Mad Company: Vol. 1: The Awakening

By Ben Sexton

What exactly is the perfect life? What would you do with the power to change the world? What would you do to build a better humanity? Be careful what you wish for because there have been men that’s wished for change and got what they asked for.

Werewolves, grave robberies, advanced robots, and crime run amok in the small town of Edsburg, and one man is determined to bring peace to his town, Sheriff Bill Lewis. Dr. Theodore Stein—the world’s most brilliant scientist and heir to his father’s business, Stein Labs and Stein Technologies—hires two new lab technicians to work in his small lab stationed in Edsburg. Zack, a bright young man, struggles to cure his muscular dystrophy, but with the opportunity from Dr. Stein, he finds it. But the cure puts him in a hairy situation, healing his disease and unlocking a beast that has lain dormant in him for years, the werewolf. This discovery will lead him, his team member Roxanne, and Stein Labs into a new age that will save the human race. But all is not well in Stein Labs as his lifelong friend Dr. Jerry Slade begins to spiral into a depression after losing his wife to cancer. The dreams that haunt him leads him to a darker path until he discovers Zack’s secret and steals the formula to find a way to bring the dead back to life…and succeeds.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662428975

Book preview

cover.jpg

Mad Company

Vol. 1: The Awakening

Ben Sexton

Copyright © 2021 Ben Sexton

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-6624-2896-8 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-2897-5 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Introduction

The year is unknown. A large dark fortress rested quietly just outside the dark side of the moon. Inside it dwelled thousands of rooms and one massive master’s chamber made of stone and brick. The fortress was without any windows or doors, but it faintly shined with a soft white ambient light. There was a stone walking path that started at the wall of the room leading up to a flight of stairs at the other end, the outside walls lined with pillars wrapped in vines. The base of the pillars rested inside a brick wall that held water like a fountain. At the top of the stairs sat a large stone throne. On each side of it was two large beautiful statues of wolf heads.

Their eyes produced the light in the room, with their mouths open and water flowing out of them as waterfalls on each side of the throne. The flowing water ran through the gaps of the stone walkway, gleaming to the ambient light that shined across the room. The fortress was named The Lunar Settlement. Down the stairs, along the stone walkway to the wall at the end of the room, a thin line of light glowed across the base of the brick wall, rising up to form the shape of a door made of light. Breaking through was a large figure wearing a suit of armor, a sword on his back underneath a cloak covering his body and a hood covering his face.

What’s our location? the figure asked.

Just outside the border of the dark side of the moon, I thought it would be a clever spot to base our new headquarters, another voice replied.

It’s all about location, isn’t it? The stone walkway and the water are a nice touch, the figure said as he walked down the path. I love what you did with the waterfall statues. Very nostalgic, he continued. The pillars and vines are beautiful too. Gives the place a classic rustic look, he finished.

I figured you’d enjoy them. I don’t remember adding the vines though. They must have grown during your absence, another voice said.

What is this large spot in the middle of the walkway? he asked.

It’s the machine, remember? I still haven’t figured out what it was for, but hard work was put into it. And since you didn’t want to trash it, I thought it would make a nice centerpiece for our base of operation, the other voice replied.

Very well. It looks good, and I’ve always had faith in your decisions, the man replied.

The stairs are great too. As a successful man, I look at them as a symbol of elevation. Work hard and build your way to sit at the top. But with my aching joints, I don’t prefer them, the massive figure said.

Understandable, but you don’t have to climb them. Your adjustable gravity system gives you the ability to get around all obstacles effortlessly, the other voice said as the main figure began to float like he was in water and hovered up the stairs and landed at the base of the throne.

A throne, The large figure said with a delightful laugh.

The most royal of all seats, a place where a man with true power can reign, where he can sit back and let his commands come to pass, the other voice said as the figure’s ego grew large.

You deserve to have a throne for everything you have been through, for everything you’ve been tortured by. You deserve to rest on the best of the best, the voice said as the large man walked toward it. He pulled the sword out from his back, turned to the throne, and had a seat.

Ahhhh, he exclaimed with relief. The jumps make joints hurt that I don’t even have anymore, the figure said as he sank into his chair and placed his sword next to his throne.

Watch what happens when you put the sword in the slot and turn it, the voice said.

The man did so out of curiosity. The water started to glow throughout the stepping-stone as ancient scriptures flew down the walkway and up the pillars, giving more light to the garden.

The Lunar Settlement utilizes the special energy source from the sword to give more power to the base. This is where we can monitor everything, the voice continued to explain.

