The Real World

by Jacob Long

  All of the smoke and dust has cleared at the doorway. I can see Haws floating in the distance. His focus must be on Fetu and Gabriel, but it's only a matter of time before he notices us. RT stops typing and pulls out the interface device. He pulls out a circular device and sets it on top of the controls. He runs over, crouching down beside me. "All right, the party is set," I say over the comm system. "You can bring in the birthday boy." "What?" Gabriel ask. "Just lead Haws in here," I reply. Fetu and Gabriel come bursting into the room. Haws fires a massive bolt of lightning into the room. RT's circular device absorbs every last bit of it.

  RT's super-human genius never ceases to amaze me. This device was initially designed to be a conventional electromagnetic pulse device, in case we ever needed to knock out the Ministry's electronic systems. However, after learning that the Ministry was successfully engineering electrically powered soldiers, he began to modify the device. Since there are no lightning wielding citizens of Idem, this is the first actual test run. So far so good since it did absorb Haws' lightning bolt. Once he gets closer, we will see the device display the full extent of its power. He cautiously floats toward the control center inside of his blue orb.

  All of us open fire on him. Our blasts do nothing against his force field, but we have to keep firing. If we only sit here and wait, he'll know that something is up, if he doesn't already. Another recharging lightning bolt strikes him before he reaches the doorway. As he steps into the room, his orb turns into a protective dome that moves with him as he walks. He's getting close now. Gabriel is crouched down by the left cannon controls, shielding Sienna. Fetu is in the elevator shaft. As Haws fires a bolt at each of the cannon controls, RT presses a button on his manica The electricity flows back to him, knocking him back.

  Without missing a beat, Fetu bursts out of the elevator, charging toward Haws. He picks him up by the collar and punches him in the stomach. The hit is so hard that it launches Haws outside of the building and down to the ground. Fetu turns around, "Let's move." RT grabs his electromagnetic device, and we all head downstairs as fast as possible. We hop onto the hovercraft, and RT hits the throttle. It won't be long before reinforcements catch up with us. I activate the scanners on my manica to see how close they are. "I'm picking up two scout teams, each one is about one half of a mile out," I say as I expand the map on my screen.

  "Gabriel, Sienna, we need to wake them up in case this force field doesn't hold," I say, gesturing to the freed slaves. There are two boys and one girl. They look like they could be siblings, and they look to be about my age. Sienna gently touches their foreheads, easing them awake. "The old border wall is about one mile out so we may end up needing some of RT's more fancy driving moves," I continue. I look back down at the map on my screen. The hovercraft coming in from the right is very close. "They'll be here in thirty seconds," I say. The second one is not far behind. Coming in from the left, it's moving alongside the wall. Fetu looks over my shoulder. He turns to Gabriel and the freed slaves. "Stay down, and keep them safe."

  He places a hand on my shoulder. “I'll take the left. You take the right. Sienna, we need you on the back gun. Aim right, until I say otherwise." I walk over to the right side gun and look into the sights. They're almost within firing range. On my mark. Fire! I start shooting at them just as they reach within a hair of firing range. It works. I get the jump on them. The dust explodes up in front of them, throwing the pilot off of his game. He quickly maneuvers out of it only to see a heavy-duty plasma blast coming straight at his face. He swerves away. Their force field protects them, but the pilot seems a little shaken by the attack. He and the two scouts on the right, open fire on us.

  The second hovercraft catches up quickly as we near the wall. I can hear Fetu unleashing a flurry of shots at them. “Stay on course to towards the wall,” Fetu commands. “Get as close to the left hovercraft as you can. Sienna, switch left.” Sienna quickly turns her gun toward the hovercraft on the left, opening fire. “RT, tell me when their shields are down to fifty percent,” Fetu says.

