Terminus Experiment

by Jonathan E Bond

  Suddenly. Rachel’s vision swam. Two of her closest friends were nearly dead. Warren, her love, and Sinunu-her new chummer and a woman who had put her life on the line for Rachel. The feelings that washed over her, seeing Warren barely alive and Sin almost dead, were more than she could stand. They both stood on the terminus line, pushing against the pale veil. Waiting to step beyond, or step back.

  One of the Fratellanza men appeared from the stairwell. “We came across one of the docs trying to get away,” he said. We tagged him twice, but he managed to lock himself into some sort of tunnel. I figure he’ll bleed himself out before he gets too far, but I’ve sent a couple of men to try and track the tunnel above ground.”

  Julius turned to him, nodding.

  “What did he look like?” It was de Vries, and his tone was worried.

  The man shrugged, his broad shoulders jumping. “I dunno, kinda small, dark-skinned.”

  “Damn” said de Vries, standing.

  Julius turned to the vampire, and knew in an instant. “Your mysterious insider?”

  De Vries didn’t look at him, but nodded. “Doctor Pakow. I should have warned you about him, but I didn’t want to give him up-Just in case tonight turned out differently.”

  Julius turned to Biggs. “Tell the men to find him, but not to hurt him. They are to render whatever aid they can to make sure he stays alive.”

  Biggs nodded and left by the front door, speaking quickly into his commlink.

  When Rachel turned back, however, she saw that Sinunu was breathing regularly, though her eyes still had that glossy, faraway stare to them, She was going to be okay.

  And with that thought, the fatigue crashed in on Rachel. She rested her head on Warren’s chest and closed her eyes. Just for a moment.

  37

  Some people say the nasty art of cybermancy doesn’t even exist. But anyone who’s been following our recent posts knows better. I got curious enough-and scared enough-that I went digging for more info. What I learned is that this is some major, major mojo-heavy-duty magic with bad consequences. You got to be aware of it if you want to live to tell the tale. My advice? If you’re looking for it, don’t. And if you’ve got to deal with someone who’s got it, run. Fast. And don’t look back.

  –Posted to Shadowland BBS by Captain Chaos, New Magic e-doc, 10 January 2057

  At first, Marco couldn’t believe his ears. He had taken refuge in the building, knowing that if he joined the battle between the Fratellanza troops and Wake’s vampires, he might be taken out in the confusion. He had stayed just out of sight, willing to let his little brother take down the enemy, but, now, right there was his brother. Talking with the man who had killed Derek.

  Marco shook his head, which had begun to ring, a warning sign of another seizure.

  Filled with rage, he willed his body to float, and pressed himself forward, in mist form. His pain faded, and his rage grew focused.

  The vampire, the one known as Martin de Vries, had his back to him, and Marco concentrated himself toward that point. A meter from the hated vampire’s back, he let his form solidify, bringing his hands into being before the rest of him. Curling his fingers into stiff claws, he jabbed forward with all his strength and speed, set to rip de Vries’ heart from his chest and devour it before the vampires dying eyes.

  Except de Vries wasn’t there any more, and Marco’s hands thrust through empty air.

  His momentum carried him forward, and he stumbled painfully. With an effort, he kept his footing.

  “Clumsy,” came de Vries’ mocking voice from behind him. “Did you honestly think that a deformed thing such as yourself could challenge a true vampire?”

  Marco turned slowly, letting his rage build. “You are an abomination, not me. You are a self-hating freak who can’t even bring himself to commit suicide, but instead takes out his self-loathing on his own kind.”

  Marco smiled as he saw his words hit home, but De Vries’ voice was calm as he replied. “You are not my own kind. You are nothing more than a rabid beast that needs to he put out of its misery.”

  Marco felt a tightness in his stomach as he raised his hands. “Talk, talk. If I’m so beneath you, then have at it. Maybe I’ll teach you what I’ve learned in such a short amount of time.”

  De Vries smiled and stepped forward.

  “No!” It was Julius, from just to Marco’s left.

