The First: EVO Uprising

by Kipjo Ewers

  “Mind filling me in,” Rogers got in between gasps. “What the hell, are you talking about?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me, Sergeant. You’re not smart enough to do that, especially with me.” She tightened her grip on his throat.

  Rogers was witnessing firsthand a sliver of the power the Draugr felt, and it was staggering. The old iron forged Marine, however, showed no fear and refused to back down despite his predicament.

  “No one’s playing dumb with you, you psycho,” Abe bared his own teeth fighting to breath. “And you can choke me till my head pops off. I still don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!”

  “You think because seven years have passed I won’t remember that?” Sophia pointed to Erica’s still functioning battle ravaged S.A.M armor. “And put two and two together that you’re working for them?”

  Erica wore a look as if EVO Zero was not addressing her. She contemplated opening her mouth, or leaving Rogers to hang, not wishing to have Dennison’s incurred wrath directed toward her.

  “Again you crazy bitch,” Rogers bit back. “I don’t have the slightest idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

  “Liar!” she roared. “You can throw whatever fancy new name you have on it, you’re still D.E.A.D, scum! And I will bury you like I did them!”

  “Sergeant Rogers is not a part of, nor does he have any prior knowledge of, the Disavowed Extermination Assault Division!” yelled Erica from her cockpit. “He also does not know anything about the Biological Assault Mechs you fought seven years ago. I do.”

  Everyone, including a wide-eyed Rogers, turned to Erica, whose stomach was now in a knot as all eyes locked on her.

  “We are not the D.E.A.D. I can and will tell you everything you want to know about them, Project Evolution, and Director Rosen to prove that,” she said.

  Sophia lowered Rogers back down to the ground, releasing him. He breathed in much needed air before hacking a spit as he glared at her. Erica’s confession did not dissipate the newly-formed tension that an axe could cut.

  “Excuse me!” Adrian yelled raising a hand. “Might I suggest we begin this much needed Q&A session later, and get that big ugly son of a bitch to lock-up before he finally wakes up and realizes he got knocked the F out by a chick?”

  Adrian’s crude, yet logical, statement forged a temporary truce between Sophia and Rogers. A dire matter at hand had to attended to first, before questions could be answered.

  CHAPTER 12

  Four hours after the battle that turned Times Square and other parts of Manhattan into a warzone came to an end, the Regulators stood in the central command of the Ranch with their guest being debriefed by Lady Tech about the first three permanent residents of the Purgatory prison facility.

  After the battle, the Draugr with the aid of Sophia was locked into gravity field restraints. For extra insurance Lady Tech attached every single ion body damper she had within the ship to keep him subdued during the flight home with the captured Ghoul and Nachzehrer.

  Rogers sent her by herself to process them into their proper cells.

  It was tactical as the team stayed behind along with Dennison to help search for the missing, assist the injured and dying, and collect the bodies of the dead.

  Dennison and Rogers each hardened by past experiences were use to the sight.

  The young Regulator team officially baptized in battle on that day were not. The aftermath horrors did not halt them from doing their duty, it just made it harder, especially when the age of the victims became younger and younger.

  Sophia remained off to the side leaning up against a vacant wall with her arms folded under her chest, while the rest of the team still in their gear that reeked of combat and blood stood together as Lady Tech updated them on what information she could gather from the three new inmates now confined in individuals cells in the Purgatory complex in order to hunt down the four that escaped. She began with the Draugr, now pacing in his new highly reinforced cell.

  “His name is Thomas Brennan, born March 19, 1973 in Providence, Massachusetts,” Erica checked her tablet. “No prior criminal record that we know of. Both parents currently deceased; he’s the eldest of two younger brothers. He’s had no place of residence or job since the age of twenty, which is the reason he’s been off the grid. The name Draugr comes from an old Norse mythology and stands for ‘one who walks after death,’ they’re said to be the walking dead possessing superhuman strength, capable of increasing their size at will, and carrying the unmistakable stench of decay. They exist to guard their treasure, wreak havoc on living beings, or torment those who had wronged them in life.”

  “So he’s officially bat shit crazy,” Blitz blurted out.

  “Clinically yes,” Erica answered. “He’s a text book sociopath in stereo, and one of the most powerful Titans I’ve ever seen. His skin and bones are denser than the hardest metals on the planet; carried by his muscle fibers that are just as dense and packed like steel coils, which also explains his freakish size of eight foot four inches. Add his extremely high regenerative capability all you need to do is paint him green. I had to get inventive with his cell, and in a hurry. It’s a twenty-by-twenty foot box with the walls twenty inches thick of pure dark metal coated with anti-friction film to prevent him from gripping and tearing at the walls. Micro cameras within the cell monitor his every move. I then dropped it into this tank of Zero-G gelatin. It’s similar to water only a bit thicker. If he attempts to charge the wall, the cell will just spin and float negating his momentum.”

  “What if he has to take a dump?” asked Hard-On.

