Dead Time Series

by Jason Wilcox

  “What is that?” Azgiel felt a strangely familiar presence near him. He couldn’t quite identify the source or the direction it was coming from, but something was near. Something from long ago.

  “Domblin.” Kaz growled and turned only to be blasted into the wall. His large feet smashed the desk as he went over it. He collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

  Azgiel turned as well, moving calmly, unconcerned by the attacker, confident in the power he held. Domblin stood across the hallway from him, holding a bright staff. Kaz was right. Domblin was the source of the familiar feeling.

  Loud laughter echoed down the corridor. Azgiel couldn’t help himself; it was a laugh of joy, knowing that Domblin let him out. “So, you’re the one behind all of this. The one who got me out?” The large doors to Azgiel’s left creaked slightly distracting both their attention. He saw Mauldrin only a split second before Domblin jerked forward, causing the doors to blast shut. A barrier of light remained on the doors after the explosion.

  Azgiel smiled as he turned his focus back to Domblin. It was nice to see Domblin put Mauldrin in his place and very impressive that he had become so powerful.

  “So, you’re the one who brought me back, right?” Azgiel questioned.

  “Not a chance,” Domblin barked, holding his staff a little higher. “But I am the one who’s going to put you back in your prison where you belong.”

  A knot developed in Azgiel’s throat and pain pinched at his heart. Of those who had betrayed him in his life, he hadn’t foreseen Domblin being one of them. He swallowed. “Tell me, little brother, when did you become one of them?”

  “You still don’t understand? You lied to me and betrayed what we stood for. I’m not going to stand by while you deal out more death and destruction,” Domblin snapped.

  Even though he was hurt, Azgiel was thoroughly impressed. At least his little brother had finally found a backbone.

  A blast of white light shot out from Domblin’s free hand. Chuckling aloud, Azgiel held a hand up and the energy was absorbed into his palm. “Tickles.” He took a step forward. “Now, was that really necessary?” Azgiel knew the blast was only a test; Domblin was sizing him up. If it had been anyone other than Domblin, he would’ve killed him for such action.

  Still smiling, Azgiel lifted a hand. “Do you know how nice it is to have a body again? I mean really. You begin to take it for granted until it’s been taken away for years upon years.” He wanted to get him talking.

  “Enjoy it while it lasts.”

  Azgiel stared at Domblin for a second. His staff was growing increasingly brighter. A stronger attack was on its way, which disheartened Azgiel. “Are you sure you want to go down this road?” The smile drooped slightly; he could feel the foreign muscles of the new body loosen in his face.

  “Time for you to go back to your prison,” Domblin spoke with a subdued tone, his eyes watching Azgiel like a hawk.

  Gunshots rang out, distracting both of them. Bullets smashed through the door. The glowing white barrier instantly mended itself after each bullet. The interruption sent Domblin into action. He jumped forward, ready to slam the staff to the ground.

  Knowing the attack was coming, Azgiel held his hand in the air and Domblin slowed, but didn’t fully stop as Azgiel had intended. He was in shock. Domblin had never been so powerful. The staff flew out of Domblin’s hands and smashed into the ground. A thunderclap vibrated the floor and kept roaring through the room, causing Azgiel to put his hands to his ears.

  A strange black line went up from the floor after the staff fell to the ground. The noise stopped, but the line turned into something strange. It looked like a tear like in a picture. He couldn’t believe Domblin was really going to put him back into a cell of time.

  “Enough!” Azgiel shouted. The tear kept growing. It was the size of a human now. “It’s time for you to see what true power is.”

  Azgiel raised his hands and he floated off the ground. Black lines began to circle around him, forming a ball with him in the center. Domblin ran at him, picking his staff up in the process. The concrete floor under Azgiel cracked and bent inwards from the sphere that was building around him. “Goodbye, Domblin,” he spoke loudly through the darkness that was accumulating.

