The wheelchair came to an engine echoing stop outside of a circus tent that had Kelley Pharmaceuticals logos plastered all over it.
A strong south-bound wind rustled the massive flaps, lifting it like a bride’s veil to show her who was inside. She could see Harrison Kelley standing next to a mobile lab set up. Joseph Kingsley was with him, smiling suavely at the renewed medical engineering they’d developed in this camp.
Deeper still was Dexter. He sat next to a new-fangled phlebotomy contraption, providing blood samples to a great assortment of test vials. He looked up and saw Jane. She looked back. The earth stood still around them. She would have thought that time had stopped but her heart was still beating.
Maybe she could have sat there, staring at him forever. He could have stared back, utterly caught up in their transient moment. They had survived, had made the way to each other again. Just when Jane was starting to question miracles. Even this shook the core of all she knew. How had she survived that impossibly evil place she had been just a few hours ago to make her way to him again?
She could have stayed there staring at him forever until another group of people coming out of the tent caught her eye. Despite the weakness overtaking her body, Jane forced herself to her feet. She was seeing white spots—or maybe that was just the sun for the first time in ages. When she’d come back from the dead, it was against all odds. Hanging on like she had done wasn’t in the cards for most people.
But despite all the incredible things she’d seen, what she saw now stopped Jane in her tracks. What she was seeing was absolutely impossible. Her hand covered her mouth.
Taylor Riveaulx and his gang held back the flaps of the tent, rolling with laughter. Reilly stood beaming, arms folded across her chest. Jane saw them all and felt their presence, but this was too much like a dream for her to care.
Out of the extreme back of the medic tent, hobbling at first in mechanical boots they’d made him, stepped Vincent Lewis. Jane’s father, who had died back in 2011.
They stood staring at each other for a moment, jaws dropped. Vincent shook his head, eyes wide in disbelief. The tragedy of their lives was becoming ever clearer as the fog of Leona’s poison gradually began to lift. The world he had abandoned his daughter to! The woman, the crime-fighter that she became! This was as mind-blowing to Vincent as the prospect of his being alive was to Jane.
The earth was shaking. They thought that they were imagining it until Derek came hobbling toward them, blood on his mouth. He was followed by Leaf. The two held a matching pair of antique pistols that clearly had some kind of symbolic value to them. Behind them trailed a man, an agent that was vaguely familiar to Jane although now she didn’t know why.
Last of all, Kingsley, Kiara and the genetically altered child assassins they had in their service came creeping into the clearing. They held their guns to their shoulders in a silent salute of this family that had become heroes to them.
Vincent stepped a little closer, a hand extended. Jane swallowed, trying to smile. She was a million miles away from here. He couldn’t be real. She’d dreamed of this exact thing so many times before today. Dreams didn’t come to fruition for her. She didn’t get a happy ending.
“Jane…” He said her name and all of her doubts vanished. She stumbled forward two short steps and fell into his arms.
“What…What the hell is happening?” Jane closed her eyes. It didn’t matter if this was a daydream contained somewhere in her collapsing mind. She was still here now. For now, at least, she was safe. She’d better savor it. It was possible that it would never happen again.
“Jane, we’ve got so much we need to explain to you.” Vincent ran a hand through Jane’s golden hair.
*****
Chapter 4
Jane had passed out again in the security of her resurrected father’s arms. When she awoke, she was lying snugly in a sleeping bag and there were phlebotomy tubes connected to her arm. She smiled when she realized Dexter was leaning over her, running his hands through her hair. He was filtering some of his charged blood samples to her from the tubes. He looked washed from all he’d given. Washed, tired, and older than his 20 something years. Other than that, Jane would have thought she was waking up in a dream again.
The glare from a roaring campfire blurred her eyes. She sat up and touched Dexter’s face. Laughter echoed through the night as he leaned into her, nuzzling his face against the side of her neck. They paused like that just breathing and absorbing this moment.
Jane let her hands rise to Dexter’s shoulders. He was wearing a GI issue jacket. She leaned back confused. He looked down at her shoulders. She swallowed. She was also wearing combat fatigues.
