The Real World

by Jacob Long

  We learned about them from the data we collected on our last recon mission. Their strength, speed, and senses rival the best of any predator known to man. Their skin is also thick which makes it hard for our bullets to penetrate. We keep shooting, but they run right past us. Not toward us. They're going after the civilians. It doesn't make sense though. Don't they want to eliminate our army so that they can enslave our civilians more easily? "All squads pursue the invaders! We can't let them reach the civilians!"

  The voice is that of Lieutenant General McElroy, leader of the army. I turn to RT, but he doesn't budge. "RT, you can't stay here," I say. "I know, I just need a few more seconds," he replies. I walk over to him. "What is, so import-" On his screen is a lot of code. "Your genius never ceases to amaze me." I only understand a few characters. Just enough to know what he is doing. "You're cracking the code for their force field," I say quietly. He pushes a few more buttons. "It's done," he says. "Captain Kurpatov, the ship's force field is down." He stands up and looks at me. "Waiting on you." "Alright, Brainiac, let's go." We run out of the tower.

  Once we're outside, I see Captain Kurpatov already pulling the ship apart with his mind. Many small pieces are hitting Administrator Haws while larger pieces slowly tear away. We run up to the second floor of a small building where we can pick off some soldiers. The Tempest whirs through the air, and stops above us, slowly lowering onto the roof.

  “I thought you said she wasn't ready,” I say.

  "I haven't finished installing the Tawhiri control system or all of the weapons systems, but she has enough firepower for now," RT replies.

  “Stay safe, my friend,” I say as he climbs into the jet.

  “Right back at you, my friend,” he replies.

  I turn back to my men. “Eyes up. Stay low. We're moving out.”

  My squad of ISF army soldiers and I tread into the city only to see destruction everywhere. There are numerous jets, attacking from the sky. Ministry soldiers are burning down all of the buildings. "Stay close to the buildings, and keep your eyes out for any remaining citizens," I command as I run over to the side of a building. I lead them to an area where we can take cover while shooting the enemy.

  Up in the sky, Captain Kurpatov is continuously under attack, and yet, he somehow manages to deflect every effort. Then, a massive airship flies in. It's a general's ship. He starts to struggle. Something or someone is affecting him. It's Fulloway. She's inside of that airship. It's all happening again.

  Back on the ground, my men and I get hit with a small rocket. Three of the guys get blown to pieces. The other three of us get knocked back by the blast. We crawl on the ground, taking cover. Kurpatov looks down to see what's happening. He causes the Ministry's rockets to explode inside of their launchers. I struggle to ignore the incessant ringing in my ears as we crawl around looking for safety. A stray Ministry soldier finds us and starts shooting. I aim my manica and unleash three shots.

  The neck is a small target, but it's my best option. I learn from each shot. The first one hits him in the upper chest but his armor protects him. The second two shots pierce him in the neck. He falls to the ground, and I snatch up his rifle. The Ministry's weapons are more powerful than ours, killing most of our superhumans already. We were not prepared for an attack of this magnitude. I guess the Ministry saw us as a more significant threat than we thought they did. The sad thing is, this is only a fraction of their military force.

  The other remaining soldier and I stay low as we continue to look for safety. As we venture further into town, we come upon a burning house. It is the only one in the neighborhood that is left standing. I recognize it as the Mason's home. They are a family that I am slightly acquainted with. I visited them once with my mother. My mother can accelerate the healing process, and after many treatments, she was able to cure Mr. Mason of a deadly disease.

  We take cover behind a car that is resting up against a neighboring house. The vehicle is leaning right next to the porch creating a small makeshift shelter that has only one entrance. I flip on my infrared to scan the Mason's home for any signs of life. It takes several seconds for the image to clear up, but as I turn my gaze from room to room, the house appears to be completely empty. After a few seconds, I spot something in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Three blobs of light. "There," I say, pointing. "Upstairs, on the right." My scanners quickly adjust and reveal a clear picture of Mr. and Mrs. Mason lying on the ground in their baby's room. They must have passed out before they could get their baby girl and get out of there.

