Are they all against me? "Task Force Zero compartmentalized their intelligence arm right after that attack happened. I couldn't undermine them any further without falling under suspicion. In fact, I even had to eliminate one of my own officers because he was getting too close to the truth."

  "You are full of excuses, Thorne. Being the official British liaison to Task Force Zero's intelligence apparatus gave you enough access to nip that whole unit in the bud, and you dropped the ball, it's as simple as that."

  Thorne clenched his jaw. "If I do recall, America is supposed to be in your neck of the woods, Mordrake. I don't have enough influence over there to undermine that unit's command structure. If anyone is to blame for their continued existence, it's you."

  Mordrake's mouth turned into a snarl. "I am busy with my own plans, you fool! The Others have warned me about an outpost set up by the Rebellion somewhere in my territory, and I am doing my best to locate it."

  That would be the one off the coast of Chile, Thorne thought. But I won't be telling you about it, you bastard—find it out yourself. "Well, then it would be best if you refrain from criticizing others until you get your own house in order first."

  The Dowager quickly interjected before anyone else could talk. "I can't help but wonder if the situation in Russia could have turned into a victory for us had Denikin continued to live. But that is in the past, and we must now turn towards the coming future to ensure all is in place for the ascension."

  "You are correct, Dowager," Colin said. "It does us no good to continue fighting amongst ourselves. We need to coordinate, keep the various governments of the world reeling and weak, so that the Compact can easily bring forth the next stage of our evolution."

  Mordrake's anger continued to seethe, but he kept his voice down while alternately focusing his attention between the two Englishmen. "Since you are both in the intelligence apparatus, I would like you to pass on any information to me if there is a suspected Rebel base in both American continents. Once I have the location then I shall inform the Others, and they will take care of it."

  Colin made brief eye contact with his MI5 counterpart before answering. "Nothing on my end, but I'll let you know if I hear of anything."

  He knows about what's going on in Chile, Thorne thought. But he's not telling Mordrake either. "Same here, my scope is clear."

  The Dowager smiled, revealing a set of long yellowish teeth. "My own plans with the Middle Kingdom continue without negative incident. Soon, the entire country and its surrounding territories will be a prime location for the Compact."

  She's making her move, Thorne thought. With Mordrake having to deal with the Rebel base and Task Force Zero, the Dowager wants to supplant him as the main agent for the Others.

  Colin turned his attention to her. "With all that you're doing, including that new foothold in Africa, don't you think you’re spreading yourself a little too thin?"

  The Dowager continued to beam with confidence. "Not at all. China will be mine in a matter of weeks, and I shall strike an even bigger blow against this Task Force Zero that none of you men could ever achieve. With regards to Africa, it is merely an outpost."

  Thorne kept silent. She's expanding her territory—I think I underestimated her. Mordrake isn't my main rival—she is. The Dowager already controls much of Asia, and if she manages to establish this new base in the Sudan, then she'll be in a prime position to dominate the Cabal. I must do something!

  Mordrake nodded. "Any kind of effort to weaken Task Force Zero is appreciated. I have already asked the Others if they could attack the enemy directly, but I'll need detailed plans of the layout inside that base of theirs in Utah. As you all know, our benefactors can't take a lot of casualties, and so the more I can tell them about this headquarters and its defenses, then we can decapitate the human resistance in a single blow."

  Colin looked towards the other British man in the room. "I believe that is in your neck of the woods, Alasdair."

  "I'm afraid they have not allowed me to visit that base of theirs in Utah, nor have I been privy to their structural blueprints. But I shall endeavor to find out," Thorne said.

  "You need to do that soon," Mordrake said tersely. "Otherwise, what good are you for the Cabal?"

  So he wants to have me removed from the Cabal leadership, Thorne thought. We'll see about that. "The efforts I made a few weeks ago in Nevada have been successful, and the next one shall be as well. All I need is a bit of time to make some new arrangements."

  "These setbacks have been very minor," the Dowager said. "Everything is still in our favor. Russia will remain frail for the time being despite their small victory, and we must ensure that the United States gets weakened even further. All the other countries are of no consequence."

  51 Guaitecas

  OPENING HIS EYES, SILVA sat up before placing his feet down onto the floor beside of the makeshift bed. The moment he had followed Martina to the underground beneath the small church, he had somehow lost track of time. Is it morning, afternoon, or evening? I don't even know how many days or even weeks I've been down here.

  The walls around the subterranean chamber seemed to have been coated with a sort of dark brown resin akin to plant bark, yet he wasn't sure if it was even terrestrial. It felt like he had been brought into the hollow of a giant tree, deep below the earth. Clumps of strange glowing crystals along the sides cast an eerie illumination over the entire room, allowing him to see.

  He was reminded of that classic tale, about a young girl who followed a rabbit down a hole and stumbled into a strange fantasy world, with the only difference being that the environment he was stuck in wasn't make-believe. Did Lewis Carroll meet aliens before he wrote that book?

  A table-sized stone dais stood in the center of the room, and there was a bowl lying on top of it. Silva put on his shoes and shuffled over, hoping it contained some water.

