The Spook House (The Spook Series Book 1) (20 page)

I looked into the light. I knew where I had seen that brilliance before.

“God,” I said. “Is that you?”

“Jacob,” a voice answered. The voice was deep and powerful. It came from everywhere and nowhere at once. I felt like a small child in the presence of a towering parent who was both loving and protecting, but at the same time capable of delivering great punishment.

“God,” I said. “Where have you been? Where were you when I needed you?”

“I’ve always been here, Jacob. I never left you.”

“You did,” I said. I had quickly gotten over my fear and eased back into familiar terms, emboldened by my previous relationship with Him, and by the fact that I knew I was right. It was God who had some explaining to do.

God spoke and said, “I’ve always been with you, Jacob, even in your darkest hour.”

My darkest hour. I wondered, Which one was that? There had been a lot of those. I wondered why there had been so many. It seemed like life was full of them, sometimes one right after another. I wondered why. Pan’s Horn, which I realized was the name of the drug, had brought out my greatest fears. The scope of my query started expanding, from my own little world out into the universe itself. The question grew from “Why do I have to suffer?” to “Why do we have to suffer?”

“We” started out meaning, “My family,” but grew to become “Humanity” and ultimately, “All living things.”

My fragile mental state was falling apart.

I simply asked God, “Why?”

God answered, “Let me put this in terms you can understand. ‘The ship comes first.’”

I struggled to recall where I’d heard that before. Then I remembered. It was from Star Trek: The Next Generation. In one episode, a woman wants a promotion to a command position but repeatedly fails the final exam. She only passes (in a simulation where she’s in charge) when she knowingly sends an engineer to his death in order to fix a problem that saves the ship.

That was a cool story. Leadership is about making tough choices. Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good.

I slowly started to realize what God meant. As if reading my mind, He said, “The Earth is the ship.”

I got his point, but I still didn’t like it. I said, “So what you’re saying is, I’m a sacrificial lamb. I’m the engineer.”

“No,” God said deeply. “The men with you in the house were the engineers. You’re the greater good.”

I was almost speechless. All of those guys died so that I could live?

“I … I don’t understand.”

“You lived, Jacob, in order to do exactly what you’re doing now. You’re ending an abomination. You’re stopping the Pan’s Horn program from going beyond this place. There is great evil here, and I am ‘doing something about it,’ as you put it.”

“But … why me?”

“Because no one else had your history or ability to survive the Spook House. You were in the perfect position to take out the architects of this abomination.”

The perfect position. I thought about God’s words. I was in “the perfect position” because God had positioned me here, like a man on a chessboard. He was right though. If hadn’t had a history with God, and if the Devil hadn’t owed me a favor, I never would have gotten out of there. If I hadn’t been rectally violated, I never would have been able to get the metal container of Pan’s Horn up there. My face looked like I had put something bitter into my mouth. Did that mean the anal rape was actually part of God’s plan?

I had to see “the big picture.” I said to God, “So, besides avenging my friends, I like, stopped further research into a biological weapon, right?”

“Oh Jacob,” God said. “It so much more than that. These men discovered a way to make people kill each other, even their friends and family members. But the insanity isn’t permanent. After the drug wears off, sanity returns, only then it enables the killers to comprehend the full extent of the horrors they committed.

“Because the weapon is so powerful, its owners, like so many who control powerful weapons, would feel unstoppable. They would use the drug on their enemies, both foreign and domestic. That’s right. They would use it on American citizens. Vocal protesters, political opponents, journalists, investigators – no one would be safe. Perceived troublemakers would be exposed to the drug, inducing them to attack their families or strangers. Then they would be put away on murder charges. Or the drugs could be given to men’s wives, and they would be attacked in their own homes by their spouses.

“I can see different futures. In one, those in power hold on to their power completely unchallenged, eliminating any and all rivals, leading to a totalitarian regime. In another, the drug is used so often that the whole country wonders what is going on with the increase in violent crime and instances of people ‘losing it.’ Many suspect the truth, but are afraid to say anything. Even the news media starts downplaying the frequency of bizarre and sensational murders. Everyone lives in fear. The whole world is afraid, as it should be.”

I tried to process what I was hearing. Something still didn’t seem right.

