The Harvester (21 page)

“What the fuck do we do now, Harvey?” Naes asks me with a threatened tone in his voice.

“They all can’t be him,” I reply. But knowing also they actually could be. “There’s ten of us and ten of them.

Each take on one. By any means necessary,” I add. “The real Vega will show himself soon enough.”

We all have our swords ready to slice and dice. The Vegas make the first move and charge us. Cracks in the facility begin to present themselves by spraying water inside. We all knew this would happen, just not this early.

We need to hurry, especially for the remaining scientist’s sake. Not to mention we didn’t even verify if Vega’s Master Hole is located here. I need that verification and so do the others and the Agency. One must be optimistic, and my optimism at the most is minimal. But at least, Vega’s headquarters is going down for good. If his Master Hole is here and we destroy it without knowing, we’ll know it when we return to the surface. If any kind of Hole is destroyed, there’s a certain type of planetary power, force, if you will, that is lost and will be registered by the Agency.

Harvester Takahashi is the first to land a blow to one of the Vegas. Takahashi is deadly, but he’s no Vega, so I know that’s not the real Vega. I document it in order to narrow down the possibility of who’s the Real McCoy.

Takahashi finishes him off with a double slice to its neck and the head rolls down the corridor. Team Agency one. Team Underworld 0. The surviving scientist slowly follows us.

The battle quickly moves down the corridor, through some double doors, and into a large room with numerous Vega creations housed in the same containers in Vega’s cave base. The battle is so fast paced that I can only catch a quick glimpse of a hideous large half centipede/half human and a half wolverine/half human. Who thinks of these things? Oh yeah. It comes from the sick, twisted, malevolent mind of Vega. The scientist smiles at them with a type of admiration.

An emergency alarm now sounds at an incredibly loud volume. One of Takahashi’s Harvesters is killed by one of the Vega’s, and I take mental note of it to see if it’s the real Vega. I know the Vega I’m battling isn’t the real deal because he’s making too many mistakes. I take him out with ease.

Naes battles a formidable Vega. Maybe that’s him. Naes is slammed into one of the container tubes and it breaks.

Out slithers the large, visually terrifying Section 520 Centipede creation. It immediately wraps up Charon and takes him all the way to the ceiling. He tries to swing his sword at it, but he can’t get a full swing due to his arms being pinned. I open fire on it with my assault rifle, but this only makes it angry and it bites Charon’s head and tosses his decapitated body across the room.

“Charon!” I yell due to our friendship.

The Section 520 Centipede slithers all over the area giving tail whips on my crew as it does. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a Vega slide a secret panel on the wall aside and disappear into an obvious secret escape route. That was the real Vega, no doubt. But we still have problems here.

Brilliant move, Vega.

We kill off the rest of the Vegas and focus our efforts on killing the Section 520 Centipede.

“Do not fire your weapons! We can’t risk allowing another creation to get out!” I exclaim.

Everyone holsters their weapons and only attacks the monstrosity with their swords and daggers. The sound of the Section 520 Centipede’s hundred legs brushing against one another is a disturbing sound never before heard. We encircle it and each take swings at it. Its human belly, arms, and second head are the most vulnerable, and we focus on them. Another one of Takahashi’s crew is killed when the Section 520 Centipede crushes his head with the heavy weight of its body.

“This place is going down very soon! There’s a secret corridor that Vega escaped into! Let’s move to it now!” I command.

Harvesters never retreat from a battle, but there are two factors that make us do so. One: this place will explode, trapping us at the bottom of the world never to be rescued. Two: Vega has escaped our clutches.

We move one by one toward the secret corridor and still fend off the Section 520 Centipede’s attempts at eliminating us. The first ones in the secret corridor is Takahashi’s crew. Then, I push the scientist into the corridor. Kelly Marie, then Naes, Dorian, and myself retreat inside.

“This better lead to something fruitful,” Kelly Marie states.

And I agree, but I must comment. “If Vega took it, then it has to.”

I stay near the scientist in order to keep him safe and to make sure he doesn’t try to escape. The Agency will utilize him in several ways. Besides, he knows he needs us to get to the surface.

With everything we’ve been through, I’m beginning to believe that Naes can’t be a traitor. However, I’ve been through a plethora of bizarre shit, so I still keep it in the back of my mind.

We make it to the end of the secret corridor where we stare at a single door. We all think about what might be on the other side. Vega could have thought there was no way we would survive his creation. But I also must think that Vega knows at least a few of us would. So who knows what he has planned for us on the other side of this door.

“How we going to traverse this door? Who knows what Vega has planned for us?” Takahashi asks.

I think for a quick moment. “Scientist. You know the layout of this facility. What’s behind this door? And don’t lie or we’ll toss your ass out into the water, and well, you know what will happen to your simple, fragile human body.”

“Of course I know what would happen. I have an IQ of 196, of course I know,” the scientist retorts. “He has a series of booby traps and maybe even a few of my creatures waiting for your people.”

“What kind of creatures?”

“I don’t know. He’s quite the secretive type. I’m sure you understand, Harvester,” he says.

“Call me Harvey now because you’ll work for me if you want to live,” I reply. “Agreed?”

