Survivors: The Long Road Ch. 2 P.2

Things at the Park residence seemed to have settled down by the time Miles returned. He felt better after another meal and some time alone with R. It was actually weird to not have spoken to the Walrider for a long period of time. Even though it was just for a few hours it still felt off. Miles hadn’t realized how accustomed he’d become to talking with him. “Hey Park,” Miles called when he walked in through the garage door. “Where am I crashing tonight? The couch? My Jeep?” He was cool with either.

A voice called down from upstairs but Miles couldn’t hear what it said. He was halfway up the stairs when Waylon appeared in the hallway. “We have a guestroom, if you would like to sleep there you can.”

“Thanks,” Miles found the room on the first floor; it was right off the living room, near the staircase. He dropped a bag by the bed and tossed his pillow with the others. He flopped down and sighed. “What a day,” he said. It seemed surreal that yesterday he was still sleeping on a bloodstained couch in the Administration Block. R was right, he had become used to a lifestyle and routine that was dangerous. If Waylon hadn’t broken the story there’s no telling how long Miles would have been comfortable staying up on that mountain. It had truly been the best and the worst thing to have happened.

“We think you are already lighter and freer,” R said.

“You think?” Miles rolled all the way onto the bed and sat up. He reached for his backpack and lifted out his laptop. It was killing him not to be able to update any of his social media. He was a natural loud mouth and loved sharing his adventures on the road. But he had to go dark until this story was ready to launch. If he dared to post anything then the jig would be up and Murkoff would be on his ass as hard as they were on Waylon’s.

One good thing they had going for them was that there were quite a few journalists who weren’t buying the viral marketing campaign story that Murkoff put out. Many of the blogs and sites that Miles browsed were owned by friends of his. He was glad to see that people he kept in contact with had working brains. On a whim Miles opened up Julian’s personal blog, “To Clear My Mind” and read the latest post. The timestamp put it sometime after their phone call.

“Watch who you trust, now more than ever before. Think critically, act safely, be careful who you associate with. Keep your friends close and the dead closer. They won’t win, we won’t let them.”

“Wow Jules, way to be subtle,” Miles mumbled and scrolled through a few of the comments.

“Is this about Murkoff? I agree their story does a bit…like a cover-up? That footage seemed far too real.”
“Do you know what happened to Upshur? The guy hasn’t responded in weeks.”
“I agree, that footage wasn’t staged. That wasn’t an actor. Something’s not right.”
“You guys can go chase that corporation and pull its tail. Count me out. Their legal team scares the shit out of me.”
“As it should, haha. Those guys mean business. I have no idea how Upshur got away with his little water scandal story a few years back.”
“That’s probably because he DIDN’T get away with it. If that footage was real and not a movie promo there’s no doubt in my mind that Upshur’s rotting in a cage somewhere. Think he left me anything cool in his will?”
“Hahahaha. Dude at least wait till he’s officially dead to lay claim to his crap.”
“Mainstream media has reported nothing but the movie story. It seems legit if we go by the top sources.”
Julian responded to that comment. “When have we ever believed the mainstream media hook line and sinker? I’m not at liberty to say more, mainly because I don’t know any more than the rest of you. But we’ve all been through the muck long enough to spot bullshit when we see it. I’m not saying you should storm the company or flood them with emails, but I would suggest a closer viewing of this story. Something’s off. No word from Upshur. We all know he can be rather…flighty sometimes. He’ll turn up.”
“It’s cute how you have hope that he’ll surface. His last blog post clearly indicated that he was going to Colorado. Either two things happened there, that riot happened and he’s dead, or it was a movie and he’s laying low out of shame.”
“When has Upshur ever known shame?”
“Maybe he went camping?”
“Camping? Haha that’s rich. That kid wouldn’t know how to deal with nature.”

Miles nearly snorted in laughter. God he wanted to comment so badly, he wanted to say something like “Glad you guys sure speak fondly of me when I’m presumed dead or missing.” Instead he just backed out of the comment section of that post and went back to looking at other blogs and sites for their input.

“Hey,” a voice said from his doorway.

