"Down in Park City, our partner Ron was scratched by an Alpha, but he didn't turn into a normal zombie. A nasty, fungal rash spread across his body. He committed suicide before it could overtake him, but his body kept changing, transforming into some kind of gestation pod, filled with hundreds of little black slugs." Jenkins said.

"That is where the embryo's come from. The Sentinel is the virus, sentient, in its ultimate evolutionary stage. If its strain enters the blood stream, it will transform the host into, as you said, a gestation pod. In this manner the Krylok can literally create an army of Sentinels to carry out their will."

"The embryo's aren't Krylok?" Matt asked.

No. Although strong and vicious, the Krylok are unable to reproduce and their numbers are relatively small. Even more so after the mothership crashed onto the moons surface. They need the Sentinels."

"Why can't they reproduce?" Jenkins asked.

"I do not know. No Krylok knows. If the Krylok ever knew, that knowledge has been lost. It is believed that those here on earth and the moon are all that remain of the Krylok species. The embryo...the Sentinels...they are biological weapons. The walking dead are an effect of that weapon."

"Those superzombies were controlling the deadfucks." Cmdr. King said. "How do they do that?"

"As I said before, the drones function on base instinct, and they instinctively recognize the Sentinels as their masters who are able to control them through telepathy. The same way the Krylok control the Sentinels."

"The other night, during the siege, you got into my head out on the balcony. And when you landed you spoke to me with telepathy." Matt told Zack.

"The mutation brought on by the embryo implantation caused many changes to my physiology. ESP is but one of them."

"Why did they implant you with one?" David asked.

"A technique they had perfected long ago and used on a hundred different worlds was infiltration. They would implant a native sentient species with an embryo, and it would return to society a spy and saboteur for the Krylok. I was one of their first attempts at creating a human infiltrator."

"But it caused you to mutate. I wouldn't call that successful." Norris said.

"Humans were a new species to them. It would take several experiments to perfect the bonding with the human genetic make-up. I am merely a hybrid, a first step in creating the perfect infiltrator."

"I thought you said they had sent scout ships to earth in the past?" Jenkins asked.

"They did. They even landed one on an island in the south pacific, ruling over the local native cannibals as gods, thousands of years ago. Most likely they were experimenting with human implantation, learning what was needed for when the real invasion finally came. But there was an uprising of the natives. Those Krylok that survived were killed when the islands volcano erupted and the secrets of successful human hybridization lost with them."

"What about all the stories of UFO abduction and experimentation over the last fifty years?" Cpl. Carey asked. "Was that the Krylok?"

"It is a very large galaxy, with many diverse life forms. As I said before, the Krylok have invaded and decimated over one hundred different worlds, each with their own sentient species. I doubt the Krylok were the first alien race to visit and observe earth."

"So you think there are more hybrids like you?" Susan asked.

"I'm positive of it. Eventually, they will be able to implant an embryo and the subject will look and act perfectly human, but be one hundred percent loyal to the Krylok."

"Why are you not under their control?" Jenkins asked suspiciously.

"I don't know. Like I said, human beings were a new species to them. There were aspects of our physiology, our willpower, which they were not accustomed to. Given time, that will certainly change."

"Somebody had to know they arrived." Mac said. "If the military satellites were able to destroy the initial attack wave, somebody in one government or the other had to have known they'd arrived."

"They knew. They've known about the Krylok since 1964. Why do you think there was such a tight media blackout on the whole situation? They wouldn't even acknowledge that the dead were returning to life, let alone tell the public of an alien invasion." Zack said.

"Since 1964?" Jenkins asked.

"Yes. It started with a man named Mordecai Necrotura."

"Mordecai Necrotura?" David commented. "I've read that name here in the house computer files. He was the leader of a cult."

"He was far more than that my friend. Let me explain. Mordecai Necrotura was born with telepathic abilities. A Krylok aboard a scout ship contacted him via astral projection at an early age, guiding him in the development of his powers, promising Mordecai power and the rule of earth under their command in return for his cooperation when they arrived. In 1964 the scout ship did arrive, landing on a small island somewhere in the south pacific; all that remained of the island they had inhabited thousands of years before. The volcano was long dead and the island a tropical paradise once again. Mordecai was there to greet them. But the Krylok meant to betray him. He was to be their first human hybrid, but he refused."

