HALLOWED_GROUND Read online

  “I don’t, but let’s see what happens when they face each other.â€�

  HALLOWED_GROUND

  13 SHOWDOWN

  Samuel relinquished the water spout under his control. The police had suffered enough. The conscious ones had retreated, no doubt trying to figure out how to best capture him. Reinforcements had arrived, but not approached the plaza just yet.

  Samuel wondered why people had not run from the building, when two men crashed through the ruined front façade. He recognized one of them as Dr. Jay Young, the man who now owned Psy-Corp.

  Samuel lifted the two men with his mind. They left the pavement, squirming for control, tumbling through the air toward him. They stopped, hovering before Samuel. He smiled. “I don’t recognize your friend, Dr. Young.â€�

  Just then, Nemesis erupted from the building, spraying glass out before him. Samuel watched the pitch black form of a man run straight for him. “What is that, Dr. Young, some weapon you’ve sent to kill me?â€�

  Jay tumbled in zero gravity. “Nothing I’ve made.â€�

  Jonathan interrupted. “Nothing you can stop, Stokes!â€�

  Samuel laughed, tossing Jonathan and Jay aside. They hit the pavement, got up, and circled behind Samuel. Nemesis charged like an enraged bull. Samuel knocked him back with a telekinetic blast. Nemesis tumbled backwards, deformed, then reformed standing and stopped. “Stand aside, boy!â€�

  Samuel laughed to himself. “What are you supposed to be?â€�

  Nemesis started walking confidently toward him. “Haven’t you ever seen a god before?â€�

  Samuel smirked. “I still haven’t seen one.â€�

  Nemesis charged. Samuel blasted the creature telekinetically. Nemesis exploded, and balls of black pitch went everywhere. Jonathan and Jay watched while they crept toward the police line.

  The black balls, each approximately the size of a tennis ball, bounced when they hit the ground. Samuel stood watching, amused. “So much for the weird god.â€� He turned around in order to locate Jay. “Don’t go anywhere just yet, Dr. Young.â€�

  One of the balls of pitch struck Samuel, sticking to his chest. He looked down at it, then noticed more coming his way. A hundred balls of tar all bounced at him in unison. He tried to peel the one from his chest. The stuck ball exploded toward his face, into his nostrils, and mouth.

  Samuel expelled the black ooze with telekinesis, just as the other tar balls reached him. He shielded himself at the last moment. The black bouncing balls hit an invisible barrier and were repelled. They gathered again, just beyond the barrier, and formed a man again.

  Samuel nearly fell over, gasping for air. Blood poured from his nose and mouth. One ball from Nemesis’ body, still within his mental barrier, rose from the ground, forming a miniature of Nemesis. It pointed at him, laughing maniacally, then ran back to the main body and reformed with it.

  Nemesis wasted no time. He scattered across the ground in the form of hundreds of tiny snake-like creatures, all seeking Samuel Stokes. They slithered at frightening speed, surrounding Samuel. He tried to repel them, but as some were blasted away others moved in.

  Samuel leaped into the air, suspending his body twenty feet up. Nemesis reformed, lashing out with a long tentacle, seizing Samuel’s leg. Nemesis pulled himself taut, then released and sprang like a rubber band toward Samuel, just as he blasted the tentacle off of his ankle.

  Samuel noticed the black blob hurtling toward him. He tried to repel it. Nemesis deformed into tiny droplets like black spray paint flying through the air. Samuel launched away, so that Nemesis lost momentum and fell short.

  Samuel remained in the air while Nemesis reformed on the ground. Jonathan, Jay, and the police could only watch the battle unfold. Samuel concentrated on the cement tiles making up the plaza floor. He raised a dozen tiles, hurling them at Nemesis, trying to take the offensive.

  Nemesis spun around like a tornado, whipping out multiple tentacles. Each tentacle seized cement tiles from the air, spun them round, and flung them back into the air toward Samuel.

