SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Twelve.
In the boarders of Canada, within a vast subterranean complex, sat the real Mrs Undraus.
“So, my son you see now why I took such measures and sent in cloned versions of myself and family.” There was no reply, “Why do you think I built up this empire, only to give it to those freaks?”
The look on her face was one of aggression.
“No…no…no, not ever, I saw into their simple plan and took evasive measures of my own, and that is why we are now alive and safe, and with an amble supply of provisions.”
As she finished talking Seth indicated that the moon base had just instigated the launch of one of the Aurora Mars landing crafts, destination earth.
“Seth instruct their computer to divert to new co-ordinates, and then have the crew land the craft manually, and terminating any computer functions other than direct contact with you,” said Mrs Undraus.
Her instructions were acted upon instantly, however unknown to Elaine, the old Undraus Seth had been allowed to be infiltrated, while a completely separate and newer version had been operating unhindered. Within seconds Elaine became aware of the lost communication, and of her Seth’s inability to regain control.
“Seth can you detect any other intelligence presence?”
There was a moment’s silence,
“Yes, I am aware of intelligence at least equal to that of mine, I have tried communicating with it, but it ignores my requests.”
Elaine knew that the only other person on the planet that had the ability to manufacture such a machine was Mrs Undraus. However, to her knowledge she was dead, it was only then, at that exact moment that the thought struck her. “Dear Lord, no she could not still be alive…could she?”
Seth answered immediately, “The probability of that Mam is very unlikely, unless she cloned herself along with her family and…” it was then that even Seth hesitated, “and it was they, those clones that entered the New Mexico complex.”
Elaine hesitated before she spoke. “I was not actually asking a question Seth, only speculating. However, something now tells me that you are correct, and should that be the case, it is safe to say that she laid provisions for this and possibly was even aware of the asteroid long before the president was informed.”
As Elaine spoke her immediate family who were within the mountain became aware of her thoughts. “We shall have to make the others aware of the new danger the moment this storm ceases.”
Elaine looked at Alex, as it was he which had spoken.
“Yes…yes this could put some considerable obstacles in our way”
Robert and his brothers made their way back towards where they had last scene Juliet and Jamie. They were aware that they had extricated themselves from the underground lake but were still unsure as to just where they were. It was Robert who stopped the group from walking, as before him he could see from the male cat’s eyes. On the ground lay a heap of strewn dead human bodies, and then in the middle of the carnage lay two dead skinned bears with a human tied between them. The female and her cubs started ripping into the flesh of one of the bears, while the male cat slowly walked forward approaching the remaining human.
Robert realised that he must be close by, as he could now audibly hear screams, as the cat lunged forward gripping his throat and snapping the spine in an instant.
“Juliet cannot be far away; I sense it was her and Jamie that left such valuable food for those cats.”
The group took a wide detour of the cats and continued with their journey. It was Graham who found the first set of footprints.
“Robert, look…over here, these are the prints of humans, adults and children.” Robert sniffed the air, but the acrid dense dust filled with snow, left little in the way of clues. It was only when they came across a pile of human excrement, that Robert detected Juliet’s cent.
“We are on the right path, Juliet passed by this way no longer than three hours past.”
The group knew there was still imminent danger around them, even more so for Juliet and Jamie, as they were not so well equipped or armed.
“We will have to increase our speed and try to cover more ground.”
It was then that they saw the footprints of Virgo and another bear, leading in the same direction as Jamie and Juliet.
“Lord…that bear is huge.”
Virgos footprints were at least a meter across and the stride from each step was covering in excess of three meters. The bear that accompanied Virgo was itself huge by normal standards but small by comparison to the strength and girth of Virgo. It was then that the group became aware of three human bodies lying torn open and eaten by the bears.
The sight before them gave them reason for concern. They had not been aware of Virgo snatching the three humans early. The scene gave them an increased desire of urgency to find Juliet and Jamie. As they increased their pace, Robert felt the presence of another animal watching them.
From the shadows the wolves had regrouped and were themselves tracking Robert and his party.
“We have company.”
“I know if you look to your left just passed those trees…there do you see them?” replied one of the hybrids.
The Alpha wolf had become accustomed to their strength and abilities and was now looking for a weakness. As soon as one of the parties raised a rifle, the wolves merged back into the forest. The visibility was not good, but with the deep covering of snow, what light that there was, reflected from the ground, and that combined with their ability to see in the dark, and gave them a considerable advantage.
“Do not waste our strength or time on those wolves; they will not attack while we are grouped together like this. Just keep pushing forward, we must find Jamie and Juliet,” stated Robert.
Gemma fell to the ground, for some seconds she did not move, and then slowly she lifted herself up and sat leaning against a tree.
“Jamie please stop walking, we must rest, and the other children are also tired, we need to rest, and eat.”
Jamie turned around and ran to her side.
“It’s ok, Gemma, I am sorry, I had not thought of rest, please here take a drink and then tend to the others,” at that Juliet joined him.
“We must find somewhere safer than this son, we are to open and exposed.” Said Juliet. “I think I know where we are, my Pa and I use to hunt these hills, it’s just without other visual reference points, I cannot be sure,” replied Jamie.
Juliet grouped the party together; she had collected the rifles and ammunition from the dead humans and given guns to all who knew how to shoot and hunt. “If I am right Mam then just a little further ahead is a canyon, and to its right is a serious of caves. They may have bears and other animals using them, but we need them more than they do.”
Juliet looked at the group, she could see that they were tired, scared and in need of rest.
“Right,” Pointing at three adults, she beckoned them forward. “We need to carry wood, lots of wood, get those adults and children who are not carrying a rifle to gather as much wood as they can manage.”
