Chapter 25. Monsters
"A hero would sacrifice you to save the world, and a villain would sacrifice the world to save you." - Victoria Schwab
Pacific ocean
Tatiana finished reading the book and bent down and kissed the girl, who was lying comfortably on her bed inside the biological sample chamber.
Daria was created a few months ago and was now at the highest stage of her development. The DNA received from space, encrypted in the message, was perfect. Its properties made the wearer superhuman. Daria was a model who changed the entire history of human development. She was strong, smart, brave, and resistant to disease. It was a new step... Evolution. An ideal person with no flaws. Tatiana ran her fingers through the curls of her hair.
- "Well? You have more to read... Or are you going to sleep already?"
Daria just smiled and closed her eyes, hugging her favorite pillow to her.
- "Tanya... Stay with me."
The scientist girl put down the book and took the blanket and sat on the bed.
"Are you afraid that there will be dreams again?"
Daria held out his hand, and Tatiana gently squeezed it in her hands. Daria wasn't particularly talkative... And it scared a lot of people.
The explosion shook the entire ship and equipment fell from its places. The metal creaked and the lights went out.
- "Tatiana! I'm scared!"
The girl hugged her and stroked her hair, hugging her to herself – "Don't be afraid, probably something just broke. This is going to end now."
An alarm sounded and the red emergency lights turned on. Screams and screams could be heard somewhere far away ... Shots fired.
A female laboratory assistant ran inside and pressed the lever to close the emergency bulkhead. The steel wall came down, blocking the exit from the laboratory.
Tatiana – "What's going on there?"
The girl shook her head in horror, "It seems we were attacked. I saw the guards running into the armory."
Daria did not look at the girl with the kindest eyes. The sounds of fighting and gunshots were getting closer. Tatiana grabbed her ward and opened one of the steel cabinets and turned out all the contents on the floor, various flasks and containers with liquids and reagents.
"Don't come out until I tell you." Holding her hand, she gently patted her hair. Still scared, Daria only smiled meekly when Tatiana closed the door of the protected closet.
She took the key herself and opened the secret safe, taking out Makarov's service pistol. Normally, scientists were not given weapons, but she had special powers.
Inserting a magazine into the handle and taking out a cartridge into the barrel, she sat down at one of the laboratory tables so that she could not be seen. There was a knock on the bulkhead, and the girl technician sank to the floor with her hand over her mouth.
There were screams in English and unintelligible words.
There was a buzzing sound and a shower of sparks hit the eyes. Thermite charges burned through the bulkhead and part of it fell out inside. Several fragmentation grenades flew in through the smoke.
The roar deafened Tatiana, and she covered her head with her hands, as she had been taught to do. Several soldiers in dark clothes with their faces covered stepped inside and one of them kicked the girl's body, which was riddled with grenade fragments.
- "We take the data and leave."
Two soldiers were approaching and one of them got close enough to see that there was someone at the table.
- "Attention, enemy!"
- "Destroy!"
Tatiana did a somersault towards the wall and aimed a shot at one of the soldiers. Falling to his knees and holding onto his torn throat, the soldier dropped his machine gun. The others quickly took her in their sights and covered her with a barrage of fire from MP5SD.
Daria sobbed silently, holding her mouth so as not to attract their attention. She saw how many bullets hit her Tatiana. Her entire white robe was instantly covered with red spots. She didn't have time to say a sound or a farewell word. These people shot her like an animal.
The soldiers rummaged through all the filing cabinets and took some papers and left. Everything went quiet. After getting out of her hiding place and crawling up to her Tatiana's body, she couldn't hold back her tears. She took her face in her hands and wiped the blood with her fingers and gently touched her lips.
- "Tatiana... I love you... Wake up..."
Having received no response, she just sat next to her, cherishing and rocking her body in her arms.
- "Tatiana... Tatiana..."
One of the soldiers noticed them and shouted to the others - "There's a girl here. What should I do with her?"
Daria did not look at his side, completely absorbed in her pain and grief.
"Shoot her, stupid!"
- "Yes sir!"
Raising the barrel of a silent machine gun, he fired a long burst and killed the last surviving witness. The girl, having received many bloody wounds in her shoulder, chest and head, fell next to her guardian with her arms outstretched.
Turning around, the killer just walked on, for him death and blood were commonplace. He didn't care about the fate of some girl who had no one left in this world, and who wasn't even human ... Everything was taken away from her, leaving only pain, rage and a desire for revenge.
The dull burning pain began to pass, instead of it came something else, something new and unknown. Daria had never felt this way before. Malice. Animal, wild anger. The desire to tear and bite, to devour your enemies! Turn them into small crumbs! Her pain became the foundation, her blood became the continuation, and the desire to live and the thirst for retribution finished what they started. They'll pay her for everything... In full.
- "We're leaving. Is everything clear?"
"Yes, sir. I've checked everything. Do we have the data?"
- "Yes... Stop. Do you hear that?"
Something stirred in the depths of the ship's compartments. They heard something running from above their heads. Then there was a scream!
Daria stood up, feeling life filling her body again. Her other body. Her hands became dark, almost black in color with long fingers. They were strong. She clenched her fist and her claws left a mark on her palm. The mirror reflected predatory eyes and a face that only vaguely resembled a human. The hallway was empty, the floor was covered in blood and there were bodies everywhere. She knew some of them. Someone brought her sweets or cookies. She almost stepped on the head of a young state security lieutenant. She had seen him a couple of times. He gave Tatiana a teddy bear, and Daria often played with it. He was a good man. Now he was lying on his stomach with several holes in his back and deathly fear was frozen in his eyes.
Daria walked on, looking at the bodies and felt her hatred and anger rise higher and higher like a storm until they reached their limit.
The first of these bad people was on the stairs. She went out into the main corridor and saw him coming downstairs. She didn't know that people were so soft, they were like that teddy bear. His flesh, protected by a black cloth, was no stronger than paper. Everything was drenched in red. This man was screaming... Why? He was so brave when he shot Tatiana and her. And now he was so scared, he was weak...
her claws were cutting him like... It's like soft butter.
She was getting lower and lower. Her eyes saw everything perfectly in the dark. And so she found them. Two more. They stood over the bodies of several workers and searched them. What were they looking for? She came closer. These men in black were curious. Why don't they have faces?
When they saw her, they started firing their machine guns. Quiet clicks and those bullets... They were like bees stinging her, but it was just unpleasant. Now they couldn't hurt her with that little thing. She responded with her fury. It was like a train rushing through the body of one of them, turning it into a fine dispersion of bloody fragments. The second one was opened alive by her. Her claws dug into his chest and opened his ribs and bones, turning them out.
There were still these people. She could smell them down there. She didn't want to go up the stairs anymore. Her claws were excellent at cutting through metal and bulkheads between decks. She quickly found herself where these people were hiding from her.
They've already managed to get into their jar. They called her a minisubmarine. They didn't have time to close the hatch. One tried to stab her with his pathetic piece of metal. She cut him with her blades at the wrists, and then separated the head from the body by tearing it out along with the spine. Pouncing on the rest, she poured a layer of pain on them and turned their bodies into a mess of flesh, viscera and bones. They were like open sacks of meat.
There are still the last ones left... They were not far away. Behind the next bulkhead. Smell... She could feel their fear. Panic seized them.
- "Sir, no one is answering us! Sir!"
- "Load everything into the submarine and let's go! Now!"
"Major, there's movement behind the bulkhead."
- "Restrain this creature!"
The screeching grew louder. It was like someone was intensely opening canned food with a knife. The stragglers took up positions in the shelter, clinging to the sights and waiting for what was supposed to appear. A deadly burst of fire rained down on the black and green figure that appeared in the doorway. The creature was advancing on them, ignoring any injuries. Pouncing on the soldiers, she began to tear with her teeth. Clinging to the shoulder of one of them, she easily bit through muscles, tendons and bones. Reaching out, she tore off her hand and threw it away. A second bite would have hit the exposed part of the neck, flooding the body and floor with blood from severed arteries.
The other was covered with the marks of her claws, and her insides were spilling out of it.
