The Red Phoenix 12: Strength Comes in Numbers (46 page)

Kirk One and the others posted at the edge of the foyer.

“We’re almost out of the facility,” said Siddoway, waiting for the elevator. “Just be prepared for the jungle.”

“At this point, just getting out of here will be a landmark experience,” Chris replied.

The elevator doors opened.

“Everyone in,” said Chris, making his way to the corner next to Kerry. “Make room.”

Siddoway squeezed into the elevator. The clones scrunched against one another to fit, holding up their weapons.

“We’re out of here,” said Siddoway, pushing another button.

The doors closed.

***

In the auditorium, Braddock fought with the webbing as he watched Romero’s inner fluids being sucked out before his eyes by a spider, causing his person to wrinkle and shrink like a raisin. He grunted as he struggled to pull out his thigh-holstered combat knife. As the spider finished Romero, it crawled across the webbing towards him. He pushed to reach his knife handle as the spider crawled on top of him, preparing its vicious teeth to bite into his chest. Braddock growled, reaching through the webbing, pushing his arms through the powerful adhesive rope-like restraints. His wrist broke through! He pulled his twelve-inch blade with serrated edging and rammed it into the spider’s gaping jaws as it was about to strike. It hissed and shrieked as he stabbed it in the head multiple times, slicing off one of its arms.

“Yeah, get some!” he growled, cutting through more of the webbing that hammocked him fourteen-feet above the floor.

He cut through another strap of web, freeing him. He fell to the aisle floor, missing the seats. He gripped his forearm, clenching his teeth in pain as three more spiders came down at him through the web. He grabbed an assault rifle and fired, killing all three of the spiders, making them fall to the seats below, causing their innards to gush onto the seats and the floor.

He hurried up the aisle and ran towards the exit door, leaping over piles of dead spiders and soldiers.

In the corridor, he turned on his radio as he walked towards the elevators, holding a rifle at his side, webbing on his shoulders, chest and legs.

“Base from Delta Leader, do you copy? Over,” he said into the mic in a professional tone.

There was no response.

“Delta Leader to Base, over?”

“This is base, we copy you, Delta Leader,” said Bauer with some static. “What’s the status of the mission?”

“Massive failure,” Braddock answered. “Entire platoon is down. The arsenal was disarmed but the package wasn’t located.”

“I copy,” Bauer replied. “That’s most unfortunate.”

“I’m heading back to the surface to form another plan,” Braddock stated. “Send me a bird to pick me up at the southeast entry point.”

“What about the targets?” asked Bauer.

“Siddoway and Michaels escaped with additional hostiles,” Braddock replied. “They’re most likely on the surface by now.”

“Do they have the package?” asked Bauer.

“Unknown,” Braddock answered.

“I’ll dispatch my fleet of Blackhawks, Delta Leader,” said Bauer. “We might be able to stop them before they get to the trees.”

“Excellent, General,” Braddock said.

“Come again?” asked Bauer, sounding staticky.

“Stand by, sir,” Braddock responded as three mutated creatures came around the corner, roaring.

Braddock held up his weapon and fired, killing two of them right off, dotting their chests with bullet holes. His gun went empty, clicking. He pulled his knife and threw it tip over end at the charging creature, plunging the blade into the third creature’s throat. The creature fell dead on its back as its roar faded.

“Delta Leader? Are you there?” asked Bauer.

“Siddoway and Michaels are mine,” Braddock answered, pulling his knife from the dead creature’s throat and holstering it.

He pulled some webbing off his neck and shoulder as he continued up the corridor.

“If they reach the forest, we may never find them,” Bauer stated, concerned.

“General, there is no hole they could dig, bush they could hide behind or rock they could crawl under to hide from me,” Braddock responded, reloading another magazine into his machine gun. “I
will
find them.”

“See you back at base, Delta Leader,” said Bauer.

“Roger that,” Braddock replied.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE JUNGLE

Siddoway and the others climbed out of the pile of rubble, finding a place to stand over the staggered layers of broken up concrete, rebar and asphalt. Chris closed his eyes, blinded by the daylight as he inhaled.

“Surprised to see the light of day?” asked Siddoway, helping Kirk Seven out of the hole.

“It’s the first breath of fresh air I’ve had in days,” Chris answered, squinting, giving Kerry a hand out of the hole.

