18 December, 2024 @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2597 (Part 16) | Prompt: (a silver coin)

Part 15 (The Lie Unravels In the Silver Silencing): Recap

Annetta, Julius, and Benetiz remained cautious, surveying the hidden facility that externally resembled a vacation get-a-way. The air in the cabin smelled of ozone, pine needles, and the distinct, metallic tang of cooling fluid.

Mildly surprised, Vera moved quickly toward Amos with the anticipation of a seasoned researcher. She inventoried him from head to toe. Initially frowning, searching for a signature, a genetic whisper; her expression shifted as she sequenced his internal structure.

"Hold on a minute," she ordered, pivoting toward the lab table. She returned, a scanner in her hand. Through the thermal feed, she saw the Cigol DNA was subtle, woven into his marrow, but unmistakable.

Behind them, the radio crackled. "Yes, I've confirmed. And, I've been monitoring activity," Vera stated.

Confused, Amos merely stared, glancing with jerky movements from Viktor to Vera, unsure whether to trust either. "You're talking about me as if I weren't human," Amos interjected.

"You're not," Vera responded tersely, holding out a silver, glowing vial. "Your father was human, but your mother was a Cigol test subject. Viktor, take him downstairs immediately!" she ordered.

The revelation felt like a sudden shift in gravity. He turned to face Viktor. "I'm...not human?" Amos stammered.

"All your questions will be answered. Hurry along." Viktor turned to Vera. "Keep a lookout." She nodded, while Viktor guided Amos toward the basement. Annetta, Julius, and Benetiz followed.

They descended the stairs. Down a long, narrow hallway, they walked briskly toward a secure room. Inside the makeshift, but highly-advanced lab, Amos watched Viktor dim the lights, then shuffle toward and hover wrinkled fingers over a transparent holopad; the only light coming from the flickering holoscreen revealing output only he knew. But the hologram of a double-helix structure was wrong—the base pair glowing a soft, tangled, violet strand.

Viktor jerked his head around and stared at Amos. "You need to sit."

Amos sat, his back razor straight glancing down at his own hands, the veins suddenly appearing almost luminous under the lab's low light, wondering why hadn't he noticed all those years. He seemed to be vibrating. The familiar "human" aches in his bones hadn't been arthritis; they were cellular restructuring.

"You have inherited a recessive non-human gene that appears dormant. I can't ascertain when or what circumstances will trigger activation. "You are the unanticipated product of both worlds," Viktor stated, but my boss, Benedikt Inhumos at ICO North Headquarters, believes you hold the key to human-alien genetic integration. To him, you're a superior weapon."

Amos’ shock crystallized into an unfamiliar cold, focused fury.

You see, thirty years ago there were four. Two mating Cigol pairs. Shipped from ICO Bridge Planet 9, derailment at the extraction point separated the four experimental subjects. Instead of mating with their assigned counterpart to produce the virus, the female subjects vanished. Years past. ICO became certain the pair mated with humans. The result. A mutated strain of the virus in the general population. But who and where?

Annetta nodded. Ashamed of her part in the conspiracy, she inched closer to Amos.

"It's true, brother. My parents explained it when I came of age. We were forced to keep you a secret. Especially from Cunnelda who is too loyal to the ICO. Your biological mother demanded it by her actions before she died, threatening to leave with you. You're not my brother, but my cousin."

Even more confused, Amos slowly removed Annetta's hand from his shoulder, simply staring into her face. A slight resemblance stood staring at him. "Cousin?" You're riddled more than those two weird individuals calling themselves scientists.

"My older brother discovered your mother hiding one night near a railway yard. Clearly distressed, he rescued her. She was different, but she was alone and frightened. She didn't understand our language."

"Apparently well enough to submit to conceiving me." Amos' tone turned sarcastic, mixed with confusion.

Viktor cleared his throat. "All that's non-essential. What's important is the mission that threatens our planet and all inhabitants."

"What do you mean?" Amos looked quizzically. "Are we being invaded by aliens?" If it wasn't both outrageous and frightening, he would have chuckled.

Viktor continued. "I discovered that by accident. Omicron Vorsey Planet 9 is its official name forbidden to be mentioned anywhere on Earth. Only the superiors at the four ICO District Offices know of its existence and purpose. They use the acronym "OVP9". After reaching Earth, Benedikt applied a simpler name his crew and inner circle humans on board with his mission could adapt to: "ICO Bridge Planet 9."

"You mean we're being manipulated by aliens!" Amos shuddered before shrinking back.

"Not only manipulation, but domination of a very tiny world. They're behind the scene. The frontrunners, ICO, is the middleman. Or should I say, middle alien liaison. ICO has a stake in how OVP9 manages its conquest of Earth. You see, OVP9 is a carbon planet in a small solar system with three other planets; but dying. Scarce nutrients forced Zolgroth, their Supreme Leader, to look elsewhere outside their galaxy for survival."