  I turn to the other soldier. "It's them. Follow me." We run up to the front door, checking for Ministry soldiers as we go. "Cover me," I say as I crouch down, aiming my manica at the door. The door goes flying backward as it gets hit by the massive plasma blast from my manica I lead the way as we run inside. I quickly bound up the stairs, and turn the corner to go into the baby's room. Fortunately, the fire has only just entered the room. I take the breathing mask from my gear and put it on the baby. I pick up Mrs. Mason and put her over my shoulder. I lift the baby out of her cradle as the other soldier lifts Mr. Mason, and puts him over his shoulder. Mr. Mason is a pretty big guy.

  As I turn the corner at the bottom of the stairs, I see a Ministry soldier pointing a flamethrower straight at me. A huge burst of flame comes gushing through the air. I reel back toward the stairs and the flames brush my face. As he turns the flamethrower on me, I sprint into the living room. The other soldier follows behind me but he's moving much slower. He and Mr. Mason catch on fire and fall to the ground. I need to eliminate the threat before I can help them. I carefully transfer the baby to my left arm while balancing Mrs. Mason on my left shoulder. I scan the wall for the Ministry soldier, and aim my manica Just before he reaches the entrance to the living room, I blast him into the wall. Then I head to the door. I need to get these two out of the burning house. That's my priority.

  I run outside and lay Mrs. Mason down in the space where the other ISF soldier and I were taking cover before. She is breathing, but still unconscious. I can't leave the baby here, so I secure the breathing mask, tuck her in my arm, and head back to the house. I run into the living room to see another Ministry soldier burning down the remains of Mr. Mason and the ISF soldier. I aim my manica at him, but he's too quick. He redirects the flamethrower at me, and I run to escape its grasp. I go to the emergency cabinet and pull out the flame retardant blanket. These emergency cabinets were built into all of the homes in case of an attack like this. The Ministry is well known for their affinity of flame. I throw the blanket over the front of my body, covering the baby completely. The flame chases me across the room. I kneel down in the fireplace, making sure to keep the blanket covering the baby. The sound, the heat, and the pain, they all seem to occur simultaneously. Just as I begin to feel the searing tear of burning flesh, I'm- jolted awake.

  18

  I wake up with a foggy head and no recollection of how I arrived at my current whereabouts. I'm not exactly sure the location of my current whereabouts either. Although, it does look strangely familiar. The wall to my right is made up of oddly arranged and strangely soothing light blue panels. I turn over on my left to see a blue curtain. Now I realize where I am. The clinic on the island. I helped build this place. Elena helped to design it.

  After the battle for the first island, this is where we took care of our injured. There wasn't a lot of them. Most of the injured were ISF officers. Most of them didn't make it. My fellow soldiers. My fellow warriors. These were men and women that I truly grew to respect, admire, and trust. I love those men and women. And I let them all down.

  I love them but not nearly as much as the girl that designed this room. The girl who just wanted to take care of others. I stare at the door on the far wall. The beige of the wall. The white of the door. The light blue curtains. The light blue tiles. This whole place is designed to keep me in a calm state of mind. But it doesn't. It can't. It was in a room like this where I came to see Elena before they took her to get buried
. As my wakefulness increases so does my level of unease.

  Now, fully awake, I sit up. As I do so, I feel a slight tug on my right arm. I look down to see a tube running up to my arm and a needle piercing one of my veins. I carefully pinch it between my forefinger and thumb. I slowly slide it out. It's time to see how well my healing factor is working these days. These days? I wonder if it has been more than a day since I've been conscious. It feels like I was asleep for quite a while.

