Nothing. The same old lab. No memory from a month ago of having received a data drive from the future. Fear returned to him. He knew he couldn't wait here much longer. Someone had been tracking the connection from the lab and they could be on their way right now. So he signed off on the computer and headed out.
As he walked away from the research lab, the sky again darkened. Flying overhead was another massive swarm. Darren quickly ducked into some shrubs, to hide. The swarm hovered over the science buildings, spinning like a tornado, then dove right into the heart of the structures. Both buildings began melting away, like a child’s sandcastle wiped off the beach by an ocean wave.
Darren watched in horror as the swarm devoured the buildings—entire buildings, down to the foundation—in minutes. Soon there was nothing left but gaping holes in the ground, with wires and cables protruding upward and broken pipes spouting water into the air like geysers. Project Chronos and all the other research housed in the facilities was gone. He was lucky he got out; otherwise, he would’ve been devoured as well.
He stayed silent and unmoving, scared to even breathe, until the swarm rose and flew away. Once the area was clear, he jumped back to his feet and began jogging as fast he could in the bio-suit. Away from the destruction. Away from the horror.
The whole time he kept looking over his shoulder and up at the sky to see if anything was chasing him.
Perhaps he should try the telegraph again. There had to be more survivalists like himself still alive. Now that the world was officially ending, he would like someone to talk to. Darren doubted he’d have much human contact in the coming months. If he lasted that long.
The world was turning into a bleak and lonely place.
Moments Later, The Oval Office, Washington, DC.
A stiff wind blew through the rapidly dissolving White House. The walls were collapsing from the combined might of millions of nanobots gnawing away at the bricks and mortar of the historic seat of power. The wind passed over President Martin Diaz’s desk, where he'd worked on his State of the Union speech the night before. Papers scattered around the room and file folders blew open.
One was the file marked “Top Secret” by President Clinton. It contained not only a message from the past, the warning sent by William Clinton to the unnamed president in 2038, but a message from the future. After passing through many hands over the years, through some chance mistake the file had ended up in Secretary of State Cameron Farrow's full in-box. And that was where it stayed, buried under other papers and files on his desk until it was too late.
The pages of the file flipped end over end, revealing to an empty room crucial data about the viral attack and Project Chronos. One report in the file told of a telegraph message sent in Morse Code, a warning from the future that was supposed to go back in time one month but instead ended up thirty-seven years in the past. A catastrophic mistake, but just one of many.
As the documents scattered across the floor, the ceiling of the Oval Office began to crumble, and plaster and tiling rained down.
In seconds the file was covered from human eyes.
Forever.
Chapter 31
10:00 am local time
Holloman Air Force Base
Jeff and Holly lay side by side in the recovery room in the military hospital at Holloman Air Force Base just outside of Alamogordo, New Mexico. They were clean and showered. About an hour ago Jeff had woken up from surgery to repair his broken arm. Now it was covered in a cast and sling and he was swimming in pain killers. He wished they would give him something to dull the pain and anxiety in his mind as well.
They'd just finished their breakfast and had been watching the news. That was when they discovered the actual date. It was May 23, 1992 and not 2017. So they’d landed twenty-five years earlier than planned. Project Chronos was not even a dim spark in anyone’s imagination. That was why they’d found no construction crews in Lechuguilla Cave.
After shared whispers, they’d decided that jumping to 1992 was actually better for their cause. They had even more time to get ready for the coming attack. And from what they'd seen with Dr. Chen, they would need all the time they could get.
They’d been through a harrowing, life-changing ordeal. A true trial. A week ago Jeff never would’ve thought any of this was possible, not in his wildest dreams and not even if he were loaded up on the latest designer drugs. Who would believe a world-wide deadly virus, attacking nanobots, and time travel? He ran a hand over his face. Now that they were safe, at least relatively, he was having trouble believing all that had happened.
He looked at Holly and was struck by regret. Her missing arm declared the nightmare, every painful moment of it, had been true.
They were lucky to be alive. If the military team hadn’t come in when they did, Chen would surely have killed them both. Jeff wondered how Paulson—geez, Buddy Paulson!—had known to rescue them. He had an idea he would find out soon. And be asked to provide information in return.
Holly was quiet. He guessed exhaustion had finally caught up with her. She was staring at the wall, cross legged on her hospital bed, her lips moving in silence. She was obviously traumatized and likely suffering from some sort of PTSD.
Her arm was healing remarkably well. Those organic mesh field bandages were amazing; They actually grew into the skin. In just over five days, the bandage had induced tissue regeneration and healing to the equivalent of six months of natural healing. They’d probably need to explain that to the military as well.
“How do you feel, how’s the arm?” he asked.
Her lips stopped moving and she glanced over at Jeff, moving her hand over to where her other hand should be. “It’s weird. I’ve been getting this phantom pain and my missing arm itches. I guess I won’t be getting any biomechanical appendage for a while. What do they have in this time, anyway? Hooks?”
Jeff laughed. “I think you’d look good with a claw. It would give you some character.”
