Beyond Armageddon: Book 03 - Parallels

by Anthony DeCosmo

  Trevor observed the prisoners carrying boxes into the chamber below. They resembled a line of ants carrying the spoils of a raided picnic. He traced the line in the opposite direction, toward the point of origin and realized that the catwalk followed the same line from above.

  Trevor walked in that direction, approaching a ramp that ascended toward a large opening.

  ---

  Nina emerged onto one of the walkways circling the massive center of Building One Dash One. Below her ran row upon row of arcane vents and flaps releasing steam and exhaust, descending in tiered rings toward another walkway.

  The Major planned to climb down to that passageway and intercept Trevor somewhere near the slave pens. If he saw only the workers, she could explain that away. But, if he makes it to the core; if he sees…

  Spurred on, Nina threw her feet over the safety railing and jumped a few feet to one of those rings of vents. Her balance wobbled for a moment. A vent near her boots sprung open, released a stream of hot exhaust, and then snapped shut again.

  She moved on, jumping down to the next ring, then the next, and the next…

  ---

  Trevor walked up the ramp. Ahead of him stretched a wide open area with a domed roof giving him the initial impression of some gigantic, indoor sports stadium, this one filled with energy and a low rumble.

  The shadows of the cramped passage faded behind and he crossed a wide, flat walkway moving toward a safety railing overlooking the huge area. He did not see Major Forest behind and above him, jumping down from row to row.

  She saw him and accelerated her descent with an irrational hope that if she could reach him she could find a way to avert his eyes.

  Trevor walked forward…slowly…then reached out to grasp the rail.

  Nina jumped the final two rows and landed hard behind him, falling to a knee and steadying herself with hand to the floor.

  Too late.

  Trevor stood at the precipice and gazed into the heart of Thebes.

  He had been right all along; there were answers on this Earth.

  Nina slowly walked to his side. He sensed her presence but it made no difference.

  The entire complex served this centerpiece. In fact, in an almost literal sense, the city had grown from here.

  His eyes built the puzzle one piece at a time, first seeing a big yellow and orange arch fifty feet tall and crackling with energy very much like flashes of lightning.

  Heat lightning.

  He saw piston-like machinery at work in the middle of the thing, but the space in and around the arch was sheathed in a shimmering distortion.

  A pair of conveyor belts extended out from that distortion carrying crates, bags, and barrels of supplies that traveled across the void of space to arrive here, on this parallel Earth. Chaktaw prisoners retrieved those supplies, working under the whip of human—alien—guards.

  Around everything, a sound like a million buzzing bees punctuated by sharp cracks of electricity and a smell that mimicked burning circuitry.

  Trevor stared at the sight below him and the truth it brought. A series of mental locks and dams tried in vain to slow the flood of understanding.

  In the tone of a confused child he said, "That’s…that’s a gateway."

  She answered, "Yes."

  His head tilted. "Your gateway."

  "Yes."

  His hands trembled. He retreated a step from the railing but the gorgon would not release his eyes; would not allow him to look away.

  "This isn’t…this isn’t your Earth?"

  The flood smashed the dams and broke open the locks protecting his sanity. Everything fell to pieces. Shattered.

  "Here…here you…here you are invaders…"

  Neither of them saw the soldier—the friend of Jakob Snowe—running across a walkway on the far side of the chamber and taking aim with his rifle.

  Trevor’s hands rose to his temples as he staggered further away from the railing; away from the truth.

  This is my world now. I own it.

  "What…what have I done? Oh God forgive me, what have I become?"

  "Trevor…wait…listen to me…"

  She was not even there. She was a universe away.

  "What…what HAVE I BECOME?"

  He clutched his head and closed his eyes and hunched over as if slammed in the stomach by a hammer. Everything he had done here, everything in the name of yet another glorious cause. All of it…murder. Invasion. Conquest.

  Trevor Stone cursed himself, "WHAT HAVE I BECOME?"

  Gun shots flared off the railing like fireworks. Nina pulled her pistols and returned fire.

