Part One Epilogue

ID: 1762291   (Rated: 13+) Artifact Man  A thriller, new age, sci-fi novel about a strange man found in the desert. by Hyperiongate

ID: 1812731   (Rated: 18+) Chapter 26  The exciting finale to Part One. by Hyperiongate

March 28th, 2010
Renown Medical Center
He watched as Rudolf crawled down the corridor. It was interesting that he could see him in spite of the smoke.

A moment later he was hovering over Lise Marshall. Jack could feel the fear in her. He tried to reach out and let her know that there was nothing to be afraid of. He wanted to tell her that not matter what happened, they outcome would always be just the way she wanted it to be. Couldn’t she see the power of her own soul? How could she not? Everything was so obvious to him, except he couldn’t quite understand what had happened to him.

“Jack, you need to go back.”

He tried to look around and then realized he was no longer in his body.

“Who said that?” he asked.

The response was a warm wash of unconditional love.

Then, “Jack, you have more work to do; work you have chosen to do.”

Jack found himself floating over his dead body. “Interesting,” he thought. People came running over to see if they could help. There was much ado and then he felt the jolt.

“Jack, go back.”

Another jolt. He could feel the tug of life. It wanted to pull him back into a body that was badly damaged and would no doubt be racked with pain. He could feel the path of least resistance pulling him the other way. There was life there as well; albeit, different from the one he’d just left.

Suddenly there was Lise. She seemed to be dazed. A nurse was tending to her when another ran into the room and said, “Lise, it’s Jack. You need to hurry, now!”

He followed her down the stairs and watched as she bent over his body and checked his vitals. She grabbed the paddles herself and shouted, “Jack, you get your ass back here right now!”

She gave him a jolt, and Jack went back to her. How could he not.

Ten minutes later, Colonel Lanier arrived in a helicopter that had plucked him from the side of the road outside of Reno. It was the fastest way to get to the site. It also carried a dozen, first responders that would evaluate and clean up the mess.

JD11 was alive. That was unexpected.

Jack Barton was apparently severely injured. Rudolf was dead, by the hand of a nursing assistant that just happened to be carrying a large handgun in her purese.. The entire contingent of marines had been wiped out. They were the best of the best, but today, they had not been good enough. Lanier would make sure they were properly remembered.

But for now, there was much to cover up.

JD11 needed to be taken out of the picture. If those that sent Rudolf suspected that he had failed, they would certainly try again, and again.

He issued orders quickly and they were carried out with precision. Annie and JD11 were taken away. Several hours later, after he’d been stabilized, Jack was taken away as well. Lise went with him.

All evidence of the marines disappeared.

The headlines in the paper read, “Fanatic attacks hospital and kills patient.” The story that followed mentioned none of the details but rather wove a tale that ended with the death of the attacker and his target.

ID: 1813235   (Rated: E) Chapter 27  This is the start of Part Two. Simon joins the story. by Hyperiongate