"Why didn't they kill him?" Matt interrupted.

"They would have if not for the appearance of the United States military. Exactly why they were there is unknown, but the Krylok were killed and Mordecai escaped. The Krylok believe their ship as well as a pair of Sentinels were captured."

"Those bastards and their secrets." Jenkins muttered.

"There is more. Mordecai Necrotura escaped, but with the knowledge of when the full Krylok assault would come. Using that knowledge, he founded an apocalyptic death cult of madmen, murderers, and occultists. That cult was called The New Humanity. They came to worship Mordecai as the savior of the human race, the one who would lead the chosen ones to salvation after the coming apocalypse. His financial and occult empire spanned the globe, but he made his headquarters here, in his hometown of Kittewa, Utah, more specifically right here at his estate on Rainbow Lake."

"Those white robed bastards to the south!" Matt said, understanding dawning on the group.

"Exactly. It was The New Humanity you witnessed crucifying and feeding those victims to the drones."

"I thought you said the Krylok betrayed Mordecai and wanted him dead?" Mac asked.

"That was over thirty-five years ago. When the Krylok mothership crashed on the dark side of the moon, they were forced to change their invasion plan. They now realized they needed Mordecai's network of contacts. Another truce was made, a truce of convenience for both sides. But as with the pact 35 years ago, this one was bound to crumble. And it did, the night of the siege."

"Now we know why the deadfucks weren't attacking those white robed bastards." Jenkins muttered.

"That had nothing to do with the pact between Mordecai and the Krylok. Mordecai was a very influential man, one of the richest in the world, and it wasn't just madmen and occultists who joined the New Humanity. Engineers, Scientists, Artists, and Doctors were also among his ranks. One was Dr. Winters. A brain surgeon and pioneer of nanotechnology, he developed a microchip that when installed in the brain, would generate a small telepathic wavelength that confused the drones, keeping them at bay."

"Only until they spilled blood." Susan added. "Once they bled the zombies tore them apart."

"I noticed that myself." Zack replied. "But keeping drones at bay was not the microchip's only ability. It also allowed the New Humanity cultists to communicate telepathically with one another. The cult of The New Humanity called it their Third Eye."

"Dr. Winters you say?" David asked, backtracking on the conversation.

"Yes." Zack answered.

"This house and estate belonged to a Dr. Eric Winters. He was a brain surgeon."

"You are correct David. The man who owned this estate was a member of the New Humanity. In fact, most of those that had residences here on Rainbow Lake were members of the cult."

"Not Adam and Kelly." Matt said. "We found them as zombies when we first arrived."

"No doubt killed by cultists. Which is just as well. A walking death is a far better fate that crucifixion and being eaten alive." Zack said solemnly.

"Speak for yourself." Jenkins replied.

"How do you know all of this?" Cmdr. King asked.

"I have spent the last three days holed up in Mordecai's estate. I accessed his computer files."

"That explains how you know about the cultists, but how do you know all about the Krylok and their plans? Did you inherit genetic memory when you were implanted with the embryo?" Norris asked.

"No. I killed three Krylok, including the one who implanted me. But before I killed them, I telepathically stole their memories. They fill my head, overlapping my own. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the two."

"Do we have to worry about more of those cultists leading another wave of zombies over here?" Jenkins asked.

"No." Zack answered flatly.

"How can you be sure?" Susan asked.

"Because I killed all the cultists that remained." Zack said.

"So Mordecai Necrotura is dead then?" Jenkins asked.

"No. He managed to escape before I arrived, but his power base here is shattered and his pact with the Krylok broken. He has fled far away from here."

"How can you be sure?" Jenkins pressed.

"Because if he were close, I could sense him telepathically. Such is his evil that it carries its own psychic stench."

"His house is empty then?" Matt asked.

"Yes, and full of weapons, ammunition and supplies. It is yours for the taking."

"Are we safe, then?" Susan asked.

"For the moment. But even as we speak, there is an army of drones massing in Park City and being controlled by several Sentinels. They know you are here. Before night falls, they will begin the march up the canyon."

"That army of deadfucks was ten thousand strong and those Alphas have Abrams tanks at their disposal." Jenkins said.

"We're going to have to evacuate." Matt said.