  Rosann shot her brother a dirty look.

  “What?” he snapped defensively. “It’s an honest question!”

  “No worries,” said Erica. “The cell descends and docks with the port at the bottom when he has to use the facilities, and ascends docking with the port at the top when he has to shower. Air blowers and heat dry out the inside of the cell. They also detach automatically if he steps out of line. The cell also dry docks to the port to the right so he can get fresh clothes, food, and water via a small security lock box in the cell. The whole thing is powered by solar energy by day and our reactor by night. The cell also charges up every time it docks with one of the ports.”

  “What about our other residents?” Roger’s asked.

  “Our second fellow resident with the career killer tattoo on his face is Edmond Wallace a.k.a Ghoul,” Erica elucidated, “from Liverpool, England. Mr. Wallace is from Jamaican and Scottish descent and one of England’s most wanted with a rap sheet taller than me. Seven charges of sexual offenses, five charges of assault, four of the assault charges have a weapons offense tacked to them, and two charges for murder. Who wants to bet his activities tripled the second he gained his abilities.”

  “And what about… uh,” Oliver fumbled with his words.

  His reason for stumbling over his words was due to the imprisoned Nachzehrer sitting in the buff on the bed of her prison cell. She had torn apart the orange prison jumpsuit given to her to wear leaving it on the floor. Realizing that she had an audience she leaned back, and slowly began to spread her legs, putting on a show.

  Oliver lowered his head pretending not to look, while Adrian tilted his, unsure how he should feel about the situation until his disgusted sister popped him in the arm. Lady Tech sighed shaking her head as she shut off the video feed to her cell before her show turned from R to X-Rated.

  “Lurleen Magnilda Schlesinger a.k.a Nachzehrer the name for German vampire although it’s more associated to zombies,” Erica indicated.

  “So what part of Germany is her nasty ass from?” Rosann sneered.

  “Actually, she’s a United States Citizen.” Erica turned to her. “Born and raised in Chicago, and from a very prominent family of socialites. She’s the second youngest of four children. Her father is a well known exporter and importer of extremely rare diamonds and artwork.”

  “So she’s a Kardashian on steroids,” Adrian c
onfirmed.

  “More like a Hilton,” she corrected, “but instead of sex tapes this one decided to join her local Nazi skinhead Chapter, she’s wanted in connection to multiple hate crimes in the US and Europe, assault and battery, possession of drugs with the intent to sell, and four DUIs. She’s got several bench warrants in four different states. Some of these charges were dropped due to her daddy’s connections.”

  “Well he ain’t bailing her out of this,” Abe growled. “What about the other four that escaped?”

  “Revenant, Wendigo, Jiang Shi, and Anchimayen.” She threw their images on the screen. “Fredrick Stockholm a.k.a Revenant surprisingly has no criminal record until today.”

  “You’re joking, right?” Oliver asked in disbelief.

  “I wish I was,” she answered him. “He’s also a United States, but he lived majority of his time between England and South Africa. He graduated at the top of his class from the University of Cambridge majoring in Criminology and Biochemistry while minoring in art history.”

  “So he’s a brain,” interjected Abe.

  “A very big brain,” she nodded, “which is why he probably has not been caught until now.”

  “What was that weird power he was wielding?” Adrian asked.

  “Believe it or not,” she threw up video footage of him wielding the purple and black energy, “that really is dark matter energy he is producing. It appears he has the ability to absorb regular matter and convert it into dark matter. Readings show he can absorb the very air around him making his abilities finite. His dark matter constructs are also attributed to him controlling the energy on a molecular level. Not only is he extremely dangerous, he’s rare. There is no other EVO currently on the planet that has his abilities.”

  “What about Sinéad O’Connor dark?” Abe asked.

  Erica pulled up a missing children’s profile flooring everyone within the room except for Rogers and a silent Sophia listening from the corner she stood in.

  “Facial recognition matched her to Angela Waters,” Erica said, “reported missing in 2008 at the age of fourteen by her parents John and Alannah from Boston, Massachusetts. She was last seen waiting for her parents at the Boston Higashi School.”

  “She’s autistic?” Rosann shook her head.

  “Yes she is.” Erica’s visage revealed it to be a touchy subject with her. “Her entire body is similar to tuning fork or audio speaker allowing her to manipulate sound waves. I don’t believe she has the same ability as other energy manipulators to store it, which means if you destroy either the headset or her iPod Touch you can render her powerless. The problem is the sonic field she generates to protect herself is so powerful, even if I wanted to shut off her iPod remotely I can’t get a signal through to do it. Next we have Meiying Kwan, age twenty-five, from Hunan providence of China. She use to work at one of K-Marts’ many sweatshop factories.”

  “What turned her into a fire breathing Kabuki Dragon Lady?” asked Oliver.

  “Kabuki is Japanese not Chinese,” sternly corrected Sophia.

  Her tone of irritation forced everyone to turn her way.

  “Sorry,” swallowed an apologetic Oliver.

