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

"I don't know pumpkin, have you been a good girl for Dr. Whelan?" 
Jonathan Reynolds returned the young girl's smile as he moved closer to 
the barrier.

"Yah-huh.  I've done everything that he asked," she nodded, her head 
bobbing up and down as she spoke. "Even the hurty stuff.  You can ask 
em', he'll tell you so.  Right Dr. Whelan?"

Mal smiled at her, she had remembered not to call him Grampa in front 
of the other scientists. "She's been a perfect little angel."

Jonathan dramatically scratched his stubble covered chin. "Well, in that 
case, I think I might have left you something back in your room."

"Goodie!" Unable to hide her excitement she started bouncing up and 
down while clapping her hands.  Despite her wild antics and squeals of 
joy, the chittering Hespers kept their distance.

"Why don't you go see, pumpkin, I think we can go on here without you." 
Jon winked at her and she winked back while gently biting her lower lip.

She knew what he wanted her to do.  Her Grampa had said that they 
wanted to play a trick on the other people in the room, and that they 
needed her help to scare them a bit.  Eve was only too happy to play 
along, especially if there was a new teddy bear waiting for her.  Even if it 
hurt a little bit.

Eve took a step back from the barrier, sending Hespers scurrying in all 
directions.  The smile dissolved away, her expression becoming blank, 
her arms hanging lifeless at her sides.  Her eye lids fluttered closed, 
hiding her glacial blue gaze.  Slowly, as if in a trance, she began walking 
forward, heedless of the three foot thick wall of clear steel blocking her 
way.

There was a sudden collective intake of breath from all those gathered in 
the auditorium as Eve's body began to pass through the barrier.  Her 
face was a mask of concentration, broken only by an occasional flinch of 
pain.  She moved as if the wall were only an illusion, a trick of shadow 
and light that only gave the appearance of a solid structure.  By her third 
step she was on the other side, standing in the same room as the gaping 
scientists.

Eve opened her eyes and looked out on the strange faces staring at her 
in disbelief.  For a moment time stood still with no one daring to make a 
sound.  Eve waited until just the right moment before crying out, "BOO!"

More than one person in the crowd jumped before letting out a nervous 
laugh, but Eve wasn't done.  As the chuckling crowd began to settle 
once more she released her control of the Hespers.  Instantly the 
writhing mass began to hurl themselves against the barrier, desperate to 
get at those on the other side.  The force with which they assaulted the 
wall filled the room with percussive booms.  Some of the scientist in the 
first row instinctively dove for cover in the row behind them, others tried 
to make a hasty exit through the door in the rear of the room.

"Okay Eve..." Mal spoke softly, "... that's enough."

Eve giggled as she calmed the Hespers back down with no more effort 
than a thought.

"You can go see your new teddy bear now." Reynolds patted her blonde 
head.

Eve smiled and made a mad dash up the stairs towards the exit.  Those 
in her path gave a wide birth as the nude little girl sprinted by them, 
giggling.  As she neared the top of the flight she gave them all one more 
shock as her lithe form faded from view.

Malcolm couldn't help but grin as he followed his granddaughter's cute 
little bum up the stairs before it dissolved into nothing.  The door seemed 
to open on its own as the invisible girl left them, closing once again as 
she ran off to play with her new toy.

Malcolm moved back to the podium. "Now, are there any questions?"

Every trembling hand in the auditorium reached for the ceiling. 

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

For close to an hour Malcolm answered question after question, though 
he mostly just referred to different files now shared among them all 
electronically.  Truth be told he only answered one question definitively.

"Is this real?"

The answer to which was a resounding, "Yes... it's all too real."

The greatest secret ever kept from the masses had just been shared 
with the greatest minds in the country.  The so called "Veil" had been 
pulled aside briefly, exposing the scientific minds assembled to a new 
reality.  As a Council member, Malcolm had been arguing for months 
trying to make this moment happen, but not like this, not with shock and 
awe.  That had to have been Reynolds' idea.  After all, he had been the 
one to organize today's event.

When Malcolm tired of providing answers he dismissed everyone.  Most 
rushed out to their respective labs, eager to pour themselves into the 
new files.  Some stayed behind, moving closer to the barrier in order to 
get a better look at the creatures contained on the other side.

Dr. Reed stayed behind as well, his face a mask of disbelief.

"We need to talk," Reynolds whispered into Mal's ear.

"What about him?" Mal motioned to Dr. Reed, who had not moved from 
his seat, his eyes gazing wildly at the monsters beyond the wall.

"He can come.  You've convinced me he can be trusted." Without 
another word Reynolds moved briskly into a side room provided for 
speakers to wait until they were needed.

