《Tracker Hunter》 The Search Party It was a group of five: Private Investigator Billy McCarney, the one who created and led the group. He was also the boss and mentor to his assistant, Genna Bowsley, who wanted her chance to help in the field this time. Despite the boss-assistant relationship, it was a rare type where interactions were genuine and almost mutual, generally respectful but resulting in the butting of heads from time to time. Ned Boone found the ad Billy posted to hire someone with experience, which Ned had in spades from his career with the Army Rangers. Last but not least, were Jack and Marla Cartwright, a senior couple who piloted helicopters and only got involved at the request of Ned, thanks to his and Jack¡¯s time in the services together. McCarney and his group were getting paid to find the missing son of some old couple, who said they received an anonymous tip that he may had been spotted somewhere in the God forsaken desert. Billy promised to keep the clients and their target confidential as part of the agreement, so only he would know the most sensitive information until sharing amongst others was deemed necessary. It was why he specifically was sought out, why the price tag was so steep, and why the others in the group didn¡¯t ask too many questions. They were told to each bring desert camping equipment and a weapon for chance encounters with wildlife, yet that was about it for any further details of the mission. McCarney and crew were flying in a helicopter over the missing person¡¯s last supposed sighting. At first, it felt like they were hitting turbulence, but then the noise hit them all. It was painful as it violently danced inside their heads, even when they ripped off their aviator headphones and covered their ears. No one was able to think or seemed to notice that the helicopter was spinning out of control, quickly heading towards the ground. Everyone was alive after the crash landing; however, Jack was out cold with a bloody nose from banging his head against the flight control panel. The helicopter was out of commission, and yet appeared to still be in relatively good condition, which was strange. The way it landed should¡¯ve killed everyone and left behind a fiery wreckage. Pure freak luck maybe? The sun was already setting on account of them starting their search much later than they wanted to on that day. Ned scaled the nearest, highest point, and saw no signs of civilization or human presence anywhere beyond his position. He still set up an improvised early warning system around the campsite just in case. Genna gathered anything they could use to form a campfire for the coming night. Marla was tending to her unconscious husband as he was laying on top of his unfurled sleeping bag, while Billy was trying out his satellite phone. It was working, but there was some sort of interference that sounded like the noise they all heard back on the copter. Either way, there was nothing the group could do except decide what to do the next morning and keep a lookout for any possible help. Ned did shoot off an emergency flare into the sky when it became dark enough, but there were no significant signs of any possible response. Late at night, everyone was asleep around the dying fire. Even Ned, who kept watch out of habit, dozed off when his age got the best of him. The sound of crickets was carried on a nice nocturnal breeze. The sudden silence wasn¡¯t noticed, nor was the ceasing of the wind around the camp area. Everyone was too deep in their sleep to see random pebbles and small stones lifting off the ground, and then different equipment around the site. Genna was the first to wake up. She opened her eyes when her dream of laying on a soft cloud on a warm, sunny day, faded away. She wanted to drink something before trying to fall back to sleep again, so she slowly collected her bearings in the darkness and attempted to wriggle out of her sleeping bag. Reaching out to touch dirt, she felt nothing. Genna became more alert and more alarmed, wondering why she didn¡¯t feel the ground. Using what little light was left of the campfire, she sat up to look at the others of the group. Her eyes adjusted enough so that she could see everyone still sleeping, but where was the ground? The fire¡¯s light seemed to be below them all. Genna looked downwards and came to the shocking realization that they were all floating at least a good four feet high in the air. She screamed in a panic, waking up the others. A second later, they all came crashing back down to Earth. They all scrambled to their feet after hitting the dirt. They looked about themselves, wondering what happened. Ned readied his rifle. ¡°Jesus Christ! What the hell happened?¡± Ned urgently inquired while aiming his gun into the open, dark perimeter of the camp. ¡°We were floating!¡± Genna exclaimed. ¡°What? What you mean, ¡®we were floating¡¯?¡± Billy asked confused and still recovering from a daze. ¡°Exactly what it sounds like! We were literally floating! In the air!¡± ¡°What? What are you getting at?¡± Ned was securing the edges of the camp while saying, ¡°Bullshit!¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, I swear!¡± Genna argued. ¡°Bullshit! Y¡¯all fucking with me? Y¡¯all are fucking with me!¡± Ned accused everyone around him while pointing a finger, likely to refrain from pointing his barrel instead. ¡°I swear!¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Why would we be floating?¡± Billy interjected to deescalate tension and fish for reasonable answers. ¡°How would that be possible? We must¡¯ve just jolted ourselves awake.¡± ¡°At the same time?¡± ¡°I swear,¡± Ned started off this time keeping his grip on his gun with both hands, ¡°if this is some prank ¨C¡± ¡°I promise,¡± Genna said in a calmer voice to ease the situation, ¡°this is not a prank. Look, I just woke up too.¡± ¡°Same here.¡± Billy coincided. ¡°Guys,¡± Marla said with increased urgent concern, ¡°where¡¯s my husband?¡± They all turned to where Jack and his sleeping bag were last and saw an empty space. Ned hastily approached the spot and knelt to better investigate. ¡°Ned, I thought you said pumas weren¡¯t active in this area anymore!¡± Billy said perturbed. ¡°They aren¡¯t!¡± declared Ned. ¡°Pumas weren¡¯t responsible for this! There¡¯re absolutely no tracks to indicate whether he was dragged off, carried off, or just got up and ran off.¡± ¡°W-The man couldn¡¯t have disappeared into thin air!¡± Suddenly, they heard the screams. A man¡¯s screams. ¡°Oh God, Jack!¡± Marla pulled a revolver from her backpack and began running towards the sounds. ¡°Hold on Jack honey, I¡¯m coming!¡± she yelled. ¡°Marla, wait!