EVO Universe 1: The First (44 page)

Mark held her daughter at a safe distance standing there watching imagination come to frightening reality. He made sure to turn the child’s head away so she doesn’t see what the mother she’d never met before was about to do.

This was usually the part where he as an agent of the Federal law would say, “If you do this than you’re no better than her,” or “think about your daughter.”

Mark did not believe in any of that shit, he believed that someone as sick and twisted as #3 with even a fraction of Sophia’s power should not live.

“Wait! Wait!” A disheveled Dr. Zimmermann with cracked glasses came running into the quad somehow also surviving the destruction of the base. He collapsed on his knees completely out of breath, “Help us! You half to help us! A nuke! He launched a nuke right at us!”

With another thought, Sophia dispersed the ball of unfathomable destructive force, which had grown to the size of a semi so that she could hear what the Doctor had to say.

“What the hell are you talking about? Who launched a nuke?!” Mark demanded to know.

“The General! “Deadman’s Protocol” fail safe,” the doctor panted, “a contingency plan to stop dangerous subjects such as Ms. Dennison!”

“To launch a goddamn nuke at us?!” Mark yelled in disbelief.

“Mark…my daughter…” Sophia warned.

“Sorry…” Mark said patting the silent little girl’s back as if she was his own.

“How long doctor?” she calmly asked.

“We had twenty-five minutes to leave Oregon, two minutes ago the missile was launched…I expect five minutes…once it reenters Earth’s atmosphere!” Dr. Zimmermann confirmed.

“Thank you doctor…one more thing…” she turned looking up at the sky.

“Yes?” he asked thinking she has a tasked for him.

The one more thing for the good Doctor was the last thing #1 saw; a huge flashing blue light before Sophia turned him to less than ash without even looking in his direction.

“That’s for the chamber…,” she snarled.

#3 started to cackle impressed, believing that Sophia and she were not so much different after all; Sophia stopped her laughter as she brought her foot down on her throat smashing her windpipe while keeping her pinned down.

“Well…guess that doesn’t leave us much time…” Sophia removed her foot from #3’s throat grabbing her by her hair ripping her to her feet.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Mark nervously asked knowing time was running down.

“Figure if I can get to it and destroy it while it’s in Earth’s thermosphere you won’t have to worry about fall out,” Sophia judged as if she had done something like this before.

“So why are you taking her with you?!” he motioned to #3.

“Because this is a one way trip for both of us…” Sophia said breathing a deep sigh.

“But you could just fly up there…blast it out of the sky or launch it back into space….” he started to advise her.

“And this would never end…” she debated back.

Mark continued his argument for her not to do this, “But no one can mess with you now! You’re the most powerful person…!”

“And this would never end!” she delivered her final argument, “As long as she and I are around we’re proof that man can become gods…and eventually monsters…”

“Speak for your fuckin…,” #3 groaned.

Sophia quickly gut checked her taking the air out of her once again as well as her ability to speak, “Nobody asked you jack…”

“So committing suicide is your only answer…” Mark asked throwing up his free hand in despair.

“It’s not suicide if you’re saving the world,” Sophia drew a smile on her face looking at him, “Besides…this is more of a sacrifice…only the three of us standing here alive know about my daughter…and soon there will only be one. One who I believe I can trust to make sure that no one ever knows about my daughter…my daughter…died here on this base…can you make that happen for me Mr. Armitage…can you grant the wish of a “condemned” woman…”

“You have my word…I’ll make it happen,” he nodded.

“One more thing,” she asked, “At Charles Hampton’s apartment…in his closet is an old gym bag with our college emblem…the Goodwill…”

“He said he forgives you…and I got you covered,” Mark let her know.

“The rest belongs to my daughter,” she finished what appeared to be her final will and testament.

“You have my word,” promised Mark before motioning to her daughter, “What should I tell her, when she asks about you?”

“Tell her…the best thing I ever got out of this life…was watching her come into this world,” she became misty eyed, her tears which now glowed ran down her face, “and I said thank you...for saving me…”

“She’s right here, don’t you want to…?” Mark gestured to holding her.

“If I do…I won’t be able to leave…besides hearing her heart beat from here is enough for me…goodbye Mark…,” she turned to #3 squeezing her by the throat while looking her in the eyes, “Remember when I said I’d watch you die screaming?”

With those words, Sophia leaped into the air with a gagging and screaming #3, with enough distance between her and the ground she channeled the energy to the tips of her feet creating the thrust she needed to gain flight again. Before she could take off rocketing, she turned back at the facility hovering while extending her left hand. It appeared as if the world itself shook as Sophia channeled a ball of pure blue energy the size of a medicine ball.

“Holy…” That was Mark’s cue to take the child and hop into the nearest unmanned vehicle, a still intact black high tech version of a Humvee, which luckily had the keys inside in the ignition. He drove like a bat out of hell blowing through what was left of the destroyed security gate and flooring it. If someone built the vehicle to do 230, he was trying to get three times the speed out of it.

Sophia deciding that Armitage and her daughter where at a safe enough distance unleashed god like furry on the facility obliterating everything in her path. Except for some small gas explosions, only a massive cloud of thick black smoke wafted for miles as far as Los Angeles along with an intense blue light. She scorched the facility from the face of the Earth while bringing down Mount McLoughlin in the process. Satisfied she destroyed the complex and everything contained within completely, Sophia rocketed away with #3.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark looked to the sky to see if he could get one more glimpse of her, but he never stopped driving.

“That’s my mommy,” said the silent little girl out of nowhere looking up at the sky with the Spider monkey in her lap.

Mark slowly turned looking at the little girl who he thought mute with fear.

