Shades of Gray
#3
Cerberus Versus Pandora
SHADES OF GRAY: Cerberus Versus Pandora
Text Copyright © 2008, 2011 by Kristie Lynn Higgins
Cover Art Copyright © 2008
Smashwords Edition
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Of all the things that bind humans together; race, religion, creeds, etc...
The one that is the strongest and the most inescapable is blood.
From the Assembled Works
Ginn L. Irynkissgthie
525 B.D.C.
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Chapter One
Adam’s Attack
The year 32 A.D.C.
October 24...
Sunday...
Hellenistic Sector, Cultural Vicinage...
Genesis Arboretum...
Inside the Sphere Room...
In his long life, Adam Greenhouse saw many wondrous and horrifying sights and did many brave and some disastrous things. Now he had a chance to atone. He had a chance to make right what once went wrong. All he had to do was take one life.
Minutes earlier, his feet had thundered across the wooden floor of his treehouse balcony, and he had seized Kat by the throat. He had started to choke her, but instead dropped her to meet her fate.
“Is she dead?” Adam wondered as he looked over his broken balcony. “Is she dead? Did I finally correct a past mistake? Have I atoned for my sins? Have I made up for what I did?” He squinted, staring at the rippling water below as bubbles rose. “Have I saved the world?”
"No," he thought, staring again at the pond. Fifteen minutes had gone by since he attempted to destroy Kat. He didn't regret his action only that he didn't follow through with it. "I didn't kill the weed, but I have sent Cerberus to correct my mistake. I only wish I had had the foresight to have destroyed the weed a long time ago. Then... Then maybe the world wouldn't be doomed to a dark end." He looked to the broken section of the balcony. "I'll have to have someone come fix this railing."
* * *
11:46 P.M...
A gentle wind blew across the lemon grass like a hand brushing across the blades. The sun crept across the cloudless eastern sky inside the sphere shaped building on thousands of seamless projection screens. A multitude of birds in an array of colors sang to their morning. Many birds perched on the huge manmade banyan tree that stood in the large room’s center. A pond surrounded the tree which was positioned on a small island. Three bridges crossed the water and connected the small island to fields of lemon grass. An ocean roared in the distance. It was another illusion like the morning sky.
Outside, the Arboretum was all but abandoned, except for a few guards patrolling the parking lot and outer buildings. The place would not be opened to the public for another nine hours.
Inside the Sphere Room...
Kat lay on her back unconscious in a clearing beside the pond. Her hair dripped with water and ran from her forehead and down the side of her face. Her eyes rapidly moved beneath her closed lids as she dreamed. Within the vision, she drifted in a world of darkness. A piece of paper floated in front of her. It was creased and worn. She remembered the item that had given her hope with fondness. It was the Note R.G. had left for her.
For a year, she carried the message, finding strength and purpose in its limited and vague words. In the dream, Kat couldn’t make out the letters to form words in her mind, but she had long ago memorized them.
“I never figured out what my mission was,” she thought within her dream. “There are many things I haven’t figured out. I don’t even know if my name's Katharine. Just that I awoke one day in Etna Toys Plant and Warehouse with no memory. The Note lay on a table beside me, so I believed it belong to me and took the name as my own.” In the vision, she held a fist to her heart. “I have to have something to believe in. Without hope, I'm dead inside.”
The Note floated away from her, and she reached out to seize it, but couldn’t grasp it. A small fire appeared and consumed the paper. “No!” she screamed as the flame reflected in her horrified hazel eyes. She dropped her hand and stared at the fire till it faded then Kat yelled, “Why's all of this happening to me? I just want to understand. Sheez! Is that so much to ask? Some one tell me who I am. Why can't I remember?!”
“You want to know your origin?” a man spoke from the darkness.
At first, his voice startled her, but then she questioned, “Yes, who am I? And who are you?”
“Where do you come from? Yes... My dear, I have wondered that myself,” he said. “I have seen glimpses of you through my lifetime.”
“What do you mean you have seen glimpses of me?” Kat scanned the darkness, saw no one, and then repeated, “And who are you?”
“The who is easy, but I shall have to tell you that later. The other is not so easy. Nor I the time to tell you now. I wanted to see if I could speak with you. Now I know I can, but my time has come to an end. I shall try to speak with you again. First you must remember something. You must remember something important.”
“No don’t go.” She paused, but heard nothing. “Are you there?” There was still no response. Distraught, she yelled, “I just want to know who I am.”
“Remember,” he said, but his voice sounded far away. “Remember these words. Though the clouds darken the sun...”
The words triggered an auto-response and her eyes dilated as she started to recite,
“Though the clouds darken the sun,
and the rain becomes tainted..."
"No!" a different man shouted. "Do not fall for his trick! It is dangerous to listen to him, so listen to me. You must pull out of his hypnotic induction! Do it before something horrible happens!"
