{"id":587,"date":"2010-01-29T08:13:25","date_gmt":"2010-01-29T13:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greatsociety.org\/?p=587"},"modified":"2018-10-30T19:41:14","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T23:41:14","slug":"judgment-day-part-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/?p=587","title":{"rendered":"Judgment Day: Part 31"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0A new chapter.\u00a0 And introducing a storyline I went back and added to flesh things out.\u00a0 But, then, it got to be too much for me and I cried a little bit and then had a Lost in Space <\/em>marathon. \u00a0 The boy!\u00a0 Take the boy!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

———<\/p>\n

March 22nd<\/p>\n

The Messenger <\/em><\/p>\n

The rains were gone and, with Martin breathless in the doorway, Daryl looked over to the office windows at a bright day outside, the wet forest still bare and wintry.<\/p>\n

Martin leered and stepped over to the bed,\u00a0 \u201cDamn, D.\u00a0 You get any?\u201d<\/p>\n

Molly frowned, disgusted, but there wasn\u2019t much room to turn away.<\/p>\n

Daryl sat up, thinking it was time to have a go at his friend, but he froze with his next words.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found something.\u201d Martin whispered dramatically.<\/p>\n

Daryl jerked, \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA car, out on the access road.\u00a0 Just sitting there, idling away.\u00a0 Spooky, eh Scooby?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you check it out?\u201d Daryl asked, climbing out of the bed.\u00a0 Molly watched them, but stayed under the covers.<\/p>\n

Martin shook his head, \u201cEmpty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut idling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin nodded, \u201cBut idling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone\u2019s here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we have a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daryl stood, straightened his clothes, then found himself unsure of what to do next.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Martin said, \u201cThis is a new situation.\u00a0 We\u2019re at a bit of a crossroads, here.\u00a0 In the horror movies, we would split up and search the house, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stick together.\u201d\u00a0 Daryl helped Molly stand, noticed that she was still shaky, and stood dumbly by the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour girl\u2019s still down.\u201d Martin cleared his throat, \u201cRight,\u00a0 Azizi\u2019s in the great hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

They walked through the short corridor that opened onto the great hall and Daryl saw Azizi, dead center, sitting on a pile of crates with a vicious gun in his hands.\u00a0 The direct approach \u2013 sit out in the open with weapons ready.\u00a0 The door to the yard had been left open and Daryl considered making a run for it as Martin walked up to the crates, selected an assault weapon, and stood warily, looking around.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are they doing?\u201d\u00a0 Molly asked.\u00a0 \u201cIs someone really here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll find out later.\u201d\u00a0 He helped her to the side door and outside.\u00a0 The insanity in the house was a little too thick for him.<\/p>\n

It was a mild spring day on Sugarloaf Mountain.\u00a0 A time for picnics, hiking, and peace.\u00a0 The air was sharp and earthy from the rain and the sun was glittering through the trees onto the wet grass.\u00a0 Even in this country setting, it was eerie not to see other people.\u00a0 There weren\u2019t any families out here, no cars zipping up the access road, the parking lot at the base of the mountain was visible and still empty except for the abandoned service vehicles.\u00a0 The sense of a world frozen in evening rush hour 36 hours ago was still here, in the clear woods and air.<\/p>\n

The one lane access road that wove around Strong Mansion and on up the mountain was empty, except for a Jeep Cherokee parked a few feet down slope, front wheels off the road and in a muddy ditch.\u00a0 Exhaust rose in the morning air, the windows fogged up, the gentle purr of the engine audible in the quiet, haunted air.\u00a0\u00a0 The door had been opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s bizarre.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Molly said.<\/p>\n

Something moved and Daryl barely had time to turn as the shrubs at the far end of the muddy lawn parted.\u00a0 A woman, silent, moved at a dead run, seemingly unaffected by the mud.\u00a0 He pushed Molly away just as the woman hit him and they went spinning to the ground.\u00a0 The woman pinned him down into the mud, then leaned close.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t trying to kill him like the neighbor girl.\u00a0 Instead, she grimaced and hissed, \u201cSilent.\u00a0 All silent.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stood, lifting Daryl with one hand, and spun him around so he was between she and Martin and Azizi who had just come through the door, weapons ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cA message!\u201d she screamed.<\/p>\n

Martin and Azizi weren\u2019t listening, they fanned out.\u00a0 Then there was a shot and the woman jerked, knocking Daryl down.\u00a0 He turned, sitting in the mud, and stared at Molly who had the revolver in her hands.\u00a0 The creature moved quickly, no time to nurse a wound.\u00a0 It plowed into Molly and then used her as a shield.\u00a0 All this before Martin and Azizi could even fire a shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has silenced my mind.\u00a0 He has a message!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the fuck is this?\u201d martin asked, standing beside Daryl.<\/p>\n

