They were still working on finding the demon hiding in the footage. With the 3-D model, Cat once again was forced to submit Catherine to the torture of looking at the demon in the pictures to put the model in the same position against a blank photo using augmented reality. Once the 3-D model was as close as they could get without forcing the ghost to look at the images again, they subtracted the color information from the pixels, noting the value change of each individually to get the contrast values left in the blank image. Once they applied that information to the base picture with the invisible demon, a pattern appeared.
Once the pattern was found, they used it as a base to train a deep learning neural network to detect it independently on several other images extracted from footage of Roger Marthan. Before feeding the algorithm the footage, they used Photoshop to remove the lawyer turned cult leader so the network wouldn’t learn to recognize him but the disturbance of his real demonic form.
The result took some time to appear but once the neural network identified the key points of the demon’s image, they were able to replace Roger Marthan with the 3-D model in almost every picture or video he appeared.
They took their independently obtained results to compare with what the military got on their own. Once again they went to the meeting room, to talk with the Colonel.
“Image processing has found a strange noise in the Guantanamo pictures,” the Colonel’s tech specialist reported.
“Were you able to identify and isolate the noise?” Cat asked him. “And detect it in other footage not related to Guantanamo?”
The specialist nodded. “We found it on most footage where Mr. Marthan appeared.”
“Good. Now, here’s the next step. This thumb drive has a 3-D model. I want you to rotate and position the model so its silhouette matches the noise pattern in the images.”
They first checked the thumb drive on a security computer before inserting it into the specialist’s computer. The military needed a couple of hours to adjust the model, which was a fifth of what Kayden took to do the same thing.
“Colonel, we have a match between the model and the noise.”
The man in charge of the operation nodded, “I’m convinced, Miss Wallenstein. What’s the next step?”
Cat produced another thumb drive, “This algorithm can recognize the noise pattern you isolated and replace Mr. Marthan with his true form, Colonel. Basically, it dispels the optical hallucination surrounding him. It’s also able to recognize when he is at least sixty percent in the frame and when he’s not. The network training data and procedure is included.”
After security vetted the extensive file compilation on the second USB drive and reproduced their results, the Colonel finally asked. “What are we dealing with, Miss Wallenstein? Is this some elaborate costume he’s wearing, is he an extraterrestrial alien impostor walking Among Us, or something else?”
She finally could say, "He's a Demon who Wants to Drag me to Hell".
After letting the sentence sink in, she explained. “My miraculous recovery from the suicide attempt was exactly as miraculous as it seemed, colonel. I should’ve died that day, and didn’t. But that gave Hell the right to claim my soul. Roger Marthan was the one sent to collect, and he’s now corrupting our citizens and releasing that abomination on the world. I believe he can create more ‘Florida Walkers’ if he wants to. He’s the one to blame for Doswell, the attacks to kill witnesses on Manhattan and me on the George Washington Bridge.”
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Cat was skeptical regarding the military claim that they killed the “Florida Walker” at Doswell. They never found the body, which according to the ironclad rules on TvTropes was a dead giveaway the guy might be still around. But the military couldn’t walk empty-handed from such a devastating PR nightmare. They had to claim they were successful and justified in their little war wrought on Homeland soil. The entire world condemned what happened at Doswell, and the politicians were using it to leverage their Congressional campaign at the expense of the military and the current administration.
While a part of her wanted to believe and hope for a demon-free future, another side, the practical and grounded one, knew she had to prepare to fight off a demonspawn. Shinji and Alice were at her mansion already, on standby. Their plan was to move to a more defensible position and wait out until her birthday next week. Given the speed the walker advanced, if he escaped the military assault he should arrive before that date.
She wanted to ask Alice if she believed the two returners with the help of the monstrous wolves could defeat the walker but she didn’t dare do that over a phone call. Agatha and she were certain her electronic communications were under heavy surveillance. The colonel himself hinted several times they suspected she was an accomplice in the story and she knew the military wasn’t above using a scapegoat to recover some of their lost credibility. She gathered too much infamy and public exposure in the last year and throwing her under the bus could sway the public opinion on whom the “Good Guys” were and take control of the narrative.
