Apex 2: Rise of the Super Soldiers

by Adam Moon

  He was mildly surprised that when he hefted Sally’s unconscious body out of the bed, that her body felt so light. And then the memories came rushing back. He and Sally had been investigating the weird orb inside the truck when it had gone off, spraying them with a blue mist. He remembered nothing else after that.

  He carried Sally across the room and turned the door handle but it wouldn’t budge. It was locked. He cried out for help and put his ear against the door waiting to hear approaching footsteps. He heard nothing. He banged on the door harder, hoping someone on the other side might hear him. The smoke was getting thicker and yet the fire suppression system hadn’t kicked in. He was trapped. Sally coughed a ragged, angry cough and her eyes fluttered open, but didn’t come into focus before she fell unconscious again.

  Hank had seen men die in horrific ways. He’d fought nearly indestructible aliens. He knew fear inside and out. He knew it wasn’t an emotion to cower from, but rather, to embrace. Fear induced responses that were necessary to ensure survival. Fear could make your reflexes sharper and your mind more focused. The adrenaline surge that accompanied it could dull pain and make you stronger. Fear was your friend when you needed it and it was rarely wrong because it was an instinct, passed down by ancestors who’d survived long enough to pass down their genes. Fear was an emotion used by the winners to survive and when it overcame him so quickly, he knew to use it to help him get out of the predicament that had summoned it from its depths.

  He looked around the smoke filled room wildly for an escape route. There were no windows or doors besides the door he was already standing at. His fear intensified, spurring his feet into action.

  He placed Sally on the floor, ran to his bed frame, stood up on it, and fiddled with the ceiling mounted fire sprinkler, whilst ignoring the flames that threatened to engulf him. He couldn’t get it to activate so he jiggled it to try and get it to work. It came away in his hand and water instantly sprayed down on his flaming bed. He waited for alarms to sound but they didn’t come. The fire was now out but the smoke had grown thicker, strangling his airways. He jumped down and hefted Sally over his shoulder.

  Why had they been locked in a room and who’d set his bed on fire? Were they being executed in some sort of convoluted way? He hadn’t trusted the military over the course of the past month but now he seriously distrusted the institution because it seemed like they’d either tried to kill him or at the very least, left him in a situation where he would surely die without their intervention. He coughed and put his ear against the door one last time, waiting for those footsteps to come that never would.

  His fear intensified, fueling the growing anger within him. And then something unexpected happened. He felt a surge of adrenaline within him and then he felt a kind of instant release. Just as he felt the release, he saw a wave of heat escape his entire body, obliterating what little clothes he had left on him and shredding Sally’s clothes too. Sally’s hair shot back as though blown by an incredible wind. The heat rushed outwards quickly, leaving behind a sort of hazy mirage. The steel door buckled as though it had been hit by a tank. It didn’t blow all the way off but it didn’t have to. Hank could see light through the jamb and upon closer inspection, saw that the deadbolt had broken into pieces. He grabbed the handle and tugged as hard as he could. The handle came off in his hands. He reached his fingers through the crack and tugged on the door again. It groaned and creaked but it opened. The smoke billowed through the opening past him, setting off smoke alarms. That made him furious. Did it mean that the fire alarms worked everywhere except in the room he was being held in; the only room on base that was on fire?

  He was starting to believe that that was the case and his paranoia informed him that Commander Watson had set them up to die. He must’ve been furious that they’d disobeyed orders and investigated that metallic sphere. But that didn’t mean they should be burned to death, did it?

  He looked over Sally’s nude figure quickly, to make sure he hadn’t just killed her with whatever had escaped his body. She was still breathing. Her nudity barely registered in his disorientated mind.

  He heard voices heading his way but the last thing he wanted now was to see a military uniform. Naked and confused, he did the only thing that came to his mind: he ran. He was faster than usual too, which especially impressed him since he had the added weight of Sally’s body to carry. He whooshed past fellow troops, their bewildered faces, but blurs to him. One soldier fell over backwards from the force of his wake.

