by Troy Dukart
Slowly, my eyelids drooped and finally closed.
“My title is Prophet of the Salvators. Please place your trust in me. By doing so, we can help you find a path to victory.”
Okay....
“Now, I want you to open up to me. All will be explained my children. Follow my voice.”
With a deep breath, I entered into the guided meditation. It felt like I drifted through the floor and into a body of water. Instead of drifting by myself, I was back to back with someone.
“The key to stopping the Slate infection does not take anything more than is what is in this room. Clear your mind and surrender to the nothing.”
This isn't too bad. It feels, nice.
“Now, remember your younger years. A time that you cherish .”
The memory of first meeting Strafe popped in my head, on the beach in New Santa Barbara.
“Recall the colors of the area, the sounds around you. The smell in the wind.”
The ocean and the setting sun. A slight breeze.
“Paint whoever was there with you vividly as you can.”
Some teenagers raced drones. Their faces I forgot. Not any friends really, except for Gain. He seemed so happy; rest his soul.
“Now, ask yourself 'why was this so special to you?'“
Simple, I had a crush on Strafe. He was my first boyfriend after all. You never forget your first crush.
“Have you ever wondered, if you were destined to be there? Would that moment shape your future?”
Not especially, I was just living my life as a normal teenager would. I began to like boys and bands around then.
“The person or people in this memory with you possess the gift of a Guardian Angel. They are divine beings who operate beyond what a regular human being is capable of. They are chosen by the Father to perform miracles in times of need for those they love.”
A Guardian Angel?
“Now, wake up and face the person in your memory,” the Prophet instructed.
I opened my eyes and was standing in an embrace with Strafe. We both shook our heads and took a step backward. I never moved or sensed him touch me.
“Woah,” he awed.
“What?” I said.
“Were you, at the beach? In New Santa Barbara?”
“Yes!”
“So, it is true. Your spirits have been linked since your first encounter. Only Guardian Angels can link in this way,” the Prophet said.
“What exactly does this mean?”
“It is simple, child. It means that you two hold the power to reverse the plague. You carry the Mark of The Father. The time here in my chamber proved this. It is quoted in all religious text.”
He turned his head to me, and then to Strafe. Even with a mask on, I swear he peered straight through it and into my soul.
“Any others like us? Do we hold any powers we aren't aware of yet?” Strafe asked.
“Unfortunately, I am not the Father. I don't know how you will use this power,” Prophet surmised, “Your time will come. The one thing I see is a great sacrifice. Someone you travel with will fall in order for you to free this world.”
“Just like last time,” Strafe lamented.
Roya. Brutus.
“There's got to be a way where nobody dies,” I said.
The Prophet shook his head, “Don't you find it ironic that your military nickname is Angel? You fit the mold.”
“So, does that mean that the rest of them are Angels too?”
“No,” he waved his hand, “Not all, but many are Fallen Angels. Be careful around them, for they are lost.”
“Demons,” Strafe concluded as he folded his arms.
“And they are being led by another Fallen Angel, one who fell from Heaven himself. He is corrupting all he can to acquire the strength to take back this world, and other ones as well.”
I put my hand on my forehead and paced a bit. I had a headache forming.
“Do you know anything about the Venerates? You think they're here on earth?” Strafe asked, “We encountered a very dangerous one on Eternia.”
Prophet stood and pointed to the ceiling. We tilted our heads up and observed an old cracked painting, with faded colors. In the picture angels flew with swords and shields towards a large grey monster. Some details had deteriorated due to decomposition.
“Not all of them are dangerous. Albeit, even they are tempted to the dark side. Call them what you wish; demons, aliens, relatives from another world. If you don't find the Father, you will find the Fallen,” Prophet said.
“Seems like the people who drew this painting predicted this would happen,” I said.
“No, it happened before. Many, many, years ago.”
CHAPTER 24
Strafe
Seemed there was even more than met the eye. Yessa is, was, a big part of my life. My first girlfriend. At first it was hard to be without her, but time can pull people away from you. I spent years waiting in Tibet, and never heard from her. I’m not mad that she fought with us there, she was being manipulated. Plus what had happened in Eternia between Roya and I, was something we hadn’t quite worked out yet.
Seeing Yessa in the memory wasn’t surprising, but for her to have the same one did put butterflies in my stomach. Maybe she still cared for me. A part of me always would.
We had been thrown into another situation where we would have to overcome the impossible to free ourselves. Part of me wondered if this dangerous life would ever end?
Would we get the peace we had been fighting for?
“How are people getting infected Prophet? Why haven’t we been yet?” I asked.
Sitting back down, he lit some incense and grabbed his prayer beads, “There are many reasons. Guardian Angels are natural deterrents to the plague.”
“So, we won’t ever turn into Slates?” Yessa guessed.
“That’s right child, or anyone within your presence.”
“Are we the only Guardian Angels in the world or are there more of us?” I asked. There was some commotion from the hallway, like airplane engines firing up.
“Fallen Angels were once Guardian Angels. And there are many of them. Be careful around them, they can turn lifeforms into Slates instantly if they wish. What’s next for you is to venerate the Fallen Angels. Save them from themselves. Once that is done, the plague will stop,” Prophet explained.
