Eve of Destruction (c) 
Chapter One 
By Fiction Writer #13 
Edited by Tajod 
(nosex, sci-fi, paranormal)

"Don't you understand what I'm tryin' to say 
And can't you feel the fears I'm feelin' today 
If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away 
There'll be no one to save 
With the whole world in a grave. 
Take a look around you boy, 
It's bound to scare you boy 
And you tell me over, and over, and over again my friend 
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction." 
- Lyrics by P.F. Stone 


Dr. Allen Reed moved swiftly down the well lit corridor fighting the urge 
to run.  He was late for a briefing, again.  All around him other scientists 
busied themselves with the duties of setting up the new lab.  Boxes of 
equipment still lay unopened and lined the hallways.

'Jesus... ', he thought to himself while dodging a forklift moving in the 
opposite direction, 'almost a year gone and we're still setting up.'

The new facility was huge; nearly ten times the size of the old labs.  
Reed was still getting used to the grand scale of things here.  Everything 
was bigger, better, more state of the art.  As a newly promoted 
department head, the task of setting up the Neurological Project had 
fallen to him, and he was a bit overwhelmed.

This morning he was broad-sided by a shipment of lab animals that had 
arrived two weeks ahead of schedule.  It was all hands on deck for 
nearly four hours, trying to get all of the cages built to house them.  
Though he enjoyed his new job as task master, he wished he could 
actually get back to the science.

The layout of the new facility was shaped like a Trivial Pursuit pie piece, 
each slice a different area of scientific research.  The center of the pie 
was known simply as the 'hub'.  The hub was where all of the project 
heads could meet and exchange ideas, and that was where Reed was 
rushing to now, if he could only find his way there.

"Excuse me?" Reed stopped at a busy intersection and addressed one 
of the many security personnel, all of them armed with the newest 
weapons and armor. "Can you tell me how to get to conference room 
26C?"

The guard stopped writing on his clip board and turned to face Reed. 
"That area is restricted, do you have clearance?"

Reed held up the badge attached to his white lab coat so the guard 
could read that, yes, he indeed did have the proper clearance.

"Down the hall, elevator five, floor two, make a left, the room is marked 
26C." The man rattled off the directions as he got back to writing.

Reed was off again as soon as he was put on the right path.  The 
elevator required a palm print ID, and as he waited for the doors to open 
he stole a glance at his watch.

"Damn it!" He hoped they hadn't started without him.  Jonathan 
Reynolds was going to be there for sure, and he'd been giving Reed shit 
ever since that fucker Chase was discovered as the security leak.

Dr. David Chase had been a member of Reed's team.  He should have 
known that Chase was smuggling top secret documents out.  Because 
of him, Reynolds had been keeping a close eye on everything Reed did, 
and made sure that he knew that he was being watched.  If it hadn't 
been for Mal, Reed most likely would have been left behind to close 
down the old facility, and then killed.  Instead of that fate, Dr. Malcolm 
Whelan had promoted him to department head, a move that raised more 
than one eyebrow around the labs.

Malcolm and Reed had been friends for close to three decades.  Mal 
had been his recruiter into this strange and fantastic world of science, 
something that Reed would be forever indebted to the man, but their 
relationship went deeper than that.  They were both men with a common 
goal, the advancement of science, all science, for the defense of the 
American way of life.  It was a job they both took very seriously, 
sacrificing everything in order to succeed.

Once inside the circular lift he spoke his destination, "Level two," and he 
began moving upwards at incredible speed.  The elevators worked by 
voice recognition, another security measure that had slowed things 
down to a crawl when they first came to this place.

The elevator stopped with a hiss and the twin doors slid silently open 
revealing level two.  Reed exited and turned left, moving quickly down 
the hall.  To his left and right several doors opened into different sections 
of the immense structure.  The walls were painted white and everything 
was well lit, unlike the older labs they had left behind.

A number of technological developments had been incorporated into the 
new design, the most significant being a substance they called Clear 
Steel.  This new substance had the strength and resilience of normal 
steel, but its molecular composition was altered to make it transparent.  
Originally it was developed for use in combat vehicles, allowing soldiers 
to have an unimpeded view of their surroundings, but the protection of 
full armor.  The expense of creating Clear Steel had made wide use of it 
impossible.  Now the only place it was in use was within this 
underground building.

