Genesis (8 page)

The attic was filled with boxes and assorted
memorabilia from many years of world travels and farm living. Several dress
forms stood in one corner, and a small forest of plastic Christmas trees stood
in another. In the middle of the attic was a large brick chimney that started
in the basement and went up the center of the house and out the roof like a
backbone.

Mounted to the brick structure was a wire
bed frame, and attached to that, a car battery. One terminal was currently
disconnected, but it was clear the intention and reason for the device. Torture.

Wired to the bed frame was the man she had
seen chained to the fireplace grate earlier in the evening, a man she had hoped
to never see again, but here he was, unconscious, or possibly even dead. For a
moment, she allowed her emotions to get the best of her, and she rushed
forward, gently caressing William’s face.

“Oh, Billy. Look at you. What has he done?”

William opened his eyes slowly.

“Don’t call me Billy,” he mumbled gruffly.

“Oh Billy, not tonight,” Ilsa said softly
as she wiped some of the blood off of William’s face.

“Especially tonight.” William’s tone was
harsh. Cold. “Funny, after all these years, your voice hasn’t changed. I can
still hear it.” William mocked her. “‘Oh Billy, not tonight’.”

“Don’t Billy, please stop.”

William pushed on, still mocking her voice;
“‘Believe me, Billy. I love you.’”

“Stop it! Please! I don’t understand why
you can’t get over it.” Ilsa backed away from William.

“Get over it? How long were we together?” William
asked.

“We were never together. We were
undercover, on assignment. Fucking was just part of the job.” Ilsa’s tone took
on an impatient tone. Clearly William was fine if he was already bringing up
this shit.

“You said you loved me.” The quiver in
William’s lip was almost imperceptible, but Ilsa noticed, and almost felt sorry
for him again. Almost.

“Part of the job, Billy.”

“But you said it off duty, too,” William
quickly retorted.

Flustered, Ilsa took another step backward.
“It was a long time ago, Billy. I honestly don’t remember.”

“Well, I remember. I remember every single
time you told me that you loved me because it made my heart flutter. Every
single time. But you know what? I mostly remember the last time you said it. When
you left me in that hotel room to go get some smokes.”

“I was called away on assignment,” Ilsa
stated, all business now.

“I searched for you for months.” William
was on the verge of tears.

“The mission was need-to-know.”

“And you didn't think I needed to know?!”
William half cried, half yelled at Ilsa.

“You know the rules, Billy,” Ilsa quietly
replied.

“We never followed them before.”

“Things change, Billy.”

“That’s fine. You know what? That’s
perfectly fine.” Clearly, it was not fine. “Let me just ask you this…when you
fuck him, do you tell him that you love him, too?”

“Grow up, Billy, he’s a target. The Agency
assigned him to me.”

“You chose the method.”

“I most certainly did not choose the
method. You really think I wanted to spend the last two years literally pumping
him for information? Wind up pregnant in the process, ruining my chances at a
promotion? Fuck you, Billy!” Ilsa was angry now, and it showed in her tone.

“No thanks, I don’t fuck pregnant chicks.”

Instead of enraging her more, Ilsa almost
laughed at William’s charm. Fuck. Did she hate him or love him? Did it really
matter?

“I won’t be pregnant for long. It’s not
like I’m keeping the thing.” Ilsa lit a cigarette to underline the point.

“I was in this shithole bar trying to
decide the best approach to use on him, when he suddenly just walks up to me. At
first I was like, shit, he made me. But that’s impossible. We have no connection,
which is why the Agency chose me. Before I could say anything to him, the
son-of-a-bitch propositioned me. He thought I was a prostitute, so I just went
with it.”

“Well, playing a whore suits you.”

“Are you ever going to grow up, William?”

Ilsa pulled a compact out of her clutch and
reapplied her lipstick, pursing her lips in the mirror contemplatively.

“Are you going to help me get out of this?”
William eventually asked, clearly swallowing his pride in doing so.

“You need me to, Billy? Where’s your
backup? Don’t you Agency people always travel in pairs? That’s what I’ve
heard.” Ilsa laughed at her own joke, but William did not smile or answer her.