  The needle comes out easy enough. Then the blood comes oozing out but only for a second before the skin heals over. It looks like I'm back. My head doesn't feel foggy now either. Physically, I feel great. I get to my feet and realize that I'm wearing a thin hospital gown. I'd prefer to have clothes on when I walk out of here, but I won't let it stop me if I don't. I reach out to press the open button on the door panel. Before I can, the door slides open.

  "Hey, dude, where are you sneaking off to?" RT stands in the doorway with a big grin on his face. "We've got a party to go to and an interrogation after that. You've got a busy night ahead of you." "Party? Interrogation? What are you talking about?" I ask. "You saved Callum in the Real World." He seems slightly apprehensive about his words. "You apprehended Senator Leroy. Everyone on the island found out and now they want to celebrate," he replies. Now I remember. It still doesn't all quite make sense though. "Celebrate? What is there to celebrate?"

  "I know it's much too soon, but they have hope. With the merging of Barrett's people with ours and the apprehension of Senator Leroy, you guys have given hope back to our people. And they haven't had that for a while." He places his hand on my shoulder. "They're having a public event tonight. It's essentially a meet-and-greet for our two civilizations. He and Barrett will be making announcements in regard to the merger as well as our progress with inter-dimensional travel. They want to start a new military with our combined forces. My dad wants you to stay in charge with Barrett as your second in command. And after the celebration, we're questioning the senator about everything that he knows. Any questions?"

  “Yeah, didn't Xyla already interrogate him? Did she not find out anything?” “She said that she had just administered the drug when you walked in. She didn't get a chance to ask anything before you went crazy. We'll have to talk about that later by the way... Any other questions?" "Yeah. Can I go home and get some clothes or do I have to wear this paper-thin gown for the whole day?"

  I arrive at the courtyard realizing that I am less socially prepared to be at this event than I had originally thought. I show up wearing the only suit that I have. After the first island was destroyed, I'm not sure why I saved it. Once we managed to defeat the Ministry's forces, we had plenty of time to gather supplies for the new island. They thought that they had sent more than enough soldiers to get the job done. And they did until something happened that they didn't expect. Something that none of us expected.

  I'd rather not think about it though so I distract myself by looking for RT and Sienna. I need to check in on the ISF and see how it's been running while I've been gone. As I search around, I realize that it's been a while since I've seen such a large group of people. Even with half of Barrett's faction on Teleportation Island, our population has doubled. It's nice to see some of what we built finally getting put to good use. When we built the Capitol building, the island officials had planned on having many public events.

  So we built a vast and elaborate courtyard that could be used for such events. We also built a Great Hall that could be used if we ever felt like celebrating indoors. Since our migration to this island, neither of these areas have been used. We have had a few meetings, but they have all taken place in the Conference Room. And I wouldn't consider any of those events to be celebrations. Even the word 'gathering' sounds too positive for them.

  As I look around, I can see the immense effort that was put into decorating the courtyard for tonight's event. There are a variety of decorations from Russia, Samoa, Scotland, Mexico, and America. These are the cultures of the families who originally founded Idem. On each table are different flower arrangements from the different cultures.

  While preparing the island, my great great grandfather planted many different seeds all over the island. One of the original founders was a botanist who helped him figure out which plants should be grown here. Without a doubt, Miss Matua had a hand in choosing the placement of each item in the courtyard and the overall design of the area. She has always enjoyed the challenge of combining each decoration. Without her, this celebration wouldn't be happening. At least not like this. She realizes the importance of things like this even when the rest of us do not.

  The greater purpose of these celebrations is so that we can unite. So that we can bond with each other. It is especially important at the beginning of our merge with the Faction. These are things that I realize and yet, I still struggle with executing the proper steps. I want everyone to get along with each other. I want them to connect, and yet, I can't get myself to do that very thing. I find myself trying to close myself off to the world. Sometimes, I create a mask, a facade of the real me so that I don't have to open up. So that I don't have to accept reality.

