by Bob Williams
We didn’t hang around for too long in the lab. Again, there were a number of bodies splayed out all over the place. The people within these walls never stood a chance. They were shot, stabbed, hacked, beaten, violated, and debased in every possible way by Kade’s army. I could feel the rage coming back. My breathing increased and my body seemed to be feeling every single individual act that of violence that I looked upon. Lexi noticed my body language and accelerated breathing and started to whine. She bit my pant leg and began to pull with moderate aggression in what I can only guess is an effort to get me to stop walking.
I stopped and looked down at Lexi and said, “What’s up girl? What’s up?” Lexi jumped up on her hind legs and pushed me backwards to the floor. Before I could even start to get pissed, she started licking my face. That’s right. She licked my face. Her tail was wagging wickedly and she continued to lick me until it dawned on me what might be happening. I started to smile and I began to rub her head and told her “I’m good now, girl. Thank you.” I had no way of knowing if Cory Stalker was a veteran or not, but my guess would be that he was. And he most likely had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Lexi was trained to recognize symptoms and react if she saw them. Breaking out into a sweat and my erratic breathing most likely alerted Lexi that I was close to going dark. Shields was looking at me like I had lost my mind. Cole, without a doubt, understood what had happened. “If you’re good Prescott, we need to proceed,” he said.
“I am Cole, and thanks.”
“Yeah.”
Turning left out of the lab we strode quickly down the hallway. We continued to check every room and we continued to be exposed to more victims. This wasn’t going to get any easier. When we reached the end of the hallway, we came to another set of double doors that had been completely blown to pieces by a bazooka or possibly grenades. The walls, which were spattered with a combination of shrapnel damage and blood, had a stencil that said, “PRECIOUS MACHINERY AND SUPPLIES: PROTECT AT ALL COSTS.”
It took about five seconds to determine that this room and been targeted and summarily destroyed by the invaders. There were, among many other types of machinery, an X-ray, an ultrasound, an EKG, an MRI, and two defibrillators. Those are just the things I can name. There were several pieces of life-saving medical equipment that had been completely annihilated. This particular room’s devastation finally cracked Cole’s hard shell. You could clearly see upwards of fifteen or so men and women in various shades of blue camouflage with Security patches that had died violently attempting to protect the lifeblood of the Murfreesboro Safe Zone.
It was starting to feel like something wasn’t right here. I understood that there weren’t a ton of people here to begin with, but the way these rooms were looking to me…it appeared that these people were ambushed. First, there were more non-security personnel in this vital location than security. Understandably the location was under a full-scale attack, but this scene isn’t right. This feels...rushed? Sloppy? No, not sloppy. These people were unprepared.
“Hey, hold up,” I said. Are you guys seeing what I’m seeing?”
“What do you mean?” asked Shields
“Cole does this feel right to you?” Great choice of words, Prescott!
“You got a lot of nerve, Prescott! You’re a real piece of shit, you know that?”
“No. No. Hold up, Shields. Stop. We need to talk. I’m a Marine. Cole, you’re a Ranger. We’ve been in firefights before. I can’t speak for Cole, but I’ve had to stand ground and fortify a base camp from invaders before. This whole thing feels wrong. I don’t need to take another step to tell you your people had no idea this was going down till it started.
“Every safe zone I’ve ever been to had long-range security visuals. Communications. Intercoms. Don’t you find it the least bit odd that the only transmission you received said they were under attack? And then...what? Nothing else? No follow up? I get that all SZs aren’t created equal, but if we’d been in Normal, Illinois, where I just came from, they would’ve seen those guys coming from five to ten miles away. They would’ve taken precautions, enacted a plan to fight, taken position, and defended their posts. The number of actual security personnel in each room we’ve been in has been too erratic to be anything official. Not with the likes of Jim Hawkins running things. This was, for all intents and purposes, an ambush. And they had a mole in here.”
“The Black Hand Serves.” whispered Cole.
