The Revered (The Earth Epsilon Wars, Book 3) Page 6

  “Ignore them,” Wainwright said as she pivoted to face them. “It’s not often we have guests, especially ones from the past.”

  They saw the look Wainwright was casting towards them and immediately dispersed.

  Facedown in his bowl, Matt shrugged and continued gorging on his meal. “It’s OK, I get it. I’m sure there’s a lot of questions they’d want to ask me.”

  “I’ve got a few of my own.” She studied him with a somber look before continuing. “The Afflicted - the one that attacked you… we’ve never seen that before.”

  Matt finished his meal and wiped his mouth before turning to face her. “Seen what before?”

  “Cognitive skills that went way beyond basic instinct. It displayed an ability to think strategically. It knew that to get to you, it had to free itself - and it had no problem chewing off its hand to achieve that…” She trailed away as if suddenly realizing the implications of her own words. “I think the Afflicted are changing. Evolving somehow. I can’t prove it yet, but I can see it. Somehow, they’re getting way more organized. The signs are everywhere. I first noticed it a few months ago, but I kept it quiet.”

  “Kept it quiet? Isn’t that something your people would need to know?”

  Wainwright bristled slightly in her chair. The challenging tone of Matt’s response was not something she was used to. “Matt, the order I maintain inside these walls – it’s very fragile. The hope that these people have invested in – even more so.”

  Matt held her eyes for an uneasy beat. “If they are evolving as you suspect, you’re going to need to tell them eventually. Otherwise, it’ll be too late.”

  His suggestion registered with Wainwright as she breathed a sigh, but she did not answer him. She knew he was right.

  When the pause of silence between them knife-edged to an uncomfortable awkwardness, Matt straightened in his chair and glanced around the room. “Where’s my daughter? I’d like to see her.”

  “She’s with her crew upstairs. They’re stocking up with some supplies. I’ll take you to her, but there’s something I’d like to show you first.”

  There was a flash of hesitation in Matt’s eyes. “Does it involve anymore cages?”

  Wainwright stood and returned a faint smile, holding her hand out, politely ushering him towards the commissary’s exit. “You’re not a prisoner here anymore, Matt. Please, it won’t take up too much of your time.”

  Matt returned a cordial smile as he stood and brushed past her. As far as he could tell, there was nothing sinister to Wainwright’s tone or demeanor, but that did not dilute any of the lingering suspicions he still held against her. After all, it was less than an hour ago she was shooting needles into his eye and wanting to dissect him.

  Wainwright led Matt out of the commissary. They headed down a cement staircase and into a cavernous room bristling with high-tech military equipment. From what Matt could tell, much of it looked to be salvaged and retrofitted.

  At the front of the room, a team of analysts sat before huge optical displays and reconnaissance assays, pouring over drone feeds and satellite imagery. This was their surveillance and tactical operations hub.

  Wainwright positioned herself in the center of a large wraparound screen. “Your theory about Cromwell somehow controlling the Afflicted holds weight,” she said, her voice calm and even.

  Displayed on the screen was a grainy overhead image of what was once the suburb of D.C. The drone was idly circling above a small wooded area. Surrounding it was a landfill of trash and the rotting shells of abandoned vehicles, all entangled in a jungle of weeds.

  Matt joined her by the screen. “What am I looking at?”

  Suddenly, the display feed shifted to infra-red, revealing hundreds of globular shapes underneath the surface, teeming like a hive of ants.

  “This area was once Glover Archbold Park, right near Westchester. We’d been tracking a rather large hive for the past month, analyzing their movements, making certain they never strayed too close to our perimeters. We’ve studied dozens of these before, so this particular hive was pretty standard in relation to how the Afflicted hunt for food and resources. But a few days ago, they all vanished from the area without a trace. Every one of them.”

