EVO Universe 1: The First (41 page)

Director Rosen went from being his calm, cool and collected self to a man who appeared to be having a stroke with pants full of fecal matter. At that, moment the emergency lights came on via the backup electrical generators, as the power to the fusion generator shut down entirely; but it was both clear and apparent….the damage was already done.

“We didn’t kill her…we made her stronger…” trembled the doctor.

“What do we do?” the Director shook the doctor one final time like an eight ball praying he’d give him the answer he wanted to hear.

The doctor looked up locking eyes with Director to give him the only solution they had left, “We…run.”

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

Back within the pod it was dead silence, the inside was still smoking from the raw power it was flooded with to kill its current resident. Sophia continued to lay lifeless still locked in her badly damaged restraints despite readings dictating otherwise, her body once again fully healed, including her pierced skull and brain. The Iridium syringes dissolved completely within her body, processed by her cells. She survived an event no normal human being should have had to endure.

Her face still appeared empty, the damage done irreparable despite her abilities. Until a faint blue light began to flicker in her eyes, and then grow.

The pod she was in exploded emitting a raw blue energy that expanded taking out whatever was underneath it, namely the partially powered reactor and everything above and around it obliterating half the base while shaking the mountain it was in. It also forced the residence of Klamath and other towns to come out of their homes and places of business to view what appeared to be the destructive force of a miniature nuke ripping through the side of the mountain.

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Outside the Black Bear diner, patrons and staff members walked out thunderstruck by the destructive force they just witnessed and the smoke now bellowing out of once volcanic mountain.

“That’s Mount McLoughlin …,” confirmed Bernie nervously.

Carolann chimed in, “They found Eric Dunbar up there like an hour ago after his accident.”

The two of them looked at each other realizing there was a possibility that the person of ridicule may actually have been screaming the truth about the mountaintop.

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Back at the base, the easy way to describe the situation was total unadulterated chaos to the seventh level of hell. Personnel that was still alive scrambled for their lives with the new objective…survival.

Back at the detention area, Mark pulled himself off the floor staggering about the place. Apparently, part of the cell was right under the blast area, “What the…Hampton! Hampton! You dead?!”

“No! What the hell happened?!” yelled Charles from his cell.

“A…it could be Dennison…B…it could be Dennison…either way all hell has broken lose…” Mark formulated.

Armitage examined his door, either by blessing or luck his door cracked open due to a malfunction or the force of the explosion.

He got a good grip, dug in and growled, as he pulled on the door opening it wide enough for him slide through; Hampton’s door was also cracked open which meant it was definitely a malfunction throughout the entire facility. He went to work pulling his door open along with Hampton helping from the other side finally getting him out as well.

“Thanks…so what’s the plan?” Charles huffed.

“Find Dennison’s daughter…and get the hell out of here…in that order…you feel up to it?” Mark asked.

“Lead the way,” motioned Charles.

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Upstairs at the control observation deck, the chaos continued, two technicians killed instantly from debris dropping from the ceiling. The remaining technicians continued with their duties rattling off damage report after damage report.

“Over forty percent of the base destroyed from the initial blast, seventy percent of the facility systems are down,” rattled off the lab technician.

“Casualties reported on almost every level!” a female lab technician confirmed.

“Where is the subject?!” demanded the Director.

“Don’t know sir…all surveillance systems are down…we’re literally blind!” relayed the first lab technician.

Ms. Barrett nervously beckoned to the Director, “Sir! General Rosen is on the line…”

The Director swallowed hard as he waved her over; she patched the call through her tablet where an extremely displeased General Matheson sat, “It is all over the news…what is going on over there?!”

Director Rosen tried to explain while calming him down, “Sir…we’ve run into a slight situation…”

“Is she dead?!” was the only answer the General wanted to know.

“Sir…,” the Director clearly lost for words was cut off by the General ranting the one and only question he cared about, “Is… she… dead?!”

He could not answer him, he could not lie and he could not tell the truth, because for the first time in his life he did not know what was happening. He was not in control, giving the General all the answer he needed.

“You have disappointed me greatly Director,” said General Matheson looking at him like a bug, “And forced me to take matters into my own hands in order to clean up…your mess. You have exactly twenty-five minutes to evacuate your location with all the materials and my granddaughter, and if I see you with one and not the other, you will wish you stayed where you were. Twenty…five…minutes…”

The transmission ended with the Director swallowing hard knowing what the General was referencing.

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In Washington, the General sat at his desk, pulled out a key from around his neck on a chain snapping it off, and unlocked one of the draws opening it revealing a digital safe. He then punched in a security code opening the safe and grabbed a phone from out of it dialing a number and waits.

A male voice on the other end responded first, “Sir…”

“This is General Bernard Matheson initiating Deadman Protocol,” he did not hesitate as he gave the command code, “Activation code Alpha Bravo Omega 61794385921783474969.”

The voice on the other end confirmed, “Voice imprint recognized…activation code has been accepted…orders will be carried out sir; time of executed order?”

“Twenty-Four minutes,” ordered the General.

“Yes sir,” said the voice on the other end.

General Matheson shut off the phone slowly placing it on the desk; he then turned looking out of the window clasping his hands together at the flag waving outside, “For the good of the country….”

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Back at the base Rosen turned to Ms. Barrett, with a look of clear fear on his face.

He quickly turned to one of the technicians still alive, “Can you confirm if the helipad was destroyed or is it still intact?”

“Can’t confirm sir, surveillance is still down,” reiterated the technician.

