Signs of Humanity Chapter 9: Sign 2
Lilith and Jericho find themselves wandering down one of the Helix Tower's many dilapidated halls, concrete walls cracked, paint peeling from years of runaway water damage and a healthy smattering of mold. Broken up with metal support beams covered in rust and creaking under the unknown amount of wait forced on them from their failed partners.
Most of this would be a distressing situation for anyone with the sense not to step foot in a building in such neglect, but not Lilith who, in her mind was walking to a cave system through a quiet forest covered in snow. She thought yes this wasn't their ideal situation as they weren't prepared for a prolonged stay in such an environment if an emergency did arise. But it was going to be ok as they were only an hours walk from the camp. That, coupled with the reassurance from Sargent Jericho and the Doctor that they would be fine as it was only a recon mission and would need to pack lite regardless.
Although she was still a little put-off, why go to this cave system? Jericho said that his missing team members could be held up there, but it was in the opposite direction from the river and to get to the caves they would have had to pass near the camp. Perhaps they were going to secure the caves as an outpost and managed to make it there after Jericho fell in the river. But still what would the use of the caves be to the army, all Lilith knew was that it wouldn't be a good place to stay for long it was chock full of bears and would be a headache to get rid of them all. But this was all above her pay grade she was a medical officer and they were not a part of the tactical decisions of the army, she was just the one who was meant to put them back together when they were torn apart.
But with the gun she was given she did feel a little safer, it had been a while since she held a rifle "why not since...." Lilith's thoughts trailed off while her mind searched for a memory that didn't exist when the chip in her head recognised a discretion in her thought patterns and pulled up some memories that would suit the situation. While also implanting knowledge of how to use a rifle and how to shoot with moderate accuracy as much as a field medic would have, in order to cement the lie in Lilith's mind making it a fact.... "Basic training that's right" Lilith told herself.
While Lilith was regaling Jericho with her past in basic training and talking about how long it has been since she held a gun. Jericho followed behind her at a distance, scoffing at the mention of the gun, he thought to himself "you mean the rebar I tied together and told you it was a rifle?". While Sam vouched for Lilith's proficiency with a gun, Jericho wasn't ready to accept the idea that she could handle a firearm just because a chip in her skull told her she could. He also didn't think it would be a good idea to give someone who doesn't see the same reality, a gun that could used to let all the other Mutants know where they were. At that point, Sam did agree a live firearm would be a bad idea.
So, while Lilith played pretend with a fake gun Jericho would have to protect them both with a pistol with 15 bullets and a small knife, against a Gen X mutant might as well be a stick and a hand full of stones. But there wasn't much to do, if Jericho used any of his abilities again, he would probably be out of the game for good. Coupled with Lilith's power predicament they were just two normal humans, except one had heightened senses while the other was good at learning biology.
Although there was something else that had Jericho worried, it was the news about Lilith's powers, thinking back on what Sam had told him made it feel like the world was dropping out from under his feet.
"Well, Lilith's power hasn't awakened yet, so I couldn't tell you what she can and can't do," Sam said sheepishly, however, Jericho's reaction was not what he expected at first it seemed a bit over the top but once Jericho explained why it was bad, Sam also realised the weight of the situation.
"Sam, you don't understand!" stammered Jericho after Sam's insistence that it wasn't a big deal, that he should just treat Lilith like a normal human. "Once a Psychic's Release and Affinity have shown themselves their powers begin to develop, kind of like a tumour, it will grow until the Psychic uses their powers for the first time. When they first use their power it's like the tumour bursts releasing all its power at once then stabilising into a new organ. They call it 'The Big Bang' for a reason, the longer between the Psychic's development of their Release and Affinity and the first time they use their powers the bigger the bang. If Lilith is roughly 60 years old and she's never used her powers, she's like a walking bomb". Jericho explained.
Sam was shocked, then began to try to lessen the danger in his mind. "No, it can't be that bad, Lilith was frozen when she was 24, so it might not be as bad as you think".