Jolted from the trance by the screaming man, Kat examined the blackness surrounding her in the dream. It was dismally quiet. She wondered, "Who was yelling at me? And why?"
Kat shouted, “Hello? Is someone there? Hello?”
No one answered her.
She drifted in the void for what seemed like minutes, then the dreamscape before her changed from darkness to light. In this new realm of her subconscious, no Dry Clouds existed, the sun shined on the land, and the air was clean and crisp. And the most important thing of all, she knew in this place that no one hunted her. Kat drifted in this world happy and content till a shadow cast over the land, invading her peaceful dream. A male voice laughed.
“Is that you?” Kat asked. “Have you come back?”
He laughed again.
A little afraid, she questioned, "Who's there?"
He chuckled a third time and his sinister laugh sent shivers up her spine. The sun fled as Dry Clouds rumbled in, plunging the land into forever night.
“No! Stop it! Bring it back! Bring back the other place!” Kat screamed, but her pleas were ignored. She flew high above the dark world till an unknown force pulled her body down. The strange force also affected time. As she descended, her body grew younger till she reached her early teens. As a thirteen year old, she landed in a white tiled room. In the room, people talked with muffled words. Two figures of faceless women appeared, but they didn’t frighten Kat.
One of the faceless women placed her hands on her shoulders. “Katharine, you must be strong. I can no longer protect you.” The woman looked to a door, hearing footsteps approach the room. She turned back to her. “There are those in the Corporation who want to exploit you.”
"I've dreamed this before," Kat thought. "Who are these women? And why do I keep dreaming about them and this moment?"
In the dream, the doorknob jiggled as someone tried to enter. Kat heard people yelling outside.
“Rosetta, they’re here. Hurry,” one of the women yelled.
“Quick, Mary. Push the desk against the door. I need more time!”
“Something terrible's about to happen,” Kat thought. "I have to stop it."
She shouted, “Quick! We have to get out of here! They’re coming for us! We have to run!”
The women ignored her frantic warning as if they couldn't hear her talking.
The woman with her hands on her shoulders knelt to one knee. She then looked into her face. “Katharine, they will take you. I can’t stop them, not with the power I have now.”
Someone outside tried to bust in the door.
"Listen to me!" Kat forced her thirteen year old body to grab the woman's arms. "We have to run! They're going to hurt us!"
The other women yelled, “We've got to go! They’re here!”
“I'll hurry." She said, "Be strong Katharine.” She stroked her cheek. “My dearest Kat.”
"No!" Kat screamed. "Please don't happen again!" She turned to the door. “Why won't they listen to me?”
A small explosion ripped the door from its hinges, and it fell as five soldiers rushed in. Kat tried to move, but her younger body wouldn't respond to her mental commands. The S.C.Ms. aimed their assault rifles at the three of them. Heated muffled words were exchanged then angry demands. The image slowly faded. A sense of pain and loneliness swept over Kat. The image completely faded, and was replaced by the sound of fire, three gun shots, and women screaming.
“Mary! Rosetta!” Kat shrieked as she opened her eyes. "Run!" Her heart race as a feeling of powerlessness swept over her. "You have to run!" She realized she had been asleep and placed her hands over her ears, trying to shield herself from the horrific sounds that echoed in her mind. "What happened? Why were the soldiers after Mary and Rosetta? And why didn't I do something? Why didn't I do something to help them?" Her whole body trembled, unable to shake off the feeling there was something she should have done. “Or is it there was something I shouldn't have done?” Kat tried to remember more, but couldn't. "And what happened to them?" The fog in her mind cleared, and she lowered her hands. "And who were they? Should I know Mary and Rosetta? Or was it only a dream? It felt like a memory." Sunlight shown down on her. She felt its warmth and realized, “I'm outside?" She peered up and squinted. "And the Dry Clouds are gone? Where am I?!”
Chapter Two
The Two Projects
11:51 P.M...
"Am I outside? I think so." A breeze swept over Kat, and she shivered. “And I’m wet?” She stared at a blue cloudless sky as she lay on her back. “How did I get here?” she wondered as a few birds flew over. She noticed her cheek hurt and put a hand to it. “I remember now. I'm not outside, but inside the Genesis Arboretum. I had come to see Adam. For some reason, he was very angry at me.” She moved her hand and rubbed her sore neck. “He choked me. But instead of finishing me off, he dropped me, and I fell into the pond.” She sat up and looked around. "This isn't where I dragged myself out of the water. I had crawled out to the lemon grass. Now I'm back on the island." She turned and saw the treehouse behind her. "How did I get here?" Her back hurt where Adam slammed her on the railing. “What do I remember? I managed to drag myself out and...” Kat rubbed her cheek again. “Stephanie kicked me. That conniving witch is trying to kill me! But what about Adam? Why was he? And he kept calling me a weed. Why would he do that? I don't know, but that's all I remember.”
