by Darren Lewis
“I don't know, Plume.” Rox said while slowly shaking her head. Rox looked at her mother, took a deep breath and studied the rabbits dotted around the ground they were sat upon. The soldiers Ellie had brought were formed into a protective circle with Ellie and the rabbits on the inside.
Many of the rabbits were glancing nervously her way and not for the first time she wished some other rabbit could make the decisions. But with all they had been through in such a short space of time they needed stability, reassuring and most of all their leader.
“We start again.” Rox said softly. “Move across the land and start again. Find a new place to talk to the world.” She finished, referring to the temple near their destroyed home. Her eyes drifted to her partner who looked at her with a mixture of exasperation and pride.
“Just like that?” He said flapping his paws in the air. “Just bounce off around the countryside until we get to a nice spot?”
Rox just nodded.
“Fair enough.” Plume shrugged and he leaned over and nuzzled Rox's cheek. “What about this lot?”
“I'm just waiting for…” Ellie said as she crouched down but a strange buzzing noise started out beyond the protective ring of the army. Ellie frowned, the noise sounded familiar. She rose and made her way quickly to the soldiers standing guard around them, noticing in brief satisfaction the disarmed employees of the Institute locked safely away in their guard box near the gate. Ellie closed her eyes and imagined a path through the soldiers and they instantly reacted and formed a short corridor for her to pass. Control of the soldiers was as easy as that. Whatever she wanted them to do she imagined it. After Subject 1138 had merged her own power with Ellie she'd felt decidedly odd, as if an electric current was constantly running through her body without being released. The effect had dulled somewhat but Ellie still had to resist the temptation to scratch everywhere.
The buzzing grew louder and it seemed to be localised in a field just beyond the perimeter fence. Ellie screwed her eyes up but saw nothing. She then tutted and imagined she could see what was there. A black pinprick now hovered above the field under Ellie's magically augmented gaze. It then crackled and an arc of electricity struck out from the black dot and grounded itself into the long grass, the energy discharging and fanning out before disappearing. Ellie blinked and restored her vision to normal. The black spot had appeared in the real world and was rapidly expanded sending streamers of blue lightning in all directions. Ellie gasped and took a step back as something emerged with a soul rendering shriek at high speed.
Ellie!
Ellie dropped to the ground in agony, clutching her hands to her head.
Ellie!
The cry again and Ellie screamed for silence. A high pitched whine of absence replaced the tortuous cries and Ellie looked up, her battered senses causing her to move gently. With blurred vision Ellie saw a large red object in the sky.
Cole? She whispered. Cole bellowed his response into the air this time and Ellie relaxed.
We're here now, Cole! Calm down! Ellie heard the orb say into their minds.
But Ellie is…
We don't know that! The orb interrupted the red dragon.
Ellie came to her feet as Rox, guiding her mother and Plume rushed over. Surprisingly, Storm seemed completely unfazed by the dragon's presence. Cole landed with an untidy thump in front of Ellie and any joy she may have felt about his successful release was crushed when she saw the look of devastation upon the dragon's face.
What's happened? Ellie asked quietly. Where's…where's Eleanor? A figure slid uncomfortably off Cole's back and landed just as untidily as the dragon on her knees. And who's that? Ellie finished.
She's gone! Cole cried out, his legs weakened and his large body crashed to the ground. My Ellie is gone!
Rox sobbed and Plume placed a paw on her back, his eyes round with disbelief. Ellie walked over to Cole, her eyes full and mind numb. She shook her head slowly. The words Cole had said contained no meaning. Ellie had heard them but they weren't real. She stroked Cole's head and leaned her cheek on his ear.
We're not sure yet. The orb said gently. We can't contact her. I refuse to believe until I know for certain. It would take more than a nuclear detonation to take that woman out!
Ellie sniffed and actually smiled. Despite the orb's apparent aloofness it appeared to have a large streak of affection running through its being. Ellie lifted Cole's large head and looked into his eyes.
