The Genesis Code 1: Lambda

by Robert E. Parkin

  Dead Eye snapped his finger. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but let us move things along, shall we?”

  All eyes grew with fear as they saw dozens of yellow lights blink into existence. Their black exteriors shimmered with the flames. As they hovered above, the cores on their chests pierced the darkness of the night like yellow stars.

  Dead Eye sneered wickedly. “I had high hopes for you, David Spark; but it appears that in the end, you have proved rather useless,” he said dejectedly as he tossed David on the ground.

  David could feel the stares of both Zack and Cecilia, but did his best to ignore them as he looked up at Dead Eye. “Y-you promised that if I aided you with information of Stigma, you-”

  “Yes, yes, in return, I would ensure your father and mother here would be moved out of the Limit Zones,” Dead Eye blabbed dismissingly. His expression hardened alarmingly quickly. “Things change, plans are altered. I’m sure you can understand,” he said with a vindictive tone.

  David wanted to bury his fist into Dead Eye’s face. What was worse, he still couldn’t bring himself to look at Zack, not like this.

  Dead Eye returned to sneering. “Honestly, when you came to Babel spouting how you wanted to trade information on Stigma for your parents’ relocation, I had trouble not laughing.” He giggled childishly. “You were so easy to manipulate. It was truly laughable.”

  Zack still remained frozen as he stared at David’s limp body next to Dead Eye’s feet. So many questions were swirling around in his head. He felt betrayed and angry, but at the same time, he felt clarity. At the core of it all, it made so much sense. What was even more shocking to Zack, was how he couldn’t be mad at David for not telling him about this. After all, he never confided in him about creating Rachiel or what happened three years ago.

  Corson stepped forward. “Enough of this,” he cursed rigidly. “This is easy, am I right? You kill us, take Lambda? Call it a happy day?” he spoke with a grinding voice.

  Dead Eye smirked. “That is indeed one option, but wouldn’t it be more fun to watch you struggle in vain?” he said with the tone of a child finding out that Christmas was coming twice in a year.

  Laura spat, brushing the strands of hair in her eyes aside. “That sick arrogance of yours is going to cost you your only good eye.” Her voice was sharp.

  Dead Eye let out a loud cackle. “What, this one here?” he said as he pointed to his visible eye. He stifled a laugh. “Foolish little girl, this here is my bad one!”

  Suddenly, Lambda felt a massive shock run down her body. The static from the surge made her body spark with erratic energy discharges. It was painful, bringing her to her knees.

  Concerned, Zack turned to see what was wrong. “Lambda, what’s the matter?!”

  Lambda cringed as the surges continued. Her eyes were bulging, beginning to glow bright red. “S-something is coming.”

  Zack didn’t like what he heard. As if they could deal with anything else now.

  “Lambda, what is coming?” he asked desperately.

  Lambda shivered, the surges still pulsing around her body. “Wrath, hate, bloodlust; pure, unbridled aggression.”

  Everyone stared with expressions ranging from confusion to growing apprehension. Lambda’s foreboding words were only making the situation worse.

  Dead Eye let slip a laugh. “What a waste. I bring all these God Mods to the party, and all this thing can do is quiver like a scared child-”

  Dead Eye’s wrist began to blink. His laughter stopped and was quickly replaced with frustration. He never liked having his moment interrupted.

  He begrudgingly answered the call. “Can this wait? I’m in the middle of enjoying-”

  Everyone watched Dead Eye’s expression morph from one of aggravation to one of speechlessness. They could see sweat even start to form on his face as his mouth hung agape.

  He turned his back to everyone, speaking softly. “What?! It’s no longer contained?!”

  Zack noted Dead Eye’s twitching face. Whatever news he was getting on his side, it didn’t look as though it was good for either of them. All this gave Zack was a little time to possibly consider a way out of this mess. To say the situation was grim would have been an understatement. Somehow, he had to barrel through what looked like a hundred God Mods and somehow get to safety. It was a tall order to say the least, but how to do it remained to be seen.

