Rise of the Fallen: Ascensionis
Chapter 16

Joshua sees nothing beyond the thick mist. Gradually, an opening appears and he then feels a hand shove him forcefully. He lands on the floor and raises his head to replace his mother with a face he has never seen before. A face of brutal evil. He asks angrily, “Mom? What the hell is going on?”

Before Diana even has a chance to reply, she observes the nurse screaming in fear and confusion. Abaris shoots her in the back of her head which causes blood and brain matter to get splattered in close proximity of Diana. The CEO feels some droplets land right on her chin and lower lip.

Joshua witnesses his own mother lick the blood from her lips and takes a step back away from her. As he shakes his head in disgust, Abaris whispers into his ear, “This is what you are, mon enfant. Embrace it. Do not fear it.”

Without turning his head to look at her, he asks, “What do you mean?”

He gets startled by the loud, monstrous voice of his mother shouting, “I have had just about enough of your selective memory...You are a wendigo!”

Joshua stares at her and feels his heart sinking all the way down to the pit of his stomach. He doesn’t want to believe what he heard but his flashbacks of eating bloody human flesh as a small child confirm this to be a highly possible fact. Nausea completely overwhelms him and he covers his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from vomiting. Abaris appears next to him and adds, “You had quite an appetite.”

Joshua hears the muffled sound of a gun firing and winces in reaction to a sharp sting in his back. Abaris shot him with a tranquilizer dart! His vision becomes blurred and he loses consciousness soon afterward.

Diana gives her son a cold look and says, “You’re just like your father. Pathetic.”

She turns around and begins to make her way toward the door. Just as she exits the room, she tells the tall, Russian bodyguard, “Bring him.”

Meanwhile, Barbara is standing outside next to Henry while biting her artificial fingernails. While exhaling cigarette smoke, he tells her in a concerned manner, “I sure hope the doc’s okay.”

Barbara suddenly hears Indrid’s voice asking, “Barbara? We are almost there. Are you all safe?”

She thinks in response, “We’re okay. So now you know about this craziness?”

Haruka watches in amazement as both Barbara and Henry become consumed by a bright light. In the blink of an eye, they disappear completely. She gazes at the sky and says, “Good luck to all of you.”

Inside of Indrid’s ship, Dr. Frankenstein shields his eyes from the bright flash. Upon opening them, he sees Barbara and Henry standing in front of him. Indrid arrives and tells Barbara, “Yes, I do.”

Henry asks the doctor, “What now?”

Dr. Frankenstein lowers his head and informs him, “Miss Garrison’s plan has been set into motion, Henry. For now, we need to return to Atlantis.”

Henry immediately becomes concerned about Ellie Larson and her granddaughter, Dawn McPherson. Will he be able to stand idly as they both become infected by this horrendous virus? No. He needs to save them from that awful fate. “Ummm...Doc? I really need to go to Corbin City.”

Dr. Frankenstein takes a moment to think. Of course, Henry wants to rescue the damsel in distress. He grins and replies, “Indrid. You heard the man.”

Rikki is staring at the front door of her apartment while holding the keys in her right hand. She listens to the breaking news being shown on her TV inside and thinks to herself, “Stop it, Rikki. You served your country. There is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Rikki opens the door and says loudly while stepping inside, “I’m home!”

Adam is sitting on the sofa as he watches the news report. He turns his head to look at the approaching Rikki and replies, “Oh, hey. How was work?”

She sits down next to him and replies, “Okay.”

Rikki can feel his inquisitive stare. Adam is probably aware of her involvement in the latest tragedy facing the citizens of the United States. He focuses his attention on the screen and tells her, “I hope Melanie’s safe.”

After an odd moment of silence, she says, “Don’t you worry about her, Adam. I promised you that she’ll be fine.”

Rikki thinks about the possible consequences as a result of what she is thinking about doing. Not only is she risking her career, but also her very own life for becoming a rogue agent. She closes her eyes and mentally prepares herself. Time to meet up with a friend.