  “No!” Domblin threw his staff into the sphere. Only an inch of it penetrated the field, but it was enough, and Azgiel knew it. Grimacing, he pulled his hands in as quickly as he could to cover his face. The ball exploded, launching Domblin across the room into a wall. Everything nearby was blown backwards. Walls and doors were taken out. Azgiel was smashed to the floor, his right leg and side taking the major blows. Pain shot through him. He knew he had a couple of bones broken. Azgiel swallowed, realizing his strength and power was far weaker than what it had been before he was put into the cell of time.

  Something with incredible strength grabbed his shirt and lifted him up. “It’s time to go, sir,” Kaz spoke as he turned Azgiel around. His thick arm flexed as he held him up. Azgiel could see that the desk had covered Kaz from the blast.

  “Get us out of here, my power is too weak,” Azgiel stammered, feeling almost ashamed. Kaz lowered him to the ground. His right leg throbbed, even with him keeping it in the air. The Witch would fix him up as soon as they got back. He was too exhausted to do it himself; his power had grown weak during his time locked away in the cell of time.

  Peering through the settling dust and rubble, Azgiel looked for Domblin to see if he was still alive. Nothing. Kaz took hold of his shoulder and a ball of blue light encircled them as Kaz held out a small black obsidian ball. Concrete bubbled up over the light shield as it zapped and twisted. With a loud snap that came from the ball, they were gone, leaving the bulging pile of concrete behind.

  CHAPTER 11

  With a jerky movement, Caden threw himself forward into a sitting position. He breathed fast and heavy, feeling very disoriented and sore in a number of places. How did I get from the hallway to a regular dorm room? My room? The lights were on, the door was cracked, and before he could get his bearings, a voice from the corner of the room called out his name.

  “It’s about time you woke up,” Domblin whispered from the back corner of the room. “I was beginning to think I would have to jump on you.”

  Caden blinked a couple of times to clear the fuzziness from his vision. A strong pounding in his head made it hard to open his eyes with the lights on. His muscles ached as he turned to look at Domblin who was covered in dust and spattered with cuts.

  “You again.” It wasn’t the smartest remark, but it was the first thing that popped out as Caden tried to decide if he was truly awake or still dreaming. He lowered his head as the pain drilled through his brain. If I don’t acknowledge him, maybe he’ll disappear. Besides, I have to figure out what’s going on. How in the world did I even get in my room? Caden looked up at the door that was still cracked open.

  With a smile, Domblin pulled Caden’s attention back to him. “Listen to me. Right now, I don’t have much time. I understand that you still plan to use your Dead Time equipment even after our last talk. It’s not safe for you. Stay out of it.” A noise came from the hallway. “I’m not going to be able to explain things to you now. It will have to be another time.” Domblin stopped talking after he heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

  As Caden looked to the door, a sore spot on his ribs gripped at his chest, and he placed his large hands on his dusty shirt. The soot was grimy under his fingers. Closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath, Caden decided to engage in conversation. “What do you mean it’s not safe for me?”

  No response. He opened his eyes and turned. Domblin was gone. He shakily stood, looked under the bed, but there was nothing. The closet door was open, but no one was there. His concentration was interrupted as Robert and Bain barged into the room.

  Robert was speaking the second he walked through the door. “Good, you’re awake. Now tell me what happened down there?” A large stitched cut on Robert’s arm was the only evide
nce he had been in the blast. Obviously, he had already been cleaned up and taken care of, unlike Caden.

  “I’m not too sure, sir.” Throbbing pain pounded in Caden’s head as he spoke. He lifted his hand to rub his right temple. “I visited Steven. Left, and forgot to tell the guard something, so I headed back. When I got to the doors, an explosion knocked me out. You were there for the rest.” His nose itched, so he rubbed it with his finger only to feel crispy, dried blood stuck to his skin. Caden tried to wipe it off.

  Narrowing his eyes, Robert studied Caden for a moment without saying anything. Bain still stood behind him at a respectful distance. “Why did you go see Steven in the first place?” Robert’s voice was gruff. Caden stopped rubbing his lip. Is he questioning me?