“Let's be sure okay?” She asked the red dragon softly. Cole swallowed noisily and nodded as Ellie brushed the tears from his cheeks.
“Hi.” A voice announced itself timidly. “I'm Cassandra. I'm supposed to give this to Ellie.” And with a shaky hand offered the orb.
The Holding Facility
The streets of the city were as close to pandemonium since the blitz seventy years previously. Sloan's activation code had successfully transmitted text messages, photos and videos of the fake horrors currently taking place. The panic was so powerful and so shared in such a short space of time people who could see no such attacks were taking place where they lived or worked became part of the chaos themselves such was the power of the media images.
Noise at street level was painful. The volume and press of traffic that caused horns sounded in anger or sheer desperation merged into one continuous assault on the ears. Despite the din from cars, motorcycles and buses, the shouts, cries and screams of people rushing blindly away from concocted danger could still be heard. The mass of humanity seemed to meld to form one entity as it ran, slid and encroached into every street and alleyway in an attempt to find salvation.
Helicopters took to the skies as police sought order and news stations sought drama. Regardless of what could be seen live by cameras the power of the false media held sway. As helicopter pilots and journalists reported no incidents apart from the swarm of people erupting into the city a green light rocketed into the sky from a tall building near the city centre. It pulsed and twirled as it reached a high altitude before splitting apart and creating green transparent funnels over several buildings in the city. A police helicopter ordered to investigate barely touched the green haze before disappearing from the sky. It was quickly realised by those in authority that the diversionary tactics and main threat were from these buildings and a response was mobilised.
*
The basement blazed white and Eleanor tensed tighter in a ball on the cement floor, ready for a short blast of pain followed by…what? When Thomas had died Eleanor and Isabelle apparently travelled to where his mind went, but she had dismissed it as a flight of fancy, of hope over logic. Now her hopes returned as she faced the same end as her old friend. The white light still shone painfully and she realised she wasn't afraid of what would come next, if anything, what she was leaving behind.
Her dragon, separated in body but not in spirit for so many years. Rox and her family. Would they be able to rescue them all and then free themselves from the Institute? Malachite. Poor, sweet Malachite. Another bright light lost from the world on this day. And her younger self and family. Despite her fears, she smiled with genuine happiness and it resolved her fear into a hard knot of confidence. They would prevail without her. She knew it.
The light dimmed slightly and was followed by a loud and bone throbbing hum. Eleanor frowned in puzzlement and felt a tap on her shoulder. She opened one eye and tilted her head to look up. Anthony was standing there with a rather bemused look on his face and he pointed at the computer screen. Eleanor smiled self-consciously, and after standing, brushed herself down. The white light she noticed were the normal fluorescent lights but being placed under intense electrical output. The loud hum was coming from machinery scattered around the basement and behind the walls and then Eleanor realised the cement floor itself. Anthony tapped on the screen impatiently and she turned to look.
…Final sequence initiated…
…Defences activated…
…Baiulus online…
The last entry made
her shiver.
Cole! Cole! We're alright. Isabelle was lying!
The blackness in her mind reminded Eleanor of when Cole had been seriously injured hundreds of years ago.
Cole! Her breathing became ragged as the memory fought for domain. The sight of Cole lying injured, a huge black welt on his chest and ribs. Isabelle had hurt him. Isabelle. Eleanor placed a hand on the wall for support and she was faintly aware of Anthony's strong hand on her elbow as the memory threatened to crush her.
The stench in the air. The black smoke. The bodies. Malachite? Cole!
“Do you have a signal?” Eleanor asked Anthony, her jaw so tense she feared broken teeth. The large, quiet man studied his phone and shook his head. Eleanor concentrated and brought herself back to the here and now. Her breathing slowed as she gained control over the terrible memory. Still leaning against the wall she read the computer screen once more, taking note of the heavy hum and whine of the machinery all around her. Whatever Isabelle's plan entailed it seemed Eleanor was now standing at the heart of it whether by luck or design.
