CHAPTER 17: A FINAL OFFENSIVE
I sat in a room off from the lab. It was a medical treatment room that I was certain hadn't been present when we left for Vanuatu. I used a rag to wipe blood off of my arms, and I wadded up the rag and tossed it into a sink nearby. I then grabbed an ice pack next to me on the bed and placed it against my scalp.
The door to the tiny room opened, and Sarah walked in. She looked me up and down before taking a seat in a chair against the wall.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"My head hurts," I croaked. Sarah chuckled with sympathetic amusement. "What about you?" I asked. "You got banged up, too. Are you feeling okay?"
"Honey, I'm fine," she assured me. "Some scrapes and bruises, but I wasn't pulled through a truck. You could have been in serious trouble if we didn't get you back here."
"Yeah, it's a good thing Sloane has some basic medical knowledge," I commented. I ran my arms up and down the lengths of stitches across my body. The handiwork wasn't perfect, but it kept me from bleeding out, which I was grateful for.
"Has Luca found Kauyu?" I asked.
"No, I don't think they're really looking right now," she answered. "Theas has us focused on Algaltha and Chala. They're the bigger threat."
I wasn't so sure about that. I had a difficult time believing Chala could have cleaved her way through a full battalion of VMF forces the way Kauyu's group had. And now, they were free. Loose somewhere in this universe committing any number of horrible acts. This was a difficult thing to accept, but there was little we could do about it right now.
"Um," Sarah said, seeming unsure of how to relay to me what she was thinking. "Your dad will be here in a few minutes," she informed me.
"Oh, dear."
Sarah nodded. "I don't think he's going to accept a run-around from you this time."
"Probably not," I said with a nod. I groaned while struggling to my feet, and Sarah ran over to help steady me as we prepared to go upstairs.
IN THE EYES OF THE MULTIVERSE:
"What is it, Jack?"
Gibbs followed Sloane through the hallway leading off from the lab. He was quite incredulous, but Sloane refused to give him any information. "Who did you bring back? What's the matter with you?"
Sloane remained silent, and she arrived at Gibbs's quarters. Gibbs caught up with her, staring at her in bewilderment. Sloane opened the door and stood aside. Gibbs walked forward, holding eye contact with her with his jaw hanging open. He then looked around as he stepped into the room, and his face fell.
An elderly man rose shakily to his feet, supporting himself on his cane. About fifteen years older than Gibbs, he was a heavyset man wearing a blue denim shirt with dress pants, belt, and suspenders. He had stark white hair that was a bit unkempt, and he surveyed Gibbs with a kindly smile.
"You know, Leroy, this lady of yours sure is a catch," said the man.
"Dad," Gibbs said in a choked voice.
"Yeah," Jackson Gibbs said, nodding. "Jacqueline told me what all is going on. She figured it'd be a pretty big shock once you got back here."
"Well, yeah, dad," Gibbs said. And even he couldn't suppress a smile. "A shock is one way to put it."
The two maintained an awkward distance for a moment, but then Gibbs strolled forward and pulled his father into a tight embrace.
"Oh, it's good to see you, son," Jackson said.
"It's good to see you too, dad," Gibbs replied, his voice strained with emotion.
They pulled apart, and as Gibbs stared at his father, barely able to believe what he was seeing, Jackson said, "So, Leroy, why don't you tell me why you got the hell beat out of you this time, huh?"
Gibbs laughed, and he glanced over at Sloane, who had silent tears streaming down her face as she smiled broadly. She nodded, and she closed herself out to give them privacy.
JACK FOSSE:
"Hi, dad," I said as I sat down in a chair at the kitchen table.
Dad glared furiously at me, taking in all of my injuries. "I had the good sense to tell your mother to stay home. If you don't give me straight answers, I will change my mind."
"I suppose that's fair," I told him.
"When I walked in here, there were a couple of people I'd never seen before who scurried off the second they saw me. What are you into, Jack?"
"Alright, come on, dad," I told him, rising back to my feet. "It's better to show you than tell you."
