Anamnesis ©
Chapter Eleven
By Fiction Writer #13
( nosex, sci-fi, horror, paranormal)

The temperature outside was dropping like a rock.  It had already plunged nearly thirty degrees since midnight, and would be getting colder as daybreak steadily approached.  Life in the outback was tough, the creatures inhabiting it tougher, but in the midst of this natural wonderland sat a beast of technological wonders.

The world outside was in pitch-black darkness, but inside Aurora was another story.  The cargo area was bathed in crystal clear white light, brilliant in comparison to the night surrounding the craft.  Soldier 52367 had just completed a full inventory of the ship's stores after discovering some discrepancies with the manifest.

"You were right," 52367 said to no one, "what's on board is not what's listed in the original manifest.  There must have been a last minute change before we lifted off.  Check the system for an updated..."

52367 cut his sentence short as the lights within the cargo area suddenly switched from white to red, a color used only when the doors were open.

"Did you open the cargo bay for any reason?"

A voice spoke into his ear through the device implanted in his jaw. "Negative.  The computer isn't registering any open doors."

"Double check the system.  The night drop lights just activated down here."

In the cockpit Soldier 22475 ran the required system checks but found no errors.  The two of them had been on edge ever since communications with the camp ceased abruptly.  Strict orders from their superior kept them from leaving Aurora, but did nothing to ease their nerves.

"Still nothing showing on the computer and the proximity detectors are silent; must be a mechanical glitch in the doors."

52367 backtracked to one of the cargo containers he checked earlier.  Inside he found what he was looking for, a pair of Bug-Eyes, enhanced vision goggles. "I'll check it out, but alert me if anything shows up on those detectors, no matter how small."

"Roger that."

The goggles fitted tightly over his head, the black curved lenses pressing firmly over his eyes.  After a moment of adjustment, the device activated with a bright flash of green before settling down to a more bearable level of illumination.  The Bug-Eyes allowed him to see as if it were daylight, though only in shades of green.  Objects whose temperature varied from the surroundings would be displayed in shades of red, movement in trails of white.  Sensors within the goggles tracked the movement of his pupils, locking on objects and displaying relative distances and speeds.

It didn't take long for him to realize that the door was in fact open; he didn't need to see it to confirm that fact.  The interior of Aurora was normally warm, even when the environmental controls were off.  The mechanical, computer, and bio systems constantly generated heat, so the fact that the rear of the cargo bay was cold enough for 52367 to see his breath was confirmation enough.

"The door is open." He drew his sidearm and crept forward. "Be on alert."

Carefully he moved, positioning himself in such a way as to be the smallest target possible for his enemy while allowing optimum views of the area outside the cargo bay.  For a moment all seemed calm; no movement, no heat sources, nothing out of the ordinary.  52367 was about to relax his stance when a flash of red with a trail of white broke the horizon.

"We've got company.  Looks like one of the Humvees from base camp heading in fast.  Try to open communications with them."

The vehicle bounced over the rough terrain at top speed, its engine running so hot that it registered violet in the Bug-Eyes.

"They're not responding.  Are you sure that they are out there?  I'm not detecting anything."

"I'm sure.  I'm looking right at them and they're hauling ass our way.  Activate the auto-defense system."

The Humvee charged towards them, its engine now audible in the cold night.

"Something's wrong.  The computer isn't responding."

The Humvee was so large, so hot, that 53367 almost missed the dozens of other shapes that suddenly emerged from the obscuring dust cloud.

"Close the doors."

"I told you, I'm having problems up here, the computer isn't..."

"Close the fucking doors!"

"You'll have to do it!  I'm completely locked out of the system!"

52367 dove for the manually controls, his fingers barely able to press the coded sequence.

"Come on, come on, close damn you."

The doors hummed for a moment as if they were about to obey his command, but then quieted down.

"No, you son of a bitch!   Close!"

Outside, the roar of the approaching Humvee was joined by roars of another kind of beast.

"Shit!  Get a fucking weapon and get the hell down here now!"

"On my way."

'What in the hell is going on?' 52367 thought as he knelt down behind a large container. 'This is madness!'

22475 rushed down the cargo bay to join his partner. He wasn't wearing Bug-Eyes so the coming onslaught still remained hidden to him. "The computer is totally fucked, all the doors are open!"

"What?"

"The whole ship!   We're wide open!"

