The Dark Rift: Ascension (The Dark Rift Book Series 1) (26 page)

Nick reached over and grabbed Mr. Martin's shirt again. "How would you like to feel extreme pain until you die? The only reason I'm not snapping off your fingers right now is because your son is in the next room. You'll do as Isaiah says or we'll take a little walk down the hall and I'll break your bones one by one until your body is the consistency of sawdust. Your choice."

"I don't know that much about it, other than they're disc-shaped implants placed under the surface of the skin. I have one, too."

"Well, if you cooperate, maybe Nick will take yours out. If you don't ... well ... maybe that scalpel will slide right down into your spinal cord." Isaiah stood up and helped Nick off the floor. Noah watched through the window as the two men pulled Mr. Martin up and dragged him into an adjacent room.              Nick pushed him down onto the bed and started to tear a pillowcase into strips.

"What the fuck are you doing, now?" Mr. Martin said.

Nick didn't respond. He bent over and began tying the man's hands and feet to the bed rails with the cloth. "Where are the supplies?" Nick said.

"I'm telling you, it won't do any good," Mr. Martin said.

Nick took hold of Mr. Martin's hand and selected a finger, gripping it tightly and twisting. "We'll start with this one, okay?"

"Okay, okay. In the next room, there's a door at the back of the room. There should be some medical supplies in there. Jesus. You fucking Neanderthal," Mr. Martin yelled, trying to pull his hands through the bindings that held him to the bed rail. Noah watched the man trying to escape from the bed. Even though he was Fester's dad, Noah thought he might run into the next room and hit him in the head if he managed to free himself.

"Good. And the anesthesia?" Nick asked.

"I don't know where any of that is."

"Okay. We'll start with you first and see how it goes. Pretty delicate surgery, right next to your vertebrae and all. Too bad you made me so angry. My hands are shaking now." Nick smiled as he turned to leave the room.

"Nick, I'm going to look for Jodie," Isaiah said. "Christy, do you feel comfortable taking Nick’s gun?" Isaiah called out to the next room. "You'll have to watch for those security guards while I'm gone."

"Okay, but what should I do if they come? I'm not sure I could shoot anyone," Christy called out from the next room.

"I don't think David was lying when he said everyone is gone. But it might come down to you or them, so you'll need to be ready to protect yourself."

Noah saw the expression on his mother's face. He remembered that same look from a day last winter when she had the flu and wondered if she was going to throw up.

"I'm sorry, Christy. There are no other choices left." Looking over at him, Isaiah said, "Noah, help your mom out, okay?"

"Okay," Noah said, wondering what Mr. Martin meant when he said it wouldn't make any difference. He felt like he just wanted to go fishing and never think about any of this again.

* * *

Evan watched his daughter sit down hard in the chair, apparently in a state of shock. His ex-wife just finished an elaborate story and he felt more committed than ever to the idea of putting her plan to an end. Evan saw Jodie grip the armrests of the chair tightly, her face turning crimson. He hadn’t seen her this angry about anything, ever, in her life.

"Where are my friends? You said you knew. You said you saw us when we came here. I’m assuming there are cameras or something. You must know where they are now." Jodie’s anger was boiling over. "What did you do with Mei and Leah? They were with me on the train. You put those tracking devices into them, didn’t you? Tell me where they are."

No response came from Helen. She simply stared down at the floor with an odd expression that seemed to convey contentment. Seeing her lack of response to Jodie's desperation made Evan even angrier.

"She’s not letting anyone out of here," Evan said. "If your friends aren’t dead by now, they will be shortly. We’ve got to stop all of this. There's still time, but we have to stop that explosion from happening, first, before we go and look for anyone." Evan held his gun up, pointing it at his wife. "Tell me where car 49 is and we’ll stop this insanity."

Helen said nothing and Evan moved closer. "Tell me now or I swear, I’ll--"

"You’ll what, Evan? Shoot me? Be a man for once in your life and stand up for something you believe in? No, not you. Put the gun down before you hurt yourself. Don’t be stupid. Save yourself. I’ll take you both with me. We can leave right now."

"And let the rest of the world go to hell in a hand basket? I don’t think so. We like it here." He moved up to Helen, pushing himself against her body, boring the barrel of the gun into the side of her face. "And, don’t think you know me any better than you know Jodie. You know nothing about what I will or won’t do."

"Sounds like you better tell him what he wants to know," Jodie said.

"Okay, okay. Get that Goddamn gun out of my face and I’ll tell you."

Evan pulled back from his ex-wife and waited.

"You’ll never be able to catch it, anyway. You don’t know the extent of the plan and you’ll never get there in time. It’s in the east tunnel. It’s first in line."

Evan backed away from Helen. "No … no, Helen. What are you saying? All those people?"

