by Casey Herzog
“It’s him! Russell is in that—”
The ship was hit hard and Captain Fillmore roared in fury as he lost control of the aircraft, its engines failing as it began to tumble through the sky. Callum lifted his face from the jet’s dashboard, his mouth bloody from the impact.
“We’re going down, Callum! I’m ejecting us, hold on!”
Callum had only a moment to think of their failure before he was torn from his seat violently and thrown up into the air.
As they both fell on their seats, the mini rocket engines beneath them provided short thrusts that kept them upright in the air and safe from a catastrophic fall. Callum took in the view of the battle around him as he slowly returned to the ground — The Coalition had clearly won the battle, even if they hadn’t been fighting it at all to begin with. They had disabled Fillmore’s trucks without destroying them, the patrol troopers carefully getting out of their now useless vehicles with their hands up, gray-uniformed Coalition soldiers swiftly landing from their aircraft and subduing the armored men and women without firing a single bullet.
Two of the jets stopped in the air in front of both he and Fillmore and large guns were pointed straight at them. A voice erupted from the speakers of one of the aircraft.
“You are under arrest for the possession and operation of foreign technology and for opening fire on a Coalition aircraft,” a deep voice said with authority, before anger crept into his tone, “Though if it were up to me, I’d kill you right here, right now…Alien-sympathizing sons of bitches.”
Callum and Fillmore finally landed on the ground, and the officer’s mismatched eyes stared into Callum’s own as he got on his knees and put his hands behind his head. Coalition troops crossed the ground quickly, their weapons rising to point at both men, and their voices shouting orders and warnings lost in the chaos and the noise.
“We’ll get out of this, soldier,” Fillmore breathed. Callum simply stared back and remembered how the man had just been about to execute him a couple of days ago. We’ve come a long way, he thought ironically.
With a last look at the truck, Callum saw three men being pulled down to the ground by the men in gray uniforms. One of the prisoners fought back, dragging two men to the floor and punching a third so hard he knocked him off his feet. More soldiers came, this time with heavy batons, and the unruly figure was beaten to the ground without mercy.
“We’re taking you all away,” a soldier said from behind Callum, and he felt a rifle being pressed to his temple. “You’re going to regret this.”
A final thought passed through his mind as his wrists were cuffed together and he was dragged away to a large Coalition bus-like vehicle that had just arrived to take them to wherever they were going to be imprisoned.
The Whisperer, Captain Fillmore, Lord Russell and I all being dragged away together to an unknown prison. I wish you were around to see this, Dante, wherever you are…
He laughed bitterly and turned to make a sarcastic comment to his captors, but a strange hood was pulled down over his head before he even realized it, and the world disappeared from around him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
~Hidden Strengths~
Dante’s eyes widened.
“What?”
Brant Albridge’s face still had its eerie smile as he leaned forward, his voice a whisper.
“You heard me…I entered your mind.”
Dante bolted upright and threw himself back over his chair, making an escape towards the door. From the very beginning he’d known it was a trap—
Strong arms wrapped around his waist and lifted him off the ground.
“Get off me!” he roared, but the grip only got stronger. “Get off me now!”
“I was in your mind, boy,” the spiritual leader continued, “And I learned quite a few things…”
The healer growled and struggled, tugging from side to side in an attempt to get free. Anger filled him, coupled with the crushing feeling of powerlessness. He had come all this way, risking his and Callum’s life after the disastrous mission at Ayia, all to end up in the hands of a group of evil people. Dante had never been this angry.
He clenched his hands and he felt the blood rushing to his head as he screamed in fury. The man gripping him loosened his grip for a split second. It was enough.
Dante wrenched an arm free and elbowed him full in the face, the tall, strong stranger grunting as he was knocked back several steps and dropped the boy to the cold floor. The healer looked up at the group of shocked men and women and saw Brant’s eyes. They shone with malice — he was the only one not looking terrified for some reason.
“You messed with the wrong person,” Dante hissed, “I’m going to kill you all!”
For only the third time in his life, the power rose up from the deepest part of his being, up into his head and along his limbs to the tips of his fingers. With a roar of animalistic fury, he slammed both palms into the floor in front of him and released all of the power locked within him in a single screaming burst.
The room erupted, the dim lights popping and the floor cracking apart. The metal bench was thrown aside, the people sitting on each side of Brant letting out screams and cries as he attacked. The man who had been holding him was launched off his feet, his skull cracking as he was slammed into the wall behind him. Dante got to his feet and heard a distant alarm, the room’s lighting suddenly returning and the dust floating back down to the floor. He could see the exposed circuitry and mechanisms beneath. Where his palms had touched the floor, two scorched handprints remained.