  I put these thoughts temporarily to rest as I finally spot Sienna. She is talking to herself. At least an alternate version of herself. That reminds me, I wonder where Real Jayden is. I'm sure that Xyla and Sienna will know. "Well, you two seem to be getting along quite nicely," I say. "Jayden! It's good to see you." Xyla says. Sienna seems a little confused at her reaction to my appearance. "It's good to see that you're doing well," she says. "And here I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to tell you guys apart." They both smile. "Now with those smiles, I think I'm confused again."

  We all share a laugh. "You're in a good mood, aren't you?" Maybe a few hours of sleep once in a while is all that you need," Sienna says. Normally, I might take offense to those comments, however, right now, I am in a good mood. It is strange because only a moment ago, I felt like I was on the verge of having a panic attack. It's actually kind of bothersome that I would take offense to those comments. Especially since I can tell by her tone that she seems to be genuinely happy for me. I guess the only reason that I would get offended is that I haven't been myself for the last year.

  The last year? Wait. We were talking about the battle for the first island. Who was I talking about it with? Xyla was there. So was Callum and Real Jayden. I ignore the thought and instead focus on the conversation at hand. "I think that you're probably right about that," I reply warmly. "So, Sienna, how has security been in my absence?" "All systems are operating at full capacity, contention amongst citizens is at an all-time low, and we managed to get all of Barrett's Faction members over here safe and sound. So, overall, I'd say that security has been very good. After all, you did leave it in my very capable hands."

  She smiles confidently. “Yes, I did,” I reply, looking her in the eyes to let her know, I mean it. “Good work getting them all over here safely. Who led the transport?” “It was Peterson. I knew you wouldn't want me to leave the island.” “Thank you.” “Of course. I guess I should get used to running things over here. You're probably going to be gone a lot more now.”

  "That is probably true. By the way, do you know where Real Jayden is?" I ask them. "Awe, you kind of worry about him, don't you?" Xyla replies with a sensitivity that is a little surprising. "Well, it is my job to protect him," I reply with a smile. She smiles in return. "He's over there. To the left of the stage." She gestures with a turn of her head. "He's with RT and Callum. They're all helping Mayor Matua and Barrett set up for their speech." The stage is an enormous half circle. At the back of the Capitol building is a hill which leads down into the courtyard. There are two curved staircases on the hill with flat areas for wheelchairs as well. In between these staircases is the stage and to the left, are my friends. At least, I think they're my friends. RT is definitely my friend.

  "Excuse me, ladies." I make my way over to the left of the stage where RT is tinkering with th
e sound system. Naturally, that's no surprise. Callum and Real Jayden are standing off to the side looking as though they want to help but not sure how. Also, not a surprise. I try to sneak up on them but Callum's bloodhound nose won't let me get away with it. He turns to look at me. "Hey, good morning there, sunshine." Jayden turns around as well. "Oh, look who it is. The human flamethrower himself." I cringe slightly. He looks like he vaguely senses why.

  “Sorry, I just wanted to say that what you did for us on the freeway was amazing. I am very surprised that I'm alive after that whole event.” “No problem. I'm sure that if you could have fire shoot out of your hands, you would have done the same thing for me.” I look down at RT, still busy at work rewiring the speakers. “Oh, he's glad to see you too,” says Real Jayden. “He's just a little preoccupied with fixing his mess.” RT looks over. “Yeah, very funny. What's up, Jayden.”

  “I'm just checking in on you guys. Carry on with your work. I'll try to keep these two out of your way.” I turn to Callum and Real Jayden. “So which one of you hands him the tools and which one gets him coffee?” They both chuckle. Callum's has a slight scoff with it. “Are you excited for the after party with Leroy?” he asks. “Oh, yeah. I wish we could skip right to it.” “So whose interrogation tactics are we going to use, yours or mine?” “I don't see why we can't use a little bit of everything.” We both smile. “I want to be there,” Real Jayden states plainly. I look at him for a moment. “Have you ever done anything like this before?”