The figure raised up his hand, clenched his fist, and brought it to his chest, light glowing from his fingers down to the back of his hand and down throughout his forearm, causing the water in the room to float up. The water floated upward, forming a large solid rectangular shape, a screen, as images of the world began to display across it, pictures of nature and wildlife gleaming on the screen

It’s so beautiful and so peaceful. It’s a shame how such breathtaking sights and such wonderful parts of the planet are taken for granted, down to stepping outside on a sunny day to feel the sun on your skin and hear the birds singing in delight, the man said. It is truly God’s masterpiece, he finished.

The screen changed to mankind from the beginning of the Stone Age. Flashes of images changed as humanity matured over the ages up to the breaking point of humanity’s self-destructive end. The screen displayed video of construction; power plants; forests being cut down and wildlife losing their homes; garbage polluting the land and sea, killing innocent sea creatures; interstates full of cars upon cars; and people walking down the street tossing their trash wherever, lost in their own self-images and fixed on fashion, the homes they live in, the jobs they have, the cars they drive, how many followers they have, drugs, sex, violence, and betrayal. And the link to their ultimate ball and chain is technology.

They keep their faces stuck in their smartphones, dreaming of getting the next one, newer and better, so they can post the same lame videos online to get more people to like them, hoping to make them famous so they can ask everyone watching them for money ‘What happened to honest work?’ he continued. Humanity has grown so disgusting. Where did we go wrong? he said.

Humans are unaware of their own immediate demise, so blind to themselves they don’t even care about their own actions destroying the very planet and resources they need to survive, the figure said. Thieves, rapist, murderers—people so wrapped up in their own self existence. The mass population only cares about their selfish needs, and the government only cares about money and power. Humanity has gotten so selfish that it’s gone blind to what this madman is now getting away with, the figure continued as images of the future show the world on fire. Death plagued the planet because of the works of one scientist, the piper, and the witch.

I always hated his guts, the large figure said.

I know you do, sir, the other voice said.

The virus shows that it’s spreading worse and worse. It infects another town or city, and the virus starts to kill people. That’s the beginning, he said. She’s got people, if you want to call them that, traveling the world, picking spots, and infecting them with her poison to the point of severe sickness and death. And then he swoops in with the cure. He and his friends are physically causing people to get sick and die just to scare the world into paying a fortune not to get the same sickness, he said. If left unchecked, it will eventually spread into phase 2, then phase 3, he finished.

What’s phase 2? the large figure asked.

She gets rid of the scientist and starts to plague the world not for profit but out of revenge, the voice said.

And phase 3? the figure asked.

Extinction, hell on earth, the end of mankind as we know it, the voice said.

But on a better note, the human race is capable of learning, changing. They are being led blindly, but we can correct it all. They follow the wrong path. We can be the light they will follow, the voice said.

At this point, humanity makes me sick. Maybe we should just cut our losses and let the courses take place. You know, natural selection? This is a perfect spot to ride out the whole hell-on-earth ordeal, the man said.

"Are you mad? That is not an option!" the voice exclaimed.

I was just kidding. Jeez, don’t blow an o-ring. So where do we start? the man asked.

Well, from the data I have gathered, I’ve selected all the correct candidates, mapped out all the locations, and listed a specific to-do list to make sure that the beaten path that has been broken can rearrange itself to straighten and flow without resistance, the voice commanded.

I need a six-month vacation twice a year. When should we start? the man asked.

Whenever you want, but it would be better to start now, the voice suggested.

The figure dropped his arm to his throne armrest, and the screen cracked and fell apart into water back through the stone path. He stood up, twisted and pulled his sword from the stone, and placed it over his back as the light faded.

Open the door to our first point on the map, he said as he floated down the stairs and started walking down the stone path. The door of light raised back up against the brick wall. The figure walked through the doorway and disappeared as the door fell to the floor into the thin long line, and the thin line collapsed into itself as the light of the room dimmed, waiting for the return of the master in charge.

The ambient light dimmed but then shined like a stage light on the round spot of the walkway. It began to glow as pillars rose up and started to hum. The round spots that led to the center rose up to the middle as an elevated platform, and flashes of lightning began to ark between the pillars, shaping a clear orb. Particles began to swirl and piece together, and a man appeared in the center of the spot. The center part of the stage began to slowly collapse into each ring until it got back to its flat home position, and the pillars fell into themselves back into the base. When it was done, the man that was floating in midair fell to the platform on his knuckles and knelt before the throne, and he slowly stood up facing the stairs and his throne.

Stranger, identify yourself! the base commanded.

He took a deep breath from the clean air in the room. I am Father Time, the beginning of all of this, the stranger responded.

Voice recognition confirmed. Welcome home, sir, the fortress said to the mysterious new stranger.

He walked up the stairs and sat on the throne. It’s time to see what I’ve missed out on, he said. Computer, show me what has happened since my disappearance, he finished.

