Dimension Lapse II: Return to Doomsday (Dimension Lapse Series Book 2)

by Nicholas Davis

  Out of curiosity, she pulled the Andronian blood sample out of her pocket, took a drop, and placed it under the microscope. She looked at the cellular structure of the sample, and noticed that it was identical to the virus. The disease was Andronian blood, which she couldn't understand. How could he have been infected with this blood while still living on Earth, and how did it get in her? Her and Varloo never had physical contact of any kind, and the virus wasn't airborne, unless they injected her with it while she was sleeping. That wouldn't explain how it got inside her father, however. It was another puzzle of a long list of them and perplexed her even more. Taking a gamble, she took the sample of Balta's blood and combined it with her blood, and a drop of the Andronian blood. What she found both shocked and amazed her.

  The Tolarion's sample seemed to do nothing to stop the virus in her sample, but once she added the Andronian blood, the virus was neutralized. Apparently, the combination of blood was the catalyst for immunity to the virus. She wondered if this was the key to the cloning process as well, and if this was what Balta meant when he said her father found the cure for his virus; the alien gene that he spoke of that gave him the extra set of lungs. If only she could do an examination on Varloo somehow, she could find out the truth.

  Could it be that Balta and the other Tolarions were really part Andronian? They didn't seem to have any similar features, or any sign they were, other than their extra set of lungs. They bore more resemblance to their primate ancestors than they did to the Andronians. She grabbed the slides, put the Andronian syringe in her pocket, and headed toward the stairway to her living quarters. She needed to hide the samples in her bathroom for now until she could use them in the cloning facility; she didn't want Varloo or Balta finding out her secret,. She had no idea of Varloo's mental capacity, but she figured that while he was communicating with Akira, he wouldn't be focused on her. She just didn't know how she was going to hide it from him when she saw him again.

  The door opened to her quarters, and she entered the bathroom. She placed the slides just above the mirror, which hid them from view. The thought of an alien virus inside her made her sick, and made her vomit. She washed her hands and face, left the bathroom, and Varloo was waiting outside in her quarters.

  "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Does Balta know you're here?"

  "Of course, he does," Varloo answered. "You're under surveillance. Is something wrong?"

  "No," she said. "I'm just feeling under the weather. I need to rest, if it's all right?"

  "You're sure there isn't something you want to tell me?"

  She seemed to sense her secret, even though she tried to block it from his mind.

  "No, I just need sleep."

  "Well, okay," he said. "Take the afternoon off, and we'll see you in the morning."

  He started to leave, and Angelica stopped him.

  "Varloo?" he asked.

  "Yes?"

  "Thank you for understanding."

  "You're welcome."

  "Maybe I was wrong about you-again."

  "Don't be too quick to trust anyone, Ms. Avery," he said before he left the room. "You're on a hostile world, in a hostile war, and things aren't always as they seem." She nodded, feeling strangely tired, and collapsed on the bed and into a deep sleep.

  When she awoke the next morning, she went to the bathroom. She jumped in the shower and got cleaned up. She hated her period, which flowed quite heavy sometimes, and things were especially tough here with none of the amenities of home. The only privacy she had was in this room, and she still was unsure of even that; there may have been cameras in here as well.

  After she dried herself off, she threw on her white jumpsuit they gave her to wear. She reached the top of her mirror to grab the slides, which were gone. "That fucking traitor," she said aloud. "He knows."

  She grabbed her belt, fixed it around her waist, brushed her teeth, and then headed for the door. She walked down the stairway, and as she did, she noticed a guard opening the door to the prison section. As he did, she thought of Rollings again, and if he was all right. The Garlician guard glanced at her, and turned his back to her to shield her from deciphering the code. He then entered the door, closing it behind him. She had to somehow get that code, so that she could save Rollings. She knew all of the doors had the same code, otherwise it would have been too confusing.

  She finished climbing down the stairway, and was greeted by Balta, Akira, and Varloo, who were all in the large laboratory's propulsion and weapon section. She had to pass this section to get to the genetic and chemistry division.

  "Good morning, Ms. Avery," Balta said. "You're just in time for the news. We've completed the first phase in the fusion ray's development. It's moving along quicker than we hoped for."

  "Good for you," she snorted. She was furious, but she couldn't let on that she knew what Varloo did.

  "A little grumpy, this morning aren't you," Balta asked, as Akira laughed with him.

  "You would be too if you were as tired and sick as I was last night."

  "Oh," Balta said. "You're ill?"

  "That time of the month, you know?"

  "Ah yes, the human menstrual cycle," Akira added. "Garlician females have an odor to them as well, although they don't actually bleed. We call it Karita."

  "Like a Garlician male doesn't have an odor too," she muttered. Angelica shook her head, and walked away toward her station. "Men. They're all the same."

  "Balta," Akira said. "You'll be happy to know that one of our drone surveillance ships is just a short distance from Zacharas. It has been reported that several days ago, some of our drones were destroyed by a Garlician cruiser that apparently crashed on the planet. A rather large explosion was registered there."

  "Walker," Balta said, as he gritted his sharp teeth together. "Any sign of life?"

