Apex 3: Shaylo Attacks Read online

  Then he teleported away.

  Renormalize

  Jack teleported inside his bathroom back home in Ault. He chucked his clothes in the trash and took a long shower. The water ran pink at first but it cleared up after a few minutes. He kept showering just in case. He wrapped a towel around his waist, found some new clothes and dressed.

  He thought about going downstairs to let his mom know he was home; that he’d survived, but he needed a few minutes to get his head right. He’d been through a lot in the last hour.

  Sally had made him angrier than he liked to admit to himself. His overreaction to a few personal insults was ridiculous and he chided himself for being so immature. He should have been able to rise above pettiness like that by now.

  His behavior teetered on the edge of lunacy lately and he knew why. The Greys were out in space somewhere preparing for another attack on the Earth. The first wave would’ve accomplished its task if Jack hadn’t destroyed their mother ship, putting fear into their alien hearts, spurring their surrender.

  It was a stroke of pure luck because the Greys were making quick work of making mankind an extinct species. The second wave would only need to act as a mop-up crew since most of the population had already perished.

  The knowledge that he was on borrowed time and that everyone he loved was going to die soon was making him a nervous wreck.

  What was worse was that many people now believed that the world was safe because it had a protector and his name was Jack Peterson. They couldn’t be more wrong about that. If anything, he knew he couldn’t be trusted. He was too young for so much responsibility and his powers were too out of control to hone properly. Then again, he didn’t remember ever being asked to be the savior of Earth so he guessed that no one cared whether he wanted the role or not. It was just expected of him.

  He took a few deep breaths and then went downstairs to alleviate his mom’s fears.

  Executive Order

  His mom was watching the news the way she always did when he went on a mission. She was awaiting coverage that would show her that he’d succeeded and was alright.

  She leapt from her chair and hugged him. “I guess it went well, huh?”

  “Yeah. They flew off like a bunch of cowards.”

  “I think they’ve learned to fear you.”

  “You might be right.”

  His phone chirped and he was a little perplexed to see his handler’s number show on the screen. He answered quickly, worried what he had to say.

  “Hey, Jack. Good work in San Diego. I heard what you did to that girl, Sally Hopkins. I hope you’re feeling alright.”

  When Jack didn’t answer, Mr. Smith went on, “The President has issued an order and if I tell you the details of it you are sworn to secrecy. Do you want to know? Can I trust you to keep quiet about the details?”

  Jack gulped, unsure what could be so sensitive. “Sure.”

  “She’s initiated a cleanse. Every alien captive is being executed as we speak.”

  Jack blurted out, “What the hell for?”

  “Come on, son. Some people think we should’ve wiped them out last month when they surrendered. But now it’s a tactical move to make sure those rogue Greys aren’t able to swell their ranks.”

  Just because it was a smart move that made a ton of sense didn’t mean the notion sat well with Jack. He sat down heavily on the couch and said, “So I suppose you won’t be needing my services anymore?”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Those escaped Greys are still out there and they’re armed now. The world is still being threatened by a force that only you can stop.”

  Jack had no idea if Smith had been informed of the impending threat of a second invasion but from the urgency in his voice regarding the escaped Greys, he assumed he didn’t or else he wouldn’t be as concerned about a handful of pesky Greys when the real danger was out in space waiting and studying them.

  Smith said, “I expect you’ll keep this conversation to yourself.”

  “Of course, “Jack said as he ended the call and stood up.

  His mom was antsy, waiting to hear what was going on. “What was that all about?”

  “The President issued an order to kill the imprisoned Greys,” Jack explained without a hint of guilt about disobeying Smith’s request for discretion.

  His mom smiled from ear to ear. “That’s awesome news. Let’s hope the rest of the world is smart enough to do the same.”

  Jack nodded absently. He wasn’t sure how to feel about the execution of thousands of aliens, but he took some measure of solace in the realization that there was nothing he could do about it.

  She hugged him again and said, “Now I don’t need to jump out of my skin every time your cell phone rings.”

  “Me either.”

  Orbiting Grey Ship

  General Shaylo gave his new First Mate her orders. “When the men have recovered from stasis, I want them debriefed about the anomalous humans. They’ll need locations on each of them and all the intel we’ve gathered about their unique abilities. They are to take them out first and then clean up the rest of the planet.”

  “Should I send in the mowers?”

  “It would be a waste of resources. There aren’t enough human population centers left for mowers to be very effective.”

  “Yes, sir. The men are itching for a fight.”

  “Good. But I doubt they’ll get one down there.”

  The First Mate knew better than to speak out of turn to Shaylo but she did anyway. “Sir, how do you think that handful of humans acquired their abilities?”

  Shaylo was too preoccupied with the details of the invasion to get upset with her. “Who cares? We have a mission. We know they can be killed, so let’s go and kill them.”

  She didn’t let it go at that. “They’re not advanced enough to alter DNA like that. I doubt we could even do it if we tasked our best scientists with it. Don’t you worry that someone has intervened on mankind’s behalf?”

