I pulled up a Euro news video and hit play. Thanks to this news channel, now the American public knew the true horrors of the DRK virus headed our way.
The video showed a vacant city block. Dirt and debris covered the streets. Windows were broken. It looked like a scene from a war movie. Euro soldiers maneuvered around the wreckage with guns raised, and the camera followed shakily. Somewhere off-screen a man shouted in a foreign language, and soldiers swung their guns toward a narrow alley. Shrieking, inhuman cries echoed from the alley, and the cameraman lurched back as a dozen people burst from the shadows. The people had factored. All were covered in the fungus of the DRK, their hair had fallen out in clumps, and their eyes were bloodshot and crazed. One naked factor in the lead shrieked and dove at a soldier, tackling him to the ground before he got a shot off. The soldier screamed as the crazed factor wrestled him, and the factor leaned in and bit into the man’s neck. Other soldiers shot the factor, pelting it with scores of bullets. The factor slumped dead over the fallen soldier. Then the rest of the factors shrieked and attacked, and the cameraman panicked and swung back and forth too fast to show what was happening. But you could hear the screams of soldiers as they fired at the advancing factors.
I closed the video and took a deep breath. My gaze crossed my clock, and I saw how late it was.
I need air, I thought.
After shutting off my computer, I stood from my seat and grabbed my coat. I wasn’t in the mood to interact with anyone on my way out, so I opened the news app on my phone and put in my earbuds. Finally grabbing my briefcase, I headed home.
“As the number of factors multiplies,” a female journalist was saying, “the only solution is to put them down.”
“How can you say that?” said the male reporter. “These are people!”
“No, they were people,” countered the woman. “We’ve all seen the videos. These aren’t people anymore. The factors are at best subhuman.”
“That’s a bit too far, don’t you think?”
“No! This isn’t a disease we have hope of curing. The DRK is incurable. Everyone infected turns into one of these factors. And there’s no way to stop the spread of the DRK or these factors except to execute them. We have to consider the greater good. I’m sorry, but once someone’s infected, they’re the most dangerous liability mankind has ever-”
“So you want to kill hundreds of thousands of Euros who are infected? Am I hearing that right?”
The woman paused only a breath. “There’s nothing politically correct about this situation. I’m not alone in this opinion either. Most human rights activists here in the States have stopped protesting the exterminations in Eurasia. And you know why? Because they’re thinking ahead. The virus has spread into the westernmost Euro states and will soon cross the Atlantic, no matter what methods of quarantine we might enforce. Everyone knows the DRK is coming.”
Shit, I thought. She got that information from my office. She’s right, though. We’ve tried to stay out of everything else, but this out-of-control virus is a danger we have to face. And it’ll soon be time to make some tough decisions… How responsible am I for all this? I’ve just been passing along the reports from the CDC, but… God, what a mess.
I emerged outside on the sidewalk and took out my earbuds to be more aware of my surroundings. The clear evening sky was tinged red from the light of the nearby anomaly, but I ignored this and walked in the opposite direction. The air was cool, and I took a deep breath as I crossed a busy street with other pedestrians.
I turned down a street into my neighborhood and walked by a beauty salon. Inside, women sat reading newspapers instead of fashion magazines. They waited somberly rather than chatting. I walked by a newsstand and scanned headlines, most of which had either the word ‘war’ or ‘virus’ in bold type. My local pharmacy’s door had a sign proclaiming they were out of the flu vaccine.
Not that vaccinations will do any good, I thought.
I needed a drink.
Upon entering my favorite pub, I saw a few other patrons and took a stool at the bar. When I had the bartender’s attention, I ordered a Scotch whiskey. Then I pulled out my phone to check the latest polls.
The television over the bar switched to a news report, and my head jerked up when I recognized my brother’s voice. Onscreen, Lee stood with microphones in his face in front of what looked like a Buddhist temple. He wore a cheap suit and tie. His brown, wavy hair blew around his face. He had a trimmed beard now, which was new from when I’d last seen him.
“After careful consideration,” Lee was saying, “the Kota Council has decided not to disclose the prophecy that led us to this course of action. Our people have been persecuted relentlessly because of the Virus Prophecy. We don’t want to add to their suffering by risking judgment about this current prophecy. Mankind must listen to what our faith has to say, however, so we won’t stop proclaiming the truth.”
“Get a load of this guy,” said a man sitting down the bar.
The bartender arrived with my Scotch, and I took a large swallow.
Lee shook his head at a reporter’s question. “We won’t cause more panic by revealing the current prophecy we’re dealing with, but it has led us to this course of action, yes.”
What action? I thought.
Then I read the scrolling text at the bottom of the screen: ‘Kota Council purchases custom-built spacecraft from World Space Program in the largest purchase ever by nonprofit entity. Scheduled departure is not yet known. Destination is China’s light anomaly.’
I sucked in a breath.
“The Kota Council,” said Lee, “has asked for one thousand volunteers from among our religious communities. The WSP was very generous in designing a spacecraft to fit our specific needs, and the ship should be ready by the end of the month.”
The newsfeed cut to two reporters sitting at a desk. I didn’t hear anything more they said. Picking up my phone, I tried calling my brother. It went straight to voicemail. Not knowing what to say, I hung up.
