Transformations - Book of Adam Ch. 03

The rest stayed outside.

It was really well lit. Six street lights were arrayed throughout the parking area and they bathed the pavement in yellow light.

"I could be invisible if it wasn't for all those lights," Candy thought. The night was moonless. She picked up a fist sized limestone rock from a small pile that must have been created when they were building Stallion's.

She smiled.

***

The Church Agents moved in groups of two around the parking lot.

Something whistled through the air over one of the groups.

A street light exploded in a shower of sparks and glass and the two men dove for cover.

"This is patrol two. Something just took out one of the..."

Whistle. Bam!

A second light exploded.

"We're..."

Whistle. Bam!

***

Candy ran through the woods making no sound, her agile feet finding purchase on the smallest rock or fallen tree. Then she would launch herself into the air, twist and fling a rock with pinpoint accuracy at more than four hundred miles per hour - better than any major league baseball player could ever dream.

By the time the light exploded? Candy was already a dozen yards away and preparing for her next target.

The Church Agents, themselves transformed, could not match the speed, agility, and strength of the Street Whore. Their eyes could not peer into the darkness and see with the clarity that Candy saw as she picked each place for her foot to fall.

It was almost as if that was the way things were meant to be.

***

"Something's going on outside," Illia said as she listened to the chatter over her ear bud.

"Tell them to hold their ground," Cain said as he stood over Ray and Rita who were on their knees.

"It could be Marapova," Illia said.

"No. I have people watching. Her jet is just leaving. She's at least ninety minutes from arriving."

"She'll kill you when she does," Rita said.

"Oh, I'll be long gone by then." He held up the detonator. "As will you."

"Cain? What are you doing?!" Illia asked.

"I want to see it die." He ran his finger along the trigger.

Ray jumped to his feet.

"Pain," Cain said.

Ray crumpled to the floor and rolled into a fetal position.

"Ray!" Rita said. She held him and sobbed. "Stop it! You're killing him!"

Cain knelt over them. "He... loves you? That's... disgusting. You're a... machine. There are no limits to Whore Caste depravity." He put his finger on the trigger.

"Cain!" Illia said. "Even now, we can accomplish our mission and not start a war. But, if you kill this android and the other androids? Marapova will go to war. That is not what Sister wanted."

Cain stared at Rita. "Perhaps you're correct." Then he held up the detonator to one of the Church Agents. "Hold them here. If either moves? Shoot the Whore Master, and then press the trigger."

"Yes, Father," the agent said.

Cain stood up. "The rest of you? Follow us to the elevator."

Ray looked up at him. "You'll... never get in. The elevator is locked out." Ray laughed. "You have us, but you won't get any further."

Cain smiled. "That would be true. But, then, we have SlutzNet."

Rita laughed. "Sugar deactivated..."

"SlutzNet," Cain said. "Status?"

"All systems optimal," a voice sounded from the ceiling.

Rita looked up in horror.

"We are always one step ahead, you stupid whore," Cain said.

***

"Bull!" Bubbles screamed as she burst through the doors of the brothel.

Johns and Whore Caste turned to look at her.

Bull Drummond ran down the stairs from the second floor. "Bubbles? What's wrong?"

"Cain," Bubbles said, out of breath. "Father Cain... he's at Stallion's... it's bad, Bull!"

Bull Drummond clenched his massive fists and his knuckles cracked. He ran for the basement stairs. "Dr. Thompson! We're needed!"

***

Candy Kisses di Amal, Street Whore and sometimes ninja, was finally invisible. She dashed through the parking lot, hiding behind lampposts when she had to.

The Church Agents sure brought a lot of guns, Candy thought. Too bad they didn't bring those night vision goggle thingies.

She waited for a patrol to pass before cartwheeling past them, coming to rest by the rear bumper of an SUV. She peeked around the side.

Two agents stood on either side of the open security door that led into Stallion's front entrance.

She took one last stone out of the super deep pocket of her ninja outfit. She flung it past the SUV, causing it to skip across the asphalt like it was skipping across a lake.

The agents at the door ran toward the sound.

Candy Kisses tumbled forward and rolled through the front door of Stallion's.

She saw Ray and Rita on the floor.

She rose to a crouch in front of the only Church Agent in the room.

Candy Kisses punched him square in the junk.

He dropped his gun and the funny yellow box with the flashing red light flew into the air.

The man staggered back.

Candy jumped up and caught the yellow box in mid-air. She held it out to Rita as the Bimbot got to her feet. "This looks important."

