Stonewall pinched his nostrils. "I say, what fiendish mess have you visited upon us?"
Jon peeked into the box and observed, "That’s the creature from last night."
Reverend Johnny said, "I recognized the ship that spirited away our friends. It was a ‘Chariot’ driven by The Order, not quite an animal yet more than machine."
Lori stumbled with the words as she said, "Nina gave Trevor to The Order?"
Shepherd quickly replied, "That makes no sense."
"Is it possible that Ms. Forest was having an implant?" Omar asked.
Jon said, "She had no blotches. She was never alone to get them. I don’t think they could’ve gotten into her apartment to implant her without the alarm sounding-wait a second…she was alone… once. For three days. Back when you first crashed. Wow."
Reverend Johnny fiddled with the dead mass in the box.
Lori did not believe it. "No, she would’ve shown signs a long time ago."
"Cast your eyes upon this fiend," Reverend Johnny interrupted. "I think it shall reveal answers unto us."
He pulled loose a messy, slimy chunk of the creature, a sort of pouch made of a clear, plastic-like flesh.
"I have conducted many exams of The Order’s machinations and have come to recognize this part of their biotechnology. This organ produces a transmission. Yes that’s it-a signal."
Stonewall asked, "So it could roust reinforcements? Or send a message on our whereabouts, perhaps?"
"I fear we are dealing with something even beyond my direct experience," Johnny cautioned. "But the Lord has blessed me with the intelligence to venture a guess as to the purpose behind this vile creature. You say Ms. Forest disappeared for three days?"
"Yep," Shepherd answered. "But that was a good month and a half ago. She’s shown no signs of an implant. She was acting all normal up ‘til this afternoon."
"When she asked Trevor to go on a picnic." Lori remembered she had encouraged Trevor to go. Maybe she should not have stuck her nose in after all.
"Hear me out, friends. One thing my trials and tribulations have taught is that The Order is a clever bunch. Blasphemous, but clever. Based on the evidence my eyes show me and the words you tell about Ms. Forest, I must conclude that during her hiatus she was implanted with something new. Something that sat dormant until activated by this gruesome specimen."
"Good, God," Jon gasped. "Then they made sure we found her so we’d bring her back here. But why?"
Stonewall said, "We all know Mr. Stone is blessed with unusual…'assets,' that have given us a fighting chance. If The Order knew there was someone out there of his capacity…"
Jon completed the thought as he waved a small cloud of Omar’s smoke away: "They could find him by using a survivor to track him down and eliminate that threat."
Lori, relieved, said, "So Nina is innocent."
Shepherd remained puzzled. "That doesn’t explain why she thinks Trevor killed Scott or why she has memories of being in love with that guy."
The Reverend proclaimed, "Some revelations must wait."
"Excuse me for being such a pesky nose-sticker-in," Omar said as he took another nervous drag from his smoke. "But I do not see how this revelation changes the situation."
Reverend Johnny offered an answer.
"My friends, I have told you that The Order uses a bio technology and that technology can be countered by enzymes- specific enzymes. It’s as if each of their unholy creatures comes in batches from similar-but not identical-organic machines that vary from region to region. I have removed dozens of implants from The Order’s victims in the weeks before I found my home here. All of those implants shared a common source, just as this miserable creature in this metal box came from that same place. It’s the reason I was moving south when I had the fortune to make your acquaintance."
Jon led, "And that place is…?"
The Reverend removed the box and its messy contents from the desktop.
"Another blessing of saving a soul from The Order after implantation is that they have some recollection of the experience. I can tell you with confidence that The Order’s closest outpost-the one from whence all these beings have been constructed-is here…"
He slammed a finger onto the map, pointing to a mid-sized city to the south.
Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"That’s only two hours away on the turnpike." Lori sounded relieved.
Jon groaned and told her, "Two hours at sixty-five on a clear turnpike."
Stonewall McAllister explained further: "I fear that journey would be across a hostile landscape with ferocious beasts waiting at every turn. The comfort and seclusion of this estate has blinded some of us to the reality that awaits just a few miles over yonder."
"People, just so we’re clear," Jon said, "we’re talking about some sixty or seventy miles."
Lori asked, "Reverend, I want the truth. What do you think is going to happen to Trevor? If they wanted him dead, they would’ve killed him on the mountain. Can we save him?"
"Even if they violate him with an implant today we should have some time to remove it. Still, I cannot see the truth. If I’m right in what this vile creature did to Ms. Forest, even my knowledge of The Order is humble."
Shepherd’s eyes grew wide and in a panicked voice he asked, "What about Nina?"
"Again, Mr. Shepherd, I can not say. However, she was not showing any blotches on her skin. Perhaps she, too, may be salvaged."
Jon leaned low over the map and scratched his chin.
"What say you?" Shepherd asked Jon.
"What? It's not up to me."
"Yes, it's your decision," Shepherd said. "You've been Trevor's right-hand guy since we got here. He trusts your judgment. Seems to me this one is on your shoulders, like it or not."
Jon stood straight and glanced around the room. He saw all eyes on him.
"I owe him," Jon said. "I think we all do. So there really isn't much of a decision to make. Let's go. Let's go and get him back."
– Trevor blinked his eyes open and found himself staring up at a softly glowing ball planted high in a black ceiling.
A woman's voice commanded, "Wake up you murdering son of a bitch."
His senses rebooted, one at a time.
Behind the voice, he heard a strange, unsettling sound; a noise like breathing, or perhaps a vibration from some arcane machine. The air felt warm and moist, but also carried a heavy, rotting feeling as if the air itself had spoiled.
Images-memories-assembled like puzzle pieces fitting into place.
The mountain top…the thing in the sky…
Panic slammed his gut.
"Nina! Nina, are you okay?"
Her voice snarled, "I’m fine now that you’re going to pay for what you did."
A binding of some kind-wet rope? — restrained his arms and legs as he lay on a hard table. The area around him, beyond the rim of light cast from above, hid in darkness but he sensed a wide-open chamber.
A shiver shot through his body and he realized he wore no clothes. Interestingly, he still felt the slight weight of the key around his neck, yet he could not see it. Perhaps only his eyes could see that key, if it really existed at all.
Nina stepped into the light and glared at him with contempt.
"You killed Scott. I remember now."
His confusion and the horrid surroundings stayed any feelings of bashfulness. He lay naked, strapped to a table in front of her, but that seemed so very unimportant.
"Nina, what are you talking about? Where are we?"
"I brought you to The Order; your greatest enemy. They will do worse than kill you."
Her rage emanated so powerfully that Trevor immediately saw it as forced. Even in his groggy state of mind, he knew he had never met-let alone killed-Scott.
"What do you remember, Nina?"