Chapter 3: The Forgotten Enemy
Empire City, twenty-six days ago…
Everything was on fire after the bomb went off, then Kessler zaps down to the crater and walks over and stood over Cole. He then kneels down and checks on his body. "Lets see… Activation plus six minutes. Pulse is 45, respiration 10." Kessler mutters as he was checking Cole's heartbeat. Then checks his eyes. "Significant dilation of the pupils." he states then checks his head. "No signs of physical trauma. Looking good, Cole." he states then stood up.
Kessler then looks up at the burning city. "May they forgive me for what I've done." he mutters and went to leave, but then he saw out of the corner of his eye another body, he turns towards it and zaps over to it and was in shock as a young female girl was laying there, unconscious and alive. He kneels down and checks her vitals. She was breathing, her heart was stable and her body showed no signs of trauma. She too was a potential Conduit, then he leans close to her as his lips were close to her ear "I'm sorry." he whispers and zaps away. Leaving the both of them inside the Crater.
~8~8~8~
Historic District…
Cole and Cassandra sat in a cell with the Warden with them as they were going over what Moya has said to them. "If we stay, a lot of people are going to get killed." Cole informs him and Harms looks down at him, "More people will die if you leave." he reminds him and Cassie just leans back against the wall and buries her face into her arms with her legs pulled up to her chest. "Once We're gone, Moya'll pull back her troops." Cole informs him and Harms leans against the cell door.
And crosses his arms, "Not talking about her. You really think the First Sons are gone for good? For the Dust Men?" he asks and Cassie lifts up her head and places her chin on her arms. "It's possible, but no." she answers him. "They're just laying low. Waiting for their chance. The only thing keeping them in line is the threat of a real good ass-whipping." Harms informs him, but Cole was still thinking about the military and Moya's threat. "So if we stay, Moya bombs the city back to the stone age. And if we leave, this place turns into a Lord of Flies." Cole throws out his two options. Cassie then moves her arms and legs, leans forward and press her head against Cole's shoulder. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, Cole." Harms informs him.
~.~.~.~.~
Outside the prison, David pulls himself from the sewers as Cole's scent was stronger than ever. -Thank you, Lord… for your blessing.-
He praises his Lord and Savior then charges forward at the men, draining them dry.
~.~.~.~.~
"But with you both here, Empire City- or what's left of it- has a chance." Harms informs them, Cassie lifts up her head as Cole stood up, "Are we going to live like this forever?" Cole asks him, "Don't have to." Harms answers and Cassie stood up as well, "What do you mean?" she asks.
He looks at them, "They've been on USTV everyday, talking about how great things are, plenty of food and all of that. It's a good cover story." he informs them, then Cassie crosses her arms, "But…" she asks.
"But eventually someone's going to ask, if things are so great, why are they bombing the city? Why all the troopers? Their window is shrieking, and they know it. My guess is that if we can fight them to a stalemate, this'll all be over in a week or so." he answers. "So you're saying is that we stay here in this prison for a week or so, fight off the military until the most obvious questions are being ask?" Cassandra sums up and Harms nods at her, "Well things can't possibly get any worse." she states and the alarms went off. Making the three alert and Cassie sighs. "What do I even bother?" she mutters, throwing up her hands. "What's that?" Cole asks. "Alarms. Something's happening out on the yard." he answers and they all ran out of the prison.
~8~8~8~
Zeke ran out, "Oh my god…" he mutters and watches in horror as the creature before him, was draining them men dry and nothing left of them, -I can smell him. His anger, his fear.- David mutters to himself.
"Shoot it!" a man cries out and Zeke was shooting, "I am shootin' it!" he snaps back, then a UVA flies over the prison, "Overwatch, get Agent Jones on the horn, she needs see this." a man calls out, "Roger." he answers and phones Moya. "Cole, where are you?" Zeke calls out as David turns to them. "How long ago did this start?" Moya asks, "Little over three minutes." the pilot answers her. "Zoom in on the creature." he orders.
Then David reaches out and wraps his tentacle around Zeke, the man cries out as he was lock in tightly around tentacle and drops his gun, then David started to drain him "Dear Lord…" Moya said in horror. "What the matter?" the pilot asks her. "He's suppose to be dead." she mutters to herself and Zeke started to go limp in the tentacle's grip. "Hang on, Zeke. I've good you." Cole calls out as he and Cassie charge at the creature. "I don't care what they're doing, I want them deployed now!" Moya orders as she was very serious.
