Forgotten Origins Trilogy - Box Set: Infected, Heritage, Descent

by Tara Ellis

  I catch up easily to Seth and the other two before they reach the door, constantly scanning the long wall of the three-story cement building. It’s isolated in a remote, wooded region. No doubt it was selected for just this reason, and I have no idea what it was used for before. I guess it doesn’t matter, but there are plenty of places for unseen adversaries to be lurking, so I really hope our information is at least somewhat reliable.

  Missy and Benuk start pulling equipment out of a bag and go to work on dismantling and then disengaging the keypad and coded lock on the door. It’s dimly illuminated, so they must have power to at least the things deemed important. All of the windows, however, are dark.

  Placing a hand on Baxter’s back, I close my eyes and carefully reach out. I’m actually surprised and a bit disappointed that I haven’t sensed any more Shiners. That would have made all of this that much easier. I could have just taken control of them and have them lead the way. Or even simpler, lead the professor out. I’m counting on manipulating him at some point, so the longer we go without my making contact, the less likely this mission has of being a success.

  In less than ten minutes, I hear the tell-tale clunk of the deadbolt disengaging. Although it sounds loud to me, I know that Chris is possibly the only other one to hear it. His hearing was improved by the virus, but not as much as mine. Looking at the device, now in several pieces on the ground, I wonder at how much we’ve all learned in the past eight months. I’m not sure if Missy can see me smiling at her in the faint moonlight, but she grins back before I pull the door open and slip through.

  I swing to the left and Seth to the right, intending to clear the space before the others follow. It’s a good thing I come in low and fast, because I nearly run head-on into a large, dark-clad man. It’s likely he was about to open the door, perhaps drawn here by what little noise we made.

  He isn’t a Shiner. I determine all of this in an instant, and I’m on him just as fast. We’re too close for guns, and I have to silence him before he can raise an alarm. Reacting instinctively, I wrap myself around the startled man and snap his neck before he utters a sound. Both of us fall to the ground and I roll away, bringing my rifle up and completing the sweep as I try and keep from vomiting. I’ve shot my fair share of Shiners and Mudameere, but I’ve never killed anyone with my bare hands. I know without a doubt that the sound will wake me up at night for the rest of my life.

  Seth motions the rest of our team in and they pause to look at the crumpled body, his head off at an odd angle. I fight to control my rising panic at what I’ve been forced to become and avoid the questioning gaze of my best friend. Instead, I find Chris and move close to his side so we can talk in hushed tones.

  “Something isn’t right, Chris.” I say to him. “I’m still not sensing any other Shiners in here, but they must have security. Why wouldn’t they use Shiners? I have no way of knowing now what might be downstairs. I think this mission might be compromised.”

  He hesitates, considering what I’ve said. Ultimately, the decision to continue or not rests on him. He’s in charge. “No,” he says a little louder than necessary. “We move ahead. Quitting isn’t an option.”

  The two soldiers, as well as Nate and Kyle start to move towards our next goal, a stairwell in the corner. But I remain in front of Chris, blocking his way. I don’t know how well he can see in the murky darkness, but my glowing eyes are easy for him to lock onto. The rage that I see creep into his expression at the realization that I might challenge his authority is shocking. The Chris I knew back in Omak wouldn’t have cared about his own feelings or interests in this situation. He would have listened to my concerns and based our actions on the best ultimate outcome and likelihood of success.

  Turning abruptly from him, I head for the stairs. Seth grabs hold of my arm as I pass by him. “Alex! If you think we shouldn’t-”

  Yanking my arm away, I push him in the back, forcing him ahead of me. “Just shut up and do what he says, Seth. This is on him now,” I mumble, deciding I can’t take on any other battles right now.

  I wince when the door creaks, hoping that it’s not nearly as loud to anyone else. Baxter and I enter first, slowly creeping downwards. About halfway to the bottom, I pause and reach out again, searching for any sign of either Shiners or the professor. Nothing. Baxter suddenly starts a low growl, and I immediately shush him. What is he sensing that I’m not? Wait. There. The faint sound of footsteps fading away below us. I give Baxter a good scratch behind the ears in acknowledgement of a job well-done.