  Samuel blasted the tiles from the air. They burst into flame and shattered. Fiery fragments blew back toward Nemesis. Samuel noticed the fragments scorch the creature. Nemesis cried out, dodging away from the flame.

  Samuel smiled, hovering above the ground. Fire was a trickier affair for him to produce mentally. It required fuel, oxygen, and heat. He had learned to generate the heat by generating friction among the elements in the air—a quick application that worked. The oxygen was everywhere, but the fuel was more difficult.

  Nemesis began to mount another attack. Samuel noticed the police convoy parked around them. One of the fuel cells within would do nicely. Nemesis sprang toward him. Samuel caught him with his mind, flinging him toward one of the Police transports. Jonathan, Jay, and the Police dodged away from the vehicle, realizing what was coming toward them.

  Nemesis smashed through the side of the van. Immediately, Samuel charged up the atmosphere where the fuel cell was located inside the chassis. The Police transport exploded. Blue flame engulfed it with Nemesis inside.

  The transport rocked and fell over as Nemesis tried to escape its hellish confines. Nemesis shot out the side, screeching horribly, attempting to extinguish the flames burning his body. Nemesis rolled over and over again on the ground in a ball, until the flames had gone out.

  Samuel seized the creature again, flinging him toward the inferno. Nemesis tore away a section of the pavement trying to resist. Instead, he blew himself apart into fragments again. Samuel tried to contain him, but the fragments scattered and melted down through sewer grates in the street.

  Samuel waited, but nothing more happened. The creature had apparently fled. He flew over the plaza, coming to rest on the street before the police transports. There he spotted Jonathan and Jay among the officers.

  Blood stained Samuel’s face and clothes. He didn’t smile. The game had not been fun. “There you are,â€� he said.

  Samuel levitated several of the officers off of the ground. “Dr. Young, you and your friend are coming with me. Get into one of the police transports now, or I’ll kill these policemen. Your choice.â€�

  Jonathan and Jay looked at one another. “Jonathan, I don’t think we have much choice.â€�

  Jonathan nodded and walked to the closest transport. “Fine. We’re not going to have their blood on our hands, Stokes.â€�

  Jay followed Jonathan. Samuel followed them into the transport, and the door closed behind them. The officers fell to the street, confused.

  Samuel looked at Jonathan. “You, what’s your name?â€�

  “Jonathan.â€�

  Samuel sat down across from Jay in the personnel bay. “Good. Jonathan, you’ll drive while I have a talk with Dr. Young.â€�

  Jonathan looked at Jay, puzzled, then at Samuel. “I don’t have a clue how to drive one of these things.â€�

  “Don’t play games with me, Jonathan,â€� Samuel threatened.

  “I’ve never even laid eyes on this kind of vehicle before,â€� Jonathan insisted.

  Samuel looked at Jay. “Fine, Dr. Young, you drive. We’ll talk on the way. I’m sure you know where we need to go better than anyone, anyway.â€�

  Jay appeared confused, but he switched places with Jonathan. “Where are we going?â€�

  Samuel smiled as Jonathan sat down across from him. “Let’s start heading west and then we’ll see.â€�

  The police carrier van started and pulled away from the convoy parked inside Halo Tech Plaza. Beneath the transport, a stray black tentacle recoiled into the undercarriage.

  HALLOWED_GROUND

  14 PRESSING ADVANTAGE

  Samuel sat opposite Jonathan on the bench attached to the side wall of the police
van. He examined Jonathan. Jay sat in the driver’s seat, wondering where in the world Stokes wanted to go and for what purpose. “Take the sky lane, Dr. Young.�

  Jay punched in a sky lane request. The dashboard display indicated all clear for a merger with sky lane twelve. “Would you mind telling me where in the world we’re headed?â€� Jay asked.