"Perhaps not." Zack said. "I may be able to eliminate them for you."

"How?" Jenkins asked.

"My ship is equipped with a pair of small, tactical city buster warheads."

"Nukes?"

"Similar. They are equivalent in power to a small nuclear warhead, but work on a different principal than nuclear reaction and leave no radiation. All of the Shuttlecraft are armed with them, plus a limited supply is available on the Mothership for reloading. More likely than not, they are being used at various locations around the world."

"Why didn't they simply destroy Park City in the first place?" Pvt. Jimenez asked.

"Because the gestation pod was growing there."

"I'm surprised they haven't used one on Hill Air Force base." Jenkins said.

"They planned to." Zack said. "But there was only one shuttlecraft in this sector and it was destroyed in the battle of Park City. The one I acquired came from several hundred miles away."

"You said a bunch of Krylok were killed in the crash on the moon. How many are left alive?" Matt asked.

"Fifty-three Krylok out of more than five hundred survived the crash, and of one hundred attack shuttles, only twenty remained intact. When I took control of this craft three days ago there were thirty Krylok and nine shuttlecraft planet-wide, ten counting mine."

"So you are going to destroy Park City?" Cmdr. King asked.

"Is there any other option? You could flee, or stay and attempt to hold off a horde more than ten thousand strong. And as Jenkins said, the Sentinels leading them have commandeered tanks. With one city buster I can wipe out the entire horde as well as their Sentinel masters. Then Rainbow Lake would most definitely be safe, for quite some time."

"Do it." Jenkins said.

"I agree." Matt seconded. The rest of them added their approval to the din.

Without a word he turned for the shuttlecraft.

"When will you be back?" Matt asked.

Zack turned back to the crowd. "I won't be coming back."

"Why not?"

"Although I can keep my mind shielded from the Krylok I cannot keep the shuttle craft hidden. They have the same sensor systems as I and can detect the exact location of my shuttle, just as I can theirs. If I stay, they will send multiple attack craft and surely destroy this place. If I keep on the move around the world, they will spend their efforts and resources tracking me."

"Is that the only reason?" Matt asked. Despite Zack's mutated form, he was still Zack. Matt had known him for many years, and could tell by his body language that he was holding something back.

"There is another reason...I must feed. I am no longer human and therefore my appetites are no longer human."

"Are you a cannibal like those deadfucks?" Jenkins asked with disgust.

"The flesh is for drones...I feed as the Krylok feed. Brains and blood are my nourishment."

"Oh my God." Several of them muttered under their breath.

"If only He would answer my prayers." Zack said sadly.

"So after you destroy Park City you simply go on the run?" Matt asked.

"The Krylok invasion of the planet is in full swing my friend. The human species is in a war for its very existence...and it is losing. I shall do all that I can to see the race does not become extinct. I suggest you do the same. Gather more people to you, organize, fortify, and always stay vigilant. Destroy Krylok, Sentinels and Drones wherever you encounter them. The Lupen managed to drive the Krylok from their Homeworld, and nearly destroy them in the process. If we stay strong and fight, we may not only persevere as a species and reclaim our planet, but eradicate the Krylok race once and for all."

"This is something out of a bad sci-fi movie." Cpl. Philips cracked in very poor humor.

"Take care my friends." Zack said, looking to each of them before his eyes settled on Matt. "I truly wish things were different."

With that he turned away and boarded his ship. The exit ramp folded back into the belly of the black, tear shaped craft and a minute later the low throbbing hum of its engines filled the air. It grew in intensity, and the shuttlecraft gently lifted from the ground, the three landing pods retracting into the hull. The hum of the engines continued to build in pitch and intensity as it climbed straight into the sky several hundred feet before speed away to the west in a blur, bound for Park City.

As the others drifted back towards the house, Matt stayed behind, watching for several long moments, even after the craft was gone from sight. Everything he had ever believed about life and death, God and the universe had been turned upside down in the past five minutes.

"Are you ok?" Susan came up beside him and slipped her arm around his waist. Matt pulled her tight, burying his face in her neck, trying desperately to draw strength from her embrace. "Babe?" Susan asked affectionately, pulling him even closer. But he did not answer her, because he knew if he opened his mouth, he would start screaming, and he didn't know if he would be able to stop...