Terror Unleashed

iUniverse, Inc.

Contents

1. Arrested..........................................12. The Breakdown Begins..............................363. London Bridge is Falling Down.....................664. What Makes a Human?...............................1035. Is Any Place Safe?................................1396. Mankind Hides.....................................1687. The War Begins....................................2008. We Lose...........................................2369. My God, What Have We Done?........................27010. Brains versus Brawn..............................30211. The New Order....................................342

Chapter One

"Stop him! Stop that — that ... mutant!!!"

The Military Police gave chase, but Harland had a good head start. He weaved through the pedestrian traffic in the basement labyrinth of the Pentagon, banging into some, though avoiding most. Soon he slammed into a three-star general that turned, gaping in affront, to find out what peon had the gall to assault him. Harland's survival instincts were at full throttle with the fight-or-flight control fixed firmly on flight. With avian reasoning instincts, he knew the way to freedom was up, so he headed for the nearest stairs. Edging by the general, respectfully, the MPs broke into a sprint trying desperately to capture Harland.

"Subject is heading for the stairs to the first floor and will most likely try to make a break for the nearest door.... Cover all exits," the lead MP said into his microphone without breaking stride. "Subject is a mutant bird man wearing a major's uniform. He is considered highly dangerous and wanted for murdering a nurse. Approach with weapons drawn, using all caution."

Klaxons blared overhead warning all personnel to evacuate the hallways and close themselves into locked offices. Following Pentagon protocol, people began in orderly fashion to proceed to designated emergency areas, clearing the way for the military police to enter. With their weapons drawn, they entered and moved quickly through the halls. After 9/11, the military brass realized that the Pentagon was vulnerable, so they instituted emergency procedures to deal with every contingency they could imagine.

Harland's devolution allowed him to almost fly up the stairs. With his mind focused on going up, he headed towards the roof of the inner ring of the Pentagon instead of towards the exits at ground level. There he hid in a restroom as MPs pounded past on their way to covering all the exits. The Pentagon is a huge place where even someone who has worked there for many years can get lost if he or she wanders out of his or her routine path. Harland, however, had spent many long, lonely years in the basement working at a dead end job, and had taken to exploring the different levels and rings during his breaks to add some interest to his days. Although there were many areas his clearance would not allow him to enter, he had managed to find many nooks and crannies, not to mention places that were continuously under construction where a quiet man could hide, unnoticed. He made use of the information he had gathered to dart from one hiding place to another as he slowly made his way towards his goal.

It was true that Harland now had many features of a hawk from taking enhancement pills to correct his vision. Most of the feathers that now covered his body were covered by his uniform. There were many majors in the building. He was not the only person in the building who had taken the pills and who had experienced the devolution track of taking on the characteristics of birds. In the confusion, many clueless people were stopped and held at gun point until it was ascertained that they were not Major Harland Parker.

A tedious office by office, ring by ring, level by level search was begun by the MPs with the investigated areas sealed off so Harland could not slip behind them to escape. All the exits were blocked by fully armed MPs. Slowly; the noose was drawing tighter, leaving Harland fewer choices of places to hide and the MPs fewer places left to search.

Harland decided that it was time to make a break for it and head for the final set of stairs that would take him to the roof. He cautiously opened the door and peeked around it. About 30 yards down the hall, a squad of MPs headed away from him. Harland decided to give them a few more seconds to get around the bend in the corridor. However, as he tried to quietly ease the door shut again, his talons were not able to maintain a firm grip on the smooth doorknob, like a human's hand can easily do. The doorknob slipped from his grasp and clicked loudly. Harland held his breath, not daring to move, hoping the MPs were too far away to hear the noise, and listened for the sound of their boots moving away.

Harland's luck had just run out. One of the MPs had turned around — about to say something — and he not only heard the sound of the door, but also saw a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. He signaled for the other MPs, making them freeze in their tracks. Putting a finger to his lips, the alert MP motioned down the hallway to the closed supply room door. Checking their drawn weapons, they began a swift turn, nearly in unison, but they were too late.

Harland, with the extraordinary hearing and response time of a startled bird, had heard the footsteps stop and nearly flew out of the trap of the supply closet and was halfway up the stairs across from it before the MPs could complete their turn. Though their orders were to capture Harland and bring him in, one of the MPs thought the flash of Harland's extra long talons was the barrel of a gun, and began firing. Trusting the lead of the first shooter all the MPs brought their weapons to bear and opened fire.

Harland was part way up the stairs when the barrage of fire started. With the maneuverability of a bird he dodged back and forth as he leapt up the remaining steps and was out of sight of the MPs as he headed for the roof. Because he had moved to the inner rings to escape capture early, he was far from the perimeter of the building as he exited onto the roof. He started across what looked like the length of a few football fields to get to the edge, each step taking him closer to freedom.

The MPs pounded up the steps after him, stopping at the top to regroup. Their assumption was that Harland would aim towards another downward stairwell, following on the idea they had that he would eventually dash for an exit door on the first floor. With all the heating and air conditioning units, communication equipment, and security apparatus on the roof, it was hard to tell which direction Harland had gone. Not only was their vision blocked, but it was noisy on the roof and they could not hear Harland's light footsteps.

Running flat out with large leaps between steps, Harland felt encumbered and he shed his jacket and tied his shirt around his waist. He kicked off the shoes he had bought in increasingly larger sizes as his foot talons grew. Regardless of the bigger size, they now felt too inhibiting. If he had the time to stop, he would have gotten rid of his pants, too, but he knew there was no time to waste. He had heard the MPs reach the roof, and though puzzled at why they weren't following him, he was glad for the lead this afforded him.

Reaching the edge of the building, Harland found a high ledge and climbed out onto it. As he scrambled up,...