Monsters of the Apocalypse (27 page)

"The maid used to make
them. God, I must have watched her a million times," October smiled
thoughtfully. "I swear that these are the ingredients she
used. I looked. I looked at every jar, every can, everything, and
there's nothing I left out, and yet… and yet… these are terrible
enchiladas!"

October threw the platter across
the room and as it shattered, spreading hot sauce and cheese on the wall, he
grabbed the large kitchen table and flipped it over. The whole process
left him out of breath and on his knees in the middle of the kitchen, as Miho
and Flores looked on.

"Mr. President, did you hear
anything I said?"

"Flores, you're a CIA
man. A super spy, you must be able to find her. Find my maid.
I
need
my maid. She doesn't even have to come here if she doesn't
want to be seen as betraying, The People. She can just write down her
recipe. I'll make it. I can cook, but I need guidance!"

"Sir!" Miho shook
October until some degree of recognition showed up in his eyes.

"Your maid was a spy for the
Founders, Mr. President."

"Oh, so what?! Look,
Miho, I've never asked you about…"

"Enchiladas? No, you
haven't, because up until this moment you weren't a complete lunatic!
Focus, Mr. President, you have to focus! Bragg and the survivors have
sent a message."

"What do I care? They
have nothing to offer me. I need my maid! I need enchiladas!"

"Shut up, October!
Just shut up you fat, stupid idiot and listen to me! Bragg killed Jacob
and then defeated the Mutant Army! Jacob is dead! Nestor is
dead! The Mutant Army is gone!"

October, still on his knees,
looked up at the small woman with confusion.

"Gone?"

"Gone."

"We believe that?"

"A drone search confirms
it! There is no Mutant Army left. The tent is destroyed and there's
just nothing there. Nothing."

"How did Bragg manage
that?"

"You can ask him that when
he gets here."

"Hey guys,
I'm Jacob."

Bragg and
Caleb stood in awed shock. The inside of the tent was almost empty.
Jacob sat in a chair placed in the middle of the dirt floor, perfectly dressed,
hair surrounding his face in a stylish halo. Jacob's face was a
collection of strong angles and features that were oddly transfixing, his teeth
even and white, his small manicured hands waving through the air as he spoke,
one of them holding a cigarette. Next to Jacob stood a man in a white lab
coat and glasses that he pushed back up his nose as he smiled nervously.
There was a large row of IV's that stood unused to the bespectacled man's
left. Behind the IV's, were three long tables covered with corpses, some
of which were partially dissected. On Jacob's other side were five women,
all far into pregnancy.

Bragg looked
at the corpses. They had been cut carefully so that they missed precise
chunks of flesh. Jacob followed his gaze and then nodded excitedly.

"We
figured out the exact minimum amount of flesh you have to consume," Jacob
said pointing to the corpses. "You don't want to burn through your
flesh. It's not something we want to have to harvest more than is
absolutely necessary. Of course, it turns out that we still may have a
bit extra… shame, that."

"They
said you took Mary, where is she?" Caleb hissed.

"See
the door back there? That leads to a small room at the back of the tent,
the computer room. She's in there, quite well I assure you. Go
ahead, Caleb. You're safe here, you have my word," Jacob smiled
showing his perfect teeth.

Caleb
glanced momentarily at Bragg, who nodded, and then rushed to the door.

"I
don't understand what I'm seeing here," Bragg said.

"Bragg,
you're seeing the future," Jacob smiled. "We found the
cure. Interesting side effect of the cure, it leaves you not only human,
but potent! You see? So, we take those who had The Shot, give them
the cure, humankind marches on."

"The
dead bodies? The sections removed?"

"Those
who didn't get The Shot originally, we give them a modified version which is
much faster and less painful. They feed on the exact amount of human
flesh that they need, nothing more. We give them the cure and they become
human and potent. The only hiccup is that they must feed, but otherwise
it's a very good system."

"This is
amazing. So those survivors who've been trickling in…"

"Some
are truly survivors, like Caleb's underground friends. Most were cured
mutants, my army, cured and sent into your midst. I apologize for the
ruse. It was necessary. You see I have a plan, which, by the way,
involves you doing something for me."

"I
don't work for people I don't know."

"You
will. You will. You see, I need you to negotiate with October
Carnegie."

"Negotiate
for yourself."

"There's
not a lot of love between me and October."

"Tell
them him what you've done. You've saved mankind, Jacob! You can get
whatever you want!"

Jacob
laughed and stood up. He moved close to Bragg, blowing clouds of smoke to
the side of them.

