Chapter 15:

Chapter 15

FORCES


Clive tweaked, and twitched as he struggled on the ground. He felt his bone marrow breaking as it was slowly replaced by the genetic code within the serum. His teeth were spreading further from each other as new sharper ones were pushing their way out of his gums, and his vampire teeth started to crack as they were shattered, and were replaced by gargantuan teeth that his mouth could barely hide. His painful screams could be heard all the way through the building, and made Wayne, Dexter, and July wonder just what the hell was going on in the first place. The screams even forced Mason to look back.

Clive’s spine, and shoulder blades were starting to surface as his skin started to have a tint of gray, and his eyes turned beat red bloodshot, and gold glowing orange like the fluorescently glowing eyes of irons at night, Clive’s eyes were like that permanently except there only contrast was the neon orange rather than neon green. Clive started to scream in pain as Miles refigured the security. He even had auto turrets outside locked on to Clive’s new DNA structure specifically. And Mason was constantly being guided out by the opening, and closing halls throughout the building as Miles was leading him to the rest of his team.

Clive was now standing, and was now a one-hundred percent metamorphosed being. His own physical strength, and speed were far past that of an irons. Clive looked over at Miles looking into the monitor guiding Mason as best, and as fast as he could. Miles could see Clive walking up behind him. “Son?” Miles then said almost as if he were questioning it but in reality, he knew. “Son.” Miles ushered calmly. Clive lifted his hand toward his father. “Dad.” Clive said calmly with a much deeper voice than he had previously, yet with a gentler feeling. Clive’s hand began to shake. Clive soon grew angry. Clive grabbed the back of his dad’s head, and lifted him from the ground. Clive gently squeezed as his father’s head blew apart all over the monitor, floor, and in Clive’s face due to it squeezing through the cracks of Clive’s fingers. “Dad tastes dead.”

Clive then found himself breaking each automated door down as he ran through the halls. Mason too was running desperately through the halls, and he finally happened upon Wayne, and the others as he told them not to think but to just run. Naturally that wasn’t going to fly with them. Wayne grabbed him by the shoulder, and naturally like anyone, he would be asking a lot of questions.

“Where’s Clive? What of the mission, and why are we even here?” Wayne asks almost all at once.

“We have to leave right now!” Mason demanded pulling himself away.

“We can’t leave Clive behind Mason!” Wayne yelled at him as July agreed.

“Clive left us behind, so we are leaving, uh!” after Mason finished his sentence the group could feel the stomping throughout the building and without questioning further they followed Mason out.

They were running but the steps behind them were getting louder. Clive knew where they were because he could hear them, and that distance Mason traveled in many minutes had already been thwarted by a couple of seconds on Clive’s part. The team could feel vibrations of his movement as he got closer. Dexter stopped right there sliding across the squeaky floor, and turning to face the opposite direction with his big, light machinegun in hand. Wayne turned to see what he was doing as he then called for Dexter to come on as Dexter refused.

“I would prefer not to see you guys inevitably die. Instead I will leave it up to the imagination. Besides! I’m sure I can take this bastard! He dragged me out here into this mess so he’s going to pay!” Dexter said to his team as they began to run. All but Wayne who just stared at him.

“Go!”

Wayne waved goodbye as Dexter then flipped him off. Clive made himself to Dexter then stopped all the way down the hallway. Dexter stared at Clive, and had begun to shake at the sight of Clive’s newfound power. It was still too dark but those glowing orange eyes of Clive’s really shone through as the glow resonated, and gave small light revealing the wall around him. Dexter then steadied himself, and his aim.

“Oh hell! Ha ha ha ha aha!” Clive said, and laughed as he dropped to his knees laughing harder as he smacked the ground, and destroyed the pavement.

“I never saw the “class ass” to being the noble sacrifice. I almost want to puke.” Clive said smiling as his smile, and new voice scared Dexter.

“I never saw you as a power hungry madman, or did I? I can’t remember. Guess you weren’t worth the brainpower!” Dexter told him.