  Samuel never took his eyes off Jonathan, even when speaking to Jay. “I want the girl, Dr. Young.â€�

  Jay’s heart sank in his chest. Surely he didn’t know about Margot. He and her parents had been so careful to keep her existence a secret from the Halo Project and the other children involved. He decided to try a bluff. “I’m not taking you out cruising for girls, Samuel.â€�

  Samuel stifled a laugh. “Amusing, Dr. Young, but futile. I know all about Margot. You’re going to take me to her.â€�

  Jay lost control of his temper. “If you think I’m turning over my daughter to a psychopath, then your crazier than I thought. Do whatever you want with me, but you’re not going anywhere near Margot. I’ll never let you hurt her.â€�

  “Hurt her?â€� Samuel seemed genuinely baffled. “I’m going to protect her from people like you.â€�

  “People like me?â€� Jay couldn’t contain himself. “I’m her father.â€�

  “You are not her real father.â€� The entire police van shook with Samuel’s indignation. “Her parents died. They were a part of the Halo Project, Dr. Young. You may have taken the girl under your wing, but she is not yours. She’s not even like you…she is one of my kind.â€�

  Jay’s squeezed the steering wheel so tight his fingers went numb with rage. “One of your kind?â€�

  “Yes, Doctor…the same kind that you and Sarkov butchered once we could serve no other purpose for you.â€�

  The police van rose into the air, merging with sky lane twelve. Jay slapped the autopilot button and swiveled in his seat. He pointed at his chest indignantly. “I never killed anyone, Samuel.â€�

  “No? Well the company you run certainly did, Dr. Young. My brothers and sisters in the program were all slaughtered by your people before their eighteenth birthday.â€�

  Jonathan looked at Jay puzzled, but said nothing.

  “That was Sarkov and Psy-Corp who did that, not me or my company,â€� Jay argued.

  “Your Halo Tech purchased Psy-Corp, Doctor. That makes you responsible!â€�

  Jay almost stood up out of his seat. “I purchased Psy-Corp in hopes of putting an end to Sarkov’s brand of so-called research, Samuel. I hoped to protect you children from further harm…that’s all.â€� Jay tried to calm down. “When the others began to have psychotic breaks, they were put down.â€�

  “Don’t you mean killed, Doctor?â€� Samuels face burned bright red.

  “They had grown too dangerous. We couldn’t risk them escaping and killing more people. Sarkov may have caused the problem, but he had no choice once the rest started harming others with their power. Look at what you’ve done since you got loose.â€�

  Now Samuel stood. His thoughts slammed Jay back into his seat. “Vengeance for what was done to my siblings! Vengeance for what you and Sarkov were attempting to carry out on me, when I was taken from you!â€�

  Jay found that he couldn’t even speak. A weight had descended upon him, forbidding him from carrying the argument any further. Guilt held him fast and shut his mouth, not Samuel’s power. The boy had it right. Jay had known that the children were being killed, but in his mind there simply had been no choice.

  Finally, he spoke up again as Samuel calmed a little and took his seat. “What were we supposed to do, Samuel? How do you bargain with a psychotic superhuman? How do you restrain someone like you? Do you just let them run amok and kill people at will? Do you leave an unsuspecting city in jeopardy?â€�

  Samuel didn’t answer, although he seemed to be looking for an intelligent answer. “Sarkov never should have been allowed to bring us into the world like this in the first place. Just because he did, didn’t give you the right to exterminate us at your leisure.â€�

  Jay nodded. “That’s why I bought him out, Samuel. Only, the problem was already bigger than I knew. The others were already losing control, some of them dying just from the condition. Again, I ask you, what could we do?â€�

  Samuel gave Jay a hard look. “Maybe you should have tried to look for a way to help us, instead of your quick fix death sentence.â€�

  Jay didn’t answer. Jonathan did. “Samuel, things are what they are now, but that doesn’t mean you have to follow this course. You can choose to do something else…we all can.â€�

  “Who are you, anyway?â€� Samuel asked.