  He glanced over to David on the ground. He shook his head, knowing that now wasn’t the time to dwell on David’s betrayal. Their survival came before that.

  Think, Zack! There has to be something that can be done!

  Zack recalled Lambda’s warning. Whatever was coming made Dead Eye and his army of AI units sound like an army of field mice. That being said, what was the right choice? Would it be wise to engage here, risking the lives of everyone, or to wait for this new threat to arrive and possibly bring an even greater havoc with it? Could they escape in the confusion? Zack didn’t know the answer. Had he the time to strategize, maybe, just maybe, he could work something out.

  Zack looked to Dead Eye once more. If only he knew what was going through his head. Perhaps what he was thinking could give Zack the creative spark he needed to see a path out of this mess. The man’s twitching body and grinding teeth spoke louder than anything, but that still didn’t give Zack a beat on what was going on. He had to make a call soon, before things got worse.

  “When did the Twelve agree on that backup plan?! I can handle this! There isn’t a need to send another!” Dead Eye bellowed, breaking Zack from his trance. Dead Eye glared at the lot of them with a maddened stare.

  Simon spoke calmly and deeply into Dead Eye’s ear. “It is unavoidable. You aren’t equipped to handle both Epsilon and Lambda. You are to retrieve the Lambda unit and eliminate the others before Epsilon arrives. You don’t have much time, so I suggest you make haste or we will send him to aid you.”

  “Now you wait just a second here-”

  The line went dead, leaving Dead Eye in stunned silence. All eyes were now on him as he stood motionlessly.

  Lambda rose to her feet, light sparks still crackling over her body. “Zack, you have to get out of here. It isn’t safe.”

  Zack’s stare didn’t break from Dead Eye. “A little late for that one,” he said lightheartedly.

  Lambda shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. Whatever is coming is after you!”

  Zack spun around with shock. “What?! Why me?!”

  Lambda held her body as she began to shiver. “I heard her speaking in my head. She had such a terrible-sounding voice. It was so vile and malefic. She took pleasure in talking about hurting you in front of me!” she yelled, holding herself tightly. Her body never stopped shivering.

  Zack now could feel terror moving up his body like some mist of death. It was as if the reaper himself was putting a blade to Zack’s neck, waiting for the moment to snatch his soul away. He too found his body beginning to shiver.

  “Lambda, who is coming?” Zack reluctantly asked.

  Corson clenched his fists tightly, scowling towards Dead Eye. “Why don’t you ask him? He already knows, don’t you, High King?”

  Dead Eye let his arms fall limp at his sides as he cocked his head back and stared aimlessly into the sky, noting the faint light of the coming dawn. The still burning fuselage of the Python warmed his face as he began to count the stars above him, not realizing he had already started laughing.

  “Well, that’s the end!” he said with a whimsical tone. He pulled out a red 44 Magnum and pointed it at Zack. “Now tell me, boy, how does it feel knowing that what is coming is the product of your own creation?”

  Zack stared, bewildered by the question. “W-what are you talking about?”

  Dead Eye snickered. “The Red Death, Epsilon, made by the blueprints you used to give your AI life those three years ago, is on its way now.” His body shivered with deranged satisfaction. “Never fear, for I have a solu
tion.” He moved his gun toward Cecilia. It looked like he had snapped completely. “How about you and Lambda come with me and I won’t kill your sister and everyone here, okay?” he uttered sickeningly with a smile.

  Zack’s eyes bulged with rage. “A-as if I would let you!” he roared.

  Dead Eye’s neck twitched. “You’re slow, child. Why is Epsilon targeting you?” Dead Eye didn’t give Zack a chance to respond. “Easy, its main target is the Lambda unit. Why, you say? Fascinating story—I was informed your wretched mother programmed it that way! If only I could see the look on her face when she realizes that the very thing she sent to destroy the Lambda unit was going to kill you first! The poetic irony is just too rich!” he cackled with sick joy.

  Zack stared frozen. My mom did this?

