The Foliage:Termination (The Foliage Series Book 2)

by Nathan Ward

  “Just ask yourself, have I given you a reason NOT to trust me yet?”Williams replied, remaining locked in Joshes gaze as he tried but failed to think of a reason not to trust her. They were still alive, he silently concluded, and that had to be a good sign...

  He turned to acknowledge Thomas and Steph who he knew had heard and were anxiously waiting for a sign, for something, anything to suggest he had come up with a plan. But even though Josh hadn’t been able to come up with a grand scheme or form of backup plan, he knew for sure that cowering inside the back of the vehicle would only enhance the chances of aggression from the UNA who had already become irritable, twitching behind their head gear, driven to the brink of their programming and wanting to simply EXTERMINATE the inferior life forms edging their way slowly out of the truck.

  Williams stood guard, watching over the soldiers, constantly aware of how dangerously alert they were becoming with every passing second. They had been created with the primary purpose of being the front men, tackling the opposition, the rebellions standing in their way - acting as the face of the UNA, forever striking fear into humans and howlers alike, whether that fear be invoked by bullets, flame or a simple gaze. They had their orders, so were now struggling to hold back as they observed the very beings they were programmed to wipe off the face of the earth emerge in front of them and take a trembling stride towards their command center, the tower of light. They were unable to act upon it in the way they had been programmed; because of this, it was reason enough for the cybernetic soldiers to have a total system meltdown...

  Williams backed away from the soldiers, reaching for the bottom of the ramp and reuniting it against the vehicle, locking it in to position with a loud, hefty clank. The feminine droid then took a slow glance left and right, panning between the surrounding guards making sure no threat could be detected. She then thanked the soldiers before finally disembarking towards the main entrance at the foot of the tower, as she caught up with the three prisoners the UNA soldiers slowly slipped back into the shadows, hesitantly allowing the human captives to advance.

  The four of them approached a tall set of metallic blast doors that seemed to be the only obvious way in to the tower complex.

  “Thank you, Williams - thank you for what you did back there,” Josh said sincerely.

  “I am only following orders,” Williams stated.

  “Yeah, but exactly whose orders? The UNA's?”

  Williams looked over towards Josh, meeting his gaze as they drew out the walk towards the tower.

  “All you need to know is that I follow the orders I perceive to be the correct ones,”

  Williams added, and then she looked away from him, casting her sights over the nearing gateway.

  Extruding from the steel panel beside the thick semi concrete gates was a illuminated key pad with a blue essence pulsating around the buttons that sat flush against the front of the device. Williams approached it and outstretched her arm, placing her hand over the pad covering the buttons.

  “Do not be alarmed, as what you are about to see may become quite a talking point,” she claimed as the fluorescent frosty blue glow began to dance its way in and around her hand, illuminating her artificial flesh - outlining the steel plated skeletal fingers embedded within it, the electric blue against her metallic bones looked almost beautiful in that moment.

  “Welcome to the tower of light, the UNA constitute,” she announced, turning to catch the reaction upon the faces of Josh, Thomas and Steph as finally, the heavy stone and steel mix doors began to crunch, clank and unlock as pivots and gears turned to remove the restrictions in place that had tightly held the doors in position to eradicate any chance of ever being breached. The firm solid structures slowly and with much effort began to ease open and as they pulled apart a fine lightning streak of incandescent glow gradually begun to flourish, casting away the darkness that had stood over the three prisoners as it bathed them in its light.

  Led by Williams, the small group took to a hasty disposition, taking their very first steps in to the brightly lit foyer of the majestic tower as the grand doors slammed into a locking embrace behind them.

  Now as they stood there taking in what lay before them, Josh couldn’t believe his eyes, and neither could the others. It was as if they had just been transported to a different dimension, even the internal diameter seemed much larger than it had looked outside. The three captives stood glued to the spot, their blood and filth-caked boots contrasting against the gleaming pearl white floor. Joshes eyes were immediately drawn to the centre of the foyer where a cylindrical tube-like apparatus appeared to ascend to the very top of the tower, surrounded by a spiraling stairwell with each step forged in glass, allowing for a clear view towards the upper levels of the structure.

  Thomas stared in awe at the sight before him that seemed to be made of every fairy tale and dream of fantastic and impossible places he had ever dreamed, the stuff of those dreams could have built this structure, a marvel woven out of imagination - that was what he thought for one moment of suspended belief, then he remembered the reality of the situation, but still looked on in awe at the sight of the neon blue lights pulsating around the cylindrical column as a capsule slowly began to descend to ground level, where Williams and the captives awaited.

  “Do follow me,” instructed Williams, taking a few steps towards the foot of the column.

  The three weary captives followed her lead, no longer feeling the pain of exhaustion. They had become entirely numb to everything and in their exhaustion half believed that perhaps this was all but a fragment of their evasive imagination.

  But it was all too real...

