by Jacob Long
I reach my hand out as the flame bursts from the pan. It shoots straight up at first nearly scorching the microwave. However, it quickly redirects toward my outstretched arm. For a millisecond, it seems like I can manage this. It'll be like riding a bike... A burst of flame launches me backward into the air.
12
It feels like getting hit by a car. I fly through the air about ten feet, landing in the fireplace. The metal guard bends around my body. "Whoa! Now that was phenomenal!" Real Jayden says as he turns off the stove and walks toward me. At least that's what I think I'm seeing as I readjust my perception. “I knew you had it in you.”
He holds out his hand and I take it. He helps me up and after a brief moment of reacquainting myself with my surroundings, I pop him one in the stomach. “Don't do anything like that again,” I say as he reels over in pain. “Just trying to help,” he coughs out, holding his stomach with one hand and the back of the couch with the other. I walk over to the oven to assess the damage. Everything appears to be in good shape. I open the fridge and pull out two bottles of soda. I walk back into the living room where Real Jayden is still slightly hunched over. I hold out one of the bottles to him.
"Come on. It wasn't that bad." He takes it. We sit on the back of the couch and take swigs from our drinks. "All right. Let's see what you can do," he says. I look at him for a moment. "Fine." I stretch my arm out in front of me with my palm facing upward. As I curl my fingers inward, a small flame generates from the center of my palm. The white and blue parts are almost invisible. "Okay, that is pretty cool. Can you make it bigger?" I spread my fingers out a bit and my hand forms a claw-like shape. The flame gets bigger as I do this. I bring my hands together and create a huge ball of fire filled with swirling reds, yellows, and oranges.
The center is dark blue like the early morning sky just before the dawn. I bring my hands together and the fire extinguishes. I turn to Real Jayden. "You happy now?" He turns to me and smiles. "So much so." He gets up and walks back into the kitchen. He opens up the fridge and peers inside, carefully scanning its contents. He grabs something small. He grabs a knife and a spoon and walks back to where I stand. We stare out through the patio's glass doors as he spoons out pieces of avocado. He hands me a spoon and the other half of the fruit. I stare at it for a moment. “Thanks,” I say. He looks back at me as if he knows who I'm thinking about, but decides not to say anything.
The backyard is just as magnificent as the house itself. We admire it as we eat our avocado halves. There is a beautiful vegetable garden, a flower garden, a tennis court, a basketball court, plenty of yard area, and of course, a giant pool. "I gotta take a swim in that pool, twin-bro," he says to me, his mouth half full of avocado. "I don't think that would be a very good idea, twin-bro," I repeat his nickname back to him sarcastically. If the neighbors see you, that could cause some issues. By the way, just call me, Jayden," I say. He turns to me with a curious look on his face. "If I call you Jayden then what do I call myself?"
“If I call you Jayden and you call me Jayden, I don't think that we'll get confused.” “Yeah, but what happens when we get more people into the mix? Like that guy that you're going to rescue. And the guy that you're talking to in your helmet?” “Okay,” I say. “How do you think we should distinguish ourselves?” “Well, I think we should call you Extreme Jayden because you are from some extreme post-apocalyptic world, and we'll call me Real Jayden because I'm from the Real World where there was never an Omega War and there are no super-powered psychos trying to take over except for the ones that came from your world. I guess he has a point. “Fair enough. Real Jayden it is,” I say. “But I'm not going to go by Extreme Jayden.” “Then what do we call you?” “Well if you're Real Jayden, we can just call me Jayden.” "Haha, yeah, I don't think I'm going to do that."
“Hey, Extreme Jayden,” RT says through the headset. Oh boy. RT's in on it now. “I have the layout of the factory and I've called for another driver to take you there.” “RT, I forgot you were there. I'm so glad that you heard everything.” “Yeah, you've been wearing the helmet this whole time. I hear what you hear. I see what you see.” Wow, I think. That fire show must have been something to see. “And you didn't think to interject?” I ask.