Dexter then started shooting as dozens of rounds pumped out, and shells hit the floor. All this happening as Clive stood there laughing. Taking every bullet. The bullets still stung slightly but Clive didn’t mind. Because to Clive it was hilarious. The fact that he could just stand there and take that abuse amused him.

“What?! You just jolly and laughing all the time now?” Dexter said as Clive then stopped laughing as each bullet from that distance merely bounced off or didn’t penetrate Clive’s skin.

Clive then ran, and in a few seconds was all the way down the hall, and behind Dexter. Before Dexter could turn around, Clive simply clapped his hands with Dexter’s head in between each hand, and his head splattered apart. The blood went everywhere at great speed as anyone with ears half as good as Clive’s right now could have heard it soar through the air. The group kept running till they got to the lobby. Wayne stopped, and turned to face Clive.

“Listen carefully you two. No arguing with me, I am staying behind. It is what I get for leaving Dexter behind! And my brother as well! I can’t forgive myself for letting Dexter do that, and not me! You guys go, and farewell.” July threw up a peace sign then put her hand over her heart.

“By.” July said with Mason shaking his head as Wayne shook back. As Mason tucked her shirt. July then turned as Mason and she slowly ran out of the door. Wayne pulled out his lighter, and lit up the cigar.

“All right Clive. If that is you. I never did ask Mason what he meant when he said you abandoned us but I knew you didn’t die. Show yourself.” Wayne then said aiming the Arkada forward without knowing what to expect next. He could feel the stomps getting closer again. Then there was silence.

“Well if it isn’t my rival.” Clive said as he slowly walked out from behind the corner.

“Don’t start joking after all this time. You never considered me your rival.” Wayne told him as Clive then chuckled.

“What happened to your clothes? Better yet what happened to your junk?” Wayne asked.

“Well it is a small price to pay for godhood. And as for my clothes, well the same thing that will happen to yours I guess. They were shredded!” Clive said as he rushed Wayne.

Wayne as fast as he could flew the shotgun into the air as fast as he could while Clive was already at him. The gun was now pushed into Clive’s chest as Wayne squeezed the trigger screaming as the full automatic shotgun unleashed every round into his chest, bloodying Clive’s chest, and even forcing him in his new state a few steps back from the power.

“Ouch.” Clive said as he stared at the sweating Wayne. Wayne then unloaded the clip to his shotgun but was then stabbed threw his torso by Clive’s entire right arm. Wayne stood spitting blood trying to speak but couldn’t.

“There there, you don’t have to say anything.” Clive whispered to him as he then snapped Wayne’s neck after saying that.

The blood was now dripping down Clive’s arm before he slowly pulled his arm out of Wayne’s chest. Clive looked at Wayne with a small hint of pity upon looking at his dead body. But what really sold the pity to Clive was this huge man’s wide, lifeless dead eyes. He lifted Wayne up, and straightened him out before then laying him straight out across the floor. Wayne’s corpse would forever rot here.

Clive then looked about the room around Wayne’s dead body. The room upon arrival was as white as a ghost, and absent of color. Now a little on the wall, and puddled in the middle of the floor was a solid puddle of red that scarily went well with the rest of the white. The same scene was present at the site of Dexter’s dead body. It was almost as if Clive had become his dad’s interior decorator/god of a son.

“I never thought that I would actually be standing in these halls.” Clive said as he walked out the door. “Good riddance.”

Mason, and July had made their way to the DB, and went for the one with Sylvia, and Sam in it. Sylvia walked out of it, and pointed the weapon till she realized that it was Mason, and July. Mason and July ran up to her, gasping from the run.

“There was a pentagon of people earlier, and now it is just a line with two points. Where are the others?” Sylvia asked.

“Dead.” Mason said abruptly.

“Dead? That can’t be… how?” Sylvia asked now frightened, and confused.

“No time, just watch out for monsters!” Mason ordered as he jumped up front to start up the Armored DB as Sam still lay unconscious in the back.

July sat at the opening to the back with her weapon aimed for the direction that Clive would come from. She was nervous, and scared. But most of all she was slightly sad. She was now being hunted by her commander. Sylvia walked up to her but couldn’t think of anything to say at present.

