• Published 1st Feb 2012
  • 7,215 Views, 429 Comments

War of the Fallen Race - PegasusKlondike

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Rise of The Beasts

The living embodiment of energy on her world would have wept, but she could not. Instead, she sent one last, desperate message to her children, reaching out across the world to touch them in the one place where they would listen, their dreams. You were warned, do not fight this and it will not hurt you. Live with peace and harmony and you shall be ignored.

***********************************************

There was an infernal racket, straight from the depths of hell, ringing straight into his ear. Without opening his eyes, Aaron Patterson tried futilely to destroy that damn alarm clock with a fist. Wrenching open his bloodshot eyes, he threw back his musty sheets and swung his legs over the edge of his lumpy bed. His neck felt stiff, he rolled his head with a series of satisfying cracks and pops. "Oh yeah, that's better than morning sex," he said as a small smile crept across his face, the joints in his neck sufficiently damaged and irreparably worn enough to start the day.

Scratching himself in some unsavory places, he meandered over to his bathroom. Looking past the mold and mildew that seemed to be spreading in the corner of his bathroom ceiling, he turned the knob on his shower. Leaving his hand under the water for a full minute, Aaron grumbled when it didn't get warm. Cranking it up all the way to hellfire and brimstone setting, the water stayed cold. "Son of a bitch. Mr Gariti, you asshole." Cursing the damnable filth that was Mr Greedy, his landlord, Aaron took a very cold shower.

Despite being cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey, it felt manly. Not quite as manly when he shrieked like a little girl, plunging head on into the torrent of icewater. Scrubbing off with more speed than a Bugatti powered by cheetah blood, Aaron went on to the next step in his morning ritual. Shaving off his short stubble with a cheap razor, he inspected his face in the mirror. He needed a new haircut; his short, brown hair getting just a little on the more untamed side.

Walking back to his room, he opened his dresser to grab a polo and a pair of khakis for his job. Tugging them on, he grabbed his wallet and phone, tucking them into his pocket. He stopped before he went into his living room, placing a kiss on his fingers and then touching his framed diploma that hung beside his doorway. Dr. Aaron Patterson, Doctor of Evolutionary Biology. It was his claim to fame, and right below that hung his claim to shame.

His thesis. That damnable, stupid, poorly backed doctoral thesis. What the hell was he thinking when he wrote it? Sudden speciation as a response to environmental changes, and he meant sudden. One or two generations quick. He meant to write something about the positive use of parasitic worms in the medical sector, but his mom had basically forced him to write that as a thesis as some desperate attempt to make it up to his religious fundamentalist dad. They locked horns a lot since high school, his dad being a former Catholic priest and all. Suffice to say they didn't talk much anymore.

"Hmph, Dr Aaron Patterson, bank teller... doesn't really roll off the tongue well." He gave his doctorate certificate another loving touch before going to his kitchen. Using the last of his bread to make an impromptu egg sandwich, he munched on it while watching the morning news.

He turned up the volume to a certain news report. "Scientists have discovered a new species of cat in Borneo last week. It is believed that this little kitty might be related to the rare and highly endangered clouded leopard, prompting its discoverer, Dr James Holquist, to proclaim it to be a separate species previously unknown to science."

A handful of egg sandwich splattered against the screen when a picture of a grinning young man holding a diminutive, tranquilized cat came up. "Holquist you brown noser! That was supposed to be me on that expedition! You only made it through Professor Bremme's course because of me, you good for nothing backstabber!"

Muttering to himself about all those times he let Holquist copy his lab results, Aaron wiped off his TV screen with a towel. Too pissed to do a good job, he sat back in his chair to finish his coffee before he had to go to work.

"And now over to weather with Melissa Guiterrez."

"Thanks Diane. We're expecting cloudy weather today over most of the tri-state area with a high of sixty degrees. Unseasonably high, am I right? We can expect this little February heat wave to be over by the end of the week. There is about a forty percent chance of rain in the evening, but with the way this system is moving, we might just get a little bit here and there. On another note, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is reporting an odd rise in electromagnetism in the lower atmosphere. It may interfere with some electronics, but we are being assured that it is nothing to worry about."

