by Dan Glover
"Let me help you, sweet Karen."
When Lily reached down to cradle her head in her hand, Karen felt a renewed sense of vigor invade her being. Sipping the water helped alleviate the soreness in her throat and gave her a chance to clear the muddle running through her brain.
"I just returned from old America with Nate, my precious Karen. Your Pete saved all our lives... if not for his heroics we would all be assimilated into Micah's nanobot collective. Pete's bravery led to the destruction of the nest that controlled all the movements of those horrible machines."
"Pete is really dead? I'm not dreaming?"
"I am so sorry, my beautiful Karen... I believe he may have purposely crashed his jet. I have more bad news too but perhaps that should wait until you are feeling better."
"Tell me... please tell me now."
"Kirk may have perished as well. Our Lady Lauren was wounded but she is recovering, as is Kāne. If not for their two hearts they would have both been mortally wounded."
Karen remembered the first day she saw Kirk... Marilyn had nearly run him down in her hurry through the tiny village as they were racing to Orchardton Hall, both of them sick. It was Karen who insisted on stopping for the boy and his companion. Drummond was his name. She hadn’t thought about that kid in centuries.
Marilyn had been in love with Kirk. Karen recalled thinking of ways to poison him, to get him out of the picture so Marilyn would return to her. Of course there wasn’t time... her old lover died as violent a death as anyone had experienced in decades. She hated Kirk. She felt guilty for having saved his miserable life. If only she had listened to Marilyn that day and left him behind.
Still, her memory must be hazy for when she thought about it, they had only picked up one boy that day... Drummond. The other had materialized when they pulled up in front of Orchardton Hall. His appearance seemed so mysterious that Karen automatically assumed they had picked up two boys... the raging fever had played tricks upon her mind.
She supposed it didn’t really matter where Kirk came from. He was there and he had to be dealt with. To exile him from Orchardton Hall seemed the best course of action for everyone. Lily had surprised everyone by voting to allow the boy to stay, however.
Gradually, and over many decades, the man began evolving in almost imperceptible ways. Eventually he married Delilah, moved to Toulon with Nate, and despite the many predictions of him being a poor choice, Kirk flourished in his newfound duties.
The children were a source of unending pride to him as he became the father all the rest of the People envied. When Delilah left him she swore to Karen it wasn’t on account of his faults.
"I've grown, Dr. Karen. I want more than to be wife and mother. That's why I left Toulon Castle and came here to the Isle of Skye. I want to learn to fly. I want to see the world. Kirk could never understand that."
Luciana had gone to the south of old France about that time. Karen heard she and Kirk had become an item and even had a child together. It was hard to believe the man was really gone.
"What happened, darling Lily?"
"Nate and Kirk traveled to old America to save me. They were assaulted by conglomerations of nanobots when they tried to enter Cornell University. Kirk pushed Nate aside and absorbed the brunt of the attack. He never recovered.
"I'm afraid there is more, sweet Karen... Maon and Alpin have disappeared."
"So much terrible news... and all because of Micah. It's my fault more than anyone's. What if I had stayed in old New York when he asked? Perhaps I might have been able to advise him on a different course."
"It is not your fault, precious Karen. Had you stayed you would have succumbed to Micah's metal machines. There would have been no choice."
"Is there hope for Maon and Alpin's rescue, darling Lily?"
"Yes, that is what we are working on even now. I didn’t see them but I did talk to Alpin on the short wave radio. He had hoped to find explosives to drop on the nanobot nest but the engines on his jet shut down before he could reach it. When I last talked with him, he and Maon were holed up inside the cabin of Alpin's jet awaiting rescue.
"Pete and Maon spotted it from the air so they landed. Maon ran to Alpin's aid while Pete took off and flew to Alpin's destination, and to his death. At least that's what we assumed. We mounted a search for all of them but we found nothing but great dunes of dust... the remains of Micah's nanobots."
