No reply can be heard through the silent air as she begins to feel a strange presence. Setting the bags of food on the coffee table she walks through the house, upstairs and down.
"Ash! Babe, where are you? This isn't funny, come on I know you're here, your cars' outside." Angela says as a nervous feeling quickly surrounds her, yet she does her best to shrug it off for now. After walking the entire house she returns to the living room.
"Omega, is Ashton home?" Angela asks the computer system.
"Negative. Ashton Mortal is not on the premises."
Confused, Angela's worries begin to worsen. "Last known whereabouts Omega."
"Last vital signature was recorded at 9:49 P.M., followed by a power disruption. Vitals ceased at the time of disruption."
"Ceased? What do you mean ceased?"
"Mr. Mortal did not leave the premises, so it is likely his vitals have ceased as no health signature can be detected. Would you like me to contact emergency services Mrs. Mortal?" Omega suggests.
"No! He's not here you stupid computer! That was four minutes ago damn it, where could he be? What the hell!"
The small holographic device on the table flashes in the corner of Angela's eye. She turns and walks over to it, sitting down on the black sofa as she begins watching Tyler Morgan's video message, the same played only minutes ago. As she watches the whole video, something dreadful comes over her and nothing is making much sense as she see's the empty box on the table that housed the Artifact. Tiny impressions remain as she realizes an object has been recently pulled from the casing. "Oh my God! Ash! Oh God no!" The gravity of the situation sets in as Angela begins to panic.
No vitals can be detected because the man known to all who loved him as Ashton Mortal no longer exists. At this moment, even if you could search every inch of this universe, no trace would be found. Angela knows something horrible has happened, for she heard Tyler's message and knows her husband is missing, having a terrible feeling about what today truly means for her family. Sitting in silence trying to make sense of the last five minutes of her life, these difficult minutes that will always haunt her as the power suddenly cuts and in an instant the inside of the house is lit up with flashing lights from outside.
Without warning the door to the Mortal residence is knocked down and the living room quickly fills with fully geared soldiers, pouring in from all directions. Angela doesn't even have a minute to grasp anything when a black bag is pulled over her head and as quickly as it came, darkness.
CHAPTER: 7
DEJA VU
I feel myself lying down, the ability to move slowly returning as I regain consciousness. My vision taking a moment to adjust as I push my hands forward feeling my fingers slide into what seems like sand, not quite as coarse. Sounds that seem familiar and foreign surround me, like power lines mixed with waves breaking on a distant shoreline. Pulling my legs up, I use all my strength to throw my body upright, my head tilted back as my eyes struggle to focus. Rubbing them, my vision fully returns as smeared lights sharpen into distinct images. My eyelids peel back finally revealing an image I will never forget, no matter how hard I try.
There I sit, on what seems and feels like a small beach staring at a large pool of liquid directly in front of me glowing and radiant, like nothing I've ever seen. I can't say what it is, I couldn't dream this moment, for this place is like nothing I've ever experienced, not even in my nightmares.
Angela sits in a room trembling, dark with poor lighting, save the once again flickering light as this interrogation chamber has seen many faces. Terrified at what she does not understand, where she is, where her husband is and more importantly who these people are. The door opens and a figure enters the room, walking over to the light and sitting down in front of Angela. A face she recognizes as a sense of normalcy returns, if for only a moment. "Jason! Thank God you're here! What are they doing with me?" She asks hoping this is all some sort of mistake. "I haven't done anything wrong!"
"Angela, this is very serious ok, I need you to listen to me carefully. The men that have brought you here are no joke, they are looking for Ash and they need you to tell them where he is now. They have allowed me to talk to you, to try and get you to cooperate. Please tell us what we need to know." Jason explains with a look of concern in his eyes.
"You son of a bitch!" Angela fires back. "Who do you think you are talking to me like this! I have rights!"
"Try to understand, this is a national security matter, it's not a game." Jason replies. "They can take your rights from you."
Tears begin to pour from Angela's eyes. "You can't do this to me, I didn't do anything wrong, I just want to know my husband's ok."
"Do you know where he is Angela?"
"No! I don't have a fucking clue what's going on! I walked in the front door with dinner and he was nowhere to be found, but I know he didn't leave the house. I watched the video Tyler had sent and then you guys are busting down the door and throwing a bag over my head. Some friend you are!" Angela screams trying to fight back the tears.
"Greg and I are your friends, try to understand the position we're in. We love you and Ash very much, but I can't control what he gets into. I don't see how he could have knowingly been affiliated with Tyler Morgan." Jason says rubbing his shaved head.
Just then the door to the interrogation room opens once more and another figure enters, walking over to take a seat next to Jason. Angela has never seen this man, but knows this is a dangerous situation. "Mrs. Mortal I presume, my name is Jonathan. I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind."
"Why are you doing this?" Angela demands. "What did we do?"
"Well that's what we're here to find out dear. We need to know what your husband has done with the Payload and where he has gone." Jonathan replies.
