Page 37 of Dark Medicine

“May I sit down?” he said, taking a tentative step forward.

“There,” said Kane, pointing to a chair against the wall.

The group would be near him but prevent him from leaving if something happened. Adam placed himself between the man and Fiona, his large body a perfect blockade in case he attacked.

“I promise that I mean no harm to anyone. My name is Uri Bellum, Sgt. Uri Bellum.”

“Bellum? You were with the 10thMountain Division,” said Kane. “I was part of a joint mission with you many moons ago.”

“Yes. Yes, I remember,” he said, looking at Kane. “Please, if you’ll let me explain, I think we may be able to help one another.”

“We’re listening,” said Adam. “But you have a lot of explaining to do, asshole. You try to kill Fiona and take shots at the rest of us, and then just walk in here expecting that we’re going to listen to you AND help?”

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said, looking at Fiona. “I truly meant you no harm. Moore’s orders were to bring you to him, or my wife and daughter would die.”

Fiona’s eyes grew wide, and she started to stand, but Adam held her still. Uri held up a hand, waving her back down.

“They’re safe, for now. I’m not sure how long I can keep them that way, but that’s another story.”

The group waited for Uri to continue. He was nervous and rightfully so. He was sitting in the midst of trained soldiers, but not just soldiers. These people were part of Moore’s Aries Project, and he knew exactly what that meant.

“Colonel Weston Moore is behind all of this. Your families and each of you were chosen to be a part of his Aries Project.”

“Aries? Like the God of war?” asked Aislinn.

“Yes, exactly like the God of War. In 1970, right in the middle of the Vietnam War, the military discovered a powder that they hoped could be a chemical weapon. A biological killer. Its foundation was from a rare jungle plant, but it could be replicated in the laboratory. The concept was that the powder would be placed in a torpedo or missile-like containers and dropped in war zones. Unfortunately, the powder didn’t have the effect they hoped.”

“What effect did they hope it would have?” asked Flip.

“They hoped it would kill everyone it touched. It was to be used as a chemical weapon against the Vietcong. Unfortunately, it had strange effects but only on a few people. Moore was a young medic trying to prove himself. He used the POWs in his camp as unwilling subjects. He pulled a Hitler on them. He corralled them into a building and released the powder. Nothing happened, or so he thought. A few days later, a few of the men were showing signs of unusual skills.”

“What kind of unusual skills?”

“Some possessed superior strength, others superior intelligence, and others possessed nothing. Nothing changed. Moore was obsessed with finding out why only some experienced effects. He went back to his superiors, but they told him to shut it down. Obviously, he didn’t listen. He was able to convince every doctor and every scientist within the command of the project. In the end, the only thing he found in common with those that possessed new abilities was their age.”

“Their age?” asked Fiona.

“Yes. They were all under the age of eighteen, most much younger. It was the trigger. He needed to find something that would justify his continuation of the project. He finagled a command at Sierra, remote, low population, no civilians to speak of. It was perfect. He then tried to get either soldiers with young families or contractors with young families stationed at the Depot but not too many. He only wanted a few at a time so as not to draw suspicion.

“All of you weren’t accidental. I’ve seen the files, the records. He planned your arrival and your family’s arrival at the Depot.”

“So, the pink dust we all remember as children is this dust associated with the Aries Project?” asked Adam. Uri nodded his head.

“It manipulates the DNA in ways that no one understands. It’s obvious, looking at all of you, that you still possess whatever abilities it gave you. He’s wondered about that for years. Whether or not it would dissipate over time. Apparently, the changes in the DNA are irreversible.”

“How many of us are there?” asked Kane through clenched teeth.

“I’m not sure. At least fifty, maybe more. However, I suspect that some may have taken their own lives or were institutionalized. As you well know, there wasn’t a user manual or training on how to deal with the gifts. I know for a fact at least eleven killed themselves. I have no clue how many more died before I came under Moore’s command eight years ago. Moore believed that eventually, the mutations of the DNA would send a homing-like signal to others, and you would find one another.”

“A homing signal? We’re not fucking pigeons,” said Spook.

“No, no, you’re not. Yet here you all are together. My guess is you all suspected something different in the others. We’ve seen it before. It’s like a calling card that only you can recognize.”

“So, why are you here? Why are you here now to tell us this?” asked Flip.

“Because no matter what, I’m a dead man. What I want is for my daughter and wife to be safe, and in order for that to happen, Moore needs to be dead. I need your help in accomplishing that task.”

“You want us to help you kill Colonel Moore?” asked Adam.

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