  When he looked down at the contents of the bowl, it seemed to contain a cupful of strange dark liquid. It's this place's food and drink.

  Taking the bowl with both hands, he pressed his lips to the side of the container and tilted it to his mouth, drinking the contents. The liquid had a strange taste, but he had been told by the children that it was nutritious, and so it was good enough for him since there wasn't anything else.

  There were about a dozen kids he’d met in the adjoining chambers, all calm and treating the area as some sort of playground. They all introduced themselves to him, but he continued to dote on Martina, and had since developed a bond with the little girl.

  All of the kids said they were being treated fairly well. Aside from Martina, none of them had gone back to the upper world. They didn't seem to miss their parents either. Silva wondered if the liquid they were all drinking had some sort of sedative effect, and he’d tried to forgo any sort of sustenance for a time, only to give in to hunger and thirst later on.

  If it wasn't the liquid, then maybe it's these glowing crystals that keep us all tranquil, he had thought. There were a number of chambers with lesser amounts of crystals, and he had stayed in those places for an indeterminate amount of time, wondering if it would have any effect on his lack of anxiety, but nothing conclusive came out of that idea.

  I ought to feel scared down here, trapped in an underworld with a bunch of children, but this whole place feels like pot den for kids, he thought.

  When he asked Martina what they were all doing down here, she simply said they were learning, just like in school. Silva would sometimes see the kids just sit down on the floor of one of the chambers in a lotus position and close their eyes, as if meditating. He tried it once too, but nothing came out of it.

  Silva had run into the woman with the black dress only once, when Martina led him into one of the chambers. For a few tense moments he did experience a tinge of fear, only to be relieved when the woman merely glanced in his direction before she turned and left the room, not even saying a single word to him.

  Martina then looked at him with a smile on her cherubic face. "She likes you."

  With his thoughts returning back to the present, he shook his head as he placed the now empty bowl back onto the raised dais. Maybe Martina was right. If that strange woman didn't like me, I'd be dead by now.

  After stretching his arms, Silva blinked in astonishment when he realized something very important. Wait a minute, I haven't taken a piss or a dump ever since I came down here. In fact, I've never found a single bathroom in this underground maze.

  As Silva stood there and scratched his head, wondering about this latest riddle meant, he heard a distant rumbling followed by a mild earthquake as the chamber he was standing in shook slightly.

  Feeling nervous, he looked up at the small pieces of what looked like black tree bark falling from the low ceiling. What just happened?

  "Raul," a voice from behind him said.

  He turned and locked eyes with Martina, who was standing beside one of the tunnels. "Hello, Martina. Did you hear something?"

  The little girl's once cheerful face now looked distressed. "Your people. They are attacking us."

  Silva was shocked. "What?"

  Martina pointed at the low ceiling. "They drop bombs from the sky. Melinka has been destroyed."

  He looked down. "I'm sorry. I did what you asked me to. I recorded a message to tell them not to come over here, but it seems they had other plans."

  She looked like she was about to cry. "It is so sad that they lack understanding."

  "I'd like to help, Martina, but I don't understand what is going on down here either. If you or the other children would explain it, maybe I can send the authorities another message."

  The little girl shook her head. "No, they will never understand. We must go."

  "Go? Where?"

  "To the room of light."

  "I'm sorry, I don't know where that is."

  She held out her hand. "Let me take you."

  Silva got closer and they clasped hands. The little girl quickly turned and proceeded to lead him down a series of tunnels, a number of which he had never been to before. Despite his extensive time in this strange underworld, Silva hadn't dared venture too far from the half dozen tunnels he had first laid eyes on.

  Martina continued to lead him down the twisting tunnels. The sounds of explosions gradually became louder, and the strange coating along the walls of the passages began to chip away, revealing solid rock.

  When they both exited the tunnel into a large cavern, Silva could only stare in amazement. All the children were there, lining up as if going on a school function. But what really shocked him the most was the tunnel-like whirlpool of blinding light at the other end of the room.

  The horizontal vortex seemed to be made of pure energy, a whirling, funnel-shaped ring of scintillating lights, and yet there was a darkened void in the middle of it. He had seen a science fiction movie about a space journey into a black hole when he was a child, and the whole scene seemed eerily reminiscent to him.

  Silva nearly leaped backwards in terror as a large hairy arm suddenly appeared from the darkness at the center of the vortex, but Martina somehow kept him steady. Within a few seconds, a tall, ape-like creature covered in fur had emerged, standing beside the swirling maelstrom of light.

  That's not a gorilla, he thought. It's a Yeti that just came through a spinning tunnel made of solid energy!

  The children didn't seem frightened at all as they clasped hands and began marching towards the center of the darkened portal. Within less than a minute, the last one in line stepped into the void and disappeared from view.

  Martina tugged at his arm while looking at him. The smile on her face had returned. "Come with us."

  Silva couldn't take his eyes off the towering creature standing in front of him. The Sasquatch gestured with its long arm, signaling that he should either move on or leave the cave.