“I don’t understand?” She licked her lips, surprised by the crack in her own voice. God, she felt older than the earth and sky!
Dexter smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. They had cropped it back close to her chin again. Jane blinked, taking the time to consider everything.
“How long was I out, this time, Dex?” She leaned against him. He let out a shaky breath and kissed her in reply. They leaned into each other silent for a long moment, listening to the conversation of crickets and owls away in the night.
“The world…The world keeps changing. Honestly, Jane, I wish you could have stayed unconscious longer.” Dexter leaned back, easing her to sitting. Her eyes went wide. So it hadn’t been a hallucination. Behind Dexter, smiling at her, stood Jane’s father, next to Taylor Riveaulx and Dr. Kingsley.
Taylor shook his hair out his face and propped his boot atop a log. The Altered Children, Taylor’s own team of zombie-reduced crime-fighters, and the rest of Jane’s friends all entered and circled around. Jane’s breath caught when she saw Kendra Reagan amongst them. She had set up a makeshift camera tripod. They were broadcasting.
“Evening, ladies and gentlemen of the deceased Planet Earth.” Taylor grinned. Jane thought she heard thunder rolling through the night. It was only Derek Matheson stretching.
“A band of outlaws converges in Cuba to face off against the great ‘Medusa’ formerly known as the She-Hitler before she totally destroys what’s left of the languishing world. This is your money shot, Ms. Reagan. Hope you realize that you’ll have to retire after this, because a story this big will never come your way again.” Taylor paused to wink at Kendra. She fiddled with her Bluetooth.
“Right. I don’t know about that, Mr. Riveaulx. There were people who said the same things to me before I started covering the She-Hitler saga.” Kendra laughed, motioning the camera crew to come closer.
“If you’re ready, you need to be up there with them.” Dexter eased Jane to her feet. She stared at him, anxious now. What more could she do? She was the one that let set the avalanche off to start with, right?
“Come on.” Dexter beckoned Jane forward with shaking hands. Seeing her struggle, Derek stepped up.
“Hey, here’s our warrior princess. Come on…” Derek looked over his shoulder for Leaf but he was already at his side.
Kingsley stepped forward and helped Derek and Leaf stand Jane in the middle of them all. Taylor laughed and clapped a hand on her shoulder.
“Right, so I think we’ve got this commission off to a great start. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Taylor Riveaulx, former self-appointed protector of New Orleans’ streets. I’m proud to call the formidable Bleach my sister and partner in these endeavors until the She-Hitler performed Occult rituals on her neurological function. In which case, she died and was reborn as something else that reigned over the night for a season…”
Taylor paused to catch his breath. He looked at his sister who nodded, coaxing him on. Kingsley, Jessop and the other Altered stood at a start attention. Jane felt the blood drain from her face wondering what they might know. What else the She-Hitler had in store for them.
“I don’t like to dwell in the past, but this is our story. It’s bloody, ladies and gentlemen. It’s rife with shadows that would make Satan jump like the scared little kitten he i
s. You need to understand exactly what the Dante Revolution is if we’re going to stop it.” Taylor looked sidelong at Jane, who swallowed. His eyes were full of trust for her.
Did they really believe she was at the apex of all of this? She had destroyed them. But they continued to follow her into God knew what. Hell was a paradise escape compared to the places they had been. The places that they were headed looked no better.
“She-Hitler had a mentor. Her childhood sweetheart who was a maniac with a vision for politics and a taste for all things Occult. He had access to a paradigm dimensional chamber that Fulton Enterprises had begun construction on in Centralia, Pennsylvania, where his family hailed from. Using the advanced Bermuda Triangle simulating technology, Dante the Mentor and She-Hitler were able to begin telecommunications with a dimension opposite and reflexive of ours in the Universe.” Taylor reached into his shirt and pulled a small holographic file that hung from a chain from his neck over his head. He nodded to Kiara who produced the shard from an LED wand out of her jacket.
