H.A.L.F.: ORIGINS

by Natalie Wright

  Jack took point, his rifle at the ready. Sturgis had cut the power to Apthartos when she put A.H.D.N.A. on lockdown. The bright-as-day halogen lights were off. The only light for the underground town came from the eerie bluish-green glow of the genetically engineered bioluminescent trees lining the sidewalks and wide boulevards.

  Alecto silently brushed past Jack. Her voice was a quiet whisper in his ear. “Allow me. My vision is not impaired by these conditions.”

  Jack didn’t argue. He couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of him.

  Even though they walked as quietly as they could down the brick boulevard, every move echoed around the cavernous stone walls that surrounded empty buildings inside the manmade cave. Jack’s eyes flitted from side to side as he hoped to see any enemy gunmen before they saw him. He and the girls were like sitting ducks, without cover in the open.

  “Head toward the bushes,” he said. “Over there.”

  Alecto moved with preternatural speed to a row of low artificial hedges to the right.

  The same place we hid from Sturgis’s men before when we were here with Tex.

  Anna and Jack knelt beside Alecto, each of them peering over the hedges and behind them for any signs of movement. The entire city was as quiet as a vacuum and as still as stone.

  “I don’t like this,” Jack said. “It’s too quiet.”

  “I know what you mean,” Anna said. Her voice was a breathy whisper. “I feel like we’re going to step in a snare.”

  They looked to Alecto for confirmation of their fears or a comforting denial, but she gave neither.

  Her head was cocked to one side, her eyes open wide and staring toward an unseen point on the horizon. “Odd.”

  “What is?” Anna asked.

  “I sense no life-forms in this area. There are no men here.”

  Jack found that hard to believe. Sturgis had made them fear meeting a small army. Or was that just her paranoia? “Do you mean in the whole of Apthartos? Or just this central area?”

  Alecto blinked slowly. “My ability to sense the bioelectrical energy of life-forms extends no further than a quarter-kilometer radius. Apthartos is more than just this central area. We may meet resistance as we head toward the home of Sir Croft.”

  Jack believed Alecto, yet his nervous system remained on high alert. His back was drenched with anxiety sweat. “Let’s keep going then. I think I know the way.”

  They rose but before they got going, Anna put her small hand on Jack’s arm. “You okay?”

  He wanted to tell her the truth. Hell no, he wasn’t okay. The damned place still smelled like blood and vomit and urine. Or maybe that was his imagination bringing back the smells of the dead men he’d seen mowed down here by the Conexus ship. No he wasn’t okay being back in the place in which he and his two best friends so nearly lost their lives. He forced a smile to his face. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  Anna already knew him well enough to see his response for the bullshit lie that it was. She gave him a knowing smile in return. “Lead on then. We’ve got your back.”

  Jack edged around the perimeter of the town square, heading toward the street where they’d found Dr. Randall. “Alecto, if you sense anything at all, let me know right away.”

  Her voice was low and quiet. “Affirmative.”

  They stayed in the shadows as they passed the brownstone townhome where Dr. Randall had been a permanent “guest”. The door still stood open. The keypad by the door still hung from wires. The wall was black and sooty where Ian had shot at it.

  Jack had spent a couple of long days in Dr. Randall’s townhouse, waiting for Sewell to spring him from his underground prison. As he remembered the boy that he was then, so frightened of the dark house that he couldn’t sleep, he almost laughed out loud at himself. That had been only a few months ago but felt like a lifetime. That Jack Wilson—the one that had a crush on Erika and could think only of spending his time serenading her—was a distant memory. Jack pulled his mind back to Apthartos revisited. Recover the anti-viral.

  They were now in territory Jack had never seen before. Sturgis had shown him where Croft’s home was on a map. It had seemed fairly close to Dr. Randall’s townhouse, but the underground city was larger than he’d imagined.

  They’d gone close to a kilometer when they came upon ‘Kensington,’ the street they were looking for.

  “Aptly named street,” Anna said. “Even down here, waiting out the dystopia that he helped create, Croft wants to live like royalty.”

