Elena wet her lips. Her throat seemed dry as dust for some reason. What Nathan related so casually seemed impossible. She glanced at the others. Most of the soldiers had dubious expressions, others appeared outright disbelieving. One of them stood. It was Hayes, which meant something stupid was about to come out of his mouth.
“Hold up, bro. We being punked or something? Where’s the camera?” He followed his delivery with a braying guffaw.
Nathan raised an impatient eyebrow. “No, you’re not being ‘punked’. You’re being educated.”
Elena couldn’t help but smile as Hayes’ face reddened. After taking a look at Damon, he slowly took his seat with a confused expression.
Nathan continued. “Unknown to most of us, a war has been waged with who or whatever is on the other side of those thresholds. A war that has spanned centuries, and impacted us on historical levels. I’ve unearthed proof of Aberration infiltrations as far back as the Black Plague. Skip to WWII, where Hitler designated a special group of his top minds to explore and try to tap into the energy emanating from Aberrations. The aforementioned Trinity Site tests were a response to Hitler’s experiments. The bombing of Nagasaki was not only a military excursion, it was to eliminate a joint project between Japan and Germany to open a threshold and physically explore the Other side.”
He clicked to another image. “Virginia, 1966. The town of Point Pleasant was terrorized by a seven-foot moth creature, believed to be a remnant from an Aberration that was destroyed nearby. It was killed in a battle that took out the Silver Bridge in ‘67. In the seventies, an Aberration opened in Turkmenistan. When the threshold was destroyed, it left a crater emitting methane gas that’s been burning ever since. They call it the Door to Hell. I could go on, but the point is that Aberration attacks have occurred on a regular basis, all over the world. Many terrifying events in our history have in fact been responses to Aberrations. Thresholds open, expel nightmarish phenomena, and grow more severe the longer they are unchecked.
“From what we know of Aberrations — and that info is very limited — whatever emerges is capable of being killed by common weaponry. That doesn’t mean it will be easy.” He pointed to an image of a ruined milling facility. “This was what was left behind from the last known Aberration. Some of you may have seen it when it made national headlines a year ago. It was a twelve-story flour mill accompanied by a dozen silos, reduced to rubble by a bomb detonated to destroy an Aberration threshold. Nearly every employee died. Not from the explosion. From what came out of the Aberration.”
Sergeant Chen raised a hand. “And what exactly is it that comes out of these… Aberrations?”
“Creatures. Monstrous creatures capable of altering their shape and taking on different forms, including humanoid.”
There was a stunned silence. “Damn,” someone whispered.
Chen just nodded. “And who is responsible for these attacks?”
“We don’t know. The facility in the Triangle was supposed to collect data that may answer our questions, which is why it’s imperative that we get out there, rescue the survivors, and recover that data.”
A tall, powerfully built soldier with Maori tattoos on his face raised a hand.
“Go ahead, Ariki.”
“You say this war has been fought all this time. Well, I sure as hell have never heard about any of this. None of us have, and we’ve been stationed all over the world. So who’s doing the fighting?”
“Special agents called Wardsmen, according to the survivor of the most recent attack. Michael McDaniel is the first on record to have actually been in the direct company of one. He claims they normally work in pairs, and have been tasked by unknown superiors with stopping Aberrations as they occur. According to Michael, this particular Wardsman may have been the last of their kind. He supposedly died in the explosion, but we can’t be sure because the body vanished.”
“So it’s up to us, huh?” Charlie Foxtrot folded her muscular arms. “Bottom line is the freaks can’t stand up to gunfire, right?”
“They’re definitely vulnerable. The crew at the mill had limited weapons, but still managed to take the Aberration out despite major casualties. I’m sure what you’ll be hauling will be a lot more powerful and efficient. So you’re better armed, but won’t have the benefit of someone with experience in this new type of warfare.”
“Don’t matter,” Chen said. “We got Steele on our side.”
The soldiers broke into a chorus of ‘oorahs’ as they looked to their commander, who nodded in response. His eyes were locked on Nathan. Weighing. Judging.
Damon stepped back up to the fore. “Now you know what you’re up against. This is not going to be a cakewalk, people. This expedition will push you beyond the limits of any training you’ve had, and every confrontation you’ve experienced. We simply don’t know what we’ll encounter when we arrive, but we do know there will be nothing that can’t be stopped by explosives backed up by good ol’ fashioned gunfire. So take whatever wetware you can physically carry. No restrictions.”
Several of the soldiers laughed and bumped fists.
Damon slapped his hands together. “Ok, I gave you the bare bones. Your squad leaders will fill in the details. Once you’re briefed, you get a zoo trip to South Beach.” He waved down the cheers. “With your captains, and limited to pre-selected locales.” He grinned at the chorus of boos. “I don’t want to have to bail any of you meatheads out for getting disorderly with the locals. Get that monkey off your collective backs and then back here to rack out. We board the Halifax at zero six hundred, don’t be late.”
Elena nodded, slapped backs, and bumped fists as the briefing adjourned. Her eyes were fixed on Nathan. He spoke a few quiet words with Damon and Commander Steele before turning her direction. Their gazes locked.
“Mr. Ryder?”
He smiled. It was strange to see him so disarmed. He shocked her further by pulling her in for a very awkward hug. She froze, unsure of what to do.
“Just call me Nathan, Elena.” He released her and cleared his throat as if aware of her discomfort. “Or Nate, whatever you want.”
“Oh, being informal now?” She gave him a coy look from under her eyelashes. “You’re talking like a changed man, Nate.”
“Never too late, I guess.”
Hayes sauntered over and made the universal spanking gesture. “You getting some of that fobbit action, bro? Might as well, we share everything around here.” He and Charlie Foxtrot burst out laughing.
“In your dreams, Hayes.” She glanced at Nathan and rolled her eyes. “You have to excuse them. They’re not used to being around civilized people.”
He shrugged. “Hey, you headed out?”
“I’ve been cooped up with these wackos for the last month and a half. I’m dying to catch some ocean breeze and a mojito, even if it’s under the watchful eye of Sergeant Chen.”
“Mind company?”
Her eyebrows rose. “What, you actually hanging out with other homo sapiens on purpose? The world must be coming to an end.”
He surveyed the departing soldiers with a glum expression. “You never know.”
Chapter 8: Tempestuous Egression