Stone Soldiers 5: Black Knight Down (8 page)

BOOK: Stone Soldiers 5: Black Knight Down
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"Dr. Kristina Parker," Dr. King read from a clipboard. "She was part of the Medusa project in Miami..."

"The shapeshifter killed her in the assault on the Tower," Kenslir said, watching.

The last of the petrification faded from Dr. Parker, revealing her to be a blonde with long, shoulder length hair. Beside her, Jason pulled his hands away, opening and closing them as his arms began to swell. As though he was being inflated, his body seemed to grow- huge muscles expanding under the loose surgical scrubs he wore.

Dr. Olson checked Dr. Parker's body, feeling for a pulse. She administered a shot into the woman's arm, then stepped around by Jason.

"No ill effects?" Kenslir asked.

"None," Dr. King said. "Oh, this is my favorite part!"

Dr. Olson suddenly grabbed Jason and swept him off his feet, dipping him and moving in as though to kiss him. She stopped at the last minute and looked up at Kenslir watching through the observation window.

"Just kidding," She smiled. She stood Jason up and held both his hands instead. Bright blue energy crackled between their palms.

"Well, she doesn't normally do that," Dr. King said embarrassed.

Laura broke free from Jason as he reverted back to his normal self. "And another fine meal," she said, patting the teen on the head.

"W-where am I?" Dr. Parker asked, eyes fluttering open.

"You're all right dear," Dr. Olson said
, suddenly back beside the bed, holding Parker's hand.

"A blanket, Jason," she said, pointing toward a cabinet.

The teen obeyed, pulling out a wool blanket and covering Dr. Parker. Dr. Olson took over, shooing Jason back. "Her eyes are up here, young man."

Dr. Parker lay back on the surgical table and closed her eyes. Dr. Olson checked her pulse then vanished. The door to the observation room opened again and before it could close, she was back at Kenslir's side.

"So, where are you sleeping tonight, Mark? I've got lots of energy to burn off now."

CHAPTER TEN

 

 

 

Dr. King was now wearing a pair of tactical targeting goggles in his lab. "Fascinating," he said, watching the series of images displayed in the goggles. They were images of the Black Knight, recorded on Colonel Kenslir and Josie's visit to the site.

"Do you recognize any of the symbols? Colonel Kenslir asked. He was standing to one side, wearing all black- combat fatigue pants and long sleeve t-shirt.

The Colonel and Dr. King were the only ones in the lab now. After a nice dinner, the group had broken up for the night, everyone going to their respective quarters.

"Several do appear to be the same as those from the Arizona site," Dr. King said. "But not all. In fact, I would wager that there are multiple languages here."

"How do we decode them?"

"Max was unable too?" King asked, surprised.

"He had insufficient information to draw any conclusions."

"Very disappointing... cryptography is not my specialty though, Colonel. Why bring this to me?"

"Prehistoric artifacts bother me," the Colonel said. "But it bothers me more that Washington ordered my withdrawal after I confirmed it was a Dark object."

"The ways of the politicians are never clear," King said. He was working a small control box that was connected by a thin wire to a rifle magazine-sized black box on the table. That was in turn connected by a thin wire to the tactical visor.

“So what do you think it is, Doc?”

“Hard to say… but it may have the ability to absorb different forms of energy- to power itself. You said it has been known to change its orbit over time.”

“What kinds of energy?”

King thought about it. “Possibly all kinds. Solar, thermal- even etheric.”

"Any thoughts on the priest I encountered?"

King frowned and turned off the tactical visor, pulling it off his head. "That is something new- we've never heard of the Church doing anything more than exorcisms before."

“I did some checking on the flight back- on what he was talking about,” Kenslir said. “There is something suspicious going on. The satellite crashed down on a farm that was purchased a year ago- one of five actually. Five adjoining farms all purchased at the same time.”

“By the same people?”

“Five different women,” Kenslir said. “When I ran them, they were all investors of a sort- they own multiple properties, businesses and so forth around the country.”

“That’s very interesting. You think they knew the Anomaly was coming down?”

“That’s too much of a coincidence for me.”

“What kind of businesses do they own?”

“A wide variety- why?”

“Any common businesses?”

Kenslir considered for a moment. “Well, they do each appear to own or be a partnered in livestock farms, some smaller shipping companies… and even some abortion clinics spread out around the country. Aside from that, just typical restaurants, start ups and of course, the strawberry farms they purchased."

