Hero Born: Project Solaris Page 4

  "Okay, I'll tell you what I can," Jillian said, turning back to face me. She looked tired, the dark circles under her eyes noticeable under the fluorescent bulbs on the ferry. "The grey men have been kidnapping people for a long time, apparently to turn us into supers. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me, and we've never figured out why they're doing it. What we do know is that they have the ability to track us."

  Jillian turned in the seat, brushing the hair from the back of her neck. I leaned over, spotting a white scar directly over her spine. It was tiny enough that it took me several seconds to locate. "You think they implanted us?"

  "I know they did." Jillian eyed me soberly. "A few members of the cell I joined took their implants out. They're little slivers of black stone, obsidian maybe. The people who removed them died within days."

  "How?" I asked, shuddering. I knew I was imagining things, but I could feel something in the back of my neck.

  "Their organs just...liquefied. Doctors said something about radiation, but they had no idea what killed those people." Jillian's eyes shone, but she blinked away the tears. Her jaw hardened. "You can see why we have to do something. Grey men experiments are killing us, but that isn't even the worst part. Your mom claims they have agents placed everywhere. Most of the world's governments have been infiltrated. That's part of why we need to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. Even being caught on camera might be enough for them to find us."

  "If we have trackers implanted why do they need cameras to find us?" I asked.

  "The grey men can use the trackers, but their agents have to rely on more conventional means," Jillian replied.

  "What do the grey men want?" I asked. The ferry had picked up speed, bobbing gently up and down as it raced toward the east bay.

  "Not even your mom is sure. She claims there are others fighting, but doesn't know whether or not we can trust them," Jillian replied, shrugging. "It's not a lot to go on, but the next step is clear. We need to get you to your mom and figure out why you suddenly became so important."

  "Then that's exactly what we're going to do," I said, straightening. "I'm tired of running. I want answers. It's time to fight back."

  Interlude- The Grey Men

  The grey man raised his focus, aiming the golden device at the subject. The subject gave a muffled scream, struggling against the stasis field's invisible bonds. The futile thrashing knocked the red tie to the side, exposing a white dress shirt spotted with blood.

  The hominid's eyes were wide with fear, its chest heaving with rapid, shallow breaths. The grey found this behavior interesting, as this particular subject had been taken more often than any other in the last century.

  The grey gestured with the focus, and a wave of green radiation pulsed up from the floor. It bathed the subject, who writhed and shrieked as a holographic representation of its helixes appeared in the air next to it. The grey studied that map, interested in any changes. This particular subject had long since stopped developing, but that didn't mean there wasn't much information that could be gleaned. Most subjects eventually broke down, but this one's DNA had stabilized. It was one of the first to do so, and thus of interest to the grey.

  A chittering voice came from behind the grey. "Statement- this is the subject you've trained to facilitate communication with the progenitors. Query- is this activity valuable?" The grey turned, facing the newcomer. Their minds instinctively joined, providing many layers of nuance to their communication.

  "Answer- possibly. Explanation- their technology is crude, but has progressed much since they began studying ours." The grey turned back to the subject, waving a golden focus at the DNA map. The hologram disappeared, replaced by a hologram of the subject's brain. The grey deftly manipulated the cerebral cortex, sifting until it found the memory center it sought. "Statement- this is the memory related to the project."

  A scene unfolded in holographic form, the memory taking place several times faster than it had been recorded. The grey watched as a laser was fired through a tube. The subject, which referred to itself as 'Dick', was showing the laser to several other hominids. The laser began pulsing, a crude approximation of the cadence the greys used for long-range communication.

  "Statement- perhaps the experiment has some merit," the second grey said. Skepticism gave way to curiosity, felt through the joining.

  Both were silent as the experiment continued. The laser grew brighter, then one of the hominids collapsed. The subject's perspective shifted as Dick studied the collapsed figure. The grey parsed his memory, bringing up all information about the hominid affected by the light pulse.

  "Query- why would an experiment with communication affect a hominid in this way?" the second grey asked.

