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Dark Iteration (chapter 6 COMPLETE)
By solidshoe
Dark Iteration
6: Cleaning Up
The church door was thrust open. Three men rushed inside, anxious to escape the surreal
environment of Del Vista Pocoa. The wind had picked up, signaling rain. None of the men cared about
that. It only mattered that they were on the chopper when the resort went up. They were all late, and they
were a man short. It could mean disaster. If the chopper pilot decided not to risk the pick-up, he would be
able to nuke the site from his comfortable seat high the sky. They were all expendable; the place would go
up with or without them. Now they were late for the pick-up. To make matters worse, Bravo team was
no-where in site.
Two members of Tango team, and the remaining member of Echo Team; three men who’d seen
more than they had each anticipated when accepting the missions. They’d witnessed death, and though it
wasn’t the first time each had seen a man die, the manners in which the events had happened, scared the life
out them. Pocoa was dark and ominous; full of deadly things that could remain hidden until they were ready
to take your life. Worse, there were human killers as well. Survivors; men and women who had somehow
managed to stay hidden during the reptile attacks. These people hadn’t made the mission any easier.
“What the hell took you guys so long? Chopper’s been circling for ten minutes.”
Bravo team emerged from behind a church pew that had been bathed in darkness. Both members
were still intact. They scanned the three individuals that had rushed into the church. Shit, even with riot
gear on, they looked shaken up. The way they hunched over instead of standing erect; the way they had
busted into the church, instead of entering quietly and watching for followers. The men must have gone
through some rough shit in the past half-hour. Well, it was time to pull out.
“Echo team, you’re missing a man. Thunder?” Bravo leader asked.
The surviving Echo team member just looked at him. He wanted to go, not to stay and chat. Time
was running out, and he needed to get the hell out of there. Accepting the mission had been a terrible
mistake. He needed to get back to civilization; needed to wake up from this nightmare.
“Echo private, respond. What happened to your team leader?”
“Civvies. We were ambushed by some people in the tennis area. Two of them. They got Echo
leader before I could take them out. After that, Thunder stole the bodies. “
“The packages, they’re all delivered?” Bravo second asked.
“Tango team reporting. Spa is hot. We’re ready to blow this place.”
“Guest registration room is....hot. Call the fucking chopper.”
“The church is set to go. We need to get up to the roof now. I can’t believe they waited THIS
long. We’re in for a hell of a ragging when get back.” Bravo leader said, pushing past the remaining men.
“They can rag me for fuck’s sake. They can bust my ass down to kitchen duty. Just so long as
they pull me out of this fucking circus.” Echo private said. One of the men from Tango team patted him on
the back. The touch signified the ordeal that they had lived through. Thirty minutes of pure hell, and they’d
survived. If it was possible, they might have even hugged each other.
“Well, something tells me they aren’t gonna forget about us. I mean, they waited this long right?”
Tango leader said.
“Well, lets not give em a reason to second guess. Move your asses. We’re still on borrowed time.”
How good it felt to be leaving. How good it felt to be free of the red waves; of the creatures
beneath the depths. Jesus, there are still people here. Tango leader shivered at the thought. Survivors
deserved pity, not death. Any man or woman skilled enough to have survived the attacks, deserved to come
along. The old man from the pool room; he hadn’t deserved to go out like he had. He should be able to
sing the praises, to climb the rope ladder to freedom, as the soldiers were to do shortly. Life certainly
wasn’t fair. It wasn’t exactly life that had created the Thunder species, but life could be as big a pain as any
predatorily reptile. What happened to him....after it took him under? Tango leader couldn’t get the thought
out of his head. it was morbid, he knew, to keep replaying the death of the old man in his mind.
In the back of his mind, he wanted to know. It tugged at him, pulling his heartstrings and tearing at
his soul. He felt like a pure and innocent child discovering his first porno, or reading forbidden fetish
material on the Internet. He knew he shouldn’t do such things, but at the same time, something deep drew
him. How had the old man died? God, what he would have given to have seen it. His mind would never be
at ease; his imagination would never be able to satisfy his curiosity. Oh well, he was going home. Perhaps
on the way there, he would entrain such wicked thoughts. Now was not the time.
