Revelations

CHAPTER TWO

Wilderness near Archangelsk, Russia.

“Well that took longer than you promised,” Boris said with a smile to Janna.

“It’s not my fault that the damned site had spoofing measures in place to disguise where the Etheric energy was being drawn.” Janna retorted. “And Konrad had hidden the location well. Probably only a handful of his top people knew where this place was. All the convoys headed here stayed. At least four hundred people — could be as many as eight hundred,” she grumped.

Boris scratched his cheek, “Yes, I know. And we picked up some interesting local legends for the area. It seemed odd that the belief in the fight between Michael and the Devil happened west of Archangelsk, but narrowing down where they changed from ‘the battle was to the west’ to ‘the battle was to the east’ was a stroke of genius. Not something I would have thought of,” he responded.

Janna considered his comment, “I wouldn’t have thought of it either until it became obvious something screwed the ability to triangulate based on whatever it is drawing on the Etheric.”

Boris looked around, “Now if we just knew what those whispers we’re both hearing are, I would be pleased.”

Paul spoke up, putting down the binoculars he was using to observe the camp. “Does that base seem to be, I dunno, a little quiet for four hundred plus people being there? I mean I’m not seeing ANY movement.”

Boris lifted his binoculars and looked through them. It was daytime, and there was no evidence of anyone moving between the timber buildings. With the snow that wasn’t so strange, he thought. That there was only a handful of buildings that had snow properly packed against the outside, with smoke emitting from their chimneys. Those would definitely be occupied.

There was also a cleared area around that particular cluster of dwellings. With the heavy layer of snow, it was impossible to tell if that had been part of the original plan or if structures had been knocked down to clear it.

As a paramilitary base either was plausible.

“Okay, we go down and investigate,” Boris replied. He looked at Janna and Alecta. “You two hang back. There is definitely something odd about this whole situation.

If it weren’t smack bang in the middle of the area Janna had designated from their research into local legends, Boris would have been disinclined to investigate. But they had also found a man in one of the local hospitals who had been brought in, with an NVG patch on his gear. The man had been found about a hundred kilometers away, with one of his legs sheared off at mid thigh and delirious from a wound infection.

He’d kept ranting a string of numbers that the doctors had blamed on his delirium. But the interesting thing to Janna was that they were exact GPS locations for this encampment. It was well disguised, each of the houses partially dug in, and probably had camouflage netting over it during the warmer months.

It wasn’t likely an area where satellites would often look either.

So, they’d come into range in the command container during a snowstorm after every other attempt to find this base had come up empty. It seemed that sometimes, no matter your support, luck was still needed to make progress.

If the fifteen agents that agreed to help them hadn’t run down those legends for her, she’d have been in trouble with someone. She wasn’t sure who. And that theory had been based on a flimsy note that Konrad had written on a report regarding possible alien technology referencing Michael and The Devil. They still needed to find this last base. There were too many records for it to be disinformation, and taking out a paramilitary group was like excising cancer. You didn’t chance leaving some cells around so it could regrow.

Janna had decided to research it. The reference had triggered a memory about legends in the Archangelsk region. Her delving deeper had paid off. They could have spent weeks searching the area if Anton hadn’t found that patient and gotten what he’d been saying out of the medical reports. Boris was just glad that the small hospital didn’t use electronic records. Otherwise, the Government might have beaten them here.

He hated to think how long it had taken Konrad to find the location. Actually, that wasn’t true. The thought of how much more frustrating finding the location would have been for Konrad was amusing. If Boris had been frustrated for over two months trying to find the place after Konrad, it had to have taken Konrad even longer.

They walked down into the camp, staying in the open. There was a nervous tension in the air. Boris had felt its like before. Whoever was holed up in those buildings was full of fear. It could be easily smelled as they got closer. “Don’t make any sudden moves. Something has these people downright terrified.”