“One thing I understand is that I don’t understand what’s going on here.” Sylvia says to July as July replies in a way of fear, and eagerness.

“You don’t have to understand, and neither do I. just aim because all I know at the moment is whatever is coming is dangerous. I think it’s the commander!?” July said as she stares forward without ever blinking.

Sylvia feels a bout of shock. Which commander she wondere? But she decided it didn’t matter. Sylvia then summons her focus. She relaxes her muscles, and aims her M16A1 rifle forward, and makes sure the launcher is loaded. Mason then starts the vehicle up as Clive walks into view.

“Jesus Christ!” Mason saw him in the rear camera, and stomped on the pedal as July, and Sylvia started shooting.

Though it would seem fate is not on Mason’s side as July falls out of the back from the sudden startup of the DB. She hit the dusty ground as Sylvia looks at her then at Clive with shock. Sylvia didn’t understand what was going on, and was what she was seeing Clive she thought?

“July!” Sylvia yells as Mason slams on the breaks abruptly sliding Sam’s body across the floor of the DB as he stays unconscious.

July scurries across the ground in tears to crawl her way back to the DB as dust flies up at each quick outstretch of her arm. She tries to keep pulling herself forward as Clive grabs her leg, and Sylvia goes to help but gets stopped from the shock. July looks up, and also can’t believe what he was seeing. They were both at a loss for words at the sight of their dear commanding officer who was, an atrociously evil looking creature as he stared at them with the sick, and sadistic smile of an imp from Satan’s army. He squeezed, and immediately broke July’s leg as Mason un-holstered his magnum, and got out of the DB.

“Don’t!” July squealed as Clive put his foot atop her skull, and held her by her leg.

Sylvia freaked out, and got in close range as she aimed the M16 at Clive up close which resulted in Clive destroying the gun with the flick of a wrist as the pieces flew through the air, and Sylvia looked at them in shock.

“Commander!?” Sylvia then said nervously.

“What is it Rust?” Clive asked as he licked his lips, and appeared himself to be a true deviant. Sylvia’s nervousness then switched to a furious anger of warriors.

“I can’t let you do this she said as she pulled out a sidearm with her right hand. She aimed it right at him as the wind then whistled from Clive’s speed. Sylvia’s right hand had been sliced clean off from the rest of her body. The shock forced Sylvia to the floor from her losing her arm. “Sylvia!” Mason screamed as he unloaded an entire clip toward Clive’s direction as last second so fast before there was time to think Clive pulled July’s body up to take the frontal damage of every single bullet.

July had been shot to death by Mason’s gun, Romeo’s former “LADY KILLER”, and ironically like the name implies the gun truly is a lady killer now.

“NOOOOOO!!!!!” Mason screamed to the top of his lungs in guilt as he dropped to his knees.

“Ha, ha. You damned idiot. You should have already known those bullets would not have even affected me!” Clive said laughing as he dropped July’s body to the ground, and began slushing it around in the dirt, as the body went back, and forth it left imprints in the dirt around her body as a reminder that she had been kicked around.

Sylvia partially recovering from shock then leans her left hand down to grab the knife attached to her left knee as Clive leans in, and swipes his hand ferociously fast. Her left knee along with her foot had be sliced off like a warm butter-like human limb as blood was leaking out too fast, and she falls to the ground with her face in the dirt. The puddle of her own blood forming starts soaking into her dark hair as it is barely visibly stained.

Mason who was reloading his pistol runs in on Clive. Clive smiles as he gets ready to subdue Mason, and gets in stance till he feels a sudden, sinking pressure in his chest. His eyes widen as his current smile soon dissipates. Clive’s body wasn’t quite ready for the strain of the transformation, and him running around, and attacking didn’t bode too well for his body as a whole and it left too much stress. Clive as you would put it is having a minor heart attack from the changes.