"I already told you people, we haven't done anything wrong! I don't know where he is! I stopped to pick up food on our way home from the art show. When I got there, he was nowhere to be found and now I'm here."
"So tell us why your family is involved in the first contact with extra-terrestrial life then Angela." Jonathan says peering back at her.
"Look, I don't know what you're talking about, I don't know anything about aliens! I just want my husband back! You know where he is, I watched Tyler's message." Angela replies growing irritated.
Jonathan is silent, his presence daunting. "I'm not sure that was a smart thing to do, Mrs. Mortal."
No explanations, no words, no sanity left for this situation as I stare with a lost gaze and today it's finally happened, I've lost my mind all together. Both arms planted at my sides in this sand like material as I glance down, running the granules between my fingers. They're smooth, like very tiny crystal shards as the glowing body of liquid in front of me is calm with an eerie silence. Pure white as subtle tints of color reflect off the surface, the pool having the look of liquid energy, the best description I can gather as it seems to be draining into a larger area. Climbing to my feet looking no other direction but forward, I begin to follow a crystal pathway to an outlet where the liquid flows freely. Coming to an edge, I am quickly taken back as I stare out thousands of feet down toward the sounds I heard only minutes ago. Violent crashing below as the waterfall from my perch pours into a giant moving ocean of energy. Rogue waves coming from all directions, crashing into each other with epic explosions beyond imagination. This ocean stretches outward as far as the eye can see, its storm seemingly eternal as I sit at the edge of the crystal path.
My feet hang freely, for it's a long way down from this position so high above the violence below. My psychedelic surrounding does little to phase my mood, for I've already accepted that I've lost my mind. I could easily sit here forever watching this vision put before me, this agitated ocean and its unforgiving currents, doomed to thrash eternally I imagine. Somehow in this moment of my life, better yet this hallucination, I've forgotten so many things. The man I once was, Ashton Mortal, the precious dream I thought never to wake from. Then in a rush it
floods back to me, Angela, I swore I'd never leave her, that our son would have his father.
Sitting on the edge madness with my hands held together in front of my face, my lips pressed against them and my eyes wide as tears flow gracefully and I can't help but wonder if I've died. "Forgive me Angela…God I loved you so much. I feel this ache in my heart with you gone. Forgive me sweetheart, I wanted to be there, I want to be with you always." I say with a heavy heart, crying.
Time and its relevance at this point mean nothing to me, either I'm so far gone mentally there's no hope for return or I'm dead. All signs point to Angela being gone forever so I sob, crying with pains of atonement in the face of eternity. Feelings of despair surround me as I finally feel like a character in one of my paintings and I suppose now I am. Just then a gust of wind hits my backside drawing my attention. I turn my focus back to the shoreline surrounding the large calm pool of energy I awoke by realizing if only I had looked behind myself earlier, maybe this agony wouldn't be so intense.
Beyond the shoreline the crystal granules that make up the beach begin to shift, transforming into white sands with a very tropical feel. Vast mountain ranges and expanding lush terrain surround my position, with a strange sky filled with celestial objects like nothing I've ever seen. Staring ahead, I see a beautiful large valley with enormous monuments riding each side of the open area, perfectly carved mountain lines, some things looking so amazingly familiar, others very alien. Leaving the sand after a short walk, I begin hiking the lush green valley toward the large monuments, not far away.
I come to the first, a large statue stopping me dead in my tracks, a human figure standing fifty feet high or so. Carved out of a dark colored crystal, the figure wears a cloak standing straight up hands held in a prayer position. The figure's head bowed down a bit offers a soft gentle looking face, with a hood pulled over the back of its head. Directly in front of me, a large plaque with writing that I begin to read aloud.
"I am all things, you are everything I can never be, as this journey ends not this day, this hour, yet begins its long road forth. Through all things to come, together we become all things known and on that day might the truth of all universes be known. Might the dreams of all life be realized, for our journey continues so rest my friend. Till we meet again. For the dreams of Vexicus."
A feeling of déjà vu falls over me as if I know the hidden meaning behind this message. Continuing to scan the massive monument in front of me, I stand in awe of this breathtaking rendition. From the monuments base, two stone pathways round both sides of the statue and join behind it as I walk the path to the right and come to a straightaway leading to the next monument off in the distance. From the looks of it, the next venture is a very large pyramid made of the same crystal material as the one from Tyler's message, or at least I assume.
The long pathway is ancient looking, yet well preserved and as I walk this path a somewhat heavy rain begins to pour, very warm, invigorating. I stop not far from the pyramid and stare high into the heavens, with my arms extended, my eyes shut and sensations I just can't explain as I slowly make my way down the road, approaching the front entrance. Entering the twenty-foot entrance, the raindrops abruptly stop as I pass through the opening. Walking down the hallway a small distance, I head straight for the heart of the pyramid as I come upon the central chamber and find a large room, some sort of study.
