Raising Sera- Lineage

by Andre Ellison

  "My apologies, officer... but Chaos doesn't do background checks on new recruits."

  The supervisor looked in the truck. Nodding his head to his patrolman, he inquired about the three bodies sitting in the backseat.

  "They check out, sir... the boy too."

  As the patrol supervisor stared at Ethan's bloody shirt, Ethan covered it up with his overcoat.

  "Why are you bleeding?"

  "It's part of our initiation..." Leo confirmed to the officer. "Everybody's got to pay a price."

  "And the boy..." the supervisor sneered.

  "A package deal with the old man..." leaning into the supervisor, Leo continued in a whisper. "They have their uses."

  "I'm not interested in your freak fetishes. Just keep your crew in line."

  "I always do, Sgt..." pausing as he read the officer's name patch. "...Jones."

  "Get outta my face!" the supervisor moaned. "The day will come, Hunter's gonna pull that trigger."

  "Let's make it a party then."

  Pointing his fingers at the sergeant's head, Leo formed the shape of a pistol. "Boom," he howled.

  The supervisor stepped back. "Let them pass!" he barked at the gate's control man.

  "Maybe another day mi amigo," Leo muttered, rolling up his window.

  As the gate opened, the convoy continued forward. Carlos removed his mask and threw it on the floor.

  "I had enough of these games," he demanded.

  "Patience, old man. We're getting right to the good part."

  "What happened back there?" Ethan demanded.

  "Your encrypted mask... Bernard transferred the identities of the men ahead of us with yours."

  "Won't they know they're not us?"

  "It'll buy us some time. Besides, it came to my attention those men were making side deals with their supply of Kindle. Killed two birds with one stone."

  ***

  The sky grew dark as the night fell upon the city. As the convoy entered a restricted highway, Apex soldiers granted them access into Advent City, The Utopia Above (As the sign read). Brilliant lights illuminated the metropolis, as the emblem for Apex Innovative Manufacturing stood prominently in the middle of the capitol.

  Finally stopping in a parking garage below Apex headquarters, Leo reached into his coat and pulled out a cellphone.

  "What are you doing?" Ethan asked.

  "Hunter..." Leo spoke, "I've got a surprise for you. We've just entered the building. Find us in the basement level parking garage."

  Ethan reached over the seat for the phone but Leo hung up the call.

  "Hey..." Leo uttered as he turned around. "This is where you get off, buddy. I suggest you run... time is not on your side."

  Switch

  Breathing heavy as he leaned up against a wall, Ethan regretted his decision to take the stairs. After running up ninety or so flights, he took a moment to rest again.

  Run, he thought, as the words of Leo echoed throughout his mind. I am running..., he told himself. Suddenly, hearing Claire's voice, he dropped to the floor. You're running from your problems... It's not enough.

  It was only a matter of time before Hunter came looking for him, he thought. You don't need to run... matter of fact, stop running.

  As he pulled himself off the wall, he took a deep breath.

  Four Apex guards busted through the 93rd-floor door. Ethan ran up to the 99th-floor door as the Apex guards chased after him. Running through the corridor of the building, Ethan lowered his head as the guards shot at him with high-powered assault rifles. Looking for cover, Ethan turned a corner. Two guards with electrified batons stood ahead of him, blocking the door to the research lab.

  Ethan's lungs burned as he grabbed a fire extinguisher off a nearby wall. As the two guards approached him, he sprayed them both with carbon dioxide. A cloud of smoke filled the hallway. Through the confusion, Ethan took the mask off his head and threw it at a guard. As the soldiers swung their batons wildly, Ethan grabbed one of them. Tackling a guard to the ground, Ethan took his baton and electrified him in his stomach. Noticing the other security guard reaching for his sidearm, Ethan rolled the injured soldier on top of him just as the guard fired his weapon. Reaching for the dead soldier's gun, Ethan took aim at the standing guard and shot him in the head.

  Four Apex Task soldiers stood behind the corner. Ethan looked down at his feet while a metal canister rolled towards him. He looked up as the research lab door hissed opened.

