Charged~ Electric Book One
Chapter Thirteen~New

Mason’sbeen distant the past few days. Not mean or less attentive, just distant. It’sbeen distracting me, and I wish he’d tell me what’s on his mind. I suspect he’sjust worried about the doctor coming tomorrow, but I’d feel better if I knewfor sure.

SinceI went out with the soldiers, we haven’t been seeing the fog from our walls.This is encouraging, although some of our troops seem to be getting a bitrestless without anything to do. A few of them have been trying to convince thecaptain to expand their scouting territory; however the captain has beenadamant that he doesn’t want any surprises.

Allfour of us have been given the day off tomorrow, along with strict instructionson where we’re not supposed to go. The captain isn’t taking any chances withthe doctor’s arrival. It feels a bit extreme if you ask me, and I can’t helpwondering if there’s more to the situation than meets the eye.

Sincewe all have the next day off for a change, we decide to stay up later thanusual. We’re already relocated to a larger group tent on an obscure corner ofthe property. When Jared scores some cards we figure we may as well takeadvantage of some downtime. Rummy and five-card-stud we play first. Now, we’vemove onto spades.

Brie’sthe first one to yawn. Jared shortly follows—then Mason and finally me. Babybear is curled up next to me and has been sleeping for the past few hoursalready. Reluctantly, we pack up the cards and hunker down for the night.

Evenfrom our obscure corner, the commotion wakes us earlier than we planned in themorning. Jared and Mason go off to get us breakfast as planned, while Brie andI set the tent to rights. It’s not until Mason and Jared return that we hearthe disturbing news.

“Thedoctor’s here, but apparently they lost a few men on the way.” Jared announces,handing Brie her breakfast.

“Whatdo you mean?” I ask as Mason hands me my own plate.

“Iguess as far as you were able to push the infection back here, it’s stillpretty bad to the north of us. The weapons they have aren’t nearly as effectiveas you are, so they lost a few men to the fog before they were able to escape.”

“Arethey sure that they didn’t bring the infection here?” Brie asks, lookingscared.

“I’msure the doctor wouldn’t allow it.” I reassure her. “I take it they got to skipthe quarantine, though?”

Masonnods. “But I agree—the doctor wouldn’t have brought them if there was anyrisk.”

“Haveyou heard from the captain yet?” I ask.

Masonshakes his head. “He’ll send word when we’re clear to move about freely. I feelbetter knowing you’re safe, anyway.”

Iresist the urge to roll my eyes. Mason means well, and he just wants to keep mesafe. It really is more endearing than annoying, even if he does know I’mprobably the safest person left in this new, deranged world we’re living in.

Of course he knows that, Ichastise myself. The government getting their hands on me is his primaryconcern. I’m just grumpy about being cooped up in a tent all day.

Ittakes nearly all day for the captain to send someone to give us the all clear.Well the somewhat clear, because the captain is sure that some of the soldiersescorting the doctor are spies for the general. This means we have to becareful who we talk and disclose out identities to. All of the captain’s menhave instructions to keep their mouths shut. I know that I have the respect ofthe soldiers who escorted me beyond the wall. I doubt that they would turn mein to someone they don’t even like.

As wewander through our designated areas, a soldier comes up to Mason and pulls himaside. Something tells me the other shoe is about to drop.

AsMason walks back towards me, the look on his face confirms my suspicions.Something’s up, and he obviously doesn’t like it. Brie notices too. She grabsmy hand and gives it a quick squeeze before she joins Jared a few feet away.

“Theywant to see you.” He tells me. I figured as much. We leave Baby bear with Brieand Jared, and make our way to the main building in silence. Mason grips myhand the whole way as though I might disappear.

Iwatch Mason as we go. The depth of our relationship is closer more quickly thannormal because of all the insanity. We have a bond beyond my imagination. Istop quickly and turn to face him.

“Mason,”I start before almost losing my nerve, “I want you to know how important youare to me. I love you, Mason.”

Hiseyes reflect warmth. “I love you, too, Kat. I can’t imagine life without you.”He looks around. “Even without all of this. I think I loved you since you firstplowed me over.”

