The Real World

by Jacob Long

  The entrance to the submarine bunkers reopens. "Get inside," he instructs us telepathically. As Elena levitates us inside, I hear shots fire through the air and the loud whirring of a helicopter. My dad has joined the fight. Once we're inside, the entrance seals behind us. I can still hear the commotion above as we float down the stairway. It leads to a long hallway. We reach the submarine bunker with our families and open the door. Dr. Buford is inside with medical supplies strewn about. Elena must have contacted him telepathically.

  I'm barely maintaining consciousness at this point. Elena levitates me face down onto the bed, and the doctor gets to work. Using her mind, Elena peels off the remaining pieces of my shirt. The doctor hooks an IV into my arm. It doesn't hurt any less since Elena has been soothing the pain this whole time. It does comfort me, however, to know that she can finally take a rest now. I grab my mom's arm. "She's too tired. She needs to rest," I say gesturing to Elena. Upon closer inspection, I can tell that my mom notices that little bit of blood under Elena's nose. My mom grabs a bottle from the fridge. "You should rest too." She says to Elena, handing her the bottle.

  "We will take care of him. I promise." Elena takes the bottle and sits down next to her family. My mom helps the doctor by cleaning the wound. The noise from the fight above ground grows louder. The room starts to shake. "Initiate the escape plan!" my dad says over the comm system. "We'll leave one sub behind," Councilman Matua's voice replies. "It's too risky," my dad responds. Send all of them now. That's an order!" I cringe to think that we're leaving behind Kurpatov, Fetu, and my dad behind. “Ship one has been launched,” RT's voice says over the comm system. The shaking of the room becomes more violent.

  Everyone is struggling to stay standing. I can feel Elena stabilizing me as I lay helpless. She grasps her head in pain. "Elena, what's happening?" I ask. Utensils from the medical tray fall to the ground. "Someone is here. A powerful telepath... It's Fulloway." "Ship two launching in five, four, three, two, one, and launch," RT continues."Ship two is out, but there appears to be something wrong with ship three." The vibrations in the room continue to get worse. "Ship one is down! I repeat ship one is down," RT yells over the comm system. I can hear the breaking up of the earth from above. The ship is not just shaking. It's starting to levitate. Within seconds the entire sub is lifted out of the ground and dropped onto the surface.

  The sound of tearing metal shrieks into my eardrums as the door to our bunker tears away. Everyone in the room is immediately pulled out by an invisible force and lifted into the sky. Another administrator has joined the fight, and he has telekinetic abilities as well. I don't recognize him from the database that we stole. RT and I went through every file on every administrator. He places my family and Elena's next to our dad's up in the sky. He puts me on my own, set in a position to look upon all of them. Where is Fetu? I look around only to see my dad's helicopter in pieces. Fetu is lying next to it. He's injured badly.

  The telekinetic administrator levitates Fetu and Dr. Buford in between the rest of them and me. "Hello, Jayden," he says, but I know it's not his mind that is choosing his words. Up above there is a Ministry airship, floating. That must be where Consul Fulloway is. I'm sure that right now, Commander Kurpatov and Elena are the only people standing in her way from controlling us with her mind. Our telepathic inhibitor chips are, but Fulloway is a class four telepath. Even with them on, she could typically control several of us at the same time.

  "What do you want Fulloway?" I ask, hoping to stall for time. I'm hoping that RT will show up with some gizmo that will wipe out the entire Ministry army. I'm hoping for anything. "Smart boy, you are," the telekinetic smiles. "First, I want to let you know that Carlisle apologizes. He couldn't make it today. Something came up. Don't worry though. I'll be bringing you home to see him soon." "A coward with excuses," I reply. "Very original. What else is new?" The telekinetic man pauses for a moment. "You have no idea how much you mean to him."

