Genesis

by Kipjo Ewers

  Lady Tech soared high and then violently dived back to Earth as Buster feverishly evaded the barrage of energy attacks from the ten Apollos on her tail. She deployed cluster missiles that fired out of cracked open ports of Buster’s shoulders whizzing past her back at the pack finding their targets.

  They only took out two as the others either skillfully evaded or blasted them out of the sky while continuing the chase.

  “What I wouldn’t give for a damn Dothraki horde,” Lady Tech muttered.

  CHAPTER 17

  On the other side of the world, Kimberly sat against a palm tree by herself watching the six comedic shorts she videotaped of Amatullah that she posted on the YouTube channel she helped her create.

  Most notably her purple burka female rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” Kimberly, Akram, and other kids in Middle Eastern attire joined in to play the rest of her band.

  As she laughed at the skits and her jokes, she was forced to wipe away the salty tears that continued to fall.

  It had been almost a week since her death.

  ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

  Per her parents’ wishes, she was buried with Islamic funeral traditions, which meant twenty-four hours prior to death. They refused an autopsy believing it was complications to the sarin that took their daughter’s life, which was enough for them.

  Her washing was done by her mother and two other women from her former village. The outpour was overwhelming even for Kimberly as everyone on the island turned out for her funeral.

  Her parents thanked Sophia for all that she had done for their daughter and said it was Allah’s will to call her home.

  The Youssefs opted to stay at Sanctuary with their infant son stating that their daughter was there, and when their time came, they want to be buried right next to her.

  After the funeral, Mr. Youssef took Kimberly aside to say something which brought her to tears.

  “My little girl had many friends, but you …were the best. I know your heart is broken like mine. But try to laugh. That is how she would want you …to remember her. Okay?”

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  As she watched the video, her blurry eyes saw the likes-count that broke over half a million. As she read the encouraging comments her face lit up as some of them were from professional YouTubers like Superwoman Lily Singh. Kimberly opted to re-edit the video and turn it into a memorial so that everyone knew of her passing, but she decided not to.

  She wanted it to continue to get likes because of her friend’s talent, not because of her death.

  Sensing someone approaching Kimberly glanced up to see her mother approaching with Sir George on her shoulder. She quickly wiped her eyes and straightened up wearing an “I really don’t want to talk” expression.

  Sophia not taking the hint plopped down right in the sand next to her as Sir George jumped from her shoulder into her lap.

  “Hey,” was all her mother could get out.

  “Hey,” Kimberly returned the greeting while looking down at the sand.

  The two silently sat there looking everywhere but at one another as Sir George busied himself pulling and picking at strands of Sophia’s locks.

  In the midst of their awkward silence, Kimberly whispered something that brought a cold chill down her mother’s spine.

  “I’m going to kill him.”

  Sophia’s heart began to flutter as she turned to her.

  “What did you just say?”

  “When I get old enough, when I become strong enough that you can’t stop me …I’m going to kill him.”

  Her words knocked the breath out of Sophia. Her mother took a moment rubbing her clammy hands together as she chose her words carefully.

  “Kimberly …”

  “What you’re doing is not working!” Kimberly cut her off with a cracked voice. “It’s not working …all she wanted to do was tell jokes! She wasn’t a soldier! She wasn’t a rebel! She was a kid! She liked to make people laugh, and he killed her without even a thought! Twice he did this, and he’s going to do it again! And you and the rest of the world just stand by and watch him do it! My friend would still be alive if people stopped watching! Well, when I get older I’m not going to just watch!”

  Kimberly muffled her mouth with her hand while her tears ran forcing herself not fall into a hysterical crying fit. Sophia remained silent waiting patiently for her to calm down. With a nod, she processed what her daughter had to say before she spoke.

  “The day of 9/11 when the first Tower got hit, I was doing my rounds at the hospital when I heard the news. I remember calling your father while watching them fall, and him telling me to meet him at home. I cried like a baby while driving, and while I was waiting for him to come home because I knew he’d have to go abroad and serve his country. To avenge and bring to justice those responsible for that tragic day.

  What neither one of us knew was it the worst mistake the United States would ever make.”

  Sophia shook her head as her memory went back to that time.

  “It was bad enough that we went to Iraq for no damn reason and caused the deaths of thousands of US soldiers and civilians over something that took a little research and a night raid to pull off, it turned out the unseating of Saddam Hussein allowed the real monsters to become stronger and run loose. The real horrors began after that.”

  Kimberly’s eye widened as her mother’s face became a visage of grim disgust.

  “As Al-Qaeda was being wiped out, groups like ISIS were born, and they turned out to be even worse. They did horrible, unspeakable things, things I won’t repeat, not just to foreigners and soldiers but to their own people. What was the most heartbreaking about it all, was how they took such a beautiful religion and turned it into something dark and twisted. Do you know how they were able to grow?”

  Kimberly earnestly shook her head.

