The Time the Beast may Rise -- Chapter 1

REVELATION 13:16-171

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to recieve a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."2

Chapter 1---3

Part 14

Good Morning, Russo5

He stirred in his sheets, hesitant before opening his eyes where the light would be shining upon through the windows in the apartment. "Ya, ya..." Without conciousness he tossed the pillow over his head. It was another dread to hear her again. Why won't she just stop when told?6

-Good Morning, Russo-7

"Snooze- time set -- 15 minutes. Confirm."8

-Time set. 15 minutes. Confirmed.-9

An elonged sigh escaped him and rolling on his side he peeked on his countertop. There sat the SRDP-13, in easier terms, the Sleep Rec. Dream Processor. It downloaded his dreams and had instant playback. It wasn't really that useful. To him that is. It mostly recorded strange patterns of colors and shapes while sometimes indicating rapid heartbeat. 10

He sat up and removed the wires that were taped on the front of his forehead and back of the neck. On the edge of the bed he reached over and proceeded to see what he had experienced this night. 'EMPTY' read the inventory box. Russo pondered that over and came to conclusion that there must not have been anything to dream of last night. With food on the mind he slipped on his slippers and proceeded thorugh the long metallic looking hallway and into the kitchen. Still in his robe he shifted into the small pantry and retrieved a Nutritional Bar. It was packed full of carbs and essential vitamins and protiens. It was pratically the all in one food. Since as long as it had been, food had almost went unexistant in this part of the world. It was all replaced by artificial replica's. Only certain groups had stayed with the old-fashioned way of the 'old way of life'. So it was all he needed to make it 'til supper. Until then he would be busy at work, following suspects by the GPS system. That is self explainable to a point.11

-Good Morning, Russo.-12

With a roll of his eyes and an impatient snort he answered her back.13

"Good Morning to you too." Russo returned to his room, and panning through his closet he chose nice pants and a woven sweater. Something of it reminded him of his parents... With the intricate designs intertwined inbetween. However that was something irrelevant. He tossed on his clothes quickly.14

Incoming call --- *dialing tone and a swift click followed* 15

He pinched the lower lobe of his ear. On the line was a familiar voice that he had known what felt like his entire life. Sarnik Flyd. There was an upliftment in his voice.16

***Russo! Hey bud, Just making sure you got up on time. Just incase in precaution from yesterday-17

"You know perfectly well it was accident!" He counteracted in defense taking a critical hit. "I'm on my way right now. I might be there in 10 minutes tops."18

***Good. We have an interesting case here at the lab. You have to come and see. You'd be surprised how intriguing this find is.19

"Oh really? I've seen them all before in my career. Nothing can possibly be more difficult that I've already encountered."20

***Whatever you say, Russo! Just get here fast. *urgent tone* It's going into havoc here and the administration is trying to find leads....21

"Sarnik?"22

***Yes, sir?23

"Calm down. I'll be there in no time. Just keep things calm."24

*** *disturbing silence...* ....Okay. Bye *click followed by the empty line*25

He pressed the lobe of his ear again and silenced the droning sound of the phone. It made him remember how much he really didn't care for it. Like in the times when his ear itched-- it turned on his phone or a pop-up browser for internet connection would appear. After the years he had gotten over it and it was almost expected when he slipped up once more.26

Walking out the door he pulled over a taxi. It glided over to see him at once. Without a moment of hesitation Russo entered with a tall step with a slight tilt of his weight. He wasnt that heavy but the flying vehicle made it seem that way. 27

Where to, sir? *electronic voice coming from the front of the vehicle*28

"To Sector 8- The UPIA Office please."29

That will be 2 minutes and 39 seconds with no delay. *vehicle begins to move slowly while picking up speed at an alarming rate* Thanks for riding the Taxi Express. We highly appreciate the care of our customers. May you have a good day... *click* 30

Silence.....31

*Taxi comes to a hault.* Thanks for choosing Taxi Express. Payment - 35 credit pts. Wave your hand over the door handle before exiting.32

With his hand over the way of exit it confirmed the payment.33

Thank you. Have a good day.34

Exiting the vehicle and on his way into the Universal Police Investigation Association Office he stared, almost in a trance, at the scar in the center of his hand. He can still amost remember recieving it. Its kinda a necessary procedure once one enters into the tween years, or at least when they reach the age of financial responsibility. Inside him was implanted a small device that was similar like a credit card. It was known specifically as the Biomet RFID chips. It held all your information that anyone would want to know, if in any kind of emergency. Most importantly they were the key to most anything. It was the small device, a small computer in fact, that controlled all connectivity to internet, phone use, made money payments, etc. Everything was basically an add on from that. Not to mention, it made his job a heck of a lot easier with the GPS system installed on it. That means EVERY person can and would be located, that lived anywhere in this world.35