  The first grey was silent, considering. Then it stated the only possibly solution. "Answer- the hominid is one of our experiments. It has manifested, and the manifestation is signal-based. It can interface with technology."

  The second grey raised its own focus, and another hologram appeared. This one showed a vast cloud of subjects, each represented by a tiny skeletal image. The thousands of models had lines linking each other, a genealogy of every experiment conducted in the last thirty-seven centuries. It flipped through them, eventually settling on one. That one became much larger, and information about the subject appeared in the air next to it.

  "Statement- the subject was examined seven solar cycles ago, and is scheduled for another examination in one more lunar cycle. Its maturation is expected. The subject's mother exhibits all necessary traits, but her helixes have grown unstable. She will break down in less than a cycle. Deterioration has already begun."

  The first grey cocked its head, considering. "Hypothesis- if this new subject possesses the same abilities, it may be able to interface with the progenitors' technology."

  "Statement- this would render the current subject's primitive experiment obsolete, thus ending subject Dick's usefulness."

  The subject began thrashing, its eyes even wider. Its jaw worked, muffled sounds emerging. The grey cocked its head. "Statement- the subject is attempting to communicate."

  The grey raised its focus, loosening the status field enough for the subject to speak. Hominid Dick licked its lips, then spoke in the human's primitive tongue. "The subject you're seeking. I can use him to complete my project. We can help you send a message home. Soon. Very soon. Let me live, and I can have it working in a month. Less, if you help me find David."

  The greys looked at each other, then the first one voiced a thought. "Statement- subject David is not scheduled for testing for another lunar cycle. Delaying costs nothing."

  "Statement- giving subject Dick this interval could yield interesting results."

  "Query- what about subject David's mother?" the first grey asked.

  "Answer- her usefulness has ended. She should be disposed of."

  Chapter 8- Oakland

  Night had fallen by the time we arrived at the Oakland ferry terminal. That was a blessing, as the parking lot on the far side wasn't well-lit. A smattering of cars dotted the area, mostly BMWs and Audis with the occasional older sedan mixed in. Most of the passengers debarked before us, heading off to their cars.

  I moved to join them, but Jillian grabbed my arm. I jerked to a stop, more than a little annoyed. Being this close to Mom had me on edge, and the adrenaline was flowing freely. I needed to find her, to make sure she was okay, and make things right-- if I even could. At the very least I needed to sit down and listen, like I should have years ago.

  "Hold on a sec," Jillian said, voice low. She pulled me closer as if we were a real couple just out on a stroll. "Wait to see who leaves. Once they have, we'll pick one of the cars still here and take it."

  "Just like that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "How are we just going to take it?"

  "Watch." Jillian picked up her pace, disengaging and approaching a black BMW X5 that hadn't been picked up by any passengers. She moved to the driver's side door like she had a purpose, shooting me a w
ink as she did so.

  I followed, watching her carefully. She extended a hand through the driver's side door. A moment later the alarm beeped its disengage, and the door popped open. She gave me a broad smile. "Shall we get out of here?"

  A howl sounded behind me, something otherworldly and a good deal deeper than any dog I'd ever heard. I spun around, scanning the dark side of the parking lot where the howl had come from. Something was moving in the shadows.

  "Get in the goddamned car," Jillian roared, jumping in and pulling her door shut. I yanked my door open. I pulled it shut the instant was inside.

  "What the hell is that?" I asked, peering through the window into the darkness.

  "One of the things the grey men created to help their agents. We just call them beasts. They're part lizard, part spider. We don't want to be here when it arrives." She placed two fingers on the ignition, then her hand sank into it the same way it had gone through the door. A moment later the car roared to life. "Take the wheel."

  I did as asked, swapping spots with her in an awkward tangle of limbs. As I settled into the driver's seat, something flashed in the darkness, a Chernobyl green as toxic as anything I'd ever seen. I recognized the blast as the same kind I'd fired from the boomerang back in the hospital. It struck the pole next to the passenger side door, and the affected part simply dissolved. That left the top half of the pole, which clattered to the ground just outside the BMW.