  “No I don’t. I don’t worry about things that are outside of my control. And we’ve eradicated every apex species that might’ve had such advanced technology in this quadrant.”

  “No we haven’t. The first wave had one last planet to clear after this one. The creatures from that planet might have seen us coming and decided to put roadblocks in place to slow us down or stop us before we got to them.”

  Shaylo turned around in his chair to face her. Anger was evident in his features. “You might be right, but we deal with one thing at a time around here, otherwise we’ll become distracted. Our mission is to take this species down and then report back to High Command. If they then ask us to clear another planet, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Stop wasting my time and do what I told you to do.” He snarled and added with menace in his voice, “While you’re debriefing the men, keep an eye out for a suitable replacement First Mate in case you decide to anger me anymore in the future.”

  “I’m sorry, sir.”

  “I don’t care. Move!”

  The Good Aliens

  Admiral Liktar was becoming restless. Reports confirmed that Shaylo’s ship hadn’t yet attacked Earth. Did that mean that the Greys were nervous? If so, that was an entirely new trait for a Grey. They were smart, industrious, conniving, and bloodthirsty. He knew that much. But to see them so hesitant unnerved him because it wasn’t normal.

  How could they predict what the Greys would do next if the Greys had suddenly become unpredictable?

  Then again, General Shaylo was running the mission so the outcome was easy enough to guess. The earth would submit to him and then wither under his might. Shaylo never lost and his victims never survived long enough to beg for mercy.

  It was only a matter of time now until the Greys moved on to his own world. Once the Earth fell, they were next on the list. He held out hope that the contagion they’d sent to Earth was enough for the handful of affected Earthlings to put up a fight but even that would only delay their inevitabl
e destruction at the hands of Shaylo.

  He mourned them even though they weren’t dead yet because they might as well be. Their fate was sealed.

  Dan and Molly

  Jack turned his cell phone over and over in his hand. He wanted to call Melanie but it wasn’t as easy as it used to be.

  The last time they’d had a real conversation, she’d told him she wanted to just be friends when Jack had naively thought they were more than that. The rejection hurt but not as much as knowing he’d put his friendship at risk.

  And it made calling her awkward nowadays. He shoved his petty insecurities aside if only because they needed each other now more than ever before. They had to test the limits of their powers before the second wave arrived.

  He dialed and waited for her to pick up. He imagined her on the other end, seeing his number flash on her screen, considering whether she should pick up or not.

  She picked up with pep in her voice. “Hey, birthday-boy. I got you something for your eighteenth.”

  She’d clearly found a comfortable home in the friend-zone, being able to so easily shrug off the fact that things had gotten weird between them a few times too many. Jack resented her for it, but he realized that that might be because he resented everything and everyone lately. He’d become morose but at least he was self aware enough to realize the fault was with him and not with the world around him.

  “What did you get me?”

  “I’m not telling. Let’s go to Dan and Molly’s. I’ll give it to you once we get there.”

  He was glad she mentioned Dan and Molly’s. They were a quirky middle aged couple who lived just outside of town and who’d also been infected with the same contagion that had changed him and Melanie into super humans. But they were private people so no one knew what they were capable of.

  Their farmhouse was where Jack went to hone his abilities because it was secluded. Since he desperately needed to practice, it was fortuitous that Melanie suggested they go there. If she hadn’t he would have.

  He said, “I’m pretty tired so I’ll come and fetch you.” She knew that meant they’d be teleporting rather than walking the half hour trek to the farmhouse.

  “Ok. See you soon.”

  He yelled out to his mom that he was going to hang out with Melanie and then he teleported to her front doorstep and rang the doorbell.

  She was still clutching her phone when she answered, with a smile on her face.

  He reached out and grabbed her forearm. She yelled out, “Bye,” to whoever was inside the house and then she closed the door behind her right before they vanished.

  They appeared ten feet in front of the dilapidated front porch of Dan and Molly’s farmhouse.

  Dan was drinking from a dirty cup, reading a magazine on the little rocking chair on the open porch.

  He noticed them after a few seconds. “Hey. I was just thinking about you two. Do you want some coffee?”

  Jack and Melanie joined him on the porch but they declined his coffee. It was too strong, like he made it to intentionally scare off others who might want to make themselves at home.

  Only then did they notice the over/under shotgun draped across his lap. It would’ve looked menacing on anyone else but they both knew that what Dan could do was far more fearsome than anything that could come out of the business end of that shogun. The weapon was more of a security blanket for him than anything else.

  He said, “Molly’s taking a bath but she should be out any minute now. What brings you here?”

  Melanie said, “It’s Jack’s birthday in a couple days. I wanted to take him to his favorite place.”

  Dan laughed. He said to Jack, “This shit-hole’s your favorite place? I don’t believe it.”

  Now that he thought about it, it really was his only real refuge. Dan and Molly were like a second family and out here he could be himself without worrying about what other people thought of him.

  Melanie said, “We need to practice too, if that’s okay. The next attack is coming and none of us are prepared.”