She saw two people loading crates and boxes into their container. They were guarded by one soldier, who was distinguished from the others by a more perfect defense. He had a more powerful weapon in his hands. Machine. She had read about such things in books. The bullets from this weapon began to sting her even more painfully. They threw her back, and it took the body a few seconds to adapt, and the Armor accepted these bullets and learned how to fight them.
- "Eat the lead, beast!" The soldier yelled in rage, mercilessly pouring lead on her. But human bullets have one unpleasant feature. They tend to end. When the last cartridge from the tape was used up, the man threw away the useless weapon.
She slowly stood up, feeling that her body was getting stronger... strong. This trick with the machine gun won't work on her anymore. With a warning growl, making it clear that it was her turn to strike, she went at them, feeling the rage coming in new waves. They won't leave.
- "Rodriguez, we're leaving!"
Upon hearing these words, the man standing in front of her with a large blade in his hands, ready to slash her, turned around and ran inside the last steel jar, while the others held the hatch ready to close at any second.
Rushing into the attack, she almost reached his head with her claws and felt his cheek tear, and red drops flew around. The man's face twisted in pain... The second blow finally turned his head into a cabbage.
A sharp burning sensation shot through her entire body. A giant steel harpoon mounted on a mini-submarine fired and threw it back, slamming it into the wall. Her body was nailed to the steel sheet like a fly. Clawing at the huge thorn sticking out of her chest, she pulled at it, feeling her body, trying to digest and reject this metal, break free from captivity. Yielding to the efforts of her muscles and exoskeleton, the steel rod came out inch by inch. It hissed, and tons of seawater poured into the compartment, flooding everything around. She could only watch as these people left, and the water completely filled the compartment, plunging her into the depths of the sea and depriving her of access to oxygen...
A large mansion in the middle of a winter forest provided a strong contrast. The feeling that this piece of terrain was literally torn from another reality. A two-storey wooden building, judging by the architecture it is still the 19th century. There was a small garden nearby, which is now overgrown and no one took care of it. Leaving the cars on the road. They split into two groups and made their way cautiously to the house.
Nikolai gave the signal by raising his hand and everyone sat down - "Everyone stay put. If she's in this house, then we shouldn't scare her away."
Their little investigation led them to one of the sawmills, where Daria freed the people. One of them said that she had not killed all the bandits. She took one of the leaders with her and went towards the old road.
This road led from here. An old noble estate. He wasn't on any of the maps. Who did it belong to before?
Alexey's voice was heard on the radio: "How can we safely establish contact with her?"
Nikolai took his AK-105 more conveniently and examined the building – "We will go there together with Arthur. The rest of you guard the perimeter. God help us."
"How long should I wait for you?" - Sergey was obviously excited about their plans
Nikolai – "5 minutes after entering the back. If we don't get in touch, then leave. Don't try to pull us out. Just go away. So she doesn't need connections."
Sergey cursed on the air – "Damn... Accepted."
Nikolai approached the side door and saw that it was slightly open. He believed there were tripwires or explosives, but everything was clean.
Arthur – "Eve wouldn't mine a building and make traps. It doesn't make sense to her. And she already knows we're here."
Nikolai looked through the crack inside, there was no light in the house and it was dusk - "So... And what should we do? Arthur... You're in charge here now. I haven't worked with aliens."
Arthur shrugged his shoulders - "If she's ready to talk, then the main thing is not to provoke. Don't touch the weapon."
Nikolai – "And if she just kills us, mistaking us for enemies?"
Arthur – "I don't think so. They subtly feel the mood of a person. If we were hostile, she would have already made herself felt."
Nikolai – "Why is it so quiet then?"
Arthur – "I think she just doesn't know what to do. She's waiting... She's trying to figure out our intentions."
Nikolai – "I think I understand."
He took off his helmet and machine gun and put them on the ground. Then he unbuckled his holster and dropped it too. He undid the fasteners and began to pull off his bulletproof vest with equipment.
Sergei's irritated voice rang out on the radio: "What are you doing? Stop it!"
Alexey – "Are you fucking crazy?"
Arthur understood Nikolai's intentions, although it looked like suicide. But they had to show her that they were not in the mood for aggression. Taking out his pistol, Arthur also put it on the ground.
Opening the door, Nikolai inhaled the musty air of old wood and dust and stepped inside, raising his hands. Swallowing through a dry throat, he shouted, "My name is Nikolai. I am Tatiana's father. I heard you knew her." He looked back at Arthur's worried face and listened, "This is my friend Arthur. We've come to talk to you. We won't hurt you. The people outside are our friends, she's just guarding us."
They took a couple more steps down the corridor and listened. The silence was broken only by their breathing and the creaking of the old floorboards of the mansion. Arthur noticed that everything was well preserved inside. Paintings by Russian artists with portraits of tsars and nobles, landscapes of nature and images of animals.
The corridor ended at the entrance to a large hall with a spiral staircase leading to the second floor. The hall was equipped with antique cabinets and upholstered furniture, which surprisingly almost did not deteriorate. It was only covered with a layer of dirt and dust.
The crunch caught their attention. Nikolai turned around abruptly and saw a bound body, with its mouth taped shut, lying behind a closet.
Nikolai – "It seems that this is the kidnapped mobster."
Arthur – "It's strange... Eva took no prisoners."
Coming closer and bending down, he tore a strip of tape from the man's mouth. He began to gulp air greedily and looked around in fear -"She's here! Go away! She's rabid!"
Nikolai nodded at him - "Don't worry... We will help you."
The man started shaking and trying to remove the ropes – "Untie me. Get me out of here and I'll help you. I have a lot of money."
Nikolai sighed and put his hands on his belt – "Is this the dirty money that you received for keeping people in slavery and forcing them to work in terrible conditions?"
The man froze and his gaze was fixed somewhere over Arthur's shoulder. His lips trembled, whispering only one word–"She... It's her..."
Arthur felt it. He immediately remembered meeting Eve in that radioactive forest in Pennsylvania. Her breath burned the back of his neck and something sharp pressed against his back. Nikolai slowly turned around, holding his hands up.
They saw a girl standing behind Arthur, whose description exactly matched her appearance. White hair, narrow eyes with dark pupils and dark skin.
He met her gaze and nodded briefly - "Daria?... I'm Nikolai... And this is Arthur... We are not enemies."
The girl tilted her head and came out from behind Arthur. Then he saw that her right hand was not human. Long thin bony fingers covered with black chitin with razor-sharp claws.
Her voice was surprisingly calm - "Don't move... And your friend will live."
Arthur swallowed, realizing that Daria had decided to keep him to herself for now.
Nikolai was thinking how to assure Daria that they would not harm her. He turned around, glancing at the bound leader and nodded to Daria, "I know that this man has done a lot of bad things. You've saved a lot of people, Daria. I talked to Raisa. She asked us to help and protect you."
Lowering her eyes, she pondered his words. Arthur flinched as her claws passed along his spine and stopped at the back of his head. She abruptly nuzzled his neck and inhaled the scent. Arthur heard her growl softly. From his experience with Eva, he knew that she was studying him now. She probably smelled it.
Daria – "You smell like a mermaid... This is unusual... How do you know her?"
Arthur – "Her name was Eva. She looks like you... It was created in a laboratory in America."
Daria, after thinking about it for a second, let him go and Arthur breathed a sigh of relief - "Daria...Will you let me? I need to get something out of my jacket... I have to show you this."
Daria took a step towards him and threateningly snapped her claws – "No nonsense..."
Nikolai slowly opened his jacket, showing that he no longer had a weapon. He opened his inside pocket and took out his cigarette case. He showed it to Daria. She was intrigued by the box in his hand–"What is it?"
Nikolai – "Cigarette case... I smoke and keep my cigarettes here. But there is something very important there for me and for you too." Daria held out her hand– "Give it to me!"
Nikolai handed her the cigarette case, and she grabbed it from her hand with the dexterity of a lynx. They saw with what interest she was examining this object, turning it over in her hands. Turning away from them, she began to pace the room. He and Nikolai stood motionless, holding their hands up. Moving on the floor, the prisoner pushed Nikolai – "Do something stupid!". Closing his eyes and not looking, Nikolai kicked him in the stomach – "Shut up!"
