The Glooming (Wrath of the Old Gods Book 1) (41 page)

He had been awake for several hours now, and was busy counting the tiny holes in the ceiling panels when the door opened and an old, portly man wearing a yarmulke and hobbling along on a cane walked inside and closed it behind him.

Boland looked at the older man. “What the hell took you so long, Ariel? And why am I handcuffed to this goddamned bed?”

Ariel Weizman found a metal stool and dragged it over near the bed before sitting down on it. “Shalom. The team was just taking precautions, Ron. In your line of work, I’m sure you understand these kinds of operating procedures.”

“Fine,” Boland said. “So now explain the restraints on me.”

Ariel shrugged. “Again, we have precautions. In this day and age, we cannot afford to make a single mistake.”

Boland kept his composure even though his anger was rising. “So is this how you treat your allies, Ariel? If I was to report this to my government, it would create a diplomatic incident, you know that.”

Ariel threw his hands up. “I know this looks bad and I’m sorry. But I’m only following orders. The word on up is that anyone that we take in that has anything to do with Subject Noah is to be treated as a potential threat.”

“My leg is in a cast because it was busted up,” Boland growled. “Do I look like a threat to you?”

“Normally, we wouldn’t have put you in restraints and instead would have allowed you to stay in a secure room with proper supervision, but right now we are short-staffed and we’ve got no one to spare,” Ariel said. “We’re at a critical stage right now because the dust storm has reached the Jordanian border.”

“Ariel, I cooperated with your side fully. I gave my area coordinates in the desert to your people. And yet they hit me with a stun gun and sedated me,” Boland said. “We had an agreement that if I allowed your men to interview this Subject Noah, you would then find me and my operative a way back to the United States. Am I missing something here?”

Ariel looked away. “A new situation has arisen. This Subject Noah has more intelligence value than we previously surmised and something happened to your operative that compels us to keep him here for the time being. So long as you do not make any trouble for us, I can arrange for a way to get you back to America.”

Boland’s eyes narrowed. “What happened to Patrick?”

“We’re not sure. He was in the cave along with Subject Noah and they were talking—apparently the target was somehow able to … transform him into something else.”

“What? What do you mean transform him? Is Patrick still alive?”

“Your operative is undoubtedly alive. In fact, he survived several gunshot wounds to his torso and apparently has made a full recovery. He is currently in another part of this installation and we are doing some tests on him.”

“You’re full of it.”

Ariel sighed at the American’s lack of tact. “No, Ron, I am not. His skin has apparently molted and the new skin he has is almost bulletproof. He has also gained tremendous strength and speed. It was a miracle that our people were able to neutralize him, but then again, I think it was because he was still undergoing the process of transformation. Reading the reports, it was like him turning from a tadpole and into a frog.”

Boland shook his head. Everything that had happened in the past few days was simply unbelievable, but in the end it was true. He felt that nothing could surprise him anymore. “Why did your men try to disable him? Was he hostile or something?”

“Let’s just say that he was uncooperative when we tried to apprehend Subject Noah,” Ariel said. “He tried to interfere, so we used force to take him down. We sedated him and he’s still unconscious as of now.”

“Whatever happened to him is irrelevant. He’s still an American citizen and you have no right to keep him here.”

“Once we run the tests on him and analyze what happened as to how he became like he is now, then he will be free to go,” Ariel said. “Provided that he refrains from any future hostility, of course.”

“What about Noah? Where is he?”

“Subject Noah is uncooperative as to how he was able to somehow transform your operative,” Ariel said. “But we have found other uses for him so we’re keeping him here in Israel for the time being.”

Boland scoffed. “This wasn’t the deal I made with you people.”

“Would you have preferred to walk out of that desert on your own, with those demons right behind you? Be thankful that we saved your life, Ron.”

Boland grimaced. He could hardly maintain his composure. “Whatever. Now get me out of these handcuffs.”

Ariel leaned on his cane. “Do I have your word that you won’t try anything stupid?”

Boland looked him in the eye. “Yes.”