Aaron liked to think that he was worldly, so he switched over to CNN for his dose of political headbutting for the morning. As usual, there was a heated debate between the host and a random analyst dragged from the bottom of the barrel.

"Despite what President Obama did after the Iranian nuclear attacks, our situation with North Korea and China has not improved! And I applaud our current administration for what we have done by complying with the UN's declaration of total nuclear disarmament. But totally crippling our armed forces by cutting back spending by four hundred billion dollars?! That is just a sign of weakness in our current situation!"

"Mr. Bouchie, it's not about weakness, reducing our military is a sign of trust to our enemies and an economic godsend. We're still trillions in debt, yes. But with half a trillion a year being saved by the government, think of the possible economic boost!"

"Economic reform and trust with our allies is no excuse to crap all over the Second Amendment! Congress went too damn far when they passed those gun control laws here in the United States. This is one step away from a tyranny, those fat cats in Congress want the people as poorly armed as possible so they can't fight back when they start black-bagging people!"

"For the last time, the nuclear disarmament and our own gun control laws are two separate issues! Those laws were passed for the safety of American citizens. How many gun related deaths have there been since those laws were passed, hmm?"

"Very few, but the crime rate hasn't gone down a single percent in the four years since that bill made it through Congress."

Checking his watch, Aaron noticed he had an hour and a half before he had to make the daily trudge to the local bank to be a mindless drone. Picking up the remote, he flipped through the channels, stopping at some televised psychic hotline. Watching this kind of mumbo-jumbo always made him feel better about his situation in life, knowing that there were people stupid enough out there to believe in this.

A older woman wearing a loose, garishly colored robe sat behind a table covered in tarot cards and a crystal ball, her mystic outfit offset by the very modern earpiece and mini microphone on the collar of her robe. "Yes, and how can Madam Selena help you today caller?"

"Um, I need a dream interpreted," the current caller replied.

"Ah yes, Madam Selena has always been gifted with interpreting dreams. What is your dream young sir?"

"Well, it's odd... it was all the normal stuff I dream about, but right before I woke up, someone spoke to me. Someone I've never met before said, 'You were warned, do not fight this and it will not hurt you. Live with peace and harmony and you shall be ignored.' My dreams are always foggy, but this was so real, and I remember it perfectly."

The robed psychic looked mildly annoyed. "Okay, is this some kind of a prank? You're the twelfth caller this hour reporting the exact same dream. I'm not accepting any more dream interpretations for the next hour. Next caller please."

Aaron turned off his TV. "Coincidence...it has to be. That or all those people have been smokin' the same weed." Checking his watch, he noticed he still had well over an hour before the bank opened today. Getting up, he decided to be a good employee and head in early.

******************************************

Aaron sat behind his desk at the community bank, listening to the clock tick while counting out the deposit slips at his desk. Having enough to hopefully get through the day, he removed the small sign from the front of his booth. It was a short business day, being a Saturday and all. Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad...

His optimistic thought process was interrupted when he noticed the wall of people outside the door of the bank. The senior teller glanced back at all the open teller booths, taking in a deep breath as she unlocked the door. A wall of human bodies forced their way in, each clamoring to be the first to get to the tellers.

A man in a business suit managed to get to Aaron first. "I need to make a withdrawal!"

"Okay sir, I just need your account number and the amount that you need."

The man slapped down a piece of paper on the counter. "All of it. I need every penny in my account."

Aaron looked up from the withdrawal slip he was filling out. "This is none of my business, but may I ask why?"

The businessman looked around frantically, licking his lips. "I don't know. I just know that I need to be ready, and that someone is watching me..."

For the next four hours that the bank was open, it was the same story over and over again. People were paranoid of something horrible happening soon. They took out their entire life savings over a bad feeling. Something was definitely in the air. Literally, the very air felt different, like it was charged and electrified. All the other bank tellers caught on to the paranoia craze, withdrawing their savings and getting out the door the second the bank closed.

