Evil Empire: Eden by D W Firenze - HTML preview

EVIL EMPIRE - CHAPTER 19

YEAR 2030 - OUTLANDS - COASTAL RESEARCH FACILITY

It had been a number of weeks since the London compound had fallen, with the majority of other major Empire strongholds falling to the same fate in the ensuing aftermath. The revolution across the globe had rendered the stranglehold of the New World Order extinct and whilst families reunited and cities began to rebuild, the enduring legacy of the Empire had not been entirely erased from the annals of history. Key elements still existed in pockets around the globe and were now in retreat preparing themselves for the moment of retaliation.

President DuPont was in his research facility, his territory had been largely unaffected by the rebellion with the majority of inhabitants here prisoners and test subjects to his research. He had anticipated this day would come and he had always been prepared for the necessary actions required when it did. The quirky scientists busily went through all the rooms within his facility, checking he had removed all key evidence and ensuring that all the detonators and bombs that had been planted were ready for when the time came to leave. He intended to leave no trace of what he had been up to here over the last ten years, the development from his work at Porton Down.

As he swept through the laboratories that had over the years been a hotbed of scientific discovery and highly unethical research and development, the place was lifeless. All around there were large dormant mechanical structures used for lifting giant weights, metal storage units much like the ones at Porton Down and empty stations that had been the home of fellow scientists under his command.

DuPont continued to check the detonation devices, passing through many rooms that housed all manner of technology and equipment to support whatever questionable research he had been conducting. Corpses were left abandoned on surgical tables, limbs missing and cut open with gaping wounds, no longer of any use. Many of them were of the faceless variety just like the ones Lexi had stumbled upon at Porton Down. The further his sweep of the building went the more bodies that had been left to be cleaned up by the forthcoming explosion were in evidence. He carried out his duties diligently without even batting an eyelid, his long and drawn face focussed entirely on the task at hand. There was nothing of value here and soon the place would be decimated and he and his men would be on their way.

The site would be the final loose end he would need to tie up here in the Outlands having already obliterated four other research facilities and ten prisons in the past week. DuPont had watched some of the media coverage of the emancipation of the dream walkers, the sight of them reuniting with their families and friends had made him sick to the pit of his stomach. It had taken the mass execution of the thousands upon thousands of prisoners to even come close to getting him back to any sort of feeling of joy or comfort. He had even murdered some of them personally, but their helpless pleas and harrowing screams had done little to re-energise him. Nothing was going to bring him satisfaction until his life's mission was complete: world domination had been one thing, but world annihilation was a whole new level that he aspired to.

The news of Van Duyn's death had been a small crumb of comfort to him, he had never really liked the paedophilic humanoid, a mere pawn to the greater agenda that he and Numen were working on. He had not heard much of the other two remaining leaders, Li and Rockefeller, but even if they had survived he would ensure that they were taken care of one way or another. There was no place on this planet for the humans anymore and he would see to it that they would beg him personally for a return to being slaves to his rule. He found the humans a rather naive and easily manipulated bunch, he had been doing so for over ninety years now. He had made so many promises to help them with their poor levels of scientific understanding in exchange for the freedom of the people whom he had brought with him to walk freely among them. For every scientific breakthrough and advancement, he was able to broker more and more power and freedom for his own people and that had enabled them to infiltrate the most powerful institutions and positions of power in the world. They had been keeping the world under a spell ever since, birthing the Empire that had been in control over the past decade. DuPont had planned much further ahead though and the evolution of the Empire away from the hapless humans would be the next stage of his plan. This was the only crumb of comfort he had for the messy transition taking place.

DuPont’s cleanup operation was interrupted, his thoughts of extinguishing the humans cast aside as footsteps tapping out a tune along the surgical floors drew his attention. His bulbous eyes looked for the source of the distraction up and down with a sneering appraisal. The tall dark figure came to a halt and waited for him to speak.

'Not exactly looking your best there old friend' DuPont said with condescension alluding to the facial scars and aged appearance of the tall, dark man staring back at him.

The piercing blue eyes of Numen stared back at him, the characteristic air of supreme arrogance replaced by a more aggressive and dark introspection. His once pristine face was peppered with burns and wrinkled scars from his battle with Jake, his nose and mouth not fully recovered from the beating he had received, but it was clear from his surly demeanour that the cosmetic injuries were far less painful than the ones churning up inside of him.