  "Get us the hell out of here," Jillian ordered, closing her eyes.

  I stomped on the gas, hopping a curb as I raced across the parking lot. There was another green flash from behind us, and just like that the back windshield ceased to exist. Worse, something large was moving in the darkness, racing toward us at breakneck speed. It had too many limbs, and skittered across the concrete faster than I'd seen anything move.

  I depressed the gas even further, and the X5 rocked back and forth as it finally hit a level street. We were going forty miles an hour, but whatever was following us was still gaining ground. I slowed to go around a big pickup truck, and the creature got even closer. I caught a brief glimpse of something scaly when it passed under a light, then it disappeared again. Except for the eyes. They were the same toxic green as the blasts, and there were eight of them.

  "Keep moving, but be aware that other cars won't be able to see us," Jillian said. Something cold pulsed from her. It was similar to when she'd phased us through the ground, but the effect was totally different. Wherever the energy passed things simply...disappeared. At first that was just Jillian, but within seconds the entire SUV was gone.

  My stomach lurched as my brain fought to make sense of it, but I kept the gas depressed. It was tough navigating purely through touch, and I no longer had any idea how fast we were going since I couldn't see the speedometer. The engine roared as we began climbing a hill toward Tilden Park. I risked a glance at the rear view mirror, but realized it was invisible, just like we were. I focused on driving, whipping around a Honda Civic in a screech of rubber, then back into our lane.

  "You turned us invisible?" I asked, gunning it as I took advantage of the empty road ahead of us. I gave a triumphant whoop, grinning in spite of the danger. "What an awesome power."

  "Awesome legacy," she corrected, her disembodied voice making the situation even more strange. "It's my second one. I still haven't discovered any others."

  A frustrated howl broke the night behind us, more distant than the last one.

  Chapter 9- Hateya

  The wind roared through the missing back windshield, loudly enough to drown out everything but my thoughts. I drove. Jillian slept. I tried the radio for a while, but the wind made that impossible. So I spent the drive muttering to myself, circling around the same thoughts. The grey men were real. I had superpowers, but no idea how to use them. We were being hunted by Mohn Corp. My mom might be dying. That morbid cocktail of thoughts kept me awake, at least.

  I let Jillian sleep until we'd reached the outskirts of Tuolumne. She looked up blearily, an imprint from the leather seat pressed into one cheek. "Huh?"

  "We're here--well, here in Tuolumne, anyway. Where am I taking us?" I asked. It was odd being back home in the mountains. Everything looked smaller than it had when I'd last been here, though the wooded hills had quite a few more houses than they once did.

  "Auntie Hateya's," Jillian said. She rubbed at her eyes, giving a big stretch. "How long was I out?"

  "About three hours. The drive was uneventful. There's Taco Bell on the back seat if you're in the mood for cold tacos," I offered. Jillian reached into the back seat, and promptly began devouring greasy Mexican food.

  I let her eat in silence as I turned onto Tuolumne Road North. The BMW eased onto a steep driveway as I began the climb to Hateya's house.

  "Let me do the talking," Jillian said as we rolled to a stop on the gravelly hill. We were flanked by oaks and a few much taller pines, which completely screened us from the road. Hateya's place was only a few minutes outside the town of Tuolumne, but it felt incredibly remote, especially in the darkness. Her nearest neighbor was a couple hundred yards of forested hill away.

  "Yeah, sure," I said, opening the door and stepping out. It was colder up here, and my teeth chattered. I wished I'd thought to grab a jacket on our little shopping trip.

  "Hopefully she'll let us stay the night," Jillian said, throwing the strap of her purse over her shoulder. She started walking toward the house, a two-story affair with everything from solar panels to mahogany doors. The place must have cost a fortune, and was a far cry from the little shack that used to sit where the house was now.