  Marco didn’t turn. “I’ll deal with you soon enough, little brother. You have a lot to learn about family.”

  De Vries, however, had stopped moving forward, and was looking over Marco’s shoulder. With a small bow, the other vampire stepped back.

  Marco glanced back quickly, to see Julius standing with a flamethrower pointing directly at him. Behind his brother, Marco caught sight of Warren lying on the floor. Warren looked absolutely normal, and it made Marco’s heart sink to see it. Wake had lied to him. Pakow had lied to him. Warren hadn’t undergone the procedure.

  “It’s over, Marco,” Julius said. “You’ve caused enough pain. Both to the people I love, and to the people who served you. It ends now.”

  Marco cast one glance back at de Vries, who said, “I’ll not interfere. Sometimes it is best for family to straighten itself out.”

  Marco turned to face his brother. “Even when we were children, little brother, you could never beat me. What makes you think you can do it now that I’m stronger than I’ve ever been?”

  Julius shook his head. “Stronger?” His voice was soft. “I don’t see any strength in you, Marco. All I see is a craven coward who has always preyed on the weak.”

  Without warning. Marco moved. Using his legs to awkwardly propel him across the floor, he managed to move with a speed that surprised even him.

  Julius never flinched as he triggered his flamethrower. Marco screamed as the fire consumed him. It felt as if his entire body were being ravaged by a million razors. Through the flame, he saw Julius. and let his momentum carry him forward.

  The last thing he felt was the flesh of his brother’s neck part beneath his burning hands.

  38

  There will come a day, make no mistake about it, when humanity is going to have to rise up against these monsters, and take the fight to them. There will come a time when normal people will grow weary of the night being ruled by the forces of evil. Then, and only then, will they finally rise up in the morning, and drag the vampires of Ordo Maximus out of their darkened rooms, and expose them to the deadly, cleansing sunlight. Let just pray that day doesn’t come too late.

  –Martin de Vries. Shadows at Noon, posted to Shadowland BBS, 24 May 2057

  With a curse, Rachel kicked the still burning body of Marco off of Julius, who lay in a growing pool of his own blood, choking.

  Rachel knelt by him, quickly pressing her hands to Julius’ wounds. “Julius?”

  Julius managed a tired smile. “Finally beat him at something.” He coughed, and choked up blood.

  Suddenly Rachel’s world turned into an inferno, Explosion after explosion tore through the compound, ripping the structure apart.

  De Vries was the first to react, as the wall of flame spread down the hall.

  The next thing Rachel knew, the vampire had taken hold of both her and Julius and flung them out through the door, Rachel landed, still clutching Julius to her chest, She looked up just in time to see de Vries streak out of the burning building with Warren and Sin over his shoulders.

  A ten-meter gout of flame followed them, and seemed to lick at his back like a hungry beast whose prey has just managed to escape its vicious jaws.

  Then the flame was gone, snuffed out by the shock wave that followed, a shock wave that caused the entire compound to crumble in on itself.

  De Vries hadn’t stopped running. He carried Warren and Sinunu to one of the still functional vehicles and yelled orders to the man driving it. Rachel watched as the two limp bodies were loaded up and the vehicle streamed out of sight. She wanted to be with Warren and Sin, but that would leave no one
with Julius.

  Nearly deafened by the roaring in her ears, she lifted her head, and called out for help. “He’s dying.”

  Within moments, de Vries was there, with Killian on his heels.

  Rachel looked up at the vampire. “You’ve got to help him!”

  De Vries knelt beside Julius. He studied him for a few moments before doing what she guessed was some kind of magic. Then he looked Rachel in the eye. “I can heal him, but he’s infected now.” He pointed to the blood-soaked ground where Julius had fallen.

  Rachel looked down at Julius, who was gazing up at her, trying to speak. She leaned close, and with an effort, she could make out his voice over the shouts of the men around him.

  “Rachel, it’s my time. Accept it.”

  Rachel looked into his eyes, and knew there was nothing she could do to stop the inevitable. Her heart hardened again and she stood.

