by Jas T. Ward
Emma had grabbed her robe and found his jeans on the floor, which she tossed to him. Catching them while still keeping his eyes on Bella, he stepped into them before moving towards her.
“I know you’re freaking out right now. But Bella, it’s me. Mostly. Let me explain, okay?” Reno had been slowly making his way to his firearm on the dresser, with one hand reaching out to grab it.
“Okay then explain. Because this seems to be the night for dead people to come back.”
Reno looked down the barrel of the Relay’s own gun as it was pointed right between his eyes. He frowned at her words as his hand dropped away from his gun. “What do you mean, dead people coming back?”
Emma came over to stand next to him, reaching out to take Bella’s gun without the girl protesting. “Bella? What are you talking about?”
Bella looked from Emma to Reno and shrugged. “They found a woman. She had been slaughtered and they think raped. They had her all bagged up to take to the morgue. Except in route she came back alive. Or so it seemed, as she screamed and thrashed around. But,” her face paled and she whispered, “she doesn’t have a body temp. And she doesn’t have a heartbeat.”
Reno felt his breath catch as Emma took his hand to look up at him. How? Was it even possible?
He swallowed and brought up his other hand to grab Bella’s arm. “I need to see her. Now.”
Bella shook her head. “You can’t. Bounce has her locked up in the heart of the Grid. She has so much dark energy he’s ordered her destroyed by morning. And they think you’re dead. Well, dead dead.”
Reno let her go and rushed over to pick up his t-shirt and pull it on. “Well, its time they see I’m still dead but I’m back. I need to see that woman. And you’re going to take me there.”
What is the Grid?
When I was a child in Southeast Texas, my hometown was surrounded by oil refineries—the very heart of the gasoline production industry in my state. Growing up, I saw the huge black clouds of smoke and pollution they spewed into the air and was always told that though it was ugly it was needed to fuel us all. So, my mind, of course in the way it always does, tried to find beauty in all that ugliness.
I found it at night.
When driving past these miles of refineries, one after another, I would squint my eyes and blur the machinery gone until nothing remained but the sparkling lights on the towers and other equipment that spread out for miles. It became beautiful and fantastic. I thought that must be what we humans look like to the Heavens small pin-points of beautiful light in clouds of dark and the ugly of our own making.
That imagery always stayed with me even long after moving away from the area, so when it came time to build a new world for Reno and company, that imagery surfaced in a whole new way.
In the world of the Breakers and those on the Grid, humans are those bright lights in the sea of existence. Children and those in love are the brightest of lights whereas the sick and elderly are the weaker lights. All merging and glowing, fading and blinking to feed the Source of all creation that keeps mankind alive.
But as with any energy, there must be a balance of positive and negative energy for a flow to be possible. A light. And a dark. There is a prophecy that says that someday man will evolve with the help of the Great Light to be able to merge their energies (known as sparks—which hold the soul to a body), and achieve higher understanding and rid its existence of disease, aging, and even death itself.
However, just like those huge smoke billowing towers, mankind has a never ending greed to be more powerful and make more of what it wants despite the damage done so that darkness sometimes blurs out the lights and the balance becomes endangered.
Some don’t believe the prophecy of the Great Light and others believe it only to see it destroyed. And no one knows what the Great Light is, but it must be allowed to come to pass if man is going to become what it is destined to be. Self-sufficient with the stronger helping the weakest; none lost to the dark. Like small points of light in a thick smoke of it.
That is where the Grid comes in.
In the book, the balance of mankind was tipped by one man’s greed to see it end for his obsession for revenge. So he released the darkest powers held captive for centuries into the flow of creation to try to destroy the children of man, who are favored by both the powers of the Light (Heaven) and the powers of the Dark (Hell).
As these high powers saw that the balance was greatly impacted by the Dark, they enlisted some of the greatest minds of man- Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham and so many more (some of them even gods living among us) to come up with a system to monitor the Source of creative energy and protect its balance.