Jamie interrupted her. “There should be some logs already in one of the caves along with a provision of buried meat and vegetables. Pa dug a deep root cellar for emergencies, and left cooking utensils, along with three picks and two shovels for future use, there should also be twelve shotguns and ten rifles along with four large boxes of munitions per gun.”
Within minutes the group had started searching for wood, and it was not long before the group was once again moving forward. After a further forty minutes Jamie raised his rifle and fired, the sound echoed off the surrounding mountains. “It will let any animals know there are armed humans present, and if Robert and the others are anywhere around, then it will let them know that others are close by.”
Unknown to Jamey, Robert was only some twenty miles behind them, but in another valley and out of earshot from the rifle. Jamie led the party down the southerly slope, until he came to an outcrop of boulders.
“There just beyond those trees, we will find a cavern that precedes into the mountain, we will have to proceed with care as bears frequent the area and will know by now that we are close by.”
It was Juliet who stopped and looked behind her; and from her mind she could see that the cat family had caught them up and was following their party at a distance.
“Jamie we…”
“I know Man, I did not want to frighten the women, I had sensed their company over an hour ago.” Juliet looked in bewilderment;
“We must enter here, as it’s the only cave with provisions.”
Jamie and Gemma led the party into the mouth of the cave; there he stopped and pulled out two lengths of wood from under his coat that he had coated with bear fat. Striking a match, the torches lit, illuminating the way before them.
“Their Jamie do you hear that?”
It was Gemma that was now pointing into the darkness. Jamie threw his torch some twenty feet ahead of him, and then crouched down on one knee and raised his rifle. Gemma followed his actions.
“Now,” he cried out, as he shouted, and fired a volley of shots into the darkness, within seconds two bears came charging out of the void, only to be met by a hail of bullets. Such was there speed and tenacity that they almost reached the feet of both Jamie and Gemma before they both fell dead.
In all Juliet’s life she had never seen such courage, young Gemma never flinched or moved from Jamie’s side, even as the bears fell only some nine inches from her feet. Jamie raised his rifle again, he could sense there were other animals within, but knew they were deeper within the system of caves, and that for now their group was safe.
“Jamie we must light a fire just within the mouth of the cave, as it will help to keep any other predators away; and also, should Robert and the others pass this way, then they will hopefully see its light,” said Juliet.
Jamie separated some of the adults, instructing them to build a large fire, while some of the others skinned the bears, again Jamie prevented them from cutting up one of the bears, and instead Juliet and three others dragged it onto the snow, just outside the caves entrance.
“There that should keep those cats busy for some time, their presence will also scare off any further wildlife, giving us at least a few hours’ rest.”
Juliet looked across to Jamie, as she walked past the fire that was now just starting to light.
“What of the other animals within the caves, can they gain direct access to us?” asked Juliet. Jamie picked up one of his lighted torches and walked deeper into the cavern.
“About another three hundred meters ahead, the cave narrows, my Pa could only just squeeze through,” he replied.
He paused for some seconds thinking back to the last time he visited the area with his Pa.
“I am not saying wild animals cannot get through, we shall light another fire by its entrance and keep guard of both exits. That way we should have a level of safety.”
Juliet followed him into the cavern, to see for herself.
“We will have to guard each exit point, as the others do not have our ability.” Jamie knew the truth in her words.
“If it’s ok with you Mam could you guard the main entrance, with those cats close by, you will see any approaching danger from their eyes, and I shall guard this area.”
It was another two hours before they became organised and having both exits now been protected by fire and three armed adults.
Gemma stayed in the middle of the cavern and had instigated another fire, along with a group of adults that were cooking the meat in a hand carved bowls, heated by hot stones. After the group had eaten and rested, Jamie led some of the adults to where the root cellar was hidden. Beneath a large wood pile, some three meters below ground, was the covered entrance to a naturally constructed cavern, and kept frozen by the altitude and containing a substantial supply of smoked and preserved meet, along with a variety of berries, root stock, and munitions, it had taken his father some years to stock its contents, as he had planned this to become an arms dumb, should he have to defend his family in the future.
Elaine could not help feeling unsettled she had not foreseen the Undraus development. Her plans had been severely hampered, now she not only had to cope with an impending ice age, and limited food supplies. But also, an opponent set on the destruction of her family, whose powers she now was unable to equate.
It was Allen one of Alex’s sons, who interrupted her trail of thought.
“Excuse me Mam; the loss of the Mars Aura shuttle has given me an idea.” Elaine looked at the man before her; he was a reflection of his father, in height and strength. However, he had additional genetic markers extracted from his mother. She had been a human technician, who had assisted in the birth of Elaine’s version of Seth.
With the inherited knowledge of Alex and his birth mother, this had given him a considerable grounding for his new education.
“Please Allen, do enlighten me, it is always a pleasure to talk to you.”
Elaine meant those words from the very depth of her soul. She, like her son Peter, had known of the values of such a close family and of the importance in realising as well as valuing everyone’s contributions.
“Mrs Undraus will have to re-instate communications with the moon base, that is, if she intends using its resources,” he replied.
His words had her full attention.
“With your new abilities, you could directly override the moon bases computer without it knowing that it had been compromised.”
He paused for a few seconds as Elaine thought over his words.
“The moment her bio-genetic computer initiates contact; you will be able to access its system.”
His words held value.
“Thank you, Allen, your thoughts hold merit.”
“Just one more thing Mam, it would be wise to instigate a connection with Seth seven. I know we have not fully finished its programming, none the less it is by far more advanced than the Seth version within this room, there is also a possibility that their Seth may be unaware of its existence, or of it been uncontaminated.”
As Allen left the room, Elaine thought over his words, and then in less than a Nano second, she interlinked her mind with the moon base computer. No attempt by any of the Undraus family had been made for external access, communications with the Aura shuttle had up to then, been lost.