Daria, fascinated by the new toy, seemed not to pay attention to them.
- "Daria..." - She turned to him and tilted her head–"I knew Tatiana. I'm her father. If you press the button on the cigarette case... Then you'll see the photo."
At the mention of her name, her face turned gloomy – "I loved her..." There was a screech as she opened a steel cigarette case with her claws and cigarettes fell out of it. She carefully took out a photo from under the lid and looked at it. Daria stroked the photo, and a smile touched her lips. She looked at them with Nikolai and her eyes sparkled with happiness – "I remember you... You're not lying to me..."
She unfolded her old fisherman's protective raincoat and took out a crumpled photo from her pocket. Exactly the same photo that Nikolai had. A young girl is a scientist and her father. Both are happy and smiling. Their last photo together. Nikolai lowered his hands– "Now... Do you believe me? I am not the enemy..."
Arthur followed his example. Daria, smiling, compared both photographs and looked at Nikolai – "Are you her friend?". Sighing heavily, the man said – "I am her father"
Daria – "Father? ..." - she looked at the photo in surprise once again – "Tatiana was like a mother to me..."
Nikolai came and sat on the chair opposite her, Arthur kept a respectful distance and began to study the nearest bookcase with a large collection of old books.
- "Tatiana and I haven't been that close in recent years. When she was invited to the project, I didn't know about it at all. I was in Britain at the time. Have you heard about this country? So... I... I was just informed one day that the ship she was working on had sunk. That's all... No details. Daria... Please tell me. What happened there?
Daria seemed to stare out the window for a second and in the reflection it was visible how a tear rolled down her cheek – "I was lying down and getting ready to sleep. Tatiana was there. She read me a book about mermaids. I loved her. She read it to me almost every day. But the siren sounded... Lots of sirens... And there was an explosion... Everything was shaking. Tatiana calmed me down... And then..."
It was hard for her to remember. Pain and a wound that will never heal. After listening to her story, Nikolai got up and went to the exit without saying a word. The cold air helped him put his thoughts in order. Somewhere in the bushes, Sergei's hand appeared, who waved at him showing a conditional sign. Picking up the walkie–talkie, Nikolai pressed the call button - "I'm listening ...". Sergey – "How is the situation?"
Nikolai stared at the treetops for a moment. It's very beautiful here. Winter will come soon and everything will be covered with snow caps and snowdrifts. It is a very cozy place and relatively safe. Perhaps Daria is the only one who found this mansion many years after it was abandoned, and its owners are unknown where they went – "Calmly… We found her..."
Returning back to the great hall, where Arthur was leaning against the wall looking at the ceilings, and Daria was still sitting in her chair with her head bent thoughtfully. Zipping up the Fastexes of his gear, he adjusted his holster and jumped up, checking that nothing was hanging out and making no noise when walking.
Daria turned around looking at his new clothes with interest – "I wanted to ask ... why do you people use these things" - her finger pointed to the Kevlar bulletproof vest that Nikolai was wearing.
- "It helps people in battle" – Arthur tried to find the right words – It looks like your armor, but people don't have it by nature. They buy their own armor if they need it.
The girl blinked her eyes trying to digest the information received – "Your protection? ... She doesn't even stop her claws."
Nikolai and Arthur exchanged glances, understanding what was behind her words. Sitting opposite, Nikolai adjusted his hat and put on tactical gloves – "Daria… You can stay here if you want, but I suggest you come with us. The people outside are my friends and they won't hurt us. Some of them also knew Tatiana. I promise that no one will touch you and we will help you." He paused for a moment. Arthur realized that he did not belong here right now, nodded briefly and went out into the corridor – "And ... you are the last thread to Tatiana that I have left..."
After looking out the window, the girl wrapped herself more tightly in her long cloak and her eyes seemed to freeze in place, and the pupils began to lengthen, becoming like narrow slits. It took her a couple of minutes to make her decision. If these people knew Tatiana, then she can trust them. Gathering her modest supplies into a backpack, she followed Arthur, who was already signaling to the rest of the team that they were leaving.
They had already forgotten about the man who was lying on the floor of the room and had not made a sound all this time. Only when he saw that his captor was leaving did he move – "Hey! Man! Get me out of here…I beg… I really have a lot of money... I'll pay you as much as you say."
He looked at the man and took out a gun, he aimed at his head – "Good night. «
Pulling the trigger, he watched as the body jerked and went limp. Indoors, it will start to rot quickly, the smell will attract unnecessary attention. In the forest, he will be quickly devoured by hungry animals.
Bemidji - Minnesota
Dean had just returned from the workshop, clearly worried. As it turned out, the master had problems repairing the car. And they'll have to stay here for a few more days. Paul didn't like it. agents and feds could arrive at any moment. Of course, they had confused their tracks well before that, and perhaps everyone already thinks that they are not alive. That's even better. They will act carefully without attracting unnecessary attention. Dean had his own opinion on this. "I suggest we take another car and get out. We can drive to the border and then walk to Canada. They definitely won't be looking for us there."
Paul shook his head, "I don't like it. Maybe this repairman works for someone? Maybe the army is already coming here?"
Dean just shrugged– "It doesn't look like it. This guy is a Southerner and resembles a rather cunning asshole who pretends to be a simpleton. But I'm sure he's not connected to the government. He has a private business in one of the most criminal cities in the state. Just a man with his own beliefs who survives in this crazy world. That's it... so put your paranoia away, man."
Paul put his hands over his head and squeezed it with such force that an ordinary person's skull would have burst like a watermelon from such force – "Some gangsters came today and asked for money... they were unlucky that I was in the house. They promised that they would come back... we might have problems."
Atlanta - Georgia
The parking lot near the police station was not too full and there was enough space for another car, which drove past the control post and stopped in front of the main entrance.
Inside the duty station there was a smell of dampness, weed, urine and other waste products of human life. The officer was sorting through the papers on his desk, shifting protocols and magazines from one stack to another, fenced off from the entire barrier of reinforced steel grating and armored glass. Access inside was only through a pull-out document tray.
Everyone just didn't care about the tall brunette, who went to the window and bent down and looked inside - "I need a girl named Jess. She was detained this afternoon at a cafe on Leighton Street."
The officer on duty leafed through his logs and protocols with the names of the detainees for today's shift - "Yes, there is one. And why do you need it?"
- "Where is she now? I need to see her."
- "She's being interrogated now. Wait here."
After carefully examining the room and turning around, he went to the exit - "I'll be back"
Lieutenant Billy Hanks was interrogating a handcuffed young girl in his office. There were marks of a couple of hard blows on her forehead and temple. One of the officers overdid it during the arrest, it was clearly unnecessary. The young lady did not resist, although maybe it was for the best. She was a murderer and her boyfriend's body was lying in a morgue on the other side of the state.
Billy – "Do you know why you were arrested?"
- "I've been stuck here for half a day, and you haven't officially charged me. This is not legal, I will complain to the prosecutor's office."- she was angry and stubbornly tried to take off her handcuffs.
"Is it legal to stab your boyfriend in the back and throat? Is it right to leave him bleeding on the carpet? He was a great person judging by all the characteristics" - The interrogation had been going on for quite some time and it was starting to bother him. She understood everything, but refused to admit guilt... all her excuses are just dog crap. He communicated with the relatives of the murdered guy and his friend. He got enough information to understand that this young lady who was detained in the cafe today was a real psycho. She broke into the house and stabbed her boyfriend with a dozen knives. The whole floor was covered in blood. His friend, who was with him that day, claims that this crazy woman broke into the house and made a real hell.
Jess chuckled - "Yes... However, he was with his mistress that day and wanted to beat me up."
- "That's a lie. The girl confirmed that she was just his girlfriend and came to visit him. You broke into the house like a madwoman with a knife and attacked him with several strong blows, then tried to stab her herself."
- "Bullshit! lying all! Look, it wasn't like that at all!"
