by Mark Lingane
“I don’t.” Hubbard withdrew his pistol. He stepped forward and fired wide of Cally’s head.
Cally screamed and ducked for cover. Nothing happened. The battery system remained unchanged.
Braxton held out his hands in front of him. “Would you please stop that, General? This is a science facility, not a torture chamber.”
Hubbard brought the grip of his pistol around and smashed it into the jaw of Braxton, who collapsed to the floor, then dragged Cally to the testing room next to the craft. He leveled the pistol at him again, sealing the door behind them.
“Are you gonna do it again or am I going to have to shoot you?”
“I told you before,” Cally screamed, “I can’t control it. It comes when it comes.”
Hubbard grabbed the boy by the throat and pushed him to the ground, placing the barrel of the pistol against his temple. “Do it!” he screamed.
“I can’t, please, I can’t do this.”
Hubbard armed the pistol. Tears flowed down Cally’s face as he whimpered under the pressure. But still nothing happened. The craft was dead.
Hubbard stepped away from Cally, sneering, “Look at you, you’re just a coward of a kid. A seven-year-old girl has more guts than you.”
He waved to the two soldiers standing guard by the entrance. The door closed behind them as they entered the chamber. He looked through the glass at the science team, standing awkwardly in the control room.
He stepped in close to the soldiers. “Could you hear me through the glass?”
“No sir,” one replied.
“Take him out and shoot him.” He indicated the whimpering boy on the floor. The first soldier looked at him.
“Are you sure, General?”
“He’s an exceptionally dangerous person with a power that he can’t control. What happens if he falls into the hands of the enemy and then learns how to control his power?”
“I see what you’re saying, General.”
Hubbard nodded. “Good. Take him to the execution area.”
The soldiers moved over toward Cally and snatched at him. Cally screamed and tried to crawl out of their clutches. They grabbed him by his arms and legs. He thrashed as hard as he could, but was unable to break their hold. He howled in desperation as the soldiers dragged him through the door into the control room and the scientists watched in horror. One man stepped forward hesitantly. Hubbard tapped him away with the barrel of his pistol.
“No need to panic, brainboxes,” he said to the scientists, “we’re just taking him down to the medical center for observation. You keep working on getting me some weapons that function.”
The group turned away, hiding their shame, blocking their ears to the screams of the young boy.
Jones jumped in front of Hubbard. “He can see the future,” she cried desperately.
Hubbard laughed. “Prove it.”
“He can only do it when he’s in a state of heightened awareness.”
“I tried that and it didn’t work.”
She lunged after Cally and grabbed him around the waist, fighting against the soldiers. “You’ve hardly given us any time,” she shouted at Hubbard. “We need more time, please. It’ll be worth it. What can you achieve? What can you gain by knowing how and when the enemy’s going to attack?”
Hubbard stood staring into Jones’s eyes, and then held up a finger. “One more day.”
As he was leaving, he whispered into the ear of the soldier, “Take precautions and cuff him. I don’t trust them.”
Cally sat watching the scientists argue with Hubbard. The testing room made him feel awkward, like he was floating in space without a spacesuit, having to hold his breath. It was only a matter of time before something bad happened. He recalled the images he’d seen in his EM burst.
- blink -
Helicopter blades thrashed overhead … gunfire … a massive black circle boiling away in the earth …
The pain was unbearable. Tears flooded down his face. He lay on his side and rested, waiting for the pain to pass.
Conversation tumbled into the room as the door opened. “… too dangerous.”
“Not if we use him first. We can learn so much. Think of the weapons.”
One of the scientists, the Indian Cally knew was called Ronnie, came into the small room and checked readings on a handheld Geiger counter. He stood behind the boy and hovered the device over his head. It buzzed noisily. Cally felt a tug on his wrists. The handcuffs fell free. A hand was on his shoulder, dragging him upright.
“Come, quick,” Ronnie whispered.