Dad nodded, and he followed Sarah and I to the basement door.
"When did you add a basement?"
We walked into the lab, and dad looked around in complete, astonished bewilderment.
"What the hell did I just walk into?" he asked.
"Our operation."
Theas strolled into the room, and he observed my dad with an even expression.
"Okay, and who are you?" dad asked. "And what operation?"
"Theas, let us explain please," Sarah requested.
Theas nodded, and he said, "Try not to take too much time. We're preparing our offensive against Algaltha. With the events in Vanuatu, I suspect he and Chala will be on the warpath."
"What?" dad said. "What are you people talking about?"
"Alister," Sarah said, almost pleadingly. "Just let us explain. It's really complicated, so you're going to have to give us a chance to go through it all."
Alister appeared less than satisfied, but he fell silent. Theas walked away, likely to gather all of the people strewn throughout the base. Sarah and I turned to my dad, who looked likely to pop a blood vessel. I looked sheepishly at Sarah and asked, "Where should we start?"
IN THE EYES OF THE MULTIVERSE:
Theas stood at the head of a group that consisted of Luca, Fornell, Sloane, Kyle, Admiral McGee, and Rob. They all gathered in a room next to the lab that had a large computer screen on the wall behind Theas as well as several tables with chairs.
"Where's everyone else?" Kyle asked.
"Dealing with family," Theas answered. "They should be along momentarily, but I want to go over some initial information with you before we get into the full plan."
Everyone listened, but a few of them shifted uncomfortably in the face of what they were about to do.
"I would have expected Algaltha and Chala to be operating out of their own realm," Theas explained, "but that isn't the case."
"Where are they?" Admiral McGee asked.
"Chicago," Theas answered. He typed on the computer attached to the enormous wall-mounted monitor, and a map pulled up of Chicago.
"That's a big area to search," Luca said. "Do you have anything to narrow it down?"
"No, but when I went there, it wasn't necessary," Theas answered. "I just went within the boundaries of the city, and they came to me. With so many Anomalies compiled together, they're bound to come running."
The door opened, and Jack, Sarah, Gibbs, and Jackson all came filing in.
"Oh, well this is nice," Jackson said, looking around the room. "A bit of an upgrade from the old store in Stillwater, eh, Leroy?"
Gibbs smiled, and he helped his father into a seat while the rest of them sat behind everyone else.
JACK FOSSE:
Sloane leaned in towards me and said, "That was your dad that was here earlier, right? How'd it go between you two?"
I shrugged and said, "Could have gone better. He doesn't like things that don't make sense, and right now this tops his list."
Sloane gave me a look of sympathy, but I focused my attention on Theas.
"We go into Chicago, draw out the Hunters, we battle them, we take them down."
"That could be dangerous though, right?" Sarah said. "That could cause a lot of collateral damage."
"It could, yes," Theas agreed. "I admit it's not the most desirable of strategies, but it's what we've got. If we have another incident like Vanuatu, everyone might not come back alive. This is the way we defeat Algaltha once and for all."
"How many of us are going?" Fornell asked.
"I know I'm not," Jackson said with a grin. "I don't even know what's going on, but I'm quite comfortable right here."
Gibbs in particular did not raise an argument to this. Theas looked across the room, and he said, "Ten. All of the rest of you have agreed to go, so we've got ten going to Chicago. It'll take everything we have to take down Algaltha and Chala. Does anyone have any questions or concerns?"
"Well, that's loaded," Fornell said. "I have quite a long list of concerns, as it so happens."
"So do the rest of you, I'm sure," Theas said. "I can't give any reassurance other than that I will be right alongside you on the battlefield. There is no guarantee that we all get out of this alive, but the alternative is letting Algaltha kill us all."
Nobody had a great argument for this. Theas looked around the room, and upon seeing that no one had any further issues to raise, he nodded. "Let's get ready. I'm taking point on this operation."
