Awakening: The First Tale of the Trine (Trine Series Book 1) Page 3

  “Chief Dufresne asked me to report, per your request, on our progress. The FINDER worked perfectly, and we’ve been able to locate a sizable void near what we believe to be the epicenter of the collapse. The device picked up multiple heartbeats, and they are currently assessing one specific area that seems well suited to begin extrication of the individuals.” The fireman paused, and it was obvious from his confused expression that he was struggling on how to continue.

  “Easy now….what’s your name?” Director Scott asked, coming around the table to lay a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Christ, he thought, this kid can’t be much out of high school, no wonder he’s rattled.

  “Raymond,” the young man answered, self-consciously brushing the dust off the stitching over his chest. “Eddie Raymond. I’m sorry, sir, it’s been rough over there, and the Chief wanted me to tell you something rather strange. We were using the echo-locator and the dogs, but we’ve been having some trouble. The dogs are going crazy around ground zero, and we had to pull them to the edges. They were trembling and pissing all over everything, like they were terrified! The echo-locator seems to be malfunctioning also. I mean, it’s definitely picking up numerous signals that we are certain are human, but…sir, it seems to be showing something…huge. We don’t even know what to make of it, it’s like some sort of large animal is down there, and it’s moving across the entire void area.

  “Captain!” the Director barked, startling everyone at the table as he turned to the National Guardsman standing quietly at attention a few feet away. “Gather your men and get them over to Chief Dufresne on the double! Do not interfere with the rescue operation in any way, but have your team on standby. I’ll be there shortly.” The Captain gave a short nod, touched the comm on his helmet, and began issuing orders.

  “Eddie,” Director Spencer said, turning back to the young man. “You’ve done perfectly.” He passed the man a bottle of water from a cooler by the table. “Get back to your Chief and let them know…” The Director struggled with how much information he should reveal. Deciding that their safety outweighed the risk, he continued. “Let the Chief know that the echo-locator is not malfunctioning. We have reason to believe there is something unusual down there, and as soon as they are able to prepare an extrication point, to pull back and let the Guardsmen assess the situation. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir, I think so. We will do our job, and let you do yours. Thank you, sir!” Eddie said, as he turned and broke into a run back to the site.

  Director Spencer walked a short way from the gathered responders and pulled out his secondary cell phone. Pushing a single button, he waited only a moment for the familiar tone, indicating a secure line was being set up to the Pentagon. “This is Director Nathan Spencer,” he told the operator. “Please connect me with Scott Lansfield. Tell him we have an update. A live update,” he added grimly.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Fire Chief Samuel Dufresne had removed his helmet, and was using a rag to swipe the sweat and grime from his neck as the squad of National Guardsman approached. The engineers had been able to remove a section of debris, creating an opening sizable enough to lower a litter down to the survivors. He looked over the squad, trying to determine from their unfamiliar uniforms who he needed to address. Fortunately, they began to fan out around the entrance the team had created, and he was able to identify which one seemed to be giving orders.

  “Er…I’m Chief Dufresne,” he said nervously as he approached the soldier. “The search and rescue crew got us an opening, and the medic is ready to go down with the litter on your word. We’re hanging back, just like that Director fellow said.”

  The soldier he had approached smiled at him, and held out the hand which had been resting on the grip of his rifle. “I’m Lieutenant Dobson, 120th Infantry. Good to meet you, Chief Dufresne. You boys have done a hell of a job out here, and we’re here to support the recovery effort. We’re going to have our medics go down first with the litter. We’ve received your report that there have been some unusual readings down in the rubble, and we’re going to do our best to protect everyone. Now, has your crew pulled back?”

  “Yes, I’ve had the team pull back to the triage tents to offer support until we hear from you,” Chief Dufresne responded.

  “Excellent. If you’ll join them, we’ll begin immediately,” Lieutenant Dobson clapped the Chief on the back as he dismissed him, and motioning to his Staff Sergeant, moved a dozen soldiers and two of their medics over to the winch and litter that had been prepared.