“So you’re finally awake,” Stephanie yelled from the other side of the pond. “I guess I kicked you a little too hard. I had to drag you out of the water. I was beginning to think you’d sleep all night.”
Kat quickly got to her feet as her flight instinct kicked in.
Stephanie said, “When I first met you at Hades Cemetery, I thought you were a complete waste of time. I had no clue what Mr. Morta saw in you. I then witnessed your fight with the Un-Men, and I changed my mind. But I guess you don't care about that. You must be wondering why you're still alive. I mean I could've killed you after I knocked you unconscious. But what fun would that have been?”
“What do you want?” Kat asked. She was ready to flee like a deer from a predator. “And who are you?” She noticed the three bridges. They were her only escape from the island, unless she went back up into the treehouse. Her enemy stood by one of the bridges. “Is your real name Stephanie?” Kat wiped water from her face and then wiped her hands on her jeans. “I heard Adam call you Cerberus. Are you a Closer? Are you a Life Closer sent by the Council?”
“I wasn't sure if you had heard what the old man had said. It's too bad you had. I had this game all planned out.” Stephanie glanced up at the treehouse. “The old man could always ruin a good surprise.” She started over the bridge. “You want to know if I’m an assassin? That is funny. You should have figured it out by now. And since you haven't, I'll tell you. I’m like you.”
Perplexed, Kat pointed to herself. “Like me?”
“Come on. Don't you see it. Let me give you a hint with two words, Pandora Project. See, now you're understanding. I'm like you. I'm an experiment. I’m no piss-asp Closer.” Stephanie ran her hand along the bridge’s railing. “The Council created me, and now, they want me to destroy you.” She pointed a finger accusingly. “They believe you're a pucking failure. They believe you're an experiment unworthy of them.”
“I don’t care what they think!” Kat shouted. “The Council doesn’t own me.” She pointed to herself. “I’m my own person.”
“See. It's that kind of half-asp statement that has gotten you into this predicament.” Stephanie stopped at the end of the bridge. “Of course the Council owns you. You're their project, the Pandora Project.” She couldn’t get past how the name sounded to her. The word Pandora incited excitement within her for the great battle between experiments that was to come. “You have no rights. Even Adam knows that, and once he found out what you are, he treated you as you should be. He treated you less than human.”
Kat looked up to the treehouse balcony. There Adam stood, watching them. Disgusted, he glared at her.
“My backpack’s up there,” Kat thought. “And my gun’s in it.”
She looked to Stephanie and declared, “You’re wrong. I have worth. Everyone does. You’re all wrong. You, Adam, the Council... I'm somebody. I have rights.”
She looked back up to Adam and thought, "Sheez... And here I thought I'd found someone who would help me. Why's he so angry? What could I've possibly done?"
“I don't know why you're looking at him,” Stephanie said. “Mr. Greenhouse called you a weed, and coming from him, that’s low. He basically hates you. He wants to see you destroyed.” She marched toward her. “So he’ll enjoy what I’m about to do to you.”
Kat backed away as she thought, “The only thing I can do is run and try to make it out of this place.” She dashed over a different bridge than the one Stephanie had crossed. Kat bolted through the grass, running in the direction she believed the exit was.
Stephanie said to herself, “I was afraid she would fight me here. But now there’ll be a hunt.” She took a few moments to listen to the breeze, the bird songs, and the prey fleeing through the tall blades. “And do I love a good chase.”
Chapter Three
Between Father And Daughter
11:48 P.M...
Hellenistic Sector, Business Vicinage...
Sphinx Corporation Third Branch Office...
The Chairman's Office...
“What are you doing?” the Chairman asked. "Why are you aiming that gun at me?"
“I’m going to get to the truth.” Kim choked back incertitude and emotional anguish. “Janus, why did you kill mom?!” A look of loathing and of a daughter betrayed loomed over her. "Tell me!"
"What are you talking about?" The Chairman didn’t feel like one of the most powerful people in the world.
He felt more like a prisoner before an executioner as he wondered, "What does my daughter know? And what is she going to do about it?" His standing in the world didn't matter at the moment. None of his resources or global connections would save him from his daughter’s wrath.
Outraged, she couldn’t fathom her father capable of such an evil act. "He couldn't have killed mom. He loved her. But he's a corporate man. The Chairman of the Third Branch. I imagine he has done whatever it has taken to rise to this position. But does that include murdering his wife?" She maintained her cool demeanor as she lowered the PPK. She laid the gun with the attached silencer on her lap. Since her father wouldn't come right out and admit it, the questioning could take a while. She didn't need to keep the weapon aimed at him. "I'll get to the truth." Trained extensively as a Life Closer, she had much practice at this type of interrogation. “I secretly hope it doesn't come down to my harsher means at extracting the truth, but I have to know. And I won't hesitate. I want all of this to be nothing but unfounded lies. I want my father's name not to be Janus. I want him innocent of mom's death. Hades... What if he did kill her? What will I do?” She cleared her throat and glared at him as she said, “I'll ask you only one more time.”