  Rolling the dead soldier off of him, Ethan jumped to his feet and ran towards the door. As the charge went off from the container, the four Apex soldiers advanced. Bullets sprayed the corridor as a blinding white light emitted behind Ethan. He dropped to the floor. Metallic double doors closed behind him as Ethan crawled into the research lab.

  "Finally... we can get to work," a voice spoke.

  Ethan turned towards the voice. He looked around the room before rising to his feet. Five research workers laid dead on the floor; all with their heads blown off.

  Bernard waited patiently for Ethan by a computer terminal. He wore a bi-pedal exoskeleton suit.

  "I reconfigured the security protocol for the door. It's not a permanent fix but it will buy us some time."

  Hesitantly, Ethan approached Bernard. "What the hell happened here? I didn't sign up for a terrorist takeover."

  "This is no takeover... It's evolution."

  "And what about them?" Ethan asked, pointing to the dead researchers.

  Typing on the computer console, Bernard recalled a holographic image of Leo's neck device.

  "I'm releasing my brother from Hunter's armament. I've been working on a disruptor that will detonate the bomb at a predetermined frequency. As you can see I have one too."

  Slowly, Ethan leaned closer to Bernard and examined his neck.

  "I'm able to direct a sonic blast from the detonation with a blast radius of about twenty feet. Once I detonate my collar, an energy pulse is released... It was how I was able to neutralize those researchers."

  "You mean kill, right!"

  Bernard turned away from the computer and faced Ethan.

  "Bro..." he continued with an awkward pause. "I intend to free myself and my brother from this thing once and for all. Why don't you make yourself useful and do your remedial job... Retrieve. The. Orb."

  Turning back towards the computer, Bernard pressed a button, opening a vault door.

  "There you go..." he continued. "She's right there!"

  Looking over Ethan's shoulder, Bernard noticed the flame of a torch ignite on the security door.

  "Hurry... Now go!" Bernard instructed as he pushed Ethan.

  Running towards the vault, Ethan noticed a chamber located in the center of the room. Inside the chamber stood a girl frozen, holding an orb.

  "How do I open this thing?" Ethan yelled.

  "Type A.N.G.E.L.A... It's the password."

  Ethan entered the vault. He approached the chamber and looked into the glass. A naked child suspended in liquid ice held the orb. Ethan approached the console and typed in the password. As the hatch of the chamber hissed opened, Ethan exhaled a breath of cold air. Water dripped down the ice from the internal heat system within the chamber.

  Breaching through the security door, Apex guards rushed into the research lab. Bernard scrambled as he mashed a button and an energy pulse, verberated throughout the room.

  Stumbling to the ground, Ethan picked himself up. "For fuck sake, keep it together," he uttered.

  He reached for the orb. "Sorry 'bout the lack of decency, love... but I really need this."

  As he grabbed the orb from the girl, Ethan realized that it wouldn’t budge. A cold chill fell upon Ethan's hands as the young girl opened her red glowing eyes.

  Ethan stammered as echoes circulated within the vault. Holding his head, Ethan screamed as feedback rang in his ears.

  "Dimittere eam!" the girl spoke.

  Suddenly, the ringing stopped.

  "Release the Occulus." she continue
d in a soft voice.

  Ethan approached the girl. "Who are you?" he uttered.

  "You should not be here," the girl warned.

  "Trust me, I don't wanna be!" Ethan confessed.

  A white flash emitted in the research room, distracting Bernard. More Apex soldier stormed in.

  "Take Bernard to the holding cells," directed Hunter as he entered the room. "I'll deal with him and his brother later. First things first..."

  Hiding behind the cryogenic chamber, Ethan checked his pistol for ammunition. Sweat dripped off his eyebrow as he counted. Four bullets. Looking at his trembling hands, he noticed his vision was blurred.

  "McCall!" Hunter exclaimed as he entered the vault. "Welcome home, brother!"

  Ethan blinked repeatedly as his eyes got more irritated.

  "Beautiful isn't she?" Hunter pressed a button on the console. The hatch of the cryogenic chamber closed. "I see you've introduced yourself already to my daughter. She is my, Seraphina!"

  Ethan pressed the gun against his chest as he tried to steady his weapon. "I don't know what you're talking about Hunter!"