“That it would,” Holly said, chuckling halfheartedly.
Jeff nodded, at least he managed to get a smile out of her. He kept reminding himself that cutting off her arm had been the only way to save her. They both knew that. He had a quick flashback of nanobots devouring her flesh, eating her fingers down to the bone. He swallowed and put the thought out of his mind.
There was an awkward pause as they looked at each other. Jeff couldn’t help but think how beautiful she was, even with circles under eyes dulled with fatigue and the residue of fear. He was starting to have that feeling in the pit of his stomach that he used to get when he and Sarah, his ex-wife, first started dating.
He shook his head to try to refocus his thoughts. “You know we should start thinking about our next steps, and we need to figure out what role the military is going to play in this.”
“Chances are they already know quite a lot since they showed up and rescued us,” Holly replied. “We’ll need to coordinate with them eventually, so why not start immediately?”
“Let’s see what our young future President Paulson has to say when he comes in.
Holly turned her head to stare vacantly at the wall again.
“Jeff, what if Paulson hadn’t shown up when he did? Chen would’ve killed us. What then?”
“Well, I guess this mission would’ve been over before it even started. You’re the time-travel expert, what do you think? If Chen had killed us, what would’ve happened to this timeline?”
Holly looked back, finger tapping her chin. “With us dead, this timeline would've likely continued on the same path as the last, with the nanovirus catching the world unaware in forty- five years and killing everyone."
“And Chen?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. Who knows if he could've gathered his senses again and blended into society somehow. But what's done is done, there's no point in speculating on it," Holly said firmly. "That monster is dead. We don't have to worry about him now. We need to look to our own future."
“I agree.”
His gut clenched. They still didn’t know who was behind the virus and who was manipulating history. If they couldn’t figure that out, billions of lives would still be lost.
Knock, Knock.
Buddy Paulson opened the door and walked into the room interrupting their speculations.
"It looks like you two are feeling much better. How are the arms?"
"Painkillers are a true godsend," Jeff replied.
Holly didn't say anything but grasped in the air where her missing arm should've been.
“Well, I have to say it feels like we fought an army. We were lucky to make it out alive, but many of my men weren’t so lucky.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Commander,” Jeff said. “Words aren’t enough to thank you for saving us. What you and your men did was truly incredible. How did you even know we were out there in the middle of the desert?"
"The United States Navy has a wide range of specialized surveillance abilities."
So that was how he was going to play, cards close.
"Perhaps you can tell me how it was you ended up in that cave chased by that creature, Dr. Chen." Paulson was firm in his speech and Jeff could tell he didn't trust them at all. He decided the best option here was simply to come clean. They were after all fighting a common enemy.
"This is going to sound crazy, but we come from the future. The year 2038 to be exact."
Paulson' facial expression didn't change at all. He kept those steely blue eyes fixed right on Jeff.
"How about you, Holly?" Paulson said turning towards her as she sat quietly, staring at the wall once again and counting in a whispered voice. Paulson touched her arm. "Is that true?"
Holly jumped, startled out of her trance, and turned to look Paulson square in the face. "We've been through hell. Of course it's true. Let's cut the crap. You fly into the desert with a small army, equipped with advanced weapons, including an EMP device. You arrive at the exact time we need you. There's no coincidence there. You were ready, waiting, for us. You knew we would be there. Now we need to get on the same page and work together. Because I'll be damned if I'm going to let history repeat itself and have to live through the hell I just went through, again."
Holly jerked her arm away from Paulson and climbed out of bed, dragging her IV and blanket behind her. She walked to the other side of the small room and glared at Paulson, hand on her hip, blanket draped over her body along with her scant hospital gown.
Jeff was shocked at Holly's outburst, but he supposed everyone had their breaking point.
Paulson smiled and said, "I like the fire in you, Holly Scarborough. With folks like you on our side, we may win this war after all. You're right, we were waiting for you to emerge from Lechuguilla Cave. Each time anyone or anything is sent through time and a vortex opens it emits a particular type of chronal radiation. That radiation can be detected. Our special tracking devices registered a temporal vortex opening deep underground five days ago, but we couldn't pinpoint the exact location through all of that rock, so we just waited at the only entrance to the cave."
"And the EMP device?" Jeff asked. "Were you expecting a nanobot swarm?"
"Swarm? You mean nanovirus, right? We were prepared to decontaminate the area using munitions and the EMP."
Holly jumped in. “Buddy, there are two separate threats we are facing. The first is a deadly nanovirus that can infect and kill in less than an hour. The second are swarms of millions of tiny nanobots that devour metal, human flesh, and other materials.”
“The swarm attacked us just as we time jumped,” Jeff said. “Plus a group of the bots came through the time portal inside of Holly’s hand.”
Jeff pointed at Holly’s missing arm.
“A two-pronged attack,” Paulson said. "I knew about the nanovirus, but not about this swarm. Tell me more."
Jeff recounted the rest of their harrowing tale, with Holly adding salient points about Project Chronos. When they were done, Paulson nodded his head.