"Those brave men are still alive, sweet Lily. I feel it."
"I wouldn’t get my hopes up, darling Karen... but it's possible. Nate plans on flying back to reconnoiter the area again."
"Hello Karen... do you mind if I come in?"
She blinked her eyes in amazement. Micah was standing at the doorway looking as if he was ready to flee. He was fourteen years old again though he was no longer a scrawny sickly boy but healthy and able-bodied.
"Please leave us for a few moments, sweet Micah."
Karen knew Lily spoke out of concern for her health but she wanted to talk with Micah... she felt she owed him some sort of explanation for abandoning him the way she did... not once but twice.
"It's okay, Lady Lily... please allow Micah to enter."
She put a hand over Lily's to keep her close as she smiled up at Micah. In some perverse way she knew she should be irate with the man... after all, his creations were the reason her husband Pete was dead... still, seeing the boy smiling at her eliminated any hostility lurking at the edges of her psyche.
"Come closer, sweet Micah... I'm so happy to see you again! You look amazing."
"I've had a rebirth ever since Lady Lily came to Cornell University, sweet Karen. I'm so sorry about what happened. I tried to prevent it but I was too late. The nanobots had evolved beyond my purview. They became autonomous.
"When Lady Lily arrived, I began changing back to what I used to be. I didn’t realize it at first—it happened so slowly—but I had become too much like my machines. I walked around in a trance. When I dreamed, my visions were transferred to the nanobots and they acted them out.
"I never wanted to hurt anyone. I was lonely. I missed you most of all, sweet Karen. But it always seems as if I hurt those who I love. I didn’t mean for your husband to die. If I could take his place I would do it in a minute.
"I want you to know that when you left Cornell University the last time, I ran after you. I had made up my mind to go home with you. But you were already gone. As I changed back into that metal monstrosity my feelings hardened like my body. I envied the thought of everyone being together and me again standing apart like I've always done.
"I know it's my fault. There's something wrong with me that I cannot fit in like the others. I'd rather be normal. I never wanted to be like I am. I want to have friends. I want a family.
"Now that the nanobots are gone, I have nothing left to live for. I considered killing myself in the hopes they would die with me but it was too late for that. Maybe it might have worked two hundred years ago but they had evolved to the point of no longer needing me, just like the rest of the world.
"I'm useless. I know that. If you want me to leave, I'll understand. But if you don’t mind, I'd like to stay here for a short while. Perhaps I can help out somehow in some small way until you get your feet under yourself again."
"Please get off your knees, darling Micah. None of this is your fault. I made choices that I'm not proud of. I think everyone has at one point or another in their lives.
Chapter 59—Death in the Afternoon
They were trapped.
Huddling in the back of the Ford pickup truck with automatic weapons at the ready she watched as hordes of manic chimpanzees descended upon them. Natalia and Lauren had joined them.
"We should try driving away from here, sweet Ginger."
"We'll never make it, darling Natalia... we are surrounded on all sides. Where's Chester? Didn’t he show up?"
"Chester is dead. Those horrid things killed him."
Lauren spoke in monotone syllables as tears rolled do
wn her cheeks as Amanda attempted to staunch the flow of blood from her multiple wounds. Ginger shook her head in disbelief.
"We're on our own, lovely Ginger. Our only hope is to stand our ground here. How much ammunition do you have?"
The mini-gun was out of ammunition. Natalia had shouldered a Heckler and Kock MP7 that Nate and Maon had brought back from old Germany during one of their many sojourns and was checking for high velocity bullets to reload when needed.
"We have several thousand rounds for the Heckler, sweet Natalia... but we've used up most of the rounds we brought for the AK-47s. We had no idea we'd run into something like this."
"I think we should drive away from here as fast as we can. If we're going to die, at least we can take as many of those horrid things with us as possible."
"No, darling Natalia... let us save that option as a last alternative. We should focus our firepower on one particular spot... create a weakness in their forces. When the time is right, then we'll make a break for it."