The scientist vigorously nods to the point of it looking like his head is going to fly off. I smile. “That’s what I thought,” I state with a type of confidence that says “you’re in my back pocket now.”

And he wholeheartedly knows he is and I feel now he will do whatever I say to do. Now I have an ace card under my sleeve for myself and against any traitors within the Agency. The scientist will only do what I say due to him being so scared of me.

“You do what I say for now on or you’re dead, human.”

This comment puts the fear of God in his eyes, but he still agrees like I knew he would. He is at the deepest part of the earth, right? What would you do if you were human in waters so deep you would literally explode and yet you’re with a crew who can get you to the surface alive? Exactly.

If I were him, I’d do the same, and I know he’s doing it just for that reason. Or maybe he has had a change of heart.

That would be nice and sweet, but I don’t believe it until I see it.

Back to the mysterious door in the secret corridor Vega escaped into and we are now in. I look upon everyone and snap my fingers.

“Focus, focus. Everyone focus. We only have a few seconds to make our decision. I’m open to any and all suggestions. If not, well, I make the call. Because we’re all on the line here is why I say this.”

I wait for anyone to make a call, but all are left speechless. So like on the old battlefields when I was so young, I make the call for all of us.

“We go through now,” I tell them. “Stack up!”

We line up behind one another with me at the lead. We have our guns drawn now. I grab the door’s handle and slowly open it. I peer in and realize it’s the docking bay to the facility, and one of the two submersibles is gone.

“Let’s move,” I tell everyone.

We move into the docking bay in unison. The scientist runs up to me and taps my shoulder.

“I need to put on my decompression suit if I am to go out there with you.”

“No shit?” I shake my head and roll my eyes.

The scientist runs over to the wall where all the decompression suits are and starts to suit up.

“Vega has a good jump on us,” Dorian informs us.

“It’s a long trip up topside. We might still be able to spot him out and pursue,” Kelly Marie suggests.

The scientist is in his suit and is ready to go. We walk to the edge of the docking bay’s floor. The scientist looks down at the twenty foot drop, and his eyes widen with fear.

“Don’t fret. We’ll help you out,” I tell him.

I nod at Naes, then Takahashi, and they each grab one of his arms. We leap off the edge and perfectly land on the floor. We walk to the docking bay’s tall door.

“Open this door for us, scientist,” I order him.

U
p topside, the waves of the ocean rock the Agency’s high-tech speedboat we’re in back and forth. Naes, Kelly Marie, Takahashi and his surviving crew member view the surrounding area for Vega with Djinn’s bad ass advanced binoculars.

“Harvey!” Kelly Marie yells at me.

She points to the southeast, and I look and see some sort of sea vessel. I know it might be Vega due to Holes and Doors are weak on the water and for the most part don’t work because of the power of water that most Humans don’t understand. However, I’m shocked to see that Vega doesn’t have any reinforcements ready for him. This worries me. I don’t let any of the others know yet, but I have a bad feeling that something wicked this way comes. Another thought crosses my mind. Why didn’t Vega use the submarine he has?

Dorian approaches me. “Why didn’t Vega just use his submarine?”

“Can you read my mind or what? I was just thinking that.”

This far east Pacific Ocean can be very unforgiving and dangerous. Just as I think that the waves begin to rise, and the water is severely choppy. Curse of the commentator, right? This boat is made for speed and endurance, not large, choppy waves. It’s as if the Greek god Poseidon himself has gotten angry with us and is now causing this uproar of the ocean. As we gain on the sea vessel, we now see that it definitely is Vega. Where is he going? Most likely to the closest land mass to use his White Door to escape for good. We must catch up to him before that happens, and we must safely navigate these treacherous waters.

“Can’t this thing go any faster?” I ask Takahashi who’s driving.

He glances back at me. “The waves are growing too large. We’ll launch off them,” he informs me.

“Do it!”

He slams the throttle into its last gear, and sure enough, the engine kicks into a higher speed. We launch off some waves and gain even more ground on Vega.

“When we pull up alongside of him, I’ll be the one who jumps to his vessel,” I inform everyone.

Every wave we rocket off, when we land water whips our faces and jolts us to the point of almost being tossed overboard. But it’s necessary in order to catch up to Vega, which we are. He’s only approximately twenty yards away now. As we get closer, as usual, my adrenaline begins to pump for the anticipation of the battle. This will be my third confrontation with Vega, and I hope it isn’t three strikes and I’m out. I know it’ll be difficult due to the waves and choppy water, but I nod at Naes and Kelly Marie. They know what I mean and draw their assault rifles and fire upon Vega. At first, they miss wide right and left, but they get their bearings straightened out and soon connect with several hits to Vega’s vessel. He dives for cover as bullets wiz overhead. He loses control of his vessel as we’re about to pull alongside of him. I must time this jump perfectly, or I’ll be sea bound. We get even closer and now is the time. I wait, wait, wait, and then leap into his vessel. I land on top of Vega who is still crouched trying to avoid the previous gunfire. The look on his face is priceless. I wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze tight. He repeatedly punches me and squirms to get free.