The smoking was almost over. Taking out one of the last cigarettes from the pack, the young officer noticed out of the corner of his eye a shadow approaching from the left. Instinctively putting his hand on the butt of his pistol, he blew out a stream of smoke and looked askance at the tall man who came waddling up to him –"There's a service entrance here, mister... reception of citizens from the other side."
The guy nodded and turned to look at the corner of the building. It seemed that he wanted to make sure of something. - "My friend was brought here... I'm terribly worried about her"- the guy put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and walked a little further away. Giving himself the will to relax, the officer offered him a cigarette. "If she didn't do anything, then she will be released soon. Misunderstandings often occur here." The guy gratefully took the offering and began to examine the cigarette as if it were some kind of relic for him. "Don't you like Winston?" "I prefer Virginia Slims more," the interlocutor lazily drawled and shoved a dose of tobacco into his back pocket. - "No, I don't smoke those."
The guy fell silent and seemed ready to leave, when, turning around, he took a step towards him – "Did you hear that smoking kills?". The officer laughed when he saw how the person's face turned from serious to more smiling, but it was not that cheerful smile when you are being casually joked about. It was the expression on a person's face when a clearly crappy plan had matured in their head. "It's all nonsense, dude" - to confirm his words, he took a deep drag and exhaled, releasing rings of bitter tobacco smoke. He had time to notice how this guy's hand had become somewhat dark, as if he had gangrene, but the skin had changed, covered with growths and plates protruding from under the skin. Looking up, he noticed how the man's eyes flashed, and his head twitched a little, the corner of one lip lifted as if to show him that he was sorry to do this, but he had no other choice. His vision faded when a fist like a piece of brick collided with his cheekbone, knocking out a cigarette and part of his teeth. A salty liquid with a nasty metallic taste filled his mouth and circles in front of his eyes, like multicolored flashes of fireworks, were torn by a sharp pain in his temples.
Her shift came to an end today. After surrendering her weapon and changing her uniform to her usual biker jacket and dark jeans, she left the locker room and prepared to go home. A tall young officer with a rather nice appearance was coming up the stairs to meet her. "It's been a long time since I've seen such handsome men in the police." The guy was perfectly built and stretched. His eyes attracted attention. Such a pure topaz color. She had never seen anything like it before.
"Are you new here? You need to be on the cover of a magazine, not in dark alleys..." - It seems that she managed to embarrass this handsome man. He paused for a second, and such a modest smile touched his lips. Good God, it seems a little more and it will flow right on the stairs from the look of this newcomer.
- "Have you heard about a detainee named Jess?"
The name seemed familiar. Yes, today a couple of her colleagues and a lieutenant brought someone with that name.- "You need to ask Lieutenant Hanks. 317 office. Here on the floor" - she pointed her finger towards the entrance with the number 3 - "Is this your friend?". Smiling, he shrugged his shoulders and seemed to carelessly throw - "We just studied together."
It was cool outside, but the weather was perfect for horseback riding. The motorcycle was parked next to the service entrance. The leather of the seat was pleasant and cooling after a whole day of driving on patrol in an old Ford. The car next door in the department's paint job was slightly scratched in the area of the doors. This is mostly a common thing. Often, during the chase, you have to do various tricks with the car to stop another idiot who thinks he's a gangster. Glancing at the passenger seat, she noticed the man's body without movement. Heart thudded in chest and sank into my stomach. Pulling on the lock handle to stumble upon the body of an officer without a uniform with a bruise on his face…
The lieutenant was ready to finish and order the officer to take the already accused, and not the suspect, girl to the cell where she would wait to be sent to court. When the door opened and a new officer appeared on the threshold. It was the first time he had seen him, and the guy was clearly not bad-looking. "You're just in time, pick her up and take her to the punishment cell." The girl's eyes widened at the sight of the officer's face and this could not escape the sight of an experienced policeman. "Why are you looking at him like that? Do you know him?" The girl shook her head, but her eyes spoke for themselves.
Lieutenant - "Officer, show me your ID." The sergeant came up from the other side, ready to draw his pistol if this guy even tried to move.
The officer patted his breast pockets – "I forgot in the car… Is something bothering you?"
Taking out a gun, Billy pointed the barrel directly at the forehead of this crazy guy – "You are clearly not who you say you are. Raise your fucking hands..."
Jess doubled over and crouched as close to the floor as possible so that stray bullets would not fly into her. The lieutenant and the sergeant were on both sides of the officer when he calmly spread his hands and replied as if he didn't care at all about what was happening–"Okay, you got me. I'm not a cop... but I'm giving you some advice. If you pull the triggers, you will get the saddest day of your life."
- "Keep your hands up and don't even think about moving" - the phone on the lieutenant's desk went off and forced him to reach for the receiver. He looked away for a split second and that was enough. The guy opened his mouth, turned to the sergeant and something long flew out of him, splitting the man's skull into small fragments.
His mind was ready to burst from the surreality of what was happening, but instincts developed over years of preparation forced his muscles to work, leaving the line of attack and mercilessly pulling the trigger, sending doses of lead into a creature that had been human a second ago and dressed in rags left over from a policeman's uniform. It stared at him with its bright blue eyes in a chitinous-plate-covered face with a mouth of sharp teeth. The growl grew louder as it moved towards him and the claws sliced through the man's body like tissue paper.
Jess peeked out from under the table to see a creature from mutant or monster movies standing over her and felt his hot breath and muscles heaving with each breath pushing apart the armor plates. Now the thing was looking right at her. The man she considered her partner and friend turned out to be a real geek from hell.
- "Come on, creature, kill me too..." - she squeezed her eyes shut, feeling hot breath and hissing mixed with guttural sounds above her head. A bell and a siren sounded in the hallway. Dozens of footsteps rattled through the corridors. The screams were already at the door. Opening one eye, she saw how the shadows of the men with guns were already behind them.
One of the officers kicked down the door, and the flimsy wooden frame cracked under the pressure of his boot. The barrels of several rifles fired long bursts into the room, followed by a pair of fragmentation grenades rolling across the floor with the click of the shot-off strikers.
The creature screamed and rushed at the girl, pinning her to the floor and covering her with its figure. The rumbling and ringing in my ears were replaced by the smell of burning. Jess squeezed her eyes shut and shook in the monster's arms, begging the whole world to end this torment sooner.
She screamed in horror when this monster grabbed her and made a dash through the window with his back, landing in the parking lot. Hanging on the shoulder of the monster, she saw the eyes of a girl who jumped out of the main entrance with a gun in her hands. She was wearing a leather jacket, which is usually worn by motorcyclists. The girl pointed her weapon, but when she met her eyes, she apparently decided not to risk being taken hostage and just held them at gunpoint.
But the shots came from the other side when a squad of officers fell out of the service entrance. Hiding behind the cars, they opened targeted fire. She felt bullets hitting her captor, tearing out chunks of flesh and scratching the exo skeleton. But he seemed to ignore them and kept moving forward. The wall around the parking lot was strong enough to withstand a collision with a passenger car, but the armored figure pierced it as if it were made of gypsum, not reinforced concrete. Her mind refused to perceive what was happening and, as if in a fog, she simply did not understand what was happening. They ran on and on until finally she felt warm human flesh instead of a hard shell.
The sharp blades sticking out of the back disappeared under the fresh, tightened skin as if they had never existed.
Opening her eyes from slapping her cheeks, she saw the familiar face of the one who made a bloody mess right in front of her eyes, turning into a monster.
- "Who the fuck are you! What was that?" - putting out her hands, she pushed him away, hitting him hard on the cheek. Looking around, she found herself sitting on the floor of a small laundry station packed in two tiers with washing machines.
- "I should have told you earlier... I'm different... But we have to go now. There will be more police here soon."-He had already changed into clean but still wet clothes.
- "I'm not going anywhere with you. Leave me alone... What have you done?"
John took her by force and pressed her against the wall, inhaling the smell of her skin and hair – "I am a predator... And you're my mate. They took you away... I had to get you out of there. I couldn't protect one, but I'll save you."
Jess shuddered slightly and bit her lip, trying to put her thoughts in order–"Why didn't you say anything about this?"
John's lips were at her ear–"You'd be scared..."
Sirens and the sounds of cars surrounding the building distracted them. Patrol cars and armored cars burst into the street, blocking traffic. Dozens of armored figures of SWAT squads landed and formed into assault groups behind the backs of the shield-bearers. Ordinary patrolmen dressed in helmets and bulletproof vests took cover behind the armored doors of their Fords, aiming rifles at the darkness of the street.
- "Damn it, we'll be noticed soon" - They were sitting at one of the tall washing machines away from the exit. John looked out, looking for where the cops were now.
- "It seems they want to block off the whole area. We have to go... There's another door here," Dragging her into one of the back rooms, he quickly locked the door and led them further down the corridor. The building was connected to a couple of neighboring shops and had access to the other side of the street. Now she could clearly see how his eyes glowed in the dark like a PNV.
- "Do you see everything?" She felt his grip on her arm-"I hope you'll explain all this to me..."
It was quiet enough on the other side. An ordinary night street of a residential quarter. Sneaking to one of the parked cars, John broke out the window and opened the door and motioned his girlfriend inside. Pausing in indecision
Jess–"Now... Explain it to me. All. From the very beginning."
After thinking for a moment, he opened the door – "You can stay here and then for sure the cops will have a lot of questions for you. Why did the monster come after you? I know you may not trust me after all... but the decision is yours. I won't hold you down by force. If you say no, I'll take you to a safe place and leave you there. I promise..."
Looking around, she already heard the approaching sirens of cars, soon they will block this side as well. Then they will have to make their way through the courtyards to the next street. She had lived with him for a while and knew that whoever he was, he would not do worse things to her and throw her corpse on the side of the road. As soon as her feet were inside the 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, the engine roared and the car picked up speed and turned sharply to the right out of the area that was about to be blocked.
John drove the car around the bypass so that they could be on the other side of the city. Fortunately, they left only a couple of little things at the motel and nothing important. So there's no reason to put yourself in danger. They can stop at another place where no one cares about your documents – "I'm sorry I lied to you. I never served in the army, I didn't lose my memory in a car accident, and my parents didn't die..."
- "Fuck. Damn it... Maybe your name isn't John?"- she felt anger boiling in her with renewed vigor –"And who the fuck are you anyway"- She was ready to beat him right now.
- "No... That's the only thing I said honestly. My name is John. I was created by a young scientist Dean Ashland to protect a girl who is of my kind. I was supposed to be her friend and partner. And so it was... We were in hiding, we were constantly on the run, we lived wherever we had to, we were inseparable. But then everything changed... We were attacked, and I got into terrible shit. My old body burned up and..." He spoke about it in such a calm voice as if he was telling a bedtime story.
Jess felt her brain literally melting inside her skull–"Stop, stop, stop... God... Do you understand what you're saying now? This is the ravings of a madman. Scientists, genetic engineering... God..."
- "That's why I was silent..." - he looked at the side view mirror overtaking the truck on the other lane
- "But.. Wait... If you're not human... What were you made of? Are you like a mutant? A superman? Superweapon?" she wanted to figure out who she was dealing with and still couldn't shake the feeling of a crappy dream.
John – "Neither one nor the other... My DNA was obtained from space many years ago. Others of our kind have already been created before us. But they all ended sadly. Dean didn't want Sarah and me to suffer the same fate."
Jess clutched her head as if her brain was really going to boil–"I'm going to go crazy... Just shut up... Please..."
They drove in silence for the next couple of hours while Jess frantically tried to put all the pieces of this puzzle together-"Now I know who you are... Will you kill me?"
John grinned, but his eyes glittered in the reflection of the rearview mirror–"What was the point of me saving you then? Think about it."
Jess – "Noble monsters... huh... Sorry...Maybe there is another meaning?"
- "I'm infertile..." Jess: "Yes, you already told me... The result of fever in the war... Is this a lie?"
He delayed answering this topic was too personal-"Yes... I was created so that we would not start to populate the planet uncontrollably. Dean was afraid that I would doom your species to extinction."
"Is it that bad? You don't look like a horny bastard..."- It was hard for her to imagine how he would make babies with everything... He was clearly a gourmet and not someone who throws himself at women like meat. "And if you could have children... Would you really start all this?"
- "No... I don't think so." He forced her to exhale at least for a moment. Covering her face with her hands, she tried to somehow fit everything she had just heard into her head - "It seems my world has turned upside down... I'm in a fucking fantasy movie... like someone's using me like on the Truman Show."
Smiling, he put his hand on her shoulder, "I know it's hard to accept, aliens, genetic experiments, but remember, you saw me in my true form."
Jess's head swung like a pendulum from side to side–"I slept with... with this..."
– "No, you slept with me, I'm not a person, but I'm a person, and I care about you" - He pulled off the freeway onto a branch leading to another part of the city -"Listen, now we just need to find a safe place, we'll find some motel, and I'll explain everything in more detail. But I promise I won't hurt you, you have nothing to fear from me."
Finally opening her face and leaning her head back against the headrest of the seat, she exhaled noisily – "... Good"
- "Nigel..." - A quiet voice rushing through the dream touched his mind, making him move under the covers – "Nigel... Sonya... It's time to get up..."
The voice was very familiar, but the dream still wouldn't go away. It was hard to break out of the warm embrace of sleep and find himself in a cold room again. Barely opening one eye, he saw the blurred silhouette of a young girl who was squatting in front of him and shaking him awake.
- "Sarah?" - shaking himself and throwing off the remnants of sleep, he rose on his elbows looking into the eyes of the girl he once considered his friend.
But now this angelic face, the right smile and expressive topaz-colored eyes seemed to him like a real ghost from nightmares.
"What are you doing here?" She just smiled when she heard this question and stood up and beckoned him to her.
"We have to go, Nigel... I came for you..." Her voice seemed to beckon and invite me to follow her.
Shaking himself once more and pinching his legs, he squeezed his eyes shut to wake up. "This is a dream... It's just a fucking dream... a dream... I'm dreaming about it." A warm palm rested on his shoulder and a feeling of heat spread throughout his body.
"We have to go... They are waiting for us..." He squeezed his eyes shut harder and began to slap his cheeks intensely to ward off this obsession.
- "Get off me! You're a dream! I'm dreaming all this! You don't exist!" He screamed through his teeth, hoping that this was just nonsense and nonsense that came to him in a dream.
- "Nigel... Let's go... We have to leave..." strands of hair tickled his temple and neck. Her scent, warm breath, and soft voice were close to his ear.
- "Dirty traitor! You're a traitor! Get off me! You left me! You wanted to kill me!" - Throwing out his hands, he pushed her away and felt her skin tighten and hardly succumb to his pressure. The breathing changed, becoming deeper. The quiet voice turned to a growl as claws dug into his shoulder. He screamed and clung to her hand, afraid to open his eyes and see the monster that was in front of him.
"Don't you dare cross me... You're mine.. You're coming with us... You will be the same as us..." The voice was in his head and belonged to something dark and terrible. That which sought to conquer him, to take away his soul and body.
- "Get off me! I don't want to be a monster!" - Again an attempt to escape from the grip of the monster, but unsuccessfully. It held him with its claws digging into his shoulders and arms. The sharp blades tore open the skin like a scalpel, salty blood flowed over the monster's clothes and paws. The growling was getting stronger. Unable to stand it, he opened his eyes and screamed in pure horror when he saw the terrible creature in front of him. The monster held him down, not letting him move. And the blue eyes became darker with anger. A sharp pain shot through his whole body and again his screams were a response to the pain that was being inflicted on him.
Jumping up in bed, he pulled off his blanket. He was sweating profusely and the bed was wet. It was a dream, but a very creepy dream. He had never seen anything like it before.
The door of the rooms opened, and he looked in horror at the one who was supposed to appear on the threshold. Releasing the air from his lungs with relief, he saw Irene in front of him - "Hey, are you okay? I heard you scream! What happened?"
Nigel checked his heart in his chest to make sure it hadn't stopped –"I had a nightmare. It's just some kind of Hell."
Taking the blanket, the woman removed the cover from it. "You're soaked in sweat. I think we'll have to change your bed. And tomorrow we'll go to the doctor. Okay? I don't like it."
