Anomaly by Peter Cawdron

Author:Peter Cawdron [Cawdron, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peter Cawdron at Smashwords
Published: 2011-09-19T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14: Darwin

Mason doesn’t take any chances. The whole suburb is in lockdown with armed soldiers stationed at each intersection.

The Marines that pick up Cathy, Teller and Jones, drive three blocks to an inner-city school where several adjoining basketball courts have been converted into a helipad. Sawn-off basketball poles with their nets still attached lie carelessly on the ground. From there, Corporal Davies is flown to a military hospital in Jersey, while Teller and Cathy are flown to the park beside the U.N.

Teller is glued to the window of the military helicopter as they come in from the north. He wants to make the most of the opportunity to see the anomaly from the air.

It’s a little after eight in the evening as they approach the U.N. building. Spotlights light up the anomaly from numerous angles. The concrete intersection sits high in the air, facing down to the west. The underside of the concrete is exposed to the night sky. The core team is at work on the inverted slab, walking about as though it were natural to defy gravity in such an extraordinary way. The flags inside the anomaly have passed their zenith. They look surreal, floating freely as they’re suspended against the skyline. The wind up high is strong, causing them to flap madly in the evening breeze.

After landing, Teller and Cathy are checked over at the medical center, where they shower and are given a fresh set of clothes. Mason even commandeers an electric golf cart from somewhere so they don’t have to walk back to the research center.

Teller jokes with Cathy that he is so pumped full of painkillers he could spin upside down like the anomaly. And yet, he walks with a limp.

Mason makes sure they get something to eat and then briefs them on the progress so far that day.

Teller asks about the riots in the city, but Mason assures him that the National Guard has squashed the unrest. Mason says it’s an isolated incident, but Teller can tell from the look on Cathy’s face that she isn't so sure. One of the monitors in the research trailer displays CNN. There are images of Paris in flames. Cathy wanders over, wanting to hear the commentary.

“...coming to you from the Arc de Triomphe. The Champs Élysées is in flames. The rioting, which began in the northern suburbs of Paris, has spread to the iconic western quarter, destroying some of the most expensive real estate in the world.”

Footage of Prada, Versace, and Louis Vuitton stores, ransacked and in ruins, flashes up on the screen. Broken glass and smoldering cars line the streets.

“The French government has deployed troops to protect the Louvre, blaming the unrest on the United States. Ambassador Carter was summoned to appear before French President Jacques Lebarre just a few hours ago, and was formally asked to leave the country in protest at the exclusion of the International Community from the anomaly research.

“Here in Washington, the Laver Administration is down-playing the incident, stating that

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