Back inside of Frank’s hospital room at Area 51, Jerry arrives at the doorway, out of breath, and shouts at everyone inside, “We have a problem! Several people here are infected!”

Alexandria covers her mouth with her quivering hand as she thinks about her aunt’s dire prediction. Frank lowers his head and whispers to himself, “Marise. How could you?”

David punches the wall with his fist and says while growling, “I refuse to die like this!”

Jerry holds back his tears as he thinks about Phoebe. A few minutes ago, he discovered that he himself had become infected by the deadly virus as a result of a mosquito bite. It seems unfair that he has spent such a short time with her. He clears his throat and explains to everyone, “We do have emergency escape pods that can be programmed to take us anywhere in the world.”

Phoebe pulls on his lab coat and asks, “So we’re going on a trip, Jerry?”

Jerry grins and places his hand on her head. He replies, “Yup. Better go get Fluffy.”

Phoebe’s hair color immediately changes to a bright yellow as she gasps with excitement. She then runs away and screams, “Yay!”

Jerry’s facial expression becomes serious as he approaches Alexandria. He tells her in a low tone, “Alexandria. I think I’ll be needing your help again.”

“Huh? What is it, Jerry?”

Sajjad says, “You are also infected.”

Jerry glances at him and nods while saying, “Yes, that’s right. Alexandria...I want you to take care of Phoebe.”

She becomes saddened by his request and replies, “Jerry, no. I can’t take her away from you.”

“You have given me all that I ever wanted in my life. Another chance to be with my little sister. I refuse to take that vaccine and have her watch me become a monster.”

As Jerry turns around to exit the room, he tells her, “I’ll pretend that I’m escaping with all of you. That way, I can at least say goodbye to her.”

As Alexandria watches him leave, she says to David, “We weren’t able to stop this.”

“Nope. I never thought I’d live to see the end of the world.”

Dawn is at a Starbucks paying for her coffee while looking at the news on her smart-phone. She exits the establishment and makes her way to her Honda Fit. As she sits down on the driver’s seat, Henry startles her by asking, “Where’s mine?”

Dawn almost loses her grasp of her coffee but somehow manages to regain control. She gives him a flustered look and says, “I should spill this all over you.”

He laughs and tells her apologetically, “Sorry, Dawn! I couldn’t resist.”

“What are you doing here, anyway?”

Henry’s demeanor immediately changes to that of a more serious nature and he replies, “There’s not much time. I’ll explain on the way to Ellie’s.”

Dawn hesitates for a moment and is very tempted to probe him even further. Instead, however, she turns on the ignition and drives away as quickly as possible. The sudden rush of fear makes her lose the urge of drinking coffee and she hands the cup over to Henry. After taking a sip, he says, “I’m sure you’ve seen the news reports about a virus making its way here from another country.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s a cover story. It was created here and this is only the beginning. Things are gonna get ugly real quick, Dawn.”

“Oh, my God.”

“That’s why I’m here. To take the both of you somewhere safe.”

Dawn gives Henry a quick, terrified glance to make sure that he isn’t pulling another one of his pranks. No. The expression on his face is enough to convince her and she focuses her attention on the road ahead of them. What the hell is happening?

Rikki is driving toward a secluded forest. As Adam looks out of the passenger window, he asks, “So we’re heading to our very own underground shelter?”

“Well...yes and no.”

He turns his head to look at her and asks, “Huh? What does that even mean, Rikki?”

“Trust me. Okay?”

Adam gives Rikki a baffled expression as he attempts to figure out exactly what she has planned. The SUV suddenly comes to a stop and she says, “We’re here, Adam. Let’s go.”

Hearing his real name makes Adam hesitate for a moment before opening the door to step out of the vehicle. It hasn’t been that long but it is reassuring to know that his previous life was in fact real. He stands next to Rikki as she places her palm against a tall tree.