The roar of the Humvee drew both of their attention back outside.  Its single headlight blazed into life temporarily blinding both soldiers.  Training took over.  Weapons rose up to firing position and trigger fingers squeezed off several armor piercing rounds.  Though they couldn't see their intended target, the clank of uranium tipped bullets on steel rang out.  Tires skidded on the loose gravel and red dirt as the vehicle cut wildly to the left before coming to a stop sideways, blocking the opening of the cargo bay.

Vision returned to the soldiers, but only temporarily.  Two Flash Bangs and a Screamer Burst rolled into the bay and clanked against the container.

BANG!  BANG!  KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

The pair of bangs accompanied by bright flashes of light was designed to dazzle and confuse, the Screamer did as its name suggests, it screamed a high pitch keening sound that felt like someone was driving an ice pick into their eardrum.

Once again the soldier's training took control.  While most would be writhing on the floor in agony, they fought through the pain, regained their focus, and faced their enemy.

22475 peered over the container in time to see a man jump out of the Humvee’s roof before the vehicle sped off into the night, kicking up a choking cloud of dust and loose rocks in its wake.  The man charged forward, heading directly for them.  The soldiers raised their weapons but the man had closed the distance in a heartbeat.  In two strides he leapt up onto the container before leaping completely over both stunned soldiers.  They swung their weapons over their heads, attempting to track him, but they weren't fast enough.  Before they could turn themselves around to fire, he was gone, run off into the passenger section.

"Where the fuck is he going?" 22475 eyes stayed on the space where the man had just vanished, waiting for him to come back and fight.  Instead, the door leading into that section slid closed, sealing them in the cargo bay. "Shit!"

"Oh fuck!"

52367's cry of terror brought his attention back to the cargo bay door, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness.

"What?  What's out there?"

His partner didn't answer, he didn't have to, the glowing red eyes charging towards the open bay door were answer enough.

The fall from the port hatch was twenty feet to the hard ground below, but Jon had landed on his feet from higher perches before.  The impact sent a jolt through his legs and rattled his teeth, but he survived without any serious damage.

"Jon!  Get in!"

An arm reached out through the open door of the moving Humvee and heaved him back inside just in time.  One of the Zyrogoth had chased the vehicle instead of the man holding the stone, and its own dumb luck had nearly captured the prize its smarter brethren pursued even now into the cargo bay of Aurora.  Jon felt the teeth of the beast snap shut just shy of capturing his calve within its grasp.

"Go!  Go!  Go!" Jon yelled, though his lungs burned from the effort.

The Humvee circled around Aurora once before turning away and heading back out into the pitch-black night.  Through the rear window, flashes of gunfire lit up darkness, but only for a short time.  The roar of the Humvee’s engine was thankfully loud enough to cover any screams.

"Well, that's one way to clear a room," Ellis chuckled, but knew only too well that the fate of those two soldiers was not one he would have wished on anyone.

Jon gasped as he pulled himself into his seat and strapped in for more bumpy driving. "Are they, after... after us again?"

"Affirmative.   They've cleared the bay and are in pursuit once again." Qian switched the camera views displayed on her data pad until she was sure Aurora was indeed empty. "They left a real mess in there, Jon."

Pritchard chuckled. "We'll make the Newbie hose it down once we get back."

Jimmy sat in the back, his arms drawn tightly across his chest, trying to fight off the chills that would not seem to leave no matter how warm he got.

"So, who are you running from?"

"Huh?"

The car ride back to the parking lot had been in complete silence up until Greg's question.

"Don't play dumb with me, Robbie." Greg's eyes stayed fixed on the two lane road before him. "My guess is it's the same person who's been beating on you and Steph."

"I don't..."

"Come on, Rob.  Steph's covered with bruises, though she's trying to hide them.  And you have that nasty gash on your forehead; that had to come from somewhere.  Now fess up, is it your Dad?  Is he abusing you two?  Is that why you're running away?"

Rob wanted to lie, wanted to get out of talking about this with him, but saw no way out. "No, it wasn't him."

"So, who then?"

"It was..." Rob slumped in his seat and rubbed his tired eyes. "It was our Mom."

"What?" Greg nearly drove the car off the road as he turned to face Rob to see if he was lying. "Your Mom?  Really?"

"Yeah."

"That's fucked up."

"You don't know the half of it."

"So tell me."

