by Richard Dusk
A man lay there, wearing only light brown pants and dark blue sweater from beneath which a shirt collar stuck out. A pistol lay next to him, and a puddle of black blood froze long ago under his body. Garrett took Jillian's flashlight and lighted greyish-blue face with hole after bullet in the middle of his forehead. He kneeled down and examined the face thoroughly. Like a strike of lightning, he recognized him.
"Hikls?"
The moment of meeting him he wished for since he set out to get back to Nest came again but in an utterly different form.
"That's him?" said Vince. His voice sounded different than usual. Not strong and self-confident but uncertain and doubting.
"Yes. It's him," said Garrett, still looking at man's face and wondering about reasons that drove him here and left him lying on the ice-covered ground with bullet sent through his head. "Kaiden, why is he lying here?"
"Why do you think I know? I've never seen that man before."
"Don't tell me they excluded you from this mission. You've been here before, right? You know everything about this mission and the team before us. Don't expect that I'll believe you that there's nothing more you should tell us about?" anger rose inside him. "This mission cost many people their lives already. We heard you tell us about thousands of people you killed, we saw Woodhill in New York strangled with an iron rope, and now we've found my friend with a bullet inside his head. Don't tell me you don't know anything about it. Don't tell me that Sarah's only intention is to save the Earth. You're a part of this since the beginning, aren't you?"
"So you are, whatever," he replied angrily.
"I'm not!" snapped Garrett irritated and surprised at the same time, but Kaiden snorted and smiled ironically.
"Man, I don't have time to teach you how the world spins. You've got work waiting to be done over there. Go and finish it," he said the last sentence vigorously.
Garrett stood up and looked at Kaiden with all the disrespect he carried towards him.
"No. I won't do anything until you tell me what's going on in here," he pointed fingers at him. "Whatever you do, I'm not going to destroy it. If you want to continue living on the planet falling apart, please go on. But don't count on me to save people like you just to let them easily have what they want."
"Garrett, you can't simply understand the good manners people treat you with, can you?" he pulled out a pistol from his gear.
"What the hell are you doing?" Vince walked to him, but Kaiden aimed at his chest and forced him to stop at the place.
"You are fast, but not fast enough. Don't tempt me," Kaiden beckoned him to step back. "You should learn to keep an eye on your allies more carefully, Vince. Not all of them are who they seem to be."
"What do you think you're going to do? Shoot us all? You sick bastard. We are five against one," said Lex.
"No, we're not," Pace calmly walked towards Kaiden to stand right next to him. "If it were up to me, I would shoot all of you right now. Mainly him," he pointed at Garrett.
Garrett replayed the scene where Pace tried to kill him with pole and now regretted the moment when he could shoot him but didn't.
"Garrett, it's up to you again," Kaiden looked straight at him. "You've made a choice before, and Hodge died. Now you've got a chance to redeem yourself. Will you make the correct choice now?"
"Burn in hell," he said with utter hatred.
Kaiden sighed, aimed at Jillian and shot.
Garrett didn't believe that Kaiden pulled the trigger and just watched how Jillian staggered. It had to be a dream - another nightmare that wandered into his mind. Only when she fell to the ground, he realized the truth of bitter reality.
"Jill," he exclaimed and flung with others towards her. She lay on the ground, crying and writhing in pain.
"Just her arm. It won't kill her. But your stubbornness may," said Kaiden indifferently while Garrett examined the bleeding wound on her left arm.
"It's okay, Jill. It's okay. I'm here right beside you," he comforted her as she gasped in pain and pulled out gauze from her vest to bandage the wound. "Vince, we've got something to stop it. Right? You must have something," he spoke in a rush.
"Garrett, pay attention," Kaiden shot huge icicle hanging over Lex, which fell just a few inches behind her. His voice gave away that he enjoyed the power over the situation. "Let's try it again. I've said you have a chance to redeem yourself, and this is not entirely the correct way how to achieve it. But you can try again. You'll give me what Diamond wants, or the next bullet will paint the ground with her brain. What's it gonna be?"
