Ch. 19 Part 4: Birth

A.N.:

Sorry it took me so long to write this. Holiday drama kept me from finishing it for a while. I hope everyone enjoyed A FEAR Christmas and that this was worth the wait. As promised, the birth of the third child happens in this chapter. If you get confused about the ending part, think Silent Hill (the movie).

Review if you want or have questions.

Also, Happy New Year!

We arrived at the elevator and sure enough, it was locked. I retrieved the key from my vest pocket before inserting it into the slot. I turned the key and the grimy faded green elevator doors opened with a loud screech. The dirty, rust colored interior was about as inviting as a wall of fire and if it were for any other reason than my daughter, I would not have entered it. It was not because I was afraid but because for obvious reasons, entering the elevator had "bad idea" written all over it.

We stepping into the interior and I looked at the panel. I commented, "Well, looks like we don't have much of a choice." The panel had buttons for ten different levels but only one was lit up. The label read, "Hell".

Alpha 1 read the label before he said, "No problem sir. We have been there before."

I looked over at him for a second before I shook my head humorously. When I finished, I pressed the only lit button. With a screech, the elevator doors closed. The elevator lurched before it began its descent. As the deathtrap struggled downwards, Alma asked me, "Michael, do you know why she exists?"

I nodded slowly before I explained, "Armacham created her to be a counter if we were to ever meet again. I guess they thought that we are too dangerous together. They hoped that if we did meet again, we would be enemies. They created her as a plan B just to be safe. They wanted to find a way to control her because she was too resistant. Apparently, she is the strongest psychic that they had ever seen. She is strong enough to defeat both of us in a battle of wills, but they never got a chance to properly train her."

Alma processed the information with a noticeable look of revulsion on her pale face. After a moment, she asked me, "So, what are you going to do when you find her?"

Guilt flooded my mind and voice as I replied, "I'm a soldier…she is just another enemy."

My response shocked my companion, which caused even more guilt to build up in my mind. With a trace of accusation, she stated, "Michael, she is our's…surely you can feel that." I sighed because it was true. I could indeed "feel" that the homicidal child that we were chasing was in fact my child. She was made from me. Armacham did more than experiment on both Alma and I when we were children. They also stole us when they collected samples from our bodies. They created the child by using the genetic information they got from those samples.

Why? I am not certain even to this day. Perhaps they reasoned that we would hold back if we fought her. Perhaps they were simply using the genetic samples from the strongest psychics that they could get their hands on in the hopes of creating an even stronger psychic. Perhaps they were just being assholes and thought that using our own daughter against us would be a hilarious "fuck you". I simply do not know the exact reason for why Armacham created her by using our genetic samples.

I looked at my goddess as I said, "I know what she is…it doesn't change my resolve. I will not let her hurt our daughter. If I have to kill one to save the other, then so be it."

Alma commented, "But…she seems to really care about our daughter. I think that Scarlet knows that our daughter is her sister. Please, give her a chance."

I sighed before I replied, "Alma, I…" I was interrupted by the elevator inexplicably and suddenly screeching to a halt. The stop caused both Alpha 1 and I to fall onto the dirty floor. When we hauled ourselves to our feet, I examined our surroundings for a possible explanation for the elevator's malfunction.

I was unable to find one and seconds later, the humming florescent light exploded. I groaned before I remarked, "Oh, what the fuck?" I became aware of the sound of flowing liquid and an overpowering smell of iron in the air. Even though I really did not want to see the horror awaiting me, I activated the flashlight on my HUD glasses.

Nausea hit me as I saw that rivers of blood were flowing down the walls of the interior of the elevator. I looked down to my feet and gasped when I saw that I was rapidly being submerged by a rising pool of blood. As the revolting liquid reached my knees, I unsheathed my utility knife with my left hand while I simultaneously holstered my revolver with my right hand. By the time I had my knife raised, the blood had reached my waist.

I forced the blade of my knife into the crack between the doors and tried to pry open the door. However, an unseen force pushed me away from the doors and slammed me hard into the back wall. The force of the impact with the wall caused me to groan as sharp pain erupted along my back. The combination of the growing list of my injuries from months of constant warfare and my age reared its ugly head and I was unable to recover in time to try again before the blood level was too high to allow us to force open the doors. Beside me, Alpha 1 said, "Sir, the roof." I shook my head as I pointed out that the nightmare version of an elevator had no rescue hatch.