  "WHAT HAVE I BECOME? WHAT HAVE I DONE?"

  He screamed the words over and over again as loud as he could to drown out the laughter.

  The laughter of the universe.

  25. Insurrection

  What have I become?

  Trevor Stone had faced and survived all manner of nightmare creatures in the course of his life; in the course of his reign. At last Armageddon conjured a monster that sapped his will, boggled his mind, and pushed him to the brink of insanity. That monster was himself.

  What have I done?

  He switched off sensory input, tuning out the buzz of the galactic gateway that had brought Nina’s humans to this Earth. He shut out the cries of the tortured slaves forced to do the bidding of extraterrestrial masters. He ignored the sound of the Major shooting her pistols.

  Trevor retreated into his mind but instead of finding sanctuary, he found a prison built from the truth of what he had done on this parallel world.

  The gateway was the nucleus of Thebes. Thebes was the last city of mankind on this Earth. It had also been the first city.

  A distant shout tried to break through to him, "Trevor…we…have…to…go…"

  Clues he had ignored now laid plain in front of him, a mystery revealed that had been, in fact, poorly hidden. He only failed to see the truth because accepting the lies had been easy.

  Director Snowe and Major Forest knew there were no more human beings on this planet because the only humans on this world had come through the Gateway to Thebes.

  The words of a Committeeman: "We should halt outward bound cross-dimensional research until such time as additional assets are made available."

  Yes, outward bound. But inward bound continued in the form of supplies. On this world, no one had yet shutdown the invaders' gateways.

  At the estate on this Earth, the Geryons had issued a warning before attacking. When had an invader on Trevor's home Earth ever given a warning? But from one invader to another, such a courtesy might be extended to avoid 'destabilizing' the border between territories. Perhaps the Duass failed to counter attack from Erie Coast for the same reason.

  His mind cycled through hint after hint, sign after sign that all was not as it seemed. Nina's people used numbers and grid references the way an invading army would categorize and organize foreign territory. Nina’s explanation of ‘forgetting’ the old was so broad and foolish he should have seen through it but it was easier, more convenient, to accept without question.

  The architecture at the lake and the Chaktaw base resembled cliff dwellings, yet Thebes resembled a more traditional human city built on open plains, yet he asked no question.

  Why didn’t I ask more? Why did I accept it all?

  Cities and playgrounds and air ports and farms and all the other trappings of civilization overrun and replaced with bases and mining operations.

  An armada of invaders had come, including humanity, competing for territory like European settlers landing on the New World, but sharing the primary goal of beating down, defeating, subjugating the indigenous species.

  No wonder Nina had never heard of the estate. The Trevor Stone of this reality had never been at that estate. The estate had belonged to someone else.

  The Chaktaw?

  "Please, Trevor, snap out of it!"

  And he had replaced the Trevor Stone who had led the human invaders;
stepped into his shoes easily. Trevor saw Chaktaw bodies hanging from crucifixes.

  Reverend Johnny’s ghost spoke, "This world is having a strange effect on you, Trevor Stone. It is bringing out a side of you that you had previously kept in a cage. I remember when you were saddened by the idea that your life would be one of killing and destruction. Now it seems as if you are embracing your fate with welcoming arms."

  No, Reverend, Trevor thought. This world merely showed me who I really am.

  How else could he explain it? On one world, a warrior fighting to save his people, on another, a warrior conquering new territory. A difference in only purpose, not methods. Yes, this is why the Old Man chose Trevor Stone for his gifts, because of his black heart.

  Trevor became vaguely aware that he was moving, of a hand pulling him along. He blinked rapidly and slowly returned to the world around him. He felt his steps on the catwalk, heard the heavy breath of Major Nina Forest as she encouraged him along.

  "Down. You have to go down, Trevor. Down this ladder."

  He scanned the floor and saw a portal there, like an open manhole cover.

  "Hurry! Hurry, if we can duck down here, we can hide. I can get you out of this."