"What do you mean, Dad? What did she do?" Jodie's face wore an expression mixed with anxiety and anger.

Evan felt the bile creeping into his throat. He looked at his ex-wife as he responded to Jodie. He gazed deeper into Helen’s eyes, looking for answers as to why she would make such terrible decisions. The sadness of the situation overtook him. He thought of their lives, ruined by this delusional scheme, the sacrifices Helen made to achieve something that would never be as good as her life could have been with her family. He saw no regret in Helen’s face. He realized his hatred for her was overwhelming him. "She’s put the explosive into the first car. All of the evacuees are behind it, so when it goes off, they’ll all be killed."

"It wasn’t ever part of the plan to bring them along," Helen said. "The only people going are from the genetics team. There is no way to take that many people. Certainly, you must have known that, Evan."

Evan had nothing left to say to his ex-wife and everything to say to his daughter, yet there was no time left for that. "I have to go now, Jodie. I know a way to get to the tracks. Just in case I don’t make it in time, you better get out of here." Evan yanked a framed floor plan mounted on the wall down and handed it to Jodie. He pointed to a location on the drawing. "I left some people you know back here in medical. Your friend, Isaiah, and a boy named Tim, with his mother, Bonnie. I’m not sure if they’re okay. When I left, there was some gunfire going on, so be careful."

"What? Isaiah is down here?"

"Yes, I brought him. He came to find you and the rest of your group. I--"

The blaring of an alarm rang in his ears. Evan turned to see Helen flipping switches on a panel. "No, Helen. Stop," he yelled. The sound of the alarm was drowned out by the blast of his gun. He could feel the kickback as the weapon fired. He watched the bullet tear through Helen’s dress, penetrating her skin, ejecting a spray of blood into the room. She slumped to the floor.

Evan fell to his knees and crawled to her. "Oh my, God … oh my, God … what did I do?"

Jodie stepped around him and knelt by her mother, placing her hand over the ragged hole in Helen's chest, applying pressure. "Oh, God. Dad, what did she do? What is that buzzer? Dad, answer me. What’s happening?"

Sadness and regret swept over Evan. He sobbed uncontrollably, gulping in air and cursing himself.

Helen looked up at Jodie. The smile broadening on her face, she said, "It’s starting. I started it without me."

The realization that Helen was sending thousands of people to their deaths jarred Evan back into action. "I have to go, Jodie. I love you. I always have. I need you to know that. I never wanted this to touch you, ever." Evan reached over to Jodie, pulling her close, then jumped up and rushed to the door. "Get out. Get out now." He looked back for an instant, seeing Jodie and Helen, the two most important people in his life. One barely alive, the other in grave danger. He knew he had to hurry. Before Jodie could formulate a response, he was gone.

Nick held the scalpel tightly and looked down at David Martin’s neck. "Well, uh, David? You mind telling me where to start looking?" Nick checked the cloth he used to tie the man to the bed to make sure nothing would come loose during the procedure. He could hear David Martin’s breath spurting out in short, rapid bursts.

"I told you, in the fleshy tissue between the cervical vertebrae. C1 and C2, to be exact. Remember, if you don’t sever the node of the lead entering the spinal cord and attach the signal booster to provide a temporary charge, the disc will activate. It was insurance … the thing that kept people from trying to take them out of each other."

Nick loved the idea of continuing to torture this man, but knew he had to stop and get to work fast. He needed to remove the discs in Bonnie and Tim Martin’s necks too, before Isaiah returned, hopefully with Jodie, Mei and Leah in tow. Yet, he couldn't stop himself from causing David a little more grief. "Now, is the C1 on the top or the bottom? I can’t seem to remember."

"Jesus, man. The C1 is at the base of the skull. The numbers get higher as you go lower. Christ." David began to whimper a bit.

"I wanted to ask. Why do you have one of these things, anyway? I got the impression you were part of planning this," Nick said, motioning around the room.

"They put one in everyone who was supposed to get on the transport. No one had a choice," David said.

"Transport to where, exactly? You’ve been whining about that since we met you."

David Martin didn’t answer.

That was okay by Nick, who really didn’t want to hear his story, anyway. He pressed down on David’s vertebrae, feeling for a sign of the device, and found it, just underneath the skin. He could see a feint scar, left over from the incision when the disc was inserted. "Okay, I’m going to put something in your foul little mouth. Try not to choke on it. Also, try not to scream so loud that you scare your kid in the room next door. Seems like a nice kid, by the way. You couldn’t have spent much time with him."

Before David could respond, Nick shoved a wad of gauze in his mouth and pushed down on his neck. "Now hold still, or it’s likely you’ll regret it."

Nick started an incision close to the edge of the disc. He could hear David Martin screaming, the outburst muffled by the gauze in his mouth. "I can see it, now. I’m going to have to do a little searching for that lead," Nick said, widening the incision.