“What?” Said Shields
“Isn’t that what they say, Shields? The Black Hand. You know, the Regulars that live to forward the agenda of The 88 Demons of Hell. The true reason for The Collapse, The Descent, and the deaths, not just of our allies today, but countless others. The entity that we were never able to devise a strategy for BECAUSE YOU NEVER TOLD US ABOUT THEM! How the fuck were we supposed to know that other Regulars were going to stab us in the back when all we were looking for were Freaks? Answer me that, Laura!”
Cole was going ballistic, and for the first time since I met him, I was in complete agreement. As a soldier, you simply can’t fight the battle if you don’t have all the intel. If you try, you end up with what we were looking at here. A lot of dead bodies and the ripe smell of a dead carcass that used to be hope.
Shields was cornered and looking frightened. “It was a decision that was agreed upon by The Three,” she said.
“Well, what did that get you? About a hundred and fifty toe tags! Unfortunately The Three can’t answer for their negligence, only you can. I sure as hell don’t see Hellwig or Haberman anywhere.”
“You know as well as I do, if they had time they would’ve gone to the Pod. They may still be in there and not know it’s safe to come out.”
“Safe to come out? We don’t even know yet if it’s safe to be in here. Do you know something we don’t Shields, does The Black Hand serve?” Cole shouted.
“Fuck you, Michael!”
I thought it was time to slow this party down. “OK, OK! Cole, I was with you all the way till the bullshit at the end. Simmer down. You can’t actually believe Shields is with The Black Hand, can you?”
“I don’t know what I believe, or who to believe at this point,” he said. I couldn’t blame him.
“Shields, you and your two pals screwed the pooch, sweetheart. The end. You got your whole damn outfit killed. And since we can’t seem to locate your damn one and two, you are going to have to eat that shit sandwich for as long as you live. Got it? Secrets get people killed. Ask my sister Emily. And since I’m on a roll, you people bought way too much into the X-files. Was Chris Carter at this SZ? Y’all have way too many stupid ass monikers. What was wrong with Hellwig, Haberman, and Shields? No wonder people died. This was real life, not TV. Geez. Where the hell is this super secret whatever the fuck room The Network is in? You need to take us there now! Quickest route. We can’t afford to walk through this entire SZ right now. If The Network is viable, we need it badly. If not, we gotta suck it up and make a new plan. I’m following you. Go.”
Shields looked like she’d been slapped. Hard. And in in a verbal sense she had been, but she took it standing up and was now leading us—finally—to The Network. I think the fact that we stood there and loudly had it out like we did, and nothing happened, basically told us the place was clean. Because of this we were moving a little faster, but we were still weapons hot. Lexi would let us know if she smelled any Freaks before we would see them anyway.
I mean no disrespect to the dead by glossing over the fact that we proceeded through another seven rooms, and another seven long corridors before Shields held up her fist in the classic military halt motion. The bodies, too many to count, began to blend into the canvas of the MSZ, like an old Andy Warhol painting. Shields stood with her back to us, staring at a door that had no visible description or identification. There was no lock and key to gain access, but instead, a numeric keypad that sat in a clear box meant for its protection. The clear protective box did have a slot for a key. The door was made of very thick steel me
ant to keep out anyone or anything that didn’t belong. Both the door itself and the keypad box had taken a beating, and a shooting, and possibly a bombing, but they still held. This was the home of The Network. Whatever’s behind this door is what the Murfreesboro Safe Zone just died to protect. I needed to know. Cole deserved to know.
She stood in silence, staring at the door for close to minute before she turned around. Her eyes shifted around and she shuffled her feet more than a few times. She was reeling. What the hell was in there? What was The Network?
“I can’t argue a single point you made back there, Prescott. You’re right, although we haven’t come across their bodies yet; it appears I am the only remaining member of The Three. So I will have to suffer for all us for the rest of my life. Frankly, you remind me a little of my late husband, Robert. I haven’t had anyone be so brutally straightforward with me in quite a while. In more ways than you can imagine, your words have cut me so deeply, I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to recover. But in another way, I find your honesty refreshing and it provides me a sliver of hope for a future where there are no secrets and a new foundation of trust can be created. So let me begin anew right now.”