"Uh, maybe you should ask Steph about all this.  I don't want to say anything that might embarrass her."

"Okay, I'll ask when I get back."

"No, wait.  Don't do that.  She's still freaked out by the whole thing, just, just let her tell you when she's ready.  Okay?"

"You're probably right.  I don't want her to do anything that she's not comfortable with.  You two seem so much closer now."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah.   She used to bitch about you and Sarah all the time.  Said you were spoiled rotten little brats who stole all of your parent's attention away from her.  Now, I don't know, it's like she's a completely different person around you.  I mean, I haven't even heard her call you a name!"

"She still calls me names," Rob smiled. "She calls me a nerd all the time."

"Nerd?" Greg tried to laugh but it came out as a cough instead. "You?"

"Yeah.   What's so funny?"

"Rob, you were never what I would call a 'nerd'.  A 'jock' maybe, but never a nerd."

"So what did she call me then?"

"Well, for starters," Greg made the left onto the street leading to the diner. "She used to call you and Sarah the Nazi Youth."

It was like a light switch suddenly flipped on and burst a bulb in Rob's mind.  It was brief, but brilliant, and it filled his head with visions of his older sister being mean to him.

'Get out of my room you pervert!'

'Mom!   Tell the little jerk that it's my turn to watch TV!'

'Mom and Dad won't tell you, and I'm not supposed to, but you and Sarah are adopted.'

'It's not fair!  They get everything and I'm left with nothing!  I can't wait to get the hell out of this stupid house!'

'Ooooo!   I'm tellin' Dad you were lookin' at his dirty magazines!'

'Let me guess, I can't go out and have a life because I have to stay in and baby-sit the two Nazi Youths again.  This is so not fair!'

It was over in an instant, but the pounding in his head continued on well past the memories.  It left him in a daze, filled with a sense of foreboding.  Something was wrong.  They were in trouble.

'Run Robbie!  Don't stop!  They're waiting for you!'

The steady clicking of Greg's turn signal snapped him out of it.  They were about to make the turn into the diner's parking lot.

"No!  Keep going!"

"What the hell Rob?" Greg swatted Rob's hands away, preventing him from grabbing the steering wheel.

"Don't turn!  It's not safe!  Keep going straight!"

"Okay!  Calm down you little shit!" Greg clicked off the signal before rejoining traffic, but made a quick glance towards the lot to find out why Rob started freaking out.

There in the lot sat two jet-black cars, each with totally blacked out windows, of a design Greg had never seen before.  Two men, dressed in some kind of black assault gear were closely inspecting the blue Honda Civic Rob and Steph had driven in.

"Who the fuck are they?" Greg checked his rear view mirror to make sure they weren't being followed.

"I don't know."

"You know something or else you wouldn't be freaking the fuck out like this."

"I said I don't know.  I just knew that it wasn't safe.  It's not safe for Steph and I to stay here either."

"What, you think they'll come looking for her?"

Rob nodded. "They'll figure out that you work there, and know that you are staying at your Uncle's place.  They'll come for us."

"How do you know?"

"I... I just do."

"Delta Team to Black Wolf.   We have located the target vehicle; however, the targets are no longer present.  Requesting technical support from MC²."

"Request permitted.  Do what needs to be done.  Mission update... the boy has been identified as primary, the girl secondary.  Consider him a hostile target, level five.  Locate both targets but do not engage, repeat, do not engage.  We need him alive.  Report back immediately once you've sighted them.  Confirm."

"Understood, Sir.   The boy is now the primary and must be preserved at all costs, the girl is secondary.  Track but do not engage.  Report once targets have been reacquired.  Order confirmed."

"Don't fuck this up."

"No Sir."

The soldier waited until he was positive the connection with Black Wolf had been severed before commenting to his partner.

"He's the one fucking things up, not us."

"Fucking first gens.   They think they're better than us, they don't even realize they're obsolete."

"Even more useless than the second gens.   I don't know why they didn't just scrap the old ones once we were created, or at least drop them down in rank accordingly.  We're stronger, faster, smarter, better trained... we should be ordering them to do the shit work, not the other way around."

The two men scoured the car for any clues as to where the siblings could have gone, but found none.

"The engine's still warm, maybe an hour or two since it was parked."

The second man lay down on the scorching asphalt and crawled under the rear of the car.

"The tracker is still in place.  Huh..."

