Last Chance Volume 2 - The Legend of the Hathmec: Planting the Seed

by Bradley Boals

  Roger walked around for a few seconds before he spoke. “There’s just something about this place. I always get what I want out here. Tonight will be no exception.” He released April and Connor from his control and watched the reactions of the mother and son.

  April checked on her son without hesitation. “Are you ok? Did he do anything to you?”

  Connor replied, “I’m ok. Don’t worry, we’ll get out of this.”

  Roger stepped quickly over to the young man and said, “You’re right. You will get out of this. This will all be over—just as soon as your mother turns over the memory charm to me.”

  Roger reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small revolver, its hammer cocked. This had been his weapon of choice for many years, and he now had it pointed at Connor’s head. “You have two choices here, Ms. Chance. One, you can turn over the memory charm to me and save your son’s life, or two, you can watch me splatter his brains all over the woods here.”

  April sobbed into her hands as she begged for her son’s life. “Please don’t do this. I’ll do whatever you want me to do, just put away the gun.”

  Roger barked, “Turn over the charm!” He pushed the gun into Connor’s temple and screamed, “Now!”

  Connor yelled out, “Don’t do it, Mom! Don’t give it to him!”

  Roger reared back and cracked the side of the gun into Connor’s face, knocking him on his back. A small stream of blood oozed from Connor’s temple as he looked back to Roger with a cold stare of defiance.

  April was just about to relinquish the memory charm to Roger when the entire wooded area lit up like the outfield at a baseball game. Roger pulled away from April and Connor to see what was happening. A familiar voice came from behind the two headlights that had blinded him.

  “So, this is what my father didn’t want me to know about?” It was Thomas Elliott and Keith Kellington.

  “What are you doin’ here?” Roger replied. “This is your father’s business, not yours. He would be very upset if he knew you were here.”

  Thomas countered, “I figure he would be upset if he knew what you were doing here. Let me guess, you’re supposed to deliver these two to him, but instead, you’re trying to handle things on your own.” Thomas laughed, remarking, “Man, you were always such a kiss-ass.”

  Keith chuckled in the background and waited for instructions from Thomas, who now looked over at April and Connor. He could see the blood on Connor’s head and the fear in April’s eyes. He started to approach them, but Roger stood in his way. “I am tellin’ you right now, mate, you need to get in your transport and get out of here.” The two men in gray suits took up a position behind Roger.

  “Are you really trying to threaten me?” Thomas signaled Keith to come to his side and added, “You know those boys in gray don’t scare me. Those suits may keep a carrier stone away from the wearer, but I still feel it in their blood. No Apollan Guard is gonna cause me to break a sweat.”

  Thomas and Keith jumped into action as Connor and April looked on, amazed at Thomas’s skill and ferocity. He knocked Roger to the side with one blow and then, with the help of Keith, rendered the men in the gray suits useless. He forced one of them to run headlong into a tree. He was knocked out by his own action.

  Keith lifted one of the men into the air and threw him toward the flowing river. The strength it took to do such a thing was incredible. When Roger tried to intervene again, the two men edged closer to April and Connor. Keith looked at Thomas and said, “Let me take care of him.”

  Roger and Keith now stood toe to toe, and Roger said, “The Minister’s gonna hear about this, and when he does, you’ll be guarding an outhouse for the rest of your pathetic existence.” Keith smiled and tossed a handful of carrier stones at Roger. Roger immediately reciprocated, and the fight was on.

  Thomas wasn’t interested in the scuffle between two of his father’s longtime followers. He wanted to know what was so special about the cargo Roger was delivering to the Minister. April tried to back away from Thomas, and Connor yelled out, “Stay away from my mother!” But Thomas couldn’t take his eyes off of April and placed a carrier on her lap. He studied her for a moment and read her memories through his Hathmec.

  He couldn’t believe what he saw. “It’s amazing,” he marveled. “After all this time…it’s just amazing.”