  "This place belongs to Aunt Hateya?" I said, goggling. When I'd known her, the woman had lived in a one-room trailer that was quite literally duct taped together. She used to mix six parts water to one can of soup to make it last longer. "Wow, she's really done well for herself."

  "We all have. Karmic justice, the tribal elders call it. Black Oak Casino is making us all rich, and has put us in a position to revitalize the community. How's that for irony?" she asked, though her smile felt forced. Given the weight we were laboring under I wasn't surprised.

  Jillian approached the door and rang the bell next to it. A moment later, competing barks from several large dogs sounded inside. A matronly woman with long grey hair opened the door, with the same kind smile I remembered. She'd put on weight since I last saw her, but she wore it well.

  Behind her, two black labs and a golden retriever jockeyed to be the first to sniff us. "Jillian, this is a surprise. I thought you were still out of town."

  "I know it's late, but we just got into town. Can we come in?" Jillian asked. She gestured at me. "I brought David home."

  "David, it's been so long," Hateya said, gathering me into her arms. I felt a wet canine nose pressed against my hand, and a tail thumped against my leg on the far side. "Come in, come in. Make yourself at home and I'll get out some whiskey."

  "Whiskey?" I asked, blinking. Hateya had always offered me tea when I'd visited.

  "Grandma?" A girl's voice drifted down the stairs from the second floor. "Is that Auntie Jillian?"

  "Come on down, child," Hateya called up the stairs. "Go in the kitchen and get some of those cookies I like, the black ones."

  "Oreos?" the teen said, trotting down the stairs and into view. She shared Jillian's dark skin and high cheek bones, but her eyes were blue and her hair more of a ruddy red. Half Miwok, then, with some Irish mixed in, maybe. She was beautiful, just like Jillian.

  I got the impression that this girl had no idea how pretty she was. She wore loose blue jeans and a baggy sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled into a simple ponytail, and her glasses were slightly bent. She wasn't wearing any makeup, though she didn't really need any to make an impression.

  "Yes, those are the ones," Hateya said, already moving to a liquor cabinet to withdraw a fifth of Jack. She set up three shot glasses with the deft grace of a life-long bartender, then eyed the teenager. After a moment, she added a fourth.r />
  "I'm Kali," the teen said, quiet as a mouse. She didn't make eye contact, but I was pretty sure the comment was directed at me.

  "David," I said, extending a hand. Kali shook it, giving me a shy smile before dropping her gaze and her hand.

  "Hello, Kaliska. It's wonderful to see you," Jillian said, smile broadening. She gathered the younger girl into a fierce hug, squeezing her for a long moment before finally letting her go.

  The name surprised me. Most of the Miwok I knew had Caucasian names, though occasionally someone would name their child in the old way. Apparently Kali's mother had been a traditionalist.

  Kali gave Jillian a huge hug. Her eyes teared up, but she blinked them away. "I missed you, Auntie Jillian."

  "Hurry along, child," Hateya called from the bar.

  Kali let go of Jillian and rushed into the kitchen, studiously avoiding looking at me. All three dogs followed her.

  "You're not really going to let her drink that, are you?" Jillian said. She'd moved over to join Hateya over at the bar. Hateya offered her a shot, and Jillian eventually accepted it.

  "Why wouldn't I?" Hateya asked, downing a shot and pouring another.

  "Because she's seventeen," Jillian countered, back iron straight. This was definitely a new side. Jillian had introduced me to alcohol when we were both younger than Kali.

  "Girl, you've got no idea what she's been through, and, besides, she's only a handful of years younger than you," Hateya said, leaning in to spear Jillian with a gaze. "I gotta be quick, before she figures out I already ate all the Oreos. She's putting up a brave front, but the girl's a mess. The grey men took her, Jill. Her and her mother both. Only her mother hasn't come back. It's been four days. They haven't kept anyone that long since you were fourteen," she finished significantly. The second shot disappeared and was replaced by a third.

  "All right, I guess you're right," Jillian said. She eyed her shot for a moment, then downed it in one smooth motion. "We need a place to stay for the night, Auntie."