  Alecto tugged at Jack’s arm. “Proceed with caution. I sense humans near us.”

  Jack stopped and stepped close to a dark townhouse where he was hidden in shadow. Anna and Alecto did the same.

  “Do you know how many?”

  Alecto tilted her head. “Not many. But Croft is among them.”

  “How do you know?” Anna asked.

  Alecto’s brow crinkled slightly. “I do now know exactly how I know. But I am sure of it. Croft is close to us now.”

  Jack moved back onto the brick walk lit only by the glowing trees. His eyes had grown more accustomed to the dark. He could now see about as well as he could with a half-moon on a clear night.

  The townhomes in this section were larger than the ones near Dr. Randall’s home. Instead of tan or red brick, they were constructed of white stones and plaster. The homes on this Kensington Street looked more like they had been lifted from out of London rather than the Bronx of New York. The street was a cul de sac and at the end was a house that stood alone, its symmetrical, white stone two-story façade nearly luminescent in the dark.

  It was large enough to fit at least three, possibly four of the other homes on the street. Unlike the dark, brooding houses they had passed, the windows of Croft’s house glowed with the welcoming yellow light of incandescent.

  “Not trying to hide the fact that he’s home,” Jack said.

  “It’s like he’s taunting us,” Anna said.

  Alecto picked up speed and pushed past Jack. “He is unafraid.” Her voice became a low, raspy whisper. “Maybe he should be.”

  Her speed was incredible. Before Jack had the chance to ask her to stay with them, Alecto was nearly to Croft’s front door. Jack wanted to call out to her to wait, but he didn’t know if snipers lurked in the dark windows of the houses they passed. He and Anna moved toward Alecto but huddled down and stayed pressed into the shadows.

  Fortunately Alecto didn’t barge through the front door. She stood like a sentinel, waiting for them to catch up.

  Jack was winded and his thighs burned from squatting low when they caught up to her. “What’s your plan?” He hoped Alecto had one because he was fresh out of ideas.

  She gazed at him quizzically. “To kill him of course.”

  He resisted the urge to smack his head. “Yes, yes. I know you want payback. Though you may have to arm wrestle Anna for the honor of taking him out.”

  Alecto glanced at Anna then back to Jack. “She should not attempt to wrestle me.”

  Anna let out a soft giggle. “He’s joking. I’m not going to fight you over who gets to kill Croft. I know you want to but if I have a clean shot, I’m going to take it.”

  “After we get the anti-viral,” Jack said. He knew that Anna wanted to get that anti-viral back into the hands of Dr. Montoya, but he feared that her desire for revenge was taking precedence. It felt like he needed to keep reminding her of their primary mission.

  She nodded. “Of course. Jack is right. The anti-viral is of utmost importance. If we take out Croft, that’s just an added bonus. Besides, I need answers from him. Do you understand, Alecto?”

  Alecto stared at the front door.

  Jack pressed. “Before we barge in the front door, I need to know that you understand and agree with what Anna said. Anti-viral first. Kill Croft after.”

  Alecto remained motionless, her eyes fixed on that door that stood between her and the man who had masterminded her creation – and life of confinement. “I understand an
d agree. Now let us proceed before we lose our best opportunity. I am not wearing armor so I ask that you please, create a shield in front of me.”

  “Tex is able to create a sort of mini protective energy shield around himself. Can you do that?”

  “I cannot.” The muscles in Alecto’s jaw tightened. She thrust her chin out and pulled the pistol from the holster at her waist. She checked the magazine then shoved it back into place. “I pick up the energy signatures of four persons inside.”

  “Only four? That’s a relief,” Jack said.

  “Do not become complacent. As we have seen, the underground holds secrets. There may be a hidden cave even deeper behind the façade of this house. Croft could have men hiding in such a fashion.”

  The momentary feeling of relief faded.

  Anna moved in front of Alecto. “We’ll cover you.”

  Jack pushed ahead of Anna. He didn’t intend to let her take a bullet.