  Now I see what his plan is. I hope that our shields last long enough for it to work. I continue to concentrate my fire on the hovercraft while surveying the area. I have to be careful not to let my gun follow my eyes as I do this. I can only look around for brief moments. Nothing but sand and dirt everywhere. Wait. There we go. I concentrate my fire on a giant sand dune. The sand flies into the enemy hovercraft, and they swerve aimlessly. It's just enough time. "Their shields are down to fifty percent!" RT informs Fetu. "On my mark, everybody, take cover," says Fetu. "RT, I need you to drop our shields for three seconds."

  We're only about twenty yards away from the left hovercraft now. The right hovercraft is closing back in. “On three,” Fetu yells, “One, two, three!” The rest of us take cover as Fetu leaps over to the left hovercraft. He lifts his arms up and crashes them down onto their force field. It shatters into thousands of tiny sparks of light. I don't catch what happens next over there because shots of plasma splatter onto our vehicle taking a chunk out of the wall, and out of the ground. An electric flash appears around our hovercraft as our force field goes back on.

  I look around to see that everyone is okay. Gabriel takes over Fetu's gun. I stand up to see that there is only molten metal and circuitry where my gun should be. The guns for the hovercraft create specialized holes that allow us to shoot through our force field. So even with my pistol, it looks like I'm out of the game, for now. We are taking on heavy fire from the right. Over on the left, Fetu has taken over the hovercraft. He flies it directly at the one on the right. He is about to hit them when he gives an extra boost to the thrusters. He hovers just above the other vehicle and turns off his thrusters.

  His hovercraft smacks against the force field of the other one. An enormous blaze of heat and flame bursts from the bottom of his hovercraft as he turns the thrusters on full power. Their force field takes a substantial hit from the impact. Fetu jumps onto the side of his hovercraft and swings his body into their force field, kicking it. It instantly shatters. He quickly takes down everyone on board and jumps back onto our vehicle just before we reach the wall. "I'm starting to think that you should have come here by yourself," I say. He smiles. "Yeah, me too." RT activates the extra boost on the thrusters, and we fly over the old border wall.

  We have still not reached the beach area, so we follow alongside the wall to avoid the thick jungle. The pain in my left arm is coming back, but I distract myself from it by checking the map on my manica for any more scout teams only to see three red dots in a line headed straight toward us.

  "There's another scout team, three hundred yards, straight ahead," I say. "They're coming in fast." We all look in front at the impending armada, and then to the side at the dangerous forest. "Go through the forest," says Fetu. "Gabriel, you're with me." He puts his hand on my shoulder and looks me straight in the eyes. "If something happens, you may have to leave without us. I expect you to make the right call." He turns to Gabriel and nods. "Let's do this."

  The front scout team opens fire on us, and our force field shatters. "Everybody down!" Fetu yells. Their shots are tearing apart our vehicle. "Flank them from the left," Fetu tells Gabriel. Gabriel jumps off and runs into the forest. Fetu leaps straight toward the first hovercraft and brings his fist down onto their force field. The field doesn't break, but the impact from his hit knocks the front of the vehicle into the ground, flipping it over. I take to the right side to provide cover with my pistol. The second scout team fires shots at us as RT hangs a left into the forest. Their force field holds up easily. It looks like Gabriel and Fetu have their work cut out for them.

  I hear a horrific scream and turn my head to see the freed slave girl kneeling next to her brother who has got shot. It's the oldest boy. He was shielding his siblings and got shot in the back. Sienna and I crawl over to his aid as RT maneuvers us through the jungle landscape. "Place pressure on the wound!" Sienna yells as she pulls the first aid kit out of the storage container. My left arm screams
at me in pain as I push down.

  The second scout vehicle turns in, following us. The third vehicle evades an attack from Fetu and joins the chase. Gabriel pops up out of nowhere running with a vine in his hand. It's a vine from the same type of violent plant that attacked us before. Gabriel is so fast though that the plant doesn't notice what's going on until the vines are wrapped around the second scout team's hovercraft, stopping their pursuit of us.

