by M. Modak
Hundreds of people were standing behind police barricades as he and Anna burst through the main exit! The chaotic noise of Aughra coming from behind him mixed with the crowd and it hurt their ears. Screams of recognition erupted from the mass of spectators.
“Dr. Aurora save us!” someone cried.
Others yelled, “He’s the antichrist,” and “he’s brought the beast to life!”
The police were having a hard time keeping the people from rushing him.
Joshua pulled Anna close and said, “My car, I mean John’s car; is parked not far over there on the side of the building. I’m going to give a statement to the press. Can you get the car and meet me over there.” He pointed to an area not far away from the gathered crowd but just out of their view. Then he pulled out a key card from his front pocket and she took it.
Anna started to protest. “I don’t think that’s a good ide…”
Joshua interrupted her, “I have to warn these people to leave before it’s too late!” He said loudly trying to project his voice above the rushing wind and shouting mob.
Anna paused for a moment longer, “Hurry Joshua, and be careful.” then she turned and ran toward the car.
After taking a calming breath, he walked to the closest group of reporters. Bright lights glared in his eyes. The police saw what he meant to do and let a pretty, young woman shove a microphone in his face. In a loud voice she asked, “Dr. Aurora, is Aughra going to destroy the world? Can you shut it off?”
From the image coming through the flexscreen attached to the flexcamera he could see the picture of an older, tired-looking self, staring back at him. His hair was windblown and covered in blood. Blood had dripped down onto his extra white lab coat. Behind him, more beams from spotlights originating from the ground somewhere not far away, focused on the funnel that twisted up from the center of the building. The noise of hundreds of people yelling and screaming in the background gave the impression that he had just entered hell itself. The howl of the tornado bearing down on them all mixed with the shaking ground formed an epic sound as if gods were in the heat of battle.
Joshua took off his lab coat and let it drop to the ground. Then he ran his fingers through his hair. It improved his image significantly. The people watching had to listen to what he was going to say. All the blood was too distracting, he needed a shower, but there was nothing more he could do about his hair or the blood on his face.
He cleared his throat and said, “Do not panic or more people will be hurt. Something has gone terribly wrong with the machine. It’s not safe to be near this building for the next few days. If you have the means, you should evacuate Atlanta in an orderly fashion. I can’t stress the danger you are all in. Just simply gather enough things to last a few days and calmly go south of Macon, or to Alabama, Tennessee or wherever you can go to get away from this city.”
The reporter interrupted him with a grunt then she, and the knot of people closest to the building, suddenly fell to the ground. The silence of so many screaming people was unsettling. He bent down and checked the reporter making sure she was still breathing and she had a pulse. Then he picked up her flexcamera.
“If this happens to someone near you, and you’re still you, please check that they are okay then leave as soon as possible before it happens to you. The Aughra-affect is a local event but it is expanding from here, I believe in all directions, but I can’t be sure. You will only be safe if you get further away from this lab!”
The reporter started to come around as she picked herself up off the ground. John bent down and helped her to her feet. He turned the camera on her, not exactly sure what she would do. The reporter looked lost as if she had just fallen into a strange dream.
Joshua heard the screech of tires and looked to see Anna in his car not far away where he had asked her to wait. He returned the flexcamera on himself, “I am looking for Professor Dmitry. I need his help solving this problem. Please contact me as soon as possible.”
The woman, who was a reporter only moments ago asked, “Am I dead?” She looked up at the boiling clouds, and heard the screams in the distance and her eyes opened wide, “Am I in hell! Where are we, where are my children? What’s going on here?!” Panic was rising into her voice as she asked each question. Joshua wanted nothing more than to sit down and explain everything to her but even as he started to explain the distant hollering went quiet. He watched in horror as another wave of police and the people they were holding back, fell to the ground the same way she had just done.
He couldn’t stop here; he had to save them all. He spoke directly to the reporter, and in effect to the whole world, “You have just been teleported into a universe that is parallel to your own. This world is almost the same as the one you came from but there are many things, important things, which are different. What’s important to know is this, you need to find your way out of the city, now, and you need to do it safely.” The woman was looking around as he spoke, only half-paying attention. He couldn’t waste any more time. With that, he handed her the flexcamera, turned and ran toward Anna in the waiting car. He had done all he could here.
Chapter 2 Digging
Fael’s Universe
Sweat covered Yrrep’s naked, 8-foot long body as he ran faster than the eye could see. He had removed his clothes and rinsed them and himself off before leaving the zoo. The smell of blood had been nauseating and the way it made his clothes stick to him had begun to irritate his skin.
He should arrive at the capitol in minutes. Stopping at the Sugerhill Zoo to drop off Sleven and the other two Dragon Exiles took more time than he expected.
