Eve of Destruction (c) 
Chapter Seventeen 
By Fiction Writer #13 
(nosex, sci-fi, paranormal)

The sky was red, red and empty of clouds.  The air stung the back of 
his throat with every breath.  Whether the stinging was from the 
atmosphere of the planet or from the smoke of a thousand cooking 
fires, he couldn't tell.  He just knew he didn't like it, and neither did 
Elissia.

"Papa, I don't like it here," she whined in a way that made Allen 
wince. "When can we go back home?"

"I've told you a thousand times, we can't go home." Her father spoke 
flatly, his eyes keeping a watchful guard on the crowd of beings they 
passed between. "Illithia is gone.  We need to find a new home."

"Not here," Elissia stated firmly as she wrinkled her nose at yet 
another unpleasant odor that wafted her way.

"No, not here." Her father took a firmer hold of her hand and pulled 
her through a narrowing gap in the crowd. "We'll be leaving soon, so 
just be a good girl for Papa until then."

When they weren't squeezing through the choking crowds, they were 
winding this way and that down narrow passages.  The refugee camp 
had been growing steadily since the first ships began landing on the 
mostly dead planet nearly three full cycles earlier.  Elissia's family 
had arrived just a few dozen rotations past.  This was the fourth such 
camp they had been forced to live in since escaping Illithia.

"Tarin!  Over here!  Tarin!"

Elissia's father stopped and peered over the tops of the huddled 
masses, searching for the owner of the deep voice who called his 
name.  Though Elissia had grown since Allen's last shared memory, 
she was still much shorter than her father, and had to be guided 
blindly by his hand to their destination.

"Tarin!  It's so good to see you, my friend!"

A gap in the crowd allowed Elissia to finally see who was calling her 
father.  She didn't recognize the stout brown creature with six eyes 
and just as many legs.

"Fegwin, you old bastard!" For the first time in longer than Elissia 
could remember, her father smiled as he embraced the hairy thing. 
"How did you get out of Wynnerwol?  I heard the whole planet..."

"Yeah, fell faster than a Drivindian moon," Fegwin laughed, causing 
his entire body to shake like gelatin. "But I told you, I've got a really 
fast ship!"

"Still flying that piece of junk?"

"Piece of junk!" Fegwin bellowed so loud that Elissia hid behind her 
father, despite the man's wide grin and raucous laughter. "How dare 
you insult the love of my life!"

After Fegwin slowed his jiggling form down to a slight wiggle, he 
peered curiously behind Tarin's legs. "Oh my!  And who might this 
little beauty be?  It couldn't possibly... Elissia?"

Allen could feel her confusion as it washed over her in a warm blush. 
'How does this man know me?'

"My, my, my... look at how you've grown!" He smiled warmly at her. 
"The last time I saw you, you were barely bigger than a Whipper-
hopper!"

The reference brought an image of a rabbit-like creature with ears ten 
times longer than any species seen on Earth, with a body small 
enough to fit in the palm of one hand.  As the tiny creature bounced 
through Elissia's mind, its ears flying around wildly, it caused her to 
giggle at the comparison to herself.

Fegwin pulled his gaze away from the shy girl. "How about the other 
love of my life?"

"Evangeline's fine, a little shaken by everything, but holding up."

"Good, good," Fegwin beamed.

"How about Tiernin?  Is she around?"

Fegwin's smile faded, and so did any joy in his voice. "She didn't 
make it.  The Stalkers came before the Dark Lord's armies.  His 
vanguard took us all by surprise.  They... they took her from 
Elodean's temple, just before they razed it to the ground.  I... I 
couldn't stop them... couldn't save her."

"My Gods.  I'm so sorry, Feg, I didn't know."

Fegwin inflated his great bulk then let in out in a long, slow sigh. 
"What's done is done.  I've spilled my tears.  Now I've just got to keep 
myself moving.  Speaking of which, I'm glad I ran into you.  The 
camp's grown too big."

"I know." Tarin wiped his brow. "Nearly ten million, with more arriving 
every quarter rotation."

"They'll be coming soon," Fegwin growled, "if they're not here 
already."

"We've gotten fairly good at detecting His spies," Tarin defended.

"Not nearly good enough my friend." Fegwin motioned for Tarin to 
follow him into a heavy canvass tent, his multiple eyes scanning the 
surrounding crowd warily.

Elissia remained behind her father as the pair ducked inside.  The 
space was dark, lit only by a few glowing crystal shards, but it was 
enough for them to avoid bumping into the few belongings Fegwin 
had brought from his ship.  The air inside was musty, but easier to 
breathe.

"I found this yesterday." Fegwin dug around inside one of his bags 
and pulled out a small item, which he then handed over to Tarin to 
inspect. "I've disabled it, but who knows how long it's been here."

"A Dark Eye?  Here?"

Elissia heard her father gasp and slipped around his hip to see what 
caused this reaction.

"What is it, Papa?" Elissia stood on tiptoe trying to get a better look.

"Shhh... sweetie." In his hand he held a tiny black cross. "Give Papa 
some space, okay?"

Tarin held the small object up to a light for closer inspection. "Does 
anybody else know?"

"I was on Tregan IV when the rumor spread about a spy being found 
in the camp.  I don't want to go through another riot, too many good 
folks died in the stampede to escape.  So, no, you're the only one 
who knows besides me."

"Good." Tarin gave the thing back to Fegwin. "Where did you find it?"

"The landing field; I went back to see if anything could be salvaged 
from the wreckage of the freighter that crashed, and there it was, 
beside the body of a Virion.  There's no telling whether or not he was 
a passenger on the freighter, or if he was just unlucky enough to be in 
the impact zone."

"But..." Tarin shook his head. "The Virion's aren't in league with the 
Dark Lord.  It doesn't make any sense."

"Don't be so naive, my friend.  I know you like to believe that aligning 
with the Dark God can bring only pain, but for the right price, anyone 
could turn.  His minions can be very persuasive." Fegwin's voice 
quavered. "Especially if they are holding a loved one captive."

Tarin's head popped up and he stared at his old friend with a look of 
horror. "Not you, Fen.  Tell me they haven't gotten to you."