David Martin’s breathing was rapid and sweat poured down the side of his face. His sounds of agony continued to fill the room.

"I’ve got the lead now. I’m attaching the signal booster. What you people won’t come up with ... discs and signal boosters. All this junk. For what? I can’t wait to hear what you’ve been planning. Okay, I’m going to sever the lead. Let me know if you smell anything charbroiling inside your head." Nick pulled the gauze out of the man’s mouth.

"Thank you," David Martin said, tears streaming out of his eyes.

"Ready to fire up the old oven?"

"Just do it, okay?"

Nick pulled the disc out, severing the wire completely. "Where would you suggest I put this little miracle of science, now that it’s going to turn hot?"

"There’s a container in the next room. Drop it in the slot in the top and it will be sealed in lead and stored. That deactivates it."

"Okay. I’ll be right back and then we can start sewing class, using your red scrawny neck." Nick realized his behavior toward David Martin was abusive, but his despair over Bob’s death and the ordeal they endured over the past several days was fueling an outrageous amount of anger. At moments, he wondered if he would be capable of killing David Martin out of revenge. The thought scared him. He hadn't been aware of his capacity for hatred. "Just sew him up, Nick," he said to himself.

He walked into the room and spotted a metal container with a radioactive symbol on it. He dropped the disc into a slot in the top. The container emitted a humming noise for a brief moment as the device was sealed in lead.

Nick returned to the operating room. After stuffing a new wad of gauze in David Martin’s mouth, he cleaned the incision and put four stitches in. "You’re good to go. Get up and I’ll get your wife and son in here, now that I know what I’m doing." Nick pulled the gauze out of David Martin’s mouth and untied the bindings holding his hands. He led him to a chair; where he started tying him up again.

"Is that really necessary? You know there’s nowhere to go now. They’ve likely already left."

"No, I don’t know that. And yes, it is necessary," Nick said, pulling tight on the gauze. "I don’t trust your kind of people. No regard for anyone but yourselves. So, I’m gonna keep you close because if you’re covering your own ass, you’re likely going to be helping us by association." Nick left the room. Moments later, he came back with Bonnie and Tim Martin. Tim was a little wobbly on his feet. "You up for this, buddy?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. I guess I have no choice, right? I want that thing out, anyway." Tim walked over and lay down on the bed. He turned to stare at his father, expressionless.

"Don’t worry, son. It doesn’t hurt much," David said.

"Oh, he won’t feel a thing," Nick said, holding up a syringe. "Only a little pinch on your neck and you’ll be numb."

David looked up at Nick. "What’s that?"

"Just local anesthetic," Nick said, trying not to smile too broadly.

"Anesthetic? You had that the whole time? You--"

"Now, watch your language, David, or I’ll have to get more gauze," Nick said.

David’s face turned a shade of bright crimson. Nick thought his eyes looked like they were filled with pure venom.

"Okay, Tim. I need you to turn on your side," Nick said. He changed his gloves, assembled the surgical equipment, and placed the signal booster on a tray. "I heard you like to be called Fester. Is that true?" Nick examined the back of the boy's neck, finding an incision that had recently started to heal.

"Yeah. Noah calls me that. He gave me that name after my leg got infected from a fishhook."

"It’s a great name. A fishhook, huh? I guess you’re a pretty tough guy, then. This should be a cake walk for you," Nick said.

Tim shook his head and smiled as his mother sat in a chair next to the bed and stroked his forehead.

"Mrs. Martin, I’m going to give Tim a shot to numb him up and I’d like you to go and sit in the chair next to your husband, okay? This should only take a minute." Nick knew Bonnie Martin had been through a lot. She didn't need the trauma of seeing someone cut into her son's neck.

"Okay. Tim doesn’t need me here, anyway. He’s my brave, brave boy."

Nick administered the anesthetic and Bonnie Martin nodded to him as she got up and moved to the other side of the room. He gave the drug time to work and then moved quickly, initiating the same procedure as he had on Tim’s father. As he was making the small incision, Nick asked, "You doin’ okay, Fester?"

"Yeah. That stuff worked really good. I can’t feel anything. What are you doing?"

"Well, right now, I’m pulling that thing out of you and I’m gonna give it a jump so we can cut the cord, so to speak. You let me know if I’m hurting you in any way. I can always give you a little more of that juice."

"Okay. I wish you could put that stuff on my burns, too."

"Well, we’ll see what we can find for that when we’re done here. There’s a lot of medicine in the next room that might be useful." He laughed silently at the understatement. There was an entire stockroom filled with first aid supplies, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. He never saw anything like before in his life. He wondered why no one had done more for this boy. The door to the room opened quietly and Christy poked her head in.