Cole then socks him in the face, "C'mon, ugly, get lets get this over with." Cole growls at him as he makes David drop Zeke, who was still alive. -Kessler!- David calls out as Cassie took a hold of Zeke and drags him away. Then David shot neuro-electric energy right at Cole, -I'm going to enjoy ever second of this. Soon you'll be broken, beaten… destroyed.- David promises him as Cole slams back down onto the ground and Cassie gasp as Cole was drained. "Holy Shit…" he mutters as he was in pain and his body steaming. David went to drain him, but a Hammer was thrown right at him, smacking him away from Cole and Cassie stood next to Cole as she was raging with anger. "Stay the hell away from him!" she growls at him, David picks himself up as Cassie did the same with Cole, "Come on…" she mutters as she helps him limp away. Then chopper came into view, "Primary objective is protecting MacGrath." the leader informs them.
David then smacks Cassie away, then wraps his tentacles around Cole and lifts him up, socking him in the face. "Cole!" Cassie calls out and went to stop him, but then David uses his other tentacles, wraps her wrists and lifts her up in the air. Stopping her from helping him, she struggles in his grip. Then the soldiers drop down and aim their weapons at David. "Open fire!" one orders and the did so, firing at David.
~8~8~8~
Moya ran back into the where a scientist was still working on the subjects, "I need two of these things out on the field, now." she orders him.
He looks at her in shock "That's impossible, they're not ready." he informs her. "I wasn't asking." she snaps at him. "If I remove them from the canisters, they'll die. Simple as that." he informs her. "Bullshit!" she snaps at him, not wanting to waste. "Go ahead, open them up. They'll be dead before they take they're first step." he offers her.
She then growls grips his face and pulls him in close to her, "Cole or Cassandra die. It's on your ass." she informs then shoves him back and walks away.
She then returns to the cockpit and her hands went to her mic, "Track them, I want to know their every move." she orders in a sharky tone.
~8~8~8~
An RPG was fired right at David, he shrieks, letting go of Cole and Cassie and they both drop down onto the ground. Cassandra wasn't no time and crawls over to Cole, he coughs then looks over and saw David began draining all the man and the scream and cry out in mercy and pain. "Oh my god…" he mutters the coughs.
Cassandra then pulls his arm over her shoulders and pulls him up, "Come on, we have to run." she tells him and they started to limp away. "Gotta get away from that thing…" Cole mutters as Cassie looks around, trying to found a way out. "Cole, pole." she tells him, he looks up and then pulls away from Cassie and started to climb, with her right behind him, they then jump down onto the power-lines and glides along them. Trying to get the upper hand, "Hey, dumbass!" Cole calls out to the thing as he fires at it, Cassie fires at it as well and they get his attention as they grind away from David then jumps into the water and follows them as they were grinding away from the prison.
Across the bridge, 'I want a heavy hitter prepped and ready to fire.' Moya orders; the two conduits from the power-line and onto the roof. But then David burst right out of the waters, Cassie gasp as she looks at him. They ran for it -There's no escaping me, Kessler. I will find you, no matter how fast or far you run.- David promises him, then as the two jump to the other roof, David wraps his two tentacles around their necks, they both gasp and choke from the tightens around them. Then he flung them across the way and they crash right into right into the building, breaking the concrete. 'Target confirmed, grid twelve, Neon District.' the navigator informs her.
Cole groans as he and Cassandra push themselves up from the wreckage, "Cole, are you there?!" Moya shouts through his phone, "Now's not the time, Moya." Cole informs her as Cassie pulls the wreckage away from him. "Listen to me- if you can hear this, get out of that building. Now." she orders him as Cassie pulls Cole to his feet. 'Target locked, Fox Three.' the navigator said "Roger, Fox Three.' the pilot said. "There's not much time! Get the hell out of there!" she snaps and they both look up at the missile. "This is just not my day." Cole mutters and they go to leave as David came down at them, but then a bright light of blue flashes at them and everything went white as the building exploded and came crumbling down.
Cole and Cassandra fell out of the building just in time as smack against the ground and were out like lights.
