Episode Sixty-seven of Lilith's Escape

                                                                  

Ruth led Edward and Scouter down the dark corridors to an underground tunnel. The guards here were more heavily armed and all wore full radiation protection hazmat jumpsuits.

                                                                

“You’ve got to be kidding, right?” Edward said to Ruth.

“Do I look like I’m laughing? Ruth replied, hands on hips.”

                                                            

“What weapons are kept in here?” Edward asked, ignoring her reply and attitude.

“We have several Peacekeepers, Russian SS-18 Satans and a few medium range warheads from Israel. If they try to get into this place, the Naval Base and all of Philadelphia will be history.”

                                                                    

“But, you’ll destroy the good people with the bad. Are you willing to do this?” Edward was a bit worried that Ruth was a little too hawkish.

“They crossed the line by creating those zombies, and yes, I’m ready to do what is needed to stop them.”

                                                                         

“You’re freaking nuts!” Edward replied.

“Am I?” Just do your job and bring back Lazarus,” Ruth replied. She turned away from Edward and headed back towards the refugee area.

“I don’t know who to fear more, her or the Illuminati,” Edward said to Scouter as they began walking back towards the refugee area.

 

“You go with the Devil you know,” Scouter replied.


                                                                            

Episode Sixty of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                                        

 

It took most of the day to move through the underground ruins that was once a working subway system in the city of Philadelphia, with the majority of time spent climbing over the wreckage from the bombing. Scouter carried the child known as little bit on his shoulders, while Edward held the hand of a boy who had to be about six years old.

                                                                            

“I’m hungry,” the boy told Edward.

“So am I, Peter,” Edward replied. He picked the boy up into his arms and hurried his steps until he reached Bradley. “We’ve been walking all day…these kids need a break.”

“Let me check with Tzaddik. Here, watch him,” Bradley replied before handing over an older child to Edward.

Edward was exhausted, but he managed a smile as he asked the boy, “What’s your name.” But, the child never replied, only stared off into space.

“He saw a monster and now he don’t talk,” the six year old explained.

                                                              

Edward wondered what type of monster this kid had seen and was it scarier than the zombies that they had fought, earlier. Whatever happened to the boy, it must have been bad.

“We’re taking a 15 minute break,” Bradley said as he handed Edward a package of crackers and a bottle of water to share with Peter. While everyone took advantage of the meager meal and needed break, Bradley whispered to Edward “We have to make it to the museum before nightfall.”

                                                                       

                                                        Edward knew why.

Episode Fifty-nine of Lilith's Escape

                                                                           

“The king of England and his people have fought the Illuminati tooth and nail. You might not recognize London because of the bombings, but the king has kept his people free.” Scouter’s revelation lifted the weight that was hanging over Edward ever since he arrived in this time and place.

                                                                      

“First good news I’ve had since arriving here. Is England the only place to survive?”

“Israel, Germany, the northern part of France, the Swiss, parts of Canada, and here in our country, several Native American tribes who have formed a resistance group at the Bitterroot Mountains,” Scouter replied.

“We’re ready, move it guys,” Rita, interrupted their conversation as she entered the area.

“Will you be okay?” Edward asked Rita.

“We’ll soon find out,” she bravely replied, but her expression told him otherwise.

                                                                   

After Edward, Scouter and Rita joined the others, Tzaddik gave the signal and the trek to a new location begun. Fear hung heavy in the air, and even the children were unusually silent. The plan was to move underground, using the subway system until they would eventually come above ground. The destination was a museum which was located in the southern part of Philadelphia, in a park known as the ‘Lakes’.     

Episode Fifty-eight of Lilith's Escape

                                                                           

 

 

Back inside the underground hide away, below the subway station, the evacuation was in full swing. Bradley, Tzaddik and the other marines were packing up the weapons, ammo, and what little food supply was left. Rita, Lilith, Jones and the older children took care of preparing the children, while Scouter and Edward packed up the maps and two short wave radios.

                                                                     

“Are there other resistance groups in this city,” Edward asked Scouter.

“Yes, four in this city…in fact, we’re going…” Scouter was interrupted by a little girl, who had wrapped her arms around his legs.

                                                                          

“Outer…are you coming with us?’