¡± Ned called out, but she continued running out into the darkness as he flicked on the flashlight on his rifle and tried catching up. Billy pulled two handguns with flashlight attachments, and a pair of handcuffs from his backpack. After tossing Genna one of the guns, they both disengaged the safeties, turned on their lights, and hurried after Marla and Ned. They all followed the screams, which were still coming from the dark. Drawing closer to the source of the screaming, it grew quiet as it was gradually replaced by another more worrisome sound. Marla and Ned were the first to step into the clearing. They saw a man wearing a gas cylinder on his back. The sound of chopping fresh meat came from each blow of his machete, with each downward swing. Ned and Marla aimed their guns at the stranger. ¡°Stop what you¡¯re doing! Now!¡± demanded Ned in a commanding voice. The man stopped with one last blow. ¡°Hands off the weapon, and slowly turn around with your hands up!¡± Leaving the machete embedded, he slowly raised his hands into the air and turned to face his would-be captors, just as Billy and Genna caught up to the two. The stranger was shirtless, had on dark pants held up by a belt, and wore fingerless gloves. On his face was a hosed gas mask that had the gas cylinder on his back feeding into it, making up an entire breathing apparatus system. ¡°Who are you? What were you just doing?¡± Marla interrogated as she slowly approached the silent man. ¡°Marla, what are you doing?¡± Keeping away from him!¡± yelled Billy, not only wanting everyone to carry out their next steps safely but knowing what was waiting for her would only bring her torment and complicate the situation further. ¡°Where¡¯s Jack?¡± she continued, ¡°Where¡¯s my husband?¡± She peered behind the stranger and saw Jack, butchered with the machete sticking out from the center. She hoped and prayed to herself the worst didn¡¯t happen. Now, she couldn¡¯t deny what she saw. She knew it was her husband. What sounded like a mix between anguish and anger left her lips, while Ned uttered a curse from his. Billy called out to both, ¡°Don¡¯t shoot! Marla! Marla don¡¯t shoot! That goes for you too, Ned!¡± ¡°He killed Jack!¡± Ned yelled back a wishful excuse to cancel out the order. ¡°He might be our guy!¡± ¡°Are you shitting me?¡± Marla asked Billy in enraged disbelief. ¡°Keep your guns trained on him. I¡¯ve got the cuffs, just let me get close so I can put them on him.¡± Billy then focused his attention back on the man. ¡°Place your hands on the back of your head and lay face down on the ground!¡± he demanded. ¡°He killed my Jack! My husband!¡± she yelled before turning momentarily towards Ned, ¡°Your friend!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this!¡± Billy snapped before refocusing his attention towards the man once more. ¡°Tom!¡± he addressed the man, ¡°Do as I said, lay face down and place your hands on the back of your head, now!¡± Tom was a common name, but Genna felt that she heard that name not long ago. It¡¯s now obviously connected to their current case, but there was something else about it. Maybe heard or read in passing? ¡°I¡¯ll make this easier for all of us!¡± Marla erupted. ¡°I¡¯ll just shoot the bastard and you can do whatever you want with him then!¡± ¡°No!¡± No one noticed the suspect¡¯s middle finger flicking forward before a blur flew from behind him and struck Marla in the face. A moment of silence passed as everyone except for the stranger wondered what just happened. Marla turned around to ask the others in the group, but not a word came out of her mouth. The group stared at Marla in horror as a light shone on her, while she attempted to ask again with the machete embedded in her face. Filled with the sudden need to take immediate action, Ned refocused and aimed his gun at the mysterious stranger, who made a quick grab and side-pulling motion at the air in front of him. Ned pulled the trigger and let off a burst of three rounds, but Marla floated into the bullets¡¯ trajectory and caught them all with her limp body. The suspect then made a throwing motion, sending a rock and a curtain of sand sailing through the air. The rock struck Ned in the head knocking him down, while the sand created a small dust storm that obscured everyone else¡¯s vision. The stranger turned around with both hands down and began making an exit. Another slight gesture brought the machete flying out of Marla and back into his possession. Still trying to recover from the rock¡¯s impact, Ned tried refocusing his rifle and squeezed the trigger. The stranger walked behind a boulder as bullets ricocheted off its stony face. By the time the dust cloud began to settle, the suspect whose name was supposedly Tom was gone from sight. Billy tried stopping Ned from pursuing but got a rifle butt to the gut for the attempt, knocking the wind out and causing Billy to fall to the ground. Ned ran after his target into the black of night, where his angry, manic yelling and gunshots could be heard ringing out from the darkness. Genna helped Billy to his feet, and they both began hurrying their way back to the camp. Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide On their way, Billy started talking about how they needed to try the satellite phone again to call in law enforcement and possibly involve the national guard. Genna stopped and so did Billy once he took notice. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Billy asked Genna before waving her on to continue, ¡°We¡¯ve got to hurry back!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Tom?¡± Genna inquired. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this. I¡¯ll explain when we get back.¡± ¡°No, tell me now! It¡¯s time you tell me what¡¯s going on! This isn¡¯t just some search for some typical lost person! I¡¯m not going anywhere with you until you¡¯re finally straight forward with me on what you know!¡± ¡°Genna-¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Tom, Billy? Two people are dead, and I¡¯m not getting killed without knowing what we¡¯re dealing with. Tell me who that was back there, and what the hell just happened! Who¡¯s Tom?¡± ¡°Tom Wiley!¡± he blurted out, ¡°That was Tom Wiley.¡± ¡°The¡­the terrorist?¡± she asked mystified. ¡°Yes, the same. His parents hired me to track him down and bring him back home.¡± ¡°He killed his landlord, a bunch of police officers and residents, and destroyed more than half of the trailer park before disappearing, yet you thought it was a good idea for five people on limited information to go out and hunt for him? When were you going to let us in on this fact, or the other fact that it seems like he has mental powers? How do you even know that¡¯s him for sure?¡± ¡°His parents told me that he lost those abilities years ago when he was a child. Nobody knew he could do that now as an adult, but obviously he got them back somehow. Reports never said he used his mind. Who would? Who would believe that?