Ariel got up slowly from the stool. “Very well, I shall call for an escort and then they will take off those handcuffs. You will then be placed on a private jet and flown back to the United States. If you keep quiet about this incident, then your man will be returned to you in a few days once our tests are done. Even if you do make a stink about this, it won’t harm the special relationship we have with your country, you know that. We’ve been doing everything we’ve ever wanted to anyway and your own government has never threatened to cut off our aid or sever our ties so your complaint will be useless, but I think you already know that.”

Boland said nothing.

Ariel turned around and headed for the door. Boland slipped out of the handcuffs since he had already unlocked them even before Ariel had come in. His captors did not remove his wristwatch, nor did they notice a handcuff key that was taped to the bottom of it so Boland was just biding his time until he heard the full story. Boland leapt forward and tackled Ariel from behind. The old man grunted as he fell face forward. Boland got his arm around the old man’s neck as the CIA administrator began to search him with his other hand.

As Boland forced him up, Ariel shrieked in pain. Boland found a keycard in the old man’s pocket, along with his wallet and car keys, but nothing else.
Pity he didn’t carry a weapon with him,
Boland thought.

“Please … my neck, I-I can’t breathe,” Ariel said hoarsely as he struggled against the taller man’s arm around his neck.

“You goddamned bastards,” Boland said as he held the keycard up in front of him with his other hand. “Always in it for yourselves again, eh? Now tell me, does this keycard give you access to the entire facility?”

“Y-yes!”

“Okay,” Boland said, “Now where are you holding my operative?”

“One l-level below us, please, it hurts!”

“How many guards in this level?”

Ariel was gasping. “Argh.”

Boland partially relaxed his grip. “How many guards?”

“O-only four on duty in the security room in the level below us. M-most of the guards are located at the upper floor where they’re making the go-golems….”

Boland’s eyes widened. “Golems?”

“Y-yes, they are our country’s secret weapon against those Babylonian devils.”

“You delusional idiots. Okay, how many guards up in the ground level before I can get to the transportation area?”

“A reinforced platoon of fully-armed IDF soldiers,” Ariel said, breathing heavily. “You’re never going to make it out of here alive, Ron. You have to surrender now.”

“We’ll see about that. Come on.”

As Patrick Gyle regained consciousness, he was instantly aware that he couldn’t move his arms or legs. When he tilted his head, he soon noticed that his four limbs were bolted down with two-inch industrial steel clamps, as he laid spread eagle on a metal slab that served as an examining table. Across the room, he noticed glass partitions that divided it into sections as people wearing white lab smocks and surgical masks were apparently observing him while staring at their computer consoles. As Gyle looked down at his own body, it was clear they had stripped him of his clothing as if he was a corpse lying in a morgue. But what really surprised him was looking at his skin, for it seemed like he was in a brand new body. It felt like he was wearing some sort of pale, leathery armor with strange bumps and ridges and it had grown to at least an inch in thickness. He tried to lift his arms, but the clamps held him tight no matter how hard he tried.

The Israeli doctors and scientists who were studying him expressed both shock and awe at his condition. When they tried to draw blood for a sample, all of their syringe needles had failed to penetrate Gyle’s thick outer skin, in fact every single needle had broken upon impact. Thicker, industrial syringes were quickly ordered, but they were still awaiting delivery due to the crunch in the country’s supply chain because of the complete call up of all military reserves. When the subject’s original skin had fully sloughed off, they kept the remains in an autopsy lab for examination, but it had rapidly decomposed, and within minutes had turned to fine ash. One of the scientists remarked that the subject was now a eunuch since his genitals had molted away and there were no visible reproductive organs apparent when they made a second examination of him. When they attempted to check for injuries after the extraction team had reported that the subject had taken several rounds to his body, they could no longer find any entry wounds, as the thickening new skin had apparently closed over them. When the subject briefly opened his eyes while they were examining him for injuries, they were shocked to notice his new eyes were crimson in color and had no pupils. Since they needed to wait for more specialized test instruments, all they could do now was to just observe the subject as he fought against his restraints.

There were about six of them, half were medical doctors and the rest were veterinarians. As they kept talking about how incredible the subject was, the fire alarm had sounded and they just stood around in confusion. They had never been trained in an event of a fire in the facility and therefore didn’t know what to do. A few minutes passed, and the outer door leading to the corridor opened and in came Ariel while Boland was limping right behind him. The CIA administrator held one of the old man’s arms behind Ariel’s back in a painful grip. Just minutes before, the two men found a supply room and Boland put on a lab smock so he could disguise himself as they both limped past the unmanned security corridor, then into the lower level just as he tripped the fire alarm so as to distract the guards.