  “Give me the flamethrower,” she said.

  Surprisingly, it was Biggs who handed her the weapon.

  She strapped it on and pointed the nozzle down at Julius’ body. He was in pain and would soon change as the virus took control. Rachel stepped back and triggered the flame watching as the man’s body was consumed by the ravenous jaws of fire.

  She tossed the flamethrower to the ground, and looked up.

  De Vries smiled softly at her. “I know it’s difficult.”

  A trembling hit Rachel, and she sat down heavily. “Not as difficult as it should be.”

  De Vries nodded. “Listen, there’s something I have to do, and I’m not sure how it’s going to work out. So if I don’t see you again, I want you to know that you’ve shown an old vampire what being human means again.”

  Rachel looked up. “Where are you going?”

  De Vries smiled, and looked behind him, then back at her. “The bad guy is getting away, and I’m probably the only one who can stop him.”

  With that, he turned to mist and disappeared into the smoke of the battlefield.

  Rachel looked around her at all the wreckage. Among the battered vehicles, two were still burning.

  Just off to her left, she saw a few of the Fratellanza men loading a heavy green container into one of the Citymaster trucks. She knew that box, had seen a number of them being loaded.

  “Hey!” she yelled to the men with the container. She struggled back to her feet. “Hey, boys. Let me talk to you for a moment.”

  39

  Lucky for us, cybemancy isn’t widespread and probably won’t become so-this drek is heavy magic. Stands to reason that the few magicians who know the rituals guard their secrets very, very carefully and probably charge staggering fees for their services. The clinics apparently can’t do the whole cybermancy thing without these mages, and there are maybe only three or four of them on the whole planet. And nobody knows for sure who the frag they are.

  –Posted to Shadowland BBS by Captain Chaos, New Magic e-doc, 10 January 2057

  Pakow hit the ground hard as the shock wave caused the earth to roll beneath his feet. For the better part of a minute, he simply lay there, the pain ratcheting through his body. He smelled blood and feces and knew he wouldn’t last much longer.

  Choking on the foul dust that floated through the air, he tried to stand, but found he couldn’t.

  So close, he thought, just another hundred meters and I would have made it.

  His hand tightened convulsively on the chip he still held. I’m sorry, Shiva. I let you down again.

  With that thought, Pakow grew angry. Wake had done this to him. Wake had cost him everything, and for what? For some stupid project that was supposed to save the world. What good would it do to save the world when saving it meant changing it beyond recognition?

  Fueled by his anger, Pakow found the strength to pull himself up onto his hands and knees. The back of his coveralls were drenched in blood, as was the front. In the dim orange light from what was left of the compound, the blood was black, and looked evil.

  Pakow almost smiled at the thought. I’ve seen more blood than most living men, and this is the first time I’ve ever thought of it as being good or evil. I guess it takes dying to put things into perspective.

  He pushed himself to one knee and then to his feet. Staggering like a drunken man, he made his way toward the helipad.

  If I can just make it, Wake can heal me. He has to. Who else is familiar enough with his work to be any use? Who else is going to be willing to help a madman destroy everything he cares about?

  As he got closer to the low rise that hid the helipad from the rest of the compound, Pakow could hear the quiet whine of electric turbines.

  He paused to rest for a moment, and turned to look at his weaving tracks in the fine dust. Like a damn snake that’s lost its mind.

  Pakow smiled at the thought, and realized that blood loss was making him giddy.

  Got to get there before it’s too late.

  With that sobering thought, he started off again.

  He crested the rise to find the helipad in darkness. Only the high-pitched turbine sound gave any indication that there was life down below.

  “Did you bring the chip?” Wake’s voice floated out from the empty landscape to his left, causing Pakow to stumble.

  Turning, he saw the tall, skinny form appear, only steps away.

  “You’ve been there all along,” said Pakow, pointing a finger at Wake. “Been standing there watching me, and you didn’t even try and help?”

  Wake smiled in the dim light, and his eyes glittered. “I couldn’t, actually. It would have compromised the spell I was casting. Did you bring the chip?”