“Sounds good to me!” I cheered, “I just want this bullshit to end.”
“How will we know who’s a Guardian Angel or not?” Yessa asked.
He pointed to the God Blade, “Whenever a Fallen Angel is near, it should glow as it once did for you. Guardian Angels will make it glow white.”
I swung it through the air a few times to try and wake it up, “It’s been dead ever since returning from Eternia. Do you know how to revive it?”
“Just like the Father. It may not come when you call but it will always be on-time. Trust in God and you have nothing to fear. Now if you excuse me, I need to meditate.”
Just like that, he lowered his head and turned into a statue. His skin changing to stone. Shocked me a bit!
We walked away humbled, satisfied knowing what our next steps had to be. The rest of the team was waiting in a rest area. Goliath and Esper ran forward to greet us.
“Hey girl, I wasn’t gone that long was I?” Yessa smiled while getting kissed by Esper.
“I hope your time with the Prophet was fruitful?” Commander Zein queried.
We let them in on our experience with the Prophet but were confused with the looks on their faces. Apparently, they said that we laid on the ground in there for ten minutes, and we never moved. Zein had watched over us the entire time.
Strange. Had we been in a connected dream all that time?
I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the God Blade had a flicker of red outlined on the orb. When I got closer to the group, it started to shine brighter but the dark orb had swirling whit
e light glowing in it.
“You’re sending more mixed signals than a guy can handle, you know that,” I whispered to the blade.
Commander Zein was satisfied. She was escorting us toward the command center when there was a large explosion in the hanger bay. Alert sirens began going off through the entire hideout. Charging forward, Zein ran towards the blast and we followed behind her.
“We’re being attacked! They were followed!” one of the Egyptian Salvators yelled to Zein.
“You said you had no tail!” she scowled.
“We didn’t! I don’t know how they got here!” Sergei sputtered.
“Did you scan this one, the Astronaunt? Or should I say double-agent!?” she pointed to Yessa.
“No, why?”
Zein shook her head, “Because they usually are implanted with tracking chips. Who knows what the Americans are after? They could’ve revealed her location to the Federation!”
“Listen, we need to evacuate! I want Russian goulash and to get drunk at a brothel again before I die!” Sergei shouted.
One of the Salvators near us was shot in the chest. It took my breath away. The Whitecloud’s hair stood on end and they began to growl in the direction of the bullet. Standing near the hole in the wall was Captain Parker. He retracted his rifle and smirked at us.
“DAMN YOU PARKER!” Yessa yelled.
“I missed! Was aiming for you bitch!” he chuckled.
Behind him entered some extremely large Space Force troops in Angel armor. They must have been seven to eight feet tall. All of them wore helmets, so we couldn’t see their faces.
“Strafe, we’ve gotta get out of here, my arm is going crazy!” Zixin warned.
When I looked over to him, the colors in his left arm began to pulse and change color slightly. Going from one color to the next. He winced in pain.
“Follow me!” Commander Zein instructed us.
We ran down a narrow hallway away from the fighting. Some of the sounds I heard as we ran away were frightening, like the men out there were being slaughtered by monsters. We got to a large round metal door with a keypad. Zein input a code and the door hissed open slowly. She corralled us inside and began to shut it.
“Wait, what are we supposed to do?” my mom asked.
“There are stealth Mag-Cycles down in the bunker that you can take to Cairo. Go from there to Jerusalem in Israel. That is the closest Salvator save zone. Maybe there you can form a plan to stop the infection. I must lead my troops,” she ordered as she handed Sergei a data chip, “Go, NOW!”
Before the door could close, there was a sound of breaking bones. Commander Zein’s face went white and she winced in pain. She was tossed aside and one of the large Angels had begun to pry open the door to reach us. The creature growled and roared at us while pulling with all its might.
Even though it was shattered, I ran up with the God Blade. It was still razor sharp. I lunged toward the creature and hit it in the chest. The God Blade pierced the armor and it screeched before I kicked it to the ground. When it fell to the floor, its body began to shrink down to normal size.
“Huh?” I said.
Before another one made to the door, Goliath yanked me back by pulling on my shirt and Zixin pushed the door closed.
“What the hell were those things!?” Yessa fretted.
“Looked like Slates. In military armor,” Sergei said.
“Strafe, it’s too dangerous here. Let’s move!” my mom told me.
Luckily, there was a Mag-Truck large enough to haul the Whiteclouds. My mom loaded them in and sat with Zixin. He could hardly move. Sergei hopped in the driver’s seat. Yessa and I got on the Mag-Cycles.
I hope Zixin’s okay. Are the Slates affecting him?
We rushed off down the tunnel. By now the Slates had burst through the door and chased after us with a look of bloodlust. Their speed was unbelievable, enhanced by the suits, and were catching up to us quickly. I’d never seen Slates move so aggressively and dangerously.
“Shit! They’re right on our ass!” I yelled, “Do these things have a weapon system?”
“Yes,” My mom said. “On your left throttle.”
