Genetic Drift (10 page)

Marcus saw the entire exchange and watched helplessly as the SUV drove away.  His attention was diverted when Ben pulled him down.  He pointed to a crawl space under the headquarters and Marcus saw Barron crawling toward the small opening.  

“Get in there, it’s the only way,” Ben told him.  Barron didn’t hesitate to crawl to safety.  He was halfway through the opening as Marcus watched the SUV drive out of sight.  He knew that Ben was right and this would be the only way to survive until tomorrow.  He jumped to the ground and followed Barron into the small space.  Ben stayed behind and frantically searched for anyone he could help but he could not compromise the few that were safe.  Not a soul was anywhere near him.  He had planned the defense as best as he was able and now had to rely on his men to do their part.  In the meantime, he had Barron and Marcus to keep safe.  He saw the Trolls and their blue orbitizer cores break through the cornfield. 

With a heavy sigh, he crawled through the space and grabbed the small door to secure it in place.  He slinked on the ground as he crawled to a solid part of the foundation and gathered with the other two.  Ben whispered to Barron and Marcus, “We’ll wait out the attack until morning.  They’ll be gone by then.”  They lay in silence as the guns sounded in the distance, returning the Trolls’ blasts.  The counterfire continued and lessened as the night progressed.  They listened until a single gun fired back.  One more pop of the gun.  Then, nothing, no more gunfire.  Knowing that they had been defeated, the three men lay in the dirt until morning broke.

With the sun rising, Marcus emerged from the crawl space.  All of his sweat had entered his wounds and his back was burning in pain.  He reached into his pocket and put a painkiller in his mouth.  He chomped on it and swallowed.  Waiting for the medicine to kick in, he looked around to find bodies on the ground, lifeless and immobile.  

Barron was close to follow and immediately looked for Mac.  Barron spotted him and ran to his cold, stiff mass.  Barron dropped to his knees and pulled Mac’s arm with a hope that he would respond.  He dropped his head and forced Mac’s hand to his face, “I’m sorry Mac.”  His voice was shaken and sad, “I’m sorry that this happened.”  It was another loss for Barron in this new world.  He felt a wave of purpose fill him, “Don’t worry Mac, I won’t forget.  I won’t forget what you told me.”

Barron was tapped on his shoulder.  He turned around with his reddened face to see Marcus’ hand extended.  He reached for the hand and Marcus pulled him up.  Marcus told him, “Maddie is out there, it’s time to go.”  Ben had already started the old car and revved the engine.  Marcus entered the front and Barron the backseat of the car.  

“They’re going to London, Kentucky,” Ben said, shifting the car into drive.  “I already informed Supreme Command of what Alan was doing and they want all survivors to go there.   I guess we’re the only ones.”  With nowhere else to go, the car began to move with Ben driving.  Exhausted from the night and seizing the opportunity, Barron and Marcus fell asleep.

PART TWO:

RECOMBINATION

DAY 278

THE AWAKENING

WESTBOUND I-64

Rho
felt the absence of body.  The human shuddered as the loss of her hand caused her pain.  Her mind was trying to find the connection, reaching out to find the lost piece of her body but never receiving a response.

“Do you need that, human?” Rho
asked.

“Yes, it is part of me.  I need it,” she answered.

“Then I will make you whole.  We will be whole.”

Alan, Zeke, and the driver of the SUV were focused on the path in front of them.  They were more concerned with the potential of what could happen as opposed to the events that were unfolding behind them.  The SUV ran too close to the edge of the highway and started to hum as the tire ran over the rumble strip.  The driver was quick to readjust course.  

“Pay attention to the road!”  Alan yelled.  Their heads jerked forward again to scan for Trolls.

With the jerk of the course correction, Maddie’s eyes snapped open.  She was discombobulated and looked left, right, up and down, and then she felt a burning tickle on her left wrist.  She slowly looked at her arm as she heard Alan’s voice talking to the others in the background.   

Her eyes widened as she saw a gray band form around her wrist.  A stream of blood was flowing out and a gray liquid was entering back in.  She moved her wrist away from the two flows and it felt as if her wound would burst into flames.  Knowing that Alan was in front of her, she resisted the urge to give in to the pain.  Wincing, she placed her wrist back into the bloody mix and her pain changed back into a tickle.  The blood and gray liquid separated after the disturbance and then another band formed outward from her wrist.  A new skin materialized before her eyes.  She watched as the gray growth continued.   The back of her hand started to reform followed by her knuckles.  The blood stopped flowing out but the gray liquid continued to be sucked into her severed limb as it grew.  Five bands started to materialize as gray fingers began to grow.  Her new gray nails capped over the edges of her fingers and the burning tickle went away.  She looked down at the metal scraps still lying under her newly formed hand and saw no signs of liquid on them.  She gently lifted her hand to her face so as not to make a sound.