“Hey, little bit.” Scouter picked the toddler up and threw her up into the air. “Yes, we’re all going.” The child was so painfully thin, but her eyes were bright and her laughter, infectious.

“So what’s your name?” Edward asked the girl.

“I’m three.”

“We nicknamed her ‘little bit’, now say hello to Edward,” Scouter urged the child who was now playing shy.

“Hello…” she said and then hid her face against Scouter’s neck.

“Are her …?” Edward was about to ask, but Scouter shook his head.

“Little bit, we need to finish packing. I’ll come for you, later.” Scouter placed the child on the ground and off she went.

Edward waited until the child was out of earshot and said, “Are her parents dead?”

“The Illuminati have their own soldiers, mercenaries who gathered up the people in each city, to be used as slaves for the new order.”

                                                                       

“Even the children?” Edward asked.

 They placed the children into retraining camps…that’s what they’re calling them, but it is brainwashing, plain and simple.”

                                                                     

“But, the children here; how did you save them?” Edward asked.

“We were able to save some, by ambushing the trucks as they were being moved to the camps. But,  ‘little bit’, we found at a nearby wildlife preserve.” Scouter replied, and then quickly glanced at the door.

“What happened?”

“She was sitting next to her older brother; he was dead.”

                                                               

“What about my country? Were my people enslaved?”

 

 

 

Episode Fifty-two of Lilith's Escape

Episode Fifty-two of Lilith’s Escape

                                                           

“We’re a little short on the surgical anesthetics normally used for this type of surgery, but I have these,” Doc said to Edward.

“What are they?” Edward asked as the doctor placed the pills into his hand and then handed him a canteen to drink from.

“Something like the LSD from your time period, but just a tad stronger…you’ll be too busy tripping to notice the pain. Take them and lie down on that table.”

Edward did as he was told and then tried to get comfortable on the rather hard and cold metal table. “This looks like something they would use in a morgue.”

                                                                                                                      

“It is…” That’s all Edward heard because he found himself falling through a tunnel only to land in the middle of what seemed to be a bizarre version of Alice’s Wonderland.
                                             
Lilith’s dragon was there and it wasn’t happy. Edward tried to run, but the beast blocked his way. When Edward tried to slip away, the dragon took hold of his nose and bit down hard. The pain was excruciating.

“You’ll never have her, mortal”, the creature scoffed. Edward felt his face only to find his nose was missing. “Your rescue mission will fail and you and these fools will all die,” the dragon added.

                                

The dream was getting weirder by the minute. While the dragon taunted him, Edward could see his body lying on a burning pyre with the doctor (dressed as a knight) standing over him with a sword held over Edward’s neck. “You’re nothing but a hallucination,” Edward replied to the dragon.

“Am I?” The dragon raised its right foot and exposed its talons. As it made its move to strike, Edward heard a church bell ring out.

                                           

“They’re trying to break into our barricade,” someone yelled out over the incessant ringing. “You need to wake him, now!”

Episode Fifty-one of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                                       

                                                           

While Rita was going over the details of his cover, two people entered the room. The older man went straight to Lilith and greeted her, while the younger man who looked about 17 walked up to Edward and extended his hand. “So you’re the man from the past, cool! My name is Scouter.”

Edward put out his hand and said, “So you’re the one that’s stuck with me on this project, nice to finally meet you.”

“Nice accent and good to meet you too, but you’ve picked a lousy time to visit.”

“It wasn’t by choice,” Edward replied and nodded towards Lilith who was still speaking with the other man. “Who’s he?”

                                                        

“That’s Doc. He’ll be doing the touch up to your face,” Scouter replied. Scouter then moved closer to Rita and made a big production of rubbing her huge belly. “So when is the sumo wrestler gonna come out?”

                                                          

“When he’s good and ready, now get your grubby hands off me,” Rita snapped, but Edward could tell that she wasn’t at all upset with Scouter.

“Edward,” Lilith was now standing at his side. “This man will be doing the procedure on you.

He could smell her blood and for an instant, thankfully a fleeting instant, Edward wanted nothing more than to bite into her flesh. He stepped back so quickly that he almost knocked over Scouter. He could see the alarm in her eyes. Would he never be able to hold her in his arms?