  Dead Eye pulled back his gun to his side and twirled his finger in the air. All the God Mods in the area began to glow yellow and hold out their hands. Small sparks began to gather on their palms as energy began to pulse around them.

  Dead Eye’s face now turned deadly. “Last chance, boy. You have until the count of five.”

  Zack couldn’t move or even begin to think. He looked to Lambda, her body in pain but her eyes filled with doubt and fear. In her current state, he knew he couldn’t be sure that she could tap into her full power and protect everyone.

  “One!” Dead Eye shouted.

  He looked to his sister, clinging next to him. She was terrified. Her longing eyes begged for this nightmare to be over. The tears flowing from her eyes never stopped.

  “Two!” bellowed Dead Eye once more.

  He then looked to Nerine and Laura. Both looked to him with mixed emotions. Laura appeared to be more in pain than anything else, but Nerine looked utterly petrified. Zack had hoped that maybe she was working on something. He would accept anything at this point. He was beyond desperate.

  “Three!” echoed Dead Eye again.

  Zack now looked to David, fearful and unsure of what to do. He longed for any support in this outrageous matter. He couldn’t make such a huge decision under pressure. He didn’t have time to consider all the variables, all the consequences. He couldn’t believe everything had led up to this point. His eyes wavered and danced with anxiety and horror as he reached out to David in his mind, his face still buried into the ground. No words came from him, only silence.

  Why. Why! Why?!

  “Four! You better say something soon, boy! I’m itching to see the fireworks!”

  That’s when Zack’s gaze fell upon Corson. Their eyes met, but Zack didn’t see or sense any help from the cold pupils of the eyes behind that white mask. In the heat of the moment, Zack could have sworn he saw the jagged lines running through Corson’s mask pulse like veins. The soulless stare he received from Corson made Zack realize that no one was going to help him. This was a decision that destiny had given him. He had chosen to ride this rollercoaster of chaos. It was all him. He had made his bed in the den of dragons. Here, he would atone for his sins and take responsibility for what everything had led up to. He didn’t like it. However, when does change come without a price?

  “Five! Time’s up, little lamb! Here comes the slaughter-”

  A loud echo cracked through the sky, the sound of a fired weapon igniting the growing tension. Everyone’s eyes grew in shock as they witnessed the outcome of the thunderous boom that shook the walls of the Limit Zone.

  Zack felt a sheering pain bolt through his entire body as an invisible force crashed into his body. The pain was unreal, so intense that he felt like his body was on fire. The impact of the invisible force hit him so hard that it sent him sailing backwards, but what was strange was how everything just seemed to move in slow motion. Everyone looked to be in mid-cry as Zack sailed, hovering over the ground. His whole body arched as a cold, numbing sensation rushed over his body. The sensation felt surreal. The only thing that reminded him that he was within the grounds of reality was the overwhelming pain that shot through his body. Even with the cold numbness growing, he couldn’t stop feeling the pain.

  Is this it? Was I shot? What now . . .

  Zack’s vision started to blur as he could no longer feel much of his body. The trade-off was he couldn’t feel the pain much anymore, but that didn’t stop him from worrying about everything. His slow-motion death had at the least given him time to think. It was too little too late, but even so, he knew it couldn’t end here.

  Not yet! Not now! I can still go on!

  Zack’s vision got worse, but he could still make out the contorted faces of those around him. In his accelerated state, he had no control over his body as he glided through air slowly. He wished to at least say something to bring reassurance to everyone, but nothing came out. He wanted at the least to see Lambda before he went under.

  He got his wish. However, Zack could only stare blankly into Lambda’s horrified face. Despite her expression, it gave him strength nonetheless. As the darkness swallowed him, nothing could shake Zack’s burning will to survive.

  * * *

  [January 8th - Abingdon, Virginia - Johnson Memorial Hospital - Day (Dawn)]

  Margret’s eyes burst open, sweat dripping all over her body. She sprung up, gasping for air as if she had been suffocating all this time in her sleep. She immediately felt faint and dizzy from sitting up so quickly and her head ached with such an intensity she thought it would split right open. She held it hopelessly as she scanned her surroundings.