“You know what I think, William? I don’t
think you’re even here on official business. I think you’re here for his
treasure. Using the Agency for your own personal and financial gain. Typical. And
you have the nerve to question why I bailed on our relationship?” She took a
long draw on her cigarette. “That’s the only thing that can explain you being
here alone and me not knowing about it. I’m here on official business, Billy,
for Christ sake. Are you doing this just to fuck with me? Or are you trying to
get me killed? Fuck, you are such a child!”

William smiled.

“What the fuck are you smiling for?”

“You just admitted we were together.”

“You are fucking impossible,” Ilsa replied.

“Am I? Let me ask you this. Why haven’t you
called for backup yet?”

“Who says I haven’t?”

“Well, then let me out before they get
here. Please.” William swallowed his pride again.

“I will. But first, admit you are here for
the treasure.”

“I would, but that would be a lie, and I
promised myself I would never lie to you again. Ever. No matter what. I am not
here for the treasure.”

Ilsa knelt in front of him.

“Look at me when you say it.”

William looked directly into her eyes. “I
am not here for the treasure.”

Ilsa looked at him for a moment, then got back
on her feet.

“You are lying. I could always spot your
tell. You didn’t think I could, but you were wrong. You’re using all of this
chaos outside as an opportunity to make your move on Cooper’s treasure in the
confusion. Only, your luck holds true to form, and you stumble into the middle
of an ongoing domestic terrorist operation being run by your ex-girlfriend and
almost fuck the whole thing up. You are a real piece of work, Billy. A real
fucking American original. If you will excuse me, I have to get back to work.”

“Don’t think you fool me. I saw how you
were looking at him.” William tried to get in the last word, but Ilsa stopped,
halfway down the stairs and turned back to him.

“Maybe those looks weren’t for him.”

Ilsa continued down the stairs, closing the
attic door behind her, and then began quickly heading down the hallway,
stopping for a moment to look at herself in the hallway mirror and reapply another
coat of lipstick.

“Coop! Coop! Wait! Don’t go yet! I need to
tell you something!” Ilsa yelled out to Cooper, smiling at herself in the
mirror. One last kiss.

Ilsa made it almost to the bottom of the
steps before Cooper arrived fully dressed in a chemical suit, minus the hood, at
the bottom of the stairs.

“What is it? Is everything ok?” Cooper asked,
concern on his voice.

“It will be.” Ilsa grabbed Cooper by the
side of his head and kissed him, hard.

It tingled. But then again, kissing Ilsa
always made Cooper tingle.

No wait, it really tingled.

Fuck.

Poison.

The last thing Cooper saw was Ilsa smiling
as she took a wet-wipe from her purse and carefully wiped the poison lipstick
off her lips.

The fog was rolling in.

It occurred to him for just a moment that
this was definitely not part of his plan. Betrayed.

But then, he suspected that all along, didn’t
he?

His last thought was one of satisfaction,
knowing that Christopher would finish things in the barn.

Then nothing.

The lightning flashed, illuminating the exterior of
the barn momentarily before plunging it back into the darkness of the night. Inside,
Christopher counted the seconds in his head until he heard the thunder so he
could estimate the location of the storm.

Three seconds.

The storm was getting closer.

He looked up at Riley, who was struggling
to free himself to no avail. Upon arrival in the barn, Christopher had bound
Riley’s hands with rope, then using the block and tackle for the straw bales,
pulled Riley to a vertical position where he now hung suspended a few inches
off the ground. The rope was beginning to cut into Riley’s wrists, and the
small trickle of blood brought Christopher back into the moment. He began to
search Riley’s pockets, finding only a small amount of cash, a marijuana pipe,
some car keys, and a few gum wrappers.

Christopher examined the pipe for a brief
moment, then placed it carefully into his own pocket, discarding the cash, car
keys, and gum wrappers onto the dirt floor of the barn. Riley was scared, and
through his gag, it was easy to tell that he was begging to be let go.

Christopher slapped Riley hard, causing him
to hit his head against the wooden post he hung from.