  The third scout team flies around the mess, shooting Gabriel in the process. The shot grazes his shoulder and distracts him long enough for the vines to grab him. I look down at Sienna, but her gaze is still on the injured boy. She's wrapping his wound. I don't think she saw what happened. I hate to be the one to tell her. "Fetu!" I yell as I press my comm button. "Gabriel needs you right now." Sienna looks up at me and then back to the forest for a moment before redirecting her gaze to the wound. "I'm on it. Don't worry," Fetu replies.

  I grab my pistol and start firing at the third vehicle. The scout team is catching up quickly. They must have some experience working their way around the jungle landscape. "RT, how far is the beach?" I ask over the comm system. "Less than one hundred yards," he replies. Not soon enough. RT's driving is on point, but it's only a matter of time before they get a solid shot on us. "Aim for the pilot," he tells me. I fire shot after shot directly at the pilot. The force field stands strong against each hit. I shoot again, and hit the pilot directly in the neck, right in the weak point of his armor. The other scouts each move to the flight controls, and I take them out one after the other, hitting them in the same spot.

  Their hovercraft crashes into a tree. RT must have figured out a way to hack into their computer and shut down their force field. As I see the sands of the beach, our hovercraft gets hit by something powerful. The entire vehicle flips upside down. I roll into the sand as I land and turn around to see a giant orange lizard. I fire off a shot at it. The damage is minimal. I go to fire another, but I'm out. I reach to my belt for another plasma cartridge, but I'm out of those as well. I pull my pistol out and start firing. I aim for its eye. It's moving too fast though. The lizard approaches Sienna and the freed slaves. From behind, RT opens fire on it as well.

  The shots only make it angry. Its mouth opens wide and spits. The slaves barely manage to evade the attack. "Get to the boat!" I yell. RT stops firing, and I draw the lizard's attention away from the rest of them. "I can help you," the younger brother tells me as he pulls out a knife. Where did he get that? "Get to the boat," I reply. He ignores me, charging at the lizard. He is fast. Almost as fast as Gabriel. The lizard swipes at the boy, but he jumps high and maneuvers his body through the air like an elite acrobat. I can't continue shooting with him so close, so I pull my knife out. I approach the beast from the other side. We each get shots in while the lizard is occupied with attacking the other person.

  It's tail whips around at me, and I roll under it. The younger brother does a flip to avoid the hit. The lizard pursues him rapidly, chomping at him. As I run up to help him, Fetu falls from the sky onto the lizard's back. He grabs it by the neck."Help Gabriel!" He orders me as he looks to Gabriel who is hobbling along the beach. At the water, I see RT, Sienna, the older brother, and the sister wait as the submarine crawls onto the beach. RT designed it with a specialized tread. As I run over to Gabriel, I spot a Ministry soldier with a plasma rifle coming out of the forest. He must have followed them. He shoots Gabriel in the back. I fire in return, and he takes cover behind the foliage. I fire a few more shots as I run toward Gabriel.

  I drag him behind some bushes for cover. Now I've lost the Ministry soldier. I run into the forest to flank him. Just as I spot his rifle, I'm too late. A shot fires, but it's not at us. I look over to see the freed slave girl fall to the ground. Without thinking, I sprint toward him, shooting. He turns his gun at me. I shoot it out of his hands before he gets a chance to fire. I can't seem to hit him in the neck. I'm too angry. He holds his arms up, protecting his weak point. I tackle him onto the beach, elbowing his helmet. I use my left arm since it's already messed up anyway. The metal on my manica is starting to break. My forearm is numbing to the pain.

  "Jayden!" I hear Fetu yell over the comm system. What am I doing? I have to stop. I restrain my elbow. I pull out my knife and quickly finish the job. I retrieve my pistol and run over to Gabriel. I throw him over my shoulder and take him to the submarine. We get inside, and I lay Gabriel down. I look at his face, covered in scars from the vines. Now I remember that this is a dream. I don't want to relive this. I can't relive this. I need to wake up. I look over to Sienna tending to the freed slaves. While I was sprinting toward the Ministry soldier, the younger brother got shot as well. None of them are going to make it. All three of them die on our way back to Idem.

