Separation Read Online Free

Europe.”
    Instantly, Anastasia’s eyes lit up and she
swiveled her head to gaze at the screen. “I see countries and
that’s all. I don’t need a geography lesson. Do you want to be more
specific?”
    As if the computer had been anticipating the
question, a series of red dots appeared and highlighted France,
Italy, and Spain. “We’ve had reports of a series of savage
mauling’s and deaths. Sound familiar?”
    It did, and Harry asked, “Why didn’t you tell
us before?”
    “We weren’t sure, not at first, but the bite
marks, the slashes... they all indicate something not quite
human...” Farrell stopped and leaned over to tap some more buttons.
“Take a look.”
    A series of pictures appeared, with each one
more horrific than the last. People young and old, men, women, and
even children, ripped apart or bitten in half. Harry managed to
stifle a gasp while Anastasia couldn’t. “How many so far?” She
grimaced as she viewed each picture.
    The reply came immediately and it was a
shocking one, so many people in so short a time. “By our count as
well as the officials in those countries, there’ve been ten in
France, fourteen in Italy, and twelve in Spain. I...”
    Farrell broke off his speech and began to
cough. The coughs got heavier and deeper, and he hurriedly tugged
at his collar. Loosening it, he heaved in a series of deep breaths,
each one sounding like a death rattle.
    “Are you feeling all right?” The question
came from Anastasia, and she started out of her chair to go over to
him. He waved her off.
    “I’m fine.”
    Clearly, he wasn’t, as his face had gone
chalk white and he seemed to be struggling for breath. He bent down
and opened a drawer on his desk to withdraw a small bottle of
water. Taking a swig, he put the bottle down and cleared his
throat. “I’m fine,” he repeated.
    He certainly didn’t look fine, but Harry said
nothing and waited for the next bad words to come, something along
the lines of creatures ripping people in half. Sure enough, Farrell
obliged him.
    “As you can see from the photos, the attacks
indicate something not quite human was responsible. You saw the
same thing yourself when you went to Hungary and Serbia before. You
know how those mutants killed the innocent.”
    A light went off in Harry’s head. In Hungary,
not so long ago, he’d faced off against Szabo and defeated him. His
girlfriend, a winged thing named Martuska, had knifelike sharp
wings and had used them to kill and maim others. Their transformed
transgenic minions had also done significant damage to the native
populations of that country as well as in Serbia before they’d been
stopped. Harry had seen what they could do. These pictures... it
couldn’t be anyone else.
    “Do you think that scientist survived?”
    Farrell’s voice interrupted his musings. He
remained silent, but Anastasia arched her eyebrows. “Not sure, but
we were there.” She turned to Harry. “You saw. Do you think Kulakov
is still alive?”
    It was hard to believe anyone could have
survived the fall. Kulakov, the former head of the Russian
transgenics program—indeed, he’d been its founder—had also been a
man... once. He’d begun his tests in Russia and was one of the
first to undergo changes. Unfortunately in his case, the changes
had been horrid and irreversible. Essentially, he’d devolved into a
multi-limbed, very dangerous amoeba.
    In a final battle atop a cliff, Harry had
defeated him and the scientist had plummeted to his death. The
sound of the body splattering upon the rocks had signaled certain
demise, one most foul.
    However, the scientist, before he died, had
alluded to other Genesis Chambers that had been built. Scientific
secrets could only remain secret for so long. Sooner or later,
someone would get the urge to play god in the laboratory.
    It seemed someone had already gotten the
urge. Farrell coughed loudly. He still seemed most uncomfortable
and reached inside his coat pocket for something.