Clive falls to his knees, and is coughing as his saliva slides over his lips, and hits the ground. Mason who has lost his train of thought quickly reassesses the situation, and thinks over his current move. He tries to back away from Clive who then outstretches his now massively long arm, and grabs his leg. Mason gets slightly bruised from the grab but is able to slip away with a piece of his pants being ripped away with it. The sudden pain, and shock reminded him of the first iron he ever saw when it grabbed that very same leg.

“What do I do now!? Should I try to kill him or run!?” Mason thinks as the answer finally hits him. If he doesn’t kill Clive now it will definitely be a problem in the future.

The only question is can Mason kill Clive now? The answer to that question is no. Mason runs to Sylvia as he put his left arm under her back, and holds her head up with his right hand as he drifted her head, and body gently from the ground as blood dripped quickly, and with rhythm from her severed limbs dismembered by Clive. He then attempts to pick up one of the severed limbs as it falls through his hands like a wet, slippery piece of clay, and hits the ground. Mason then abandoned it there.

He quickly ran to grab Dexter’s secret cache of alcohol. He grabbed a bottle, and took a gulp as he was running back with it. As he got back he immediately in that moment started to pour alcohol on Sylvia’s wounds, and she was just conscious enough to feel the sting from the alcohol as she screamed lightly with her eyes closed until her stubs went numb with the tickling feeling that came with it. Mason proceeded to take off his military jacket, and cut it in half with his military knife.

He tightly fastened the cloth from each end of the jacket around her bleeding wounds, and began to head toward the front of the DB. He went to go close the back only to see the heart attack ridden Clive to be crawling across the ground to get to the DB.

“You look pathetic.” Mason told him as he then spit right into Clive’s face. Mason then shut the back entrance as Clive gave off angry growls.

“How dare you spit at GOD! You are a fool for going against my divine will!” Clive yells as Mason starts twisting the key to drive off with the engine lagging. “Shit!” Mason says as the vehicle then starts. “Never mind.” Mason said at ease with Clive still too far away to grab the vehicle but close enough for muffler smoke to blow in his face as Mason drove off. Clive wasn’t really angry or humiliated however because this was just the first attempt at being god. He was certain that when he soon would have Mason, and all of Requiem once he recovered.

“Hold on Sylvia!” Mason yells as he drives forward at incredible speed.

“It will take me weeks to get to Requiem! Do I even have that much time? I will have to doctor her further once I am sure that I put some good distance between me, and that monster!” Mason then clenched the controls.

“Why Clive? I mean you betrayed me! You saved me then turned around, and betrayed me!” Mason said as he loosened his grip, and gave out a small yelp.

“This was a disaster. He was his son all along. They both used me, and threw me away!”

“They both have an infallible god complex for sure. And they both tugged me along for the ride to add to that. To think I depended on helping the dreams of scum like them!” Mason screamed that but took some of it back due to still feeling love for his friend Miles.

“Well I am done being tugged around for the dreams of another! I am going to start living for myself, and nobody else! First things first though. I have to kill Clive. Dethrone him sounds more appropriate though! He will feel humiliated as I defeat him with strategy, and end his life in miserable pain. King vs. God!” Mason declares this as he now plans on destroying Clive with every fiber of his own self being.

The DB grinded against the ground at incredibly high speeds as Mason sat alone, and mumbled to himself.

“I will stamp you out of existence.” Mason finally said to himself as he heard groaning in the back.

He opened it up, and peaked back to check on Sylvia’s status. His eyes widened, and he begun to swerve on the road. Clive was in the back seat. Mason quickly turned to the road to avoid crashing then quickly glanced back. He sat back, and gave off a great sigh of relief. It was all in his mind, and it appeared that Sylvia was still breathing, and Sam lay next to her, only he was wrapped in a blanket. Mason thought of how much a relief it was Clive wasn’t there. A hallucination of Miles was sitting next to Mason. He looked over at the imagined Miles while understanding almost perfectly that he wasn’t really there.

“What a day huh, Mason?” Miles asked as he lay back comfortably in the chair.

“Yeah it was quite a day.” Mason replied with quietly as to avoid anyone who may be awake to hear him talking to himself.

