by Phil Maxey
Footsteps came up to the door, which then opened revealing a tired looking General Trow. Without greeting them, she gestured them inside.
The large entrance hall was cold and dark, which they quickly moved through and into an equally large living room, lit with numerous candles.
“Please take a seat,” she waved in the direction of the plush looking sofa positioned around a large marble coffee table. She then fell rather than sat into an armchair, and picked up some whiskey in an expensive looking glass.
“What the fuck happened?” said Zach standing. Fiona sat.
“The fact that you are here, means I presume you already know I’ve been relieved of my post. Do you want a drink?”
“I’ll take one,” said Fiona.
“Zach sit,” said Trow as she poured out a second drink, and handing it to Fiona. Zach slowly sat.
“I’ve always served at the pleasure of the council. I was blamed for Tinley’s escape…and they never knew about your mission to bring Abbey back.”
“But Tinley’s dead and it was Abbey that did that.”
“And they are pleased about that, but it wasn’t enough to save my job or Abbey I’m afraid.“
“So that’s it, Cal and Abbey, they are just going to be kept away from the rest of the camp?”
Before she could answer Zach continued. “I thought you said the vote would go the right way?”
“I thought it would. The word was we had the numbers, but at the last minute Sawyer changed his vote, and it went three two against us.”
“And what does that mean?” enquired Fiona.
“It means those that have been found to have been affected by the Cascade, such as Cal and Abbey will not be allowed to live with the general population…and unfortunately the council wants more information on them, so they will run experiments.”
A feeling of dread descended over Zach and Fiona.
“But Abbey’s the reason any of my squad and the others that came with us are alive! And Cal!”
“I know, Bass kept me well informed.”
“Didn’t the council take that into account?”
“Zach, right now we don’t know how those affected will continue to act, all we know is that they have these abilities and they are connected somehow to the E.L.F’s.”
Zach looked at her concerned. “You sound like you agree with this?”
The General looked away from his gaze momentarily. “I don’t know what I agree with. Before you went, I was sure segregating those that were affected wasn’t a good idea, but now…” she took a sip on her drink. “In Bass’s report, it seemed as if she controlled a huge E.L.F and used it to basically wipe out a lot of the enemies soldiers.”
“Yeah she saved us,” said Fiona.
“That’s not how the council saw it. They saw someone who has the power to create chaos and threaten the camp, and obviously we know, Abbey is just one of a few hundred that probably have that ability.”
“What if it was someone you cared about, that was taken, and used as a lab experiment?” said Fiona.
The General picked up an overturned picture frame, which was near her whiskey and handed it to Fiona. “That’s my grandson Anthony Trow, he was taken soon after the vote.”
Fiona didn’t know how to respond. “I’m sorry.”
“Both of you have my word, I will do all I can, but unfortunately it’s not much anymore.”
“Who’s in charge now?”
“The council have taken control of the military as well. Everything goes through Holland.”
“Can you get us in to see them?”
Trow looked down. “I might still have some connections I could call upon. They are monitoring the frequencies, but if I send you a message tonight or in the morning that I have some homemade Apple pie for you, then that means I’ve got you in. Get me some of the paper over there, I’ll write you down the location.”
* * * * *
Abbey sat up. The stone floor was doing no favours for her back, and sleep wasn’t happening. It was cold in the huge open space that used to be some form of factory and she immediately gathered the one blanket she had been given to her shoulders. All around her a few hundred people of all races and ages lay wherever they could find a flat dry surface. A single lantern positioned near the outside wall provided insufficient light to dispel the gloom and shadows lurked in most corners. Looking around she wasn’t sure where Cal was, or if he was even here.
Pulling the blanket back from her lower half she looked down at her thigh and the new bandage a medic put on her. At least they care enough to keep us alive. She also had a splint on her left wrist, so moving it didn’t hurt as much as before, but her body still felt ten percent of what it normally did, and every movement was an effort.
After being taken near the gate, they were brought here. Wherever here was, as she and the others were blindfolded. But she could hear cries and pleading of worried people asking why and where they were being taken. Those in charge told everyone that they needed to run some experiments, and when they were done they would be free to go. That calmed most down, but nothing about this situation felt right. Her grandfather sometimes talked to her when she was a child, about his time in the concentration camp during the war. What he told her was similar to what she had seen and heard over the previous few hours. But this is different, she kept telling herself.
But even if she could escape, where would she go? She was in an unknown building, inside the virtually impenetrable walls of the camp. If she ran home, or involved Zach, he would be jailed just as quickly as she would be again. At least this time her prison cell was much larger and had others inside with her. I’m not with him. She shuddered thinking about her time in that damp office back in Atlanta, waiting for death to walk through the door. Swallowing she realised she was thirsty and looked around for any sign of water, but there wasn’t any.
Just to her right and slightly behind her she felt eyes on her. Swivelling around unpainfnully as possible she just caught a small head duck down behind a blanket.
“What’s your name?” said Abbey.