From the warship, the drone records them as it sends footage to Moya. "I want eyes on MacGrath and O'Connell at all times. We can't let anything happen to them." she orders. "Yes ma'am." he states, Moya could see that the last two remaining Conduits weren't going anywhere.
~8~8~8~
Steel Harbor…
A chopper came back in a hurry as Men were skittering around, pulling a stretcher out. "I don't think we should be filming this." Linda said over the blades. "Just grabbing some B-roll." he informs her as a few scientists came running out and expect the body… or what was left of it.
"Where's the other chopper?" the Doctor asks them, "Still loading up the rest of the K. ." the trooper informs him. "All right, lets get these men below deck." the doctor orders him. Troy was getting in a few good shot, "How much longer are we going to put up with this freaky shit?" one questions. "I don't know." other answers. "They should glass the city and get it over with." the other mutters then Moya ran at them, "Turn that camera off, now!" he orders them and Troy lowers his camera and Linda steps forward. "General Bridges gave us permission to be-" she tries to informs her, "Like hell he did!" Moya snaps and grips a hold the camera "Give me the camera." he orders and Troy pulls it away from her. "I ain't givin' you shit, lady!" he snaps at her.
Then men trained their guns on him, "You either give me that camera or I will tell those men over there to shoot in the face. What's it going to be?" she threatens him, they both look at her and Troy loosens his grip on the camera and she took it from him, "That's what I thought." she states and drops it onto the ground. Then a trooper walks over and fires at it, destroying everything that was recorded "I want those two off my ship!" she orders and the two watch her leave. "We stepped into it this time." Troy mutters and Linda glare's at Moya's back. "I'll talk to the General and get this straightened out." she informs him and he looks at her, "On offense, Linda, but you need to open your eyes. We both know that this isn't a humanitarian mission. Hell, look at all those dead soldiers. Something big is happening in there. And we're helping them cover up." Troy informs her.
Then trooper walks up to them and take a hold of them, "Follow me." he states and pushes Troy a bit, "No need to be pushy." he tells him and they moved.
~8~8~8~
The Warren…
Zeke and another officer pick up a body of the military and went to lay him with the others of military men that were killed my David. "You know any of these guys?" Zeke asks him, "A couple of them, yeah." Jim answers him. "I'm really sorry about this." Zeke states and the place the body in the row.
Jim then took a cloth and covers the body, "Heard there's going to be a service tomorrow, over in the park." Zeke states, Jim nods a little. "A month ago kids were playing over there. Now it's a cemetery. Seems like we've stuck here years." Jim states then stood up and walks back over to Zeke.
They then walk from the bodies, "I appreciate you helping me with this." he states and Zeke shrugs. "Don't mention it." he states, then they both hear groaning. Then looks over and saw Cole hanging out from some rumble. "Cole!" Zeke calls out then both him and Jim ran over to him, Cole coughs as he was pulled out. "You in there, Cass?" Zeke calls in the rumble, "Here." Cassie whimpers as she held out her hand. Zeke took a hold of it and pulls her out, then Jim took a grip of her other arm, and as pulls her, the sleeve on her coat and shirt were in tears and shreds as her arm was expose. She coughs as she sat down next to her, trying to breath. "Are you okay, brother?" Zeke asks as he kneels down in front of them, "No, not really." he answers as he grips his side, then Jim places his hand on his shoulder. "C'mon, we'll get someone to take a look at you." Jim states.
Cassandra thinks back as she can still hear the screams of the military as David has drain them of their energy. She then shook her head. "We're not staying." Cole informs him and the two look at him in shock. Cole them looks at Zeke, "That thing, whatever it was, it's still out there. And between it and the Military, well, it's safer for everyone if we're not around." Cole states and Zeke looks at him in shock. "That's crazy, Cole. You and Cass are the only one keeping us safe." Zeke informs him. Then Cole stands up as well as Cassie. "I need the keys to your apartment." Cole said, holding his hands out and Zeke pulls out his keys. "What for?" Zeke asks as he places them in Cole's hand.
"Because Cassie and I need a place to stay." he answers and the two step away from them. "We'll leave out phones on. Call us if you need anything." Cole informs him, but he was going to let them walk away. "Wait a second, man. That doesn't make any sense. You can't just leave us here." Zeke states and the two stopped.