  Matt’s eyes narrowed as he tried to decipher the shapes. They moved in strange increments, their shadows lengthening before completely vanishing from the screen. He pointed to a large swathe of darkened rubble in one corner of the feed. “Could they have buried themselves deeper under all this?”

  “Unlikely. While they are known to form their hives underground, we’ve never seen them do such a thing. This is new.”

  “Well, some animals tend to migrate, right? So maybe they do too. Maybe they just moved to another area.”

  “You’re not understanding me, Matt. We found out this is happening across the world. Entire hives are vanishing for days at a time before reappearing in the same area. It’s like they’re all partaking in some type of global Sabbath. And once they return from wherever they’ve been, they begin displaying signs of tactical thinking. It’s very subtle, almost unnoticeable, but the more you watch them, the clearer it becomes.”

  Matt kept his eyes on the screen and said nothing.

  “If Cromwell is behind this, I want you to find out what he’s doing to them. Furthermore, how is he doing this to them?”

  “Listen, if I do find something out there, and that’s a big if, you may not like the answer.”

  “Regardless, I still need you to give me one.”

  “This world has seen enough war. It doesn’t need another one.”

  “No, it needs an exorcism.”

  Matt surveyed the images on the screen again before responding. “Remember how I told you he was creating an army? Perhaps now he’s starting to train them, which in turn, is helping them evolve.”

  Wainwright’s shoulders deflated as if the wind was suddenly knocked from her. “Jesus…” she whispered, the horror of what that could mean beginning to surface across her face. “This is bad. I feel so helpless.”

  “If you don’t start reinforcing your defenses, pretty soon you will be. Once Cromwell gets them fully under his control, it might take a lot more than a wall and some sentry-turrets to keep those things out.”

  “Or, he could just ignore us completely and start attacking the Combine.”

  “You think that’s somehow a better option?”

  “I need you to find him, Matt. Quickly.”

  “If I know Cromwell as well as I think I do, that won’t be too hard. He usually finds me first.”

  “Try and get some rest. In the morning, take as many men and weapons as you need.”

  Matt turned and proceeded to walk out of the room. “I’ll do that. Thanks for the Intel.”

  Wainwright watched him walk off, then called out after him. “Hey.”

  He paused before he reached the exit and turned to face her.

  “Welcome to the Renewal.”

  Matt gave her a tight nod and left the room.

  Eight

  Matt exited the ops center to see Ally and her team loading supplies into their convoy under the watchful eye of armed guards. As he drew closer, Dan spotted him and blocked his path. “Easy there, guy. She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

  Matt stared through him. Unflinching, his eyes cast in granite. “I’ll let her make that decision.” As Matt went to push past him, Dan put his hand against his chest and forcefully shoved him back. “Touch me again, kid, and you’ll lose that arm.”

  Unafraid by the threat, Dan stepped closer to him with a snide grin. They were almost nose-to-nose now. “She hasn’t seen or heard from you since she was a child. Since you abandoned her. So, you need to draw a line here.”

  “I’m a soldier. I don’t draw lines. I hold them.”

  “Then maybe I need to draw one for you.”

  Matt’s jaw tightened. So did his fists. “Maybe you should try.”

  Dan saw a dark, unwavering menace begi
n to solidify in Matt’s eyes and decided to pipe down a little. He could feel multiple sets of eyes on him. Maybe now was not the time or place. “You’re lucky we’re not back at base, old man.”

  “I’d say you’re the one who’s lucky, kid.”

  Eyes still locked on one another; Dan chuckled. “You might have aced that test in there, but just so you know - I don’t trust you. Not while you’ve got that shard attached to your spine.”

  “That’s understandable. But I could give two shits whether or not you trust me.”

  “I don’t think you get what I’m saying.”

  “Then please, enlighten me.”

  “If you even look at her in a way I don’t like, you and I are gonna dance. Is that clear?”

  “Crystal,” Matt said as he barged past him, clashing shoulders.