- "To the doctor? Damn... Although, you're probably right... Maybe I really need help."
They say that after the incident, Butch went crazy and is now in a psychiatric hospital. His father turned the whole school upside down in search of criminals. The bastard Javier is dead, and the police are investigating his murder. The other guy got so many fractures that he's now been homeschooled.… I think people call it karma... retribution…
He had already visited Chris, and he was on the mend. However, he was constantly asking him about the guy who saved them. Nigel couldn't tell him much of what he knew. Otherwise, his friend would definitely consider him crazy. He just dropped that this guy was an ex-Marine and was able to handle these jerks. So far, no one knows that they were there with Chris. Butch literally drools and talks about people with demon faces. And the surviving guy just kept silent, staring at the wall or ceiling when they tried to ask him questions.
That's why they're not in trouble with the police yet. But you still need to be careful, and they agreed to keep their mouths shut.
Irene was worried about his condition. Last night had scared her, and she wanted to take him to the doctor. It's a bad feeling. What will he say? My friend was an alien from outer space... and the daughter of Patrick Ross. Yes, he himself will be sent to an insane asylum after that. Therefore, you will have to lie cunningly again to stay in the shadows.
Standing in line is always exhausting. Irene left, saying that he would be called when the time indicated on the ticket came. Besides, this unpleasant smell... alcohol mixed with blood... the smell of cheap disinfectants and bandages. It probably smells like that in any medical facility.
Inside the office, the smell no longer seemed so disgusting. He was used to it, or it really smelled a little better here. The Doctor seemed like a pretty nice guy to him. The tall man looked more like a military man than a doctor. He asked him where he was from and how old he was, who he lived with and where his parents were. Standard questions, the answers to which did not make you worry. Then he talked about his studies at school and about his relationship with classmates. Twenty minutes later, it was all over. The doctor said that, most likely, he just had a slight fatigue and now he would write him a prescription.
Entering the office, the doctor took out his phone and dialed one of the numbers that were not listed on the label. "This is Dr. Cornwell speaking. He's here."
Returning to the patient, the doctor locked the office with a key and turned to the boy with a good-natured smile. "Don't worry, your guardian called and asked us not to let you go alone."
Nigel felt the excitement begin to spread from his fingertips to his shoulders and chest, and then to his legs. Irene obviously wouldn't have asked to detain him. Something was wrong here.
"Who are you?"
- "Poor rabbit... jumped up"
Something stabbed painfully in the neck near the collarbone. Gloved fingers gripped his vertebrae, preventing him from moving. The doctor took his hands and twisted them forward so that he could not resist. He tried to scream, but the words froze in his throat, which was covered with an icy crust. His ligaments stopped obeying him, and instead of screaming, he just wheezed in air. At first my fingers failed, then all my hands. Soon, his entire body seemed to be chained up. The light went out when the doctor unclenched his hands, and his whole body fell like a log onto a chair. "He's ready. You can take it."
Abandoned Central Hospital – Milledgeville - Georgia
The voice woke him up, bringing him out of this drug-induced hibernation. A man in a black business suit, with a peeking blue tie and a snow-white shirt collar. His elderly face and short hair were within spitting distance.
- "Wake up boy, you and I have a lot of work to do"
He tried to pull out, but it was useless. He was tightly bound hand and foot to a rough metal chair.
- "Who are you. Let go! I will call for help."
The agent took out his ID and shoved it under the child's nose – "Shout as much as you want. But you have to answer a couple of questions for me, man. Do you know what this ID means? I do what I want and I won't get anything for it. So let's not force me to use force."
Nigel managed to read what was written in the document before the agent put it away and put it in his inner pocket: "Federal agent, Secret Service, special powers."
- "What do you want? I didn't commit a crime."
The agent put his hands in his pockets and began to walk in circles around chair. Nigel was finally able to get a full view of the room. It looked like some kind of swimming pool, lined with white tiles.
"You're wrong, kid. You've been involved with dangerous criminals and you probably know where they are now. So let's tell me everything now, and I'll promise you that you'll come home alive. Got it?"
"I don't know anything. Let me go." - besides him, there were several other agents in suits in the room. Some of them openly held UMP and MP7 submachine guns in their hands.
Stopping in front of him again, the man threw back his head and rolled his eyes - "What should I do with you?" Taking a deep breath, he slapped the boy hard across the face with his hard cold palm -"Last chance, Nigel! Where are they?"
He could feel trickles of blood flowing from his nose. Sucking in the flowing liquid, he choked, "I don't know anything, I don't understand what you're talking about, sir. I don't associate with criminals."
- "Okay…You asked for it, man... get started."
A couple of agents tied up a chair and creaked it over to one of the hydraulic lifts. In the past, patients with particularly serious illnesses who could not walk on their own were lowered into the pool. Nigel could see that the water was dark and stagnant. Was it water at all, or was some kind of technical liquids and fuel oil drained here.
One of the agents said softly, "My God, he's just a kid." Hearing his words, their leader came closer to him and leaned close to his ear – "What did you say?". The agent was confused and looked at Nigel with true incomprehension in his eyes. This man clearly realized the horror of what they were doing here right now– "Sir, it's a child."
- "This is an enemy of the country who collaborated with criminals. I'll tell you more, this guy knows where they're hiding now. He is a dirty liar and a traitor to humanity. And as an agent with special powers, I am obliged to get this information from him at any cost. Now lower the lever, let's bathe the boy." - the agent reluctantly went to the elevator control panel. His gaze darted between his boss, who was boring into him with his stern, icy gaze, and the innocent boy tied to a chair. He hesitantly stretches out his hand to the handle of the switch.
- "Forget that it's a child, it's the enemy of the country! You have to do this," upon hearing these words of his commander, the Agent shook his head and took his hand off the console and turned to face the one who gave the criminal order. "I refuse. It's beyond good and evil, I have a son too."
- "So you refuse to follow my order?" the other agents tensed, seeing the confrontation that had arisen. The agent looked at his colleagues and approached the man with the blue tie: "Your order is a war crime. I refuse to comply with it and I will be obliged to report everything to the management."
Grinning and lowering his face, the senior agent took a couple of steps to the side – "Yes, you're right… This is really a crime," he pulled out a pistol and shot the agent several times in the chest and head. Then he turned to the others, "Well! Will there be anyone else interested? My orders are non-negotiable!"
Hiding the weapon, he went to the switch and firmly grasped the handle, preparing to bathe the hostage in industrial water.
- "How low have you fallen!" - a rude and insinuating voice is heard from somewhere above. Everyone looked sharply at where it came from. The roof of the building was almost completely destroyed, but many steel beams and ceilings remained at the top. Taking out their weapons, everyone began aiming somewhere at the roof of the pool. A SW1076 appeared in the hands of the senior, from which he had already shot his subordinate a minute ago.
- "Everyone get ready, shoot to kill" - the agents, preparing to open fire, take up positions.
Silence reigned again, broken only by the distant cry of birds and the sounds of footsteps – "You have entered a protected object! Come out with your hands up!"
For the second time, the same voice rang out behind the agents – "I'm here!"
Right behind them stood the silhouette of a tall man wearing a black hoodie hiding his face. In each hand he clutched a gas grenade with tear gas - "Oops" - The blanks allegedly accidentally fall out of his hands and there are pops from the pyropatrons. Caustic gas begins to fill.
The agents began randomly shooting at the wall where the silhouette had been standing a moment ago. The rattle of bursts from small-caliber machine guns drowned out all other sounds. One of the accidentally fired bursts clanged through the links of the chain that held the chair attached to the mechanism. Nigel felt himself falling into the water. Icy dark goo began to fill his lungs, seeping through his clothes and sticking to his body. The shooting was no longer heard so clearly. The rays of the sun, almost without penetrating through such a murk. Preparing to drown and say goodbye to life, he remembered how his own mother hugged him, remembered his aunt, friends, sweet cherry pie for his birthday, remembered his second family ... life began to slip away from him ... "Goodbye".