                                                                   

“They call me Doc, but I was a plastic surgeon for the rich and famous and now…I mend the broken bodies of our resistance fighters, or try to.” The older man's introduction had brought Edward back from the danger zone.
 

“I hope you won’t have too much work to do on my face,” Edward said and then put his hand out.

“Not too much, but we’ll need to get started,” Doc said as he took Edwards hand in his and gave it a strong shake. “Lilith has a way of persuading people to join her cause, but thank you for coming to the rescue.”

 “I’m good with electronics and computers, if you’re wondering what my specialty is,” Scouter said as he and Edward followed the Doctor from the room. As the three men walked along the underground tunnel, some of the smallest children began to follow them.

                                                          

“Will you bring us something to eat, Outer?” the girl who looked to be about four asked. Apparently this was her name for the young man.

                                                         

“I’ll try short stuff…I’ll try.” Scouter glanced at Edward and whispered under his breath, “If we don’t get eaten first.”

                                                     

Episode Fifty of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                             

“You’ll see in the documents that I handed you, that Captain Brandish is a widower, with no surviving family for you to worry about. He’s in charge of overseeing several of the prisons behind enemy lines and he has a reputation for his brutal treatment of prisoners,” Rita told Edward.

                                                                         

“So…he was a monster and deserved to die, but he also had friends. What’s the cover story on how I…Captain Brandish managed to escape?” Edward asked. Lilith this whole time had remained seated and silent, which was fine with Edward. He didn’t want to divert his attention away from the facts that needed to be memorized.

“That’s where Scouter comes in. When he delivered your meal to your cell, you attacked him with a weapon that you put together. You used him as a shield to escape.” Rita then pulled open a map of Philadelphia. “This was once a Naval Base but now it’s a prison for people who fight against the power of the Illuminati.”

                                                                         

Edward studied the map, but it felt odd to be looking at a base that was operational back in his time, but here and now, was a place of torture and death. “Rita, how am I to find your husband and Lazarus? This isn’t a small complex.”

“With this,” she replied and handed him a small ear piece.

                                                                            

“How does it work?” Edward asked as Rita positioned it in his ear. “Ouch, don’t push so hard,” Edward exclaimed, thinking that Rita was pushing it past his eardrum.

“It has to go in far enough not to be seen. It will pick up  signals from the implants on Roger and my husband as soon as you’re near to their location.”

                                                                         

“What’s your husband’s name?” Roger asked.

“His name is Tom and you better bring him back to me.”

                                                                         

“It was foolish to allow yourself to become pregnant in this time of evil,” Lilith said in a smug tone from the other side of the room.

                                                                                    

Edward had forgotten that she was there, she had been so quiet. “Haven’t you also made bad choices?” Edward asked. When Lilith didn’t reply, he returned his attention to the soldier in front of him. “I’ll do my best to bring them all home.”
                                                                       

Episode Forty-eight of Lilith's Escape

                                                                                                     

Fighting his anger and the blood lust, Edward demanded, “Untie me, now.”

Not totally convinced, Tzaddik waited for Lilith to give the okay and after she gave her consent, Edward was cut free. “Don’t make any quick moves,” Tzaddik warned.

                                                                                                                    

Edward rubbed the back of his head and felt the golf ball size bump. He couldn't remember what happened or what he had he done. He took hold of Lilith’s wrist, but Rita shouted out, “Let go.”

                                                                             

 “I need to see the wound,” he replied. Edward winced when he saw the damage his teeth had done to her tiny wrist. There was a large chunk missing, but luckily the skin was beginning to heal as he watched. “I never meant to hurt you,” he said to Lilith who was still unclothed and not the least embarrassed

                                                                                 

“I know...but we need to be careful until we know for sure you can control yourself.” Turning towards the female soldier, Lilith said, “Bring him  food.”

Rita stared long and hard at Edward before saying, “Get your act together. I want my husband back.” Then she walked out of the room to fetch the food.

“Edward…” Lilith pulled his face back towards her. “Tonight, we will prepare you for surgery.” She walked over to the bed and grabbed her clothing. As she began to dress, Edward remembered that they weren’t alone.