The blood reached my neck and I had just enough time to inhale deeply before the liquid completely filled the deathtrap. Using my combat diving training, I forced my body to conserve the limited amount of air that I had to buy myself a few more precious seconds of life. While I was in the near dormant state that I had learned in my training, I glanced around in the hope of finding some escape route that I had overlooked. Dread hit me when I realized that there was no means of escape. I was going to drown in a sealed elevator that was filled with blood. As far as deaths go, I had to hand it to Scarlet: she was indeed creative.

Just as I had resigned myself to my fate, Alma appeared and motioned downwards with her tiny right hand. I looked down and saw a hole in the floor. Not wasting time by questioning things, I swam down towards the hole. When I passed through the portal like opening, I cried out in shock as I began to free-fall head first down through a series of rings of fire. As I fell, my HALO training kicked in and I was able to right myself so I was falling in the traditional skydiving style with my arms and legs out and my chest pointed towards my destination.

I glanced to my right and saw Alma about a foot away calmly falling with her back facing downwards, her arms folded across her chest, her raven hair flowing upwards as if it was being pushed by wind, and her eyes closed. I glanced to my left and saw Alpha 1 about a foot away from me in a skydiving stance that was similar to my own. As we continued our descent, I started hearing the hellish wails of people that sounded like they were suffering from immense agony. After a few more fiery rings, I started seeing strange dark humanoid creatures that appeared to float because I could not see any legs or any other means of standing. I lost track of time because we seemed to be falling in slow motion. However, I did count that we had fallen through fifteen rings before I saw a light at the end of wherever we were.

As we neared the light, Alma opened her eyes and righted herself. We entered the light and suddenly, we were back in the elevator. The light was on and the elevator stopped at the right floor as if we had been traveling in it the entire time. The elevator gave off a ding and the doors opened. Cautiously, I exited the interior with my magnum held dead steady in my grasp. The hallway that greeted us was as visually similar to the floor that we had previously been on with the humming flickering florescent lights, abandoned medical carts, dirty floor, and peeling paint. I looked in both directions and failed to detect any hostile contacts. I called out, "Clear. Let's move."

I studied my surroundings for a clue that would indicate where I would need to go. As if in response to my actions, I heard a squeaking noise that sounded like a wheel bearing that had not been properly lubricated for some time. I looked in the direction of the noise and saw an empty wheelchair rolling away from us and down the hallway. It ceased its movement when it collided with the wall on the far end of the corridor.

I said, "I guess we go that way." Side by side, we slowly made our way to the end of the hallway. When we arrived at the end, I saw an arrow on the wall that was labeled, "Pediatrics". I paused as a thought occurred to me. I mussed aloud, "Hospital…pediatrics…I think I am starting to understand."

Alpha 1 questioned me, "No way…an infant, sir?"

I nodded in response before I said, "That would explain why I was unable to look through her eyes in her memory. It would also explain why she is hurting herself so badly when she uses her psionic abilities. Her body is simply too young to be able to handle the stress."

As I finished my sentence, I heard a soft movement behind me. I activated my reflexes and wheeled around with my magnum ready. However, upon seeing who it was, I deactivated my reflexes while I also lowered my weapon. In disbelief, I said, "Dr. Green?"

The Armacham employee turned cultist leader smiled and then she addressed me, "Saint Michael, the holy Mother's horseman of death, and Saint Alpha, the holy Mother's horseman of war, you both honor this momentous occasion with your presence." She noticed Alma and bowed as she said, "Mother, I have gathered your faithful flock as you commanded in the Book of Diary."

Alma replied with a gentle motherly voice, "Thank you, my child. Please, lead us to the faithful."

Dr. Green stood before she said, "Of course Mother." She started walking slowly in a hunched posture and with the palms of her hands placed together and up against the middle her upper chest.

As we followed behind the twisted woman wearing a bloody black robe (she must have changed out of the bloody straightjacket that I had seen her wearing aboard Alice), I asked my goddess with my mind, "Alma…start explaining."

She smiled slightly as she replied through our bond, "I had a diary when I was very young. Mostly, I just wrote about my nightmares and hatred of the world. I guess some of the nightmares were premonitions."