"No,
Bragg. October and those who still hold the power on The Island, they'll
see what I've done as simply depleting my army. If I don't have a Mutant
Army, they'll send in the drones."

"But if
we're all human, potent humans…"

"Bragg,
do you know what absolute power does to a man?"

"Corrupts
absolutely," Bragg shrugged.

"I have
no intention of letting those fools on The Island stay in power. I'm not
going to negotiate with them in some civilized manner that they didn't show to
us. The men on The Island tried to kill us! They are the same
selfish idiots that have been in power for generations. Centuries!
And always they have put themselves first. Everyone has suffered as
they've thrived. Now it's time for them to suffer. Now it's time
for everyone else to thrive. Do you understand?"

"No."

Jacob paused
and burst into hysterics. He placed a hand on Bragg's giant shoulder and
squeezed it with affection.

"Bragg,
this ends when all of those who've been in charge for so long kneel down and
die. Until then, it isn't finished. We have to do it, you and I,
because no one else can. No one else will. The military will side
with those who are in power
now
, out of fear that we will seek revenge
against them if we take over. How can they believe that we could forgive
them for siding with those who tried to kill us? October has codes that
will trigger self-destruct mechanisms on The Island, destroying everything of
value, leaving us no better than we are. We can't just take their titles
and their homes. They must be humiliated. They must kneel and give
us everything, so that they cannot come back. They must kneel so that
their defeat is so complete that no one will fight on their behalf. I
need you to help me finish it, Bragg. Will you do that for me?"

"No."

"No?
That's disappointing. I mean, I squeezed your shoulder," Jacob
said as he burst into hysterics. He laughed so hard that he cried.

"Are
you completely insane, Jacob?"

Jacob sat
back down in his chair and dried the tears from his eyes. He looked at
the pregnant women to his side and smiled before turning back to Bragg.

"Yes, I
am. I'm insane, so what? We live in an insane world. I've
simply evolved to match it. If you side with me, The Islanders lose and
the mainland survivors, the victims that you protect, win. Mutant
infection has been cured by the efforts of my insanity." Jacob lit
another cigarette, while his other hand pointed at the closest woman's swollen
stomach. "Potency has returned to mankind due to my inability to
accept the reality that was thrust upon me. I'm insane, Bragg, because it's
insane to think mankind deserves a second chance, to think that despite the
entire history of our species we are capable of doing it right, capable of
living in harmony on the earth, with the earth. I'm insane, just like you
and every other man who has fought against insurmountable odds, against sense
and sanity and the instinct of self-preservation, in the name of faith. I
have faith in humanity. Now will you finish this with me? Will you
set your people free and bring them into the light? Will you do it so
those not yet born can live in a free world without fear?"

As Jacob's
speech ended and silence filled the tent, Bragg turned and looked at the
pregnant women. They smiled at Bragg while Jacob giggled in the corner of
his eye.

Caleb took a moment and just
watched her working at the computer. She was completely focused, her back
slightly hunched, her hair knotted and wild. She looked older. She
looked happy.

"Hey, kiddo," he said.

She spun at the sound of his
voice, lunged into him and held onto him tight.

"You made it," she
sobbed into his chest. "I watched you. I watched you the whole
time and I knew you'd make it. I knew you would."

"I'm so glad you're
here. I didn't know if you'd… you've grown, Mary."

"As soon as I saw Nestor die
and heard about Bragg coming to get you I came. I moved us out
here. We had traded for cars, so we were right behind you."

"You moved the whole
city? What do you mean?"

"Oh yeah! I took over
and ran the city after you left. Isn't that cool?!"

"Um… yeah, that's very
cool."

"I did just like you said,
Caleb, and now we're here together again. Forever."

Caleb wanted to say a lot of
things, but instead he just hugged her back and cried.

October sat down and watched the
screen as Bragg appeared.

"This recording is for
President Carnegie of The Island. My name is John Bragg. I am
a member of the surviving humans who live in the tunnels of Los Angeles.
In the past few days, me and my men successfully attacked the Mutant Army of
Jacob Rothschild. He is dead, along with the majority of his army.
The few who escaped now wander the sprawl alone. We understand that our
two peoples, Mainlanders and Islanders, were forced by circumstances to be apart,
but now, populations decreased, without the risk of contagion or violence, it
is time we join back together. It is time that we coexist. I wish
for the privilege to speak to you, President Carnegie, to come to an
agreement. To show my good intentions, I will bring with me, as an
offering, our most treasured possessions: women with child. Five pregnant
women of our number even now are living beneath the city of Los Angeles, but
they will call The Island their home if we may call the Islanders our friends.
We await your response with arms wide open."

