Hive Invasion (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mildred also came to in a room similar to Ryan’s, but found herself unsecured to her bed. She sat up, wincing at the pain ricocheting inside her skull, and tried to piece together what had happened to her, and how she’d ended up here.

The last thing she remembered was helping to repel the attack on the encampment with J.B. and the others. One of the wagons had been under assault by a pair of the strange attackers, and J.B. had been fighting them while she’d been getting the family away. Then the flood had come. She’d heard a roaring sound that had quickly grown so loud she couldn’t hear anything else, and before she’d known it, she’d been thrown off her feet and had had the briefest sensation of falling into a churning mass of roiling, brown water. That was all she’d known until she woke up here.

She glanced down to find herself dressed in a thin hospital gown that made her shiver involuntarily. Covering her chest with her arms, she looked around at the bare walls and lack of furniture, wondering where exactly
here
was, and more important, was anyone else in here with her, and how was she going to escape? Mildred licked her dry lips. And before I go, can I find about a gallon of water to drink?

The door slid open, and a vaguely familiar-looking figure stepped inside. Beyond him, Mildred saw a group of people waiting in the hallway outside.

“Mildred Wyeth, I am Morgan. You may remember me from the Freedom Mall.”

“I...do.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Administrator Morgan? Where are we? What are you doing here?”

Morgan held up a hand. “If you will come with me, all of your questions will be answered.”

“I don’t suppose I could get into something a little less...drafty?” she asked.

The corner of Morgan’s mouth twitched into something that might have approached a smile. “Of course.” He walked to the door and spoke to one of the people outside. A few minutes later, a bundle of clothes was brought in, which Morgan handed over to her. “Apologies for the oversight.”

“No problem,” Mildred took the one-piece, sky-blue jumpsuit, noting the lack of pockets, and soft slippers for footwear. Underwear was a simple white-cotton bra and panties. “If you don’t mind...” She waved at the door.

Morgan stared blankly at her for a moment, then stiffened. “Of course.” He walked to what she thought was a blank, featureless wall and pushed on it, making an entire section swing out. “Sanitary facilities are in here. Just let me know when you’re ready to go.” He turned and left the room, the main door sliding closed behind him.

Mildred could have gotten dressed in front of him—modesty was a quickly discarded virtue in the Deathlands—but she had requested the privacy for two reasons. The first was to collect her thoughts. Seeing Morgan here so long after their last encounter on the East Coast was certainly odd; she wondered what had possessed him to travel all the way out here—or indeed, if he’d even had a choice in the matter.

The second reason was to test the parasites’—for she had no doubt that Morgan was being controlled by one—reaction to human social mores. The fact that he had reacted and agreed to her request meant that the slugs apparently didn’t take over a human body completely, or they at least had access to their hosts’ accumulated knowledge and memories. At the moment, she wasn’t sure if that would come in handy, but every scrap of knowledge she could get regarding these things was useful.

She zipped up the jumpsuit and slid her feet into the soft, fluffy slippers, which, she had to admit, felt pretty damn good after weeks of her feet being cooped up in heavy combat boots. She walked over to the bathroom and puzzled over the handleless sink for a few seconds until she figured out how to turn it on by waving her hand under the faucet. A cellophane-wrapped plastic cup, too flimsy to be a weapon, sat on the sink.

After filling her belly with water, she splashed some on her face and examined her plaited hair in the mirror. “Well, you’ve looked better, but you’ve also looked a damn sight worse, too.” She heaved a sigh. “Might as well see what the hell these folks want.”

She walked back out into the main room and rapped on the door, which slid open almost immediately. Mildred walked out into a corridor with rows of doors along both sides, and one at the end of the hallway. Morgan stood nearby, along with two people wearing lab coats—a male and a female, whom he introduced as Dr. Markus and Dr. Phieks, respectively—and a pair of armed sec guards. There was one more person there who made her eyes widen in surprise.

“Ryan? What the hell?” She shoved past the male doctor to check on her friend sitting stiffly in a wheelchair. Although his eye tracked her movement, he didn’t move a muscle at her approach. “What did you do to him?”

“Routine security precaution,” Dr. Phieks said.

“Ryan Cawdor has been observed to be quite dangerous, and therefore necessitated restraint,” Dr. Markus said. “He is unhurt, and the drug that is incapacitating him has no lasting neurological or physical effects. He will be fine.”