They climbed the stairs in single-file. Once in the balcony, they sat in the pews, sighing contentedly
when the pressure taken off of their feet. The church was still dark and alluring, but compared to the
outdoor environment of Del Vista Pocoa, it was sanctuary. The soldiers understood why church had
become an institute associated with safety. The men felt invincible. Perhaps it was god, or even luck.
Whatever it was, it was working out just fine. There in the Balcony, they could stretch. Relaxation was an
option. On the helicopter, it would be more of the same. Hell, they might even fall asleep. The Del Vista
Pocoa mission had taken a lot out of them, at least mentally. None of them felt sharp.
“This is Bravo Tango Echo, seeking pick-up. Over” Bravo leader said into his transceiver. The
words came out tight and fast.
“I repeat, this is Bravo Tango Echo, requesting extraction unit. Comply, over.”
“This is Jester, Bravo Tango Echo, reading you loud and clear. What is your status, over.” A voice
replied.
“We are......five, one man short, Echo variety. Package has been delivered. Drop-point is clear.
Awaiting extraction. Over.” Bravo leader said.
“This is Jester. Awaiting visual conformation of drop-point.....................” Moments passed before
the voice spoke again. “Drop-point is in site, prepare for extraction. Be advised to stand clear. Ladder will
be deployed. Over.
“Understood. Over and out.”
The black AT chopper moved in stealth. Slowly, it descended toward the roof of the old church.
The black bird danced in the sky, making little to no noise, and creating a vacuum of air that was strong
enough to make the Cocoa trees dance for a second time. The chopper settled into a steady hover, floating
several feet above tiled roof.
The cargo doors opened. The soft whine of the helicopter mechanism became filtered with the
wind. The door opened fully, and only darkness seemed to fill the interior of the helicopter. The hanging
step- ladder was never deployed. Instead, a pair of feet emerged from the darkness. Slowly, they made
their way to the edge of the cargo hold. Finally, the feet were half emerged into the open night. Two small
feet, hidden by soft, thin, black foot-wear. The material ruffled in the wind; it looked like a silk flag shaking
chaotically in a wind tunnel. The tips of the feet began to curl, and the toes gripped the thin shell of the
cargo floor.
Then they jumped..
The sound was like an explosion. The five soldiers looked up, instantly panicked by the grandiose
sound. Something big had hit the roof of the church, and it was no step-ladder. It sounded like the
helicopter itself had come crashing down. The entire roof of the church seemed to shake. Dust and wood
chips came fluttering down. The strong bass crash still echoed though the church. What the hell had that
been?
“Take cover. Something’s wrong...” Bravo leader said while backing away. As he said it, he
looked up, searching for an answer. His eyes scanned the dark recesses of the underside of the roof, where
wooden beams crisscrossed, their end sections leading into extreme darkness. Bravo leader stretched his
eyes behind the goggles. Nightvision! His fingers went to change the vision pattern of the goggles, but
before they reached their destination, he saw them.
A pair of shadowed red eyes. They moved, leaving red trails which were much like those the field
goggles left behind. Bravo leader watched the thin, worm-like trails move from side to side. Then they
stopped. The trails faded away, leaving only two small red dots, dots that watched them from the darkness.
“Up there! Something’s up there!” Bravo leader aimed at the darkness.
“What? Where?” Tango private asked, turning his head to follow the path of the M4.
They all turned. They all looked up. And they all saw the red eyes. The beady red dots that
observed them from the darkness. For a moment, they all froze. What the hell was that up there? Had a
Thunder lizard been able to somehow get that high? Had it caused the crashing sound, whatever it was?
Too many questions. So little time.
Bravo leader pulled the trigger to his M4. The bullets exploded from the weapon, showering the
wooden planks with destruction. Wood chunks flew in every direction. Bullet holes appeared in the roof,
letting in the moon light. Suddenly, the entire church was lit with blue light, and it seemed alive. More
bullets flew. Bravo leader never missed a beat.
