“You don’t understand how important he is.”

  “We know how important he his. You told us what was inside his head. And Joel confirmed it from his own visions from the tablet. He’s some ancient powerful king. We get it… and that’s going to take me some time to get my head around, but you should still get some sleep. The chains will hold.”

  Amos was exhausted, but the kingly hybrid was his responsibility. He could hold him far more effectively than any physical restraint. “I’ll sleep when we get back.”

  He had taken the time since they left the small town to glean what he could from Tyror’s mind, and what he found boggled his own. He felt he had the answers to why the world was in the shape it was. That the Scourge virus was far older than most thought, and that the world had gone through a similar catastrophe thousands of years before. He also knew that the camp they were heading towards now had an even bigger target on it. And when the corporation came, it would be an all-out, knock-down fight. They needed to get back. The general needed to know.

  He looked at Dalton. “How much further?”

  “An hour closer than when you last—”

  Dalton was looking at his side mirror.

  “What is it?”

  “Light in the sky, some miles off, behind us.”

  Carla sat up and looked out the rear window. “Yup, I see it. It’s low. Must be a chopper. They’re looking for us, but they must be at the limit of their range. Still, though, we should get off the highway.”

  Dalton veered to the right, taking an exit which swung around further right. Carla strained to see anywhere to hide in the absolute darkness around them, but Dalton kept on driving, leaving the road and moving rapidly across a large flat area of long grass. The pickup bumped over the uneven ground, but soon they were enveloped by tree branches. He slammed on the brakes and they came to a halt inside a forest.

  Turning the engine off revealed the distant sound of helicopter blades. A repeating shudder which vibrated the pickup's windows.

  As they sat in silence and the airborne military transport grew nearer, a clanging rocked the back of the pickup.

  “Shit, I took my mind off him for two seconds!” shouted Amos. “He’s awake and pissed.”

  Tyror filled the forest with shouts.

  “I should have covered his mouth,” said Joel.

  Dalton frowned and pushed the driver's door open. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Don’t k—” Before Carla could finish there was a thud followed by another louder sound, which shook the vehicle once more.

  Dalton sat back in the seat and closed the door. “He’s out. Now you can rest your mind,” he said to Amos.

  The noise of the helicopter filled the air. A spotlight was visible on the highway, just visible through the trees.

  In the dark of the pickup’s cabin, no one could see Amos’s eyes closed. “They’re low on fuel. Heading back now,” he said in a dead tone as if he was talking word for word what was coming from the other minds.

  “You’re getting real good at this mind reading thing,” said Carla.

  He smiled.

  Soon, complete silence had returned and Carla clicked on her small flashlight, being careful to keep it pointed downwards at her map. “We can take the thirty-one. It runs parallel with the highway for most of the way, only problem is it goes through a number of towns, so—”

  “Vamps,” said Joel.

  “Yup.”

  Dalton restarted the engine. He looked at the fuel meter. “We should probably fill up anyway, probably won’t make it back on what we got.”

  Soon they were on a four-lane road heading south. Carla though still kept looking skywards.

  “There’s a city coming up,” said Dalton.

  Joel focused his mind. The distant buzzing of vamps made itself clear. “Yup, definitely vamps ahead.”

  “It’s Birmingham,” said Carla, looking back down at her map.

  Their headlights started illuminating buildings at the side of the road. Homes and businesses, wooden and brick built structures slid past as they moved across junction after junction.

  The buzzing in Joel’s mind started to hurt his brain. “There’s a whole lot of vamps real close,” he said, squinting to try and alleviate the ache between his temples.

  Dalton slowed as they arrived at another crossing point.

  “Look!” shouted Carla, looking out into the black void to her left. Against the lighter sky, dark forms were massing.

  “And ahead…” said Joel.

  “What you want me to do,” said Dalton.

  “There’s too many to fight,” said Carla.

  “I got this,” said Amos.

  “Got this how?” said Carla.

  “Just give me a minute.”

  “There’ll be a hundred vamps on us before that!”

  Carla’s flashlight allowed her to see the concentration on the young man’s face. His eyes closed tight.

  Seconds passed until Joel’s buzzing started to recede. “Whatever you’re doing it’s working.”

  “Drive,” said Amos.

  Dalton pushed down on the gas, and the pickup sped through the city’s streets.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Sasha, Shannon, and Evan sat in Galloway’s office.

  Evan’s knee bounced up and down. “Where do you think she is?”

  “How should I know,” said Shannon. She intermittently chewed on one of her fingernails.

  Sasha sighed. She had only been to the principal’s office twice while at high school and both of those were because the head wanted her advice on something.

  The door opened and the heart rates inside the room increased, which Galloway being a hybrid was well aware of.

  “Three dead, seven infected,” said the general, sitting heavily in her chair behind the desk.

  The younger three looked down.

  “Your group has only been here a few days, and already there’s been a house fire where four people died, and now more tonight.”

  They still looked down.

  The general sighed. “But I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth. Was it any of your great idea to have a party outside the camp?”

