"And if she was my wife, then that explains a lot of what he said and why he would come to me. As my wife, she would have had the chance to inject me with her controlling venom. Perhaps that's why I lost my powers and this Raison wants to help me get them back."
"Maybe," Lori said. "You probably fed on Karen at some point in Europe, and her demon blood is counteracting the venom. That's the only thing I can come up with since she was the only demon around that I know of."
"Married? I probably should have done a background check on you," Karen said, sounding more disappointed than mad. As delicate as her heart was, it was impossible for me to believe she was an evil demon of lore.
"It doesn't take anything away from what we have," I responded. "I'm sure both of us have troubling pasts."
"True, it's just my past isn't trying to destroy the world."
"Not that we know of." I turned my head slightly so my daughter could hear, but kept my eyes on the road this time. "Monique Moreau seems to have picked up a new husband quick. Do you know anything about this Raison guy, Lori?"
"I might. I never met him personally, but when they were holding me hostage, I heard talk of someone named Ra. Just before the soldiers rescued me, everyone worried that Ra had risen."
"That name sounds familiar. Ra?"
"Yeah, and it made them very nervous. They said Ra was God."
"I remember Troy mentioning him when we were in the hospital," Karen said.
"Yes, that's where I remember it from," I replied. "So if Raison and Ra are the same person, then Monique Moreau, aka Hathor, is somehow controlling God. Could things get any worse?" I drove on in contemplative silence for a minute trying to figure out how crazy it would sound if I mentioned the part about cave dwellers. Finally, I decided just to put it out there. "Raison also told me to find the cave dwellers. He said they hold the key. Anyone understand what that might mean?"
"Not a clue," Karen said.
"Lori?" She had hesitated for too long. "Got something else to share?"
"I might. When you first regained your memory back at our house when Mom was still…when she was still alive, you said a lot of your kind were driven underground by the war you all had. You told us they were the basis for many of the myths about vampires: evolving light sensitivity, sleeping during the day, and other stuff like that."
"Maybe that is who he meant," I replied, not feeling excited about the idea of stumbling upon a lair of sleeping mutant demons that might blame me for their condition.
We broke into an open valley as we came into the town of Nederland. Decadent log homes clung to hillsides overlooking a pristine lake, on the edge of which sat the old mining-turned-tourist town. Now, it was a ghost town, with no one but the hardiest survival types remaining. Winters were brutal here.
"Do you feel that?" Karen asked.
"I feel it!" Lori said.
"Me, too." The hairs all over my body were standing up, while a strong tingling sensation pricked at my skin.
Karen leaned forward and looked up out the window. "Stop the Jeep!" she cried.
I hit the brakes, forcing the caravan behind to follow suit. Just as we stopped, the vehicle died. Karen jumped out and stared at the clear blue sky. Curious, I got out and looked up along with the people behind us. In the sky, several white contrails of planes coming from the airport in Denver simply vanished as if the planes had just disappeared midflight. Then I saw that the aircraft hadn't disappeared, but that their engines must have died, for as we watched, they were falling down out of the sky. I could make out the white fuselage of a Frontier Airlines flight arcing gracefully down not too far from the purple and red of a Southwest plane, which fell more vertically. Instinctively, I lunged up, willing myself to fly as I had witnessed myself doing in videos, but nothing happened.
The Southwest plane vanished behind a mountain, while the majestic arc of the Frontier aircraft steepened, its path leading straight for a cliff. "No!" I screamed. Just a few miles away, we watched as hundreds of lives slammed into the merciless rocks. Within seconds, the sound of the explosion hit us, and I watched as the fireball rose and began gorging on trees. "I couldn't help them," I whispered in dismay. All across the country, thousands of people could be raining out of the sky and I could do nothing.
"Another one!" Lori yelled.
I turned and followed her pointing finger. This plane was different, it looked like a large military transport with propellers, except the props were turning much too slowly. It also angled down, heading for a fiery demise, but then I saw that the rear cargo door was open. From it, dozens of men jumped, their parachutes opening immediately due to the low altitude. It looked like they would land on the opposite side of town.
"Come on!" I ordered. "We have to get to them. They might have information we need!" I jumped into the Jeep and cranked the starter. Nothing happened, not even a weak click. I tried again with the same result. Confused, I got out and saw many other confused faces behind me.
