Rise of the Fallen: Ascensionis Read online

  Chapter I

  It's a chilly February morning in Center City, Philadelphia. The serenity of the sky is suddenly overcome with the blaring sounds of police car sirens. Thirty year old Lieutenant Barbara Echevarria is sitting on the edge of a bed inside of the Four Seasons Hotel. Her long dark brown hair sways back and forth against her slightly tanned skin as she gathers her belongings. While rushing to get her jeans on, thirty-five year old Jonathan Morales turns over and shows his bare, muscular chest while yawning.

  “Come back to bed, Barbara. I'm sure they can handle it.”

  Barbara glances at his chest and indeed is tempted to stay in bed with him. His wedding ring catches her attention when he uses his hand to brush his hair. This doesn't bother her. She enjoys having things just the way they are. No commitments. No children. No bullshit. Just get the sex out of the way and move on with life as usual. Barbara's known Jonathan since her childhood so he understands her wishes to not be tied down.

  She replies, “Sorry, Jonathan. I need to be there.”

  Barbara exits the apartment and runs toward the elevator. She then glances down at her watch and sees that it's currently 8:55 AM. The traffic is going to be a nightmare. Lieutenant Barbara Echevarria is considered the best hostage negotiator in Pennsylvania having a very high rate of success in ending the situation with little or no violence. At exactly eight in the morning, a deranged individual took a classroom hostage at the Friends Select School in Center City.

  Barbara opens the driver's side door of her vintage Mustang and quickly enters. She starts the engine and the tires screech as her foot pushes down the gas pedal. Her cell phone rings. The image on the screen is of her captain.

  “I shouldn't do this but...”

  Barbara takes her eyes off of the street for just a few seconds to answer the call. When she looks up, the traffic has stopped because of a red light ahead. With not enough time to hit the brakes, Barbara turns the steering wheel and successfully avoids an accident. She turns her head to her left and is shocked at the sight of a tractor trailer truck getting ready to impact the car.

  She whispers, “No.”

  The truck slams into the car and the passenger window shatters into pieces. A shard of glass punctures Barbara's right eye and she screams in pain as the car begins to tilt. The onlookers witness in horror as the car flips over and over again. The flipping finally comes to an end and the demolished car is on what's left of its tires. Barbara notices the scent of gasoline and struggles to open the crushed passenger door.

  Barbara begins to lose consciousness due to the tremendous blood loss. The car suddenly gets engulfed with flames and she begins to cry as she witnesses her own legs catching fire. People outside begin to scream in terror as they watch Barbara get cooked alive. Out of nowhere, a police officer opens the passenger door and Barbara's burning body falls to the street. Her body quickly gets covered with blankets to put out the fire. Barbara finally loses all consciousness.

  She inexplicably finds herself deep within what looks like a secluded forest. It is once again the same recurring dream where she sees herself in the body of a scared little girl running through the woods...as if searching for something.

  Barbara slowly opens her eye and notices a nurse injecting her with a syringe. Her eye looks around and she realizes that she is in a hospital room.

  The nurse looks at her and says with a southern accent, “You're awake. Good. Try not to talk, okay? Your vocal cords are severely damaged.”

  She notices the blurry form of a person sitting on a chair beside her. It's Jonathan. His eyelids are swollen and his face covered with a mixture of sweat and tears. He rises to his feet and walks until he is standing next to her. The burns on her face are so severe that she can't even manage to form a smile. He places his finger on her lips to prevent her from speaking.

  “My God, Barbara. It's a miracle you survived. You know that?”

  Of course, Jonathan doesn't expect her to respond and takes a deep breath before talking again. The heavily bandaged thing on the hospital bed that used to be beautiful is now staring at him with that one eye...eyebrows burned off completely. Never, in his wildest imagination, did he envision getting repulsed by her appearance.

  “I have to go soon. I just wanted to tell you that...I can't do this. What we had was wonderful, but it has to end.”

