Chapter  Thirty

The Slaughter

 

 

            In the hybrid’s stall a panicked ape scurried to Malcolm’s side.  “Malcolm!” he cried.  No use.  Malcolm’s modem was off while he slept.  Chimp searched for something that might wake the beast.  He found an empty fuel can then scurried back to Malcolm.  He banged on the metal container to wake up his friend.  All of the animals woke at the same sound.

            “What’s wrong?” Shep asked.  “Why the noise?”

            Malcolm asked, “What’s wrong my young ape?  You look like you just saw a ghost.”

            “It’s the transforms.  They are planning to go out into the world and spread the disease!”

            “What?  That can’t be!  What makes you think that?”

            Just then they all received a voice mail over their coms. It was Jenny.  “Get out of there,”  she said.  “Peter’s headed your way with a weapon.”

            Just then another voice: It was from Peter transmitting through his com.  “I see that your coms are activated, my pets.  Don’t worry about the lies Chimp is spreading.  “You are in no danger.  Just stay where you are.  I have some news to tell you.  We have reconsidered our situation.”

            Moo didn’t wait for Peter to continue.  “Let’s get out like Jenny said.  We all must leave this stall now!”

            “No.  We shouldn’t leave!” Malcolm called.  “It may be what they want us to do.”

The animals didn’t hesitate to respond.   The hybrids quickly left the barn and went into the yard, leaving Malcolm behind.

            “Our decision,” Peter said, “is to bring the rest of mankind into our family.  Soon the entire world will fulfill the dreams of our creator, Dr. Lincoln.”

            “Something must be going on behind the scenes,” Moo said as she ran.  “Peter would never talk like that.  He’d never use those words.  Lincoln must have a hold on him.”

            “And one thing we want to do tonight is to celebrate!” Peter continued.

            “Let’s hurry,” Shep said.  They all ran toward the front gate, Tam Julius riding on Silver and Chimp riding on Moo.

            “Caution!” Shep said.  “Peter’s scent is all over!”

            “I smell him too,” Tam Julius said.  “But where is he?”

            “I can’t get a fix.  He must have walked all over this ground recently.”

            “He did,” Shep said.  “He must have planned this in advance.”

            “Be on guard,” Tam Julius said.  “I can see him already.  He’s armed.”

            “Turn around!” Shep called out.

            “No,” Chimp said.  “It’s too late.  We’re too close.”

            They arrived at the front gate.  There, standing before them, was Peter wielding his particle beam rifle.

            “Where are you going?” Peter said.  “Are you going to somehow get some Genezol?  Will you try to inject us?  Is that your plan?”

            “A cure for your disease has been our priority for three fortnights,” William said.  “Is it now your assertion that this would be a wrongful course of action?”

            “You have misunderstood Dr. Lincoln.  He isn’t an evil man.  He is a man with vision.  He wants to better mankind.  He wants to enable us all to evolve!”

            “Evolve?” Moo retorted.  “Did you know it would be like this my old friend?”

            “I was surprised at first,” Peter said.  “But once the change came I realized I could live with it.”

            “These aren’t your words,” Moo said.  “Put your weapon down.  It’s time to go home.”

            “No one is going home,” he declared.  “Where’s Malcolm?  Was he too scared to move?  No matter.  I’ll hunt him down.”   Peter energized his rifle.

            Tam Julius shouted,  “Let’s play soccer!”  Then, using his quick reflexes, the agile feline leaped straight from Silver’s shoulders hurling his body at Peter’s eyes.  Peter’s own reflexes enabled him to act just as swiftly.  He deflected the feline’s leap with his arm so powerfully that the helpless hybrid flew a dozen meters, landing on the other side of the camp’s fence.  An invisible partial beam swept harmlessly through the night sky.

            The other animals leapt into action.  William ran full fury into the bazaar primate, knocking him over.  Peter’s rifle arced through the air, landing ten meters from him.  Moo and Silver were quick to follow, trampling the downed beast with their powerful hooves.

            “Run!” Silver shouted to the others.  “It’s your only chance to escape!”

            Chimp and Shep knew this was true, but they could not leave their life-long friends.  Shep ran toward Peter and bit him on the head, only to grab a mouthful of bad-tasting fur.  Chimp busied himself tossing rocks with his powerful limbs.  Some struck well, causing Peter to reel from the blows. 