  Trevor did as suggested, still too groggy from realization to offer any protest. He descended into a dark, humid area that smelled of steam and rusting metal. Around him, walls lined with pipes and wires and small lights.

  She whispered urgently, "Hurry, Trevor. Please. Hide. We have to hide."

  A new sound reached his ears, the sound of heavy boots marching along—no, jogging along—with a metallic clank-clank.

  He finished his climb down and moved away from the ladder. Nina slid down and landed with a heavy thump next to him. She grabbed his arm again and pulled him into an even smaller and darker passage.

  After several seconds, a line of heavy boots marched overhead. When they did not stop, Nina let out a long sigh and slid to the floor, her back against the wall in a seated position.

  Trevor waited with his hands over his head. He fought to comprehend the enormity of the revelation, beyond his personal role.

  "Listen, Trevor I can explain everything. I can." The quiver in her voice suggested that might not be true.

  Nina stood and turned as if to lead him in a new direction, saying, "If we can make it back to the Operations Center, I know most of the soldiers will follow you instead of Snowe. If we can get out of here alive we can--"

  Trevor leapt to her and placed a firm finger over her lips.

  "Shhh…shhh."

  She stopped talking. He grabbed her shoulders and shoved her against the wall.

  "What brought you here? Who brought you here? Why are you here? Why are you invading this world?"

  She shook her head. "I don’t know. I’m just a soldier."

  "Don’t lie to me. Don’t lie anymore to me!"

  His hands shook but he found enough control to pull one of her silver pistols from its harness and shove the barrel to her nose. She tried to turn away but he grabbed her hair with his free hand and ordered, "Answer me."

  "I--we followed Trevor. We followed you…you brought us here…"

  She sobbed. Nina Forest sobbed. "Don’t…don’t kill me…please…"

  Trevor felt his entire body burn with anger. He gripped the pistol so tight it was a wonder the handle did not squish in his palm. He wanted to push the barrel straight through her head. He wanted to hurt her for lying to him, for being a conqueror for—

  He stopped. He stopped and shuddered at the feelings flowing through him. Feelings of rage and anger and the desire to do harm. To do harm to Nina Forest.

  What have I become?

  Trevor loosened his grip and pulled the barrel away, holding it aloft in the dark corridor and glaring at the weapon as if it were a rattlesnake in his grasp.

  Nina slumped to the floor caressing the red mark on her face.

  "My…my God…" he stumbled."Look…look at who I am. Look at what I am."

  He dropped the pistol. It hit the metal-grated floor below with a reverberating clang.

  He turned to her. She sobbed with her face in her hands. As he spoke, his body shook with fear, fear of himself.

  "You took me from my world to save you. That was the truth, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?"

  The Major wiped the sleeve of her battle suit across her nose to clean off some of the mess. As she did, she answered in a contrite, soft voice, "Yes."

  "But you didn’t tell me that you were--you are--invaders here."

  She could not look him in the eye. Instead, she faced the wall and answered, "No. Everyone knew we couldn’t do that."

  "Snowe? The Committee? All of Thebes?"

  "Snowe, The Committee, the top Generals, and most of the squad leaders in Third Legion. I told you, Third L had been Snowe's outfit. As things changed, we briefed more people. Just told them to be quiet, mainly."

  "You controlled access to me and you never wanted me thinking about supplies and industry or manufacturing or any of this stuff. You didn’t want me to see this place. You didn’t want me to see…" his voice grew louder, "you didn’t want me to see your gateway. Did you think you could hide it forever? Did you?"

  She answered only with a sniffle.

  He seethed, "You knew I'd find out sooner or later. Did you think I’d just accept it? You thought I’d just…" his voice trailed and he found the answer himself. "Christ, you thought you could make me like it here. All the things you—we—did. Oh sweet Lord. And I almost…I was becoming…I was becoming him."

  No, no, Trevor. You were finding the part of him inside of you. She couldn’t make you into a monster; no one can do that to a man. But she didn’t have to, did she? She just had to find the monster in you. Ask the people of New Winnabow. They know.