'It would appear as though you and the boy have far more in common than we first thought' DuPont began, returning to his checks. 'He has grown quite powerful I see.'

Numen chewed his lip, his angered expression not abating. 'You were right about him sir. He is different to the others' Numen confessed grudgingly.

'His limitless potential, whilst surely rather bruising to your large ego Numen, will serve us well in time' said DuPont, the hint of a smile emerging on his thin lips.

Numen had barely escaped the helicopter blast, having managed to teleport into the second chopper before Jake had destroyed it. Had it not been for the intervention of the girl on the roof he might not have had time to escape at all. The progression of the boy's innate talents had accelerated at an alarming rate and his power was strengthening to such an extent that Numen secretly questioned whether he could stop Jake should they meet again. He had never been challenged this way by any of the humans or his own people and deep down the thought that his position of being the top dog usurped, deeply troubled him.

'As much as I do enjoy being mocked sir, I assume you called me here for a more pressing matter' Numen enquired having had his ego bruised enough over the past few months and weeks.

DuPont's smirk fell back into his customary frown. 'I earned the right to mock you General, you have been failing on an epic scale ever since that boy came back on our radar' sneered DuPont. 'You managed to allow him to escape and join up with the rebels and get yourself bugged in the process. Thankfully the little cretins did as we expected and will probably believe that they have achieved a great victory. Let's just hope that they haven't found out anything else about what we plan to do or what we have been doing over the past ninety years will have been for nothing!'

Numen's head hung now, he had failed to capture the boy on a number of occasions when he had the chance and the loss of control over the dream walkers had largely been his fault. He had not realised the bug was in place until DuPont detected it at the meeting of the Council, and so far his counter plan seemed to be working.

'Failure to capture the boy is regrettable. However, I wanted you to help me escort our esteemed captives to our backup facilities' DuPont said, his tone softening. 'This is the last of our sites and when we leave it will be destroyed, signalling the launch of False Dawn' he explained.

Numen's face seemed to light up at the mention of the code named operation. 'You intend to proceed with the extinction of the humans?'

'I had intended to do so when they were still under our control, it would have been much simpler' groaned the scientist. 'However, giving them the slightest chance of fighting back seems only fair and when we have cleared the path, our people can join us here' he said.

'So the test subject was a success?' Numen enquired in reference to the red-haired girl to whom he owed his life.

'Indeed. They appear to have done remarkably well, and better still we now know exactly where the boy is now. We are going to need him Numen, alive' said DuPont clearly more aware of what had happened at the compound in London than his General had told him. 'He is the key to the future of our civilisation.'

Numen did not respond, accepting his orders and excusing himself with a nod before heading towards the cells below. He would obey DuPont's request about the transportation of the prisoners, but he would not guarantee the safety of the boy, there were some scores to settle on that front irrespective of what Jake stood to offer to the cause of his people.

The general had now entered into the dingy underbelly of the research facility into the dilapidated and damp dungeons that had been turned into a holding pen for DuPont's most treasured guests. It was a giant maze with no access to the light outside and there were many heavily armed guards in attendance. Numen stopped at a thick iron door and invited the guards to allow him inside.

'Leave us. Go and collect the other two' he ordered. 'I'll meet you at the lift, DuPont has choppers waiting for us on the roof.'

Numen then unlocked the door and stepped into the harsh cloud of black that enveloped the room. He clicked his fingers and the darkness was sucked from the room into his hand leaving a bright, electric white room in its wake. The only thing left in the room was Numen and the heavily chained figure on the floor, bracelets and restraints on her hands and feet and huddled into the foetal position on the floor, unable to cope with the sudden burning brightness in the room.

'Hello, Lexi' Numen said, as the red-haired figure eventually raised their head and her emerald green eyes met his penetrating blue stare.

Lexi was dressed in the clothes that she had worn the night they had gone to Porton Down, she looked dirty and unwashed; a neglected young woman with a broken spirit.

'Time to ship out' he said.

She lashed out at him, making little headway as the restraints pulled her back into place. The look on her face was one of fury and she began to curse angrily at him, the disorientation of her lengthy solitary detainment beginning to fade. She tried desperately to hit him or kick him but was barely able to move, the restraints tightening on her skin.

'They will come for me you piece of shit' she snarled before spitting at his scarred face. 'You won't get away with this!'