  First making sure that the Chief moved out of earshot, Lieutenant Dobson crouched down on the pile of debris, shining his flashlight down into the opening that had been created. It was an unusual pattern for a collapse, he noted, examining the smooth concrete slab that seemed to have created a perfect slope for the litter. The opening was at least eight feet wide, and almost tall enough for him to actually walk down.

  “Sergeant, have your men fan out around this opening, about ten feet back. Safeties on, but be prepared for anything,” he ordered. Looking back down the shaft, he called out, “I’m Lieutenant Dobson with the National Guard. Can you hear me down there? We’re preparing a litter and will be down momentarily.”

  “We hear you,” came a gruff response, echoing up from the passage. “There are twenty-three injured down here, get your medical team ready to receive them!”

  The gruff and commanding voice caught the Lieutenant off guard. It didn’t sound panicked at all, despite having been trapped down there for the last six hours. “Who am I speaking with?” he called.

  “We’ll do formal introductions later, once we help get your people out of this hole!” the voice snapped.

  “Fair enough,” the Lieutenant mumbled. “All right let’s get that litter down there. Is the winch ready?” he asked the medic team.

  “We’re ready, sir,” they replied.

  “Sergeant, are your men ready?” the Lieutenant looked to the two soldiers who had just finished tying off, and were preparing to rappel down and secure the chamber. Receiving a thumbs up, he gave a nod and moved away as the first soldier stepped backwards, and disappeared from view. His partner followed only a moment later. “Check your comms,” he ordered, as the duo dropped glow sticks down the shaft.

  “We’re reading you, sir. The passage looks stable, we’re at twenty feet,” came the response.

  The Lieutenant could clearly see the bottom now, as the first soldier reached the lights they had dropped and cleared his line. The soldier turned just as his partner touched down. Even without the comms, his screech of “Contact!” could clearly be heard echoing up the passage. “Put your hands where I can see them!” the soldier ordered, as both he and his partner readied their weapons on someone unseen further down.

  “These are my hands, you twit!” roared that same gruff voice. “Did you come down here to help or kill all of us? Put those down!”

  “What’s going on?” the Lieutenant barked. “Report, soldier!”

  “I…I’m not sure, sir. It appears human, but I’m not certain what it is…”

  “What I am is tired and impatient, and I need some help making sure your people get out of this hole alive!” the gruff voice roared again. “Let these idiots cover me, if it makes you feel better, but send someone who can actually help down here!”

  “Medic, get that litter down there,” the Lieutenant ordered. “You two keep it covered. Stay calm!”

  The Lieutenant stepped back as the litter was placed onto the incline. Checking his ropes and the supplies he had laid out, the medic gave a thumbs up to his partner, who activated the winch. Watching his descent, the Lieutenant activated his comm. “Captain, are you monitoring the channel?”

  “I am Lieutenant. Evacuate the civilians as planned. Have your team escort them to the triage area. A Humvee is being sent to your location right now. We have reason to believe that the perpetrators of this attack may be amongst those survivors. A team will be on standby to transport the suspects to a
secure location. Your team is doing well, keep it up.”

  Signaling his squad to close in, Lieutenant Dobson watched as the medic secured the litter at the base of the void, and then observed the man nervously advance past the two soldiers who had plastered themselves against the wall, rifles still trained on the unseen speaker.

  After only a few moments, the medic reappeared, carrying the head of his long board. Lieutenant Dobson saw his soldiers step to the side as a strange figure appeared at the base of the tunnel, carrying the foot of the board. The creature was a head shorter than the men below, and appeared to be armored from the bridge of its nose all the way to its feet. The armor glinted metallically, but had a bluish glow to it, most pronounced at each of the forearms where three green luminescent tubes ran down the back of its right bracer. The being was covered in grime from the collapse, and its short white hair was matted with filth. As the first victim was secured in the litter, the creature moved back into the void, out of sight.

