Meanwhile, walking in completely the opposite direction, Jason dragged his feet through the leaf-litter as he made his way back to the Forest of Fear and the Red Phoenix complex. The day's light had slowly began to fade as the skyline transformed from a calming sea-blue to a warm, fiery orange with glowing, cotton-like clouds that sailed across on the light wind. Feeling betrayed and rejected, Jason knew that once the leaf-eating dinosaurs of the Great Valley had discovered that he had become a murderous, killing machine compared to the humble, peace-loving herbivore he made himself out to be when he first arrived, he would never be able to return to and see his friends again. The thoughts and memories burned in the back of his mind despite the feeling the rising anger that was blazing inside him. He wanted to march straight into Dominic Westwood's office and smack him in the face for ruining everything for him. He didn't even want to look to the Red Phoenix Corporation as a means of refuse from the dinosaurs but he had no choice; having quickly recalled what had occurred last time he had an argument with Littlefoot and the others. As the Forest of Fear came into view, Jason sighed trying to piece together all that had happened ever since the Red Phoenix firm had spread their meddlesome wings and brought their plague of human misconceptions and blindness to the lifestyle of other beings besides themselves.
As the events swirled around in his head and tortured his brain, Jason came to a halt just short of the stone complex having reached it a little quicker than he had wished. He glanced back down the path of fallen trees which led back into the Great Valley but he knew that that road was now closed to him now that Littlefoot, Cera and the others had found out about humans being omnivores. With one last, defeated puff, Jason looked on at his new home and with no one patrolling the front gate, he pushed open the wire gate and let himself into the complex.
The halls and corridors were eerily quiet with no one walking around and no voices echoing down them. Nervously, Jason decided to try and find Professor Baxter since he felt that he didn't have another friend in the world and he was the close thing to one at the moment. Wandering down to the old professor's laboratory, Jason found him busying himself with some equipment. Knocking on the window, he watched as the professor whipped around in fright. After a brief second or two to calm himself, Professor Baxter waved him in.
"Jason, dear boy, what brings you here? I did not call for you," the old man said mopping his brow with his handkerchief.
"I know," Jason said deflatedly.
"Why, what's the matter? You look like you've lost something dear to you?" Professor Baxter said reading the glum look on his face.
"You could say that…" Jason replied half-heartedly.
"Come. Why don't you tell your old Professor Baxter what's happened?" he offered smiling warmly. Dropping his bag by the door, Jason sat up on the work surface and told him the story of how Littlefoot discovered about what he described as the humans' "dark, little secret".
"Oh dear, now that was a bit nasty of our director to say such a thing," Professor Baxter said softly.
"A bit nasty?! That oily haired, monkey-suit wearing slimeball you call a boss cost me my friendship with Littlefoot and the others as well as my residence in the most beautiful naturally occurring place in the world! If I ever see his face again I swear I'm gonna smack him one right between the eyes!" Jason yelled leaping up from the work surface.
"Now, now. Calm down son. I understand you are upset but you do realise that they were liable to find out one way or another," Professor Baxter said resting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him back down to his seat.
"But it could have been done so much more controlled than that Professor. Littlefoot didn't have to find out like that!" Jason said fidgeting aggravatedly.
"Did you not tell them about this beforehand? Did you not mention this to Littlefoot and your other friends when you first arrived here?" the wise, old man asked calmly.
"Well…no. I guess…once I made friends with them, I didn't see the need to tell them. Besides, I wanted them to accept me. If I had told them 'Oh hi! I'm a human! A creature that can munch on your flesh as well as plants'…I don't think I'd ever get the respect they had for me back then…" Jason said glumly. Just as he had finished speaking, the halogen lights overhead flickered and turned off for a brief second before snapping back to life.
"What's going on?" Jason asked as the computer next to him popped up with an error message once the screen flicked back on.
"Power is failing. We are afraid that if this continues, we will lose all hope of returning back to 2113. We don't have much time left," Professor Baxter said as he worked on the computer.
"Is that why everyone else on the squadron and science teams are never around anymore?" Jason asked.
"Erm…you might say that," he slurred as he continued to punch commands into the computer as it bleeped every now and again. Jason looked around the lab at all the strange equipment that seemed not of this planet.
"Hey professor. What are all these funny-looking gizmos and gadgets around the place? They look like stuff out of a sci-fi movie," he asked picking up the nearest one that looked like a devilish, claw-type weapon.
"Be careful with that!" the old man said flapping like a flightless bird. Jason quickly put it back down and held his hands behind his back smirking.
"Relax professor. You are so uptight nowadays. What's the problem?" he said.
"I am in the middle of a very delicate operation if you don't mind," Professor Baxter puffed, "I am developing tools for our next wave of products for when we return to our rightful time. Now please! Keep your hands to yourself!"
"Alright! Sorry," Jason said defensively.
"Anyway, what do you intend to do now that your dinosaur friends know about humans being omnivores?" Professor Baxter asked as he returned to the computer.