“And soon, he will be perfect,” Morgan intoned.

“Indeed.” The two scientists, or doctors, or whatever the hell they were, exchanged looks and smiles, making Mildred’s blood run cold.

She bent over to check Ryan, feeling his pulse and thumbing back his eyelid to check for other drug evidence. “How you feeling?” she whispered. “Blink once for good, twice for bad.”

“...een...etterrr...” The garbled words leaked from his frozen mouth, and it took her a moment to translate them.
Been better.

“Yeah, I bet you have. Just sit tight—” she winced at the completely useless advice “—and I’ll figure out a way to get us out of here.”

“Liiike...have...choiccce...” Ryan replied.

“That’s, uh—that’s the spirit.” Mildred straightened and turned to Morgan and the two doctors. “He seems to be all right, although I’d like to have him monitored for a potential adverse reaction to the drug.”

Morgan nodded. “That can be arranged. Now, if you’ll come with us, we need to introduce you to the Mind.” He gestured at Ryan’s wheelchair. “If you would like, you can push Ryan along as we go.”

“Sure.” Mildred grabbed the handles and began walking beside Morgan as they headed down the silent hallway, their every step flanked by the pair of sec men. “I’m probably going to regret asking this, but what is the Mind?”

A beatific smile appeared on Morgan’s face. “The Mind is all, and we are all one with the Mind. It has instituted order and harmony in our compound, and enabled us to unlock our full potential, to reach for higher consciousness and continue our research.”

“And what, pray tell, might that be?”

Whatever answer Morgan would have given was forestalled by Markus. “Subject does not have clearance for briefing on our work.”

Morgan nodded. “Of course not—not yet, at least.”

“Okay. Then perhaps you can tell me how you came to be a part of this...operation,” Mildred requested.

Morgan looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. “It is a short story. After leaving the Freedom Mall, I wandered the area around it for several weeks, but found nothing suited to my abilities. I joined a caravan heading west, much like the one you and your people are with. We had decided to travel through the forest to the north, to avoid the plains. That did not work out so well. The caravan was attacked, and we were scattered. I survived as best I could, but the indigenous creatures forced me to head out onto the plains here. I was near death when a group from this facility found me and brought me here. They introduced me to the Mind, which I must admit, I was resistant to at first—” Mildred again noted the knowing smiles that appeared on the faces of the two doctors “—but once joined, I converted wholeheartedly, and am now reaping the benefits of being one with it. It truly is amazing, as you’ll see soon enough.”

“I’m sure it is.” His description of the Mind and what it was doing with these people made Mildred’s stomach churn, but she kept her expression calm. “What are you allowed to tell me about this place?”

“There’s not much to tell,” Morgan said. “As we had explained to Ryan, this is one of a series of Cold War–era missile silos that were deactivated in the 1970s and 1980s. Officially, many of them were allowed to fill with water, or were even sold to private owners who converted them into bomb shelters or living spaces.”

“Many of the more concealed ones were retained by the United States government,” Markus continued, “and appropriated by Overproject Whisper for various research projects such as ours.”

“They were refurbished to suit a particular project’s needs, with ample supplies for staff and subjects,” Phieks said. “When skydark occurred, it was only natural for our ancestors to remain in our location and continue our research in the hopes of assisting with the rebuilding of the nation. We have carried on their mission ever since.”

“Yeah...how’s that going, by the way?” Mildred asked.

An odd, puzzled look crossed both doctors’ faces, as if they weren’t sure whether Mildred was being sarcastic or serious.

Finally, Markus answered. “Slowly, but progress is being made every day.”

They came to a T intersection with several more people, each dressed in a jumpsuit, lab coat or occasionally both, walking past. Although the hallway was fairly narrow, no one collided with anyone else, or even came close to doing so. Every movement was precisely choreographed for maximum efficiency—even people who were reviewing paperwork or engaged in conversation avoided bumping into others. It was uncanny, and more than a bit frightening.

Across the hall was an elevator. Morgan stepped over and slid a key card he removed from a pocket through a slot next to the double doors. A few seconds later, they opened, and everyone entered.

He pushed a button, and the elevator began moving. Mildred thought they were going down, but she couldn’t be quite sure; the movement was smooth enough that it was hard to tell. She racked her brains to try to remember everything she knew about the old ICBM silos, which, admittedly, wasn’t very much. And what she could remember had no doubt been rendered obsolete by whatever had been done to the place after it was taken over.