"Kill him, Garrett. Tear him apart," whispered Jillian, grabbing him tightly by hand.
"I'll do worse," he stood up and let Vince with Lex take care of her. "Okay, I'll do it," said Garrett and walked to Kaiden.
"Excellent idea. You see, every man has a price, but yours is considerably low taking her into account," said Kaiden towards Jillian, and Pace laughed.
"Piss off, Kaiden," snarled Garrett and walked between them to CHED. He felt two pairs of eyes on his back, watching every move he made.
Both parts of the weapon he built back in the lab weighted enough for two men to carry, but Garrett had to move them by himself. He positioned it to aim right at X-RON and shot the rods out of the four tubes. They drilled into the rock and fixed CHED in the place. Pace stood aside, but Kaiden patrolled around them all and kept an eye on everything they did.
"Why do you think we took her with us? She is only a tool to control you, and Sarah perceived it. If I shot Vince or Lex, it wouldn't force you to obey the same. Emotions and human bonds have no place in the structure of this pragmatic world to make life easier, and you, ordinary people, still don't understand it. She did nothing for the whole time. What would you need for a teammate like her? She is incompetent to do anything. More like a burden than actual help."
"What did she offer to you?" Garrett couldn't listen to his remarks and began connecting the cables. "Rank? Or money? There's nothing you can buy for them now."
"You're right," he said with appreciation. "They offered me a better rank in their new world. People capable of delivering the real positive results of given tasks were always highly appreciated."
"New world?" chuckled Garrett. "World is over, Kaiden. Look around. There's nothing to eat, nothing-"
"Just because you walked blind for all this time, it doesn't mean that the world is over. There is a new one to be built on the ashes of the old system. And I mean it. Better and brighter, organized and simpler, effective and efficient," he said passionately as if he presented a motto of the company. "It'll be the world with a precisely balanced hierarchy where everyone will have a future they could never dream about. All that didn't work before will be eradicated, and we'll begin with a fresh start. This war and problems with X-RON are counterproductive, but it won't take much longer.
Everything is prepared and waiting just for us, for me and others who are willing to accept their role in a world tailored for them. Diamond started from the bottom and remade humans from their very nature to something unique. No half-witted everyday people anymore. They've evolved humans within a few years by hundreds of years. The DNA you know is gone. They've made a new one, giving newborns only the qualities and abilities they'll need. And those that turn into failure are simply taken away and eliminated. When I look at you, I must say they took a few of your qualities too. They've adjusted your mind perfectly. I believe you had to be a fantastic one-time testing subject."
"What the hell are you talking about? What war? You killed other thousands of people?"
"No. You just did," he smiled at him. "You gave us this weapon and that one before," he pointed at CHED and X-RON, "not mentioning the molecule. You're helping Diamond to win with every step you take, and you don't realize it. I hope you are proud of yourself."
"You want to blame me that we live through the apocalypse?"
"I'm not blaming you. It's a simple fact whether you'll accept it or not. Thanks to you, my life has never been
better," he noticed that Garrett's hands stopped moving. "You remember nothing, do you? All you did before and not a single flashback. When I saw you with that girl on your back, I was certain that you'll remember me, but no. And there I was. Sitting in a jeep a few inches away from your face, and you didn't have the tiniest clue. I must admit that Elizabeth is indeed a skilled scientist and did a pretty good job, but we know now what she did with you, and I can guarantee that woman can expect nothing good. Sarah will take care of that. It's like playing chess for her, and you all are just worthless pieces," he kept circling around him.
Garrett put his hands away from CHED because a deep pain spread through his heart.
"What?" he said, taken aback. He trusted Lizzie, saw the honesty in her eyes, and yet she betrayed him.
Why? he repeated the question in his mind.
Why did she do it? Why didn't she say anything? What kind of game is she playing? he asked angrily in his head until the last question that bothered him for long months popped into his mind again.
Who the hell am I?
"Is it done? I'm tired of talking," said Kaiden.