  Through his eyes, she stares me down. "Just let us go now before things get ugly for you," I yell. He laughs. "Ah, yes the ordinary man who fights among the extraordinary. Confident even in the face of certain defeat." "Well," I reply. "I just thought I'd live up to my reputation. Now let's settle this one on one. Hand to hand combat. Send in your best guy." She smiles and shakes his head. "It's verging on pathetic at this point, Jayden. This isn't ancient Greece, and if it were, you'd still lose. But don't worry, this is an important loss for you. It's one that you will learn greatly from, and trust me; there is a lot of losing to be had."

  Both Fetu and Dr. Buford begin to breathe very fast. “No,” I say quietly. Sweat is dripping down from their heads. They appear to be in an immense amount of pain. "Don't do this!" The heat coming from the scars on my back is stronger than ever. It spreads covering the entire surface of my skin. "Stop! What do you want!" My pleas go unheeded. In an instant, my family is gone. All life leaves their faces, and their bodies go limp. I scream into the air as if the sheer volume of my yell would bring them back and destroy Fulloway in the process. Under her control, the mindless administrator loosens his telekinetic hold on Fetu and Dr. Buford, and I watch, helplessly as they drop to the earth. My breath is heavy. My rage is building. "There it is," Fulloway says. "That uncontrollable temper."

  What is Fulloway waiting for? She must want me to suffer. Perhaps Carlisle and Fulloway have chosen to make an example out of me. But for who? Are they going to let any of us live? Are they going to kill me in front of the rest of them? Or are they going to kill them in front of me? "In order to fulfill your destiny, you must lose everything!" She shouts through the telekinetic administrator. He nods to General Haws. General Haws nods in return and lifts his hands up in there. He summons a thin bolt of lightning and directs it at Elena and our families as I look on in horror.

  25

  Elena's eyes close as the electricity spreads throughout the group, shocking all of them. They scream and writhe in pain. I struggle to move. Every muscle tenses up. I'm yelling, incoherently as loud as I can. My throat is aching. I feel like an angry wild animal. My efforts seem pointless, but it's all that I can do as I watch in horror at the pain of the people that I love the most in this world. A burning sensation starts in my eyes. I can tell that they're burning, but it doesn't hurt. A flame generates from my chest. Something is happening, but it's not happening fast enough.

  As I witness them dying, my consciousness transports to an empty space with Elena and our families. "We don't have much longer, Jayden," Elena says. I shake my head. "There has to be away," I object. "It's time to say goodbye," she says, nearly sobbing. One by one, they each walk up to me. I hug each one of them and tell them I love them before saying goodbye. Elena is last. I hold on to her wishing I could never let go and still thinking of any possible way to defeat Fulloway. There is no way. I've relieved this moment dozens of times, and it always turns out the same.

  So I do the only things that I can do. I wipe the tears from Elena's cheeks with my thumbs. I kiss her, and tell her, “I love you,” as I stare into those emerald eyes for the infinitely last time. “I love you too,” she says as we disappear from the astral plane and back into reality where they are all looking at me for the last time. I'm yelling, reaching out for them, and they for me. I stare, fixated on Elena's eyes as the last drop of life leaves her body.

  The electricity stops surging throughout, and I am forced to look upon the lost lives of my family as their bodies lower to the ground. What have I done? How could I have let this happen? The burning from before grows stronger, and the fire spreads from my chest to my arms and legs. Soon there is fire surrounding my entire body and an overwhelming feeling of strength surging throughout. My breathing is heavy but steady. I yell with more rage than I have ever felt before as I unleash an inferno upon Fulloway's airship and the telekinetic that she's been controlling. He instantly disintegrates, and the airship's force field is destroyed. The ship sustains extensive damage before it starts to fly away. As I aim to finish the job, t
he rest of the Ministry army attacks me.