            William turned his rear toward Peter and kicked his head, then turned to repeatedly butt him.  Yet this beast’s massive body was too strong for even this onslaught.  Peter staggered to his feet.  Summoning super-human strength, he punched away Silver and Moo with awesome blows.  With his own super fast reflexes, enhanced further by a rush of adrenaline and years of military training, the gruesome figure rolled, grabbed the rifle, kneeled and fired.

 

            Matthew and Jenny rushed into the arsenal, finding Malcolm busy at work bashing a locked rifle cabinet.  “He changed the codes!” he called out.  “I hope you are here to help.” Matthew didn’t answer verbally.  He joined Malcolm, bashing the solid metal cabinet with his bear fist, making sizeable dents.  “This better open!”  Malcolm said.  “It’s our only hope!”  Within seconds the cabinet doors yielded.

 

            Outside a bloody battle continued.  “Silver!  Moo!” Shep called out.  It was too late.  The large targets lay writhing on the ground, large severed pieces of them tumbling in random directions.  William butted Peter again, knocking him down.  The huge, furry beast rolled with the blow, then with the precision of military training, he righted himself, slicing his astonished enemy in two.

            “William!” Shep shouted. He raced toward his dying companion. Chimp, too, concerned about the downed goat, rushed to Shep’s side. Before losing consciousness William sent his last message, “Run!  Save yourselves.”

            But it was too late.  Peter’s hulking body stood just a few feet away with his sights on the two hybrids.

            You’ll pay for this murder!” Shep called out.  “My blood and that of my friends will be avenged!”

            “Too late for that my pet,” Peter said.  He managed a twisted grin as he put his finger on the trigger.

            Suddenly a blur came through the gate running toward the transform, bounding through the air, once again at his eyes.  It was Tam Julius.  Startled by the unexpected attack, Peter was not able to brush him aside as before.  Sharp claws sank deeply into his eyeballs, blinding him instantly and causing him instinctively to press his hands toward the piercing pain.   His rifle flew from his grip onto the ground to his right.  The cat’s already injured body bounced off Peter’s head, falling, this time, lifeless to the ground.  Shep instantly ran toward the wobbling, writhing figure, biting the mad transform in the testicles, his only vulnerable spot.  Peter tried to grab Shep, but it was too late.  The damage was already done.  Searing, disabling pain gripped the violent predator.

            “The beam!” Shep called out.  “Chimp!  The beam!”

            Chimp was already on the job.  Aiming the powerful weapon at the once-proud leader of the numan camp, he pulled the trigger, slicing off the back of Peter’s head.  Falling backward, the lifeless beast impacted the ground with a notable thud, his superior brain spilling out onto the ground.

            The two surviving hybrids shook from the trauma of the moment.  “What did we do?” Chimp cried.  “What did we do?  What did we do?”

            “We just killed Peter!”

            “What about the others.  Are they all . . .”

            “They’re dead.  Tam Julius, Moo, Silver, William - oh my dear William!”

            “And where’s Malcolm in all of this?”

            “Don’t you understand?  He’s one of them!  He’s the one who infected them.  It was probably his plan all along to pretend to find a cure.  He’s probably the center of Dr. Lincoln’s plan!”

            “No!  It can’t be!  Malcolm ate with us, slept and worked with us!  We would have known!”

            “If he were on our side he would have come with us.  But now he’s in there with the two transforms.”

            “No.  I can’t believe that!  We would have been able to detect it.  Jenny warned us!”

            “Listen, you stupid dog,” Chimp said gruffly.  “Can’t you see?  They all deceived us.  They are all on the same side!  Jenny knew we’d head out for the gate and Peter was waiting for us!”  Chimp used the rifle again, this time to slice Peter’s scull in precise cuts.

            “What are you doing?” Shep asked.

            “His implant!  We need his com!  That’s the only way we can obtain his research!”

            Chimp carefully grabbed a bloody piece of flesh and held it to his own temple.  Download” he commanded.  Within five seconds the information was transferred from the com to Chimp’s com. He held it to Shep.  “Go on!  Download!”  Shep obeyed.  Chimp wasted no time in viewing the files.

            “What are you doing?  You have no time to read!  We’d better get out of here!  The others might be coming for us.”

            “God, what have we here?” Chimp said. “Shep.  This is awful.  Do you know what Peter’s personal files are full of?”

            “Stop it!  We have no time!”

            “The last mail was to Matthew and it happened just moments ago - an auto-message triggered by his death.  Watch out!”