Aaron closed up that afternoon, locking the doors and leaving his pitiful amount of cash where it was. Walking the few blocks back to his apartment, he thought about going to the local dojo for a little venting through hapkido. He had been rather good back in high school, but he didn't really do it much anymore.

Rounding a corner, Aaron ran full on into somebody. "Oh my god I'm so sorry," he said as he rubbed his own head. Looking at the other person, he noticed this guy looked terrible. Unshaven, bedraggled and utterly crazy, but dressed like he just walked out of a Fortune 500 company. The strange man grabbed Aaron's coat by the collar, bringing him close.

"She's coming! We failed as children and now she's coming to pacify the evil in man!" the stranger hissed to Aaron's face.

Aaron held up his hands defensively. "Look man, I don't have any money. We don't want to get the cops involved, so just stay cool man."

The crazed man looked around for a watcher. "No! I don't want to hurt you!" He looked around again, shouting to the empty street. "You hear that! I don't want to hurt him! I donated all my money to charity, I'm a good person! I've never done anything wrong, I won't fight it when it comes!"

Aaron decided to get a little martial arts practice anyways, grabbing the stranger by the wrists and twisting them inward. He kicked out with a knee, hitting the man straight in the stomach and doubling him over in pain. Aaron tossed him aside. "Go to a goddamn mental institute ya lunatic!" Aaron continued his walk home, muttering to himself about how the world seemed to be going psycho, more so than usual.

*************************************************

Aaron stopped by his post box, pulling out a small pile of letters before locking it up and heading back up to his apartment. Unlocking his apartment door and flipping on the lights, he set his letters down on the kitchen counter and started to go through them.

Unsurprisingly, the first was a student loan bill. He tossed that one to the side. The second appeared to be from his landlord, also tossed to the side. The third was from his bank, opening it up he discovered an account statement for his credit card. "What the hell? Two plane tickets to Aruba and a two week stay at the Sandals resort? God damn it!" He tore the statement in a dozen pieces, remembering that his parents had said they were going to Aruba and staying at a Sandals resort for two weeks. "Is this some kind of revenge for me not settling down yet or are they just fucking spiteful!?"

After a few minutes of swearing and eventually calming down, he opened his fridge and grabbed a cold beer. It was all that was left in his fridge, so he sipped it instead of chugging it down like he wanted to. Sitting down in his living room chair, he noticed his answering machine had a few messages on it. So he still had an answering machine, so what?

Pressing the play button, he sat back and let the pain begin. "Patterson you worthless bum! It's Gariti, I'm shuttin' off your hot water until you pay your goddamn bill!"

"I did pay it, jerk. You just never pick up your mail," Aaron muttered to himself and deleted that one, moving on to the next message.

"Hey Aaron, it's Stacy. I'm gonna keep it short, I'm breaking up with you. You know that guy we saw at that party last month, Jeff? Well Jeff just became single and I'm saying sayonora to you! He screws me like a real man! And by the way, I'm having your cat put down, Jeff is allergic."

Aaron took a swig out of his beer as he deleted that one. "Sucks to be Jeff. I'll miss that cat though." With all the bad luck today, he considered not listening to that last message. But he figured it couldn't get any worse.

"Hello, this is Dr Bergmeier from Johns Hopkins University." Aaron's heart nearly leapt into his throat, his eyes widening. This could be the big break in the storm of bad luck that was his life. "We received your resume, Dr Patterson. And I must say that it is impressive. But I also have a copy of your thesis here. And I'm sorry to say that we will be denying you for the position on our research staff."

His eye twitched, jabbing the answering machine with a finger he deleted the message. He stood from his chair, walked to the fridge, and grabbed another beer. Sitting down in front of his TV, he flipped it on to watch old reruns of I Love Lucy. Just another day in the life of Dr Aaron Patterson.

***********************************************************

And then that night the world changed, some argue that it was the darkest moment in human history, others say it was the beginning of their salvation. None can argue that it was not the dawn of a new era.

