There were five plastic chairs sitting on one side and one on the other – the interrogator’s chair.
Three glass water jugs sat in the center of the table. There was one other jug that contained a reddish-purple liquid, thick and pulpy, like something out of a juice bar. It didn’t look appetizing, even to Cody’s thirsty mind.
Five tall glasses had been placed next to the jugs. One glass sat on the interrogator’s side.
Cody noticed a lumpy mound of well-worn sleeping bags and pillows that had piled up in the corner, underneath a small rectangular window that offered a view of the black sky outside and little else.
They weren’t in the room for more than a minute before Mackenzie walked in.
Two stern looking women dressed in dark suits followed Mackenzie like shadows. Their black hair was tied back into long ponytails that fell down to their backs. Cody wondered if these fierce-eyed women were Mackenzie’s personal bodyguards. They carried rifles at their sides and walked stiff and clumsy, like mechanical dolls.
“Make yourselves comfortable,” Mackenzie said, gesturing towards the makeshift table in the center of the room. “Sit down, have a drink and refresh yourselves. I can arrange for some food if you’re hungry.”
Nobody moved or said anything.
Mackenzie sat down on the interrogator’s side. He ran a hand through his slicked back hair, then gestured once again for the others to sit down.
“Please,” he said. “We have a lot to talk about.”
It was Cody who made the first move. He put a hand on Rachel’s back and guided her towards the table. She dragged Bootsy along at her side.
Cody and Rachel sat down. Nick, Crazy Diamond and Richards came next. They pulled back the cheap plastic chairs and sat down.
Mackenzie waited patiently for everyone to settle.
“Have some water,” he said, spreading out the five glasses and pushing one in front of everyone. “That was quite the workout you had back there.”
He pointed to the jug of purple juice.
“You’re more than welcome to have some of this,” Mackenzie said.
“What the hell is that stuff?” Crazy Diamond said.
“This is a miracle in a jug,” Mackenzie said. “This juice fulfills almost all of our nutritional needs. Vitamins and minerals – anything that we might have been lacking is taken care of right here. The recipe was what you might call a gift, given to us when we were struggling to survive. It tastes pretty good – once you get used to it that is. This along with the food that we grow ourselves means we’ve never been healthier.”
He smiled, showing off his dazzling white teeth.
“But if that doesn’t appeal,” Mackenzie said. “I can get you coffee or tea.”
Mackenzie looked at Rachel and smiled. “What about a little chocolate?”
Rachel shook her head and looked at Bootsy.
“I’m sorry you had to see that today Rachel,” Mackenzie said, leaning forward in his seat. “By now you’ve seen more than a lifetime’s worth of horror.”
“Are we prisoners here?” Cody said. “Is this an office or a prison cell?”
“We’re getting to that,” Mackenzie said, with a hint of annoyance on his face. “This is your room. You’re going to be here for a while so try and make yourselves comfortable. You’ll want for nothing.”
“Except freedom,” Cody said.
Mackenzie clasped his hands together and laid them on the table. He looked at the five faces across from him one by one, as if waiting for someone to ask him something.
Cody reached for a jug of water. Screw it, he was thirsty. He poured a glass for Rachel and then everyone else. Finally he filled his own glass. Both Crazy Diamond and Richards drank the water down in one. Nick took a tentative sip, his eyes locked onto the jug with the purple juice.
“Tell me something Mackenzie,” Nick said, putting his glass on the table. “Now I ain’t got no love for Harry and his people after what they did to us – but man, that’s some cold shit you slung at the Resistance back there. Looks like you made a deal and then stabbed a lot of people in the back. Wouldn’t you say?”
Mackenzie nodded without hesitation.