The screen went black and October
turned to his two companions.

"Do you trust it,
Miho?"

"I don't know, sir. I know that I trust
you."

October Carnegie studied Miho's
face and then stood up tall and started to laugh with joy.

The ferry
moved Bragg and the women across the water to The Island. Caleb, Mary and
the rest of the survivors huddled in the main hall of the tunnels, named simply
Tunnel Hall, and watched a camera feed that they had been granted access to
only hours before, as an apology for their not being allowed to attend the
ceremony. Occasionally someone would turn and glare at Mary as she gushed
to Caleb in a failing whisper about her adventures in the underground city, but
when they recognized the man with the scar that she spoke to, they turned back
around. Caleb didn't notice the glares, or the turning heads, or anything
else for that matter. His eyes had hardly left the little girl in
days. In his peripherals he saw, on the huge makeshift screen on the
other side of the main hall, the image of The Island and he felt a slight
nervousness in his chest.

Caleb knew
what was coming.

Throughout
Founders' Hall sat every person of importance on The Island. In the front
row were the generals and the distant relatives of the Founders, a group who
had recently begun petitioning for their "entitled" seats on The
Island's leadership council. They sat in front of an empty stage.

Behind the
curtain that wrapped around the curved stage, stood President October Carnegie
with Miho Walker and Agent Alberto Flores. Flores carried a large gym bag
from which Miho was procuring makeup that she dusted over the President's face.

“You sure
about this, Miho?”

“You look pale, it helps."

“Right. The speech, how long
is it?”

“You didn’t read it?!” she said
dropping the makeup brush to her side in disbelief.

“Is the teleprompter broken?”

“No, sir.”

“Then who cares if I read
it? How long?”

“Short. You talk about hope
and union with the rest of mankind, you introduce Bragg and welcome him and the
pregnant women. Then you talk about our secret campaign against the
mutants...”

“Wait, we don’t want to admit
that!”

“We don’t mention the bad
parts. Just in general, a plot against the mutants, as a sign of unity,”
she sighed.

“Yeah, okay. It won’t be
hard to sell it either, the working together, and the underground plot. I
mean, it's kind of true.”

And like that, he saw it.
October found the truth in the lie and accepted it. He thought it was
beautiful, the way that reality could change. The way the will of a
strong man like himself could change the world.

"They're all gone now,
Miho. My Uncle Sage, my Father, the Founders, Jacob and even Nestor… they
are all gone now and I am in power. I have power that is nearly absolute
and am about to welcome the envoy of the last remaining resistance into my
power," his smile grew as he thought of it. "I've won.
How do I look?”

“Like a king, sir.”

“I do, don’t I? Yes, I no
longer look presidential, I see that now. I see God’s Will. The
people don’t need a president, they need a King!” he cried.

"The tunnel dwellers are
outside," Flores said as the message came to his earpiece.

Miho nodded, smiled at October
and then walked through the curtains with him. October stopped in the
middle of the stage and stood at attention as Miho continued on. She
nodded to the camera crew as she passed and they turned, following her with the
camera to the main door, the little red light blinking above the lens.
The image of the doorway lit up across the screens of the Island Women's and
Military barracks, and into the Tunnel Hall where even Mary finally grew silent
and watched.

Miho opened the doors and stepped
aside as a recording of the National Anthem of the United States of America
played over the loud speakers. All in attendance stood at attention, the
envoy froze respectfully in the doorway, the women in a line up front, Bragg
towering behind. As she saw the camera pan over the crowd and turn back
to the stage, to the proud and singing October, Miho moved beside Bragg.

"Find an excuse not to be
here. You shouldn't be here, Bragg," she whispered.

"Jacob needed me too.
I'm the only one who…"

"What did I tell you about
Jacob and Carnegie?! They don't care about you, they aren't capable to
see good men like you, I can, and I'm telling you to leave. Pretend to be
ill or anything else, just do not walk through this door. If you do, I
can't protect you."

Bragg looked down with a bemused
look on his face. It was a look that Miho had received from men all her
life. Big men and powerful men, even servants and drivers gave her this
look of condescending amusement. It was a look that came to men when
brought face to face with the confidence of a woman. She sighed and
turned away from Bragg. The song ended and the envoy stepped into the
room. Miho closed the doors and moved around the crowd as October began
to welcome the envoy. She continued her walk behind the curtain to where
Flores was waiting for her with her gas mask.