Behind The Alpha Book 8 ADAM
Chapter 35

(Chapter song ‘End Of An Empire’ by Celldweller)

ADAM

This is all so unbelievable, but given the fact that I’m a triple hybrid from the year 2630, why not add an angry cosmic dick to the mix.

This just keeps getting better and better.

Miranda walks to the screen. “The group of men and women I encountered was made up of humans. Technically, the first human council. A secret society bent on keeping the creatures of the night at bay. They were aware of you people and were trying to stop you.”

“Hunters.” Peter growls.

“Yes. They were, but they were more than that. They were open to believing that not everyone is a target. Only a certain percentage. With my political and societal…influences…I convinced them that there were key people that needed to be contained, but the rest were deserving of the planet just as much as us humans were.” She explains.

“Unfortunately, groups broke from us. They couldn’t conform to the ideal that the Supernatural part of the world had to exist. Their minds were closed and I didn’t have time to open them so, I allowed them to exist.” She says.

“Where does Genesis fit?” I watch her walk back to her spot.

“Genesis, is a side effect. A cancer. She has a duty, but wants more and will do anything to get it.” She starts.

“When Alliance Labs came to fruition, we got to work. I didn’t quite know who Lefu was when I left the future so I went on what I knew. He was a vampire hybrid. As I researched, I knew at some point he disappeared, but it never said how or why? There were several points in which he’s shown up and disappeared, yet there’s no record of how it was done. The most common explanation is he got frustrated and bored and just left.” She looks at me. “Now, I know that wasn’t true.”

I look to the table as I think of all my fights, watching my friends die, and realizing it was never worth a word. Not that I care about the recognition, but I feel like my friends lost their lives for nothing.

“It was with this vagueness that we built the labs and sought out what we needed.” Miranda says as she flips the picture on the screen. It shows mutilated, deformed hybrids. My lycan claws at my chest and I settle him down.

“The experiments. You were trying to build an army. You had no right, but we already know this.” Peter says with an authoritative tone.

She eyes Peter. “We did what we had to until I found another way.”

“ReGen.” I supply.

She turns to me. “As a side project, I tried to perfect the time travel. I had the hopes that I could bring back some tech from 2630 to help the hybrids stabilize. I had no idea I was being watched.”

“Genesis.”

She flips the screen to a black and white photo of her standing next to a machine. “In 1964, did it, I found the secret to time travel. Atom transference. The ability to speed atoms up to a point where they become almost non existence. With a precise level of Gamma radiation and a big enough push with a concoction of drugs, we can send the atoms through the timeline. Much like a baseball pitcher throwing a fast ball. On the other side, a catcher to catch them and solidify them again.” She motions to me. “The explosive landings as your atoms are collected and smashed back together.”

“Gee. Great science.” I scowl.

“It got the job done.” She ticks her head and turns.

“After successful tests, we needed an interface to control the destinations and returns. We developed a holographic image to be able to communicate our needs at will. We had no idea who she really was.” Miranda turns to us.

“Who is she? Who’s Genesis?” Peter asks.

She flips the screen to an old drawing of Adam and Eve in the garden.

“Genesis. The Cosmic Being of Life. She is the cosmic being responsible for your shell. Your body. She supplies Fate with empty shells and Fate fills them. Destiny writes the paths and Eternity keeps it all together. Hope adds her little sprinkling here and there. The team is what keeps this rock spinning.” Miranda informs.

I rub my nape. “Genesis doesn’t sound like a team player.”

“No…She’s not.” She flips to the great flood and thousands of people dying. “Genesis is proud. Too proud. She believed she was enough to make this world. When the others were created to help, she was jealous. Annoyed. Filled herself with malice and malcontent. Hatred and greed entered her work. She felt she was the only one entitled to fill the world.”

She wraps her arms around herself, she looks at us with concern. “As the disdain grew for the other beings, her work suffered more. When she reflected on us, she never saw how her feelings created the mess we see today. She poisoned every shell she made and it leeched into Fates souls. So, in a fit of rage, Genesis tried to destroyed it. Manifested everything imaginable to try and kill us all, but it didn’t work. Through Fate, Hope and Destiny, humanity thrived.”