Rita took the box from her and squeezed her tight. "It sure is." She looked at the front door and the security door slammed shut, closed by a command from her wireless transmitter.

The Church Agent groaned, and Rita backhanded him absently. He flew backward three feet and bounced off the wall before landing face down on the floor.

***

Sugar led Adam and Crumb down the hall.

The indicator showed the elevator was descending.

"No! No, that can't..." Sugar said. She pointed toward a door beside the elevator. "We need to get through there and up to Level 9. Hurry."

Adam stumbled and fell to his knees.

Crumb dropped down beside him. "What's wrong?"

"My head... I... I can hear... voices."

"Jesus," Sugar hissed. "The Fluoride is wearing off."

"His powers are coming back? That's good, right?" Crumb said.

"Not if we don't get him to Level 9!" Sugar said. She grabbed his other arm and they lifted him to his feet.

Adam jumped as if he had been electrocuted. He stared into Sugar's eyes. "Why are you screaming?"

"What? I'm not screaming."

"I... hear you. Stop screaming."

She pulled him toward the access door. "Move, goddamn it!"

"They... shouldn't have done that to you. Gwen and Alex. They shouldn't have..."

Sugar stopped. "What? What are you...?"

His body straightened and he looked past her. Then he pulled free and stepped forward. "Someone's coming. Stay behind me," his voice was strong, any sign of his earlier weakness was gone.

The elevator doors opened.

Father Cain smiled. "Pain."

***

Sugar fell to her knees.

And, then Crumb fell beside her.

Adam looked down.

Immune. But, Crumb wasn't immune from Religious Caste powers, only Whore Caste powers.

Adam looked at the man and the woman as they stepped through the doors.

Two men stood behind them with dart guns like Demona's.

"Release them," Adam said.

"Or, what?" Father Cain laughed.

"Or, I'll kill you. I don't want to kill anybody. But, I care about them, and you're hurting them. You need to stop."

Cain turned to the Church Agents. "Put away your dart guns." He smiled. "Use the nine millimeters."

The men drew their silenced pistols from their shoulder holsters.

"No!" Illia screamed.

Cain shoved her away. "Kill him!"

Time slowed.

Adam felt the maelstrom around him, felt the breeze on his face.

Time slowed and the bullets emerged from the barrels so slowly that Adam could see the concussion wave behind the bullets.

"I hate guns," he said.

The bullets picked up speed.

When the first reached him, he turned sideways and let it pass. He looked behind him to make sure it wouldn't hit anyone.

Both Sugar and Crumb were lying on the floor in agony, so the bullet would pass by and strike the wall.

He sidestepped the next.

Adam concentrated.

The maelstrom receded.

Time returned to normal.

The agents stared at their guns in disbelief.

They raised their pistols again.

"No, I don't think so." He held out his hands in front of him and pushed.

Two shock waves radiated from his palms and rocketed forward.

The left shock wave caught Cain and spun him around. He fell on Illia.

The agents took the full force - they were picked up and thrown back into the elevator.

Their bodies slammed into the elevator's back wall.

The wall dented in.

They collapsed to the floor.

Sugar rolled to her feet. "Adam?"

He held out his hand. "Stay back. They're still dangerous."

Cain jumped to his feet. A silver dagger glinted in his left hand.

Adam caught his wrist as Cain tried to stab him in the heart.

He grabbed Cain's throat with his other hand and pressed him into the wall over Illia.

"What... are... you!?" Cain gurgled.

"No... what are you?" Adam stared intently into Cain's eyes.

Cain screamed. He dropped the knife to the floor.

Adam shuddered. "Ugliness... God... it's like being inside a corpse." Tears streamed down Adam's face. "Why? What in God's name could make something like you? You chose what you are! God forgive you, you chose!"

Cain was convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

Illia was crying. "Please! Don't!"

Adam gritted his teeth. "Confession is good for the soul, Bishop Cain. Time for you to confess your sins."

He tossed Cain aside and the man landed in a heap.

Cain got to his knees. He looked up at the ceiling. "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been a lifetime since my last confession. When I was eight, I killed my neighbor's cat. I did it so I could see something die. When I was nine, I locked my best friend in the cellar of an abandoned house. It took three days for them to find him..."

Sugar helped Crumb to her feet.

Adam leaned down and grabbed Illia's hands. He pulled her to her feet. Then he put his hands on the sides of her face.

"What... are you doing?!" Illia cried.