“Let's get the hell out of here.” She told Anthony and pushing away forcefully from the wall they both headed for the stairs and the upper levels.
*
Water thundered down the concrete stairs as Eleanor and Anthony fought their way out of the lower levels. Opening the basement door to the stairwell had let loose a massive slew of water from above, soaking the pair of them. Anthony resorted to pushing Eleanor ahead of him so that both could make headway against the torrent to grab onto the handrails.
The water eventually slowed and Eleanor released her death grip on the metal handrail, massaging her hands while she splashed her way back up the stairs. The door to the level she'd rescued Cole from was open and she saw a sparkling green haze casting dancing shadows into the stairwell. She glanced over her shoulder at Anthony and he immediately forged ahead of her to look around the doorframe. Anthony gave a brief but almost hesitant nod and they both entered the green hued level of the building.
The sight that met them caused Eleanor's mouth to open in wonder. The water draining into the basement level had originated from here and all the tubes that held talented people. The tubes were now dry and empty. Still and naked forms of people of all ages were standing with their faces to the heavens, all whispering and all surrounded by a green glow that intensified as it reached the mouth of each individual. The manufactured light thrummed and threw an unwavering piercing green into the darkness of the roof and, Eleanor surmised, beyond.
“Baiulus is online.” She whispered to herself.
A high pitched whine caused her to cry out as the speakers within the large warehouse were activated.
“This is what I have wrought. This is my design. The talented are mine. They do not even have to obey, they have no choice as they are me! My deception was to rid you of your only means of escape and now you have no choice.” Isabelle hissed, the disturbance causing the green haze to undulate lazily. Eleanor walked to the closest person. A young man. She could barely make out the words he spoke but she recognised the power of magic it brought.
“The human race will prostrate itself before us. No more witch-hunts, no more persecution, no more Venatrix Noctis.”
Eleanor closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“What do you want, Isabelle?” She asked quietly.
“You. You have the power to save your family, your younger self and your rabbits. Come back to the Institute and surrender to me willingly.”
Eleanor felt Anthony's hand grip her shoulder in alarm and she turned and laid her hand on his.
“Very well.”
The young man standing perfectly still next to Eleanor and Anthony shuddered and looked down, the green light fading from his body. He smiled and grabbed Eleanor's arm.
Ellie and the orb
The green light arrived with no noise or warning. It just appeared and enveloped the building.
“What the hell is going on now?” Plume cried out. Ellie instinctively held out a hand and closed her eyes. Through her magically enhanced vision she saw the green light was constructed of thousands of tiny green threads, all coalescing and swirling about one another to form one. She picked a thread and with eyes still closed followed its path as it arched over her head and disappeared behind the trees. Ellie tutted in frustration and imagined being part of the thread. The image accelerated and Ellie gasped and tried unsuccessfully to grab onto something.
Ellie calm down, you're following the thread. Wow, you have quite a bit of power now! The orb exclaimed, referring to Ellie's merging with Subject 1138. And breathe! Imagine it's a rollercoaster.
Ellie's body reacted by sitting down on the ground and grabbing clumps of grass.
Don't like this! She yelled, the landscape moving so quickly it blurred beneath her.
Just hold on. We can find out the source of this and maybe what it is.
Ellie blinked in her mind's eye which cleared her vision for an instant.
STOP! She screamed and her travelling instantly ceased.
Oh. The orb said quietly.
What? What is it? Ellie asked.
Isabelle. I don't know quite how but she's constructed these magical barriers. Look! The orb instructed. We're in the city! It wasn't destroyed. The barriers must be blocking us from Eleanor.
Can we get through them? Rescue the captives? Ellie asked as she drifted lazily high above the cityscape. She focused her magical vision on a tall building glowing green and before the thread snapped her away again she forced her mind down hard on the thread so the movement forwards was slow. The streets far below them were in chaos. Ellie saw police cars, ambulances, fire engines and droves and droves of people trying to exit the city.