"I'm sorry, Tarin." Tears welled up in Fegwin's many eyes. "It's 
Tiernin.  I... I couldn't just let them keep her.  You know what they do 
to the ones they don't kill.  It's a fate worse than death.  They offered 
me a trade, and I... I took it."

"You son of a bitch!" Tarin roared as he grabbed Elissia's hand and 
dragged her to the door. "I can't believe you've sold us out!"

"I didn't know that you were here!  If I had known I never would have 
signaled them that I found the camp.  Damn it, Tarin, there shouldn't 
have been this many people here anyway.  I sent it when I arrived a 
full cycle ago, there were half as many back then, and when they 
didn't show up I took it as a sign that they weren't going to come.  If... 
if I had known..." Fegwin pleaded. "I'm sorry!"

Tarin abruptly stopped but didn't turn to face him. "How long?"

"That dead Virion was my contact; he was supposed to tell me where 
I could collect Tiernin.  When he died the Dark Eye alerted the others.  
They'll be coming now for sure."

"HOW LONG?"

Fegwin sighed, "A rotation, maybe sooner."

"Then it's over... you've sentenced us to death." Tarin's eyes fell to 
the dusty ground. "My ship was damaged when that freighter went 
down, it's still being repaired.  It won't be ready for at least ten more 
rotations." Tarin tugged Elissia out of the tent. "Come on, we have to 
find your Mother."

"Tarin wait!" Fegwin's large bulk exploded out of the tent behind 
them.

 "Wait!"

"I've nothing left to say to you."

"Take my ship!  Take it!" Fegwin rushed around and blocked their 
path, shoving an orange 'y' shaped key at Tarin. "Take it.  Get your 
family to safety, there isn't much time."

"What about you?" Tarin sneered. "Aren't you going to need it to save 
your own ass when they come?"

"I didn't do this for me." Fegwin shook with shame. "I did it for her.  
They promised me she'd be released."

"Damn it, Feg!  You know it was a lie!"

"Even if it is, I couldn't take the risk that it wasn't.  If it'd been 
Evangeline or Elissia that they'd taken, tell me you wouldn't have 
done the same."

"No." Tarin's eyes bored into Fegwin as he snatched the key away. 
"You just helped to murder a million women and children.  No one is 
worth that much sacrifice.  No one."

Tarin turned his back on his friend and hurried away, towing Elissia 
behind.  She was so confused and hurt.  Would her Papa really have 
left her to the monsters if there was a way to save her?  Was she not 
more important to him than all these other people?  Allen understood 
what she was feeling, and wished he could explain it to her, but the 
dream memory only worked one way.

As they weaved a twisted path through the dense crowd Allen began 
to feel a warm tingling throughout his body.  Since Elissia didn't seem 
to be reacting to it, he was convinced it was a sensation all his own.  
The tingling grew in intensity, as did the warmth.  Soon it blossomed 
into a burning fire mixed with stabbing pinpricks.  Pain flashed all over 
him as the dream faded to black.

"Is he awake yet?"

"He should be coming around soon.  I've administered a counter 
agent, as you ordered, but I'm going on the record as being against 
it."

"And I've told you that I don't give a shit what you think.  This man 
needs to be interrogated."

Allen's eyes fluttered.  The light in the room was too bright to keep 
them open for too long.

"Whah..." His throat felt as if he'd been swallowing sand all night. 
"Where am I?"

"You're in Medical." Allen's eyes sought out the woman's voice. "My 
name is Dr. Johanna, and this is..."

"My name is not important."

Allen turned his head slowly until he could see the other person in the 
room.  He was a tall man dressed in black assault gear.  Allen 
couldn't help but notice the imposing rifle he held at the ready.

"What's going on?" Allen tried to sit up, but the motion sent his head 
spinning.  When he tried to rub his eyes he found his wrists were 
cuffed to the sides of the gurney. "What the fuck is going on?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here, Dr. Reed." The man holding 
the gun grinned wickedly as he motioned for the doctor to leave. "And 
you're going to tell me everything you know."

-------------------------------------------------------------

The expedition was going smoothly, too smoothly for Jonathan's 
taste.  After landing Aurora Five in a remote location, he and twelve 
of the soldiers headed for the base camp located at Uluru.  Once 
there he was greeted enthusiastically by the team he originally sent in 
with the scientists, some of his best and most trusted soldiers.  These 
were men and women he'd hand selected from the ranks of every 
armed force, not just the American services.  A few had been with 
him since the beginning of his career protecting the secrets of 
Phoenix.

He'd expected to be taken out the moment he landed, ambushed 
before he had a chance to rejoin his own men, but it seemed they 
were waiting until he found the artifact.  Why it had to be him he didn't 
know, but at least it bought some time.

Before joining the scientists in the structure discovered beneath 
Uluru, he met briefly with the two civilians who'd somehow found 
themselves trapped inside during the dust storm.  They seemed very 
confused about their whole endeavor.  To them only a few days had 
passed, when in reality a few months had come and gone.  Neither 
the American woman nor the Australian man had any answers, but 
Jon was convinced they weren't being totally honest about what had 
really happened to them inside the temple.

As he prepared to leave and begin to prepare for his journey into the 
giant red rock, the woman whispered something into his ear...

"It's always darkest before the dawn."

As he spun around to ask her what she meant, the man whispered...

"True dreamers dream with eyes wide open."

It was at that point Rico and Stewart entered the tent to escort the 
pair to a safe house in the evacuated city of Alice Springs.  He should 
have stopped them then and there, held them for further questioning, 
but something told him that they wouldn't be saying anything more.

After watching the Humvee bounce away down the nearly 
nonexistent road toward Alice Springs, Jon read through the briefings 
he'd requested before landing in Oz.  NASA was still having 
difficulties communicating with the SOHO satellite, and to make 
matters worse five other satellites had mysteriously gone offline.  
None of the disabled satellites seemed to have any connection with 
each other, but it was still distressing none the less.

He was, however, pleasantly surprised that his little North Korean 
project was beginning to take a firmer root.  The North Korean guard 
answering that phone was a simple thing, but it was an action never 
before witnessed.  Apparently the call was regarding recently 
discovered remains of North Korean soldiers that South Korea 
wished to return home, but the ensuing conversation left the US 
Marine, who'd done the talking for the South, feeling as though he'd 
been put through an April Fools joke.  After ten minutes of 
surprisingly friendly banter, the soldier on the North Korean side told 
him to hang up the phone and meet with him on the border so they 
could continue the conversation face to face.