"I finally understand your point of view on justice, Sugar." Adam stared into Illia's eyes. "I'm judging you. Be still!"

"No... don't please," Illia whispered.

Adam's face softened. "Oh..." He closed his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"What?" Illia whispered.

Adam smiled. "It wasn't your fault. You tried to stop him."

She looked down at Cain as he continued to babble about his sins. "He... wouldn't listen."

Adam shook his head. "Not him. Levi. You tried to stop him. You told him. You are a good person, Illia. You never belonged with the Church. It's not a place for someone like you."

She began to sob. Her body relaxed and he held her close.

Adam stroked her hair gently.

She pulled the dagger from her purse.

"Adam!" Crumb screamed.

"No, it's okay," Adam said.

Illia dropped the knife on the floor. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay now."

"No, it isn't," Illia said. "The Church Agents upstairs have orders to kill you should Cain fail."

Sugar pulled out her cellphone. "Ray?" She listened. Then she smiled. She put her hand over the microphone. "Ray and Rita have relocked the door. But, the agents are still outside."

"There are other teams," Illia said. "Sister sent multiple teams. Some are waiting nearby. Cain didn't know. They are going to kill Adam if they can't capture him."

"Maria will be here soon," Sugar said.

Adam shook his head. "Then she'll have to fight to protect me. The war with Religious Caste will begin years before it is supposed to."

Sugar turned and stared at him.

"Sorry, Sugar," Adam said. "I'm in your head."

"What are you going to do?"

"Run. It's time to run."

***

"Father Cain? This is patrol one. What is your status?" The Church Agent said into his sleeve as he stood by the security door. "Father Cain? We are locked out of the building. The entrance is in Whore Caste hands again. Do you read me?"

Cain's voice came over the earbud. "...When I was eighteen, I strangled a coed who suggested oral sex..."

The agent pulled the earbud out of his ear and stared at it. "What the fuck?!"

"Rocks! They're throwing rocks!" An agent yelled nearby.

"Again?" He turned in time to see a massive boulder hurtle toward the SUV to his right.

The truck crumpled from the impact and slid sideways into the building wall.

The agent ran out into the parking lot. "Oh, sweet Jesus..."

A thirty foot pine tree complete with root ball rocketed toward him from the woods beyond Stallion's.

He dove to the asphalt and the tree crashed down behind him.

He looked up as two massive shapes walked down from the woods.

They were Whore Masters. One was over seven feet tall with an oak branch balanced on his shoulder.

The other was over twelve feet tall and dressed in a doctor's lab coat. He held a five hundred pound boulder over his head aimed toward the agent.

Cars and trucks roared into the parking lot.

All manner of Whore Caste: Street Whores, Street Studs, MILFs, Dominatrixes rushed out of the vehicles. They carried everything from baseball bats to street signs and, in the case of the Dominatrixes, whips.

"Boys, I do believe we've got you covered," Bull Drummond said as he pointed the oak tree limb toward the agents and winked.

***

The security door opened, and Bubbles Bennett rushed inside with a baseball bat. "Candy!"

Candy turned and waved. "Hi, Bubbles!"

"You're alive!" She dropped the bat and squealed, throwing her arms around the taller woman and squeezing.

"Of course, I'm alive, silly," Candy said.

Sanjay Amal came in and picked them both up. "Jesus, Candy, what were you thinking?"

"She saved us," Rita said.

"It's true," Ray said. "She was just like a real ninja."

"I really was. I was invisible and everything!"

***

"I don't understand," Crumb said. "If we won..."

Sugar shook her head. "They won't stop. The Church will just keep coming."

Adam nodded. "I have to run, Crumb."

Crumb sighed. "Okay, then let's..."

"No, Crumb. I have to go alone."

"What the fuck are you talking about?!"

He rubbed her shoulders. "Crumb, Cain was able to hurt you. I make people immune to Whore Caste mind control, not Church powers. You're safe. You're Whore Caste, Maria will protect you, and the Church won't see you as a threat."

"It's... It's not fair! You'll be alone."

Adam smiled. "I think I have to be for a while. I'm not... me, yet. I'll come back when I am. I promise."

Crumb cried and held onto him.

"Besides, you've got to finish whatever crazy shit you're going to do to Lewis. You're soulmates, remember?"

"Yeah, but..."

He kissed her. "I'll be back. I promise."

***

Demona led Illia back into the tubes.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Well, gorgeous, you're the only person I know of who's just as unpopular right now as Adam," Demona said.