  He reached the blast doors just as a different siren started to blare. It was a lockdown siren to put the base on high alert. That meant that the base was his enemy now; they were trying to stop his escape. He keyed in the code to open the doors, and thankfully it went through before the lockdown took effect.

  He slipped through with Sally still slung over his shoulder.

  A sentry yelled at him to get on the ground. He knew the guy. He thought the guy was okay, albeit a bit awkward from time to time.

  Hank shook his head. His throat was still raw so when he spoke, it came out raspy. “I’m leaving, Steve. They tried to kill me, man. Please don’t try and stop me.”

  Steve trained his rifle on Hank and said sadly, “We both know I can’t do that, Hank. I have to ask you to surrender. No harm will come to you. I’m sure there’s been some kind of misunderstanding.”

  “They set me on fire. They locked us in a room and set it on fire. I had to break out. And now they’re trying to recapture us. I won’t allow it.”

  Steve opened his mouth to speak, and Hank took the opportunity to flee. He left his mark quickly, kicking up a sizable chunk of asphalt as he pushed off. Reflexively, Steve’s finger twitched and he fired a shot right into Hank’s bare chest.

  Hank knew he’d been hit but he kept running for his life. He knew that when the adrenaline dumped out of his system, he’d die from the wound. A rifle shot from so close was not something anyone survived. He swerved off of the winding road and broke through the tree line.

  After another few minutes of running, he slowed down to check out the damage. He placed Sally on the ground and swept his hands all over his chest and then his body, looking for the gushing wound, but found nothing. He was going to live. Steve had somehow missed him.

  He picked Sally back up and took off at a sprint, with a new lease on life and a newfound purpose. He’d get his head straight, steal some clothes, and then find a way to make Commander Watson pay for what he’d tried to do to them.

  Lockdown

  Watson’s jaw hung open as he was debriefed.

  Apparently Hank had somehow set his bed on fire and then broken through a three inch thick steel door. Then he’d been shot center mass from close range and shrugged it off as though it were no big deal. Then he escaped into the mountain wilderness with his buddy, Sally slung over his shoulder, running at inhuman speeds. For some ungodly reason, they were both fully nude.

  Jack sighed and said, “His powers should flourish pretty soon. Who knows how they’ll manifest?”

  Watson shuddered reflexively. Hank and Sally were always loose cannons, worse since the alien attacks last month. Now they had unknown superpowers and he had no control over them. He could only imagine what they’d do with so much power and no supervision.

  He looked past Jack to one of his soldiers. “Beef up security outside Delacourt’s room. The last thing we need is for him to escape too. Then he said into his radio, “Security will be tripled outside Commander Delacourt’s room immediately. I want this place on lockdown. Get to work.”

  He was just replacing it on his hip when the radio squawked. He put it to his mouth and said, “Go ahead.”

  The voice on the other end said, “Sir, Commander Delacourt is out like a light. Additional security isn’t necessary. He isn’t going anywhere.”

  Angrily Watson barked, “I didn’t ask for your opinion. You received your orders and I expect you to carry them out to the letter.”

  “Yes sir.”

/>   From Bad to Worse

  Delacourt watched from his bed as the soldier holstered his radio. His newfound super human ability was some type of telepathic mind control. He recognized it the moment he’d regained consciousness as though it had always been there within him. He’d summoned the door guard with nothing but a thought. When the guard appeared before him like a mindless puppet, he knew he had special powers. Then when he heard Watson order additional guards, he used his mind to force the guard to reply.

  It was a long shot getting the trooper to try and convince Watson to refrain from clamping down on security but it was worth a try.

  He focused on the young man and bid he come closer. The soldier obeyed silently, walking to the side of the bed and releasing the restraints. Then he helped Delacourt to his feet and stood aside as the Commander dressed.

