by Robert C Ray
He tried once more to remember anything he could about himself, yet still there was nothing. No names, faces, or places seemed at all familiar, save for the beautiful island princess, and he was beginning to wonder if she was even real, or not. Could she have been a figment of his imagination all along? His feelings for her certainly seemed real enough.
Reaching the beach, the waves beat heavily upon the shore, and the thunder seemed much louder out in the open. The wet wind blew violently at him, and his drenched clothing seemed heavier than they had before. Nature seemed as though it was emulating his state of mind, and he quietly cursed at it as though it was teasing him.
Turning to his right he began in the direction of the cave where he had encountered the rage beast, knowing well that he was not going to wander back inside. It was simply a place that they had been together, and that was a good enough reason for him.
The wet sand was less cumbersome than it had been when dry, but an overwhelming sense of loneliness overcame him. Being alone when you chose to be is not loneliness, but his longing for the beautiful princess was overpowering. Only she could clear his confusion, and ease his feelings of isolation.
As he was approaching the cliff where the cave was located, he could see something that had washed ashore, though the storm concealed what it was. Only when he got much closer to it could he see that it was a rowboat with two ores sticking up out of it, and he wondered if the savages had used it to come to the island.
Cautiously he approached it, constantly looking around for any signs of life, yet there were none. This is when he noticed something out in the ocean. He did not remember it being there the first time he had been here, but there it was, and it was unmistakable. It was a large island far off in the distance, and he assumed that this was where the savages had come from.
Turning back up shore, he saw something approaching, and it seemed too tall to be human. The wind and rain made it difficult to make out what it was, and he used his hand to shield his eyes in hopes of getting a better look.
As it came closer, he could see what it was. It was the island beauty that he knew as Princess, yet she was wearing what appeared to be white robes, and she was riding on the back of the white horse that she had called passion. As much as he wanted to run up to her, his feet were frozen where he stood, and all he could do was to wait for her.
When they reached him he could see the horn on the horses head, and sure enough, it was a unicorn. This was one of the many things that he wanted to ask her about, but he found his lips to be as frozen as his feet, and all he could do was to look up to admire her. Sure, there were many unanswered questions, but he was relieved to see that he had fallen in love with someone that had not vanished, as the simple sanctuary had.
"It is time for you to go back to the island of savages," she told him with a loving smile, and as though he was her puppet, he climbed into the rowboat, and grabbed its ores.
As if she controlled the ocean too, a gentle wave came in, and swept the boat out into the water, and suddenly he found himself able to speak.
"Why do I have to go there?" he implored, yet her answer was as confusing as any answer she had ever given him.
"Because you are one of them, my love," she told him in an empathic tone, and he swore that he could see a tear fall down her beautiful cheek, even through the wind and rain.
Methodically he rowed out into the stormy ocean, as though the choice was not even his own, and even though everything in his mind was confusion, he swore that he would be back for her. This feeling of love was too strong for him to control, and he was not about to allow anything to change the way that he felt.
Gradually the island got further and further away, and the waters began to grow calm. The rain stopped falling, but it was easy to see that it still fell on the island he had left only moments ago. As he looked around, he could see that the storm only existed there, as though the island had a life of its own.
Just as the storm was fading, so was the storm in his mind. Gradually he began to remember who he was, and even more importantly, he remembered who she was. She was Mirage, and she had the ability to make people see things that were not really there. The last he knew, however, she was not able to change a persons' entire environment.
CHAPTER TEN
Illusions
Captain Ryan Pierce laid silent in his hospital bed as his mind began to focus on what he was doing there. The feeling of the bed itself, and the sensation that resembled IV's in his arms were the only reasons that he knew what type of environment it was.
Then he remembered the island, and began to understand that it was Mirage. She had taken him into her mind to share herself with him, and he felt far more than honored. He felt a love for her that he could no longer deny, and he had no desire to do so, no matter what the consequences might be.
He tried to call out to her, but found that his body was slow to respond. His limbs were like large anchors, and as he tried to focus his eyes on the room around him, he found that everything was blurred. He could barely tell that it was a hospital room, and there was certainly no movement to indicate the presence of anyone else.
This is when he began to remember what happened before he found himself on the island. He had followed her all the way to Venice, because the task of terminating her had been given to him. Not only was he the most likely person that she would allow to get close enough, but it was his fault that she escaped in the first place. The word "escape” however, meant that she was not free to make her own choices, though certainly she deserved the same rights as anyone else.
Eventually, she did allow him to get close enough to her. It was on the second floor of a very fancy hotel, and when he trained his weapon upon her, a tear rolled softly down her perfect cheek.
"I love you," she whispered, willing to allow him to end her life rather than resisting him in any way. This was more than he could bear, and he slowly began to back away from her, unable to complete his mission.
