  “Had a bad dream… you want some breakfast?“

  Zach sat on a bench, close to the small TV they had on the counter. “Sure.”

  “You okay? You seem… down? Thought you would be Mr. happy after last night.”

  Zach forced a smile. “Just lot on my mind,” some graphics and words caught his attention on the TV, he stretched for the remote and turned it up.

  “Today the Council will vote on whether those humans affected by the Cascade will be segregated.”

  Abbey handed Zach some coffee. “Fiona won't be pleased if that vote goes the wrong way.”

  Zach sipped on his drink. “Hmm.”

  “There’s no way she's going to let Cal be taken away from her.”

  “I think Cal might have a problem with that too.”

  “But…”

  “But?”

  “We all saw what he did last night, I don’t think Cal himself knows what he's capable of.”

  “He's still a human being, he has the same rights as we all do. Segregation was wrong sixty years ago and it's wrong now,” Zach tried hiding his frustration with Abbeys tone, anything different might let on more than he was ready to explain.

  The news presenter then started talking about another story. “In other news, Eric Tinley the Colonel who was responsible for thousands of deaths while leading the survivors of Portland back to Camp Bravo, is to go on trial today, for more on this story we now go to our reporter outside the courthouse, Kathy Hildebrand.”

  “Thank you Jennifer. Yes, Eric Tinley, or the ‘Butcher of Portland’ as he's become known as, starts his trial today. Not though as you might think for the genocide that he bestowed upon the poor Portland survivors but for the crime of murder that he himself is purported to have admitted to committing in a secret recording made during an encounter with Captain Zachariah Felton. Making matters even more complicated is the fact that Tinley is also charged with killing…”

  Zach hit the off button, cutting the dark-haired reporter off mid-sentence. “I better go into Core and see what Intel they have gotten from our friend from last night. Should be back around early afternoon. You're starting up the computer centre today?”

  “That's the plan, as long as Tom comes through with the parts for the old PCs. Are you needed by Arnold at the courthouse?”

  “No.” Zach grabbed his keys, kissed Abbey and left.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Fiona switched the TV off angrily. Cal was still sleeping in the bedroom they shared in the large three bedroom apartment they were given in the bustling cosmopolitan area which was now known as ‘downtown’. Some likened it to Manhattan, millions of people living in the only direction left open to them. Skyscrapers now fought for space amongst the sky and gun emplacements, and at their feet people walked in shadows. It was more than just a few steps up on the property ladder and Fiona gladly accepted the larger accommodation when shown the images by Captain Johnson the camps civilian liaison officer.

  The only negative, was that being so close to a gun emplacement, anytime it opened up on anything that managed to break through the walls defenses, the entire apartment rattled so much Fiona thought the glass windows would shatter, but it was a small price to pay for safety and a level of comfort that she only ever knew briefly when staying in far off places on missions.

  This morning though her mind was on the man in the other room and what a vote for segregation would mean for them. If the council insisted on people with the Cascade DNA being housed in a separate camp as was the rumor then she would be left with two options, either go with him, or they both would leave Camp Bravo completely. Either way their fantasy life in this luxury apartment was going to be short lived.

  Images of the large snake like creature and Cal standing in front of it like the snake charmers of old flickered through her mind. It wasn’t the first time she had seen him have that effect on an E.L.F but it was the first time on something so large. In the early days it freaked her out more than she was willing to admit, but she soon saw the usefulness such an ability would give them. She quickly viewed it as just a skill Cal had, and tried to forge
t how he acquired it.

  What she was aware of though early on was the effect it would have on others. She had seen firsthand from her previous deployments how quickly people turn on what they deem to be different, especially if the different is seen as a threat. The situation the camp now faced with the ‘Cascaders’ as they were referred to in the press, had all the hallmarks of the worst of humanity rearing its ugly head again, and Fiona wasn't going to allow Cal to be caught up in it.

  Cal turned over in the plush bedding and reached out for a body that wasn't there. Over the past month sleep hadn't been an issue and even the scar he carved into this own forehead was just a few pink faded lines which nobody could read as a word unless they knew what the word was. As he lay there looking up at the ceiling, he smiled. Not only did he feel free, but he felt as if he had a purpose that went beyond just killing E.L.F’s. Now he could help the people in this camp survive and hopefully find others too. He thought back to when his ‘gift’ had been exposed, when a creature got over the wall, a creature with stealth like abilities that somehow the sentries had missed. It was luckily spotted before it got near a population hub, but it still almost cost Fiona her life, until he was able to stop it dead in its tracks, just by standing in front of her. This wasn’t as much of a surprise to him as it was her, but it confirmed what he already knew and it also outed him to the others without an awkward confession.

  After, he learned that Zach and the higher-ups were already aware that he was different, one of a few hundred in the camp evidently. Before that moment he hadn’t been sure how Fiona would take him not being one hundred percent human anymore, but he needn’t had worried, she loved the man he was on the inside regardless of what the Cascade did to him.

  A lot of the time coming back from Portland was a blur to him. He was told by Dr. Joshi that this was his transitioning period, and it was a testament to his character that he got through it. The doctor didn’t know that a young man paid for that transition, but neither Cal or the others told anyone at the camp on their returning, fearing it would only complicate matters. The young man’s face was something he could remember though, the only one of all the countless faces he had put down over the years in the service. But he also knew that for once he wasn’t responsible for his actions. At least that’s what he told himself.

  Fiona stood against the door frame wearing one of Cal’s white and red striped shirts and holding a coffee. “Do we have a plan if the vote goes the wrong way?”

  Cal smiled. “It won’t.”

