RESURGENCE

CHAPTER 30

2 P.M.

June 16, 2034

Stuart was working on the computer in his office when he heard a knock on the door. He wasn’t expecting anybody and was irked at the disturbance.

I wonder if I put the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door, he thought. He opened the door to find two men standing outside. Both of them were Caucasians, well-built, with shaved heads. They wore sunglasses, even though they were inside a building.

“Sir, are you Stuart Lincoln?” asked the taller of the two.

“Yes?” said Stuart in long drawn inquiring tone.

“We are with Homeland Security. Your expertise is required for the operation Blue Desert. It’s a matter of national security. Please get ready as soon as you can, and we’ll transport you to the exact location right away.”

“Am I in some kind of trouble?”

“I have no idea. We have orders to get you to the Ellington Army Base. It’s about a hundred miles south of San Francisco.”

“What’s this all about?”

“The sooner you get to the base, the sooner you find out..”

“Why should I go with you? Do you have any paperwork, any authorization?”

“Here is the order signed by the president.”

Stuart took the paper that the taller of the two men gave him and, before he started to read, he said, “What if I refuse?”

“That’s not a choice you have. As I said earlier, it’s a matter of national importance, and the president thinks you might be able to help out the military scientists in some way. If you refuse to cooperate, I have been ordered to apprehend you and take you to Ellington. So I suggest you read the order, and we can make this easy for everyone.”

“The president should have had the courtesy to make a phone call and give me a heads up. Excuse my French, but what a jerk,” said Stuart with a sigh of frustration. “I’ll be ready as soon as I can.”

Half an hour later, Stuart, Michelle, and Nick were being driven to a military airport. 

###

4 P.M.

June 16, 2034

Stuart, Michelle and Nick sat in the general’s spacious office. They stood up from their chairs to show respect when the general and the doctor entered the room.

“Welcome guys,” said the general. “Glad you are here. I’m General Kurt Penn and this is Doctor Steve Wills.”

“We met a long time ago,” said the doctor with a smile.

Stuart, Nick and Michelle blankly looked at the Doctor.

“I ‘went young’ recently, that’s probably why you can’t recognize me. Robert Wilson and I came to your laboratory, when you guys were just starting out, to check if the procedure worked on the dead.”

Stuart and Nick acknowledged the doctor, while Michelle smiled nervously.

“What brings us here?” asked Nick.

“I’ll get you guys up to date with the situation,” said the general. He gave them an overview of what happened in the zone in the last twenty-four hours. 

As Michelle heard the general describe the horrific condition of people trapped inside the zone, her heart sank to her stomach, and her hand and feet became as cold as ice. She could hear her own heart beating—her mouth dried up and, before she could even think of composing herself, tears flowed freely down her cheeks. As she sobbed, an enormous sensation of guilt crushed her entire being. The faces of the people she knew in Hamilton flooded her mind.