About forty-five seconds later, the doors slid open again. Morgan and the doctors stepped out, but Mildred hesitated. Something didn’t feel right here.

Morgan stepped back to the entrance and extended his hand. “You had asked about our purpose, and you have arrived at it. You may as well come out and receive the answers you’re looking for.”

“Yeah...” Mildred whispered, suddenly not at all sure she wanted to see what was in the next room. While she had no illusions about possessing any extrasensory ability—certainly nothing like Krysty’s powers—even Mildred was aware that someone—no, some
thing—
very powerful was in the next room. And that it was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

You’ve faced all kinds of crazy, freaky muties in this world. You can face one more. Taking a deep breath, she muttered, “Here we go, Ryan,” as she pushed him out of the elevator and into the room.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The very first thing she noticed was the darkness; the room was lit by only a few small lights, leaving the rest of the space in shadow. It was warm in there, uncomfortably so, and Mildred felt sweat begin to form on her neck and arms. The air smelled strange, almost indefinable. It was peaty, or earthy, and yet she scented the distinct odor of something animal—something alive—in here, as well.

The chamber she found herself in was round, with dull metal walls that extended roughly twenty feet up to the grated ceiling. She felt warm air wafting across the top of her head, and looked up to see several fans on the other side of the ceiling blowing air into the room. Looking back at the center, she saw something there—some kind of mass—but couldn’t make out any more detail. She took a step forward, and that was when the voice spoke.

“COME FORWARD.”

The words hit her brain like a hammer, staggering Mildred. It was a cacophony of a hundred—no, a
thousand
voices...young, old, male, female...all blended into one singular tone that shouted directly
into
her mind.

Mildred recoiled, not wanting to go any closer to whatever had just done that. She heard the voice again.

“STEP FORWARD, OR YOU WILL BE...COMPELLED.”

The words raked across her brain like a psychic assault, rendering it nearly impossible to think, the voice drowning out any semblance of coherent reasoning. Hoping it would stop if she obeyed, Mildred stumbled forward, approaching close enough to see what took up the entire center of the room.

A large container had been built here. It was partially filled with some kind of gelatinous, shimmering liquid, and rising out of it was something that she could classify only as a gigantic, gray-green, glistening-wet brain.

Ever since being woken from cryosleep, Mildred had seen a lot as she had traveled with the group through these blasted wastelands. She had seen all kinds of warped mutations and transformations of people and animals, from half human, half machine cyborgs to new, hideous creatures that defied rational explanation. Her life had been put in danger more than once. As horrifying as all of that had been, at this moment, seeing this—thing—pulsing with malevolent intelligence, and knowing that it was the driving force behind all of these people...

For a few moments, Mildred was on the edge of losing it right then and there. The thoughts emanating from this creature were so alien—and yet, with an unmistakable mix of human emotion as well—that it was almost too much to bear. There was a peculiar agelessness to its voice, and yet the hundreds of accompanying voices lent it the frenetic impatience of humanity, too. Dear God, what has happened here? she wondered.

The mass of pulsating matter didn’t particularly resemble a human brain, or any other kind she knew of, for that matter. At least six feet high and twice that in diameter, it was lumpy and irregularly shaped, with folds and lobes extending in every direction. Several nozzles were arranged around the tank, and as she watched, they sprayed a fine mist over the creature’s mottled, translucent skin. Mildred surmised it was some kind of nutrient liquid it lived in.

Unable to look away in spite of herself, Mildred saw that much of it was covered in what appeared to be moss or lichen, which made her frown. Her scientific curiosity reasserted itself, and she wondered what the thing was.

“YOU INQUIRE AS TO WHAT I AM, MILDRED WYETH.”

The statement rocked her again like a thunderclap going off right next to her, but Mildred found she recovered from this one a bit more easily. “Yes,” she replied.

“THERE IS NO NEED TO SPEAK YOUR WORDS. SIMPLY THINK WHATEVER QUERIES YOU MAY HAVE, AND I WILL KNOW THEM.”

“O—” Mildred clamped her mouth shut, not wanting to offend the thing. Who knew what it might be able to do to her mind if it channeled that terrible chorus into a weapon?

“Okay. What are you?”
she thought.