The poor American almost didn't go, he was so convinced it was just 
his buddies screwing with him, but after receiving special orders and 
an armed escort, he made his way to the narrow corridor down which 
the two sides had stared at each other for so long.

The North Korean soldier was already waiting when he arrived, and 
he brought with him several others, but none seemed concerned, nor 
did they raise weapons.  And so they talked, like two people sitting 
next to each other on a park bench, and they discovered that they 
shared something in common; that neither of them wanted to kill the 
other.

Buoyed up by this uplifting drama playing out between gun towers, 
barbed wire, and mine fields, Jon made one last stop in the 
communications tent to check on his other project, the safety of the 
Davis family.  It didn't take long to scan through all of the feeds 
brought to him through the hidden cameras, nor did it shock him to 
find the boy sitting in front of his computer as his older sister gave 
him a hand job.  They were safe, and that's all that mattered.

After switching off the feeds and scrambling the codes (he didn't want 
one of the other soldiers discovering his little secret), he headed for 
the fissure in Uluru's side.  As he made his way through the camp he 
caught some of his original team members eyeing up the new arrivals 
and speaking in hushed whispers.  He wished he'd had a moment to 
speak with them without the others overhearing, but an opportunity 
never arose.

'They don't trust them, either.  But if push comes to shove, will they 
back me, or follow orders?' Jon wondered as he slung his pack over 
his shoulder and ducked into the jagged cave entrance, followed 
closely by two of the men who'd flown in with him.

That had been nearly eleven hours ago.  Eleven hours out of 
communications range with the surface.  Eleven hours spent scouring 
the distinctly alien looking temple for an object no one had any idea of 
what it looked like.  Eleven hours wondering how in the hell he'd get 
himself out of Australia alive, and if he did, would Eve and the Doc 
still be okay?

The scientists had been busy during the intervening time between 
discovering the fissure leading into the temple and Jon's arrival.  
They'd set up shop at the bottom of the staircase that led back up to 
the surface.  Though communications were cut off with the camp far 
above by some unknown magic, it seemed their equipment worked 
fine within the temple.  Bio-lumen tubes snaked along the floor 
through every newly mapped corridor, and lined the walls of each 
discovered chamber.  The light thrown upwards reflected off the walls 
and snagged on nooks and corners, an effect that stretched shadows 
towards the ceiling, creating strange highlights in odd places.

The temple sprawled out into a number of tunnels and antechambers.  
Some of the antechambers were as large as cathedrals, each 
adorned with carvings and paintings much like those made by the 
Aboriginal people who populated the surface world of Australia.  The 
walls, dome ceilings and floor were carved out of the hard red rock 
with laser precision, and polished so smooth that light reflected off 
their rounded surfaces.  Massive serpent statues carved out of opal 
marked the entrance of each antechamber, and thin veins of silver 
and gold wrapped around the rooms in a helix spiral.  Had Jon not 
been so intent on completing his mission, he would have been in awe 
by its beauty.

'Where is it?' Jon wiped sweat from his brow despite the coolness of 
the subterranean air. 'Where the fuck is it?'

This was the twentieth chamber he'd searched from top to bottom.  
Though he'd found quite a few Ixshebetan artifacts, which the 
scientist were now examining, none seemed likely to be the artifact.  
All the while he searched, at least one of the two "escorts" were 
nearby, despite his order to fan out.  Even now he could hear one of 
the bastards skulking about in the hallway beyond the twin rainbow 
serpents guarding the entryway.

The chamber in which he stood was like the nineteen that came 
before.  The same high domed ceiling.  The same polished red stone 
streaked with sparkling gold and silver.  Even the layout of the room 
was basically the same, just a slightly concave floor with an empty 
raised dais dead center.

Jon took a moment to rub at his temples and close his eyes.  He 
could go days with only an hour or two of sleep, but for some reason 
he'd felt exhausted ever since being assigned this task by the 
Council.  He was never one to daydream while on assignment, that 
sort of thing could get a man killed, but he couldn't stop his thoughts 
from wandering while inside this place.

'This is a waste of time.' Jon sat down on the dais and peered into the 
hallway, hoping to catch a glimpse of his uninvited guest. 'They might 
as well make their move on me now, cause if they're waiting for me to 
find this damned thing we might all die of old age first.'

A crunch of glass echoed down the hallway, giving Jon the briefest of 
warnings before the room suddenly plunged into complete darkness.

"Shit!" the voice of the lurking soldier blurted out, revealing his 
location. "Uh... sorry Sir, I didn't see that Bio-lumen relay."

Jon stopped himself from laughing. "Well, what in the hell were you 
doing out there in the first place?  I told you to fan out, not stay on my 
ass like a god damn hemorrhoid!"

"Sorry Sir." The soldier fumbled in the darkness. "I'll go get a 
replacement relay from the science station."

"You do that."

Jon smiled to himself as the man's footfalls retreated.  It felt good to 
have a moment alone at last, even if it was in the dark.  He pulled a 
Burn-Bright from one of his many pockets, but decided against 
squeezing it when something caught his eye.  

'What's all this?'

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could begin to see that the 
room wasn't totally devoid of illumination.  It was very faint at first, but 
the longer he remained perched on the dais the brighter it became.  
All along the walls stick figures began to emerge, painted in the same 
Aboriginal style as the others, only these had been created with some 
kind of blue bioluminescent medium.  The figures had been drawn 
life-sized, and most only vaguely resembled a human form.  Soon 
Jon was completely surrounded by ghostly blue stick figures, staring 
out toward him with what could only be described as expectation 
expressed on their faces.

"Well, hello there," Jon amusingly greeted his curious audience.

Above the figures tiny pin pricks of light dotted the walls and 
stretched high overhead to form a starlit sky.  It took a moment for 
Jon to take it all in, but he could see that something wasn't quite right 
with the placement of the stars.  The constellations he was familiar 
with were distorted, some stretched, and others squeezed, but only 
slightly.

"Hmm... not one for accuracy, but the detail is top notch."