It startled Miles and he jumped a bit. “Mrs. Park, shit you scared me there for a second.”

“Sorry,” she said and leaned against the doorframe. “What were you reading? You were really focused.”

“Oh,” Miles leaned back against the wall and moved his laptop off his lap, “I was just browsing a few sites, you know, just trying to keep up with the news. Mostly I was interested to see how my side of the media was handling Murkoff’s slew of lies.”

“And?” She asked.

“They’re skeptical, which is good. It’s what we want. We need some people to be questioning what they saw and the answers they were given. Things will be easier down the road if we some people willing to stand by our story.”

“I see,” Lisa said. She lifted her hand and Miles spotted what must have been Waylon’s camera in her hands. She was playing with the screen and toggling buttons. “It was really nice, what you did for the boys,” she said. “They don’t have much, we don’t have much, if you haven’t noticed.”

“I did… And I don’t mean to be rude!” He said quickly. “I just…I have a good eye, I notice things. I couldn’t figure out if this house was just really clean, or if you didn’t have anything to put in it.”

Lisa laughed. “A bit of both, actually,” she said. “Waylon has been obsessively cleaning the place since he came back from the hospital.”

“How is he? I noticed a limp, can’t be helped I guess, he did fall through an elevator.”

“He’s…better,” Lisa settled on. “He needs help though, therapy or something, anything.”

Miles nodded. “Hey maybe I’ll be of some help?” He could see Lisa was giving him a strange look. “Well, I mean I survived what he did. I’m no therapist, but I sure as shit knows what it feels like to be stalked down dirty halls and hide beside corpses in the dark.”

“Maybe he’ll open up to you in ways he didn’t to me. Or, maybe he’ll stay closed off like normal. He’s not the best with strangers.”

“A bit of an introvert? That’s fine, I might be the opposite but I can respect boundaries. Honestly Mrs. Park I’m not looking for a friendship between myself and your husband. I just don’t want to see a family like yours torn apart by this corporate monster. If I end up helping in more than one way, well, that’s just a bonus I suppose.”

“It might do him some good as well, to get out of this house. He hasn’t left for anything more than a trip to the store. The trip to Denver was pushing his limits I’m sure.” She lifted the camera again. “Anyways, I’m just here to say that I saw what you did for the boys, and I appreciate it. This won’t be easy on them once the magic of a road trip wears off. The camera will be a nice distraction.”

“I thought so. When I was a kid I always liked making little movies. Though, I had a lot less to work with. The camera I gave them is pretty good; it’s got a few filters and a decent zoom. They should have some fun, even if it’s just filming action figures.”

“Does it have one of those night vision modes? Like yours and Way’s did?” She asked. Miles shook his head. “I was always amazed at how high quality these small cameras could get. Especially with that night vision mode.”

“Yeah,” Miles said. “I’m not sure the specs on the camera Waylon lifted from Murkoff, but mine is really nice. I’ve had it for years, the cracked screen is nothing I won’t get repaired. It survived hell with me, there’s no way I’ll be tossing it out.”

Miles should have been paying more attention to Lisa, or more importantly to the buttons she was fiddling with on that camera. If he had, he could have caught the sound of the night vision turning on and maybe prevented the scream that made him press against the wall and freeze. Lisa looked from the screen then to Miles and then back to the screen before shouting, “Monster! You’re a monster!”

“Park!” Miles yelled. “Park get down here!” He placed his hands in the air and kept himself backed against the wall. “Lisa please stop screaming-”

“You’re one of them!” She said, “You’re that…that thing that Murkoff made!”

“No! No! I’m-” Then he spotted R out of the corner of his eye. The Walrider materialized and started heading towards Lisa. “R no!” His command was so strong that R flinched from receiving it. “Back off R. Now!” The Walrider hesitated but ultimately reformed next to his host.

“You said no one was to know about Us. You said that We must remain a secret. The adult male We could accept. He has already seen Us, but the adult female? She should die.”

“No,” Miles said, just as sternly. “No.”

“What is that thing?” Lisa asked. Miles was impressed; she wasn’t trembling like her husband had.

“That’s Project Walrider,” Miles said.