“Though despite all that happened, it was good to see you again friend.” Miles told Mason while looking down at the floor of the DB. Mason starts to tear up as he slows down, and plants his face into the controls.

“You too!” Mason quietly squeals out. Miles then laughs. “Well on a scale from one to fucked how fucked are we?!” Miles spouts.

“Well in the name of Evabridged, I would say pretty fucked.” Mason tells him as they both start laughing which translates to Mason laughing alone.

Mason then stops hours later. He gets out then goes to the back, and drags Sylvia out with him. He grabbed Sam’s jacket who was also out cold. Mason takes the jacket, and spreads it out across the ground, and gently rests Sylvia atop the jacket. He looks at her noticing that she is in a cold sweat, and he holds her left hand as she unconsciously holds his, and that simple holding of his hand turns to gripping as soon as Mason reveals the wounds by slowly ripping the fabric off of it with lines of syrupy blood getting pulled like pizza cheese, and then he starts pouring hard whiskey all over it.

Sylvia starts screaming in pain more as Mason grips her hand to keep her at ease. He appropriately applies some bandages as he then lifts her back into the Armored DB, and puts a pillow under the wounded limbs in order to keep them elevated. Mason then leans in to kiss her on the cheek. He strokes his hand across her forehead afterwards.

“Don’t worry Sylvia, I will fix this. After all this is my fault. I should have never had the idea to do this mission, and even after you were going to quit!” Mason said as he pledged to make things right.

Mason then dug in to the medical supplies as he gave Sylvia plenty of pain medication. It was in pill form and she wasn’t conscious enough to take it. Mason put two of the painkillers in his mouth as he French kissed the pills down her throat using his tongue to push them in. Next he leaned her head back to drizzle a bit of water down her throat so she wouldn’t dehydrate. Finally Mason got back on the road. He kept driving while looking at a map. He had been driving almost nonstop for several days.

“At least I’m not lost or anything.” Mason said as he flipped a road map around to look at it both vertical, and horizontal to get a better feel for it.

“I’m kind of shocked I still know how to read one of these things, especially since I was from a time of GPS no less.” Mason pointed out to himself as he navigated his way across the states.

Mason looked back to check on Sylvia once again.

“Whoa.” Mason said as he immediately stopped the vehicle. He crawled back, and sat next to Sylvia, and in front of the now sitting up straight but blank stared Sam. Sam had an empty look in his eyes.

“Sam?’ Mason asked to garnish some attention out of Sam. Sam slowly rose his hand up to his forehead, and formed a clearly recognizable salute.

“Sampson Miller reporting for duty.” Sam said unenthusiastically.

Sam was still a bit delirious, and wasn’t quite all there. Though medical or no, Mason could still tell Sam was disappointed in himself from the fight with the colossal irons that he had sworn vengeance on, and his disappointing the team. Sam then looked at Sylvia.

“Oh my god!” Sam said now freaking out.

“Why didn’t I see that before!?” he screamed as he backed up yelling while Mason tried his best to calm Sam down.

“Calm down Sam! Cool it, okay? Chill.” Mason said all in attempts to calm him. Sam tweaked a little in the process but finally lifted his finger to point, and ask just what happened Sylvia.

“On top of her arm, and leg… where is everyone?” Sam asks. Mason then pinches Sam’s shoulder.

He takes a deep breath, and advises that Sam do the same. As Mason leans in to look closely into Sam’s very confused eyes he tells him. “Sam, you, me, and Sylvia… we are everyone.”

Sam did not like what he had heard though as he smacked Mason’s hand away.

“What! No, no that’s not right!” Sam screams. Sam then continues to shove his hands over his ears as he screams.

“This doesn’t make any sense! Dead? You mean they are all dead!?” Sam screams as he is then punched by Mason directly pushing him back.

“Be quiet!” Mason whispers with force.

“You are disturbing Sylvia’s rest.” Mason tells him. Sam then sits back while staring blankly into Sylvia’s vicinity.

Sam then rose his finger pointing it at Mason with a sense of accusation resonating from it.