  “My name is Jonathan Hallowed. Thirty years ago I was Jay’s legal guardian, just trying to help him out.â€�

  Samuel snorted at him. “Thirty years ago? You don’t even look that old.â€�

  “I’ve just come out of cryogenic sleep.â€� Jonathan looked at Jay. “I was placed in that state thirty years ago because of a genetic mutagen I was exposed to. The same mutagen that created the creature you were fighting with.â€�

  He had Samuel’s full attention. “What was that thing?â€�

  Jonathan looked at Jay, then Samuel. “He calls himself Nemesis now, but he’s actually Dr. Trenton Hallowed. He created the mutagen, hoping to cause man to evolve into something more noble, more powerful. Instead, the drug turned him into a vicious killer. I was exposed to the mutagen in an accident and received enhanced strength and healing from it, but also a death sentence. My own hyper-metabolism is killing me.â€�

  Samuel nodded. He seemed to be more eager to listen to Jonathan now. “But you’re not like that creature at all.â€�

  “No. Trenton took the process much farther with himself. I don’t even know if there’s any of the man I grew up with in him anymore. The point is this, Samuel. I can relate to how you’re feeling. My life has been taken away from me, but I’m not going to be bitter. I’m not going to take it out on everyone else. I have a choice, and so do you.â€�

  Samuel stared at him for a long moment. “That’s a great attitude, Jonathan, and you’re right, I do have a choice. I’m going to protect those like myself, and you two are going to take me to the girl now.â€�

  Jay started to rise from his seat again. “Now, wait a minute—â€�

  Samuel slammed Jonathan to the wall of the van with his mind, pressing upon him. Jay stopped. “What are you doing?â€�

  Samuel looked at Jay. “Since you owe your good fortune to Jonathan here, I suppose it wouldn’t be too much to ask that you end his suffering by doing as I’ve told you…take me to the girl.â€� Samuel pressed harder on Jonathan causing his nerves to transmit wave after wave of pain impulses to his brain. Jonathan screamed in uncontrolled agony.

  “Stop it, you’re killing him!â€� Jay pleaded.

  “No, not yet, Doctor…not for a long time, unless you do as I’ve said.â€� Samuel pressed again. Jonathan writhed against the van wall, blinding pain coursing through his entire body.

  Jay watched until he couldn’t stand it any longer. “All right, just stop torturing him!â€�

  The pain subsided, though Samuel still held Jonathan fast to the wall. “Then sit down, and start driving, Doctor.â€�

  Jay looked at Jonathan once more, then complied. He sat down and switched off the auto-pilot. Control returned to him. Jay accessed another sky lane. His mind worked frantically for a solution. Somehow, he had to keep Samuel away from Margot and still save Jonathanâ€�
�s life.

  The police van received an access granted ping, and the sky-lane system computer pulled the transport safely from one lane to another. Jay looked back at Samuel. The boy glared at him. Jay seconded Samuel’s own thought—wishing this boy had never been born.

  HALLOWED_GROUND

  15 TABLES TURN

  Ten minutes later, the sky lane deposited the police transport in front of the Willow Creek subdivision. Jay cruised through a neighborhood of fine homes, each sporting several acres of finely manicured lawn. On a few, robotic lawn maintenance systems hummed through their labor without care.

  At the far end of the main road, stood a home distinguishably larger than the others. Jay drove the police van up the cobblestone driveway terminating at a six car garage bay. He stopped and shut down the hybrid electric engine. Samuel peeked through the windshield toward the house. “Nice place, Doc. Nice to see how well murder pays off.â€�

  Jay started to protest, but took another look at Jonathan slumped on the bench, exhausted, and thought better of it. He might be made to pay for any remarks Jay made. Instead, he turned in his seat. “Now what? Am I just supposed to go in and bring her out to you?â€�

  Samuel stood up with a smile on his face and started to speak. The police van lurched, then flew up under their feet. All three men tumbled helplessly inside the metal cabin, banging off the walls, ceiling, and floor as the vehicle flipped across the driveway.

  •

  Nemesis stood, taking human form again as the police van tumbled several times. He laughed as the van caved in with each turn across the cobblestone drive. Nemesis turned back toward the large house. Time to get the girl they had been discussing inside the van. A plan was brewing on how he might make use of her and her untapped power.