Even the lighting was a new development.  After years of studying 
bioluminescence in animals and plants, scientist had created a 
substance called Bio-Lumin.  Bio-Lumin is a clear jelly that emits light 
when agitated.  Depending on the wavelength of the vibration a full 
spectrum of visible light could be attained.  Rapid variations in the 
vibration produced white light similar to that of natural sunlight.  The 
whole process required a fraction of the energy of standard lighting.  The 
energy expended in powering a single sixty watt light bulb for one month 
could illuminate the entire building for a year, thanks to Bio-Lumin.

Finding the door marked 26C Dr. Allen Reed pressed his palm against 
the grey security pad.  The surface of the pad flashed red twice before 
finally changing to green, and the door slid upwards into the ceiling.

The room was set up like a small lecture hall, and nearly every seat was 
currently occupied.  Ten rows of black leather seats, ten seats per row, 
descended down at a steep angle to a grey podium below.  The wall 
behind the podium held a large plasma screen displaying a logo familiar 
to Reed.  It was a plain graphical representation of a long-feathered bird 
rising out of a fire with its upswept wings wrapping around the world.  
The seldom seen symbol of Project Phoenix.

Reed entered the room apprehensively as conversations stopped and all 
eyes turned on him.  Down below, standing by the front row of seating, 
Dr. Malcolm Whelan waved to him in an invitation to join him.  The 
audience, realizing that Reed wasn't leading today's meeting, went back 
to chattering amongst themselves.  Reed made his way down the steep 
aisle stairs to join his friend.

"Glad you could join us, Allen." Mal reached out to shake Reed's hand.

"Damn animals kept me busy all morning.  Did I miss anything?" Allen 
looked around the room at all of the seated scientists.

"No, Reynolds isn't here yet.  This is his show." Mal motioned to two 
empty seats in the first row. "Saved you a seat, figured you could use 
one."

"Thanks Mal." Allen sat down with a sigh.  He hadn't been off his feet 
since he first woke up to his assistant complaining about the early 
delivery. "It's not like Reynolds to be late."

"No... It's not." Mal took his seat beside his friend. "Something must 
have come up, something big for him to call this meeting on such short 
notice.  Reynolds called me this morning and told me to get this thing 
together for him, but he wouldn't say exactly why."

"You're on the Council, Mal." Allen knew that Malcolm had been a 
member of the Council for about two years. "Have you heard anything?"

The Council controlled everything that the scientist worked on.  If they 
decided to end your line of study, it was over, no questions asked.  They 
were the ones who pulled the strings and made things happen.  At one 
time they worked with the government, but long since had become an 
autonomous entity.  They still worked toward the betterment of the 
United States, but were no longer held up by political or moral red tape.  
No one outside of the various projects knew that they existed, even 
fewer knew who all the members of the Council were.

"If something's up, they've been keeping me in the dark," Mal said flatly.  
It was no secret that some members of the Council still didn't trust Mal.  
No one had made more sacrifices for the Project than Malcolm and his 
family, and for that reason alone he had been asked to join the Council.  
He had been part of Project Phoenix for nearly half a century, his father 
had been one of its founding members, but even so, Mal's personal 
beliefs had made him somewhat of an outcast.

The sound of the security door opening drew everyone's attention to the 
rear of the room. "Ah, here he is." Mal grinned up at the man now 
coming down the stairs. "Now we'll get some answers."

Jonathan Reynolds moved quickly down the steps to the podium below.  
He neither looked right nor left as he made his way down.  Mal looked 
into the face of the man he considered to be one of his most trusted 
friends.  As far as anyone else knew, they just worked together, and that 
was that.  The truth of their friendship remained a secret for nearly 
eighteen years now.  Jon looked ashen, tired, and many years older 
than his natural twenty-eight.  Something was wrong.  Something was 
terribly wrong.

Reynolds moved behind the podium and finally looked into the sea of 
faces focused in his direction.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for the delay.  I know you are all 
very busy and I promise this will be as brief as possible.

"First, as you all must know by now, Project Phoenix has entered its 
second phase.  This new facility was designed and built specifically for 
this purpose.  Once the mandate known as Order 66 was issued..." 
Reynolds paused for half a beat as his eyes met with Mal's.  Malcolm 
had been the one to call for Order 66, much to the dismay of the other 
Council members, but once it had begun it could not be aborted. "... a 
call went out to every project leader.  All of the old labs are now closed, 
empty, and abandoned.  We are now all operating under one roof.

