AfterLife (31 page)

Wes stood back up without doing anything and went to untie
Meri. She had scooted her body around to watch the fight and was now facing
him. He took the ropes that he untied from around her and used them to tie
Blake up.

“Did you kill Seth?” Meri asked from the doorway while Wes
carefully knotted Blake in the rope.

Wes shook his head. “No, I’m still in sync with him. He’s
making his way through Fantasyland as we speak.” The statement was made in a
very matter-of-fact tone of voice, but it must have been a surprise to Meri.

“How can that be?” She kneeled down and looked questioningly
at Wes as she helped tie the final knot around Blake’s hands.

“It just is.” Wes stood up. “Where is everyone else?”

Meri ran to where she’d been tied up and examined the floor,
then leaned down and picked up her earpiece. “I don’t know; let’s find out.”
She put the earpiece back in her ear.

Wes had no idea where his earpiece was located. He would
have to rely on Meri to communicate with the rest of their group. Meri began
talking but he tuned it out as he looked at Seth’s body on the floor. It would
be easy to take his eyes and end it all here and now, but he couldn’t bring
himself to do it. Seth was passing from Fantasyland into Tomorrowland. He must
have a sense of where Wes was sitting, and he was getting closer. He didn’t
know how Seth was tracking him, but it was time to get busy here. There was
still Lyall to take care of before he finished his encounter with Seth.

Wes walked across the hall to where his brother was strapped
to the bed. Lyall’s chest rose and fell with each breath. At least he was still
alive. The man who had been watching over him was not in the room. He must have
left with the other soldiers to fight off Jose, Amanda, Chloe, and Xander
somewhere inside the building. It would be easy to take Lyall now but he feared
detaching Lyall from the equipment might adversely affect him in some way. They
needed the gray-haired man to do it safely.

“They’re upstairs.” Meri emerged from the room across the
hall. She grabbed Wes’s arm, pulling him from the doorway. “Xander’s been
severed but the rest of them are surrounded in the lobby. They’re almost out of
darts and they’re going to need our help until our friends get here. We’ll come
back for your brother, I promise.”

Reluctantly, Wes allowed Meri to drag him away and followed
her lead down the hall. The split in consciousness was starting to disorient
him, and the success of his standoff would require him to place a little more
focus on maintaining his mental creation. Seth was getting closer to his hiding
spot. It was time to move. In his park, he stood up from the bench where he’d
secluded himself and sprinted toward the entrance of the PeopleMover, hurrying
up the moving ramp that led to the second story loading platform. He would
watch Seth’s movements from above.

Meri was still leading the way up to the ground floor. At
the top of the stairs, Meri held out her hand to stop Wes. “Okay everyone,” she
said to the others on the communication line, “get ready to stand clear. I’m
setting the first one off in 10, 9, 8…” She continued the count as she pulled
an object from her pocket. It was one of the small, ping-pong-shaped balls Wes
had seen her take from the chest in the living room before they left their
apartment that night. She pressed a button on its side and a red light lit up.
As she finished her countdown, she stepped out of the stairwell and threw the
object into a group of Atumra soldiers standing just out of reach of
AfterLife’s electrifying darts. Meri quickly jumped back into the stairwell.
The ball hit the ground and stopped where it landed. Immediately a concussion
pulse exploded, knocking all the soldiers to the ground and splintering the
wood paneling and the ceiling a dozen meters in each direction.

“What was that?” Wes stared in shock at the scene.

“That’s what we call a Pulse,” Meri said, smiling at Wes.
“It emits a compression wave that does the equivalent of bruising everyone the
wave comes in contact with. The Mortuis’ muscles are now pretty badly damaged,
making it difficult for them to move. They’ll need to do some heavy feeding to
repair themselves.”

“You could have used one of those downstairs when we were
cornered.”

“Nope,” Meri said, moving down the hallway and pulling out
another Pulse. “It could have hit Lyall and that definitely would have killed
him.”

The sound of firing EDDIEs began again in the lobby. Meri
led the way into the hallway past the immobilized Mortuis who littered the
floor. She began her countdown again and launched another Pulse into the far
end of the hallway where more soldiers were hiding. Again, Meri pushed Wes back
into a doorframe as the Pulse detonated.