He wondered where the last exile was. An unexpected smile spread across his face, perhaps they would soon meet. His desire to put an end to an ancient mistake would have to wait though. Whitman was at the Capitol and his primary mission was to save him. If he didn’t make it in time, this night would be his last.
A skyward glance told him what he already knew; a monster of a thunderstorm was brewing above. The hairs on the back of his neck never lied and the sudden drop in temperature confirmed it. It didn’t look like any storm he had ever witnessed. It produced an odd quantum-electric field, which made the S-matter that made up most of his body tingle. It reminded him of the small vortex Lavar had used to teleport him to this world but he couldn’t imagine what had created this thing.
He hoped it wasn’t important right now. He had to reach the Capital and find a way in, and he had to do it in a way that wouldn’t get him noticed. He still felt creeped out by the memory of the big hand reaching for him from the dark room beyond the elevator door. That couldn’t happen again. The shock of it had almost scared him into hesitation, and certain death. The Grand Master would not be happy.
Grand Master Drahca had been his student of his for many years, and he missed him. He had taught Drahca how to move like a bi-pedal, swordfight and how to live in his new human form after Lavar had changed him. However, the Grand Master had taught Yrrep and Lavar much more about the use of energy and life than all his previous teachers combined. He felt ashamed that he had allowed himself to be caught off guard so many times since coming to this world. He was sure the Master would not be happy.
As he ran, he opened his feelings letting them extend as far as he could see. The clouds weren’t the only haze over Atlanta. A mournful energy made his mouth dry. Earlier, he had noticed that the people here preferred to stay inside, away from the thousands of cameras that looked down from every building and street poll. After seeing Sapen’s eye, he could recognize them anywhere.
The thought of being constantly observed, within a so-called free environment, felt more like the invisible walls of a prison. He guessed it would be a good idea if this was a remote island full of exiles but free people lived here. The idea of it made him sick. Did everyone have access to those cameras? Who was watching everyone anyway?
He stopped on a thick branch in a large oak tree across the street from the capitol. None of the cameras that
he could see was facing his direction. He circled the building twice before returning to his perch, waiting for any ideas to come to mind…
Climbing to the top of the gold dome was not an option he wished to try. The direct way might alarm everyone, even though the place seemed quiet. There were other doors near the ground he could try but he was sure they would all be watched. He was out of options.
Eyes closed and breath even, he sent out invisible waves of expanding energy. Within seconds, his energy had returned. His answer had come.
The ground barely shook as his seven hundred pound frame landed softly on it. He chose a deep shadow covering a spot next to the brick wall that surrounded the Capitol grounds, and ran for it. Construction workers had removed a large chunk of the concrete from the sidewalk exposing enough ground for him to fit.
Crouched and ears alert, he checked if anyone or anything had noticed him, nothing moved. His hands found the square of exposed dirt and again he sent his energy into it.
A picture formed in his mind. The Earth here was thick and filled with rocks, pipes, wires, and other man made materials buried long ago. Doing this would be hard, but it would provide him the cover he needed and it would allow him the advantage of entering the building at a point unguarded.
Quickly, he slipped his clothes back on. Caution guided his actions. He would have to be careful to disturb the insects and other creatures that called this place home, as little as possible. He sent a warning before him, showing his intentions at a level of communication they could understand. He hoped they got the message because once he started he couldn’t stop.
Once he started, he would need to keep going until he reached the lower level of the Capitol building. The sounds he made would need to be continuous so that if anyone did detect his movements they might think them natural and pay him no mind. Inhaling deeply, he scooped out a handful of dirt and set it to the side. His second scoop had followed smoothly doing the same thing. Digging in a little deeper with his next round, he carefully tested the soil, so that it matched what his senses were telling him about its physical characters. And they did match.
With all speed, he plowed into the Georgia red clay and held his breath. His hands blurred as they dipped and clawed the Earth. Soon he was on his belly, pulling himself into the small tunnel with each stroke. It felt like swimming against a great tide as he rapidly past the first layers of buried pipes and conduits. He followed a long a smelly pipe that connected to the building’s sewage.
Eyes and mouth closed, mind focused, he kept his energy pulsing in waves. It returned information about where he was and where he was going. And, it continued his message to the living things, “Move! I’m coming thru!”
They did move too. He could feel the worms, ants, and termites scattering as he approached. The building wasn’t much further.