“Strawberries!” King exclaimed. “That’s very interesting…”

“How so?”

Dr. King crossed his lab, opening a cabinet full of books. He pulled one down and flipped through the pages. He stopped on a photograph of a woman on a surgical table, taken in the 1950s.

“In the middle ages, it was believed that witches would manifest a strawberry-shaped birthmark-type marking on their bodies.”

Kenslir looked closely at the picture. The woman in it did have a strange birthmark on her thigh.

Dr. King took down another book, a much older looking one and thumbed through the pages, stopping on a wood carving of a witch sacrificing a child under the full moon. “And there is a historical connection between child sacrifice and witches.”

Kenslir narrowed his eyes. “Abortion clinics are run by witches to sacrifice children? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. We’d have figured that out by now, don’t you think?”

Dr. King shook his head and took the books back. “I’m not saying all the clinics are part of some witch plot- but it seems very coincidental that these five women all own clinics, and all purchased strawberry farms that the Black Knight happened to crash down onto.”

“Except all the covens we’ve tracked have six members,” Kenslir countered. “Or more.”

“Yes, Yes, I know,” Dr. King said, tucking the books away. “They need at least six to harness the points of the pentagram- one on each point and one outside the circle… ”

King suddenly crossed to another cabinet and rummaged around in it, finally pulling out a rolled up map that he spread out on a table. "Where were the targets for this year's Jawbreaker?"

Kenslir frowned. "Carbon Hill, Crossville, Freetown, Bingham, and Bexar. Five points, not six."

Dr. King marked the five towns on the map with Xs. They did not reveal a perfect circle, but all were east of Oklahoma. "Salem is the sixth point."

Kenslir studied the map for a moment. "They sacrificed other witches to bring the satellite down?"

"It would appear so."

"Would that give them enough energy?" Kenslir was frowning even more profoundly now.

"It's hard to say, but yes, it could."

The two men stood silently for a few moments, considering.

“Don’t you think this merits further investigation?” Dr. King asked.

“I’ve been ordered to stay away from the site,” Kenslir said.

Dr. King smiled. “That’s a shame- if anyone could poke around undetected- it’d be you.”

***

 

"C'mon, don't be a wimp," Steve Leonard taunted his girlfriend.

Kathy Miller hesitated, balanced on the wire fence she was straddling. "I dunno, Steve..."

Kathy, now almost twenty, should have been in college, but staying home in Oklahoma and partying every night with Steve and her friends had seemed so much more attractive. So for the second year in a row, she had skipped entering college- much to her parent's consternation. It bothered her parents almost as much as the blue highlights in her short black hair.

"The military is long gone, Kat," Steve said. He was a typical twenty-something burnout- scrawny and malnourished from a diet of power drinks and energy bars and too much time in front of the TV playing video games. Despite growing up on a farm, he had almost nothing of farm boy about him.

"Okay," Kat said, and climbed over. She felt nervous about trespassing on the old Steadman farm. The family had sold out like so many others in the area more than a year ago, packing up and suddenly moving away. Kat wondered what they would think if they still owned the old strawberry farm- about a satellite crashing down on their family property.

Steve climbed over the fence, careful not to snag his baggy, knee length shorts on the wire fence surrounding the farm.

"C'mon!" Steve said, hunkering down low and running. It was night time, with a nearly full moon up. Kat hoped they wouldn't be caught before they could get closer and see what exactly was under the big tent on the Steadman farm.

They crept along, stooped over, going as fast as they dared move, over the fields, toward the circle of lights in the distance. Kat wished she'd worn a jacket, as the night air was starting to get cold and her baggy t-shirt wasn't providing much protection.

Steve suddenly held up a hand "Shh!" He dropped to his knees, almost disappearing in the tall grass.

Kat knelt beside him, and looked around. She was about to ask what was wrong when she saw it. A Jeep- headed right for them, the lights out.

Kat thought about running, but Steve pulled her sleeve and lay down in the grass.

"Just be quiet and don't move," Steve whispered. He lay on his side, facing Kat.

The Jeep came closer and closer, the motor increasing in volume. Then it passed them.

Kat breathed a sigh of relief.

The Jeep suddenly stopped. Kat could hear people moving- the creak of the Jeep's suspension as they climbed out of it. Steve held a finger to his lips, motioning for her to be quiet. She hoped the nearly-waist high grass would conceal them.