THE NETWORK
“You see, gentlemen, the fantasies of literature and culture whose words and stories have rested comfortably under the banner of terms like “folklore” and “parable” for centuries have been revealed to us in a destructive and deadly manner in the last couple of years. However, if The Network did indeed survive the assault from Kade and his forces, and from the looks of things here it did, what you are about to witness will be unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. And the wall of words that was constructed thousands of years ago to intentionally blur the focus between reality and fiction will fall under your scrutiny in the most glorious fashion.”
Cole and I looked at each other and I believe we shared the same thought. “Shields, you OK? I can understand if you’re cracking. This has been a traumatic experience for you. You’re under a lot of pressure and right now, maybe it’s just a little more than you can handle,” I said sympathetically.
“Yeah,” said Cole, “Maybe we should just...take a minute or two to regroup. We can talk if you need to. I know talking with you has helped me in the past when I thought I was going dark.”
“Cole, Prescott, I admit I’m far from all right, but you must understand that I have knowledge of an entity to which there really is no introduction, but I’m trying anyway. And failing. Trust your eyes, gentlemen. Follow me, and please do exactly as I say.”
She turned and walked back to towards the severely damaged, yet somehow still-standing door and approached the keypad. She reached inside the collar of her shirt, fished out a chain and pulled it off it over her head. There was a key on it.
“You keep the key to your most valuable asset on a chain around your neck? Who the hell made that decision? Henry Blake?” I asked incredulously
“Shut up, Prescott, you asshole. Yeah, I’m liking this honesty thing better by the minute. You two come up here and watch this. ” Shields put the key into the clear box and turned it all the way to the right until a green light came on. She then turned the key three hundred and sixty degrees to the left, back to its original position. Another green light appeared. One more turn to the left brought the key back to twelve o’clock and its original position. A final green light appeared, a sound similar to a breached vacuum seal, and the clear protective box retracted into the wall, exposing the keypad.
“This is a three step process. Step two is the keypad.” She typed the code 092470 into the keypad and, to my surprise, the keypad rose upward, then retreated back into a thin pocket the size of a card slot in an ATM. Once the keypad disappeared, a thin mechanical arm protruded several inches from the wall. The end of the arm had a four- or five-inch bar with a flat red line in the middle. “Part three,” said Shields, “The scan.” She pulled back the sleeve of her coat and on the underside of her right wrist, tattooed right over the veins, was a barcode.
“That must’ve hurt like a son of a bitch,” I said.
“Focus! Once this barcode is scanned, the door will open. You and Cole go first. I’ll follow you. For now, the dog stays out here.”
She placed her wrist under the scanner. I instinctively backed up, not knowing what to expect. For a moment, absolutely nothing happened.
“Maybe The Network’s offline?” I said. Not hardly, Prescott.
“For once, Prescott, will you please just shut the hell up!” I put my hands up in an “I surrender” gesture and slid back another couple of steps behind Cole. Who, by the way, I think also wished I’d shut up.
Quiet at first, then growing in volume was the groaning and squealing of bolts, electronically coming to life and releasing. Honestly, it was one of the most unpleasant sounds I’d ever heard. Shortly, a loud clanging signaled that the bolt or bolts had made it across the expanse to their destination, and the door swung into the room about a foot.
I wanted to charge, but the unknown was too much to risk. This whole production was way past the point of a computer or super charged CB radio...wasn’t it? The weak stream of light filtered out of the room into our hallway, giving us the opportunity to look inside before we entered. As we approached the door, the power went out in this section of the MSZ. A single light was visible through a small square window down the corridor.
I looked at Cole and said, “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
I drew one of my Glocks, racked a bullet into the chamber, and started to push the heavy door open. Shields put her hand on my arm and said, “A gun at this point is absolutely unnecessary.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. I have no idea what you have in there, there’s no light, and personally, I’m over all the cryptic bullshit.”