  Connor got to his feet and repeated, “Stay away from my mo—” Connor couldn’t complete his sentence as a sharp sting overpowered his body and mind. He screamed out in pain and fell back to his knees. His vision was gone, and he could only hear some muffled voices in the background yelling, “Connor, what’s wrong?”

  He thrashed around until the pain was gone, and all he could hear was Walter’s voice in the background, muted, as if he were in a tunnel or speaking into a covered microphone. He was talking to April, but all Connor could comprehend was “You’re responsible for the seed of the future. You’re responsible for the seed of the future. You’re responsible for the seed of the future.”

  Over and over, that’s all he could hear, and then the voice was gone and there was no sound. All Connor could see now was a frame with a picture in it. It reminded him of a movie getting stuck on one scene, but it wasn’t stuck for long. The scene started to play out, and Connor was horrified to see April laying on a bed and a sheet being pulled over her head. A doctor was there, and he told a man standing at her side, “I’m sorry, but there was nothing else we could do. She’s dead.” Looking on, Connor tried to call to his mother, but he couldn’t. He just sat there staring at the limp white sheet lying across his mother’s face. The scene played out in only a few seconds, but for Connor it felt like hours.

  Suddenly Connor sprang back to consciousness. He looked around and saw April and Thomas Elliott standing to one side of him. He didn’t know what he had just witnessed, but he wouldn’t soon forget it.

  Thomas looked back at April and said, “You’re both coming with me.”

  “They’re not going anywhere but home!”

  Startled, Thomas turned his head back to the transport. There stood Matthew Chance. Connor had dropped the carrier stone that Matthew had given to him before leaving for 2016. Matthew used the stone to transport to this location, and he was determined to save his mother and brother.

  Thomas looked at the young man. “What business is this of yours?”

  Matthew replied, “When it involves my mother and brother, it is my business.”

  Thomas grinned. “Your mother and brother. Isn’t that interesting.”

  Matthew leaped from the transport and threw carrier stones at Thomas. Jumping into the air, he immediately felt the power of the attribute charm pulse through him. Thomas was very strong, and Matthew could feel it.

  Thomas waited for Matthew to reach him before he extended his arms and caught Matthew by the neck. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with.” Matthew tried to break the hold of the Minister’s son, but he couldn’t. He threw carrier stones at Roger and Keith, who were still fighting with each other over by the transport, and at his mother and Connor, but even the strength from all of them combined was not enough to match Thomas.

  Thomas held Matthew in the air by his neck until Matthew started to vanish. Thomas looked behind him and realized that Matthew had transported to a carrier stone he had thrown closer to April and Connor. Thomas turned and received a quick kick to the stomach and a punch across the bridge of the nose from Matthew. Neither of these fazed Thomas. He grabbed Matthew by the shirt and threw him back into the idling transport.

  April could hear Matthew’s body bang around the transport car as he vanished from sight. Leaping up from her spot on the ground, she jumped onto Thomas’s back. “Leave him alone! I’ll kill you!”

  Thomas pulled April from his back and held her to the ground, his foot on her chest. “You’ll kill me?” he mocked. “I would kill you, but you’re already dead!” With that last comment, Thomas felt the pulse of a vibration ring through his spine, and he was
thrown off of April.

  He turned and found Amanda holding the ring and Matthew holding Connor’s and April’s Hathmec pendants. Matthew threw one Hathmec to April, who received it around her neck. She could feel the healing powers almost immediately. Matthew then released Connor’s Hathmec. It was in flight, with Connor prepared to receive it—but it didn’t make it there.

  Thomas had transported into a position that blocked the Hathmec, and he caught it before it could reach Connor. He tied it around the belt loop of his pants and then raised his hands to his mouth, blowing a mist of carrier stones into the night sky. He grinned. “Let’s play.”

  Thomas disappeared and then reappeared behind Amanda. She turned and tried to use the vibration ring, but Thomas knocked it out of her hand. Thomas then grabbed her and tried to remove her Hathmec, but Matthew tackled Thomas before he could, and April rushed over to help.