Can we? She repeated to the orb.
We're a part of the thread now in a way, so there must be a way through for us.
Ellie was quiet for a moment and then a thought occurred to her.
You used your power to break out of the dragon thread with Cole didn't you?
Yes. Cassandra gave us the location. First time for everything. Ellie smiled and drifted closer to the building and both she and the orb saw the lettering identifying what they were looking at.
Baiulus… Ellie whispered. She's in there isn't she?
Eleanor? The orb asked quizzically. Maybe.
No, I mean Isabelle.
Yes. The orb answered simply.
As Ellie studied the building, her mind racing for a solution with this new information from the orb she saw a figure emerge onto the high rooftop from a doorway followed by another.
Eleanor! Ellie gasped.
And Isabelle. The orb stated flatly.
Ellie blinked and she was transported once again at great speed, but this time, back to her body.
“Ellie!” Rox cried, pushing her nose against her friend's chest. Ellie arrived back in her body with a tremendous intake of air that startled Rox. Ellie whipped her head about quickly to re-orientate herself. Whether it was the magic that she now held within her body or a simple realisation that no one could do what she planned but her, it caused her to rise slowly and steadily from the ground and stand firm, sure of a course of action.
“Rox. Take your family and leave. Make your way to my village and find Flare and my family. Stay out of danger.” Rox opened her mouth to respond but Ellie gave a small shake of her head and the black rabbit nodded and kept silent. “Cole. Eleanor is alive.” The dragon raised himself on his haunches and let loose a bellow of relief that made the rabbits cower into the grass. “She's still in danger. Isabelle has her now.” Cole growled and lowered his head close to Ellie's.
“Whatever it takes. My life is yours.” He declared formally and Ellie rubbed his long snout.
“Cassandra.” Ellie addressed the ex-employee of Baiulus. “Make your way out of here, however you can and thank you for your help.” Cassandra nodded and rushed over to grip Ellie's hands.
“Is there anything else
I can do?” Offering Ellie a shy smile. Ellie began to shake her head but an overwhelming sense of familiarity washed through her.
I know you. A small voice said in Ellie's mind. Cassandra's shy smile disappeared as they both stared into each other's eyes.
Are you two okay? The orb interrupted breaking the spell. Ellie blinked and the feeling vanished.
“Sorry.” Ellie whispered. “Please don't disappear. Stay with Rox and the others okay?” Cassandra nodded silently, her eyes full of mystery. Ellie turned away and retrieved the orb from her pocket and held it up to her eyes. That was odd, young lady. The orb stated.
Hmm. Ellie replied and gave a shake of her head to clear it. Never mind, no time for that. I have an idea. She continued silently.
I know. The orb replied. I can see it.
What do you think? She asked.
Well it's incredibly risky, the precision and timing must be perfect and even then you might not survive the process. The orb said quietly.
But do you agree to it? Ellie pressed urgently. I'm sorry, I can't think of another way. Ellie knelt in the grass and looked about at the strange scene. The rabbits, close by and comforting one another. The warriors of the Terracotta Army, still for the moment and awaiting orders. Cole, Eleanor's beautiful red dragon and then to the green haze surrounding the Institute's building. We've come this far and you've shown me and told me you cannot face Isabelle directly, the destruction would be too great.
The orb sighed and Ellie could almost feel it gazing out from its orange shell, gazing at the world.
How can I say no to you, Ellie? The orb said with a laugh. You're just as crazy as the other Ellie. Ellie laughed. Let's do it.
Fern
Despite the tension and fear, Fern was bored. He wasn't sure for how long but all he'd been listening to was the human on the other side of the wall attempting to breach the large metal door to Eleanor's basement where Flare and Ellie's family were safely ensconced. In a way it was quite an education for Fern as he'd never heard the majority of the words the man spoke in a fierce voice and he promised himself to ask Ellie what those words meant. So with a confidence born of the man's frustration, Fern settled down.