I asked, "So…what are they doing here?"

She shrugged before she replied, "To be honest, I don't know why or how they are here. They seem to want to help though so I think we should play along and let them have their fun. I bet they cleared out the hostile apparitions on this floor for us so we owe them. Besides, they are so adorable."

I sighed before I said, "Fine, let's play along."

As we continued walking, Alpha 1 said, "Sir, I don't think that I have to remind you that you are the only one here with a weapon. I will back you up as best I can but I fear that I will be of little assistance in a fight against a being like Scarlet."

I assured him, "If it comes down to that, I will give you my sidearm and I will use my psionic abilities."

He nodded as he said, "Copy that sir."

Alma whined a little before she said, "Michael, please…no more violence. She is an abused child, our child, who is scared out of her mind."

I replied, "You make it sound like I want to hurt her. She is a victim, I am well aware of that. I will try to save her. However, I will defend myself."

We arrived at what looked like the waiting room for the pediatric section of the hospital. The whole room was filled with cultists and their weird drawings. At the center of the room, there was a large mound made out of scavenged materials. At the top of the mound, a creepy baby crib was rocking back and forth on its own. My HUD display flickered as we neared the mound.

Dr. Green preached, "And so it was written in the Book of Diary: in the first year of the Great Judgment, the Holy Mother and Saint Michael will deliver unto the bloodstained Earth a messiah born of light and dark. Born of a union of violence yet having the heart of a saint, the messiah will take unto her bosom both faithful and blasphemer for all will be redeemable in her eyes. Only thee who follow the word of the deceitful Devil will feel her spiteful wrath. She will melt the flesh off your body and consume your very soul. Forever in Hell will all ye reside who meet this fate. Take heed all who seek her salvation, for only thee who walk the blessed path will reap salvation. Amen."

All of the cultists gave off an animalistic grunt that vaguely sounded like an "amen" in response. Holding back my laughter, I asked my goddess with a humorous tone, "You wrote that?"

She replied, "Apparently…though I do not recall being so religious about it."

I nodded before I asked with a serious tone, "Okay, so what is this nonsense about a messiah being born of light and dark? I don't think our daughter even has a dark side."

Alma shrugged before she explained, "Michael, I had that nightmare years ago. I honestly don't remember much about it. The only part that I distinctly remember is a bright blue light with two children approaching it. You yelled for one of them to get away from the light, but it was too late and there was a bright flash. That's all I remember."

I thought for a moment while the cultists around us started chanting. I noticed movement in the hallway through the door on the opposite side of the mound. Without hesitating, I ran out of the room and into the hallway. I saw either Scarlet or my daughter walking down the hallway and towards a door that had a bright white light on the other side.

I knew I was putting myself in extreme danger, but I chased after her. As I neared her, a black portal that resembled the impact site of a rock hitting the surface of a body of water opened up behind her. I paused and drew my magnum. Four of the same strange black humanoids that I had seen in the descent through the rings of fire floated towards me.

Sensing that they intended to do me harm, I fired a round into the first one. The apparition disappeared in a puff of black smoke. I fired another round into the second one and then a third round into the third apparition. My HUD indicated that I needed to reload, though I was already aware of that fact. I quickly pulled the pin and unlocked the cylinder.

The apparition floated towards me faster than I had anticipated and impacted me before I could unload the spent cartridges from the revolver's cylinder. I grunted in agony as it hit me and self-destructed against my body. My head jerked upwards briefly in response and my vision briefly became distorted. When my vision cleared, I saw that my HUD indicated that the strange humanoid's attack had penetrated my armor. The health meter reported that almost a third of my health had been lost. I used one of my three medkits to replenish my health.

By that time, Alpha 1 had reached my position. To my surprise, he grabbed me by my vest and threw me up against one of the walls. He held me there with his immense, superior strength. He studied me for a moment before he barked, "Sir, what the fuck were you thinking? Pulling a kamikaze stunt like that…what the Hell has gotten into you? You need to get ahold of yourself. I am worried about her too, but we are no good to her dead."

Irritated, I ordered him, "Alpha 1, release me."

He shook his head before he replied, "No sir. Not until you calm down."