He rubbed his eyes then looked to the distance, beholding the massive piles of wreckage and rubble of the fallen Red Phoenix.

“My God,” he said, amazed, turning in a three-sixty.

Siddoway didn’t reply, knowing he was to blame.

“The jungle, I presume?” Chris asked, staring at the dark trees over the mounds and heaps of destroyed buildings that encircled them in the short distance.

“Incredible isn’t it?” Siddoway asked in a quiet voice.

“So, how do we do this?” asked Chris.

“I have a plan that’s going to get us a ways into the trees. How far I couldn’t tell you,” Siddoway replied.

“These creatures you told me about that you encountered have me worried,” Chris stated.

“Bear in mind, I was alone and without any weapons,” Siddoway responded. “Now, we have six guns, not including my freeze weapon and a blow torch.”

“How much time do you think we have until more soldiers come?” asked Chris.

“Now that Braddock and his assassins are out of the way, we could have hours, maybe days,” Siddoway answered.

“That is if he’s dead,” Chris stated.

“I’m going to vote for a big
yes
on that,” said Siddoway. “Did you see the size of that spider that took him?”

“Yes but it’s always good to be sure,” Chris added. “Anyway, I say we take off as soon as possible and head for the trees.”

Siddoway heard the echoing whispers of the phantasma. He stopped, awestruck by its sounds.

“Wait! Did you hear that?” he asked, turning around, frantically looking for it.

“Hear what?” asked Chris, glancing at Kerry, concerned.

“It’s close,” Siddoway replied. “It’s here!”

“What is?” asked Chris.

“The apparition,” Siddoway responded.

“I don’t hear anything, Alex,” Chris stated.

“I’m telling you, it’s here!” Siddoway said with increasing excitement.

“C’mon everybody, let’s get moving,” Chis suggested, trying to ignore him.

“Well, hold on, Chris, we should look around for it, don’t you think?” asked Siddoway, worried.

“The blue phantasma you told me about?” Chris asked.

“It’s got to be here somewhere, Chris,” Siddoway replied, sounding obsessed. “It’s close, probably right under our feet. I can feel it.”

“Alex, there is nothing around here but mountains of rubble in every direction,” Chris responded. “There could be a fleet of semi-trucks buried under all this and we’d would never know.”

“We’ve got to look for it, Chris,” said Siddoway, raising his voice.

Twelve and the other clones turned their heads at his intensity.

“Think of it, if we find it, the soldiers or anything we face in the jungle would be no match for us,” said Siddoway, making a fist. “
I’d
be invinc—I mean
we’d
be invincible and no one could stop us.”

“I disagree, Alex, the soldiers could come on us at any time and we’d be sitting ducks out here in a shooting gallery,” Chris replied.

“Well, I’m staying behind to look for it,” Siddoway stated in a firm tone.

“If you stay behind, you’re on your own,” Chris responded.

“I’ve told you what awaits us in that jungle,” said Siddoway. “If we go in there without more power at our side, we’re as good as dead.”

“I’m not sure you should be in possession of the
apparition
, Alex,” said Chris, moving closer to him.

“What did you say?” asked Siddoway in disbelief.

“You heard me,” Chris answered. “I think you’ve spent enough time with it already.”

“The apparition is power,” said Siddoway in a hard tone.

“Power? Look around you, Alex. We are at the threshold of hell on top of a mountain of devastation all because of your obsession with the
blue apparition
.”

“I’m not obsessed with it,” said Siddoway, staring at Chris like he’d betrayed him. “The apparition and I are one. It’s part of me now.”

“So many people have died, Alex, people who didn’t have to …
innocent
people,” Chris stated. “I say let it be buried forever and let that be the end of it.”

Siddoway glared at him.

“Anyway, I say we get to the trees and fortify ourselves until we can come up with a game plan for escape,” Chris continued.

“I agree, this place is going to be crawling with soldiers tomorrow,” Kirk One stated.

Twelve heard faint echoing whispers coming from the bottom of the pile of building walls, rebar and concrete that he was standing on. He looked at Chris who was talking to Siddoway, Kerry and the other clones a short distance away. He glanced over the edge of the wreckage, hearing the strange whispery sounds continue. He made his way down the slope of the wreckage, stepping from one layer of jagged-edged asphalt to another, climbing over rebar, sheetrock and broken glass.