Numen's face contorted with disgust as he wiped the running saliva from his cheek. He swept a powerful backhand across her face, startling her and bringing her tirade to an abrupt end.

'No one is coming for you girl' he growled. 'They have no idea that you are gone. In fact, it’s entirely likely that they have discovered that you betrayed them. Well, not you obviously, but you know what I mean.'

He began to laugh at the pitiful young woman before him. Her big green eyes emitting large tears and her boisterous manner fitting of a male soldier now becoming overcome with the weak emotions of a young girl who realised that she was in serious danger. He enjoyed the misery unfolding within her brain.

'Whatever that thing is, they will figure out it isn't me' she protested.

'That thing you are referring to will lead us to Isaac, the others and your precious Jake and we will butcher them all before they even realise what has happened. It must be awful to know how easily we can replace you people, even you half breeds' he said sneering at her in disgust.

'So that's what Project Eden is then, is it? Some kind of messed up human cloning operation?' Lexi argued not entirely sure of what she was saying, having been searching for answers for many years.

Numen smirked. 'You are not a human' he said before laughing again.

Lexi's face was utterly bemused be this revelation, she had always known that there was something different about her and that she had been able to do things that others could not, but if she was not a human, then what was she? Was she an alien?

'No, you are not' Numen said having read her thoughts, 'I, on the other hand, am' he continued.

'Then what am I?' Lexi quizzed.

'You are a product of Project Eden, an elaborate science experiment that went wrong, an alien-human hybrid created in a test tube and replicated over and over again' he said. 'If it makes you feel better you are the original prototype. Surely, that’s got to be of some comfort, right?' Numen roared with heinous laughter enjoying the torturous impact of the revelations.

Lexi's heart sank. She had been searching for the truth all these years and this was not the happy ending she had envisaged.

'So is Jake the same as me?' Lexi asked.

He went about securing her ready to leave the soon to be destroyed prison that had been her home since he captured her at Porton Down. 'No, he's very much an anomaly. I didn't come in here to give you a life history lesson you can save that for your mother' he said.

This was another shocking revelation. Lexi looked at him agape.

'My mother is alive? How can this be, I thought I was an orphan?'

Numen had heard enough and grabbed her from behind and began to push her out of the door, ignoring her question. Lexi was so confused by the revelations that she did not even attempt to fight her way free or put up any kind of resistance as he led her through the cavernous dungeon to meet up with the other guards and prisoners.

'You have to tell me, where is my mother?' Lexi asked desperately trying to catch his eye over her shoulder.

Numen continued to ignore her and pushed her through the passages until they were at the basement lift. A troop of four guards stood surrounding each of the other two prisoners, covering all corners around the two heavily restrained figures. One was a blonde haired young man, in his late teens. He had shimmering blue eyes and a blonde spiky quiff, his square jaw and porcelain angelic face hung down to the ground, his eyes not fully adjusted to the brighter conditions outside of his cell. The second prisoner was a woman nearing middle age, bronzed and beautiful, she had soft skin pulled tightly over her pronounced features that made her striking in a way that would make her stand out from a crowd. Her dark brown hair whilst dirty from years of incarceration and neglect was in remarkable condition hanging long and loose beside her face, emphasising her powerful eyes and thick lips.

As Lexi's attention was drawn to her fellow inmates, her eyes locked on the woman whose hazel stare returned her gaze. It was a look that she had seen before, the familiarity flooding through her body and forcing the hairs on her arms to stand to attention. She had never met either of her parents and never seen a photo, there were no memories of either of them existing and yet somehow this woman was communicating to her senses in a way that she had never experienced before.

Numen pushed Lexi close between the two guards at the front of the woman's position. 'Lexi, meet Marie Eden, the mastermind behind Project Eden, I'm sure she will be able to fill you in on all of your questions.'

Marie shot a look of pent up hatred at Numen, before her eyes fell back on the beautiful young woman before her, whose face had just turned a ghostly white.

'As in Jake's mother?' Lexi enquired. 'I thought ... he thought ... she was dead' Lexi blurted trying to take it all in.

'Not just Jake's mother, hey Marie?' Numen goaded.

Marie wrestled within her restraints, desperate to hit him and was pulled down to the ground by the four guards that surrounded her. The blonde boy reacted angrily and tried to protect her but he too was planted on the ground and put under heavy restraint.