As he stared upwards the tiny dots began to shift, drifting slowly 
across the 'sky' until they fixed themselves in a more familiar position.

"O-kay." Jon squinted into the darkness, not sure if his eyes were 
playing tricks on him. "That was... odd."

His wary gaze drifted back to the figures, which still gazed 
expectantly at him.

"Alright, that was neat.  What else can you do?"

Jon waited in the darkness, only half expecting them to answer.  
When none came he slipped off the dais and moved closer to the 
figures to get a better look.  That's when he noticed something else 
out of the ordinary.  All the figures had their eyes closed.

"Okay, now I know I'm not seeing things.  You guys were all staring at 
me just a moment ago.  What gives?"

Jon walked along the circular chamber, examining each figure as he 
passed them.  When he made it halfway around the room he found 
one that was different to the others.  This figure was the most human 
in appearance, but stood only as high as Jon's chest.  It had been 
painted with long hair but had masculine features.  Its left hand was 
clenched in a fist by its side, while its right held onto a rope or leash 
that connected to the neck of the figure beside it.  While many of the 
other drawings were of nude beings, this one was partially clothed, 
and not only that, its garb was distinctly modern.  If Jon had to guess, 
he would have said it was wearing jeans and sneakers.  The more 
Jon examined the figure, the more convinced he became that he was 
staring at a bare chested teenaged boy.

"This just gets weirder and weirder."

Jon glanced to the boy's right at the figure he'd passed over, the one 
connected to the boy by the leash.  Here stood a girl much younger 
than the boy, but she was certainly not human.  Two large wings 
extended from her back, sweeping out to either side like a bat.  The 
leash seemed to connect to a collar wrapped around her neck, as if 
she were some kind of pet for the boy.

To the left of the boy figure Jon discovered another human.  This one 
was an adult, but little could be seen of his actual form, since he 
appeared to be wearing some kind of long coat.  One thing Jon 
couldn't miss was the fact that this man held a large pistol in each 
hand.

Jon was about to move on, leaving the teen boy behind as just 
another strange thing to add to a list of strange things, but something 
held him in place, a feeling that he was missing some key detail.  
That's when the American woman's words came back to him.

'True dreamers dream with eyes wide open.'

The words hit him like a thunderbolt.  All of the other figures were 
asleep, dreaming with eyes closed, but not this one.  This one 
dreamed with eyes wide open.

Slowly Jon moved closer to the wall, close enough so he could touch 
its surface.  He expected to feel solid rock beneath his fingertips, but 
instead plunged his hand into warm water.  Ripples of ghostly blue 
light spread outward from his wrist in all directions, causing the 
figures and the stars to waver.  Jon went in further, his arm going in 
elbow deep, but still he found nothing to wrap his fingers around.

"Where is it?  Come on, give it up."

Jon's hand searched this way and that, his fingers frantically groping 
in the dark water.  His forearm touch something cold and he pulled 
his hand back.

"Of course," he chided himself, "it's in his fucking hand.  I'm an idiot."

Jon drove his hand back into the waters, this time aiming behind the 
figure's clenched fist, and there it was.  It was a small, round thing, 
smooth and cold, heavy like stone, but only as big as a flattened golf 
ball.  He pulled his arm free of the water to find his hand completely 
dry, but not empty.

"I don't believe it." Jon shook his head and chuckled to himself. "I 
actually found the damn thing."

He smiled at the figure of the teenager in thanks as he pocketed the 
stone.  A slight movement caught his attention, the boy's painted 
pupils shifting as if staring at something standing behind him.  It was 
all the warning Jon needed as he ducked to his right and barely 
escaped the plunging knife blade meant for the base of his skull.

"Give it up, Jon.  You're not getting out of here alive."

The calm voice echoed to him from somewhere else in the dark 
chamber, not from his attacker.  It was going to be two against one.

A shadow blocked out the painted figure in front of him, and he just 
barely avoided another attack.

"There's no way out.  Give us the artifact."

That time the voice was much closer.  They were surrounding him, 
closing the distance and cutting off his escape.  He had to think 
quickly, or else all would be lost.

The knife blade glinted from the faint blue glow, and Jon took 
advantage.  He side stepped, allowing the weapon to come 
dangerously close to piercing his chest, before hooking his own arm 
around his attacker's outstretched one.  He wrapped his hand up 
under his attacker's armpit, grabbed hold of his shirt, and dropped all 
of his weight down in a sudden jerk.

A loud pop reverberated in the chamber as the attacker's arm went 
limp and the knife clattered to the floor.  The man didn't scream in 
pain as his arm separated from its socket, nor did he give up the fight.  
Before he could release his grip and move to defend, the soldier 
swept Jon out below the knees, sending him to the hard floor.

Jon rolled away, dodging kicks until his face plunged into the liquid 
wall.  His first instinct was to hold his breath, but oddly he found that 
he could breathe just as normally as if he were in the open air.  He 
only had a moment to ponder the strangeness of it before a boot 
crashed down into his abdomen, driving his air out anyway.

Fighting the pain, he took hold of the boot before it could retreat and 
twisted with all of his might.  The man above him stumbled, tripped 
over Jon's prone form, and fell to the floor beside him.  Jon pulled his 
head free of the liquid wall and rolled on top of his attacker.  The man 
struggled as Jon's fingers wrapped around his throat, preventing him 
from getting a tight enough seal to block his airway.  Blue ripples of 
light emanated like a halo from where the soldier's head lay partially 
within the wall.

Jon could hear the other soldier moving in to attack.  If he didn't 
dispatch the one he had down, he wouldn't get another chance.  He 
let go with one of his hands while the other held the man down.  His 
fingers dug into his pocket, where he found a peanut shaped capsule, 
squeezed, and tossed it onto the floor as he closed his eyes.

The Burn-Bright flared into life with a dazzling white light.  The man 
charging from behind screamed as his retinas burned.  The soldier 
pinned to the ground suddenly stiffened under Jon then went limp as 
the once liquid wall returned to its solid form, severing the top of his 
head.