"I bring this up now because this is the first time I've had all of the project 
leaders in one room at the same time.  Up until now you've all been 
working independently of one another... that ends today."

A loud grumbling issued from the assembled men and women.  
Reynolds let it continue until it died down to a hushed whisper.

"I know that you are not used to working alongside your peers, but to put 
it plainly, get over yourselves.  This Project is bigger than any of you 
could possibly imagine, and it will require all of you to think and work in 
ways that you have never even dreamed about.  As of..." he looked at 
his silver wrist watch, "... right now, all of your research has just been 
made available to everyone else in this room."

Once again angry grumbling filled the auditorium, some even yelling at 
Reynolds.

"QUIET!" The room silenced. "Listen up, this came directly from the 
Council, you will begin working together or you will not work at all.  This 
is not a joke.  This is not a request.  This is not something that you can 
ignore.  Do I make myself clear?" The room remained silent.

"Good.  Now we can move on to our next piece of business.  If you 
would please take out your data pads." Reynolds waited as everyone 
pulled out their PDA's. "I've sent a list of all the special projects under 
the umbrella of Project Phoenix to you.  Most of them will come as no 
surprise, but others may shock or even confuse you."

Reed stared wide eyed at the list displayed on his tiny computer screen.  
As Reynolds had said, most of the fields of study came as no surprise to 
him; Physics, Biology, Genetics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Neurology, 
Psychology.  All of the major fields and their branches were on the list.  It 
was the other areas that had him frowning; Parapsychology, Astrology, 
Psionics, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Ancient Rites, Cult Behavior and 
Practices, Transcendentalism, Aura Reading.

Reed actually began to laugh as he read through them, and he wasn't 
alone.  Half the auditorium joined him in chuckling.  He turned to see 
what Malcolm's reaction to this joke had been and was surprised to see 
him sitting calmly with his eyes locked on Reynolds, waiting for him to 
continue.

"Is everyone finished acting like a bunch of kids during a sex ed class?" 
Reynolds addressed the heckling crowd.

"What is this, some kind of an April Fool's joke?" called someone from 
the back of the room.

"I assure you... it's not."

"Come on, you can't be serious," the same disembodied voice called 
down.

Reynolds slammed his fist down hard on the podium. "I have never been 
more serious in my entire life than I am at this very moment.  Every area 
of study that you have listed before you is legitimate.  Just because 
some of you lack the ability to keep an open mind to such things doesn't 
make them any less real.

"Now, listen up, kids!  This is not a joke, this is not a game, no one is 
pulling your leg here.  So shut up and let me continue." The room fell 
silent as the normally cool Reynolds exploded into the microphone, 
"Thank you!

"All of you, each and everyone one of you..." he pointed into the 
audience, "... have been selected for Project Phoenix because you are 
supposed to be the best and the brightest minds in the country.  All of 
you have worked diligently within your particular areas of expertise, and 
because of your hard work we have made discoveries that would boggle 
the minds of the rest of the world.  I know it has been hard, I know it has 
been difficult for you to leave the normal world behind in order to pursue 
your life's work, but now is not the time to scoff at the things you do not 
know or understand.

"Since the beginning of Phoenix the areas of study you see before you 
have been explored.  You have been kept in the dark about each other 
in order to preserve absolute secrecy.  The less you knew, the better off 
you all were.  Even with this level of security, we have had some leaks to 
the general public."

Dr. Reed cringed as Reynolds eyes fell on him.

"I am here to inform all of you... that Phase Two has officially begun, and 
with it comes some new security protocols.  From now on, no one is 
allowed to leave this structure for any reason unless they get approval 
from a project leader, that means you, and you must get approval from 
me.  We are on complete lock-down, people.  Any violation of the 
aforementioned protocol will be dealt with extreme measures." Reynolds 
waited for his words to sink in before asking, "Does everyone 
understand?"

The room full of stunned men and women nodded.

"Good.  Other protocols have already been sent to your data pads and 
you will need to explain them to your teams.  Make no mistake, the 
Council is dead serious.  If it comes down to it, your lives are less 
important than keeping all of this from going public.  I'm sorry for being 
so blunt, but you should know the truth of your situation."