“But you said it died!”

“I lied,” he said simply.

“And what else have you been lying about?” And Miles knew in this instant he had just lost all the trust he could have had in Lisa.

Thankfully Waylon had stumbled into the room just in time to buy Miles some time to think. He took one quick look at room, saw Miles backed against the wall, saw the Walrider ready to attack and saw his wife with the night vision filter on the camera in her hand. It wasn’t hard to put together what had happened. “Lisa it’s ok he’s-”

“It’s ok? It’s pretty fucking not ok Waylon! Look at this!” She held the camera out to him. “Look at what this thing is! What he’s been hiding from us!”

“Not us, you,” Waylon said as calmly as he could muster. “Miles already told me what happened to him, he showed me the Walrider and what he’d become.”

Lisa seemed more furious than scared now. “And you thought it was a good idea to let him stay? In our house? With our children?”

Waylon wanted to shrink back but he stood between his wife and Miles. “He’s a good man.”

“He’s a stranger who we know nothing about!” Lisa pointed at him and said, “I don’t even think he’s human anymore. And that thing next to him? You thought that was safe? I watched that thing tear people apart. Christ Waylon it ripped a man in half directly above your head!”

“I know! Lisa I know! Out of everyone in this room I think I know best how dangerous the Walrider is.” Miles coughed a bit and was going to interject but Waylon shot him a dangerous look. He kept his mouth shut.

“And what’s worse is that you thought it was ok not to tell me! Don’t you think I’d like to know what kind of things we let inside our house?”

“I wanted to tell you, but Upshur told me not to.”

“Of course he didn’t want me knowing. Because I might be the only person here with their head screwed on straight!”

“Will you let me explain?” Miles spoke up from the bed. “There’s a lot about Project Walrider that you don’t understand. Please? You can absolutely throw me out if you want. But it still changes nothing. Murkoff will be coming for you both. I still want to help but-”

“How do we know you’re not working for them? You’re their pet monster.”

Miles frowned. “Not true. If anything, I have more to fear from getting captured than you two do.” He put his hands down and rested them in his lap. “I told you before that they would either kill you, or make you disappear. That won’t happen to me. I’ll be thrown into experiments; I’ll be used as the weapon they had intended to create. I might have a strong will now, I might be in control now, but I might break. I’m just a person, same as anyone else, and I’m terrified of Murkoff breaking me. Because when the break me, they’ll get to him.” Miles jabbed a thumb towards the Walrider. “That “Thing” as you call it is under my direct control. But if you remove me from the equation…” Miles trailed off.

“What will happen?” Lisa asked.

“You saw the footage.”

“Listen, just hear him out ok? I’ll make coffee and you can grill him for all the answers you want.”

Lisa stared at Miles long and hard, then at the monster next to him. “This is insane,” she said and left the room, heading out towards the living room.

Miles sighed. “Thanks for sticking up for me Park.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you’d just told her from the start.”

Miles shook his head. “Nah, I’m pretty sure she should have tossed my ass out in a heartbeat. Shit, she still might.” He got up and picked up his bag and laptop. “It’s not like this wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. I know what I am.” He shouldered past Waylon and sat down on one of the chairs. “R get in here, no need to hide, this might go over better if you’re visible.”

“How do you figure that Host? We think it would be best if We vanished.”

“The more they see you the more they’ll get used to you, maybe.”

Waylon started the coffee maker and Miles could hear him talking with his wife. While they weren’t exactly being quiet, Miles made it a point not listen in. People deserved their privacy. He went over what had just happened and wondered if he really would have been better off telling Lisa up front, like he had with her husband. He just wasn’t…expecting anyone to figure it out. He had forgotten about the swarm being visible through the night vision, he’d gotten too relaxed, too distracted. Maintaining a human form wasn’t enough outside the asylum. He had to work harder.

“I want answers Upshur.”

“I know you do. Everything I told you before, every last detail was absolutely true, except for the part about Project Walrider dying with Billy Hope. When I killed the kid the Walrider jumped hosts. The only living human that was close by was myself. He invaded my body and that was that. I became the Host in a matter of seconds.”

