child and she hasn’t appeared. What is happening in that room assures us that Bethany Nitshimi will find her way back into our waiting arms. This is our insurance policy.”
“ This makes us God…” Norton chimed in.
Faddig glared at the doctor until beads of sweat appeared at the doctor’s hairline.
“ …makes you God. I’m sorry, commander.”
A spray of blood fountained toward the ceiling of the room.
“ Clamp that.” Dr. Karem shouted in time with another stream of blood that shot nearly seven feet into the air. “You fucking idiot. Can you not handle a simple clamp job?”
Dr. Karem looked toward the window of the room and shook his head. Commander Faddig knew exactly how he felt. His entire career with the Zero Day Collective had been an exercise in patience and frustration. The young soldiers couldn’t fight, his biological crew had the aptitude of two children playing doctor, and now the surgical staff couldn’t clamp off a gushing artery.
“ How long will this surgery take?”
“ I’m sorry, commander, it’s hard to say. My best guess would be six to eight hours. This is a very delicate and consuming operation. We’re talking about reconstructing an entire face.”
Faddig turned to Dr. Norton. “I don’t care if Dr. Karem were completely reconstructing the genitals of Bigfoot while blindfolded on stilts. This needs to be done yesterday. We are running out of time here.”
“ Sir,” Otte stepped in before the moment could shift. “I understand your impatience; but you have to know we are doing our best. It took months to locate the perfect specimen and an equally long period was given to—”
Faddig pressed himself nose-to-nose with Dr. Otte.
“ I only truly care about one thing at the moment—getting Nitshimi back into my hands. Until that happens, I am holding you personally accountable for every mistake made. If that surgery fails, everything we have worked for is a wash. Should that be the case, you will take the full brunt of the blame.”
“ Yes, sir.”
Faddig slammed the door as he exited. Otte and Norton stood in silence, staring at one another, while the sounds in the surgery suite continued in the background.
chapter 7 | the road to hell and back
“ …that was ‘Sentry the Defiant,’ by Coheed and Cambria. It’s amazing how a simple song can carry you away from your circumstance to help you forget the surrounding nightmare. But when I listen to that song, my mind immediately drifts away to our own Sentry, mankind’s Obi Wan—Bethany Nitshimi…”
Everyone in the Hummer went apeshit at the mention of my name. Echo’s arms wrapped tight around my neck, Jamal’s toothy grin consumed my vision, and nearly everyone shouted my name. It took me a moment to quiet them down so I could hear the DJ continue.
“ …hope. It’s a rare occasion the hope of man rests squarely on the shoulders of one person. That type of drama is generally reserved for comic books. When Superman saves the planet from Lex Luthor or Batman prevents Bane from tearing Gotham City to shreds you knew that one hero could save the day. But Superman had strength on his side and Batman had, well, a bunch of gadgets and an almost impenetrable suit to protect him…not to mention the soothing voice of Morgan Freeman. What about Bethany? What keeps the Zero Day Collective from taking her down and dissolving the hope of man? Is it truth? Is it righteousness? Faith? What gives Bethany Nitshimi the will to rip through the veil of lies and horror is a MacGyver-like ingenuity and a Stephen Hawking-level intellect. She’s brilliant, she gets things done, and she’s dead sexy. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen of the Zombie Radio Nation, I’ve seen pictures of Miss Bethany. I know how to use Google. She’s hot. Okay, I shouldn’t have said that. Now all you fanboys are going to be creeping on her and chasing her across this bloody nation in an attempt to score a date. Forget I said
“ This makes us God…” Norton chimed in.
Faddig glared at the doctor until beads of sweat appeared at the doctor’s hairline.
“ …makes you God. I’m sorry, commander.”
A spray of blood fountained toward the ceiling of the room.
“ Clamp that.” Dr. Karem shouted in time with another stream of blood that shot nearly seven feet into the air. “You fucking idiot. Can you not handle a simple clamp job?”
Dr. Karem looked toward the window of the room and shook his head. Commander Faddig knew exactly how he felt. His entire career with the Zero Day Collective had been an exercise in patience and frustration. The young soldiers couldn’t fight, his biological crew had the aptitude of two children playing doctor, and now the surgical staff couldn’t clamp off a gushing artery.
“ How long will this surgery take?”
“ I’m sorry, commander, it’s hard to say. My best guess would be six to eight hours. This is a very delicate and consuming operation. We’re talking about reconstructing an entire face.”
Faddig turned to Dr. Norton. “I don’t care if Dr. Karem were completely reconstructing the genitals of Bigfoot while blindfolded on stilts. This needs to be done yesterday. We are running out of time here.”
“ Sir,” Otte stepped in before the moment could shift. “I understand your impatience; but you have to know we are doing our best. It took months to locate the perfect specimen and an equally long period was given to—”
Faddig pressed himself nose-to-nose with Dr. Otte.
“ I only truly care about one thing at the moment—getting Nitshimi back into my hands. Until that happens, I am holding you personally accountable for every mistake made. If that surgery fails, everything we have worked for is a wash. Should that be the case, you will take the full brunt of the blame.”
“ Yes, sir.”
Faddig slammed the door as he exited. Otte and Norton stood in silence, staring at one another, while the sounds in the surgery suite continued in the background.
chapter 7 | the road to hell and back
“ …that was ‘Sentry the Defiant,’ by Coheed and Cambria. It’s amazing how a simple song can carry you away from your circumstance to help you forget the surrounding nightmare. But when I listen to that song, my mind immediately drifts away to our own Sentry, mankind’s Obi Wan—Bethany Nitshimi…”
Everyone in the Hummer went apeshit at the mention of my name. Echo’s arms wrapped tight around my neck, Jamal’s toothy grin consumed my vision, and nearly everyone shouted my name. It took me a moment to quiet them down so I could hear the DJ continue.
“ …hope. It’s a rare occasion the hope of man rests squarely on the shoulders of one person. That type of drama is generally reserved for comic books. When Superman saves the planet from Lex Luthor or Batman prevents Bane from tearing Gotham City to shreds you knew that one hero could save the day. But Superman had strength on his side and Batman had, well, a bunch of gadgets and an almost impenetrable suit to protect him…not to mention the soothing voice of Morgan Freeman. What about Bethany? What keeps the Zero Day Collective from taking her down and dissolving the hope of man? Is it truth? Is it righteousness? Faith? What gives Bethany Nitshimi the will to rip through the veil of lies and horror is a MacGyver-like ingenuity and a Stephen Hawking-level intellect. She’s brilliant, she gets things done, and she’s dead sexy. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen of the Zombie Radio Nation, I’ve seen pictures of Miss Bethany. I know how to use Google. She’s hot. Okay, I shouldn’t have said that. Now all you fanboys are going to be creeping on her and chasing her across this bloody nation in an attempt to score a date. Forget I said
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