Haunted ARC
Chapter 2
Ten minutes later, and Matt, Abby, and Connor had all scanned and checked the Operations Room.
"I don't know what you two heard," said Abby, "but the room's clean."
Connor smirked. "Maybe you hit your head saving us, Action Man."
"I heard it too, Connor," said Jess.
"There's nothing here," said Matt.
Then all heads snapped up and looked at each other as they heard the loud, creepy growl.
"What the hell?" asked Matt.
Jess and Connor both ran diagnostics on the alarms and anomaly alerts and found nothing. Becker ordered a full security check and a guard stationed in Ops, just in case. Abby had the menagerie team check all the creatures.
Nothing was wrong, except they kept hearing that growl.
Becker and Matt were checking the loading docks to make sure nothing else had escaped during transfer.
"Nothing, again," said Becker, clearly frustrated.
Then an extremely loud, ferocious growl echoed around the area.
They instinctively raised their EMDs but saw nothing.
"Where is it?" asked an edgy Matt.
Carefully they separated, checking under trucks, bins, and anything.
"It's here, so where is it?" asked Becker. "Where is the damn thing?"
Suddenly Becker was thrown backwards into the concrete wall, exactly as he had been that morning. This time, however, nothing was seen throwing him.
"What the hell?" yelled Matt. He was frightened now, something invisible just attacked his friend.
He helped Becker up, who was in even more pain now. "What was that?" asked Becker, wincing.
"Don't know. I don't suppose it felt like a strong gust of wind?" asked Matt, with a weak smirk.
"No, it felt like that aliora-whatever. I felt it's tail, just like before."
Matt looked, confused. "I don't believe it, and I saw it."
Jess was on edge. She was walking to check the computers in Connor's lab, while he checked the ADD. They thought if they checked each others' work stations, they might found something that the one had missed.
Jess scanned her bracelet, let herself in, and began scanning Connor's computer. As she worked, she heard a scurrying sound that stood her hair on end. She knew that sound because she was terrified of insects, and that's what it sounded like, loads and loads of insects.
She turned to the sound, and to her horror, saw hundreds of the future beetles that had nearly killed her running toward her.
She screamed and backed up to the door. In her panic, she didn't swipe her bracelet so she couldn't get out. The beetles swarmed toward her. She screamed again and closed her eyes.
"Jess!" screamed Becker in her ear.
"What's wrong?" Abby asked, also through the comms.
Jess opened her eyes and the beetles were gone. She was alone in the lab. She stood there, shocked.
"Jess! Answer me!" screamed Becker.
"I..I'm OK. Sorry."
"Sorry? You scream, twice, and you're sorry? Jess, what's going on?" asked Becker through the comms.
"Nothing," said Jess. "I'm just losing my mind."
Everyone was in the break room. Abby had made Jess tea, and she sat still in the chair.
"I know they weren't there," she said. "They're dead, and there was no anomaly, but I also know what I saw."
She spoke in such a calm voice that it worried Becker.
"You aren't the only one experiencing weird things," he said softly.
Abby had been called back to the menagerie by some bad news. She headed to her office to ring Lester and inform him that they had a creature death. As she entered, she heard a familiar hissing, chortling sound. Slowly she looked up to see a future predator standing on her desk.
She stood still. All of a sudden it lunged at her and she pivoted, moving to the side. She turned around to see what it would do next.
It was gone.
"What is going on?" asked Abby.
The team was walking down the corridor, talking about the strange occurrences.
"First you two hear growls," she said pointing to Jess and Becker. "Then you and Matt hear more growls in the loading dock, and you're assaulted. Then Jess sees future beetles and now I've seen a future predator. Oh, yeah, they all disappear."
"Could be a hallucinogen," said Matt, "affecting all of us and making us see things."
"Except it can't be," said Connor. "Jess and I ran diagnostics on everything, including the air filters. There's nothing strange in the air."
"Maybe something we ate or drank?" suggested Abby.
"No," said Jess. "The water's been checked. I haven't eaten anything from the canteen. I even brought my coffee in."
Becker's second in command, a young black lieutenant about thirty years old, walked briskly up to Becker. "Might I have a word, sir?"
"Of course, Flowers."
The two walked a distance away, whispering.
"I think you all better hear this," said Becker to the team.
"What's going on?" asked Matt.
"Carlson is...upset, sir," said Flowers.
They all walked into the armory where lieutenant Vale stood, next to a seated, agitated Sargent Carlson.
"Hey, Carly," said Becker, moving to kneel, but deciding against it because of his ribs. Becker quickly noticed the frown Jess gave him. "What happened?"
"I'm bonkers, sir."