  They all shook their heads.

  “What’s your name, girl?” The general looked at Sasha.

  She looked up. “Me?”

  The general nodded.

  “I’m Sasha Jacobs.”

  “I heard some interesting rumors about you. Some that were in the house said they saw you turn into a ghost or something?”

  Sasha looked away. “I… yeah, I guess.”

  “It was pretty cool,” said Evan with a smile.

  “You think this is funny, son?”

  Evan shook his head, looking down.

  “I know you were close to your grandfather, and maybe that’s messed with your head. But you should remember everyone inside this camp is here because I say they can be. If someone is more trouble than they’re worth, well there’s a whole world outside the walls to explore.”

  Evan nodded. A thought then occurred to him. “Umm…”

  “Yes?”

  “What happened to the tablet? My grandfather had it. He had this stupid idea that it needed to be taken away. Hidden. Maybe…”

  Galloway rocked back in her chair. “Keep talking.”

  “Maybe that’s what caused what happened. The fire and everything. Maybe Josh disagreed or something…”

  “The tablet is in safe hands. You worked with your grandfather on it?”

  Evan was now looking more directly at the general. “Yeah, I helped develop a program on my computer to decipher the symbols it produced when it was working.”

  “I see… well maybe you can be useful and try to make up for what happened tonight.”

  “I… would like to help.” He wasn’t sure if he did, but he wanted to be out of the room.

  “Good. Report to Second Lieutenant Goode on the first floor at zero eight hundred hours tomorrow.”

  Evan nodded again, although he wasn’t sure what he had gotten himself into.

  “You can go now,” said the general. “And you,” she said, looking at Shannon.

  All three of them got to their feet.

  “Not you, Ms. Jacobs.”

  They looked at each other, then Sasha sat back down as the other two left.

  “I don’t pretend to know what you are, or how you do what you do…”

  That makes two of us, thought Sasha.

  “But from what I heard, the vamps couldn’t even touch you, and I presume not even a hybrid could hurt you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Would you be interested in learning?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you want to know the extent of your abilities? Do you want to control them, rather than them controlling you?”

  A tinge of excitement mixed with relief in Sasha’s mind. She smiled.

  “Good, then you be here with your friend at the same time tomorrow morning. Do not be late.”

  Sasha got to her feet and went to walk to the door.

  “And, Sasha. No more slip-ups like tonight. I meant what I said about outside the camp.”

  “It won’t happen again.” She then left.

  The general opened the drawer to her right, pulling out a notebook. On it was a number of names which she added ’Jacobs,’ to.

  *****

  As the sun crept above the eastern horizon, Dalton, Joel, and the others in the pickup approached the northwest part of the Jankle camp. The metal fence which signified the boundaries shone orange in the morning light, and the trees swayed losing more of their leaves.

  Dalton slowed the pickup then stopped at the gate, which quickly slid back and he drove through. In the back, Amos’s head kept bobbing as he fought with the weight of sleep on his eyes. Joel was asleep in the front, but Carla was bright and alert, relieved to be back.

  As they drove through the streets a Humvee slipped in behind them, and as ordered in their brief radio conversation some forty minutes prior, they headed straight for the town square.

  The general was already waiting along with at least twenty heavily armed soldiers. Dalton parked up alongside a secure looking truck with a boxlike back and small slit-like windows.

  They all got out. Joel being the last and the general approached.

  She shook Carla’s hand. “Well done, Lieutenant. Keller got back some hours ago. The information in that is… very… useful…” She stood looking at the soldiers who were pulling Tyror from the bed of the pickup. As if in a sleep-like state he slowly stood. “Hold him there.” She walked to a few feet from him, examining him up and down. She then nodded and they carried him away, and into the back of the bank truck. The doors slammed closed and it immediately moved out of the square. Most of the Humvees left with it.

  “Where you taking him?” said Joel.

  “Somewhere he won’t be easily found.”

  Amos wavered and fell against the side of the pickup. Kizzy burst from between the soldiers that were left and hugged him, propping him up.

  The general moved to them. “You did well, son. Now, get some rest. We’re going to need you back at it by noon.”

  He nodded and slowly walked away with Kizzy.

  The general looked at Joel and Carla. I know you’re both exhausted but I need you both upstairs to debrief.

  They agreed and trekked up the five floors to a conference room already filled with five individuals Joel had never met.

  Joel and Carla found a seat while the door closed behind them.

  The general sat at the head of the large table and looked at the man seated nearby. “Quick introductions.”

  A broad man in his forties with short jet-black hair looked towards the two new members. “I’m Colonel Gus Stanton. Together with the general and Clement, I work on intel and strategy.” He looked at the long-haired woman opposite.

  “I’m Amanda Groves. My main role is to try to understand the minds of otherhumans, what makes them tick, and I also try to advise on what’s best for everyone at the camp.”

  Seemed like a strange role to Joel, but he nodded, nevertheless.

  “Lieutenant Colonel Irwin Hahn, logistics.”