  “They had someone to blame,” Sophia answered with narrowed eyes. “They spun a tale of a foreign invading force, unholy infidels that came to their homeland to destroy their way of life, and most importantly to extinguish their religion, and the ignorant masses just ate it up.

  And the additional spin to that was, they gave a reason for people around the world to mistrust and hate Muslims, creating an endless cycle of destruction.

  Eight years later, several hundred thousand deaths combined on both sides, and it’s ongoing to this day.

  And not one person on either side has stopped to ask, ‘What is Godly about any of this insanity?’”

  “But Bashar al-Assad is responsible for this! He’s a murderer!” Kimberly shot back.

  “And you’ll get no argument from me there,” Sophia nodded. “I knew where he was the day I threw that anti-aircraft vehicle into his palace. I could have obliterated the entire palace with him in it. But then I would have destabilized another region, I would become another person to blame attempting to destroy their way of life, and I would be responsible for creating more monsters and causing more death. How does that break the cycle?”

  Kimberly lowered her head now wearing the look of defeat.

  “So, we do nothing.”

  “I didn’t say that,” Sophia shook her head. “What you did for Amatullah, was not nothing. She died because of medical complications, not because she was broken. She died with her friend holding her, not alone. You did that.”

  Golf ball tears fell once again from Kimberly’s eyes as her mother moved closer to her rubbing her back.

  “We’re doing something right now. But before we get to that, can we change the subject for a minute? There’s something I want to ask you.”

  Kimberly sat up switching her face to one of concern.

  “Okay.”

  “What really happened when you went to go see Kyle?”

  Her question brought sadness to her daughter’s face. Kimberly retracted her legs to her chest
while wrapping her arms around them for comfort.

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  Eight months after the Regulators and Kimberly defeated the Draugr and Jiang Shi saving the residences of Sanctuary, Kyle’s parents came to Sophia and discussed with her about relocating back to the states. With monetary stability again, Kyle’s father was able to interview and get a job at a financial firm in Chicago, while his mother acquired a teaching position at a high school.

  Before he left Brian appointed and trained Indrajit as Sanctuary’s new Head of Finance. Sophia paid for and coordinated all of the arrangements to move their belongings to their new home in Chicago.

  Kyle’s older brother Joseph had mixed emotions about leaving, while Kyle went ballistic.

  On several occasions before their final departure, Kyle attempted to run away and hide in the jungle only to be hunted and dragged back home mostly by Kimberly and Akram.

  Neither one wanted to see him leave, but Akram promised that they’d keep in touch via video chat, while Kimberly could always fly to his house to hang out with him.

  Or so she thought.

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  “When I showed up, Kyle seemed happy to see me, but also nervous,” she swallowed. “Then his parents came outside, and things got weird. Mrs. McArthur asked Kyle to help her with something inside their house, and then Mr. McArthur walked up and asked me to stay away from Kyle for a while. He said his wife and him were trying to get him adjusted to normal life back in the states and hanging out with me would be a distraction. He then thanked me for stopping by and went back to his house.”

  Sophia blew air of irritation not aimed at her daughter. She repositioned herself in the sand while turning Kimberly to sit in front of her, taking hold of her bare feet.

  “Remember when I said to you, parents don’t know everything, and sometimes don’t do what’s best for their kids?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is one of those situations,” Sophia nodded. “You also know, you did nothing wrong, right? And neither did Kyle. I also can understand why Kyle’s parents did what they did. The second mother of all superhuman battles took place here. What irritates me is that they were not honest with me, because if they were, I would have spoken to you and saved you from that awkward situation. So, believe me when I say Mr. McArthur and I are going to have a discussion about …”

  “Please don’t mom,” Kimberly asked. “I’m fine, and I understand.”

  “Is that why you’ve been so distant from your other little buddy?” Sophia asked referring to Akram.

  “Akram and I still hang out.”

  “Yeah, but not like you use to.”

  Kimberly meekly nodded her head answering her mother.

  “So, all of this pushing your limits and talks about being a superhero is because of what happened.” Sophia formulated.

  “I still want to be a hero,” Kimberly shrugged. “I just realize Kyle and Akram are not like me, and they never will be. And if they keep hanging around me, they might get really hurt. And I don’t want that.”

  “You know that’s a bunch of malarkey, right?” Sophia looked at her with a dull sardonic expression. “We’re around normal people practically every day, one incident out of almost eight years doesn’t make us a safety hazard.”

  “I know,” Kimberly nodded. “But the world is going to become more dangerous, especially with the new generation of EVOs getting older.”

  “How do you …?” Sophia began to ask with a look of shock.

  “I’m not naïve mom. I know about Vitruvian Absolute. I also asked Erica, and she told me what I wanted to know. Don’t be mad at her please.”

  She released her anger with a huff and nodded respecting her daughter’s wishes.

  “Can I ask you something, mom?”