Sitting in his rundown apartment, he flipped through the channels on his small TV, leaned back heavily in his battered and beaten chair. Thumbing through the mind numbing drivel that America chose to put on television these days, he noticed something on the screen.

"Static? But this is digital, there can't be static." Reaching to the television, a spark arced to his hand. An odd discharge of green energy, but it didn't hurt like electricity. Looking around, he saw the same sparks arcing through all of the electronics in his apartment. Standing in fear, Aaron backed away to his wall. His apartment complex began to shake like it was some kind of earthquake, Aaron glanced towards his window, a glow began to fill the window. The same forest green color that arced between the electronics.

Shakily he reached out to part his curtains, pulling them apart his gaze was filled by a wall of green energy that slammed into his building, passing through the walls but throwing the scientist back. With a groan he stood back up, rubbing the sore spot on his backside. Outside, car alarms blared, then faded away to silence. All the lights had burned out simultaneously, picking up his remote Aaron aimed it at his TV in the dark. After a few minutes of trying, he stumbled to his cabinet to light a candle. "Okay, it's just a power surge, no big deal."

Yeah, power surges knock you off your feet and are bright green. Definitely a power surge, genius.

Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he actually managed to get the device to turn on. Dialing the number to his landlord, all he got was the dial tone. Tossing his phone onto his coffee table, Aaron flopped down into his chair. The lights flickered back on, going to the TV dials he flipped on the television. Most channels contained only static, and the only ones he got were the local analog stations.

The local reporter looked panicked as he spoke into an antiquated microphone. "Meteorologists are uncertain as to the nature of the event, but what is known is that most, if not all digital functions have been completely annihilated. This strange wave is being reported by all of our sister stations that we can get in contact with, suggesting that it is not localized. Repeat, this power surge is not localized." Another man rushed up and gave the reporter a card. The reporter nodded as he read it, "We've just gotten word that police patrols are reporting hostility from unknown attackers. The hostile actions are mostly reported in the countryside, but all civilians are advised to stay inside and lock their doors. National Guard and Army units have been called out to combat the unknown threat."

Aaron's jaw dropped. "What the hell is happening out there?"

For the next few hours he didn't leave that chair, taking in the shocking events that unfolded. Later reports claimed that animals were acting strangely, even being violent when approached. Army units refused to disclose the identity of the assailants, acknowledging that even they were in the dark from their superiors.

The sun rose the next morning with Aaron still glued to his television set, trying to glean whatever he could about the situation. All the media kept saying was that most digital functions had been destroyed, animals were acting odd and that civilians should stay inside and lock their doors. Nothing helpful of course.

Eventually deciding that the media as a whole was now useless, Aaron went to his bookshelf and searched for anything amongst his huge piles of textbooks and biology journals that might be a hint to what was going on. Sipping a lukewarm cup of coffee, he passed over various articles on the effects of mind altering chemicals and pathogens. "Too quick to be chemical in nature, too widespread to be viral," he murmured to himself.

As he set a medical dictionary back on top of the shelf, a thin book fell from the shelf, one he had forgotten long ago. And this certain book was cracked open to a certain page, one flowing with ancient symbols and their meanings. As a teenager he had taken an interest in mythology and the occult, mostly to try and make his conservative Catholic father angry. But this particular page piqued his interest, it was a page of Gaia symbols. Aaron looked at it nervously. "Thought I sold you in the last garage sale before I moved here." Grabbing the book he stuffed it back onto the shelf.

Throughout the day he heard gunshots off in the distance. At least they were in the distance and staying there. Going through his meager rations of Ramen and barbecue sauce, he sat back in his chair and re-immersed himself in the media. Late that afternoon, his relatively narrow world was about to get much wider.

A knock on his apartment door shattered his fixation on his TV. Turning it off, he checked the time to find he had been consumed by this phenomenon for nearly twenty-four hours straight. Remembering what the reporter said earlier, Aaron armed himself. Grabbing the baseball bat hidden in his closet, he peered through the peephole of his apartment door. The stare of a man in military fatigues met his eye there, followed by another set of furious knocks. Setting his bat aside, he unlocked and opened the door. "Bit early for Halloween isn't it?" he said to the trio.