  Thomas used his element charm to toss several wood logs at April. One of them struck her and knocked her to the ground. Matthew tried to keep Thomas down, but on his own he wasn’t strong enough. Thomas stood up and threw Matthew like an old bag of garbage. Amanda came in with fists flying and legs kicking, but Thomas saw this as nothing more than an annoyance. He swatted her away the way a normal person would swat away a fly.

  Matthew could see that Thomas was moving in on April, so he grabbed the vibration ring that Amanda had dropped and ran toward Thomas with all the strength he could borrow. He held the vibration ring in his fist and landed a wicked punch to Thomas’s jaw. The combination of the power Matthew had and the effect of the vibration ring worked together to emit a type of sonic boom.

  Amanda and April could see the vibration of the punch as it ricocheted off the trees that surrounded the river. Thomas felt this punch throughout his body and was thrown into the adjoining tree line. Crashing against a large stump, he fell to the earth.

  April and Amanda ran to Matthew’s side. He was proud of what he had done, but it didn’t last long. Even the immense power he had just displayed did not keep Thomas Elliott down. Thomas stood up, cracked his neck, and thirsted for more. Looking quickly around, Matthew saw that Keith and Roger were no longer fighting but now had Connor pinned to the ground.

  There was nothing Matthew could do. He knew Amanda and his mother were no match for the combined force of Thomas, Keith, and Roger. He looked at Connor and said, “I’m sorry.” He grabbed his mother’s hand and then Amanda’s. Within seconds, they were gone. Matthew had transported them all back to the complex in Sector 4.

  Connor watched as his family vanished. Had they left him to die? Had they left him to be tortured? He didn’t know what the future held for him.

  Roger approached Thomas and said, “You blooming idiot! You let her get away. The Minister is gonna be plenty pissed when he hears what you did.”

  Thomas grabbed Connor and looked at Roger, “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time.”

  He looked into Connor’s hardened eyes and said, “Looks like your family left you here to pay for their crimes.”

  Connor had no response and instead looked down at the Hathmec around Thomas’s belt straining to reach him. Thomas chuckled. “You’re with me now, kid. You should be flattered.” And in the blink of an eye, Thomas and Connor had transported.

  Roger and Keith looked at each other. Roger said, “Where do you think they went?”

  “You better hope it wasn’t to see the Minister,” Keith replied.

  The Minister was catching up on some reading when Thomas burst into his office with Connor in tow. “Well, Father, I have to admit, you are excellent at keeping secrets.”

  The Minister rose from his chair. “I see you’ve messed up my plans again. Where is Roger and the woman?”

  Thomas replied, “I’m afraid she got away, but that’s not why I’m here.” The Minister walked up to his son, avoiding any eye contact with Connor.

  “This isn’t what you think, Thomas. I have my reasons for keeping things from you.”

  Thomas started to reply but was interrupted by Agent Addison. She had been listening in the other room. “Where is April Chance? I was promised April Chance.”

  The Minister replied, “I’m sorry, my dear, but it seems my son has caused a bit of a delay. We’ll find another way to bring the woman to you.”

  Addie was annoyed. The look on her face could have sliced a steel plate. She was back in her black coat and boots. She looked around the room and grabbed a drink from the Minister’s bar. “I knew I couldn’t count on your team to finish the job. Luckily, I have a backup plan. I’ll have my vengeance one way or the other.”

  Connor watched as Addie left the Minister’s office. He couldn’t believe that she had played Walter. Maybe Walter wasn’t as smart as he thought. A few of the Minister’s agents entered the room and were told to take Connor to a room in the facility. The Minister added, “Make sure he stays under guard until further notice.”

  Connor was removed from the Minister’s office, leaving Thomas there with his father. Thomas said, “I don’t know what you have planned, but it’s time to let me in on it.”

  “Do you know who you met tonight?” the Minister asked.

  “Yes, I do,” Thomas replied. “I think we can use it to our advantage.”

  The Minister walked back to his desk and sat down. “This may be just what we need to finish off the resistance and plant our own seed for the future.”

  Back at the complex in Sector 4, there was mass chaos. Walter had given the evacuation order hours earlier, and people were scrambling to get out with everything they could carry.