“It was your fault wasn’t it? You got Dean, and Romeo killed, and now the rest of the team didn’t you!?” Sam said to harshly accuse Mason of being responsible for this mess.

“I think that we might have to take this outside.” Mason said quietly as he then proceeded to drag by the shirt Sam outside as Sam kicked to get away. After Mason got Sam out he threw him on the ground.

“I knew it!” Mason yelled as he grabbed Sam by the throat.

“You did blame me for Dean didn’t you. All after I heard from others that you didn’t!” Mason yelled as he punched Sam to the point where his face hit ground hard.

“You think this was me?! Guess again!” Mason said as he punched Sam again. Sam then spit out a tooth, and had a trail of bloody saliva dripping from his mouth as he came up with this counter argument.

“Look back in that vehicle! That is all I need to know that it was your fault. You selfishly put your lover above everybody else, and saved her but no one else!” and this accusation from Sam pissed Mason off even further. Mason pulled back his fist, and aimed for Sam’s eye this time.

“How dare you! If it weren’t Clive specifically who literally killed the others then I would probably believe you for saying it was all my fault. And second you’re right! Sylvia comes first, and for most out of all you losers, and don’t forget that!”

Mason’s recent words rung through Sam’s head like a ringing doorbell. “Clive killed them directly?” Sam asked in scared confusion.

Mason stopped his growl, and calmed himself. He then proceeded to put his fist down, and let go of Sam.

“Yeah it was him.” Mason said.

“Do I need to know why?” Sam asked. Mason shook his head yes.

“Will I need a history lesson?” Sam then asked him.

“Probably.” Mason said.

Mason went on to tell Sam all about what happened at Miles’ little elaborate lab setup. He talked of Miles being there, and how he “was” still alive, and it was what he was working on that Clive was secretly after. He then told it was Clive with his newfound appearance, and power who wanted to put a leash on the rest of the human race, and that basically meant enslavement of the human race. Clive possibly having the ability to control irons.

None of this particularly sat well with Sam.

“That son of a bitch! He killed one of my last remaining friends! Wayne always did think he was a shady bastard as well. I can’t help but feel things aren’t going to end well.” Sam states.

“In any case we will need a lot to destroy Clive. He is darn near invincible but only near, and not officially invincible. Though he is somewhat immortal from age now but he can still be killed, and that is exactly what I am going to do.” Mason proclaims.

Sam sits aside as he rubs his forehead from the confusingly brutal situation.

“I don’t know if my head can process all this crazy shit at once Mason. You might need to slow down. I don’t know if we can fight a demon like this.” Sam says as Mason pats him on the back.

“Don’t worry, we have to beat him. I know that doesn’t sound very reassuring but we don’t have time to think of the negatives. I first have to get Sylvia help.” Mason says as Sam takes a closer look to examine her wounds.

“She is in bad shape Mason. We might have to take her to the city in the south.” Sam told him.

“You mean it is nearby?” Mason says hopefully as Sam says yes after taking a look outside, and climbs in the Armored DB passenger seat to give directions. Mason switches directions for the sake of Sylvia’s health.

“I guess that is the first stop.” Mason says.

“And Sam. When we get to this south city, when you, and Sylvia leave for Requiem… I am going to wait behind, and then follow you on foot.” Mason says with confidence.

Sam then looks at Mason as if he were a crazy person.

“On foot? By yourself!?” Sam spouts loudly. Mason then grits his teeth.

“I just need to see how well I can survive. If I can’t survive this wasteland the same way tons of people outside the walls have been doing it for years then I won’t be able to kill Clive. You haven’t seen his terror yet. Plus I need to confirm my fears. We won’t discuss this with Sylvia till later alright?” Mason says as Sam agrees with him despite how crazy it is.

They begin to start driving into the large walled, South City. As they get up to the opening of where the door to the city is Mason gets out with a flare gun in hand since he knows no south city frequencies. He points the gun up as he admires the long, tall, and all around magnificent structure. In that instance there was only one phrase that came to Mason’s mind.

“Déjà vu.” Mason said.

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