  Haws' giant lightning bolt has no effect against layers and layers of fire surrounding me. Another airship moves in to attack, and I fly right through it destroying the force field, and the engine room in one burst. I have no mercy. I continue to fly toward Fulloway's ship. I don't intend on letting her get away. Haws and Carter pursue me to protect her. The airship starts to go down. Before it does, Haws rescues Fulloway and keeps her save in his electric force field. He shoots another lightning bolt at me. This time I counter him with a blast of flame from my chest and arms. His force field is barely holding up when Carter comes to his rescue by hitting me with a huge gust of wind. The wind only eats away at part of my fire blockade.

  Instead of continuing their attack, they continue their escape. I'm in pursuit when I realize that most of the other Ministry convoys are heading back to the city. I turn my head back to catch a glimpse of them attacking. I regain a shred of sense and head back to save them. Fulloway and Carlisle will both pay for what they've done.

  Right now though, I need to save the rest of my island. I turn down the heat on my flame. I tell myself that it's to conserve energy, but I know it's because I want my victims to suffer in the heat as I did. All that I can feel is anger and hatred. I rapidly eliminate the remaining jets in the sky. Without hesitation, I move onto the soldiers on the ground. Destroying them doesn't take very long, but after I finish, I'm exhausted. I descend to the ground and look around at the last remaining citizens of Idem.

  I drop to my knees and look around, taking a head count. There are only twenty-two of us. There is Councilman Matua, Angela Matua, RT, Sienna, her injured brother Curtis, Doc, Johnny the Baker and his family, and several other adults that I barely recognize. There are some children as well, and the baby that was in the burning house, she made it as well. Everyone else is gone. The air fills with the sounds of the rest of us mourning their loss. I can hear Sienna's scream above all of them, and I look over to see her brother, dying in her arms.

  The Rich World – New York City – 2020

  The screaming continues as I am ripped out of the illusory past world and thrown back into the present. I sit up breathing heavily; my heart is racing. Xyla is at the controls, screaming. She smacks at the buttons while staring at the screen. I don't even have to look at the screen to know why. I look at it anyway. Destruction envelopes nearly every image on the vast display. Callum and Real Jayden are awake now. I force myself up to a standing position. "Are there any that haven't landed?" I ask in desperation. Real Jayden rushes up to her other side. She pauses for a moment. Her mouth opens as if she is about to speak, but she only shakes her head. I step closer to her, and she turns to face me. My heart breaks again. Her cheeks are puffy, her face is blushing, and tears are streaming.

  I walk toward her, she inches forward, and I wrap my arms around her. I look up, and I see... myself. Not Real Jayden, but- me- in my clothes. I realize that I am telepathically riding along in Real Jayden's body. I snap out of it and come back to my own body. Now I can see Real Jayden holding and comforting Xyla. Callum gets up and walks over to the group. We exchange those awkward type of looks that you share with people during times of helplessness. Those times when you're not sure what to do in the situation. My eye line has returned to Real Jayden and Xyla. He holds her close and guides her over to a chair nearby. Once they move, I spot something.

  On the corner of the screen, one of the smaller images catches my eye. I check the corresponding small monitor at the control center only to see ten of Rich Jayden's specialized surveillance jets teleporting to the Extreme World. I spot something in the distance. I use the controls to zoom in. A familiar landscape. On the beach is the Faction's submarine. It's the Faction's home. They are gathering the last of their supplies. Barrett is leading them. Callum sees the screen as well and rushes over. I place my hand on my helmet to contact RT, but nothing is there. It must have been incinerated along with McElroy. It held up longer than I thought it would. Callum reaches up to his comm button.

  "RT can you teleport us out?" he asks, urgently. "Yes," he replies. "I believe so." RT sounds somewhat defeated. "Good," Callum replies, abruptly. "Send Real Jayden first to the Faction island and the rest of us back to Teleportation Island. And make it fast, RT. Ministry jets are heading to the islands." Callum hands me his headset, and I put it on just before I disappear in a flash of blue. I end up on the sand a few feet from the submarine. The beach shakes beneath my feet, and I stumble. I turn around to see smoke coming from above the trees. I lift my head straight up just in time to see all ten jets converging on the island.

