Genesis (9 page)

It was dark in the barn, but Riley
knew
what was about to happen. He was about to get raped. That surfer boy from
school had lured him to the farmhouse on the pretense of finding his parents,
but it was a trap. And now, here he was strung up like a fish before some naked
man and the kid everyone at school suspected was a fag.

Riley began to cry, but stopped himself. It
was going to happen, he was certain of that. But he would not make it easy for
them.

The surfer boy from school was approaching
him slowly, the naked man staying back in the shadows. Probably wanted to
watch.

Something was in the boy’s hand.

What is that? Was it some sort of dildo?

Shit.

Riley pissed himself with fear when he
realized what was actually going on.

This wasn’t going to be a rape; this was going
to be an execution.

The boy was carrying a hammer.

Riley began to scream and plead the best he
could, but the rag stuffed in his mouth prevented him from any real attempt at
communication with his classmate.

Christopher paused when he saw Riley wet
his pants. It had never occurred to him that no matter how just they were in
their actions, that Riley would be scared and confused. But, of course, he
would. This was a preemptive strike. The only crime he had committed was being
born to the wrong parents at the wrong time in history. Oh well, not like this
was the first time in the history of mankind that something like that had ever
happened. But still, he could not help but feel a little sorry for his
classmate now that the actual time had come. It was Che’s voice that brought
him back to the task at hand.

“It is clear that she betrayed him. We
always knew that was a possibility. I’m sorry Topher, but now we know. Now we
know the truth about it. So let’s finish this. Take the direct route back to
the mineshaft. I won’t be far behind you.”

Christopher nodded, then picked up a large
piece of metal rebar off of the floor of the barn. He got in front of Riley and
prepared to drive the large piece of metal into his hands, effectively nailing
him to the post he had been hanging from, but once in place, the height Riley
was hanging at, put him face to face, eye to eye with Christopher.

He hesitated, giving Riley a chance to
struggle, making it impossible for him to accomplish it alone.

In one swift motion, Che came forward and
grabbed Riley’s hair, smashing him against the post, not knocking him
unconscious, but taking most all of the fight out of him.

“Finish him!”

Christopher drove the rebar into the wrists
of Riley, blood splashing into his face. It was warm, salty. It tasted like
iron. It was ironic. Christopher grinned.

Riley let out a scream. Blood was soaking
through the rag in his mouth. He had probably bit his own tongue off. Oh well. Christopher
hoped he would choke on it and stop screaming.

Christopher hit the rebar spike several
more times, driving it deeper into the wooden post until he was satisfied it
was secure. He then turned his attention to his feet. By nailing Riley’s feet
to the post as well, it would reduce the stress on the wrists and prevent them
from breaking out. The rope would be left as a precaution.

With every swing of the hammer and
connection of steel on steel, Riley let out another scream. Christopher found
it more and more satisfying.

Che found a piece of cardboard in the barn,
and used Riley’s blood to write a message on it.

“Hand me the hammer.”

Christopher handed the hammer to Che, who took
his sign and nailed it to the post above Riley’s head.

Here is William, King of the Fools.

Christopher took his knife, and in a swift
motion cut one of Riley’s ears off, then punctured his stomach with the blade. It
was a small wound. It would take some time for the boy to die.

Exactly the way Grandpa would have wanted
it to be.

Christopher discarded the ear on the dirt
floor and turned to Che;

“I’m ready,” he said as he prepared to open
the barn door.

Che took a bow and arrow set down from the
wall of the barn and drew an arrow back, then nodded to Christopher, who opened
the door swiftly, taking protection behind it as Che unleashed arrow after
arrow, one right on target after another, until there were no more of the
things in the immediate vicinity. It would do nothing to stop them, but it
would slow them down long enough for them to make their escape.

The two young men looked at each other, and
gave a slight nod. They both knew there was a chance that they would never see
each other again. But it went unsaid.

They paused briefly to both look back at
the crucified boy they left hanging half-alive in the barn.

Was it worth it?

Was all this really worth that?

They both smile.

Of course it was.

And even if it wasn’t, it sure was a lot of
fun.

Without a goodbye, they ran in opposite directions
in the night. Time was critical, and each had their own mission and agenda to
accomplish.

…

Riley, in pain
and bleeding, could only watch with horror as they ran off into the darkness
leaving the barn door open. With each bolt of lightning, the darkness around
the barn was illuminated for a brief moment.