To which the Director ran over grabbing him, “Call the damn pilot and find out if he’s still alive and if the helicopter and pad is still intact!!”

“Sir…I’ve already done it…the pilot said the helipad was not badly damaged and the helicopter is ready for departure…” Ms. Barrett quickly confirmed for him.

The Director shoved the technician back in his seat and pointed to her, “Get Agent Slater, tell him to meet us there with the child.”

He quickly turned to Dr. Archifeld Zimmermann, “Coordinate the move of the canisters to the helipad as well…four minutes! Now!”

He then gave his final order to remaining technicians, “Sound the evacuation alarm!”

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As the alarm now blared, personnel and guards scrambled to evacuate, as a squad of guards ran together in formation; one straggled behind and became pray to Mark who bum rushed him slamming him up against a wall. It was a struggle as a stronger younger soldier in body armor overpowered Armitage going for his rifle; Charles Hampton growing a pair jumped on his back trying to execute a rear naked choke.

The guard used the back of his helmet-covered head to smack him in the nose busting it open and then broke free knocking him down with a spinning elbow. During the commotion, Mark managed to snag the knife from the soldier’s boot, and drive it underneath his chin as he turned back around to deal with him. The solider gagged choking on his own blood dropping into a heap. Armitage crouched over to Hampton nursing a busted nose.

“You alright man?” Mark asked grateful for the help.

“Yeah…I don’t get it,” he said blowing a bloody snot on the floor, “It worked on TV…”

“You didn’t keep your chin tucked in,” Mark grinned helping Hampton up.

Out of the corner of his eye, Charles saw two more soldiers coming around the corner, “Look out!”

Hampton jumped in the way taking a hail of gunfire, as Armitage ducked down grabbing the dead soldier’s rifle staying low and returned fire gunning down the two soldiers as the firepower from his rifle was the only thing capable of piercing their body armor for kill shots. He does a quick check to see if anyone else was coming, then grabbed a bloodied Hampton wheezing and coughing up blood propping him up against a nearby wall.

“You gotta go man…you gotta go…,” said Charles trying desperately to breath.

“Not without the man who saved my ass,” Mark tried to help him up.

Charles stopped him, “I done man…and don’t tell me I’m not…I’m a doctor...”

Charles cracked a nervous smile as Mark grabbed his hand which shook as he appeared to be going into shock, “Dr. Melissa Green…in Baltimore…she has…the samples and data…and if you see Sophia…do not…tell her…I died here…would break her heart…promise me…promise me…”

“I promise…” Mark gave his word.

“Go…get her little girl…and get the hell out of here…in that order…” Charles took three more deep breathes, before the light went out in him.

Mark closed his eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder putting his head against his, “Another kid gone over this bullshit…”

Mark picked up the rifle and detached the dead soldier’s holster and side arm quickly snapping it on. He then looked at the late Charles Hampton one final time before running off to finish his mission.

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At the helipad, which was still intact, Director Rosen power walked with Ms. Barrett trotting behind followed by four heavily armed Shock Troopers, two with mini-guns ready for anything. Agent Slater showed up with Sophia’s daughter carrying her. From time to time, the entire base violently shook with massive explosions going off. Director Rosen did not know if it was the aftermath of the first explosion, or if something was coming. Either way he was not waiting to find out. As he and his entourage neared the black Sikorsky private helicopter to hall ass back to the airport, he was bewildered to see a petrified Dr. Zimmermann standing there as if he had seen the Devil himself.

“Dr. Zimmermann! Is the cargo loaded? Where is the pilot and extra security?!” yelled the Director wondering why he was just standing there.

Out of nowhere, someone or something tossed the three bodies of the former guards followed by the pilot from the entrance of the helicopter like sacks of rice hitting the pavement. A cold chill went down the Director’s spine as #3 and #1 walked down the steps of the copter extremely different from when they first saw them; taller and much stronger, they were not wearing body armor and the skin tight bodysuits they usually wore under their armor fit extremely tight over their now powerful physiques. #3 appeared to have taken the boots from one of the dead guards since hers apparently no longer fit, and they were carrying none of their usual weapons.

“A slight change of plans Director,” smiled #3, “We’re taking the blood…and the child…”

“Ms. Barrett…” the Director turned to her with no more further stomach for insubordination.

Without hesitation, Ms. Barrett typed in the termination codes for the nanites within #3 and #1, but nothing happened.

She typed it in repeatedly, but the screen said the same thing. “NO NANITES DETECTED.”

Ms. Barrett turned to the Director Rosen with a horrified look on her face, as if she was about to wet herself.

Director quickly turned to his Shock Troopers in desperation as Agent Slater backed away putting down the child drawing his Glock 23 from his holster.

“Kill them!” the Director yelled.

Dr. Zimmermann hauled tail on his little legs cowering on the other side of the helicopter as the Shock Troopers with the mini-guns stepped forward and opened fire on #3 and #1 only to confirm what the Director already knew. The nanotech weaving in their bodysuit made them already somewhat bullet proof, but they still should have gone down to the blazing force of the mini-guns, especially with shots to the face. They stood there like metal pillars as the bullets created for piercing the densest of metals ricochet off them meaning they were now officially impervious to conventional firepower with or without the bodysuits.

Agent Slater did not even bother firing a shot as he moved further back with the child to avoid a ricochet. After bathing in their newfound power for half minute, #3 and #1 moved in for the kill, forcing the other two troopers to open fire.