  Ally glanced up to see Matt approaching while hoisting a container into the back of a Humvee. She gave no indication she had just heard the confrontation with Dan, although they both knew she had.

  Matt leaned against a stack of supplies, watching her neutrally before attempting to engage. He was getting a read on her mood, and from what he could tell, it wasn’t good. That much was certain. “Thanks for saving my ass back in there,” he said.

  She loaded another crate onto the Humvee before responding to him. “I wasn’t aware I had.”

  “Without your testimony, things could have gotten a little nuttier. Took a while for Wainwright to come around. Was touch and go for a while.”

  Ally offered him nothing further and kept on working.

  “I’m heading out to tomorrow. I could use a good soldier to ride with me.”

  Again, she did not respond.

  “Ally come on. You need to talk to me.”

  When Matt stepped closer to her, she held up her hand, halting his advance. “And you need to understand something. If what you said about Cromwell is true, then this is it. This is the end. Within the next few months, the human species could disappear entirely off the face of the planet.”

  “I get that, Ally. More than you could possibly know.”

  She stepped closer to him now, her eyes and voice, equally cold. “I never brought you here for any sentimental reasons. Nor did I bring you here to save you because you’re my father. I brought you here to serve a purpose - one which has now been served. Are we clear on that?”

  Matt could see she was venting - burning off decades of unused anger. “Are you done?”

  “Yeah. I’m done.”

  “I take it you’re not going to help me?”

  “Maybe now you’ll understand what it feels like to be abandoned.”

  “I never abandoned you, Ally.”

  Ally had to step back and make a conscious effort to maintain her composure, otherwise, she was going to start screaming. “You’ve got some fucking nerve,” she seethed at him.

  Matt could see Dan moving inexorably closer to him in his peripheral. He decided not to inflame the situation any further. “Suit yourself, but I’m heading out in the morning to find Cromwell. If I had some help, maybe I could end this clusterfuck once and for all.” And with that, Matt turned and headed back towards the ops center. “It was nice seeing you again, Ally.”

  Dan watched him leave, then put a gentle hand on Ally’s shoulder. “It’s OK—”

  Ally jolted and shoved it away. “Just— don’t! Don’t touch me!” She stormed off across the exposed apron towards a small hangar bay, head bowed, holding back tears.

  Dan watched her walk away, saddened, and a little shocked by her reaction to his gesture.

  “She’s not pissed at you, man. She’s just been through a lot these past few days,” Trey said as he helped Jensen pick up a large supply crate. “Liam dies, then her father shows up, claiming he’s traveled through time? Jesus, what absolute mindfuck. Imagine how messed up and confused she feels right now.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Dan replied. He continued to watch her until she became a lone silhouette against the fading sun as it skimmed the ruddy horizon. “That’s what worries me.”

  Nine

  After showering, a restless Matt tossed and turned on the lumpy cot Wainwright had granted him access to in one of the guard dorms. He waved the light on and stared up at the single LED bulb that illuminated the bland, tiny space. While he longed for sleep, he found himself in the strange limbo that existed somewhere between exhaustion and insomnia. Sleep would come, but not tonight. Perhaps not for a few nights. There was much to think about. There was even more to do.

  Since his arrival in the future, the debilitating echoes that haunted him each night had vanished, only to be replaced by a new nightmare. A new reality. One where his daughter resented his very being. For as long as he could remember, he had thought of Ally and the miracle it would take to somehow be able to see her again. To simply stand in her presence was something he would have given anything to experience. Cromwell had granted him that. But he was no longer family. He was now a stranger to her. An unwilling pariah.

  As he went to roll onto his side, the door swung open and Dan marched in. Jensen trailed closely behind. Both men still wore their combat armor and appeared to be unarmed.

  Matt rolled onto his back again but did not bother to sit up. “You here to draw that line for me, kid?”

  Dan calmly stepped closer to the cot, towering over him in an obvious display of intimidation. “We’re going to help Wainwright find Cromwell.”

