Vortex of Evil

by S D Taylor

  The two of them sat guarding the camp while everyone else was either fishing or on the lookout. Their days in camp had reached a steady state and it would almost seem boring if it hadn’t been for the constant feeling that they could be attacked by the remaining pirates. Or some local native group they didn’t yet know about. Or the future people who were highly capable of wiping them out.

  “How did you like growing up here, Katelyn? Did you long to be around more people?” Ying thought of her childhood in crowded urban settings in China and how many times she had wanted to find a place where she could be alone to enjoy the beauty of nature. Now that she had found that place, she was asking Katelyn what it was like to have the opposite experience of her own.

  “We never really longed for lots of people around us since the idea of a crowded city was a pretty abstract concept to us. My folks talked about the cities of the world that they had visited. Mom told lots of stories about Boston, but my curiosity about going there was to see the buildings, the stores, and the restaurants, not the people. I supposed the reality would involve a lot more people than my abstract view of it. Did you have a lot of people around you growing up?”

  Ying laughed out loud at that, noting Katelyn’s look of surprise. “Oh, my. What a question. China’s cities are very crowded places, so I suspect that I had a much different experience than you did. My family was very large, with aunts, uncles and cousins all living in the apartment complex where I lived until I was fourteen.”

  “Where did you live after that?” She wondered if Ying had run away from home due to the crowding.

  “I went to the university and lived there permanently. I scored high on a scientific aptitude test and they selected me for a special development program. I had no idea what the project goals were since the work was fragmented and distributed to specific cells of students and later graduate scientists. If I had known I was part of this high tech weapons project, I would have found a way to do something else with my career.

  “Were you scared when all the pirate stuff took place? Did you get involved in the fighting?”

  “No. No fighting. I am not a soldier by any means. They only brought me along so I could help with the science and try to figure out how to use the weapon once we captured it. But it turns out the weapon we captured was just a fake. I never got to see the real thing. It was on that boat that blew up. The one your mom and dad blew up before they captured me.”

  “Were you afraid they would shoot you?” Katelyn was trying to picture herself in that situation. How she would react if really confronted with a life or death battle where people were injured or killed.

  “I was sure they would shoot me. The pirate guys who brought me here had captured Gaby and the other people from her boat and they were executing them as fast as they caught them. They never wanted to take a chance on someone rescuing their captives. Pirates are usually pretty heartless that way.”

  Katelyn realized she had been shielded from some of the reality of her parent’s past, but the nature of the pirates, and the way people looked after being hit with a Viking axe were two memorable items that she had put together on her own from the many stories she had heard. The Viking’s had filled in a few of the details as well since they enjoyed a lusty tale with lots of blood and gore.

  “Well, I hope we can avoid having to shoot at anyone, or being shot at ourselves.” She absentmindedly checked the safety on her AK-47 as she said that.

  “I agree to that. Could you pass me . . .” She stopped in mid-sentence as she saw movement far down the trail they were watching. Ying held her finger to her lips as Katelyn looked up at her when she suddenly stopped talking. Ying got to a crouching position, holding her machine pistol in front of her, ready for action. She pointed down the trail and moved slowly to the right and behind a large tree trunk.

  Katelyn eased to the left to find better cover as well and pulled out her binoculars. In the forest they were not much help, but she was able to see some of the blue uniforms of the pirates moving across the trail in the distance. She didn’t hesitate. She fired two shots straight up into the air and then quickly moved back into the shelter, signaling to a surprised Ying to do the same. She quickly closed the camouflaged door and latched it, then put her eye to the view port and muzzle of her gun into the small slot that was designed for shooting through.

  The entrance to the camp was in the dense undergrowth, Doug and Erin had taught the girls to fire two shots in the air if they saw danger and then retreat inside the shelter. It had a bullet proof door and was hidden well enough that any enemy might pass by without noticing it was there. If they did and were about to try to enter, the girls could fire through the slot in the door when the attackers were at very close range. The warning shots, and if needed, shooting the attackers at close range should give the adults time to return home quickly to help fight off the threat. And making sure the girls fired in the air would limit the chance they would see some movement and have a friendly fire incident. Erin always worried about giving your children automatic weapons and what might happen by accident when they thought they were defending themselves.

  “It looked like the blue pirate uniforms. We should have shot them.” Ying was crouching behind Katelyn, ready for action.

  “Dad told us not to assume that somebody approaching the camp was unfriendly and shoot them. But he also said take no chances. We always fired warning shots and then went to hide. And he and mom would return home to check it out. So I would never shoot anyone unless there was no other choice and we knew they were bad people.”

  “I suppose that is sensible. I never thought about what it would be like to live here and raise children. You probably have to get tough quickly in order to survive.”

  Katelyn smiled. “I don’t know about tough, but smart is helpful. I never felt very tough.”

  “Based on the way you got the drop on me and Doug back at the camp, I think you have the tough part down pretty well. You seemed really tough to me.”