"I'm your father."
Uncertain what she would do, he swallowed hard, stared at her, and thought, “Our relationship has always been strained, but never in my wildest imaginings had I thought she would shoot me. I know she's a Life Closer, and I know she's capable of killing, but still, I never thought she would threaten me.”
He questioned, "Why are you doing this?"
"I want to know the truth." She slowly inhaled and took her time with the questions. Her patience and training were the only thing silencing her rage, her horror, and her disbelief. At any moment, she could lose control and lash out. Kim kept a firm grip on the PPK and asked, “Have you ever heard of someone called Janus? Tell me the truth this time!” Her heart thumped, fearing the answer to the second question. “Are you that person?”
He stared at the folders Orthos delivered earlier. They were the ones that had revealed he was Janus. “Kimberly knows,” he thought. “She knows I’m Janus.” He considered calling security, but knew she would kill him before he picked up the phone. “What else does she know?”
The Chairman finally confessed, “Yes. I'm Janus.”
As the Phoenix, she would not hesitate to kill her father. “Did you murder mom or order her death?” But as his daughter, she wavered, clinging to the hope of his innocence and that he was blameless in her death.
“I did not kill your mother! My wife!” he insisted. “For Ares’ sake, Kimberly! How could you think such a thing?”
Relief poured over her, but then she wondered, “Is this enough? Can I believe him? Is his outrage real?”
Kim glanced at two of the walls consisting of twenty foot windows. The corner office’s bright lights caused the windows to act like mirrors. She saw her grim reflection as she ordered, “Tell me again. Make me believe. Make me believe you didn’t murder her.”
He hesitated, not sure what to say.
“Please...” She squeezed the gun’s grip so hard she felt the grooves dig into her palm. “Make me believe. I want to believe, but...” Before becoming a Closer, Kim was trained as an interrogator. She watched and listened for signs that indicated deceit. "But you have lied to me! How do I know you're not lying now?!"
He stared deep into her blue-green eyes. “I did not kill your mother.” The Chairman straightened in his chair. “Now please Kimberly, put the gun away.”
She listened to his controlled breathing and watched his pupils for dilation. “You seem to be telling the truth. What about my other question?”
His knuckles went white as he gripped the chair’s arms.
Kim repeated, “Did you order her termination?”
“Why would you think I ordered her death? Where are you getting your information?”
“When I was at the Factory, I discovered a disk. On that disk, I came across a file marked Security Memorandum Theresa Griffin. The file was dated a week before mom’s death. In it, you suggested her termination!" she shouted and calmed herself. "What I want to know is, was this a recommendation for her murder?”
“You want the truth?” he asked.
“For Ares' sake! Yes!” Her eyes widened with unyielding resolve. “I demand the truth!”
“No matter what it might be?”
“No matter what it might be. Now tell me!” Tears ran down her face. Overwrought with anger, her hand shook as it rested on the gun that was on her lap. “Tell me now before I shoot you!”
He started, “It all began almost forty years ago...”
Chapter Four
A Time To Run, A Time To Hide
11:58 P.M...
Hellenistic Sector, Cultural Vicinage...
Genesis Arboretum...
Inside the Sphere Room...
The grass whipped by Kat as she darted through the field, searching for the door out. She was a bit turned around since falling from the balcony and nearly drowning. "I'm not even sure I'm heading the right way," she thought as she glanced back at the banyan. "Crap! I can't even tell which side of the tree I had approached. From here, it all looks the same. For all I know, I'm on the other side of the room and heading for a dead end. And it's only been an hour, right? At least, I think I've only been here an hour. I should have a little better memory." Kat rubbed her bruised neck. "But then again, I was nearly choked to death." She remembered the balcony's railing. "And my body was used as a sledgehammer. So I shouldn't be so hard on myself." Her athletic jacket and blue jeans shielded her from the tall grass. A couple of blades cut her unprotected hands. "At least, one good thing came out of this." She continued her mad dash. “I know that I'm human.”
A great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “I’m human not organic-mecha. The Rogue thought I might be one of those robots with living components. And for a while, I thought I was. Really feared I was. I mean, if I was this organic-mecha would I know? If they can pass as human, would I know unless I was told?” Kat paused and hid behind some vegetation to catch her breath. “That's why I came here in the first place. I had to be sure. I couldn't go on living not knowing. Having doubts about my humanity was unbearable." She wiped her sweaty brow. "I finally have an answer. Adam subsided my concerns. I'm not an automaton of flesh, but now I'm being hunted. Hunted again. It's none stop, like my questions. I found the answer to one, but more problems pop up to take its place. Like Cerberus. Why does the Council want me destroyed? Is it because I never killed anyone and entered the Gamma Phase?” She started running again. “Sheez... Will my problems ever end? Will I ever live in peace, live without being hunted?”