"This confirms it without a doubt then. You see, I received a portable from my future self, over a year ago."
"From President Paulson?" Jeff asked.
Paulson looked surprised.
"Yes, President. . . Paulson."
"That sly old dog. I knew he had a plan." Jeff stood, smiled, balled his fist up and shook it.
Holly raised her eyebrows in understanding.
"Chen must've sent that portable through just before we jumped."
"Well, this is all good information," Buddy said. "We have a lot to work with here, but we're still missing the most important piece of intel. And that is who is behind these attacks."
Everyone just stood there in the hospital room looking at each other in silence.
Chapter 32
Two Weeks Later, 10:00 am, June 6, 1992
Holloman Air Force Base
"Thanks again for everything, Buddy," Jeff said shaking Paulson's hand just outside of the debriefing headquarters at Holloman Air Force Base.
"Good luck to you both. I'll be in touch," Paulson said.
Jeff had no doubt about that. Despite Paulson having some reservations and not completely trusting them, Jeff knew that he needed them if he expected to win this war in the future. Hell, they needed each other.
They'd spent several days recovering in the hospital and the rest of the time in meetings with Paulson and his key operatives. They'd discussed everything they knew about the viral and nanobot attacks as well as future historical events that they could remember. In the end Holly and Jeff both offered up their services as paid government contractors to help with kickstarting Project Chronos and to advise on any other issues related to the coming attack, and other threats to US national security. They also all agreed that they should get Patrick Chen involved as soon as possible.
Both Kaahtenay and Ranger Hicks were released from the hospital with minor injuries and told some concocted story about Chen being an escaped super soldier they had been training. They were of course told to keep quiet about the whole thing. Besides who would believe them.
Overall the whole incident was kept pretty hush. Families of the men killed were told that they died in a training accident. And the whole area around Lechuguilla Cave was swept clean of any remains and crash debris from the downed copter.
Paulson was kind enough to give them an advance on their government contract so that they would have some cash to get them back on their feet. He seemed a little reluctant to let them go, but there was really no reason to hold them captive. Jeff suspected that he'd keep a close watch on them anyway.
He and Holly climbed into the government rental car, waved goodbye to Paulson and drove away, heading off the base. Jeff told Paulson that they were going west, to California's Silicon Valley where he had a "good feeling" about some investment opportunities.
Jeff cracked a slight smiled. With the tech bubble of the late nineteen-nineties just around the corner he was poised to make a fortune with his knowledge of the future.
But first they had to make a little stop.
Jeff scribbled a note to Holly in a small pad he was carrying. "They're listening. Let's drive a couple of hours west, change rental cars, then come back."
Holly nodded.
He knew that there was probably a tracking device on the government car so if they were going to make their stop secretly then they would have to change cars. Parking the rental car and pretending to stay at a hotel would rouse the least suspicion. Then they could return, switch back to the government car and continue on their journey north west.
Jeff was no spy, but he could certainly learn a few tricks very quickly when he needed to.
#
Hours later, under cover of darkness, Jeff and Holly rode slowly over the rocky desert on two horses they'd rented from a local rancher. Soon they found the site of the battle from two weeks ago. Blood still stained rocks near the entrance to Lechuguilla Cave. Jeff shuttered, trying not to think about the fight. He didn't want to bring Holly out here, but he
couldn't climb alone, not with his broken arm still in a cast. They were being as careful as possible because Jeff was sure that Paulson would still have the area under some type of surveillance.
Despite the cool desert air Jeff was sweating. He was nervous to be back here—nervous about descending again into the depths of Lechuguilla. At the cave entrance they set up the climbing equipment, attaching ropes to the horses so that they could pull him up when he was ready. After checking and double checking all of the ropes and harnesses, Jeff descended down into the cave. The darkness was overwhelming and the stretches where he was suspended in mid-air were terrifying. He'd had enough of caves for a lifetime and if he could help it, this would be the last time he'd be going underground, at least until his burial.
Finally at the bottom he walked over to where he'd hidden the prize they'd been searching for—the bio-suit, MedKit and their portables. Everything was still there, hidden under the rocks, intact.
Thank God.
Despite their desire to work with Paulson, they decided it was best that they keep this little stash of goodies from the future secret from him and the government. You never knew who you could truly trust. There was simply too much at stake.
He grabbed everything, tucked it away into a backpack and signaled to Holly to get the horses moving, pulling him back up to safety.
#
Several hours later they were driving back to the dusty hotel where they'd left the government rental car. The morning sun was just peaking over the horizon, brightening the highway in front of them.
"We should pull over now," Holly said.
They were basically out in the middle of nowhere, somewhere between Roswell and Albuquerque. The interstate was empty and they hadn't seen a car pass for at least an hour, so Jeff drove off the highway, a little ways down a long dirt road. They got out of the car and walked over to a boulder next to a tall cactus. As they sat down a small green lizard scurried out of the way. Jeff pulled out the data drive from his future self and let the first rays of the morning sun strike its surface. In seconds the device powered back to life, its solar batteries recharging.
Extermination Day Page 26
