Darkness Falls (Book 1): Rise of the Fallen (16 page)

Around three in the morning I noticed headlights a couple miles out heading down the main road to the airport. I zoomed the lenses in for a better look. A large truck with a flat bad was carrying a wooden crate about the size of a car. On the side of the crate were the words
Traxcilium Filinate
followed by classified underneath it. I snapped a picture so I wouldn’t have to attempt trying to spell the words later. Around four I went back to wake up Jessie. I pulled out a six inch digital picture frame from my bag that David had also provided me with. I dug around until I found the a couple unused batteries. After turning it on I popped in the SD card bring up the picture I had snapped before waking Jessie.

“What’s this?” Jessie rubbed her eyes reaching out for the picture frame.

“Just something I saw. Doubt it will have any meaning to you.”

Sitting up she took a closer look at the picture. Her eyes got really big.

“What is it?”

“Those words are the name given to biological chemicals that were to be used with a top secret military project.”

“You’ve seen the words before? Do you mind if I ask what you did for the military?”

“I was a Commander and part of an oversite committee for several very dangerous weapons among many various other duties I would rather not go into detail about.”

“What is the purpose of this top secret weapon exactly?”

“
Trax
for short is a manmade chemical which is basically harmless unless mixed with the right agents to make it active. Even when it is active it is basically useless without the weapon. The weapon was only theoretical last I heard. There were blue prints being drawn up by a scientist named Anthony Clayton who was in charge of the project. At some point he retired allegedly due to health problems. The project was shut down because no one else had the ingenuity or intelligence to understand the complexity enough to complete it other than Clayton. It’s possible they finally found someone else to complete the project, but I highly doubt it. I can only surmise that Clayton must have built a prototype! He may have even completely faked his illness. Or maybe he unknowingly finished it before seeing its potential for destruction deciding to not turn it over. It has to be what they are looking for. The weapon itself with the chemicals was supposed to be able to produce a massive subatomic pulse. It could be used for scientific and medical purposes on a molecular level beyond anything we could imagine. That was likely the reason Clayton initially created it in the first place. In the hands of the military however it was to be revamped on completion by another scientist by the name of Oscar Harmon. He saw a potential to make a large sum of money in showing the military how t use it to basically melt an individual’s brain and organs.  Of course with the output it could be used to wipe out an entire opposing army within a circumference of a large city. The only way to theoretically protect yourself is by an injection only available to the military and with the right protective gear designed to withstand subatomic pulses.”

There was a moment of silence as I absorbed everything she had just told me.

“So if they have acquired everything they need including the prototype then we are all screwed. Yes, it is a solution to the
Fallen
problem, but at the cost of every innocent life that is in the area.”

“Yes, but you’re not seeing the big picture. They will deem the civilians as an acceptable loss for a greater good for sure. It worries me even more if it works. Then they will slowly progress through the entire nation. It will take them quite a while true, unless they figure out how to magnify the output. Either way there will be no safe place. All survivors that may be out there in hiding will be wiped out to put an end to the
Fallen
.”

“Oh my god! Would they seriously consider doing something like that?”

“Depends on the person in charge to be honest. They just had the chemical delivered so we still have a small window of time. Even if they have the prototype it would take them between twelve and twenty four hours to have everything ready.”

“When you say a small window of time what do you mean? I have a feeling you don’t mean to get out of Dodge.”

“Actually that is exactly what I want you and the others to do. I still have my military uniform. I won’t have a problem getting inside. There is a slim chance I can sabotage the prototype. It has to be done or none of us will be safe wherever we go.”

“I hate that you are going to put yourself at risk, but I understand. I would take your place in a heartbeat if I knew there was a chance I could pull it off. I’ll watch from here to make sure you make it safely inside. If they shoot you outright or take you prisoner I swear I will kill them all.”

“That’s sweet Rye, but I would rather you leave the city. Perhaps continue to find survivors and build up a rebel group first,” She laughed jestingly.

I smiled planning to do exactly what she had proposed if things went wrong. There was no further need for reconnaissance. Jessie and I made love quietly knowing it could be the last moments we shared together. She got dressed in her military uniform while I stood around not wanting to let her go.

“You need to convince the others to leave as soon as possible. I will find you after I finish this. Any idea where you will take them?”

“No clue. I’ll leave a message behind before we get on the road. Stay safe and hurry back to us.”

“I’ll do my best. Take care of Amy.”

We embraced one more time before she took off towards the rental car building to commandeer transportation to drive to the base. I woke Kurt from his loud snoring. I explained a short version of what was going on. I watched through binoculars until I saw that Jessie had made it safely inside the airport. We grabbed our things hightailing it before the sun broke the shadows creeping in the early morning mist. As we made our way towards the cabins a fog began to roll in around us. It made it a little more difficult to see, but also obscured us from others. Safely back we woke everyone up gathering at headquarters. I explained what happened during our excursion briefly yet in a way they understood we had no choice other than to leave immediately. Dan and Jerod began looking over the maps to decide where we should attempt to go. Everyone else helped each other out packing the necessities. I politely asked April if she would mind helping Amy with all of our things until I was able to assist. Amy looked like she was about to break down in tears ever since I told everyone that she was staying behind to attempt to destroy the weapon.

After a few hours we were pretty much ready. Everything had been packed into a four vehicles including the R.V. I motioned for everyone to say a few final words before we began our journey.