“I am not afraid of you. I don’t see why
everyone else is.” Christopher said, looking directly into Riley’s eyes. Christopher
pressed his hand against Riley’s chest, feeling his heart beat. It was beating
fast, like an animal in a trap, and that, too, pleased Christopher.

The knock at the barn door shook dust from
the rafters and made Christopher jump just slightly.

It was time.

It was time to finish this.

Christopher ran to the barn door and pulled
on the latch, allowing the massive wooden door to swing open, and Che entered
the barn. Christopher closed the barn door behind him, then took a good look at
his old friend.

Che was still nude, but it was no longer
his own naked form that stood before Christopher. Che had skinned one of the
undead and was now wearing his skin as a makeshift suit. At first glance, it
was hard to tell where Che’s naked body ended and the other set of skin began,
but the closer he looked, it was easy to see how Che had constructed it, most
likely out of several different walkers.

Christopher thought it made him look bad
ass, and he immediately wanted one for himself. No matter what anyone said,
this end of the world shit was going to be a lot of fun, and his mind began to
drift to which of his friends back at school he thought he would ‘fit’ best.

Che stepped forward and gave Christopher a
warm embrace.

“Long time, my friend.”

“Long time indeed.”

Che walked with purpose over to Riley, who
was still struggling to free himself.

Che looked carefully at Riley, examining
his neck for a particular birthmark. Satisfied with what he saw, Che spit in
Riley’s face, then picked up a hammer and handed it to Christopher.

“Let’s get this done. We don’t have a lot
of time.

Pain.

Throbbing pain.

Burning sensation.

Smelling salts.

Cooper opened his eyes to find himself
staring into the face of Ilsa. He tries to raise his hands to his face, but found
that he couldn’t. Is the poison affecting his ability to move? It had to be
some sort of paralysis agent. Cooper’s head began to clear a bit more, and he
realized he was simply duct taped to the old wheelchair he kept in the foyer
closet.

“Et tu?” he managed to get out with small
smile.

Ilsa smiled right back at him.

“It was fun while it lasted.”

Cooper thought maybe she even meant it.

“Look,” William said, interrupting their
moment. “I’m not going to bullshit you. I don’t really give a fuck what you
know or don’t know about this whole end of the world thing. But I am going to
torture you anyway. Not to get tactical information because we obviously have
all the tactical information we need. No, old friend, quite simply, at this
point, it’s sort of like an eye-for-an-eye sort of thing. I’m sure you
understand. “

William picked up the roll of duct tape
from the table and tore off a large piece, which he then used to tape Cooper’s
mouth shut.

“Tell me, Cooper, have you ever seen
Reservoir
Dogs
?”

Cooper shook his head.

William put his boot up on Cooper’s lap and
proceeded to pull out a large, straight-edge razor.

“Well, that really sucks. Because this
would be a lot more fun for both of us if you knew the reference.”

William began to shuffle and dance back and
forth to imaginary music.

“Still nothing?”

Cooper shook his head again.

“Maybe this will help.” William lunged
forward, slashing the side of Cooper’s face and cutting him deep. Blood began to
flow, and Cooper let out a muffled scream of pain.

Ilsa climbed the stairs and gazed out the
window. She couldn’t watch this part.

William climbed onto Cooper’s lap and began
to hack away at his ear with the razor. He cut slowly so that Cooper has time
to feel each motion of the blade.

William held the ear up to his mouth and whispered,
“Can you hear me now?”

William looked directly at Cooper. “Did you
hear that?” He laughed callously and offered the ear to the still moaning
Cooper.

“Here, you want this for one of your
necklaces? No? Well then, maybe I’ll keep it for myself. I’ve always wanted a
necklace like yours.” William tossed the ear onto the floor and ripped the tape
off Cooper’s mouth.

“You got something to say now, bitch!”
William yells.

“Yes, I think I remember that film now. Didn’t
it win Sundance?”

Ilsa couldn’t help but let out a small
laugh.

William glared at her then turned his
attention back to Cooper.