“I’m going to finally kill you, you bastard!” I yell at him.

“Not . . . today,” Vega says with a choked tone.

Suddenly, I’m stabbed in my side, and the blade goes deep. I fall off Vega and look down to see a huge knife in the side of my stomach. It only hurts a bit, but his move proves effective because now he stands with sword in hand and ready to battle. His sea vessel slowly comes to a stop and the waves rock us back and forth, up and down.

Definitely not a steady battle scenario. I look around for my crew, and I see them circling us about ten yards away. I know I have backup, but I want Vega for myself. I draw my sword and stare down Vega.

“Nice to see you again, Vega.”

“You destroyed my headquarters,” he comments.

“You killed my daughter, and we’re still not even. Your life shall do,” I tell him and then yank out his knife from my side with a slight grimace.

The vessel rocks downward, and Vega falls back. I take advantage of this and attack him with several sword swipes, and I connect on every one of them across his chest. He attempts to retaliate with sword slashes of his own, but I dodge ’em all. It seems as though I have the upper hand on the high seas. He’s all alone and must know he made a mistake by staying on the ocean instead of under with his submarine. However, I know Vega. Maybe this was his plan all along. Lure my crew further out in the Pacific, then a large force of his attacks us, and we have nowhere to go. He would love that situation.

We square off on the rocky Pacific Ocean—a place I would never have thought it would happen. Like in the battle with Blackbeard, seagulls fly overhead. This means two things. One: like I stated before, they know blood will be spilt soon. Two: land is near, and this isn’t good because Vega’s White Door will work and he might escape into it. I need to make quick work of him.

“Fight me now!” I exclaim to Vega.

He peers over my shoulder and smiles. This can’t be good. I give a quick glance and see a land mass, and now I know why he smiled.

“I rather stand my ground, Harv. I think you know why.”

And I do know why. Once he hits land, he’s gone through his White Door. He knows he’s outnumbered. Fight and runaway to live to fight another day. The greatest reggae singer ever Bob Marley once had that as a lyric. I must not let Vega succeed to no degree.

“I’ll just take your head then,” I state.

He smirks at me. “You can try.”

I raise my sword. A large wave crashes over us, and I lose my vision due to all the salty, foamy water rushing over me. When the wave passes us, I turn to find that Vega has vanished. I quickly scan the area for him but to no avail. Dead Ones are excellent swimmers and don’t need to breathe under water, so I know where he’s headed. I whistle for my crew to head over to me. They make it close enough to me and I jump into our vessel.

“Head to the mainland. We’ll wait for him there,” I instruct Takahashi.

He slams the throttle down, and we rip toward the mainland. The ocean has calmed down, so we make good time.

There’s an eerie silence amongst us. Most likely due to losing Vega once again. It can be incredibly disheartening to be so close to capturing your mark, and yet they escape.

But when they do it over and over, it’s even worse. It’s like a serious slap across the face, humiliating even. I stare at our beautiful surroundings as I think of a way to regain our drive and determination—two of a plethora of emotions crucial to Harvesting.

We spot out the first dock we see, and it’s about a half-mile away. The tricky part is to predict where Vega is most likely to surface. He knows we will never give up the Hunt for him, so obviously, he’ll do the best he can to avoid capture.

Five minutes later, we’re pulling up to the dock.

On this particular area of the coastline, there are very few homes, and they’re scattered sporadically to the east and to the west with a thick wall of trees and foliage nestled behind them. Some people fishing gawk at us due to them not being used to seeing strangers docking at their dock.

It’ll be good to put our sea legs on dry ground. I look out at the water one last time before debarking, and I see a hand quickly come out of the water with a hand grenade in it.

“Grenade!” I yell out. “Jump!”

The grenade is tossed into our sea vessel and everyone dives into the water and swims for it. Our vessel explodes into a million pieces of fiery fury and carnage. We swim to the shore and crawl onto the beach.

I check over my crew. “Where’s Naes?”

I frantically look everywhere for him. I dive into the water and swim beneath the waves and search for him. I pop my head up and look at the others.

“Anything?”

“Nothing!” Dorian replies.

I take another dive under water and search. Now I find a large piece of Naes’s bloody clothing. I swim back to the beach and show everyone. I scan all around for him for the next several minutes. I can’t fathom this loss. He was to be my partner for quite a while. Damn that Vega! I should’ve known he would try something like that. He’s always one or two steps ahead of us. This must end. I’m absolutely furious now, but I must control my emotions, or he wins. Takahashi and Kelly Marie search the wreckage for Naes. They come up with no signs of him.

I don’t want to leave without Naes, but I know we must. This chapter has come to an end with the Underworld as the victor, but the book is far from being finished. The sun sets as I stare out to the ocean with some sort of wishful thinking that Naes will appear. Highly unlikely that will happen. But what I know for sure will happen is my path will cross Vega’s once again, and either I’ll kill him, or he’ll kill me. Period. End of story.

It has to be, and there’s no other way. This road of destiny of ours was set long ago, and there’s no denying nor avoiding it. But it must be at my hands that he gets sent to the After for good, once and for all. No trial. Straight to Hell with him. He deserves it that’s for sure.