            “Not Matthew too!”

            “We’ve been lied to.  We’ve been lied to big time.  Peter isn’t whom he seems to be.  No, not at all.”

            Even as the hybrids spoke, Malcolm, Jenny and Matthew exited the arsenal, each carrying a rifle.

            “I just got a mail from Peter,” Matthew said.

            “What does it say?” Jenny asked.

            Matthew didn’t open the message for the distraction of the dreadful new odor that permeated the air.  “We must be too late,” Matthew said, for even at night when they could not see into the distance, there was no mistaking the horrid stench of entrails.

            “It took too long to get the arsenal open,” Malcolm replied.  If we had been here five minutes earlier.”

            “That couldn’t happen,” Matthew replied.  “The whole event took less than that.  By the time he transmitted the message to you and the hybrids he was already on his way to meet you at the gate.  He probably knew you’d try to leave as soon as he accused Chimp of spying.”

            “I couldn’t stop him!” Jenny bawled.  “I didn’t know what to do.”

            “We were both scared Jenny,” Matthew said.  “The best thing we could do was to try to arm ourselves and stop him.  But we were too late.  It just happened too fast.”

            “But maybe some of the animals are still alive.”

            “Moo!” Matthew shouted.  “Shep!  Tam Julius!  Are you there?”

            “Matthew,” Jenny said, “I’m trying to send to them.  Only Chimp and Shep’s coms are still on line.”

            “And what about Peter?”  Yet he could tell, himself, that Peter’s com was not active.  Jenny’s expression told him what he needed to know.

            “I’m so sorry, Jenny,” he said tenderly.  “He was such a good man.”

            “Are you sure he’s, he’s dead?” she asked, weeping.  She knew the answer.  “But that good man died a long time ago.  The beast out there wasn’t my Peter.”

            The three transforms got a voice message from Shep.  “Stay where you are.  We have Peter’s particle beam aimed right at you!”                                                                

            Malcolm responded by immediately tossing his weapon down and raising his hands in surrender.  “We aren’t here to fight you, my friends,” he said.

             Jenny and Matthew followed suit, tossing the weapons to emphasize their intent.  “We came to stop Peter.  But we came too late,” Matthew added.

            Uncomfortable seconds passed.  Out of the night a weary chimpanzee and a blood-covered dog limped toward them.  “How can we trust you any more than Peter?” Shep said.  “He killed all the other hybrids!”

            “All the others?  All of them?” Malcolm said in a slow, melancholy voice.  “ We understand, Shep.  You were just betrayed by someone you trusted.  But we are not your enemies.”

            “How can I trust any of you at a time like this?” ” Chimp said.  “You were all in league with Peter.  He was the most evil traitor in history except for Lincoln himself.”

            “We’re not here to hurt you Shep.  We came to stop Peter the only way we thought we could.  But the weapons were locked up and he changed the code.  We had to break them out with our hands.”

            “I think we should trust them Chimp,” Shep said.

            “Shep.  You didn’t see what I saw.  We all were fooled by Peter.  How can I trust any transform now?”

            “Because they weren’t standing by Peter to kill us.  Together, they would have destroyed us in seconds, even as we slept.”

            Jenny, Matthew and Malcolm inched away from their weapons and toward the frightened hybrids.  “We need to comfort each other now,” Matthew said calmly.  “We need to bury our dead.”

            “We know only what we see,” Shep said.  “Do you honestly believe Matthew would hurt you?”

            Slowly Chimp lowered his rifle.  He knew they were sincere.  Emotions were hard if not impossible to fake, and a lie being told while under stress was easily detected.

            “Yes, let’s bury our dead,” Chimp sadly replied.  “And I’m sorry I doubted you.”

            The weary group paced toward the stall that had become their home.  Once inside, Matthew, Malcolm and Jenny sat on the ground with their backs against the wall.  Chimp sat on a conference table, Shep lay on the ground near him. 

            “I’m tired,” Shep said.  “It’s almost morning.  I have to sleep.”

            “I don’t blame you Shep,” Chimp answered.  “Canines must sleep half their lives and you’ve been up all night.  This can wait.”

            Shep put his head down and quickly succumbed to his need for sleep.  Chimp was also weary but couldn’t rest.  “What do we do now?”

            “Not much we can do,” Matthew replied.  “We should try to get some rest."

            “And leave our friends out there unburied?”