“Well, I am glad you still have your sense
of humor. I’ll try not to cut into that too much. So Cooper, my friend here
thinks that I am here for your treasure. If you tell me where it is, I will
make this quicker for you.”

“I noticed you said quicker, not easier.” Cooper
was unafraid, and his calm voice reflected that.

It irritated William.

“Well, I could lie to you, but I don’t see
much sense in that anymore. Not at this point anyway. Besides…”

William was cut off by the crackle and
static of a handheld radio.

“Echo base, this is Rogue Two. The Chair is
against the wall. Repeat. The Chair is against the wall. Over.”

Even sitting duct-taped to the wheelchair,
the side of his head bleeding from the large wound on the side of his head
where his ear had once been, Cooper could not help but smile. The chair was
against the wall. There was nothing that could stop it now. Che and Christopher
could finish this on their own if they had to.

The smile on Cooper’s face infuriated
William.

“What is he talking about?!” William yelled,
getting right into Cooper’s face and pushing the straight edge into one of
Cooper’s nostrils, pressing with firm outward pressure, the blade easily
cutting through the soft cartilage of his nose.

Cooper winced in pain, but the smile never
disappeared.

“It’s his grandson. He arrived earlier with
another kid.” Ilsa offered, but William ignored her and remained focused on
Cooper.

“I’m going to ask you one more time, then I
am going to cut off your tongue and roll you out on the porch to be eaten by
those things. So, for the last time, Dr. Cooper, what is he talking about?”

Cooper’s grin grew even bigger. “Sorry,
Billy, but that information is need-to-know. And I’m afraid you just don’t have
the clearance for that yet.”

William glared at him for a moment, then
turned his attention back to Ilsa, who continued staring out the landing
window.

“What’s going on out there?”

“It looks like quite a few of those things
have congregated around the barn.”

William picked up the radio, turning it
over in his hand.

“That’s where whoever is on the other end
of this is then. This radio is nothing more than a kid’s toy. It has a very limited
range.”

“Well, then that settles it. There is no
way those two kids are getting out of that barn alive. There are already too
many of them for that.”

“Yeah, that’s sort of the point.” Cooper
says, reminding William that they have unresolved business.

“Enough of the games! Where is it?!”

“I doubt it’s the sort of treasure you are
expecting.”

“I’m not talking about your treasure and
you fucking know it.”

Cooper stared blankly up at him.

William leaned in and whispered in Cooper’s
ear. There was no need for Ilsa to hear what he was about to say.

Cooper’s face went pale with shock.

“Who are you?” Cooper managed to ask after
some time.

“Who I am is completely irrelevant. Isn’t
that what you said earlier? When you had me chained to your fireplace? You
remember, right before you took me to the attic and tortured me.”

“It appears I may have misspoken. There
could be some relevance I previously missed.”

Sarcastic bastard to the end, William
thought. He had to respect. Might as well tell him the truth. Like he had said
earlier, no sense lying at this point.

“My name is William. William Riley.”

“Son of Levi and Devon Williams?”

“The one and the same. How’s that for
relevance?”

“I should have seen it before. The slight
scar there on your lip. It’s obvious now that you mention it. You look a lot
older since I saw you last.”

“Look who’s talking, old man.”

“Wait a second,” Ilsa interrupted. “You two
know each other?”

“Well, until tonight, we had never really
met,” Cooper replied.

“That’s not entirely true. We met once
before, Dr. Cooper.”

“I think I would remember that. I have
waited a long time to meet you.”

“It was a long time ago, and you were
heavily medicated at the time.”

“Well, I don’t remember it. But I am glad
to finally have the opportunity to meet you.”

“Really, Dr. Cooper? Are you really glad to
meet me? And is this really how you wanted that meeting to go? After all of
those nights that you must have lain in bed awake, not able to sleep? Not able
to think? Lying there only able to plot your revenge. Only able to plot your
revenge against me for what I did to your family.”

“Just exactly how do the two of you know
each other?” Ilsa demanded, coming down the stairs. William turned to her, and
with a vicious voice replied, “Sorry honey, as people here are so fond of
saying, that information is on a need-to-know basis.”