"I wanted to see where the guy was going with it. I figured he knows you better than I do." I shake my head. "Haha, yeah well, you're lucky this whole place didn't burst into flames." I turn to Real Jayden. "I'm going to go now." I open a pocket in my belt and pull out a small communications device. "Here. You can contact me with this." I hand it to him. "I have to go." I point at him. "Remember, not too much food, and no swimming." I point to the pool.
"All right fine." He jumps onto the sofa from behind and grabs the remote. "But you better bring me back something real nice." RT calls me another driver to take me to the factory. This guy is different than the last one. He's very quiet. The silence is a refreshing change from the last driver, but by the end of the drive, it seems like he may have been too quiet. I almost wish he were a spy so he would say something. I feel like he might have just been reading my mind the whole time, learning everything. I have him drop me off a couple of blocks away from the factory to let the rest of the sunlight fall behind the hills before I make my invasion.
RT manages to surprise me again by hacking into their network and creating a quiet way in. He remotely deactivates several alarm sensors in the back entrance near the loading bay. As I make my approach, I adjust my visors into night mode. I try not to let the many shades of green distract me as I stay low and carefully tread toward the area of the fence where the sensors have been disengaged. I need to cut a small hole in the fence so that I can sneak through. I would use my powers but after what happened at the safe house, I use the laser cutter from my manica instead. I'd rather not have a display of fireworks to catch everyone's attention.
Sneaking past the guards is another challenge easily reduced by RT's genius. This time, he sets off an alarm on the other side of the building. This leaves me with one guard to contend with. While he is turned away from me, I get within range and shoot him with a tranquilizer dart. Normally, I don't bother with tranquilizers but some of these guys could be guards that the Ministry hired from this world. Who knows if they even know what they are guarding here. Besides, he'll be out for a few hours. That will plenty of time for me to get in and get out.
After hiding the guy, I scan his clothes and face with an imitation device. When it's done, I place it on my belt, press a button, and I look exactly like he does. RT has come through again. I may sound like his biggest fangirl but seriously, if we had more manpower combined with RT's genius, the Supreme Ministry wouldn't stand a chance against us. Getting around at this point is much easier. At least that is up until RT tells me that he has been locked out of their system and needs me to go to their control room.
This also means that they'll be looking for an intruder so I have to act natural. As I walk down a long and winding hallway, I keep my eyes facing forward. My scanners let me know whenever anyone is near. This way, I don't have to look overly suspicious. “Take a left into the supply closet coming up in a few feet.” RT's tells me. “Once you're in there, I will reprogram your imitation device so that you look like the administrator of the factory.” When I get into the closet and see the face of the man that I am imitating, I instantly recognize him, Nicholas Drummond. He was one of the administrators that led the search for the first island of Idem.
Although he was either too busy or too cowardice to join the battle himself. It doesn't take long for the imitation device to reboot. I enter back into the hallway. Even though I can't see myself, I feel disgusted just knowing that I look like that guy right now. I get into the control center easy enough, although the guards do look at me a little suspiciously. I guess Drummond doesn't come down here very often. Their distrust is quickly appeased as I hit them with tranquilizer darts. The first guy goes down easy enough. The second is smart enough to reach for the panic button but it doesn't m
atter. I already set my manica to disrupt all communications in the room.
As I check the main computer, I realize that the interface devices are all different than the ones we have back on my world. Fortunately, I have the hologram generator for these types of situations. After about thirty seconds, a device has been constructed and RT is back inside of their system. “I've located Callum. The holding area is underground. He's the only one there, but there are twenty cells. It looks like the Ministry has plans to increase their occupancy soon, and you're 'twin bro' made the list.” I press my comm button. “Ah, yes. My ''twin bro.' Good thing we rescued him.” I reply. I sound a bit sarcastic, but I really do mean it. I just hope that he hasn't destroyed the safe house by now.