Ilaugh, remembering how we met. “I was so embarrassed.”

“Youwere adorable.” He plants a soft kiss on top of my head. “Still are.”

Thedoor to the building opens and a soldier motions for us to enter. “Guess ouralone time is up for now.” Mason says.

“Yeah,let’s go see what they want now.”

Wearen’t led to the captain’s office as usual. Instead, we’re brought to ageneric office in the basement, a place I’ve never ventured into before. Thecaptain joins us after a few minutes.

“Sorryfor all the sneaking about. As of tomorrow, I’m sending all of the troops thatescorted Dr. Ford on a supply run, which will buy us at least a few dayswithout raising any suspicions. The doctor wants to see you of course, but it’stoo big of a risk today.”

I hidemy smirk as Mason calls him out, before I have the chance to. “You didn’t callus in here for this, though, did you captain?”

CaptainJennings runs a hand down his face. “No, no I didn’t. I’m sure you’ve heard ofthe difficult time the doctor had on his way here. We’re concerned that theinfection is moving quickly towards us from the north. I only know of one wayto stop the advance.”

Masoneyes me worriedly. I look at him, “Can you give me a moment with the captain?”

I cansee the frustration in his face, but he gets up without any complaint. I waituntil he shuts the door behind him. “Captain, I know it goes against all therules and protocols you guys have, but I can’t ask him to stay behind again.I’ll go, but only if he comes with me.”

“Youunderstand the danger?”

I nod.“We did pretty well before we came here. He won’t hinder any of our efforts inthe field.”

“Okay.”The captain concedes, “If it will help you to have him there, go ahead andbring him.” He actually smiles. “You sure showed our boys last time, anyway. Itdoesn’t seem to me that we have much to worry about if you’re there.”

Ireturn his smile wholeheartedly. “Thanks, captain. This will definitely make usboth feel better.” I go to the door and open it to replace Mason leaning upagainst the wall. I motion for him to come back in.

I waituntil he settles in his chair before I start. “I have to go out again-“

“Awhell Kat, not again,” He complains, but stops when I hold up a finger.

“Thecaptain has given you clearance to accompany me on these, er, trips, also.” Ihave to try hard not to smile when I see his obvious relief.

Thegrin on his face speaks for itself. “When do we leave?”

I replacemyself again in army gear. The ride in the back of the windowless vehicle stilldisorients me. The difference is that this time, I have Mason’s reassuringpresence by my side and his hand in mine.

Thistrip is bumpier than the last, and it reminds me to tell Mason to brace hisfeet when we stop. My lesson is still fresh from last time, thanks.

Welurch to a halt, and Mason gives me a grateful look for my advice. I see a fewnew faces amongst the soldiers, but there is definitely a camaraderie here thatwas absent at the beginning of our last voyage. Even as we file out into thesunlight, this time the soldiers stay back and prepare to help only if needed.

Masonwalks me to the front of the triangular formation of soldiers. He stops at thevery end as I continue towards the metallic fog. It no longer intimidates me,or instills fear in my heart. It seems to take me too long to get close to it.Is it? No, it couldn’t be.

But itis. As I try to get closer, it shrinks back from me. It’s as if it knows itwill get hurt. I stand still momentarily and try to process this newinformation. If the fog is retreating because it recognizes my blast will causedisarmament, then it has not just a consciousness, but a joint consciousness thatallows it to communicate within itself. Everything that’s infected is attached.Could this begin to solve the mystery of where the infected people go?

I movecloser, advancing forward until the fog almost completely surrounds me. Itstays back from me at about a fifty foot diameter. The circle is most prominentwhere it almost closes off behind me. Panic paints Mason’s features. Thesoldiers seem tense as they raise their weapons and poise to shoot. If I moveany further inside the fog, all hell will break loose behind me—even if itwould probably be incredibly effective.