Jericho shook his head, "No Sam you don't get it, most kids develop their powers by the time they turn five, and even then, in some cases, it can be pretty violent. Also, I know I described the power like a tumour, but it's not a physical thing it’s a wave of impulses in the brain that bounce around strengthening the nervous system so it can bear the weight of the psychic's powers. Maybe if Lilith was brain dead during her freeze, things might not be so bad. But because she had that chip in her head keeping her somewhat there it would have made that wave into a tsunami".
Finally understanding what Jericho meant Sam dropped to the floor. "Oh my god, what do we do"? Jericho had to pause to think of something, but not being able to see a solution only said "hope she never finds out that she is a Psychic".
Sam was not comforted by this news "What could trigger her powers from coming out?" he asked. This was something Jericho couldn't answer for everyone it was different, but between Brutes and Psychics there was a common cause and it was emotions. But which emotion could set someone off was unique to the individual.
"If she was a Brute, I could tell you that becoming extremely angry is usually a trigger, we feel emotions with much greater intensity, particularly anger, if we aren’t careful, it can consume us. But a Psychic, it's hard to say their brains process information so fast that it only takes a single instant of one emotion being felt too powerfully to set them off. So, there's nothing we can do but hope for the best". Jericho's words still hung in his mind.
Now wandering behind Lilith trying to keep his distance from the potential nuclear explosion, he noticed that she was beginning to think he was acting suspiciously. He decided to suck it up and catch up to her after all, if she did blow up, he'd be caught up in the explosion no matter what.
"Sorry I was just checking for any signs of enemy troops but there was nothing there," said Jericho with confidence that the lie should translate well for Lilith. "Oh, did you find anything? I haven't heard any reports of any enemy soldiers out this way", Lilith asked not showing a hint that anything contradicted with her reality, to Jericho's relief. "No everything is fine, but you know, better to be safe than sorry".
As they walked in the narrow hallways in silence Jericho began to feel uncomfortable, after all, the person he is walking next to was somehow here but also in another world. Questions kept coming to him about what it is like for her. He decided he just had to ask "So what is it like for you?" Lilith looked at him confused Jericho noticing that this was a mistake followed up with "being stationed at the base I mean".
"Oh, it's not too bad there is always something for me to do, when I don't have any soldiers to look after I often go into town to help out the locals, it such as small village they don't have a doctor I'm the only person they have access to," said Lilith. Jericho was surprised, even though he knew she wasn't doing anything, she believed that she was helping people.
"Why do you do that? Is that part of your orders to help the locals?" Asked Jericho to keep the conversation going, and to find out more about Lilith, after all, he was going to have to rely on her, so he needed to know what made Lilith tick artificially or not.
"No, it's just something I want to do, I only go when I'm off duty, these people live in such isolation they have nothing going for them the least I can do is offer what I know to help". Answered Lilith.
"I see, why did you join the army in the first place?" Asked Jericho.
"Oh, I see we are doing this; Good it's been a long time since I swapped war stories with someone else," Playfully said, Lilith.
Jericho a little confused, "I'm sorry what are you talking about?"
"This, the whole, so why are you here, what noble cause drove you to join the army? Then we swap stories and we have a laugh, and do a manly handshake yeah? Sorry but I'm not that interesting, I joined because it was the quickest job I could find with a medical background and then I got shipped here to the back end of nowhere." Lilith said with an out of place, upbeat tone.
"I see, well if it makes you feel any better, nothing of note happened to me either. I couldn't even tell you what landed me here; it just feels like a blur of bad luck. But we can still do the manly handshake if you want." joked Jericho.
Lilith spun on her feet to face Jericho, with a laugh and a grin "Yeah alright".
The two firmly clasped hands tightly, with overly exaggerated expressions of seriousness on their faces. "I've got your back brother". Said Lilith in a deep rumbling voice like she was trying to mimic the stereotype of the largest most muscular man alive. "And I have you sister" Jericho returned in the same mocking voice. The two laughed and released their grip and continued walking.
This was a nice change of pace, both felt they could be more relaxed around each other and that, even though there wasn't any reason for it, a little bit of trust was beginning to form between them.
However, this little distraction did, unfortunately, camouflage the heavy footsteps stalking the two.