  Williams stopped and positioned herself close to the gloss white furnished capsule, turning back in much intrigue, she had this newly formed urge to witness the expression and emotion of the human beings she had gotten to know in the most dire of circumstances - even having an uncertainty of who she was taking them to and what was going to happen next, seeing the awe upon their faces had made her feel ever so slightly satisfied about her own actions, if feel was even the correct term for it, her electronic mind seemed it be suggesting it was the correct term.

  Thomas watched in fascination as a glass plinth descended into his sights, plummeting down the central column and falling into an abrupt halt, sitting flush at ground level. Then two plastic white doors swiftly unraveled to the sides of the column, creating an opening inside which was illuminated by incredibly bright and warm LEDs glowing around the top rim of the capsule.

  “You may enter,” said Williams, making a hand gesture towards the three captives, Josh, Thomas and Steph - who had already begun to step towards it, wide eyed and stunned by the beauty of the building.

  “Is this some kind of lift?” asked Steph as she boarded on to the sparkling glass platform.

  “Elevation, altitude, yes. You are very perceptive, Miss Levett, or would you prefer Mrs.?” Williams enquired, turning to face Steph as they huddled together inside of the column capsule.

  “Steph will do just fine, but what’s it to you?” She replied, letting her curiosity take the lead, even though pushing Williams for answers felt more like sticking her head into the cage of a hungry lion that may or may not decide to rip it off...

  “I simply wouldn’t want to make things any worse than they already are, so the more comfortable the arrangement, the better for both of us,” Williams responded, keeping the tone of her voice as balanced as she could.

  “Better for us, would have been to let us go,” Steph replied.

  “But that would have been illogical, where you are now is the most logical solution to all of our problems,” Williams told her as the shiny white doors began to firmly close into a locking position, propelled together by a thunderous projectile of hydraulic air.

  The thick slab of circular glass beneath their feet suddenly rose from the ground, elevating with ease up past the first level of the building. The momentum gradually built until they were ascending at a comfortabl
e rate, watching as levels plummeted below them in a rapid blur. Josh had been finding it difficult to contain his excitement - even in the clutches of his enemy he felt an unnatural urge of joy flow through him, looking up at the intense beam of energy that became more and more powerful as the elevator rose. For him this was at least a new discovery, something to uncover, to learn, even if their futures were still uncertain, at least there was this moment, and it filled him with questions that silently raced through his head as he wondered if the light could be a symbol of hope or damnation – either way, it was heading somewhere...

  “So where are we headed? Right to the top?” he asked, still locked in a gaze towards the glowing spire.

  “Not quite,” Williams replied, “We will be arriving at UNA command, where you will be introduced to our commanding officer.”

  “You mean your creator?” Josh asked, switching his gaze to Williams, who now avoided looking into his excited eyes.

  “Our creator is here, but it is the least of your worries,” reassured Williams, stealing a brief, unnoticed moment to cast her sights over Josh, before returning her gaze to the mirror image reflection that had simulated in front of her from the glass cylindrical shape of the capsule.

  Now Williams silently concluded that she sincerely hoped her commanding officer would stay true to her word. She did not wish to be forced to question the authorities of the United Nations Alliance.

  Chapter 19: Astral

  The Glass elevator continued its journey, gliding up the high rise. As Thomas looked out at the passing numbered levels, the numbers seemed as a blur due to the speed, but he could just about make out a rough estimate of how far they had travelled as a thought ran through his mind:

  We must have ascended fifty stories already...There couldn't be much further to go, surely?

  He kept that thought silent in his head as he turned to check on Captain Williams, who stood there in an unusual silence, looking frozen like a beautiful waxwork as she stared at her own reflection.

  Then they all felt the brisk force of the elevator slowing down, which had come as a sudden shock after the way it had glided, almost flown so effortlessly, seeming it would never stop. The capsule clonked and came to a soft halt in line with the level entrance that they had been summoned to.

  Josh was still staring up at the mesmerizing sight of the timeless energy which wasn’t much further above them. In fact it must have only been another level or two, three at the most - the vessel of discovery was within Joshes grasp, but he knew that right now was the worst of times to pull a stunt, the best bet was to play it safe and firstly see what was behind the glossy white doors...

  The group turned their bodies to face the exit, all taking deep breaths in an attempt to relieve the growing tension, Williams simply made her way past the compacted huddle and stood with her back turned to them, facing the blank gloss white doors, waiting for them to spring open.

  She had definitely begun to feel more at one with the hive mind, not worrying so much for the safety of her prisoners and instead resisting every urge to question what the UNA had tasked her to do, it was a command and that fact shone brighter now in her electronic mind, the fact that she was programmed to execute even if it was something that would be commonly considered by the humans to be a sin, but she and her kind weren’t conditioned to care and with no holy book to pledge themselves to, just the great glowing mind in the sky - they were ruthless, which broke a path of escaping thought within Williams demoralized, reconditioned mind and she let that thought flow freely, silently processing:

  'It would seem the distance from the city has accelerated a consciousness of individuality, but being reigned back to the tower to complete my purpose has reminded me of what I learned to love of being free, but what is right? To be different or to fit with uniformity, even within this broken world society? These are questions I must study wisely, so given that a chance arises to decide my future, I will decide with great consideration for both, using my passion for logic to guide me...'