Theenergy courses through me. If there are any remaining doubts that I’m growingmore powerful, they’re gone now. My body hums and wants to unleash its fury onthe surrounding threat. I place my palms facing each other in front of me.Turning my hands outward, I push the energy out and let out an astonished laughas the energy flows out. It’s a strong stream similar to when I channeled thelightning, but all on my own this time. At the river, I thought it was simply ashort-term after effect from the lightning strike. It’s obvious now that it’snot. Something more has changed in me, and I have far more power and controlthan before.

WhileI zap the cloud, this is the closest I’ve ever been to the fog. It’s certainlythe first time I’m prone to really pay attention. Guilt washes over me as Iwatch the fog writher and disappear. I can swear I hear a hissing sound asthough it’s in pain. Neither this nor the guilt is enough to make me stop. Toomany lives are at stake for that.

Irotate as I go. When all of the fog in sight disappears, I throw a few spheresin random directions for good measure. As I approach Mason, I can’t help butnotice the look on his face. “Wow, Kat. That’s certainly different thanbefore.”

“There’smore, too.” I quickly explain my theory regarding the nanobot’s collectiveconsciousness and watch as his expression moves from awe to concern.

“Butthat could mean…” His voice trails off as he begins to realize the ramifications.

“Thatcould mean a lot.” I climb into the armored vehicle and sit down. Turning myhead to face him, I grab his hand. “I think it’s time to talk to the doctor.”

WhenMason and I return, we fill Brie and Jared in on our suspicions. They bothquickly jump to the same conclusions that Mason and I do. Brie immediately goesin search of the captain to pass along the message that we need to meet withhim and the doctor as soon as possible—which

We goto the basement, which I now see is Dr. Ford’s temporary workspace. A wall(which apparently possesses mobility) has been folded into a pocket space. Theroom is now twice as large, with an obvious lab set up in the new area.

CaptainJennings and Dr. Ford are waiting for all of us. Dr. Ford greets us each with awarm hug. We take a moment to catch up. The doctor tells us how well ourfriends have fit in to the Columbus complex. Jack and Mariette, Becky and Nateare doing very well there. This is a relief. At least my efforts help save somepeople, even though it can’t begin to offset my destruction.

Itdoesn’t take long for us to get down to business. Mason, Brie, Jared and I fillthe doctor in on our experiences since leaving Columbus. His eyes widen at theappropriate parts. He only interrupts one time when I tell of the sample I hadgrabbed. “Do you still have it?” He asks. His eyes alight with excitement.

“Wehad it in the Jeep before we were brought here.” Mason says, and we all turn toCaptain Jennings.

“To behonest, I don’t think they’ve touched it since we retrieved your belongings.”He picks up a phone and mumbles a few short phrases before hanging up. “One ofmy men will bring us any remaining items shortly.”

Wecontinue with our discussion. Just before I’m able to address yesterday’soccurrence, a knock sounds at the door. Captain Jennings calls them in, andthree soldiers enter. One carries the wrapped up hoodie containing the samplefor Dr. Ford. The other two carry trays of food and drinks. I glance at theclock on the wall. To my surprise it’s lunchtime already.

Dr.Ford immediately unwraps the gross hoodie and begins to examine the specimen wefound. Now in the light of day, it’s easy to tell that it was previously afoot. It still appears metallic, though more a tarnished silver than a shinymetal. Before Dr. Ford makes the new toy his primary occupation, I hurry torelay yesterday’s events, and our suspicions.

Thisis also the first Captain Jennings hears our theory, and his concern isrelevant on his face. Dr. Ford is in full scientist mode, his curiosityovershadowing his concern at the moment. We eat and speculate as Dr. Ford movesover to the lab area and immediately begins testing his sample. I follow himwith a sandwich and gently remind him to eat before I sitting back down tofinish my own lunch.

CaptainJennings seems to be contemplating something important. Eventually, indecisionleaves his face, and he looks at all of us. “Dr. Ford, I think you need to hearthis information too. You may already have been informed of some of it, but Ithink it’s important that we’re all on the same page here.”