Cole said, “I’m with him.” He produced a small army spec flashlight, pointed it toward the door, and we walked into the room.
What we saw would have reduced lesser men to tears, but not me and Cole. Not yet. There had to be an explanation. We used the extremely bright LED flashlight to tour of all four corners and there was no getting around it. The room was empty. Granted, on one wall rested a very generic military cot, but the walls were devoid of any decoration, and if someone stayed in here there was no plumbing. Was this a cell? Did The Network (and possible Black Hand turncoat) have to be incarcerated for their own protection? If so, apparently he just pissed in the corner. The room didn’t smell like that, though.
I turned back and Shields was standing right behind us. I grabbed the flashlight out of Cole’s hands and shined it in her face. She had a look of absolute horror that frankly scared the shit out me under the circumstances. She clearly had not expected this.
“What kind of game are you playing here, Shields?” I asked.
“I...uh...oh, God,” she muttered. She looked completely defeated. Like she’d put all her eggs in one basket in the hope that The Network would still be viable. That this one thing could save us all. I, of course, was let down, because I love a big reveal, but I didn’t know what it was so I couldn’t be crushed that it wasn’t there. I turned to Cole, who didn’t look disappointed as much as outright furious.
“What the hell is going on, Laura?” Cole shouted. Lexi galloped into the room and stood in front of me. “Is there even a network? Or was this another one of The Three’s brilliant lies told to spread hope when there wasn’t any?”
“Cole! How many times did you see The Network in action? How could you possibly doubt its validity?”
“See it? None. I took your word for it. I trusted you, and again you’ve lied to me, and here I am standing in an empty room with nothing to show for my blind faith.”
I started to intervene, because we needed to decide on our next move, when my flashlight started to flicker. I turned away from the two of them and rapped it against my palm a few times only to have it die completely.
“What the...seriously,” I said, because
this was the perfect cap to some serious bullshit.
Over my shoulder I heard Cole say in a very odd voice, “What is that?”
I turned to look and I saw it right away. Had there been even a shred of light in the room, it would’ve been invisible. But there it was, all the same. A soft glowing light, about the size of pinhead. It was flickering as it floated erratically around the room.
“I have no idea. Shields?” I turned to her and knew instantly that she knew exactly what it was. Tears were cascading down her cheeks. Just her expression said the weight of the world was off her shoulders.
“It’s The Network.” That’s all she said.
Cole walked up and stood next to me as we watched the light bounce around the room. It was currently the size of a quarter but was growing by the minute. And wow was it bright. Cole impulsively brought his Mossberg around and pumped it.
“Cole. No. Put it away. Shields says it’s on our side. Whatever it is. Just stand here with me and let’s let it play out. I don’t think its gonna hurt us. Besides, I don’t know what else to do.” Lexi, for the first time since I met her, was actually behind me. I guess some things are just out of the protective duty lists of dogs.
The light was growing exponentially, now, in size and illumination. Cole and I both had to shield our eyes with our arms. Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It was like one of those things, you don’t know what it is, but it if you look away it might disappear and you’ll never see it again.
The light slowly began to change, morph into a shape. Something was emerging from both sides of the illumination. It wasn’t just a light. This was so much more. The radiance was overwhelming us all as we continued to back up all the way back to the door. It didn’t seem crazy at all when I took my sunglasses out of my coat pocket and put them on. When my eyes adjusted, my brain had to convince me of what I was seeing.
Wings. Emerging out of the brilliant light were large feathered wings. I dropped to my knees in fear of the fact that I was in the presence of an angel. The wings fully expanded to about eight feet or so in total width, then they gently fluttered a couple of times and began to retract. As they retracted, a man’s legs emerged from the radiant light, and a torso began to take shape. By the time the wings completed their journey, the light had disappeared completely, my flashlight worked properly, and there was a naked man standing in front of me. I mean. An actual, real live angel was standing in front of me.