Without the RFID chips... life was almost useless....36

****************37

11:00 am -- UPIA Office38

Part 239

"Thank goodness you are here, Russo!" Sarnik sighed with relief and pratically running to keep up after him, walking through the automatic doors. "Inside, at your office, the executive is awaiting you. Immeadiately."40

He nodded and scanning his right hand before the scan-pod on the wall he proceeded into the security hall. "Yes. I'm on my way.... So Sarnik. What seems to be the case this time? Robbery? Murder? Quarrel between In-laws?"41

"Worse"42

Russo stopped abruptly and turned around to face him. He was pale white. Something had to be wrong, or at least it seemed to be that way. Never had Sarnik taken anything so seriously. "What's going on?" he asked with concern but with the edge of fear as well.43

"The case we are working on... We have no leads... It's a -"44

"No leads?! How can you not? Check the records, the GPS tracker, his history, anything! Eh,... I need my coffee." He began mumbling to himself, almost to the point of insanity as well.45

"We have, Sir. There is nothing... Only an IP address."46

"Find that for me then. I want to see as soon as possibly. First get me some coffee."47

Sarnik nodded and hurried on his way to fulfill his task to the fullest. He'd be back soon enough.48

Rounding the corner was the Investigation Unit. There would be workers where they were mainly to watch those who have a history of violence, rape, robbery or anything of the sort. One slight move and they would be busted. Not only would they be able to get away quickly but all their information would be able to be pulled up here at the station. Everything to where they lived, what they have bought, and to their medical history to their bloodtype. Even social security numbers, pins, everything you can think of.49

"Hey, have a look at this, Russo."50

He came into a large booth with a large screened television with moving dots of different colors, most likely of earlier offences. Green were probably the clean ones. The man with gold-rimmed glasses spun around in his chair intertwining his fingers.51

"What's this supposed to mean?" Russo asked. He rubbed the corner of his jaw thinking. Stubbles from his last night felt sharp and sent a chill down his arms. Now he remembered that he had forgotton to shave.52

"All we have from this guy, or whoever is doing this, is their IP address. We've searched for few hours trying to locate them. However the number is unexistent. Somehow we can't locate this ... 'person'. Although it seems impossible, he might have known what he was doing."53

"What happened? Tell me the story behind this...." In the back of his mind he desperately prayed to himself that it would be simple to solve. *not another court case to deal with again* he said under his breath.54

"What?" The gold-rimmed glasses man inquired.55

"Nothing. Just show me."56

The man shook his head in disgust and turned back to the large computer screen before them. With a few commands he brought forth a message. "See for yourself.-"57

MAY THE BEAST RISE58

A timer counted down... 13 hours left.59

Russo froze. ... What would happen when time ran out .... It wasn't long.60

***************61

Part 362

12:00 pm -- UPIA Office 12 hours remaining...63

He sat over his desk in despair. Not that he felt threatened in any way but because he knew that in 14 hours the timer would reach zero. Something had been planned out and there was nothing that could be done. For the past hour he had been sweating over everything, his coffee mainly. Somehow it wasnt the same... Either it was a little too hot or a tad too cold. Whatever the case was at the moment it hieghtened his senses and had him on full alert.64

Sitting at his desk he took another sip of his afternoon coffee and stared at the ring it left on the napkin. Just before that he noticed the ticking of the old antique clock. It belonged to one of his great-great grandparents a few hundred years ago. Surprisingly it was as good as it was at that time as well.... If it wasnt for that clock repair shop... As for that it was in top working condition. It was inconvienient as well considering that it ran off of batteries. Those were really the thing from the past. They were expensive to buy now... but it was worth it to preserve history... To him that was. Everyone else accused him of a loony. That was then... This was now...65

His mind switched to the situation of earlier. Everyone was trying to prevent this from going first page in the local news. If that were to happen then every being would have an instant alert on their phone.... Thats all they needed... Full chaotic panic. Not only here but world-wide almost. But impatience caught him offguard. The phonecall was to be any minute! Sarnik promised him that he would have first notice on the new information of what was going on where he was. He had been dispatched out with a few other profressionals to find the source of the message. They had found legitimate proof of the whereabouts. Not far away. Maybe a few hours. It's not a definite source to look but it may be what we've been looking for all along. 66

Incoming call --- *dialing tone and a swift click followed*67

With a quickmotion he answered with a swift pinch of the ear again. Cold sweat rolled down his temples with anticipation to hear the latest update. With confirmation who he had been waiting for was sure enough on the other side of the line.68

"Any luck?"69

***uh... - for the most part. Not really sure on the whereabouts now.-70

"Where are you? Any findings?"71

***We're in a vacant office in some rundown building. Looks like its been like this for awhile since its now in time for a warehouse. Something doesnt look right here. Nothing is normal, I can almost tell that something might be illegal here but no searching has been issued yet. We're gonna wait and check what we found first. We have high security posted around every exit and entrance. If they are in here then they have no way out now.72