  There was no keycard entry at the door as there had been at Dr. Randall’s house. The doorknob was polished brass and had an ordinary key mechanism like a typical residential door. He tried the knob and it clicked open. He gave a head nod, pressed himself against the door and pushed it open.

  The entryway glowed pale yellow from the soft light of a gigantic crystal chandelier that hung high. The light flickered off of the highly polished floor of lapis blue and creamy white marble, inlaid in an intricate border of leaves around the outer edges and circles within the border. White Corinthian-style columns rose from the floor, soaring to a ceiling at least thirty feet high. The bases of the columns were edged in gold leaf as were rectangular patterns around the ceiling. Sweeping staircases flanked each side of the room, curving up to a landing that led to a second floor at the far end of the room.

  Croft’s voice boomed from that direction. “Mr. Wilson, so good of you to pay a call. I do hope you brought cousin Anna with you.”

  Jack edged a few more feet into the ornate foyer. Anna pushed up next to him but stayed close at his side. He felt Alecto at his back. She was so small, Croft may not have seen her there.

  Croft’s salt-and-pepper hair was neatly groomed, his face clean shaved. Jack had expected to find Croft in an expensive suit like he’d worn the first time Jack had seen him in A.H.D.N.A. Instead Croft had donned dark blue jeans, a close-fitting black T-shirt, and leather driving moccasins. Somehow the clothes made him look smaller and less a threat than Jack had remembered him. Jack reminded himself not to be fooled by appearances. Alecto didn’t look like a threat either but he’d seen her mercilessly render people into lifeless sacks of water.

  “You were expecting me?” Anna asked. She was trying to sound strong but her voice quavered slightly.

  “Of course.”

  “Who told you?”

  Croft made his way down the stairs and laughed. “No one had to tell me. I know you, Anna. Better perhaps than you know yourself.”

  Anna snickered. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

  Croft stood on the last step. His hand rested on the brass finial of the railing and his eyes rested there for a moment as well. “Your mother sends her regards, by the way.” He glanced up at Anna with dark eyes hooded slightly by his prominent brows.

  Jack practically felt the heat rise from Anna.

  “She was with you? So it’s true.”

  “That she set your father against you and Thomas? No. That is not true. That was a foolish lie told by a foolish girl. Who, by the way, I presume is dead, otherwise you would not be here speaking to me.”

  “You knew we’d kill her?” Jack asked. His own dad had left Jack and his mom high and dry. Asshat father of the year, that one. But Jack couldn’t imagine a father so glibly accepting the death of his own child.

  “I told her not to kill Anna. So naturally I expected she would attempt it. But I also knew that Alecto would not allow that to happen. You can come out of hiding, my child. It is only Ben, myself, a housekeeper and cook here. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

  Alecto squeezed herself between Jack and Anna. Her tiny fists were balled up at her sides, her lips pressed into a thin line.

  It threw Jack a bit that Croft was freely admitting that Ben was with him. He’d expected Croft to hide the fact that Ben had stolen the anti-viral. What game is he playing? Jack was out of his league in the realm of spy vs. spy. He hoped Anna would take the lead in whatever game Croft was playing. She’d had a lot more practice at such things.

  Croft stepped off of the last stair slowly. His gait was graceful for a man in his seventies. Though his face had a few deep age lines here and there, his eyes were bright, sharp and focused. He build was slight, but Jack didn’t doubt that the man was likely as strong as he was. Jack’s muscles tensed, his hands on the gun and ready to fire if necessary as Croft strode toward the center of the room.

  “You’ve done me a great service, Mr. Wilson.”

  Jack about puked at the thought that he’d helped the douchebag, even if inadvertently. “How’s that?”

  “You safely delivered to me the two things I prize most in the world.” He lifted his arm and gave a wave of it in Anna’s direction.

  Jack was ready to jump down the guy’s throat, but Anna beat him to it.

  “We are not possessions.” Her voice was a low snarl. “What do you want with me, anyway?”