He reached the bottom of the twenty-five foot slope of rubble then leaped to the ground. He looked through a crack in between two garage door-sized layers of concrete that were wedged against one another, seeing something that was white, ghost-like, floating with blue vaporous streaks flowing from its center. The soft, whispery sounds emanated from the phantasma, buried under a tremendous mound of rubble.

“The apparition,” said Twelve in a soft tone.

On the top of the mountain of wreckage, Siddoway heard the faint whisperings echo in the wind. He turned around, frantic, like a dog hearing the cry of another animal.

“What is it, Alex?” asked Chris, noticing his odd behavior.

“Don’t you hear it?” Siddoway replied, pacing.

“Hear what?” Kerry asked.

“The apparition, it’s here!” Siddoway responded, looking over another edge of the wreckage.

Chris and Kerry glanced at each other like Siddoway was nuts.

***

Twelve looked above him, making sure no one was looking, extending his hand towards the blue vapor.

“C’mon, it’s okay,” said Twelve, beckoning the phantasma to float towards him.

The apparition hesitated but drifted through the crack and hovered near his face.

“So, you’re the infamous apparition, huh?” he said in a quiet voice, removing his binoculars from a pouch that was slung around his shoulders. “You are as magnificent as Siddoway described.”

The floating vapor made more whispery sounds.

“C’mon, it’s okay. Hide in here,” said Twelve, keeping his binocular pouch open.

The blue mist flowed into the pouch; Twelve closed the top, snapping it shut.

“Clearly you are a bit much for humans to deal with,” said Twelve in a soft tone. “I think it’s time the artificial intelligences watch over you for a while.”

“What are you doing down there, Twelve?” Siddoway asked from the top of the rubble in a loud voice.

“Just thought I heard something!” the clone answered, startled, looking up.

“What did you hear?” asked Siddoway in an anxious voice.

“I thought I heard people trapped under the layers of debris down here.” Twelve began climbing back to the top.

“Did you find something?” asked Siddoway.

“No, no, just looking through the cracks of this tremendous rubble everywhere,” he replied, reaching the top.

“It’s a huge mess out here, isn’t it?” asked Siddoway.

“Oh yeah,” Twelve answered, passing him.

Siddoway turned, watching Twelve with suspicion as he walked away.

“We’re all set, Chris,” stated Kirk One. “Everyone’s weapon is loaded, ready to go.”

“That’s great, I suppose we’ll—”

Suddenly, Chris stopped talking. He looked to the sky towards the west then to the east, shifting his eyes.

“What is it, Chris?” asked Kerry.

“Time to get to the trees,” he replied with urgency, making his way down the first slope of heaped up rubble, taking Kerry by the hand.

“What do you hear?” asked Siddoway.

“Blackhawks,” Chris answered. “About a half mile to the north.”

“Clones, let’s move!” said Kirk One.

They rushed down the hillside of junk and concrete, making their way towards the trees. The sounds of multiple military helicopters became louder.

“Hurry everyone!” hollered Kirk One, leaping over rebar and a pile of broken asphalt.

Chris panted, running across the field of devastated building parts that were heaped up on all sides of them, knowing the Blackhawks were getting closer, fast.

“Keep running!” he yelled as they made their way towards the dark, thorny branches.

Twelve helicopters with gunmen flew overhead while they were still forty yards from the jungle. Kirk One looked up, knowing they had been seen.

***

In one of the helicopters, the pilot pushed a button and flicked a couple of switches.

“Did you see them?” he asked.

“Looked like there were people running down there,” the co-pilot replied.

“Yeah, they’re the hostiles,” said the pilot into his headset. “Base, this is Warbird Five, I’ve got at least a dozen unfriendlies running to the trees. I need a few of you guys to break off and go after them while we pick up Delta Leader.”

“Warbird Five? This is Warbird Seven Bravo. Myself, Niner Ten and Warbird Three are en route,” said a voice over the radio.

“Copy that,” the pilot responded.

***

On the surface, Kirk One stopped, panting, watching three of the helicopters circle around to head back towards them.

“Four, Seven and Nine, post up!” said Kirk One, aiming his machine gun as the other three posted up too.

Chris looked back, watching Kirk One post up on a mound of wreckage near the other clones. He and Kerry stopped, worried.