  Angelica also stopped where she could listen in on their conversation. "We don't know," Akira said. "We don't have any more information other than that."

  "If they were killed," Balta said. "Then we won't have to worry about them coming here. However, something tells me that's not the case."

  "Surely he must have been killed in the explosion?" Akira said.

  "You don't know Walker. He is very resourceful, cunning and very determined."

  "Only a fool would come here to stop us," Akira laughed.

  "A dangerous and clever fool," Balta added. "And he'll never come alone. He has friends in high places."

  "As do you, Muk Tuk," Akira answered.

  Angelica heard enough about this Jeff Walker to know he could be her only hope out of this mess, if he was even still alive. There was something that still bothered her about him, though; a familiarity with the name. Her fiance's name was Thomas Walker; could he somehow be related to him? If this was so, there was a chance her father somehow changed history in a way that altered his future as well. Rollings said they were brought to this universe from Mars, could this Jeff Walker have been brought here as well?

  She couldn't help but wonder if her father had in fact left her clues in Cely's memory banks. She needed to gain access to them, and when he saw he was alone in the chemistry section, she seized the opportunity. She approached him as he was analyzing a blood sample.

  "Morning, Cely," she said to him, as he continued to work.

  "Good morning, Ms. Avery," he answered, in a shallow, monotone voice.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Combining the blood samples that Varloo took yesterday with Master Balta's blood sample."

  "May I help you?"

  "Of course, Ms. Avery." She sat down next to him, and looked at the blood samples slides, noticing there were three.

  "What is this extra sample for?"

  "It is Andronian blood."

  "Andronian blood?"

  "Yes," Varloo said, as he came up behind her.

  She turned to face him, and knew the cat was out of the bag.

  "Yes, Ms. Avery, I know your little secret. Don't worry, I won't tell
. If I did, it would interfere with my plans."

  "And just what are your plans?"

  She began to wonder who's side he was really on.

  "They are for me alone to know," he stated.

  "Why do you want the samples?" she asked, bluntly.

  "I have my reasons," Varloo said. "Just continue to work, like you or I never discovered your secret. And don't worry about the android, I'll see he doesn't say anything either."

  "Will you help me get out of here?" she asked him, figuring she could trust him again.

  "I'm afraid I'm not in a position to do that yet," he said. "Produce the Triachilite, and we'll talk."

  "If you can't, what makes you think I can?"

  "The key is encrypted in your android's AI access chip. If you can decipher it, you can find the formula in his data banks. And I believe you can."

  "Why would it be in there?" she asked, confused. 'He made that stuff after he came to Tolaria. He wouldn't have given that to Cely."

  "There are so many things I could tell you," he stated. "But they would only help to confuse you more. I have my secrets too, and when I feel the time is right, I'll tell you. Take my word for it, the formula is in there, as well as the cloning secret, but I don't care about that. That's Balta's deal. All I care about is the Triachilite."

  "And mine and Balta's blood for some reason. You don't plan on infecting them with your virus? They're immune already. They have your blood already in them. And How do you know Balta hasn't bugged this area as well?"

  "He's paranoid, but not that much," Varloo laughed. "He only spies on those he perceives as a threat. Like I said before about the slides, that's my business."

  She was flattered that Balta still considered her a threat, but upset at Varloo for not giving him an answer."

  "How will I get access to Cely without being caught?"

  "I'll arrange that, trust me."

  "You've told me to trust you before and lied to me. Why should I now?"

  "It was necessary to save your life," he stated.

  "How come you couldn't save Malone's?"

  "That's a bit more complicated." He looked around, and noticed some of Balta's men looking their way suspiciously. "We'll talk later. If you want to see Rollings, the code is 6784312. But only go at night, and be careful. There is only one guard down there, and he is usually unarmed. Give him a shot of this, and he won't remember he ever saw you. And take this device, it will temporarily short circuit the cameras. But don't try to escape. They'll find you before you get out of here, believe me." He handed her a syringe in secret, the small device, and then pretended to work. "Did you have any luck with those samples, Ms. Avery?"

  Following his lead, she looked in the microscope again. "No, not yet." The guards disregarded their behavior and went back to patrolling, as they went back to pretending to work.

  That evening, about midnight, she got out of bed, and decided to take a chance at seeing Rollings. She wrote down the code earlier, so she wouldn't forget it, but first she had to find a way out of the room without being seen. She guessed the cameras were infrared as well, so they would see her even in the dark. She went into the bathroom, threw on her jumpsuit, pulled out the device Varloo gave her, and turned it on. She then walked across the rug, and opened the door. When she saw no guards at the bottom, she slipped down them quietly.

  When she reached the bottom, she checked to make sure no one was looking, and pulled the piece of paper with the code on it. She quickly punched in the code, and the door opened, revealing the long white hallway. She walked to the end, and into the stone hallway that led to where the prison was. She peeked around the corner, and noticed the guard's one large eye was closed. She quietly sneaked up on him, injecting him with the needle. He opened his eye once, then didn't budge. She punched in the code that opened the door, and slipped inside.

