CHAPTER ELEVEN
BEYOND THE REALMS OF DEATH
The elevator stops. Its heavy doors slide open, slowly and loudly like fingernails taking their time carving up a blackboard.
Rayne, Big George, and Davenport raise their weapons in anticipation. Anticipating what exactly? They can't say but considering their experiences so far everything is possible.
The door opens; Fang Two moves in.
It doesn't take long for the professional soldiers to secure the area.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
The checkpoint leading inside stands like the upper level, desolate and quiet. Almost reminiscing a museum exhibit on display for everyone to see but taking great care not to be tainted by human touch.
"CLEAR!" Yui suddenly blurts out appearing mid the Fang Two unit.
Rayne and Big George turn to her with a less than amused expression; Davenport, on the other hand, laughs out loud.
"That's funny," he adds. Yui happily nods that someone acknowledged her little joke.
Olivia walks through the omnichecker as it beeps loudly.
"Maybe you got some spare change, Doc?" Davenport adds as he passes through with the same beep.
The way forth leading through the decontamination area stands open.
They proceed forth, carefully.
Just as they are about to enter a person in a white lab coat quickly passes through.
"Survivors?" Olivia blurts out as she rushes ahead.
"Doctor, hold on," Rayne says to no avail. The Fang Two follow the doctor.
They enter the underground level of Odile; an enormous area filled with scientific equipment all surrounding a giant glass pod containing a weird cocktail of jumbled-up flesh with a spine atop it.
The area fills with images of humans wearing lab coats.
One of the images walks through Big George as it evaporates in the air like steam.
"What, the hell, is happening here?" Big George blurts out.
The busy phantoms dilly dally around, sublimating and desublimating.
"Ghosts," Yui adds, standing in front of the apparitions.
Davenport tries to grab one of the phantoms but as soon as he touches it the ghost evaporates.
"Hello, can you hear me? I'm Captain Rayne of the Fang Two unit," Rayne says, futilely trying to communicate with the lost echoes.
Olivia walks to the glass pod, mesmerized by the grotesque contents inside. She puts her hand on the glass as whispers echo inside their head.
The whispers grow louder and louder.
"DOCTOR!" Rayne says as he taps her on the shoulder.
"Captain?" Olivia blurts out as if woken from a dream.
"Can you get the data from here?" Rayne asks.
Olivia nods; she goes to a nearby console.
Unsure what to do the Fang Two unit and Yui step to the side of the ephemeral carnival. Carefully observing that ghost score play.
Two phantoms appear in front of them; an older man and woman.
"Doctor Bennett, we've just got confirmation to continue to experiment," the woman says.
"Great! If everything proceeds as planned in 2 months we will have the potential to cure hundreds of untreatable illnesses. And that is merely the tip of the iceberg," the man says.
The phantoms vanish.
Another phantom of a visibly annoyed younger woman holding a pad appears near the glass pod.
"I don't understand this!" she says, scratching her head.
"What is the matter?" a phantom of an older woman appears.
"These readings, Doctor Riley. None of them make sense. Is something wrong with our equipment?" she asks.
"Nothing is wrong, Ella." a phantom of Doctor Bennett appears as he places his hand on the glass pod, "It is just that amazing. To think that all the progress humanity made in the last 50 years will pale in comparison to what we achieved here in less than half a year. This truly is a gift from God," he says.
"Since when do you believe in god, Doctor Bennett?" the phantom of Doctor Riley asks, staring at him with skepticism.
"Since now, Doctor Riley," the phantom of Doctor Bennett says as the three phantoms vanish.
The Fang Two unit observes the supernatural theater appearing and disappearing before them.
"I don't understand. Are they alive or not?" Davenport asks.
"They are like echoes of memories," Rayne says, unsure.
Yui moves from one phantom to another, maniacally searching.
"Yui what's wrong?" Davenport asks as he approaches the distressed woman.
"My sister Sara. I can't find her," Yui says as she continues erratically looking around.
Davenport takes a look at the hundreds of phantoms but he can't see anyone resembling her.