Dr.Ford sets a timer and grabs his still untouched sandwich before sitting back inhis seat. Captain Jennings begins again. "There’s some information I’vebeen reluctantly withholding for the purposes of national security. I realizeunder normal circumstances that including teenagers in these matters is unheardof, but we no longer have that luxury. You four have consistently andeffectively shown both discretion and perseverance. And frankly, I just don’tgive a shit anymore.

“Whenthe infection first started, it spread more quickly than anyone could’veanticipated. Even with all of the protocols we had in place for nationalsecurity, we were not fast enough to beat the spread. The Nation’s Capital wasovertaken, before we even had a chance at evacuation. We haven’t had contactwith any of our nation’s leaders since the first day of the infection.”

“Thenwho’s running the government?” Jared asks, incredulous.

“Militaryleaders have been faking it, for lack of a better phrase. You four have been sobusy out in the field that you wouldn’t have noticed the president has failedto address a concerned nation yet. People started asking questions, and withthe situation we’re facing, we had no choice but to instate Marshall Lawthroughout the remnants of the nation. The spread of fear and panic is almostas dangerous as the spread of the infection.”

“Youcan say that again.” Brie mumbles. I know she’s thinking back to the first day,and our chaotic escape from Canaan. The memory causes me to shudder, too.

CaptainJennings hit a remote, and the large screen TV behind him springs to life.“This is an interactive map of the infection, from day one, until now. We cansee it started at the BioNano rehab facility, where Michael had been learningto use his new leg. You can see how rapidly it spread from there. You can alsonote the patterns, as you four began your journey. Before you contacted Dr.Ford, we were certainly perplexed as to why there was a certain radius thatseemed to be unaffected by the infection. When you started moving, so did theradius.”

“That’show we made it.” Mason says. “If it weren’t for you Kat, we never would’ve madeit out of there.”

Briejumps in before I can answer. “Kat, you were showing us what you could do rightas the infection began to spread. Think about it. If you hadn’t thrown thespheres when you did, we wouldn’t have even made it back to my house to see thenews report. Others like Becky and Nate would have never even had the chance.”

Ithink back, remembering how the fog was present but stayed downtown. At thattime we were far too preoccupied with the horde of hysterical people to thinkmuch about it.

“Andthe night before, Kat, when you first tried it. Your energy was already there,already keeping it at bay.”

Dr.Ford nods. “Yes, that’s what I determined once Kat contacted me. I watched yourprogress to my facility, and the impact it had on the infection as youtraveled. The only problem was that it couldn’t hold them off permanently. Ittook a few days, but eventually once you’d moved on, the infection would takethe area back over.”

“Didn’twe determine that back in Columbus? That my energy wasn’t strong enough, andthe nanobots were adapting themselves to overpower it?” I ask.

“Yes,but recently our maps are indicating that you’re pushing them back farther thanbefore. It’s taking them longer to regroup and regain the areas you’ve beenclearing.” Captain Jennings explains.

Dr.Ford turns back to his lab. “The incident with the lightning you told me aboutseems to be the turning point in enhancing your power. Since lightning is anorganic energy, like the kind you’re able to produce, it’s possible yourability to hold, reproduce, and bind it has been enhanced.” He looks at me a bitsheepishly. “Of course-“

Iinterrupt him before he can finish. I know this road well. “Of course you haveto run some tests, before you can know for sure.” I stifle an eye roll. Eventhough I dread the tediousness of his tests, Dr. Ford is someone I don’t wantto offend.

“Yes,I have a lot of work to do.” Dr. Ford says. The timer dings, attracting hisattention. “Captain, please continue; I’ll be listening while I work throughthis.”

Myattention is back to the captain, but it’s Jared that asks the question we’reall thinking. “There’s more?”

“Unfortunately,yes there is. So, now you know that the country’s leaders are MIA and thesurviving parts of the country are under Martial Law. There’s confirmation thatthe infection is spreading eastwardly, over to Europe. We’ve been sharing asmuch information with them as possible. They have been good at not pointingtheir finger—however correctly it would be, at us.”

“Whoa.”Brie comments. That about sums it up for me, too.

Thecaptain continues. “Now that our country is being run by a few militaryleaders, let’s just say things are not operating smoothly. General Carch-well,you know about her. General Brown has been actively working against her.General Rowan keeps playing both sides. I think he’s waiting to see who comesout on top.”

