Annihilation Prequel - Psychic Beginnings (23 page)

Lydia smiled, “Good; now come on and let’s go to the student center.”

“No one will see me for you, Lydia.”

Lydia smiled, “You’ll see. Come on, let’s go.”

• • •

Lydia and Em sat in the student center eating salads and discussing how Emily should go about changing her image. Suddenly Emily heard, “Do you mind if I join you?”

Emily looked up expecting someone to be talking to Lydia but saw James Stilwell standing next to her side of the booth. “Not at all, take a seat.”

Lydia said, “I’ll be right back; I forgot to get some salt.”

James looked at Emily and said, “I’ve wanted to apologize for that night Gabrealla and her friends attacked you. I know she was the instigator and I’ve never told you that I’m sorry for what happened.”

Emily saw he meant it. “That’s alright, James. Love will sometimes blind us to our partner’s true identity.”

“That’s just it, Emily. I saw in that moment just how shallow and mean she was. I ended our relationship that day.”

“Why, she is beautiful?”

“That she is but so is a rattlesnake. I wouldn’t want to spend time close to one of those either.”

Emily laughed and said, “You’re forgiven.”

James stared at her and said, “You look different.”

Emily instantly grew nervous, “What do you mean?”

“You’ve always worn those big bulky dresses. You looked fine in them but you are much prettier dressed as you are now.” Emily turned red and James said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“I’m just not used to anyone telling me I’m pretty.”

James slowly shook his head, “That’s a shame; because you really are very pretty. And you don’t flaunt it like a lot of the women here.” James stood and said, “Thank you for accepting my apology.” He turned to leave and then turned back around, “Are you doing anything Friday night?”

Emily looked up at him and said, “I don’t think so.”

“Will you go with me to the fall dance?”

Emily saw he was nervous and actually expected to be rejected. She smiled and said, “I’d love to go with you, James.”

James face broke out in a huge grin and he said, “I’ve been trying to get up the nerve to ask you out since that day but just didn’t have the courage. I assumed you’d be too angry at me. I’ll come by your dorm at seven.”

Emily smiled and said, “I’ll be ready.”

“It’s a kind of dress up occasion.”

“I won’t embarrass you.”

James smiled and said, “You couldn’t do that on your worst day. Thank you.” He turned and walked away.

Lydia came running up and said, “Well!!”

“He’s taking me to the Fall Dance.”

Lydia almost screamed but quickly put her hand over her mouth. “We must keep our composure. Oh, I look so forward to getting you dressed for that event.”

Emily laughed and the two started planning what she was going to wear.

• • •

Friday at Seven, James walked into the dorms lobby and looked up Emily’s room on the directory. He dialed the number and said, “I’m here for Emily.”

“She’ll be right out.”

James sat down and waited as couples began leaving for the dance. Suddenly he saw Emily come around the corner of a hall and he was stunned. He stood but couldn’t say anything. Emily was wearing a black dress that fit her like a second skin. It was down to mid-thigh and her green heels matched the green jumper she had on her shoulders. Emily saw his expression and said, “Is something wrong? You told me to dress up.”

James slowly shook his head and said, “You are absolutely stunning. You are beautiful. Where have you been hiding?”

Emily smiled and said, “It’s a long story and I’ll share it with you someday. Are you ready to cut a rug?”

“I’ll dance with you for the rest of my life.”

Emily smiled and took his arm. The men waiting for their dates stared at Emily until she moved out of their vision. Three of them stood up and went to the door to see her before she disappeared. Life for Emily had just changed radically.

• • •

Cynthia looked at Lydia, “He told her he had wanted to ask her out since the day she was attacked

“That means he was attracted to her before she lost all the weight.”

“That is what will win her heart, Lydia. She knows he cares about her and not her appearance. That means a lot to a woman.”

Lydia sighed, “Looks like I’m the only one alone now.”

Cynthia said, “He’s out there, Lydia. He’ll find you.”

Lydia sighed, “I hope so, Cynthia. I’m lonely.”

“You could always go out with the ones that are pursuing you.”