Yes, sir, the computer responded.

Chapter 1

December 24

Oh, where to begin. Ted just announced at his annual Christmas Eve party that his father’s old lab here in the beautiful town of Edsburg will now be a secondary lab to the new Stein HQ facility that is currently being built upstate in Williamsville and is close to completion. He also announced the exciting line of projects soon to be launching in the new year. He gave a toast in one part of his speech, and it warmed my heart. Ted said, Here’s to you, Dad, wherever you may be, and to you as well, Rosy, for paving my way and shaping me into the man I am now. Rosy, you’ve been like a second father to me, and I don’t know what I would have done without you. The whole crowd aww-ed and chimed their glasses to him. But anyway, Ted and I have been working hand in hand now for the past few years. High school buddies, college graduates, best friends—we have made so many breakthroughs in medicine and technology that’s really helped lives across the world. Ted, a confident man always wearing such nice suits. His iconic look was a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black tie, and a nice black vest. He didn’t wear jackets too much. He was always clean-shaven but had long black hair tied back into a ponytail. He made the long hair look good, and one other thing that really trademarked him was his small pair of reading glasses without earpieces that he wore on the bridge of his nose. Being here tonight with my wife, Kathrine, made this end-of-year celebration with Ted and our colleagues the absolute best. Things could not be more perfect. I met my wife, Kat, a couple of years ago on the 4th of September, at one of Ted’s annual science conventions held in New York. She was an archaeologist and loved her job with a passion, and one year, she had just so happened to be traveling through and stopped in to the convention. Stein Technologies had designed some of the tools she and her team used on their digs. Afterward, we met and kicked it off really well. It was an instant connection, and for me, that rarely happens. Apparently while she was in town, she stopped by because one of the bionic organ projects we had worked on previously, which had helped her grandmother survive a last-minute heart transplant when they couldn’t find a suitable donor. We had spent a lot of time together during the convention, walking around, talking about our lives, laughing, and building chemistry. And, man, was our chemistry incredible! Time passed, and after three years of dating, going through the good and bad, and finally letting our relationship settle down, we got married. After our honeymoon, she took a two-month tour in Bethlehem, and she discovered some wonderful things. One night, she called me and asked if there was any way Ted or myself could export one of her finds ASAP. I gave Ted a call, and he sent out one of his long-range transport drones to bring it back stateside. She explained it all to me, talking a mile a minute, but all I could remember was something about an ancient sword. The drone brought it back, and I locked that rusty piece of junk away. During her time away, all I could think about was her return, and damn, I was so happy when she finally made it back. All I could do was stare at her amazing beauty and smile like an idiot. After her discovery, she decided to retire from her life of travel and digging and play the part of a caring housewife. I want to hit the ground running with these new projects with Teddy, plus I plan on talking to Kat about starting a family soon. Kat is really all I have besides Ted. Both parents gone. Ted’s too. I really got lucky because me and Kat are the best of friends, and it’s an experience I’ve never had before, to find my soulmate. Honestly, I’ve never bought into the idea of true love or getting married, for that matter. I’ve watched too many people claim to fall in love and burn out a couple years later, but Kat was the one that changed it all. I’ve always been so independent, but since the first time me and Kat got together, she has taken such good care of me I really don’t know what I would do without her. Back to the matter at hand, during a segment of Ted’s Christmas-party speech tonight, he spilled some wine on his suit. He had one too many to drink, so I rushed the stage to save him and told him he needed to go clean himself up. He went off to the bathroom, so I said a few words about the lab and the leaps and bounds we were about to achieve. After a while in the restroom, he came back different, like he had seen a ghost or a phantom, shaking and trembling but acting like everything was fine. He got back up to the podium. I went back to my seat, and he finished his speech. The party was a hit, like it always was. The night ended with classic music, slow dancing on the dance floor, and endless hors d’oeuvres and wine. Ted knows how to throw a fantastic party.