  “Captain Emery Slater, chief medical officer.”

  “Umm… Second Lieutenant Madison Goode, head of science and tech.” The dark-haired young woman wearing oversized glasses looked more anxious than the others in the room.

  The final person started talking, a stout man that Joel judged to be in his late sixties and like Amanda was in civvies. “Clement Wynn… ex-CIA amongst other things. My job is to fuck-up the enemy.” He looked directly at Joel and Carla. “Good work last night, now we have some idea of what we’re up against.”

  “Now that’s done, let's get started on how we stop being stomped by the corporation?” said the general.

  Gus got to his feet and walked to a monitor at the end of the room. He tapped on a keyboard near it, and the screen lit up, showing a map of the country. Numerous icons pulsed in different colors. “This shows you where the enemy forces are. At least from what we gathered from the new intel. Here we are.” He touched the screen. “As you can see, the enemy is to our west and north. They don’t appear to have moved south of us yet, nor have they penetrated too far to the east of us.”

  “That’s the good news,” said Clement.

  “Yeah, the bad news is they haven’t met much resistance, well apart from what you guys did up at the Canadian border, but apart from that, most of the human camps have fallen that came into contact with them.”

  “They were just about surviving,” said Joel.

  Gus nodded. “Exactly and weren’t expecting a paramilitary group of otherhumans to turn up on their doorstep.”

  Joel sensed Carla’s heart rate increasing and a flush of sweat move across her.

  “And if they weren’t planning to come here soon, now we got one of their top people, we can expect them to up that schedule,” said Clement.

  “Yeah, there’s also more you don’t know,” said Joel. He then spent the next ten minutes filling them all in on what Amos had dragged from Tyror’s mind. Most sat in silence, but there were a few gasps. The youngest of the group, Madison, appeared to Joel to be the most focused on what he was retelling.

  “There is something else you’re not aware of, Joel,” said Groves. “Daniel Copeland appears to be being held captive by these ‘kings.’”

  “How do you know that?” said Joel.

  “With the help of the Alkron boy, Jasper—”

  “You have Jasper here?”

  “He’s being well looked after, Joel,” said the general.

  Joel resisted asking more about Jasper. He meant to find Marina as soon as the meeting was finished.

  Groves continued. “So with the boy's help, we located his father, and it appears he is not moving from the same defined area and hasn’t done for over eight hours. With what you have just told us, it would seem he has been supplanted from his position at the head of the corporation. And now these older beings have taken charge…”

  Joel couldn’t help but find Copeland’s situation amusing, but he resisted smiling.

  The general looked at the young woman nearby. “What’s your thoughts on all of this, Madison? Could it be true? That the hybrid we have is somehow from the ancient past?”

  All eyes were on the girl with the glasses, whose eyes looked bigger than they were. “Taking into account what we know about the tablet, I would have to say, it is possible, yes.”

  “Okay, well, whether they are five thousand years old or fifty, it don’t matter. We still need to figure out how to kick the corporation’s ass’,” said Clement.

  “Have you managed to get the tablet working again?” said Joel to Madison on his right.

  She shook her head.

  “I’ve got the old man’s grandson coming in, in an hour from now. I think he might be useful. Work with him, Madison.”

  Madison gave a timid nod.

  “And the girl who can turn into gas—”

  “Sasha?” said Joel.

  “Yeah, what do you know of her?”

  “Seemed a good kid to me.”

  “Yeah, well we’ll see.” She looked around the table. “So people. Give me options on how we’re going to survive the onslaught that’s heading our way.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Evan and Sasha sat on uncomfortable wooden seats in the clean corridor. They had been waiting an hour despite getting there on time and had seen numerous people in military uniform rush from one door to the next without paying them any attention.

  “Man, how long they going to make us wait,” said Evan. He yawned.

  “You got somewhere better to be?” said Sasha.

  “Umm… no, dunno. Maybe, what’s it to you?”

  Sasha sighed heavily.

  At the end of the corridor, a slim woman appeared with long dark brown hair and glasses which masked most of her face. She pushed them up her nose on standing next to the two seated.

  “Sasha, Evan?”

  They nodded.

  “I’m Madison Goode. Follow me.”

  She led them through one of the doors and then to an elevator that a guard stood outside of. The door slid back and they moved inside the cramped space.

  “This used to be a service elevator,” said Madison. “The bank used to move their important clients up and down with it.” She tapped on the lowest button on the rack, and the small box rattled and then descended.

  It wasn’t long before it jolted to a stop and Madison pulled the double doors back.

  A wall of noise preceded the vision of organized chaos. Computer screens sitting on rows of desks, bursting with information and motion graphics played out across the low-ceilinged space. Men and women, some in military uniform, others not, sat diligently working, while others engaged in heated conversation.

  “What’s this place?” said Sasha, fascinated by the scene.

  “We just call it the ‘Lab.’ It’s where we do the virtual science. Mostly historical research, computer modeling. Things like that.”