Reynolds smiled. "Is everyone scared shitless yet?" A nervous chuckle 
followed.

"Okay, now that the preliminaries are out of the way, it's time for me to 
discuss the real reason that I've called you all here today.  After much 
lobbying by Dr. Malcolm Whelan, the Council has decided to let me 
explain what the true goal of Project Phoenix is all about.

"Over the years you have been told that the goal of Phoenix was to 
protect the American way of life from those who would see it destroyed.  
This was not a lie.  Your work is going to save our country from our 
enemies, just not the ones you think we are fighting.

"In the beginning you were told it was the Nazis, then the Russians, then 
Communism, then drugs, and now its terrorism.  It's true that all of these 
things either were or are detrimental to the United States, but as far as 
Project Phoenix is concerned, they have been nothing but a smoke 
screen for our true enemy."

Reynolds dimmed the lights in the hall using the controls on the podium.  
The plasma display behind him went dark before a grainy black and 
white film began running on its screen.  There was no audio to be heard.

"What you see behind me is what started this whole thing.  It was shot in 
1937 by Nazi scientists deep in a mine that they converted into a 
science lab."

The film showed a group of men dressed in white lab coats as they 
busied themselves checking a series of wires and cables attached to a 
large domed device.  In the center of the contraption was circular portal, 
large bolts surrounded the thick glass window.

"The machine that they are adjusting was called 'The Bell'.  'The Bell' 
was designed to contain another experiment.  They were attempting to 
develop anti-gravity technologies to be used with their aircraft.  This 
particular experiment required the use of a powerful electromagnetic 
field and microwaves.

"We have no idea what they hoped to accomplish during this test, but 
you should all know, the U.S. tried something like this as well, only we 
were trying to cloak a battleship.  The results of our test killed a number 
of good men.  Their test did something far worse."

The men on the screen moved away to allow the camera to peer inside 
of the chamber, revealing a lab monkey strapped into a seat.  The poor 
animal looked scared out of its mind as it struggled against its bindings.

The image blinked white and displayed a wide shot of the entire device.  
Lights began to flicker on and off on one of the many display panels, a 
count down clock ticked away the final seconds in German:

Vier, Drei, Zwei, Eins, Null.

The window into the chamber began to emit flashes of light in rapid 
succession.  The camera started shaking, the image on screen 
becoming difficult to see clearly.  Suddenly the image went dark.  A few 
moments later it came back into focus revealing 'The Bell' once again.  
Steam or smoke poured out of several large cracks on its steel surface.

The camera man moved closer to peer into the chamber once more.  
The interior was now dark, too dark to see inside.  The camera panned 
around to show the scientists shaking their heads in disappointment 
before returning to the broken chamber.

Suddenly the thick glass window exploded outward, the darkness 
contained within coming with it.  A black tentacle reached out, searching 
for a victim.  It finds one of the scientists and plunges into his chest.  His 
mouth moves in a silent scream as his life is stolen away.

More tentacles slither from the shattered chamber.  They move so fast 
that the Germans have no time to react.  The camera spins wildly.  
Images of death and panic fill the screen.  Silent screams, torn flesh, 
and then finally... complete darkness.

"What you have just seen is the first filmed encounter with our true 
enemies.  This is just one of the many forms that they can take.  This 
particular being was pulled into our world through a rift created by the 
German's experiment.  None of them survived, except for the operator of 
the camera.  He was smart... he ran while the others stopped to fight.

"Knowing that the film he had shot contained the most significant 
scientific discovery in history, he made a copy before handing the 
original over to his superiors.  He snuck the second film into France 
where it was given to one of our operatives.  We have no record of what 
happened to him afterwards." The lights in the auditorium came back up 
to full luminance and the Phoenix logo reappeared on the screen.

"You can't expect us to believe that crap, Reynolds." A man in the third 
row stood up as he spoke, Reed didn't recognize him. "That alien 
autopsy on FOX had better production value.  Come on, what's really 
going on here?"

Reynolds smiled at the man, "You're too quick for me, Dr. Cox.  You got 
me!  I confess!  I came all the way down here just to play some childish 
prank on all of you!  You know, every minute that you are away from 
your experiments, millions of dollars are lost, but so what... this is some 
funny shit.  Isn't it?" Jonathan Reynolds flipped a switch on the podium 
and turned his back on everyone gathered.