Then she tried to stop him... Her eyes grew large, and she seemed genuinely concerned, yet it was not clear as to why until he flipped backwards over the railing. He thought for a split second about how ironic it was as he began to fall, but that was his last memory before he recalled awakening on the rocky shore. The pain in the back of his head was genuine, and it felt just as real now as it had then.
Now his eyes began to focus more clearly, and he noticed that he was not alone, as he had originally thought. Near the door he could see someone sitting in a chair, looking down at something that he held in his hands.
"Mirage?" he managed to mutter, but the response he received was not the one that he was hoping for.
"Don't worry, buddy," said a voice that was familiar to him. "I took care of her for you, and I got the video to prove it."
Standing, the man began to approach him with the high-tech goggles in his hand.
"See for yourself," he told Captain Pierce as he held out the recording device for him to examine, and Ryan took them with trembling hands.
Putting the video goggles on his head, he hesitated to push the play button. Was it something that he could actually bear to watch? The feeling of despair was already upon him, and if what his friend was saying were true, watching it happen would cause a pain that might never go away.
Finally, he decided that he had to know for certain, and pushed the button.
The picture was moving about wildly, as if he was running up a flight of stairs, until he burst through a door at the end, and stood calmly on a rooftop illuminated by the full moon.
There before him was a woman who could have been Mirage, but she simply stood motionless, facing away from him. Then she turned, and his deepest fear became reality. It was her, and the look on her face ripped at his heart as another tear ran down the same perfect cheek.
Quickly Ryan saw the pistol with its silencer enter the camera's view, and what would happen next brought tears to his own eyes, and left a feeling of emptiness inside of hi
m as vast as the universe itself.
"Please tell Ryan that I will always love him," she sobbed before two quick flashes of light exploded from the gun, dropping her where she stood.
"You have a strange way of showing it, lady," the man said as he walked up to her lifeless body, and rolled her over with his foot.
Kneeling down beside her, he placed his fingers upon her neck, and felt no pulse. The image of her face was clear, and there could be no mistake that it was her, but he would make certain that there were no doubts.
Standing, he rolled her with his foot again, and then again, and then again. On the third roll, her lifeless body fell from the edge, down into the cold, cold water below, yet this was not the end of it.
Then he trained his weapon upon her once more, and placed a round in the back of her head, before piercing both of her lungs with the next two shots. Slowly she began to sink into the quiet depths before he could see her no more, and now he was certain that it was over.
"The camera doesn't lie," the man told Ryan before removing the goggles from him, and returning to his seat. "She won't be able to ever hurt you again."
Ryan thought about this statement for a moment from his hospital bed, as he lay back, and closed his eyes. She had not only never hurt him, but she had never harmed anyone, despite the fact that she had been created for such a purpose, and he felt as though it was entirely his own fault. How could he have allowed this to happen to her, after all of the beauty that she had given him?
"I’m not convinced," Ryan then stated as he tried to raise himself up too quickly, and his old friend was quick to his side, helping him brace his ill-advised motion, but the captain pushed his hands aside, and gathered himself. "I want to see all of the footage."
"Sure thing," the man told him before hitting a button on the device, taking it back to the beginning, and then handed it to him, "but the end is all that matters."
* * *
A short time ago . . .
Captain Brandon Jacobs sat motionless on the gondola as it treaded through the silent waters. His friend of many years had been put into a coma by an atrocity of science, and he knew that he had to focus in order to bring this creature down. She was called Mirage, and she was the devil herself.
"Why would they ever think of creating such a thing!" he shouted within his own mind as his fists clenched first, only to be followed by the rest of his body. "I will avenge you, buddy."
They had done a two-year tour together in a delta unit, and never were there two peas closer in a pod. They were certainly the best at what they did, and because of it, they were recalled to a Black Ops assignment that was known as the G.E.O. project. Nothing could ever come between them. Brothers in arms 'til the end
Captain Jacobs, however, was sent out to go unnoticed with a group of scientists in Argentina, and never got to see the birth of Mirage. He wondered if that happened because he was outspoken about the morality issues, but he felt much better now knowing that he was right.
Realizing that he was reaching his destination, he removed the high tech goggles from the case, and tucked them under his left arm, concealing them with the trench coat that he wore. The case found its way silently into the depths of the cold waters of Venice and the mosquito that bit the back of his neck was hardly an adversary as he squashed it into oblivion.
Stepping out of the gondola, he could have said "thank you", but he did not. He knew enough Italian to do so despite the fact that it was not one of his best languages, but the circumstances had him too focused on one objective. He had, after all, paid the driver twice the amount in advance, so that should have been thanks enough.
Walking steadily on his way, he noticed very little around him. Although it was an area of higher learning, he had no desire to learn anything about it. His mind was consumed with thoughts of a brother, and how he could help him in this time of need. There was only one solution.