Jon gave a three count before daring to open his own eyes.  The 
room shimmered and glimmered with reflected light, still a little too 
bright for Jon's liking.  Gone were the stars and the figures, only the 
red rock on which they'd been painted remained.  Aching and 
exhausted, Jon staggered to his feet and closed on the soldier who 
had fallen to his knees still clawing at his enflamed eyes.

"Who ordered this?"

Jon's strength came back to him with each step.

"WHO?"

"Fuck you!" The man got to his feet and stood in a defensive posture. 
"I don't have to tell you shit!  You're over!  Done!  Finished!"

Jon gritted his teeth as he circled around the blinded soldier. "Who 
gave you the order to take me out?"

"I know what you are." The man turned in place, following Jon's 
voice. "You never should have been kept alive in the first place!  
You're a mistake!  A failure!"

Jon had heard those words before.  He knew whose lips had issued 
them the first time, and they only proved to confirm his suspicions.

"Donovan." Jon spat the name from his mouth as if it tasted bitter.

The soldier only smiled in answer.

"So, it's beginning then?"

"It's ending for you, you sorry excuse for a... where are you going?"

Jon headed for the hallway, not even bothering to keep an eye on his 
confused enemy.

"Come back here and fight me, you fucking coward!"

At the entrance Jon paused briefly to retrieve his pack at the foot of 
one of the twin serpent statues.  He opened it and shuffled the few 
items it contained until he found the two things he was looking for.

"Fight me!"

Jon pulled the blue orb he'd acquired back at Wright-Patterson out of 
its wrappings and placed it in an easier to access spot before 
retrieving a fist full of a purple putty-like substance.

"Coward!"

He split the rubbery ball into two equal portions.  One half went on the 
base of the left statue, the other on the right.  Into each he placed a 
tiny green crystal, being sure that at least some of the gem poked out 
of the putty.

"Get back here, you fucking sorry excuse for a soldier!"

Jon stepped into the hallway before turning to face the raging blind 
man. "If you try to leave this room before twenty four hours has 
passed, you'll be sealed in forever."

"You're leaving me alive?" The soldier laughed. "You really are 
weak!"

"Everything happens for a reason."

Jon grinned to himself as he remembered the first time the Doc had 
told him that. "You're alive so that you can pass a message to 
Donovan."

"I'm not passing along shit!  I don't take orders from mistakes!"

"Tell him that I'm coming." Jon turned away and headed into the still 
darkened hallway. "I'm coming to finish what he started when he took 
her away from me."

-------------------------------------------------------------

The questioning had begun immediately...

'Where were you between the hours of two p.m. Thursday and nine 
a.m. Friday?'

'Why were you working on the MERI device at that particular hour?'

'Our records show that you spent considerable time with Dr. Whelan 
Thursday.  What was the reason behind this extended meeting?'

'Dr. Whelan broke protocol by raising your security level clearance.  
Why was it necessary for him to do so?'

'We have you logged into your computer system during the same 
time period that our security records indicate you were visiting the 
PBRC.  How is this possible?  Do you have an accomplice?  Have 
you given your secure password and bio data to anyone?'

On and on came the questions, leaving Allen feeling even more 
confused than when he had first gained consciousness, the remnants 
of the drug still coursing through his bloodstream as the counter 
agent burned his veins.

'Do you know a Dr. Paul Rogers?'

'Has he ever been in your labs or been privy to the details of the 
MERI project?'

'Can you think of any reason why this man would break into your labs 
using your security clearance?'

'We have reason to believe that the MERI has been sabotaged.  Can 
you think of any reason why this might have happened?'

For hours they questioned him, changing the wording to try and trip 
up his answers, but he answered as truthfully as he could.  Allen 
knew that it was impossible to lie to these people.  They had access 
to devices and drugs designed to force him to be honest, things he 
himself had helped to create.  Lying was pointless, especially after 
they filled him in on what had happened.

'The Council has removed Dr. Whelan from his previous position 
within Project Phoenix.  After being informed of his demotion, Dr. 
Whelan attacked several members of the security team.  A standoff 
ensued during which time Dr. Whelan held Eve, a piece of Phoenix 
property, hostage.  All efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully were 
ignored, leaving no option but to retrieve Eve and put an end to the 
dangerous situation.  Unfortunately, during the extraction, Dr. Whelan 
suffered a fatal wound.  The child known as Eve, following some kind 
of last ditch effort to deny the Council of its own property, escaped 
capture and found her way to the MERI device where Dr. Paul 
Rogers was waiting for her.  She underwent a massive information 
download, one that has left her in a coma from which we are unsure 
she will ever wake.  Even if she does regain consciousness, we 
expect her to suffer from a high degree of brain damage.'

All had been lost while he lay sprawled out on the floor.  The fight 
was over, and he had missed it.  The man he thought of as a second 
father had been murdered in cold blood, the girl he was to protect and 
help lead to freedom was nothing more than a body being kept alive 
by machines, and he was nothing more than a prisoner in his own 
home.

Once they were through questioning him, he was allowed to return to 
his quarters, where he was to remain until they needed him again.  
His place had been ransacked during his brief absence.  Everything 
with a connection to Dr. Whelan, Eve, and the MERI device had been 
confiscated, along with all of his personal files.  They left him there, 
locked in and sequestered from all outside information, wondering if 
he was to be executed for his part in the previous day's events.  For 
nearly twenty hours he sat alone in his room before his fate was 
finally revealed.

'Though we have no doubt that you were at least a minor member of 
Dr. Whelan's rebellion against the Council, we can not at this time 
determine what level of threat you may be to ongoing projects.  The 
Council has decided that you are to remain under house arrest until 
further information can be processed.  During this period, you are to 
remain in your quarters and have no contact with any other members 
of Phoenix.  Because of your level of expertise, you will be allowed to 
continue work on the MERI device, which must be returned to a fully 
operational state within a reasonable amount of time.  As the former 
head of the neurology department, you will be given access to Eve as 
her primary caregiver.  During these times away from your quarters, 
an armed escort will be present and all forms of treatment and 
experimentation must have prior approval.'

And so that's how it was.  He was allowed to live so long as he was 
useful to the whims of the Council.  Though he wanted to check on 
Eve first, he was ordered to begin repairs on MERI.