  “Thought that was my job.”

  Dan wheeled to Jensen with a wry grin. “This fucking guy.”

  “Oh, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

  When Dan swung back around to Matt, his grin had turned somewhat maniacal. “Why are you still talking?”

  Matt returned the grin, unruffled. “Because I like to pace myself. Why are you still listening?”

  Dan dropped his head and sighed, rubbing his thick jaw. “You sure got a mouth on you, old man.”

  “Dan!” Jensen said in a low, but firm rebuke. “Tap those brakes.”

  Matt decided it was time to defuse this situation with this kid. “Listen, I know you’re just looking out for her—”

  “You’re damn right I am,” Dan snapped. “Someone has to.”

  “And I’m glad you are. I mean that. It’s good to see she’s surrounded by people who care about her. But I just want her to know the truth about me.”

  “What truth?” Ally said as she entered the room. “That children always suffer the sins of their fathers?”

  “Is that what you think is happening?” Matt replied.

  “Happens to most children. Why should I be any different?”

  Matt rose from his cot. “Contrary to what you might believe, Ally, I never set out to abandon you. I would never have done that.”

  “You left me to this world.”

  “Ally, the entire planet knew the Wraith were going to attack us again. I was only trying to stop them. That’s the only reason why I left. If that’s a crime worth punishing me for, so be it. But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re still my daughter, and you always will be.”

  Ally leveled her glare at him. Before the earnestness in Matt’s eyes threatened to suck the anger from her, she glanced at her digital watch. “This place you said they took Rossiter to - what is it?”

  “It’s a private estate that hugs the Rappahannock River. At least it used to.”

  Ally stared at the concrete floor for a moment, then flicked her eyes to Dan and exited the room with Jensen.

  “We move out at dawn,” Dan said, an expression of grave focus now settled across his face. “That’s only a few hours away, so get your op briefing ready.”

  Matt gave the young man a nod. “Solid copy.”

  Dan turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

  Ten

  Now wearing scuffed combat armor over his jacket and jeans, Matt stood before an enormous digital map of the Beltway. The various waypoints that showed their route was superimposed o
ver the map from a holo-projector at the back of the room. One of the guards, wearing an opaque visor, clawed at the air while he manipulated certain topographical data and fed it back into Matt’s presentation.

  Wainwright stood beside him with her arms folded, her face wrought with concern. Ally, Dan, Jensen, and Trey sat on plastic chairs that were scattered around the briefing room. It was expansive and mostly bare. A few of Ally’s other gunners and teammates also stood at the back of the room. Everyone was staring at the screen like they were catching the last few minutes of a football game.

  Matt tapped a section of the screen and the waypoint highlighting their current location began to throb. “From here, we can make our way to the 14th Street Bridge. That will link us to the Interstate 395. We can then pass the Pentagon and head south until we reach Shirlington, all the way down to Fairmouth, and eventually onto Fredericksburg.”

  Dan shook his head with disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? That’s a suicide run.”

  Matt turned to him, shifting his weight as he folded his arms. “You have a better route, by all means, I want to hear it.”

  “That’s exactly the problem,” Ally interjected. “There is no better route. That entire area around the Pentagon is a no-go zone. There’s drone moats everywhere.”

  “Care to elaborate?” Matt asked his daughter. “I’m kinda new in town.”

  “When the shit finally hit the fan, what remained of the government ordered the military to install fortified moats around certain strategic landmarks of importance. As far as we know, the Pentagon is the only place where some of these devices are still operational. If anything within a three-mile perimeter gets too close, hidden sensor pads trigger a drone swarm.”

  “Hidden where?”

  “Underneath the street, buried under concrete. They can be anywhere. They’re tiny and extremely hard to spot unless they’re moving in a swarm”

  “Yeah, and by that stage, it’s too late,” Trey added. “You see a swarm of these things; you’re pretty much done for.”