"I dunno. I guess I'm just have to wait here 'til you guys sort out how to get back to the year 2113. Speaking of which, I don't suppose you could find me a place to sleep could you?" Jason asked stretching his arms.
"I think one of the dormitories is free. It's down the hall to the left, room 625. It used to belong to one of our squad members but he passed away as we tried to revive him," the professor pointed out. Jason headed for the door as the bald, little man returned to his work. Sighing, Jason picked up his bag and walked out into the corridors without saying goodbye. Although Professor Baxter was the closest thing he could call a friend at the moment, it sure was no consolation prize for losing Littlefoot's friendship as well as that of the others.
Jason found room 625 thanks to Professor Baxter's directions. The door was ajar and he slowly pushed it open. Looking inside, he cringed at the musky smell that hung in the air and the dankness of the room made it look more like a concrete prison cell than a dormitory. Shrugging the thought off, he flicked on the light which barely lit the room and dumped his bag next to the scruffy, unmade bed and jumped onto it which bounced him right back. Rubbing the base of his spine, Jason knew this room was no hotel suite but it would be better than sleeping in the jail cell's bed. He looked up at the small, rectangular hole in the wall to his right, which was clearly supposed to be a window, and watched the darkened silhouettes trees of the forest waver against the night sky in the breeze that howled outside and made the temperature of the room plummet. Feeling incredibly self-conscious, Jason looked in his bag and sifted through the items there. Everything in there brought back some means of a memory from his mother's books on botany, which came in handy when he had to create the antidote to Mr. Threehorn's poison he obtained from the Ember Flowers, to his medical kit that the gang used to love poking and prodding eager to know what each instrument did.
Smiling, Jason then spotted a small vial of blue, gelatinous liquid hidden between some broken shell pieces of fruit and his Flash-Bang, joke capsules. Picking it up, Jason looked at it as the viscous liquid swirled around in the glass tube making his smile fade. More memories of his past flooded back as he stared into the vial. The viral outbreak, his siblings' deaths, his escape from the labs in London, his mother's demise and all the events leading up to his arrival to the Great Valley.
"All of this happened because of them…even this measly fluid couldn't prevent it. Their 'miracle cure'…It never saved anyone…" Jason snorted clasping the vial in a tight fist. With dying spirits, Jason dropped the little container into his bag, pushed it under the bed and laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. The memories scored forever in his brain didn't fade as he hoped they would.
"Mother…" he whispered to himself, "…I miss you so much…I know you said you'd always watch over me…I'm trying so hard but they always seem to get in the way. Mother…I-I want to see you again………I want to speak to you again……I-I want to know……do I make you proud?……" As he silently breathed his last words, Jason drifted off to sleep wondering if, just maybe, she might have heard his questions.
Chapter 50: Signs from the SubconsciousJason awoke with a start sometime later. He sat up and looked around him feeling disorientated.
"Huh? What happened? I guess I must have dozed off," he said to himself. Jason then heard a strange tapping coming from outside his room. Turning to the door, he watched for whatever it was to pass. The person was taking their time in passing and the more Jason listened, the more the footfalling became increasingly distinct; it sounded like a quadruped.
"L-Littlefoot?" Jason said airily continuing to watch the doorway from his seat on the bed. Sure enough, Littlefoot, slowly, came into view and stopped in front of him. Littlefoot turned and looked at Jason with a depressed expression as if he was about to cry.
"Littlefoot? What's the matter?" Jason asked him but Littlefoot didn't reply. He continued to gaze at him with large, moony eyes.
"What are you doing here? Are you still mad at me?" Jason asked still amazed by his presence. Littlefoot shook his head.
"Then what is it? Tell me," Jason pleaded but Littlefoot remained silent as if he had completely lost the ability to speak. Jason looked at Littlefoot unsure of what to say but before he could think, Littlefoot turned and started heading down the corridor, away from him.
"H-hey! Littlefoot! Wait up!" Jason called after him. He swung his legs around and jumped to the ground to follow Littlefoot. As his feet touched the floor, Jason felt a massive force suck him to the ground. Greatly surprised, he struggled with his feet trying desperately to get them to move. Looking up, he could see Littlefoot still walking away from him without a care that he seemed to be cemented to the floor.
"Wh-what the?! Littlefoot! Wait for me!" Jason cried as he tried to yank his ankles off the ground. His bones felt like metal attracted to floor as if it were an electromagnet, refusing to move and Littlefoot showed no signs of slowing.
"Littlefoot! Help me! I can't move!" Jason shouted after him. Just then, something clicked and the multiplied gravitational force imposed on his body was instantly lifted. With the sudden change in force, Jason was sent sprawling out the door and landed on his face. Picking himself up, he saw Littlefoot at the other end of the hall, about to turn the corner. Scrambling to his feet, Jason chased after him but when he was just a few metres from the corner, Littlefoot carried on walking and passed straight through the wall like a ghost. Being a very short distance behind him, Jason tried to stop but collided, head first, with the solid, marble tiled wall.