  “Yes, but you probably couldn’t tell how much I was shaking in my boots when I did that. I didn’t want to shoot anyone, but losing my mom and my dad was getting me mad enough to get over those concerns. I don’t see anyone down the trail. I wonder if the warning shots scared them away.”

  “I hope so. We don’t need any more shooting and killing right now. There has been enough of that to last me for the rest of my life.”

  “Wait! I see something moving. And it seems to be more than one person.” Katelyn checked the latch on the door to be sure it was closed and flicked off the safety on her assault rifle. “I hope Mom and Doug get back here quickly. Those guys are carrying rifles and they don’t look friendly.”

  Chapter 27

  Erin opened her eyes and then closed them quickly after seeing the intense white light all around her. “How long? How long was I unconscious?”

  Peter was next to her, kneeling on the hard floor. They were still in the waiting room. “About an hour. Maybe a little more. No way to tell exact time. How do you feel?”

  Erin groaned softly as she tried to sit up. “Like I was kicked in the head by a horse. But I am not paralyzed. They must have many different settings for that thing. Sometimes it just knocks you out then brings you back quickly. Other times you are out of commission for a full day. The short version is certainly just as memorable. The feeling of this headache will be stay with me for a while.”

  Gaby sat in one the chairs along the wall. “Why did you go after her?”

  “Because she implied that she is going back to kill Doug and the rest of our people. When she said that I had a sudden urge to rip her head off.” Erin was careful not to give too many details about people back in her time in case their new jailers were listening.

  Peter stood and walked to the door, smacking his open hand against it. “I have never felt more helpless. Their technology has completely subdued us. We seem powerless to stop them. Like farm animals waiting to be led to slaughter.”

&n
bsp; “We are not powerless. We just haven’t found out how to stop them yet. There has to be something we can do. But trying to attack them physically doesn’t work very well. You, me and Doug have all been zapped by their death ray and we never came close to laying a finger on them.” Erin rubbed her sore head and tried to comb her hair with her fingers. She felt like taking a nice long shower and washing away all trace of Dara. She wondered if they had showers in this strange, high tech future. Maybe the dirt was scrubbed away by tiny nanobots that crawled around on you at night. Erin realized that she had probably just planted the seed for some insomnia since she would now be wide awake at midnight waiting for the little guys to start crawling around on her skin.

  “Aren’t you being a bit too optimistic to think that we will be able to find some weakness in their defenses? We know about as much about their technology as earthworms in our day knew about our technology.” Gaby was trying to find a way to stretch out on the chairs, but the hard plastic arms made it impossible to do anything but sit in the standard fashion. “How long do you think they are going to leave us here? These chairs could almost be considered a form of torture.”

  Before anyone could answer, the door swung open and Jelk, the Hybroman was standing there motioning for them to follow him. “Can you walk?” he asked Erin.

  “Yes, I’ll be fine.”

  “It would be best if you don’t try that again. It is hard on your system and not all the stunpulse emitters are set as low as that one. Dara must have anticipated your reaction and set it low so you wouldn’t die too soon.”

  “Thanks, Jelk. That makes me feel a lot better.” Erin wondered if her sarcasm was wasted on their half mechanical guard. He ignored her comment so she couldn’t read his reaction.

  Peter leaned close to Erin. “Jelk? That’s his name?”

  “Yes. We had a little chat as we were leaving the boat. He isn’t all that fond of ‘Insect Man’ and asked if we could call him Jelk.” Erin got to her feet with a hand from Peter and went through the door following the Hybroman.

  Peter watched her walking away. “Every time I think things can’t get any weirder, and then they do.” Gaby took his hand and together they went out through the open door and into the hallway.

  Erin walked next to Jelk, trying to ignore his strange mechanical gait. He took long strides, but there was a balancing cycle where he was motionless for a second, then another extended stride. The long hallway had no obvious doors, but Erin was wondering if one would suddenly appear when it was time to enter, and it did. Jelk went past the door and turned back, indicating with his left hand that they should go through it.

  Erin was first through and was surprised to find herself outside in a large courtyard. It had the strange shapes of the buildings of the compound rising up on three sides. Straight in front of her, the courtyard was open and a panoramic vista of the mountains could be seen in the distance. The weather had turned into an almost sunny day with only a thin gray cloud layer. The shiny metallic surfaces of the buildings radiated heat into the courtyard and made it a pleasant temperature. There were a number of tables and chairs to the right, and a single table straight ahead on the central path through the courtyard. Aside from the three of them, there were no people in sight.

  Peter and Gaby caught up with Erin and they waited for Jelk. But he didn’t join them. He paused at the open door and said simply, “Goodbye. Enjoy your time here.” And with that he shut the door firmly. Erin ran forward and pushed on it but it was as solid as if there was no door in the wall. She pounded her fist against the door but it was futile gesture she regretted as soon as she felt the pain radiating from her hand.

  Peter reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. She turned towards him with a frantic look on her face, as if the closing of that door forever cut her off from the world she came from. Cut her off from Doug. She saw the look of concern on Peter’s face and decided she needed to snap back to reality. “Calm down, Erin. We will figure out what is happening.”