  Seth joins us in the narrow space, and I hold up one finger close to his face so he can see it. I then point it to the right, and indicate that I’ve got it. When we reach the bottom, I move silently up behind the retreating man and drop him with one shot from about twenty feet away. The silencer on my AR is good for many more shots than I’ll hopefully ever need tonight. I check to make sure he’s down for good and then go back to where Seth is waiting for me.

  “It’s clear,” is all I say, my voice flat.

  Chris, Nate, Kyle, Missy, and Benuk make their way into the service hallway, leaving the last of our armed soldiers to guard the entrance. At least this area is lit by faint, red emergency lighting, so now I’m not the only one that can see without night vision. All we know about the basement is that this hallway runs the whole perimeter, with supply closets scattered along the outside wall. The only other door on the inside wall that I can see is near us and has a fresh coat of white paint and red words stenciled across the middle that says ‘Restricted Access’. It’s fitted with another keypad and Missy starts taking screws out of it.

  We knew that there would be at least one guard circling this hallway, but I’m not convinced there aren’t others. Kyle and Nate will remain here to make sure.

  This security lock takes Missy a bit longer, and the tension is mounting by the time she gets it open. The five of us move into the inner chamber without incident. It seems to be a foyer with three other entries into the labs. Everyone looks to me and so I try again to pick up on any sort of sign that we’re not alone.

  Holding onto Baxter, I do my best to block out everything else and focus on expanding my reach. He has to be here! Further … just … a … little … My eyes snap open and I gasp involuntarily.

  “He’s here!” I announce, both relieved and confused. “But I can’t get to him.”

  “What do you mean, you can’t get to him?” Chris demands.

  “I don’t know Chris! I can feel his presence somewhere nearby, but it’s almost like he has his own bubble.”

  “Well that’s odd,” Seth says evenly. Suddenly, the unmistakable, hollow thud of a silencer being fired twice comes from outside in the hallway where Nate and Kyle are stationed.

  Chris slips back out and reappears less than a minute later. “Two more guards,” he explains matter-of-factly. “They were neutralized.”

  “Are we ready to re-think this approach yet?” Seth asks, turning to Chris.

  “Absolutely not!” Chris barks. “Benuk, you’ll stay out here. The rest of us will start with the middle door. It’s the only one with any light coming out of it.” He’s right. The other two are dark while that one has a thin line of radiance seeping out from around the edges.

  I try the handle and it turns easily under my hand. As expected, Seth and I go first, leading the way for Missy and Chris. We’re in what appears to be the outer workings of a large lab. It’s empty, so we move cautiously across the room towards the only other door on the opposite wall. It has a fogged glass window in it, and there is clearly a light on behind it. It’s not quite nine at night, so it wouldn’t be surprising to find someone in here, instead of any living quarters.

  As I reach for the knob, Chris stops me with a hand on my shoulder. Looking back at him, he indicates that he’ll remain in the outer room to cover our backs, while the three of us proceed. Missy might be needed for any other locked entries, while Seth and I are the most effective firepower. Baxter is, as always, by my
side and I consider telling him to stay here. However, if the professor really is in the room beyond, I might need his help in gaining control of him because for some reason, he’s stronger than any other Shiner I’ve encountered.

  As I suspected, this inner sanctum is filled with large machines and computers similar to what I found in the professor’s basement. Many of them are humming, a soft blue light radiating from within. I look first at Seth and then Missy before motioning for them to move forward. Baxter doesn’t need an explanation.

  The machinery becomes louder the deeper we go, but underneath it I begin to pick up on another kind of sound. We haven’t gone far before I stop them and strain to pick out what it is. I can sense the professor even more now and I’m sure he’s got to be close. I can’t see past a bank of huge cabinets, but I suspect that there is an office space on the other side, because someone is having a whispered conversation.

