Uncertain
futures: Part One.
By
Brad Marsh.
"
Another time, Kane. And most certainly another place. "
The words
had barely died away, the Alien presence from another world known as Kane fading
away into nothing leaving Field Marshall Thrush standing in the street alone
with the stiffening corpse of a man also known as Kane. He had been a trusted
officer with in the German army, but his life had been sacrificed when an alien
presence had taken control of his mind and body. That had started it all, the
fall of an empire nearly three hundred years old. There had been three spies
from another alternate world who had crossed through the thin curtains of time
and space between the two worlds. They had died trying to kill him, and Thrush
knew in his heart they would try again to over throw him and that scared him.
Out of all the individuals who had tried to stop him, Kane and his mysterious
companions had come the closest. But he had other problems at the moment. It had
been three months since the invaders had been expelled back to there own time
and place. In that time open rebellion had broken out and a gorilla war was been
fought through the streets of Dulce New Mexico the North American Capital since
the mid 1940's after Germany won the second world war. The German presence had
been reduced to a few pockets of resistance one of them being Dulce, but they
were quickly being drive back towards the southern limits of the city. What
soldiers and officers remained were fighting a running war, always on the
defensive, never having a moment’s chance of turning the tables and driving
the rebels from the capital. Even with there superior weapons the German army
was being beaten. They were tired, bloody, and hungry. Any one of these things
could spell defeat but all three meant swift and bloody defeat. Thrush was
leading a headlong retreat through the city streets hoping to make it to the
Chancellery building in the southern end of the city. He and a hand full of
officers had been exchanging blaster fire with a group of rebels. He had lost
three of his party so far and six rebels had gone down under the return fire. As
the group of rebels steadily grew closer, he silently prayed that those that
remained would make it to the Chancellery building.
If he and his remaining officers could get there they could
use the secret Mat Trans unit located with in the buildings basement to jump
somewhere else. Some place where they could rest and regroup, then they could
jump back to the Chancellery building and take back the city. If they failed to
make it to the gateway all was lost. If that happened, Thrush planned to move on
to one of the other alternate worlds, even though it pained him to see so much
work and time go up in smoke. His goals could be reached from any of a dozen
similar worlds, losing this world was only a set back not a loss. There were
fifteen men and women with him, all white, blonde haired blue eyed, perfect
specimens of the Aryan Nation Adolph Hitler's dream had helped create.
Now it was all coming down around Thrush's ears, because of three
interlopers. No matter what the out come they would pay dearly for their roles
in the rebellion. He pushed those thoughts aside as the Chancellery building
came into view. They made an all out sprint down the deserted smoke filled
street and through the open armored sec doors to the lobby. Shouts of rage and
frustration erupted from the fifty or so rebels following them, as the building
doors slide closed with a resounding clang. This left the rebels in the street
and their enemies safe for the moment with in the Chancellery building.
Several riffle rounds hammered into the door but failed to penetrate. The
sounds of shouting and rhythmic pounding of riffle butts and fists against the
outer side of the door faded away as Thrush led his troops towards the basement
entrance.
" Shit.
" Hissed a short compact man, as he slammed the butt of his riffle into the
armored sec door with no effect.
" Out
of the blasted way. " A deep brass voice thundered from with in the crowd
of rebels.
Those
standing just below the steps to the Chancellery building parted to let a tall
well-built man strode through. The man who appeared from with the crowd was a
hair over six feet tall with close-cropped blonde hair. He was dressed much like
all the other rebels that he commanded, in a oval green drab army fatigues and a
shirt with long sleeves, rolled up to his elbows.
He was
armed only with a .45 caliber Colt 1911 that was holstered on his right hip. A
black and tan name patch identified his as Captain Evan McCaffery. He strode to
the bottom of the marble steps that lead to the Chancellery building defensive
Sec door. Evan McCaffery was the commander in charge of the rebel force that had
pursued Thrush and his soldiers to the Chancellery building. He was a ten-year
veteran of the underground rebellion. Even though he had never met Major Kane or
his two companions Major Grant and Captain Baptiste, he like most of people with
in the resistance revered them as heroes. Figures who gave everything so that
the rebellion would have a chance of toppling the German Empire and freeing
those who lived under there heel. Their names had become the battle cries that
united the rebellion and a symbol of respect for those who died fighting their
German oppressors.
"
Status. " McCaffery demanded of the small compact man who he knew only as
Bear.
"
Thrush and his brain washed fucking lap dogs are inside. This door is made of
Sec steel; some kind of Armaglass based alloy. I've been hammering on it for the
past five minuets with nothing more than scratches for my efforts, Sir. "
" Very
good. Bear. " Evan replied " You yourself saw Thrush and his troops go
inside this building, through this door. " Bear nodded to Evan in reply.
