Another woman seated next to Carl’s wife gasped, then closed her eyes and shook her head, tears already streaming down her face.
“You realize what you’re saying?” replied Peter.
“Yes,” answered Carl, who put his arm around his wife and pulled her close.
Peter hopped down the front of the stage and walked towards Carl and his wife. The crowd between them immediately parted as the audience members scrambled away from any potential contact with Peter. Peter muttered to himself, not enjoying the fear and dismay caused by his proximity.
“You won’t return to your plot?” he asked.
Carl and his wife shook their heads.
“You won’t go work in the mines?”
They again shook their heads.
“You’re not giving me any options,” Peter said so softly that only Carl and his wife could hear him.
Carl’s wife let go of his hand, took a step toward Peter, drew herself up to her full height and announced, “My name is Mary Elizabeth. My family has lived in this valley since my great-grandparents immigrated here in 1914.”
She reached back, grabbed Carl’s hand and pulled him closer to her. “I married this man over twenty years ago. He’s stubborn, shy and has an over-developed sense of justice. He’s made me happier than I’ve had a right to be, until…”
Mary Elizabeth’s previously dull eyes now breathed fire. “Until this Orb. And until our daughter…”
She choked back a sob, wiped a tear from her eye and moved even closer to Peter. “You do whatever you have to do, Mr. Errand Boy, but we’re leaving on our own terms. Thanks to you, there’s nothing left for us here.”
She turned and spun as she gazed at the people sitting around her. “I know that most of you have lost your home. Many of you have also lost friends and family. What exactly are you waiting for? What’s going to change?”
Mary Elizabeth turned back to Peter. “Surviving isn’t living.”
Peter waited three long beats, then nodded and asked, “You would rather be banished?”
Mary Elizabeth looked to Carl, who also nodded.
“I can give you until midnight,” Peter offered.
Carl chuckled, “Thanks, but it’s not like we have any loose ends to tie up. That’s your job now, right, Peter?”
Peter said nothing but moved to the side to allow them space to pass.
Mary Elizabeth extended her left hand to Carl, who took it in his right. They both took a step towards the channel that had opened behind Peter, but Mary Elizabeth pulled down to stop Carl’s progress when they were even with Peter.
“You seem like a nice boy,” she said with some tenderness in her voice. “Why don’t you get out of all of this?”
Peter shook his head, then looked her in the eye. “It’s too late for me.”
Mary Elizabeth brought up her right hand, hesitated, then as the crowd gasped, she patted him on the cheek.
“It’s never too late to make the right choice.”
Peter nodded, then moved farther out of their way. As Mary Elizabeth and Carl walked towards the stage and the exit behind it, they were smothered by the crowd that rose up to gather them in their arms. Several sent looks of hatred to Peter, who took the abuse without comment.
CHAPTER TWO
Matt
Matt stared at the mass of stained metal towers, tanks and the long series of pipes that ran like veins between them. This collection of metal was separated from the sea by a thick, moldy concrete wall. Docks extended out from the wall. Two large tanker ships were tied up on either side of the largest dock. Another series of pipes extended down the dock and appeared positioned to fill the tanker ship with whatever was being produced on land.
Other than a few weeds and the mold growing in the cracks within the concrete, not a living thing stirred either on land or on the water. Not even a seagull.
Matt spoke quietly from his position atop one of the tallest towers in the complex. “You’re sure there’s nothing alive down there?”
“Yes. Even the rats have been called away, though I do not understand your fascination with them.”
“I’m not fascinated by them, Orb, I just don’t want to kill anything.”
A small, red, glowing ball moved from its spot above Matt’s shoulder to hover in front of his face. “I tire of the repeated discussions and confusion regarding what you call death. Jenny sent away the small number of animals doomed to live here. Now do as you’ve been instructed.”
Matt raised his hand in front of him with his palm facing down. His fingers trembled slightly.
“There is no need to use your hand,” Orb added as he slowly moved his position to hover over Matt’s left shoulder.
“I know,” Matt whispered. “It helps me concentrate.”
Matt’s gaze fell on one of the series of large storage tanks located outside the main plant. Several of the larger tanks were large cylinders with rounded tops. Each was painted white with a wide, red horizontal stripe. The tanks, the pipes that fed them and the fence that surrounded them were all decorated with signs that stated some variation of ‘Danger Benzene.’
“And you’re sure that Irene took care of all of the chemicals? This would be a real mess if I dismantled the tanks and spilled thousands of gallons of whatever Benzene is.”
Orb briefly flared with his version of anger, impatience. “Yes. Irene neutralized all harmful chemical agents. Finish your task, Matt. We have a precise schedule to maintain if we are to keep your world capable of supporting life.”
Matt took in a deep breath, closed his eyes and extended his fingers as far as they would stretch away from one another. There was silence for a few, long moments, then a loud series of popping, tearing and ripping noises. With his hand still trembling before him, Matt opened his eyes and saw each of the large storage tanks implode to a round sphere about three times the size of a basketball. Liquids splashed and oozed out as the metal folded in on itself. He looked to his right and watched as the freighters were lifted from the water. They too folded themselves over and over until they too formed spheres—though in their case the sphere was the size of a pickup truck.