"Nothing starts!" one of my followers yelled. Then it donned on me—the tingling, the downed planes, the cars that wouldn't start—France had detonated an EMP in the atmosphere.
Being immortal in a mortal's world had made me an avid science reader as I searched for possible reasons for my existence. I had stumbled upon many fascinating things, including EMPs. An EMP, or electromagnetic pulse, was created when a large enough nuclear weapon was detonated several hundred miles up in the atmosphere. The pulse would reach from horizon to horizon, crippling the electronics of an entire country if done right. Since nearly everything was electronic in the United States, then that meant nearly everything would be crippled. I realized that the purpose of the direct nuke strike in DC must have been to cause disarray so that an EMP could make it over the country without interference.
"What do we do?" Karen asked.
"I think we've been blown back to the dark ages," I said, as others came up and gathered around me. "We walk it."
A thudding explosion rumbled through the valley as the military transport came to ground somewhere on the other side of the hills.
"What about the supplies?" Rhonda asked, looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms. "Breastfeeding didn't work for me. I need formula."
"You will have to wean him off formula soon," I said. "Until then, everyone grab what you think are critical items to carry. I have water and years worth of MREs, vitamins, and medicine stored so just bring the bare essentials." I turned to where Jerry stood, having rejoined us after retrieving his wife and teenage son. "Can you and your son help Rhonda with the formula and diapers?"
"Sure thing, Mike," he replied, seeming happy to have a mission.
Everyone turned away and began raiding the vehicles for what they could carry. Soon we regrouped with everyone carrying shopping bags, while I had a hefty bag of dog food on my shoulder. Looking like refugees, we began our trek towards where the paratroopers had come down.
The old brick buildings of Eldora were hauntingly quiet. With the collapse of the economy, most small towns in America had been abandoned as food supplies were channeled to larger cities. We walked past dark antique stores, empty ski shops, and abandoned restaurants for fifteen minutes, and already I heard some grumbling behind me. It was still a couple hours uphill to the Homestead, and then perhaps years of suffering as we rebuilt. I began to worry that many more would die during the upcoming hardships.
My ears picked up the sound of shuffling feet. I stopped abruptly and dropped the dog food.
"What is it?" Karen asked.
Before I could answer, two military soldiers appeared from behind the corner of a building. Disconcertingly, they had their machine guns up in the ready-to-shoot position.
"Stop right there!" one ordered.
"Whoa, easy now," I said. "We're Americans, just on our way home."
"Go around," the soldier stated bluntly.
"That'll add a couple miles to our trip. Where are you guys from?"
"I suggest you go now."
"Is this not a free country anymore?"
"Not here."
"By whose orders?"
"By mine," a third soldier said, coming out from behind the building, decked out in heavy combat gear. "Stand down, gentlemen. Mike, am I glad to see you!" He strode forward, hand outstretched.
"Admiral Thomas!" I said, feeling some hope at last as I took his hand. "But I thought you were on Air Force One? What's going on, Troy?"
"By the time I called you, we had already lost the war. The call was a ruse, knowing they'd eavesdrop. They went after Air Force One while we snuck the president out on a C-130. Sorry for the hostile welcome, but they're ordered to protect President Banneker at all costs."
"The war is lost?" I asked.
"Both DC and New York City are gone, and several EMPs shut the rest of the country down."
"Did we fire our nukes? Operation Venom Apocalypse?"
"We tried, but…" He trailed off with a perplexed look on his face.
"But what?"
"The commanders in direct charge of the nuclear missile silos, subs, and air bases refused to launch them."
"What?"
"Somehow, the French gained control of them. I don't understand it, but whatever it was condemned us."
I am here to disable America's countermeasures…
"I know what happened," I said. "Raison Moreau."
"Explain."
"As you might know, he's an immortal. Ra is his real name, and he's probably more powerful than I am. He came to me in a vision stating he was going to disable our weapons, but it was as if he didn't want to. He said Hathor's venom is controlling him. I believe that's his wife."
"It is actually. She betrayed us pretty bad in England, and since, she's made no secret of her powers. She's brash like Samael was, but Raison Moreau has been relatively quiet. We did have some intelligence on Ra, but nothing hard; just what we thought was misinformation from prisoners. I wish you hadn't hidden in a hole and instead would have helped us with some of this stuff. He can get into people's heads?"
"Looks that way."