                                                                      

“You don’t need to babysit me. I have it under control,” Edward told Tzaddik. But the man didn’t hear a word, his eyes were on Lilith.

                                                             
 Edward was doing a good job of fighting the blood lust, keeping the urge under control, but his jealousy…was another thing all together. “Get out,” he told the soldier.

Episode Forty-six of Lilith's Escape

                                                                    

Edward looked at the photo in the passport. It was the man that Lilith just recently sucked the life from. “So, how am I to get past their guards?” he asked Tzaddik.

“By using the dead man’s identity, you pretend that Scouter is your prisoner and make your way into the main headquarters in Philadelphia,”

“I look nothing like this man. I won’t fool anyone,” Edward countered.

Tzaddik pushed his chair back and stood up. “We can change your features, but we need to get you up to date on the man’s personal information.”

                                                                   

Edward closed the passports and threw them, the money and map on the cot. “If you’re talking plastic surgery, I won’t be ready by tomorrow.” He watched as Lilith gathered the tossed items from the bed and brought them to Tzaddik. Her nudity apparently embarrassed no one but Edward.

“Let me have a moment with him,” Lilith said to the others. It took Rita a few minutes to push her swollen body from the bed and then she and Tzaddik, left the room. “Come, sit on the chair,” Lilith instructed him.

                                                                   

“Why must I drink your blood?” he asked as he took his seat and she knelt before him.

She had ignored his question, but in her hand was a dagger, which had appeared from thin air. She jabbed the point of the dagger into her finger, and as her blood flowed, she repeated the process on Edward. “Drink,” she commanded and pushed her finger into his mouth. When he began to drink, she placed his finger into her mouth.

                                                                        

Edward drank deeply, wanting more and more of her life force, even though Lilith struggled to pull her finger from his mouth. He grabbed hold of her, pulled her into his lap and forcibly held her finger to his mouth. She used her free hand to push him away, but to no avail.

                                                                                                                     

                                                 The blood lust had taken hold of Edward.

Episode Forty-three of Lilith's Escape

                                                                                                                                              

The prisoner sat in the only chair in the room, his arms tied behind him and his head covered by a burlap bag. Edward took notice of the bruises on his arms and bare chest. Lilith walked over to the man and pulled the cloth bag from his head. The man squinted trying to focus his swollen eyes, but when he saw who stood in front of him, his eyes widened.

“Are you here to torture me?” The prisoner tried to act brave, but Edward could smell the fear on the man.

“The people you follow are evil and the man that rules over them brings death to your kind.” Lilith spoke softly to the man.

Edward was surprised when she raised her hand and ran her fingers through the man’s thick head of hair. It was a gentle almost intimate touch and Edward felt himself clenching his teeth, but when Lilith lowered her head and kissed the prisoner, Edward made a move to stop her.

                                                                      

“Let her be,” the man known as Tzaddik whispered and grabbed hold of Edward’s shoulder.

Edward jerked his shoulder away from Tzaddik, but remained where he was, fuming and jealous that someone else was enjoying her touch.

                                                                          

“How many have they infected?” Lilith asked the prisoner while still playing with his hair.

“There were at least two hundred people infected, dissidents who dared to challenge the Illuminati, but they were released some time ago, maybe a week or more…”

“Were you part of this? Did you help infect those people?”

“Yes, I was in charge of picking the subjects that were used for the experiment. It wasn’t that hard, I got them from our prisons.”

“This didn’t bother you?” she asked him.

The prisoner challenged her with his eyes, daring her to attack him. “The madness has spread and you won’t be able to stop it.”

                                                                       

“I will do my best to try,” she replied.

“They’ll know that I’ve been captured.” The man struggled against the ropes that held him as she continued to play with his hair.

She let out a sigh before saying, “Yes, I guess they will, but it won’t matter for you.” She kissed him again and added, “I need to feed.” Her features began to change.

                                                                       

Edward watched as Lilith straddled the man. The prisoner, knowing that he was going to die, fought to dislodge the wisp of a woman from his lap, but Lilith hung on.

 “Edward, if you wish to leave the room, I suggest you do it now,” Lilith called over her shoulder to Edward.

But Edward stood frozen to the spot and watched as Lilith opened her mouth and lowered her fangs to the prisoner's neck.