  Barbara begins grunting and twisting her bandaged body in a state of panic. She is feeling vulnerable right now and the only person that comes the closest to a best friend is leaving her...tossing her away to the garbage can like a charred chunk of over-barbecued beef.

  “Stop it! I can't take care of you...I mean, your legs are gone for God's sake!”

  A raspy and nasty sound comes out of Barbara's mouth. “What?”

  She looks down and finds that what Jonathan is saying is true. Her legs are gone...forever. She shakes her head in denial and looks up at the ceiling praying to God in silence (because her throat still hurts from whispering that one word) that this is all a nightmare.

  The nurse becomes outraged at Jonathan's lack of compassion and tells him using a scornful tone, “That's it. Get out of here before I call security, you son of a bitch.”

  Jonathan places his hand over his mouth and wishes that he could take back what he said to her. The nurse is right. He's a selfish son of a bitch and a rotten excuse for a friend. He immediately exits the room to avoid upsetting her even more and whispers, “I’m so sorry, Barbara.”

  Barbara uses her head as if requesting that the nurse come closer. She whispers into her ear while crying, “Kill...me.”

  “You know I can't do that, girl. God saved you for a reason. Don't you give up on Him now. Sleep...that's what you need. Rest.”

  Barbara is too upset to sleep but finds it impossible to keep her eyelids open. They close and she falls asleep. She awakens again the following day and the person sitting beside her comes into focus. Barbara looks at this old, white-haired man with curiosity.

  He grins and says with a thick Swiss accent, “Welcome back, Lieutenant.”

  Barbara continues to stare at this strange old man whom she does not recognize. His age has to be somewhere in the range of sixties to early seventies. She closes her eyes and thinks about the children at the school. The man says to her while gazing at his watch, “Just so you know, the children from the school survived. The terrorist surrendered.”

  He moves closer to Barbara and asks, “I bet you're wondering who the hell I am, yes?”

  The old man sits back and says in a serious manner, “My name is Dr. Frankenstein. Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein.”

  Barbara's eye widens and she whispers, “Nurse!”

  “You don't believe me. All stories originate from a truth.”

  He turns his head and motions to the mysterious person waiting outside to come inside. The person walks inside and Barbara is somewhat confused by his...or her...appearance. It is difficult to determine the gender of this pale-skinned person with long, straight black hair. He or she walks and stands next to Dr. Frankenstein. Barbara stares at this person's facial structure. Its nose is smaller than a regular person's and its mouth is just a thin slit with feminine lips. She then looks nervously at Dr. Frankenstein.

  He says to Barbara, “This is my friend, Indrid Cold.”

  Barbara cannot believe what she is witnessing and clicks on the button in her hand to summon the nurse. Not a sound is heard as she frantically presses the button several times.

  “I'm sorry, Lieutenant. We cannot have any interruptions.”

  Dr. Frankenstein stands up and says in a higher tone, “I'm going to have Indrid create a telepathic bubble for us.”

  He then closes the door
and nods to Indrid Cold. She removes her sunglasses to reveal her eyes. Barbara is shocked to see that they are both completely black. However, there is a shimmer caused by the light inside of the hospital room and she can now see her reflection. They remind her of the time when she was about ten and she found a shiny obsidian ring while looking through her grandmother's jewelry box. All of a sudden, a strange wave is seen emanating from Indrid's body. The three of them are consumed by the telepathic bubble which resembles being underwater. Barbara looks at Dr. Frankenstein and thinks, “Am I dreaming? Is this real?”

  Dr. Frankenstein replies by thinking, “This is not a dream, Lieutenant. It is very much real.”

  Indrid adds by thinking, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Barbara Echevarria.”

  Barbara gives Indrid a frightened look and begins to wonder why her right eye is covered completely.

  Indrid informs her, “Your right eye has been removed.”

  The news makes her close her eye and wish that this all was just a terrible nightmare. But this is the harsh reality.

  “What do you want?”

  Dr. Frankenstein smiles and replies by thinking, “I want to fix you. Make you better. Give you another eye. If you allow me, I can make you into something extraordinary and beautiful.”