As they approached the building, they heard the distinctive sound of a machine gun being charged. Boris held up his hand and yelled “Ho. We mean you no harm!”

There was silence, but no guns fired. “May we seek shelter? We got lost hunting and could use some better shelter than a hole in a hill.”

Still silence. “Ah well, if there is no other option I guess we’ll have to seek refuge in that cave on the hill.”

“No. Come up. Anything but handing the Beast more people.” A gravelly voice, worn with worry yelled back. Boris looked at the others and nodded. They walked up to the house the voice came from, and the door opened. As they walked in Boris saw a pistol and several rifles trained on them, in the hands of obviously nervous and twitchy individuals.

The gravelly voice, clearly male, spoke, “Who are you really? It’s coming into full winter. No one hunts this far north in the winter. Just because we won’t feed the Beast, doesn’t mean we won’t kill you.” The gravely voice was clearly male.

Boris took less than a second to make the decision. He moved at his fastest speed, grabbed the pistol from the closest person pointing at him, disarming the person without the pistol firing.

Then, he used them as a human shield and yelled. “Put down your weapons. You have no cause to aim at us. We, however, have plenty of reason to wipe this entire encampment off the planet.” Boris tossed the pistol towards his group and pointed at the patch on the captive’s arm.

Moving his arms, he was surprised to find it was a woman he was holding. Damned cold screwed up his sense of smell too much.

There had been a few women amongst the NVG they’d killed or captured, but not many. And several of those they’d caught had been more like rescues.

He nodded to those aiming at him and his voice became more of a growl, “We’ve been looking for the last base of the NVG. They tried to wipe my hometown off the map,” he explained.

“What are you talking about?” A new voice come from a figure slowly moving from behind a group of people that had been concealing him.

This new person continued, “The NVG wished to change the policies of the government. End the merry go round of Russia confronting the west and then backing off, then confronting them again. Force the government to accept either war or peace. No more of this posturing and provocations. The uncertainty is hurting everyone. Them and us. Personally, I was hoping for a permanent peace but was willing to fight if that was the only way to get a lasting solution. War is horrible, yes, but this constant bickering back and forth is as bad or worse. It does nothing to help the people of our country.”

The approaching man was below average height, maybe five-nine. He had a black bushy beard, and his face was gaunt. His nerves were twitchy, he was obviously more nervous, now. Boris said “Look, why don’t you lower your weapons, I put this lady down, and we sit and talk like… well, I was going to say civilized people, but we’re all Russians here, so that doesn’t exactly work.” Boris paused a moment, “Ah. I got it. Sane people.”

The man considered it and, after a couple of moments lowered his rifle. He glared at his followers until they also brought their weapons down.

He nodded his head in Boris’ direction, “I am Zakhar. And you would be?” He asked while Boris lowered the woman, setting her down gently.

“I am Boris, Zakhar. I would seek more information but you have me concerned, though, what is this beast you mentioned earlier? And what does it have to do with that cave?” he nodded out of the building, “It is not likely anyone will be able to harm you if you tell me, is it?”

“I can’t tell you. Konrad, the leader…” Zakhar started.

Boris cut him off, “Is dead.” Boris admitted. “I cut off his head personally. He was a sociopath trying to take over Russia by causing internal incidents, no matter what he told you.”

There was a murmur through the twenty or so people in the room. Zakhar shouted over it “Gather everyone in the mess. We need to hear this.” Looking Boris straight in the eye he continued “We’ve been trapped here for weeks. Most of the soldiers left us when the Beast escaped or died trying to kill or subdue the thing. Left us scientists and techs in the lurch.”

It took ten minutes for the group to grab what they could and finally congregate in the eating area. The fear of the present and now the added uncertainty of their situation causing a few people to take twice as long.

After an hour explaining what had been happening outside the base over the last year or so, Boris noticed that Zakhar and many of the others were fiddling with the patches on their shoulders.

A few weren’t.

