by Andi Feron
Everyone seemed to have a Pavlov’s dogs reaction. Bell rang, and they jumped. Sending men into battle with automatic action perhaps took self-doubt out, but it couldn’t always work. Free thinking was more my forte. I placed my tray in the designated bin. I’d give the poor food service personnel one less tray to worry about, as they were probably in for a night at this point. From the look of things, this was perhaps the norm around here. I needed to get back to figuring out where Allie was stashed.
Chapter Nine
John-January 18, 2013
This power thing was not suiting me. My emotions could possibly explode the person next to me. You would think the gravity of this would have been more clearly laid out to me. Becoming catatonic with my emotions meant I had to keep the worry about Allie at bay. This base seemed immense. I could wander around hoping to bump into her, but that seemed counterproductive.
If she weren’t even listed in the directory, then they probably didn’t want anyone directed to her location. I began searching the database for any and all information on these abilities and these aliens. I was deep into the facets of each ability when my door opened and three soldiers barged in.
The tallest one in the middle got right to the point, “We have orders to take you to the council.”
I had no idea who the council was, but I assumed they were the ones running the place. This would be a good thing since I could demand that they release Allie, Gabriel, and me since we were here against our will. If they refused, maybe I could melt their brains with my unstable ability. I followed the soldiers to a cargo bay where we boarded a small craft. The craft looked as if a bus and jet had been squished into one vessel.
The three soldiers and I were the only ones on board, but it could clearly have fit a dozen more people. A seat belt latched around me, and the craft jolted forward and zoomed out of the base. The windows gave me a clear picture of space. A small blue moon or planet with swirling silver appeared in my view. I was having difficulty processing what I was seeing.
“Prepare to fold,” a soldier said.
The others braced their armrests, so I did the same. Folding must be a bit like turbulence, my mind guessed as I felt my soul fly out of my body. At least that’s the feeling this folding sent surging through me. I was taken back to being twelve on the Colossal Loop roller coaster at the amusement park. When you flew through the loop backward, it felt like your soul had to catch up to your body. Folding was similar but with a magnified intensity. Their lack of warning was at least a consistent thing with these people. Keeping me on edge between sanity and paranoia appeared to be a goal that had been assigned to my case.
The queasiness still swirled throughout my body when we arrived on a yellow rock planet. There were no variations of trees or plants, only vast rock formations. The soldiers led me to a brown metal door in the side of one of the rocks. We proceeded inside the rock structure. The inside walls were warmer than I’d anticipated, and I should have shed my coat inside the shuttle.
The soldiers led down a narrow corridor. We moved through in a line as the walls allowed for the movement of only one person at a time. I was slammed second with two of the soldiers pushing me forward through the rugged enclosure. After at least a half-mile trek into the interior of the cave, we made it to a large open room that was elaborately designed and not fitting of what I expected to find.
The floor shone a brilliant white marble and golden pillars launched high into the now towering cave walls. My surroundings looked like an elegant cathedral worthy of the art of Michelangelo. The room spanned beyond my sight, and we began walking farther in. We approached a large wooden table. Behind the table sat thirteen individuals. Their faces were covered with thick brown cloaks, and I was unable to make out any features.
The one in the middle raised his arm, and even his hands were covered entirely within the cloak. His robe was the only one that was dark blue. A soldier shoved me to a chair and demanded I sit. The soldier that had been doing all the barking of orders sat next to me. The other two stood at attention facing the exit. I wasn’t sure if they were still guarding me or making sure nothing interrupted our meeting.
“Are you thirsty or hungry? Can we get you any refreshment?” Blue Robe spoke. His voice was deep and a bit scratchy.
“I’m fine. Thank you,” I said.
“We have been anxious to meet you. I hope your ride was smooth and uneventful.”
“It was fine as well.”
Idle chit chat with an alien council was an experience that never crossed my mind as a possibility. The council seemed like the big corporations you see in the movies, and I was the little guy who was called to take on negotiations against a mini army of capitalism. Blue Robe slowly lifted his arm and gestured to his left.
“This is Nacric, and I am Killreth.” He gestured to his right and continued, “This is Meseri. He has been particularly anxious for your arrival. You see, much as yourself now, he possesses an ability of the mind. He can see glimpses into the future. It is more like trying to piece together tiny pieces of shattered glass, but he can sometimes make out significant shards that can be seen with only slight changes. Cracks rather than the large gaps that are in most of his future views.
“You are one of the clearer pieces. You are to become a glorious admiral for our galactic fleet. You will help to bring the fall of the Khalbytians and the terror of Dissipation and the woe it brings to our people.” His scratchy voice sounded as triumphant as I imagined was possible.
His words left me unmoved and I said, “Not sure how accurate his visions are normally, but I have no real intention of fighting for anyone other than myself and my friend Althea Cooper. I need you to release us and let us return to Earth, along with our friend Gabriel.”