“OK,” I said, “but I don’t get it. Ashira helped me out of the house. Gassing these guys in here was her plan. But by wiping them out, you’re saying I’m actually saving the world. I mean, if she wanted humanity to suffer, she just screwed herself. She should have done nothing.”

God said, “Ashira did what she wanted to, as always. And as always, she didn’t see the long term consequences of her actions.”

I almost smiled. “You worked her,” I said. “This was your plan all along. You won.”

“Actually,” God said, “We all win. Ultimately, humanity wins, which is what I want. You win, because you got justice. And Ashira wins too. Most people think she is jealous of my love for humanity, and wants to make all humankind suffer. But she’s doesn’t pick just anyone. She likes making bad people suffer. She likes torturing those who bring the suffering to others and onto themselves. She’s had her eye on these guys for a while. So in the end, she got what she wanted.”

I almost laughed. “You know, she’s hot.”

“I know,” God said, sounding more and more like an old friend. “But just imagine marrying a beautiful wife, only to find out later that she cheats and lies, and that she likes hurting small, helpless animals. She’s still beautiful, and part of you still cares, but you realize that there is something seriously wrong with her.”

I take it that the “small, helpless animals” he was referring to mere human beings like myself.

I was beginning to see the universe differently. It seemed like God was in messy divorce with his ex, and the Earth and everything and everyone on it were just part of one long, ongoing asset division process and custody battle.

I was silent for some time, soaking in beauty of God’s plan and how everything had led to this moment. Finally, I said, “So, I’m like, going to be free after this?”

I had no idea what the future held for me after this moment.

God simply said, “I’ll always be with you. In fact, I may have a need for you again. I see that in possible futures.”

I said, “Seriously, though. I should get a reward, like a girlfriend or superpowers or something.”

Then I added, “And, hopefully the next time you call on me to save the world, it won’t involve me being a hit man, getting raped, or going crazy in a haunted house.”

God laughed his deep Santa Claus laugh.

“Take care, Jacob.” He said.

The glory above me dimmed and once again became fluorescent lights. The room reappeared around me. Everything was calm and still now. The walls were splattered with glistening red blood. I was the only one in there who was still alive.

30

General Solomon, a large, imposing black man, stared at the video screen in front of him. Like a tank or other massive military machine, his size and presence threatened a capability of great destruction. His face was could have been the model for a statue of the God of War. Completely devoid of expression, it was fearsome nonetheless. 

Colonel Conrad couldn’t gauge his superior’s emotions at all, which made the man even more intimidating. Conrad looked over at Sgt. Coles with a worried glance. That’s bad, Coles thought, when he’s looking to me for support.

Coles understood Conrad’s silent question and wordlessly answered with an almost imperceptible head shake. No, he couldn’t read Solomon either.

Nobody in the dark command center had any idea what was going to happen next. That’s partly what made this meeting so frightening.

General Solomon spoke, revealing a little more of his thoughts. His voice was deep and loud. There was no mistaking the fact that he expected an immediate answer.

“Tell me again,” he said in voice that actually made Conrad shudder, “exactly how this happened.”

“Well … Sir, um, Abrams smuggled one of the canisters of Pan’s Horn out of the test area in his, um, rectum. He … um … excreted it out and released the psychotropic agent during his exit interview. The exposed personnel were isolated, and they, uh …”

“I watched the video, Colonel! I read the report. What I’m asking you is how did THIS happen?”

“S-Sir?”

“I’m not asking how he gassed the panel! I’m asking how he survived! Nobody has ever escaped the Spook House. Up until now, we had a success rate of nearly 100 percent. I thought you had perfected the formula. So I’m asking you, how exactly did THIS happen?”

Colonel Conrad’s eyes avoided meeting Solomon’s. It was the first time Sgt. Coles had ever seen the Colonel at a loss for words. It was the first time he had ever seen the man looked frightened.

“Sir, if I may?” said Coles. Solomon shot him a sharp look. “Sir, Jacob Abrams has a very unique history. His psychological profile is … unlike anybody else’s. His response to the chemical agent could be a very isolated case.”

Coles exhaled when he was done. The words sounded good, he thought. He would soon find out.

