Final Apocalypse: Rise of Tamara

Chapter two: First Steps

Daniel stepped into his office and booted up his computer. The meeting with The Black and White had gone about as expected. According to his cousin, Rone, two years ago, there was a slight power surge. It had only lasted a total of two seconds, but it was enough for Isabelle to catch. Then, they'd thought nothing of it. Until it happened the night before. The energy signature was off the charts. There was only one thing in their mutual histories where they'd ever seen anything like it. Rapture. It was the same power Isabelle had felt while in the arena. Seconds before the coffin was blown to pieces. That slight power surge that caused a massively debilitating shockwave. It was horrifying to think it would ever happen again. To think it could happen again.

The meeting had only confirmed one thing. That there was still some trace of Rapture somewhere. Some piece of him left. They just needed to find out where that piece was. And if need be, who it was.

He had received three emails from Darrius three hours ago. One was that he would tell Coretta about the meeting. The second was a transaction for gasoline. But the third was the most unsettling. An audio file. This is what it said.

"I can't seem to shake this feeling as I approach my old home. Like something bad is about to happen. I can hear my daughter's radio playing rock music. That's typical when it comes to Tamara. She's a bit of an emo, but I love her nonetheless. She is my daughter after all." Screaming from what Daniel assumed to be the house. "Oh no. Coretta!" The audio turned to static for a moment, then a woman's voice came through clearly. She spoke softly, but with menacing clarity.

"What's wrong, daddy? Don't you like my new look?" A choking sound. Then, "Don't bother, daddy. He's assured me that my gift can outmatch even your most powerful ally. You stand no chance." Then, "They can be anything I want, correct?" a moment of silence. "Perfect." Another choking sound. "Sorry, mommy. Sorry, daddy. I'll do my best to make this quick. It'll be less painful that way." Another few seconds of silence. Then, "Sayonara." A splat, then a few seconds of static. Then the audio ended.

Daniel listened to it again. Then, he called Colt. "I need a favor," he said as Colt picked up.

"I'm at the grocery store at the moment. But I can do it afterward. What's up?"

"I think something bad may have happened to Darrius and Coretta. Could you drive over and check on them for me?" Colt set a tub of fryer oil in the shopping cart. "Sure, I guess. Can't be gone too long though. Allison tends to get mad when I'm late for dinner." "Thank you. I appreciate it." "No problem. See you at work tomorrow." "Ditto." Colt hurried to check out, then to his car. He wanted to get home. He was tired, and kinda annoyed at Daniel's request. Who the hell would attack Darrius Pierce? It was madness. No one was crazy enough to do it. Not with all the crazy cyborg parts he had. He could kill you several different ways without batting an eye. The guy was legit insane . But Colt did it anyway. After all, Daniel was his boss. He had a lot to do.

And if something needed to be done, then he would do it. That was part of his old mindset left behind. Taking the first job that popped up. He pulled into The Pierce family's driveway and came to a complete stop when he noticed Tom and Harley's Porsche parked by the garage. They were here still? He checked the clock in his car. It was 9:45 P.M. Tom normally arrived home at eight, so what on earth was he doing here at this hour? It seemed suspicious. Colt got out of his car and approached the house. He knocked.

Silence.

He knocked again. This time, whispering. Two female voices. Marriko opened the door. "Uncle? What are you doing here?" Colt stuck his hands into the pockets of his coat, grabbing the handles of his revolvers. Something was clearly wrong here. Marriko was usually more animated. Even when she was having an awkward conversation. Was she sick or something? And why were the lights off? "Hi. Where's everyone at?

It's awfully quiet." "Oh. Tamara and I are the only ones here. The others went out for drinks a few hours ago. You woke me up."

Colt loosened his grip on his revolvers. "Sorry. Just out doing a favor for your grandpa. Where's Tamara?" Marriko stood a little straighter. "She's asleep. Long day apparently. I was too until you started knocking." A music box started playing in the background. It gave Colt the creeps.

Then, he noticed her eyes. The whites were black and the eyes red. It was close to Halloween. She was probably just trying contacts. "Nice contacts." He said, fishing for a strange response. She shrugged. "Halloween's approaching. Thought you might be a burglar. Was trying to scare you." Colt nodded. "Yeah. Those and the music make a formidable duo." "Music? What music?" Colt took a second to listen. The music was gone. He shook his head. "I must be going crazy." Marriko shrugged. "Yeah. I guess we all have." "Well, I better call your grandpa. He'll go nuts if I don't give him a status report." He turned to walk away, then dialed Tom's number to let him know that he'd dropped by. He stood there for a second. Then he heard the ringtone Tom had set for him years ago. A soft, creepy Latin song that he'd heard in an anime he watched once. Elfen Lied or something. Colt could never remember. He turned back to Marriko, who had brandished her tendrils. She backed into the house and Colt followed. The first thing that he noticed was the blood splattered on the walls. "What the f**k happened here, Marriko?" The stairs creaked and he turned toward them. Tamara stood at the bottom step. "Freedom. I freed myself. I gave Marriko power beyond her wildest dreams. Now, all that's left to do is complete the mission and eliminate all threats to his revival." Colt whipped out his revolvers and aimed at Tamara. "Whose revival, Tamara? What's going on here? If you're hurt, then we can get you help." He c****d his guns. Tamara's eyes widened. Then, Colt fired. Tamara screamed as she saw the muzzle flash. She braced for the pain, but nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, she could see that three of her tendrils had formed a shield in front of her. Colt opened fire again, but she managed to block all of his bullets. Marriko lashed a tendril through Colt's right arm, forcing him to drop his gun. She walked to his front to make eye contact. She smiled. "Nobody harms my queen." "Queen? Queen of what?" "She will be his queen. We will rule the world. All we have to do is get rid of all the threats. Sadly uncle, that includes you."

Colt raised his other arm to fire, but Tamara lashed a tendril through it, forcing him to drop his other gun.

Colt expected to feel pain, but instead, his arms went numb. They dropped to his side. Tamara smiled, flashing Colt her sinister glare. "You know what that feeling is? It's venom. I can pump it through my tendrils like a hypodermic needle.

A little bit can heal any wound. A little bit more and I can make you like me.

a slight increase in that, and you die . Right now, I'm deciding what to do with you. To make you one of us, or kill you." Colt's eyelids fluttered. This venom was making him drowsy. He tried to use his legs to push himself up, but he didn't have enough strength.

Tamara smiled as she and Marriko retracted their tendrils. Colt slid slowly to his side, convulsing, and foaming at the mouth. "That took a little longer than expected. Did you hold back?" Tamara glared at Marriko. "I told you. I was making a decision. But I knew that in the end, he was loyal to his family. No amount of my venom would have changed that. He would have turned on us eventually," she snaked a tendril into Colt's coat and pulled out his revolvers. "He was planning to shoot you. I was going to let you take care of it, but I felt his fear. He knew something was wrong as soon as you answered the door. Next time, be more careful." She dropped the guns and walked out onto the patio.

Marriko followed. "So, what now, my queen?" Tamara brandished all six of her tendrils. "We can't stay here. They'll find him sooner or later, then hunt us down. It won't take them long to put two and two together," she paused as she saw headlights next door. "Now, we bring back our king."