  “I wanted to get my own assessment of what Dead Time did to Steven, since it is my project.” The headache seemed to disappear with the adrenaline pumping through his veins, fueled by anger. How dare he question me! “I’m not behind this.” Caden’s words were cold.

  Robert chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment. His eyes still analyzed Caden’s every move, and Caden knew it. “The Dead Time project has been compromised. We were attacked in three different places last night. I have reason to believe Steven’s behind it all, but I don’t know who’s with him. The facility is in lockdown right now, and I want both of you and your teams ready to go into Dead Time by o-nine hundred. We have to move faster with this project now that there are others with our equipment.” Robert reached into his pocket as he finished.

  “You’re being vague. Can you fill me in on what’s going on?” Caden asked as he watched Robert pull out a small injection gun.

  “I’ll tell you the details as long as you agree to let me inject you with a T-13.”

  Pursing his lips, Caden stared at the injection gun. The chip would allow Robert to listen to his conversations anywhere he went and would track his every move, giving Robert knowledge of where he was at all times. “What are you trying to pull? You’re not supposed to inject any agents with those; that’s SDS policy.”

  “Make your choice.” Robert’s tone was cold. “You either accept the T-13 to prove your innocence, or you don’t and prove that your team is behind what’s going on.” His right hand moved in a better position to draw his gun. Caden looked down at his twitching trigger finger. Scars were scattered across his fingers from all the years of being in the field before he became Director of SDS. He looked back up at Robert’s stern eyes that analyzed Caden.

  “We can’t trust each other anymore? Is that what it’s come to?” Caden could feel the heat in his face as he spoke. He looked past Robert. “And you Bain? You agreed to this, too?” Neither of them said a word.

  “It’ll be deactivated after this is over and we catch the bad guys,” Bain spoke from behind Robert. “It’s not that big of a deal, Caden. Robert’s just trying to flush out the double agent.”

  Even though Caden was against it, he knew he had to comply. Any further arguing would only make him look guilty and end his ability to be a part of the project. “Fine, if that’s the only way you feel you can trust me, then do-” Before he could finish, Robert popped the injection into him, right behind the left ear.

  “Wow, that thing packs a punch,” Caden said as he rubbed just behind his ear. “Now I know why prisoners always whine about it.”

  “Sorry, Caden, it’s a crude way for me to know if I can trust you. Like Bain said, when this is all said and done, I promise we’ll deactivate it. But right now, we have to weed out double agents. Both of you are to take these injection guns with the T-13 chips and inject them in your men. If they refuse, then they’ll be treated like they’re guilty.”

  Both of them were handed small injection guns. Caden shifted his weight holding the gun in his hands and looking at it. He clenched his teeth, angry about the request. “Fine. I’ll do as you order. But you told me you’d fill me in on what’s going on. So?” The gun fit nicely in his pocket. He could feel a bruise on his leg as he put it in his pants. There were probably many sore places yet to find.

  “Fair enough. You know about what happened in the prison. After the explosion, we went in and all we found was the dead body of the security guard. Steven was gone and the place blown to pieces. There were a few peculiar things left behind, which we're in the process of investigating. Two other attacks happened at the same time. A couple of scientists were killed along with some guards. The attackers took Dead Time suits and a computer that had information about the suits. I have reason to believe that Steven was a double agent, and they were after the Dead Time equipment all along.”

  “What’s the point of us going into Dead Time so soon after the attacks? Shouldn’t we be out there tracking these suckers down?” Caden snapped.

  Caden shifted his weight looking at both of them. How in the world did Steven get a shot at being an advisor to Robert if he was a double agent? Robert must have had his reasons to hide information from me, but things just aren’t adding up.

  “No, I have a team already working with the guards to find them. I need your two teams to be ready to fight when we find them. If they’re one step ahead of us, you’ll just be wiped out. Your equipment is that good, Caden.” Robert patted Caden on the shoulder and walked out, even though Caden had more questions. Bain nodded and followed Robert. Caden squinted at him as he left. Butt kisser.