“Yes I agree,” he said. “Harry and I have been fighting each other non-stop for the past five months. He was a noble man and he only tricked you because we captured his wife after a recent skirmish on the outskirts of the city. I’m not sure if he ever trusted me but he was desperate. So what choice did he have? He delivered you to the exact place we agreed upon. Unfortunately for them, once I had all the Resistance soldiers gathered in one place it was deemed too good an opportunity to miss. It wasn’t my decision. Anyway, to hell with the deal we made. It’s about winning.”
Nick threw his head back and laughed out loud. Cody felt the ground shake under his feet.
“Nothing changes,” Nick said. “Does it? Everybody still screws everyone else over. Not even the end of the world can get us on the same side. Man, I saw the Black Fever. I saw people running around this city, crazed out of their minds and doing sick twisted shit to each other. But at least they had an excuse – they’d been infected. Look at us now. Harry screwing us over, you screwing Harry over and I’m sure there’s somebody else waiting in line to screw you over when the time comes. Ain’t nobody infected with anything and the Black Fever is still here, it’s still inside us. It always was.”
Mackenzie clapped slowly.
“A wonderful speech Nick,” he said. “Did you just come up with that? Or were you rehearsing it in the back of the van on your way over here?”
“Kiss my ass,” Nick said, flipping Mackenzie the middle finger. He fell back in his seat and shook his head in disgust.
Richards leaned towards the table.
“You knew those Sliders were coming,” he said, fixing Mackenzie with a hard stare. “Back at the mall. You knew didn’t you? How?”
Mackenzie looked at Richards with a bored expression on his face.
“I have connections,” he said. “In high places.”
“Great answer,” Nick said. “You know I’m really glad you found us. I’m starting to like it here.”
“And what about that girl’s story?” Crazy Diamond said. “Dani – the little storyteller. Spaceships landing in San Antonio – what was the point of all that?”
Mackenzie shrugged.
“The Resistance were given two pieces of information to convey to you,” he said. “They were to pass on information about the Black Storm and to let you know that somebody was looking for Rachel. The rest of it was entirely of their own making. Blame Harry or the girl for an overactive imagination. Their job was to draw you in. To make you trust them. To make you feel that you couldn’t possibly protect Rachel without them. That way you wouldn’t hesitate when it was time to run alongside them. But what Harry told you about the Black Storm is true – it’s not the wrath of God or Mother Nature. It’s a piece of brilliant, ruthless technology. It’s a killing machine – like a thinking pesticide. Which makes us the bugs.”
“And who’s behind this technology?” Cody said.
“I don’t know where they come from,” Mackenzie said. “I don’t really know what they are either.”
“That’s helpful,” Cody said.
Mackenzie stared past them all for a moment. His gaze wandered to the back of the room.
“I used to read books about the possibility of extra dimensions in the universe,” he said. “Beyond those that we know. Parallel universes, do they exist? And if so, what lives at these higher levels of existence? If there are such realms out there, then perhaps anything is possible.”
“Thanks for clearing that up man,” Nick said, raising his glass of water in a mock toast. “Now I understand.”
Mackenzie reached over and poured himself half a glass of the pulpy juice. He took a sip and sighed. Meanwhile the two bodyguards stood behind Mackenzie, positioned on either side of his chair like statues. They were staring into empty space, di
stant and yet ready.
“Maybe if I tell you what happened on the plane,” Mackenzie said. “It’ll give you a better idea of what you’re dealing with.”
He looked at them with a stern gaze.
“Everything still feels a little bit strange doesn’t it?” Mackenzie said.
“The Black Widow brought us back,” Cody said. “We know that. And if Harry was telling the truth, it’s because of Rachel. She brought us back because you or whoever’s behind all of this wants Rachel. But why?”
“She pulled us out of the air like we were nothing,” Nick said. “Dragged us back to this shithole of a city.”
Mackenzie looked at Nick and shook his head.
“No she didn’t.”
The five survivors exchanged confused glances.
“What?” Nick said. “What are you talking about?”
Mackenzie leaned forward, like he was about to whisper.
“Your plane never took off,” he said.