"Oww! Jeez! What the hell?" he mumbled as he massaged his face. Blinking once or twice, Jason began examining the wall that Littlefoot had walked through. It was real and solid but the young Brontosaurus managed to pass through it as if it where non-existent. Still searching for a clue, Jason then saw a blue symbol flash and appear on the polished surface from out of nowhere. He jumped backwards startled as it hung like a holographic image being projected on the wall. Slowly, Jason raised a hand to touch it. As his hand drew level with the shimmering glyph, it began to glow and grow brighter. After a while, the symbol flashed a brilliant sky-blue and the faded from the wall. Confused, Jason looked on at the wall but quickly hopped backwards in shock when a black hole had erupted out from were the symbol once was. Looking on at the hole, he was horrified to see that the blackness was seeping outwards and consuming the walls, ceiling and floor around him. Jason nervously stepped back from the leaking hole as the dark, shadowy blackness spilled out like ink from an overturned bottle and it was spreading at an exponential rate. Jason turned and fled down the corridor in the opposite direction as the shadowy liquid seemed to give chase.
"Wha-……What is going on here?!" Jason wheezed as he tore around the corner but he was forced to a standstill as he saw the same shadowy substance had managed to head him off and was now approaching from both sides.
"Oh no! What now?" he asked himself as he stood in between the two waves of blackness that was boxing him in. With nowhere to run, Jason screamed and tucked himself into a ball as the liquid flooded over him.
Squirming and flailing in his suspended prison, Jason felt helpless as he floated in the darkness. In his panic, he suddenly felt something cold under his back, supporting him. Opening his eyes and panting heavily, he looked around to find himself sitting on an illuminated platform that was beautifully decorated, laced with golden rings in an archaic fashion. He leapt to his feet trying to comprehend what had just happened.
"Whoa! What is this place?" Jason said stupefy. The platform seemed to be magically suspended as if on invisible strings in the infinite darkness. As he stood attempting to make something out from his blackened surroundings, an ear-splitting screech shot out from the nothingness. Reacting to the sound, Jason ducked as the audible projectile was launched in his direction. From the darkness, more sounds burst out and threw themselves at him from all angles. In amongst the chaotic screaming, bright lights flicked above him and shone like multicoloured stars. The black ceiling was instantly transformed into a wonderful, sparkling sea of twinkling stars all with their own, unique shades of every colour imaginable. All of a sudden, the eerie, daunting shadows became a heavenly ensemble of celestial bodies that shimmered and glowed like gemstones. With a similar transformation, the brain-piercing screeching had instantly evolved into a melodious chorus of angelic voices that serenaded Jason with his very own song his mother used as a lullaby for him. Jason smiled as he stared up at the crystallised, starry sky as the song seemed to touch his soul.
As the song continued, Jason began to feel a horrible pain in his chest. Raising a hand to the source of the pain, he cringed as it multiplied and became more and more intense. The sheer magnitude of the hurting was becoming unbearable as Jason fell to his knees and folded over trying in anyway possible for the pain to subside. As he writhed in agony, Jason's pendent flickered its tone of blood-red and began to levitate up and over his head. Gazing up at it, he thrust a hand out to grab it, trying hard to ignore the crushing pain in his chest. As he clasped his hand around the ruby, it shone its brilliant colour again before shooting up to the sky to join the other vividly shaded stars in the heavens. Greatly shocked, Jason quickly realised that he was travelling up to the skies with the pendent in his hand. The pain had stopped but it was promptly replaced by an overwhelming fear of dread at the thought of falling to his death. After rocketing skywards at least a hundred feet or perhaps even two hundred, Jason felt the pendent slow to a gradual halt. With the stone still in his hand, he fearfully looked down and gulped at the incredible drop he would face had he let go.
From his aerial perch, Jason watched as the night sky came alive with shooting stars and speeding comets that burned and laced the indigo skyline with sparkling ribbons of stardust and nebulas. Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed from the crystal-clear atmosphere.
"Jason…Jason? Are you there?" the voice asked hauntingly.
"Li-Littlefoot?!" Jason replied in awe. No sooner had he mentioned his name, Littlefoot's face appeared in a galaxy swirl. To Jason's surprise, his head was fifty times its normal size, making him look almost God-like.
"Jason…it's you…I have found you at last…" Littlefoot said.
"What do you mean Littlefoot? You never lost me. I was always here. You knew where I was," Jason answered sympathetically.
"No…I did lose you…I lost you to yourself…" the gigantic Littlefoot head bellowed.
"What?! What are you talking about Littlefoot? You're not making sense!" Jason called out to him.
"The Jason I once knew had disappeared. He was consumed by another creature. I lost a truly unique and wonderful friend to…a sharptooth!" Littlefoot scowled eyeing him dirtily.
