Dark Creations: The Hunted (Part 4) (4 page)

Along with supplementing his training regime, he had also enacted strict protocol once they had left his laboratory to guarantee that they never returned.  They had been loaded, blindfolded and chloroformed, into an unmarked van with the windows blacked out.  The van had been driven to their established residences where they were to begin their lives.  Each member had known that he or she was part of the new race and they were never to contact him.  They had also been instructed never to be together at the same time for unspecified reasons.  Alliances had been prohibited and punishable by death.  Members had been ordered to only associate with one another if they had been assigned as mates.  Coupling was rarely necessary therefore they seldom interacted with fellow members, that is, with the exception of Terzini’s general.

Officer Jarrod Richards was, for all intents and purposes, the only member in existence that held any sort of rank among the members.  Jarrod handled any issues that arose and acted as a liaison between Terzini and his creations.  He gathered, recorded and communicated all information.  He had earned his elevated status among the others because he had proved to be the most impressive creation to date.  He demonstrated eagerness to please his maker above all else, and also showed initiative.  He separated himself from the others, shunned them even, but had an effect on them, nevertheless.  They listened to him as though they recognized his slight genetic advantage.  He was the strongest and smartest and rose above his peers.  Jarrod’s purpose among the members, and to his maker, was as unique as it was significant.  Terzini needed someone to oversee his people.  He could not have direct involvement with them as Jarrod could; He had far too much to do, too many responsibilities demanded his immediate attention.  Furthering his research and growing more members simultaneously was a full-time job that required his fullest concentration.  Jarrod kept him updated and was the only member permitted contact with him. 

In addition to taking precautions with interactions between members and himself, as well as each other, and establishing Jarrod as a ranked member among the others, he had also made changes to guarantee the eradication of issues that had plagued his earlier creations, particularly Gabriel.  His new breed was created to feel superior to humans conceived conventionally, to look at them as insects, lower-level species with which intimate interaction would be considered preposterous.  Falling in love with lowly humans would be utterly inconceivable.  Regular contact would be tolerated only when necessary.  All of the members held jobs of varying degrees of influence in Santa Ynez.  They existed among the rest of the population unnoticed and without incident.  Their integration was so unified, so effective, that Dr. Terzini felt confident enough to declare the area entirely secure.  He categorized his Santa Ynez project a complete success.  With his plan unfolding, he could only conceive of one threat, one single thorn that pierced his side continually: Gabriel. 

He had not sent anyone for Gabriel James yet, but would.   The only reason Gabriel and his friends still lived was a result of Terzini’s assumption that local authorities were monitoring their every move.  Agencies in Harbingers Falls already had possession of Eugene’s body, as well as the other partially formed being that had fled his laboratory, and were undoubtedly keeping a watchful eye on his failed creation, Melissa and their foreign-born friend.  He knew he would get to them sooner or later but wasn’t overly concerned.  He allowed the authorities to babysit for him while he focused on strengthening his legion of improved beings.  After all, Gabriel no longer posed any real threat to him or his work; he had too much to lose if he went against his maker outright.  So he permitted Gabriel a limited stay of execution while he raised his army.  And raise them he did.  His members were growing, and fast.  Soon they would infiltrate every town in every city of every state in America.  Once North America had been transformed, and
conquered
, he would set his sights overseas.  He only wished his in utero augmentation was advancing as quickly as his member integration process.

His thoughts immediately returned to the piece of paper he held in his hand.  He sighed and looked at the pregnant woman strapped to her bed.  She looked back at him wild-eyed, as if she somehow knew what his thoughts were, what he was about to do.  She struggled against her restraints.  But her struggle was futile.  As she attempted to thrash about, her eyes locked with his briefly.  She narrowed them at him with laser-point precision as if to convey some elusive psychic message he did not care to receive. He indulged her antics for several seconds before he reached out his hand and turned a large black dial to the right as far as it would go.  A soft hissing sound could be heard almost immediately as his turn of the dial had engaged a mechanism that began to release a steady mist of poisonous gas into the air. 

He watched as the mist overtook her.  She began to cough and sputter at first, then drool profusely.  Blood began to trickle from her nose, mouth and eyes.  She convulsed violently for several minutes before life finally escaped her.  Her death was a grotesque display, one that was almost regrettable.  But he’d had no choice in the matter.  Subjects that did not perform as he expected them to were destroyed.  She had had the privilege of participating in experimentation that would change the world and her sacrifice would not go unnoticed.  He would make note of her name in his notes so that she would not be forgotten and her death would not have been in vain.  History would preserve her name in his recordings. 

After jotting down her first name, he pulled his cellular phone from his lab coat pocket and called Officer Jarrod Richards.  Jarrod answered on the second ring.

“Officer Richards here,” the voice on the other end stated.

“Richards, I am going to need another specimen.  Five months pregnant,” was all he needed to say.  Jarrod knew what that meant.

“I will begin my search now,” Jarrod replied and ended their call.

Terzini replaced his phone to his pocket.  He was filled with hope that his next subject would prove more successful, that her unborn progeny would be hearty.