The red eyes sped along the planks, and behind them, the bullets the roof apart. Then there was a
sudden flash of movement. The eyes went flying through the air. The men watched as the red trails snaked
their way into the blue moonlight. They saw the eyes, and when the figure came into the blue, they saw IT
too.
A large, black figure. They couldn’t make out what it was, but they saw enough to know that it
had two legs, and was wearing small eyescope infer-red goggles. The material it donned seemed to flutter
with the air like silk. The soldiers watched in stunned silence as the figure flew through the air in what
appeared to be a perfect cannon-ball. Its knees were tucked into its chest, and silk laden arms pulled the
figure into a perfect ball. This black ball seemed to float through the air.
The figure, whatever it was, was moving much too fast through the air. The velocity at which it
was floating would take it way out past the balcony edge. The men watched as the figure cleared the
balcony, flying into the center of the church. Whatever it was, it was about to fall a hundred feet to the first
floor of the church. Bravo leader was frozen by the spectacle. The flipping figure was casting spiraling
trails of red as it descended rapidly.
Then the figure changed. It seemed to stretch out, becoming erect in mid-air. They saw it as it fell;
two arms, a torso, two legs. It was shaped like a man. They watched as the man-like figure fell, feet first,
lower and lower. God, he was going to break every bone in his body! The men just watched. Lower and
lower the figure fell. Lower, until it seemed miles away, almost.
Then it hit the ground. Only, it didn’t quite hit the ground in the normal sense.
As soon as the legs touched the ground, they should have broken. They should have become
busted and dislodged, along with the rest of the figure. Only, when those black legs touched the ground,
they SLID BACKWARD! The black cloaked figured had gone flying backward the instant his feet had
touched down. As he slid down the center isle, the red trials from his goggles followed. Then suddenly, the
figure stopped.
The men ran to the edge of the balcony. They watched in horror as the figure came to a complete
stop. It was crouched, with one knee to the ground and one bent up into its chest. Slowly, the figure stood
up. It didn’t stand like a man; it wasn’t fully erect. Instead, it’s shoulders hunched broadly. The arms were
much longer than any man’s. Yet, whatever it was, it was dressed in stealth gear, only it was a type they’d
never seen before. It appeared to be made of silk; they guess it was some sort of new polymer. The suit
looked as light as a silk robe, and in the darkness, it was invisible. In fact, they wouldn’t have seen the
figure at all if it hadn’t been for the infer-red goggles. Again, the googols looked like new technology.
They’d never seen a pair so small. They were almost like reading glasses.
The man-figure stared up at them. Then one of it’s long arms came up. The men noticed that both
hands held daggers. They weren’t normal field blades, but more like exotic Japanese swords, only smaller.
Strapped to the inside of the figures legs were twin silenced pistols. Two guns.....two swords....stealth gear.
“Shit, they sent in a cleaner.” Bravo leader said. He sounded like he knew a lot.
“What the fuck! How could he do that?” Echo private asked, his finger antsy on the trigger finger
of his M4.
The other three men just watched. They all watched as the man-figure turned. With amazing
speed, it opened the door to the church, then a millisecond later, it was gone. Then, only the church door
flapped in the wind. It slammed back and fourth, creating terrible noise. Still, none of the men moved. It
seemed that hours had passed before someone dared to speak again.
“What the hell was that? Bravo leader, what was that...thing?” Tango leader asked.
“Did you say ‘cleaner’? That thing was a cleaner?” Echo private asked.
“Bullshit! Nothing moves like that!” Tango private screamed.
“Nothing human, true. But you saw those arms. That figure, it’s not a man, at least not in the
normal sense.” Bravo team leader announced.
“What?” Bravo private said to his partner.
“How----how could he move through the air like that? That’s a hundred feet!”
The church door slammed again. The men jumped.
“Look, we need to secure this church. I won’t lie to you.....we’re in trouble...a shitload of trouble.
If that thing is a cleaner, and I think it is, it won’t be long before it comes for us.” Bravo leader said.