¡± ¡°But you did know that we were tracking down one of the FBI¡¯s most wanted, didn¡¯t you? You didn¡¯t care about risking our lives, lying as you got that big fat paycheck. You greedy asshole! We trusted you! I trusted you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that! Look, I told what I knew, can we head back now?¡± Just then, the man suspected to be Tom Wiley charged out of the night, knocked Billy through some nearby brush and against a rock face. With Billy motionless, the attacker focused his attention onto Genna. She didn¡¯t know how he was able to lose Ned and catch up with them, but she didn¡¯t want to spend time standing there to find out. She raised her gun but with a flick of his hand, the pistol¡¯s upper half flew off the lower and disappeared into a woody thicket. She ran away and he pursued her until she squeezed herself through a gap between two boulders, where he couldn¡¯t fit through even when clawing at her with dirty, bare hands. Genna stumbled through the blackness until she remembered that the broken gun still had a functioning flashlight. She turned it on in time to catch herself from falling down a chasm, and instead took her time to carefully climb down.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. A light from a gap above hit Genna in the face, waking her from what she intended to be a nap. After the rush of adrenaline wore off from wandering around in the caves and chasms, the exhaustion caught up with her, so she had stopped to rest. Genna finally found a way out soon after getting up. Emerging out from the darkness and into to the daylight, she found herself facing a flat, barren desert. She had no idea where she was or where she was going, but she wanted to get as far as possible away from whatever was back there. She walked a good distance through the patch of desert, hoping to find some help or signs of civilization somewhere. Genna thought over the events of yesterday, like how there are such things as mental powers like telekinesis, or how their group was mysteriously brought down with no real casualties. Was that Tom¡¯s doing? As far as she was concerned, his name was Tom. If so, why not kill everyone then, instead of one-by-one? The poor Cartwrights didn¡¯t deserve to go out the way they did. Genna felt a sudden unease looking out around and across the shimmering, hot, desert horizon. She was totally exposed being out in the open like she was on that patch of flat and cracked, parched earth. Then, staring at the horizon up ahead from where she stood, Genna thought she saw something. It was a glimmer of something heading towards her. It could be help, it could be him, or it could be a mirage. Out of fear of having nowhere else to go if it meant her harm, she hoped it was just a mirage. Slowly, Genna lowered herself flat to the desert floor. The glimmer didn¡¯t go away, so she closed her eyes, and counted to five. She opened her eyes, looked up towards the horizon, and saw that the glimmer was part of what looked like a figure running towards her. She closed her eyes and counted to five again. When she looked again, the figure was gone. She stood back up and, after scanning the way ahead of her, breathed a sigh of relief before continuing to walk forward. As she walked, Genna couldn¡¯t shake that lingering uneasy feeling. Then she heard the distant approach of hastening steps and heavy breathing from behind her. She turned her head to look back behind herself and saw Tom, still armed with a machete, and clad in breathing gear, quickly catching up. She panicked and burst into a sprint. Genna ran as fast as she could, occasionally glancing back to hopefully see her pursuer starting to lag. No matter how hard she pushed her legs to their limit, no matter how ready her lungs felt close to exploding, Tom closed the gap with every second that passed. Down in His Lair Genna slowly woke to blurry surroundings and the sound of rattling metal. It was her cage, and the rattling was from Ned trying to break open its lock without creating too much noise. When he finally broke the lock, he opened the cage and pulled her out, while attempting to stand her up on her feet. ¡°Ned?¡± Genna guessed as her vision returned. ¡°You okay? Can you stand on your own?¡± Ned checked. ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°Good, thank God you¡¯re okay. I thought I lost everyone for good, until I spotted him carrying you into this place.¡± Genna looked around regaining her bearings and asked, ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°It looks to be a kennel for experiments; part of some old mine converted into some sort of military, research laboratory complex. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I¡¯m getting my hands on that son of a bitch and making him pay. He¡¯s currently in a room with Billy now.¡± ¡°Billy¡¯s here? How do we get him out?¡± Genna asked as Ned helped escort her to the kennel entrance with his rifle at the ready. ¡°Easy, I¡¯ll shoot him. However, after seeing all the crazy shit I¡¯ve seen him do, as a backup plan, I¡¯ll cause a distraction. When Tom leaves the room, you get in there, grab Billy and get the hell out of here.¡± ¡°Where do we go? What about you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯ve got things covered.¡± After carefully peering outside the entry doorway, he turns to Genna and with an assured motion of his head says, ¡°Come on, follow me.¡± The duo left the kennel and carefully made their way to the laboratory room where Tom and Billy were. Peering in through the observational glass, they saw Tom still wearing his breathing apparatus, looking through documents and writing something down. Not far from him, an unconscious Billy was restrained with his own gas cylinders and breathing mask strapped to his face. Ned turned to face Genna. ¡°Go hide close by, stay there and wait for the coast to be clear.¡± he said. Genna hid so not to be spotted if a chase started. Ned readied his rifle and jumped in front of the room¡¯s entryway. ¡°This is for Jack and Marla, you fuck!¡± Ned let loose a spray of bullets until he ran out of ammunition. They all hit around Tom, with none of them hitting their intended target, just as Ned feared. He figured that would happen from the few encounters he had with Tom prior, swearing to have had a bead every time he missed a shot. This was no different, except now Ned knew for sure the man in his sights somehow deflected each projectile. Ned fled and Tom was in immediate pursuit after calling his machete into one of his hands. Losing sight of them both, Genna made her move into the laboratory. She quickly made her way to Billy and removed the mask from his face. She began shaking him and rapidly slapping his face just hard enough to wake him. ¡°Billy,¡± she roughly coaxed him, ¡°Billy! Wake up damn it!