  Moving quickly, Caden changed out of his tattered clothing and dressed some of his wounds. Surprisingly, all he came away with were a couple of scratches and a few bruises. That must’ve been why they just left me on my bed. There were probably others in much worse condition that needed medical beds. He washed the last cut on his leg.

  “Caden?” James’ voice called out from within his room. He put the washrag away and exited the bathroom. “What’s going on around here?”

  Walking over to his bed, Caden picked up the injection gun where he had left it. “Robert’s ordering everyone to be injected with a T-13.”

  “Excuse me?” James furrowed his brow and popped some of his fingers. “He can’t ask that of us.”

  “He did, and I have to take you into custody if you refuse.” Caden struggled with his words.

  “That’s not right, Caden, and you know it.”

  “Right or wrong, he’s just trying to find out who he can trust. We have nothing to hide, so it’s not going to hurt anything. Robert gave me his word that he will deactivate them as soon as he finds the double agents who have broken into the facility. So, I see you’ve heard,” Caden said, noticing James nodding. He lifted the small injection gun up for James to see.

  “You know just as well as I do, even if he deactivates it, he can turn it back on at any time,” James responded without taking the injection gun.

  “We’re going to have to trust him. Besides, orders are orders.”

  “No, Caden. Orders aren’t always orders; there is a line,” James said while letting out a deep breath, eyeing Caden. After a moment, the anger in his face seemed to let up a little. “If you say it’s okay, then I’ll trust you. You’ve never led me astray.” His voice was softer, but Caden could tell he was still frustrated.

  The words made Caden uncomfortable, and he let his hand lower, moving the injection gun away from James. You’re not making this any easier. After a small hesitation, Caden lifted the gun up to James. Shifting his weight, James raised an eyebrow and gave Caden a stern look as he took the gun and injected the chip.

  “Ooo. That hurt.” James said as he flinched and handed the gun back to Caden. “Good luck on Matt being as compliant.”

  “True enough.” Caden knew it was going to be hard to convince Matt. “Robert wants us ready to go into Dead Time by oh nine hundred. So, get what you need to do done and head to the lab.” James left without saying another word. Caden finished getting ready and headed out as well. It was time to find Matt.

  On the way to his room, Caden ran into Matt in the hallway. He was out of breath and sweat dripped down his fore
head. “Caden, I’m glad I found you,” Matt said to him as he approached. “Have you heard we were attacked yet?”

  “Yeah, it looks like you were part of the fight,” Caden responded as he walked past Matt, motioning for him to follow.

  “What’s the plan of attack? It seems like no one has a bloody idea of what is going on,” Matt growled as they walked into his room. The room was immaculate as if he hadn’t been there yet.

  “Close the door,” Caden spoke quietly. “Good. Now Robert-”

  Matt spoke at the same time. “I have to talk to-”

  Both of them stopped talking. “Let me go first,” Caden stated. “Now, Robert has ordered us to be injected with a T-13. A refusal will place you in a holding cell.” His tone and language was harsher than it had been with James, knowing he couldn’t be as nice with Matt.

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Matt shook his head. “That ain’t gonna happen.”

  “Matt, Robert said he would deactivate them after all of this. It’ll just be for a short time.” Caden knew this argument was inevitable. Matt always had to have things his way, and Caden wasn’t going to put up with another ‘no’. He couldn’t deal with his team breaking up now with all that was happening.

  With a look of disgust, Matt eyeballed Caden just as James had. “You already have one in, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do. I wouldn’t ask you to do something I’m not willing to do.”

  Matt wrinkled his nose and walked over to his nightstand. The drawer squeaked as it opened. He pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, basic items in all of their rooms. Caden walked over as he heard the pen go to work on the paper. Crinkling it, Matt threw the paper in Caden’s face.

  There’s a lot more going on than you know. We have to talk, but it’s not safe here. Caden read the scribbled handwriting.

  “Why not?” Caden asked. Matt took the pad out of Caden’s hands and began scribbling once again.