"Dr. Reed?" Mal shook his friend's shoulder, snapping him out of his 
daze. "Come with us, we need to talk."

Reed stood on shaking legs and followed behind Mal.  Once inside Mal 
closed the door and motioned for Reed to take a seat again.  The side 
room was a much smaller space than the room they had just exited, just 
barely enough space for a six person conference table.

As Reed sat in silence as Mal and Reynolds began to sweep around the 
room, Mal waving a metallic device with a blinking red light, Reynolds 
holding a black rock in the air before him.  Reed thought he was loosing 
his mind.

"Clear," Mal spoke while turning to face Reynolds.

"Same here, but just in case." Reynolds slipped the rock back into his 
pocket and retrieved a long, thin, quartz crystal, which he handed to 
Malcolm.

Malcolm then turned to Reed. "Take this in your left hand, pass it you 
your right, and then hand it to Reynolds."

"Why?" asked Reed as he held the cold clear crystal.

"We'll tell you after you do it." Malcolm took a seat next to Reed as he 
passed along the crystal.

Once Reynolds held the quartz he sat as well, placing the clear rock in 
the center of the table.

"The crystal is a conversation eater, a suite... magic spell, has been 
placed on it that will absorb every word spoken here until it is full.  Only 
the three of us will be able to hear what's being said.  When the crystal is 
full, we'll shatter it so that no one can extract our discussion.  This one is 
small, so we'll have to keep this as brief as possible."

Reed stared at the crystal on the table.  Already the once clear stone 
had begun to take on a smoky tint. "I... I don't know if I can handle all of 
this."

"Then just be quiet and listen, I need to speak to Mal.  You're only here 
because he thinks that you may be able to help.  We don't have enough 
time right now to explain everything, so just listen." Reynolds turned in 
his chair to face Mal. "It's beginning."

Now it was Malcolm's turn to turn white as a sheet. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mal.  The third sign... it happened last night."

"Where?"

"Canada.  A snow storm came out of the north... red snow, Mal.  You 
should have seen it, creepiest thing I've ever witnessed, a silent 
wilderness bathed in blood red snow." Reynolds shuddered. "The 
weather nerds said it was caused by iron dust kicked up into the 
atmosphere during the last sign."

"The Australian dust storm?" Mal asked. "That was two months ago, and 
how would debris from the southern hemisphere end up that far north?"

"That they couldn't explain, but we've managed to keep it out of the 
news for now, and a normal snow fall should hide what's left of it from 
the curious.  Speaking of the Aussie incident, we got confirmation.  A 
temple of Ixshebet was discovered at Ayers Rock after the storm, it was 
definitely the second sign."

"The house of the Dream God shall be revealed in a scouring red wind 
that will last for forty days," Malcolm quoted the prophesy.

Reynolds nodded. "First the twin tsunamis, then the scouring winds, now 
the blood snow."

"They're coming faster than we expected.  We'll never be ready in time."

"That's not our only problem; I think the Council is hiding something from 
us."

Mal put his elbows on the table and his face in his hands. "What now?"

"I think we're 'plan B', Mal.  You have no idea what I had to do to get 
them to okay your plan to merge the groups.  It's like they don't care 
whether or not we find a solution."

Mal rubbed his temples in a circular motion, trying to ease away some of 
his tension. "So what's new about that?  I've been fighting with them 
every step of the way ever since my father died.  I must have told them 
at least once a month that we were wasting time that we didn't have.  I 
mean, come on, I should have been made a member of the Council 
years ago."

"That's just it, Mal; I don't think you are a member of the Council.  I think 
you've been lied to, and they only said that you are a member so that 
you would stop distracting them."

"Okay, I'll bite, why do you think that I'm being duped?" Mal looked up 
from his hands.

"How many times have you met with the Council this year?"

"I don't know, ah... maybe ten times. Why?"

"The Council has held over twenty meetings in the past four months, and 
before you ask, I was kept in the dark about them as well."

"So how did you find out about them?"

"It's my job to be at the Council's beck and call, Mal.  In order to do that, 
I've had to take certain... measures."

"Tracking devices?"

"Nothing so pedestrian, I used a suite that one of your mystics devised." 
Reynolds tapped the side of his head with his pointer finger. "I know 
where they are at all times, except when they are in a meeting, they take 
special precautions during those.  It blocks the connection."

"So how do you know... oh I see, when they all blank out..."

"They're having a meeting somewhere," Reynolds smiled. "In fact, 
they're meeting somewhere right now.  That's why I knew it was safe to 
have this little chat."

"I understand why they might want to keep me out of their affairs, but 
why you?  No offense, but aren't you programmed to be loyal?"