"I think Amanda is right, sweet Natalia... and please remember to save enough bullets for our own use. I don’t know about the rest of you but I don’t want to fall into the clutches of these creatures. They'll eat us alive. Let's make a pact: we must kill one another before we let that happen."
"I don’t want to die, Lady Lauren."
Ginger was ashamed of the fear boiling up inside of her. When she woke up this morning, it was a day like any other. She had no inkling that death was on the prowl. She grew up with the belief she would live forever... they were the immortals.
"No one wants to die, my gorgeous Ginger. Sometimes we don’t have choice but to do the best we can. I'm so sorry we brought you and sweet Amanda into this. And poor Chester... he gave his life for us."
"Please save your energy, Lady Lauren... you've lost a lot of blood."
Ginger watched as Amanda used needle and thread to stitch a gaping gash in Lady Lauren's lower leg. She shuddered thinking how much pain the Lady must be in and yet she noticed how Lauren didn’t even grimace as the needle went in and out of her tender flesh.
"I see you brought along the rocket propelled grenade launchers, darling Ginger."
Natalia was rummaging through the store of armaments that they had hurriedly gathered. She had pulled out three of the reloadable grenade launchers and armed them with high explosive warheads.
"That was Amanda's idea. She thought they might come in handy."
"If we concentrate our fire in the direction of the road toward the forest we might effect our escape. Perhaps if you and Amanda use the RPGs while I hold off our adversaries with my little friend here, we might get out of this yet."
"I'm not dead yet, sweet Natalia. I can fire a gun too."
Lauren rose and wobbled to the stack of weapons picking out a Browning Automatic Rifle and settling its barrel over the edge of the pickup truck bed while cradling the butt in her arms.
"Please help me load this and I'll help out the best I can."
Lady Lauren was nearly dead and yet her eyes blazed as if she was still full of fight. Ginger was suddenly embarrassed about admitting her fear yet she understood they all felt it. She thought of her son Joshua and his children and all her other descendants. If they didn’t stop these mad beasts here, they were liable to attack the south of old France next.
It was apparent the creatures have been massing for some time. Perhaps they'd arrived in the north of old France as part of a larger plan. In three centuries of living in old Scotland and now in old Europe they had never encountered any wild animals like these chimpanzees.
Though tigers and lions and other predators equally as dangerous roamed the countryside beyond the walls around Orchardton Hall as well as Toulon they seemed content upon peacefully coexisting with the remnants of humanity and with those of the Lake.
Ginger had always assumed Chester was the reason they enjoyed protection from the myriad beasts that wandered the surrounding hills and fields around their home but now she wondered...
Though she never learned to read like Amanda, she had watched countless videos in the Archives, especially intrigued by the ones focusing upon war. Humanity had fought endless battles during the entirety of their history and she noticed a chilling similarity between the victories claimed over the many centuries of fighting.
The winners had a tendency to leave certain highly populated areas relatively free of hostilities... that is, until they delivered the inevitable knockout blow. Beginning with the ancient Romans, the invading armies took pains not to strike directly at the civilian population, at least not until their plans matured.
Micah, if he was indeed behind this attack, was using the same tactics perfected thousands of years ago. Apparently while the People wasted their days doing nothing Micah was brewing his plans. When he deemed the time ripe for action, all he had to do was shake the tree of humanity and watch as the fruit fell into his waiting arms.
Though Ginger had come to think of everyone around her, both human and Lake, as benevolent and well-meaning in all their actions, she realized that was a dangerous fallacy. She had done her best to forgive Kirk the hurt he caused her but in her heart she knew better... if given a chance the man would do the same all over again.
"I think these beasts are part of the menace that carried Lady Lily away from us... away from Orchardton Hall. They're being controlled by those tiny machines of Micah's from old America. That's why these creatures are so big, so strong, and so intelligent."
Natalia seemed to have read her mind.