After adjusting my imitation device so that I look like one of the cell guards, I carefully exit the control room. When I reach the entry point of the underground area, I press the comm button on the side panel. "Lieutenant Harris, reporting back in," I say. Hearing the voice of someone else coming from my mouth is a strange sensation. No one answers. After a few seconds, I press the button again. A few more seconds pass. Still nothing. I press my comm button. "RT, what's going on?" "Just a second. Here." RT says as the door slides open revealing two unconscious cell guards. I look down at them, confused. I survey the room as I press my comm button. "Um, did I come through here already?"
"Hold on," RT replies. "I'm checking the camera feed...Huh? That's strange." "What are you seeing," I say as I make my way down the hall and to the cells. Apparently, these first few rooms are reserved for experimentation and testing. "Here. I'll show you." RT feeds the footage to the visor of my headset. It reveals a woman breaking into the cell area and taking down the guards. The image isn't very clear, and she's moving fast, but she looks very familiar. She destroys the camera and the feed cuts off. “I hope I get the chance to meet her,” I say. “Just stay sharp,” RT replies.
I tread carefully down the corridor. As I reach Callum's cell, the door is clearly open. I slowly walk in and see Callum lying in a bed in the corner. He is unconscious with wires and tubes coming from his arms and his nose. He is hooked up to a machine that is monitoring his vital signs and intravenously feeding him what appears to be a sedative. “You can unhook him from the machine. He'll be fine,” RT informs me. I carefully detach the nose piece first. As I reach for a wire coming out of his arm, I see something coming at me from the side, moving fast.
13
“On your left!” RT yells as the woman from the security video comes out of nowhere and attacks me with a tool tray. She must have been hiding in the supply closet. I manage to block my face just in time. She moves forward forcefully throwing kicks and punches at nearly every vital area of my body. She knows what she's doing.
I manage to evade or block all of her shots. For some reason, my instincts are telling me that she's a good person. However, it's hard to believe that when she's attacking me with such fury. I back away, creating a little distance between us and I realize that I'm facing off against Sienna. “What are you doing here?” I ask as I evade her left jab. “And why are you trying to hit me?” Now she throws me a confused look and continues to throw punches. She proves to be a more challenging adversary than usual.
She seems stronger than usual. It could just be that I'm still weak from the teleportation sickness. Probably a combination of both. Either way, I barely manage to deflect her moves. “I don't want to fight you,” I say as she throws a right cross and another jab at my face. I narrowly dodge each blow. “You really want to talk this out?” She replies. “Cause I don't.” She pulls out a device with prongs that I can only guess emits electricity. My guess is regrettably confirmed as I feel the energy surge throughout my entire body.
The pain is excruciating. I fall back to the ground immediately. Somehow, I manage to focus. I slowly move my right arm, reaching for my stomach. Sienna lands her shin on my forearm, stopping me. The manica cracks. She must have specialized armor that is not conductive. Her other knee lands on my chest. I struggle to breathe. I can feel the rage building inside. The struggle to survive. I concentrate my gaze on her weapon. Two searing streams of flame shoot out of my eyes and directly onto the tip of it. Immediately the wires melt away, and she drops the gun from the shock of the heat. In one quick motion, I thrust my hips into the air and roll her over. Without missing a beat, she punches me in the throat and slides away.
"I'm taking this man out of here," she yells as I nurse my throat. Even after all of that commotion, Callum still lies on the bed, sound asleep. They must have him under some serious anesthetic. I remember the tranquilizers in my right manica I try to shoot her, but there is a malfunction. She must have jammed the launching device when she landed on my arm. I break open the panel and pull out one of the tranquilizers. I'll have to do this one manually. I decide that wrestling may be the best option for taking her down so when she throws a right hook at my jaw, I drop low and shoot at her legs taking her to the ground. I reach for a tranquilizer from my belt. She manages to elbow me hard in the jaw just as I inject the tranquilizer. She falls unconscious. I press my comm button.