“Sir, what’s going on?” one of the doctors said as she held a coffee cup in her hand.

“Shut up. All of you stand over there!” Boland shouted as he had produced a scalpel and placed it at Ariel’s throat with his other hand.

“Boland, what are you doing?” Ariel gasped as the other man pushed him forward towards the consoles. “You can’t free that man, he’s dangerous!”

“He’s my operative and he’s an American,” Boland shouted as he made his way to the consoles while keeping Ariel in front of him. “You can’t keep him prisoner like this.”

Some of the scientists began to overcome their initial surprise. Two of them held their hands forward in a gesture of peace while another man, who had a silvery beard and wore thick glasses, reached for a landline phone.

“None of you move!” Boland said as he pressed the scalpel against Ariel’s jugular. A single drop of blood was visible on the old man’s throat. “If you reach for that phone, I’ll kill him!”

The others stopped moving and stood still as Ariel shrieked from the pain on his arm and at the scratch on his neck. Boland glanced over at Gyle past the glass partitions. He just couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His operative looked like an unholy offspring of a crocodile and a human being. He could see the hairless, pale armored skin, and the unearthly face that made eye contact with him and stared back with blood red eyes. Quickly overcoming his initial shock, Boland glanced back at the lab scientists before he began scanning the consoles to see if there were any controls that he could use to loosen the restraints.

As he noticed Boland was now too distracted, the man with the beard moved quickly and closed the distance to the two men as he made a grab for the scalpel that was on Ariel’s throat. Boland sensed it, but he was too late as the doctor used both hands to pull his wrist back and away from the old man’s throat. Realizing he only had a few seconds before the others gathered up their courage and overwhelmed him, Boland used his other arm to push Ariel forward and into the doctor as he pulled back his other arm and let go of the scalpel. Both Ariel and the doctor fell forward as Boland turned around and started to push every single key on the consoles, hoping one of them would free Gyle. The others quickly ran over to him and started grabbing his arms.

Gyle had noticed the commotion as the group had swarmed on top of Boland and began to wrestle him to the ground. Another door across the other side had opened, and four armed security guards had burst in with pistols drawn. That was when he realized that one of the restraining bolts in the clamp on his right arm had loosened somehow. Whether it was because of Boland’s frantic and random button pushing on the controls, or it was because of his constant resistance against the restraints he just wasn’t sure, but now there was a chance to be free as he pulled at the now loosened clamp with all his strength. A few seconds later, he heard the sound of grinding metal as the restraint finally gave way and he was able to slip it off his right arm. Gyle could now hear panicked shouts across the room as someone realized he was partially free. He quickly grabbed onto the other arm restraint and he pulled at it with both arms until it too gave way. That was when he saw three of the guards had ran out from the partitioned area and stood right next to him as they aimed their Jericho 941 pistols at his body.

“Stop what you are doing!” one of the guards shouted in heavily-accented English. “If you do not stop, we will shoot!”

Gyle ignored the warning as he used both hands to free his left leg by ripping out the steel clamp that held it. Just as he got the first leg free, one of the guards started to fire at him, a split second later all three guards had opened fire. But all Gyle could feel was some slight pressure on his skin as the 9mm rounds seemed to bounce harmlessly off of him.

One of the guards had emptied his magazine and was frantically reloading as Gyle finally got all of the restraints off of him, then he leapt up into the ceiling. The three guards stopped shooting and just looked up in astonishment. They saw Gyle had dug his claws into the ceiling panels and was just hanging on right above them like some giant, pale lizard. Gyle had been amazed at his newfound strength and lightning fast speed, but his mind was clouded with rage at what they had done to him as he leapt down and smashed on top of one of the guards. The impact had crushed the poor man’s skull and ribcage and he lay in a convulsing bloody heap. Gyle grabbed a second guard who just stood there screaming in terror and threw him at the glass partition with just one arm. The hapless guard went through the glass walls like a brick made of flesh and bone as a few of the lab testers screamed and made a run for the exits.