  Delacourt walked out of the room, leaving the confused soldier behind, bewildered and alone.

  He passed several scurrying troops as he made his way to the blast door exit of the bunker. He barely had to concentrate to convince them they hadn’t seen him.

  He had to get out. He was deemed a threat and he’d be dealt with if he stayed.

  To his delight, he saw Watson standing with a small gathering of troops. He used his mind on them all. He blinded the others to his presence as he compelled Watson to open the bunker door. Watson did so immediately, not so much as giving Delacourt a passing glance as they brushed past each other. With that done Delacourt convinced an outside sentry, with only the power of his thoughts, to drive him into the nearest town.

  He got in the passenger seat of the truck and let out a long sigh. He wished he could’ve brought Jack or Melanie or one of the other two infected with him but escaping so easily was enough of an accomplishment all by itself. He could always come back for them, bring them into the fold later by altering their thoughts, as soon as he regained his strength.

  He felt butterflies in his stomach. The future was exciting for once in his life. He now had the power to affect change in the world. He could recreate it any way he wished. He’d always wanted to control people, absolutely, and now he could.

  The elation was short lived because a single thought entered his head, ruining his jubilation: he should have forced Watson to bite his own sidearm before he escaped. It didn’t really matter in the broader scope of things, but it would’ve been a nice touch to watch the man kill himself.

  He decided right then to go back as soon as possible to kill off the arrogant bastard. But first he had to find somewhere to rest and rejuvenate. A lot of work had to be done and all of it would require his utmost concentration.

  At a Loss

  When Watson received word that Delacourt was missing, he had to sit down. Everything had fallen apart in such a short span of time. He wasn’t used to so much chaos.

  Melanie offered, “Maybe he teleported like Jack does.”

  Watson nodded absently. None of this made sense to him in the least. He had no options available to him to hunt down superhumans. It would be irresponsible to send his soldiers after them. And it was out of the question to ask a couple of teenagers to clean up his mess.

  Jack said, “I want to stick around until they surface. You’ll never contain them by yourself.”

  Melanie nodded. More than ever, the Commander needed their help.

  Jack mused, “I could go out and see if I can find them. They can’t have gotten far.” He wondered if his newfound ability to empathize from a distance might come in handy once again. It would help him pinpoint their whereabouts, if he could summon the ability to come forth like it had at Everest.

  Watson stood and said angrily, “Absolutely not! You’re in my custody. I’m not going to risk putting either of you in harms way. I need to get a handle on this situation before I’m willing to take action.”

  Jack smiled. “You know you can’t stop me, right?”

  Watson cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out why the boy was so hell bent on bucking authority. “I’m asking nicely, son.”

  Jack conceded. “Alright, but I’m here if you need me.”

  Cheyenne

  Delacourt had his personal puppet drive him to the nearest hotel in Cheyenne. It was a poor decision considering it would be the first place Watson would look as soon as he discovered he was missing, but he was confident enough in his new abilities to risk it. If Watson came, he’d be dealt with in brutal fashion.

  He mentally instructed his puppet to hand over his firearm and to forget they’d ever met and then sent him on his way in the truck. Then he used the power of his mind to get keys to a room for free from the desk attendant of the hotel.

  He locked the door behind him and checked through the curtains to see if he’d been followed. He was suddenly exhausted. He fell on the floral blanket with a thud and instantly blacked out.

  Little did he know that Hank and Sally were staying just a few rooms away, unconscious too.

  Hotel

  Sally woke up in a strange place. It was dark and musty, with the smell of stale cigarette smoke and left over human odors clinging to her nostrils. She sat up painfully and looked around. On the bed next to her was Hank, passed out and snoring like a saw. He was nude and only then did she notice that she was naked too.

  What had happened? Had he lost his mind and raped her? No. He was crude but he was her friend. Had they gotten drunk together off-base and decided to sleep it off?