  Without pausing to think of whether or not I have the energy for this, I shoot up into the air. I stop as soon as I reach the same elevation as the jets. I throw a fireball at each one in rapid succession. One by one, each of the planes extinguishes in a puff of smoke. I turn my gaze downward to the island only to see utter devastation, burning vegetation everywhere. I spot an area that looks like it may have been the Faction's village and fly down to it.

  I land down and immediately begin to search every corner for signs of life. I could use the scanners on my helmet right now, although, I don't think they would find anything. Wait, I can use my telepathy. I mentally scour through the village, searching for anyone. I search everywhere. Inside every burning house. Under every fallen tree, and all I find are lifeless bodies.

  I still haven't seen Barrett. After looking through every last area of the village, I find myself wandering in the middle of it. I hear a noise. I turn to see Barrett, struggling to break free from burning debris that has trapped him. I run over, and incinerate the debris while protecting him from the flame.

  “Barrett,” I say, exasperated. “I'm going to get you out of here.” He struggles to talk, but only coughs come out. “Don't speak,” I tell him. “I'm going to ask you some questions, and I need you to blink once for yes, and twice for no. Do you understand?” Reluctantly, he blinks once. I squeeze his foot. “Can you feel this?” He blinks once. “Good. Good.” I repeat myself as I try to maintain my composure. Before I can ask another question, he lifts his arm up and motions for me to kneel closer to him. I follow his instructions as he places his hand on the back of my shoulder. “You have to keep going,” he says, faintly. “You have to be strong.” I pull away, looking into his eyes, and I watch helplessly as the life vacates his body.

  I carefully pick him up. I have to keep going. I can't stop now. As I gaze upon the devastation surrounding me, I realize that my heart is pounding out of my chest. My eyes are watery. Everywhere I look is ash and red ember. I gaze from house to burning house. I start to slowly, helplessly spin around. I can't help but think of the first island of Idem. The heat, the flames, the demolition, the shooting, the screaming. All of it- is happening- again. It feels so real as if it had never stopped as if the horror had never ceased. And in some part of my mind, it never really has. Nor do I think it ever will.

  26

  The main street of the second island of Idem is quieter than ever today. Absolutely no one is out here, except for me. The air is still, and I can hear my every step hit the ground. They're not loud steps, but I can hear them clearly. I stop in front of the bakery. I'm not ready to go in. Not quite yet. I'm about to talk about something that I don't want to. I have that feeling inside telling me to find anything else to do at the moment. I also have the feeling that I should do this. And that feeling won't subside. Not until I go in and face my fears. Which I will do in a moment. For now, I tilt my head back to gaze up at the sky. The sun is shining, and there's not a cloud in the air.

  It's strange to think that on Idem, we can control our weather. It's also weird to think about the way that the weather can affect a significant day. There seems to be two kinds of weather that are appropriate for significant days. The atmosphere today exhibits the first. Calmness. The sun is shining, but not too brightly, and there is a very light breeze. Snow, heavy rain, strong winds, lightning, and cold temperature
s are the least desirable types of weather for these types of days. It doesn't matter if that significant day is the good kind, such as a wedding, or the bad kind, such as a funeral.

  However, light rain, on a wedding day may actually be kind of nice. At least, that's what Elena thought, and after some explaining, it made sense to me to. Light rain brings with it the ideal amount of humidity, and it can even feel therapeutic to have small raindrops softly land on the surface of your skin. Light rain is a desirable form of weather. It may also be the only other type of weather that seems fitting for a funeral. It may even be somewhat cathartic. Even so, I couldn't bring myself to choose to have it rain today. It just didn't seem right. Then again, what about this funeral does seem right? What about any funeral seems right?

  Telepathically, I sense a presence. Two actually. Veronica has spotted me from the upstairs apartment. She looks at me for a moment. Something catches her attention in the room, and she goes back to whatever she was doing. The other presence is Johnny. I carefully tilt my head back down and turn to face the door of the bakery.