There was a long pause. Then Killreth spoke, and his tone was more solemn, “You will fight. It will be your choice to do so. I know you find that hard to believe, but I ask that you allow Meseri to approach you and show you a glimpse of the path you wish to forsake for mediocrity.”
I was leery of this proposal, but I didn’t think they would give me what I wanted if I didn’t allow them to proceed, so I nodded. Meseri rose from the table and walked around to my side. His movement was fluid, almost as if he was floating rather than walking, a skill that I could only guess at since his entire being was encompassed within his brown robe.
A pale white hand emerged. I was taken aback; it looked like bone wrapped in white tissue paper. Meseri traced for my wrist and I dared not move, as I thought I might rip the skin on his frail appearance of a hand. His grasp was much firmer than I anticipated, and I almost thought that I was glued to him for as long as he willed.
I no longer stood in the room with the Loctorian council. I was instead walking with Gabriel, and we were in uniforms. The environment looked like a rainforest. Dark foliage and high-rising trees that were blue and red in color. Weird insects that looked like a beetle-spider hybrid flew through the air, their red wings and blue bodies blending in with the trees making them only viewable between the small gaps in the vegetation.
The air felt heavy, as if dampness was soaking into every pour of my skin, threatening cellular drowning. I turned and saw Allie behind me. For the first time since the capsulization, I couldn’t feel the emotions from anyone. This was a vision, the world Meseri wanted me to see. We came to a temple. It looked rather like a Mayan pyramid, but the edges were more rounded. We climbed the steps and walked into a damp chamber.
Another robed person stood in front of us and spoke, “Dissipation has been mutated. We believe it is now compatible with the human genome. If we cannot find a way to stop it, humanity will be wiped out in less than a year.”
“I thought Dissipation was slow and spanned decades to decay and lead to death?” I asked.
The robbed person responded, “Humans have a different immune system. It is easily intercepted, and this made it easy for Khalbytians to accelerate the virus. Also, humans have less of an advantage. You have
grouped yourselves into one planet.”
“We haven’t exactly mastered space travel yet, having to borrow ships from the Loctorian council and all,” Gabriel offered an answer to our carelessness.
I was no longer in the temple. I was back in Maine, my home in front of me. I leapt to the front door of my blue two-story childhood home. The smell of death clung unbearably to the air. Piles of bodies filled the street. My hand hovered over the doorknob. I could feel an intensity that I would not like what I would find.
I opened the door and turned left from the entryway into the living room. The TV displayed a news broadcast. My dad’s arm hung limp off of the side of his blue recliner. I cautiously walked around to face him and reeled back.
His body was slumped down, dead and unrecognizable, his face unraveling into dust. I wanted to run from the house and not stop running until I found my way from this nightmare. I glanced at the television as apocalyptic messages of humanity’s demise displayed across the screen. Thoughts of my mother and eight-year-old brother flew into my mind.
I ran upstairs to find my mother consumed in her bed, the flesh on her body crumbling, revealing her skull through the decay of her face. I ran from the room to find Teddy, my brother. I nearly tripped on a lump on the floor. I took in a shaky breath as I pulled back the blue blanket covering the lump. Most of the tiny body was crumpled to dust, but I knew it was my brother by the stuffed puppy that was wrapped in the dissolving arm of the body.
I was back in the council, and Meseri released his grasp as I sat back, trying to filter through the images I knew would never find their way out of my mind.
“You see, you will fight, or I promise what you witnessed will come to pass. You will watch humanity die while knowing your role would have prevented that. You may be considering this a trick or illusion, but I vow to you, it will come to pass without your involvement. I ask you to accept training from the council and become the mighty admiral foreshadowed in Meseri’s visions.”
My eyes began to water and I blinked the tears away as I thought about my family dead. This could very well be a trick, but the end of humanity didn’t seem to be something worth gambling. The alternative was refusing and still being at the mercy of the council to return me to Allie. Maybe I could, at the very least, learn how to fight my way free.
“Alright, let’s see what you got,” I said, and I was led farther into the cave structure.
After a labyrinth of twists and turns, we arrived at a hallway with several doors lined next to each side. Each door appeared to be made of steel with large handles to open them. A nuke could directly hit the mountain above and we would not be destroyed. The council was encompassed in a fortress that would make NORAD jealous. The third door on the left was open, and I was directed inside.
“Get some rest. Someone will come to get you when they are ready for the next step.” With his short explanation, the head soldier and his buddies shut the door, leaving me to my surroundings.
There wasn’t much to these quarters. Yellow rock made the walls more colorful than the grey back on the home base. The floor was smooth and also left natural to the structure. There was a bed, chair, toilet, sink, shower, fridge, and a small pantry. Two large wooden doors opened to an array of matching uniforms and what I guessed were pajamas. It felt like an elite jail cell. I took a shower and went to bed.
*
“You are the reason for all this death!” a loud voice boomed as fields of the dead lay vastly before me. All ages and races spanned outward on the horizon. Surges of guilt and sorrow struck me like lightening. “Your complacency brought the demise of humanity,” the voice repeated my crime.