Finally, he rounded the corner, and looked up at the church that was adorned in such beauty, and he wanted to stop and pray. The one that he was hunting was an abomination to God long before she hurt his friend, and he felt that a prayer could be helpful, but knew that he had not the time to stop. Instead, he continued on, offering up a simple one.
His partner on this mission had not arrived yet, but Captain Jacobs was too angry to wait for him. Besides, he was not about to allow this creature to escape again.
"Please let me kill it, God," were his simple words.
After passing the church, the hospital was just off to the right, and he knew it was time to put on the device. At first, he put it straight on, and scanned the area, knowing that she could be anywhere, but when he saw nothing he hit a switch.
At this moment, the goggles retracted upwards, and a holographic image of a simple beret appeared upon his head. He was quite fluent in French, which made it an easy choice.
"Mon cher'," he addressed the lady behind the front desk with a tip of his hat as he walked on by, completely freezing her with his charming smile. She believed that he did not need her assistance, and he certainly did not.
Reaching the elevator, he pushed the button, and as soon as the doors opened, he pulled down the goggles once more. He knew that he had reached the danger zone, and he was not going to let this thing do to him what it had done to his friend.
"Bring it on, devil," he said plainly on the trip to the right floor, and the journey was a short one.
Upon exiting, he saw the area to his right where the staff was located, but his destination was to his left, and when he saw that none of them were looking his way he proceeded.
She was not far now. Just around the corner, he would enter Ryan’s room, and find her there. They told him that he would, and the intel that the triplets provided was the best in the world.
Slowly he approached the room, but a nurse exited, and his goggles saw it to be true, so he powered them down for a moment.
Throwing her the same charming smile, he said nothing at all. He simply passed her by, and entered the room lowering the goggles once more.
She was always here, or so he had been told, yet he saw nothing other than his friend lying asleep in the bed, and this bothered him greatly. Could she have possibly seen him coming, and escaped?
Just then, a woman entered the room, and stopped. It was Mirage, and his headgear confirmed it. She seemed as surprised as he was, and he jumped on the opportunity.
Pulling his weapon, he fired immediately, but she was quick enough to get back out the door, which determined only one course of action... Pursuit!
Rushing out the door with goggles active, and weapon in hand, he caught only enough of her to see that she had darted into the stairwell, and this brought an interesting dilemma.
He could take the elevator, and might just beat her to the bottom, but she was likely to choose another way out, while if he pursued her down the stairs, her agility would likely put too much distance between them for him to catch her.
The stairs it had to be, except he would have to use extraordinary measures.
"You will die," he muttered as he stepped over the railing, and began to jump down, one floor at a time, between the stairs, and always staying in the center.
It was an incredible feat of agility, and he surprised even himself, but when he caught up with her, there was no point in thinking about it.
"You're out of time, devil," he said with a sneer, only to watch her jump straight down the center of the staircase, and land on her feet, only to smile back up at him before departing.
It was still a good distance to the bottom, and at first, he wondered if he could ever catch such a creature, but then determined that there was only one way to find out.
Without thinking he jumped, tucked, and rolled, but that was not as easy as it seemed. His ankle and shoulder were throbbing, and he wanted to stop, if only for a moment.
Adrenaline drove him now as he forced his body to pursue her out the front door, and although he should be limping, he forced h
is body to go beyond his own limitations. This is what he had always done. It is what he was conditioned to do, and he was very good at it. He would certainly have her.
The only problem with the goggles was the same that you will find with any. Peripheral vision is affected by all of them, and it took him a moment to see her jumping into the water to his left. Surely, she would not swim far without him quickly catching up with her, so he knew that she had to be simply crossing.
Without hesitation, he ran to the nearest bridge. He could have followed in her path, but his dry clothing would make him a little quicker than her wet ones. She had made her mistake, and he was determined to capitalize on it.
He watched her exit the water before he ever got to the bridge between them, and then watched as she dove back in upon rounding the corner. She was determined, but she was making mistakes that would only shorten the distance between them both.
Having reached the other side, he raced down to the corner, only to watch as she emerged across from him. Fortunately, for him, she took off to the right, in a direction that was best suited for his pursuit. Had she taken the other path, he would have had to do the water thing in order to have a chance at keeping up with her.
Before he reached the walkway that took him to the other side, he watched her enter an older building. This was where he would trap her, or so he had hoped. Perhaps it was her last mistake.
Crossing the bridge, he trained his weapon upon the front door of the building, not really expecting her to come out. Mirage was in there, and she must have been hoping to use her talents against him. He, however, was not fooled by what she was.
Using his right hand to open the door, he focused his weapon with his left. Normally his weapon hand was the right, yet the direction that it opened demanded it.
Quickly he scanned to his left, and to his right, but there were only two ways to go. One was up, and the other was forward. If he chose wrong he would lose her, and he knew that he had to decide right now.