  Then her memories came to her. The last thing she remembered was that sphere spraying them with an aerosol that stung her bronchial tubes and sent her mind reeling. After that, she remembered nothing. Had she been unconscious since then, and if so, how had she gotten here?

  She wrapped the blanket around her bare figure and jostled Hank’s shoulder. He woke up languidly, wiped his mouth and rubbed his eyes.

  She asked sheepishly, “Where are we?”

  Hank sat up and cleared his throat. She couldn’t help but notice that he looked like he’d been working out his entire life. His musculature was awe inspiring.

  He said, “That metal orb knocked us out. I woke up strapped to a bed that was on fire. I got loose from the restraints and tried to carry you out of the room but the bastards locked us in. I broke out and took off with you draped over my shoulder. They tried to kill us. I didn’t know what to do so I ran here and found an empty room. I broke in, laid you down, and then passed out again.”

  Sally had a cockeyed smile as he explained. She said, “None of that makes any sense. I don’t trust the military but what we did wouldn’t warrant execution. Plus, have you ever heard of the military conducting such a weird type of execution? What really happened?”

  Hank chuffed, “I’m telling the truth. You were out like a light so you don’t remember. After I got out of the room and they discovered I’d escaped, they even tried to lock the place down. Steve shot at me as soon as we got outside. We were lucky to escape with our lives.”

  She shook her head, exasperated, looking for the bullet wound on his body that she knew he’d concocted. She said, “We’d better get back before they say we went AWOL. Where are my clothes?”

  Hank stood up and said, “You don’t understand. We can’t go back. They’ll kill us or at the very least, imprison us.”

  Sally said, “We did nothing wrong. Your story is nonsense.”

  Hank felt his anger well up as it had before. He’d saved her life and now she was calling him a liar. Just like the last time, he felt it build and build and then in an almighty outburst, it released, escaping from his body like an explosion.

  Sally flew backwards into a wall and all the furnishings either blew apart or flew outward from the epicenter of the blast, which was his body. The bed was in separate pieces, the box spring standing on its side, smoldering. The curtains wafted out of the window now that the glass had been shattered, and they were on fire.

  He rushed over to Sally, but she was alright. In fact, she didn’t have a scratch on her. The blanket she’d h
ad wrapped around her body was in shreds though. He noticed for the first time that her body had changed. She was far more robust than ever before, with muscles taut and piled atop one another.

  He took her hand and helped her to her feet. He said, “That’s why we don’t have any clothes. I did that back at base and it ripped our clothes to bits. But it’s how I got us out of the locked room.”

  Her mouth fell open. “This can’t be real. What the hell happened to you?”

  He looked at his feet, deep in thought. “I suppose the metal orb might have done this to me. Maybe the mist that knocked us out gave me this ability.”

  “But I breathed it in too.”

  “Those teenagers all got superpowers from the orb they found. I got this weird ability from the orb in the truck. I’m pretty sure you must have an ability now too.”

  Sally smiled like a child. “Do you think? I wonder what it is.”

  Sirens split the air. Hank said urgently, “We’ll figure that out later. We need to get out of here.”

  Crossed Paths

  Delacourt was woken by a loud boom from outside. He could barely believe his lucky eyes when he went to the window to see what had happened. Two naked figures rushed past his room and he recognized them. It was a serendipitous event to say the least. He heard sirens approaching and realized that any kind of window of opportunity was shrinking rapidly. He acted on pure instinct. He hurriedly opened his door and called out for Hank and Sally.

  They turned his way, and because they had so few options, ran into his room breathlessly.

  Delacourt made a show of locking the door and drawing the curtains to make them feel safe.

  Sally was trying to cover her breasts with one arm while shrouding her groin with her other hand. Delacourt stared at her lustfully but he quickly chided himself for being so obvious. He had already lost Jack and Melanie’s trust and if he continued like this he’d lose Hank and Sally’s too. He retrieved two towels from the bathroom and handed them over.