  The medic manning the winch activated it on the signal from below, and the Lieutenant backed away to let his team secure the man. As the litter cleared the entrance, the man strapped within waved his hand weakly to the team. “I’m Doctor Daniel Evans. Please, that man and his…companion, they saved our lives down there.”

  The doctor had a filthy white coat over a blue dress shirt. His khaki pants were almost completely torn away, and his legs from the knees down were cocooned in some sort of green, vein-covered shell. “Doctor, what is this?” the Lieutenant asked, waving his team back momentarily.

  “A section of wall crushed my legs. I don’t know how, but those two moved it, and then he…I’m not sure what he did. I couldn’t see down there, anything except the glow coming off of him. I was bleeding out, and was trying to show them how to apply a tourniquet, when he did…whatever this is. He told me it would repair the damage, and I…I thought at first he was trying to comfort me, that I was dying…but I think he meant it. It took the pain away, and I can feel…Look, just tell everyone, they saved us down there. They saved us!”

  “Noted, Dr. Evans. Get him to triage, let the medical team figure out what that is. Get the litter back down there!” the Lieutenant ordered.

  The next hour and a half were a blur, as they continued working to pull the remaining twenty-two victims from the void. As they emerged, each of them told a different version of the same tale. The doctors, nurses, patients, and even two children who were rescued spoke to the Guardsmen about two creatures who had drug them from the rubble, moving debris aside with barely any effort. They told of how the pair had soothed them in that strange glow, and showed the wounds they each had endured, all covered in that same veiny green chrysalis. The children especially spoke of the “big puppy” who had cuddled up to them in the darkness, comforting them with his warm, furry bulk.

  By the time the last victim was evacuated, even the two soldiers at the base of the tunnel had relaxed their posture around the blue armored figure. They had reported no sign of any other creature with him, but had been ordered not to advance further into the collapse until checking for final clearance.

  As the litter was lowered for the last time, the white haired humanoid stood by the soldiers and medic, looking up at the Lieutenant. His eyes were disconcerting, seeming to be a solid electric blue, with no hint of a pupil or sclera. “I’m going to call my companion to come up next,” he yelled in his gruff voice. It sounded hollow filtered through the armoring over his mouth and nose, but his English had no trace of an accent. “Your people seem to think he is a giant dog, but he is my kazir. He will not harm you.”

  “Kazir?” the Lieutenant questioned. The figure simply waved him off, however, and walked back out of sight. The soldiers and medic stiffened and moved back warily as the armored man reappeared. This time he was accompanied by a canine figure that seemed to fill the entrance of the passage. Its fur was a dull green, and it had straps crossing its chest and back, attaching armored plates and storage satchels. It, too, was matted and filthy from its time in the void, and limped slowly to the litter as though it were exhausted.

  The Guardsmen stayed well back while the alien strapped the canine into the litter, and once clear, the Lieutenant waved for the winch to be activated. It whined audibly under the strain of the burden as it slowly drug the creature from the depths. Once the squad was able to clear the animal from the opening, they unstrapped it warily, as it tilted its huge fox like head to give them each a long, considering stare. The intelligence in its bright yellow eyes was unnerving, and as the straps came free they each backed away from the litter. The dog slowly walked a short distance from the entrance, then turned back expectantly, obviously waiting on its companion.

  Only a few minutes later Lieutenant Dobson personally helped the blue-eyed humanoid step free of the litter. He had ridden it up standing, holding loosely to the guide ropes. “Sergeant, have your team sweep the cavern, then get them out of there and report to the Urban Search & Rescue team that we’re done here for now.”

  Turning to the two figures who were now standing side-by-side while the squad kept them covered from a short distance, the Lieutenant said, “We have orders to transport you to a safe location away from civilian personnel. Will you come willingly?” he asked grimly.

  The dog broke into what appeared to be a grinning pant, its tongue lolling out and revealing numerous rows of teeth. The mouth on the beast looked like it belonged to a shark rather than a canine, and the effect it had on the creature’s overall demeanor caused the Lieutenant to take a step backwards.