If I expected anyone to argue with this, I was quite mistaken. Even Gibbs nodded, and he joined the crew of people getting ready to head out. Within a half-hour, we were all congregated in the front yard. We all carried weapons, making idle discussion about plans and countermeasures.
"Really, son?" Jackson Gibbs was saying. "We've just been reunited for the first time in seven years, and you're immediately going to run off?"
"Only been seven years for one of us, dad," Gibbs reminded him.
"And so you should be more inclined to stick around for a little while," Jackson said.
"Dad," Gibbs said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Dad, I don't want to do this now. I have to go."
"Yeah, you always have to go," Jackson responded. He gave Gibbs a look between frustration and worry. "It's not gonna stop me from worrying about you."
Gibbs laughed, and he said, "Yeah, I know that."
"You got out of the Corps, I thought I wouldn't have to worry about this anymore," Jackson said. "Watching you go be a federal agent with a gun was enough of a shock. Now you're in with this paramilitary crap. I don't like it, Leroy."
"Dad, I know," Gibbs assured him. "I'm gonna be okay, I promise."
Jackson let out a gruff breath, and he nodded. He stepped towards the door and watched us all as we made our final preparations. I shouldered my quiver, and I touched my bow against Sarah's rifle in fashion of a fist bump.
"How are we all going to get there?" Luca asked as he holstered his pistol.
"Ten of us will fit in the cars," Sarah answered.
"Yeah," I agreed. "It'll be tight but we'll get there."
"Why wouldn't Theas just teleport us there?" Rob asked.
"Because the Hunters are sure to anticipate it," Theas answered. "They can set traps that sabotage a portal. They could kill us without leaving the comfort of their lair."
"Can they set traps for vehicles?" Sloane asked.
"Well, sure, as easily as humans can," Theas answered. "We just have to be cautious as we get there."
"So, we're taking the cars?" Kyle asked, looking around.
Theas tilted his head behind him towards the street in front of our house. We looked, and most of us froze like statues. Sitting on the curb directly in front of our driveway was a massive vehicle. Black in color, it was heavily armored with massive tires. It was some kind of cross between a tank and an armored truck, and it had multiple weapons across its body including one enormous cannon on top as well as an array of machine guns and ordnance launchers.
"That thing is nice," I commented, staring up at it with awe.
"It's standard military transportation in the Keepers," Theas said, grinning.
"And Daak let you sign that out, did she?" Gibbs said.
"You know, Daak's busy, she has a lot of request forms to look at," Theas said. "I just saved her some extra handwriting."
Gibbs as well as several other people smiled at this, and with final preparations complete, we filed onto the truck. It seemed a lot more spacious on the inside. There were several computer stations spread out through the cabin, and there were plenty of seats for us to sit. There were places for our weapons, as well as caches of extra ammunition. This thing could roll into a small town and level it with ease.
Theas sat at the head of the cabin, placing his swords in a rack above his head.
"Uh, who's driving?" Sloane asked.
Theas stared at her, perplexed, and he then said, "Oh, right, I forget how primitive this world is. Yeah, no, it drives itself."
Sloane looked like she wasn't sure if she wanted to praise him or punch him, so she let the subject drop.
The truck started moving, and we were off. It was three hours to Chicago, and the journey was spent mostly in silence. Several of us talked briefly about potential strategies for use against Algaltha and Chala. Theas remained completely silent, observing the interactions. Sarah was the first one to voice the concern that Algaltha had not shown his full power, and therefore any strategy we devised was at risk of being overcome. Gibbs, Sloane, and Rob–the three members of our group with formal military experience–spent considerable time trying to come up with a perfect plan for our offensive.
The hours passed, and we looked out of one of the windows at the Chicago skyline. It looked normal enough, but something about the knowledge of what we were facing seemed to darken the clouds brushing against the tallest skyscrapers. We pulled into the outskirts of the city, and I felt a knot in my chest.
As we moved through the crowds of people lining the streets, I expected them to look at us in bewilderment. However, they all looked right past us as though we didn't exist.