He gasped as the power of Orb poured through him—a power akin to lightning coursing through his body. Matt cried out in triumph as he directed this alien power with his mind and laid waste to everything before him. His eyes tracked his hand, and everything in front of his hand was squeezed and crushed into another impossibly small sphere.
Matt shifted his gaze of destruction back and forth, up and down. He licked his lips at the joy of the power and his ability to control it. No one had ever felt this strong—because no one had ever been this strong. He could almost see lightning leaving the tips of his fingers. There was nothing that could stop him. He was the most powerful creature in this or any universe.
Matt turned to see Orb still hovering over his shoulder and, just for a moment, wondered what would happen if he turned his focus on Orb.
“Enough!” Orb cried out in Matt’s mind. The power that had filled him left as quickly as it had come. Matt felt sick from its loss and his hand went to his stomach. He had never realized how truly feeble he was—how puny all humans were in the face of real power.
Matt squeezed his eyes shut to hold back the tears that threatened to pour out. He was nothing. Worthless. He wished he had never felt the power Orb held. How could he ever hope to feel happy, even normal again when he had tasted ultimate power? He fell to his knees, put his hands on either side of his head, and fought to hold back the tears that threatened to leak from the corners of his eyes.
He had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like an eternity. When he eventually raised his hand to wipe the tears and snot from his face, he found it covered in mud. He rocked back on his heels and saw the tall tower he had just used as a platform was crushed into a tiny ball that floated far above him. He watched as it settled into place as the final piece of the large pyramid before him. A pyramid comprised of huge sph
eres at the bottom that grew smaller as the pyramid grew taller.
Do you wish to feel that power once again? Orb asked from inside his mind.
Matt stood cautiously and slowly turned, trying to locate Orb.
“Yes, Orb. Of course,” Matt said aloud, his voice rough, as he stared at the newly constructed pyramid.
“Then we will practice again later today after you have rested. Do not worry about stacking the spheres, that will ultimately be Eli’s job. By tomorrow you will play your part in the reclaiming of this world from its harmful technological remnants without my help.”
Matt stared up again at the pyramid. “Ok. Yes. I mean, thank you!”
Matt shifted his feet and his tennis shoes squelched in the mud below him. “So, Orb, what happens with all of this?” He pointed to the pyramid.
“This material will pass through a portal and receive new forms,” Orb answered. As he spoke in Matt’s mind, a large portal sprang into existence to the left of the pyramid. The entrance to the portal faced Matt, who stared into it in an attempt to see what was on the other side. The portal did not comply. Its surface was like a giant ice cube which twisted and distorted the view of everything behind it.
“And how do we get all of this material into the portal?” asked Matt.
“Eli will follow your work. He will quickly move all of this material into the portal.”
“With his thoughts?”
“Yes. Using the same power provided to you.”
Matt felt a pang of jealousy.
“So, Jenny clears the area of life, Irene removes anything toxic, I crush whatever you want removed into small spheres, and Eli moves those spheres into a portal?”
“Yes, all of you will also have the ability of teleportation, though repeated use will quickly exhaust you.”
“And what does Peter do? Where has he been for the last three weeks?”
“Peter is my emissary. He speaks for me all over the world and explains to populations what is needed. He resolves disputes and ends debates.”
Matt’s jealousy subsided. “So, Peter doesn’t use your power?”
“On the contrary. Peter is forced to travel farther and more frequently than any of you, so his primary use of power is teleportation but, as my first, he is gifted with all of the powers that each of you possesses.”
Matt frowned. “So, Peter, the youngest, has the most power?”
“Peter has the most responsibility and has proven himself more than capable, regardless of his age. Understand, Child, that he has the same powers that belong to each of you as insurance in case something were to happen to one of you.”
Matt saw that Orb, at a size that made the pyramid puny, cracked and sizzled above him. Matt spoke slowly, carefully.
“I thought you put a protective shield around us so that we couldn’t be hurt,” said Matt.
Orb glowed a deeper red for a moment, then he answered, “You cannot be hurt by other humans, this is true, but if you attempt to use my own power against me I will utterly extinguish all bonds and latent memories within the particles which comprise you in this form. You will cease forever.”
A lightning bolt struck the ground in front of Matt.
“My word is my bond,” added Orb.
CHAPTER THREE
Irene
Irene stood along the ridgeline of a tree-covered hill. A gentle breeze blew across her face, but she recoiled at its touch—much as her entire body recoiled from the sickness that permeated the soil, the trees and even the air.
She looked down at what should have been a small, picturesque lake but was instead an angry boil colored in reds and yellows that had no place in a lake—or any body of water. She clutched her stomach, already queasy.
“Be still, Irene. I have shielded you from the majority of the harmful radiation.”
Irene spun and saw a basketball-sized version of Orb hovering at the level of her head.