"Anything I can help with here, Nick?"

Nick thought she looked positively pale. "No, thanks. But you might want to sit down. You don’t look so good."

"I was watching you from the next room ... but it doesn’t look like I would be of much assistance, anyway."

"Well, actually, you know what you could do? You and Noah can go in the next room and grab whatever supplies you can carry. We need antibiotics and gauze, tape and scissors, you know, that kind of thing. I thought I saw some bags in there. Why don’t you fill ‘em up while I finish? Fester’s all done here. He could use something for his burns and some pain killers and bandages, too."

Christy nodded. "Let's get moving, Noah. We've got our orders," she said, smiling.

"I’m all done? Really? Cool. Thanks," Fester said.

"No problem. When I’m finished helping your mom, we’ll see what we can do to tone down the pain from those burns without making you sleep so much, okay?"

Fester nodded in approval. Nick’s anger started to return as he walked into the next room and dropped the disc into the slot. He listened to the whir of the machine, thinking of how much the two boys had to endure, needlessly. Nick figured that maybe he wasn’t done with David Martin yet. He made his way back to the operating room. One down, one to go.

Bonnie Martin helped her son off the table and led him back to the bed in the adjoining room. She came back and sat down in front of Nick. "Thank you so much, Nick. For what you did for Tim --"

Nick jumped back at the sound of a blaring alarm. Strobe lights in the corner of the room flashed, distorting movements into jerky sequences. Christy and Noah burst into the room. Noah ran to comfort Hunter, who crouched in the corner of the room, shaking.

"What happened?" Christy yelled over the sound of the blaring alarm.

Nick looked out the window of the room and into the hallway. "I don’t know, but I’m guessing we don’t have a lot of time to get out of here. I need to get this done. We better be ready to move. David, why are those alarms sounding?"

"They're starting. I told you. They're leaving," David said, lowering his head and shifting his gaze to the floor.

Nick could see him straining against the bindings on his hands, realizing he was right to keep him tied up. Obviously, he was lying earlier when he said everyone left. He would need to keep a close watch on David Martin.

* * *

Jodie held her mother in her arms, pressing down on her chest wound with paper towels she found in a cabinet, trying to stop the inevitable from happening. She wondered if she should waste time waiting for her mother to die, or just leave her there, alone. Thinking of her father and letting what he said to her finally sink in, the realization that she might never see him again burned inside her. She thought about Mei and the rest of the group, who were caught up in a nightmare, apparently created by her mother. "Mom, I need to know where my friends are. There was an Asian woman named Mei and an older woman, Leah, with me on the train. Where are they now?"

Jodie’s mom fought for breath. "They’re in with the others who were directed to the auditorium ... a waiting area for the docking station. Jodie, if your father is successful, if he explodes the train in a different area … then you’ll really have something to fear."

Jodie was becoming infuriated from trying to figure out her mother’s vague responses. Besides the frustration over not getting the answers she needed, she felt sympathy and loss at the thought she could lose both her parents and her friends all in one cataclysmic event. Then, she realized she was in just as much danger. The confounding emotions paralyzed her for a moment. She shook her head, trying to find some clarity. "Speak clearly. What do you mean?"

Her mother's breath was short and her expression distant. "You have to get out of here. When he explodes that car, it will trigger the release of IDM400. It’s 400 of the most infectious diseases and mutations…ebola, naegleria." Jodie thought it wouldn’t be long before her mother was gone. Her words came out in a raspy growl as she fought for breath. "They made us test … DNA combinations … cloning experiments … hybrids. The blast … it was meant to release IDM400 into the remaining population, if anyone was left …"

Jodie was completely overwhelmed by the thought of the carnage her mother was willing to impose on innocent people. "Hybrids? Hybrids with what? What are you saying? You used viruses to experiment on humans?"

"At first. Then, hybrids, with the others. After we saw what it did … we converted to experimentation on a cellular level. You'll be better off … you’ll be better off if your father doesn't succeed."

"The others? What do you mean by that?" Jodie shook her mother, trying to jar a response out of her. "Better off dead, you mean? Is that what you're telling me? Our options are death right here or being infected with this concoction you've created? What gave you the right?" Hearing a loud noise behind her, she jumped sideways, trying to keep her mother’s head from hitting the floor. Jodie was flabbergasted at the sight of Isaiah in the doorway.

"Jodie. I’m so glad I found you … what happened? Who is that?"

"Thank God you’re here, but no time for explanations now, Isaiah." Returning her focus to her mother, Jodie said, "What waiting area, Mother? Where are they? Mother?" She shook her mother from side to side. "Where are they?" Jodie shook her mother’s lifeless body again. Finally, she let her mother's head slip carelessly to the floor and stared at her. "Goddamn you," she screamed.