A minute later, a squirrel appears and cautiously makes his way up Rikki’s arm until he’s inches away from her face. She then says, “Agent Rikki Hillman.”

Adam cannot believe what he is witnessing at this moment. He watches the squirrel immediately disappear behind the tall, thick tree and asks, “Am I losing my mind or did you just introduce yourself to a squirrel?”

She grins and winks while using her hand to slightly push him aside. She then says, “Move back. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Suddenly, the ground begins to tremble violently and what looks like a huge boulder begins to emerge upward until an entrance can be seen. The quake subsides and Rikki begins to make her way inside. Adam hesitates before following her and mutters, “Whoa.”

Back at Area 51, Frank finishes getting dressed and observes Jerry outside of the room with Phoebe in his arms. He is out of breath but manages to tell them, “Okay. Follow me.”

They all exit the room and start running behind Jerry. Phoebe points her finger at them and her hair color changes to pink as she starts laughing. David sarcastically says to Alexandria in a low voice, “Nice to see the robot’s having fun.”

“The robot’s just a kid, okay?”

Jerry stops running and drops to his knees in pain. Phoebe’s hair turns gray while she watches him hold his stomach. Alexandria kneels down next to him and asks, “What is it?”

Jerry replies while sweating profusely, “It’s begun.”

He looks into her teary eyes with fear and says while groaning, “I already programmed the pods to take all of you as close to Atlantis as possible. The hangar’s just ahead.”

Phoebe becomes worried and asks, “Jerry? Are you sick?”

He strokes her hair and tells her softly, “I can’t go with you, Phoebe. Alexandria’s going to take care of you.”

Phoebe’s grip on Fluffy tightens as she feels a sensation of sorrow coursing through her artificial body. She shouts to him while crying, “No! I’m staying with you!”

Jerry gently touches her cheek and whispers gently, “You’re more than just a program now. I’m gonna miss you, Phoebe.”

He rises to his feet and says to everyone, “Hurry. Before I change my mind.”

As soon as Alexandria takes Phoebe into her arms, she replaces herself surprised at the amount of strength she has. While running away from Jerry, Phoebe extends her arm while screaming, “Let me go! I can’t be without Jerry!”

Sajjad turns his head while running to look behind him. He sees Jerry holding a gun to his own head and yells, “Cover the child’s eyes! Hurry!”

She buries Phoebe’s head into her chest while whispering, “Oh, my God.” Then...the echo of the loud gunshot can be heard throughout the entire hallway.

They finally arrive at the hangar and Frank points at the numerous tubes in front of them. Phoebe continues to struggle as Alexandria tries to sit her down onto the seat of one of the spherical pods. She notices that her hair color is still a grayish-blue and attempts to calm her down. She holds her arms and tells her in a soothing tone, “Phoebe. I know that this is scary. But I’m here for you.”

Phoebe looks into her eyes as her hair gradually fades into a blueish color. Alexandria strokes her cheek while saying, “Now...let’s go on a little trip. There’s this place that I want to show you. Okay?”

Phoebe nods and gives her a hug while replying, “Okay.”

Alexandria fastens her seatbelt and, afterwards, presses a button to lower the bullet-proof canopy. Suddenly, a bullet makes a spark as it ricochets off of the glass. She turns around to replace a soldier pointing his submachine gun at her. He barks loudly, “Only authorized personnel are permitted here! You will cease and desist!”

Eleanor stares into her cup of coffee and takes a moment to think about what has just been explained to her by Henry. He reaches to touch her hand and says in a low tone, “Ellie. We need to go.”

Eleanor gradually moves her head up to gaze at both her beautiful granddaughter and the man whom she loves with all of her heart. She gives him a warm grin and finally replies, “Thank you, Henry. For all those special moments that we shared.”

Dawn becomes concerned and asks, “Grandmom?”