Dante looked up in time to see a figure rise from the bench and a flurry of frightened whispers begin to emit from the mouths of those still sitting. The air around them was hazy and discolored as Brant strode forward triumphantly and waved a finger. Immediately, the air returned to normal and Dante realized that they’d been shielded. They were untouched by the attack.
“Boy,” Brant said with a grin, “You have passed the test.”
Dante edged back against the metal door behind him. For all the damage he’d done, the door still stood closed. He had no escape if the group of strangers decided to avenge their fallen friend.
“What test?” he asked aggressively, just wanting to get out of the room and never come back.
“It is common knowledge that you possess the abilities to heal and to repair, an ability that could well be the solution to so many problems posed by this troublesome new world; but I knew that there was more to you…Much more.” He turned to his dying companion. The man was convulsing, the wound in his skull leaking precious blood onto the smooth, pristine floor. “You can still save him, by the way.”
Dante took a few moments to make his decision. I don’t know who they are and that man assaulted me; nevertheless, I wouldn’t want to have killed him over a test that was cruelly performed to get me to show my abilities.
He cursed under his breath and ran over to the wounded man, lifting his head softly and concentrating on both closing the wound and fixing his skull. The man’s body trembled, but soon his seizures stopped and his eyes focused once more.
“I…I…” he managed, but Dante patted him on the shoulder and let him down lightly once more.
“You shouldn’t talk. Head wounds are dangerous, even if I healed you. Someone needs to take him to a medical specialist.”
Brant began to clap slowly, his intense gaze taking Dante in as if he was a god to be worshiped.
“I bear you no ill will, child, believe it or not. I just wanted to be sure you are what I believed you were. In fact, you are so, so much more. You will not be forced to go through an examination like this one again, I promise. From now on, you will only have to use your gifts when you decide to. I will have you taken care of to ensure your comfortable stay here at the University.” The door opened behind Dante and he jumped. “We shall talk at another time; you must be exhausted.”
Dante didn’t move. This had been too much for him, and he wasn’t about to leave without askin
g something.
“Answer me this before I leave, one question for my troubles — what is the University?”
The group of men and women rose from the bench and stared at Brant as he put a hand to his chin and looked thoughtfully at the doorway behind Dante.
“The University…” he said quietly, before giving a swift nod. “What have you heard?”
Dante swallowed and began to think of what Callum had told him.
“It’s a place where gifted people are taken care of; a center of study and investigation for…technology and science?” He ended the reply with very little certainty, and suddenly, he realized he didn’t know a single thing about the University at all.
Brant smiled and looked around at his people. Only then did Dante properly see their faces. They were normal men and women, their mysterious aura gone now that he had seen them so fearful of the release of his powers. They’re probably teachers, he guessed.
“Something like that. I have to give you credit for having any idea at all; who told you?” He shook his head and waved his hands. “Nah, it doesn’t matter now. The University is what you’ve said and so much more. It is a place where we create and bring life; a place where individuals discover what they are capable of; a place of learning and a place of forgetting. I need you to do all this and more, but first you must find your quarters and rest. You have been through too much. A day off will be enough, though it will not be an idle day of lazing around. We shall talk further ahead, boy. I am happy you are here.” Finally, he bowed his head respectfully. “Now, I hope to find someone to repair my examination room.”
Understanding the subtle hint, Dante stepped forward. His hands pressed down on the chasm that had formed on the floor and he felt the energy being released from his palms. It was not the destructive power from before, but instead a more natural force he carried with him at all times. The wiring was the first to repair itself, the plastic and metal cables and circuits reassembling themselves as well. The surface of the floor began to unite a moment later; the damage done to it soon becoming a memory. There were sighs of approval and Brant nodded.
Dante looked one last time at the man’s face and decided despite the fact he couldn’t trust Albridge at all, he had at least earned a modicum of respect.
Turning on his heels, Dante walked out of the room and left all the people behind.
If he had been the center of attention before, now he was an absolute celebrity. The explosion had been felt all over the building, and there wasn’t one student who hadn’t come out to find out what had taken place in the examination room.
“There he is!” a blonde girl cried, as he stepped out into the hallway. Immediately, Dante was mobbed by scores of young men and women. There were children, teenagers and adults, though the older pupils kept their distance and simply watched. It occurred to Dante that maybe all of them had abilities of some sort, but he had no time to reflect on that thought. Amazed faces surrounded him; the healer had never seen so many people in one place.
“Hey, what happened in there?” a tall, bearded young man asked.
A girl pointed excitedly. “You’re the healer, aren’t you?”