Gabriel James paced about the living room of his rented house.  He moved to the beat of crackling and spluttering that came at irregular intervals from the far wall.  The window-mounted air conditioning unit was responsible for the racket and a produced variety of noises as it begrudgingly blew out only slightly cooled air.  Though the room was small and the thermostat had been set to sixty-three degrees, the thermometer beside it read eighty degrees.  He was unbothered by the heat, however.  His thoughts remained elsewhere, the walking a mere distraction to keep his body moving and channel his energy.  Their date was set for seven thirty in the evening.  He had checked the clock over a dozen times in the last hour,
willing
time to pass more quickly, anxiously waiting for the hands to sweep into the correct position, to signify it was time to pick up Melissa.  He was eagerly anticipating their time together.  They had not been alone in what seemed like forever.  At her house, her father was always around.  At his house, Yoshi was either sleeping or parked in front of their computer in the living room.  When he visited her at work, they were surrounded by strangers.  Going out was an option they seldom selected as they preferred to stay out of crowds.  Crowded areas offered little in the way of privacy, far less than when her father or Yoshi were present.  Besides, Melissa was not interested in being wined-and-dined.  And the nightclub scene did not interest either of them.  Tonight, they would not go out to dinner or to a movie.  They were not going on a double date or attending a party.  Instead, he would leave in roughly twenty minutes, pick her up and return to his house. 

Seven thirty could not arrive quickly enough.  Time seemed to be standing still.  He scanned the room and did a quick mental inventory to be certain everything had been done.  The wobbly wooden coffee table in front of the couch was covered in a simple beige cloth.  Two mismatched place settings were arranged with silverware, and a stout, vanilla-scented candle sat between them.  The arrangement was dramatically different from the one he’d fashioned for their last date at his house, the night he told Melissa of his origin, of Terzini.  His layout was simple, unadorned by his maker’s affectation as it had been previously. 

As he recalled that fateful night, images flashed in his mind’s eye; the formal living room, the fireplace, the ornate dining room,
Melissa
.  She had been awestruck by the measures he’d taken to impress her, how he’d cooked and cleaned for her.  Suddenly, his modest setting looked inadequate.  He wondered whether she would expect something more extravagant than what he’d planned.  After all, his new home was unlike his former. 

He had returned to the stunning Victorian he once lived in, the site of their most significant dinner date, only once since his run-in with Kevin Anderson and his gang.  As soon as the area was no longer considered a crime scene, he had went back and retrieved personal items he’d left behind when he had disappeared to Motuo County.  Among the few items that had not been either destroyed or confiscated were several articles of clothing stored in a tub in the attic, and more than five hundred thousand dollars he had stashed.  Neither the authorities nor trespassers had discovered his maker’s clandestine facility.  And no one had unearthed the money.  Now, that money was used for his living expenses and Yoshi’s.  He still held credit cards, but they were linked directly to Terzini.  He wanted to separate himself from the deranged geneticist as much as possible; that is, until the time arrived and he was within striking distance.  While waiting for that opportunity to arise, he remained, easily found, in Harbingers Falls. 

With his thoughts returning to home, they reverted to Melissa.  His eyes refocused on his shabby living room.  He had cleaned and rearranged the furniture, yet it still looked sad.  The couch was a lumpy monstrosity in a shade of khaki he had never seen before.  The carpet, a rust color, was flat and threadbare in some spots, and the coffee table tottered on uneven legs.  He had not bothered to decorate his living space, and neither had Yoshi.  They had rented the house, furnished and for a reasonable fee, from an elderly couple.  He had offered to have new carpeting installed and to have furniture delivered, but his landlords would not hear of it.  For reasons unknown to Gabriel, they clung to their furnishings as vehemently as one clings to a beloved family member and refused to part with it.  They even stipulated in the terms of his lease agreement that he was not, under any circumstances, permitted to dispose of the fittings tendered.  He agreed to their terms only because of the proximity of the house to Melissa’s.

Melissa had not been to his house on many occasions, which was fine with him.  In addition to being ever-present, Yoshi was also rather untidy.  Socks were often left wherever they had been removed.  Dirty laundry accumulated until either a lack of wearable outfits or the odor emitted from the heap prompted him to visit the Laundromat.  His roommate’s habits were not conducive to spontaneous visits and she knew that.  As a result, most of their visits took place at her house with her father not far from earshot.  Tonight, however, things would be different.  Yoshi had agreed to do his laundry and see a movie so that Gabriel and Melissa could enjoy some much-needed time alone. 

Gabriel had thoroughly cleaned the house, made a makeshift table setting and ordered takeout from a local Italian restaurant.  Although he would have loved to cook for her, he was far too nervous to do so.  His hands were too unsteady to wield a knife, or any other kitchen utensil, and his concentration faltered too often to follow any recipe steps.  He kept daydreaming about how their evening would unfold.  He was flooded with relief as he looked up at the clock and realized it was finally time to pick Melissa up.

***

Melissa’s temples pounded with no relief in sight.  She had regrettably enlisted the help of her two best friends again to help her pick out an outfit for her date with Gabriel.  So far, neither Daniella nor Alexandra had been helpful in the least.  She stood alone in her closet, searching for an outfit that was even remotely sexy while they relaxed on her bed and talked.  Their incessant chatter did little more than make her more nervous than she was already.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe she’s finally going to bang him,” Alexandra exclaimed in her husky voice.

“Alex!” Daniella admonished.  “You don’t
know
that for a fact!”

“Hello!  I’m right here you guys!  And I hear
everything
you’re saying!” Melissa reminded them sharply from her closet.

“She
so
needs to get laid.  It’s why she’s so cranky, you know,” Alexandra said in an exaggerated whisper.

“Eww!  Come on Alex!” Daniella warned.

“Guys!”  Melissa called then stepped out.  “First of all, my father is downstairs and has, like,
super hearing
or something.  And just because I’m eighteen and technically an adult doesn’t mean he won’t freak out about me, you know, going all the way with Gabriel.  Knowing him, he’d probably try to ground me.  You know how he is, his house, his rules, remember?  Second of all, I don’t even know if Gabriel, I’m mean, I’m not sure if he even
wants
to.”

“He’s a guy,” Daniella said in a low voice. “He definitely
wants
to.”

“I’m not so sure,” Melissa said more to herself than the others.