  “Since when were you the optimist?”

  “Since I became a superhero with powers to control animals with my mind,” he wiggled his fingers above his head.

  “I’m serious!”

  Cal got to his feet, and with one swift movement picked Fiona up, coffee included and laid her on the bed.

  “No, no, I’m going to spill the coffee over these really fancy sheets!” she giggled.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Zach traveled along the backroads in his pickup, past small frost covered trees and bushes. There was not only the rescue squad that Zach was part of, but also other squads whose job it was to acquire machinery including vehicles and bring them back to the camp, the metallic blue late 90s pickup that Zach was now traveling in was one such vehicle.

  He had decided to take the more scenic route to the cave system which was expanded into an ever widening array of rooms and sublevels, but the light glinting off the lake couldn’t distract him from what he knew he had to do. Tell Abbey that she was one of the ‘Cascaders’. As he drove into the now acre sized parking lot of the Core complex, he had decided to tell her later that evening. At least she would get one more day of thinking she was normal like everyone else.

  Parking, he quickly made his way past guards at the entrance which was now two large automatically opening and closing doors, into a large hall, and then across the newly polished tiled floor and directly into an elevator, also guarded. He had made this same trip for four weeks, and each time there was something different about it, a new door, or wall so that he had to learn a new route to the operations hall almost each time. Soon he entered into the usual wall of sound and general Trow waved him over. Zach saluted as soon as he was within a few feet of the General.

  “At ease Captain. Good work yesterday with bringing the ex Hell Fire gang member in.”

  “Any actionable intel from him?”

  “Not unless you count knowing that he has a liking for canned prunes, no. He say’s the last time he saw anyone from the gang it was over a month ago.”

  “I’ll be inclined not to believe him.”

  “I want you to question him, I know you won’t be afraid to push.”

  “Okay.”

  “On a different note,” she leaned on the back of the chairs, which faced the large screens built into the cave walls.

  “You want to know if I’m going to the start of the trial?”

  “I know you haven’t seen him since we brought him in.”

  “There’s not been any need too. I’ve given everything I could remember of my investigation to the prosecutors, it’s up to them now.”

  Trow put her hand on his shoulder. “I have no doubt he will pay for what he did Zach,” she then stepped back. “Nathan is on sub level nine, ask the guards there and they will take you to him.”

  A few minutes later Zach was being taken down one of the newly drilled tunnels, past a series of gray metallic doors with numbers on. Finally the guard arrived at door ‘Eighty three’ and swiped a keycard across a small box, which produced a small tone sound. The door unlocked, and as soon as the guard opened it, a stifling smell of sweat hit Zach.

  “I’ve been told to give you twenty minutes,” the guard said then pointed for Zach to move inside.

  The man Zach carried over his shoulder, was sitting on a small gray bench, on the right of the nine by twelve cell. The artificial light made Nathan Miller look even older than his fifty some years, and he sat with his knees together, hands in his lap, looking at the floor in front of him.

  Zach walked slowly into the space which looked uncannily like the one he had become accustomed to over many years, and he could feel the pressure of the cell door closing even before the guard did so.

  He steadied himself. “Do you remember me?”

  “So what if I do?” said Nathan, not shifting his gaze from the floor.

  Zach leaned against the wall, almost opposite Nathan. “Good, then you know what I want.”

  “I’ll tell you what I told the others, I don’t know anything. Don’t know about no gang, and no fella called Geneva.”

  “Nathan. Do you mind if I call you Nathan?”

  Miller sat up slightly, indignant. “That’s my name.”

  “Life must have been pretty hard out there, scratching in the dirt, while running from the monsters.”

  “I managed.”

  “Well if you give me information on where Geneva is holed up, you can live behind the camp walls, and have your own place, I’m sure something can be found for you.”

  Miller starting rocking slightly back and forth. It had been almost a decade since Zach had interrogated someone, and up until Miller’s physical change he wasn’t sure he wasn’t making any impact.

  “I don’t know anything,” his rocking intensified.

  “Just imagine, your own apartment, warm running water, a TV. They even have a welfare program here for those that need it.”

  “I don’t know anything!” Nathan shouted, while looking directly at Zach.

  “Hey, if Geneva can provide better, then fine, carry on protecting him.”

  “Geneva looks after his people well!” as soon as the words escaped from Millers mouth, he knew he had misspoken. “I mean, that’s what I’ve heard.”

  “So you do know who he is then? Anything you can tell me, will help and that will help you.”

  Miller returned to his rocking.

  “If you don’t cooperate, we are throwing you ba
ck out into the desert, is Geneva really worth it?”

  Then Miller did something Zach wasn’t expecting, he gave out a short laugh.

  “What’s so funny?”

  Miller looked once again directly at Zach. “You and the others, you’ll all fools. Geneva helps his friends. He knows where I am. He knows where we all are.”

  A shock went through Zach’s body, making him breath in slowly, but he didn’t show it. How the hell does Geneva know he’s here?

  “Geneva can’t help you, only I can, if you tell me where he is…”

  Zach didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence, as there was a commotion outside the cell door, which then opened.

  The guard appeared, flush faced. “Captain, General Trow needs you in operations, there’s an incident happening at the computer centre.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Arnold Dawson sat in the back of his black chauffeur driven sedan, and sighed. Even with the darkened windows and it being just after midday, the reporters flash photography was making his eyes start to water. Removing his small round glasses he rubbed his eyes with a white cloth his former wife had given him on his sixtieth birthday. He always kept it in his inside pocket. Taking a deep breath, he returned the glasses to just above his nose, put the cloth away and opened the car door.