Shock hit me when he refused to follow my order. It took me a moment to realize that he was protecting me from myself. Up until that moment, at the back of my mind, I had always thought of him as a Replica with the characteristics of a man. After that moment, I would always think of him as a man with the characteristics of a Replica.

I inhaled and exhaled deeply a few times before I nodded my head slowly. He gently released me from his grasp. As I reloaded my revolver, he said apologetically, "I'm sorry sir. You were out of control." Having used a speed reloader to reload the revolver, I pushed the cylinder back into place.

When I felt and heard it lock into place, I replied, "Don't be sorry. You did the right thing. Here…" I handed my magnum to him. He took it and held it with both hands in a tactical stance. The door that I had seen the girl headed towards still had a white glow behind it. Cautiously, we approached it.

Alma materialized next to it in her child form and smiled at me slightly as we approached. However, as we neared it, her face suddenly contorted in agony and she grasped her abdomen. As she collapsed against the wall behind her, she cried out in severe pain. Concerned, I rushed to her side. She was still in her child form but I noticed that I could see dark veins beneath her skin.

I knelt down as I asked with a scared voice, "Alma, what is it? What is happening?" She was in so much pain that she could not properly speak. Eventually, whatever was afflicting her stopped and she was able to weakly stand with my help.

She explained, "Michael, I can feel it."

Confused, I asked, "Feel what?"

After hearing her thoughts, I said, "No fucking way…now?!"

She nodded before she replied, "Yes…she is coming. I'm sorry Michael. I…I'm too weak to be able to help you now."

Scarlet spoke loud enough for all of us to be able to hear her, "How does it feel old man? To not be able to help the two people that you love?"

Ignoring her, I said to the trembling goddess before me, "Don't worry, Alpha 1 and I will handle Scarlet. Just keep yourself together. Do you want me to carry you?"

She shook her head stubbornly before she replied, "No, I can walk."

She started to walk away from the wall but then cried out as she once again collapsed, this time onto her hands and knees. After the spell had passed, she moved back to the wall and sat down against it. She looked up at me and instructed, "Go Michael. I will stay here. I will be able to watch you two and I will help if I can. Please, get our daughter back." I nodded and then motioned for Alpha 1 to follow me.

He nodded in return and we entered the door with the glowing white light behind it. As we passed through the door frame, the light disappeared and we found ourselves in a long, narrow, and bloody hallway. At the end, I saw another bright white light but there was also the dark silhouette of a man standing in front of it. When we got closer, I realized with shock that it was me. Or, it was some apparition that had taken my physical appearance. The apparition did not have the skull mask and its armor was charred. He raised his head and I saw that his face was as charred as Keegan's face had been.

He spoke with a darker version of my own voice as he stated, "I have to kill the filthy little maggot that grows inside her!"

Alpha 1 and I exchanged glances before I looked back at the apparition.

I replied, "We are not going to help you do that."

The apparition chuckled slightly before he said, "What made you think that I wanted your help?"

Before I could reply, the apparition materialized an assault rifle and raised it. I activated my reflexes and dodged a burst from the apparition's rifle. Alpha 1 fired a round from the magnum at my doppelganger but the manifestation simply used his reflexes to dodge the round. He then used his reflexes to move quickly towards my friend. The manifestation grabbed Alpha 1 by his neck and roughly threw him into a nearby concrete wall hard enough to cause a crater.

I went to the aid of my friend but as I neared them, my doppelganger suddenly appeared in front of me and side kicked me hard enough to send me flying against the wall behind me. I cried out in pain but forced my body to recover just in time to dodge the right fist of the manifestation. The apparition's fist plunged into the concrete and gave me a window of opportunity.

With my right fist glowing with a red aura, I sent a powerful punch into the apparition's head. I heard the sound of crunching bone, but my doppelganger seemed unaffected as he quickly turned and smashed me across my face with the butt of his rifle. The impact sent me skidding across the floor and created a crack in my HUD glasses that traveled from the top right corner to the bottom left corner.

My HUD reported, "System Error. Combat damage detected. Readout projection temporarily offline. Please wait while the automated repair sequence adjusts readout to work with the damaged projection system."

I scrambled to my feet and tried to think of a way to defeat my doppelganger. Without a weapon, I was left with my psionic abilities but I had my doubts about their effectiveness against a manifestation. My suspicions were confirmed when I sent a psychic blast into the apparition. The blast seemed to deflect off the manifestation and he said, "Nice try, but that parlor trick shit doesn't work against me." The hallway was bare and devoid of anything I could use as projectiles against him.