" Very good work Bear. " He replied as he turned back to face the
crowd of rebels and freedom fighters that were assembled behind him. "
Anyone with Grens turn them over now, it's going to take everything we've got to
blow this door and I'm not sure that all we've got will even dent this door, but
we have to try. We're to close to taking out Thrush now and to many of our
friends and family have died getting us this far. So don't hold back, Grens, C-4
and any rockets you may have, turn them over to Bear and he'll see to their
placement." With that one by one each rebel deposited whatever Grens,
rockets and C-4 they had at bears feet. One man ever produced a half-pound bag
of black power that he added to the pile. Explaining that he had taken it from a
mortar emplacement on the northern edge of the city after he and three other had
chilled the crew manning it.
Fifteen
minuets later everything that had been turned over was piled at the base of the
door, with several Grens fixed along the sides of the door jam. A long length of
fuse ran from the black powder around the corner of the Chancellery building. It
ended in front of Evan and Bear, where they were crouched. The rest of the rebel
force was hunkered down behind a burned out APC a hundred yards behind them.
Bear glanced at Evan, who gave a slight barely perceptible nod, and Bear touched
the lit self light he held in his hand to the end of the fuse, watching it hiss
and spit as the flame raced towards the pile of explosives.
Field
Marshal Thrush was smiling. Not because he had escaped his rebel enemies, but
just because he and his troops had reached the Mat Trans unit with in the
Basement didn't mean there were safe. They had no more than reached the control
room connected to the Gateway when a huge explosion rocked the building. Small
clouds of plaster dust, and chunks of concrete rained down of the groups heads,
bouncing off comp terminals and ringing off the stainless steel desks that were
scattered around the room. Thrush snarled in bitter anger, as the sound of steel
bending and warping drifted down to them from above. He strode to a console on
the far way next to the doorway that lead to the anter room and the gateway
chamber beyond and quickly tapped in a four digit code. That done he turned to
his troops once more.
" Into
the Gateway. Quickly. " Thrush snapped as he moved through the anter room
doorway and opened the armaglass gateway door. He waved his troops through, and
then he slipped into the chamber, closing the door behind him. He sat on the
floor, staring at the rust colored armaglass walls, as white mist began filling
the chamber and the jump began. Thrush closed his eyes and smiled as the
darkness took him into its embrace, then he and his troops were gone. Whisked
off down the invisible mat Trans pathways towards their destination. Which
Thrush himself only knew. He only hoped his little parlor games would work. For
he had left a nasty little surprise for anyone who tried to follow him. The
first two digits of the code he had tapped into the chambers main computer, was
there destination code. The second two digits was a block out code that would
send anyone who attempted to followed them any where but where they were head.
His little insurance policy.
Evan
McCaffery and Bear were the first one through the smoke and heat of the blast
and into the Chancellery buildings lobby scrabbling over the what remained of
the sec doors to get there. Evan had his Colt 1911 clutched in his right hand,
Bear his Mossberg 500 pump action shotgun braced against his hip as he moved it
in a sweeping arc looking for targets and finding none. The expected volley of
blaster fire that would cut them to ribbons never came. There was no sign that
anyone was still in the building, even though the sound of the blast would have
carried to the deepest parts of the building. Evan turned as a half dozen of his
men sprinted up from across the street and entered the lobby, each one gripping
a drawn blaster.
" Sir
the rest of the squad is waiting across the street to cover over backs and
prevent any of the enemy from escaping. " the sergeant leading the group
announced as he saluted. His shirt identified him as Brian Caron.
" Well
done, Sergeant Caron. " McCaffery replied " Leave two of your men here
to guard the door and the rest will accompany the three of us to the basement
level. I have a feeling that's were Thrush will head, if he has a rabbit hole
that's where it will be. Lets move out. " Caron and his remaining four men
followed McCaffery with Bear bringing up the rear, as they headed towards the
stairs and the basement. McCaffery had herd rumors that there was a device
called a Gateway in the basement of each and every Government building. They
were said to be able of to instantly transport living and organic matter from
one Gateway to another. No one with in the rebellion had ever seen one. But Evan
had a sinking feeling that there was one located with the Chancellery Building.
It made sense in a way, because Thrush had picked this building, losing two men
getting to this building, while passing up hundreds of other buildings. There
had to be a reason why, and Thrush was not the sort of man that would put
himself into a situation he didn't have a way out of if things turned ugly. If
he were a stupid man he would not have been Field Marshall of the units of
German soldiers stationed in North American.
Either that
or he was leading his men into a trap that would get them all killed, either way
he had to find Thrush. The stairwell leading to the lower levels of the building
stood dark and silent as the seven rebel soldiers approached it. Each man looked
around nervously as they began descending the stairs to the basement level.