“Dr. Kingsley and Kiara have managed to recover Dante the Mentor aka Keith Fulton’s master plan for an interdimensional globalist society. As penned by Keith Fulton and the mysterious Professor Lucia, which is what the guy that spoke with them over the phone per se told them to call him.” Taylor waved the hologram film around, reveling in the amazement on the people’s faces.
“I was the last person to contact Professor Lucia the night of mine and the Medusa’s showdown at the Dark Altar of Centralia. If we are to form a strategy that will set him on the fritz, then we’ll have to use me and my many photon-acoustic holographic clones as live bait.” Kingsley folded his arms, smiling smugly.
“He’ll need someone who can shadow his every move. Match him step for step. The only person I know of right now that can do that is me…I think you might still need my help. The Andromeda Act is still in effect, with all the clauses and addendums to be examined. Despite President Matthew’s bizarre interpretation of it.” Jane was shocked to hear herself speak. All eyes were trained on her.
“Kingsley will need a bodyguard. Someone who has been to the other side, who knows the volume of Lucia’s cruelty. If you’re to use yourself as yet another diversion, Jane, you too will need a guide.” Kiara stepped up, dusting her hair out of her eyes.
“Jane needs a bodyguard. I’d like to renew my subscription to this freak show, please.” Dexter stepped up and slipped an arm around Jane’s waist.
“Two guides for the price of one. I haven’t even begun to tell you all what I know yet.” Vincent stepped up and wrapped an arm around Jane’s shoulders.
“You guys are going to need wingmen for each position. We’ve got no plans for Friday, although Leaf might need a hair appointment. Getting a little long, man. If I could have a few seconds with some clippers.” Derek grabbed the back of Leaf’s collar pulling him forward. Leaf swatted at Derek’s hands playfully.
“Yeah, Derek and I, with the help of Agent Timlin here, we can hold the Medusa off long enough to get you guys to the Dark Altar’s underground network where Jane and Vincent can disarm it.” Leaf stumbled into Derek, grunting in irritation. The agent that Leaf had called Timlin, and who Jane had recognized, chambered a Beretta M9, a grin spreading wide across his face.
“After careful consideration, Doctor Kingsley the Elder and I have come to the determination that we have royally screwed up the World for better and for worse. We think that makes us geniuses and would like to continue inputting loads of freak science projects, particularly in field logistics of fighting demigod genetic people.” Harrison Kelley cleared his throat, stepping closer to the fire. Joseph stood beside him in a white lab coat, not saying anything but quietly nodding and humming in agreement.
“The boys and I just want to blow stuff to Kingdom Come!” Reilly loaded a grenade launcher and chambered it to articulate her point. She was sitting on Jessop and some of the other Altered Kid’s shoulders. They all whooped and grunted in agreement.
Taylor laughed, placing his face in his shaking palm.
“I love it how you all volunteered before I could even say what the plan is.” Taylor rolled his eyes. He held out a hand to Croc, who snapped his fingers, leaped to his feet, and produced a roadmap that was rolled into a tight cylinder and shove into his shirt folds.
Taylor nodded to more of his guys, who rolled up an old trash can, turning it over so that its bottom acted as a table. Croc spread the map across the can and Taylor speared the can in place with a homemade wrench knife.
“To do this, guys, we’re going to have to take a blast from the past. We’re going to lure the Medusa and all of her doubles to the Dark Altar in Centralia. We’ve been analyzing the Fulton interdimensional satellite about as long as we’ve been trying to rescue Ms. Lewis. As it turns out, there is a method to Leona Kelley’s madness.
“The interdimensional radio communications, the collective consciousness and the chemical relationship between the Andromeda serum and an altered human’s brain waves are all connected. If we can master that delicate balance, we can open a contained wormhole in the sky over Centralia. We could send the She-Hitler, her gods and kings, and the whole Dante Revolution packing into some other dimensional loop.” Taylor smiled, studying everybody to see if they were tracking.
“Which means all of us too, right? If this goes wrong?” Jane understood first. Leaf looked up, looking from Derek to Jane and then down at his feet.