  She walked through, made sure she stayed out of reach from the octopus and cat creatures, and quietly came to Rollings cell.

  "Rollings," she whispered. "Rollings?"

  He awoke and looked up from his bed, pleased to see her. He sat up, then walked over to the cell. She went to kiss him, and he passionately kissed her back for a minute, then stopped.

  "What's wrong?" she asked.

  "Angelica," he said, sternly. "You're best to forget about me and save yourself. They're only going to kill me in the end anyway. I'm old enough to be your father, and we have nothing in common. How did you get past security, anyway?"

  "Varloo helped me."

  She was heartbroken he didn't have feelings for her; he was the most decent man she met here yet.

  "Didn't he also turn us in?" He was confused why she would trust him after such behavior.

  "I think he was helping Balta, but not anymore. He's changed."

  "Into what?"

  "Well, I don't know that. He seems to have his own agenda, and he wouldn't tell me what it was."

  "He's probably ratting us out right now."

  "I found out something else. The virus that my mother and father had I also have, the virus is Andronian, and Varloo and the Tolarions are immune to it. Varloo took the only samples I had, and wouldn't say what he was going to do with them. Rollings, I'm afraid he's going to use them against humans."

  "Or the Garlicians," Rollings said. "Does he have any of your embryos?"

  "Yes," she said, not knowing what he was getting at. "He told me he wasn't interested in cloning, only the Triachilite he wanted me to make."

  "If I were you, I wouldn't trust him. He's been nothing but a back stabber and liar."

  "I've got to go before they know I'm gone," she said. "I'll do whatever I can to get you out of here as soon as I can."

  She gently touched his hand again. He gripped her hand, and pulled her close.

  "Don't worry about me," he told her. "Just be careful. I wouldn't want you to lose that pretty smile you have."

  "I love you," she blurted out, but Rollings knew it could never be.

  "Be careful."

  She nodded, as tears rolled down her tan cheeks, and she headed toward the door.

  She punched in the code, and saw that the guard was still out cold. She passed him, went out the door, and back through the white hallway. When she came through the door to the large laboratory, she heard voices coming from the cloning equipment area. She quietly came near the door, which was wide open. No guards were close by, and most of the area was dark, except for the cloning room. As she listened she could hear the voice of Garlona and Varloo.

  "Do you think that you have a sufficient enough sample from the human and Balta?" Garlona asked him.

  "Yes. Once I get the formula from Avery's robot, and the cloning formula for Balta, he'll have what he wants, I'll have what we need, and we'll leave this rock once and for all. They'll all become infected and die slowly."

  "But if the Tolarions are immune, how do you propose to do that?"

  "Ms. Avery's blood has the virus, which is slightly different than mine. The virus will attack their human genes after I mutate it, and then I'll place it in her eggs. He can clone all he wants, but he will never achieve results, because every one he makes will already be infected."

  "Ingenious."

  She didn't want to get caught, so she slipped back up the stairway, into her room, and shut the door. She was greeted by Balta as she turned around.

  'Doesn't anybody knock anymore?' she thought to herself.

  "Up kind of late, aren't we?" he asked.

  "I couldn't sleep," she lied. "I thought if I worked a little while, I might get sleepy." She reached inside her pocket, and turned off the camera jamming device. "Did you need something?"

  "I was worried about you," he said. "The cameras seemed to malfunction, and I thought you might have tried to escape?"

  "Escape?" she laughed nervously. "Where would I go?"

  "To see your blond haired blue eyed friend, perhaps?"

  "How could I do that, I don't have the code to the doors."


  "Don't play dumb with me, Ms. Avery. I know your father had a photographic memory, and I'm sure you do as well." He smiled a sadistic smile, and slightly adjusted his mask. "I'll forgive it this time, but if I catch you leaving the room again at night, all bets are off, and your precious friend Rollings will go back in the arena; this time with Clatuo, my best warrior, who he will never be able to beat, and will die a slow, torturous death! Is that clear?"

  "Yes," she said, frightened as to what he might do next.

  "I still haven't figured how you sabotaged the cameras, but I will," he sneered. "Good night, Ms. Avery."

  "Good night," she said, as he left the room. She fell on the bed, relieved that she got out of the situation.

  It was obvious Varloo hated the Tolarions and the Garlicians, probably because his race was not as unified in their opinions, and he felt they were getting the short end of the stick in this deal. Once he was able to use the Triachilite, he would have unlimited power against them. She just wasn't sure if he was working for the Andronian dissenters, or for himself. She knew one thing, however; if she didn't find a way out of this mess soon, it would blow up in her face and Balta would find out what was really going on. Even with his current mental powers, she didn't believe he was any kind of match for Balta or the Garlicians and their savage thirst for conquest.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Carver and the party struggled through the thick, hot jungle, and were about halfway to the base. The heat was very intense, and between the six of them, they already went through one of three canteens they bought with them. They paid close attention to the ground around them for more of the worm creatures, and saw a couple, but they were far enough away where they weren't a threat. They hadn't seen any Vanatu since the attack, and Carver thought it best to talk to the Barok before they went to look for Jeff.