Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Local time is 11:47 pm, the moon hides behind thick storm clouds. Thunder rumbles miles away and a man sits in the back of a pickup truck with five other people. Nervously he looks around at their faces and they all share a common expression… Fear. With each growl of thunder, the group begin looking around them. Searching for something in the darkness that could attack them. Finally, they arrive at their destination, an old run-down military base from the past. Soldiers line the towers above aiming down at the group with rifles. Two men walk towards the truck one has his hand out in a stop motion and the other trains his rifle on the others.

“Halt right there! If you are refugees we need to see your approval documents!” He screams. The driver panics and begins searching the glove box for the papers. Meanwhile, the woman in the pickup bed is silent as the other soldier comes towards the back.

“Mam if you have papers we need to see them. We have word that Remnant have been spotted in the area and we…” Before he finishes the woman grabs him by his face. Her eyes begin to glow and she grins. Snapping his neck with ease the soldiers above begin firing on the truck killing the people inside. The man leaps off the back of the truck and begins running towards the hill. The Remnant lifts the truck into the air and slams the soldier checking the papers killing him instantly. Next, it throws the truck into the gate smashing it open. The bullets riddle the Remnant and finally, it falls dead laughing.

“Check the body! We have to get this gate closed asap!” A soldier screams.

The man finally reaches the top of the hill and stops to gather his breath. Gasping for air he begins coughing. He raises his head to look and falls to his knees. Tears begin to fall down his face as the cold hard truth comes marching towards him. A sea of green eyes and smiling faces come rushing towards him as a Remnant army stampede over him and easily overruns the base. A silent hovercraft flies overhead cloaked from its enemies as Logan sits in the passenger seat watching the massacre below.

“Their army is twice the size of what the briefing said.” The pilot says.

“Somehow they are producing more Remnant. I’ve even seen reports of animal types as well. Texas and Mexico have completely fallen.” Logan replies as he up rubs his temple with his fingers. The cold steel of his metallic cybernetic arm feels good against his skin. A headache is beginning to crawl towards his eyes. The type of headache that stays for days, one he seems to get often now. Perhaps a side effect from his new affliction. I'm lucky these military types even keep me around. If I could only get the prototype to perform the way the math says it should. He thinks.

“Sir, I think you should rest, our flight time is about six hours.” The pilot says.

Logan nods and leans back in his chair while closing his eyes. Sleep eludes him lately, ever since Rebecca’s death. It was the look on her face that won't leave his brilliant mind, he replays her murder over and over thinking of other things he could have done or said to his son. There were a dozen things he noticed about him, he should have known something was off. Racked with guilt and regret, the sleep that does eventually take him is filled with nightmares. The Remnant are especially brutal in their war of extinction. Atrocities from history pale in comparison to the sheer hatred that is on display. Women, men, and children's lives are extinguished in the blink of an eye. They are incapable of mercy or remorse that even human tyrants were capable of showing to their families at least. As morning dawns Logan wakes up in cold sweat holding his shoulder. The pain from the cybernetic arm is unbearable sometimes but deep down he knows he deserves worse. He stares silently at yet another city smoldering in the distance from the Remnant’s ever-increasing attacks. As they approach it, his eyes widen with shock as he sees the road leading up to it is lined with two dozen crosses. Each one made of metal and people are bound to them with barbed wire. Among the dead are every race of women men and children ranging from age five to sixty. They land and Logan walks closer to an elderly man. He reaches forward and runs his fingers down the man’s eyes closing them for him.

“I am so sorry I brought this destruction into our world. I had no idea there was a demon hiding in my son’s conscience.” Logan whispers. Each body has a symbol branded into their foreheads. A circle with a sickle in the middle signifying a good harvest. His brand, the brutal leader of the Remnants, Aion. Logan uses his phone to take pictures of the bodies then returns to the plane.

“The pictures sir, may I ask why?” He asks.

“Hopefully I can use them to find their relatives if they are even alive and as terrible as this sounds we need proof of their brutality. Other nations aren’t joining our war thinking they will be spared. I must convince the UN to deploy every available resource.” He replies. They continue onwards towards their destination. Finally, they arrive at the forward operating base hiding inside Mount Whitney. Dug deep into the mountain many years ago it was an old war bunker that has been retrofitted as the hub of the human defense network. A coalition of countries that are waging a war against the Remnant. A war that is being lost if we are being honest. Logan exits the plane and is greeted by Director Anderson. He grasps Logan’s hand firmly and staring almost through his soul he questions him while almost crushing his hand.