Kat thought back to the treehouse. "And what about Adam and the hate in his eyes? I don't think I've ever had someone look at me with such loathing. Not any of the Closers or Bounty Hunters. Not even the Rogue with its inhuman persistence. None of them ever hated me like Adam. What frustrates me the most is, I don't know why." She paused in her reflections. "Do I want to know why?"
Some time passed...
Kat entered a small area of bamboo and halted. "This place is larger than I thought. Or am I only running in circles? Sheez... I should pay more attention to my surroundings, then I wouldn't be lost." She heard someone pursuing through the vegetation. “I have to keep going. Stephanie's close.” She started running again and glanced at the blue sky. “It’s a shame. This place is so beautiful. I would've liked to enjoy the scenery, not pray to escape it.”
Stephanie cleared the lemon grass and saw her quarry. “There she is. So the great Pandora's running, running like a frightened mouse.” She taunted, “Are you afraid of me? Are you afraid of the great Cerberus, the three headed dog of death?”
"I hear her, but where's Stephanie?" Kat scanned the area behind her and increased speed. "She's close. Crap! Real close. Where's the exit? There!” She spotted the door. “I see it!” Kat rushed for it, left the small forest of bamboo, and passed a shed. She neared her escape when Stephanie walked out and blocked her exit.
Stephanie had beaten her quarry to the door. “The chase is over.” She took a few steps toward Kat. “Now you'll fight me.” She smirked, confident of her victory, and declared, “If you want to escape, you'll have to defeat me!”
“Great! As Kimberly would say. Just great!” Kat thought. “Why do I attract the weirdoes?” She looked over Stephanie. “At least, she’s not armed from what I can tell.”
Kat declared, “I don’t want to fight you. Let me by. There’s no need for us to fight. Heck, I'll even say you defeated me and are the champion, if that's what you want. So why don't we call it a day, and I can go home.”
Stephanie laughed and mocked her, “You don’t want to fight me.” She cracked her knuckles. “That’s too bad, really too bad. Cause I’ve been wanting to kick your asp.” Stephanie relished in her past deceit. “Have since we first met at Hades Cemetery when they buried that Preacher guy.” She turned her head side to side, cracking her neck. “Don’t forget, I’ve been sent to kill you, and when the Council wants someone dead, well... They’re dead. So, come on!”
“Yep. I’m cursed,” Kat thought. “Cursed to run into every freak and psychotic killer on the planet.”
She calmly replied, not trying to sound too boastful, “I’ve fought countless Closers and Bounty Hunters that the Council has sent. I’ve beaten them all."
Kat then thought, “Stephanie might be telling the truth about the exit. I don’t remember any other doors to this sphere. I might have to fight to escape.”
“You’ve fought Closers–” Stephanie crossed her arms and shrugged. “–big whopping deal!” She shook her head, disgusted Kat didn’t know. “The Council was testing you. Their intent wasn’t to destroy you. Come on! You should know that.”
“Big whopping deal?” Kat repeated. “What kind of an insult is...”
Stephanie interrupted, “The Council has canceled your tests. They have deemed you a failure. And now, they've ordered your termination.” She breathed in deeply, elated over the opportunity to meet someone in combat that might be her equal. Stephanie charged, covering the distance between them in seconds and swung each fist.
Kat ducked the attacks, but Stephanie spin kicked and nailed her in the head. Kat fell with the blow, but quickly leapt back to her feet into a defensive stance. She wiped her bloody mouth with the back of her hand.
“She’s strong,” Kat thought. “Stronger than me.”
“Didn’t expect that, did you?” Stephanie moved around as if in a slow dance, and her hands lashed out like serpent heads. “Don’t worry I have more surprises.” She charged again with a fury of fists. Her lightning fast punches connected with mammoth force.
Kat barely blocked them as the fierceness of the impacts drove her back. “She’s too fast,” she thought unable to counter. “I have to do something or...”
Stephanie launched a side kick. Kat managed to block the frontal assault, but the force of the blow sent her flying back. She landed in a muddy area and slid into a heap.
“This is too easy.” Irritated that Kat might possibly be holding back, Stephanie yelled, “Fight me!” She motioned for her to get up. “Come on! Fight me like you did those Un-Men.”
The cold mud chilled Kat and extinguished her will to battle. She lay on her stomach and stared at the dark wet ground. “I can’t give up,” she thought. “I can’t die here. I have to get up. I have to defend myself.” She stood, wiping her muddy hands on her pants. The fire of survival warmed her and energized her spirit. Kat made two fists and stood in a boxing stance.
“That’s more like it.”
Excited, Stephanie rushed toward her. She led with a barrage of fists. Kat again barely blocked them. Stephanie twisted her hips and snapped a roundhouse. Kat blocked it, but the blow set her off balance. She quickly regained her stance and countered with a left jab.
Stephanie caught the fist and said, “Too slow.”