Becker smiled. "So are we. We've all heard or seen things."
Carlson looked at their faces. "Honestly?"
They all nodded.
"Tell us what happened, Carly," said Becker gently.
Carlson sighed, took a deep breath, and began, "Well, sir. I was checking all the guns, especially your favorites, sir, the shotgun and the MP5SD..."
Jess looked at Becker questioningly, so he answered, "sub-machine gun."
"As I was checking them sir, I heard growls, and turned around. I saw a huge dinosaur sir, and ...I don't know what the other thing was...an ant-like thing, sir, standing upright with wings. Then they were gone."
"I've seen something like that before," said Becker, "with Sara. It just vanished?"
"Yes, sir. I'm bonkers, sir."
Becker smiled and patted the older weapons specialist on his shoulder. "Yeah, but the good news is we have enough people to form a club."
Carlson chuckled.
"Why don't you go on home, and take it easy," said Becker.
"Oh, he can take it easy and go home, but you can't?" asked Jess.
"Leave it, Jessica."
"I'm alright sir," said Carly quickly. "I'd like to stay at my post. Something's going nutty around here, sir, and I better stay with the guns, keep nervous fingers off 'em."
Becker smiled. "OK, Carly."
"He isn't the only one reporting strange things, sir," said Flowers. "You know your men. You know Carly. He wouldn't make it up or get hysterical."
"I know, Flowers. Try to keep the men at ease. Tell them we're working on the problem."
Flowers nodded.
"Hey Becker," said Connor. "Carly was describing a megopteran, right? Didn't you say you used a MP5SD on one?"
"Yeah. Had no affect. Had to electrocute the sucker."
"That's weird though, isn't it? Carly's checking that gun when he sees, or thinks he sees a megopteran?"
"That is weird," said Carlson.
"How big was the dinosaur you saw?" asked Connor.
"Big, huge, big," said Carlson.
"Gigantosaurus. Becker, you attacked it with that shotgun."
"Again, no affect, and lots of dinosaurs are 'big' Connor."
"But Becker, it was connected to the shotgun, just like the megopteran and the sub-machine gun."
"Where are you going with this?" asked Matt.
"I don't want to say, he'll hit me," said Connor, indicating Becker.
"Connor?" pressed Matt.
Connor sighed. "It's a theory," he stressed, looking at Becker. "Not even my theory. I don't believe, OK? I'm just relating information, so don't hurt me. This sounds like some theories of the paranormal."
Becker scoffed and walked a few steps away.
"See! That's why I didn't want to mention it!"
"Connor, we wanted a real, helpful theory," said Becker.
"Oh, well, in that case, don't got none."
"I want to hear what you were thinking," said Jess.
"I was just thinking that it was strange that the very creatures Carlson saw are the same ones connected to the guns he was handling. Some paranormal theorists, not me, would see a link. That's what I'm saying."
"Those nuts see a link between corn fields and aliens," said Becker.
"True."
"So what do you want us to do, Connor?" asked Jess.
"Me? I don't know. I was just talking."
"Yeah, too much," grumbled Becker.
James Lester was in his office. He was having a slow, boring day, and was very happy with it. No crises, no plots to overthrow him at the ARC, and no plans to destroy the world. All was blissfully dull.
Then he heard hissing and looked up to see a future predator, standing in the doorway.
"Becker! Get up here now!" screamed Lester in to the comms.
They all ran into his office to find Lester seated on the couch, drinking whiskey.
"What did you see?" asked Matt.
"Hmm, oh, future predator. Then it was gone, very obliging of it. Anyone need anything from me before I check myself into the psych ward?"
"You're not crazy," said Abby. "We've seen and heard things too."
They briefly brought Lester up on the strange events.
"Connor thinks the place is haunted," said Becker with a snicker.
"I do not! I said it was a theory."
"No, it is not a theory," said James Lester. "It is unfortunately more than that. I should have known this day would come. We can't go around killing things and zapping them without upsetting the delicate balance between ours and the spirit world."
They looked at him in silence.
"You're serious?" asked Becker finally.
"Of course, I'm bloody serious. Now, I'll call my personal physic Jane and get her over here to find out if this is an actual haunting, a partial haunting, or a repetitive events thing," he said, picking up the phone and dialing.
"This is a joke, right?" asked Abby. "You have a 'personal physic,' really?"
"Why do you all look so surprised? I'm a politician people, you can't navigate through that world without some supernatural forces on your side. I'm purely into good forces, though, I assure you."
The team exchange looks, dumbfounded. To their surprise this wasn't a joke, or if it was, it was an incredibly elaborate one.
End of Ch 2