"Something wrong?"

"No.  That's the thing though.  The damn thing's still operating." A hollow clunk came from under the car before the soldier emerged with the tracking device in hand. "You'd better get Mobile Command on the horn.  See if they can find any surveillance video from the area."

Dearest Stephanie,

What you must think of me as you read this, your own Mother.  Nothing I could say would be enough to erase the pain I've caused you this night or any of the others, but please know, I am truly sorry.  The things I've done are inexcusable, and I'm not asking for you to forgive me, though I hope one day that you will find it in your heart to do so.

I can't begin to explain why I hurt you, I honestly don't know, but for some reason I feel that it was with the best of intentions.  Hopefully you are reading this somewhere where you can be safe, away from this home, away from your father and I.  What we've done, what I've become... it disgusts me.  It's something that I can never take back, though I wish I could.

Something is wrong with me, something terrible.  It began a year ago and I've been struggling with it ever since.  I think that maybe I've lost my mind.  I've been having dreams, nightmares really, nothing like what your brother has tried to tell me, but horrifying none the less.  They were dreams of a life I never lived, of a time and a place where we were happy but a different family.  I dreamt you had a baby sister, and someone had taken her away from me because of a mistake that I had made.  Sometimes in these dreams, I see myself speaking with my dead father, asking him to do terrible things to you and your brother for my own enjoyment.  These dreams feel so real, so real that I've felt ashamed every day since that first one so long ago.

A couple of months ago, I began to hear voices... and felt compelled to obey them.  They told me to hurt you and Robbie, to make you want to leave and never return.  They told me that you weren't safe living here with your father and I, that bad men were coming to take you away, take you away like they had taken away my youngest daughter.  I tried so hard not to listen, I tried to ignore them, but they were insistent, and only got stronger as time passed.

I was scared Steph, terrified that maybe the voices were right.  After all, I hadn't felt comfortable since that first dream, and every time Rob would mention his dreams it was almost as if he were verifying what they were saying.  And the migraines!  Those terrible headaches and the nausea every time he tried to tell me that something was wrong!  I couldn't handle it, I wasn't strong enough, but maybe you are, you always were the strong one in our family.

I wish I could explain why I've done the things that I've done, said the things that I've said, to give you an answer that makes sense, but such words seem to be failing me.  I'm so tired Steph, I just want to lay down and go to sleep forever, to end this waking nightmare once and for all.  Before I do, I've packed you and your brother a bag of clothes and some little things that I hope will come in handy as you begin your new life.  Please keep this letter, hopefully one day it will make more sense to you and you will understand how much I truly do love you, my sweet little angel.

With All My Love,

Mom

PS- Take care of your brother.

After rereading the letter for the third time, Stephanie balled it up and tossed it across the living room into the wastebasket.  She had gone into her bag looking for a pair of underwear to put on, but instead found the neatly folded piece of paper with the wildly handwritten words of her mother tucked away inside.

"Fucking bitch," she said to herself as she wiped away flowing tears with a corner of the comforter. "I hate you.  I hope you die."

"We got a new problem, Jon," Pritchard said nervously.

"What now?"

"We're losing petrol fast."

Jon leaned over to check the console display for himself.  One of the super soldiers must have gotten off a lucky shot; the fuel tanks were leaking like a sieve.

"Shit!" Jon swore to himself as he kicked the floor. "Well, looks like my plan has gone FUBAR.  How long until we stop moving?"

"Not long.  Maybe three more minutes, then..."

"Loop back and take us back the way we came." The radio handset once again found itself clutched in Jon's grasp. "Richardson, you still there?"

"What?  No cutesy code-names this time?  Burke just explained what a wombat is to me."

"No time for local fauna this time, we've got ourselves in a bit of a jam.  Can you render any assistance?"

"Well, we're almost at Aurora.  Where are you right now?"

"SHIT!"

Pritchard's warning came a split second before the Humvee slammed into something very big.  The impact sent everyone onboard flying forward in their seats, leaving Jon hunched over the dashboard and staring face to face with an angry Zyrogoth through the cracked and splintered windshield.  Its huge teeth dripped with viscous ooze of saliva, its breath fogged the glass as its horns moved to pierce the barrier between man and beast.  Its massive head, mottled with black, green, and brown reptilian flesh, reared back before lunging forward at great speed.  The tips of its curved horns came through the glass mere inches from skewering Jon through the head.