A tear rolls down Eleanor’s cheek as she tells Henry, “All I wanted was to see you one last time. Please, Henry...take care of Dawn.”

He respects her final wishes and takes a step back. This conversation angers Dawn and she asks, “Ummm...take care of me? What?”

Henry asks, “Ellie. You’re sure about this?”

“I’ve already lived my life, Henry, and I’m too old to be gallivanting on spaceships. This is where I want to be.”

Dawn takes a step forward and, suddenly, feels Henry’s hand grab her by the wrist. She gives him a cold stare and says, “Let go of me.”

A tear rolls down Henry’s cheek as he whispers, “Now, Indrid.”

Dawn becomes blinded by the flash of light and gasps. Eleanor gazes in disbelief as they disappear in the blink of an eye. She looks down at her cup and says, “Be happy for once, Dawn.”

Inside the dark cave, Rikki’s cell phone light illuminates the shiny, steel wall ahead. Adam arrives behind her and asks, “This is it? The shelter?”

Before she even has a chance to respond, a loud hiss is heard and part of the wall slides open. Standing in front of them is a rather lanky fellow wearing a Star Wars t-shirt and eyeglasses. While munching on his potato chips, he says, “Well, now. Agent Rikki Hillman and company. You do realize you need to be at your own designated shelter.”

“Terrance Miller! Is that any way to greet your guests?”

“Cut the shit. Explanation.”

As Rikki gently pushes Terry aside to walk inside, she asks him, “I need a big favor. It’s important.”

He notices her serious tone and tells her frankly, “Rikki...you know the amount of rations per shelter. I just...”

“Ours is outside in my SUV. Don’t worry about that. It’s something else, Terry.”

She turns around to look at him directly and continues by adding, “I need you to teleport me somewhere.”

Terry inadvertently inhales some potato chips and immediately begins coughing uncontrollably. After a minute of this, he composes himself and shouts in a panic, “Brilliant, Rikki! Now I have to shoot him!”

Adam becomes nervous and takes a step backwards. Rikki grins and tells Terry, “Very funny. You can stop it now.”

Terry glances over at Adam and, while pointing his finger at him, says, “Dude. That was priceless. I always wanted to do that.”

Adam nods and says with a sigh of relief, “Holy shit.”

Terry crumples up the empty bag in his hands and shouts to Rikki, “Soooo...Where shall I send you, my dear?”

Alexandria raises her hands as she says, “Let me explain.”

The soldier yells, “Kiss the floor right now or I’ll make a hole in your fucking head, you freak!”

Just as she is about to kneel, the soldier’s gun gets taken away by Sajjad in a matter of seconds. He then gets hit in the stomach with it and given a lethal punch in the face by Frank. Sajjad warns everyone by saying, “I am sure there are more where he came from.”

Using his heightened sense of hearing, David listens closely to the footsteps of about forty soldiers heading their way. He grabs Alexandria’s arm and says, “There are. Let’s get out of here.”

They all run as fast as they can toward the escape pods. Alexandria places Phoebe down on the seat, fastens her seat belt and frantically searches for the button to lower the canopy. Phoebe smiles and says while pressing the correct button, “Here it is, Alex!”

Soon after the canopy closes shut, the soldiers arrive and begin opening fire on all of them. They enter the pods and David shouts while searching inside, “How do you close it?”

Meanwhile, Jerry is sitting down on the floor as he gets a notification on his portable device. He faked his own death so that they would not return for him. While sweating profusely, he mutters, “It’s about time. Take care of yourself, Phoebe.”

He touches the screen to access the escape pod terminal and enters a password. A soldier arrives in front of him, kicks the device out of his hands and points an assault rifle at his head. This makes Jerry grin and slowly raise his trembling middle finger. The soldier pulls the trigger resulting in half of Jerry’s face getting blown apart.