“What do you mean, the majority? Why aren’t you shielding me from all of it?”
“You must feel the sickness you intend to remove, or else you will have no way to connect with it and destroy it. Much like I had you touch your finger to the intake valves of the chemical tanks and your hand into the mercury-laced waters of the lake in New York, you must feel the radiation oozing from this lake in order to decay it and render it inert.”
Vomit rose dangerously high in her throat. Irene put her hand to her mouth but was able to keep from throwing up. This time.
“I can feel the sickness, believe me.”
“I believe you, child. Now turn, and focus. You must take the nuclear material that was dumped into Lake Karachay and use the power I channel through you to create what you would call an artificial nuclear transmutation process.”
Irene, now looking more pained than sick, turned to stare at Orb. “I would not call it that, because I don’t know what that is. A few weeks ago I was getting a D in high school chemistry.”
Irene felt a sensation of what might be called amusement coming from Orb. “Fear not. You are the vessel, but I will prepare the mixture. Once you have successfully performed this work you will instinctively know how to do it again.”
Irene turned back to the putrid lake. “Ok, I guess, though I don’t know why you’re taking the trouble to show me how to do something you can do yourself.”
“Even I have limits, Child. I cannot be everywhere at once nor can I do everything at one time. Through you and the other disciples, the work I help start will be brought to completion. The world will be made better, simpler, cleaner, and humanity can focus its energies on the things that are truly important. My word is my bond.”
“Like, for example, worshipping you?” The question slipped out of Irene’s mouth before she could think through how it would sound. She clapped her hand over her mouth, held her breath and cringed while she waited for a response from Orb.
He did indeed respond. Her head filled with laughter, which was not at all what she expected. “Of course!” he exclaimed in her head. “Worshipping me is always the right answer. Have I not removed the tyranny of choice? Are you and I not cleansing rivers and lakes? Haven’t we freed people from their compulsion to stare at a phone or computer all day so that they could instead be free to till the soil? To be productive? To be useful?”
Irene opened her mouth, but then shut it again for fear of causing more problems.
“Do not fret, Child. I know you spoke hastily but, as your statement is correct, there is nothing to forgive.”
Irene nodded and gave a smile she almost felt, though hers was a smile of relief, not happiness.
“Now, concentrate on that sickness in your gut. Reach out and feel how that poison exists in the trees around us, the animals that have taken refuge here to escape the hunters patrolling elsewhere, and the glowing pit of radioactive material that sits just a few feet below the surface of the tormented lake.”
Irene did as she was told and immediately fell to her knees. The sickness was beyond anything she had ever felt. This area was an infected, pus-filled sore that swallowed everything in its path, and, like a living thing, a cancer, it wanted to grow. It trickled into groundwater. It placed itself inside the nuts produced by the trees, which helped it spread its range to squirrels, deer and birds. It gave its infected mist to the breeze so it could be ferried out of this small area and bring still more life under its thumb. How could she fight it? There was no—
The rant within Irene stopped, and then fled. She rose back to her feet and felt the power of Orb coursing through her body. The sickness in her belly vanished, as did the aches in her head and joints. She smiled as the power now within her raced down the hill and covered the lake, diving down to the bottom, where the sickness lay in a layer several meters thick. Orb’s strength pierced the hide of radioactive material, dove through it until it finally reached an area beneath the realm of sickness, then spread to form a basket under the lake and the nearby hills. The sides of the basket grew taller and talle
r, then began to curve.
Irene was mumbling unintelligible things to herself when the top of the basket sealed. She heard Orb say, “Now we cook the sickness back to health.” The power running through her doubled, then tripled. She screamed with joy as her veins coursed with fire that slowly quenched the sickness. She raised her arms above her and clenched her fists as her scream grew in volume and intensity.
After what felt like at least two eternities, the power withdrew from her. Her arms fell back to her sides and she tumbled back to her knees.
“No,” she mumbled as she scratched at the dirt in front of her. “No.”
She grabbed at her stomach again but this time it had nothing to do with sickness. It had everything to do with sadness. “I will never feel that good again in my life,” she mumbled.
Orb’s laughter filled her head and scared her back to her feet. “No, Child, you will feel that power every day, though perhaps not to that degree as that lake was the most polluted spot on the planet.”
Irene looked down at the surface of the lake, which was already turning blue. As the angry red and yellow splotches on the lake disappeared, she felt the last vestiges of the power that had just run through her fade completely away. She had, of course, heard about people getting addicted to drugs who were willing to do anything to get their next fix. It had never made a lot of sense to her. It did now.
“I will feel that way every day?”
“Yes. Each time you and the other disciples work to clean the earth, removing the often-dangerous traces of humanity which still lurk. You will feel my power every day as long as you serve me.”
Irene turned and stared at Orb. “I will serve you until I die.”
“Your word is our bond.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Eli
Eli, his usual scowl on his face, stood in a large, open area next to a rocky shore of what appeared to be a lake. The sign at the edge of the water, however, declared it to be “False Creek.”
The Disciples of the Orb Page 2