I began moving forward, floating above the mass genocide of the human race. My vision zoomed in on my parents, my brother, and Althea. They were all dead.
“Your complacency brought the demise of humanity!” The voice taunted me of the horrors stretching before me.
An alarm sounded, and I jolted awake. I sat, startled by my surroundings. It had been a dream or a purposed vision.
“Please proceed to the mess hall,” the intercom instructed.
I quickly changed into a uniform from the closet and opened my door. Two soldiers were outside waiting to escort me to breakfast. Fruit, pecans, and buttered toast were the main course for breakfast. I chose orange juice to drink and sat down at an empty table, but was soon joined by my big thugs who wouldn’t bother to leave my side this entire trip.
At least they gave me privacy to sleep, though having them posted outside my door was a little too close. How could I be trusted to become a great admiral if I had to have armed guards to keep me in my makeshift prison cell?
From that day on, my routine was set. They would wake me up sooner than my body felt I should start my day. I had a light breakfast, then they would send me to a library, where I was to read the section of the day. Philosophy, psychology, critical thinking, and battle strategies were a few of the topics I was sent to read for the morning. They put a neuron stimulator on my head, which helped me process information faster and better. The device was basically a black helmet with a blue light that ran across the top of it.
After lunch, it was physical training. Intense running for miles through the winding halls of the cave. I always expected there to be a sudden drop to a bottomless pit, as you hear described in some Earth caves, but so far the only danger seemed to be the endlessly steep paths. I flipped tires across a large hall and completed other various strength building exercises.
After dinner began weapons training. I was to become a skilled killing machine, and right before bed, they would squeeze in focus of my ability. I was learning to tune emotions out from others that my mind concluded were inconsequential. I was also taught to focus my ability the opposite way for destruction. My mind was deadlier than all of the weapons that they had been training me on. I learned how to enter someone’s mind and make it a playground. I didn’t like the violation that I was being taught to commit, and I hated the fact that I was expected to kill someone with the nightmares from their own mind.
They also taught me how to merge my mind with others to converse in a space between my mind and someone else’s. I could change the surroundings to a memory from either my head or the person I was merging with. Each time I practiced I grew stronger and could make the connection last longer.
I counted thirty rotations in my schedule, and I concluded that a month had passed since my arrival. I had become disciplined and precise in my movements and choices. I was not entirely sure who to trust, but worst case, I could use my new abilities to take out either side. After the thirty days, they switched up my schedule. I did battle simulations for most of the day. Every possible scenario and contingency were to be explored. I worked these simulations endlessly, only stopping for brief breaks to eat and a longer one at night to sleep. They needed my mind sharp.
That was, until the next phase. They began allowing me to have less sleep. They wanted to see how sleep deprivation would play a role in my decision making. It became harder to focus at first but, as I adjusted to less sleep, my instincts became more aligned with the needed choices. The neuron stimulator gave me years of experience in the span of months. At some point, I stopped counting the days, but it had to be around four months in when I was informed the council wanted to see me.
I was much different than when I had arrived. I felt like a soldier after boot camp, but now I was a deadly force. The council appeared as it did when I first arrived in their presence. They all sat across from me in brown robes, with Killreth in his blue.
Killreth again spoke for the group, “We feel you are ready for your first real battle, and we have assigned a small fleet to your command as well as an elite team for smaller missions. I realize you may not entirely be convinced of the urgency of this war, but we feel that will come once you are in battle. You will realize our cause is the one to fight for. “
“I want Althea and Gabriel on my team, or else I walk.”
Killreth paused for what seemed to be too drawn out, then said, “We will honor this request on one condition. Your affection for the girl must remain reserved for the next six months. After that time you may pursue your feelings toward her. Meseri sees this is as keeping her safe. For her protection and your establishment as a leader you must comply to this one demand. You must act as though she is any other under your command.”
“Why only six months?”
“At that time, the path will shift and you may return to your friendship or more without any threat to her or your leadership role.”
“Alright. I agree to those terms.”
Killreth’s words left me with an uneasy feeling. But since it meant that I would see Allie again, I let the nagging thoughts remain dormant. Not only that but I would never risk Allie. Six months would mean nothing if it meant she remained safe. For the first time in months, I was allowed to exit the cave structure, only to be ushered back into our return craft.
I wasn’t sure what the days ahead would bring, but at least I would have Allie back to figure things out with. I knew I was different. I could only wonder what Allie had been through in the last few months and how she would be changed. I was about to be launched into the middle of war and I had no idea what that would mean.
Chapter Ten
Althea-May 14, 2013
Four months had passed since I woke up in sickbay. At that time, I woke up screaming, my mind still placed at the scene of the mass destruction of an orphanage with innocent children destroyed by an army of evil. They called themselves the Khalbytians, and they killed orphans who could not fight back. Humans and Loctorians weren’t much better. Loctorians controlled the entire show and us humans had our own violent history. I could have healed all of the children, but they ripped me away, leaving Zalseph and his friends dead. I held too much unjustified guilt over the entire ordeal.