"How the fuck do you combat that?" I had no answer for him. "I can attest that Monique Moreau is a nut job, but you just made her twice as scary. Hell, that poison that drips from her teeth is the real venom of the apocalypse. How do I know she doesn't have control over you?"
"In the vision, he said the demon's blood would protect me."
"Demon's blood?"
"Oh, that would be me," Karen interjected. "Supposedly I'm a hideous demon from Hell, but at least I'm good for something apparently." She tried to smile but faltered.
"Sometimes I miss the days when we just had to deal with terrorists," he said. "Have you had any luck finding a cure for your loss of powers, Mike?"
"Karen's made some progress in the lab at the Homestead."
She let out a small sarcastic chuckle, and then said, "Some is being generous. The only thing I've learned is that the portions of our brains—if that's what you want to call them—that hold our abilities and related memories have been sealed off somehow."
"We don't have seventy years for it to wear off," the admiral said. "Speed up the research. We need you both now."
"What's the situation with our remaining defenses?" I asked, feeling his stress.
"There's no command structure left, most machinery is dead, and what little troops we did have are deserting to get their families safe. French Empire soldiers are pouring in from Canada and Mexico as we speak."
"Will we surrender?"
"Absolutely not! The United States does not surrender. I've got twenty SEALs and two immortals with me." He glanced at Karen briefly as if he were unsure about her. "Which might be enough, but we've also got a hundred million hungry and pissed off Americans with guns. If nothing else, the Second Amendment might just save our asses. It's almost as if our founders saw into the future when they wrote it."
I thought of Ra, now Raison Moreau, and his strange powers, and wondered if maybe the founding fathers of America had seen into the future with his help.
"Come on," Admiral Thomas said. "I'll take you to the president. It's time we officially respond to the French. You will be our spokesman so that they understand we have our own god who can fight."
"What am I supposed to say?"
"Isn't it obvious? You are to declare war on the world…"
Venom of the Apocalypse - Christmas 2015
About the Author
Sebastian Chase is a Navy Veteran, former programmer, and surgical technician. He has written for enjoyment for several decades starting with short stories and poetry, which evolved into lyrics for local bands. He grew up in a military family, which led to extensive world travel, including living for two years in Iran when relations were better with the United States. He has also toured Western Europe, Eastern Ukraine, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates. Stateside, he grew up in Virginia, California, and Washington State. He now calls Denver, Colorado home where he lives with his wife and son in the shadows of the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
Sebastian strives to write meaningful novels with unusual twists and thrilling edges. If you enjoy his stories, please take a few seconds to leave a review. Thank you.
Twitter @Sebastian_Chase
Trinity Rose
Placing a personal ad online can be a frightening experience, but when a ghost responds, the fear becomes real for John Williams.
Trinity Rose Crenshaw sounds like the perfect woman for John—beautiful, intelligent, and caring—but she claims to live out of state. Despite this, they begin an online relationship that quickly evolves into love. Then John receives a disturbing call from Trinity in which she cries out for help. The line goes dead and he hears nothing more from her. Believing something horrible is happening, he drives to the town where she lives, and tracks down the Crenshaw house. Trinity is not there, the current occupants inform him, she shot herself decades earlier. Feeling the victim of a sick joke, John returns home heartbroken, not realizing that his ghostly girlfriend has hitched a ride with him. She is ready to begin their life together, but when Trinity appears, his sanity threatens to crumble. He cannot comprehend the profound reason she has come to him. Soon though, he will, as an act John committed in a past life trapped Trinity in purgatory.
Devil's Breath
"Brilliant - Very well thought out characters who you come to really believe in. Will be on the look out for more from this author." Amazon UK
Some believe that those who commit horrific acts of terror are possessed by the Devil. Maybe they're right.
When a malevolent spirit possesses a dying man, a terrorist is born. Its target? Every person in the United States. With the aid of a local cult awaiting the spirit's return, a sinister plot unfolds to poison the country's food chain with Devil's Breath; a very real and insidious drug used for centuries to turn people into zombie-like puppets.
But first, they want to test it on a small town in Georgia.
Former Army Ranger, Sheriff Ron Dalton, thought he had left the nightmares in Afghanistan behind, but now he finds himself leading a small group against an evil far worse than war. Isolated from civilization by the cult, the few locals must not only save their friends and family, but also prevent the terrorists from going nationwide. If they fail, millions will die.
Venom of the Gods Page 35