The screen flips through pictures of biblical floods, volcanos, mudslides, meteor strikes, wars and hurricanes. Blood baths to wipe us off the planet all because a Cosmic Being has a superiority complex.

“When she had enough…” She leans her hands on the table. “She reached out to hell itself. They sent a representative and he said he had a solution. He produced a black cross. A cross to a Cosmic prison. Genesis took it. She needed a plan and went to Destiny.”

“Jesus. No fucking wonder.” Peter slaps the table slumps in his chair and rubs his forehead. “She fed Destiny his fucked up game.”

Miranda nods. “Yes. But he had no idea why. He was interested in the game. He manipulated the cross for her, not really understanding what that meant. Genesis took the cross to a demon named Dagin. She pleaded to him to help her design a creature that could wipe us off the map and Dagin complied.”

“Lefu.” I whisper.

She nods at me. “Yes. The Bringer of Death rose. Only his mind wasn’t right. He couldn’t be controlled. This made Genesis angry because he wasn’t killing them, he was just replacing them with more evil. She needed him destroyed, but Genesis fell for a trap. Not only did Dagin preselect a body Genesis created, he put the soul in it. She didn’t realize Death was that soul and now, she couldn’t destroy the vessel.”

She looks around the room. “Dagin rose Lefu. Made him a legend which fed the desires of all Lycans and Vampires on the planet. They called to him. Made him their own. With the cross, they broke him out of hells prison and reigned hell on earth. Then he changed. He became a hybrid. He had the ability to turn humans instead of just killing them or using them as demon vessels. He built a bigger, better army. I needed to up my game.”

She locks eyes with me. “It wasn’t until I stumbled upon a blood sample, your blood sample taken at your birth, that I knew what game I had to play. I had to fight fire with fire, but I had to get your full participation. I led Genesis to you and she thought she was leading me. I also knew, if anyone would see through her, you would. I couldn’t call her out. She would just kill me. She needs you. Her plan won’t work without you. If you found her out, she couldn’t retaliate.”

I look down at the table and look back up. “She said I was his replacement. What does that mean. She can’t think I would ever…”

“Adam?”

I turn to Astrid’s worried face. “It won’t happen, snowflake. I’m just curious.”

She turns to Miranda. “It won’t, will it?”

“Unless Adam gives in, no. A demon needs one thing. A black spot on a soul. Something they can get their foot in. If there’s no black spots, they have no chance of taking over. You, my friend, have a different challenge.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Because your father is who he is, it makes you the perfect, controllable vessel for Lefu.” She says as she sits across from me. “You have enough power inside you to become fully integrated with Lefu and therefore, be unstoppable.” She smirks. “Beautiful, if you think of it from a power dynamic standpoint.”

I furrow my brow. “That won’t happen. I’ll kill him first.”

“Sorry, but if you kill him, he won’t die. Your body is like a magnet. The minute his vessel is destroyed, Death is free to enter you. Just as Genesis planned.” She says solemnly.

I turn to Astrid and she looks scared. “Not happening. I promise.” I turn back. “How do you know all this?”

“Before I found you in the stadium, I tripped on her mistake. She revealed herself to me during one of our earlier group tests. She started the program without anyone giving the command to do so. We thought it was a glitch at first until I did a little digging. She changed the program. There were no signs of hacking or outside influence.” Miranda folds her arms on the table.

“She was in the system.” Peter says.

She nods. “The whole time. Since the beginning, I suspect. I never discovered time travel. She made me believe I did. When she did it again with the second group of soldiers, that confirmed my suspicions. Genesis not only creates life, she can play with time. Manipulate it if she wants, but there are rules.”

“She can’t manipulate people.” Peter says. “That's what Eternity got locked up for."

“Yes. She went back through the time line and changed our thought direction so we could get to Adam and start him on the path to her end game. I bounced through time, fixing what needed to be fixed for the program to be perfected in 2630. It wasn’t until I reached our time that I realized I was just a puppet on a string.”