Cole rethinks about the call, "The only reason why Cassie and I are alive right now is because Moya bombed that thing." Cole informs her and Zeke was even more confused. "Moya? Why the hell'd she help you?" he asks them and Cassie turns to him, "She dropped an entire building on it, Zeke. But that didn't kill it, I could hear it shuffling, scrapping around, trying to escape." she informs him. Then Cole turns to him "We can't stop it. If it come back here, it'll kill all of you." Cole informs him. Then they both turn away from him. "It it wants to kill us so damn bad, it can kill us when we're alone. That way no one else gets hurt." Cole informs him and both her and Cassie walk away.
~8~8~8~
Steel Harbor…
A Doctor examines the body of the dead solider, "One of Kessler's experiments did this?" General Bridges asks, Moya nods. "He's names David. Worked as a security guard at a First Son's facility. Kessler blasted him with the Ray Sphere over thirty-times." she states then crosses her arms "Why in God's name would he do that?" Bridges questions as he was horrified. Moya wasn't shock at all.
"To make David stronger, give him new powers. But there was a pretty significant flaw that didn't reveal itself until it was too late." she informs him, "He consumes neuro-electric." the doctor explains. "Without it, he dies." Moya adds in. "How'd he survive this long?" the doctor asks her. "He can store enough for a few weeks. Kessler used to feed David homeless people. Hell, Kessler even laugh about it." she answers him and Bridges looks down at the body, "And now it's just running about out there." he mutters.
Then growls and points an accusing finger at Moya, "How could you let this happen?" he snaps at her and she looks at him with a hand on her hip. "Kessler told me it was dead." she informs him, "So you're blaming that psychopath?" he questions her. "No. I accept full responsibility for my actions." she answers him then glares right back at him. "But before you strap on your spurs and mount your high horse, maybe you need to remember the mission directives. Directives you help create, I might add." she snaps right back at him then turns her back to him, "That has nothing to do with this." he reminds her. "Of course not. Those directives only apply when it's convenient, right?" she questions him and he growls. "You better watch yourself, Moya." he threatens her. And she looks over right back at him, "Or what? You can't touch me, and we both know it." she throws a threat right back at him.
Then the doctor broke up the gossip between the two battling queens, "Listen, what are we going to if that thing escapes the city, or, god forbid, manages to kill MacGrath and O'Connell? Without them, we lose any chances or replicating the effects of the Ray Sphere." the doctor reminds the two. Moya sighs and places her hand back on the table, "One of David's powers is the ability to smell people on a genetic level. He's after Cole because he wants revenge for what Kessler did to him." Moya informs them both.
"So he knows that Cole and Kessler are the same person?" Bridges asks her. "More or less. He's unable to differentiate the two of them like we are. In his eyes, Cole and Kessler are the exact same person." she tells them and her look went serious "David won't stop until Cole's dead and Cassandra will die before that ever happens." she informs them. "So what the hell are we going to do about it?" Bridges questions her. "We're going to get them as far away from here as possible." she answers him, "Every attempt to capture them has failed." Bridges reminds her and she smirks. "That's because we're going about this all wrong. The way to capture Cole and Cassandra isn't with brute force. You capture them by attacking their hearts." she reminds them.
Sasha laid in the room as she was being suck dry of her tar, the scientists were getting the tar ready for tomorrow.
~8~8~8~
Cole opens the door to the apartment and he and Cassandra step into the apartment room. "I'm heading for the shower." Cassie whispers. Cole nods as he nods and closes the door. He sets the keys down and walks over to the couch.
Cassandra turns the light on in the bathroom, rubs a hand through her hair, then strips out of her clothing, fold them onto the counter, steps into the path and turns the water.
Cole picks up a photo-book and opens it, looking at all the pictures that were taken from the years, and in every one of them the faces were smiling. He was happy and his heart was breaking as tears stream down his face.
Cassandra then turns on the shower as hot water pours over her body, cleaning off all the dirt, grease and dry blood and the context slides down her scared body and down the drain. She wets her hair down, then remembers when her mother would bicker and playfully pick on her about her hair. Both her and her mother would laugh about that, and her heart was breaking as tears stream down her face.
Cole then finally cries out in pain as he drops everything and lets his electricity run free, breaking everything.
Cassandra sinks down squatting down, hugging her legs and cries out, letting her electricity fly free, not caring if it was she was scaring her body beyond repair.