“That thing....it’s an assassin?” Tango team asked in unison. They stared at each other, both a little
jumpy.
“Yes. We’re probably at the top of it’s list.” Bravo leader said.
“This......it’s not making sense! What the hell happened to the chopper?” Echo private asked.
“That thing CAME from the helicopter! Don’t you get it? It’s a cleaner...it’s here to clean up the
mess...us. Look, we need to get this church secured. After that, I’ll tell you what I know. You won’t like it,
but I guess all the cards are on the table now. It won’t matter what I tell you, from this point on.”
“Because nobody expects us to walk out of here. Jesus.....we’re marked for death..” Echo private
said.
Bravo leader nodded.
They looked at each other. The church door slammed home again. The church needed to be
secure. After that, it would be story time. Perhaps it would come back for them, perhaps it would make
them wait. Until then, there was work to be done. The men moved to secure the church.
Outside, the terrible winds picked up. Then the rains came. The cocoa trees had once dance, but
now they were soaked in terrible downpour. Del Vista Pocoa welcomed the rain. It welcomed the rain as it
had welcomed the soldiers, and before them, the terrible lizards and old folks. Now there was a new
addition, and the resort welcomed IT too.
As the rains fell, the moon shone bright, and the people worked. Deep underground, the lizards
planned. Above ground, some people hid.
And even still, a new set of red eyes scanned the resort; red eyes that left translucent trails. The
cleaner would watch.
And later, he would strike.
The water cascaded down in thin streams, and plump droplets exploded after hitting the church
floor. Each bullet hole in the roof now flowed over with the water from the torrential downpour. At least
thirty leaks, and each one sounded like a horse taking a piss on the boardwalk. A draft entered the church,
sending wet hymns flying through the air. The pews were soaked, and soon, the wood would be rotted
through. Under the intense barrage, the church would never last.
Five soldiers sat in the semi-darkness, huddled into a group near the balcony stairway, where it was
still dry. A pack of cigarettes was being passed around, and lit butts hung from three of the men’s mouths.
The M4 rifles were slung over the backs of the men, and the Semtex triggers had been piled up on an empty
stair. The night amplification goggles and gas masks finally came off. They bared their faces, pulling the
stale church air into their lungs. The smell was terrible, like moth-infested basement boxes; a pinch of death
was added to the mix. In short, the church smelled like an old, dug up casket. The wetness and moisture in
the air only made the air smell that much worse.
The cigarette package was finally placed down. Each man smoked a long square, pulling in the
cool mist of the smoke, and at the same time, adding yet another smell to the kettle. Now, all they needed
was a bottle of scotch; then they would totally be at ease. At least for the time being.
Omar Dillinger, Bravo team leader, took one long swig on his smoke. Then he lowered the cig
while exhaling the smoke through his nose. His eyes were fluttering; he was very exhausted. Still, he had
something important to tell them, as well as a few theories to discuss. He dragged on his cig again, taking it
all the way down, and loving the cool minty breeze that overwhelmed his senses. He dared to close his eyes.
Taking even more liberties, Dillinger rolled his head back and fourth. To the other men, he looked high as a
kite. Dillinger looked like he might go to sleep any second. The other men didn’t know what to make of
the situation. Hell, they would just go along.
“Any of you guys ever heard of the ‘Twin Nomad 21 Trials? “ Dillinger asked, now very alert and
watching the other men. When the men shook their heads, Dillinger continued.
“Well, in the late fifties, early sixties, NASA implemented a program called ‘Nomad Moon’. That
was the classified moniker, anyway. Everybody knows about it. Remember when NASA was sending all
those chimps into outer space? That’s it. That’s Nomad Moon. The idea that animals might be able to
take the place of men in certain situation was being entertained back in those days. The difference between
the genetic make-up of the chimp and of man is very, very small. One or two different genes here and there,
and we’re all on the same level. So NASA figures, why not use this secondary source of intelligence as a
prospect for the riskier missions?”