She twisted Kat’s left wrist, bending her opponent’s arm back. Stephanie whirled her body like a tornado, released Kat's hand, and came around with a right spin fist. Her hammer of a hand smashed into her opponent’s face and toppled Kat.
Stephanie turned and found Kat was on the ground and she wasn’t getting up. “Oh come on!” Stephanie yelled. “You have to be more than this weakling that lies before me! Come on! I’ve seen you fight the Un-Men.”
Kat moaned and insisted, “You’re not an Un-Man.”
She slowly sat up and cringed for her bruised face and thought, “Stephanie’s too fast, too strong.” She rubbed her injured arm. “I need to get out of here. Find something to fight with. I need my Beretta.” Kat stood and looked to the treehouse in the distance. “My gun’s in my backpack at Adam's place.”
“What’s a matter? Are you missing your weapon?” Stephanie folded her arms and stared at Kat, who was covered in mud. “I noticed you don’t have it. Missing it, I suppose. After all, you're a crack shot. And I see there isn’t much to your hand to hand abilities. Though, I would have to say, that was very sloppy of you to leave the weapon behind. Puck! Did you let your guard down at Adam’s? Have you forgotten about your training? You should never let your guard down.”
“That was sloppy of me,” Kat thought. “And now that Stephanie knows the Beretta is there, she won’t let me back up into the treehouse. Idiot! Kim would say. Sheez! I'm too trusting! But at least–” Kat reached her hand into her right thigh pocket. “–I still have the Music Box. Oh no. Where is it? It isn't here. I have to find it!” She searched the other five pockets of her pants and didn't find it. “Where is it?!” Kat scanned the muddy area, seeing if she had dropped it. “Wait. I had it in my hand when Adam attacked me. I must've dropped the Music Box in the treehouse. I need it! Without it I can’t...” Another thought interrupted that one. “And what if he finds it? What will he do with it? What will he do with it knowing it belongs to me?”
Chapter Five
Father Of The Problem
October 25...
Monday...
12:03 A.M...
In the treehouse...
Standing on the balcony, Adam stared at the spot he had choked Kat. The force of the attack had broken the loose railing, and the wooden beam floated in the pond below. “It wasn’t enough,” he realized. “I didn’t kill the weed. I didn't destroy the blight to this world. I... What am I saying? Do I understand what I did?” He took a moment to step back from everything and get a new prospective on things.
"My actions were so uncharacteristic of me." Adam examined his old large hands. “I acted like a mad man. What came over me? Cerberus was here. Why didn’t I let her kill the weed?” He relived his attack on Kat. “So much rage. Why did I attack with such animosity? I understand what the weed is. Still... Where did that rage come from? I was out of control. In my long life, nothing like this has ever happened to me.”
He looked to the artificial sun rising in the sky and allowed his mind to ponder other things. “What was the Council thinking? Not only them, but the Sphinx Corporation? They should've destroyed the weed long ago.” He searched across the fields and saw Stephanie fighting her in the distance. “Cerberus will take care of the matter now.” He gripped his cane. “What is the Council doing with the weed? Last I heard...”
A beam of sunlight penetrated the elongated roots of the banyan and reflected off a metal object on the floor. The glint caught his eye. “What’s this?” Adam bent down with some effort and picked up the treasure chest shaped box. He placed the item in his palm. “What's this? I remember now. The weed was holding it.” He examined the Music Box, finding a raised star on its lid.
"I can't believe it." He rubbed his finger over the lid. "Ginn’s Cipher.” Adam walked into the living area. He placed the Music Box on a large table, walked to a desk, retrieved a magnifying glass, and returned. He leaned his cane against the table, picked up the Music Box, and examined the star. “Yes. This is Ginn’s Cipher. So what does this mean? Does the weed have the star mark on her palm? Surely not. This item must be where Kimberly Griffin received her mark. But what is this item?” Adam opened the lid, and a melody played. “A Music Box? Wait. This is Ginn L. Irynkissgthie’s Unfinished Melody. Why would the weed have this? This can’t belong to her. She must have stolen it.”
A hum emanated from it, and a blue square glowed on each end of it.
“What’s this?” At the same time, he touched each square and a hologram of a blonde woman appeared. “This image looks just like Theresa Griffin.”
The hologram questioned, “Adam?”
“It speaks. That's amazing. Not only that, but the hologram recognized me. I remember now. Theresa was working on a devise.” He turned the Music Box completely around, examining the 3-D image. “Are you an interactive interface?”
“Yes,” the hologram answered. “I detected your presence and activated.” The hologram turned her head, searching the room. “Where is Katharine?”
“The weed? Do you know that she is the Pandora Project?”
“Yes, of course. I belong to her.” The hologram scanned the room again. “I do not detect her presence. Where is she?”
“This is amazing,” he said. “How were you able to...”
“Adam!” the hologram interrupted, irritated he ignored her question. “Where is Katharine?”