            “You rest, Chimp,” he said.  “You too, Jenny.  I’ll do the dirty work.  We’ll hold a service in the morning.”

            “What about me?” Malcolm asked.  “I can help you dig.”

            “Thank you for offering Malcolm,” he replied.  “But this is a task I’d rather do alone.   It will give me a chance to think about what has happened over the last few days.”

            Jenny, Malcolm and Chimp nodded.  Matthew went to the supply shed, retrieving two large shovels.  He went to the gate where the huge bodies lay prone.  Using the animal-strength of his transformed body, Matthew shoveled the ground as though it were dry sand.

            Matthew came to the disfigured ape. “Why did you do it Peter,” he asked his dead mentor.  “You betrayed us all.  You were no better than Dr. Lincoln.  You killed our friends.”  Matthew grieved, began to cry.  “You made fools of us all.  Did you enjoy it?  Fooling a numan into thinking he was free?  You controlled me, treated me like a piece of property.”

            He dug with passion.  Minutes passed, then hours. His mind wondered to better times, the camp picnics, the church choir where Peter sang tenor.  “Why did you betray us?” he asked. “It doesn’t make sense!” His mind searched for a reason.  He could find none.

            Finally the chore was finished.  Before him were three huge pits, each large enough to bury a horse, a cow and a goat, and a small one for Tam Julius.  Matthew, being weary from lack of sleep and much work, gave himself a quick shower with the garden hose then slumped to the ground for a much needed rest.

            A restful night, however, was not his fortune.  Within seconds he was disturbed by a message from Dr. Lincoln, transmitted directly into his com.  A hologram appeared before his eyes, appearing as realistic as real can get.  Matthew tried to block the transmission, but the commands he issued to his com refused to function.  Short of ripping the computer out of his temple, he had no choice but to see and hear.

            The old physician was much thinner than Matthew remembered him.  He wore a skull cap over a balding head.  His skin was pale.  He leaned on a cane.

            “Hello my friend,” the doctor said with a quake in his voice.  “You look tired.  I prescribe bed rest and some chicken soup.”

            “Friend?” he scowled.   “What do you want?” Matthew demanded.  “You have caused the death of one of the greatest men of all time.  Have you no shame?”

            “I?” he said sounding quite sincere.  “Did I wield the particle beam that tore his head apart?”  He waited for a response.  Matthew gave none. 

            “Yes.  I know about that.  I’ve been monitoring everything by satellite.  I saw the battle.   He was a good man.  I didn’t want him to die.  He was to take a very major part in my plan.  He was to be the next ruler of North America.”

            “Is that what you promised him?” Matthew asked.  He stood.  “Rulership?  Over whom?  A new race of transforms?  He wouldn’t have been tempted with that!  He helped us to defeat you!  He couldn’t fake that!”

            “True.  He helped to defeat me, after he saw which way the tide was turning no doubt.  When he saw I wasn’t able to fulfill my promise of rulership he came around.  He was just looking out for himself.”

            “You lie.  I can’t believe a word you say.”

            The doctor could not answer quickly.  He took a few breaths before responding.  “Lie?  No.  I’m not lying.  Peter was a wise man, was he not?  The leader of the Numan Refuge?  My chief tormentor?  So it seemed.  Yet things aren’t always as they seem.  He wasn’t the man you thought he was.  He has been my property since before you were born.”

            “Since before I was born?  I can’t believe your audacity Dr. Lincoln,” he said sternly.  “You do nothing but torture and kill.  Do you expect me to believe your lies?  You’re a murderer!”

            “Some may think so, Matthew,” he said in a voice which, although lacking verve, was still oddly charismatic.  “But every coin has two sides.  Many people think I’m the benefactor of mankind.  Have you seen anyone from the pro-abortion group accusing me like you do?  And they have always been in the majority.  What makes your judgment correct and theirs incorrect?”

            “I was a numan, that’s what.”

            “And a fine one you were,” he said slowly, feigning a smile.  “Your service was always of the highest quality.  You served society well.”

            “In slavery!  Then when I was used up, you had Argyle Jenkins whip me to death.”

            “No, not to death, Matthew!  I didn’t want you dead.  I knew Peter was going to rescue you.  I knew that you would survive.  When I ordered your removal from the household I had my computer signal Peter to begin a rescue.”

            “No!”  Matthew shouted.  “That’s a lie.  How could you have known?”