  “You want to turn me into a monster? You want to fix me with dead body parts?”

  Dr. Frankenstein laughs. “No, my dear. I will be using state of the art technology. Think of it as prosthetics but with living android tissue.”

  Barbara does not reply and instead looks down at her amputated legs. She starts to see the grim reality that awaits her. Years of therapy and constant pain. Not to mention that she'll also have to get accustomed to using one eye. She would also face not being able to continue with her job as a hostage negotiator. Would she be able to cope with all of that and relying on the help of other people after years of being independent?

  Dr. Frankenstein waits patiently for Barbara's response. He looks at Indrid and begins to wonder if he made the correct choice. Indrid nods and looks down at Barbara. After several minutes of silence, Barbara looks up at Dr. Frankenstein with a stern expression on her bandaged face.

  “What would happen to my life if I accept? Would I be able to continue living normally?”

  Dr. Frankenstein hesitates and gently strokes his white goatee while explaining, “No. You will need to leave all of that behind. To the public, you will have died from extensive injuries.”

  Barbara now realizes why Dr. Frankenstein chose her. She has no family. Her parents are dead. She never married and does not have any children. No one would really miss her. She looks up at Dr. Frankenstein and nods in acceptance. He clenches his fist and sighs with relief. The doctor gently places his hand on her forehead and gestures to Indrid to step closer. He then says, “Very well. We'll be starting right now, Barbara. Indrid will stop your heart and you will die shortly afterwards.”

  Indrid ends the telepathic session and looks deeply into Barbara's eye. She quickly becomes consumed with an overwhelming sensation of fear. Her body begins to shake violently and the heart monitor beeps faster and faster. In the blink of an eye, both Indrid and Dr. Frankenstein disappear. The nurse opens the door and quickly runs to Barbara's side while frantically shouting.

  “Code blue! Bring the cart!”

  She finally gives a long gasp and passes away. The faint sound of a doctor yelling, “Five milligrams of Epinephrine stat!” is heard nearby. The noise of the panic-stricken voices gradually lowers to the point that only mumbling can be heard.

  Another dream. Barbara is now hiding but she does not know the reason. The freezing rain is coming down hard and she is finding it difficult to prevent her teeth from chattering. In the distance, men are screaming obscenities in Spanish. Maybe she is trying to hide from them?

  Barbara awakens and finds herself sitting on what seems to be a dentist's chair. She raises her hand and gently touches her new blue eye. She then realizes that her hand looks different. It is a feminine hand but not her own. The skin complexion is lighter and is missing the scar she got on her elbow when she was a child. She looks up her arm and begins to breathe nervously when she notices how the skin tone gets darker. Dr. Frankenstein suddenly appears behind Barbara and says, “Welcome back to the world of the living! Oh, and sorry about the heart attack. I could not risk an autopsy finding something suspicious in your bloodstream.”

  She does not reply and looks in amazement at her newly implanted legs. She then begins to cry with happiness as she wiggles her toes. Dr. Frankenstein lowers his head next to hers and whispers, “Extraordinary. Is it not?”

  Barbara laughs as she nods in agreement. She then wraps her arms around the doctor’s neck and hugs him tightly. He strokes her half-blonde, half-black hair gently as he grins at her.

  “I'll just perform a few final tests and then you'll be able to meet the others.”

  Dr. Frankenstein walks toward his computer terminal and sits down on his chair. After typing several commands, a robotic arm appears and moves toward Barbara. She is fascinated by the sophisticated design which reminds her of a science fiction movie. A needle begins to protrude out of one of its fingers. Without looking at Barbara, he says, “I need to make sure that your nerves are operating properly. You may feel just a slight bit of pain.”

  She squints in pain as the needle touches each one of her fingers and toes. She then realizes that she feels nothing when the needle inserts into the toes of her left foot.

  Dr. Frankenstein notices this and says, “Don't worry. I will take care of that.”