Two strong paws grabbed him and pulled him up sharply. Two blue eyes stared at him as he felt the chitinous dreadlocks rubbing against his skin. "Sarah.".. the first breath and a stream of water poured out of him, making room for air. The acrid smoke made him cough and spit out more and more of the nasty liquid he had swallowed in the pool. The same strong hands laid him on the ground. His face was bathed in hot breath…
The agents couldn't see anything because of the corrosive gas and were choking on coughing. After shooting several times at random to the side, the senior of their group covered his face with his sleeve so as not to suffocate from this smoke. Something was killing his people quickly and one at a time.
In the white fog, it was hard to see how one of the agents, without having time to scream, falls, cut in half as if by lightning. Another is thrown like a ball to the ceiling, where his spine was crushed against a metal ceiling under the roof and then collapsed with all his weight on the concrete floor, crushing his bones and insides.
The third was retreating to the exit, shooting back at something in the fog that was killing his comrades. A blue-gray flash flashed nearby and something sharp passed over his arm. The hand clutching the machine gun flew to the side and a fountain of blood shot out of the severed arteries.
Two agents picked up their boss trying to get him out of the affected area, the remaining two remained to cover them, firing randomly blindly at everything that seemed to move in this fog of tear gas, which hurt the eyes and did not allow a normal sigh.
But their enemy clearly saw and heard them. He didn't need a gas mask to navigate the smoke. Intercepting one of the submachine guns, he deftly climbed up and, after giving several bursts, finished off two who seemed to frighten crows, sending a swarm of steel bees in all directions
Once the survivors were on the street, the agents moved to the cars parked near the entrance. Pulling the door handle, the elder found that it was locked. He knocks on the window, shouting at the driver – "Open the door, you idiot!". One of the agents, noticing that the driver does not react, runs to the front of the car and sees that the armored windshield is pierced, and there is a large hole in the driver's chest.
- "Sir, the driver is dead… Take cover behind the car"
A howl is heard from the depths of the abandoned building and a humanoid covered with a chitinous exo skeleton comes out of the clouds of dust and gas, his eyes glow blue. The agents opened fire on the target, but their bullets bounced off his armor without causing any damage.
- "Answer... we need help! Urgent!" - hiding behind a car, he tries to call for backup by phone. He did not hear the screams and sounds of tearing flesh. A severed leg, shod in a fashionable expensive shoe, fell in front of him. Behind her, a mutilated head and a blood-stained UMP fall, the body of which is severely damaged and the weapon is no longer suitable for shooting.
Gathering the remnants of his mind, he jumped to his feet and waved the pistol around with trembling hands.
"How pathetic you are...You torture those who are weaker than you... But you're afraid to face the force... You're scared. I feel your horror." - a shot and a bullet flew to where the voice was coming from.
- "Come out, you fucking scum!" - tugging at the weapon, he took a step back against something solid.
- "I'm here" - sharp claws pierced his ribs, forcing him to drop his weapon, and a monstrous force hurled his body onto the roof of the car. He tried to get up, leaning his hands on the steel top of the Cadillac, but the same force, taking hold of his jacket, tearing the fabric into rags, forcefully hit his face on the armored roof of the Feds' car. The agent's face was smashed, and blood was pouring into his eyes.
"Who the fuck are you? Accompanied by a loud furious growl, his body flew 300 yards. The collarbone was broken and the joint was twisted when the body landed on a dirt and water-covered path.
Turning over on his back, he could see the face of the one who was approaching him - "You? Holy shit... How did you survive? You died there!"
A heavy boot stood on his chest - "As you can see... You're out of luck. Why are you hunting us? Who sent you?"
"It's none of your damn business! An alien piece of shit!" This audacity led to consequences and sharp claws dug into his chest, lifting him off the ground. "Who sent you?"
The man's face twisted-"Hahah... Your death sent me... And you won't stop her... You are all a threat to humanity and have no right to life. He spat blood in the guy's face and kept laughing.
The ligaments stretched out unnaturally and the wide-open jaw showed a process curling in the throat. The body hung like a whip on his claws as another hole was added to the man's head.
- "Hey, kid! Wake up!" The eyes slowly opened. He was in the car, and John was sitting next to him. "Is everything okay?... I was afraid that you had too much water, but everything seemed to be fine."
"Did you save me? Thank you..." - weakness still did not allow him to move normally. He saw only a faint blue gleam in the reflection of the windshield.
Atlanta - Georgia
After what happened yesterday, the whole precinct was on its ears. All the city's police forces have been mobilized, and a curfew has been declared in many areas. Reinforced patrols night and day on all streets. Everyone is looking for the mysterious terrorist who attacked the station.
They say the mayor is demanding that the state authorities send the national Guard. Everyone who tried to arrest this freak that night was told to keep quiet. Some people came to the captain in big trucks with federal license plates. After that, he ordered all employees to close their mouths and even forget everything they had seen.
Carmen saw a tall man in a business suit with a blue tie sitting in the Captain's office at that moment. It was obviously a big shot from the FBI or some other shit.
A couple more laps around this rather quiet area of the eastern district of the city and she can return home. "Crew 314 respond… A call has been received in your area. Neighbors complain about the noise of screams in the house, shots were heard." The walkie-talkie broke the silence, forcing her to remember about work and turn on the feedback system. - "314 hears. Officer Carmen. Dictate the address..."
The journey to the place took no more than 5 minutes. It was really noisy. The gun was ready when she entered the courtyard of a small area in front of the house. There was already a large car parked on the road with federal license plates, the same as those at the station. "What the hell are they doing here?The lights were on in the windows, there were no sounds yet. No shooting… No screams…No pleas for help…
Standing at the door, he raised the gun up like Chili and shouted through the wide-open door, looking inside, she noticed a body in a suit lying on the floor in a puddle of something red.
- "This is 314... calling for backup…Send me someone... there's probably a murder here."
A little further on, she noticed a woman who was sitting in the arms of a boy about 12 years old. Carefully taking a step to the side and stepping out into the light, she entered the house. The boy noticed her and looked at her with eyes full of fright. The woman only shook her head slightly and she saw her tear-stained face with mascara smeared on her cheeks.
"John, no! The boy abruptly shouted this, holding out his hand in a stopping gesture when the icy steel of the barrel was at her temple.
She did not turn around when she heard a familiar voice - "Thank you for suggesting the office. It's a pity your lieutenant wasn't so friendly."
- "You... You're the guy on the stairs... You beat up an officer and took away his uniform, you killed a sergeant and a lieutenant. And you kidnapped that girl... She kept clutching the gun, seeing the familiar face of the guy from the police station out of the corner of her eye. He was wearing a green army jacket now.
"Will you arrest me? She swallowed when she heard that. It was necessary to stall for time to wait for reinforcements. Thoughts left my head and panic and a sense of fear took their place. For the first time, the perpetrator was one step ahead of her and was able to take her by surprise. Carmen replied the first thing that came to mind - "Bill wasn't a bad person..."
"He allowed his men to beat the girl during the interrogation... And he didn't care that she wasn't guilty of what she was accused of." She heard the click of the trigger when the gun in the guy's hands was cocked. The boy ran up to him and forcibly laid on his arm. He pushed the guy away and stood between them - "Stop! John, no! No need... I beg... There have been enough deaths today..."
He looked at the boy with his head tilted and it seemed to Carmen that his eyes narrowed like the pupils of a reptile. But he lowered the gun anyway. Nigel now turned to the officer's girlfriend and hit her on the arm. Carmen dropped her Glock from the surprise of this action.
- "John! She's just a girl, please don't!"
Carmen, seeing their communication as if they were old friends, was even more perplexed-"Do you know him?"
Nigel, hearing her question, turned to face her - "Yes, this is my friend... He saved me today and before that too. These agents came for me. I was kidnapped. They wanted to get information and get rid of me. They got to my guardians, too."
He saw the girl's gaze fall on the gun that was lying on the floor. - - "Don't do this... Don't provoke him... I know it sounds crazy, but he's not a killer... He is a warrior and a defender. He saved me.. And he was saving his girlfriend..." At that moment, the guy tensed and his fangs bared, showing the predatory smile of the beast. It was as if he was reading her mind about the gun.