A young boy of maybe ten years old, with dark hair appeared from behind his gray and blue blanket.
“Anthony, but my friends call me Ant.”
Abbey smiled. “I’m Abbey, nice to meet you Ant. Where are your parents?”
“My grandmother is at home.”
She sighed and felt anger at their plight. So far though they hadn’t been treated terribly. They were alive and together, even if the conditions weren’t luxurious.
“Don’t worry Ant, hopefully we can all go home tomorrow.”
The young boy forced a smile and disappeared back under his blanket.
Scouring the walls of the cavernous space she couldn’t see any soldiers, only two doors and a large metal shutter sealing them in. She suspected the doors were locked and even if they weren’t, there definitely would be guards on the other side anyway.
She then turned her attention to the people imprisoned with her, some whom were sleeping and some who were obviously not. Focusing in the gloom on their faces, she tried to see if Cal was among them. But she couldn’t see him. Most were buried in their blankets. Maybe he’s just sleeping. She would find him in the morning.
CHAPTER 26
Even in the early morning mist Zach could see the large crowd of people some with placards as he drove up the dirt track towards the security gate. He was in the north eastern quadrant of the camp, in a largely unpopulated area. Ahead an old large aircraft hanger sized building stood out amongst the trees and surrounding low hills.
There were a high number of troops, and military vehicles. No breaking them out today. Even if he could, he wasn’t sure what the next part of the plan would be. In the current situation they were safer inside the walls than outside, and the camp wasn’t so huge that eventually they couldn’t be found anyway.
“Cascaders are not like us!”, “We are all human beings, Free the Cascaders!” People shou
ting and holding banners which were for and against those inside the large building pushed and shoved along the fifteen foot high metal fence. Amongst them Zach spotted people crying and pleading with the guards to let them in.
Fiona sat in silence.
He drove up to the gate and stopped. He showed his security card to the man at the gate who radioed someone. The entrance then opened and he drove forward. They were soon parking next to a number of Humvee’s that were already there. He noticed Raj walking quickly towards him as he and Fiona got out.
The sounds of distant gun batteries on the wall firing, boomed on the horizon. Raj handed them more security cards, which were white with the words “Visitor” on them. “Trow had to do a lot of convincing to let you see them. Follow me.”
As they walked to the closest door, the pot marked and fire stained walls of the old building loomed above them. Large multi-panelled windows from a different era reflected what there was, of the morning light. They all showed the guard their credentials, he then swiped his own card and they walked into a corridor with bare concrete walls.
“Remember, don’t be fooled by how old this place looks, everywhere you are on this compound you are being watched,“ his eyes flicked upwards to a camera discretely placed in the corner near another door. “I only have access to internal doors, even I can’t leave the building without someone letting me out,” he swiped his card, and a wall of noise hit them.
For a moment Zach’s focus was lost amongst a sea of people sitting, standing and laying on the multitude of bundles of blankets, but then he saw her. Abbey was sitting on a small wall talking to a small group of people, next to her was Cal.
“You only have fifteen minutes, make it count,” said Raj looking guilty. Fiona gave him a stern look, then she and Zach ran over to Abby and Cal.
Each couple immediately hugged, causing Cal and Abbey to both smile and wince in pain.
An elderly man in his early seventies, a woman of similar age, and a young boy who Zach and Fiona immediately recognised were all sitting and standing nearby.
“We don’t have long, how are you?” said Zach, kneeling down in front of Abbey.
“Everything considered, I’m doing okay.”
“They haven’t started any weird experiments on you yet?” said Fiona. The elderly woman hugged the young boy to her.
Abbey looked at the young boy. “No need to worry Ant, it will just be a few tests, then we can all go home,” she looked at the elderly woman. “Maybe Ant might want to see the rest of the factory?” the lady nodded and walked off with the young boy. Abbey then turned to Zach and Fiona.
“They said they will start today, but we have no idea what kind of tests they are going to do.”
“Damn brown-coats the lot of them, I know my history, this is how it begins,” said the elderly man.
“I’m going to talk to Raj and find out what exactly they are planning to do, if anything don’t sound right, we will get you and Cal out of here, I promise,” said Zach leaning into Abbey so not to have to talk too loud.
“And then what? Where will we go? And there seems to be more attacks on the walls nearby? We have been hearing it for most of the night.” said Abbey.
“We can survive outside these walls if we need too,” replied Fiona.
“Where in the camp are we?” said Abbey.
“North eastern quadrant. There’s multiple layers of security. Two sets of security cards by the looks of it, and then there’s guards, and then an exterior fence about half a mile out,” replied Zach.
“We need to cause a fuss, if we all refuse to cooperate, what they going to do, shoot us all?” said the old man.
“This is Gerik,” said Abbey.
Zach smiled and shook Gerik’s hand.
“He might have a point,” said Cal.
One of a number of armed guards who was standing along the walls, started walking towards them.
Zach and Fiona both hugged Abbey and Cal respectively once more, this time for a little longer.