David watches the canopy close on its own and realizes that the bullets aren’t penetrating. Suddenly, the interior of the escape pod lights up and the humming of its engines are heard. As the five pods rapidly enter the tubes, one of the soldiers manages to slightly damage Phoebe’s, as well as Frank’s, engine with two carefully aimed shots. Three pods are seen flying away in an Eastern direction while the other two spirals the other way with smoke exiting the engines. Phoebe’s hair is white with fear as she holds Fluffy close to her chest. While the pod is spinning out of control, she screams loudly, “I don’t want to do this anymore!”

Somewhere near the vicinity of the Bermuda Triangle, Indrid’s ship is seen descending toward the ocean. Inside, Barbara and Dr. Frankenstein observe Henry as he holds a distraught Dawn in his arms. Indrid says loudly, “Ludwig. Three objects are approaching at a high rate of speed.”

Dr. Frankenstein arrives behind her and gazes at the screen. He then says in a curious tone, “They are spherical in shape. Which can mean one thing.”

The ship tilts slightly in order to avoid a mid-air collision with the escape pods. One by one, they splash directly into the calm waters of the ocean. Indrid replies, “Emergency escape pods from Area 51.”

Alexandria cannot see anything due to the constant movement of the pod. She hears the voice of her father say, “Remain calm, konfect. I am here.”

A glimmering white light surrounds her and she instantly disappears. Alexandria appears on Indrid’s ship and she is given a warm welcome by her relieved father. He kisses her on her forehead and says to her with relief, “You’re safe.”

After several minutes of feeling comforted in her father’s arms, she searches all around and notices that Sajjad, as well as David, is safely aboard the ship. She asks, “Where’s Phoebe? And Josh’s granddad?”

Indrid explains, “I am afraid that there was no one else here besides the three of you.”

Alexandria feels her heart sink and places the palm of her hand on her forehead while saying, “We lost them. Shit. We have to go look for them. Please, dad.”

“We will, konfect. But now is not the time. Your mother is expecting us.”

Alexandria pulls on her hair in frustration and sits down. She whispers to herself, “I failed Jerry...and Josh.”

Barbara tries to raise her spirits by saying, “Their pods must have malfunctioned. When the time comes, we’ll all help you replace them. Okay?”

Alexandria gives her a warm grin and nods. Dr. Frankenstein tells her confidently, “Of course, we will, konfect. I do need to search for your uncle as well so we can take the opportunity to search for them when the time comes.”

Dr. Frankenstein sees Queen Thessalonike’s face appear on the screen and says to her, “Greetings, Thessa.”

She nods and asks, “Are you and Alexandria safe?”

“Yes, my queen. However, we are in need of assistance. Indrid’s ship does not have enough power to take us to Atlantis.”

The queen tells him in a firm manner, “Say no more. I will have Commander Derceto lead a rescue party to bring you here.”

Dr. Frankenstein bows his head and says, “Thank you, Thessa.”

The communication ends and Indrid says, “You did not mention Miss McPherson.”

“Not to worry, Indrid. She enjoys surprises.”

“I replace that hard to believe, Ludwig.”

On the other side of the country, a hiss is heard and Melanie slowly walks inside of the underground shelter accompanied by her relatively new parents. Her father arrives behind her, places his hand on her shoulder and says, “Your room is down the hallway, Vicky.”

“Okay, dad.”

As she walks away, her mother informs her father in a low tone, “We need to provide a status report, Les.”

Leslie Madison gives her a quick glance and nods in agreement. He then sits down and turns on his desktop computer. During the boot-up, he asks her, “You think Vicky is finally getting used to us, Rhonda?”

Rhonda’s eyes widen in shock and Leslie shuts his eyes upon realizing that he, inadvertently, used his partner’s real name. She gives him a gentle smack on the back of his head and whispers, “Very nice, hubby. I’m Leanne Madison, remember? Let me go check on her while you do that.”