¡± Billy coughed and spat up a little fluid, grunting confused gibberish while attempting to gauge his surroundings. She grabbed him by the face and forced him to look at her directly. ¡°Billy, are you okay? We¡¯ve got to go!¡± Genna helped Billy up and supported him under the crux of his arm and left the room. They both soon reached an exit, which emptied out of the installation and into the old mine. Desperate to find their way out, they wandered deeper, with only dim, sparsely spaced light to give them an inkling of where to go. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ With his machete at the ready, the hunter could sense Ned was somewhere in the showers. Creeping slowly, he approached some partitioned shower stalls with their curtains closed. Settling to try one of the showers, he thrusts his weapon through, causing Ned to rush him from out of the stall and strike him with the empty rifle. Ned tried following up with another blow, but it was blocked by a raised machete. Tom then slashed at Ned, catching him in the forearm before raising the weapon to bring down onto his head. Ned tackled him to the ground, causing the machete to drop. Putting his MMA training to use, he landed blow after blow with his fists into Tom¡¯s face, partly damaging the gas mask. Tom ripped off the hose of the mask and sprayed Ned, who loosened his grip to cover his own face from the assailing plume. After pushing Ned off, Tom then quickly twisted the valve on his cylinder closed.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ned struggled to breathe and see, as he gagged and coughed through the frothy spittle that accumulated in his mouth. Whatever gas was inside that cylinder was not meant for breathing in. Tom grabbed a curtain, wrapped it around Ned¡¯s head, and wrenched back holding it as tight as he could. They both fell backwards, while Ned attempted to loosen Tom¡¯s grip and tried to pull off or tear through the plastic, but the grip held strong, and the wrap was too taut. Ned remembered his survival knife. He pulled it out and tried jabbing behind himself to stab his assailant, but Tom had already read his mind. With the raise of his hand, he stopped Ned from burying his blade. Then, turning his open hand into a fist, Tom began moving the knife away from his own person and towards the one physically wielding it. Ned tried fighting this force; Pushing back, tossing it away, even dropping it all didn¡¯t work as he helplessly watched the blade slowly guide it way over his body. It was getting harder to concentrate as the curtain restricted any further oxygen from being inhaled. He felt the carbon dioxide accumulating and his head becoming lighter as the knife traveled over his heart, up towards his neck. Tom turned his fist, causing Ned¡¯s hand to turn as it clenched the hilt, and started to lower onto his neck. Weakened, Ned tried using his other hand to stop the knife, but it kept coming down. The point of the blade dipped and penetrated the jugular, followed by a little less than half of the edge¡¯s length. He could feel his own blood trickling down his neck. The knife started dragging across the neck, cutting open vessels, making the trickle rapidly become a torrent of blood running and shooting out from the internal pressure. The pain and lack of air was already too much for Ned to handle on top of the blood loss. Ned stared off into space and the room became dark before his body fell limp and lifeless. Letting go of the body, Tom completely pulled off his mask and headed straight for a wall holding similar gas masks. About to grab the mask, the light of the room begins to hurt his eyes, and his head begins to throb. He tried ignoring the brightness of the light and the pressure on his brain increasing, as he hurriedly replaced his broken mask with the new one on the cylinder. Placing the new mask onto his face, Tom twisted the cylinder valve open as fast as possible. The light and the hurt immediately subsided as he breathed the gas in deeply. Turning to Ned¡¯s corpse, he gave a couple of good kicks before exiting the room, mentally calling his machete to fly into his possession yet again. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Genna and Billy, now both mobile without each other¡¯s help, were still trying to find a way out of the abandoned mines. After eventually gaining his own footing, Billy took the lead in looking for a way out. Crediting his own intuition, he seemed to be guided by an almost all-knowing voice in his head, only stopping once or twice when a sudden migraine struck him momentarily before continuing. They soon rushed ahead upon seeing daylight at the end of a tunnel, but they stopped short of going over the ledge of an old shaft. The two spotted a lone chain suspended from the ceiling, possibly leftover from whatever pully system they used for the shaft, and it was the only way they could possibly cross the gap. Genna opted to search for a possible safer route. Billy made a running start, jumped off the ledge, and grabbed hold of the chain. He began swinging to use his momentum to reach the other side when another sudden migraine attacked him. Billy missed his chance to jump to safety as he strained to keep his grip on the chain and fought the pain in his skull. ¡°Billy!¡± Genna called out to him, ¡°Hold on tight! I¡¯m going to try and help!¡± The pain was so strong that he felt as if he was going mad. Billy raised his head screaming in agony, yanking, and shaking on the chain in desperation to somehow be rid of his suffering. Genna noticed a weak looking link grinding against the others. ¡°Stop! Stop moving!¡± she pleaded. He yanked and shook again and again as she tried getting him to stop. Billy felt almost like the migraine was being projected onto something else. Something metallic, pulling and twisting its physical structure. Giving the hardest pull he could muster, with a shattering pop, the link gave way and Billy fell into the embrace of the unknown below. The void consumed him whole as Genna could only watch it happen with a sinking heart. Genna looked down the shaft and called out for Billy the loudest she could, desperately hoping that he would answer back. Her boss and mentor was gone, and she was alone. She stepped back and looked ahead towards the tunnel exit. The daylight was taunting her with a possibility that had broken down right before her very eyes a minute ago. Stricken with the idea of being stuck in the mine and having to run into Tom again, Genna was starting to spiral into a panic. It was then, she felt almost as if some urge was tugging at her mind. Turning to face the dark tunnel from which she and Billy had come, the urge felt like a voice quietly calling her to another way out. She had to take the risk, otherwise she was going to die down there. She took a deep breath