"Hang on!"

Pritchard shifted gears and threw the Humvee into reverse.  The monster clung for a moment on the flat hood of the vehicle, but its massive claws couldn't find purchase and it slid away, taking with it the remains of the windshield and falling to the ground with an angry roar.

Quick as lightning, Pritchard had the vehicle back in drive and slammed his foot down on the accelerator, swerving just in time to avoid the Zyrogoth as it regained its footing. "I hate these things."

Jon didn't wait to catch his breath before hunting for the lost radio handset. "Richardson, come in." 

Nothing but static answered his call.

"Qian?"

"It's gone, Jon." She sounded concerned. "The whole thing's toast, no way to fix it."

"Nothing's ever easy." Jon shook his head. "Alright, listen up!  Looks like we're going to be hoofing it back to Aurora, so man up.  Ellis and Jimmy, you take care of Guzman.  Qian, you're on rear flank with me.  Pritchard and Willis take point.  It's going to be a long hard hike, but if everyone does their job we should make it.  Go for head shots, aim for their eyes, it's about the only soft target on them.  Be wary of leapers from behind the front line, these fuckers like to jump."

Pritchard pointed the Humvee in a straight line for Aurora; the road didn't matter anymore. "Bet you wish we brought plasma weapons with us on this one, mate."

"If we had plasma weapons, what do you think those super-soldiers would have been armed with."

"Good point, but I still wish we had them."

Jon checked his limited ammo. "Me too."

All too soon the engine began to make knocking sounds.  Each thunk and clunk sent a jolt of fresh adrenaline into their blood systems, heightening their awareness of the grim situation.

"That's it ladies and gents, we're running on fumes now." Pritchard held the wheel with one hand while switching the safety off of his assault rifle. "Time to party."

"You heard the man.  Qian, up top, keep em' off our backs while they get Guzman out.  Ellis, you have the left, I've got the right, and Pritchard, keep your eyes ahead.  Let's do this."

Rather than wait for the Humvee to roll to a stop, Pritchard slammed on the breaks and put it in park.  Qian was up in an instant, her feet planted firmly on the seats below as her torso emerged through the open turret.  As Ellis and Jimmy struggled to get the now unconscious Guzman clear of the backseat without injuring him further, Willis' weapon blazed into life.

"Here they come!"

Weapon's erupted all around the Humvee, firing at targets approaching from all directions at once.

"Shit!" Jon emptied his clip and replaced it with his last full one.  A quick glance showed him just how futile it would be to try and get back to Aurora while two of his men attempted to carry the severely injured soldier. "We're not going to be able to move him anywhere!  Get him back inside and join the fight!"

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Qian's cry spilled through the gunfire an instant before...

Ka-Roooommmm!

A flash of orange light followed by a rush of super heated air nearly unsteadied his legs.

Ka-Roooommmm!

A second blast from the rear of the vehicle, but this time he was better prepared for it.

Jon sensed Jimmy beside him before his petrified words came out in a rush.

"There's too many of them!  We've got to get out of here!"

"Hold your ground soldier!"

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" This time Ellis called out from the opposite side of the Humvee.

Ka-Roooommmm!

Dirt and a fine mist of hot liquid rained down from above.

"Out of ammo! Cover the front!" Pritchard clamored over the twisted and torn steel hood of the Humvee before disappearing through the open windshield to search for more rounds.

Jon took over his position, leaving Jimmy to hold the right side.  Jon's own weapon would be out soon, leaving him with nothing but his fists to fight with, but if it came to that he would fight until the bitter end.  Even as he fought, he could feel the weight of the black stone in his pocket, assuring him that it was still in his possession. "If you bastards want it, you'll have to take it from me!"

Out of the corner of his bleary eye a white-hot beam of light pierced the darkness from above.  The shaft of light made no sound of its own, but those unlucky enough to be targeted by it roared a mournful death cry before being silenced forever.  More shafts of light appeared, dozens of them, all over the battlefield, raining death upon the hoards Zyrogoth with pinpoint accuracy.

"The cavalry has arrived!" Pritchard laid half in and half out of the Humvee staring up into the sky where a massive black wedge shaped object blotted out the stars, hovering silently. "It's Aurora!"

"We ain't licked yet!" Jon's grin returned. "Give em' hell, boys!"