  A burst of hydraulic air erupted from behind the elevator doors, forcing them both aside, revealing a long bright corridor with Level 62 illuminated on an LCD screen. “Do mind your step and follow,” instructed Williams.

  Then she took the lead, stepping foot inside the new surroundings first. The others followed her lead and curiously began to wander down, emitting an echo of clunks and stomps as their boots hit the sterile floor. Josh had remained sharply vigilant, casting his suspicious gaze from left to right after every painful step, not knowing what to expect next from this fairly unpredictable enemy, which reminded Josh of all the other stunts they had pulled... 'Building quite a reputation, my friends. What have you got this time?”'he thought, allowing for his mind to wander ever so slightly, but he remained focused on the path up ahead which looked to widen before eventually opening up in to some kind of oval space, it was definitely a larger room from what he could see being half a corridor length away...

  The Elevator doors clonked back in to place behind the group, the suddenness of the sound had come as a jolt, sending a spell of fear down their spines, but once they realised what it was they swiftly recomposed themselves and continued to creep down the hallway that had now finally begun to widen, edging closer to the mysterious oval room.

  “What do you think it is?” Josh asked.

  Steph looked puzzled as she tried to make some sense of it all, but this vast incredulous place it was beyond her imaginations capability, leaving her only with the words mind blown sliding through her head as she looked about the vast area before them.

  “I’d hate to say” she replied.

  “Please remain silent unless ordered otherwise, thank you,” stated Williams as she kept her sights firmly set on the room up ahead.

  The three prisoners just took a glance at each other and shrugged it off but Josh silently wondered why her tone had suddenly changed; now he no longer felt that reassuring connection with her that he had felt outside of the complex. There had almost been a moment of trust and security with her – almost a bond? But whatever it was it hadn’t hung around – it had evaporated the moment they stepped inside the tower, that was when she begun to act a little odd, Josh concluded, as he noticed something caught at the corner of his vision: There was an electronic glass ball encased in white plastic that was suspended from the ceiling, it reminded him of something he had seen before, but he couldn’t quite place where he had seen it previously...

  'Whatever it is, it’s watching us – like some kind of CCTV device,' he said to himself silently.

  He pointed it out to the others, discreetly signaling, and all who caught a glimpse expressed a look of alarm. Josh immediately swiped his hand in dismissal of their silent concerns and they returned to their look of utter fascination, casting their sights back to the room in which they were about to enter.

  Williams walked to the centre of the room then turned to address the three captives as they crept beyond the frameworks analyzing every inch of detail as they entered.

  “Is that the city?” Thomas asked, staring at the wide glass window across from where they stood.

  “I said, silence!” repeated Williams in a stern tone that seemed to be climbing now towards aggression..

  “Yes I’m sorry, it’s just that’s one hell of a sight from all the way up here!” he added, hurrying over to the edge of the room and pressing his face against the glass: The streets were illuminated by spot lights and the skies held a vibrant glow for endless miles upon miles, he had never seen anything so beautiful yet so sinister at the same time...

  “I’ve never seen London like this before and I came here a fair bit as a kid,” he added as Williams switched her gaze from Thomas to the cityscape, remembering what it had felt like to be away from the towers guidance, to feel a simulation of the human emotion setting her sights upon something beautiful. She missed it now, and it registered in her mind as loss.

  Thomas was still speaking, recalling the city as h
e remembered it:

  “They used to hold conventions here in Olympia, was the only excuse to get me over here otherwise no, I wouldn’t step foot in London very often at all. Took me two hours on the train or three by car, it was always getting over the M25 when the problems would start, the traffic was horrendous. That's why I preferred the train – but it’s never looked this peaceful, believe me!” Thomas paused, casting his mind back over all the happy memories as a child, meeting all of the television and film stars from the shows he loved, “I don’t know about you, Williams - but we all grew up idolizing someone,” he added, still with his sights set on the city down below.

  “Idol?” Williams questioned, not understanding the phrase.

  “Someone to look up to, someone that makes you feel empowered to do well and succeed – and ever since all this shit happened, for the past few years I’ve idolized the very man stood in this room - Joshua Levett - he pulled us out of the dirt and led us to great things and that will never go unappreciated.”

  Thomas had begun to turn to address his praise personally to his friend, but as he panned his gaze across the room something caught his eye, halting him in his tracks:

  The shape of a figure, something they could only liken to a cold, dark entity stood in the deepest corner of the oval room...

  Josh, Steph and Williams noticed at once that something was amiss, so they followed Thomas’s gaze, turning to face the direction of the figure which had stood totally motionless, observing the prisoners from afar.

  They had all been so totally distracted that they had failed to notice on their side of the room was a chain of incubators, each housing what seemed to look like living organisms. One contained an overly deformed Howler with its muscles bulging and saliva dripping from its mouth like a running tap. Beside the howlers incubator was another but this one contained a ordinary looking human, a female – stripped right back to bare flesh with tubes and wires penetrating inside of her, she didn’t seem to be conscious.