Miranda eyes us all. “When I made the system on this island, I used the skills she inadvertently taught me while pretending to be my computer. I used them to follow her through time. I was witness to all that she planned. I used a blocker from my Shaman counterpart to hide myself and this island from her. I also went to every Alliance lab through time and shielded them so, she couldn’t get in. I only let her see me when I wanted. Once all the pieces were in place, I sought you out.” She looks to me. “I’m sorry, Adam.”

“It’s OK. You didn’t know.” I blow out a breath and lean back in my chair.

Astrid shoots me a look and run my fingers through my hair. “See. It wasn’t about you.” I grab her hand and kiss it. “It was never about you.”

She gives me a half smile. “Some of it was.”

“What part?” I arch a brow.

“I have a feeling you’ll see soon.” She smirks.

“Ok. So…How do we stop her? I mean, if killing Lefu is a what makes things worse then I won’t, but we can’t allow Genesis to do something like this again.” I say.

“We lock her up.” Peter says.

“What?”

“The prison. We throw her ass in there then she can’t fight back. Let her bitch ass rot.” Peter sits back and crosses his arms.

“You can do that? Imprison a God?” Astrid asks.

“These people are hardly gods. They’re just people with lots of power. We can beat her. We did it before.” Peter grins.

“You think the Alphas will go for it?” I ask.

“Hell ya. Things have gotten boring after Eternity. They’ll be all over it, trust me.” He smiles with a nod.

I stand. “Miranda, thank you. It explains a lot.”

“There’s lots more about who you are, if you want to replace out.” She says.

“No. We need to fight Genesis and Lefu. We got what we need. We need to act quickly.” I say.

“Let me walk you out.” She invites and motions us to the door.

As the girls climb onto the deck of the boat, Miranda stops us. “One more thing.” Peter and I turn to her. “When you get back, seek out my older self. Genesis' poison not only infects the bodies she creates, but as the bodies she killed rotted away, all that infection pooled and collected in the darkest part of the world. Her evil thoughts and feelings became something this world wasn't prepared for.”

“What?”

“Ask her about the first Shaman. She’ll tell you.” She turns and waves. “Have a safe trip.”

Peter and I look at each other with deep concern. “Cast off.” He says with a sharp nod.

“Agreed.” I say and I grab the mooring rope. I throw it on deck and we hop aboard.

Peter turns the engine over and sets sail as quickly as he can.

This brings new light to almost everything. If Genesis created Lefu in hopes of wiping the slate, she could have also used him to take on any being who challenged her.

Genesis means to take her job back and doesn’t care how she does it.

Lefu being uncontrollable is a definite wedge in her plan. The reason she wants me. I don’t understand how she thinks I’ll just bend over for her.

My father had zero influence on me. There’s a reason why I hate him so much. He destroyed my world in front of my eyes. So, for me to just act like him and kill everybody? No! Not a chance. I’m no demon and I won’t ever be.

Unfortunately, we didn’t replace the answers we needed. I still don’t know how to stop Lefu. I can’t kill him or he’ll take me over and with two out there, now what?

There’s got to be something missing here.

“You ok?” I turn to Astrid who’s sitting beside me on the deck bench as I think things over.

I smile, turn and hold her in my arms. “I’m fine and I will be fine now that I know you're what I’m meant to replace.” I smile as I raise my hand to her jaw and trace her bottom lip.

“You believe that?” She smiles.

I move close to her lips. “I do. Deep down, I was mad at failing you, not myself. You wanted a warrior and I couldn’t deliver. It hit me hard.”

“But knowing what we do, I’m glad you aren’t the warrior I thought you were. You, my handsome vampire, are something else.” She traces my jaw with her fingers.

“Yeah. I’m yours.” I mumble on her lips.

“And I’m yours.” She whispers.

I consume her lips and drown in her taste. I can’t hate, blame or toss away this beautiful wolf. She is me. Everything that I do and become will be her. Will be for her.

My time ends now. My time with Astrid begins here. Who knew it was my past that held the key to my salvation?

Astrid is my warrior. The warrior that will save my very soul.

And I’ll need all the help I can get.