“That would be worse than my loneliness. I just have to learn patience.”

“That sounds like AG.”

Lydia smiled, “It does, doesn’t it. Let’s go get a sandwich.”

“How do you eat so much and stay so small?”

“You should be talking.”

“Let’s go.”

G
eneral Zheng was past rage. His son had been murdered by common villagers. He railed at his subordinates and after an hour yelled, “What are you doing about this outrage!?!”

One of his Generals said, “As soon as we found out about his capture we contacted our agents in the south and they sent a helicopter to retrieve him. Unfortunately, it arrived too late.”

“I hope they killed those villagers.”

“There was no one present. The only thing left behind was Phan’s remains.”

Zheng started another tirade and after another half hour he sat down and stared at his officers. “Sir, we believe we can get the ones responsible out of the country.”

“I don’t want them out of the country! I want them punished!”

“Sir, it was the White Demon that took him.”

“I don’t care if it was Satan himself; I want him punished. Is that clear enough for you!?!”

The officers looked at each other and knew they were in jeopardy of losing their heads. “There is an American regiment at the firebase of the Demon. We were planning a small attack but we’ll need at least a division to get at him.”

Zheng narrowed his eyes and the general continued, “We will have to wait for the right weather to move in.” Zheng started to scream but the General quickly added, “We have to get the anti-aircraft missile batteries moved in and we’ll need low cloud cover to make that happen. It will also take time to secretly move that many men.”

Zheng stared at the group and said, “You will make him pay or you will pay it for him?” He stood and walked out of the room.

The Generals looked around the table at each other and Huang said, “I really don’t think it would be wise to go after the White Demon.”

“You’re just frightened of him. He scared you silly long ago.”

“Yes he did. You have no idea what you’re getting in to.”

“Since you do understand, you will go as second in command of this attack, General.” Huang started to protest but was silenced by Zheng’s second in command. The Second said, “How are we going to do this?”

“The only way to make it happen is to have a general offence across the country to prevent the Americans from supporting the Demon.”

“How will we do that?”

“We’ll use the Vietcong to attack every city in the south. While that is happening, we well move our regulars in and kill the Demon and his men.”

“When will we do this?”

“Tet.”

The group looked around the room and Huang knew that they were making a huge mistake. He didn’t give himself much of a chance of survival. Though he was Chinese and operating in an advisory position, he knew his commander in China would not stand up for him. He hoped the Demon would understand he was being forced to come and had tried to prevent the attack.

“We need to tell our agents in the south to back off moving the Demon. If he’s not there, then this will be a wasted plan.”

“I’ll make the necessary contacts.”

• • •

Col. Green had AG and Jerry standing at attention in front of his desk while he spoke to Omaha on the speaker, “Do you know what you two morons have done. The South Vietnamese are screaming at what you did with Van Bao.”

AG stared straight ahead and said, “It was the right thing to do, Sir.”

“You know the can of worms you were opening when you made that decision. I don’t see any way to save either of you.”

Omaha said, “I’m not real sure about that, Colonel.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our Liaison to South Vietnam Intel has been told that he would be notified when they decided what appropriate action needed to be taken over this. They said they had to take it to higher levels.”

AG said, “They’re going to come and teach us a lesson.”

Omaha said, “I see it the same way. You might want to move our lads to higher ground, Colonel.”

AG said, “Absolutely not, Sir.”

Brian snapped his head toward AG and said, “You will remain silent unless I address you, Major.”

Jerry said, “You know he’s right, Sir.” Brian looked sharply at Jerry and said, “You’re just as guilty as he is.”

“Tell that to the babies that were gutted by Phan.”

Brian was silent. Omaha said, “I hear that this Phan was the son of the commanding general in the North. I suspect that South Viet Intel has backed off so that our two Majors here can be punished for unacceptable behavior. Even if you send them away, they’ll be coming to punish their men.”

“When do you think they’ll be coming?”