"So, keep driving in hopes that we get ambushed?" Fornell asked the group at large. No one seemed to have an alternative, and we continued our campaign through the city.
We were there for about an hour, searching for any sign of Spatial Hunters, when the truck rolled to a stop in the middle of the road. We looked around, seeing cars find ways to pass us, and as Gibbs peered out past the front of the truck, he grabbed his rifle. We all looked in the same direction and saw Algaltha. He was far off in the distance, and there was a heavy fog almost obscuring him that seemed to come from nowhere. His menacing form towered over all of the people and cars surrounding him. He stood on the same road as us, several hundred feet away as people and cars navigated around him.
Algaltha stared right at us, unmoving as he clutched his sword in his hand. The cannon on top of the truck fired a blast that caused the whole vehicle to quake, and the blast obscured Algaltha in smoke. We had no time to celebrate this direct hit, as Algaltha came charging out of the smoke like a stampeding bull. Cars were tossed aside like toys, causing mass mayhem as he approached us at full speed. The truck launched a volley of missiles at Algaltha, but he shrugged these off as easily as the cannon blast.
My eyes widened as I clenched my teeth, and we all scrambled to brace ourselves as Algaltha slammed into us. I was thrown across the truck, and I slammed into a surface but couldn't tell if it was a wall, ceiling, or floor. I felt several lacerations open up across my body, and I collided into someone as I was thrown across the downward facing surface.
I quickly got up, looking around to see several people scrambling to try and escape the truck. Theas grabbed his swords and readied himself, and a massive sword blade cleaved through the metal truck. The blade retracted, and Algaltha tore the truck in half with his bare hands. Several people opened fire, but I was unable to locate my weaponry. Gibbs fired off a shot, and while this forced Algaltha back a step, he was entirely undeterred.
A red beam burned through the other side of the truck, and Chala blasted her way in, leaving us surrounded. Half of the group shifted our focus onto her, and she immediately attacked. Sloane swung a fist, but Chala blocked it and kicked her aside. She fired a gun and hit Kyle in the shoulder, knocking him down.
I scrambled to find my weapons, and while I managed to locate a stray arrow, I had no bow to fire it with. Luca and Rob fired their pistols, but their aim was skew due to their arms trembling so badly. Chala evaded the shots, and she ran at them and started attacking. Luca was knocked aside with ease, and while Rob tried to keep his footing with her, Chala got in a powerful strike against his gut that crippled him. Rob collapsed to the ground, and Chala aimed her gun down for the final shot.
I leaped forward, driving the tip of my arrow into Chala's spine. A pulse of purple energy expelled outward from the impact, knocking us both across the destroyed truck. Theas was locked in combat with Algaltha, swinging his energy-enhanced swords against Algaltha's. Algaltha's size gave him a significant advantage over Theas, but the Keeper leaped up into the air and aimed a strike at Algaltha's face. Algaltha punched Theas with his monstrous fist, and Theas slammed against the destroyed edge of the truck before collapsing back to the ground.
I looked around and finally managed to locate my bow. The sight had been snapped off, but the arms and string were still intact. It could still be used, if only I could find the rest of my arrows. I dove for my bow, thankful that neither of the Hunters were free to stop me, and I looked around.
"Jack."
I felt my intestines turn to ice. The voice was strained, in agonizing pain. I looked around and found Sarah, and I yelled out in fear. She sat against the wall of the truck, an enormous shard of metal sticking out of her abdomen. She clutched feebly at the bloodstained debris, but the metal had perforated her completely and jammed into the wall behind her.
"Oh, God! Oh, God!" I yelled, panicking as I dove down next to her.
I didn't know what to do. I tried to pull the metal out of the wall, but Sarah screamed in pain. Blood was spilling out of her body, and within seconds she would bleed out. A war was erupting around us, bringing the world to devastation, but I was deaf to it all.
"Help!" I yelled desperately. "Please help!"
Next week is the Season One Finale. After that the series will be going on break for a while. I'd really love to hear some honest feedback on what you thought of this series so far.