CHAPTER 104: RUINS AND SCORCH MARKS

Janet focused, twitched her finger and gathered all the rain above and liquid that was flowing around them. She drew her palms together and the rainwater surged from everywhere, bursting like a dam. It pushed the bones and metal splitting them up and flinging them ahead.

Lugard’s mouth gaped.

"Damn." The soldier next to him said.

"Damn indeed." Lugard whispered.

There were two knocks on the vehicle and the Lugard started the car again. The convoy successfully reached the research facility. It did not look like it used to anymore. Meteors that fell from the sky had ruined most of it and the rest, acid rain had corroded.

The research facility used to be owned by the government. It was a place for building and testing weapons, climate experiments, gene-research labs, artificial intelligence and all sorts of other things that were shared in whispers.

Now, the walls wept.

Parts of it were slanting inward and others had fallen off. It looked like a building in a war torn zone that had been struck by some kind of nuclear weapon.

Janet slid down the car and her feet touched the ground. She waved her hand out and paused the rain. Ceasar and his men stepped out of their vehicles. One of the soldiers held an umbrella over Ceasar’s head even though it served no purpose.

Cold air hit them and they drew their jackets closer, fingers gripping firmly on the weapons in their hands.

"I don’t think that there is anyone here." Janet said.

Ceasar stepped closer to her, preferring to keep her by his side. "We won’t know until we search." It was his hope that the superhuman was still on the grounds.

"We should cover up." Lugard suggested.

In the trunk of one of the cars were hazmat suits and oxygen masks. Everyone covered up, including Janet. After seeing to it that they they were as safe as could be, Janet led the way, clearing acid rain from the path.

Ceasar was breathing heavily, as they made their way into the what remained of the building. The walls that were still dancing showed traces of black residue. The inside smelled so unbearable, like something was rotting. Metal that had survived corrosion was scorched.

Some was tangled with carbonized flesh which was rotting and greenish in color. The once glorious experimental laboratory now resembled rotting black skeletons. A fleshy hand was found holding a phone that had melted partially.

Everything had been burned or shattered. What the meteor didn’t destroy, the fire had destroyed and the acid rain had done what it could to finish the job.

"Let’s check the upper floors that are still standing." Ceasar said.

They used the emergency stairs, navigating them carefully for they were fractured. On one floor, they found computers and steam. They also found bodies--many dead bodies that were rotting. Most were in a half-burned state with horrified looks on their faces.

On another floor that was partially collapsed in, they discovered that everything had melted. They ventured further upwards into the ruins and one of the soldiers slipped and crushed through a window. He fell on a meteor outside and broke his neck.

Lugard, Janet and two soldiers hurried to the window to take a look.

"He is dead." Lugard declared.

"I don’t think we should go any further." Janet said.

They returned to the last floor where the gene experimental lab was. It was the place where the superhuman had been held.

"It was here, they were here." Lugard said to Ceasar

Janet looked at the fire damaged wreckage, she wondered who these people were that the president had risked himself to come out and search for them. Was it the Vice president and other governors, senators or law makers? Was it scientists that worked there?

"Spread out and see if you can find something useful." Ceasar commanded them.

This lab was not leaking acid rain so they spread out. Ceasar went with Lugard and they walked to the place where the superhuman was supposed to be contained. It was melted and scorched.

"Something is off about the fire." Ceaser declared.

Upon making sure that their voices were out of Janet’s reach, Lugard leaned in towards Ceaser and said. "This room was not tainted by meteors or acid rain. If I have to guess then I think it was definitely the woman’s doing. The scorch marks lead to the entrance through which we came in. I think it is possible that she got away."

"God damn it!" Ceaser hissed. "I should have had her chained to my side like this one. With people like this, we must use sweet words and honey to trap them by our side."

Lugard nodded. "This one is dangerous too. She pulled blasts of water from all around and used them to shove bones, rocks, and other obstacles out of our path on our way here. The water is her weapon."

"So I must continue to make her feel important." Ceasar bellowed.

Lugard placed a finger to his lips and hissed. "Sir, you know those apocalypse guidelines that were everywhere, there were details on these superhumans. Just like Janet can control water, there were those that could do the same with fire, pyrokinetics I think they were named. This woman must awakened fire related abilities."

Ceasar felt even more of a loss. If he had that woman, he would have two superhumans that can control two different weather elements: fire and water. "Moon Raine said that after acid rain, a long harsh winter would come, lasting four months. Having a personal human torch does not sound bad to me. We need to find that woman." He looked back at Janet. "Now that we have a human umbrella, we should accomplish more things. Since we cannot find this fire woman, lets go back and plan an assault on the Rainhounds mountain base."

He had not got what he wanted but he had confirmed Janet’s abilities and he could proceed with his next plans.

"Sir, we should take Janet to the still standing markets and stock some supplies that we are missing. The people we are housing at the White house need blankets, medicines and other things."

A low growl came from Ceasar’s throat. Putting the test subjects in his plans was a waste of time to him. In the end, they were meant to die.

"Sugar and honey Sir." Lugard reminded him. The nicer and more generous he was to those people, the more willing they would be to work for the country. That was how they could convince them to walk into the mist willingly.

"Take me back to the White house first." Ceasar ordered Lugard.

The journey back was quicker, and they arrived in four hours. Unexpectedly, one thing had changed at the White house. Gillian, the man left in charge was not truly Ceasar’s ally.

He and some soldiers had taken advantage of Janet’s pauses of the rain to follow the convoy from behind and sneak President Finch away from the White house!!

Where he was currently, not even Ceasar knew.