AG said, “At the start of the monsoon season when there are low clouds to restrict our air support.” Brian stared at Ag and nodded for him to continue. “Sir, I think you and Omaha know that this is a losing game in this country. More than half of South Vietnam Command has been compromised by the North. Our leaders back home are looking for a way to pull the plug on this fiasco and the North knows it. We are going to lose this one and we’ll have to pay the price for that in the future. But this is now. Those who are coming to attack us need to learn that they can’t do it without paying a price that is too high. They are coming and this is what I’ve been working toward since I arrived here.”

Brian said, “And you think we’re going to win?”

“I have no idea; but one thing I know for sure; the price they will pay is going to stagger them.”

Omaha said, “Gardner, are you looking for a warrior’s death?”

“Absolutely not; I’m looking for a warrior’s life.”

“What do you need from me?”

“I need you to bring in twenty 155’s to hill 231 along with eight 50 caliber machine guns.”

“Why do you need that many 50s?”

“To teach the enemy wisdom. I’ll need enough ammo to hold out for an extended siege.”

Brian said, “Why are you moving it to that hill instead of here?”

“They’re coming after me, Sir. I need to be their focus and that hill is actually easier to defend than this base. We’ll have the high ground and we’ll keep their guns out of range. They’ll have to come with troops to dislodge us and the fifty caliber machine guns will make that task extremely difficult.”

Omaha said, “How are you going to get all the supplies you need up there without being seen?”

“Most if it is already there; we’ve been moving it in over the last year. It’s hidden in caves we’ve dug in the side of the hill facing the river.”

“What will we be doing while you’re having all the fun?”

“Jerry will be taking the Ghosts and doing some haunting in the rear of their lines. You will command base defense and make them pay for attempting to overrun you.”

“Omaha, can you spare any mini-guns?”

“I’ll send you two; you decide what to do with them.”

AG said, “Sir, you need to mount the guns securely and use them to hold off the enemy here.”

“Can you use them on the hill?”

Jerry said, “No, they’re too heavy to move around and our forward walls are not large enough to protect them.”

Brian looked at AG, “Will we be ready in time?”

AG smiled, “The real question is whether or not the enemy is ready for what they’re going to face.” AG paused, “Omaha, I hope you know they will do something to distract you from coming to assist us.”

“I do but no one will listen.”

Brian sighed, “The more things remain the same…”

Omaha said, “The more they remain the same.”

• • •

January, 1968. AG stood on hill 231 and looked out across the vast landscape in front of him. The scouts had reported huge flocks of white birds across a massive front. He looked at his watch and saw that the Vietnamese New Year was two days away. It figures they would use it to make this assault. The clouds were still heavy overhead and he knew it wouldn’t be long before the forces moving toward them would arrive. They would have to come before the monsoon’s clouds ended. The hill looked exactly like every other hill in that mountainous country. But scattered on the slope was barbed wire and mines. The sand bags that formed the barrier at the front of the hill were covered with vines and were invisible outside a hundred yards. The 155s were covered with netting and vines. The eight fifty caliber machine guns were concealed behind the sandbags and they were distributed to cover any thing coming at the hill from the north, east, and south. The river that flowed behind the hill prevented any attack from that direction but AG had it covered with two fifty caliber machine guns and mortars. The real danger was in the big guns the enemy was moving in. He looked out and saw that there were no black lines leaving his position, so he knew the enemy was not in range yet. It wouldn’t take long. He wondered if his talents were going to save him against the massive force coming to attack his position. He felt his fear and smiled. If there were any other talents, they should reveal themselves in the coming fight.

“They’re making good time.”

“I can see that, Jerry. Do you have an idea of how many?”

There was a moment of silence and Jerry said, “At least a division. They’re also moving in missiles.”

AG took his eyes off the jungle and said, “Are you sure?”

“I’ve had three scouts report seeing them. They’re also bringing in Zu 74s.”

“Do you think we can hit them before they setup?”

“No, they’re leapfrogging them across the border. They’ll set up a missile battery and then move one forward. They’ll set that one up and then move the others. They’re doing the same thing with the 74s.. The missiles will keep the B52s at bay.”