  I put a hand out to stop Missy, pointing at my eyes to indicate she needs to stay and watch for danger. Waving Seth on, we make our way around the furniture.

  Sure enough, there’s an office area arranged with three desks and a couple of chairs. There are two men standing, however, and as they turn towards us, one of them automatically goes for the gun on his hip. Although my weapon is already trained on them, I hesitate, because of who the adversary is. Seth, on the other hand, does not and I cringe as he shoots his own father in the chest.

  THIRTY

  Rushing forward, I kick the dropped pistol away from Nossor Busiri, a Mudameere cell leader, and Baxter sniffs suspiciously at him. I’m already chastising myself for forcing Seth to be the one to do this. Looking back, I find that he’s shifted his attention to Professor Hassan and his face is an unreadable mask.

  “Over here, Professor,” he orders evenly. I’m unprepared for how my old friend looks. He must have lost nearly fifty pounds so that his previously plump frame is now shrunken and his face gaunt under his completely gray beard. Looking back and forth between the two of us, while he doesn’t necessarily appear confused, neither is he confident like I would expect a Shiner to be. But his eyes are glowing dimly in the subdued light.

  “As you say,” he finally answers, and steps over the moaning form of Nossor on his way to Seth’s side. Seth grabs him roughly by the forearms when he’s near enough and slaps on a pair of cuffs, securing his hands in front of him. “These are unnecessary, young man,” he informs Seth, without emotion.

  “Sure, whatever you say, Doc,” Seth replies sarcastically before coming to stand next to me, dragging the professor behind him. “Will he live?”

  “I don’t know, Seth.” Looking down at Nossor, it’s obvious that the wound to his chest is serious, but he’s still conscious.

  “Son. You’re … alive,” the man gasps, looking up at Seth with ice-blue eyes that match his own. “Why?” he manages to mutter before passing out.

  “Because you gave me no choice,” Seth says quietly as he shoves the professor towards me before picking up his father’s limp body. With some effort he gets his large mass on his shoulder and then looks back at me, his cheek streaked with his father’s blood. “If he lives, he’ll be the highest ranking prisoner we’ve ever taken.”

  Not waiting for a response from me, he trudges back the way we came, his dad’s head bobbing against his back with each step. Taking a deep breath to center myself, I turn to Professor Hassan and grasp his arm.

  “We’ve got to go now,” I explain, guiding him along. “Is Susan here somewhere?” His wife, Susan, isn’t part of our primary goal, but if she is in this building I will do all I can to retrieve her.

  “Susan? Why would she be here, Alex? There would be no benefit in that. She isn’t a scientist. I didn’t think to ask where they took Susan, so I can’t answer the question.”

  My throat clenches at the stark explanation and I have no doubt now that the professor is a Shiner. Although, there is something about his demeanor that’s off, but I can’t figure out what it is. It doesn’t matter, I tell myself, trying to keep focused. There’ll be plenty of time for that later.

  Baxter whines longingly at the man, likely remembering his original owner and the time they spent together. Nudging at his secured hands with his nose as we walk, I note the lack of response from Hassan, which causes Baxter to run ahead.

  Missy is looking at me wide-eyed and I motion for her to follow behind us and cover our backs. The four of us quickly make our way out to where Chris is waiting. He simply smiles when he sees that our mission has been successful and with barely a second-look at Nossor, spins on his heel and leads the way.

  When we reach Benuk, Chris directs him to take control of Professor Hassan. Benuk quickly determines that he’ll be a lot faster carrying the man, rather than dragging him, so he picks him up as if he were a child and easily tosses him onto his back. Hassan makes some remark about how unnecessary it all is, but Chris silences him.

  This allows me to regain my proper team role as our lethal protection, and I fall back with Missy, who has taken over for Seth. Or retreating group joins Nate and Kyle who, without question, lead the way up the stairs. Baxter seems eager to get back outside and abandons his normal spot near me to trail close behind them.