"What! No Littlefoot! I'm not a sharptooth! I told you it's not true! Please! I am still your friend!" Jason begged.
"Silence! You are no friend of mine…sharptooth!" Littlefoot thundered. With that, his massive head disappeared from sight leaving Jason suspended in the sky by his pendent. Defeated, Jason sighed and stared around at the magical view around him when, without warning, a comet flew directly passed him and clipped one of his legs. Flinching, Jason turned and saw an entire barrage of stars and meteorites charge straight at him like flaming blades. Trying his hardest to dodge them from his stationary spot in mid-air, all of them came dangerously close to him but he managed to avoid the majority of them. As the penultimate chaotic star zipped passed, Jason turned to see the final star launch itself directly at his torso. Unable to shift himself out of the way in time, the star hit its target and tore right through him and out the other side. Screaming in excruciating pain, Jason released his grip on his pendent and he plummeted to the ground. Building speed, he tried desperately to slow himself down, but to no avail. The floating platform was quickly upon him and he struck it a full speed.
Jason twitched awkwardly and opened his eyes wearily. Astoundingly, he had survived his freefall and was completely unharmed and the wound inflicted by the spinning star had disappeared. Pushing himself up, Jason found a pair of feet under his nose. Lurching up, he saw a person standing over him but its face was shadowed.
"Wh-who are you?" he asked cautiously getting to his feet.
"You know who I am," the person replied. Jason looked up at the mysterious figure horrified. The person standing in front of him sounded exactly like him.
"Show yourself!" Jason demanded. He was shocked to see that the person obeyed his command. Stepping out from the shadows, the person's features became distinguishable.
"It-It can't be!" Jason stammered backing away from the person having recognised who it was.
"Why can't it be? I am, after all, you're worse enemy," the person said blandly.
"But…you're me!" Jason blabbered still not believing his own eyes.
"That's right. You'd think you're worse enemy would be Captain Hunter? Or Mr. Dominic Westwood perhaps? But no…I am you're worst entity! All because I cost you a little something you treasured for so long and once you found it again, you couldn't hold it," the second figure of Jason said mockingly.
"N-no! This isn't real! You're not real! Get away from me!" Jason screamed.
"Oh I'm real alright. You just haven't woken up to the truth yet," the second Jason said. Just then, ghostly images of Littlefoot and his friends walked out from the blackness and encircled Jason's taunting version of himself. The nasty Jason held out a hand and stroked each them in turn.
"The truth is...you had friends and a family. The things in life you longed for so many years. You played you chances and you lost…you lost them all and you can never get them back!" he laughed in Jason's face. Roaring with anger, the true Jason launched himself at his copy who swiftly dodged him and continued to smirk.
"What's wrong? Can't get a hit? C'mon! Come at me! Show me what you got!!!" it shrilled tauntingly. Turning to attack again, Jason threw a punch that connected hard with the copy's forehead. Although the attack hit, the copy remained unphased; Jason on the other hand had stumbled backwards and fell on one knee clutching his forehead. As the strange pain slowly dissipated, Jason removed his hand from his head and gasped when he found blood smeared on his palm.
"Wha-what's this?! What the hell?" Jason breathed in horror.
"Ha ha ha haa! Quit hitting yourself! Haa ha ha ha!" the fake Jason cackled spitefully. Ignoring his self-inflicted wound, Jason charged and gave the clone as heavily blow to the side but as soon as it connected, he felt an invisible force strike him in the right side of his rib cage. Clutching under his arm but still enraged, Jason tried to attack him again but his evil twin raised his hand to stop him. Before hitting him again, Jason obediently paused and watched as tears began to fill up in the copy's eyes.
"What now? Gonna continue mocking me? I'd save it if I were you," Jason barked sourly.
"No…it's just…" the twin sobbed, "if you don't work with me…we will both die! We have a job to do but we can't seem to sort our differences out." Jason reared back in confusion.
"What the hell are you babbling about?" Jason asked with no sympathy to his voice.
"If we do not work together and fight the true forces of evil, both their world and our world will perish!" it said still weeping. Jason lowered his fists and looked at his replica concerned. Before he could say anything more, the clone pointed up to the sky. Jason followed his finger and was dumbstruck by the sight he saw. The multicoloured stars from overhead were dropping down like meteors and were shooting passed dangerously close to the floating platform.
"Whoa! What's that?!" Jason cried looking up at the falling heavens.
"The end of the world…it has begun…we are doomed now!" the clone said helplessly. As Jason's focus returned to his twin, he had discovered that he had disappeared into thin air. As he searched for him, Jason suddenly heard an airy voice from behind him. Whirling around, he saw someone in the distance.
"Littlefoot!" Jason cried as he saw the young longneck aimlessly wandering around in the darkness, off the platform. Littlefoot slowly turned to face him.