And all Riley could see in the distance
were those things out there moving…

Moving towards the barn.

And Riley now knew this was it.

He began to pray.

He wasn’t even sure to whom.

“I asked you a question! How the
fuck
do the two of you know each other? Answer me, you son-of-a-bitch!” Ilsa was
almost screaming at William.

“I’m pretty sure she’s talking to you,”
Cooper sarcastically tossed in. And that, not Ilsa’s relentless nagging, was
the final straw for William, but he directed his wrath at Ilsa anyway.

“Enough! I said shut the fuck up. So now,
you can shut your fucking cunt mouth, or I will come over and shut it for you. This
does not involve you.”

Ilsa was momentarily shocked by his
language, but quickly regained her composure and cool.

“Tell me, William, or I am calling my
backup.”

“No, you’re not. The Agency doesn’t even
know you’re here. And you know it.”

“Yes, they do.”

“No, they
don’t.
The Agency has had
me hunting this piece of shit for longer than I care to admit. If they knew he
was here, he’d be dead. The U.S. Marshals are the ones hiding him from the
Agency, you stupid bitch. You’re nothing more than a money-grubbing whore who
is here for his cash. Admit it.”

Ilsa stared at him, so William continued to
rant at her.

“You never ran his name in the Agency
database, or it would have flagged a million times over. I could have fucking
ended this whole thing before it even started. How long have you been fucking
him for cash? How long ago could we have ended this?”

Ilsa said nothing.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought.”
William looked at her with disgust.

“I told you the truth, Billy. Mostly. I was
in this shit-hole strip club where he was, only I was attempting to contact
another target. The rest is true. The Agency didn’t assign him to me; he just
came up to me at the bar and propositioned me. I played along with at first
because I was amused, and bored. But honestly, the money was good. So I figured,
why not? That’s all. I swear, Billy.”

“For seven months?” William asked
incredulously.

“The money was really, really good.”

“He’s a forger. He can overpay you because
he prints the money in his basement.”

Ilsa glared at Cooper.

Cooper sheepishly smiled and shrugged his
shoulders.

“Treasury was going to send a team to pick
him up, but the U.S. Marshals office intercepted the warrant. That’s how the Agency
flagged it. There aren’t too many forgers in Witness Protection. Not ones with
his skill. Once his fake money started circulating, it was only a matter of
time before we found him. So in a way, I suppose I should be thanking you for
being a whore.”

Ilsa ignored William’s last remark and
spoke directly to Cooper.

“So you don’t have a treasure?”

“Not in the sense that you are thinking,
no.” Cooper answered.

“Then in what sense?”

“See for yourself. It’s right upstairs in
the bedroom.”

Ilsa looked at William for permission. He
nodded. Ilsa returned a moment later, a look of confusion mixed with anger on
her face.

“Are you for real? That’s your treasure?”

William stepped in before Cooper could
answer.

“This is so far above your pay grade, you
can’t even begin to comprehend what is going on here. Now get the fuck out of
this house before I kill you.”

Ilsa blinked.

“Billy….”

William drew his pistol from his holster
and pointed it directly at the baby in Ilsa’s stomach.

“I said, don’t call me Billy. Now get the
fuck out of here before I change my mind and kill you just for the fun of it. For
old time’s sake.”

“Dressed like this?” She knew she wouldn’t
last long out there barefoot in an evening gown.

William shifted his aim from her belly to her
face. She got the message.

Ilsa pulled herself together quickly, and
walked as dignified as she could, given the situation, down the stairs, pausing
just briefly at the front door before turning the handle and walking out.

Ilsa turned, looking at William one last
time.

“I’m going to get some smokes. I love you,
Billy.”

William holstered his pistol, took a deep
breath, and turned his attention to Cooper once more.

“So, where is it?”

“It won’t do you any good. Not anymore. You
can’t go back to the future. You don’t exist there. Not now. Not anymore.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I can’t believe I got two of you.”

William slapped Cooper on the side of his
head with the missing ear. “I asked you what you’re talking about! Answer me!”

“I never actually thought you would come
for me in person. You have balls. I have to give you that. Traveling to your
own past. Not smart. You could accidentally change something.”

“It’s not possible to change the past, and
you know that. You can only travel back and observe. Yes, you can interact, but
nothing you do can change anything. I’ve already tried. Numerous times.”