“So,not only are we facing extinction due to the nanobot infection, but behind thescenes our country is falling apart and has no specific leader?” I synopsize.

“Wait,”Mason says. “You said this other General keeps playing both sides. I assumethat this means there is a good side and a bad one?”

“Gee,I wonder who the leading General for team bad is?” Brie scoffs.

“Yes,”Captain Jennings says solemnly. “And Dr. Ford has just brought me the mostdisturbing news to date.”

Dr.Ford sets down his glasses and papers to rejoin us at the table. He sighs as hesits, and I know whatever’s coming next is not going to be good. “Some peopleare meant to be leaders. They look at a whole picture, a greater good if youwill. Others, the power goes to their head. It changes them. This is the casewith General Carch. She began her military career as a decorated soldier. Afterthe loss of contact with our leaders, it was decided she would be in chargewith her two peers. When that happened, she began to change. It wasn’tnoticeable right away, but now it can no longer be ignored.”

“Why?”Jared asks. “I know she’s a pain in ourass, but what, is she all Dr. Evil now?”

Thisgets a laugh from both the captain and the doctor. “I don’t know if I’d put itquite so eloquently Jared, but yes, I suppose she could be classified as such.”The captain answers.

I turnto Dr. Ford and look for further explanation. “At first, we just thought shewas being difficult.” He tells us. “She was given the Columbus location andsurrounding areas. General Brown was given our area, and General Rowan wasgiven the West Coast, the area still least affected by all of this. It’s herway of thinking that started to drastically change. I began to notice thechange in her when she talked about the infection. It wasn’t long before sheapproached me with an idea—an idea that deeply disturbed me.

“Shefeels that this infection happened for a reason. The more I tried to explain toher the horror of this and the ramifications of it all, the more my reasoningseemed to have had the opposite effect. She wants to morph the infection,utilize it to make stronger soldiers and weaponize the current strain. I toldher until we get this invasion under control, that it was not a priority. Wefought for weeks, while I was using your energy to develop the new weapons forour soldiers. Then one day, she just stopped. I knew even before I confirmedit, that she got someone else to do it for her.”

“Dr.Harris.” I whisper more to myself than anything, but the captain and doctornod.

“Yes,”Dr. Ford says. “Although, it’s not his fault, she left him no choice when hisfamily was taken as collateral. It’s the first time I’ve ever been grateful tobe a perpetual bachelor.” His half smile is more sad than anything.

“Didhe succeed?” Brie asks. “Do they now have weapons to infect us with?”

“Theday I left, Dr. Harris was beginning testing on the prototype. I know he’strying to stall but he won’t let his family get hurt, and I don’t blame him.”

Istand up and begin pacing the room. This is an awfully lot to take in at once.Things are worse than I’d thought. A lotworse. I turn back to the others. “What can we do? How do we stop all ofthis?”

“Ourfirst priority remains to remove all of the infection possible. Until wecompletely destroy it, we’re just prolonging the inevitable. First, we have tofigure out how to defeat them and work with other countries to launch aworldwide attack.” The captain says, looking at me pointedly.

“What?”I ask.

“Atthis point Kat, you’re our most effective weapon.” Dr. Ford says.

“Oh.”I guess I should’ve known that.

Briehas a troubled face as she looks at me then back to the doctor. “You can’t justextort her.”

“That’swhat we’re trying to avoid.” Dr. Ford reassures her.

“That’swhat General Carch wants to do.” Mason says tersely, and it’s not a question.

“Yes.”Dr. Ford confirms softly, “She has no regard for Kat’s well-being, only herusefulness. Luckily, others in high places are more reasonable andcompassionate.”

Furtherdiscussion replaces me agreeing to a plethora of testing over the next few days. Itrust Dr. Ford, although I know from past experience that the next few dayswill be boring, annoying, and full of unpleasantness. With all that’s going on,I can replace plenty of things to occupy my thoughts in the meantime. How could Isay no to helping stop all of this?