As they turned a corner Jericho noticed that the hallway ends with the entrance to a room, from what he remembers of Sam's directions the floor is partially collapsed in this room. If they drop down into the floor underneath this one, they will be in the hallway that leads to the server room that has the information he is after. Lilith loudly exclaims "Finally the entrance! I can't wait to get inside and out of this wind, the cold is making me shiver like nothing else".
At first, Jericho was thinking "could the chip in Lilith's head be making her think it's colder than it is?" The Helix Towers was quite a lot warmer than expected, it wasn't exactly comfortable but more like a cool autumn night, a big step up from the frozen wasteland that Lilith would be imagining. That’s when he noticed that she was covered in goosebumps and that the muscles on the back of her neck were tensing up. This was an indication that she was reacting to the presence of an advanced mutation staged mutant. He remembered his mother telling him a story about a run-in she had with a Gen X when she was young.
All Psychics emanate a field of alpha waves that interact with the beta waves all other creatures put out, it doesn't work that well with animals but with people, it allows them to tell Brutes, humans and Psychics apart. Depending on the intensities of each of the beta waves, with Brutes having the strongest and Psychics the weakest. This feeling intensifies with the emotions and mutation level of the person being sensed. In his mother's case, she had a run-in with a particularly nasty Gen X Brute, according to her just being around it made her skin crawl.
In tandem with this memory and the sudden notice of a strong smell of Iron in the air Jericho spun around and pulled out his pistol and aimed it down the hall they had just come from. This movement didn't go unnoticed by Lilith, whose mood instantly changed from a jovial relaxation to a serious intensity. "What is it? Did you hear something?" she asked coldly while taking a position with her back to Jericho with the rebar in her hands aimed at the doorway like a rifle.
If Jericho could have broken focus with the empty hallway in front of him, he would have been impressed with Lilith's professionalism. She was covering his blind spot ensuring that they both could be completely aware of their surroundings. As it happened, he couldn't enjoy the thought of having a capable ally for too long, something was coming, the smell was getting stronger and its faint heavy steps were beginning to ring in his ears.
"Something is coming," he said, focusing his eyes on the dark hallway ahead of him. Almost out of habit, he was going to activate his Release but caught himself. "No," he thought to himself, that would be the end if I did that." Resigning himself to his normal sight, he took a deep breath and whispered to Lilith. "We need to get into cover, let's move into the room... I mean cave, slowly and making as little noise as possible, I'm not going to turn around so you will need to guide me, ok?"
"Yes Sir, leave it to me" responded Lilith.
As they began to shuffle towards the door Lilith whispered everything Jericho needed to know.
"In three steps there will be some rocks on the ground watch your feet," Lilith said referring to pieces of the ceiling that had fallen to the ground.
"In two meters, a tree has fallen over you will need to duck under it". Jericho ducked under some cables hanging from the roof, they were sparking slightly when the exposed pieces hit each other, this was a sign the power is still on in the area.
"Ok I'm going to open the door now" Lilith whispered to Jericho's surprise.
"Door?" He asked back, he knew there was a door ahead of them. It was a large metal door that slides open and closed from the top, but Lilith shouldn't have known that. On the way here they travelled through several doors and Lilith paid them no mind like she didn't even see them, on one occasion the door wasn't opening fast enough and Jericho had to stop Lilith from running into it, so how could she see this one? He was planning to rush to the door controls once they bumped into it, but now he was dumbfounded.
"Yeah, there might be something to this cave idea of yours Sir, it appears that someone has constructed a large metal door in the cave entrance". Lilith explained.
"I see, once that door opens, I want you to find something to hide behind, once you have signal me by clicking your tongue once. Then as I walk backwards into the room click it twice to let me know if there is cover to my right for me to hide behind or once to my left or click it three times if there is nothing, got it?". Jericho rattled off, by having Lilith click her tongue instead of whistling it would limit the range of the sound of the signal. Whatever was behind them was a Brute so it would have as sensitive hearing as Jericho, so making as little sound as possible was a must.
"Yes, Sir," said Lilith, without question and moved away to find cover. Seconds later Jericho heard a click, followed by another single click, he took one last long-strained look down the hallway and turned and noticed an upturned desk behind him, this must have been the cover Lilith found him. As he jumped over it and pulled himself behind it, he looked over to see Lilith also crouched behind a desk looking out into the hallway with her imaginary gun at the ready. Jericho sighed and thought "Maybe we should have given her a real gun after all".