and ventured back into the bowels of the mine. Were All Mad Here It was surprising how relatively easy it was this time to transverse the tunnels. It was like Billy¡¯s sudden way-finding intuition, became Genna¡¯s. She arrived at a locked entrance to the same research facility they sought to get far away from, but this time the answer to escape seemed to be beckoning Genna back. She approached the door wondering how to open the security lock, right before the door unlocked and opened itself. She hesitated to go through at first, but that silent voice in her mind reassured her that it was only there to help. When she passed the entrance¡¯s threshold, the door closed behind her. Genna followed the invisible compass throughout the hallways and security doors of the installation, until she finally reached an entryway on the other side of a containment room. She could feel the key to escape was on the other side of the doors as they unlocked and slowly opened. Stepping through, she entered a large operating room that had what looked like an observation level on the second story. That was not what she first took notice of right then. Floating at the center of the area, was a brain the size of nearly half the entire room. Genna wanted to run away at the sight of it, but she found herself feeling unusual. It was like the thing was producing an attractive and calming effect over her. Approaching with curious apprehension, she then noticed something hanging off the brain¡¯s underside. Seemingly attached by the shoulders was a normal-sized, mummified, nude, human body. It was strange that Genna felt the entity could see her despite it having no eyes. The thing turned to face her direction. Its body flinched for a moment before then slowly raising a shriveled index finger, pointing it at Genna. The same noises she heard back on the helicopter filled her skull, causing her to become paralyzed and her eyes to roll into the back of her head. She floated off the ground and glided upward towards the giant brain. She sensed that it knew she was looking for a way out, but it wanted something in return. While this was going on, Tom walked in through the entrance carrying a shoulder-fired missile. Aiming at where the base of the giant brain was connected to the body, he pulled the trigger, firing off a missile that flew straight towards its intended target. Hitting the space between, its entire body and a large section of the brain were blown apart, bringing Genna out of her trance. She and the giant brain dropped from the air. Genna fell on the operating table before tumbling off and to the floor, while the mass of grey matter crashed onto some old oxygen cylinders, causing an explosion that destroyed the rest of the strange entity. Dropping the spent launcher, Tom readied his machete as he approached Genna, who was recuperating from what she had just gone through. She gained enough of her senses in time to move out of the path of the machete¡¯s swing, then made a mad dash around Tom to head for the exit. He tossed his weapon to cut her down. She raised her hands and closed her eyes to hopefully stop the blade from killing her, yet not watch as it would inevitably cut into her flesh. Genna didn¡¯t feel a thing. Slowly opening one of her eyes to see which finger was sliced off, she saw all her fingers were intact. For a split second she thought the machete missed her, but she saw the blade of the weapon and realized it was floating inches away in midair. Tom stood there with his hand out, still trying to control the weapon. Genna wanted to try something at the risk of getting killed. She thrust her hands away in a tossing motion, causing the machete to fly off and embed itself into a wall. Genna and Tom were facing off one another, armed with nothing but the arsenal they had mentally. Tom made a fast-shoving gesture, pushing Genna to the ground. Sliding to a stop, she directed her hands over the operating table and sent it hurtling towards her opponent, who motioned a slice with his hand to break it in half. The two halves missed Tom, and he proceeded to slice at Genna, who dodged as gouges formed where she once was. While running, she reached up and wrenched her hands down, causing the pipes above to break and partially collapse from the ceiling. Water and steam obscured Tom¡¯s vision, causing him to momentarily cease his attacks. Spotting her reaching the exit, Tom motioned as if tossing a baseball, causing some loose cables to spring towards Genna and wrap themselves around her legs. She fell to the ground and Tom used the cables to fling her through the ceiling to the upper level. By the time she finished tumbling across the floor, she was well enough to still move thanks to a protective force field subconsciously formed seconds before impact but was disoriented and hurt enough to make movements difficult. Tom floated up to the level as she tried getting up. Reaching out to her, he seized and lifted her up into the air, before slamming her against all the surfaces around them, sending debris everywhere she hit. The force field could only protect her so much, as she got bruised and cut up.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Finally suspending her in one place by a constricting hold, Tom raised his hand to join with the other. Genna spotted some broken rebar behind him and, using a couple of her fingers to direct it, began to discreetly pull. Even as she did so, it was becoming increasingly harder to breathe. Tom brought both his hands together in fists, placing one on top of another and started to twist them. She could feel the pain in her bones and muscles as they squeezed, contorted, and began to fracture. Applying all the will she had into force, Genna screamed as she sent the rebar flying towards Tom. He noticed the object too late, and it skewered him, pinning him to the furthest wall, causing Genna to drop to the floor. Managing to catch her breath through the tenderness in her ribs, she picked herself up and looked at Tom. He was moving but very weakly as blood gushed out from his injuries, until he stopped and hung limp and motionless from the rebar. With an aching sigh of relief, Genna limped herself out of the room. Later, she finally made it back to the same gap that blocked her escape out of the mine. She looked down to the darkness of the abyss, then looked to the other side. She closed her eyes, turned her hands on her sides upwards, and floated across the gorge to the safety of the other side. Opening her eyes, she turned around to look back momentarily, before turning back with tears and hobbled her way toward the daylight at the end of the tunnel. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The gentle waters of the underground lake, which flooded a portion of the mine long ago, echoed about the chamber walls. A hand exploded out from the waters and grasped a nearby ledge, pulling Billy out and onto solid ground, where he gasped for air and coughed his airways clear of any residual moisture. The migraines were starting to come back worse than before. He made his way back to the research complex, searching for something that could help him. With each pounding he felt in his head, any functional lighting and electrical equipment around him pulsed with energy. He soon came across Tom hanging from the rebar. He had put two and two together when his migraines returned the first time after being forced to breathe in the gas. He rushed over and snatched off the mask, before placing it on his own face, breathing heavily until the migraines subsided. With the immediate problem out of the way, he finally got a good look at the hanging man. ¡°You¡¯re not Tom. Who the hell are you?¡± Billy wondered out aloud. The man quickly woke up and grabbed Billy. Billy quickly stopped struggling when the stranger stared into his eyes. Words didn¡¯t come out of his bleeding mouth, but they entered Billy¡¯s mind just as easily. ¡®Ascendit¡­Project Ascendit.¡¯ With those last thoughts, the man who was once believed to have been Tom as far as anyone was concerned, let go of Billy and exhaled his final breath. Final Days of Dr. Heathcliff First thing Billy did was search for another full air cylinder for his breathing apparatus, which he did in a room labelled ¡®CW Storage #20.¡¯ It was filled with them, so he replaced the old one he had with a fresh canister and left for the laboratory he awoke in. Once there, he found the only functional computer in the room and pulled up a command prompt. He knew everything he had to do despite never using this computer before, including typing in ¡®Project Ascendit.¡¯ A digital folder of video and audio files was pulled up, all dated and categorized for proper chronological viewing. He clicked on the first file to start the first video. The man originally thought to have been Tom appeared on the screen, but neatly groomed, dressed in a buttoned-up shirt and white lab coat. He was sitting in the same chair Billy was currently in. Seeing the name tag hanging on a lanyard clipped to the shirt, it read Dr. Sid Heathcliff. ¡°He¡¯s finally arrived, after days of combing for him in the wilderness since he went on the run.¡± Heathcliff stated excitedly. ¡°The government had to make the reports and the surviving witnesses of the incident at the trailer park corroborate on a more palpable story for the public, but it gave us the cover we needed to properly track down and wrangle him without prying eyes. A few personnel got hurt, but it was worth it. This is what our research division was made for¡­well, this and experimental weapons development and testing, but still. He¡¯s been heavily sedated and secured for study to start tomorrow. I¡¯ve been looking forward to this since I learned of his case when reading through the classified archives. To think, the government knew of his and his family¡¯s existence and placed them under surveillance, only to give up when they stopped performing. Such potential to be left dormant and untapped for so long. I am grateful to have this unique opportunity to study a real psychic.¡± Billy played the next video and again, Dr. Heathcliff was in front of the camera. ¡°The subject is quite fascinating.¡± said Dr. Heathcliff. ¡°What we¡¯ve discovered is a real marvel of science.¡± The footage switched to video record of scientists in protective gear working on and around a man strapped to an operating table, with IV fluid bags pumping him with copious sedatives. His veiny and pulsating, misshapen head suffered from severe hair loss, and his dilated eyes were bloodshot. He appeared to be in a catatonic state, his mouth frothy and thick saliva dribbling down the sides. As the personnel worked, Dr. Heathcliff continued speaking. ¡°Subject 1-TW, aka Tom Wiley, appears to be in the advanced stages of a rabies virus infection, with some yet unexplainable additional symptoms. Though the subject seems to be in bad shape, there¡¯s no blockage of airways, seizures, exhaustion, or widespread paralysis. He should be dead for all intents and purposes, but somehow instead of succumbing to the final stages that would lead to the infected¡¯s death, they have not manifested and he¡¯s still alive.¡± The footage returned to showing Dr. Heathcliff as he read over his notes. ¡°There must be a connection between Subject 1-TW¡¯s psychic abilities and the staving off of the infection¡¯s lethality. Could it be the brain¡¯s chemical make up? How it¡¯s naturally wired? This calls for so many tests.¡± And many tests were indeed performed. Video after video, Billy listened to Dr. Heathcliff detail research and watched as scientists surgically examined, injected, force-fed, and scanned the actual Tom. If they weren¡¯t doing that, they found ways to make him test his mental powers out on various test animals and death row inmates. Whenever he started to get out of their control, they increased the power of special implanted electrodes to dampen his abilities. The videos would continue like this until Billy got to the thirtieth video. Unlike the other videos, Dr. Heathcliff looked disheveled and was taking pills. ¡°Something unexpected happened in the laboratory earlier today.¡± Dr. Heathcliff said, gritting his teeth to hold back the apparent aches he felt. ¡°Subject 1-TW has¡­ I¡¯m not sure¡­just watch.¡± The next segment of footage that played showed Tom howling, shaking, and pulling about in his restraints on the operating table. Scientists were trying to find out if something was going wrong with the electrodes, or if the sedatives were not being administered appropriately. A loud and long constrictive gasp abruptly escaped Tom¡¯s mouth as he stared ahead towards nothing, while levitating off the operating table, breaking the restraints holding him down. The scientist backed away from him as one set off the alarm. Now floating in the air, Tom''s skull was revealing an enlarged, bloody brain; the rest of his head crumbled away as the brain continued to swell exponentially. Armed security personnel rushed in with their weapons trained on the growing brain, as the scientist took to hiding behind them. Not knowing what to do, the armed security requested orders. Just then, the noise ¨C the same back on the copter ¨C hit everyone in the vicinity, causing everyone to drop and react in anguish. The camera returned to the current state of Dr. Heathcliff. ¡°He did something to us.¡± said the doctor. ¡°That area is now restricted, and the entire facility has been placed on lockdown until further notice, but I fear it might be too late. Since the incident, everyone within the effected radius has been stricken with flu-like symptoms and severe headaches. It hurts to think. I¡¯ll give any update if I can.