  As they disappear onto the first floor, Chris follows and then Seth struggles up the steep stairwell with his father. Missy and I wait behind Benuk in the service hallway, watching to the left and right for signs of anyone approaching.

  “You really shouldn’t take me up there,” the professor is advising, his face turned sideways into Benuk’s broad back, his cuffed wrists slung awkwardly over Benuk’s shoulder so that he can hold them. He looks like a kid getting a contorted piggy-back ride and I feel bad, knowing how ashamed the real professor would be.

  “I’m sorry sir, but that is the only option right now,” Benuk whispers. The older man tries to object, but is shushed.

  Seth makes it up and then gives the all-clear sign for Benuk. Missy and I advance to the bottom of the stairs as he carries the professor up. It appears that we are going to be successful, but I’m still plagued by a feeling that something is wrong. In spite of the four guards we encountered, this was way too easy. Why the lack of security down here? I expected it to be crawling with shiners. I continue not to sense any besides the professor and the ones out front.

  I’m about to voice my concern, when a loud alarm starts to sound, piercing through the compound and echoing in the small space we’re confined in. Something on Hassan must have triggered it. I see awareness cross Benuk’s face as he looks back at us, before he makes an inhuman lunge up the remaining steps, just as a hidden fire door slams across the opening.

  It connects solidly with his right shoulder and there’s a sickening crunching noise as it pins him momentarily in the space, Professor Hassan safely in the void created. If it weren’t for Benuk’s massive size and density, due to his Nephume heritage, he would surely be crushed. But he somehow manages to pull himself and the professor through, before the heavy metal door crashes home.

  Cut-off, Missy and I look at each other in the almost total darkness. Knowing she can’t hardly see, I take her firmly by the arms and lead her back out into the dim hallway. Looking first to the left and then the right, I note that all three prone bodies of the shot guards are to the right. “This way!” I tell Missy, and we turn in the opposite direction.

  “So that was why they didn’t have more security down here,” Missy breathes, trying to keep pace with me.

  “Yeah,” I agree. “They didn’t need it. He was essentially locked in, and so they just need outside containment. But I still don’t understand why they don’t have Shiners down here for extra measure.”

  I hear two distinct voices and footsteps ahead of us and put out an arm to stop Missy. She drops to a crouch while I silently sprint ahead. Rounding the corner, I shoot both of the armed Mudameere before they even realize I’m here.

  I go back to Missy and wave her on. As we come up on the next bend, I k
now that the main entrance and another stairwell have to be close. Just as I see the slightly glowing exit sign fixed above it, I also sense what I’ve been waiting for all night. Smiling, I turn to my friend.

  “Shiners!” I tell her, and then reach out with confidence to envelop them.

  There are two shots from above as they take care of the remaining Mudameere on the first floor. A moment later, after opening the identical fire door at this end, six Shiners walk down into the hallway and line up in front of me.

  “I’m going to have them surround us, Missy,” I explain, turning to her. “And have them shield us as we run out the front door. Head for the extraction rendezvous point. It shouldn’t be far from here if we just run out past the far corner of the building and towards the tree line.” She almost looks like she’s in shock, but nods in understanding and follows me without question up to the first floor.

  The Shiners do as I ‘tell’ them and form a sort of wall around us as we run out onto the front lawn. I know that Missy and the Shiners can’t keep up with me, so I try to pace myself as I sprint for the trees. We’re more than halfway there, when I hear the unmistakable sound of an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) being fired.

  Spinning around, I unleash a burst of gunfire at the roof of the building behind us while falling backwards. In this brief moment of time, everything seems to move in slow motion. I can see a form falling from the ledge as my bullets find their mark, while at the same time I register the trace of smoke indicating the path of the rocket. As I hit the ground, the world erupts into flames, and the last thing I remember are bodies flying towards me. And Missy is one of them.

  THIRTY ONE