“Really glad you were still kicking when my team saved your pathetic ass in New York Mr. Whitmore. Missing an arm, bleeding out I figured you for a cowardly type who would give up on the struggle known as life. I gotta say though, this fresh Hell you blessed our world with sure feels like the End. Ya know the biblical kind, tell me, have you found a way to make these what do you call them?” He asks.

“Thanatos suits.” Logan replies.

“Ah yes, you really love those Greek names don't you?” He says as he rolls his eyes.

“I just need more time…” Logan tries to reply but suddenly a large metal arm wraps around his throat from behind and begins to squeeze. Logan gazes up to see the towering Leo standing behind him.

“Always asking for more time as our people get massacred!” Leo screams. Val touches his shoulder and he immediately releases Logan.

“Lighten up big man, he knows what situation we are in and I believe he truly is trying his best. Right? Mind coming with me for a bit?” Val asks with a warm smile. Logan follows her to a small conference room and when inside she shuts the door and locks it.

“Logan…The war zones I am being sent into are something out of some horror movie. The Remnant aren’t trying to conquer us or even rule over us. They are massacring us! They want us extinct! How do we fight something like this?” She pleads. Head in her hands as she fights back sobbing. “The children Logan, they…” Her voice cracks and begins to shake. He hugs her tightly.

“I know, I’ve seen it first hand. I never made them to be so cruel.” Logan replies.

“Why!? What the fuck did we do to them? Do we really deserve this? He’s your God damned son after all. Tell me!” She screams.

“That is not my boy. This thing is something else entirely, something has possessed him. Aion is my son no longer, he holds a deep-seated hatred for all of us and will stop at nothing to exterminate us all.” Logan says.

“How do you not remember where you were when you found the heart?” She asks.

“A dream, no more like a feeling pushed me onwards back then. It was an itch in my mind, and once I scratched it I couldn't stop. I began researching ancient building techniques and how they moved those stones so far away. Eventually, I came across an old tablet that pointed me towards a device our ancient ancestors had that allowed them to float any material they wanted regardless of weight. It ran on some kind of perpetual energy source that never ran out and had zero environmental collateral. I started in Egypt and following the trail almost like bread crumbs I ended up in Greece. I hit a dead-end one night and went out drinking in frustration. A man approached me at the bar and told me he knew the device I sought and even better he knew what powered it. Intrigued I began to question him about it but before long we were many drinks in. He kept giving them to me and required that for him to continue answering questions I would need to drink. I remember it tasted sweet but had a kick, unlike anything I have had. I blacked out and the next morning I awoke in the middle of some temple in the wilderness with a green crystal nearby. I took the crystal and began to test it and being a guy who never looked a gift horse in the mouth I moved onto the next phase.” He says.

“Who was the man?” She asks.

“To be honest, I didn't care. I just wanted to finish my life’s work. As I began to research the heart I discovered it had unlimited energy. That was the missing piece to my Remnant tech, the power source would need to be clean energy and regenerate itself. I created Prometheus with this crystal heart power source then the Neural Network that the other Remnant connects to.

The other Remnant have a small beacon-like device embedded in their skulls. This allowed them to connect to Prometheus' power source and in turn, learn as he did. As long as Prometheus is online the others would be able to draw from his heart’s energy.” He says.

“So if we kill him will they all go offline?” Val asks.

“Theoretically yes but he’s in hiding now, there has been no intel on his whereabouts. Back then I couldn't bring myself to kill my son so my backup plan was to reach the master kill switch at Titan Industries. That night I was there to turn off the network but he beat me to it. Somehow Prometheus or as he goes now, Aion took full control of the network and is in hiding as his horde of machines wipe us out.” Logan says.

“How does Richard fit into this?” Val asks.

“He was my best friend, business partner, and master programmer who developed the coding that prevented the Remnant from turning against us. I checked his work myself, it was perfect! I just don't understand how they overrode the code and were able to harm humans. This is all my fault, I was so careless.” He says as he looks down at the floor. Val can see the deep sadness that weighs on this man’s mind every waking moment.

“Richard’s son somehow knew his father was murdered by a Remnant. I guess that is why he founded Humanity First and tried to tell the world the truth. Titan sent my team to find him but that was when the uprising began.” Val says.

“I feel like the biggest piece of shit on this planet, millions are dying because of me. My own best friend was killed and I had no idea it was from a Remnant. Evidence came out after Richard’s death framing his ex-wife’s former lover. I didn't even bother to look more into it. I was so fucking absorbed in all the money and fame.” He says while holding his face in his hands. Val reaches out and grabs his shoulder.

“Buck up, crying won't get the job done soldier. Forgive yourself Logan, if you don’t then we are all doomed. I already have, seeing how hard you are working to make it right. I know you will crack the code for these Thanatos suits. You deserve some fucking praise am I right?” She exclaims while walking out of the room.