¡± The next few videos told of what sounded like a progression into hell. The staff were suffering through migraines and fever-like symptoms, but then the mania and hallucinations complicated things even further. The water and lighting systems were being sabotaged throughout the installation because people were saying that it made the sickness worse. Then one video had Dr. Heathcliff hiding under his desk, covered in blood, as screaming, shooting, and alarms were going off in the background. In addition, the sounds of flying objects and smashing could be heard too. ¡°Everyone is turning on everyone!¡± Dr. Heathcliff tried shouting over the chaos. ¡°Somehow, some of the facility¡¯s staff have gained the same psychic powers Subject 1-TW exhibited and began attacking those around them. Everyone was already on edge, so now violence has erupted across the complex. Virtually nobody trusts each other now and are making that point by trying to murder one another. I¡¯ve locked myself in my laboratory until everything calms down.¡± The next video showed the doctor back sitting in his seat. Unlike the prior videos, he had taken off his shirt and lab coat, had an opened half-empty whisky bottle, and a bloody nose. ¡°Forgive the lack of shirts, somebody broke the complex¡¯s central air conditioning system and I¡¯m still running a fever.¡± said the doctor in between sniffles and an undertone of sadness and discomfort. ¡°This is my last video entry, as it seems whatever Subject 1-TW¡­ Tom gave us awhile back, appears to have affected us radially. The closer in proximity someone was to the psychic blast, the sooner they succumbed to what I term ¡®psionic meltdowns.¡¯ Symptoms include telekinesis, telepathy, mind reading, levitation, bilocation, mind control, and most of all, hyper-aggression.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°However,¡± he points to his nose, ¡°the first thing that happens before gaining those powers is that you get a bloody nose, like so. I¡¯d think I¡¯d enjoy trying these newfound abilities out but compounding them with the lovely added prospects of mania and hallucinations, I¡¯m going to have to check out early.¡± He pulls up one of the air cylinders he¡¯s been carrying around later. ¡°If you are watching this, if someone is bleeding from their nose, do not go anywhere near them. They¡¯re extremely dangerous. This is Dr. Sid Heathcliff, signing off. Good luck.¡± Placing the mask over his face, he then twists the valve open and breathes heavily. Giving a thumbs up, he turns off the video. ¡°Obviously that wasn¡¯t the end of you.¡± Billy said aloud moving on to the next video file. ¡°So, what happens next?¡± Playing the next file, he sees a tired Dr. Heathcliff hold the gas mask in hand. ¡°As you could probably tell, I¡¯m still alive. Seeing the old test run footage of this nerve agent I got from Chemical Weapons Storage #20, I know I should be dead from breathing it in. What the gas seems to have done instead was stop the unchecked symptoms like fever, hallucinations, and migraines, and gave me control over my mental abilities.¡± He then raised a hand and brought a beaker into his grasp. ¡°I can feel the power has been weakened from how it could be without the gas, but that¡¯s a tradeoff I can live with. What could be a problem is that I can¡¯t breathe without the nerve agent beyond an hour¡¯s time, otherwise its effects wear off, the discomfort returns, and I¡¯ll lose control of myself.¡± He looks around himself and wonders, ¡°It has been a while since I¡¯ve heard any activity outside of this room. I wonder if anyone else is still alive?¡± The next video Billy played showed the doctor, recovering from being beaten and battered, now accompanied by two others wearing breathing apparatuses like his in the background wandering around, but at different stages of severe infection. ¡°I managed to find two others still alive and, after some difficulty, administered the gas. It worked, though with limited success. One of my colleagues still suffers from the occasional migraine and spike in aggression despite it, and the other hallucinates somewhat. There was a third I tried to help, but the gas placed them in a permanent vegetative state. I theorize the experimental nerve agent works best the sooner it is given as when symptoms appear. It renders the most severe cases brain dead, due to whatever advanced viral damage the cerebral tissue incurred prior to treatment. With this knowledge, I have a plan that might be able to bring Tom down.¡± The following video after, the doctor was by himself, pacing back and forth angrily with his mask off. ¡°It didn¡¯t work! He knew we were coming! He sicked the last remaining survivors on us! Only I survived by using one of their own homemade machetes against them, and I never had the chance to get even close to Tom with the nerve agent!¡± Taking a wide swipe at the air, he sent the laboratory equipment on one side of the room flying into the wall. Heathcliff then calmed himself down before continuing to address the camera. ¡°There¡¯s got to be some way of defeating him. The installation¡¯s security personnel have an arsenal here filled with military weapons. Maybe there¡¯s something that can be used. I sense that there¡¯s a weak spot between the neck and brain. Maybe if there was a way to distract Tom, I could get a clean shot at it.¡± He stops and looks around in a panic. The noise hits him, causing him to hold his head and curl up screaming. The camera distorts and ends the video. Billy continues to the next file, which is only the audio, as with the rest of the recorded files near the end of the project¡¯s folder. He hears someone heavily inhaling and exhaling in a breathing apparatus. ¡°This is Dr. Heathcliff. It tried doing me in via mental connection, but I found another benefit of the gas. The nerve agent seems to guard me from influence. That¡¯s not all, since I came out of that assault on my mind with some incredible, yet very disturbing news. I was able to peer into Tom¡¯s mind, and I learned that Tom doesn¡¯t exist. Not anymore. I¡¯m not too sure if I¡¯m describing what happened with justice, but whatever the rabies virus did to reactivate the abilities, it has found a way to use his psionic energies to slowly infuse itself into its host¡¯s being. Eventually, Tom stopped being an individual with a virus, and became one with the virus. Now, Tom is the virus, wanting to spread itself beyond here and out into the world. Why not send those it had already infected out when they were still alive? I must be a threat to whatever plans it has in store, so I may not be able to confront it head on, but I¡¯ll be a thorn in its side as long as I live.