He found the problem almost immediately, a burnt out fuse, but 
ignored it. MERI had to be kept offline as long as possible.  There 
was no sense in giving them what they wanted right away; especially 
since his life depended on being needed to get it working.  Though he 
wasn't allowed to openly converse with any of his team members, he 
could tell that they were all shaken by what had happened.  As he 
faked working on some of the more intricate circuit boards, he 
watched silently with his heart thumping like mad in his chest as each 
one of them spotted the blown fuse.  First they glanced in his 
direction, glanced at the two armed soldiers standing guard, then 
moved on to check another part of the system.  They were protecting 
him, helping him keep up his ruse for as long as he could.  It made 
him want to break down into thankful tears.

Working on the MERI was preferable to the lonely silence of his 
quarters.  The work kept his mind from darker thoughts.  He had lost 
his best friend, his mentor.  He was gone without even a good bye.  
Gone before Allen had a chance to say thank you for all he had done 
for him in the past.  He was gone, and there was nothing he could do 
about it.  Allen had failed in the only task Mal ever asked of him, 
failed before he even had a chance.  All was lost, and in the silence, 
so was Allen, left to drift between anger, sorrow, and grief.

But the work... the monotonous, tedious, beautifully mind numbing 
work...  kept him from falling down into the gaping darkness below.  
He knew that dark place well.  Down there, down there is where he 
lived after losing his parents.  It was cold there.  So cold it froze from 
the inside out.  Had Malcolm not come along when he did, he was 
certain that he would still be residing there, freezing and alone, cut off 
from everyone and everything, slowly dying in his own personal hell.

Everything was blurry.  Time, emotions, needs, even the line between 
sleep and wakefulness seemed less defined since he had been 
roughly awakened in the Medical Center.  Sleep, when it came, was 
no respite.  Elissia's memories washed over him like a tsunami of 
darkness, filling him with a deep sense of hopelessness for the 
coming battle with the Dark God.  An entire universe of beings more 
advanced than he could have ever imagined, and yet they were no 
match for his armies.  How the human race would stand a chance he 
couldn't figure.

When he awoke on the third day, Sunday, his request to see to Eve's 
needs was once again refused.  Instead they grilled him for hours 
about the RBC factor, what it really was, and why Malcolm was so 
willing to lie to the Council about it.  Finally, once they'd received the 
answers they wanted, they agreed to allow him to visit Eve in the 
PBRC. 

Now as he walked down the same corridors he had walked with 
Malcolm just a few days before, the darkness began to creep back.  A 
journey once filled with wonder and curiosity was now left feeling 
haunted by ghosts.

The Clear Steel doors opened with a hiss, just as they had before, 
only this time Allen had no enthusiasm to enter the PBRC.  Eve was 
here.  A bitter reminder of what a failure he was.  The bright and 
energetic little girl he once knew was now reduced to nothing more 
than a body being kept alive by machines, the result of improper use 
of his MERI device.  He blamed himself for her injuries.  If only he 
had made the security lockouts tougher to break; if he'd implemented 
a safety protocol to shut the machine down; if... if he'd never fixed the 
damned thing in the first place.  If, if, if... 

"Right this way, Dr. Reed.  We need to sign you in before you can 
see her."

The oddly friendly voice startled him out of his daze.  He hadn't even 
realized where he was until the attending security officer prodded him 
in the back with the barrel of his assault rifle to keep him moving.  
Allen looked up and found himself standing in the great cylindrical 
room, once again surrounded by the thousands of prison cells holding 
Para-biological specimens.  The man who had spoken was already 
making his way down the steps into the Pit, leaving Allen to follow, 
but the escort remained behind.

"Aren't you coming?"

The guard shook his head. "Hurry up and check in.  I'll wait here for 
you."

A little confused, Allen turned and headed down the steps.  The Pit 
was buzzing with activity.  The technicians and communications 
officers all looked exhausted, as if they hadn't been able to take a 
break or get any sleep in the days since Allen had last been here.

KA-REEE!  KA-REEE!  KA-REEE!

A claxon alarm began to ring out as yellow flashing lights erupted into 
brilliance all around.

"Damn it!" the man leading the way called out angrily over the noise. 
"We just cleared the last batch!  What the fuck!  How many are they 
sending us today?  This is fucking ridiculous!"

The sound of grinding steel caused Allen to crane his neck straight up 
to the very top of the dome ceiling.  An opening in the dome slowly 
unfurled like a blooming flower filmed in high speed.  Through the 
aperture, a large rectangular container dropped into view, lowered 
gently by thick cables.

"Turn that fucking thing off!"

Nearly instantly the keening alarms returned to silence.

"What is it this time?"

One of the techs hammered away on his keyboard as he spoke. 
"Looks like a level five.  Oh man, it's another Geist.  What should I do 
with it?"

"Uh...." The man paused to view the information displayed on the 
computer screen. "Just, just put it in the same cell we used for the 
last one."

"Doubling up?  Is that okay?"

"Do we have a choice?"

The tech shrugged his shoulders before going back to work.  Far 
above Allen's head, the container stopped and spun ninety degrees.  
From the tier level with the container, one of the cells suddenly 
dislodged from the wall.  Held by an extending robotic arm, the cell 
moved horizontally until it made contact with the container.

"We've got magnetic lock.  The seal is good.  Opening the doors."

A loud hissing filled the air.

"Doors open.  Beginning push sequence."

The box and the attached cell suddenly lurched backwards with a 
violent thud.

"Container empty.  Closing doors."

A tap on Allen's shoulder brought his attention back to ground level.

"You can sign in now."

Allen took the offered pen and quickly scribbled his signature on the 
required lines, before looking up to watch as the cell retracted back 
into the wall and the empty container lifted through the ceiling.

"Sorry, it's not usually like this," the man apologized as he retook the 
clipboard. "We're lucky to get one or two specimens a month, but 
these last few days we've accepted nearly a thousand new guests.  
It's been insane around here."

"What's going on?"

"Don't know.  They're keeping us in the dark down here.  I think the 
new security officers are calling it a Level Five Lockdown or some 
such bullshit.  All it means for us is that we have no way to tell the 
bastards up there," he pointed a finger angrily towards the ceiling, 
"that we can't keep up with them.  It's a fucking mess.  