"Jason…" he said as if he'd been drugged. He's vision was unfocused and his movement was sluggish and awkward like his body was possessed. The stars continued to rain down the two of them as a sudden gust of wind erupted from Littlefoot's back. Instantly, Littlefoot was swept off his feet and was blown straight towards Jason. As he shielded his eyes from the breeze, Jason stood poised to catch him. Upon reaching him, Jason opened his arms to receive him but Littlefoot's limp body seem to pass directly into his own.
"Wh-What! Littlefoot?!" Jason called flabbergasted. Just then, one of the falling stars shot down and ploughed straight through the platform. The ground cracked and shattered like glass, leaving a gaping hole in the floating structure.
"Oh crap! What do I do now?!" Jason yelped as more and more stars crashed through the platform destroying more and more of it. Upon the seventh star hitting the platform, the rest of it shattered and broke into tiny shards, completely removing the ground from beneath Jason's feet. Jason screamed as he tumbled down into the black abyss with more and more stars zooming passed his ears. Staring down, Jason saw the stars plummeting into a white light that was gradually growing. Slamming his eyes shut, Jason plunged into the brilliant light and felt his body hit something at phenomenal speed before going completely numb.
Chapter 51: The Night of FateJason jumped up in a cold sweat as the impact hit. Dizzy and disorientated, he looked around to find himself back in his borrowed room in the Red Phoenix base.
"Whoa! What happened?" he said sitting up and burying his face in his hands, "What a crazy dream! Wonder what all that was about?" As his senses gradually returned, Jason threw his head back down onto his pillow and stared up at the dirty ceiling but sleep was far from his mind at the moment. Rolling over, Jason pleaded with his brain to switch off so he could doze off again but it was impossible. He glanced up at the hollow window to see a very faint tint of lighter blue coming to the sky beyond the trees; dawn was obviously only a little while away. Jason tossed and turned but nothing could help him get back to sleep. Giving up hope, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed to get up but he deliberately lifted his feet from off the floor having remembered the first part of his nightmare. Gingerly, Jason lowered one foot to the ground and touched it with the tip of his trainer; nothing happened. Flattening his first foot, he then placed the second foot on the floor, and again, nothing happened. Now, safely off the bed, Jason stood up and went to move but kicked and dragged his bag out from its hiding place. Thinking someone had snapped at his heels, Jason jumped up and sighed once he realised what had grabbed him. His dream had obviously left him still a little spooked.
Unhooking the strap from around his ankle, Jason bent down to fasten the clip for the largest compartment just as a large, black box slid into view. Eyeing it slightly bewildered, Jason picked up the laptop but he promptly recalled that the battery pack needed charging. He then got an idea. Since he could no longer sleep, he decided to hand back the portable computer to Professor Baxter, hoping that maybe the little walk would help the Sandman pay him another visit before sunrise. Wandering out into the empty corridors, Jason made his way down to the professor's laboratory. It was like walking down a deserted hospital ward with the bleached, white walls and the polished, marble floor that echoed nosily in the tightly enclosed hall. Ignoring the dreaded feeling he was being watched, Jason continued towards the professor's lab where he hoped to find him still there. After turning the last corner, he found the lab and peered in through one of the windows. The lab was still lit but it was vacant; obviously Professor Baxter had retired to bed and forgotten to turn the light off. Jason stepped inside the lab to hit the light switch when he heard a light buzzing coming from the work surface. Following the sound, it led him to the sole computer unit in the lab which was also left on.
"The old man's getting forgetful," Jason said to himself smiling. Just as he was about to turn it off, Jason then withdrew his hand and had an idea. He placed the laptop next to the unit and looked around for a power cable. He found a loose cable plugged into the wall socket behind the computer but with nothing attached to the other end. After checking that the ports were compatible, Jason plugged the laptop into the power supply and the machine instantly turned on.
Once the laptop had properly booted up, Jason began searching through the files once again. After a brief flick through the majority of the files he had already seen, Jason tried to access the "High-personnel and other Experiments" folder but he was promptly stopped by the same level four security wall that had popped up last time. Cursing his luck, Jason slapped his thigh for forgetting he couldn't get into this folder. As he made contact with his leg, he then felt something in his pocket. Pulling the strange object out, Jason was amazed to realise that it was Professor Baxter's I.D card. Looking at the tiny print on the card, Jason read "Security Clearance Level 7" on it. With a little leap of excitement, Jason put the I.D. card into a small, rectangular slot in the side of the laptop and it instantly passed the security wall. As the dialog box disappeared and the folder Jason requested popped up on screen, his expression of eagerness quickly became very serious and concerned. The files contained with the folder described disturbing reports and memorandums to various directors and managers of the Red Phoenix Laboratory firm. News and updates about a highly classified production of a biological weapon that was made to destroy and claim dominance over any other weapon known to mankind.
"Following development of our latest product, 'Project Red Phoenix', I have found a suitable candidate to be nominated as a host. Once the virus has gained control of its victim's subconscious and body functions, by using the research knowledge and findings from the excavation team in the Andes, I will integrate both vectors with the energy source provided and our masterpiece will finally be complete," Jason read nervously.