After the compression wave passed, the sound of EDDIEs
started up again. Wes could tell there were more than just a few soldiers here
tonight. They were in the middle of a full-out attack. The soldiers didn’t have
any weapons though. Poor planning on Seth’s part. He hadn’t prepared his men
for battle. He probably hadn’t expected one.

From the far end of the hallway, the door to the loading
dock opened. Through it stepped Ken and Carol, followed by Daemon and Aimee
from St. Louis. Wes was relieved to see them. Each was equipped with a giant
water gun that was attached to tanks strapped to their backs. “Hi Meri,” Ken
said, walking past more fallen soldiers. “Are we too late to help?”

“Never,” Meri responded.

Ken and the others stepped into the lobby and started
shooting streams of liquid at the soldiers descending the grand staircase from
the upper levels. As the liquid hit them, the Mortuis screamed in pain.

Carol, with her short, curly gray hair and flowered blouse,
looked almost comical sporting the spray gun contraption, but she continued
forward into the lobby with Daemon and Aimee at her side. The other AfterLife
members joined their line with their EDDIEs and slowly they pushed the Atumra
soldiers into retreat. It was clear the soldiers weren’t expecting Ken and the
others to arrive. More evidence they weren’t prepared for the type of encounter
taking place.

From where she stood, Meri called out to any of the Atumra
soldiers who could hear, “Some of you have been recruited to the Atumra without
your consent and without knowing what you were getting into. I just want you to
know that you do have a choice. There is always a choice. If you want to know
more about that choice, AfterLife can help.”

Wes didn’t know if the announcement would produce an effect
on the retreating soldiers. In a way it would be considered surrender on their
part, and he didn’t know what kind of brainwashing the recruits had undergone.
However, after a few seconds, some of them put their hands up to indicate their
interest.

Ken stepped back to Wes. “How is your brother, Mr. Wes? Is
he alive?”

Wes nodded. “He is.”

“Very good to hear. A very good thing to hear indeed.” Ken’s
face wrinkled as he smiled. “How do you like my new invention?” He directed
this question to Meri, who simply smiled. “My tea was only a jumping off point.
This particular brew produces real pain.” He smiled again and then joined Carol
and the others who were holding off the loyal Atumra soldiers.

Meri turned to Wes. “Let’s go get your brother while they
clear the exit.”

Wes nodded.

“It’s over, Seth,” Wes yelled down at him from the second
floor PeopleMover platform, “Your soldiers are falling back at your
headquarters and I’m holding your body hostage.”

Seth looked up and shook his head. “You’re a fool if you
think I’d believe that! I won’t fall for another one of your tricks.”

“You’re a fool if you don’t believe me.” Wes stopped all
motion in the park. The guests all froze in place and the spinning rockets
above Wes’s head paused midflight. “If I can do all this, what makes you think
I can’t be in two places at once?”

Wes could tell by the look on Seth’s face that he did
believe him. Suddenly, Seth disappeared. He’d broken the sync. Wes realized too
late that he should have waited a little longer to gloat. He and Meri had not
yet reached the stairwell and his brother was still in the basement on the
table…close to Seth’s body.

The theme park disappeared and Wes reunited his mind.

W
es started
descending the stairs two or three at a time with Meri following close behind.
Seth was free. The stairwell shook as an explosion ignited in another part of
the building and Wes stumbled on one of the landings. He quickly regained his
footing and continued down the stairs.

The room he and Seth had been in was empty; Seth was gone.
There was no telling where he went or if he was still in the building. He
quickly ran to the room across the hall where Lyall remained unconscious on the
table. The gray-haired man with the sunken eyes stood over his brother. Wes
lifted his EDDIE and prepared to shoot a dart at him.

“No Wes!” Meri yelled from the doorway. “He’s with us.”

Wes kept his gun pointed at the man. He couldn’t be Meri’s
friend – he worked with the Atumra! He was keeping his brother drugged!