The gray hand opened and closed.  She turned it to see the palm hadn’t changed in shape, only in color.  She felt no difference in the feel of her hand, the only difference was the color.  She slid her hand to her side and listened as Alan continued to talk.  He spoke to Zeke, “I don’t care what happens to her, they’ll take her whether she’s dead or alive.  All I care about right now is getting as far away from here as possible.”  Maddie knew that if she was found alive they would probably kill her.  She had to get out of this situation and she had to act as soon as possible using the element of surprise.

She turned toward the front of the car as she readied her body.  She curled up and adjusted her knees, keeping her body below the angle of the rearview mirror.  She quietly dug into the scraps to ensure her footing was secure.  Her thighs began to fill with the urge to jump and when she couldn’t contain the feeling any longer, she lunged toward the driver.

While she was still airborne, she wrapped her arm around his neck and used her right hand to push his head forward.  The driver felt the impact and extended his left arm outward.  His reaction caused the steering wheel to jerk to the right and the SUV careened off of the road.  Alan and Zeke reached for Maddie as the vehicle began to overturn.  Their efforts were in vain as inertia and gravity worked to pull them away.  The passenger side of the SUV impacted the ground and the vehicle began to roll.  One turn, two turns, the SUV was gathering dents as all four of its passengers spun around on the inside.  The front end hit the ground and the SUV started to spin on another axis.  The tires hit the ground and after the receding bounces stopped, the SUV settled in the opposite direction it was originally going.

As the chaos from the crash subsided, Maddie began to stir.  The metal scraps in the back had scattered throughout the vehicle.  Maddie lifted herself up and moved the scraps out of her way.  She looked around the interior.  The driver had been halfway ejected out of the broken windshield even as his hand held on to the steering wheel.  His body hung limply over the side, his upper half sandwiched against the ground during the several rolls of the vehicle.  She zoomed over to Zeke only to see his seatbelt still strapped on but his head hanging lifelessly.  During the roll, the orbitizer had left Alan’s side and was wedged between Zeke and the ground, breaking his neck and ending his life.  She looked next to her and Alan’s arm was wedged in between the front seat and the side door.  He was struggling to break free but the door had pushed in too far and he was pinned.  He saw that Maddie was mobile and begged her, “Please, help me.”  She leaned over the seat, grabbed the orbitizer and returned to the back seat facing Alan.  The expression on Maddie’s face needed no words.  There was no chance that Alan was going to get help.  “You were going to let me die,” she said as she shoved open the jammed door.

She exited the SUV as Alan, with his limited range, started to flail his legs trying to kick her.  Maddie had her back to Alan as he screamed, “There is no way that you are leaving me here.”  Alan spotted a handgun next to him and picked it up.  Maddie turned around to speak but spotted that she was the target of his aim.  She quickly raised the orbitizer, the core glowed and she shot.  The orb entered Alan’s chest before he could pull the trigger and he couldn’t take a breath.  His eyes gazed at Maddie and then he slumped over.

Maddie looked around the SUV and decided that she was going to continue west.  There was no reason to go back to Charlottesville so she headed toward the mountains.  After an hour of walking, she saw an exit sign.  She squinted to focus on the letters.  “Blue Ridge Parkway,” she said as if somebody was there to hear her.  “That’s the exit for Summerwhite, I know where I’m going.”

She took the first steps on her new quest to find Catelyn, Damien and Bryce.  Her orbitizer was cradled in her right arm as she began to analyze her gray hand.

DAY 278

REJOINED

WESTBOUND I-64

Headquarters was gone, the Avalon Militia was destroyed, and Charlottesville was a city destined to be in ruins.  Ben could not help but feel responsible for another failed encounter with the Trolls.  “I have to figure out a way to get those things,” he mumbled as Marcus and Barron slept in the car.  He could not dwell on his failures too much as his main goal was to catch up to Alan and get Maddie away from him.  He had been driving for two hours and the need for sleep started to take over his mind.  Every time he started to doze, he would jerk his head back up.  He realized he was about to succumb to his fatigue.  He caught himself dozing again and when he jerked, Alan’s SUV was within sight.

              Ben slammed on the brakes and came to a screeching halt.  The sudden push forward woke up Marcus and threw Barron to the floor.  “What’s going on Ben,” Marcus said as he rubbed his neck.  Barron emerged from the floorboards slightly dazed to see Ben pointing to Alan’s SUV. 

“There she is,” Ben said, waving his finger. 

Ben slowly crept toward where the vehicle lay still and Marcus readied his gun for any resistance.  Barron transferred from the back to the driver’s seat just in case a quick getaway was required.  Marcus swiftly joined Ben and they approached the SUV in formation.  He had let Maddie go with Alan once and he was not going to let it happen again.  They saw a body dangling off of the dashboard and Zeke’s head was tilted to his left, mouth agape, in his seat. 