“You’re wrong. Changes can be made. You
just have to know how.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well then, I guess you will just have to
take it on faith.”

“You might find this hard to believe, Dr.
Cooper, but I am a little short on that right now.”

“Well, all it takes is a little chemistry,
biology, physics, toss in a little engineering, well, really it’s all just
basic applied science. “

“Look, Doctor. You may have discovered time
travel, but I understand how it works. And you can’t change the past.”

“Unless you know how.”

“Sure, and I suppose you’re going to try
telling me you know how to change the past so that I won’t kill you. Barter for
your life sort of thing.”

“No, I have no plans of telling you
anything.”

“Well, that’s ok, too,” William smiled. “I’m
looking forward to ending this.”

“Oh wait, there is one thing I should
probably tell you.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

Cooper smiled the biggest smile William had
yet to see all night.

“Surprise. It’s a trap.”

It was the smile more than anything that
irritated William. He knew Cooper was lying. He had tried numerous times to
change the past, and it was fruitless. But he could go back and learn. Observe,
interact, and gain intelligence. And that is exactly what this trip was for. Torturing
Cooper was just a bonus. It wouldn’t change anything. History recorded that Dr.
Cooper had died on this night, but so had many others. It had always been
assumed that one of the undead had gotten him, but maybe it was William’s own
hand that did him in. Either way, he died tonight, torture or not, that much
was factual. Historical.

“Your trap seems to be working nicely. I
can’t change the past, Dr. Cooper, nor can I really have any true effect on the
future, but there is one thing I can do. I can change your
immediate
future.” William took out a rigging knife from his pocket and used the marlinspike
to puncture a hole in Cooper’s chest. He stepped back to admire his handy work,
watching the blood slowly squirt out of Cooper’s chest with each breath.

“I need some fresh air. How about you? Want
to come out on the porch for a bit?”

William opened the front door and steps out
onto the porch, taking in a deep breath of the springtime air.

“Can you smell that, Cooper? That’s the
smell of death in the air. You remember that smell, don’t you?”

William lit a cigarette. The sound of
nighttime insects filled the air. If it were not for the large mass of undead
creatures heading into the barn, it would be like any other spring night. He
would check the barn out when he was finished here…

SLAM!

The front door of the house was now shut,
and William could hear the locking mechanism clicking over. He turned to see
Cooper’s grandson Christopher standing in the front door window, giving him the
finger.

What an idiot.

Must run in the family.

Glass won’t stop a bullet.

William slowly put out his cigarette and
prepared to draw his pistol when he heard a noise behind him. William spun
around, and standing before him was a naked young man, wearing a mask made of
human flesh. William was about to fire when the man spoke.

“Hello, William.”

“Who are you? How do you know my name?”

Che took off his mask and discarded it. William
looked at him with shock, then got closer.

“Not possible. You died in Vietnam.” But in
his gut, he knew it was possible. Dr. Cooper had just told him it was, and he
didn’t believe him. But what point was there for Dr. Cooper to lie to him? And
besides, here was his proof. Che was alive. It was possible to change the past.

It was possible to change the past.

That meant…

“So is what Cooper said true? That this is some
sort of trap?”

“Why don’t you come and take a look in the
barn and see for yourself.”

William was reluctant to follow him, but he
had to know what was going on. The old man was dying, and the kid could wait. Neither
of them were going anywhere.

Come to think of it, he wasn’t going
anywhere either. Not until he had some more answers. And he certainly would not
be going anywhere with Che. Che was dangerous and would be even more so now
that he had the advantage. Best to deal with him on his own terms.

Whatever was in the barn would be there,
Che or not.

William leveled his pistol and fired a
double-tap into the back of Che’s head.

Killing him instantly.

William stood over the body and lit another
cigarette. The second time killing him sure was easier than the first. William
flicked what was left of the cigarette into the weeds and turned to head back
into the house. There was no consensus on how long it took for them to turn
after death, so best to go deal with the grandson inside.

From down the farmhouse driveway,
headlights illuminated the trees and front of the house.

The Cavalry to the rescue.

Only whose backup was arriving first…

The only thing he knew for certain was that
he had no backup of his own, so they weren’t on his team, no matter how things
were about to play out.

William could only stand there. They had
already seen him, and from the size of the transport, he was certainly
outnumbered.

This will be interesting.