  “I’m ok. I just thought that Jelk might be someone we could get some information from. He seemed reasonable when we chatted earlier. So I was fooled again by these people. They play us like we are musical instruments. I guess it amuses them.”

  Peter smiled at Erin. “We are not used to being lab rats. We need to harden up if we plan to survive this adventure. We cannot make any assumptions about their motives and their plans. And we can’t let them get such a reaction from us every time they step on our tails.”

  Gaby said nothing but she knew well what Peter was talking about. It was in her nature to be as hard as a piece of granite, impervious to any emotional damage. But as she looked at Erin she saw someone who was more vulnerable. Despite the stress and horror of the past week, Erin was still a “civilian” at heart. Not a spy and certainly not a soldier. Erin learned fast and was tougher than most. But their current situation was beyond hopeless. At least on the surface. They would all have to work hard to support each other and try to find some hope to hold onto.

  “Let’s go sit down and decide what to do next.” Peter took Erin by the arm and led her to one of the tables where they all sat down. “I guess I was hoping for a little more direction from our captors. I guess we are just dumped here as yet another experiment to see how the lab rats behave.”

  Erin was about to comment when a new door opened on the side of the courtyard opposite where they were sitting. A woman in a light blue jumpsuit came out into the courtyard holding a small tray.

  “At least the waitress noticed us sitting here.” That was as close to a joke as Erin could manage in the circumstances. Her sense of hopelessness was nearly complete.

  The woman walked briskly towards them. She was short and slightly built with long dark hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. She stared at them intently but showed no emotion. As she arrived next to the table, she looked silently at each person, holding their gaze just past the point of social comfort, making it obvious that she was checking them out.

  “I am Pentha. Welcome to Transarctica. Each of you will need to take one of these tablets and swallow it. There is water here to help you.”

  Erin looked intently at the newcomer. There was no emotion visible on the young woman’s face. She was at best pleasant and professional. “Is this poison? Have you decided to kill us already?” Erin skipped all the pleasantries and went straight to the point.

  “These tablets will allow you to be part of our society. They will release nanobots inside you that will provide identification for each of you and allow you to access all the things you will need to live here. They are not poison. In fact, they will help you adjust to our atmosphere and allow you to be outside for much longer.” Pentha held out the tray to Peter. There were three small cups with one tablet each and three white plastic square glasses with water. Peter took his tablet and water and set it on the table. Gaby did the same. When Erin sat motionless, Pentha took the last tablet and gently set it in front of Erin. “You will want the water also, Erin. Please take it now.”

  Erin continued to stare at the woman and it was obvious that Pentha was no slouch in a stare down. She was not going to be the one to blink or look away. Erin smiled finally and took the water from the tray. Pentha still showed no emotion. She turned to the face them all and said simply, “You have until tomorrow morning at eight. If you don’t take your tablets by then you will be terminated immediately.”

  They all looked up at her when she said that. Her face remained passive and none of them doubted her sincerity.

  “Just like that. Take the pill or die. Well you have simplified our need to do much thinking about our choices in your world. Some hospitality.” Erin pushed the cup away.

  Pentha turned toward Erin. “We want to help you to fit in here. Without the nanobots in your system, you cannot be identified or monitored. None of the systems in our world will work if you can’t be identified. You will be considered an infection and terminated immediately. You are protected here in t
he compound for the first day. After that, you need the identification. If we let you leave without it, you would be terminated within five minutes. So whatever you think of us, please understand that we are doing this for your own good. You will not be harmed by anything related to these tablets unless you refuse to take them.”

  “Leaving us back in our world would have been a much better way to provide for our own good.”

  Pentha remained passive but reached out and put her hand on Erin’s shoulder. “I cannot provide rationale for why you are here. That is not my function. I am here to ensure that you have the best chance to survive. I have communicated this to you. I must now return to my other duties.” She lightly squeezed Erin’s shoulder and took her hand away. Erin was surprised by this gesture and wasn’t sure how to interpret it.

  “There are rooms available for each of you in the north wing. If you enter the door over there at the end of the path and turn right you will find they are labeled with your names. There are clothes for you to wear that will permit you to blend in better with our people. I recommend you wear them but you have free choice on that. Again, welcome to Transarctica.” Pentha turned and walked back across the courtyard without looking back. The unseen door opened as she approached the wall and she went inside.

  “As a welcoming committee, she leaves a bit to be desired.” Peter stood and looked toward where the young woman had gone. “Do you think she was being honest or is this just another one of their tests?”

  “I have no doubt she was being honest. But I have to decide if I want to go on with the charade. It might be preferable to see what happens if we don’t comply.” Erin looked at Gaby who hadn’t said much. “What do you think? Do we have any hope?”

  Gaby looked at her and without saying a word picked up the tablet and put it in her mouth. Taking a drink she swallowed it. “I don’t have anything to go back to and I am looking forward to what I might find here.” She picked up Peter’s tablet and handed it to him. “Care to join me?”