Lisa asked, “How is that possible? Waylon was telling me that the people who were put into the Engine or the ones who had become hosts had to be primed. If they weren’t they’d just die. How did you manage? You claim to be an outsider, a reporter.”

“I was in a way…primed. The conditions for being the Host seem to be pretty simple. You have to have seen true horror, been in close proximity to death, experienced great pain, and you had to be exposed to the Morphogenic Engine. During my trip through the asylum I had accidently fulfilled all those requirements.” However, Miles was still unsure himself it was an accident. He had a feeling deep in his gut that Father Martin specifically knew how to make a person more susceptible to the Walrider. Becoming the host seemed premeditated. “If I’m being honest with you guys…I might have been ready to go right from the start. I’m not sure if you know this, but I did extensive coverage during the war. I didn’t sit in a cushy hotel room and do interviews from afar. I traveled with a few ground units. I slept where they slept and was in danger when they were in danger. I saw some shit during that time. Stuff I will never forget, no matter how much I drank.”

“Sorry,” Waylon said automatically.

“It’s fine. Not like anyone can do anything about it. I moved on, and you’ll move on from Mount Massive.”

“Sure,” Waylon said, but he didn’t really believe it. Miles didn’t either. There were some things that you couldn’t come back from. The haunted looks in both of their eyes would never fully disappear.

“So you’re the “host” then what’s that?” She pointed at R who was standing silently beside the chair Miles was sitting in. “Is that the “parasite”?”

“Yup,” Miles said. “You got it. Project Walrider is an advanced swarm of nanobots. But it gets even more complex than that. It’s not just a machine, it’s organic too. The machines need to be replenished just like any other cell. They can’t make their own parts on their own, so they hijack my body, my bone marrow and manufacture more of their cells inside my body. They need me to live. The Walrider is a more physical manifestation of those cells. There’s a part of it that roosts in my brain. It stores its own data there, like memories, and also allows me to have full control over it, if I desire.”

“So you can tell it what to do?” 

“Yes. I’ve spent a lot of time working on having perfect control over R. Oh, R’s his name, I named him. It’s short for Rider.” He couldn’t tell if he was wining anyone over. “I know you saw the footage of the Walrider during the riot. What I need you to understand is that the Walrider wasn’t running wild. It might not have looked like it, but Billy was in control the whole time. He was sloppy at first, but near the end you could clearly tell there was total control.”

Lisa frowned. “I’m not sure it’s wise to bring up the kid that killed hundreds of people.”

“Well I’m not like Billy. I don’t want death and destruction. That’s not how I want my revenge. Unlike Hope, my control is better. I’m more focused and the relationship between myself and R is far more stable. Believe it or not, the Walrider has thoughts of his own, opinions and can talk to me.”

“This doesn’t change the fact that you could kill anyone at any moment. You’re dangerous.”

“Humans are dangerous. We kill each other better than anything else on this planet. Just because I can kill people doesn’t mean I’m unique. Shit, falling coconuts kill people, stairs kill people, bacteria kill people.” Miles shrugged. “I didn’t ask for this and I don’t want it. But that doesn’t matter, I’m stuck with it, Project Walrider is fused to me for the rest of my life. The only thing I can say to make this better is that I don’t want to be a weapon. I won’t kill people, I refuse.”

“I believe him,” Waylon said.

“Why didn’t you tell me from the start? You both lied to me.”

Miles nodded and bowed his head. “I know. I shouldn’t have forced your husband to keep secrets from you. Especially given the situation you’re all in. I made that call. I didn’t want anyone else to know. Waylon…I had to tell him. We’re going to be traveling together, living together for a while. That sort of close contact means he’d figure it out anyways. I didn’t want a situation like this to unfold in a tiny motel room.” He took a deep breath and lifted his head so he could meet Lisa’s gaze. “I should have told you too, it wasn’t right. I was asking you to trust me with the safety of your family. That trust was broken.” Miles fiddled with the stump of his pointer finger. “I didn’t tell you because I thought it would be dangerous for me.”

“Oh dangerous for you? Yeah that makes it fine then, it’s not like your husband was going to be bunking with a monster or anything.”