'You can be so very cruel Numen' snapped Marie angrily. 'That was why I rejected you.'

Numen raised his hand to slap her, his blood boiling and consumed with rage.

'Try it if you dare' she goaded. 'We both know I could rip your arm from its socket and slap you to death with the soggy end.'

Numen dropped his hand to his side and shot her a look of disdain. 'Well you do rather have a weak spot for these parasitic humans, Marie that renders your powers utterly useless' he snarled, bearing his teeth like a rabid wolverine as he came up close to her face.

'Be that as it may, I suggest you get your men to take themselves off of Adam before I erase their existence from the face of this Earth' she threatened. 'And you let me get to my feet so that I can give my daughter a hug or so help me I'll make those lovely scars on your face into a bag once I peel the skin from your disgusting being, you feeble excuse for a man.'

The general slowly recoiled and with a face of bitterness, reluctantly ordered the guards to release the blonde boy and Marie. She rose serenely to her feet, the shadow of her internal evil twin giving way to her natural elegant manner, as she dismissed Numen and focussed her beaming smile upon Lexi who quaked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Marie was like an angel, exuding a warm maternal glow, but it was clear from the earlier exchange that she commanded great authority and influence. Lexi was afraid, her mind ramped into overdrive. Was Jake her brother?

Marie beckoned her in and embraced her warmly, her maternal energy wrapping itself around Lexi and quelling the chaos and devastation unravelling inside the poor girl. Marie kissed her gently on the neck.

'Some things are a little more complex than they first appear' she whispered into Lexi's ear having heard her anxious thoughts. 'I will explain everything, I promise, I'm just glad that you are safe.'

The two women held each other for what felt like an eternity and Lexi for the first time in her life, allowed herself a brief moment of vulnerability, crying into the bosom of the mother she had been robbed of as a child. As they were pulled apart, Lexi could see that the blonde boy Adam was smiling at her, no doubt having had some similar experience himself and empathising with her current state of bewilderment.

'Let's get them out of here, this reunion nonsense is starting to make me feel sick' Numen said as he called the lift into action.

The three prisoners were rounded up and directed into the steel vestibule. Marie making a point of ensuring that she was stood between Numen and the two teenagers. The general tried to keep his eyes focussed ahead, trying to avoid any further embarrassment from the former object of his affections. Marie however, had other plans and came up close to him.

'The only reason I haven't killed you or DuPont already is because I need to ensure my son is safe. Never underestimate the power of a bond between a mother and her child. I will do absolutely everything in my power to prevent any harm from coming to him' she whispered to his visible chagrin. 'Just like I did when you got those nasty scars.'

Numen turned his head and met her eyes with a look of evil. 'And how exactly did you do that?'

'Like I said, never underestimate the bond between a mother and her son. He will always have the power of kings and queens of our realm at his disposal and in time he will crush you and we both know what that means for your little plans, don't we' she whispered before taking her place within the quadrant of guards who were detaining her.

Numen gave little indication of the tumultuous fury that he concealed within his body, choosing to keep his mind cool and calm so that Marie would be unable to read him. Whilst it was true that her love of the humans and their ways were Marie's weakness, the bond with her long-lost son being her major Achilles heel, Numen was acutely aware that she quite probably, was his.

The lift jolted to a halt and the doors opened onto the wide expanse of the roof several storeys above, where the last of the Empire troops and DuPont had boarded the whirling choppers. The prisoners were shepherded across the helipad, DuPont having emerged to greet them, he exuded a welcoming and amiable disposition not fitting of his odd appearance.

'From the look on your faces, I trust you have managed to catch up on old times' he said to Marie and Numen with a smirk on his face. 'Good to see you in the light my dear' he said taking Marie's hand and kissing it.

'Well you really shouldn't have kept me so long in the dark then, should you Uncle?' Marie chided him. 'But then as my father learned, some things never change.'

DuPont rolled his big bulbous eyes, ushering her to get into the helicopter behind. Given how very ugly and distorted his face was in comparison to her pure magnificence, it was hard to imagine that they could be biologically related.

'Put the boy and girl in the other one' he urged to the guards. 'It'll give them a chance to get to know one another and exchange some interesting tales I'm sure.'

'No. They come with me' Marie ordered. 'You have kept them from me for all these years, from now on wherever I go, they go.'