"By the way," he extended his hand toward Allen, which he gladly 
accepted, "my name's Eric.  We never met, but," he leaned in close 
and whispered, "I was the one who let you and Mal visit with Elissia 
last Thursday.

"We're a bit understaffed since Dr. Hansen and a few others have 
gone... missing." Eric ground his teeth. "So I'll be the one you need to 
check with whenever you come to see Eve.  We've done our best to 
accommodate her needs, but as I tried to explain to the Gestapo who 
brought her here, we're not set up to deal with such injuries."

Allen looked back to where the guard still stood, waiting for him to 
return. "Why didn't he come down with me?"

"Probably didn't want to ruin all of his nifty toys.  There's a protective 
field around the Pit, makes sure that everyone down here doesn't 
have to worry about containers falling on their heads, but it also 
renders combustion based weaponry useless.  No point in having a 
gun if you can't kill anything with it."

After typing a few quick words into an unused computer, Eric clipped 
an ID badge onto Allen's shirt pocket. "You'll need this whenever you 
come here.  This will tell the elevator which tier to take you to 
automatically.  She's in cell M-76.  Once you reach the cell, locate the 
control panel and press the entry button.  It will ask you for a retinal 
scan.  Your profile is already in our system, but if you have any 
trouble just type in com-one and you'll be connected to me directly.  
Any questions?"

"Yeah, if I need anything..."

"Name it and I'll make sure it gets to you.  Just," once again he 
leaned in close to whisper, "just tell her that I was thinking about her, 
and that I miss our chats."

Allen smiled. "You and her are close?"

"It's not what you think." He smiled sheepishly. "It gets lonely around 
here on the graveyard shift, and she's a good listener." 
 
KA-REEE!  KA-REEE!  KA-REEE!

Eric's grin vanished. "Not fucking again!" He glanced at his watch 
before rushing over to another workstation. "It's two hours till midnight 
and we're still going nuts.  What is it now?"

A tech called out from the opposite side of the room. "You're not 
going to like this."

Eric whirled around to face him. "Like what?"

"Apparently they didn't get the memo about class levels and what we 
accept here at the PBRC."

"Spit it out, Smith.  What's coming down the rabbit hole?"

Smith cut the alarm and began laughing. "It's a level zero, an 
Etherlithe."

"An Etherlithe?  What am I going to do with an Etherlithe?" Eric shook 
his head in disbelief. "Send its file over to my station; give me a 
minute to figure this out."

Allen left Eric to his work and started to return to where the guard was 
waiting for him, but stopped when he was called back.

"Hey, hey Reed!  Come back here for a minute." Eric waved him 
over. "I think I have a mutually beneficial solution to my problem."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, well, all the cells are occupied, and I can't put this 
one in with any of the others.  They'd tear her apart, or worse.  I 
remember hearing somewhere that familiar voices and sounds could 
help with someone in Eve's condition, so I was thinking maybe I 
should put her in with Elissia and Eve, you know, to keep them 
company.  Elissia would have someone to talk to, and, well, the 
sound of another child's voice might get through to wherever Eve is.  
It's your call, though, since Eve's under your care."

Allen moved in behind Eric and peered at the image now displayed 
on his screen, that of a very young Asian girl's face partially hidden 
behind shoulder length straight black hair.  She looked scared out of 
her wits, tears streaming out of blood shot and puffy eyes. 'She 
doesn't look any different than a normal kid.'

"She's, she's an Ether...?"

"An Etherlithe.  Absolutely harmless, at least this one is.  That's why 
she's considered a threat level zero."

"I, uh..." Allen started to shake his head, but Eric stopped him.

"Here, let's have you meet her before you make a final decision." Eric 
typed a command into the computer and the large container lowered 
from the ceiling, stopping just a few feet above their heads. "Come 
with me."

Eric led the way, with Allen following close behind, up and out of the 
Pit area, walking right past the waiting guard to the elevator.  The 
door slid open with a quiet hiss and the three of them climbed aboard.

The ride was over quickly.  Eric pushed his way past the guard to 
continue on. "Tier one is where we can offload the containers without 
using the automated system, mostly when supplies are delivered.  It's 
not something we do very often with guests.  This floor also houses 
our labs, equipment storage, and a very disappointing break room.  
The food is okay, but the coffee is awful."

They walked a few yards to a catwalk that now extended out from the 
wall and joined with the container, which was still suspended above 
the Pit.

Eric stopped and faced the guard. "Keep that thing holstered.  There 
is no threat here, understand?"

The guard didn't like being talked to in that manner, but shouldered 
his weapon none the less.

"Now, I know that all of this is fairly new to you," Eric continued, "but I 
assure you, she's harmless."

The doors of the container slowly opened, revealing a well-lit interior.  
Crouched on the floor and trembling, the little girl held herself in a 
tight ball, her arms wrapped around her shins, face hidden behind her 
knees.  A black tattered T-shirt barely covered her almost golden 
skin.  She looked very tiny in the large open space, very tiny and 
petrified.

"Hello." Eric spoke to her in a calm and soothing tone. "My name is 
Eric; I'm here to help you."

"Go away... leave me alone," she sobbed. "Just, just let me go." 

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I know you must be scared." He moved slowly 
into the container. "The fact is, you really shouldn't be here.  
Someone upstairs made a real big mistake."

She lifted her head, her almond shaped eyes full of pleading and 
fright. "So... so you'll let me go?"

"I'd love to, but I can't right now.  We can't send anyone or anything 
back up just yet."

"So... so I can't..."

"I'm afraid not, at least not right away."

A long, low, mournful wail filled the room.

"Why?  Why are you doing this to me?  Why now?  I... I was... I was 
so mean to him... an... an now he'll never know..."

Allen and Eric exchanged some confused glances but decided 
against asking any questions.  Instead Eric took the opportunity to 
move a little closer, now only a foot or two away from the crying child.

"Listen, I can't set you free right now, but I promise, as soon as I can I 
will.  This is no place for one of your kind."

Slowly she calmed herself down. "You... you know what I am?"

"Yes." Eric knelt down to her level. "You're an Etherlithe."

A tiny smile tried to play at her lips. "Are you... are you a Wizard?"