Carmen looked into his eyes, "You killed Sergeant Rodnik and Lieutenant Billy Hens. They were good people... They served the law... And you creature turned them into nothing."
She heard him growl as his lips lifted to reveal dark gums - "You don't know anything..."
The boy came up to the guy again, taking his hands - "Please, enough death and blood... "- he met the girl's eyes- "What's your name?"
- "Carmen"
"I'm Nigel... And this guy's name is John... Look, we don't want to hurt anyone. We are just people who have got into a situation from which there is no peaceful way out. We were forced to survive, you know?"
The guy whose name was John folded his arms on his chest leaning against the wall - "People don't understand much... They do not see beyond their own opinion, especially those who have received a badge and a weapon and believe that they can beat innocent girls in the precinct with impunity."
"She killed her boyfriend by stabbing him in cold blood with a knife. Carmen felt like she was getting mad at this guy who had dealt with her colleagues and was now playing the hero.
"She was defending herself... He wanted to beat her up... She told me the truth. His answer literally threw her off balance between prudence and the desire to beat him up. "How do you know?"
"If she were lying to me... I would have felt it. John answered her question matter-of-factly.
"What the hell happened here anyway?"She saw several dead bodies around. One of them was a middle-aged man, clearly a civilian, who was tied to a chair, the other two were probably federal agents and their injuries indicated that they were clearly not killed by bullets.
Nigel returned to Irene, who crawled up to her husband's body sobbing over him- "They kidnapped me and wanted to kill me. They don't need witnesses to what happened in West Virginia.…And they came for my guardians." West Virginia, quarantine zone, outbreak of unknown infection. She saw all these headlines and messages a couple of months ago. It was terrible. And why did the Feds torture the child? It was all so damn suspicious. If the Feds really broke into the house and took the owners hostage, then this is a crime. The kid trusted this guy. So he's known him for a long time.
The screech of brakes announced the arrival of reinforcements, but there were many more cars. Federal Service Cadillacs and SWAT armored cars drove up from both sides. Within a minute, the house was surrounded at gunpoint by several dozen barrels.
SWAT Commander - "Attention you are surrounded! Come out with your hands up!"
Senior FBI Agent-"This is a federal crime scene... Local cops don't belong here. Who called you?"
- "Nigel! Find shelter! John began to growl. and his arms stretched out, darkening, he looks at Carmen - "And if you want to live, go away and don't think about taking the weapon."
Carmen looked out the window, the house was tightly encircled by two different squads. She definitely recognized the voice of one of the officers - "I know this SWAT officer. We took advanced training courses together. I saw that these agents tied up and wanted to shoot civilians right in their house. That's enough for accusations..."
John looks at her, not completely trusting-"What do you want?"
Nigel guessed her message - "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Have you heard about it?"
John - "No..."
She looked back at the crying woman and the dead agents, the bound man. There was a crime in this house, but the criminals were the Feds themselves. Of course, these were all just her assumptions, but she couldn't allow a shootout right now. And this guy. She looked at John sideways. This guy will just tear them all apart. "Now they are preparing to storm this house together. I want to try to convince the commander of the Atlanta Special Forces that the Feds are acting illegally..."
Slowly raising her hands, she left the house. She was blinded by the light of the tactical flashlights of many soldiers and agents. - "Liam! Liam Bradley! It's me, Carmen... Officer Carmen Diaz...Do you remember me?"
The SWAT commander signaled to his squad not to shoot and raised his balaclava -"Carmen? Are you being held hostage? How many criminals are in the house? What's happening?"
- "Listen... When I arrived, the Feds were in the house... They tied up the owners and wanted to shoot them... I do not know what they were doing here... But there is a witness... Kid... He says agents kidnapped him and tortured him on the grounds of an abandoned hospital... Liam... I'm ready to testify under oath." - Liam listened to her with narrowed eyes, as if checking for honesty. They weren't best friends, but she knew this commander well. They were on courses together and this guy proved himself to be the best. Liam turned around, looking at the agents who arrived at the same time as them, as if they knew what was going on here.
Senior Agent -"What a load of bullshit! Officer, you will answer for your words in court... This is a lie against the government... High treason..."
- "Squad! For 3 hours!"- The entire SWAT team regrouped and pointed their weapons at the agents.
- "Officer! You believe this girl... She's in league with the criminals... Apparently you are too... You're all going to be court-martialed..." the senior agent's voice was choked with anger.
Liam shielded his colleague and pointed his carbine at one of the agents-"I order you to lay down your weapons! You are operating on the land of the state of Georgia without the necessary warrants... I have no reason not to trust Officer Carmen Dios..."
- "You're crazy!"
- "Lay down your weapons and let your people put their hands up! After that, if you have a search and arrest warrant and a supreme court decision on a federal crime, then show them to me!" - he took Carmen and pushed her into the nearest shelter -"Last warning!"
- "Deal with them!" - at the command of the chief, the agents began to raise their weapons aiming at the special forces squad. SWAT officers opened fire. The agents fell as if they had been knocked down, receiving many wounds. A well-trained squad with an armored car had a few seconds of well-aimed fire to put all the opponents down.
When all the agents were dead, Liam orders a cease-fire. Nigel snuggles up to Irene, comforting her. Liam and a SWAT team orderly went into the house and examined the bodies. The agents mocked the woman's husband for a long time, beating and shooting the limbs. Realizing that she refused to make contact, they just shot the man.
Liam walks away from the stretcher and approaches Carmen and John-"Good God... 9 dead FBI agents. What happened to these two? One was shot through with a giant shotgun, and the neck of the second seemed to be turned inside out."
John turns away and walks back to the car. Carmen looks away- "When we arrived, these two were already dead. I don't know what killed them."
Liam sees the bullet holes and realizes that there was a shootout - "You and I have to go through 9 circles of hell. The murder of the Feds... It's really fucked up..."
One of the officers approaches him - "Lieutenant... We searched the bodies... They don't have any warrants or court orders with them. And their IDs are pretty weird."
Carmen snorted-"They fancied themselves the rulers of America. To come to the house, take hostages, torture and interrogate children, murder... I am sure that the authorities will take our side. These feds were obviously hiding something. They don't look like ordinary FBI specialists."
Liam - "Look at their ID... Some kind of fake... Who the hell are they? Maybe the Secret Service is undercover..."
Carmen - "I think they have nothing to do here... Their job is to protect the president and other Washington bastards."
Liam nods and looks around the house - "Soon there will be a real circus here. Reporters, the FBI, experts, criminologists, city authorities, the chief of police, the prosecutor and 100 other important officials."
At this moment, Irene whispers in Nigel's ear, "You need to leave... They're looking for you... You can't stay here.."
Nigel - "I won't leave you... John is with us, he's just like Carroll. He will save us..."
Irene - "Carroll... She saved me... Now I have to pay her back... Do you trust this guy? Will he hurt you?"
Nigel - "He's saved me 2 times already... I didn't tell you, but that night after school we were at an abandoned factory. John saved Chris and me from bullies. And today he saved me from these agents."
Irene - "Oh my God... I was afraid you were already dead... They grabbed me and took me here. I didn't know what happened to you. They were trying to get any information about what happened there in Virginia... I didn't turn anyone in. They shot at Damir..."
Nigel stroked her hair, "They grabbed me right in the doctor's office. They broke in there and injected some kind of stuff."
Irene - "You need to leave... Hurry up..."
Nigel - "No! I don't want to lose you too!"
Irene - "Don't worry... I'll leave here later. But you need to hurry." She looked at John and whispered, "Take care of him..."
Nodding silently, he walked over and took Nigel's hand. He didn't want to let go of Irene, but she was pushing him. While the police were busy, he and John were able to elude them.
Carmen and Liam heard the raucous roar of the engine as the car drove away. "Who the hell let them leave? What the hell? They're actually witnesses... We need to inform the traffic police."
The girl stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulder - "Let them go ... there will be fewer problems. Give them time to get out of town."
Ugh...It's been a painful two months. In fact, the break will be even longer after this chapter...
But for now, you can enjoy the sequel! Good luck to you! I will be glad to know what you think about this story in the comments, I will try to answer you as soon as possible