Weary, Viktor paused. "I'm dead tired and must eat before I faint. Let's return upstairs. Vera's an excellent host."

"I figured you'd be starving after the day you've encountered," Vera suggested to the group. "Come, help yourself. There's plenty."

The group consumed their supper. A hush fell over the room as Vera observed each of them. She already knew the context of the conversation; especially eyeing Amos' somber expression.

He was first to break the silence. "Does anyone on our planet know? I mean, humans. And what silences them?" glancing from Vera to Viktor.

Viktor set his drink down. "Those under the illusion the ICO has created a better world through the only enticement humans responded to. Greed. Benedikt discovered this and informed Zolgroth. Thus, the Silver Coin. The control key. Pendant of Eternal Life or Perpetual Dread. Hanging on a wall in my office at ICO North is its photo with those words. And the final blow ensuring compliance. "YOUR CHOICE".

"Some alternative," Amos grimaced, rubbing his short beard, then continued. "So you do ICO's bidding? At what cost did you betray your fellow human beings?" He paused, then rushed forth the answer he'd heard others mention.

"The Silver Coin with no life expectancy date encoded?"

"You don't understand," Viktor replied exasperated. My mission was to uncover the truth. I've worked at the Research Center for over twenty years. You pick up tidbits over time. The first year I overheard them mention OVP9, my curiosity peaked. The Silver Coin controls humans with mind manipulation. Once ICO secures the planet, OVP9 can "as you say, come out of hiding and reveal themselves. One is no better than the other. However, ICO most closely resembles human features, with slight modifications."

Viktor hesitated, searching each person's reaction, but focusing mainly on Amos' stunned silence and chiseled face. He believes me. Good, he assured himself, as Annetta, Julius, and Benetiz stared into space, unable to find the words for his unbelievable story.

With confidence, he continued. "I've been searching for the missing link. The truth unearthing the connection about who's currently in charge of our planet. And the truth led me after twenty years to you, Amos Goodall."

The words hung in the air between them like complex mathematical formula being analyzed. Amos broke his gaze; by then he realized the implication. All those years growing up in a household full of siblings feeling out of place, that indeed, he didn't belong.

*A human-hybrid with a parasitic genetic marker dormant for twenty years. Cigol. The realization hit him not as fear, but a cold, burning clarity. He was a hybrid-human. He felt his pulse spike, a strange buzzing noise vibrating at the base of his skull...a latent hybrid trait awakening. *

An undeniable fragment of life.

Now, Part 16: (The Awakening)

Amos pushed his plate with a force that almost topped his drink. "I've no appetite. Learning you're not human isn't something you discover over dinner." A hybrid-human. The missing link. But missing link to what? An alien race settled among us on this planet? Should I even be eating human food? Amos thought.

"You're just tired, brother," Annetta comforted, suppressing a chuckle.

"You're probably right. I've enough news for tonight, so will turn in. Jumbled thoughts wouldn't allow space for next plans."

A hidden room in the basement next to the lab was Amos' shelter. He quickly settled in. A weariness he'd never felt before grabbed his consciousness and scurried off to an unfamiliar place without form or substance.

He dozed off, but not for long. Recently, in ICO North prison, memories of his childhood began to fad, replaced by strange, vivid sensations of a cold and blue light he couldn't explain. Just usual nightmares, he assumed.

But this time, a night terror visited. Worlds he couldn't completely connect. Planet 9. Peering into the darkness, a veil opened, exposing what his mind conjured up as a demon in hideous form. It sat on a silver throne. Its piercing eyes connected with Amos and compelled him to draw closer.

Amos jumped up from the bed, his dark eyes staring into dark space. Shouting, he headed toward the lab. Viktor immediately joined him, as did the others.

Viktor flicked on the lights.

Amos felt an unfamiliar urge to connect, a pulling sensation in the back of his mind. He hurried to the corner of the lab where a specially prepared Faraday cage sat waiting. He pulled out the only keepsake from his incarceration at ICO North hospital: the deactivated Silver Coin.

He threw the heavy copper door open and placed the Silver Coin on the pedestal. It started to vibrate. The metal surface shifted, glowing with an inner light, turning into a miniature swirling vortex.

Something inside Amos fluttered as though awakened by a spark of life. His eyes turned solid, glossy black, lacking any iris. Looking down at his own hand; the skin seemed slightly translucent under the harsh LED lights.

He didn't need to speak; just focus his intent on the vortex. A deep, resonating voice echoed in his mind, void of human warmth before a hideous alien form materialized.

Over six foot, Zolgroth sat steely but elegantly. As witnessed in his meeting with Benedikt, Zolgroth's enormous vacant eyes shuttered rapidly as his two protracted arms gripped the silver throne. Zolgroth's thin mouth and nose, typical of their mammal race, quivered. His long ears hung to his broad chest, covering small horns that extended to his back. Smooth skin, though very thick and strong rose slightly from beneath covered short hairs as if agitated.