Cally looked up at Ronnie. His vision was still blurry. “Hey, didn’t I see you in the hospital?”
Randeep smiled. “Now’s not the time. You’re in danger. We must go now.”
“It’s a bad idea to go.”
“It’s a much worse idea to stay.”
“You’ll be in danger.”
“I’m not the important one here. Follow me. I’ve made arrangements.”
Cally wrapped his feet around the legs of the bench.
“Please make it a decision,” Randeep said. He had one hand in his lab coat pocket, clutching a brown bottle and a small rag. “Please,” he repeated.
Cally reluctantly unhooked his feet and slipped off the bench. “I know the way.”
“You can’t. Only authorized people are allowed down here.” Randeep grabbed Cally by the wrist and pulled him toward the exit.
Inside the control room, the scientists continued to argue, the tension heightened by the presence of a dozen soldiers Hubbard had stationed in the chamber.
“Ronnie’s the expert in this,” Braxton said. “Where’s he gone?
“Forget him, where has the boy gone?” another scientist said.
“He can’t have escaped.” Braxton slammed his palm down on the large red security button. Sirens wailed as the exits started to shut. “There they are,” he cried, spotting the fleeing Randeep and Cally.
Randeep sprinted toward the descending metal steel gate at the opposite end of the chamber, dragging Cally behind. The grinding of the gears and sirens drowned out all other sounds—until there was a burst of gunfire from behind. Sparks flew as the bullets ricocheted off the portal. There was only a foot of space remaining.
Randeep reached out for a can of paint as they ran past a small pile of maintenance material. The handle slipped from his grip and the can tumbled to the floor. Cally managed to kick it forward. Randeep stooped down and grasped the can with both hands. He dropped to the ground, slammed the can under the descending gate and into the operating chain. He rolled underneath. It creaked as the can buckled. Cally slipped through the gap behind Randeep moments before the can gave way.
They ran down the dark corridor as the shouting from the lab intensified. The sirens stopped, although the red lights continued to flash, and the gate behind them started to lift slowly.
They ran into a small area containing an elevator, and a door displaying the familiar green sign of a white running man. The gate rattled, causing them to look back. The gate lifted fractionally.
Randeep frantically pressed the button, but the elevator was still not available. The gate lifted again, inching up. The mangled paint can was stuck in the mechanism.
And still the elevator did not arrive. The gate creaked once more.
“We don’t have time for this,” Randeep cried.
He pushed open the emergency exit and ran into the stairwell. Dust sat densely in the air, and a strong musky smell prevailed over the basement levels. The stairs led in both directions. Randeep went up toward the surface.
Cally paused and looked into the lower levels. “What’s down there?”
“Things you don’t want to know about,” Randeep replied. “Quick. Come on.”
“Did I hear a growl?”
“It’s the genetic research level. We definitely have to keep you out of their clutches.”
“I guess they’re not trying to cure the flu or cancer down there.”
Cally clambered up the stairs behind Randeep. Randeep’s hand was locked onto the handrail, which helped him take two steps at a time. Cally found the speed difficult to maintain and stumbled frequently.
“Hold onto the rail,” Randeep said. “It’ll be quicker.”
Six flights up and panting, they came to an emergency-exit door on the first floor. Randeep thrust his hands against the release bar and pushed. The door didn’t move. He rattled the bar, but the door remained locked. They heard a click behind them.
“Did you think we wouldn’t be prepared for this?” came a voice.
Randeep hung his head. He raised his hands and turned around. One of Hubbard’s soldiers was standing halfway down the staircase above them, with a machine-gun trained on them. He signaled for them to move away from the door and slowly made his way down the steps.
Randeep noticed that the soldier was feeling down for each step, his attention split between his captives and downward motion.
“You’re sweating like you’ve just had a vindaloo.” The soldier let out a sarcastic laugh. “Hubbard will be proud of me.” He signaled for them to head back down. “Keep your hands up.”
“It’s unsafe. Health and safety evacuation procedure states we must hold onto the handrail at all times,” Randeep said.