Yui rushes from one phantom to another as she makes contact, wittingly or unwittingly, they dissipate before her eyes.
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Davenport turns to Rayne as he shrugs, unsure how to proceed.
Rayne sighs.
"Keep an eye on her," he responds.
Yui continues her search but finds nothing. Her sister is not here.
She stops, disheartened.
Davenport, nearby, tries to extend a comforting hand but he remembers her unique condition; he retracts it.
"You know isn't this a good thing?" Davenport asks as he sits close but not too close.
Yui turns to him with a puzzled look.
How can any of this be a good thing, she thinks almost insulted by his unthought remark?
HOW DARE HE?
"I've been thinking. If these people are like ghosts and stuff, doesn't it mean they are dead? And if your sister isn't a ghost that could mean she is still alive or something... I don't know... never was good with thinking that is why I got the Captain," Davenport says as he awkwardly chuckles.
Hearing his comment her rage subsides as a smile pops out.
He is right! Sara could be alive, Yui smiles.
"I've got the data," Olivia says as she turns to Rayne in disbelief.
"What's wrong, Doctor?" Rayne asks.
"This is unbelievable. If just a single thing from all of this is applicable it could change humanity forever. We are talking about putting a stop to aging, creating a treatment for every conceivable disease, and even allowing humans to develop abilities. I now know why they call it a gift of God," Olivia explains.
"This all sounds great, Doctor, but first we need to survive this mess," Rayne says.
And as he finishes his sentence more phantoms rapidly appear one by one around the newcomers.
"Captain?" Davenport blurts out as he and Yui quickly rejoin the others.
Unsure of what to do the Fang Two unit members raise their weapons as the phantoms continue to spawn around them.
"Gift of God!" one of the phantoms utters the words.
Another appears uttering the same sentence.
Then another and another multiplying like hornets from a shaken nest.
The phantoms chant in unison.
"Gift of God."
"Gift of God."
"Gift of God."
…
Then, silence. The Child appears amongst the forgotten echoes.
"You will help me kill it," the Child says as it points to the glass pod with the unusual being.
Rayne walks toward it; pauses for a moment. He looks back at his squad, at Olivia and Yui. He promised to get them out. But can he keep this promise? Will the thing before him keep its promise?
"How do we know we can trust you?" Rayne asks.
"Gift of God! Gift of God!" the phantoms chant as they turn silent.
"With us, you shall transcend your flesh. Without us, you shall cease to be. The choice is simple. Kill our foe, earn your freedom, and save your species," the Child says. I don't know, Rayne says within himself. What am I supposed to do?
He turns again to his comrades, looking for an answer.
They don't say anything but sometimes silence is louder than words.
Fuck it!
"Fine! What do you need us to do?" Rayne asks the Child.
The supernatural entity smiles revealing the endless abyss inside its mouth for a brief moment.
"Destroy it," the Child points at the flesh inside the glass pod.
Rayne turns and shoots the pod. The bullet doesn't penetrate the glass.
"Doctor, can you open it?" Rayne asks Olivia.
"Possibly," Olivia answers as she turns back to the consoles.
After typing on the consoles the pod opens.
An image flashes in Rayne's mind. He can't discern what he saw but there is something off about it.
An unusual feeling inside his body; a feeling of being sick to your stomach.
Rayne shoots two bullets at the fleshy mass.
"There! I've done what you wanted now let us go," Rayne orders the supernatural creature, scarcely controlling his disdain.
The Child laughs out loud.
No auditory sound, no chuckles or giggles only a smile and the feel of being crushed by gravity.
The five humans inside the area try to resist its pull.
They fall to their knees as their bodies shake.
The Child stops "laughing".
"Not like that. You must go to it," the Child says as it points at the piece of flesh.
Rayne doesn't understand its words but he feels them.
He walks toward the flesh; one step at a time.
Then, unknownst to him, he thrusts his hand inside it.
He looks around.
Davenport, Big George, Olivia, and Yui are near him, all with their hands inside the flesh.
The Child smiles as a flash of light bursts.