FUTURITY

THEY ARE EVERYWHERE Pt 2

He gasped. "W-what? Why?"

"Now!" Ericka shoved him down, and he crawled under the bed.

"What do you want from me?" Jason asked, his whole body shaking.

Jason's mind raced. What did I do? His breath caught. Is this extra body organ the answer? Would someone want to kidnap me because of that? From under the bed, he could hear Agent Brown's voice through the sheets.

"Where is the patient who was in here?"

Ericka replied in a cheerful voice, "He left a few minutes ago by himself." The agent swore. Jason heard receding footsteps.

The bedclothes were moved aside. "Get out."

Jason obeyed and struggled to his feet. Ericka grabbed his arm and placed the weapon against his side, where her body hid the gun. "Don't make a sound."

Ericka cracked the door open and looked out. She opened the door wider and led Jason out into the hallway. His mind was reeling.

"What did you do to the agent who was outside my door?" he said.

"It doesn't matter."

Forcing himself to not over-think what he was about to do, Jason took a shaky breath. He jerked away and grabbed the gun with both hands. Ericka kicked him in the shin, bringing both her hands to the gun.

Ericka's eyes were filled with remorseless calculation. Jason tried to aim the gun away from him. He saw her finger close around the gun's trigger. She aimed it at his abdomen. No! He tried to push the muzzle away.

BANG!

The deafening sound of the gunshot made Jason's ears ring. The bullet missed his hip and hit a woman in the leg. She screamed and fell to the floor.

Jason wrenched the weapon from Ericka's grip. It took a moment for it to sink in. He had the gun. He turned to Ericka, who braced herself against the wall, her eyes wide.

Jason panted. He felt the heat rise in his cheeks. "What do you want?" She glared at him.

He raised the gun. "Talk!"

Jason began to realize that the screaming around him was deafening. Men and women were running to escape.

He tightened his grip on the gun. "Why? Who are you talking about?"

"They'll never stop."

"Who? Who are you talking about?"

"We are everywhere. When you kill one of us, many are ready to take our place."

Jason fought back a sudden dread.

She looked at him with a confident, hard stare. "You will never escape with the FBI, Jason Sorn. We are everywhere you look."

Jason blinked. His hand began to shake. "For the last time, who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about ANO."

"ANO? Is that a government agency?"

Ericka smirked. "Do you really think it's a government agency? It is certainly not yours. It doesn't exist according to the FBI or your Agent Brown."

Jason abruptly turned and ran down the hall. He looked around, frantic to find the FBI agents. He pushed through the crowd of people.

He rounded a corner and found himself facing a tall man. He was the size of Mount Everest, all muscle. His grey hair was cut short and his face lay in a perpetual scowl. Jason swallowed hard.

Jason raised his free hand, and the man backed away.

BOOM!

An unseen force lifted the man into the air.

WHAM!

Mount Everest was flung against the wall. Wood, sheet rock, and paint particles flew in every direction.

Jason stood aghast. Did I do that?

The man fell to the floor, unconscious. More screams came from the panicking crowd running down the hall. What did I just do? He leaped over the man. His eyes searched for the agents.

Ericka's words echoed in his mind. "You will never escape with the FBI, Jason Sorn. We are everywhere you look."