"Yes," said Garrett irritated, plugging in last cables and watching Vince with Lex supporting Jillian coming to them.
"Then you can have the honor to press the button," Kaiden walked backward through the bridge towards the door, aiming at the team.
He stood right at the opening and watched them one by one group in front of him. Jillian walked on her own, but the impact of shock from the wound made her dizzy. She staggered in the middle of the bridge, and if Lex didn't hold her around the unwounded arm, she would fall into the chasm.
"You'll stand in the front," ordered Kaiden, pointing the gun at them to make a human shield for him and Pace. "Just in case you've assembled it to backfire on us."
Garrett took out the remote controller and activated the power sequence. The circuit breakers clicked, and electrical buzzing resounded. He watched the charging levels on display and hoped for any flaw to appear and show him a red warning, which would buy him some time, but nothing like that happened. All systems, circuits, microchips, and powering stayed fully operational and ready. He scrolled through the system check, seeing all the tasks marked with green ticks. Garrett quickly thought about some way how to postpone the shot, but nothing would convince Kaiden. He remembered what did one percent of discharge energy back in the lab and now set it on full hundred percent. If the impact is the same as before during the testing, then the cave won't be here much longer. The display immediately showed red flashing warnings about imminent dangers, but Garrett turned it off. He resigned and reconciled himself with the fact that this may be the last time when he sees his team. The last time when he sees Jillian. He looked at them, sadly smiled, and waited for the gesture that they are prepared for upcoming seconds. They nodded, and Garrett turned to Kaiden, who aimed with the pistol right at his heart.
"Remember that not kings, but pawns win the wars."
"If pawns won the wars, we would celebrate their names, not kings'," said Kaiden and beckoned him to continue.
"Sucker," whispered Garrett, turned towards CHED, and pressed the displayed button.
Buzzing and high pitched frequency filled the dome. The deep humming echoing in the chasm grew stronger with every second and made the darkness inside even more terrifying. Garrett watched the percent of charging pulse quickly rise on display. A weak glow of light coming from arched poles appeared and grew in strength. Low-frequency charging pulses replaced the pitching, and they heard it travel at one second period. Garrett saw that the droplets falling from the icicles over the CHED quickened and turned into little streams pulled towards it. He felt some invisible force dragged the controller away from his hands, and droplets on the screen traveled to the upper edge. At ninety percent, he sensed that his boots began to slide on the wet surface towards the chasm. He looked at others and saw that the force had the same impact on them. The rising percent number hit one hundred, and then it happened.
Four intense white rays shot out from the arched poles and began forming a growing energy sphere levitating between them. The voltage buzzing strengthened, and Garrett knew what will happen in the next seconds. He attempted to unnoticeably step aside, closer to the wall, but Kaiden's order, 'Stay where you are!' stopped his intention the same as when they met at the gate of Nest. He had to watch the same moments as in the lab but with no protection. If the scattered beam hits him, he'll burn from the inside and die on the spot. The sphere stopped growing, and the final ray shot from the coil in the middle. Strengthened by the energy of the sphere, it hit the target. The ground began to shake, and massive icicles fell from the ceiling, shattering around CHED. Garrett looked at it, squinting and waiting for bolts to shoot and burn everything around. But none of it happened.
"What is that, Garrett? What's going on?" said Vince.
The white ray flashed and glitched like being disrupted with something. It got stuck a few feet away from ice-covered X-RON and emitted sparks and lightning hitting the ground below the ray.
"I don't know, Vince. It's- I- We didn't-"
The buzzing greatly intensified and in no time weakened. The ray split into two and began encircling the X-RON core by both sides.
"What is it, Garrett? Answer me," Vince urged him.
"Both fields that are trying to suppress each other and restore balance, but it's just my surmise. It can-"
The rays joined together behind the core, and two blue ones appeared, winding the white one like snakes of caduceus heading to CHED. Garrett's controller began to beep, and the display flashed with a red warning message Overcharging detected! Terminate the sequence immediately! He saw the abort button but had to ignore it.