I looked down while my hair flapped in the wind. There were a few buttons, but no identification. I pressed one and was startled as a machine gun fired out the front.
“Shit!”
“Watch out Strafe!” Yessa warned.
One of the Angel Slates was running on the wall and lunged toward me. It managed to grab onto the back of my Mag-Cycle, which slowed me down a little and made it harder to control. I tried kicking it off but had to maintain focus to not crash either.
“Strafe, stay as still as you can!”
“Okay!” I told her.
She pulled up behind us. After steadying her Mag-Cycle, she pushed the button and blasted the Angel Slate off the back of my ass. As it fell off, she ran it over.
“What’s the saying? If you’re gonna ride my ass at least pull my hair?” I joked.
“Wow Strafe, wow,” Sergei chuckled.
“Hey kiddos, we’re not done yet!” My mom reminded us.
We turned a sharp corner and could see daylight. The Angel Slates were keeping up with us. Two of them landed on the Mag-Truck and began to slash at the back of it.
“Bad move,” I laughed.
When the Angel Slates ripped open the back of the truck, they were swallowed in. I could hear the Whiteclouds ripping them to shreds in there.
It was satisfying.
“Damnit! One of those bastards hit the closing mechanism!” Yessa shouted. We could see the door ahead of us slowly begin to close.
“Time to see what this button does I guess!” I said.
With a push of the red button, the Mag-Cycle fired a missile at the door. A few of the Angel Slates got out of the way but some weren’t so lucky. The missile blasted it open and we escaped out of the hideout.
Tough part now was trying to secretly make it back to Cairo and head to Israel.
CHAPTER 25
Strafe
Chaos. Too much chaos.
Shifting to stealth mode, a clear, translucent film shielded over our Mag-Cycles. The film captured images of the surrounding environment and made a reflective surface across its body. The effect made the cycle and user practically invisible but drained the batteries fast. We could only use it for fifteen minutes at a time before we had to let the system recharge.
Riding across the desert was peaceful. The wind was warm but dry. The goggles I wore protected my eyes from the sand. Nobody followed us back. Everything looked normal from a distance. A large red sign stood on the outskirts of Cairo and, in Arabic, read,
All who enter the city of Cairo comply to: Plague Containment Procedure, International Order 9.23.649, and can be subject to search and detainment at all times from law enforcement. Resistance or not-compliance will not be tolerated. Use of deadly force authorized.
“How can you read that?” Yessa asked.
“I had too much vodka in Russia,” I joked.
“You can NEVER drink too much vodka in my country! Only weak stomachs!” Sergei chuckled.
“Strafe,” my mom called over our telecrom, “Zixin isn't doing too well. He's in a lot of pain. The doggies are upset.”
“They're wolves Mom,” reminding her as Brutus did for me once, “We'll take Zix' to a hospital.”
“No way, he'll be quarantined immediately,” Yessa said.
“It's itching and painful,” Zixin moaned.
“He's not infected by the plague; maybe an allergy of some sort?” I guessed.
“How do we know he isn't turning into a Slate comrade? Could be the arm is finally activating from contact with the infected, like a dormant virus connecting with a live one,” Sergei said.
“Sonam called it the Hand of God, so I don't think that's the case” I shook my head, “The only thing we can do is take him to the hideout in Jerusalem. We can tr
y to figure it out there.”
I never thought Zixin to be infected. To me, his arm represented the trauma he was overcoming. Back in Eternia, he was possessed by a manipulating and evil demon. Could this be his dark side battling with him internally? Maybe it was trying to find a way back to him. Must've been another demon in this world.
Downtown Cairo had many buildings and intersections. Due to the high population, drones flew all over the city to monitor any possible infection outbreaks. The streets were fairly barren of traffic, which made it easy to navigate. Much too quiet though for my liking.
As we got closer to our ship, a drone hovered down and approached the Mag-Truck hauling the Whiteclouds. Upon scanning the passenger-side where Zixin sat, alert lights flashed. “Shit!” my mom cried, “The drone is attempting to shut us down!”
“Strafe, they must be after him! We've gotta get out of here, now!” Yessa said.
“Hold on to your butts,” I said as I closed my eyes.
I drove up next to the drone and pulled out the God Blade. For a second I hesitated, but then with one quick swipe, shattered the damn thing to pieces.
“Now I've done it.”
Drones swarmed to our location, like wasps defending their nest. Armed with tasers, tear gas and even handcuffs, some of them attached to the Mag-Truck and tried to hack it. My mom lowered the back of the truck to knock them off. I rode up next to it and connected my Mag-Cycle to the side and hopped in. The Whiteclouds attacked any drone that got close.
“We're not going to last long here Strafe!” Sergei hollered.
“Yo!” Yessa yelled, “Follow my lead. I'll get us to the ship.”
We rode through the city, fending off the drones. She kept shooting them with a blaster she found on the Mag-Cycle while Sergei distracted them. Soon, real policemen sped up to us on their own Mag-Cycles and had much bigger guns.
My mom put the shield in the back up again. The bullets ricocheted off the truck but I didn't know how long it would hold.