Ben and Marcus came up to the front of the vehicle and then split to each side.  They quickly lifted their guns, ready to engage at the slightest movement. 

“Looks dead,” Marcus observed.  Ben nudged Zeke with his muzzle and Zeke didn’t budge.  Marcus continued toward the back and saw Alan’s head slouched over his body, a hole from an orbitizer shot gaping in his chest. 

“She’s okay,” Marcus relaxed as he told Ben.  Ben looked in from his side to see the top of Alan’s body. 

Ben looked at Marcus, “Where is she?”  Ben didn’t see her and came around to Marcus’ side. 

As he approached, Marcus told him, “She’s not here.”  He pointed to Alan’s chest. 

Ben looked for a second and turned around.  He lowered his gun and started yelling, “Maddie!” He waited for a reply.

Marcus joined in calling out for her, “Maddie!”  No response again.

Barron noticed that they were safe and joined them.  They continued to call for Maddie but she was nowhere around. 

“Maybe she walked, maybe she got a ride,” Marcus said as he thought through the possibilities. 

Barron added, “Maybe she got abducted by aliens,” as he tried to lighten the mood. 

Marcus shook his head, “Your timing really sucks for punchlines.”

Ben told the others, “We have to keep moving, perhaps we’ll see her on our way to Kentucky.” 

Barron looked at him, “We can’t abandon her.” 

Marcus spoke with reason in his voice, “We can’t stay out here looking for her either.  If we stay out here, then we’re at risk of meeting another set of Trolls.” 

Barron nodded in agreeance, “You’re right.”  He started to walk back to the car, dejected.  Marcus and Ben were quick to follow. 

Before they entered the car, Marcus looked at Ben, “She’ll be fine, she’s a survivor.”  He was trying to assure himself more than comfort Ben.

The car started up and the group was on the road again.  They drove for 10 miles and spotted a person walking on the side of the highway.  “No way,” Marcus cracked a smile, “I can’t believe it.”

Maddie heard the sound of an approaching car and Marcus rolled down his window.  “You need a ride to Kentucky?” 

Maddie looked at him and kept walking, “No thanks, I’m headed someplace else.”  Ben pulled ahead and stopped the car. 

Marcus opened the door and immediately walked up to Maddie, “Where are you going?” he asked as she continued to walk. 

“I’m looking for my friends,” Maddie replied, showing her determination.  Barron and Ben caught up to the pair. 

Marcus continued, “Do you even know where they are?” 

Maddie stopped and faced Marcus, “No,” she took a deep breath, “but I know where to start looking.”  She pointed to the south and said, “The last place we were together was up there.  There will be clues in the cabin.”  Marcus, Barron, and Ben hadn’t seen the blue orb disintegrate her hand but as she pointed to the mountains, they noticed the sun glisten off of the metallic hue of her gray hand.  Maddie dropped her arm and continued to walk.

Barron was the quickest to ask, “What happened to your hand?” 

Maddie kept walking, “It was shot off when we were leaving Charlottesville.  I woke up in the back of the SUV and it was growing back.”  She looked at her hand again, “I guess I was turned into a lizard.”  Ben wanted to hear her story but noticed that they were walking too far away from the car and doubled back.

Barron thought back to what Mac had told him in private after Maddie’s blood was tested.  Barron did not realize the importance of that information at the time or understand what Mac was telling him. Mac had two phones at Happy Paws just as Alan had two at militia headquarters.  His second line was connected to a research laboratory that had more specialized tests than a normal lab.  This research facility was located in the same hospital in Charlottesville where the normal blood panels were run.  Mac had confided in Barron that Maddie was infested with some genetically engineered cells.  He told him that her cells and the altered cells acted together but further observation was required.  Barron was told that if anything should happen to Mac, he would give this knowledge to Maddie.

Barron asked Maddie, “Don’t you want to get your hand checked out?” 

She faced forward and continued on her way, “Yes, but after I finish this.” 

Marcus couldn’t find a reason to dissuade her and knew that she wouldn’t budge on finding out about her past.  He looked at her and surrendered to her will, “If you’re set on this then we’re going with you.” 

She was focused and her determination to find her friends hardened with every step.  She was glad that Marcus was volunteering and responded, “Thanks.” 

Ben drove up along the side of the highway and Marcus turned to him, “We’re going to Maddie’s cabin.” 

Sensing that there was no other alternative, Ben informed the group, “You know there’s a faster way to get up there, right?”   Marcus and Barron went straight to the car but Maddie hesitated.  Ben assured her that he was going to be true to his word, “Come on in, we’re taking you there.”  Barron was already in the car and Marcus waited with the door open, inviting her in.  She knew these were the only people in the world that she could trust.