It was Tesla who engineered the Grid. A connected collective of supernatural beings, humans and other entities (Gods and Goddesses) all with the sole purpose of protecting mankind, and the balance of creation’s flow, until mankind reaches its next stage of evolution.
Using both the spark of those on the Grid and technology, all those on the Grid are a united organization to protect mankind so that evolution can occur. The Grid uses the highest technology available and some that has not even been dreamed of by our world. Those on the Grid do their purpose all behind the scenes without mankind even knowing a war rages to save it.
The being that released the dark powers wants to snuff out the light of mankind for revenge. So he created demons from Hell to help carry out his bidding. But those demons cannot exist on the Earth realm long, so they use human sparks to feed and strengthen their weaker ones to appear as human and live among us. And destroy the Grid. And it was working.
So a powerful god with no ties to Heaven, Hell or Earth is asked to make an army to battle the darkness and demons. In exchange, his soldiers get a second chance for redemption.
If they don’t?
It’s back to the fires of Hell.
That god is simply called Bounce. No one knows his real name or his origin, for his past was buried by one of the Fates so that none could learn it. Only time and destiny will cause it to resurface. No one knows why Bounce was willing to be leader of the Grid except the god and the dark lord of Hell, Lucifer. And no one dares to ask.
There are many types of beings on The Grid. Here are just a few:
Breakers: Supernatural heroes with a dark past. When they are bought from Hell by Bounce for the price of a coin, they become part of the Grid to help fight the darkness and destroy the demons from Hell which are called Eaters. If they do their job well when the war ends, or when they find love, they get a second chance of life if found worthy, as well as a chance to join the Source and be eternal upon death.
- Relays: Human and other counterparts of the Grid. There are several kinds just as with any army.
Tech Relays: The computer and technical side of the Grid. They Monitor and maintain the vast Grid located in Fort Pearce under the Golden Gate Bridge. Techs have limited fighting skills but incredible analytical abilities.
Recon Relays: The human counterparts who are trained to have both fighting and tactical skills as well as trained as snipers. They work with the Wires, which are the top of the Breaker food chain in reinforcing the laws and balance from inside the Grid. They are the ones who hunt down those wishing to destroy or harm the Grid on the inside.
Healer Relays: Humans and deities who serve to heal those on the Grid. Gifted with the talent of touch-electrotherapy, they are able to tap into their own spark to heal another. Tap too much? Their spark goes dark and they die.
Bridge Relays: The designers of the Grid. The engineers who not only worked closely with Tesla in its design but are constantly designing new technology to ensure it stays ahead of the war to assist those on the Grid.
Municipal (Muni) Relays: These are humans who work for the various branches of government and agencies in the city. They are aware of the Grid and use their positions to keep it hidden. Examples: Deputy Mayor, Police Officers and Firemen.
Shadow-Keepers: Well...you’ll just ha
ve to read the book to find out about the new beings on the Grid.
So, I welcome you to the world of The Grid. Where Breakers and Relays fight for the light and make sure to keep the dark under control for balance. Where love can make a heart beat in a dead man’s chest and the Omega of all loves horror movies (but cannot understand why the Sound of Music exists).
It’s a rich, fun and challenging world with twists, tears, joy and pain. I welcome your spark to join the Grid and at the end, ask yourself...
What power drives your soul?
Enjoy
About the Author
Jas T. Ward has always used writing as a necessary escape. With a past that is marred with a difficult childhood and domestic violence as well as being homeless as an adult, Ward lost her creative voice when she lost her soul mate to suicide.
Finding that creative voice once again in writing in social media via blogs and creative writing groups, it was the fans that encouraged her to put her literary weavings to paper for them to enjoy.
Ward lives in Texas with her dog and cat- Author Dog Pumkin and Writer Kitty Orleans and is the proud parent of three independent children.
When asked why she writes, Ward answers simply:
Reading saved me. It was my salvation and my haven. I now strive to pay that gift back by writing books that can give the same to others. And to keep myself sane.
Ward can be contacted via:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorJasTWard
Blogspot: http://authorjastward.blogspot.com/
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