The plasma screen went black as the entire rear wall began to slide 
open in two directions, one half moving up, the other half moving down.  
Behind the wall a barrier made of twelve inch thick Clear Steel separated 
the scientist in the auditorium from an empty room on the other side.

"I have worked with all of you long enough to understand how your 
minds work," Reynolds continued. "You work with facts.  You seek 
truths.  You need proof, evidence.  You need to see it with your own 
eyes..." He flipped another switch and a low humming noise filled the 
room.

On the other side of the barrier the lights changed color slightly as the 
room began to fill with electromagnetically charged particles.  Someone 
in the front row cried out, "Holy shit!" as the once empty room before 
them suddenly began to fill with shapes and forms that had not been 
there before.

They looked insect-like, but were the size of a large dog.  Jet black 
chitinous shells, glowing red eyes, and more legs than any natural 
creature should have.  Hundreds of them scrabbled around, clawing at 
each other, growling and hissing.  Some of them clung to the barrier, 
their throbbing bellies exposed to the unblinking eyes of the scientists on 
the other side.

"We call these little buggers Hespers," spoke Reynolds. "As far as we 
can tell they are the lowest of the low, but they can still rip you apart in 
the blink of an eye."

"These are but one of the many species we have collected since the 
project began.  We found these living in the basement of an apartment 
building in Seattle, and they were not easily taken.  They are immune to 
radiation, chemical agents, biological and viral weapons.  Bullets have 
no effect, they seem to enjoy fire, and as you have seen with your own 
eyes, they are invisible to the naked eye unless bombarded by highly 
charged particles.  The good news is that, at the moment they pose little 
threat to anyone as long as they are left alone, but one day that will 
change, and that day is drawing closer and closer.

"There are groups out there, hiding and plotting.  They hope to bring 
about the end of humanity, and give rise to Hell on Earth.  As they grow 
in strength and numbers, so do creatures such as those now before you.

"Believe me when I tell you, many of the things that you know as fiction, 
are in fact real.  There are horrors in our world that you can't even begin 
to understand, and wonders that rival the greatest of imaginations.  
Make no mistake, they are out there, they are organized, and they are 
waiting for the right moment to strike.

"We will not give them that chance.  Everything you have been working 
on has been for this reason.  We must be victorious over this evil, or all 
will be lost.  When you go back to your labs, study this new information, 
discover knew ways to defend against them, to find them, to hunt them, 
and to destroy them.

"But before you head off to save the world, I'd like to share with all of you 
one last thing.  Dr. Whelan, if you would, please."

Mal stood up and moved to the podium, leaving the dumbfounded Reed 
behind.  Mal cleared his throat before taking over the microphone. "Good 
Morning.  For those of you who do not know me, I am Dr. Malcolm 
Whelan.  I have been a devoted patriot of the United States of America 
since the very day I was born.  My father was one of the founding 
members of Project Phoenix, and it was his dream that one day we 
would triumph over this growing evil.

"Thanks to his hard work, and mine... and my fantastic team's diligence, 
we have moved one step closer to achieving my father's dream.  Ladies 
and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce to you... Eve." Malcolm pointed into 
the center of the writhing mass of monsters. "It's okay Eve, you can 
come out now."

The mass of black legs and red eyes began to slowly spread out to both 
side of the far room.  The effect reminded Reed of the film staring 
Charlton Heston as he played Moses parting the Red Sea.  There, sitting 
on the floor with vicious horrors all around, sat a nude little girl, no more 
than ten or eleven years of age.

Her long blonde hair and white skin made her stand out like a sore 
thumb amongst the chittering monsters, and yet, they seemed not to 
notice or care that she was there.  She stood up and walked calmly 
towards the human crowd on the other side of the barrier.  Her 
expression was blank as she stared out at them with her blue eyes.

Malcolm smiled warmly at her through the dividing wall. "Say hello to 
everyone, Eve."

At first the girl didn't respond, her eyes searching the sea of strangers as 
they gaped at her.  When she finally did speak her face lit up with a huge 
smile.

"Hi Mr. Reynolds!  Did you bring me a new teddy bear?"



Continued in Chapter Two....


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