“I’m sorry,” Miles said again. “I wanted to keep the number of people who knew that Project Walrider lived on low.”

“And how many people know about you?”

“Alive? Two. You and Park.”

“And dead?” She questioned.

“…Three,” Miles said after a pause. “Sure there were people in the asylum who knew I was the Host, but they didn’t know who I was, the person behind the Swarm. The only other one who did was David Annapurna.” He got up and crouched down next to another bag. He pulled out a stack of files and skimmed through them until he came to David’s file. “He was the only real friend I had in that place. David was an ex Murkoff employee. He was an orderly for the top floors, never went to the basement labs. But he knew something was up. He threatened to go to the police and they locked him up. Sound familiar?”

Lisa nodded. David could have been her own husband for how similar the story was.

“He died there, from the tumors that resulted from extensive rounds in the Engine,” he handed Lisa the file. “If you don’t believe me you can read it here. And if that’s not convincing enough I interviewed him twice. Listen,” Miles sat back down. “I’m really not trying to fool you guys, I’m not some secret Murkoff agent, and I’m not a weapon of chaos waiting to be released. I’m a reporter who got in way over his head. I simply want to see the people behind Mount Massive behind bars. I want justice.”

“And what will you do after that?” Lisa asked.

“Go back to what I’m good at, being a journalist. Though I might lay low for a while after this. Catch my breath.” He didn’t know what else to say. “I wanted this to stay between myself and Park. The more people who know, the more possible ways the information could leak. If word gets out of what I am… well I can kiss my freedom and possibly my life goodbye. I don’t want to die Mrs. Park.”

“How can we trust you not to abuse the power you’ve been given?”

“How do you trust anyone with a gun? With a steak knife? A car? I understand that what happened to me is a bit more terrifying, but the core argument is that I could kill someone. Well, couldn’t you? Or your husband?” Miles looked over at R who was still standing quietly by his side. “I know that I look like a monster, and I know that R pretty much is a monster. But we can keep ourselves hidden, we don’t want any attention. We’re scary, sure, but we just want to live.”

R moved without Miles telling him and he was about to order him to stop when he picked up a piece of paper and a pen. “We want to see the world,” R wrote and turned the paper over to show the Parks.

“Holy shit,” Waylon said.

R took the paper back. “We are the Walrider. We are sixty-six years old. This is the first time We have ever been outside of a laboratory or off the mountain. Our Host is brave and smart and kind. Our Host does not wish to harm other humans. We will not hurt. We will obey. We just want to be free.”

Lisa didn’t know what to say. She didn’t expect the creature to try to communicate with them. She stared at the paper and at the Walrider.

“Sixty-six years is an awful long time to be a prisoner,” Waylon said. “It doesn’t change the fact that it scares the shit out of me, and it doesn’t make me any more eager to sit by it, but I think they deserve a chance.”

“Thank you,” Miles said. R nodded and took his place beside Miles.

Lisa shook her head. “No, Waylon you can’t. You’re coming with me and the boys. I can’t risk losing you to that…thing. It can communicate but that didn’t stop it from killing all those people before.”

“I already agreed. I’m not…I’m not a child Lisa. This is a choice I made, even after Upshur revealed what had happened to him to me. I decided to go with him. I think it’s a good idea. And I think there’s no one safer to travel with than Mr. Upshur.”

“I promise you I will keep your husband safe. Murkoff won’t find him with me, and if they do… I, I’ll make sure they don’t get him ok?”

“If he wanted to kill us he’d done it already Leese.”

He had a point there. As much as Miles made her uncomfortable he hadn’t harmed them yet. He’d been nothing but friendly and outgoing this whole time. The reasons he gave for the information he withheld made sense, she couldn’t blame the guy for being afraid. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to wake up and not be human anymore, and then try to go out into the world and pretend you are. “If… if you trust him Way, then I’ll… I’ll trust him too. I don’t like it, but you’re right. You’re an adult and I can’t make your decisions for you. I know you’ll do the right thing.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep in touch, you know I will,” Waylon said. “And we’re not leaving right away, we still have tonight. It’s only a month and then we’ll be a family again. I promise.”

