They spread out before us, the hundreds of our army. The familiars would complete the ceremony on an island in the middle of the Caribbean. According to the books of prophecy, Max and the dark woman would have been brought there last night. Tonight the dark woman's runes would be translated. Over the full measure of the three days following, the ingredients would be steeped together. On the fifth day the participants would spend the morning and afternoon hours cleansing themselves and purifying their sins. At the setting of the sun on the fifth day the ritual would begin, ending at midnight with the spread of the contagion.
Now at the moment of truth we all felt an overwhelming sense of peace. It was the same feeling I had when I was pulling off a first rate heist or a daring rescue mission, only the sense was magnified a hundred times. We'd been made to be soldiers, but more specifically we had been made by Sandeman to fight on this day. The anomalies finally had the comfort of knowing that they had been created with a specific purpose in mind, and were not just a laboratory mistake.
The ten anomalies with gills would swim under the security net and disable the system so that the rest of us could sneak in. Sandeman, Jacob, Biggs, CeCe, Joshua, and I would go in tonight. With Sandeman's assurance that he knew every inch of the island and compound, we were going to hide out in a series of hidden passages. The other troops would invade on the fifth day, lead by Mole and Kate. In the meantime the six of us would find Max, catalyze her runes, make the antidote just in case, and then prevent the familiars from spreading the contagion. Of course we had to do all of this while still preferably keeping ourselves alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My enhanced transgenic vision picked up the distant flashing of a mirror in the fading sunlight. The anomalies had gotten across to the island in less than an hour. Two more flashed blinked out in rapid succession, indicating that the security systems around the perimeter of the island had been circumvented.
Now came my least favorite part of the journey. My cat DNA bitterly contemplated submersion in the icy cold water before me. I had to do this for Max. Keeping that bracing thought in my head I filled my lungs deeply with oxygen and plunged into the clear blue waves. An hour and a half later I pulled myself gasping onto the sandy shore. Before us stood an imposingly craggy cliff face, which Sandeman swore held a subterranean entrance to the compound.
To my surprise, the entrance led to a very prosaic, tiled corridor. The fluorescent lights above us buzzed loudly, fraying on my nerves. I'd had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach since we'd reached the shore. I just wanted to find Max, have her in my arms again. Sandeman, ahead of us motioned me forward and pointed to a recessed vent panel.
"This is your stop son. I know that I don't have to ask whether you remember the way or not. You remember what you have to do?" My throat constricts nervously and I simply nod my head in reply. "When the runes have appeared fully you must bring her to us safely while her captors sleep, then we will return her once we have the scripts written. When the two become one, they shall bless the people of the world with life."
My hand clenches unconsciously around the wrapped dart lying on my palm. I have my orders, so like a good soldier I pull the grating off of the vent and swing myself effortlessly into the cramped passage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Welcome my children." The old woman greets us solemnly, though her strange silver eyes never leave the form of the snake lying on the floor. "The copies of your runes have been given to me and I am quite proud of you my dear, you have carried out your part in our great day magnificently. You children may sleep now and early we will begin assembling the contagion."
Lela smiles on the old woman with the first expression of benevolence I've ever seen her show. It makes her looks younger, and for the first time I see that she is no more than a few years older than me. Motioning to me roughly, my sister points out a row of narrow beds bolted to the edges of the walls. With a last fond glance at the elderly woman she climbs onto one of them and motions for me to do the same.
An hour later the old crone's snores and Lela's lighter respirations meld with the light hissing of the snake in the center of the room. This was it, my death would come in the morning. My only consolation was that the rest of the world wouldn't live long after I was gone. The people I cared about would join me in death, Cindy, Joshua, and him. Was there an afterlife? If there was I hoped that he would find me there. Some earthly force seemed to keep us apart every time we got close to each other, maybe it wouldn't be so in the beyond.
After three hours my breath had slowed and despite my predicament, sleep started to lull me towards dreaming. A small clattering sound across the room brought me to my feet. He crouched in the shadows like an insubstantial ghost and I did not know whether he was a living thing or the spirit of my beloved come to haunt me. His hazel eyes locked on mine all emotions held in them at once, and I knew that he was real. Circling the snake cautiously, my feet carried me to his side. Walking on cat's feet he leans before the old woman and then Lela, marking each of them with the tip of the dart in his hands. Understanding filled me as I walked by his side. Without a word he gathered me into his arms and slid through a recessed entrance behind us.