“ALTHOUGH I DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY HOW LONG I HAVE...EXISTED, MY PEOPLE SAY THAT I AM APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS OLD. FOR ME, I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN, AS LONG AS THERE HAS BEEN A...WORLD AROUND ME. FOR A LONG TIME, I DWELLED IN DARKNESS, UNTIL THE ONE APPEARED TO ME, AND WAS ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME DIRECTLY. HE EVOKED SOMETHING THAT I HAD NEVER...FELT BEFORE...A KINSHIP WITH ANOTHER LIVING ORGANISM. WITH HIM TO HELP ME, I WAS ABLE TO EVOLVE INTO A FORM SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU NOW. AS THIS HAPPENED, I CREATED MY CHILDREN AND SENT THEM FORTH TO BRING OTHERS SIMILAR TO THE ONE TO ME, TO GROW AND NOURISH ME, THAT WE MAY ALL EXIST TOGETHER. EVENTUALLY I WAS ABLE TO CREATE ENOUGH CHILDREN THAT THEY COULD BRING ME TO THIS PLACE, WHERE I HAVE EXISTED EVER SINCE.”

The speech was long and arduous for Mildred to follow, mainly because behind the brain-thing’s near deafening mental chorus, she also began to make out other, quieter voices, many of which were saying something else entirely, at odds with the main chorus. Trying not to arouse the main consciousness’s suspicion, she did her best to focus on these other, dissonant voices.

“—the organism is composed of both plant and animal matter, a unique hybrid mutation—”

“—its powers are unparalleled. Indeed, we are looking at a brand-new form of life here—”

“—not allow ourselves or our mission to be subverted—”

“—it is too late for us. Save yourself—”

This last one made her start, which engendered a similar reaction from the brain-creature; she actually saw one of its lobes tremble.

“YOU SEEM...APPREHENSIVE. WHAT IS TROUBLING YOU?”

Mildred knew her very life depended on telling the creature in front of her what it wanted to hear. Its alienness was both a help and a hindrance to figuring out what that was, however. She managed to tear her gaze away to check out what Morgan and the others were doing. All of them were staring at the giant brain-thing with wondrous looks on their faces. Focusing all of her mental powers, she projected her reply:

“I just... Having never seen anything like you before, I am in awe of a creature such as yourself. It is...very intimidating to stand before you like this.”

“YOU HAVE NO REASON TO FEAR OR BE ALARMED. INDEED, I FIND YOUR MENTAL EMANATIONS TO BE QUITE PLEASANT.”

Mildred blinked. Had it just said it liked how she thought? That had to be a first.
“Um...thank you?”

“YOU ARE...MOST WELCOME.”

“What is...what is to happen to us now?”
Mildred asked.

“YOU ARE BOTH TO JOIN MY CHILDREN, OF COURSE. AS SUCH—”

The elevator doors opened, and two more scientists emerged, escorting an old, white-haired woman dressed in a hospital gown between them. On seeing the group already there, they stopped.

“Apologies, Mind, we did not think you were occupied,” one of the scientists said. Mildred was nonplussed to discover that she could hear his words inside her head as well as when he spoke.

“IT IS OF NO MATTER. THESE TWO ARE TO BE BROUGHT INTO THE FOLD SOON ENOUGH. I SENSE THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT A FINAL FOR ME?”

“Yes, Mind, she is ready to join you,” the second whitecoat replied.

“I AM PLEASED AT THIS. STEP FORWARD, MY CHILD.”

The frail woman shuffled forward, barely able to stand on her own. She drooled as she walked, her eyes clouded with cataracts. When she stood at the edge of the tank, she swayed back and forth, her legs trembling.

“YOUR LONG JOURNEY IS FINALLY AT AN END. COME AND JOIN ME.”

Before Mildred could say or do anything, the old woman sighed and pitched forward—directly into the tank!

“Oh, my God! Somebody help her!” Mildred lunged forward but was caught by Morgan, who held her back with ease.

“She is being helped even now,” Morgan replied. “She is being granted the greatest gift the Mind can bestow—immortality.”

The woman splashed weakly in the sludgy fluid, but made no real effort to swim to the lip of the tank or climb onto the brain-creature itself. “It will be over soon,” Morgan said. “And then she will be one with the Mind.”