Annetta, Julius, Benetiz, and Viktor shrank back, horrified at the sight.

Zolgroth connected with Amos.

"The hybrid awakens. My Son. Greetings," Zolgroth screeched in thunderous voice. You have managed to do what Benedikt has not." His cold, sinister stare and hideous presence, shouldn't have, but sent chills through Amos.

"Zolgoth," Amos declared with authority. "I am not your son."

Immediately, Zolgroth's color changed in skin from a mixture of black and orange to gray. Without warning, the portal closed, leaving the coin dull and cold once more.

Amos knew. Call it other worldly knowledge that surfaced. He jerked a sharp pivot. The familiar man Annetta and Julius had known vanished. In its place stood the hybrid-human with narrow, solid, glossy black eyes, lacking any iris staring back. In a different tone, he spoke.

"The Supreme Leader knows my location. But I also know that he has changed his plans. Zolgroth’s ultimate plan to conquer Earth with the mind-controlling Silver Coin failed. Fifty years, and it couldn't manipulate one hundred percent of the population. No longer is Earth a viable haven for relocation. He deems the project a failure and has ordered Benedikt to annihilate the planet. His dream of a compliant utopia had shattered."

A collective gasp broke the silence in the lab, overshadowing its low hum.

Amos turned to Viktor, his eyes glowing faintly. "Start the car. We have a compound to destroy."

"Let's not make a hasty decision. We need to discuss this more. An attack of this magnitude must be planned with precision."

"No time. I know..." Before Amos could finish, an alarm rang throughout the basement.

It wasn't the buzzing from the testing equipment, but Zolgroth's face issuing orders to Benedikt that flashed before Amos' eyes. He didn't understand how, but since connecting with Zolgroth, a grid behind the Silver Coin outlining his surroundings replaced the natural environment he once knew and cherished. Rather than admit defeat to other planets in his universe, Zolgroth was willing to scorch the Earth to wipe out the rebels, regardless of the faithful.

Amos bolted upstairs, with Viktor an the group following.

Vera stood waiting, weapons in hand; a multi-talented research scientist. She tossed one to each of her guests.

They assumed Amos froze from fright as he closed his eyes, listening. To them, the summer air around the lake cabin was dead quiet. To him, dense pines around the cabin shuddered. Dry twigs snapped unnaturally. Faint mechanized whirs of optic sensors buzzed. Metal. Unnatural, cold, and marching in sync. Zolgroth’s ICO Watchtower soldiers had located him.

They'll obliterate me if I allow them to draw me outside. Let me come get me. I can wait, he reasoned.

He didn't have long to wait. Immediately, the first bullet shattered the front window. With the agility of a thirty-year old, Amos yelled to the others to hide. He dropped, rolling behind the solid oak dining table just as a barrage of plasma fire turned the cabin’s walls into a hail of glowing splinters.

No time to think, only to react. Using his hybrid reflexes, he vaulted over the back of the couch, drawing twin plasma revolvers. Through the front window, he caught a glimpse of his attackers: three Watchtower ICO soldiers, their faceless chrome helmets gleaming in the twilight. They were heavily armored.

Amos didn't hesitate. He focused, then fired two precise shots piercing the glowing red optical sensors of the lead soldier. The soldier collapsed instantly, its heavy armor clattering against the wooden deck.

The remaining two soldiers fanned out, attempting a pincer movement to box Amos inside. One soldier threw a grenade through the broken window.

Amos knew he had mere seconds before the cabin went up in flames. Signaling to Vera to abandon the cabin; then to the rest to leave their weapons, he surged forward. He slid across the hardwood floor, directly toward the second soldier.

Before the second soldier could raise his rifle, Amos slammed his fist into his chest plate. The armor buckled inward. Amos used the momentum to deliver a low sweeping kick to knock him off balance, then vault over the stunned soldier, grabbing his heavy-duty assault rifle mid-air, and pivot.

He fired a continuous, sweeping burst of rounds into the third soldier's legs that gave out; dropping him to one knee. Amos didn't relent, emptying the magazine directly into the soldier's unprotected neck seal.

Breathing heavily, he turned his attention to the second soldier, who was recovering slightly from the chest blow. With a swift, calculated strike using the butt of the rifle, Amos shattered his helmet visor. The soldier fell backward and collapsed onto the porch.

The cabin around him began to ignite as the grenade sparked. Amos grabbed a duffel bag and a radio from one of the dead soldiers. As they lay collapsed on the porch, he looked out over the dark, quiet lake.

Listening to the distant, crackling static, he knew that with Zolgroth's shift toward total annihilation, the real war for Earth was only just getting started.

Zolgroth had ordered an alien army to Earth, and the planet's window to survive had just narrowed.

Amos melted into the dark, encroaching woods to locate Annetta, leaving the burning cabin and the fallen soldiers behind.

[to be continued]