"What is this? Some sicko making biological weapons? How? Why?"
Jason's attention then turned to the "High Personnel" folder. There, he found information and profiles on some more scientists and a number of the squadron who were used for testing. Jason looked at the people's faces and wondered why they had the same red text of "Deceased" printed across their photos. A large number of them he had seen in the very complex he was standing in so how could they be deceased? Even more strange was that the dates confirming their deaths were blank. Jason became more and more confused as he read through more and more profiles until he came to one in particular.
"Mother…" he breathed silently. He quickly came across his mother's profile which also had the red text "Deceased" stamped across her photograph. Jason sighed as he read her profile and remembered her days working in the labs. As Jason's eyes scored down the written side of the profile, he suddenly became confused by what was there.
"What? What does that mean? This doesn't make sense…how the…?" Jason was suddenly interrupted by a deafening banging sound that reverberated all the way down the halls. Looking out through the window, Jason tried to see what had caused the noise. Shrugging it off, Jason turned back to the laptop but his jaw dropped as he read the next sentence.
"What! No way! She was reported for stealing from the Red Phoenix Corporation! That's impossible…my mother is not a thief!" He read on as the recorded diary spoke of how his mother had allegedly stolen artefacts from the company and was assumed to be selling them off to members of the black market.
"My mother is not a criminal! She'd never…" Jason said in disbelief. The article carried on to describe the testing she and him had undergone when an inexplicable reaction occurred in finding the perfect energy source to power Project Red Phoenix. Jason gasped as he quickly realised what it was they had been after. It was his pendent. His mother had intentionally held back on it and pretended it was a family heirloom. It was, in fact, one of the Stones of Essence and she had realised that but was keeping it from the lab technicians. Jason understood that now from the stories his mother used to tell him when she got back from work but why did she try and hide it from them? Jason's arm then knocked something onto the floor. A little startled at first, he looked down and found a blue book lying on the ground. He instantly recognised it as his mother's diary.
With what he had pieced together from the profile and his own memory of what his mother said, Jason flicked to the back pages of the diary and read the last entry.
"Those monsters! They lied to me! Everything they told me about this new project was a dirty lie and not one word of truth was spoken to me nor anyone else. This project was not to help out those who were harmed in the ill-fated incident that caused the transport pod to capsize in that angry protestors riot (which I'm also sure is nothing but another lie). I was told that this project was to help the sick by enhancing the anti-virus serum to fight off the infection of the supposed 'super-virus' that has the ability to control human subconscious and effectively manipulate the body. This was also new to me and had I not found out about this through a good friend of mine, who has now been absent for six days in a row now, I would never have joined this circus of freaks in the first place! I was told that Project Red Phoenix was to be the highlight of the company's already massive success after the transport pod 'accident' in a move that the directors had described as 'our phoenix dying in its own flames but will be reborn from its ashes and relive again'. What nonsense!
The only thing they wanted these magical stones for was to power their new weapon and ultimately leave the population of the entire nation to perish before them. It made me incredibly sick to think any human being could wish this kind of plague upon his own kind but the directors clearly didn't give a damn; especially that Westwood character. In the next few days, I will be announcing my resignation from this twisted hall of empty promises and sick ideas on how humans are expected to continue to live. I refuse to have them constantly asking me and my son to undergo these pointless tests but I fear they may have detected some abnormal energy readings from both of us due to the magic ruby constantly being around my neck and my son always very close to me. I will not have them jeopardise our lives for the sake of research and I was especially furious that they had even labelled us as test subjects; Alpha omega-1615 and Alpha omega-1616. I just hope my dear son Jason forgives me for my rash decision and since the death of my two youngest children due to infection from the virus, he has been strong and kept a smiling face. I just hope he can smile at me when I return home and tell him I am unemployed again. I'm so sorry Jason."
Closing the diary, Jason suddenly felt his stomach drop. His mother felt guilty for her working on the project and thought he'd never forgive her for it.
"Mother. I don't hate you for doing just things," Jason sighed, "I am glad you decided to give it up even though everything we seemed to get from them was so good. I can now see why you hid the stone from them and although it was very reckless, I admire your bravery." As Jason thought about his mother's noble way of trying to cease the Red Phoenix from continuing there plans, he reached up to hold his pendent. He was horrified to realise that his hand had clasped around nothing but air.
"Huh? What the…? Where's my pendent?!" he cried. Something then blipped next to him. Turning towards the noise Jason found the computer screen next to him was on with rolling graphs scrolled across the screen. Taking a closer look, Jason then realised that it was a live, physiological data recording. Reading the screen, Jason was horrified to see three names sectioned to their own set of graphs that were monitoring their vital signs and energy reading. The three names read, "Lt. Jill Fielding, Littlefoot and Jason" and next to them read a figure that Jason deduced to be the distance from the recording console since his read "0m" and Jill's read "2.4m". Still in shock, Jason watched the red graph under his name that was assigned to measure "Heart Rate" as the little line jumped up and down. Curiously, Jason placed his hand on his chest and to his shock, the synchronisation between the blipping line and his own heartbeat was perfect.