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“I’m convinced, Miss Wallenstein,” the colonel said without a sliver of irony then rolled his eyes as he asked, “How do we defeat your demon?”
“He’s not my demon and I want as much distance from him as possible, colonel,” she answered with a glare. “We suspect his particular physiology has one weakness, to silver in general but we were thinking of making them into bullets. However, it must be silver that never underwent any industrial process from extraction to manufacture. It has to be mined by hand and smelted into bullets by hand too.”
She sighed, “However, attacking him may trigger a retaliatory response. You can assume he’s orders of magnitude stronger than the ‘Florida Walker’. Conventional weapons are useless on him, and I doubt even a tactical bomb could kill him. Even if the silver proves effective, it will take more than a sniper bullet to the brain to finish him.”
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Angered, the colonel slammed the table, “Why didn’t you disclose this information earlier?”
Cat stared at the concealed camera focused on her seat. “Because you wouldn’t believe me before. I know you guys watching this still don’t believe me. Mark my words, we’re dealing with a powerful alien with unknown capabilities. He’s able to influence people, erase his presence, and even infiltrate your most secure prison. Not to mention the power to create walkers. And before you think about hiring him to give you an immortal army, beware the price he’ll charge. He’ll demand the devil’s due to do anything on behalf of others, so God may keep him from corrupting you.”
The screen came alive and the general appeared. The videoconference cameras captured Cat and the colonel’s faces and put them in their tiny little boxes on the corner.
“Miss Wallenstein, we thank you for your cooperation. I assure you the United States will not negotiate or enter any kind of deal with terrorists, and we’ll devote our utmost on securing and developing silver weaponry to fight off this threat.”
Cat raised a hand as if asking to speak, “Full disclosure, general, in the weeks before the appearance of the Walker, I was building up a big stake in the mining sector, in hopes of securing a silver deposit for myself. If the intention to secure virgin silver deposits leaks to the market, I might make some profit, but this is not my intention. If you think it is in the nation’s best interest, I’ll divest myself of my position and sell my stake. I don’t want to generate a conflict of interest.”
The general muted his feed and leaned to listen to someone off-camera. “Miss Wallenstein, we understand your concern, and we do not suspect you of any manipulations. Your reaction to Mr. Marthan’s presence was well documented and our analysts don’t believe you are working with him. You have permission to keep your investments.”
Cat returned a coy smile, “General, if you develop silver weaponry, may I ask you share some of it with lieutenant Murphy? To the extent of what ammunition a civilian in the security sector could legally use?”
“We’ll consider your request but I can’t give a definite answer now. Do you have anything else you wish to disclose, Miss Wallenstein?”
“No, General. Regarding Mr. Marthan and his alien origins and powers, that is all.”
“Then you are dismissed. The president and your country thank you for your cooperation. Murphy, keep our VIP safe.”
Jack saluted the general. “Yes, sir!”
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They were at the parking lot ready to board their armored car when a military sentry shouted, “Flying entity spotted at five o’clock, approaching fast!”
Everyone looked to the south and Catherine started to scream urging Cat to run away once they saw the “Flying Entity” who was indeed approaching fast.
Cat felt the ingrained fear of Catherine’s rapist. No doubt it was him. The “Florida Walker” wasn’t defeated. It had just evolved into the “Virginia Flyer”. The irony of the new moniker wasn’t lost on Cat but she was too scared to care.
“...humanoid probably wearing a winged flying apparatus...” she overheard their escort’s military radio buzz.
“Take cover!” The captain tasked with keeping watch over them while inside the base shouted.
Jack immediately drew his handgun and dragged Catherine to crouch next to the car. “Don’t get inside. You don’t want to be trapped in a confined space if that’s what we fear it is.”
“It is him!” Cat cried. “I know it’s him!”
“Call Alice and Shinji. Tell them to come here as fast as they can,” Jack said. “We need to fight fire with fire.”
Cat understood. The Walker survived Doswell and even gained new powers. Conventional weapons would only stall him at best. They needed magic. She fumbled for her phone, dropping the device from her trembling hands. Gunfire started to ring all around her, reviving the trauma of the Bridge attack. At least they weren’t firing at her, this time. She gave up on picking up the phone and flipped it around to use it on the ground. She called Alice on the speakerphone.
“Catherine, what’s happening?” The wolf whisperer asked. “I’m hearing gunfire!”
“We have a D situation over here. The guy from Cuba is fighting the military. Come to Fort Hamilton and bring Shinji! Please!” Cat begged.
“We’re coming. Hold him back for a few minutes!” The [Monster Tamer] ended the call.
“I heard it,” Jack said. “Get ready to run. He’s after you but he’s slow. Unless the wings gave him speed, then we’re fucked.”
The demonspawn touched down, ignoring the shots. “Catherine!” he shouted.
The dead girl living inside Cat’s head cried.
The living one froze and even leaked some pee.
Urged by the specter and her own flight instincts, Cat started to run away from the demonspawn.
“TheRe yOu ARE!” It screamed and ran for her.
Cat didn’t dare look behind her. She pumped her feet and kicked against the parking lot pavement as fast as she could. Behind her, she could only hear gunshots and even a few explosions. The soldiers were shouting but she couldn’t even understand what they were saying. Panicking, she only bemoaned her predicament and kept an eye forward to avoid running into anything. She was also glad she didn’t trip on anything.
“Fire in the hole!” The soldiers shouted.
A massive explosion behind her rocked Cat forward and the ballerina-in-training gracefully stumbled to keep her balance. She did an awkward jeté which would make her ballet instructor berate her for a few minutes but recovered her pace and kept running. Always running away.
A gurgling shriek came after the tinnitus from the explosives vanished.
“It’s reforming itself! Keep shooting! Grenade!” The soldiers shouted. They had learned how to fight such creatures from their confrontations with the “Florida Walker”. Pin it down with gunfire and don’t take the finger off the trigger.
She ducked behind a building and stopped to catch her breath. Even after months of exercise and physical therapy, she was far from competing in the Olympics. After she calmed down, Cat dared to peek from the corner. She saw a blob of flesh writhing on the pavement, twitching and twisting as gunfire from the military kept it pinned and unable to regenerate.
“CaTHeWrynne!” It warbled menacingly as one eye swiveled to stare directly at her core.
She flinched away and slid against the building until she was crouching. Where was Jack? How long would Alice and Shinji take to arrive? She cursed her hopelessness and lack of offensive options. Without recourse, she started to pray along with Catherine in her head. Her tears flowed as he begged for whatever higher power was watching over the poor mortals for deliverance.
“Reload and keep firing!” The colonel shouted in a loudspeaker. “Keep it pinned! Where is the liquid nitrogen?”
In a moment of lucidity, she joked to herself that they were going full Terminator on the demonspawn. Cat peeked again and saw that the blob of flesh was slowly crawling toward her.
“Catherine!” Jack called from the other side of the building. “Come to me!”
She tried to stand up but her legs wouldn’t obey. She fell on all fours in the famous “Orz” position, her hair forming a curtain around her head hiding her shame. She stuttered and tittered and cried. When she found the strength to vocalize, it was another prayer.
Jack’s powerful arms picked her up and she was moving away from the monster. Away from the fighting, away from death. She tried to recall the feeling of enrapture William’s ghost had felt when he gazed upon the angel. Her spirit begged for redemption and surrendered itself to the Heavens.
Alas, it was not yet her time. Salvation evaded her grasp. Like the defenseless damsel in dire distress dashing away from dastardly death she was, she could only rely on her champions.