He remembered the real Theresa's anger when she worked for him over three decades ago and saw in the hologram that same fiery spirit. Adam knew she would not be pleased. “The weed isn’t here. The Council sent Cerberus to terminate her.”
“What? Cerberus? Why would they do that? What are they thinking? This is not good.” The hologram thought for a moment and then questioned, “Do you know if Katharine reached the Epsilon Phase of her metamorphosis?”
“The Phases? Tell me it isn’t true. Tell me the Council didn’t try to bring about the Phases? They have to be out of their minds.”
“Where have you been these past two decades? Where have you been since the real Theresa was murdered?” The hologram demanded, “Where, Adam? You could have stopped this.” She glared at him. “The Council released Katharine over a year ago. Since then, she has already attained the Delta Phase.”
“No. By all the sciences!" Adam uttered. "No, it can't be. She couldn't have reached the first four phases? It means..." He paced the room. "You said she attained the Delta Phase. But if she has reached that phase, then it means... It means she’s reached the Gamma Phase!” He grabbed his cane to rush down the stairs. “The weed must be destroyed!”
“Wait! Do not get so excited. I do not believe Katharine has taken the life of a human,” the hologram answered. “Somehow she skipped the Gamma and went on to the Delta Phase. For now, we are safe. But Adam... You should have been there for her. You should have been there for Katharine. How could you let the Council get a hold of her? Them of all people? What if they find out what she really is? What then?”
He scowled. “I washed my hands of that whole mess long ago! It has nothing to do with me!”
“Has nothing to do with you?" The hologram couldn't believe him and yelled all the more, "Has nothing to do with you?! But you were the one who activated it! Your own body is a testament of what you did, of what you and Theresa did.” She examined the sunny landscape around them. “How can you hide in this world you created? How can you look at yourself and do nothing?”
“I stay away from mirrors.” Adam pulled out a chair and sat his weary body. “I don’t look at my reflection, so I’m not reminded of what we did. That is, what the real Theresa Griffin and I did.” He stared at his hands. “So I'm not reminded of what I've done or what I've become.”
Disappointed, the hologram said, “Do you ever step outside? Do you ever see the Dry Clouds?”
“No. I don't. I never leave this building."
“I don’t believe you.” The hologram examined his tired and resigned face. “You can’t turn away from this. It must be eating away at you.”
He stood and walked out to the balcony. “A small price to pay for some peace of mind.” Once he reached the balcony, Adam scanned the fields, but didn’t see Stephanie or Kat. He looked back to the hologram in his left hand.
The hologram threw up her arms. “I don’t believe this! How can you do this?” She shook her head, appalled by the path he took. “How could you give up?! You abandoned the course you and Theresa were taking.” She rubbed her forehead. “I can’t worry about you.” The hologram dropped her hands and looked up, piercing him with her fiery gaze. “There’s something more urgent.”
“What’s that?”
“As I said, I do not believe Katharine has taken a life, but...”
“But what?” He moved away from the broken railing to the corner of the balcony. Adam leaned against it.
“If Katharine fights Cerberus, I’m afraid all that may change. If she cannot achieve the Epsilon Phase, she cannot match Cerberus. If Katharine cannot match her, the only way she may defeat her is to kill Cerberus. The only way for her to stay alive is to take a life.”
“Then all will be lost,” Adam said.
The hologram nodded. “Yes, all will be lost, if yours and Theresa's theory is correct.”
Adam pushed forward and leaned on his cane. “Then I was right to try to kill her.”
“You tried to kill Katharine? Why did you do that? You must not."
“Must not?” He eyed the image. “Who are you to tell me what to do?”
“Adam, have you been so fixated on escaping the world outside you have not seen?”
“Seen what?” he inquired.
“I am talking about the Closing Of Days. Have you not seen the signs?”
He lifted the Music Box to get a better look at the hologram. “I don’t understand.”
“Then let me explain.” She sighed, having to waste time with him. “This can go no further. Katharine must never find out. Is that understood?”
He nodded.
Chapter Six
The Rogue’s Past
12:14 A.M...
Hellenistic Sector, Manufactories Vicinage...
A limo drove down a long stretch of road and passed many buildings; small, large, and mega. A few people walked the streets as the Dry Clouds cast an ever present shadow over Noir. Dismal, dreary, bleak were common words in this desperate world since their appearance. Despair was common place and joy was a commodity in short supply.
"I am nearly to my destination. I need to finish my reading," the Rogue thought as it sat in the back of the vehicle. It studied a document on a H.H.C. "I want to have all my questions ready."
"Un-Men are supposed to be immune to the disease of emotions. They are supposed to function only within their programing, but something went wrong. Something went wrong, not only with my own model, but the T-3s. They changed. They went mad might be a better description, at least concerning the T-3s. Me though, I also changed, but my transformation was..."