He was wrong. Solomon advanced on him, slowly. Sgt. Coles, a large man himself, seemed to shrink before him.

“I don’t care how unique he is!” Solomon boomed. “He survived! The drug is supposed to create psychosis! Yet somehow, Abrams figured it all out! You and everyone else connected to this entire program are failures.”

“We did not fail, Sir,” Sgt. Coles said, defensively. “We succeeded. Abrams was hallucinating. You saw the tape.”

“I saw a ‘crazy’ man beat the system. He had you all fooled. He wasn’t crazy like others!” Solomon snarled.

“He was crazy before we ever exposed him to the drug!” Colonel Conrad shouted adamantly, suddenly emboldened by Sgt. Coles’ act of courage in speaking out and standing up to this man.

“Abrams was borderline schizophrenic when we got him! I don’t know how the hell he knew what he did. The bottom line is, he got lucky. Our work here is solid. We are NOT failures!”

“Careful, Colonel …”

“Sir, I’m just saying … you can’t judge the whole program based on this one incident. Sir.”

“I’ll be the judge of what I can and can’t do!” Solomon said. “In case you haven’t realized, Abrams wiped out the architects of this program. The project is over. Right now, I’m deciding whether or not to allow this facility to remain active. I don’t know if I should shut it down, or leave here and drop an atomic bomb on this site with you and everyone else still in it.”

The men stared at the general. Solomon was silent. He turned and looked at the monitors again. The sound was off. In the grainy video, the scene replayed where Smith, Jones, Chandler, and the MP tore each other apart while Abrams lay on floor.

Conrad and Coles said nothing.

“I am not one to waste resources,” Solomon pronounced. “This facility will remain operational. The Spook House Project will be black-flagged. The only remaining issue is Abrams.”

Sgt. Coles cleared his throat and said, “Sir? Perhaps it would be wise to keep Abrams alive … for long-term study.”

“Or we could kill him now,” said Conrad bitterly. Coles glared at him coldly.

General Solomon frowned. Apparently, it took longer to decide what to do with Abrams than it did to determine the fate of the entire facility and everyone in it. After some time, he said, “Abrams stays.”

“But Sir,” Colonel Conrad protested. “He killed …”

“He stays,” Solomon concluded like a judge handing down a sentence. “Like I said, I am not one to waste resources. Even under the influence of the drug and extreme pressure, Abrams was still able to reason. He was to locate the primary source of exposure, formulate a plan, and execute it. He’s cunning and resourceful. Resilient and ruthless. In other words, he’s what we’re looking for. He stays.”

The colonel sighed. Sgt. Coles suppressed a faint smile.

“We promote him,” Solomon said. “He’ll keep our secrets, not because he’s afraid not to, but because he wants to. It’ll be part of his job. We give him a security clearance and keep a close eye on him. He might actually be good at the job. I suspect Abrams will continue to surprise us.”

Solomon looked over at Coles and added, “Plus, we’ve never had any subjects leave the Spook House alive. This might be a good opportunity to see if there are any long term side-effects of exposure to Pan’s Horn.”

General Solomon turned back to the computer. Abrams’ profile came up on screen. Solomon scanned the record, looked at the photo, and said, “Welcome to Black Ops, kid.”

31

I actually felt my stomach trembling a little when I exited the plane. It felt like a thousand years since I’d been home. I wasn’t in uniform, so I didn’t expect any fanfare about “a veteran coming home” or anything like that. I was all about blending in with the civilian population now.

I exited the portable corridor that connected the plane to the terminal and entered a crowded airport. I had barely entered the busy seating area when I saw my dad. His face lit up when he saw me. I barely had time to put down my pack when he nearly tackled me. He wrapped his arms around me so tight I almost felt like I was being attacked.

“Oh Jacob. My son. My boy. I’m so happy you’re home.”

I held him close. It was good to be home. I was a little worried that Dad’s affection might draw unwanted attention, and I was all about being inconspicuous now, but I didn’t say anything. I know my job in the military had made him both proud and terrified at the same time. When I left for the Army, he had this glazed look in his eyes like he was seeing me for the last time. I know he was freaked out several times, like when my communication was restricted when I was relocated to the Rock. The only information available to him at that time was that his son was “on assignment in an undisclosed location.”