  Pakow looked down at his chest, at the fresh blood covering the ash-clotted old blood. “I’m hurt bad. I need some help.”

  Wake nodded as Pakow looked back up at him. “Yes you do. Did. You. Bring. The. Chip?”

  Pakow stared at Wake for a moment. “Help me.”

  Wake shook his head. “I would if I could, Doctor Pakow. Believe me, it won’t be easy to replace you, but that is a cross I will just have to bear.”

  Pakow felt the strength go out of his legs, and he sank to his knees. “What are you saying?”

  Wake moved forward. “I’m sorry. I truly am. But it was you who led the wolf to our door, and even though I understand why you did it, that is still a big no-no.”

  Pakow shook his head to clear it. Wake’s voice was drifting in and out and it was starting to confuse him. He suddenly felt far away from his body. The pain was still there, but it was disconnected somehow.

  He tried to speak, but Wake shushed him with the press of his long fingers to Pakow’s lips. “Still, I would probably have saved you, but you’re too much of a risk to me now. If I took you with me, it wouldn’t take them long to find you. Not with all the blood you’ve left on the ground. If they found you, they’d find me too. I can’t allow that to happen. I’m very Sorry.”

  Pakow talked past Wake’s fingers. “Shiva? My daughter?” Wake smiled gently, and Pakow thought it was the first time he’d ever seen the man look human. “Except for your recent actions, you have served me well. Rest easy. I’ll make sure your wife and daughter are well cared for.”

  Pakow looked into that face and knew that Wake couldn’t be trusted to keep his word. “Shiva would never take anything from you,” be said bitterly. “She knows right from wrong, and you are evil. She would never take your charity.”

  Wake smiled. “Now the chip, if you please, Doctor. There are people starting to search this area, no doubt looking for you. I’m running out of time.” He held out a bony hand, palm up.

  Pakow smiled. “I’ll see you in whatever hell is reserved for those who have betrayed humanity.” And with the last ounce of strength he possessed, Pakow flung the chip out into the darkness.

  Wake caught him as he fell, and Pakow looked into the other man’s eyes. For the first time, Pakow noticed that they were blue.

  Wake smiled down at him, a tender, awkward look that didn’t sit well on his skull
face. “I understand, and I won’t hold it against you. Now rest easy, Doctor. You deserve it.”

  Wake lowered him gently to the ground, then Pakow watched as Wake drifted into the darkness in the direction he had thrown the chip.

  He lay there, looking up at the night sky, which was surprisingly clear. The stars were faint, because of the fires raging near the compound, yet they twinkled softly. Like distant echoes in his mind, Pakow could hear the shouts of men, men who were looking for him, looking for Wake.

  He didn’t care any more. Suddenly, all the pain in his body eased, and he was floating.

  40

  Let it be known that on this day; 10 August 2060. due to the overwhelming evidence presented, as well as the accused’s apparent refusal to come to his own defense, this court has no choice but to rule in favor of the party of the first part. Effective immediately, all control of said Fratellanza monies and property shall be transferred to Julius D’imato, pending a formal investigation into the mental capacity of Marco D’imato.

  – from D’imato vs D’imato, Writ of Judgment 3387-BLE-67 GHE, Magnolia Bluff District Court, Judge B. L. Clausen, presiding, 10 August 2060

  De Vries watched as the tall, gaunt man walked away from the prone body of Raul Pakow. Shifting his senses to the astral, he saw the dark plane become filled with diffused light.

  Glancing down, de Vries saw the last of Pakow’s aura slip away, his body growing dark, where once there had been light. I’m sorry. I wish things could have ended differently for you.

  De Vries didn’t have time for more sentiment than that, because when he turned his astral sight back toward the walking man, the man who had to be Oslo Wake, he was stunned.

  Wake obviously had no idea anyone was watching him, or he surely would have taken care to mask his aura. De Vries had gone up against enough creatures of darkness and magical prowess to see that Wake was at least an initiate of magic.