Janna, make a note of who is not uncomfortable with those marks. It may be nothing. Boris paused his thought, then continued. Or it may be that they are still loyal to a lost cause. Think saboteurs or suicide bombers.

I am on this Boris. It was my job for years. She answered him.

By the time he’d finished Zakhar had gotten a knife out and cut the patch from his shoulder. He watched as it twirled in the air and landed on the floor.

Zakhar spat on the patch, his voice angry, disgusted. “Godsbedamned liars. It was to be a slow takeover for Russia’s benefit, not this self-destructive orgy. Russia has gone down that path before. It never ends well.”

Boris gave the man a moment to feel his anger and allow him, all of them, to focus again, before getting their attention. “So, tell me about this Beast? How did it get out?”

Zakhar exhaled heavily and turned back to Boris. “When we started losing men mapping out these damned caves, I was going to take down the ramp we had built. Have an elevator rigged instead so we could continue the work without risking something attacking the camp. I’m still not sure how it got through so many armed men. I wasn’t there when it happened. It broke through the soldiers stationed near the cave mouth and killed many. I’ve caught glimpses of it. It’s not a bear, although it looks like one superficially. It appears to be comfortable standing, and has what looks like a thumb -with a really long claw.”

“Not only that, the bite wounds it leaves are confusing. No bear could shear a leg off that cleanly.” Zakhar seemed to go inside himself a moment, and ask himself aloud, “Maybe a hyena? But hyenas don’t stand on their rear legs.” He tapped his chin, his focus lost to Boris for a few moments. Boris was familiar with those who did research seeming to loose the conversation with another when a question entered their minds.

Scientists, a brand new, never before seen creature could be eating their leg and they would be trying to categorize it.

Zakhar finally turned his attention back to Boris, “Noise scares hyenas away, too. Neither is true with the Beast. It is like the legends said, no? That St Michael had trapped the Devil in that cave. I didn’t believe it then, but I sure as hell believe it now. Despite the other evidence.”

Boris jumped back into the conversation, “Other evidence? What other evidence?”

Zakhar waved towards the wall, “The cave mouth. At the top and bottom were alloys we can’t identify. Nothing that our researchers could figure out.”

Alecta looked over at Boris. He nodded.

Alecta said, “I’d like to have a look at that research if I could. I happen to know something about metallurgy, perhaps new eyes can figure it out.” Zakhar looked at her a little incredulously, but then nodded slowly and gave a ‘what the hell’ shrug.

“And you haven’t tried to send anyone for help?” Boris asked.

Zakhar eyed Boris like he was accusing him of being stupid, “We did send three different groups, beyond the hundred or so who ran when the Beast first escaped.” He shook his head, “But we heard nothing back. To be honest, we hoped you might be the help. Even if the government executed me,” he pointed out to the others here in the mess, “these people are mostly scientists. Cavers. Support staff. Here because there was something to research, no?” He shook his head, sighing in regret “and now you are as likely trapped by the Devil like the rest of us. Trapped in hell.”

Paul chuckled, and both Boris and Zakhar turned to him. “Sorry. I was just thinking of something that Rommel once said, that if he were to attack hell, he’d use Australians.” He looked around, a glint of amusement in his eyes, “It just so happens,” he pointed a thumb at himself, “I’m an Australian.”

Boris rolled his eyes at his friends antics, but what Paul said lit a spark of hope behind Zakhar’s eyes. “So, you think that you can kill this beast?” he asked, looking between the two men.

Paul just shrugged. Boris thought for a minute and sighed. So the legend went it was St Michael who had captured the beast.

But what if it was actually Michael who had trapped the beast? That felt right. Michael, whatever his reasons, had imprisoned a creature?

Not killed it.

He’d better call Bethany Anne before he moved forward with anything. If the NVG had released The Devil that Michael had imprisoned, she needed to be brought in on the decision making. If it had been captured by Michael, they might want to catch it again.