"I have free will, Mal.  Besides, the programming is worded in such a 
way that I can take liberties.  I am loyal to the country first, and if I 
believe that my country is in danger, I can disregard other orders if they 
conflict with that first order.  Right now I don't believe the Council is 
taking this seriously enough, their lack of interest could be detrimental to 
America."

"Slippery slope you're walking there, Jonathan.  If they figure out what 
you've been doing they could see you as a threat." Mal leaned back into 
his chair. "But I'm glad that we're on the same path.  I'd hate to have you 
as an enemy."

"As long as I believe you are trying to do everything in your power to 
protect the United States, we'll be friends."

"Programming?" Reed finally spoke up. "Just what in the Hell are you?"

"Good, I thought you'd decided to keep quiet.  Welcome back to the 
conversation, Allen," Mal chuckled, but Allen didn't see the humor in 
what he had asked. "You might as well tell him, Jon."

"I'm a Phase One soldier," Reynolds offered, but Reed still looked at him 
with questions. "I was born in a lab, Dr. Reed, a test tube baby bred to 
be the new fighting force against the rising darkness.  The programming 
that Mal spoke of came from the MERI device that you helped to create.  
Wisdom without real world experience, zapped into my brain at the 
tender age of two and then again every year after until they decided to 
end the project that made me.  Unfortunately, the Council didn't like the 
idea of super soldiers running around with their own thoughts and ideas.  
So I'm the only one..."

"Thank the Gods for that," Malcolm interrupted while laughing.

"Ha ha ha... very funny." Reynolds turned red. "Mock the super soldier.  
That's good, Mal, why don't you tell him what you are?"

Malcolm stopped laughing and looked sullen. "We should get back to 
business, the crystal is filling up."

Allen looked to the table and saw that the crystal was now grey in color, 
no longer transparent but opaque.

"As I was saying..." Reynolds continued, "I'm the only one.  At least I 
thought I was the only one until yesterday.  I'm a liaison between the 
Council and all of the different project leaders, but I'm also liaison 
between the Council members.  I spent the day tracking them down one 
by one to pass on my report about the Canadian incident.  I crossed 
paths with someone else, someone that I recognized.  Mal, they weren't 
destroyed.  Donovan is still alive."

Mal looked concerned. "Are you sure?  It's been nearly twenty years, it 
could have just..."

"Mal, I have a photographic memory, I know what I saw.  It was 
Donovan.  He's alive and still working for the Council, and if he's alive..." 
Jonathan left the thought hanging in the silence.

Mal turned to Reed and tried to explain. "When the Council ended the 
Phase One soldier program they were supposed to destroy all of the 
soldiers that they had created, with one exception, Jonathan.  It was a 
safety measure.  The others, they... they..."

"Oh, just say it, Mal," Reynolds interrupted. "They couldn't be controlled 
like I could.  They have ambition, drive, and motivation that I lack... they 
want power."

Mal shook his head. "It wasn't about control, that wasn't the reason you 
were spared.  You were the control group specimen, the only one that 
was allowed to develop your own personality.  Their personalities were 
tailor made by the MERI device, and it was a complete failure.  You're 
the only success that came out of the project."

"If that's true, Mal, then why weren't the others destroyed like they were 
supposed to be?  Why are they still working for the Council?  And why 
has it all been kept a secret from not only me but you as well?"

Mal drummed his fingers on the oak table. "I don't know."

"Events are moving faster than we can keep up with, Doc.  Secret 
meetings, secret soldiers, this lock-down order; if we don't figure out 
what's going on soon, the prophesy will be the least of our problems."

"Jon, why did you want to put on such a big show today?  We've talked 
about how we should merge the two divisions, why all the theatrics?"

"For the same reason I came to you with my information about the 
Council, to protect Eve.  She's special, Mal, really special.  The Council 
knows what she's capable of... they know what she is.  If they're hiding 
the existence of the other phase one's and not letting you in on 
meetings..."

"You think they'll try to take her, don't you?"

"If I was the Council, and my B-team developed something that my A-
team couldn't, I'd shift her over to the other project."

"You keep calling us the B-team, do you really think that there is another 
group out there?"

"It would make sense.  A redundant program working independently and 
in ignorance of the other; why not?  You've been doing that with your 
own scientists for decades, this is just on an even grander scale."

"Okay... let me get all of this straight." Mal went back to rubbing his 
temples, a new headache forming. "So the Council is running two 
projects working towards the same goal, to stop the prophesy.  You and 
I have been lied to for eighteen years about the other soldiers being 
dead.  I've been led to believe that I was a member of the Council, but 
I'm not.  Three of the seven signs spoken of in the prophesy have come 
to pass, and now the Council might attempt to steal Eve and place her 
with the other project.  What am I missing?  Why all the flash this 
morning?"