The Rogue thought for a moment. "How can I describe it? It was like..." As it considered these things, the Rogue memorized many documents. It brought the meaning of multitasking to a whole new level. "It was like being reborn. Or at least, as best as I can describe it."
Over an hour ago, it left the Factory on an urgent mission to dig up some of its past. A past it hoped would draw it closer to its original goal. The Rogue had been relentless in its primary program to slay the Pandora Project. Five days ago, the Rogue met Kat in what should have been their last battle. The day the Rogue should have annihilated her.
“But she stopped me," it thought. "Pandora reached the Delta Phase of her metamorphosis and stopped me. She could have destroyed me, but spared my life. I cannot get past that.” The Rogue switched off the H.H.C. “And so I must know. Why did she show me mercy? Why did she not destroy me, when I have done nothing but hunt her?” The Rogue thought back to its battle with Kat. “And why did I not see it earlier? Why had I not seen the possibility of her being something other than human? Could I not even fathom it? Sphinx was working on organic-mecha that could pass as human. I believe, Pandora, you are their only success.”
The Rogue glanced out the window. “Could the truth behind whether or not Pandora is organic-mecha be part of the mystery I must discover? Is it the reason behind why she did not destroy me? I do not know.” It stared at the H.H.C. “That mystery will have to wait. I am on the trail of the DR-C Oil right now. And besides, I have no leads on organic-mecha.” The Rogue glanced out the window again, noticing the lit streets lined with lamp posts. “Why did she not destroy me? Is there another purpose to my existence? Am I meant to be more than a killing machine?”
The Factory attempted several times to recapture the Rogue but failed. Because of that, the Rogue had a lot of blood on its hands. The blood of humans and bio-mechas tainted its path.
It turned the H.H.C. back on and thought, “Though I was not part of the slaughter at the Factory, I have benefited from it. I was able to forge documentation and take over the Factory as the new manager. I even created a name for myself. The Council believes, as does everyone else, that I am a man. No one knows or even suspects that I am not.”
“The Council also thinks I am managing the Factory for them, when in fact, I am using the Factory’s resources to solve the mystery that is Pandora.” The Rogue crossed its legs. “A few hours ago, I came across a journal entry from a tech that worked on bio-mechas. It was a most interesting entry. Now, I am on my way to the Minotaur Refinery. I will find out if the DR-C Oil is responsible for the way I am. If it is, it only proves that I have no other purpose. It proves that I am only a fluke. At that point, I will know the only purpose to my existence is to kill. Then I will find Pandora and slay her, whether she be an organic-mecha or a super-human.”
Chapter Seven
Round Two
12:17 A.M...
Hellenistic Sector, Cultural Vicinage...
Genesis Arboretum...
Inside the Sphere Room...
Fear. Apprehension. These two words were as much a part of Kat as her flesh and bones. They coursed through her very being like the blood that pumped through her veins. The past year had never changed. She was always running for her life and looking for an escape. “Will it ever end? Will the madness overwhelming this world engulfed in eternal night ever stop?” she wondered.
For the moment, it wasn’t an escape Kat searched for, but a small metal object that meant the world to her. The Music Box. Without it, she could possibly die. After all, it was the only thing that reversed the side effects of the Ultra-Epi.
Behind her, the lofty bamboo swayed in the wind as the manmade breeze increased. Brown and green leaves blew down a stone walkway and softly brushed against the stones. The path weaved through the tall ringed green plants. A wooden bench with cast iron sides set beside the walkway, and behind it down the path, there was a shed. A variety of tools leaned against the building’s wall.
Elongated shadows cast over the adversaries. The thin bars of shade, created by the bamboo, painted an enclosure and imprisoned them in an imaginary cell. It was as if they were in a caged death match from which only one would emerge.
Even as she franticly searched, Kat heard in her mind a man shout.
He proclaimed as if talking to a crowd, "Two men enter! One man leaves!"
She shrugged off the imaginary yelling man, too worried about finding the most precious thing in the world to her.
“What are you looking for?” Stephanie watched her with interest. For the moment, she had stopped fighting to see what Kat was doing. “You don’t have your Beretta. I checked you when you were unconscious. You have no weapons on you. It was kind of careless of you.” Disappointed, she added, “What were you thinking?”
“You searched me?” Kat felt violated and another question came to mind. “You know my gun’s a Beretta?”
“Of course, silly. Don’t forget I saw the weapon at Ms. Odin’s place when you handed it over to the bodyguards. Though, it’s a shame you didn’t get a chance to use it on the Un-Men who attacked you there. You probably would have been more comfortable with your own gun.” Stephanie glanced over her shoulder at the treehouse. “My guess is, you left your weapon in your backpack at Adam’s place.” She turned back to Kat. “Of what I have seen today, you’re not any good at fighting.” Stephanie bit her lip, a little disappointed in the fact. “It's not the challenge I was hoping for. I mean, you did allow Adam to choke you, and he almost killed you. You also allowed yourself to get separated from your equipment.”