  "Seems like you and Angela kept a secret from me, brother. I did a little research on my own. DNA test showed the baby's mine."

  How could she have survived, Ethan thought to himself.

  Hunter walked around the cryogenic chamber. Aiming his shotgun at Ethan, Hunter directed him to drop his gun.

  "You look like shit, McCall," Hunter uttered. "Seems all that talk about Awoken ones and orbs holds some truth. After Angela died, I found her pregnancy test in one of her pockets... I thought the baby was dead for sure..."

  Ethan put his hands on top of his head as he rose to his feet.

  "But boy, oh boy, the magic of science and a whole lot of money."

  "Why keep her locked up like this... some father you are."

  "I still don't know what I'm dealing with. So until then, that's where she'll stay."

  "You're crazy."

  "And you're a forgotten memory, McCall."

  Entering the vault, Leo stood at the entryway. "Time's up, Ethan."

  "What are you doing here," Hunter demanded, pointing his gun at Leo.

  "C'mon Hunter, be serious... you're gonna shoot me and risk blowing up that precious little girl?" Leo insisted as he dangled a grenade.

  "You're right!" Hunter exclaimed, reaching for a switch in his coat. "I'll just blow your ass up instead."

  "Hunter, don't!" Ethan yelled as he tackled Hunter.

  Detonating the device around Leo’s neck, a pulse emitted from it that reverberated throughout the room. Glass shattered on the floor from the hatch door, opening up the chamber. An alarm sounded as red lights flashed around overhead.

  "What the hell was that?" Hunter exclaimed.

  "If we survive..." Ethan assured him, "I might tell you!"

  "What?" Hunter replied.

  Ethan and Hunter ran behind the chamber.

  "Leave,” a virtual likeness of Sera uttered, appearing in front of Leo.

  "Not without the orb, darling,"

  Pulling the pin from the grenade in his hand, Leo threw it at the broken hatch.

  A blinding white light illuminated the vault.

  Closing her eyes, the girl in the vault fell to her knees, dropping the orb to the ground. The virtual replica of Sera disappeared. Leo approached the girl and picked up the orb.

  Hunter scrambled to his feet. As Leo ran towards the entrance to the vault, Hunter lunged at him. Reaching for a knife from his waist belt, Leo stabbed him in the stomach. Hunter fell to his knees. Gasping for air, he held onto his wound. Gripping firm to the orb, Leo bashed Hunter in the throat with it, dropping the Apex president to the floor.

  Ethan squinted his eyes as he reached for his gun on the floor.

  "You got the orb now...” he yelled. “What about my mother?"

  Leo raced to the entryway of the vault.

  "McCall, wait!" Hunter cried out, still bleeding on the floor.

  Ethan fired his gun. Three bullets ricocheted the entryway. He lined up his last shot and took aim at Leo. Firing the gun, Ethan hit the control console next to the door, engaging the vault to close shut.

  The young girl held her eyes as she stammered to her feet. As she rose, she lowered her palms from her face and watched as Leo run away with the orb. She gave chase to him but was abruptly stopped as she slammed hard against an invisible barrier. She pounded her fist repeatedly against the invisible force field. She glanced down at her feet and noticed a black bracelet wrapped around her ankle.

  Leo observed the young girl. As he stood outside the vault in the research lab, he took a step back and cleared the way of the motorized door.

  AWAKENING

  One Bad Day

  After traveling three days, Leo reached his destination. Taking out a leather pouch, he sipped some water. As the sun beamed down upon his neck and back, he poured the water over his head. Gazing beyond the rolling hills of Lacedaemon, he spotted a villa located a few miles away. The villa sat prominently on a peak overlooking a sea of barley and wheat in the valley below.

  Leo laid down his sword and shield. He sat next to them and reached in his tunic. He removed a piece of parchment that translated in Greek: Your wife is with pregnancy.

  A bittersweetness fell upon Leo as a breeze swept through his armor. He was a warrior, a Spartan. First of his name of House Megalos, named after King Leonidas of House Agiad, the only son from his bloodline, and the only one, that he knew of, who was Awoken.