January 15

So things are going great here at Stein Labs. Ted is working on a new-age artificial-intelligence program. It’s going to be incorporated into a line of at-home medical assistance robots, and I’m working on the other program to help the robots achieve a sense of artificial emotions. It will help to build unique personalities and to help build chemistry between the bot and their owners. Rumor has it if the at-home aid bots work out well, we may land a large military contract for Robosapien soldiers. It seems our tests, research, and resources are limitless because Ted is the heir to the famous Stein Labs & Stein Technologies throne. Theodore Benjamin Stein, son to the legendary Franklin Nathaniel Stein, Frank N. Stein. (Seriously, I wouldn’t make this up. Either Ted’s grandparents had a twisted sense of humor or were just big fans of Mary Shelly.) Franklin actually helped to discover new breakthroughs in medical technology like MRI technology at the age of twenty-five, and other remedies and vaccines that have helped cure and treat a multitude of illnesses. Franklin was a man hell-bent on making the world a better place. What fully happened to Ted’s father remains a mystery. Ted doesn’t like to talk about it. All he has ever told me was that his dad was working on some strange machine when he was ten or eleven years old. He was standing on a platform when something went wrong. His lab associate Damien hit a few buttons to try and turn off the machine, but a couple of flashes of bright light shredded him into nothing. Boom! He was gone. The company was left in the hands of Dr. Damion Roosevelt, Franklin’s long-time buddy and best friend. Frank and Rosy came up with the idea of the lab back in college. The two had so many great ideas, but Franklin at the time didn’t have the money to act on it. Damien’s parents were loaded, so he asked them for the money because Stein could get their money back and more, thus the birth of SL&ST. But when Franklin disappeared, he left a note for Rosy to take over until his son, Teddy, had graduated from college and was ready for the company to be turned over to him. It’s a touchy subject for him, all the loss and responsibilities, but Ted keeps his head up and continues to pursue his father’s only dream: to build a better mankind.

February 14

Stuck at the lab, I wanted to take this day to spend with Kathrine on Valentine’s Day, but Ted really needed my help with the new AI/AE program. Kat called me for the fifth time this week talking about severe headaches like migraines. She’s never really had them before. It’s been two weeks in a row, and it seems like they just won’t stop. I found out the missing variables and the irregular values to Ted’s issue, so I told him I was taking off to take Kat to the doctor to see what was going on. He sharply agreed, which I felt was a little out of his insane work ethics, but I took it.

February 17

Took Kat down to Franklin General, a local hospital that Ted’s father helped found and build. We told them what was going on, and they suggested to run a CT scan and an MRI. A part of me feared for the worst, but it’s something I always do. I’m a realist. Sometimes I fear the worst only because I like to be proven wrong. After the test were ran, we sat and waited for a while. Kat took my hand because she knew I was worried and told me that it was probably nothing. Could be something going on with a change of diet. She was just trying to reassure me because Kat was an optimist and always looked for the silver lining. The doctor called us into his office, and we took a seat. I could see the look in his eyes, and I started to spiral. He told us that she was diagnosed with brain cancer, grade IV. We were devastated. The doctor said the average survival time is twelve to eighteen months—only 25% of glioblastoma patients survive more than one year, and only 5% of patients survive more than five years. Treatment was recommended, so of course, we took it. We left the hospital, and I immediately called Ted and told him what was going on. And he replied to me in a way that I felt like he already knew what I was going to say. I told him that we didn’t have a moment to lose that we needed—NEEDED!—to put all our projects on hold and find a cure for this and save her. He quickly agreed, almost so fast it shook me, like he was anticipating something, like he was waiting for something like this. He told me that he remembered his father had done some research on cancer development and treatments so he would look into some of his father’s old archives to see what we could start on, and we both decided to start there. We can save her; I know we can!

May 5

We’ve been working around the clock nonstop. Caffeine has become our best friend. Ted doesn’t seem to be working as hard as I am, but he’s always been so natural for this sort of stuff so I just brushed it off. Kat doesn’t like that I spend so much time investing in this project, her survival, and I know all she wants is for me to lay in bed and hold her. But all I can think of is if I don’t figure this out, then I’ll be lying in bed alone without her. Bless her heart. She always looks at the short-term pictures when I always look toward the long term. That’s what makes us so great—the balance between all our views and beliefs in life. We equal each other out. But I come home late, and she’s already asleep. I crack open a cold one and sit at my desk in our bedroom and try to continue my work. I can’t help but sit and stare at her while she sleeps and think about why someone so perfect has to go through all this hell and how she can honestly love a guy like me, but that’s what keeps me going—her belief in me. I can save her one way or another, with help or by myself, and as God as my witness, I will.

June 12

We’ve come so far. Test results come back positive but only temporary. Ted finished his AI/AE robot brain but decided to hold off on the medical bot project and save the brain for something else. Stein made sure to keep the lab stocked up with caffeine pills. They really came in handy during all the hours put in at the lab. I took the weekend off so I could spend time with Kat, but we had a big fight because all she sees is how much I work and how little time I spend with her. But I only work so much now so I can save her and have the rest of our lives to spend together. She fails so often to see the big picture that it always comes back to bite me in the ass, but after a few glasses of merlot, we sat down and talked and worked everything out like we always have. She’s just as scared as I am. She’s scared about leaving me alone just as I’m scared of her passing on without me. She’s about this whole mess and having trouble adjusting and processing the whole situation, but I’m not going to let her down.

July 3

Her birthday, a day me and Kat used to love, a day before the fireworks and everything that used