  “W-where . . . am I?”

  The room was dark, and only the light glow of the breaking dawn gave her any light to see in the room she was in. From the clean, white layout and the bed she laid in, it didn’t take long for her to realize that she was in a hospital. She still felt a little drowsy from the sudden awakening, but she tried to remember the last thing that happened to her before she landed in a hospital bed. It didn’t take long for it all to come back to her.

  Marcus . . .

  Her heart skipped a beat as the door to her room opened slowly, revealing a tall man in a brown coat. She squinted, trying to see the man’s features. She already had instinctively tried to find something sharp to use as a weapon.

  “Relax, Margret, I’m not here to finish the job,” came a familiar voice. The familiarity of the voice only intensified Margret’s need to find something to defend herself with.

  The man closed the door behind him, not turning on the lights. He held two Styrofoam cups in his hands. “I know you like yours with two sugars, but I figure given the circumstances, you might want to consider taking it black.”

  Margret faced the man now, anger growing in her body. “What’s your game, Marcus?! You have some gall showing your face before me now!”

  Marcus looked behind him quickly, checking to see if anyone was alerted by Margret’s elevated voice. Luckily, the hospital was operating only on a skeleton crew at this hour. As far as he was concerned, less people equaled less questions at this point. He turned his attention back to Margret, a look of defeat and disgrace weighing on his face.

  “I’m sorry, Margret. I didn’t want this. I don’t expect you will forgive me.”

  “I don’t plan to!” she barked.

  Marcus walked to her bedside and placed one of the coffees down. He pulled the remote from her bedside and turned on the television. The fifty-inch monitor sprang to life, allowing the news to split the silence of the room.

  “You’ve got a strong will. I dosed you with a special chemical that artificially induces cardiac arrest. Its chemical makeup dissolves in the circulatory system and makes it near impossible to trace. Luckily, having you meet me in a crowded area allowed for a faster shot to a hospital,” he said reassuringly while watching the television.

  Margret shook off a dizzy spell as she glared at the man standing casually at the foot of her bed. “Then, if you aren’t here to kill me, Dead Eye will soon find out you failed. He will send someone else to finish the job,” she said while glaring.

  Marcus
took a sip of his coffee. “I’ve taken that into account.”

  Margret’s anger suddenly melted away as she fell into a daze. She realized what Marcus was getting at with his heavy words.

  “I’m already . . . dead?”

  Marcus nodded. “It was easy switching around the logs and body, but the actual data entry in the computers required me to pull a favor. As of yesterday at 7pm EST, Margret Powers died of cardiac failure. You are henceforth known as Jane Watts. That should suffice that snake Dead Eye, I hope.”

  Margret let her head sag. “Why did you do this for me? Won’t this come back to bite you, allowing me to live?”

  Marcus sighed. “You may find this hard to believe, but I still have a soul. Consider this my first step in atonement.” He turned and smiled. “And it was the least I could do for aiding in the death of a friend.”

  Margret couldn’t help but grin. “So now what? Are you still under the thumb of that monster High King?”

  Marcus took another sip of his coffee, now intently watching the current report by the anchor on the monitor.

  “That remains to be seen. He seemed to be preoccupied when he ordered me to kill you.” He pointed to the television. “Something tells me this is all the start of what is to come.”

  Margret looked to the large monitor in front of her. She was still a bit dizzy but could make out several phrases like “Rolling blackouts” and “Shooting comet” from the newsfeed.

  “It appears that this area, and oddly everything stretching over a hundred mile line, has suffered some massive power surges from this “Red Comet” that was caught on video. Its appearance is far too coincidental given what has happened so far.”

  Margret watched the news play the video Marcus was talking about. It showed a blazing comet ripping though the night sky at insane speeds. What Margret found odd about the video was how the comet didn’t look to be made of fire but red lightning.