“You better not be lying to me Upshur. If Waylon comes back in less than one piece I’ll hunt you down myself.”

Miles had to admit, Lisa Park had even more courage and fire than he could have imagined. He didn’t doubt that she would hunt him down and find him. “Don’t worry Mrs. Park, you’ll see him again, whole. I promise. And I really am sorry I lied. I’ve never been in this type of situation before, forgive me, I’m learning.”

But Lisa didn’t accept the apology. She just grabbed Waylon and pulled him up. “We still have packing to do.”

“But hon, it’s like one in the morning,” Waylon complained. He never got a good night’s rest and this day had been exhausting. He hadn’t had this much conversation in a long time.

Miles piped up, “You did put coffee on, did you not?” They had gotten so wrapped in talking that they had forgotten all about the lonely pot of coffee sitting on the counter top. “Park can sleep on the road,” Miles said. “You however,” he said to Lisa, “you should get some shut eye.”

“By the way,” Lisa asked as she was climbing the stairs, “where did you go before? After dinner?”

“Oh, I grabbed a milkshake at that burger joint down the road and stopped at a gas station to grab some munchies for the road.”

“I see…”

“Oh come on, you don’t believe me do you? Do I have to get my receipts? The chips?”

She shook her head. “Come on Way, grab some liquid energy and come upstairs. I want everything packed before I wake up.”

Waylon groaned and made his way into the kitchen. Miles followed and leaned against the counter. “Hey, uh, thanks for you know…sticking up for me back there.”

“I felt like I had to. It’s my fault you ended up in the situation you’re in, even if you say it isn’t. You at least deserve a chance. I’ll risk my life with you, after all, you risked yours responding to my email.” He poured a mug of coffee and started to make his way slowly back to the staircase. “Drink some if you want, dump the rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, tomorrow.”

Miles didn’t have any coffee; even though caffeine hardly affected him anymore he didn’t need an excuse to avoid sleep. His thoughts would be doing that just fine on their own. He dumped the pot down the drain and went back to the guest room. He moved his computer from the bed and face planted directly into his pillow. “Kill the lights R,” he said through the pillow. “And that’s a euphemism for “shut off the lights” don’t actually try to kill them.”

“We know Host, We are not stupid.”

“Good,” he said and flopped over once the light was off. “What a fucking day,” he said.

“So let Us get this straight. We cannot be seen or known about…except when you decide it’s fine?”

“Yeah, that’s about it. But before you go complaining about how poorly I’m doing at keeping us a secret, it’s just going to be the Parks, no one else ok?”

“You are now three for three for adults you’ve met and adults who know about Us. Are you sure you can keep this up?”

“R that’s not fair. You didn’t count the drive through lady or the gas station cashier. That’s like what? Five people? Three of five is still bad, but it’s better than what you said.” He stared at the ceiling and tried to sleep, it had been way too long since he had decent rest. “Hey R?”

“Yes Host?”

“I didn’t know you could write.”

The static rippled with a laugh. “There’s much you still don’t know about Us.”

“Ooo, spooky,” Miles said and rolled over. “Keep watch for Murkoff while I’m out. If you see anyone wake me.”

“Understood Host.”

“See ya tomorrow R,” Miles mumbled, losing energy fast. Sleep was coming and he wasn’t going to protest. Even his racing thoughts were slowing down. The day might not have gone exactly to plan, but everything worked out in the end. Tomorrow they’d split up and start heading for home. He couldn’t wait to sleep in his own bed after all this time away. It was just an eighteen hour drive from here to there. Miles figured they could do it in two days, no sense in pushing it to the extreme on day one. They’d find a motel, take it easy and be at his apartment before long. There were a few more things he had to do in Leadville before they could leave, but he was losing the will to make mental notes. Hopefully he wouldn’t forget anything when he woke up.

R hovered over his host and pulled the covers out from under the human. He placed them over his body before dissipated through the cracks in the window sealant. He would remain vigilant and keep a watchful eye over the household. Like their own bastardized version of a guardian angel.