Cody fell backwards in his seat. For a moment or two, the room swirled around like he was riding on a merry-go round.
“Are you crazy?” Nick said. “I’m a pilot for God’s sake. You think I don’t know what it feels like to lift a goddamn sixty-five ton airplane off the ground? We took off and she brought us back. We didn’t know why at the time – now we know it’s because of Rachel.”
“So you’re a time traveler?” Mackenzie said. “Does that sound right to you Nick? Anyone?”
“What happened?” Cody said.
“Your plane never took off,” Mackenzie said. “There was no magic or sorcery at work, only a form of technology light years ahead of our wildest dreams. The Black Widow was never on your plane.”
Cody shook his head. “No.”
“Six months passed,” Mackenzie said. “You were on the plane but you didn’t move. You didn’t fly anywhere. You were put in a form of stasis – something like a cryogenic sleep state. Every single person on that plane.”
“Bullshit,” Crazy Diamond said. “I remember seeing the Black Widow too – that was real. Take off sure as hell felt real.”
“Of course you remember take off,” Mackenzie said. “And you all remember the Black Widow too. Because that’s what you’re supposed to remember. To us, it sounds far-fetched. For them, it was like keeping hamsters in a cage. The fuselage became a hibernation chamber. Your body temperatures were reduced and you entered a deep resting state. You were provided with all the sustenance you needed – water, oxygen and whatever nourishment was required to maintain your bodies.”
Mackenzie pointed a finger to the jug with the purple juice. “It’s incredible what they can do. What they know.”
“Why make us dream about the Black Widow?” Crazy Diamond said.
“Because that was something that would make sense to you when you woke up,” Mackenzie said. “It was feasible in your minds that the Black Widow would interfere with your escape plans. If you hadn’t shared that dream you would have been badly disorientated upon waking up. You needed something to fill the gaps. Of course, you were left wondering why she hadn’t crashed the plane. Nothing’s perfect.”
Mackenzie smiled.
“You know it’s true don’t you Cody?” he said. “How else could your gunshot wound have healed like that?”
Cody put a hand to his wound.
“Tell me something,” he said, looking at Mackenzie. “Why did they keep us there like that? What’s this all about?”
Mackenzie pointed a finger at Rachel. “But you know that already,” he said.
Cody was almost up off his chair and across the table. A voice in his head told him to break the nearest glass off the table and go for Mackenzie’s jugular. How far would he get before the two bodyguards sprayed him with bullets?
He sat back in his seat, stiff and upright.
“What the hell do you want from us?” Cody said. “What is this obsession with Rachel?”
“Think about it,” Mackenzie said. “What Rachel did at the airport was incredible. She possesses something – an extraordinary power that she’s too young to fully understand. I don’t know what is – mind control, telekinesis, perhaps more. She stood up to the Black Widow. The Black Storm dropped out for at least a few seconds like somebody had pulled out the plug. They’re fascinated and curious about your daughter here Cody. It’s understandable that they want to find out what sort of power she possesses, especially if it can be used against them.”
Crazy Diamond looked at Cody.
“What’s he talking about?” she said.
Mackenzie took another sip of the purple juice. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and laughed.
“This little girl shooed the Black Widow away like a fly,” he said.
Rachel looked at Cody. Her face was scrunched up in confusion.
“Is he talking about me?”
Cody squeezed her hand gently and smiled.
“You can thank Rachel for your lives,” Mackenzie said. “The only reason that any of you are still alive is because you happened to be on that plane with her.”
Richards slammed a fist off the table. All the glasses rattled and Cody felt Rachel jump in her seat. He got a fright himself.
“Damn it!” Richards said. “You evil monster. My wife died a gruesome death at the airport today. If these things – whatever they are – wanted Rachel so bad why didn’t they just take her?”
Mackenzie nodded, like it was a good question.