Indeed, as Mildred watched in horror, the old woman’s body was slowly being drawn toward the brain-creature. Soon she was right next to it, and began disappearing into the large mass, as if the brain were actually devouring her a bit at a time. The very last thing to disappear into the organism was her face, now with a blank, peaceful expression on it. But before it did, her mouth opened, and the slug-like parasite that had been living inside her emerged to splash into the nutrient pool. Mildred felt her gorge rise, but kept it down with an effort.

“That is our fate when each of us grows too old to sustain one of the children inside us,” Morgan said as he released her. “Our bodies are absorbed back into the Mind, and our collective intelligence is joined with it forever. And fortunately for both of you, this also means that a symbiote is available, so that you can join with the Mind, as well.”

“What? Thank you for the uh, generous offer, but I don’t wish to be any part of—this.” Mildred began backing away, but bumped into the pair of doctors behind her. Before she could get away, each of them grabbed one of her arms, and held it tightly.

“I understand your reluctance, I truly do,” Morgan said as he walked toward her. “It is unnatural to think of something else living inside you, something that you feel doesn’t belong there.” He shook his head. “But you couldn’t be more wrong. The symbiotes protect us, they heal us and ensure that our bodies and minds are the very best they can be. We are no longer susceptible to disease or injury, and our life span is greatly extended.” He waved at the tank. “The woman you saw go to join the Mind today? She was one hundred and eight years old. She had lived her entire life here, and now she will live on forever as part of the Mind.”

“The Mind also connects us in a community that none of us had ever experienced before,” Markus said. “With everyone living and working in harmony, we have made so much more progress, unlocked so many secrets of the human mind and body, that we are on the cusp of achieving major breakthroughs in creating the next stage in human evolution as well, to catch up with the wonder that is the Mind’s symbiotes.”

Phieks nodded. “And once the secondary colony is established—”

“ENOUGH. IT IS TIME TO UNIFY THESE TWO WITH US.”

“Yes, Mind....” Morgan and the doctors answered in unison. The two doctors marched a struggling Mildred toward the large tank. As she got closer, she saw the symbiote ooze up onto its lip, dripping wetly with the sludge the brain-thing rested in. It reared as it sensed her approach.

Mildred twisted and squirmed, but the hands pinioning her arms were unmovable. Her two captors applied pressure on her shoulders and back, forcing her to bend closer to the quivering parasite. “No, no, you can’t make me! I’ll bite its fucking head off first—”

“THE ONE CALLED MILDRED WYETH SHALL NOT BE HOSTING THIS SYMBIOTE.”

Immediately, the doctors froze, holding Mildred only inches from the questing slug. “What will happen with her, Mind?” Morgan asked.

“I FIND MILDRED WYETH TO BE WORTHY OF ASSISTING WITH OUR CONTINUED EXPANSION. SHE WILL BE GIFTED WITH A QUEEN SYMBIOTE, TO CREATE YET ANOTHER REMOTE COLONY. WE HAVE BEEN EXECUTING OUR EXPANSION PLANS INCORRECTLY, MY CHILDREN. ONCE A QUEEN IS INSIDE HER, WE WILL RELEASE HER BACK AMONG THE OTHERS, AND SHE WILL BE OUR IMPLEMENT TO BRING THEM ALL INTO OUR COLONY.”

“Your will be done, Mind,” Morgan and the doctors replied.

“But what of the symbiote that is ready now?” Phieks asked.

“JENNIFER THERAS SERVED US WELL AS HEAD OF SECURITY FOR MANY YEARS.
JUDGING FROM THE INFORMATION I HAVE GATHERED FROM OUR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN CARRYING OUT THE MISSIONS AGAINST THE TARGET POPULATION OUTSIDE THE COMPLEX, THE EXPERIENCE GATHERED BY HER AND HER SYMBIOTE WILL SERVE OUR NEW HEAD OF SECURITY—THE ONE CALLED RYAN CAWDOR—EQUALLY WELL. BRING THEM TOGETHER NOW.”

“No!” Mildred lunged forward, lashing out with a foot to try to smash the slug in front of her, but was hauled away from the tank before she could connect. “Ryan? Ryan! Fight! Move! Do
something!
”

She saw his muscles quiver impotently, but the drug in his system held him fast as Morgan wheeled his chair to the tank. The slug glided over the side and flopped onto Ryan’s lap. Morgan pried open Ryan’s jaw as the symbiote started climbing up his chest.

Held fast, Mildred could only scream as it got closer and closer to his open mouth....