¡± After the file¡¯s end, Billy started the second audio file. He noticed something haggard in the doctor¡¯s voice as he spoke. ¡°This is Dr. Heathcliff. It¡¯s been a while since my last entry. I noticed as time goes on, I can¡¯t be without the gas for longer durations like I used to when I first started. The effects wear off sooner now. Meanwhile, ole Tommy boy¡¯s been trying to find different ways to chip away at my defenses, but no such luck.¡± The doctor laughed, ¡°You gotta try better than that you freak!¡± It was easily the shortest audio file in the folder. A few others afterwards weren¡¯t much longer, and they all were filled with unhelpful gibberish. Billy was about to give up listening to what was left, until he reached a file created just one or two days ago. ¡°This is Dr. Heathcliff, I sensed something happen earlier today. Tom released a massive amount of psionic energy; however, it wasn¡¯t against me, but was directed against something outside. I ventured topside to track down where it was last felt. I found a helicopter had crash landed not far from here, and everyone was still alive. Thinking back on what I learned from its attempts to invade my mind, I now remember an instance where someone was mind controlled to break lockdown protocol and email information to the outside world.¡± The doctor¡¯s voice suddenly changed from agitated to enraged. ¡°I know you had something to do with this!¡± Heathcliff yelled. ¡°Damn you! What are you playing at? You want to play games? If I ever get the chance, I¡¯m wiping the floor with your pink ass! You hear me?¡± Afterwards, the doctor¡¯s voice returned to a calmer yet agitated state and continued talking. ¡°At least I found that the psychic disease¡¯s infectiousness carries little if any potency at its furthest distance. However, though I didn¡¯t sense anybody infected, I did see one of the crash survivors with a bloody nose. I¡¯m not taking any chances, so I¡¯m returning later tonight and putting an end to whatever Tom is scheming before it goes any further.¡± Billy stopped listening to the files for a moment. He remembered what happened, and he wondered if the final two audio files would delve into the horrifying details. He wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to hear any of it again, but he steeled himself and played the second to last audio. ¡°This is Heathcliff, I levitated the suspected infected away from the camp and killed him, though I accidentally woke up the others in the process. Afterwards, I had to take out his wife, and sent another guy off chasing after a projected double of myself. I found the two other crash survivors unaware of me, so I took one of them back here with me to jumpstart a plan I have.¡± That was when Billy heard a voice all too familiar in the background. ¡°Wh-what h- where am?¡± Billy heard himself talking in a daze in the background. ¡°My head¡­it hurts¡­ it hurts so bad.¡± ¡°I brought him to Tom, and Tom couldn¡¯t resist.¡± said the doctor addressing the camera. ¡°Now, he just started bleeding from the nose, so I¡¯m going to give him the nerve agent. The two of us can then take on Tom once I explain what¡¯s going on. Maybe, depending on how this goes, I can capture another one and it will be three against one.¡± Billy then hears footsteps leading away from the recording, the squeaking of a valve, and the hissing of gas escaping. He heard himself begging Heathcliff to not do it and to stop before his yelling became muffled. Billy stopped the audio prematurely. After calming down a bit, he played the final media file. ¡°Damn it!¡± Heathcliff could be heard yelling angrily. ¡°I managed to catch another one of the crash survivors, but that stupid, ex-soldier followed me back, freeing her and my recruit! I killed that persistent fuck, but now my plan is shot so now that¡­¡± It was quiet for a moment before the doctor continued in a panicked tone. ¡°This was your plan, wasn¡¯t it Tom? In my need to destroy you, you tricked me into bringing your new carriers. If they leave with nothing to contain the infection, it will mutate further inside them, and they¡¯ll spread the infection. No. No! I must find them before they escape the mines. They can¡¯t. They can¡¯t leave. They can¡¯t leave!¡± Dr. Heathcliff repeated himself again and again, sounding angrier and louder, until the audio cut itself off and ended. Hunters Two hunters were hiding out inside a camouflaged blind, drinking beers, and enjoying a lazy weekend. One of them pointed to movement among the bushes. A pronghorn trots out into the open and begins to graze. One of them pointed to movement among the bushes. A pronghorn trotted out into the open and began to graze. One of the hunters carefully readied his rifle and aimed so that his crosshairs were squarely over the creature¡¯s head. He was about to pull the trigger when the animal was abruptly dragged away by an unseen force through the brush behind it. ¡°What the hell happened?¡± asked one hunter to the other. ¡°Don¡¯t know, but that one was ours!¡± the other said annoyed feeling a bit insulted by the steal. Both men took along their rifles and went after their trophy. Making their way through the thicket, they thought over what they saw. It must¡¯ve been a trap that was able to drag away a pronghorn like that. Typical for a trapper to steal a hunter¡¯s honest quarry up form under their noses, after hours of waiting for the perfect shot. They bet the trap wasn¡¯t even permitted.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. They made their way out into a clearing and saw their prize, and someone crouched over their game. ¡°Hey, you got a permit to trap here?¡± one of the hunters asked, but there was no response as they approached. They noticed something wrong with the stranger, so they readied their guns. ¡°We¡¯re talking to you!¡± The stranger stopped and turned around. It was Genna, hyperventilating as her mouth was caked in froth and pronghorn blood. She stared at the two hunters with wild, bloodshot eyes, bulging from her misshapen head, which had lost much of its hair. Something else wasn¡¯t right about the visibly throbbing cranium, which seemed to be on the precipice of bursting open. After cursing under their breath from shock, one of the hunters slightly lowered his rifle and stepped closer with a hand reaching out. ¡°Whoa, hey lady,¡± he asked, ¡°you okay? You need a hospital or something?¡± The other hunter noticed small stones, dirt granules, and leaves beginning to float off the ground. He tried to get the attention of his hunter buddy. Genna¡¯s forehead started splitting, causing the enlarged brain to begin swelling out from behind the pooling blood streaming out the opening. Taking one deep inhale, she let out a scream that sent out a shockwave, blowing loose forest debris, uprooting small plants, and knocking the two men off their feet. The end had begun.