"What the hell? I've been bugged somewhere! My vitals are being scanned twenty-four hours a day and so are Littlefoot's!" Jason exclaimed throwing his hand over his mouth in terror as he watched Littlefoot's lifelines jump and drop, measuring every energy change and beat of his heart. Jason felt completely lost at sea and held his head in a dazed confusion. As his hand brushed passed his ear, his fingers knocked on something and he noticed the graphs bump unnaturally. Perplexed, he then felt the Frequency Amplifier behind his ear and then it struck him. Watching his vital scans, Jason tapped the little machine and he watched the graphs hiccup but quickly return to normal.
"This device isn't a communicating machine…it's a tracker bug! This was a set-up…to read my body's internal function like a book! This stupid thing must be reading my vitals directly from the impulses sent from my brain!" Jason said slowly. With that, he snatched the gadget from behind his ear and threw it on the ground. The computer bleeped warning messages on the screen as Jason crushed it under his foot indicating that he had suddenly died.
"Those dirty low-lives! They'll regret this! That must mean they've bugged Littlefoot too. They couldn't have put anything on him externally or someone's bound to notice…so maybe he's got something inside him…nano-readers maybe? I gotta warn him but first things first…I gotta find my pendent!"
Cramming his mother's diary into his pocket, Jason sprinted out of the lab to return to his room. Once he got there, he searched high and low for his pendent but it was nowhere to be seen. In his panic, there was a sudden booming coming from down the hall. Jason gasped and whirled around at the noise. It sounded as if something had broken. Walking out into the corridor, Jason wandered down to try and find the source. As he turned down into the Recovery Wing, Jason stepped cautiously down the narrow corridor. His clapping footsteps were making him feel self-conscious and nervous as he looked up at the doors and their Greek symbols and numbers.
Suddenly, there was another loud crack and the entire area turned blindingly bright. Jason shielded his eyes from the glare as the incredible light slowly dissipated. Slowly lowering his arms from his face, Jason looked up at his surroundings but nothing had changed. As he stood up straight and started to move, there was a sound from behind him as if something had burst into flames. Spinning around, Jason saw the golden symbols on the doors were alight with an unnatural blue flame. Feeling very frightened, Jason stepped backwards as the doors suddenly started banging and arching outwards. It was as if something from the inside was trying desperately to break out. Without warning, one of the door next to Jason flew open, knocking him to the ground in its swing. Looking up, Jason found himself at the feet of a sickly-looking, pale creature in a human form. Its eyes were glazed over and had no irises and its decaying skin was grey, covered in boils and hanging loosely off its dirty-hay, coloured bones. It was dressed in Red Phoenix squadron clothing..
"Oh my God! What the hell is that thing?!" Jason gasped terrified. He crawled slowly backwards as the creature trudged towards him. Jason screamed as the creature tried to fall on him but he rolled out of the way. Standing up and the creature doing likewise, Jason turned and found more of the same sort of monsters had broken out of their prisons from behind him. He was now trapped in between four of them as they approached from both directions.
Paralysed by fear, Jason felt a cold, slimy hand rest on his shoulder. Screaming, he turned and batted it off as the monster tried to sink its teeth into the back of his neck. Seeing his terrified reaction seemed to make the creatures advance on him faster as they all lunged at him. Jason screamed just as another loud crack, in front of him, was heard a few doors down followed quickly by a voice.
"Jason! Get down!" it yelled. Obeying immediately, Jason dropped to the floor as gunshots sounded from the opposite end of the recovery wing. A few shots later, Jason found the creatures slumped in spine-breaking positions, all over the place. He looked up at the marksman who had saved him and he was overjoyed to see Jill, lying on the floor sideways with a handgun pointing at where she was shooting.
"Jill!" he cried. She jumped up from the floor and quickly ran over to him.
"Jason! Are you alright?" Jill asked helping him to his feet.
"Yeah I'm okay. You're all healed up!" Jason said happily.
"Uh huh! Took a little longer than expected but I'm back to full health," Jill replied with a smile.
"What the hell are these thing?" Jason said looking down on the creatures sprawled out on the ground.
"I don't have a clue but something funny's going on. Once I woke up, I found a note by my bed and this handgun on top of it saying to trust no one. It wasn't even signed off," Jill said seriously. Jason nodded but then shrieked as something grabbed his ankle. Looking down, one of the floored creatures had snatched at his heel and was trying to bite him.
"G-get offa me!" Jason cried struggling with monster. Jill pointed the gun at the creature and pulled the trigger. The bullet travelled straight through the creature's torso and it came to a writhing stop.
"What happened? It was dead but it started moving again!" Jason panted.