This certainly wasn\u2019t how Daryl envisioned the middle of his workaday week.\u00a0 He rose and cautiously inched forward,\u00a0 spreading out around Molly and the creature.<\/p>\n

The creature was a middle aged woman, her eyes getting more desperate as her enemies fanned out.\u00a0 She screamed incoherently, then threw Molly away.\u00a0 She looked sick \u2013 a sheen of sweat clinging to her body, her hair falling in dirty strands around her face.\u00a0 She coughed, then fell back against a tree and closed her eyes, her face screwing up painfully as she tried to catch her breath.<\/p>\n

Nobody else moved, the morning air filled with the woman\u2019s breath and the sounds of the early spring forest after days of rain.\u00a0 The boys moved closer just as Molly backed away, the four forming a semi-circle around the woman.<\/p>\n

The woman spoke again, her voice scattering over stones, unnatural.\u00a0 She stretched out her hand, palm upward, and opened her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re here.\u00a0 He said you\u2019d be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho said?\u201d Martin asked, but the woman\u2019s eyes fluttered and her head fell forward.\u00a0 \u201cOkay.\u00a0 Let\u2019s blast her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho said we\u2019d be here?\u00a0 What the hell is going on?\u201d\u00a0 Daryl stepped forward, but then inched back again.\u00a0 The woman started coughing as she pulled herself up.\u00a0 She shook her head and seemed to gain control.\u00a0 \u201cSilence in my mind.\u00a0 He has done this to me.\u00a0 Whittier.\u00a0 Dr. Whittier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat she say?\u201d Molly asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhittier.\u00a0 Hey, D, isn\u2019t your dentist named Dr. Whittier?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Halsey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molly blew down her nose, \u201cRight, Daryl\u2019s dentist is behind all this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin shook his head, \u201cBlast her, kids.\u00a0 Seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman spoke, staring hard at each of them in turn, \u201cThere has been a mistake.\u00a0 A problem.\u00a0 I have been sent to say this, against my will.\u00a0 It is\u2026 I am compelled to deliver a message.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo, then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBethesda.\u00a0 Whittier is his prisoner.\u00a0 Find him.\u201d\u00a0 Message delivered, the woman seemed to relax and regain all of her composure.\u00a0 She drifted gracefully to the side.<\/p>\n

“You know us?” Daryl asked the creature.<\/p>\n

The woman’s eyes darted towards him, her smile never faltering.\u00a0 The green of her irises fading like a Polaroid in reverse, turning into an ice blue, inhuman gaze.\u00a0 “Of course we do.”<\/p>\n

“What is ‘the Agreement’?” he asked.<\/p>\n

“Like all creatures, we have rules\u00a0to follow.”<\/p>\n

“What the hell are you?”\u00a0 Martin stepped forward.<\/p>\n

“We are the Evolved.”<\/p>\n

“And this\u2026Whittier?” Daryl whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe attempts to change the course of evolution.\u00a0 As do you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want shit, lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin cleared his throat, \u201cTell you what \u2013 you and Whittier and whoever can have the entire world except for Hawaii and we\u2019ll go live there.\u00a0 Cool?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhittier is not with us.\u00a0 He is yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t know him.\u201d Azizi said, \u201cAre you sure you have the right group of last human survivors?\u00a0 Maybe you\u2019re looking for the O\u2019Reilly\u2019s down the block?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhittier is part of the Agreement.\u00a0 He has failed and, so, you have.\u00a0 He has silenced me, poisoned me, all so I can come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molly spoke in a soft voice, but the creature\u2019s gaze still snapped onto her.\u00a0 \u201cTell us about this agreement.\u00a0 Who made it?\u201d<\/p>\n

“I have delivered my message.\u00a0 Now I am released of the obligation.\u00a0 I will die in this terrible, poisoned silence.\u00a0 I will \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cShut up, now.\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n

The creature\u2019s giant, shit-eating smile held no emotion at all as she cocked her head, then broke into a run towards Molly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0A new chapter.\u00a0 And introducing a storyline I went back and added to flesh things out.\u00a0 But, then, it got to be too much for me and I cried a little bit and then had a Lost in Space marathon. …<\/p>\n

Judgment Day: Part 31<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[404],"class_list":["post-587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nachos-lousy-novel","tag-nachos-lousy-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":729,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587\/revisions\/729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}