His arms began to tire and his legs, feet and toes were wearing out. Keeping his mind on the goal, he imagined how good it would feel to be on the inside of the building, breathing and rested. Only a few more yards to go, he told himself…
Then he sensed something he hadn’t felt in a long time. An old being from his world, a powerful presence, was inside the capitol and he knew he was coming…
Chapter 3 The Seventh Element
Fael’s Universe
The buzzing from the dim overhead light reminded Drake that he was alone. The terror of his last dream, and the reality it implied, played itself out on the walls of his mind like some midnight horror flick he could not turn off. He glanced around the small room and paused. A dark shadow clung to the ceiling and spread down the once light blue walls like fingers reaching for his soul.
That one’s a real shadow, he thought.
He leaned forward letting his weight rest a little more on the balls of his feet and his chair creaked. The stained, concrete floor looked too much like clotting blood and it felt sticky under his steel-toed boots. Moments ago, he had found himself waking up from down there, again. And he thought to himself, Now I’m sure that thing is back.
He was afraid to think what this might mean. He felt confused as if time had been skipping around in his head leaving little black voids in his memory. He knew that sometimes what he saw and heard was just in his own head, then again, sometimes it was the real thing and it had real consequences.
Somewhere beyond the tin walls, he heard a door slam. The sound jerked him back to awareness and he sat up! Echoes followed, originating elsewhere in the dark empty warehouse that surrounded his post. It sounded like he was being attacked from all directions but he knew it was her.
The thin metal walls of the small building began to shake with the vibrations of her drawing near. The sound was alive and threatening, and it was searching for him. With a flash of pain, the noise ended as a wave of hatred crashed into the wall he still had erected in his mind.
He thought he had gotten rid of those tiny machines implanted in his body last night.
Could they still be in here, he thought as he touched his face. He had first seen them through Joshua’s ethereal eyes earlier last night at the loading dock. Those things had a way of making him involuntarily feel and think. The sounds were coming from deep inside his mind. In his head he heard, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. The sound went on and on, over and over again. Then the whispers began and despair sunk in.
“It was you!” the voice of a crying mother came from behind him. He turned to see her but no one was there.
To his right a man’s voice screamed, “You did this!” and he looked around the room before stopping himself. The voices kept condemning him. Then they spoke to each other about his guilt for offences, he knew, he could never commit.
The same flash of memories he remembered from earlier came and went. They were the exact same ones as before revealing pictures to his mind’s eye of unspeakable horrors he had not preformed. The images he saw were too crisply rendered, too perfect, to be true memories. Since meeting Joshua, late last night, he had finally seen the origins of all his nightmares that had haunted him over the past year. He now knew that the source of his fear, both external and internal, had not been his creation.
These visions were grotesque reenactments of murder, rape, and defilement and then the victims’ families all accused him of the evils. There was a hunger inside him to do those things. He couldn’t explain his mind’s need for it and he felt that his body was in total agreement.
Only his soul told him differently. I am Drake Thornton, a friend to life and protector of the innocent.
He strained to think, to clear his mind, but he couldn’t look away or even close his eyes to the visions or emotions. He knew how to focus his mind on one thing, the way his father had taught him as a boy, but the buzzing and whooshing noise at the back of his skull wouldn’t let him. Then the full nightmare began again.
Drake shook his head violently and screamed until his mind returned blank. But as if batting away stubborn nats the stillness lasted only seconds. He looked around the room as the sound of his chair creaked and squealed with his movements.
That sound is real, he told himself. He had to keep track of the difference; he couldn’t let the dream wash away his mind again.
He twisted in his chair as he heard banging sounds from outside turn into scratches that were slowly coming toward him from under the floor. The pitch changed to a metal on metal screech as the sound altered directions and was now running up the frail tin walls and into the darkness of the shadows directly above.
A voice, empty of all emotion whispered, “Your bones are my gold, your blood my wine.”
Reflexively he used his sleeve to wipe the sweat that had beaded around his forehead, when he looked down at his forearm he saw blood. Another sick, vibrating pull settled into his guts and he threw up a thick black substance that sparkled as it splashed on the floor.
I have to get up; I need to get out of here, he thought! He swayed as he pulled himself up to his feet. He stood at attention like a soldier re
adying himself for inspection. The buzzing and whooshing, the whispering and the crackling combined in his head as the lights above him exploded and the door before him crumbled to the floor in a heap of billowing dust. A blood curdling scream, coming from somewhere in the small room broke through the wall he had held in his mind.
Then, all went silent. A wind blew through the dark open doorway as a chill ran down his spine. A voice cut through the confusion, “Drake, you will fill the void.” He knew, just as he did so many times before, this was no dream. She was attacking his mind again!
Chapter 4 The ride home
Fael’s Universe
“Drake!” The sound of his name came from somewhere beyond the fog in his mind.
“Drake!” A foul odor jerked him to awareness.
“Drake, four times tonight!” Drake opened his eyes to see a light shining in his face. His head was hurting and his vision scrambled. Slowly, a clear picture formed.