            “It’s not a lie.  It’s the truth.  Matthew, I knew you had to survive and thrive.  You were too important for me to let you die.  He did come at a very convenient time, didn’t he?  Tell me, how did he know where to go and at what time?”

            “You knew nothing!  You left me to die.”

            “No.  There you are wrong.  Think for a second.  Do you honestly think that I didn’t know how Peter stole you away the night of your release?  I used to take all the other numans to the clinic in my pick up.  Not you, though.  Why do you think that was?  And do you think I didn’t know where your camp was?  Do you honestly think that I, with my billions, couldn’t have found a way to eradicate the lot of you at any time I wanted?  I  knew the end from the beginning.  I knew you would survive because you were slated to survive.  Yes.  It’s true.  Think about it.  Feeder was in much better shape than you were.  What happened to him?  Do you know?  You survived.   Did Peter even tell you what happened to Feeder?”

            Matthew stood and faced the virtual image.  “What are you saying?  Feeder died of his injuries.”

            “I am saying that I knew Peter would take you that night.  I knew because he was following my orders.”

            “No!” Matthew shouted.  “You lie!  You lie!  He never did that!  He would never follow your orders!  He wasn’t your pawn!  He was a good man!”

            “Yes, a good man.  A man who was a numan by birth.  A numan who was a lot like you were, desiring to become human.  A numan who was afraid of the clinic.  Yes.  He would do anything to become human and free - especially when he stood, naked, next to the puller, being next in line, the remains of the last numan still in place and its voiceless screams still ringing in his ears?  He wanted the pain and the suffering to stop.  I gave him a way out and he took it. Who wouldn’t?”

            “But he defied you!  He published articles about you on the Internet!  He stole your numans!”

            “Yes, he did do that,” the doctor said calmly.  “And just like the public, you thought he did it to harm me.  No.  It was good for business to keep my clinics in the news.”

             “You lie!  We blew up your clinics!  You didn’t fund that!”

            “Arranged.  All arranged,” he said.  He sat down in a chair that came into view.  “The damage was always superficial.  I just made it look bad for the news cameras.  It was just a show to gain sympathy from the public.  We played the persecuted underdog.  Every time we were bombed our sales went up and it was a black eye to the anti-abortionists.  I’m surprised that a bright person like you didn’t know that violence only breeds contempt.  It was for the public to see.  It was also to impress you.  All for a purpose.”

            “Lies!” Matthew called out.  “We stole lots of your numans right out of your mansion!”

            Undaunted by the outburst, the doctor continued.  “Who do you think made it easy for Shep to survive the drug tests that killed so many of the other animals? And who do you think allowed Shep to escape from the Kennel so he could help you? And how many of the escaped numans were allowed to escape so they could serve me in the future as free men?  You and Shep were just pawns in my hands unwittingly doing exactly what I wanted you to do.”

            “Lies!  All lies!” Matthew shouted.

            “No, not lies, Matthew.  For now you are hearing the truth for the first time.  It’s only logical, you know.  Have you ever wondered where the Numan refuge got its funds?  You know it couldn’t have been from the pro-lifers.  It took millions of dollars every year.  Your camp had the best of everything, not like the other ones.  Tell me, who did you think came up with that money?”

            “Peter was there at the showdown with the clone army.  He was there on our side, not yours!” Matthew countered.

            “It is true that the clones did disappoint me.  I had great plans for them.  Peter was especially disappointed.  He should have been planning to receive his reward.  He was to rule them once they had taken over North America. But when the clones failed me I promised him more than before.  I  had to promise him immortality and genetic enhancement.  Come on, Matthew.  You’re a bright boy.  Do you think it was by chance that only you, Jenny and Peter became transforms?  Don’t you think Peter was helping me to coordinate it all?”

            “No!  You were bent on killing us all!”

            “Are you sure Matthew?  You know that I asked the clones to spare four people: You, Peter, Gene and Joyce.  Don’t you think I had a reason for doing that before I destroyed the refuge?”

            “You were going to torture us!  And Peter wasn’t in your list.  It was Gene, Joyce and me.”

            “Your memory fails you.  Peter was to be spared.  And I was not going to torture you.  I only made people believe I was going to do that to hide my true intent.  Peter was to be the commander of the clone forces in the United States first, then of all North America.  I couldn’t hurt Gene.  He’s my twin brother whom I love.  Joyce was going to live her life in a house I had