  April, Matthew, and Amanda had been back for almost an hour but were still in shock from their altercation with Thomas Elliott. April said, “I can’t believe we just left him there. He must think I’m awful.”

  Matthew replied, “It’s not your fault, Mom. I’m the one who transported us out of there. It was my decision.”

  Amanda put her hand on Matthew’s shoulder. “You did the right thing. We didn’t stand a chance against Thomas and those other men. He was too strong.”

  Matthew looked around. “We need to find Walter or Johnson and get out of here.”

  April agreed. “Let’s grab as many things from our rooms as we can and meet back in this spot in fifteen minutes.”

  Everyone agreed and ran off toward their rooms. Matthew was worried about his brother, but he was also worried about Cassie. He hadn’t seen her since they’d got back, and he wasn’t sure where to look for her. He would grab a few things and take a look around the complex before heading back.

  Meanwhile, April pulled some clothes and some other items together when she entered her old room, but a few seconds later she noticed a video card placed neatly on her bed. The small note attached to it read “Play Me Immediately.” She thought it could be a message from Walter, so she popped the card into the monitor on her desk.

  The video started out black, but seconds later the face of Agent Addison popped up. Addie sat there for a moment and then started to talk. “If you’re watching this video, it means you outsmarted some of the Minster’s men. I never put my faith in other people. They do nothing but disappoint me. I wish I could be there to see your face. I’m sure you’re confused and scared, but there’s no need to be. You’ve already lost, and you don’t even know it. Your sons, your friends, your leader—they’re all gonna be under the boot of the Minister in very short order. But not you. You’re special. You’re all mine.” She paused and grinned into the camera.

  “Do you know how hard it was for me not to rip you to shreds that first time we met? You had just gotten back from 1984. You were there just a few minutes before I met you, and you had no idea who I was. Agent Addison was my name. You just stood there and looked at me. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”

  She turned away from the camera and took a drink. “I bet you still don’t know who I am. Here’s a little hint. I’m the girl that used to ride around in my father’s police car with the lights and s
irens blaring. I’m the girl that used to play dress-up with my dad when no one else was around to play with. I’m the girl that loved her daddy so much, because I didn’t have a mommy around to take care of me. I was the girl that cried herself to sleep every night because her daddy was never coming home.” Agent Addie grew more distraught with each comment, and April could see the emotion in her eyes.

  April began to cry as she started to realize who Agent Addison really was. “Do you need one more hint? Maybe you’ll remember killing my father outside the Curry home when I was four years old. My father was Officer Danny Charles, and you killed him. If you still don’t remember, my name was Lucy Charles.”

  April sobbed as she watched the monitor and shook her head in panic as to what Lucy had in store for her. On the screen before her, Lucy held up a charm and said, “Do you know what this is? This is the elements charm that Walter wanted to go after next. Walter is such a fool. It was so easy making him think I was loyal to him.

  “I already have the element charm, but I’m not about to just hand it over. It’s just like your son. I have him, too. And I won’t just hand him over either. This is what we’re gonna do.”

  Lucy Charles went on to instruct April to meet her at a specific site in no less than thirty days. She had to come alone, and if she didn’t, Connor would be at risk. “I have Connor’s very life in the palm of my hand. Don’t test me. I have been waiting for this day all my life…and then some. If you come and face me—and can beat me—you can take the element charm. I can’t promise Connor’s release, but with the element charm, maybe you can save him. If I win, you’ll feel what I felt all those years ago, and then you’ll feel what my father felt. The Minister won’t even interfere. It’s his gift to me. Your heart might belong to your boys, but your soul belongs to me.”

  The video went black at that point, and April sat back to absorb what she had heard. While she still blamed herself for Officer Charles’s death, it was clear that Lucy’s mind had been warped into believing something that wasn’t true. She had always promised herself that she would protect her children at all costs, and this occasion was no different. She checked the hallway to make sure it was clear and then headed for the exit. If Lucy Charles wanted a fight, she was going to get one.