“I know this is not the news any of us hoped to hear. Jessie is out there right now trying to make sure we are safe. She is trying to protect us from a great danger that could harm us even in the future regardless of where we go. She is saving the lives of every survivor that is out there. We must be grateful for the risk she is taking to ensure a future for everyone. They say that home is where the heart is. We have each other. We are all family. Our home is wherever we are together. Although we are leaving part of our hearts here, I have the highest hopes that Jess will be successful. She will return to us safely. She is more strong and determined than most of us. The rest of you should all have faith in her. After examining various locations we have decided that our destination is Salt Flat, Texas. There are lakes and mountains all around the area which should on some level provide a buffer from the
Fallen
. It should only take us a few hours to get there.”

There were plenty of sad faces with tears during my speech. Everyone loaded into the vehicles creating a small caravan on the way out of town around noon. Before giving my speech I left a note at my cabin near the bed stuffed in an envelope. I wrote ‘Love Rye and Amy’ on the front. We drove fully armed in case we should encounter any resistance trying to leave. Without Jessie the trip felt like the longest ever driven even though the destination wasn’t that far away.

-5-

Using a shirt wrapped around her fist, Jessie broke a window on the side of the rental car building. She unlatched the lock lifting the window to crawl inside. She barely regained her footing when a dragging noise caught her attention. Ducking into the shadows without making a sound she patiently waited as the dragging slowly made its way towards the broken window. A
Fallen
missing its legs below the knees pulled itself on the ground through the doorway of the room she had entered. Seeing that it was not much of a threat she exited the shadows pulling her survival knife from its sheath. She gave it a quick merciful end before stepping into the main lobby. No further problems occurred as she rifled through the collection of rental keys. Grabbing a set that belonged to a hard top Jeep parked close to the front of the building she unlocked the main door stepping outside. It started right up on the first turn of the key. Throwing it into drive she headed towards the airport.

The entrance to the airport a constructed entry gate was heavily guarded by four men with assault rifles. The entire facility had been recently fenced in to keep the rest of the world out.  Pulling up to the gate the men directed their guns in her direction. Motioning for her t shut off the engine. She complied calmly sitting behind the wheel.

“Who are you? What business do you have here? No one is logged to arrive at this time.”

“Commander Sparks. Whoever is in charge will want to see me. Now open the gates.”

Three of the men obviously not military talked back and forth trying to decide what to do with her. The fourth had immediately stood at attention when she stated she was a commander.

Saluting her while looking directly forward, “Sorry for the delay Ma’am. I have orders to confirm before allowing entry for anyone regardless of rank.”

‘Understood, please do so quickly as possible.”

He stepped away from the others which had overheard the conversation. They stood around gawking at her like they were hoping they could have pulled her from the Jeep to have a little fun. The officer returned shortly telling the other men to open the gate. He walked around to the passenger side letting himself in.

“I was told to escort you inside Ma’am.”

Looking at his name and rank on his uniform Jessie nodded her head.

“Corporal Timms, who are these other men? Mercs?”

“Yes Ma’am. We’ve been a bit understaffed of military personnel lately.”

Arriving at the front entrance Timms told Jessie that he was supposed to relocate her vehicle. Supposedly an individual by the name Robertson would meet her inside to direct her towards wherever she was heading. He stated that Robertson was in charge of the mercenaries on the base. Stepping inside the main doors a tall muscular built man stood tapping his foot on the ground. Jessie was not in the least surprised to find that all the power had been fully restored inside the building. She was not thrilled to see this less than eager individual toting an automatic weapon.

“Thanks for having me woken up. I don’t know who the hell you think you are. Don’t really care either. We’re heading to the security room. Just follow the signs. I’ll be right behind you. Feel free to try something stupid so I can just shoot you and go back to sleep.”

Smiling she walked to the security room with Robertson following a couple feet behind. At the door to security a military officer saluted before opening the door for them to step inside. A large chair behind a desk facing several working live monitor feeds around the airport concealed whoever was sitting in it.

“Name and rank. Who sent you?” A familiar voice came from the hidden man behind the chair.

“Commander Sparks of Omega Ops Intelligence. I was not sent. I have been on the out since arriving back in the states to a military base overrun by
Fallen
. I received intelligence that this facility was attempting to revitalize ‘Project Raven Storm’ of which I was part of the original oversight committee. I’m here to see if I can be of assistance.”

“That is very interesting commander. What intelligence did you receive and from where did it derive?”

The voice really sounded familiar, but Jessie couldn’t place it in her mind. It had been too long since having contact with any military prior to her mission outside of the U.S.

“My intel says you have been looking for the Project’s weapon. I believe Clayton called it Star Breeze. I overheard about the black unmarked chopper involved with a massive building fire by civilians who were leaving the city. I have heard other interesting stories as well from various civilians. Shortly after arriving in Ruidoso I was passed by a military cargo truck carrying a crate marked Traxcilium Filinate on the side which confirmed the project had been reinitiated.”

“What? Those idiot were supposed to deliver it silently. They could have thrown a tarp over it or used spray paint for Christ sake. Thank you for bringing that to my attention Jessie.”

“You seem to have me at an advantage. I thought your voice sounded familiar, but I wasn’t positive. Hearing you say my first name confirms that we have likely met before.”

“Well I suppose the cat is out of the bag now.”

The chair slowly turned around with a face Jessie was extremely familiar with. She immediately saluted him.