  “Not sure,” sighed Erica continuing her report.” Her name Jiang Shi, stands for a “hopping” vampire or zombie from Chinese legends and folklore. It’s depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in official garments from the Qing Dynasty, and it moves around by hopping, with its arms outstretched. It kills living creatures to absorb their qi, or “life force,” usually at night, while in the day resting in a coffin or hiding in dark places such as caves.”

  “Well she’s got her folklores all mixed up,” Adrian scoffed.

  “I believe their names were selected more so to fit the theme of their group,” Erica responded, “as for our mysterious little Jawa.”

  Erica brought up a still of Anchimayen whose entire face and body was cloaked in a long brown monk like robe.

  “I was unable to get any facial recognition concerning him,” she reported. “It could be because of the massive amount psionic energy emitting from him. What I can tell from mentally communicating with him, is that he is between five to six years old, which means he’s under the classification of a True EVO.”

  “Which means he’s extremely powerful for his age,” Abe clarified.

  “Extremely,” Erica nodded, “someone twisted this poor kid’s mind to the dark side. And I mean Pinhead dark. Inexperience is probably his only weakness. Maxine is currently searching missing and exploited children’s databases to find a match to his profile. As for the name Anchimayen, it’s the name of a mythical creature in Mapuche mythology. Anchimayens are described as little creatures that take the form of small children, and can transform into fireball flying spheres that emit bright light. They are the servants of a kalku, a type of Mapuche sorcerer, and are created using the corpses of children.”

  “We have to find these four,” Rogers folded his arms, “by any means necessary.”

  “Miss,” Maxine politely interrupted. “Secretary of Defense Robert Graves’ helicopter is hailing for permission to land.”

  Both Rogers and Erica looked at one another with mirrored looks of disgust.

  “Grant permission, and then head upstairs to escort them down,” commanded Erica.

  “Yes Miss,” Maxine obeyed.

  ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

  Eleven minutes later Graves stormed into the central command escorted by Maxine’s android form along with Mendes and Dr. Alexander in tow. He spied the room reading the expressions on everyone’s face. Erica and Abe’s faces both wanted to know what the hell he was doing there. The twins, along with Oliver’s faces, wanted to know why he walked in with an attitude. Sophia’s face dared him to say one word to her.

  “What the hell is she doing here?” He pointed in Sophia’s direction.

  “She’s a guest who saved our asses in Times Square.” Abe stepped forward. “Is there a problem?”

  “She is an escape fugitive on government property.” He took a step forward correcting Rogers.

  “Last I checked, the crime she was “accused of” happened in Texas and occurred when she was a human and alive.” Rogers took another step, standing down Graves. “Lady Tech, Ms. Dennison was reported dead at the time of her execution, correct?”

  “That is correct,” she smirked.

  “And how many times has Ms. Dennison been in the state of Texas since then?” he asked.

  “Since I’ve been tracking her movement,” she pretended to guess. “Ninety-one times, eighty of those times she visited the Gatesville prison for women.”

  “See,” Abe shrugged, “if the state of Texas ain’t looking to bring her in, then why should I break my neck doing it?”

  Graves glanced over at Sophia narrowing her eyes at him. He turned his attention to Rogers brandishing a toothy grin.

  “May I speak with you in private, Sergeant?” Graves whispered.

  “As long as the kid can come,” Rogers motioned. “I need her to translate big words for me.”

  ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

  Two minutes later by the platform that housed the Tornado, Abe stood once again with Erica at his side staring down Secretary Graves flanked by Dr. Alexander and Mendes.

  “You disappoint me, Sergeant.” Grave shook his head mirroring his words.

  “How so?” Rogers folded his arms.

  “I breathe life back into you by giving you this opportunity.” Graves glared at him. “You promised me you would have this team ready in six months…”

  “First of all, it’s been only three months,” Rogers cut him off.

  “Well, if your team wasn’t ready,” his voice elevated a bit to show his displeasure, “then why the hell were they in Times Square creating a PR nightmare?”

  “Because the only three other individuals who had the balls to do w
hat we did down there are dead,” Rogers fired back. “My team handled themselves exceptionally well considering that they only had three months training and were out gunned. And I am exceptionally gratefully for Ms. Dennison and our mystery golden boy for showing up to give us some backup. So excuse me if I don’t give a shit about PR, especially when they’re still counting bodies.”

  “Language,” Lady Tech interjected.

  “Sorry,” Abe responded with eyes still locked on Graves.

  “What is the status on the search for four EVOs also responsible for the destruction in New York?” Graves temporarily changed the subject.

  “Currently, they’re off the grid,” Lady Tech stepped in to answer. “I suspect using the same tactics they’ve used to remain hidden until now. However, I’m employing every form of tracking I can find or invent to hunt them down. We’ll find them eventually.”

  “Since you both decided to throw yourselves prematurely into this game,” Graves glanced at them both, “I expect them to be found, captured, or otherwise.”