"Good. Proceed."73

*** *Something falls, metal even, and makes a rattling crash* We have supposed to find.. a -erm- titanium case of some sort. We are under investigation on it. I'm not possitive what it my have. While our arrival we have hired specialists scanning the interior of it. Some said that it might be a bomb...74

His lungs constricted in fear. A bomb could wipe out... an entire block... or... if it was what he was thinking... An entire city perhaps. Millions of people are in danger...75

"Send out an alert of evacuation if the results are positive. Be quick to do so. How long until the next notice?"76

***Not long sir. *rapid breathing* By the looks of it though... Things will be done accourding to procedure.77

"Very nice. Things are looking up for you, Sarnik."78

*** Thanks sir. Okay.. I got the results for the search. It's negative to some point. However.... there seems to be some device in there that we cant identify. We're just opening it right now.... *silence..*79

"Yes? What is it?80

*No answer*81

"Sarnik?"82

*click -- line goes dead followed by static*83

"Sir, Anything wrong?" An employee asked him who had been walking by.84

Russo looked up at the young man. "Yes. Yes, everything." He got up from his chair and walked past the booth. The situation was worse than before.85

****************86

Part 487

3:00 pm 9 hours remaining...88

He looked like a mess. His face was growing splotchy. Maybe he was catching something. How he wanted to go home... The water from the sink turned on automatically and he splashed his face a multiple of times. Maybe it could wake him up. Or at least wake up from the dream state he had been in for the past few hours. He wanted to help Sarnik. That way it could be easier to know what was going on. All that he's been doing has been waiting at his desk or watching the GPS system. Sitting for minutes on end, unsure whether the call was coming or not was unnerving him. He'd never been good with all this stress at once.89

Pulling out a pill case of sedatives he took a handfull of them.90

It had been 3 hours since the call of Sarnik. His transmission died, something that never happened before... He called back at least 6 times. Every half an hour. But the only response he got back was that the number didn't exist or a connection couldn't occur. That couldn't be possible... That in an instant he could disappear pratically from the face of the planet, yet still.. be there.... Something had gone wrong .. It had to be something linked to that case found. If there was, there was nothing to do.91

He would have gone after his friend once that hangup. But it would have been only stupid to do so. He had no idea where he would be. His RFID chip didn't seem to respond as well. It was if he didn't exist. The same applied to the other agents that accompanied him on the search. All missing without a trace.92

-93

"Place a MIA on all agents missing, agent" Russo commanded vigorously now. "The rest of you, keep tracking them and the Ghost Address IP. We need to find them."94

The continual sounds of phones ringing off the hooks and typing were the same as usual. But new orders were to keep hold on everything and to stay on track.95

He look over the shoulder into the same booth with the GPS tracker. Maybe he would magically appear somehow.96

"Anything?"97

The man shook his head sympathetically. "No, sir. There is nothing. It's like they didn't exist or.. anything. I can' t explain it.... But the Ghost Address IP is fading in and out periodically."98

"Thats extraordinary..." Russo shook his head in disbelief. "I do want them back as soon as possible. So continue. Do not rest until they do appear. Understand?"99

"But sir!-"100

"I said, 'Understand?!'" His voice firmer than heard before.101

The man nodded nervously, thoughts running through his minds in possible ways if the men were never to appear again... His career on the brink.102

'I need a rest' he told himself. Russo went back to his desk cubicle and leaned back in the chair. After a drink of coffee he focused to relax, yet stay on alert.103

7:00 pm 5 hours remaining104

Everyone was losing hope. There had been nothing confirming that they were alive. They'd only been MIA 7 hours. That wasn't enough. Not only that but agents were released to collect data and information to conclude their disappearance. But there had been nothing. There were too many vacant office buildings. The location of the Ghost ID Address didn't fully return again. When it did it didn't last long enough to fine point where it was. By the looks of it there was not going to be anything. Many begged that the investigation be disbanded. And with the reporters outside, the entire UPIA campus was on lockdown. There could not be any information released to the public. Not now, and probably not ever. It was too confidential at this point... and too late.105

Every muscle then tensed up in his entire body.106

Incoming call --- *dialing tone and a swift click followed* 107

....108

*strange waves and frequencys polluted the voice. Nothing could be made out.*109

"Hold on! Don't move or anything."110

*noises continued without a cease*111

He pulled up a recording and outdated program on his computer and put his 'phone' on speaker.112

"Ok. Tell me again."113

*Inaudible words were captured in NANObyte frequency until the line cut short and ended abruptly*114

With the instant noise filter he drained the noise and replayed the recording again.115

Help! We're running out of time! #0892453. Francis Tr-" The sentence cut short acute. Russo took a step back and saw all the other looks from those who had heard and ran towards the breaking report. 116

Without breath he ordered softly, "Track that number."117