"Then we can't stop them."
The words emerged out of her mouth before she could think.
"Perhaps not, sweet Ginger... but we can give an account of ourselves."
The air had changed.
The gray mist that clouded the sun dissipated as quickly as it appeared. Looking out at the army of chimpanzees heretofore sweeping down upon them, Ginger saw that they had stopped in their tracks. They stood as if befuddled at finding themselves in such a spot. Gradually they began drifting off.
"What has happened?"
"I'm not sure, Lady Lauren... but I think we should take this opportunity to drive away from here. Please sit up front with me. You'll be more comfortable. Hang on everyone."
Amanda was behind the wheel in an instant after helping Lauren to the passenger door. As they drove by the straggling remains of the chimpanzee army Ginger noted how the animals paid them no attention. They seemed to have reverted to their old mannerisms.
Remembering Chester, Ginger feels like shooting the monkeys anyway just to watch them suffer and die. They deserved it, but then again, so did most of the People she knew and loved.
"Please turn around, sweet Amanda. We must check on Chester... to make sure he's really dead. We don't want to leave him here to the mercy of these horrible beasts."
Chapter 6 0—Sleepwalking
He would have liked seeing Sileas one more time.
Maon had been good about saying his goodbyes but poor at explaining to his wife how deeply it wounded him to leave her. He'd never been one with words. Something deep inside him seemed to cry out for release yet he hadn’t the ability to set whatever it was free.
His mother spoke often of her days beneath the Lake where speech as they knew it was impossible. Instead, those of her kind communicated by way of electrical impulses in ways similar to the way bats used echolocation to move about in total darkness.
He suspected that had something to do with the intensity of the energy field put off by Kāne. Maon had read in the Archives of certain species of fish called electric eels which had the ability to shock their attackers into submission. Researchers had discovered that the electric eels used a specialized organ to charge their skeletal mass with electricity.
He wondered if perhaps the people of the Lake had evolved such specialized organs too—notably the men, and even the women to a lesser degree—which served as a means of corresponding with one another deep beneath the waters where the so
und waves of normal speech did not travel as efficiently as in the air above the surface.
Though he knew the dangers of old America, Maon hadn’t fully considered the implications of losing his life there. Of course the possibility lurked at the edges of his psyche, even luring him on at the anticipation of experiencing the other side.
Perhaps dying wasn’t as bad as he thought it might be. It might well be sort of like falling asleep as long as he didn’t tell himself how he would never wake up. He'd read how people used to die all the time: of old age, of disease, and of broken hearts. He had even faced death down once.
Growing up at Orchardton Hall he never actually anticipated dying, however... not like the People of old must have gone through each moment of their short brutal lives. Maon had grown up knowing he—barring an unfortunate accident that caused him a mortal injury—would live forever, or at least as long as the earth itself continued to survive and thrive.
Maon still woke from time to time slathered in a cold sweat dreaming of being trapped inside a tunnel the sides of which were so small that he couldn’t wiggle through. Not only did he know his own life was in jeopardy, but that of his family as well. Rage filled him as he tore frantically at the cold steel wedging him in place until Sileas woke him with her gentle touch.
"You're dreaming, my love... wake up and come back to me."
Try as he might, however, he couldn’t wake up from
Though he'd lived nearly two hundred and fifty years he had rarely known of anyone actually passing away. He grew up hearing about the Great Dying where some six billion people died in just a few days but that was more grounded in legend than fact. Such large numbers boggled his mind.
He had hopes that Alpin was still alive even though he knew Pete must have died in the plane crash. There was no other explanation as to why the nanobots had stopped. Lily had advised them that by destroying the head the body would die; Pete had succeeded.
The cloying clinging sand had muffled the explosion though he was close enough to the epicenter to feel the earth quake beneath him. Now the sand was just sand. As Maon waded through it on his way toward old New York City he noticed the sand became less dense and not as deep.