  Croft took a few steps toward them, his eyes intent on Anna. But when he saw both Jack and Anna raise their weapons, he halted his forward movement but showed no fear. “Anna, this city built for you, my dear. Welcome home. Welcome to the kingdom over which you will one day rule.”

  38

  tEX

  Tex trusted the vision of Erika, perhaps created by his oxygen-starved brain, and removed his helmet. His mind had been a bungling confusion of worry and fear. Hungry, tired and recovering from a period of oxygen deprivation, he had lost the ability to remain calmly focused on his task. Commander Sturgis would be most displeased with me and my performance here.

  Soothing warmth filled him. It had begun in his core and spread outward though his limbs and finally settled to between and behind his eyes. There it pulsed though not unpleasantly.

  His mind was at ease. In fact, he had never felt better. He was alert yet calm. Interested yet focused.

  Cynothian’s voice was melodious and calm. “Many questions. We have answers. Begin.”

  Tex started with the first thing that came to mind. “You built this great underground city, but it’s now abandoned. What happened here?”

  The walls around Tex came alive with moving pictures. At first it was a giant star map with galaxies spread throughout a dark sky. Quickly the image focused in on one galaxy, then to a star system, followed by a single star then a planet. The planet was fairly small in relation to the other neighboring planets and it was the second from the sun. It was mainly the color of Mars but there were small oceans of blue and patches of green with small icy-white caps on the ends.

  The image paused there for a moment then swiftly blurred and whizzed until it showed a scene of wide boulevards of creamy marble towered over by gleaming buildings of glass and granite. The streets were filled with people who looked very much like Cynothian, both male and female and children too. Their skin was many shades of tan and their eyes were green, brown, blue and even gold. Their hair was mainly black as night and long and sleek but there were a few with chestnut brown hair.

  “Elosians existed many millennia before the first of the species known as human walked the Earth.” Cynothian watched the moving pictures as Tex did. His eyes drooped with sadness.

  The images reflected exactly what Tex had hoped to find on Elosia. But instead he was greeted by sand dunes and an empty underground city. “What happened?”

  The images shifted again. Multi-storied greenhouses filled with dried and withered stalks of plants. Dead bodies partially covered by shifting sands.

  “Our sun is in its last dance, Bodaway. And Elosia is no more.”

  �
��If you’re the ones that built the gateway of warped space then why didn’t you use it? You could have colonized a planet.”

  Cynothian chuckled warmly. “We did, young one. In a manner of speaking.”

  The images flashed again. A new star system with a fourth planet that looked similar to Elosia then another star system with a fifth planet that was mostly icy but with a band of blue and green at its equator. And a third planet that was familiar. Earth.

  The focus shifted and images flew past him in rapid succession. Wolf-like beasts running on all fours. Great winged creatures that resembled eagles but large enough to snatch a small child in its talons. There were animals that swam in oceans and ones that flew or ran.

  “Much as a parent achieves a sort of immortality by passing its genetic material on to the next generation, Elosia sought to do the same.”

  “What are you saying? That you created other species?”

  “We merely helped their evolution along. On each planet we found that teemed with life, we sought out the one species that had the most promise of higher order thinking. Of creativity.”

  Tex pondered the first animal he had been shown. It was larger than even the largest domesticated dog on Earth. It resembled the mechanized creature now decimating the population of his planet. “The M’Uktah. You made them?”

  A rapid succession of images flashed around him. It was like a rapidly moving family album splayed across the walls. Hairy beasts running on all fours in packs, hunting prey. Then a creature that resembled the hairy beast only upright on two legs, its fur replaced by hair, the face with a nose that was less a long snout and more humanoid. The images morphed and small groupings of huts gave rise to villages and then to a city.

  “We guided the evolution both of their bodies and their culture,” Cynothian said. “The creatures on Uktah were the first. They took readily to forming society. Their animal ancestors had already mastered a sophisticated social structure with little fighting amongst them. Within M’Uktah culture, there had been relative peace for many thousands of years.”