"This is not good," said Garrett.
Blue rays continued to twist around until they finally reached the coil inside CHED. A dazzling glare of light flooded the space when the energy of two colored beams collided with white ray, and another, more powerful and broader ray, shot towards X-RON. The blast sounded like a sonic boom. The strike of pressure hit them, and they lurched while the entire ice arch broke off and fell into dark chasm tearing down the rock bridge. CHED's ray veiled the core in the flashing energy layer. Sudden cracking and tearing came alive as if invisible hands crushed and pressed the X-RON into a single point.
Out of nothing, the light burst shot towards the ceiling. The ground tugged hard and knocked them all down to the ground. With beaten backs, they lay there in the noise of booming earth, cracking cave walls around them, tearing sound of the air pressure, and electric arc. The ice shattered around, and the rock began splitting below their bodies. All the concrete mass above platform ripped off, and falling down crushed the CHED below and fell into the chasm. The movement of the ground ceased, and the dome looked like frozen in time. A deafening silence took charge. X-RON disappeared without a trace. Only the vapors rising from the place where CHED stood before gave away that time is still flowing.
"Is it done?" said Kaiden getting up and looking at the platform buried under the tons of concrete debris and the giant hole above leading to the surface.
At first look, they saw that the blizzard ceased. Sun rays traveled down to the underground and lightened the space. They reflected on the frozen, ice-covered boulders and spread all over the place, lighting white snowflakes falling gently into the cave.
"It looks that way," said Garrett, getting up with others. He threw the flashing controller on the ground and turned to Kaiden. "But CHED is irretrievably gone. We can't-"
"Good," said Kaiden, and gunshot echoed through the dome.
"No!" exclaimed Jillian.
Another gunshot came, and she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She fell to the ground on her back, seeing Garrett lying just an arm's length away from her. Kaiden repeatedly shot at Lex and Vince, who jumped aside and hid behind fallen, massive ice stalagmite.
"Stay here," said Vince to Lex and took out the gun he kept hidden in his suit.
H
e peeked from behind the stalagmite and shot three times, willing to hit the target every time. Kaiden grabbed Pace and pulled him backward, holding him as a human shield. After that, Vince didn't pull the trigger a single time and hid behind the rock again.
"What the hell, Kaiden?" Pace fought with Kaiden's firm grip.
Kaiden shot into the open space until he emptied most of his magazine. When he retreated to the door, he placed the pistol on Pace's neck and shot the bullet piercing his spine and throat. Pace's arms stopped fighting with Kaiden as his body lost control over muscles, and he immediately fell to the ground. The puddle of blood quickly spread from under his body. Throwing the gun away, Kaiden ran to the doors and disappeared in the tunnel. Vince shot several more rounds at his back but in vain.
"Check them. They must live," Vince moved crouched, carefully watching the door for possible Kaiden's return. Lex grabbed Jillian by the shoulder and shook her.
"It's okay," Jillian heavily breathed. "It hurts like hell, but I'm okay. He hit just my vest," she said while her eyes traveled to Vince crouched over Garrett's inert body. Her throat instantly tightened, and her heart began to hammer.
"Garrett?" she climbed to him on all fours.
Despite her shot arm, she barely felt the pain and found the strength to grab him by shoulder and thigh to turn him over. A mark of fresh blood left on the ground, flowing from his chest and temple.
"No, no, no," she spoke in haste with a quavering voice. "Don't you dare to die, Garrett. Wake up," she shook with him in the hope that he'll open his eyes. "You can't. Not you. Not now. Wake up. Wake up, Garrett," she trembled, but Garrett didn't hear her words. His mind was resting and deaf to this world.
"You promised it will be all right in the end. You've promised to me. Save him, Vince, please. Save him. Somebody, please... Do something. Anything," she cried. Lex grabbed her by arms and pulled her aside. She hugged her firmly and let her sob on her shoulder. "Please… He saved me so many times. Why can't I save him?" she whispered while swaying from side to side.