She pointed up at the sky and said again, “That’s my mommy…flying up in the sky…”

Her little words unnerved Mark as he gripped the steering wheel tighter wiping his eyes that got blurry all of the sudden,” Yeah honey…that’s your mommy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

High above God’s blue sky Sophia flew almost well beyond the speed of sound as she searched for her target with a struggling #3 in the grip of her right hand trying to break free. Even through the great winds and thin air, she could hear her screaming and begging.

#3 struggled in vain to break free while trying to reason with her, “You don’t have to do this! You said it yourself! You’re a god! We’re gods now!! We can rule this planet! Make it how we want it!! You don’t have to do this!!!”

She ignored her tempting talks of godly rule as she stopped in midair hovering searching the skies until the rocket finally came into view. The son of a bitch had actually done it. Sophia cursed to herself, she had hoped to take it out in the Earth’s thermosphere, but it was now well within the mesosphere, and nearing the stratosphere with great speed.

“Goddammit!! You don’t have to do this!!” protested #3 still trying to break free from her grip.

Sophia clamped down on her throat to shut her up, while pulling her close to look her in the eyes, “No I don’t have to…I want to…”

With those final words, Sophia placed a vice grip hold on #3’s throat with both hands as she launched herself toward the speeding missile with a screaming #3.

It would be over in a few seconds but she took in the view of #3 with tears of rage in her eyes, struggling, and roaring to get free. They were now too high for her to hear what she was saying anymore, but she imagined she was cursing her and her ancestors to eternity.

Vengeance…Justice…whatever the name for it, Sophia had her fill as she closed her eyes. In her mind, she said one final prayer forgiving Robert for all that he had done, thanking him for the one good thing they brought into this world.

“I’m going home… I’m going home… I’m going home… I’m going home…,” she softly sang.

The world would come to a standstill, as the heavens would become red and blue with flames for all to see…

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

One year and seven months later…at the United States Disciplinary Barracks Leavenworth, Kansas, two correctional personnel walked side by side with former four-star General Bernard Matheson now in prison garb and shackles. Despite being charged for treason for willfully firing a nuclear warhead on his own country which entailed the death penalty on top of the public humiliation and dishonor, he held his head high as best he could still believing that his actions were in the best interest of his country.

In actuality, Matheson was more of a scapegoat, the incident in Oregon and what really happened, the D.E.A.D project as well as any and all records of project Evolution and Sophia would be buried as best as possible excluding the incident on Interstate 10 and memorable battle in Washington, DC seen by many. Despite Big Brother’s reach it was no match for freedom of speech, the vast power of the internet and the thousands that cellphones with video cameras on those days. New conspiracy theories would arise but the government remained silent on all matters except the deeds of the General, hoping that bringing him to justice for his actions would appease the masses…it did not.

The two correctional officers lead the General to the doors of an interview room, a stark stone room with just a long table and four chairs, sitting in one of the chairs on the opposite side of the table from him was Mark reading one of the two file folders he had while waiting for him.

The General actually smirked as he took a seat sitting across from him, Mark did not even bother look at him as he kept reading.

“Thanks boys,” motioned Mark, “If you don’t mind waiting outside…this won’t take a moment…”

The officers nodded departing from the room to stand guard outside leaving both the General and him in the room all by themselves.

Mark gave a sigh as he closed up the folders slapping it down on the table now looking at the General with a semi placid smile on his face, “Let me first say thank you very much for giving me an audience…dammit how rude of me…I should first introduce myself…”

“I know who you are Special Agent in Charge Armitage…” nodded the General.

“Yeah well it will be former Agent in two weeks…retiring due to health reasons…you know radiation and me don’t really mix…,” Mark explained looking him dead in the eyes.

“Sorry to hear that…” the General said with an unsympathetic tone.

“Yeah well,” Mark sighed, “I guess I have you to thank for that…”

“What can I do for you Special Agent?” the General asked wishing to get to the point.

“Off the record…was hoping you’d be kind enough to tie up some loose ends for me…,” Mark reopened the file he was looking at.

He took some of the pictures within, and tossed them out in front of the General to see; they were pictures of the General’s lifeless son taken from the crime scene over four years ago. The General spread the pictures out to get a better look at them.

“I just wanted to know what type of cold blooded, heartless; piece of shit son of a bitch orders the brutal execution of his son and then frames his wife for that murder. That on top of placing him in a super death squad,” Mark flat out asked.

General Matheson did not answer him as he just sifted through the pictures looking at his dead son.

“I guess it comes from the same deep dark f’ed up place that would make you go and watch the execution of your ex-daughter-in-law”, he threw out more photos revealing the General entering the Mountain View Unit, and taking a seat on the witness side of the lethal injection room.

“Must have been quite a shock to see the woman you hated so much, who you blamed for the ruination of your son’s military career, resurrect right before your eyes refusing to die. At least I now know how the late Director Rosen and his goon squad knew to show up that day…because you called him,” Mark finished his detective like summation staring into the General’s eyes trying to find what little soul he had left.

“Do you have children Special Agent?” asked the General leaning back in his chair.

“Yes...I do,” returned Mark.

“Then you must know…a parent’s love for a child…and what a parent would do for that child,” the General leaned forward looking him back in his eyes, “I have shouldered two burdens Special Agent…one for family and one for country. My family has served as soldiers for this great country since the Civil War…my son…
wanted
to be a solider. A proud Marine like I was…and that miserable bitch poisoned his mind instead of knowing her place…made him doubt himself and his duty to his country…my son was dead before he was injured in Iraq…and I as his father tried to breathe life back into him with the D.E.A.D project.”