  9

  The Extreme World–Teleportation Island–2020

  I wake up as we make our descent onto the mountain. I check my manica for the time. It's only been two hours. That was a long dream. I stare at the dust blowing up and away at the side of the mountain as RT slowly lowers the jet down. It seems like the dreams are getting longer now. Two Faction members are standing on the ground waiting for us. One of them is a man with buzz-cut hair, and the other is a short haired woman. She is the one that resuscitated me after my fight with Poseidon.

  "Thank you for coming," she says holding out her hand.

  "Jayden, RT, my name is Nina. We didn't have a chance to be formally introduced before." I shake her hand and put on my best smile considering the circumstances. "Follow us," She walks up to the side of the mountain and shines a specially designed flashlight at it. The lit up area reveals a control panel. Nina presses a few buttons and places her hand onto the scanner. Instantly, a small section of the mountain disappears and unveils the mouth of a cave. She walks in, and the rest of us follow.

  She gestures to the man with the buzz cut. “This is Liam. He will be linked up with you on this world, helping you navigate through the other one. After we reformat your headset, he will hear what you hear and see what you see. He will also be able to scan the area surrounding you within a one hundred yard radius. Among other things, this will allow him to notify you when other people are closing in on your location.

  With the headset, you will both be able to access the information computer network on the other world. They call it, "the Internet." It's kind of a big deal to them. There is a wealth of information, although much of it is crudely organized. And there is a lot of other unnecessary information, but I digress. Do you have any questions at this point?" The walls in this vast network of caves are fascinating, so I've been doing my best to listen and not get distracted.

  "Yes. Actually, no," I say. "It's more like a statement. RT is my commlink guy. Always has been, always will be." "I assure you that Liam is more than capable and has already been trained with this equipment," she replies. "RT is a quick learner." I look at Liam. "I'm sure that Liam would take great care of me, and I'll bet he has a smooth, comforting voice that would guide me through the worst of times, but it's just not going to happen. RT is my guy, or I don't go." She thinks on it for a moment before saying, "All right."

  When we get to the teleportation room, Liam will instruct you and RT on how to use the equipment.” “Thank you,” I say. “So what's the plan?” “Before we go into details of the mission, you should know that this other world is vastly different than our own,” says Nina. “Yes, Barrett mentioned that before,” RT replies. “He said that the Omega War never occurred there. Does that mean that there are no super-humans in this other world?” “Officially, no, however, the Ministry does have some super-humans over there. Other than that, there are essentially no super-humans that have originated on the other world,” Nina replies. “What do you mean by essentially?” I ask. “There are sporadic reports of supernatural phenomenon that are occasionally linked to certain individuals however there is no solid proof that these individuals are super-human,” she says. “Oh, I see,” I reply.

  “As another re
sult of there being no Omega War in this world,” she continues, “the United States of America also remains intact. We'll be sending you to a city in the southern part of a state known as California.” “I know what California is,” I say, interrupting. "Right," Nina replies. "Well, the Ministry has created a fake company called Somni Corp which is based there. Under the guise of this fake company, they have acquired a factory that they are using to produce mind control drugs. The same mind control drugs that the Ministry uses in Paradisum. Our hope is that is that they are keeping Callum at the Ministry's factory where he was caught," explains Nina.

  "Are you going to transport me directly there?" I ask. "That's too risky," says Liam. "Every time an inter-dimensional portal is created, it emits a specific type of energy. The Ministry could trace it back to this location." We walk up to another wall of rock and Nina works her magic. As the door opens, I ask, "All right, then where are you sending me?" "To your house," Barrett says while standing in the doorway. Behind him is a metal railing. We walk in, and I look down from the railing. The room is enormous. There are gigantic computer systems everywhere. The walls are lined with monitors filled with images of what I am guessing are different dimensions.