"Michael." I looked my right and saw Alma with a Patten PK470 Assault Rifle in her outstretched arms. As I gently took it from her grasp, she commented, "I only had enough energy to give you two shots. Make it count." She dissolved into a cloud of ash. I set the rifle to its single shot fire mode and activated my reflexes. I hip fired a round at the manifestation and as I had anticipated, he dodged the round. Having had anticipated his move, I aimed through the rifle's scope as I fired a second round. This time, the round hit its mark in the manifestation's head.

He fell onto his hands and knees but I could see the wound starting to heal. However, Alpha 1 walked up beside him and placed the end of the magnum's muzzle against the apparition's head. He fired a round and the manifestation's head exploded. Black blood sprayed out of the skull cavity as my doppelganger's body collapsed to the floor.

As the body began to dissolve into ash, I commented, "That was weird." My friend nodded in agreement. With the manifested assault rifle still in my grasp, I motioned for Alpha 1 to follow me. We ran to the bright white light. By the time that we had reached it, my HUD reported, "Readout resynchronization complete." My HUD readout once again displayed in front of me despite the large crack. We entered the light and found ourselves in another long hallway that I recognized from Alma's memories as the hallway in the Birthing Facility.

A set of blue double doors was in front of us and we ran towards them. However, as we neared them, the hallway suddenly became longer and we were at the very end of it. Undeterred, we ran towards the doors again. Before we could reach them, the walls around us suddenly began to move away from the floor and ceiling. As they traveled away, pitch-black darkness could be seen. No matter how much we ran, we seemed to be moving in place. As the walls moved too far away to be seen, the floor and ceiling began to travel away as well. However, even as the floor sank beneath us, we remained in the same place. We became surrounded by pitch-black darkness but we continued running.

Eventually, a bright blue light appeared before us. I saw two child-sized figures approaching the light in a synchronized matter from opposite sides of the light. When we neared the light, I recognized the children as Scarlet and my daughter. Realizing that Alma had indeed foreseen this event, my heart sank as I knew that I was about to lose my child. Even though I knew that it was futile, I screamed at my daughter, "Get away from there!" She ignored me and both children met at the light. A bright blue light overpowered my vision and I found myself surrounded by endless white nothingness.

When my vision finally returned, I found myself in front of a tiny spherical device that had a glowing blue aura because of the psychic shielding built into it. The device was open and empty. I glanced around and noticed that both Alpha 1 and I were in some kind of Armacham facility. I could also tell that we were finally back in the real world. A soft stirring against my chest caused me to look down. I gasped when I saw that I had an infant in my grasp. I was cradling the tiny baby against my chest with her or his head positioned up towards my right shoulder. A simple white blanket was wrapped around the infant for warmth. Only the child's incredibly pale face was visible.

The child's eyes opened and I saw that the infant had grey irises. In my mind, I heard the child say, "Are you my Daddy?" She was definitely my child. I could sense it. I realized that the two children's' personalities must have fused together. I had lost the young girl that I had grown to love, but in return, I had received a true flesh and blood child.

Shocked, excited, and scared at the same time, I replied, "Yes, sweetie. Daddy is here."

She asked, "Where is Mommy?"

Before I could answer, Alma replied, "I'm here." I looked to my left to see Alma in her normal form that noticeably did not have a swollen abdomen anymore. She looked at the child and then at me. Desperately, she pleaded, "Michael, please…let me hold." I smiled slightly as I slowly handed our flesh and blood daughter to her. She took her from my grasp. She gently cradled her daughter against her chest with the child's head positioned towards her left shoulder.

Alpha 1 said, "Uhh…I guess congratulations sir."

I looked away from the sight of Alma gazing happily at our daughter and at my friend. I replied, "Thanks…I guess. Let's find a way out of here." After we searched for a while, we eventually found an elevator. The elevator transported us to the lobby of the office building.

When we exited the elevator, my com link activated and Jin said, "They're alive! I just picked up their signal! Becket, if you can hear this, Manny is waiting outside. Our final assault on the Eiffel Tower is about to begin." We exited the lobby and headed towards the waiting helicopter.