Their footsteps and their breathing was the only sound with the stairway as they
made their way down. Each man gave a small sigh of relief as the lights from the
basement area came into view. There was still no sound coming from the basement
area. They stepped into the basement, immediately seeing that there was only a
single doorway at the end a twenty-foot long corridor.
McCaffery motioned Bear and Sergeant Caron forward.
" This
doesn't feel right some how. There should be guards in this corridor and in the
Stairway. But there aren't. It feels like Thrush and his troops are gone, but it
may be a trick. I want two men left here to cover our flank while the rest of us
check out what's through that doorway. Even though I have a pretty good idea of
what we'll find. " McCaffery told them once they had come up to stand next
to him.
Both men
nodded as Caron motioned for two men to remain behind and the other two to
follow McCaffery and Bear into the other room. All five of them stopped dead as
they glided over the thresh hold and entered the room. The room was little more
than ten feet across by twelve feet long, and almost every square inch of floor
space was occupied by Comp terminals or stainless desks. A small leeway at the
far end of the room led off into an alcove roughly half the size of the room
with the comps and desks. It was what all five men could see inside that alcove
that had made them halt just inside the doorway. It was a hexagon shaped
chamber, made of a rust colored material called Armaglass. The door to the
chamber was closed, but through the small port hole in that door they could all
see a thin cloud of white mist that was fading away right before there eyes.
"
Holy Shit. " Bear whispered with a quiet awe. " What the fuck is that?
"
"
A Gateway. " Evan replied
" What
the hell is a Gateway? " Bear demanded
" Only
a rumor or so I thought. It's a device that's said to be able to transport
living and non-living matter instantly from one Gateway to another. The US
Government was working on it before the war. Seems Hitler and his pals finished
the work and made it a reality. Holy
Shit is right. "
" This
could mean the end for the Rebellion. " Caron responded " Nazi's
popping up anywhere without warning. Who knows how many of these Gateways there
are in the city alone, never mind across North America. "
" In
that case we need to get in there and find out where Thrush and his goons ended
up. " Bear announced " It's the only way the Rebellion will be safe.
The more we find out now the better off we are."
" I
agree Bear. You, Sergeant Caron and I will use the Gateway to follow Thrush or
at least try. I know Thrush and I know how his mind works, more than likely were
not going to end up in the same place. Seeing, as we have no idea how to use
this thing. But we have to try. " He replied as he turned to the Corporal
standing behind Caron. " Corporal. You and these other men will wait here
for twelve hours. If we do not return by then, you are to pull back to the lobby
and wait there for another Twelve hours. If at the end of that time we still
have not returned I want a messenger sent to General Stoner, one who will be
able to give an oral report on what happened here. This discovery could either
win this war for us or lose it for us. Depending on how we use this information.
Understood? "
The corporal
nodded and saluted the three men, who in turned returned the salute. " God
Speed. Gentlemen. " He announced as they entered the rust colored chamber
and closed the door. The mist began to gather inside the chamber almost
immediately. The three figures inside sat down on the glowing floor plates and
with a brilliant flash of light they were gone. Leaving the Corporal and his
sidekick standing alone in the control room. Not knowing if they would ever see
the three men alive again.
Kane, Grant
and, Brigid had been back in the Cerberus Redoubt for no more than ninety
minuets when the Mat Trans unit kicked on and Bry's voice sang out "
Incoming Jumpers. " Kane and Grant tensed their wrist tendons and their Sin
Eaters sprang into their waiting hands as they rushed into the control room.
Lakesh and Baptiste (Brigid grasping a mini-Uzi in both hands), right on there
heels. The jump chamber powered
down and Kane through open the chamber door, with Grant at his shoulder, even
before all of the mist had dissipated. Waving some of the mist away with his
left Kane saw three unconscious figures lying in the middle of the jump Chamber.
The figure closest to Kane was a tall muscular man with close-cropped
blonde hair. The second figure was a short compact man with dark brown hair that
was also close cropped. The third and final figure was also a male; he was of
medium build and height, with raven black hair. Kane had a suddenly flash of
memory, as he got a good look at what the three men were wearing. Glancing over
his shoulder at Grant, Kane knew that Grant had spotted the clothing as well.
"
How? " Grant asked
"
I don't know but will know as soon as they wake up. "
Evan
McCaffery was in the midst of one the most vivid dreams he had ever had in his
life. At least he hoped it was a dream. The jump chamber was gone and he was now
walking in a black and burnt ash covered forest that was still smoldering in
places. His feet sending tiny clouds of gray ash dust into the air around him
with each step. For as far as the eye could see there were charred remains of
thousands of trees, a haze of smoke hung in the air like a burial shroud. He
could see a short compact hooded figure standing amid the smoldering, smoking
ash, with no other options available to him, Evan McCaffery began walking
towards the figure. As he approach, the hooded figure turned and the figures
smiling face greeted him, only his eye were bloody raw weeping sockets. He had
no hands, and as his hood fell back, Evan was greeted by the sight of the mans
bald, head which was covered with open sores that leaked Purple blood. It was
only with an iron will that McCaffery tore his eyes from the mans head and
focused on his face and what the figure was telling him. He was of Indian
ancestry that much was for sure. But other than that he had no idea who the man
was. But his words instantly grabbed McCaffery's attention. " Welcome to
the land of lost souls. " figure announced " I am the Gate Keeper.