  “Yes, you can.”

  Kimberly took a minute to think about what she was about to say before blurting it out.

  “What happens in seven years?”

  Sophia knit her brows together which made Kimberly fretful about asking her question. She took a minute this time to find the words to best answer her.

  “What do you think about what I’ve done here so far? With Sanctuary, tell me honestly please.”

  “What you did here is beyond amazing,” Kimberly answered earnestly, “You’ve helped like so many people, and you like created a place where there’s peace, and people are not afraid, where they’re not afraid of each other!”

  “What would you say if in seven years …I plan to expand this on a larger scale?”

  A lump stuck in Kimberly’s throat as she got blindsided by her mother’s question.

  “I don’t understand.” She said with a swallow.

  “Short of physically taking power which I don’t want to do, and would never do. I can’t change what goes on in this world,” Sophia said while shaking her head. “I am also tired of this cycle of saving people over and over again because of someone else’s selfishness. I’m tired of seeing the lifeless bodies of innocent people, or the trauma in a person’s eyes after someone chose to violate them for their own means. I’m tired of putting people back together after someone willfully chose to tear them apart. It’s not fair to me, it’s not fair to them, and I refuse to see you be pulled into the same damn cycle.”

  “You’re going to make a bigger island?”

  “I plan on making a continent.”

  A cold chill ran down Kimberly’s spine as her emotions became unchained at her mother’s words.

  “How?”

  “Vincent has been running some models for me on how it could be done without causing too much of a disruption to other countries’ shorelines,” Sophia began to explain. “I would need your help to carry it out.”

  “Well, why wait seven years?” Kimberly propped up with excitement. “Why not do it …?”

  “You’re not ready for that responsibility,” Sophia held a hand up calming her down. “And neither am I. There are other models and factors I have to take into consideration, affordable healthcare for all and getting top quality doctors to administer it, a free education system straight through college, infrastructure, energy and natural resources, law and order, and defense.”

  “So, you plan to be the ruler of your own country?” Kimberly nervously asked.

  “No,” Sophia shook her head. “It would be the current Council which would have to expand working together and deciding on how best to run this new country with the input of the people and me. With the key guideline to all of the laws being love and respect for your fellow human. Anything that violates that guideline will not be permitted.”

  “You’re serious about this.”

  “I can’t foresee the future,” Sophia said while taking a breath, “But barring anything out of the ordinary, you and I might be around for a very long time. That’s what makes this work. Over the centuries when other people went forth, and founded countries of their own, their original doctrine which was pure in nature when it first started was eventually corrupted by generations who sought opportunity over their fellow man. We’re not perfect, but we’re also incorruptible, and we’ll ensure that the system we put into place remains incorruptible.”

  “So, your plan is in seven years, if the world doesn’t change,” Kimberly formulated, “Is to take the people from the world.”

  “That and endangered animals,” Sophia nodded. “If the world refuses to change, we just leave it behind and take those that do want to change. We protect and defend those that just want to live in peace. We help nurture a new generation that does not see color, does not see wealth over their brother and sister and is not corrupted by old archaic traditions and the parts of religion that’s sole purpose is to subjugate other people. In time the rest of the world will either learn from our example and follow suit …or wither and die off, leaving us to rebuild.r />
  That is how we break the cycle that is how we change the world.”

  “I want to be a part of that!” Kimberly said eagerly, “I want to break the cycle!”

  “Slow down, like I said something this size will take some time to work out. For now, you have to keep this between just us. Can you do that?”

  Kimberly vigorously nodded agreeing to keep her promise.

  “Sophia, I have an incoming message from Brian McArthur,” Vincent announced via her iWatch interrupting their conversation.

  “Please take a messa …”

  “It is an urgent message; his son Kyle is in the hospital and gravely ill.”

  Sophia eyes instinctively went to Kimberly who sat up with the look of fear forming on her face.

  “Mom?” she uttered.

  “Which hospital Vincent?”

  “They are currently at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital.”

  “Tell him we are on our way.”

  Kimberly was on her feet before her.

  “Go put on my old suit in the closet, it should fit you …we’re leaving now.”

  Kimberly quickly nodded before taking off into the air back to the house as Sophia looked up to the heavens.

  “Please, don’t do this to her again.” She pleaded. “Not again. Please.”

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  Less than ten minutes later, both mother and daughter landed in the emergency entrance way of the Chicago hospital. A visibly anxious Kimberly in Sophia’s old uniform and boots walked side by side with her mother adorned in her Freedom uniform as they entered the hospital. They ignored all the eyes locked on them as they approached the main desk.

  “Excuse me; I’m looking for Kyle McArthur, who was just admitted here.” Sophia got to the point.

  “And …you are?” The stunned nurse asked.

  “His doctor.”

  “Sophia! Thank God!”

  She turned to the sound of Brian McArthur’s voice as he frantically ran up to them.