DuPont threw his hands up in the air and rolled his big eyes to the sky, caving into her will just as easily as Numen had. Lexi had noted the power that Jake’s mother had over these two men, but it was hard to understand exactly where such influence stemmed from. She was just grateful that she would be able to discover the truth about everything if she was with Marie. There were so many questions lining up in her mind, she was not sure which one to ask first.

As they all clambered in the back of the helicopter, Marie sat between Adam and Lexi and clasped their hands tightly in hers a reassuring smile beaming from her lips.

DuPont and Numen sat opposite them, the old and disfigured scientist looking on at the scene reminiscent of the great reunions that had been covered by the new rebel-controlled media since the Empire's grip had been relinquished from the controlled masses. It sickened him that his niece, like his brother, had taken such a liking for the species he was here to eliminate. Marie shared her father's belief in cohabitation and coexistence, even believing that the two races could create the next line of evolved man. He, however, believed only in the extermination of their hosts and the preservation of what he believed to be a far superior species here on Earth. DuPont had committed fratricide to dethrone his brother, assuming control of their people. Whilst he needed to keep Marie on his side right now, to get the boy.However, once DuPont had what he needed, his niece would be treated to the same fate as her precious father.

The choppers began to rise up above the research facility and into the sky, a long trail of black hovering machines descending into the distance. Below them, large convoys of military trucks were boarding huge aircraft carriers boarded at the sea. Trailing behind them were long lines of young men and women marching simultaneously and orderly behind. From this bird's eye viewpoint, there were literally hundreds upon thousands of these long lines of army ants boarding the ships and vacating the research site. An exodus of an unknown nation.

Lexi and Adam looked down upon the scene, the grounds edging further away and the sheer enormity of the masses of DuPont's creations came to be realised. It was difficult to ascertain just how many of the clones there were, but it was a huge army.

'What have you done Uncle?' Marie said having taken in the long streams of what looked like an infestation of cockroaches ambling towards the sea. The horror etched upon her face.

DuPont smiled. 'Thanks to your sterling work on Project Eden, we have been able to grow and harvest our own hybrid army. Mindless human forms, with innate powers of our people. A new subspecies with a primal drive to overpower, conquer and erase all those who stand in their way. The humans can enjoy their False Dawn, they have no idea of what is about to hit them.'

The collective horror swept across the faces opposite him, Numen's glowering face shifted to a smug knowingness of the plan that was unfolding.

'They are all like that creature you put in my place?' Lexi enquired, visibly alarmed by the magnitude of the threat these beings would pose to the world.

DuPont's unbridled joy simmered and he cast a cursory glance at Numen. 'That had been the plan, but we had to accelerate the process. It would have been so much easier to have just slowly replaced all the dream walkers with new versions of themselves completely unnoticed, but sadly your meddling friends put paid to that so we had to release them as they were.'

The lines of clones were made up of fully formed human beings, but key features on their faces remained entirely unformed. Many entirely faceless creatures marched, with glowing black eyes and two tiny slits where their nose should be. Others had brutally contorted features, improperly formed and whilst others looked entirely human but missing hair, mouths, noses and ears. They were a bedraggled bunch of humanoids, assorted in terms of how far along the process they had evolved. There were many who looked entirely normal bar the glowing inhuman eyes and without knowing it, they would easily have been mistaken for everyday people.

'This batch are the last ones to be released. The oddballs you might say' he said laughing ironically given his own very absurd appearance. 'I assure you, though, that the others we have already sent out into the world are very much cut from the same cloth as our little test subject of you' he said pointing at Lexi. 'They have been nurtured and indoctrinated ever since we disbanded Project Eden.'

Marie looked out of the helicopter, the swarming mass getting ever bigger in the distance. The idea that this was just a small dose of what DuPont had unleashed on the Earth made her turn cold and shudder at the ramifications. The once enslaved masses had believed that they had just fought their battle for freedom and would not be expecting this counter punch and even when it came they would not even see it coming. The reality hung heavily upon her and as she looked at the young adults sat beside her, she realised that had it not been for her brainwave to try and fuse human and extra-terrestrial DNA, this threat would never have emerged.

The Empire was evolving, no longer set on controlling the humans and enslaving them to the regime, they were about to be aggressively displaced by a new breed, born and raised to serve their master's rule. The humans had won the first battle, but it looked as though the Empire was about to fight back.