Meri walked to Wes and placed her hand over his, lowering it
and the EDDIE. “I was referring to Ken,” Meri said into her communicator. “Wes
was having trouble seeing him.” She reached up to her ear and turned off the
device before turning back to Wes. “This conversation is for your ears only.
This is Doc. He’s been a spy for AfterLife for years, but only Zach and I knew.
I knew him before they planted him.” She walked over to Doc and gave him a
quick hug. “Doc, can he be moved?” She looked at Lyall.

“Yes, if we’re careful.” Doc began maneuvering around the
steel table. “Zach contacted me this morning to make sure we could get him out
quickly. He’s going to be fine, Wes,” Doc said as he unhooked the IV and lifted
Lyall off the table. “I put special lenses in his eyes that prevented Seth from
syncing with him. Seth thought it was because he was still under the influence
of the drugs.”

Wes stepped closer to the table. “If you were here, why did
we have to come rescue him at all?”

Doc continued prepping Lyall to be moved. “Zach is the only
one who knows I’m here. He’s suspected a spy among the Ancestors for some time.
If the others knew, it would have gotten to Seth, and I wouldn’t have been able
to keep your brother safe.” He lifted Lyall in his arms and began moving toward
the door.

“Did you see Seth leave?” Wes stepped back into the corridor
outside the room, allowing Doc to carry Lyall through.

“Yes. He ordered me to kill Lyall and then took off down the
hallway in the direction of the second stairwell. Shortly after that the fire
alarms went off, so I assume it was he who broke the gas main in the
crematorium two floors above us. We have to hurry now. These lower levels are
all cement so we’re okay for a few minutes until the upper floors collapse in
on themselves; then these walls are constructed to collapse as well.”

Doc walked swiftly down the corridor in the opposite
direction from the stairwell Wes and the others had used to get to the lower
levels. “There’s an emergency access shaft down here that should enable us to
get through the fire above us. There’s only a ladder but I’m pretty sure the
shaft itself is fireproof. When the Atumra restored this building, it was
engineered to be completely destroyed if the need arose. This emergency exit
will be the only way out from where we are.”

Wes and Meri followed Doc down the corridor as the fire
alarm continued ringing loudly throughout the building. Water from emergency
sprinklers on the upper levels was running down the stairwell behind them and
filling the hallway. They splashed through it as they moved across the white
tile floor. Suddenly the power failed and the emergency lighting flickered on.

The exit shaft was situated behind a door at the end of the
hall. It was not marked, and Wes would never have guessed the intent of the
room behind the door. It was small and square, large enough to hold only a few
people. On the wall opposite the door was a ladder that rose through a circular
hole in the ceiling. On Doc’s instructions, Meri closed the door behind them,
eliminating all light in the room except a small amount that flickered down
from an emergency bulb a few floors above.

Meri led them up the ladder. Doc held onto Lyall with one
arm and pulled himself up the ladder with the other. Wes brought up the rear.
One level up was another room just like the one they had entered below. On the
next landing, Wes could see the metal door that shielded the shaft had turned a
soft red from the extreme temperatures on the other side. This must be the
floor the crematorium was on, Wes thought. It was now totally engulfed in
flames with only the door between them and the raging inferno on the other
side.

They continued until reaching ground level. Doc opened the
door. They were back at the loading dock, close to where they first entered
just a couple hours before. Had they known the shaft was there, it would have
been a much better entrance than the one they’d used. Of course, they were led
by Charlie, Wes thought, and he was part of the trap. Well, no need to worry
about him anymore.

Doc handed Lyall to Wes. “You’ll have to take him the rest
of the way. I have to maintain my position within the Atumra. Coming with you
will jeopardize that.”

 “Thanks, Doc,” Wes said. “I owe you for watching over my
brother. If you ever need anything…” He let the words trail off.

“I’d be grateful if you’d keep my little secret. Tell no
one.”

Meri nodded. “Then as far as we’re concerned, you didn’t
help us out of the building and we never had this discussion.” He nodded,
turned, and left them, quickly walking off in another direction.

Meri and Wes exited the building the same way they came in
earlier. Ken, Carol, and the others had long gone. The Atumra soldiers must
have left when Seth set off the gas main to explode. There was no reason for
them to stick around with their leader gone.