  That sobered the mood. Dan said, “Of course.” Then a wide smile split his face and he added, “I’ve got this static thing under control. Watch this.” He pointed past them, at a pink flamingo lawn ornament twenty feet away. He made a finger gun, pointing his index finger out, and looking down it as if was a real weapon. He squinted in concentration and the end of his finger started to glow. Then, with an almighty thwack, a fat rope of lightning erupted from it, flashing past their heads, causing Melanie’s hair to stand on end.

  They both turned around to witness the resultant destruction but the plastic flamingo was intact as before, staring back at Dan with its plastic defiant eyes. Next to it the grass was brown and smoking. Dan missed.

  He stood up, still holding his finger gun out menacingly. He closed an eye to aim and walked towards the flamingo, brushing past Jack as he went. A crack of lightning burst forth from his finger again but this one missed like the one before it. Dan kept walking, finally stopping when he was looming over the inanimate lawn ornament. He pointed his finger down at it and blasted away twice. Neither strike hit its mark, even from so close.

  Dan yelled, “Dammit!” and kicked the ornament so hard it toppled over.

  His electric charge was a newly manifested power. His original power was a heat blast but he’d grown bored with it in favor of the more spectacular lightning discharge.

  Melanie was chuckling when he ambled past them and retook his seat. She said, “Your aim stinks but it looks like you’ve found a way to harness it.”

  Dan smiled. “Molly’s happy about that. She was getting sick of throwing out all of our appliances after I’d accidentally zap them. I can feel the static building inside me now and I can channel it. I do need to discharge every so often just in case, but at least it’s manageable.”

  Has Molly had any more of her dreams?” Melanie was referring to a new ability that had surfaced within Molly, whereby she had precognizant dreams.”

  Dan grimaced. “Yeah. She keeps going on about a Grey she calls Shaylo. Those dreams scare her half to death so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bring it up around her.”

  “Of course.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Always.”

  Birthday Present

  Molly walked into the kitchen saying, “I thought I heard voices in here. How are you guys doing?”

  Melanie said, “We’re good. It’s Jack’s birthday in a couple days.”

  “No way? I need to bake a cake then. How many candles should I put on it?”

  Jack said, “I’m turning eighteen but I don’t need a cake.”

  Dan clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re officially a man and men deserve cake.”

  Dan placed a cutting board on the table in front of them with sliced cheeses and a variety of crackers splayed across its surface. “Eat up. We’ll be making dinner soon if you want to stay. It’s spaghetti night.”

  “Sure. We should practice first though to work up an appetite.”

  “Destroy anything that you see out back. It’s all junk anyway.”

  Molly said, “There’s about a thousand dollars worth of useless electronics out there that you can blow to smithereens thanks to flashy-hands here.” She smiled at Dan as she said it.

  Jack and Melanie wolfed down more than their share of the crackers and cheese and then went outside to practice.

  The silence was refreshing. Jack had been hounded by reporters for the past few days and the townsfolk treated him like a sideshow attraction so it was nice to finally be alone with people who saw him as a person rather than a freak of nature. It was good to be able to be himself for a change. Melanie had weathered even worse because she had stayed in Ault for the past three days. At least Jack had his missions to escape to.

  Melanie went first, lifting an old tube style TV with a charred screen off of the ground, with nothing but her mind and some willpower. It twisted awkwardly in the air, four feet from the gro
und, and then the screen shattered and the plastic casing crackled as she crushed it.

  By the time she let it fall back to earth, it was no bigger than a toaster oven.

  Jack had been practicing phasing objects multiple times the way he could with his own body. He was able to fly because he phased in and out of place thousands or millions of times a second, making it appear that he was defying gravity when he was really just phasing from place to place, midair. He concentrated on the broken TV and it lifted into the air.

  Melanie clapped. “I didn’t know you could do that too.”

  He said, “It’s different than what you do. I’m not really lifting it. I’m teleporting it in and out of position so quickly that it looks like it’s floating upwards. But if I can get some momentum, I can make it soar on its own.”

  He took a deep breath and teleported it faster, making it accelerate upwards quickly. And then, as he focused all of his energy, it shot into the sky like a rocket.

  “Holy shit!”

  He exhaled and said, “I’ve been blasting stuff out into space for the last two days. I doubt I’ll get lucky enough to hit the Grey ships out there, but it’s worth a shot, right?”

  “Hell yeah!”

  They both stared up at the blue sky, but the TV was long gone.

  Melanie took him by the hand and said, “I’ve got your present back there.” She pointed behind the little shed at the end of Dan and Molly’s property and started leading him there.

  “What the hell is it?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Once they were behind the shed, she put her hands on his hips and moved in closer, kissing him on the lips.

  He was confused. Just a few days ago, she’d made it clear that they were just friends. He’d only recently wrapped his mind around that.

  Something had changed within her and he wanted to know what it was.

  He delved deep within himself, to try and dredge up his new empathic ability. He had to know what she was thinking and why she’d had a change of heart. He kissed her back while also focusing on his feelings.