  Wanting the opportunity to fight alongside his brothers in the coming battle, Leo had trained in the mountains of Laconia. He learned the Persians were planning on invading Greece from the coastline of Thermopylae and prepared himself in agoge. The battle of Marathons proved to be victorious for the homeland and although the Spartans were able to secure the territory, it only invoked more determination from the Persian empire to steadfast their advance. Rumor had spilled that Persia's next attempt would be to march a million men through the narrow passage, also known as the "Hot Gate".

  Leo, now of age, had returned home from his Spartan training. He was not sure of the outcome of this conflict and wanted to see his first born before heading out to the battlefield.

  "Leonidas... Leonidas!"

  In the distance, a farm girl climbed her way up the hill towards him. Leo stood up as the young girl approached.

  "Leonidas..." the girl gasped. "Thank the heavens you've returned!"

  "What's wrong, child?"

  "Haven't you heard? The city of Thessaly is besieged... demons walk Pangaea. The Gods have bestowed a vile plague... I must return home to my family."

  Leo placed his hands on the young girl's shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

  "Rest assured young one! There’s no such things as demons. As lord of these lands, I encourage you, they're blessed by the Gods you speak of."

  Leo looked up as thunder roared in the distance.

  "Quickly now! We must make haste before the coming storm."

  "No!" the girl rejected. "I must leave!"

  As the sky grew dark, streams of fire rained on the horizon. The young girl trembled as she clutched the arm of the Spartan. Together, they watched as asteroids crash down into the villa from the cosmos. Leo stood resilent as he held on to the girl.

  "Neoma," he whispered.

  "You must do something!" the girl demanded. "Your wife is still in the village. You must be there when she gives birth."

  As the young girl ran off, Leo picked up his armament and continued forward into Lacedaemon, towards the Villa of Megalos.

  ***

  Nightfall arrived as Leo approached his manor. Heavy rain saturated the land while fire roared towards the sky. Water dripped from Leonidas' eyes lashes as smoke and soot burnt his lungs. He looked up at his estate. The people of the village scattered in hordes, trampling one another, sporadically screaming as they ran aimlessly.

  Leo grabbed a man that ran by him.

 
"Where's my wife?"

  The man looked at Leo confused. Leo removed his helmet.

  "Neoma!"

  The man pointed to a shack. It was the midwife's quarters. Leo let go of the man but immediately reached out to him again as a demon swooped down and snatched the man’s torso from his legs. Leonidas fell backward. He glanced at the man’s legs still erect from the hip down. Blood and entrails colored the estate as more demons attacked his people. Leo grabbed his shield. Rising to his feet, he picked up his helmet then turned towards the midwife’s quarters.

  "Alala," he hollered as he lifted up his shield. He put on his helmet then bashed through the wooden door of the shack.

  As he entered the living quarters, he encountered two demons in the kitchen clawing at a nearby door. On the other side of the door, the sound of crying children encouraged the demons more. Leo unsheathed his sword. One demon turned around. With eyes emulating fire, the demon glared at Leo. The creature's teeth chatted involuntarily as it slowly approached the Spartan. Circling around him, the two demons separated, flanking him on opposite sides.

  Leo clashed his sword against his shield. "Come on!"

  As a demon leaped towards him, he rose his sword into the creature’s chest, impaling it. The other demon jumped on his back as it lept from across the room. Repeatedly spinning around, Leo threw a creature on the table and bashed the other one repeatedly with his shield. Still struggling with a sword lodge in its chest, the demon creature spat acid at the Spartan’s face. Leo dropped his shield then threw his helmet on the floor.

  A woman screamed.

  "Neoma!" Leo thundered.

  He removed his sword from the demon then ran towards the table. Turning it over, he charged with it into the wounded demon, pinning it against a nearby wall. The creature scratched its claws against the wooden planks. Piercing his sword through the table, Leo fastened the demon to the wall.

  It shrieked uncontrollably. Removing the blade from its chest, the impaled demon ran towards the backroom. It charged through the wooden slab door, knocking over two small girls who sat huddled up against one another. On the stone floor a midwife knelt before Neoma holding a pan of water. The demon lunged at the midwife, knocking her down. The two young girls ran off.