hell did that matter to her? Why could she possibly care about the half-life?
"Why?" Kenneth Marks said, not removing the binoculars from his eyes.
"Just wondering," the answer came back.
He would deal with Rigley soon, but right now he had to deal with what he saw outside. Not good was an understatement. Nothing had changed; twenty minutes into the radiation's fall, and everything he saw looked as pristine as six hours ago. He saw no rotting, no twisting, no cancerous growth on any of the white strands he saw through the binoculars. He knew that by now the radiation would have reached the outer limits of Gwinnett county. There should have been some changes in the molecular structure of the strands. The neutron bomb's greatness stemmed from its initial strength, combined with its half-life. It killed everything it touched, and then allowed conquering armies to walk in without ever having fired a single shot. It wasn't used in actual war because of the message it would send to the rest of the world: don't fuck with us.
Yet none of that was happening. Even now, the radiation's power was weakening rapidly, and it would only continue with each passing second.
He bought himself a few hours with the President, but what about with the creature in the other room, the one possessing Will's body? He hadn’t bought a single minute with her; in fact, he had probably lost time—a lot of it. He threatened her, and then failed miserably on his threat.
Kenneth Marks handed the binoculars back to Knox, who had said nothing to him the entire time they stood next to each other. He knew as well as Kenneth Marks what this meant, at least when it came to humanity's safety. None existed. They lost this war tonight. He could think of other options, an atom bomb, all out warfare. Things would be brought up and tried, of course. Humanity wouldn't simply roll over and let this white growth walk over their prostrate bodies, but….
"It doesn't look good," Knox said.
Kenneth Marks nodded. Indeed, General. It doesn't. In fact, this might be the worst look that any human has ever seen.
Laughter started behind him. Laughter that didn't sound human, but yet no other animal on Earth had the ability to laugh. It sounded forced, as if coming from strange vocal chords that had never tried to perform such an action before. Kenneth Marks knew immediately that it didn’t stem from this tent. No one in this room would make such a sound. They wouldn't laugh like that , and they wouldn't laugh with the current silence pinning everyone's thoughts down. No, the laughter came from another tent, echoing its way into this one. The laughter came from Will's mouth, from vocal chords controlled by another being, one that couldn't exactly imitate the creature it possessed.
Kenneth Marks needed to go to her. That laughter was his cue. She knew what he now knew, that what he just tried had no impact, and she was telling him that. By laughing at him. And what would he say to her? Because laughing was out of the question. Bravado, confidence—all of it gone with this single move. And yet, Kenneth Marks wasn't finished. He wanted her, wanted what she possessed, and there had to be a way for him to get it.
He turned around and walked past Rigley. His eyes caught her smile, registered it with his brain, but he had no time for her. Her importance, outside of her gruesome death, was finished.
16
Present Day
M orena saw the man standing in front of her, Kenneth Marks. She wasn't going to speak to him though; instead, she kept Will's throat laughing into the surrounding room. The man could talk as much as he wanted, but he knew as well as she did that his little game was over. Morena had no interest in talking to him. She just wanted him to hear that she knew what had happened.
Which was absolutely nothing.
These humans used primitive weapons, typical of a Stage Two species. In Stage Three, a species usually learned to adapt to radiation, as it is necessary for
"Why?" Kenneth Marks said, not removing the binoculars from his eyes.
"Just wondering," the answer came back.
He would deal with Rigley soon, but right now he had to deal with what he saw outside. Not good was an understatement. Nothing had changed; twenty minutes into the radiation's fall, and everything he saw looked as pristine as six hours ago. He saw no rotting, no twisting, no cancerous growth on any of the white strands he saw through the binoculars. He knew that by now the radiation would have reached the outer limits of Gwinnett county. There should have been some changes in the molecular structure of the strands. The neutron bomb's greatness stemmed from its initial strength, combined with its half-life. It killed everything it touched, and then allowed conquering armies to walk in without ever having fired a single shot. It wasn't used in actual war because of the message it would send to the rest of the world: don't fuck with us.
Yet none of that was happening. Even now, the radiation's power was weakening rapidly, and it would only continue with each passing second.
He bought himself a few hours with the President, but what about with the creature in the other room, the one possessing Will's body? He hadn’t bought a single minute with her; in fact, he had probably lost time—a lot of it. He threatened her, and then failed miserably on his threat.
Kenneth Marks handed the binoculars back to Knox, who had said nothing to him the entire time they stood next to each other. He knew as well as Kenneth Marks what this meant, at least when it came to humanity's safety. None existed. They lost this war tonight. He could think of other options, an atom bomb, all out warfare. Things would be brought up and tried, of course. Humanity wouldn't simply roll over and let this white growth walk over their prostrate bodies, but….
"It doesn't look good," Knox said.
Kenneth Marks nodded. Indeed, General. It doesn't. In fact, this might be the worst look that any human has ever seen.
Laughter started behind him. Laughter that didn't sound human, but yet no other animal on Earth had the ability to laugh. It sounded forced, as if coming from strange vocal chords that had never tried to perform such an action before. Kenneth Marks knew immediately that it didn’t stem from this tent. No one in this room would make such a sound. They wouldn't laugh like that , and they wouldn't laugh with the current silence pinning everyone's thoughts down. No, the laughter came from another tent, echoing its way into this one. The laughter came from Will's mouth, from vocal chords controlled by another being, one that couldn't exactly imitate the creature it possessed.
Kenneth Marks needed to go to her. That laughter was his cue. She knew what he now knew, that what he just tried had no impact, and she was telling him that. By laughing at him. And what would he say to her? Because laughing was out of the question. Bravado, confidence—all of it gone with this single move. And yet, Kenneth Marks wasn't finished. He wanted her, wanted what she possessed, and there had to be a way for him to get it.
He turned around and walked past Rigley. His eyes caught her smile, registered it with his brain, but he had no time for her. Her importance, outside of her gruesome death, was finished.
16
Present Day
M orena saw the man standing in front of her, Kenneth Marks. She wasn't going to speak to him though; instead, she kept Will's throat laughing into the surrounding room. The man could talk as much as he wanted, but he knew as well as she did that his little game was over. Morena had no interest in talking to him. She just wanted him to hear that she knew what had happened.
Which was absolutely nothing.
These humans used primitive weapons, typical of a Stage Two species. In Stage Three, a species usually learned to adapt to radiation, as it is necessary for
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