Apex 3: Apex, #3

Apex 3

(Shaylo Attacks)

Adam Moon

Apex 3 copyright © Adam Moon 2014

All rights reserved

If you haven't read the first two installments, you can find them here:

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Three Days Later

Chapter 2: Executive Order

Chapter 3: Phase

Chapter 4: Gory Intel

Chapter 5: Tour of the Universe

Chapter 6: Swarmed

Chapter 7: Canyon Defense

Chapter 8: Shaylo the Soldier

Chapter 9: Demon Unchained

Chapter 10: Jack the Ripper

Chapter 11: Uninvited Guest

Chapter 12: Alien Abduction

Three Days Later

It had been three days since Commander Delacourt had been abducted by the lone Grey alien near the entrance of the mountain bunker in Cheyenne. Jack knew deep down that Delacourt was already dead and in a way, he was glad. The Commander was a jerk but after he became infected with the alien contagion he became a monster, hell bent on murder.

Jack and Melanie were back home in Ault, Colorado doing their best to try and relax even though they knew the second wave of alien attacks was coming soon. They’d barely survived the first wave. Mankind had nearly been eradicated and those who remained struggled for normalcy in a world gone haywire.

The two soldiers infected with the same contagion that had transformed Jack and Melanie into super humans with unexplainable abilities were back at the mountain bunker in Wyoming undergoing testing.

The Grey captives from the bunker had escaped and there were reports from around the world that they were liberating other Grey prisoners held at various military bases.

The world should’ve been warned that the Grey second wave was coming but the United States government thought otherwise. They deemed the escaping Greys as a more clear and present threat.

It wasn’t the first time a government, acting for the people, failed them miserably, and Jack could only hope they’d made the right decision to concentrate on the Earthbound Greys rather than those circling in orbit, waiting to pounce.

Home

Jack’s mom hated his new role. He had no official title and received no remuneration for his efforts but that was fine by him. He just wanted to be useful.

Whenever reports came in that Greys were being freed, it was his job to stop the escape. He’d get a phone call from his new handler; a guy named Smith who he’d never even met in person, who worked for the now defunct Homeland Security. Smith would supply him with coordinates and whatever intel was available and then he’d teleport to the location and get to work. It wasn’t easy but it had to be done.

The captive Greys had surrendered a month ago even though they were winning the war. To Jack, it seemed more and more like it was a tactical surrender because now that reinforcements had shown themselves, the captive Greys escaped and were making a comeback.

His mom put a plate in front of him at the kitchen table. He thanked her and then wolfed down the toast and eggs like it was the first meal he’d had in days.

She leaned against the counter, watching him eat. He’d changed in fundamental ways since he was infected with that alien mist. He exhibited two powers: teleportation and a kind of telepathic empathy; a skill he was still trying to master. His body had changed too. His skin was tough enough to stop bullets and his frame had filled out with musculature.

She asked, What do you want for your birthday?

He hadn’t even considered that birthdays would be celebrated anymore. Everything had changed. Trivialities no longer mattered the way they used to. Maybe his mom was just holding on to old habits to help her make sense of the new world they found themselves in.

He said, I really need some new clothes. Mine are all too small.

She laughed. That’s because you hulked out.

He chuckled along with her.

She said, I bet the girls just love you these days. You’re a handsome young superhero without a girlfriend. They must be climbing over each other to get to you.

Jack knew she was just teasing him. He’d been too busy to care about girls in the past few days. And no girl in her right mind would like him if she knew what he’d done or what he was capable of doing.

He lied to appease her. I’m beating them off with a stick.

Just then his phone chirped, saving him from more of the awkward conversation.

It was Smith. Hey Jack. We have contact in San Diego at their naval station. It’s the same Grey crew but they’ve somehow managed to acquire their old weapons. We only know they found them because they’re using them against the base as we speak.

Jack didn’t know where the military base in San Diego was located but he didn’t have to. He could just teleport to the city and then use his new empathic ability to pinpoint the area with the most emotional distress, leading him to the base.

He said, If they have their weapons, I’ll need help. Let me call Melanie.

I already thought of that. I’ve got Sally Hopkins ready and waiting for you. She’s already been debriefed.

Jack wanted to tell his handler that he didn’t trust Sally or her fellow soldier Hank Beltran but he held his tongue. He needed help and there was a very real chance Melanie would decline if asked anyway. More and more, she refused to put herself in a fight, saying she’d only use her powers if she came under attack. He understood the sentiment. They’d seen enough death to make God cry. But he couldn’t stand idly by as other human beings suffered and died.

Alright then. Is she still at the mountain base?

"Yes. She’s been instructed to wait for you by the entrance.

I’ll be there in a few seconds.

You’ll be given a firearm when you arrive. They’re armed and you should be too.

Don’t bother. I can’t use it anyway.

Just point and squeeze.

No thanks. I’ll talk to you later, Mr. Smith.

Goodbye and good luck.

Jack’s mom was ashen when he hung up. I wish you’d stop putting your life on the line for him.

I can’t. I can help so I have to help. It’s my responsibility.

Her shoulders drooped and she stared at her feet. Finally she looked up and said, I understand. I love you. You’d better come back to me in one piece.

I will. Bye. Then he concentrated and felt his molecules flutter with millions of vibrations per second as his body phased out and reappeared on a mountain in Wyoming facing a heavy steel nuclear blast door set into the side of it.

Sally was waiting for him, armed to the teeth, clad in heavy bullet-proof armor from head to toe. She took her head armor off when she saw him and for the first time he noticed how beautiful she was. Her powers had filled her body out nicely. But she was also a murderous witch with a diamond heart and he couldn’t yet trust her.

Jack laughed. You’re the one person on the planet who doesn’t need armor.

She shrugged her toned shoulders. I tried to tell them that but no one listens to me. So I guess I’m your sidekick or something, huh? I just love taking orders from a kid.

That was rich considering she was probably only a year or two older than he was.

Jack ignored her sarcastic barbs. They had a history. Sally had tried to cut him in half just a few days ago. She could erect a force field that not only acted as a barrier but also repelled all that tried to penetrate it. A bullet would be ricocheted back at twice its original velocity. A person would be thrown back as though they’d been hit by a speeding truck. And if she erected it so that one half of you was inside of it and the other was outside, you’d be cut in two. Luckily for Jack, her force field couldn’t cleave through a body as strong as his had become.

She’d tried to excuse her actions by saying she was under Delacourt’s control but he knew that was a lie because Delacourt was already gone by the time she attacked him. It would take time to build trust between them because of how they’d met, and if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t even sure it would be worth it.

Commander Watson slipped out through the blast doors saying, Good to see you, Jack. His arm was in a sling and his left eye was yellow and puffy as the swelling healed. He’d suffered his injuries three days ago when his Grey prisoners escaped and attacked the base. He was one of only a handful of troops to survive.