As they made their way down, Randeep increased his stepping speed. “Hold onto the handrail, Cally, and keep up,” he said quietly.
“Kids always drag their feet,” spat the soldier.
Randeep started to take the steps two at a time, and soon he was almost running down the stairs. Cally was jumping down behind him, trying to keep up.
“Whoa, wait up. Halt!” The soldier stepped faster, but without looking, he misjudged the steps. He tripped and reached out for the wall.
Cally turned and kicked out at him, then pushed him away. The soldier fell, tumbling to the base of the stairs. Randeep extracted his brown bottle, ripped open the lid and soaked the cloth. The two men struggled on the landing. The soldier forced Randeep into a corner. The rag dropped to the ground and was scuffed under the soldier’s boots. The soldier pushed forward, thrusting the rifle against Randeep, then twisting it and ramming the butt into Randeep’s throat.
Then the cloth was over the soldier’s face. He released Randeep and spun around, trying to shake free of Cally, but the boy had clamped tightly onto his back. Randeep threw his arms out wide and pushed both of them into the corner. The soldier thrashed briefly before falling unconscious to the floor.
“He should’ve held onto the handrail,” Randeep said. He untangled the machine-gun from the soldier’s arms, slung it over his shoulder and continued down the stairs.
“Don’t we need to go back up to the emergency door?” Cally said.
“No. I have to release the lock on basement level seven. Quick.”
A hammering was coming from beyond the research lab emergency-exit door. They opened the door and quickly looked in. The gate had risen only six inches; a soldier was trying to crowbar the can out as several others tried to lever the metal door up.
One of Randeep’s fellow scientists saw them and shouted, “There they are. Quick.”
Randeep slammed the door and they ran down to the floor below.
62
HE JUMPED DOWN the last steps and entered a concrete room devoid of any decoration. Several doors led away, and a fixed steel frame highlighted a corridor. Flickering strip lighting did little to alleviate the gloom of the corridor, which was flanked by cages.
“Stay here and don’t touch anything,” Randeep said. He unslung the gun and passed it to Cally. “Have you ever used a semi-automatic weapon?”
“Oh, totally. I’m a dead ace at ‘Call of Duty 4’.”
“Ah, well, this is a little different. Just aim the gun and pull the trigger if anyone comes in. Hopefully, you won’t need to.”
Randeep sprinted off down the corridor and disappeared around a corner. A low, menacing growl rolled out of a dark cage near Cally. He gasped as fingers several inches thick wrapped around the solid metal bars. The skin was dark, almost reptilian.
There was a long grinding from above. He heard one of the emergency doors above smash open then heavy footsteps running down the stairs. He turned nervously toward the stairwell, clutching the rifle, uncertain what to do.
The huge reptilian fist shook the cage bars, which suddenly didn’t seem as firm and reassuring as before. They began to creak as another fist clamped around the metal. Cally clutched the machine gun to his chest. The oily metal felt alien in his hands.
Shouting floated down from the stairs. He heard the definite word: “Down!”
There was a loud crack, and the lights went out.
Above, the soldiers’ voices changed from aggression to panic as they suddenly found themselves descending in the dark, battling for balance.
The creaking next to Cally took on a more urgent tone, as did the growl. He heard the scurrying of feet and a hand clutched at his clothes and dragged him forward. He stumbled against the wall, grazing his hands on the rough concrete. The machine gun clattered to the floor.
“Hurry, we only have thirty seconds to get to the top before the emergency systems kick in,” Randeep hissed.
“We’re going up in the dark?”
“You really don’t want to stay down here.”
“I dropped the machine gun,” Cally said.
The metal bars screeched.
They stumbled in the direction of the stairway, blindly reaching out ahead of them. Randeep’s hand found the wall and closed around the handrail. He felt momentary relief as his foot landed solidly on the first step.
“Keep close to the wall,” he said. “Don’t let go of the rail, and be as quiet as you can.”