"Get up," A voice boomed. It was authoritative.

Kat started to rise, but Steve pulled on her arm, to keep her still. He shook his head from side to side.

"I said get up!" the voice repeated. It sounded closer.

Kat wanted to get up and run- as fast as she could. Back the way they had come, over the fence and all the way home.

A hand grabbed her sleeve and pulled. But it wasn't Steve's hand. Kat felt herself lifted off the ground and spun around- staring into the emotionless face of a man in a tan and black uniform.

"Let me go!" Kat screamed, trying to break free of the security guard's grip. No matter how she twisted, she could not break free- her shirt stretched and pulled, but remained in the guard's hand. She might have even heard a few stitches pop.

Kat heard the sound of flesh on flesh- of someone being hit. She turned and saw Steve wrestling with his own captor. Like Kat, Steve was being held by his shirt- which was held by the hand of another guard. A guard who stood motionless, like a statue.

Steve's shirt tore and he managed to slip out of it.

"C'mon, Kat!" he yelled and started to run.

The guard that had been holding Steve reached down and pulled a yellow and black plastic pistol from his belt. He extended his arm and fired it.

Steve jumped and writhed, falling to the ground, jerking uncontrollably as he was shocked by the tiny darts fired by the taser pistol. When he stopped moving, the guard robotically detached the cartridge from the taser, holstered the weapon then walked over to Steve. He knelt and handcuffed Steve.

Kat felt her arms jerked behind her and handcuffs wrapped around her wrists.

Kat was led to the jeep and pushed into the rear seat. Steve was dragged by one foot, like an animal that had been put down. He moaned in pain as he was pulled along the ground, still dazed by the taser. The guards lifted him up and shoved him in beside Kat.

The guards drove them away- toward the huge tent.

If she wasn’t before, Kat was more worried now. Something was off about these guards. They didn't speak, they barely even looked at her and Steve. Their movements were beyond robotic.

The Jeep finally pulled up to the large tent, surrounded by smaller tents, vehicles, lights on towers and guards. Lots of guards- all walking two by two, or standing still, watching over the area. All looked straight ahead, not flinching or even casting a sideways glance at Kat and Steve as they were drug from the jeep.

"Let go of me!" Steve snapped, trying to get free again. The same guard calmly took his taser out again and pressed it to Steve's stomach.

Steve screamed and dropped to his knees- once more stunned with electricity.

A third guard walked over and helped carry Steve- one holding him under each arm, while Kat's guard pushed her toward an entrance in the circus-sized tent.

Inside the tent, a massive depression in the ground had been dug out. The sides angled slowly down to an area almost fifty feet across- and in which sat the strangest thing Kat had ever seen.

The large tube- at least as large as a school bus- glistened like black glass under the flood lights in the tent. Kat could see that its sides were not smooth, but riddled with small etchings.

Kat and Steve were pushed down the gently sloping ground, toward the black object.

"What have we here?" a woman asked. Kat turned her head and gasped as a blonde-haired woman seemed to step from shadows Kat would have sworn were not there a second ago.

The woman was of average height, with long blonde hair held in a braid that almost reached her bare buttocks. Her skin was faintly tanned- and covered with red paint applied in swirls and circles all over her naked body. She wore nothing- save a rope around her waist, from which hung long strands of what looked like hair
that reached down to her knees and arranged so as to just conceal her groin. Around the woman's neck a silver pendant dangled from a chain- purple crystals on the pendant twinkling in the light.

The naked woman approached Kat and Steve just as Steve was coming back to his senses.

Whoa!" Steve blurted out, locking his eyes on the woman's clearly artificial breasts.

The woman reached out to Steve, gently touching his cheek with long nails painted black like the strange thing nearby. Kat noticed the woman's finger and toenails were also painted black, as well as her lips.

"Have you come to see what we are doing?" the woman asked. She ran her nails gently down Steve's face and neck, then down his bare chest and stomach. She hesitated at Steve's belt- her eyes still watching Steve's- which were of course locked on the woman's large breasts.

"Uh...." Steve said, almost hypnotized.

"Steve!" Kat said, partly scared and partly angry that her boyfriend was so intently staring at the other woman.

The blonde moved away from Steve, walking up to Kat, and gently reaching for her chin. Kat jerked her head away. "What do you want?"

BOOK: Stone Soldiers 5: Black Knight Down
4.64Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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