The fatigued soldier had the single gold leaf of a Major pinned to his lapels, with a pair of grunt privates on either side of him, both in full combat dress with assault weaponry. "Dr Aaron Patterson?" asked the Major.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Dr. Patterson, your area of expertise is required as a part of a top secret mission concerning our national security."

"I don't quite recall giving the government my name as a specialist at any time," replied the biologist.

The Army Major opened a small briefcase, pulling out a sheaf of papers. Aaron grimaced as he saw a copy of his doctoral thesis on top of the pile. "We aren't very prone to asking nicely for anything that we want. Is this your work?"

The doctor sighed. "Yeah, that crack brained little theory is my baby. In retrospect it should have been an abortion."

"You've been selected by a board of Pentagon specialists to be a part of a team to investigate this recent energy surge. As you are apart of the team, I can disclose the fact that it concerns the recent rise in animal aggression on humans," the Major responded flatly.

"Isn't that Animal Control's concern, or maybe the ASPCA?"

"Don't be a smartass, now that this information has been revealed, you either come with us willingly or you serve an indeterminate sentence in a federal prison. You will be compensated for your time and efforts. Which by your bank account statement," the Major pulled out another piece of paper, "You're in desperate need of."

Aaron's eyes narrowed as he realized they probably had every single scrap of paper with his name on it that had ever been printed in that briefcase."So it's prison, or go with you guys. I'll take my chances with you guys," the meek scientist said.

"Very good." The Major nodded to the soldiers next to him. They left his side, taking to either side of the drafted scientist and escorting him away.

"Wait a minute! Shouldn't I pack or something?" Aaron yelled to the Major.

"That will be taken care of, Dr Patterson," the officer replied.

The world must really be going to hell if they are coming to me for help. Who could argue with him; of an average build, and around 6 feet tall, the brown-hair-brown-eyed scientist could think of several dozen of his colleagues that would fit the bill of "top secret military entrusted scientist". His only claim to fame being that he had busted his ass in college and earned a doctorate in evolutionary biology at around 24. That was a year ago. And here he was today being hauled into the back seat of a desert fatigued Humvee by two grunts who probably just returned from the latest Mid-Eastern war.

The drive to the base took an entire day, glancing to his surroundings Dr Patterson could only guess that they were somewhere in the Midwest, Ohio, Illinois or maybe Missouri. Several times other military vehicles joined their convoy, some missing their full complements of soldiers, others looking like they had recently seen heavy combat.

Dr. Patterson spoke up finally after hours of silence. "Okay Major, the whole animal thing was a joke to get me out of the door, what the hell is really going on?"

The ranking officer turned his head and said with a touch of venom. "You think the United States military would pull an egghead like you out of the private sector with some bullshit excuse? Lives are being lost out there, not just American lives either."

Rounding a bend the convoy screeched to a halt, looking out the front window, Dr Patterson looked out the front window in confusion. Some crude roadblock had been constructed out of boulders, fencing, and anything else that seemed handy.

"Ambush!" screamed the marine in the gunner position.

From the hills on either side of the road poured down an avalanche of boulders, most missing, but some rolling with enough precision to hit the vehicles in the convoy. The radio blared with the noise of confusion and gunfire sounded out from every side. A stray boulder struck the side of the vehicle, prompting Dr Patterson to take cover on the floor of the backseat. One of the soldiers still in the vehicle handed Patterson a 9mm. "Point and shoot if those bastards come too close!"

As suddenly as it began, the attack was over. The staccato report of infantry rifles shooting at shadows persisted for a few seconds, then stopped. Finally rising from his hiding place in the floorboard of the Humvee, the only thing Dr Patterson could recall before the attack was a shadow standing atop the ridge, a shape tugging memories from his childhood when he had lived on his parent's farm. The unique and undeniable silhouette of a horse.

A few injuries were sustained, but thankfully nobody was killed. To clear the roadblock a Buffalo IED sweeper was brought from the rear of the convoy, and within a few more uneventful hours the convoy reached its destination, a military research base in the hills of the eastern Midwest.