Inside this room, ancient technology, artifacts, things I can't begin to comprehend. In the center, a brilliant light fixated on a sword floating freely. A broadsword maybe four feet in length, its handle and base an alien material, the blade forged with the crystal material native to this world. Carvings on the blade similar to the Artifact, speaking of which, where is the Artifact? With all this commotion I didn't even realize that the alien dagger that brought me here was no longer on my hand. Deciding that this room holds questions that are beyond me currently, I pause for a moment longer to stare at the blade.
Gathering my wits I head out of the pyramid and back for the shoreline around the large pool of glowing liquid. As I venture back I continue thinking to myself how advanced these structures and technologies seem to be. That being said, I can't help but wonder who built this stuff and where are they now? Leaving the plush terrain, my feet sink into the perfectly cut white sands, flawless as gradually the beautiful sands begin to shift into the crystal material and I once again come upon the large body of energy, calm and silent. Searching the place of my initial awakening, at first there is no sign of the Artifact and then out of the corner of my eye, I see it halfway sticking out of the crystal sand.
Reaching for it slowly, I once again grab it with my right hand and immediately I shut my eyes fearing the worst, yet to my surprise nothing happens. Walking the edge of the pool of energy again I stare out onto the roaring ocean below, waves colliding, causing new waves to form. My eyes roam as I see distant shorelines below, where the ocean currents break. They also extend as far as the eye can see, shinning brightly from the prism reflections of the glowing ocean of energy. Wondering if the sounds of my own thoughts are all I truly have left, if I'm doomed to walk these shores eternally as the silence suddenly breaks. "Do you seek the truth?"
Turning quickly in all directions suddenly my calm feeling is replaced with caution, for I have no idea what I am dealing with. I scan my surrounding environment and decide I'd rather not be standing next to the edge of this cliff that leads to this abyss of energy. Heading back around the large pool I make it to the center of this particular shoreline, back to my arrival point. "Do you seek the origins Ashton Mortal?" The voice asks again.
"Who are you?" I hesitate. "What is this?"
"I am the Creator. Together Ashton, we are all things."
"Show yourself!"
"As you wish." The voice replies as the center of the glowing pool begins to ripple right before my eyes.
Angela sits in a cell crying alone, begging for an explanation. Searching for someway to make sense of all this, crying harder at the idea of not being with her husband and the fact that she doesn't even know if he's ok is almost more than she can take. Difficult to breath as tears fall to the floor and her mind wanders. The idea that they can't be together is too much for her to deal with, she won't have it no matter what it takes. "Baby, I need you right now. I'm so scared." Angela says as the tears continue and her nose begins to run. "I hope wherever you are, you're ok. I love you so much Ashton, whatever it takes I will find you. I'll love you forever." She repeats as her muffled cries fade away into the late evening.
Jonathan Reynolds sits in his study not far from Angela's cell with Jason Scott sitting in the chair opposite him as the two take in the roaring fireplace. "I understand Sir, but she checks out. She just doesn't know anything and considering the circumstances surrounding this event, I'm not sure anyone really knows anything." Jason says.
"So you think there's something else is going on here?" Jonathan asks.
"Yes Sir. I think Tyler Morgan is just a pawn in all this and my friend Ashton could be in real danger." Jason replies. "I don't think he's done anything wrong Sir, but I agree that we need to find him."
Greg Knight enters the room as the double doors open and he joins the conversation with the new intelligence. He takes a seat near his comrade, informing Jonathan of the current events in the mysterious disappearance. "Sir we've exhausted all resources, Ashton Mortal still hasn't been located. The weird thing about it is there isn't a shred of evidence other than Mr. Morgan's message and an empty lock box."
"What does his message mean?" Jonathan ponders aloud. "Is there any genuine relevance here or are these just the ramblings of a deranged lunatic?"
Greg's eyes bounce around the room and return to his superior. "Sir, I think after further review our captives should be released and monitored if we want any further details."
"And what happens if we don't get any further details? What if we can't find Mr. Mortal…what then?
"If he can be found Sir, then we'll find h
im. Ash is our friend Sir; we'll find him no matter what it takes. I promise I'll get to the bottom of this thing." Jason replies.
"I pray you're right son, that we can find Mr. Mortal. Above all, I pray my gut feeling about all this is wrong." Jonathan says as he leans back in his chair and takes a sip of scotch.
CHAPTER: 8
THE EVOLUTION OF LIBERATION
What is the proper definition of terror, of the unknown and with all I've seen I wonder about these origins. Many questions race through my mind, acknowledging that I know nothing for sure, save the fact that you cannot begin to understand the meaning of terror until you realize reality has been stripped away. Whatever I once was now shakes at its very foundation and anything I might have known about life quivers in its presence. Every moment of my past leading to this surreal vision and truly, these images will be forever burned into my mind.
Watching the ripples begin slowly in front me at the center of this large glowing pool that was ever so silent, a calm surface now changed by the rippling motion with the mysterious voice now hushed. Staring in disbelief at all I've seen, searching frantically for answers to this puzzling riddle. Just watching patiently as the pool continues to teem with activity, the ripples increasing steadily as the surface of the pool seems to be almost moving, controlled, methodical and intelligent. From its center tiny strands form and begin to interweave upward, not many at first but only at first.
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