But there was nothing he could do about it now, so there they sat with their eyes trained on the hallway scanning left to right looking for the smallest sign of movement in the dimly lit tunnel. When they finally saw what was stalking them, they both saw something different. For Lilith, what she saw was a large brown bear slowly lumbering into the cave entrance swinging its head back and forth sniffing the air. "Sir I see it, looks like a bear caught our scent, it must have been tracking us for a while" Lilith calmly relayed to Jericho. Jericho didn't respond right away as he was busy studying the creature before him.
Lilith was right that it had been following them based on their sent it still seemed to be sniffing the air following their path. But it was most certainly not a bear. What Jericho saw was an abomination of muscles and flesh. It was an oversized person lumbering towards them standing about 8 feet tall, with bulky tree trunk arms that ended with bloated hands consisting of 3 large thumbed shaped fingers. Its lower part consisted of equally massive legs, however, unlike the naked top half, this one was wearing makeshift pants and shoes of patchwork leather. Strange Jericho thought this means this one has an understanding of shame, unlike the previous Gen Xs which had no clothing. This meant this one was not as far gone as the others, maybe he could also be reasoned with? Maybe this one was more like Sam.
As the creature got closer Jericho could make out more features of the Brute, its hide was covered with tumorous growths, patches of hair and discoloured skin. There also appeared to be faces growing in different places around the body, one on its chest and one on the left shoulder, both sporting Brute Releases, meaning they had functioning eye's which was bad news, and if there was one on it's back it meant this thing could have 360 degrees of vision.
But the most off-putting thing about this creature was its head, while the head was in proportion to the rest of its massive body it appeared to be rotting. Its lower jaw was missing leaving an open moar with exposed teeth. A dangling tongue that looked to be three times longer than needed, surrounded by frayed skin and half-dried blood, which ran down its neck onto its chest like the wound was constantly bleeding. Its eyes were completely white and sunken into its skull but lacking eyelids so the eyes looked like they were jutting out from their sockets. The rest of its head was like skin stretched tight over the skull with thick black vanes that carved out its face that would pulsate with the heartbeat of the creature. This was all topped off with a patchy head of greasy looking hair that hung down past its shoulders with parts of the exposed scalp looking like bleached bone.
It was a disgusting sight, and Jericho was hoping that its appearance would give him a hint of what its abilities were, but based on the site of the cancer before him, there were several things that could be none of them good.
While Jericho was studying the creature intently, Lilith on the other hand was wondering what they should do, this was a large bear, probably the largest she had seen, and it looked odd with clumps of fur missing, a damaged eye, possibly blinded and the fur from its mouth down its chest was matted in what looked like dried vomit. She guessed it must have mange and would probably be unstable. They could hide in place but the bear would probably sniff them out soon, there was nothing to it, she clicked her tongue at Jericho twice to get his attention.
Jericho snapped his gaze to Lilith, wondering what she could want at this important moment. She was waving her hands about in a way that wasn't random but controlled, pointing at him than herself. She was trying to signal him with directions that soldiers would use in combat but Jericho had no idea what she wanted him to do, all he could tell was she wanted them to attack the Brute. A horrible idea, but something they most likely would have to do soon. Trying to buy some more time Jericho shook his head and was about to clumsily signal Lilith to wait when a deep rumbling voice spoke out from the creature. Jericho was staring at Lilith when it happened and saw the shock and fear on her face. She could hear it as well.
"I know you are in that room... there is nowhere else for you to go". Said the lumbering creature.
"What the fuck!" Lilith whispered under her breath "That bear just spoke."
Jericho ignored Lilith's confusion, it was the least of his worries, from his point of view there were two options before him. Try and talk to the Gen X and hope they can convince it to leave them be, or fight it. The second option would more than likely be fruitless, but the Gen X was wrong about one thing there was a way out from the room, the collapsed floor in the back. Maybe if he could get a chance, he could get the door they came through to close and they could escape through the floor.
"Ok I'm coming out" yelled Jericho to the Gen X.
"What are you doing?" Whispered Lilith.