"RT, why is Sienna here?" I ask. "That is not Sienna," he replies. “That must be the Real World version of Sienna.” “Oh, so we are using the Real World terminology? It's not just a joke?” “Well, it makes sense, and we need to differentiate in some way.” “Alright, well, something tells me that this factory is not a safe place for Sienna's doppelganger, so how do I get the three of us out of here?” “Same way you got in, but first, we need to destroy the drug.”
I pick up Sienna number two and throw her on my left shoulder. I walk over and remove the tubes and wires from Callum's arms and pick him up. It seems as though carrying two people on my shoulders is a lot harder than it used to be so I decide to place them back down and come back for them later. That turns out to be a really good idea considering that RT guides me to the ceiling of the main area where all of the drugs are being produced.
Stealthily, I climb the rafters and use the shooter on my manica to place four small explosive devices throughout the room. The wide beams and loud noise from all of the machines are enough to keep me well hidden. I make my way back to Callum's cell and pick up my unconscious cargo. RT remotely activates my night vision just as every light goes out in the building.
As soon as I reach the fence, I hear an explosion go off. I turn around to see the blast coming from the center of the building. I squeeze the three of us through the hole in the fence, one body at a time. As I get out of the area as fast as I can, I can't help but wonder what the next driver will think when he shows up, and both of my friends are passed out. Luckily, RT has me covered. The pickup point is a bar. So when the driver shows up, I'm sitting on the curb next to a couple of seemingly drunk people.
Sienna number two goes in easy enough, but when I help Callum up, he yells at me. “I got this.” Who am I to question him? So I let him go. As he climbs in, he aims a little too far to the right and smacks his head on the side of the car. I can't help but smile a little as I ease him in. I sit down in the front seat, and the driver stares at me. "I'm all for having some fun, but if they ruin anything back there, it's on you," he says. "Yes, of course, it's on me," I assure him. "I'm sure they'll be fine though," I respond not as confidently as I would like.
The ride back to the safe house is entertaining, to say the least. I think that the driver has bought the intoxication story. Although the two of them in the back mumbling about different worlds and people with mind control abilities may be leading him to believe that there are other substances at play here as well. Fortunately, he seems to be content with the fact that they haven't decorated his car with vomit. It gets a little worse when Sienna's double looks at me and says, "Who are you?" The driver smiles. "All right, just take it easy now," I reply. "Save your words. We'll get you home soon."
"I don't even know you," she says. "Where are you taking me? Are you kidnapping me?" The driver's smile remains although he is sta
rting to look a little uncomfortable. "Okay, don't be silly. I'm your friend... Kyle. We just went to the bar, and now I'm taking you home because you had a few too many drinks. "I don't have a friend named Kyle." Coming up with a fake name may not have been the best idea. "Yeah, I don't even know either of you guys," says Callum. "I don't think you're my friend. I think you're a liar. I think that you're a soldier of the Ministry and you're going to take us to be executed."
Finally, Callum has actually said something that is somewhat helpful, even if he didn't mean to. The driver appears to be assuaged by Callum's talk of the Ministry. He must think it is pure gibberish. Living in a world without the Supreme Ministry must be nice. Except now, they do have the Ministry only it's the same Ministry just digging its claws into their world. When we get to the mansion, their opposition to my friendship is even stronger, so I throw them both over my shoulders instead of fighting them up the driveway. Once they are each placed comfortably, they start to relax.
They must have enough anesthesia still in their system to make them feel like laying down means sleepy time. As we reach the front door, Real Jayden opens it. He looks excited and then confused. "Did they have a rescue one get one free deal going on down there?" he says as he helps me carry them to the couch. "Something like that." I point to the girl. "This one might be an ally, or she might be a threat. Do you recognize her as anyone important from your world?" I ask. "Yeah, she's really important in my world, she's the cute girl that works at the juice bar."