  "You are a friend," Martina said. "They will not hurt you. If you try to return to the upper world you will get killed."

  Silva nodded slowly as he allowed the little girl to lead him closer to the vortex. He felt a tingling sensation all over his body as if being buffeted with waves of electric currents. The ape creature seemed to follow right behind him as he continued to move forward, right before the light became too blinding. By then he had to close his eyes just before moving into the center of the swirling hole that had ripped through the fabric of space and time.

  52 Wyoming

  RIPLEY AND PIPER HAD arrived in Rock Springs in the wee hours of the morning. After hanging out at a 24-hour diner to pass the time, they checked in at the motel just after twelve o'clock, and then drove towards the northern end of town, right past the golf course, until they got within sight of long stretch of chain-link fences, and a cluster of buildings beyond.

  Piper was in the driver's seat of the Honda Accord. They had switched the car license plates the moment they entered the state, and she drove slowly along the highway while keeping one eye on the Wigham Healthcare compound.

  Ripley sat beside her, and he popped another paracetamol pill into his mouth before taking a sip from the plastic water bottle he was holding. "That place is built like a fortress."

  "Really? The area just looks like any other private compound from what I can see."

  He pointed towards an elevated structure beyond the chain-link fence. "See that? It's a guard tower. I spotted at least two of them along the highway. I bet they’ve got all sides covered."

  Piper made a quick glance towards where he was pointing. "It looks like a water tower to me, but I can't see much since it's hidden behind those trees and that inner wall."

  "I'm telling you it's a guard tower. That whole compound looks like it's designed to keep strangers from prying in. It's probably got motion sensors behind the chain fence."

  They had already driven past it. Piper slowed and began to make a u-turn along the deserted highway. "Okay, I'll make another pass."

  "Let this be the last one. They might have automated cameras watching the road, and if we drive back and forth too many times it’ll arouse suspicion."

  "Okay."

  The compound could now be seen from the right hand side as they drove southwards, and Ripley got an even clearer look. "I can see cameras alright. There's just no way we'll be able to sneak in there."

  Piper bit her lip while driving past the compound. "That golf course is right below it. Maybe we could cut a hole in the fence from over there."

  "I don't think so. It's obvious they’ve got all angles covered."

  "We got to think of something. I think I can feel Derek's presence in there."

  "I need some time to figure out how to get inside."

  Driving past a speedway and towards the center of town, Piper spotted an entrance leading towards a mobile home park. She made the turn and found an empty lot near the administration office. After braking by the side of the road, she eased the car into a parking position and turned the engine off.

  "I looked at the satellite map of that compound this morning," Ripley said. "Looks like the only way in without an alarm being sounded would be to walk right through the entrance."

  "That's it," Piper said. "I just go in there and give myself up to them. Then you follow right behind me and shoot anyone who tries to stop us."

  "If there's guard towers, then their sentries will most probably be armed. I'm still not a hundred percent and we'll be severely outgunned."

  "We've gotten this far," Piper said tersely. "If we wing it I bet we'll get through."

  "The fact is we've gotten lucky. Can you channel this power of yours to knock out anyone we come across?"

  "It's not me, it's Derek. I think I'm just sort of channeling his abilities if it comes to knocking people out. All I can seem to do is read a few minds every now and then."

  "Can you sort of signal to Derek that we'll be going in and see if he could take down the guards for us?"

  "He hasn't been able to do much since Portland," Piper said. "I think the ones holding him must have found out he was helping me. I-I think they hurt him to the point where all we can do now is to trade messages when I dream about him."

  "Well, I can't think of a way to get inside that compound and get out safely. We're going to need an army or something."

  Piper groaned as a tension headache suddenly materialized and slammed against her forehead. "Oww."

  "You okay?"

  She closed her eyes while rubbing her temples to help assuage the pain. "I can sense someone I know. He's nearby."

  "Who?"

  Piper slowly opened her eyes. The ache had ceased and her mind was clear again. "I wonder if this thing is Derek's doing or mine."

  "I have no idea what you're talking about unless you clue me in."

  "You remember how we got out of Portland?"

  "Not really. I had brain damage, so even just trying to remember the exact details isn't working out too much."

  "I drove your car, but there was a checkpoint up ahead. I met a guy, he was a reporter."

  "Oh yeah, you told me about that," Ripley said. "You made him drive the car and he told you some stuff about the Etherians. He's the one who dropped us off in Canada, right?"

  "Yeah, his name was Elsner. And guess what?"

  "What?"

  "He's here... in town."

  "Oh? What's he doing here?"

  Piper closed her eyes again in order to concentrate. "He's... with some others. They've got guns—lots of them."

  Ripley looked around. "He's not coming after us, is he?"

  "No, I think... I think he wants to get at the compound."

  "To do what?"

  "He... he wants to raid it and expose to the public what's going on inside."

  Ripley sat back in the car seat. "You've got to be kidding me. This sounds way too good to be true."

  "It's the truth. I can really sense his thoughts."

  "Talk about luck," Ripley said. "Do you know when this raid is going to happen?"

  "Tonight."

 

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