“Come on, we’ve got a space for you in our club!”
“He’s coming…” another older boy said, grabbing him outright and pulling him forcefully away from the crowd, “…With me.” Dante didn’t even struggle, too nervous even to speak in front of so many strangers. Though he often forgot it, he was only a ten-year-old boy who had been thrust into this stressful situation without any preparation at all. There were groans coming from several mouths, the students clearly backing off from the new arrival.
“Who are you?” Dante asked without lifting his face, as the boy’s hand clamped firmly down on his forearm and pulled him out of the crowd.
“Me?” the teen answered amusingly, as if he was surprised even to be asked the question at all. “My name is Andrew, but everybody around here calls me King.”
With that said, he escorted Dante away from the chaos and noise of the main corridor and up the twin stairs to the upper floor. Once they were away from the larger crowds, he let the healer go.
“Thanks for that, I guess…” Dante still didn’t trust anyone, but he couldn’t waste the opportunity to befriend an important figure of his new home. Pretend it’s the community back home, and go with the flow, he told himself. “I was told to find my room. Do you know where that might be?”
“Ah, Albridge and his mind games. He never tells anyone where their rooms are so that you may search for them yourself. It’s a measure of character, a way of seeing how resourceful you are. Most newbies go around asking like the dumb fresh meat they are; those ones are quickly and wrongly sent out to the worst places in the whole campus. Others try to act smart and make their way to the best, already-occupied parts of the University — they’re quickly dealt with.”
“What would you recommend me?” Dante looked around. They were only on the landing of the mezzanine floor, but it was clear that it was reserved for a certain kind of student; nobody had gone up the stairs in the few minutes they’d been standing there but King himself.
“You’re under my protection now, boy. Wait, boy? That doesn’t sound right. You got a name?”
“Dante. My name is Dante.”
“Nice to meet you, Dante.” Andrew stuck a hand out and Dante shook it. The older boy’s grip was firm, but he seemed friendly and well-mannered to the healer. “So, what type of roommate would you like? Friendly? Quiet? Maybe a cute girl,” he winked. “Nah, just kidding. We only get same-sex rooms. Tell me then?” he said impatiently, and Dante scratched his head nervously.
“I…” He frankly had not even thought of sharing a room. “Can’t I take one for myself?”
“You’re a boring one. You’re going to miss all the late night action. Look, I’ll assign you someone interesting, and that’s that. Let’s go.”
Before Dante could realize it, he was chasing the other boy to another section of this upper floor.
Despite everything that had happened, he was starting to feel like a normal child again and he loved it.
It’s the best feeling in the world, he thought. And I wish you were here to see me now, Callum.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
~Valuable Lessons~
The upper floor was very different from what Dante had seen of the lower one — here, corridors twisted and entwined, smaller alley-like passages branching off to hidden areas. It was similar to being inside a city, and the number of students they passed helped contribute to that illusion.
“There are so many people here; I can’t believe it!” Dante exclaimed, and Andrew raised an eyebrow.
“Tell me about it. Gets annoying when you want to do something quiet, like teach somebody a lesson.” His dark eyes shone with an eerie black light at that moment, and Dante flinched slightly. A shadow of surprise passed over the other boy’s face, but he recovered quickly from whatever shock he’d just felt. “Ha, don’t pretend to be scared. I heard that explosion in the examination room — you almost brought the whole building down. What gifts do you have?”
Dante’s lip curled. He was already giving away too much information about himself.
“I’m a healer.” He looked at the other boy’s expression of displeasure and sighed. Be honest about it, the truth will be out soon anyway. So much for staying under everybody’s radar, eh? “Fine, that’s not all. I can heal things, but I can also destroy them. The former’s a gift, yeah, but the latter’s a curse.”
“Wait till you see what the rest of us can do, maybe you’ll begin to wonder how much of a ‘curse’ your power really is.” Andrew continued walking forward, ignoring a boy who raised his hand to greet him.
Dante watched the lad’s strides. He was so confident, so full of himself. It bordered on arrogance.
“How did you get the title? King, I mean.”
Andrew allowed himself a small smile and pointed to a side-corridor. They were gett
ing close by the looks of things.
“There are several ways to answer that question, but I’ll examine you myself: in this new world, who would you follow? The smartest or the strongest?”
The healer allowed himself a moment to prepare an answer in his mind. He didn’t want to offend Andrew, but it was clear he wasn’t the smartest. The question was probably a chance for the boy to show off his powers.
“Honestly, there are other things more important than brains or brawn, in my opinion,” Dante said. “I’ve followed the person with the best leadership most of the time. The guy or girl that can keep his people alive and well.”