“Turns out that Chimps are highly unstable. You can train them to do some of everything, but put
them in the wrong environment, and they snap, and when they fall, they fall much harder than any man
would. In the end, Nomad Moon was a failure. Sure, some of those apes got to circle earth, and I’m sure
one or two even made to the moon. Still, it wasn’t close to being a success. And since then, we’ve been
using chimps and other apes for chemical testing, disease treatment, you name, it’s been done. “
“Still, the Nomad project wasn’t a complete failure in everybody’s eyes. Turns out that someone
actually found a use for emotional downspiriling apes. That someone, is the United States Military.
Sometime in the 90’s, Project Twin Nomad 21 was formed. The idea was right out of a grade B movie.
Since Chimps, along with many other apes, are as close to the intelligence level of man, it was thought that
they could be trained to, once again, aid or even replace existing soldiers in the field. Given the general
emotional instability present in many of apes, it was thought that Chimps would actually fair quite well on
the battlefield. The idea was to evoke the rage of the animal, but at the same time, it must use it’s
intelligence to make proper assumptions. Of course, the project was a monumental failure. The
unstableness of the chimps was too high on the factors list. Most times, the chimps would turn on each
other, or worse, other soldiers. Drugs were used to ‘balance’ out the animals, but instead, they become
more agitated. The ‘Monkey Patrol’, as we used to call it, was even used during the Gulf War, albeit to no
success. Chimps just didn’t make good soldiers.”
“What was needed, was the raw power of the chimp’s anger, but the intelligence enough to know
when and where to use that power. Gorilla’s were ruled out, because by nature, Gorilla’s were docile
animals. Dolphins, while being smart, had fins, and were unable to wield weapons. It seemed that the
Nomad project was going to fail again.”
“Then a large Bio-Genetic company called “Ingen” managed to perfect the art of cloning animals
from simple DNA strands. I’m sure you all remember what Ingen was responsible for back in the states, not
to mention that Costa Rican Island where the dinosaurs were left to roam free....Sorna, I think. Well,
around the time the process was being perfected, the United States Military caught wind of the program. If
dinosaurs could be re-created from the mere DNA strands found in obscure fossils, why not something that
would work wonders for the Nomad trials? “
“Ingen was forced to license out the technology, and from that technology, Nomad 21 went back
into the works. They.......they brought something back from the past. Something smarter than any chimp,
more fierce than any man, and easily influenced; it was very easy to train. Not to mention, it was faster,
more agile, and almost twice as strong. It could be taught to speak, it could learn techniques. Most
importantly, it would never question the orders of the creator. Our government had quite a weapon on its
hands. And that was back in the early 90’s. More than ten years have passed since the Nomad project was
reborn for the 2nd time. Ten years, likely used to perfect techniques, to gain test data, to ensure success. I
don’t doubt that this is the first time its been deployed, and it won’t be that last.”
Stunned silence. Were they actually hearing this? Did Dillinger expect them to believe such
nonsense?
“Wait....so what I guess you’re saying is........you’re saying that the thing...that thing that busted in
here.....it’s like some prehistoric monkey? A super gorilla? “ Echo team private asked, amazed.
“No. What he’s saying is that that thing.....it’s us, more or less, just a more primal version.....like a
caveman. That ninja thing was a caveman.... ” Tango leader said.
“Not quite. I think the precise term is ‘Neanderthal’. They brought it back, trained it, and now its
here, and we’re the targets.” Dillinger said.
“A fucking caveman with swords, and that can flip through the air and land perfectly after falling
100 feet...” Echo private said, letting it all sink in.
“You saw the arms. Too long to be a man’s. The stature, not like ours, but ALMOST the same.
They’ve trained well. We can’t think of it an animal, or even inferior to us. It probably speaks perfect
English, and I’m sure it could whoop any of us in a game of chess. It’s the power, the primal instinct that’ll
be the end of us. When that thing decides to come for us, it’ll do so without giving a second thought.”
“I’m guess this Ingen technology is also responsible for these fucking dragons too, right? Was that
also part of the Nomad trials? What, they weren’t satisfied with just having Fred Flintstone, they had to
bring Dino as well?” Tango private asked.