While making her way down the narrow hallway, CIA Agent Rhonda Palmer notices a bright flash of light emanating from Melanie’s bedroom which dissipates in a matter of seconds. She decides not to call her partner and, instead, quickly enters the doorway to replace fellow agent Rikki Hillman standing next to Melanie’s bed. Rikki grins at her and says, “It’s been a while, Rhonda.”

“Rikki? What the hell are you doing here? Oh, and thanks for blowing my cover.”

“Oops. Well...I’m here to take Melanie with me.”

Having had the memories of her previous life erased, Melanie replaces herself bewildered and frightened. She asks in a trembling voice, “Mom? What’s going on?”

“Obviously, I’m not your mother. I’d like to know what’s going on, too. Care to explain, Rikki?”

Just as Les arrives at the doorway, Rikki grabs Melanie by the wrist and replies, “Keeping a promise I made to a friend. Now, Terry.”

Rikki and Melanie both get surrounded by a glimmering, white light and disappear seconds later. Les tells Rhonda, “So much for that.”

Back on Indrid’s ship, Commander Derceto’s face appears on the screen and she greets authoritatively, “Salve, doctor. Prepare to have your ship teleported into ours.”

Dr. Frankenstein lowers his head out of respect and replies, “Salve, Commander Derceto. Thank you.”

The ship fades away from sight and reappears inside of the huge vessel’s docking area. Commander Derceto arrives and is wearing her Atlantean military uniform. A white light shines in front of her and Dr. Frankenstein appears along with the rest of the ship’s occupants. The doctor takes her hand while saying, “We appreciate what you have done for us, commander.”

Derceto smiles at him and nods. The smile gradually fades as she notices a young human girl standing next to Henry. She proceeds to walk toward them while asking in a stern manner, “What is the meaning of this?”

Dr. Frankenstein says to her, “My sincere apologies, commander. Allow me to introduce...”

Derceto gives him a disconcerted look and asks, “She knows about us?”

Henry steps forward and says to her, “I told her, commander. Her name is Dawn McPherson.”

Derceto stares at him in disbelief for minute and finally shouts, “The queen will not be pleased with either of us if I allow this...Dawn McPherson...to enter Atlantis!”

Dawn interrupts them by saying, “Look...I’ll stay. Just erase my memory and...”

Alexandria pulls on her arm and says, “No! I’ll take responsibility for whatever happens, commander.” She continues by adding, “Now...I am giving you a direct order. We are all going to Atlantis.”

Dr. Frankenstein cannot believe that he has just witnessed his daughter taking responsibility. Commander Derceto takes a step back and grins at her. She says to Alexandria, “It would seem that this adventure has served you well, princess. As you wish.” She then speaks into her wrist, “Captain. Let’s return to Atlantis.”

The low hum of the engines are heard as the vessel departs. Derceto tells everyone, “You are all free to explore if you so desire.”

She walks away and Dr. Frankenstein decides to accompany her. While walking next to her, he says, “I apologize for not mentioning the girl, commander. She has nowhere else to go.”

“It is not I that you should apologize to.”

“I’m not too concerned. Once I mesmerize her with my manly charm, she will have no choice but to allow him to stay.”

Commander Derceto almost laughs but somehow manages to maintain her composure.

Indrid walks toward her ship and tells everyone, “I will stay with the ship to overlook the re-energizing procedure.”

As she walks away, Dawn gazes at the architecture of the vessel and asks, “What kind of submarine is this?”

Alexandria is relieved to replace her in a better mood and replies cheerfully, “Oh, it’s not a submarine. This is actually the southwestern section of Atlantis.”

Dawn is shocked at her explanation and asks, “This is part of a city?”

Alexandria tugs on her arm and replies, “Come on. Let me show you around.”

While walking with her, Dawn says to Henry in a low voice, “This all seems like a dream.”

Alexandria cannot help but think about Joshua, his grandfather and Phoebe. The fact that the people that she cares about are now missing makes her feel a sudden chill.