  Barbara's eyes widen as Dr. Frankenstein grabs hold of a much longer needle. He looks at her and says, “I'll need for you to look down at the floor, Barbara.”

  After a brief hesitation, she lowers her head as instructed. Dr. Frankenstein walks toward Barbara and says with a sort of fatherly concern in his voice, “This is going to feel strange and somewhat uncomfortable but it is extremely important that you remain still.”

  She gasps as she feels the needle puncture the skin of the back of her neck. After completely inserting the needle, Dr. Frankenstein walks back to his computer terminal. As he quickly types, Barbara asks, “Do you work for the government?”

  He grins and replies, “I used to. My father, Victor Frankenstein, was part of a secretive program called Project Paperclip back in 1945. It was then that he was working on his first experiment. Ah ha...there is the problem.”

  After a moment of silence, he continues, “Harry Truman found the prospect of having a super soldier very enticing. A soldier that did not need sleep nor food and immune to any form of disease.”

  Dr. Frankenstein stands up and walks toward Barbara. As he gently removes the needle from her neck, he says, “My father's experiment was comprised of the remains of deceased human beings. After bringing him to life, he noticed something about him. He was not just a mindless creature. To his amazement, this creature had a very gentle soul and the curiosity of a child. My father was determined to find a way for him to escape and live a peaceful life away from humanity.”

  He walks back to his computer terminal and sits down. The robotic arm activates and proceeds to insert the needle into each one of Barbara's toes. This time, she feels the pain. Dr. Frankenstein sits back and reminisces.

  “He lives out there deep in the wilderness. He has been spotted from time to time on several occasions and has been given a name. Bigfoot.”

  Barbara opens her mouth slightly to express her shock and says, “No way.”

  Dr. Frankenstein stands up and points to the folded clothing beside him. He smiles as he looks at Barbara and says, “Enough about me. Here are your clothes. I'll be waiting outside to give you a tour of this facility and introduce you to the others.”

  She clumsily stands up and asks, “Where am I?”

  As he opens the door and begins to walk out, he turns his head and replies, “Careful, now. It will take you some time to get accustomed. You need to
see it to believe it.”

  Barbara puts her clothes on and walks toward the door. She searches for a way to open it because it lacks a door knob. As soon as she steps forward, the door slides open. While taking a peek outside, she sees how the tunnel resembles the inside of a submarine.

  “Is this supposed to shock me?”

  He does not reply and climbs up the ladder. She shakes her head in disappointment and follows his lead. Her eyes squint as she looks up at the opening. Suddenly, her new eye glows a bright blue and Barbara is now able to zoom further. They are inside of a building maybe? Why is the ceiling moving? She proceeds to slowly climb up the ladder. A wrinkly, old hand appears and she grabs it tightly.

  Dr. Frankenstein pulls on Barbara's hand until she is finally able to stand on her feet. To her surprise, she sees that they are inside of a transparent dome. Stepping closer to the wall, she becomes startled at the sight of several fish swimming by. Barbara raises her hand and slowly begins to touch the wall with her finger. She feels the coldness as her fingertip makes contact with the water. Almost as if the wall doesn't exist. She pulls out her finger and stares at the water as it drips to the floor. Dr. Frankenstein asks, “How's this for shocking?”

  “How is this possible?”

  “I could try to explain it. However, I need you awake for the rest of the tour.”

  Dr. Frankenstein extends his arm. Barbara walks toward him and places her hand in his arm. As they proceed to walk down a long corridor, she is amazed at the beautiful oceanic life swimming around them. They reach the end of the corridor and Dr. Frankenstein motions with his hand allowing Barbara to walk through the doorway first. She steps forward and the door slides open. Barbara does not believe what she sees in front of her. The way to best describe this marvelous architecture would be imagining the departure area of an airport decorated with marble floors and walls. The Corinthian style pillars were also made of marble and lined with a gold-like substance which made it glisten. The windows were similar to the transparent dome structure in that one can feel the water outside. Dr. Frankenstein stands beside Barbara and says, “Welcome to Atlantis.”