Eric chuckled. "No child, I'm not a Wizard, but I know enough.  I know 
that you are trying to hide something from us, but you don't have to.  
No one is going to hurt you here; you have my word on that."

The girl looked scared as she tried to decide whether or not to believe 
Eric's promise, but in the end decided to trust the kindly man.  A look 
of profound relief washed over her as two very large wings, black and 
leathery like a bat's, materialized out of thin air behind her back.

"Holy shit!" the guard shouted as he quickly brought his weapon to 
bear on the child.

"Put that fucking thing away this instant!" Eric moved himself between 
the girl and the gun.

The guard looked terrified, but Allen wasn't sure if it was because of 
the girl or Eric.

"But, but," the guard attempted to protest. "But she's a demon!"

"What are you, an idiot?" Eric reached out and grabbed the barrel of 
the weapon.  With seemingly little effort he wrenched it free from the 
guard and tossed it over the edge of the catwalk, where it clattered on 
the floor of the Pit. "Get the fuck out of my building!"

The stunned guard backed away, his face a mass of confusion and 
anger. "The Council will here about this!"

"Good," Eric growled. "Make sure you tell them about how you 
pointed a loaded weapon into a containment vessel.  I'm sure they'd 
love to here how close we came to losing a specimen just because 
one of their men panicked."

Reality of the situation returned to the soldier. "I'm under orders to 
stay with Dr. Reed.  I can't leave unless he comes with me."

"He's not going anywhere." Eric turned his back on the man. "You 
can wait for him at the security station."

Allen watched in amazement as his escort made his way back to the 
elevator and left without further comment. "You're gonna get shit 
about this later."

"Yeah, well, they'll have to get in line.  I don't have time to deal with 
trigger-happy assholes, not at the rate we keep receiving new guests.  
And since they took away nearly all of my regular staff, no one else is 
willing to take on the job I stepped up to do.  We all know what 
happened to them, word travels fast around here, and everyone is 
scared.  So they either let me do things my way, or they can go fuck 
themselves."

During all of the arguing the little girl started to sob again.  Now that 
her wings were revealed, she wrapped them around herself, using 
them as a normal kid would hide behind a blanket.

Squatting, Eric spoke soothingly to her. "It's okay now, the bad man 
has gone. You don't have to be afraid anymore. Those are some very 
pretty wings you have. Can you fly with them?"

The black fold of wings parted slightly, her tiny face peeking out. "Uh 
huh."

"Wow!" Eric knelt next to her. "That sounds like it would be lots of 
fun!"

"Uh huh." The wings parted further. "But, but I don't get ta do it that 
much."

"That's a real shame.  You know, if I had wings, I'd try to fly whenever 
I could." Eric smiled warmly as her wings retreated back, folding in on 
themselves. "Looks like I'm going to have to try extra hard to get you 
out of here as soon as I can.  No sense in having wings if you can't 
be free to fly, right?"

"You'll, you'll really try ta help me get out of here?"

"Yes, of course I will."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Now that smile finally found a way through her sorrow and it made 
her face light up.  Something about her made Allen's heart ache.  She 
was so young, so helpless... and in so much pain, a pain that Allen 
could identify with.  Her world had been turned upside down and torn 
apart, just as his had.

'Perhaps,' he thought to himself, 'she's my salvation.  My chance to 
make things right again.'

His lips moved before he could stop them. "It's okay Eric, that thing 
we discussed, its okay."

"Who's he?" She pointed in Allen's direction.

"This is Dr. Reed, he's a good guy like me, and while you're here, you 
might be able to help him."

She eyed Allen warily. "How?"

"There is a very sick little girl here, and she could use some 
company.  We were hoping that maybe you and she could be 
friends?"

"Friends?" She lifted her head up higher to look closer at Allen, 
revealing that she wore a black leather collar or choker around her 
neck. "I... never had any friends before.  'Cept, 'cept for Justin."

Once again the sadness crept back into her eyes.  There was loss in 
those eyes, a profound sadness that broke Allen's heart to see in 
such a young girl.  The room seemed to fill with the sent of fresh 
lilacs, a pleasant odor that Allen hadn't smelt in a long time.  It filled 
him with memories, memories of his mother, of the perfume she wore 
just for his father.  It reminded him of the love they shared between 
each other, and the love they had for him.  Emotions began to well up 
from the deep dark place where Allen left them long ago to die.  
Powerful feelings... warmth, comfort, a sense of well being that he'd 
not felt for so long.

Newer memories flickered through his mind... those of Malcolm, of 
Eve.  He thought of the times they spent together, laughing, learning, 
teaching, growing as close as two friends could.  Mal had loved him, 
loved him as his parents had before they were gone, taken away by 
that awful accident, and in return Allen loved Mal as if he really were 
his adoptive father.  That made little Eve more than just Mal's great-
granddaughter to him, it made her his stepsister, and he had let the 
two of them down.

Time slowed to a crawl as he moved closer, knelt on the floor beside 
her.  Hot tears spilled from his own eyes.  Tears held in too long.  
Burning tears that choked his throat shut.

"She could really use a friend right now," he sputtered. "And, and so 
could I."

She stared at him, her own glassy eyes flowing once again, her lips 
quivering. "You hurt inside, just like me."

Allen nodded.

She gazed into his eyes, looking deep into the very heart of him, 
searching for any sign of deception, but found none. "Okie-dokie."

With that she leapt from the floor, flung her arms around Allen's neck, 
and clung on tight.  She whispered into his ear as he stood up with 
her, words spoken so softly, but full of meaning. "I trust you."

"Thank you." Her warmth made him melt inside. "By the way, what's 
your name?  I'm sure it's something just as pretty as you are."

She giggled. "Ayumi."

He smiled. "I was right.  That is a pretty name."

Allen held her lithe form close, feeling her breath gently against his 
neck, her heart thump, thump, thumping in her chest, and it somehow 
felt right.  He would help this odd child with the face of an angel, the 
wings of a demon.  He would find a way to make Eve better, to bring 
her back from the empty void where she had gone.  And he would 
find a way to make Mal proud of him once again, no matter what it 
took.

"Everything happens for a reason, little one." He spoke quietly as he 
carried her out of the container and down the catwalk with Eric 
following close behind. "Everything."



Concluded in the Epilogue....


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