“They were protecting her,” he said. “I’ll tell you something old man – San Antonio was like a war zone while the Black Fever raged. It was chaos and trust me, you don’t know what chaos really means until you’ve seen something like that up close. They didn’t want to risk Rachel’s life – she was too valuable to risk exposing to our human madness situation. The plane was a perfect chamber in which to set their subject aside for a while. They put the bug in a jar. Like I said, everyone else – including your wife – just happened to be there.”
Richards’ eyes bulged with rage. Cody thought the old man was on the brink of having a stroke.
“And they deemed us expendable,” Richards said “As soon as the rest of us stepped off that plane…”
Richards was edging up off his chair. The educated old gentleman was on the brink of turning into a wild man. The two bodyguards were staring at the old man with cold, focused eyes. Crazy Diamond placed an arm on Richards’s chest and pulled him back onto his seat. Richards sat down but he was visibly trembling, his manic eyes leering at the handsome man sitting across the table.
“Easy Richards,” Crazy Diamond said. “Don’t give them an excuse.”
Mackenzie turned his attention back to Cody.
“Perhaps now you have a better understanding of what sort of power you’re dealing with,” he said. “Don’t try to wrap your mind around it. You can’t.”
“Assholes,” Nick said. “We’re dealing with assholes. You included.”
Mackenzie wiped down a minor crease on the sleeve of his suit jacket.
“It’s a terrifying prospect at first,” he said. “But then it becomes liberating. It’s incredibly comforting to find out how small and powerless you really are. You must stop fighting it by pretending to be something grand.”
Richards’s face was burning red.
“Enough of this nonsense,” he yelled. “I don’t care how great your masters are or how pathetic you think we are Mackenzie. My wife was killed by those things – these…”
“Exterminators,” Mackenzie said. “That’s what I like to call them.”
“They killed her,” Richards said. “Your Exterminators killed my Marianne. They kept us alive only to butcher us as soon as we set foot off the plane.”
“They’re not interested in your wife old man,” Mackenzie said. “They never were. And to be frank, neither am I.”
“How dare you?” Richards said.
Cody looked at the old man. Richards was a ticking bomb waiting to go off.
“How do you know all this stuff?” Cody said to Mackenzie, trying to steer the conversation away from Richards’ wife.
“I know because they know,” Mackenzie said. “And there are other gifts too. They’re capable of great generosity to those who serve them.”
“You’re a monster,” Richards said. “You sold out your own people.”
A repulsive grin appeared on Mackenzie’s face. Cody got the feeling he was trying to push the old man’s buttons. So far, Richards was falling for it.
“Where are they?” Cody asked. “These Exterminators.”
“Everywhere,” Mackenzie said. “Nowhere.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Jesus.”
An uncomfortable silence crept across the room. It felt like forever before it was broken.
“Why you?” Crazy Diamond said. “Why are they working with you?”
Mackenzie shook his head. “I don’t have an answer for that,” he said. “I hated the Black Storm like everyone else when it came. It took everything that I ever loved. I despised them before I even knew they existed. But then one day, they spoke to me. I saw things from their perspective. That’s all it is – a matter of perspective. Hard for a species like ours, full of self-obsession, to understand.”
Mackenzie’s hands were still clasped on the table. His knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip.
Cody edged forward on his seat. He clung to Rachel’s hand.
“What exactly is going to happen here?” he said.
“I take Rachel to a specific location,” Mackenzie said.
“And your Exterminator buddies show up and take her?” Cody said.
“They’re not here,” Mackenzie said. “Not physically at least. They don’t have to be on this world to take care of the likes of us. But yes, a gate will be opened and Rachel will be taken through it. A simple transfer. They get what they want.”
Cody’s hands clenched into tight fists.
“After that,” Mackenzie said, fixing his eyes on Cody, “she’ll be the equivalent of a lab rat for the rest of her life. Whatever natural power she has will be taken from her and used for research purposes.”
Black Fever_A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller Page 10