"Keep it down," whispered Jericho as he stood up staying behind the door frame just out of sight of the Gen X.
"When I click my tongue twice you shoot that thing here and here" Jericho whispered to Lilith, while point to his chest and left shoulder, where the faces of the Gen X were. Even if she didn't hit the faces directly the fact that those areas are under threat should give him enough of an opening to close the door and run to the opening in the floor. "Once the door closes, we are going down there, you clear?" he pointed to the hole. Lilith's head darted around and saw a gap in the cave floor "Clear" she said, her voice trembled with fear from not understanding the situation. Jericho could see she had so many questions, but he didn't have the luxury to explain.
Jericho put his gun in his right hand and then held his hands above his head to show surrender then stepped out into the open doorway.
"Stop... put that down and slide it away" the creature explained, upon seeing the gun.
Slight relief filled Jericho, this meant that a gun would do some damage to the creature so it was wary of it. It also allowed him to get an actual gun into Lilith's hands. A risky gamble but one he had to put everything on.
Jericho did as he was told, sliding the gun over to Lilith's hiding spot opposite him. Lilith looked at him still reeling from the idea that a bear could talk and wondering what Jericho was planning when she noticed Jericho looking at her rifle and back to her face. Once they locked eyes and Lilith understood that he wanted to tell her something about her gun, Jericho subtly shook his head like he was saying no. He then proceeded to look at his gun now inches from her, she slowly reached out and picked it up and looked back at Jericho who returned her gaze with a subtle nod, like he was telling her to use this gun instead. She gulped and nodded, she didn't know why Jericho wanted her to use his pistol over her rifle, but this was his plan and he was trusting her to play along, the least she could do was trust him in turn, after all, they did say they would have each other's backs.
As Jericho stood back up with his hands above his head, he stepped forward into the doorway, stopping just at the entrance within reach of the door controls. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Lilith peeking out from her cover holding the pistol. With slight relief that she understood him enough to use the pistol over her supposed rifle, he dropped his arms and looked to the creature to speak.
"Sorry for the intrusion, I'm just looking for something important, I don't mean any harm to you or the Tree". Jericho said taking a stab at whatever Olsen might be calling herself now.
"The tree... you mean our Mother Tree? How does an outsider like you know about her?" groaned the Gen X.
"Mother Tree," thought Jericho, sounds like a cult leader name if ever he heard one. "Oh, I heard about it from some of the other Gen Xs roaming around here".
"Gen Xs? What did you call us? How dare you, we are the Chosen, the leaders of the Mother Tree's new world!" Yelled the Gen X, Jericho had hit a nerve, not a good sign that he might be able to talk his way out of a fight. But the Gen X was stationary he wasn't advancing, was it as weary of Jericho as he was of him?
"Sorry, yes Chosen, old habits die hard I'm afraid, let me ask your name, so I might be able to address you correctly," said Jericho in hopes to calm the creature.
"I am the great fist of the Tree Mother, I was given the name Golem by the Mother, who might you be? You smell like one of the Chosen, did you make a pilgrimage from the outside to join us? No not like us you smell a little off, like rusted metal". Said Golem.
A little confused by what Golem said about Jericho's scent, he guessed it was because he was also a Brute, but never mind this could give him a way out.
"Yes, that’s right! I came here, to retrieve proof that the Tree Mother resides here so that her followers from far away, would know to come here." Jericho lied. "So, if you would let me finish my quest the Mother Tree will be very pleased with your actions". Jericho was putting a lot of stock in Golem just taking his word for it, from what he had seen and what Sam had told him the Gen Xs were easily led and confused when presented with new information.
"Bah, I would have been told of this, the Mother Tree shares all her plans with me and a traveller coming here to spread her word outside this place would be of great importance". Barked back Golem.
"Ok well, this is umm..." "Damn it, I think it's time to run," Jericho said to himself knowing he had blown it, he was about to click his tongue to signal Lilith when Gollum continued talking.
"You are of no consequence, I smell you, you are one of us, even if you don't know it the Mother Tree has already started twisting her way into your mind. You will come to love her as I do, soon enough. What interests me is the other one with you, she smells like the Mother Tree, I'm here to collect her she will be of great value to the Mother Tree". Declared Gollum who finally began advancing towards Jericho.