"Look, when they ordered the lock down I knew it wasn't for any other 
reason than to keep everyone right where they are.  They might make a 
move to take her, and with the whole base on lock down there is no way 
that you can sneak her out.  Aside from me, you, and a dozen or so 
other people in this complex, who else knew about Eve and her abilities?  
Before this morning's demonstration, who would have believed you if 
you told them that the Council had abducted a little girl who might be the 
key to stopping a five-thousand year old prophesy concerning forces of 
evil ripping open a gateway into our universe and enslaving all of 
humanity?  At least now you have about a hundred scientific minds who 
are chomping at the bit for a chance to study her.  They'll notice if she's 
missing, and they'll ask questions that the Council isn't ready to answer."

"Alright, I see your point.  Do you have any other news for me?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"What now... did my house catch on fire?"

"No, no... this is concerning your family, I checked in on them before I 
came here."

Mal's mood brightened considerably. "Helen and the kids?"

"Still doing good.  She runs a tight ship over there, reminds me of you, in 
fact.  Though that granddaughter of yours, Stephanie, seems to be 
pushing her boundaries a bit."

"How so?"

"Well, we have a delivery man who makes regular trips to them at the 
retreat.  He brings them food and other necessities once a week, and, 
well... if he knew who hired him for that job he'd be thanking him.  
Stephanie's been sneaking out of the house, against your daughter's 
wishes, and having some fun with him.  I swear Mal, your family's 
appetite for carnal delights never ceases to amaze me."

"It's in the blood," Mal laughed. "So the false memories are still in place 
then?  Helen has the family that she always wanted?"

"That and then some.  They all seem very happy with the new life you've 
given to them."

"Finally, some good news today."

"Well, not all good.  The boy, Robbie, he's still having nightmares every 
night."

"Damn.  So's Eve."

"That's not all, Mal.  He's been going online, doing searches on dreams 
and memory loss.  I think he's starting to figure out that something isn't 
right."

"Just leave him be for now.  If things start to get out of control we may 
have to intervene, but I'd rather we didn't.  If the Council does somehow 
get their hands on Eve, then Robbie is our plan-B.  Make sure the 
Council stays in the dark about him."

"You got it, Doc." Reynolds checked the crystal, it was almost black. 
"Time to wrap this up.  Dr. Reed, I know it must have seemed that I was 
exceptionally hard on you after that security leak, but it was all for a 
reason.  We needed to make it appear that you have had nothing to do 
with what we have been working on.  Mal wanted to bring you into the 
fold years ago, but couldn't, so don't blame him for not telling you about 
all of this.  Oh, and by the way, sorry about the shipment of animals this 
morning."

"You did that!  Do you have any idea what a fucking mess that caused?" 
Allen fumed.

"Better than getting a shipment of dead animals though, wasn't it?  If 
they hadn't arrived before the lock down order that's exactly what you 
would have received.  Security is now searching every single shipment 
that comes to this base.  Your animals could have been stuck in holding 
for up to a month without food or water."

Allen was stunned.  Without those animals his project would have been 
impossible to complete. "I guess I should be thanking you then."

"Don't bother, just remember that I just don't do things on a whim, 
everything I do, I do for a reason.  I'm not out to get you, even though it 
may appear that I am.  Don't speak of anything that was discussed in 
here today, it's not safe.  The entire structure is wired with ears and 
eyes, except for this room and one other which Mal will show you later.  
I'm sure you have a ton of questions, he'll fill you in when he can."

With that Reynolds picked the black quartz up from the table and 
dropped it onto the floor.  The crystal exploded into a glittering cloud of 
shards as soon as it made contact with the carpet.  When the cloud 
subsided nothing remained, not even dust.

"Now, are you and Dr. Whelan in complete agreement about the new 
security protocols?" Reynolds asked.

It took Dr. Reed a moment to realize that Reynolds was talking to him. 
"Uh, yes... very clear."

"Good.  I have to get going, but tell Eve I'll try and come visit her some 
time next week, and that I hope she likes her new teddy bear." Reynolds 
stood up and pushed his chair back under the table.

The other men stood as well, shook hands, and then parted ways.  
Reynolds headed off alone to the security room, Allen and Malcolm 
returned to the elevator leading back to their labs.  The two remained 
quiet until the elevator door closed.

"Dr. Reed, why don't you stop by my lab in about an hour?  I need to go 
over the new project guidelines with you."

"No problem, Dr. Whelan, I'll be there."

When the door opened they split off in different directions without 
another word spoken.



Continued in Chapter Three....


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