  “Of course we will accompany you,” the blue-eyed humanoid said, drooping an arm over the dog. “Is it time to take us to your leaders, and all that?” it added with a raised eyebrow. “You understandably have a lot of questions about what led to this tragedy, and what is to come. We will do everything we can to help bring enlightenment. We are called Oraki. Specifically, my name is Orak, and my companion,” he said, patting the dogs’ massive head. “Is called Aki”.

  Nodding, the Lieutenant gestured to the squad covering the two figures, and they directed the pair to a nearby Humvee. There were four Guardsmen already inside, who made room for the dog and its alien handler to squeeze in. Slamming the door, the Lieutenant signaled the driver, and then activated his comm. “Captain, our guests are on their way to the lab for further disposition. My squad will stand down and assist the civilian efforts until we get further orders.”

  “Affirmative, Lieutenant. Good work,” the Captain responded.

  Walking back to the tent housing the Incident Command Post, Captain Jennings motioned Director Spencer away from the civilian responders. Moving a short distance away from the Post, Captain Jennings said, “We have taken the pair into custody without incident. They are being transported to the lab per your instructions. There was no sign of the third subject at this time, but our search and rescue teams are renewing their efforts to locate him now that these survivors have been cleared.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Director Spencer said quietly. “I want you to keep me updated on your progress. I’m going to let the Greensboro Police Chief know of your squad’s success, and ask him to issue a statement to the press from the Joint Information Center regarding the survivors. Once we know more about these suspects and what we are dealing with, we will get our marching orders from the Commander in Chief. Until then, please keep your platoon on high alert. This is probably just the beginning, and I don’t want to even hazard a guess on what comes next.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Dr. Roman!” a nurse called, running through the triage tents.

  Dr. Franklin Roman was a retired military surgeon, who now practiced at a nearby Level One Trauma Unit. He was affectionately known by his staff as the President of the Gun & Knife Club, as he was frequently called in for the most gruesome and violent injuries. The nurse spotted him examining the cocoon that had been formed around the legs of his colleague, Dr. Daniel Evans, and rushed to the bedside. “Dr. Roman
, the search and rescue team has brought in some other victims that were recovered around the outskirts. One of them has been affected by the same…thing,” she said, waving a hand over Dr. Evans’s legs. “This one is completely enveloped, and from the vitals we could secure, they seem to be in distress.”

  “Lead the way, nurse.” Dr. Roman ordered, peeling off his latex gloves and nodding to Dr. Evans. “I’ll see you in a bit, Danny. Have the nurses yell for me if anything changes, and we’ll get you transferred shortly.”

  The nurse led Dr. Roman to a nearby golf cart normally used for parking assistance, and told the orderly driving to get them back to the operating rooms. Several suites that had been undamaged in the explosion had been cleared for use, and the most critically injured were being stabilized on site. Dr. Roman had been there most of the morning, only coming out to triage a short time ago to see for himself what the rumors swirling around the hospital might mean.

  “Doctor, do you have any idea what that stuff is? Was it some sort of chemical weapon causing it?” the nurse asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Dr. Roman replied. “All of the injuries we’ve seen have been ballistic or incendiary, consistent with a standard explosion. I was speaking with Dr. Evans, and he says that…well, take this with a grain of salt, the man was just pulled out of the rubble…but he said that there was something down there with them that was applying a substance to their injuries, that hardened into that shell. Evans insists that whatever it is, it relieved his pain, and he thinks it is helping heal the injuries. All of the other victims correlated the story, so we’re going to send them for some testing to figure out what exactly it might be. Now, this story of ‘something down there with them’….I don’t have any idea what to make of that. I saw the Guardsmen back a Humvee up to the pile, though, and they were keeping everyone well back. We’ll have to check the news reports later and try to get the big picture. But for now…which OR was the victim taken to?”