  Stone took a long look at the strong Major Forest curled in a ball against the floor wiping tears from her face. Tears he had scared from her. After all, monsters can be scary.

  Trevor turned and marched away.

  Cautiously, she raised her eyes and watched him move off in a wobbling gait, glancing down the side passages in search of an escape route. Nina stood and staggered behind him warily, like a storm chaser pursuing an erratic tornado.

  She pleaded, "If we can get to Ops we can convince the army to side with you."

  Trevor shot her a nasty glance and said, "I don’t care about victory for your people. I'm not an invader. You and everyone else in Thebes are conquerors. Why are you here?"

  She answered, "I will tell you everything I know but first, we have to get out of here."

  He left the dark passage for a wider, better lit corridor lined with lockers. Nina still followed but fidgeted, anxiously, like a rabbit leaving behind the safety of its hole for a dangerous, wide-open plain.

  "You belong here," he told her with a suppressed fury underlying his tone. "This is your city, Nina. You built this…this base. Stay here. Rot here. Die here. I don’t give a shit."

  He stopped at an intersection to get his bearings. One dark, dirty hallway led down a ramp. A second cleaner, brightly-lit passage went in the other direction. He chose the former. She followed a few steps behind, afraid to get too close.

  "Trevor, wait. I…I told you when you first came over I’d help you get home. I promised you. If you’ll let me, I’ll help you."

  Stone stopped, turned, and bound to her. She staggered backwards, stumbled, and actually fell straight on her ass like a child knocked over by a bully.

  "You're lying. You would say anything to keep me from leaving."

  His hands shook as he spoke. She turned her head and cringed, expecting a blow.

  "You showed me how bad I can be. Well I reject it. I reject you! I will not be your tyrant. I fight for my people. You are nothing to me."

  He stormed off two steps but stopped when she said, "We had help."

  Nina stood and walked to him, her steps as measured as if she traversed a mine field but lacking any confidence, any sense of con
trol. She had changed from manipulator to beggar.

  "We had help bringing you here. We couldn’t have done it ourselves. Snowe had contacts like my Trevor did. I’m not supposed to know, but I think I do."

  Trevor turned and looked her in the eyes. He saw defeat there, but a defeated enemy with one last card to play. He quickly understood that this was no longer about keeping him; it was about her personal survival.

  "And you’ll tell me," he said. "You’ll tell me everything if I take you with me. Is that it?"

  Her lips quivered. "Snowe is going to kill me, too. And without you—" she stopped as embarrassment flooded over her but she was in far too deep to let shame interfere. "I mean, without you, there’s nothing here for me. No one. I have no life in Thebes."

  From far away came the sound of soldiers searching the maze of corridors.

  "Nothing for you here? Snowe will kill you? I suppose he knows I won’t play along now that I know the truth."

  A new thought occurred to Stone. He cocked an eye and said, "Maybe he wanted me back for other reasons, like getting The Committee out of the way. He can make up a story and take over now, can’t he? All without being the bad guy."

  She nodded.

  Trevor said, "I’m going, Nina. Goodbye."

  Her voice cracked, "Please don’t leave me behind! I don’t want to be…I don’t want…"

  Trevor leaned in close to her. She averted her eyes.

  "Go on."

  Nina admitted, "I don’t want to be alone. Not again. I couldn’t stand that again. I’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t leave me alone."

  "You did everything I wanted, even things I didn't know I'd want. Was all that so you wouldn't be alone? Is that what it took for you to keep the other Trevor? I was right from the very beginning; you're nothing like the Nina I knew."

  She leaned against the wall and sighed. A pitiful sight but he cared only out of necessity.

  "Can you get us out of here? Get us away from Thebes?"

  "Snowe landed his Skipper on the roof. If we can get to it we can get away fast."

  When Trevor said nothing she took his silence as acceptance but before she took the lead he warned, "If you deceive me again, if you lie to me, if you try anything I don’t like, I’ll kill you. Do you understand? I don’t care who you look like or what we’ve done. Clear?"