"I don't know," Jill replied a little shaken. Then, to their surprise, the creatures started moaning and moved again. Jumping backwards out of their reach, they watched them in horror as they pulled themselves across the floor with their decaying arms. Looking at each other dumbfounded, more bangs came from the surrounding doors.
"C'mon! Let's get outta here!" Jill called as she ran down the corridor. Nodding, Jason followed her as more monstrous creatures destroyed their doors and tumbled out into the halls. Leaping over them, Jason and Jill sprinted through the complex trying to get away from the rampaging monsters that were growling and moaning behind them from round the last corner they had past.
"What's going on here! This place is going haywire!" Jason panted as he stopped off in his room to grab his bag.
"No idea kid but let's not stay and find out! Let's find the professor and get out of here," Jill shouted as she took out two more monsters that appeared from around the corner.
As Jason stuffed his mother's diary into his bag, he clipped it up and they both headed for the professor's lab.
They quickly found Professor Baxter's lab and it was exactly how Jason had left it. Jill forced her way in but she couldn't see him.
"Professor Baxter!" she called into the lab as Jason appeared.
"Is he not here?" Jason asked nervously. Just then, something struck both of them from behind and they fell to the floor. Turning around, they both found Professor Baxter standing over them, he had picked up the handgun Jill had dropped and was pointing it at them.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Such reckless behaviour! I would never expect that sort of thing from our very own lieutenant and son of my most trusted employee," the old man grinned.
"Professor! What the hell are you doing?! We've got to get outta here!" Jason cried.
"Silence! Do you really think I'm going to let you two destroy anymore of my creations? Not that they can be anyway," Professor Baxter barked angrily.
"Creations? You made those sick things out there?" Jill asked bewildered.
"Yes. My invincible army powered by the Stones of Essence. Remarkable isn't it? We have finally unmasked the legend and obtained the perpetual energy source we had been searching for, for so long!" the old man chattered excitedly.
"So you were in on this scheme from the beginning. I never would have guessed," Jill barked ignorantly.
"Funny old world isn't it? You just can't trust anyone nowadays," Professor Baxter said flatly.
"I can't believe this. After everything, you're changing sides now?" Jason exclaimed but the professor chuckled malevolently.
"Change sides? My dear boy, I don't recall saying that I was on yours!" Jason fell silent but curse the professor for saying such a thing.
"You maniac! Do you realise that you are going to kill everyone with those 'creations' of yours!" Jill shouted angrily. She was ready to pounce on him but pushed the gun a little closer to her.
"This world matters none to me! I couldn't care less what happens to this realm. Those pathetic, overgrown reptiles will all become extinct soon enough anyway," Professor Baxter snorted indignantly.
"You…you…!!!" Jason said grinding his teeth and clenching his fists.
"Careful lad. I don't want to have to harm you," the professor warned as he backed towards the large viewing window.
"You two could never see the world me and our beloved director have envisioned. A perfect world ruled by us and with an invincible army of freaks and mutants to obey our every command! And with the Chronos Doorway at our disposal, we can change the course of history as we see fit!" the old man exclaimed.
"So that's what this is about? World domination and the conquest of the human race! You're insane!" Jason shouted.
"Is it that hard to envision? Our director is a genius! A leader to rule over the humans like a god! No person has ever achieved such a status and we are going to be the first. We'll go down in history as the true rulers of the world!" he continued to blabber.
"Your both crazy…no one will stand for this crap!" Jill yelled enraged.
"Maybe not now but they will soon. It's a shame neither of you two will be around to witness it as I will soon be adding you to my fleet of unstoppable soldiers." Slowly, the professor raised the gun to fire but Jill and Jason were focused on something passed him. A deafening screech filled the halls and forced the professor to spin around. As he turned to face the sound, a two-legged, dinosaur type creature smashed through the viewing window and pounced on Professor Baxter. The old man screamed as his own creation dug its claws into his torso and shredded him to pieces. Jason buried his head into Jill as the professor lay completely decimated in a growing puddle of blood. Holding him, Jill looked up fretfully at the creature that looked like a velociraptor but its body was decaying with parts of its flesh missing and bones of its skeleton showing. Once it had finished mauling the professor, the raptor looked up at Jason and Jill and roared. With no means of defence, they held each other close as it attacked.
The raptor jumped to pounce on them just as someone crashed through the door and opened fire on the creature. Squealing, the raptor tumbled into the examination table and lay squirming on the ground.
"Lieutenant Fielding! Thank God you're alright!" a male voice sounded over them.
"Sergeant Stone?! Where the hell have you been?" she cried happy to see him.
"No time to explain. C'mon! Let's go!" he shouted as he and Zephyr took off down the corridor towards the exit. Helping Jason up, both of them followed Stone and Zephyr out of the lab. Just before the exit, they found the sergeant rummaging around in a cupboard.
"Here!" he called and chucked the lieutenant a heavy rifle and a pistol with some spare ammo clips.
"Thanks," she replied. They both nodded and led Jason out of the complex and back into the Great Valley.