“The boy, he’s name is Anthony? Anthony Trow?”
Abbey went to say something then changed track as she realised the significances of his surname. “He’s related to the General?”
“Yes, he’s her grandson. Tell him, his grandmother is thinking of him, and he will be home soon. Abbey, get some rest, and I’ll see you soon,” said Zach walking away with Fiona. He then approached the soldier that was walking in their direction. “I want to see Doctor Joshi.” The soldier looked nonchalantly at Zach, and then clicked on his radio. After a few moments he got a reply. “Follow me.”
The soldier took them through a different corridor, which led into a large white room, filled with desks, people wearing lab coats and large stand alone cells partitioned in the middle by a clear wall.
Raj quickly walked up to them. “That will be all soldier.”
Fiona walked up to one of the cells. “So this is where you will be keeping them? In cages like animals?”
Raj looked anxiously at the scientists around him. “These chambers are designed to keep everyone safe, us, them and the E.L.F’s.”
“What! You’re putting them in with E.L.F’s?” Fiona’s raised voice caught the attention of those nearby.
Raj walked over to her. “Not in with them, there is a partition. The safety of the Cascaders is our highest concern.”
“So you’re calling them that now as well?” said Zach.
Raj sighed. “The soldier said there was something you wanted to talk to me about? I’m very busy, if you hadn’t noticed the camp is being attacked on a daily basis now, and we think it’s connected somehow to the Cascaders,” Raj looked away tired. “At least that’s the only reason we can think of.”
“Abbey said there will be experiments done, what kind?”
“We want to know the extent of their abilities, and if possible what connection they have to the E.L.F’s. If we can learn what that is, maybe we can subdue it somehow, so the effected can lead a normal life and maybe the creatures on the outside will stop attacking.”
“She’s already a normal person Raj, you just spent the last few days traveling with her! You know that!,” said Zach, not truly being honest about his own feelings.
“I’m sorry, I really do need to get back to the work, the soldier will see you out. Hand your cards back to him when you leave the building,” Raj disappeared back into the hive of activity around them.
Soon they were getting back into the Humvee. Fiona looked at Zach and smiled. “Can’t believe it worked, I really thought they would search us.”
CHAPTER 27
Elijah Drake turned over his final cards and pulled all the chips towards him.
A man in a bright yellow shirt stood up knocking his chair to the ground. “You’re a god damn cheat! There’s no way you can be that lucky.”
“It’s not luck son, I’m just good at cards.”
“Maybe you and me have a chat and we find out just how old you really are,” the other two men at the table stood up and started putting their jackets on. The noise in the smokey den slightly dipped but was still enough to eclipse the sound of the air raid sirens outside.
“Yeah we could do that, but then someone in this room around us would wait for you to leave, maybe in one of the areas where it’s really dark around here, and beat the living crap out of you.”
“Yeah? And why do they care what I do to you?”
“Because I’ve already paid them to do to someone whatever they might do to me. I’ve been winning at cards longer than you been taking a leak standing up. I always take the same precaution.”
The man looked around him unsure of what to do next.
“I tell you what, you be back here same time next Wednesday and I’ll give you a chance to win your money back, what you say?”
The man angrily put his jacket back on, grabbing his bottle of beer from the table. “You better be here old man,” he then left.
Elijah got up uneasily, put his coat on,
and scooped up his chips. He then walked slowly over to the bar, avoiding eye contact with those that were watching him. “I’ll take the usual May.”
A young woman wearing an obvious fake bright red wig, placed a number of canned goods, and bottled drinks into a small box and slid it to him.
Taking the box under one arm he left the chips on the counter and left the underground gambling establishment, walking into the winter night and the sirens and heavy gun fire from the gun emplacements above his head. He walked along the sidewalk of the new city he had grown to call home, watching the ground so not to fall over something in the dark around him. With his leg the way it was, falling might meant not getting up for a while. The few lights from buildings that he passed flickered as the generator at the dam struggled to provide enough electricity for homes and defensive purposes. As he walked into the growing shadows, he felt the presence of someone waiting ahead.
The man with the yellow shirt stepped forward. “You think I believed that bullshit about someone coming to get me?” he said the words mockingly, and with a swift movement, kicked Elijah square in the mid-drift knocking him to the floor and scattering the contents of the box into the road.
He tried to get up but the wind was gone from inside him, so he sat back down and watched the man who just kicked him busily picking the items up and putting them back inside the box.
“I’d rather have the chips, but fuck it, this shit will do,” the man then looked around and started walking away. When he reached the end of the street, he stopped and turned. “See you around, old man!” he then disappeared around the corner.
Elijah slowly got to his feet, just as the large man in a dark jacket walked past him, moving fast towards the end of the street.
“They never learn,” said Elijah under his breath.
Twenty minutes later he walked into his building, up the creaking stairs and into his small apartment. The light from the one street lamp in the area dissipated the gloom just enough as he walked into his modest kitchen and put the slightly scuffed box of canned goods and bottled drinks down on a small table.