Randeep went up the stairs as quickly as he could. Cally held onto his lab coat and followed closely behind him. He was certain he could hear something padding up the stairs behind them. He only hoped that whatever it was found the darkness as terrifying as he did.
When they reached the next level, Cally found himself pushed into a corner of the stairwell. The soldiers were on them. Bodies were everywhere, bouncing and crashing off each other.
“Over there, I saw a light. There they go,” Randeep shouted, disguising his voice.
Cally felt the soldiers run past, and then he was being dragged up the staircase. “Jeez, you’re a deceptive guy,” he said.
“We do what we must,” Randeep replied.
There were shouts from below, followed by screams and gunshots.
They finally made out the faint outline of the emergency exit on the roof. Randeep kicked open the door and they ran out into a sunken helipad. The concrete walls surrounding the area rose up two stories. Directly above them was the commercial outline of London. A large military personnel carrier sat in the center of the helipad, ready for takeoff, the black, sleek shape barely visible in the moonlight. They felt a loud click under their feet, and power returned to the facility.
“You’ve got a secret helicopter pad,” Cally said in amazement.
“This is a military facility,” Randeep said. “There are many secrets here. Get in.”
The pilot, a lieutenant, saw them and soon had the blades spinning. Cally gasped when he saw the man’s face and stopped in his tracks.
“It’s all right,” Randeep said. “He’s a friend of mine.”
Cally struggled, trying to twist out of Randeep’s grip, but Randeep held on tightly. The soldiers burst through the door behind them and charged. When Cally glanced over his shoulder, Randeep heaved the distracted boy into the helicopter. He jumped in behind and signaled to the pilot.
The machine started to shake as the rotors accelerated. The pilot flicked several switches above his head, grabbed the stick, and pulled back. Randeep sighed as the helicopter lifted off the ground, relief flushing through his body.
The soldiers opened fire. Bullets pinged around them, forcing Cally and Randeep to the far side of the chopper for prot
ection. The helicopter roared up, then banked and sped away. The gunfire diminished, then ceased.
“You can detect the EM bombs, can’t you?” Randeep said.
Cally nodded.
“I thought so. Our only way to safety now is if you can lead us out.”
Cally sat on the seat at the rear of the helicopter and closed his eyes. The wind roared past, but the noise was lost in the hurricane of the speeding helicopter. He held his palms out in front of him. Behind his closed eyes, he could see the land beneath them shaped by the varying levels of EM strength, as if written in braille. The EM bombs stood up like stalagmites, and water dropped away into deep ravines. What remained of the city’s power was laid out like a fairytale landscape.
“Do you see it or feel it?” Randeep asked. He stared into the boy’s face, watching the muscles move.
“I sense it.” Cally turned his head turned from side to side. “Go left,” he shouted at the lieutenant. “Head toward the river.”
The helicopter banked and flew onward.
“You’re veering too close to something dangerous on the right,” Cally said. “Keep wide.”
Randeep looked out the side, trying to spot what might be lurking, but he could see nothing but destroyed buildings. His city, his home, had been wrecked. Parts of the city still burned as fires crept through the buildings, driving the inhabitants out into the relentless attacks of the enemy. Directly below them, the city was without power and completely dead.
“It’s clear for the next several miles if you curve left,” Cally shouted to the pilot as they crossed the Thames. “Turn to the north before we get to Tower Bridge.”
Instead of acknowledging Cally’s instruction, the lieutenant drew his pistol, twisted around and shot Randeep. Randeep clutched at his stomach, fell off the seat and out of the helicopter into the water below. Cally screamed out, clutching after the falling man, but it was too late. He watched the body fall and smash into the river.
“Except we’re not going anywhere,” the pilot yelled at Cally. “Compliments of General Hubbard.”
He aimed the pistol at Cally and fired. Cally screamed. Lightning crawled over the dashboard, the dials went black, and the helicopter fell out of the sky.