"Why?"

"Sister isn't going to be to happy you failed, and equally unhappy that you weren't killed in the process. And, Maria Marapova will literally use your head for a soccer ball when she gets here because, hello, you invaded her territory."

"Then I am doomed."

Demona shrugged. "Nope. I'm going to put you in a tube and hide you until Maria goes back to Olympus or wherever the fuck she looks down on us commoners from."

"Then what?"

"Then? Well, I have an idea where to send you." Demona took a step back. "Now, strip."

She began shrugging out of her dress. "Aren't you going to turn around?"

"I'm helping you. I deserve a striptease. It's been a long day and I love naked women."

Illia stared at her for a moment and then took off her dress.

***

Sugar and Adam took the elevator up to Level 9. They stepped out in the ruined corridor and Sugar led him to the triangular crack in the wall leading to Demonica's cavern.

"Love what you've done with the place. Reminds me of Minecraft," Adam said.

"Reminds you of what?" Sugar asked as she led the way along the cavern floor.

"Minecraft. It's a game. You know, computers?"

"Oh, are you sure you're the Adam who bends time? You sound more like the Adam who lives in his mother's basement."

Adam laughed. "I had my own room, thanks. Didn't like the basement. I'm afraid of spiders. Whoa, and there goes one now." He rushed to catch up with Sugar.

"What you said back there? What Gwen and Adam did to me? You were wrong. They didn't mistreat me. I love them."

"No, I know, they didn't mean to mistreat you. None of you do. You end up hurting people because that's the way you were made. Not really your faults."

"Thanks for the condescension. I love being talked down to by a boy half my age."

"Half? Where'd you learn math?"

She spun around. "And where did you learn manners? You don't speak to a lady like that."

"You do if you like to see her get angry," he said and smiled. He reached out and brushed a stray red curl away from her cheek. "I love the way your skin flushes when you get angry."

"You're... very confident now that you have your powers back. However, you aren't anywhere near as charming as you think you are."

"No?" He leaned in and then stepped around her. He looked over the edge. "No way! A lava lake! This is exactly like Minecraft!"

Sugar gritted her teeth. "Would you like a closer look?" She turned around and put her hands on his back.

"You won't do that."

"Don't test me."

"Angela Owens wouldn't do such a thing."

She stumbled backward as if she had been struck.

He spun and caught her hands. "Careful. Floor's treacherous."

"Okay, so you know my old name. It doesn't matter," she said and pushed past him toward the stone bridge over the lava bed.

"Wow. Somebody made this?"

"Yes. Someone... very evil."

"Uggh, don't say the word 'evil'. A few minutes in Bishop Cain's mind, and I don't think I'll ever be clean again."

They walked across the bridge to the small ledge on the other side beside the newly installed gate. Sugar punched in a code and the gate unlocked. "This leads to the forest. You can get to the interstate if you keep walking northeast. It's closer if you go west, but you'll be too close to Stallion's - someone might see you."

He was smiling at her.

"What?"

"At least you're not screaming."

"You keep saying that. I'm not screaming."

"Inside. You were screaming. I think she screams a lot."

"What are you babbling about?"

"Angela Owens screams a lot inside you."

She rolled her eyes. "Angela Owens is dead, Adam. She died a long time ago at the farm..."

Adam burst out laughing. "You White Witches have it all figured out, don't you?"

She pointed at the gate. "Go. Now."

"You think you destroy people's personalities, don't you? You think you just burn it away like a wart or something."

"Yes, Adam. We destroy what someone was to make them into what we want..."

Adam shook his head. "You bring out the traits they already have. You don't pervert them, Sugar. You just free them from their fears. The problem is you make it into some kind of trauma for them. They think who they were is lost. They think you made them something they weren't. The truth is? We're all transformed into what we want to be, Angela." He stroked her face.

"Stop that."

"Why?"

"I don't like it."

"Liar."

"Look, Adam, I have no intention of drinking your cum. You're not going to change me..."

"Cum was Adam 2.0... 3.0, maybe. I've evolved since then." He smiled.

"You need to leave."

"Why?"

"The Church might kill you. Maria might kill you... keep looking at me like that and I might kill you."

"Liar." He kissed her.

A magical kiss. Any technology beyond your understanding appears to be magic. Perhaps it was pheromones or some other chemical interaction. Maybe it was a retrovirus that spread through her. Maybe it was a quantum entanglement that made the universe tremble for just an instant.