“Something like that, yeah. I don’t have all any details on Thunder, except that I know it’s another
military creation. And yeah, probably it is part of the Nomad trials. How it fits in, I wouldn’t know. What I
do know, is that we were never meant to leave here alive. I’m starting to think that maybe this was just
some sort of test, a test to see how soldiers react to Thunder, and maybe even Nomad, in actual combat.”
Dillinger said.
“You’re thinking that they let Thunder go on purpose. The military used Del Vista Pocoa as a
testing zone for their lizard soldiers, right? That would explain how they learned of the incident so fast. The
Costa Rican government doesn’t even seem to be involved, which might actually suggest that this is a
private op.” Tango leader said.
“Jesus, this is a VR testing zone? A simulation?” Echo private asked.
“No, this goes beyond simulation. Simulation takes place in VR testing labs, on supercomputers.
No, this is real world data. They drop the Thunder Lizards in, and first phase is to see how efficiently they
can take out the old people. Judging from the mayhem outside, that didn’t go over as smoothly as they
thought it would. We know that there are still people out there. I’d say Thunder failed the first test. So
they send us in for test two: to see how Thunder reacts to armed soldiers. They lie to us, give us this bogus
story about escaped animals taking over the resort, and they tell us we have to nuke the place to save the
day. But I noticed right around the time the chopper came back, that the Semtex has gone off-line. The
green tell-tell lights are black. We could probably set off the triggers now, and the only thing we’d hear
would be a mouses fart. This entire mission is bogus. And if we, the ‘weak’ link in the united states Military
should happen to actually succeed in completing our bogus objective...” Dillinger said.
“Then they just use that failure on Thunder’s part as an excuse to drop Dino-Steave in here. His
orders are to clean up the mess, namely us, and when he’s through, he’ll probably put the Semtex back
online and blow this place sky-high. He probably even knows where the Thunder Nest is. So this thing
jumped from lizard training to monkeyman training at the drop of a pin, all because United States marines
happen to know how to do their jobs.....that’s fucked up man.” Tango leader finished.
“In a nutshell, yes. And I’m sure Mr. Caveman has a time limit as well. There are probably more
like him, so he’s definitely expendable. Which means, even if we somehow manage to avoid him and the
Lizards, it doesn’t stop this place from being decimated at the end of the exercise. There is no way they can
leave this place standing. We need a way out of here, and fast.” Dillinger said.
“Without a vehicle, we’d never get far enough. And that’s assuming they only plan on using
Semtex. They may just decide to bomb the damn place.” Echo private said. “Jesus, the parking lot.....oh
fuck, I get it now!”
“What?”
“When my partner and I were back at the Guest registration office, the Thunder Lizards were
destroying the vehicles. It didn’t make sense at the time, but I guess they were doing because they knew
that eventually, we’d need a ride out of here.” Echo private said.
“But that would mean they trained the damned dinosaurs to.....Jesus, this is getting better all the
time!”
“Were all the vehicles totaled, or just damaged? Maybe the dino’s didn’t do their job so well?”
Tango private said.
“Well, it’s worth a shot. That was almost an hour ago. Who knows what monkey man has been
doing since then.” Echo leader said.
“There has to be a way. There’s gotta be some sort of transport around here. And finding it means
going out there, in the dark, and in the rain. We only have so much ammo, and with those Lizards and that
caveman out there, it’s going to be tough. There’s a good chance....that none of us will leave this place
alive. I say, if we’re gonna go out, we go out on our terms. We stand on our own two feet and show the
animal kingdom from hell that we’re nothing to laugh at.” Dillinger said.
“What’s the plan?”
They all looked at Dillinger. Their tired eyes settled on him. Yet some sparkle remained. They
would do what it took. Perhaps Del Vista Pocoa would claim the lives of five more soldiers. Perhaps. But
it wouldn’t take them without a fight. If they went out, they would do so on their own terms.
“I say we go out there and catch ourselves a monkey-man.”
They all agreed.
to be continued.....
1/3/02 11:34:36 PM
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