Taylor shrugged.
“Does YOLO mean anything to you, girl? I don’t think the world is meant for the likes of us anymore, you know. If we can succeed in sparing this planet from what we’ve become…” Taylor looked away into the dark.
Jane nodded, studying her dad’s smiling face. She looked over at Leaf, looked at Derek. Harrison, Taylor, Kiara even Kingsley were living off of borrowed time. Taylor was right. This wasn’t natural. They’d have to do what they’d have to do.
“Hey, what can I say? I lived for bending the rules of nature. But I’ve been everything that I wanted to be. Let’s do this.” Jane smiled. She was amazed at herself for smiling, but what more could be said? This was the end. Might as well make it a beautiful one.
*****
Chapter 5
The Andromeda shrieked and groaned. After Jane had been rescued, here she was, left to rot in the shadows. She was unable to die, and all of human resources could pass no successful test on the phenomenon of her birth. For the moment, they had given up.
“We lost the key to the whole Pandora crazy train! You clowns should all be court- martialed!” President Matthews swung a metallic Louisville slugger in frenzied hands. He tore down monitors and smashed through light fixtures.
He knelt over them panting, sweating. Theodore Fulton and Cyrus Manson came sidling into the room. Cyrus plucked a Cohiba out from between his teeth and studied the wreckage in horror.
“What in Hell’s names happened in here? You…You’re supposed to be the chief executive of this entire nation and you let one little girl escape?” Manson gaped, smoke wreathing his ears like a dragon.
Matthews turned to glare at Dr. Lorraine who looked on dumbfounded with his team nearby. Lorraine held his hands up in mock surrender. “You try containing the Clone Army, Manson! See how well you do. Besides, look who’s talking! You’re the man who lost all of your back-stock, had every last one of your ultrasonic assembly lines ransacked by your own son!” Matthews snapped a pencil between his finger and thumb. Manson rolled his eyes.
“You mean that Roman candle thing that looks kind of similar to my dead offspring? Do you even hear yourself, Mr. President? It’s this kind of everyman attitude that’s making you out to be a failure. You give too many of these low-lives the benefit of the doubt. Look at Jane Lewis, for example. She was nobody when she came to you with the Andromeda Act scheme. Now look where that’s got us!” President Matthews stumbled to the floor in despair.
“This is getting out of hand…” Fulton bowed his head to his
palm. Lorraine started chuckling.
“What? I wouldn’t push my luck if I were you. You made great promises and were paid a king’s ransom to deliver the results that I haven’t yet seen. You’re supposed to know how to cure this thing. To have it weaponized! You are no closer to answering a single one of our questions that you were three months ago when I put the country on lockdown!” Matthews came up off the floor, fists swinging.
Lorraine threw his head back laughing. Then something strange happened. They looked on in terror as his eyes changed their color. It happened gradually. They went from a regular shade of brown to an eerie silver blue, the same color eyes as an Alaska Malamute would have.
“You people are so stupid it’s insulting! Thinking that you could bit and bridle the She-Hitler and that you could get an under the table deal from it. What’s even funnier is that you totally bought into the lie I was selling you.” Lorraine’s voice was gradually beginning to change.
“What? You…You what?” Matthews looked to Fulton and Manson. They shook their heads, having gone sheet white.
Lorraine purred and chittered like a parakeet. He stretched out a hand then. The floor began to rumble and metallic machine parts were moved by some intense neuro-magnet force he was emitting. They were throttled, lifted off the floor and pinned to the wall by the pieces of machine.
“You soft politicians and padded businessmen. Bureaucrats of the paper trail, huh? It’s so laughable how you think you’ve boxed in the world. You white collar pirates and charlatans of the press, with your allure and movie magic. You could have done worse than unleash a monster on this planet. Matter of fact, you did so much worse. You caged feeling. Inspiration. This monolithic belief of Humanity as being the only race there is, of this Galaxy being the only source there is.
The Good Death Box Set: A Hard SciFi Science Fiction Series Page 36