"
"
How did I get here? "
" You
were brought here because you have crossed from the place of hope to the place
of death. "
"
I do not understand. "
" Your
hero's. Our hero's wait for you in the place of death. They are the guardians of
the Deathlands. You have taken the path that will lead you to their rightful
place in time and space. "
"
Why have I been brought the land of Death? "
" To
learn the truth. " the figure replied as if it was a surprised that Evan
did not know this already.
"
Will these truths lead me to Thrush? "
"
Thrush is not your concern. You world needs you more now than ever. You are a
leader and your world is going to need leaders if there is ever going to be
piece. The Guardians have the power to stop Thrush and if you do your part right
then they will succeed and your world along with countless other will be safe
once more. But the road home is a long one; it will test your faith, and make
you questions all you know. You must believe even when your mind tells you not
to." With that the figure was gone and an inky blackness enveloped
McCaffery. The land of lost souls, and the burnt forest faded into nothingness.
Slowly Evan began to wake from his Jump dream. What he saw as he opened his eyes
made no sense. But he still had the figures last words echoing in his ears. You
must believe it had said. What saw was a tall well build man with Gray eyes and
long brown hair standing over him. He was in a room almost identical to the one
that had been in the basement of the Chancellery building in Dulce. But he could
sense other people behind the man with the gray eyes.
" I for
one have a million questions. " Grant replied. With that the two men
carried the three figures out into the control room laying them on a large
worktable near the main door and disarming them. DeFore there resident doctor
was waiting for them, her Med kit in hand. As Kane and Grant moved away to stand
by Lakesh, Brigid got her first look at the uniforms the three men wore.
A look of surprise registered on her face but she said nothing as her
eyes met Kane's.
" There
coming out it " Defore announced. The man with the close cropped blonde
hair that seemed to be the groups leader, opened his eyes. He was lying on the
table staring up at the ceiling, trying to control his breathing. His eyes
focused once more as Kane stepped into his field of vision.
" Who
are you? " the man gasped his eyes boring into Kane.
"
My name is Kane. "
" That
is impossible. Kane is dead. Killed by Field Marshall Thrush three months ago.
You lie."
" What
you say is true, but it is only true in you reality. In this reality I am very
much alive. "
"
Are Grant and Baptiste here with you as well? "
Without a
word Kane stepped back and Grant, Brigid and Lakesh stepped forward. The moment
Lakesh came into the mans frame of sight his hand shot out, index finger
drilling a line towards the old man. " You. " he whispered. " You
are the Gate Keeper. How can that be? "
"
I ashore you that I am not the Gate Keeper. My name is Mohammed Lakesh. "
" But I
spoke to you. You were waiting for me in the land of lost souls. You were
deformed and bloody but it was you I spoke to. "
"
I am in the Deathlands. " Evan announced
Kane
nodded " It's called the Outlands now, but once it was called the
Deathlands. "
" We
have much to talk about. " Evan announced as he pushed himself up off the
table and planted his feet on the floor. He stood looking as the four figures
before him. No one spoke for a very
long time and then the door to the control room slid open and Domi strode in.
All of the blood drained from Evans face, at the sight of Domi.
"
Domi. " he whispered
"
How you know name? " she demanded as she strode up next to Kane. " Who
you? "
" My
name is Captain Evan McCaffery with the Resistance. I know your name because we
were lovers once, a long time ago. Before you joined the resistance. I was slow
to follow. I was in California when word of your Death reached me. It is one of
the reasons I am chasing Thrush. "
" You
know about Thrush. " Kane asked with mild surprise, as he knew most
everyone in the Nazi controlled casement they had just left knew Thrush.
" He
and I have crossed swords before. When we attacked Dulce it was my job to find
and destroy Thrush at all costs. I will tell you the whole story once my
companions awaken, then we can all talk and no one will have to repeat them
selves. "
Kane nodded
" Lets get all of you to the infirmary where you can rest. Once you’re
strong enough and rested we can talk more. About how you got here, Thrush and
this Gate Keeper who looks like Lakesh here."
With that Kane and Grant Carried Bear and Caron to the infirmary with
Evan walking along behind them with Defore steadying him, ready to catch him if
he should fall or begin to pass out. All talk of Gateways, Thrush, and the
Mysterious GateKeeper were put on hold for a better more suitable time.
TO
BE CONTINUED.
COPY RIGHT AUGUST 2000.