Jericho dropped the pretence of a subtle attack and yelled at Lilith "Shoot now"!
Lilith fired 2 shots just as Jericho had told her before, both hit their targets perfectly. Jericho reached for the button but paused a second to study the reaction of Golem, hoping for a hint of the creature's abilities. What happened was worse than Jericho could have expected.
The Bullets did have an effect on Golem, a massive effect, while being shot with a bullet would be undeniably painful, the way Golem reacted seemed a little over the top. Both of the faces on his body screamed like a white-hot fire poker was jammed in their eyes. Golem toppled over and pulled his legs into his chest and wrapped his arms around them as he pulled himself into a ball. After a deep breath, he stops screaming and pulled himself together. Not standing back up still holding a slightly crouched position like a sprinter getting ready to run, aimed the face on his shoulder towards Jericho.
"How dare you hurt me; I'll rip you to shreds for this". Said Golem through laboured breathing. As he spoke the bullet wound on his shoulder, which was a fraction above his right eye rapidly closed up. It held for a second like puckered mouth which then forced out the bullet and exploded into a mass of tumorous growths, that forced out an extra misshapen eye and several teeth that fell from the eye to the floor. With the second ting of another bullet hitting the floor. It was a safe bet that the same thing had happened to the wound on Golem's chest.
Jericho stood there stunned as he knew what this meant. The extreme pain reaction and explosive cancerous healing meant that Golem was a Brute with a healing factor. Normally in a brute with a healing factor, they recovered from wounds quickly, this meant they were capable of acts like regrowing an arm providing they had enough genetic material in their bodies within a day. This increase in their bodies healing ability also meant they were able to quickly put on large amounts of muscle in a short time, coupled with the enhanced senses of a Brute made them tough opponents.
However, this all changed when the Brute's healing factor was in a runaway state like it is in a Gen X. Their healing was almost instantaneous, their bodies could also accommodate more muscle than the normal human body could allow. Because of this, after some time their bodies are more like walking cancers whenever they accumulate damage, they will heal the damage with random other body parts and growths. Other downsides to this healing were their increased sensitivity to pain and the more healing they had to do the hotter their bodies become. So, it is possible to temporarily defeat them if you can beat them down long enough for them to either pass out from the pain or faint from overheating.
But Jericho and Lilith didn't have the strength to do either to Golem, the pistol would only hold him off as long as they had bullets which they had only a hand full left. Jericho still stunned by the knowledge that Golem was pretty much unstoppable, was suddenly snapped out of his trance when a third gunshot rang out as Golem's head shot backwards and he began screaming again.
Lilith had shot Golem again this time in the head, confused why Jericho had frozen she yelled "What are you doing? Shut the door!" Jericho not looking back at her did as she said, he launched at the button for the door and punched it so hard the metal plate covering the wiring for the switch fell away. As the door slammed close, out of the corner of Jericho's vision he caught a glimpse of the wiring and something triggered in his mind. It was like the time he was looking at the boat motor back at Bazz's boat shop. He had a slight pain in the top of his head and he knew if he pulled the green and red cables out from the switch it would course the hydraulics on the door to seize and no longer work. Not questioning the feeling, he grabbed the cables and ripped.
The wires sparked and the door shuttered and a hissing noise from the ceiling sounded as an oily liquid poured down the door. Jericho turned around and ran, now in the pitch black of the closed-off room he jumps down, where he knew the hole was, he only fell what felt like eight feet before hitting the rubble of the collapsed ceiling.
He looked around and noticed a figure standing in the dim light further down the hallway waving him over, it was Lilith. "What took so long? What was that thing?' Ask Lilith as Jericho ran-up to her.
"I'll tell you later, for now, let's put some distance between us and it". Jericho hurriedly said to her as she nodded and the two ran off down the hallway. Behind them, the screams of Golem rang out as he banged on the door. He was strong but with the door now seized even he wouldn't be able to open it. However, he was in the middle of a pain driven tantrum and would not give up for some time, giving Jericho and Lilith a head start to get away.
Want More? Read the full chapter here: