Crimson: The Second in the Trinity Series Novels

by Blade, CG

  “Three kilometers Petra or one point eight six miles, trade winds are due south southwest and the elevation is 3,966 feet. Downdraft and slope elevation to target is available in your riflescope HUD. It is 175.5 feet.”

  One of the officers whispered to another one lying next to Petra, “Is she thinking about what I think she is thinking about doing?”

  “Not sure.” another officer told him.

  “Well I’m sorry but she cannot make that shot, it’s impossible. The longest confirmed kill shot was—”

  “—2.4 kilometers or 1.45 miles in the year 2009 by Craig Harrison of the UK’s Household Calvary. It took three seconds to reach the target and he killed two Taliban insurgents,” Petra informed the officer as he became silent, “this shot will take 3.6 seconds to reach the target and curve south at an angle of forty-two degrees downward.” They were all silent as Petra held the McMillan Tac-338 in her hands resting the end of the barrel between two rocks. The scope was snug against her eye. She began communicating to Stephanie as they had done in the meeting room through the satellite network.

  Stephanie.

  Yes Petra.

  Would you like some assistance?

  What do you have in mind?

  Jump over the edge of the volcano.

  Excuse me?!

  Jump over the edge of the volcano.

  Why would I do that?

  The average temperature of liquid magma is 2,000 degrees. Your cobalt armor can withstand temperatures up to 2,700 degrees. If you fall, I will catch you. Trust me.

  You are serious aren’t you?

  Yes—fall over the edge and stop Dreama from moving I have got a rifle pointed at her head right now and a bullet with her name on it in the chamber.

  Okay Petra, I trust you—let’s do it.

  Petra followed Dreama’s movements through the scope as she took a huge swing at Stephanie. Keeping the scope’s bulls-eye trained on her, she was whipping her head around quickly. Dreama’s glowing golden irises and long forked tongue were angry and spiteful. Stephanie lost her balance and disappeared falling down into the crater.

  “Does she have Cobalt tattooed on her arm?” Petra asked stunned.

  “Yes Petra. Your fan base never ceases to amaze me.”

  Dreama spat down on Stephanie, crossed her arms over her chest, and then started dodging bullets from below moving her torso from side to side at the waist. She spoke something to Stephanie flipped her off, and began to—

  “Is she—?”

  “Yes Petra. It seems as though she is horny.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Petra said blinking rapidly after rolling her eyes. Dreama stood still cracking her neck and her fingers one-by-one. She began singing as she popped a red Skittle into her mouth using her long wet forked tongue. The hornets buzzed loudly as they hovered and surrounded her, protecting her, as a humble servant admiring a long lost forgotten God. Each one of them left small dripping patches of decimation in their airborne trails. Lava seeped from their stingers.

  Petra squeezed the trigger gently and the gun quickly recoiled. The officers covered their ears as the bullet left the gun with loud ‘POP’. The sound of the shot ricocheted off the caldera and the crater. Petra put her two forefingers together and whistled. Dreama turned her head towards the sound of the shot and the hornets immediately followed suit. Her long red forked tongue flicked rapidly. 3.6 seconds later the .338 Lapuna Magnum cobalt bullet struck the front of her copper filigree. Dreama fell over instantly. The hornets suddenly dropped sinking into the earth disappearing into the lava.

  ***

  “Go!” Petra yelled at the officers whose bodies were stiff from lying for so long. They began to slowly rise up and run to their vehicles. The F-35B had ‘disassembled’ itself and formed eight of their original forms. The cobalt drones without hesitation darted downwards at top speed and drilled into the magma, disappearing. Petra watched though her riflescope as seconds later they reemerged on fire, smoke trailing behind them. The drones had combined and shot out several feet into the air as a cobalt colored 1978 Trans Am Firebird with a flowing trail of dripping lava behind it complete with a ‘Screaming Chicken’ on the hood. The powerful 455 cubic inch 220 horsepower V8 engine roared loudly as the back tires spun in midair. Originally labeled an Eagle by Pontiac the screaming chicken emblem on the hood was on fire filling the windshield with flames. The distorted form in the passenger seat encased in a cocoon of molten lava was heading towards the direction of Crater Rim Drive. The car bounced several times in the air after landing as it hit the rocky surface surrounding the volcano. Petra watched as the Firebird headed south at top speed leaving scorched tire tracks in its wake. She lost sight of the flaming car as it disappeared over the horizon heading for the ocean.

  “You used a Pontiac Firebird with all of the weapons at our disposal?”

  “This was a classic American muscle car. I figured the similarities were there, you know, lava and firebird. You cannot beat good old-fashioned American manufacturing.”

  “It’s too bad China stole that technology from us.”

  “I have a feeling that’s going to change soon, very soon Ter.” Petra jumped up and started to slide down the massive rock decline keeping her eyes on Dreama the entire time. She was lifeless lying on the rim of the volcano. Petra stepped up the pace running and jumping over large rocks and depressions in the caldera at full steam. Head bent down and eyes on the target she sprinted with the grace of a gazelle towards the one thing that eluded her for so long. Lava dust and smoke trailed behind her as she finally reached Dreama. Squatting down next to her nude, still body she flipped her head over. The bullet piercing in the filigree was superficial at best. The .338 bullet entered just above the temple next to her eyebrow and exited beyond the side of her skull. Petra felt the wound with her finger and examined the liquid. It felt like blood. Was it real blood or—crimson gel mixed with something else? Putting two forefingers to her carotid artery, she felt for a pulse. It was faint and slow.

  “Officers!” Petra yelled as they approached her running from the east.

  “Yea.” one of them said breathlessly wheezing, finally catching up to her.

  “Call for an Ambulance-Carrier, now!”

  “Yes ma’am.” one of them said as he pulled out his Vidset trying to speak but was clearly out of breath. He was stumbling over rocks his out of shape legs burning from the exertion.

  “Get her to a hospital now. I have to go check on something. Is Hilo the closest hospital from here?”

  “Yes!”

  “Wow you did—make that shot.” One of them commented looking back up at the ridge almost two miles away.

  “Okay ma’am we’ll stay with her. I hope she doesn’t, you know, change or anything.”

  “Yea, me too, restrain her but don’t cuff her. Whatever you do don’t touch her wound; I’m not sure what’s in her blood.” The open hole in her filigree was oozing liquid. Her face and hair covered in blood and fragments of the bullet casing exposed a frothy mess.

  Due south where earth meets ocean, steam was rising. Plumes of white and grey funnels mixed, disappearing quickly in the wind over the horizon. Petra began trotting and eventually running full bore towards the steam jumping up and out of the bottom of the caldera. She was kicking up earth and stones as she hit Crater Rim Drive reaching Crater Rim trail south. Minutes later, she stopped as the basin that contained the volcanic outer layering dropped straight down into the ocean. The steam was rising in front of her as the blue waves turned into white ripples pounded into the rocks hundreds of feet below. Putting her two forefingers to her lips—

  Petra I can feel it.

  Stephanie?

  Yes.

  As if Neptune had thrust his mighty pitchfork up towards the sky from the darkest depths of the ocean, a thundering crashing of waves from a burst of energy caused the blue sea to separate. Petra watched as eight drones proudly pushed up through the ocean like a giant hand presenting her with a tr
easure from Neptune himself. They hovered in front of her dripping seawater onto the cliff rocks below. The drones formed a circle cradling Stephanie in the center. Protected and wrapped in layers of cooling volcanic lava the drones swaddled her chirping.

  “Go boys!” she yelled as they chirped back at her in agreement. The ring of drones tilted and sped off northeast carrying their precious cargo. Petra watched as they shot bright blue flames out of the exhaust of their casings hovering over the landscape until they disappeared out of sight.

  “Well Ter that gives new meaning to the song ‘Burning Ring of Fire.’”

  “I wonder if CG or Cad can program me to vomit at some point in this story.”

  Chapter 22

  SALVAGABLE

  Friday October 19th 4:45 PM HST

  Petra waved goodbye to Captain Pappas after he gave her a ride to the hospital. Before he took off, he handed her the Vidset from the mansion that Renins had sliced. Most of the data scrubbed clean, a possible location source of the transmissions was still available. Renins made sure his ‘contact info’ was available to Petra if she needed it in the future. She walked down the road leading to the hospital changing into her dress blues along the way. Ter commented on the proper way to deal with a stalker.

  Hilo Medical Center was a charming gorgeous hospital overlooking the ocean on Waianuenue Avenue. Surrounded by Rainbow Falls Park and Kaumana Springs Wilderness its elevated view and beautiful lush scenery was ‘postcard-like’. The building itself could have been mistaken for apartments or offices. A mile from Hilo Bay this two-story hospital was a state of the art facility fully equipped for treating all types of traumas, emergencies, and routine care.

  Petra walked up to the emergency wing doors past the ten-foot tan stone wall in front of the building with massive emblazoned gold letters ‘Hilo Medical Center’ anchored to it. The outside of the building manicured to perfection as towering palm trees swayed gently in the warm wind. A salty sea breeze riding off the ocean misted the entire area and it showed in the form of flowers and plants of all tropical varieties that welcomed the sun and moisture with open pedals. Standing in front of the sliding dark colored doors of the visitor’s entrance, she could not see the interior of the hospital. A large Vidscreen perched between the slit in the doors kept a watchful eye out for intruders or those who did not belong.

  “Please provide ID or your CACA, Community Affordable Care Act, card to the scanner.” The beautiful Hawaiian female said dressed in a black suit on the Vidscreen in front of Petra. The Vidscreen was the ‘lock’ for the doors. “Your face is not recognized by the HMC. Please provide identification.”

  “Hello my name is Captain…”

  “Please provide identification ‘Captain,’” it responded quickly, “or your CACA card immediately.”

  “Listen lady my name is Captain—what Ter—?”

  “Petra I do not believe she is real. I think this is a programmed responsive interactive algorithm.”

  “Please provide identification Captain What Ter.”

  “Lady my name is—not Captain What Ter!” Petra told the Vidscreen becoming visibly frustrated.

  “Please provide identification or your CACA card Not Captain What Ter.”

  “Oh screw this.” Petra pulled a Peacemaker from her hip, pulled back on the hammer, and blew a rather large hole through the middle of the Vidscreen. The doors slid open as the smoking Vidscreen retracted into the entrance of the building.

  “Thank—you—for using—HMC services Oh Screw This,” it said sluggishly as hot sparks fell down onto Petra’s cap and shoulders.

  The woman at a station sat uninterested as Petra walked past her into the lobby of the hospital. The antiseptic smell normally found in this environment contrasted with the scent of the ocean and warm baked goods. Petra swiftly walked down a large polished white tiled hallway until she spotted an overhead sign pointing the way to the ‘Emergency Room’. Nurses gathered at a station in the emergency room check-in desk were talking and sipping drinks as Petra walked up to them removing her cap.

  “Do you have a Dreama Nelson admitted here?” she asked them politely.

  “Let me check. Are you a relative Miss—?” One of the middle-aged nurses asked her without looking up at her. Focused on a Vidscreen, Petra could see from the reflection in her reading glasses that her priority was Solitaire.

  “No ma’am I am the one who shot her.”

  The nurse slowly picked her head up and stared at Petra. “Do I need to call the police ma’am?” she started sliding the sleeves up on her arms of her floral print scrubs.

  “If you like, Captain Pappas will vouch for me. He just dropped me off—ma’am.” Petra’s tone was curving slightly towards facetiousness. “I am Captain Petra Kayden Dace of the United States Army—ma’am.”

  “Yea and I am the Queen of England.”

  “Nice to meet you Charlotte,” Petra told her, “I would have never guessed you would be working here, in Hawaii. You look very young for your age.”

  “Smart ass.” the nurse said under breath as she swiped some files on her Vidset. She began talking to someone and then Petra heard a click on the sliding doors next to her. “You can go in Captain.”

  “Thank you—ma’am.” Petra turned and walked into the emergency room area. It was eerily quiet walking past divided colored walls instantly sealed off from each other with argon gas barriers and a swipe of a Vidset. Noticing two of Hawaii’s finest standing guard over one particular bay, Petra poked her head into the room. Dreama lay strapped to a hover gurney. Her flowing bright red hair and beautiful features masked by indiscretions and death. Petra nodded to the officers and examined the copper filigree and the scars around it. “Nice work doctor Frankenstein did here.” she thought. The cool blue lighting in the room suddenly turned bright white as a nurse walked in, shocked to see Petra hovering over Dreama’s still body.

  “Who are you and what is this thing they brought in here?” The nurse asked pulling the blanket off Dreama’s nude body staring at Petra. “What is that growth on her skin? What is that red—stuff?” Dreama’s entire system was in a state of flux. Her epidermis was changing forms rippling in front of their eyes. The plates running down her spine were pushing her chest up in the air every couple of minutes and her tounge would extend flicking out rapidly. Crimson phosporescent flakes would glide over her skin as if it were trying to surface but lacked the power to get the job done.

  “I am Captain Petra Kayden Dace and unfortuantely this thing is a friend of the family, nurse—?” Petra was staring at her holographic name badge. Her identification and hospital information was scrolling across the badge. Heather Freels-HMFIC-RN-LPN-AABA

  “Heather, Heather Freels.” Her demeanor was turning to shock and disgust. She stared in disbelief at the bloody, beaten, and abused body laid out in front of her on one of the emergency room hover-gurneys.

  “If you want to get someone else in here to help please do it Heather but she needs medical care ASAP.” Dreama’s head was tightly wrapped with an electronic monitor. IV lines were attached to her right hand.

  “No I can help—I think. What is she?” Heather seemed to settle down a little bit and the disbelief in her eyes had turned to one of the oath; the need to care for those who were suffering and in pain.

  “Well she is a thirty-one year old female. I’m not sure what she is now except the spawn of the devil.”

  Heather had a perplexed look on her face as she pulled a set of high risk disposable gloves out of a drawer and snapped them on her hands. She stood there wondering where to start. She began poking at Dreama’s fluctuating skin covering her head and body looking her over. “I don’t even know where to start to tell you the truth.” amber and golden juice was seeping out of her joints becoming hard as the ambient air waifted over it. Dreama was a mess. Her long beautiful auburn hair was matted with dried blood, red dirt and small pebbles. She brushed Dreama’s hair away from her face exposing the copper swirled filigree st
icking out from under the electronic bandage.

  “What the hell is that?”

  “I think it’s where they inserted the microchip.”

  “The what!”

  “It’s a long story. Is she still alive Heather? Is she salvageable?”

  “Salvageable? That’s a weird way to address this situation. Let me see…” Heather turned Dreama’s head and cleaned her face with alcohol and gauze pads she retrieved from the cabinet next to her. She was wiping and rubbing hard trying to clear a spot on her forehead. She was disposing of the dirty pads in a biohazard container on the wall and snatched a vital monitor from the cabinet. Placing the “U” shaped device between Dreama’s ears just under her hairline it began to sing a soft binary melody.

  “You’re that girl aren’t you, the one on the news? Cobalt?” Heather asked looking Petra up and down. Petra was standing over Dreama with her arms crossed over her chest. Her beautiful Dress Blue uniform was hugging her curves. Heather was checking Petra out like a cat in the jungle circling its prey. She was a sultry nurse decked to the hilt with beauty. She kept pulling her long brunette locks from her face and tucking them behind her ears. Petra noticed she had a large amount of piercings through every available crack and crevace on her right ear.

  “Yes I am. You can call me Petra.” Petra held her hand out and the two quickly shook. “Those hurt?” She asked pointing to Heather’s piercings.

  “Nah. I like pain.” Heather said smiling coyly.

  “Well, your going to love Dreama then. What’s the monitor reading?” Petra was calculating Dreama’s chances for survival in her HUD.

  “Let’s see what we’ve got…” Heather turned to look at a Vidscreen sitting on the counter next to her. The exploded views of the human anatomy and numbers were visible on the screen. It was running calculations and levels of chemicals, elements, and biological data were being analyzed by its processor.

  “Hmm, that’s strange. As far as I can tell from this—.”Heather spun around to face Petra and inadvertanly swiped the side of her right hand across a jagged piece of Dreama’s crimson armor that mometarily poked up through her skin. The result of this action was a slice in her hand that ripped a hole in her glove. “Ouch!” Instinctively by force of habit Heather stuck the wound in her mouth and began sucking on it.