The fort was huge, covering possibly thousands of acres and ringed by twenty foot fences on every side. Watch towers stood every hundred feet or so, large spotlights illuminating huge swaths of ground outside the base. Like all research facilities, it maintained a heavy guard presence. But the amount of firepower present here was close to ridiculous. Aaron knew that typically normal army bases and research facilities didn't mix very well, but this place had the look of being all Army. A large tarmac housed dozens of helicopters and even a small flight of jet fighters and bombers. Row upon row of tanks, APCs, jeeps, missile units, artillery units, humvees, and transport trucks sat idle inside of the fences of the fort.

But not all the ordinance was idle. As the convoy made its way towards the gate, a pair of gunships passed overhead, approaching the landing zone to refuel. Several transport trucks bearing the red cross of medic units drove past the convoy on its way in.

Passing the outer defenses and clearing every checkpoint, Dr Patterson got a good look at the inner facility. More than anything else it resembled a research facility; large office and administration buildings, single story storage units, the works. Other features did bear the Army's calling card; helipads, barracks, rec centers, ammo dumps and engineering sheds were mixed in with the research facility. But strangely, several chemical tanks stood off away from the main buildings. Marked with a noncombustible chemical signal and the sign for nitrogen.

The Major turned in his seat and addressed the scientist. "Welcome to Fort Greenewell, Dr Patterson. This is your ID card, wear it all times. Anyone not in a uniform who isn't wearing one of these is shot on sight."

Dr Patterson clipped on the badge. "What's with the nitrogen tanks?" he asked the Major.

"Classified," was the only answer he got.

Exiting the Humvee, Dr Patterson was escorted into the nearest building for his briefing. Inside, the scenery took on a hospital like sterility. All the walls were white, as was the ceiling, and the characteristic, indescribable scent of sterility consumed the young biologist. He was led to a conference room and upon entering was astounded by the sheer amount of scientific super powers that inhabited the cramped room.

He took the last open seat, next to an older woman whose blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. Her ID badge identified the person as Dr. Eve Mcentyre, one of the most influential and advanced experts in her field. Dr. Patterson tried to initiate a conversation with his hero. "Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't you Dr Mcentyre? The Dr Mcentyre who pioneered viral engineering in the medical sector?"

"The one and only," replied the scientist.

"I cannot express how important I believe your work was in supporting my theories on sudden evolutionary advance! I mean, your ability to craft a single mutation into almost a completely new organism parallels my theory of similar occurrences in nature!"

She took a look at his badge. "Wait, I think I know you kid. You're that guy who was supposed to be a rising star in biology, I read your thesis, kinda goes against the principles of Darwinism. Heard no sane person would take you on postgrad."

He quickly tried to change the subject. "Uh, yeah, so what are we here for?"

"I don't know yet, has to be something huge if they pulled all of these people off their various projects."

The answer came quickly, as a man whose military fatigues bore the silver eagle of a Colonel called attention to the front, the lights dimmed and a projector illuminated the wall behind the Colonel.

"If I could have your attention everyone, I am Colonel Winters, C.O. of Fort Greenwell. You are probably all aware of the gravity of the outside situation. Not many of us know what the aggressor is; whatever it is, it is not human. Satellite scans detected a huge surge of an unknown form of energy encompassing the entire globe. After that we don't know what happened, the same surge managed to fry every man-made object currently in orbit. So until we can reestablish orbital control, we are blind."

A middle aged man stood up and voiced his confusion. "What does destroyed satellites have to do with us? Most of the assembled scientists here are biologists and physicists! Is the energy source extraterrestrial in origin? Is it radioactive?"

"No, all ground level scans reveal that the source IS the Earth. High altitude scans and ground reports all say that no nuclear launches have been detected, especially since we disarmed every last one on the planet. Furthermore, we have lost communications with all foreign countries as well as most major cities. Earlier a platoon managed to kill an aggressor, and brought the body back for analysis. This is what you are here for." And with that statement an image filled the projector screen. An image which confused Dr Patterson more than anything else.