3
“Something’s happened”
Spring of the following year, I sat in my living room in front of the television, eating cookies I’d bought from the kid next door. Nervous, I’d eaten half a box in the past ten minutes. I’d also been home, sick with a cold, for a week. The resulting state of my apartment was not great. But with everything else going on, I didn’t care.
On my television, a Chinese reporter stood outside a WSP airport. In the background, a jumbo-jet-meets-cargo-plane-like spacecraft taxied down the runway. It was the biggest spacecraft I’d ever seen, and it must’ve cost a fortune.
The reporter looked excited to have landed this gig. “Kota have gathered here from across the globe. Moments ago, one thousand passengers and twenty crew members loaded onto the ship you see behind me. I can tell you that the scene was a mix of excitement and really joy, Tom. There were tears of parting, of course, but most of these Kota volunteers weren’t leaving anyone behind because whole families signed up together. The Kota Council members, as the leaders of this religious organization, were among the first to enter the spacecraft. I asked who will lead the Kota remaining behind, and a councilman told me their followers are free to move forward any way they choose. One woman informed me that, whatever becomes of these volunteers, the Kota who remain will continue to spread their message to the rest of the world.”
I bet Lee will be in charge, I thought.
I’d learned from a series of text messages that my brother wouldn’t be among the volunteers on the WSP spacecraft. This had been a great relief, but the media coverage of this whole affair had intensified as the Kota volunteers’ departure date approached. I’d heard less and less from Lee, who’d been busy as the Kota Council’s spokesperson.
The wars haven’t affected Tibet, I thought. Not like the urban areas of China. Lee is safe. But all this media coverage is throwing a lot of anger the Kota’s way. Many people still blame them for the DRK, thanks to the Virus Prophecy. Now th
at they claim another prophecy says something about the light anomalies…
I wasn’t the only one watching this news program today. Everyone wanted to hear the Kota’s reason for this drastic action. Legally, nothing was being done to stop the Kota volunteers, but few people on the outside approved. I personally thought flying into the light anomaly was a pointless, expensive, dangerous thing to do, although I disagreed with an interviewed man who’d claimed, “The Kota will piss off the aliens.”
“And there they go,” said the reporter.
I popped another cookie in my mouth.
The camera left the reporter and zoomed in on the WSP craft as it accelerated down the runway. My entertainment center’s surround sound rumbled across my living room as the ship shot off the end of the runway into the air. The spacecraft gained altitude, and the news channel switched cameras to cover from a better angle. Now, the screen showed a blue sky with the ship ascending at an angle to intercept China’s swirling, fiery light anomaly.
The anomaly is huge, I thought. Now that we can see it in relation to the gigantic spacecraft… It must be a half mile wide.
Off-camera, the reporter was talking to fill the silence. “Local scientists report that nothing happens when probes are sent into the anomaly. No data ever transmits back out, but they can’t say if-”
“Excuse me, Stacey,” cut in the news anchor’s voice. “The ship’s about to reach the anomaly.”
I jammed three more cookies in my mouth as the craft flew straight at the swirling lights. Then, the tip of the ship crossed some dimensional point into the lights, and a moment later the rest of the ship was swallowed as well.
“Now the real questions begin-”
Suddenly, the light anomaly vanished.
“Oh!” I yelped in surprise from my sofa. This hurt my already aching throat, and I coughed and nearly spit cookies before reaching for my tea.
The anchor and reporter discussed this rapidly, but it was clear they had no idea what had happened. The camera swung back and forth in the perfect blue sky, but the anomaly was gone. Simply gone. The video feed cut back to the reporter at the airport, and she filled time by babbling something about how everyone there was shocked as well.
Annoyed, I hit mute and sat back on my sofa.
What the hell? I thought. Did the Kota know that would happen? Everyone will freak out about this. Lee…
I reached for my phone and called my brother, but, once again, it went straight to voicemail. Instead I shot him a quick text asking him to call when he had time.
I woke in the late afternoon to something that sounded like a siren. By the time I figured out where the noise was coming from, my wolfhound lurched from the sofa and fetched the ringing phone.
“Hello,” I croaked. “Troy Kandoya here.”
“You sound wretched.” It was Lee.
I woke enough to lift my face from the sofa. “Where have you been?”
“Never mind that. Can you get to the airport? I have a jet waiting that will bring you to me.”
“Sure,” I moaned sarcastically, “let me throw on some pants and I’ll be right there.”
“Seriously, Troy. I need you here.”
“I can’t just up and leave, Lee. Sick or not, I have to work tomorrow. I want very much to know what you've been doing, but I don’t have time to visit. I’m sorry.”
“This could be the last time I ever see you.”
That got my attention, and I sat up torpidly. “What? Where are you?”
“North. Just go to the airport we used the last time we visited Dad. The rioters so far haven’t disrupted security at the airport. You should be safe, and I have people waiting to bring you to me. Please, hurry.” He hung up.
Guess I’m going to Canada, I thought. Really, Lee? Why now? As if I don’t have enough to deal with! CDC reports. Light anomaly files. Riots. Tensions and accusations flying around the Capitol House… James disappeared, and we’ve been ordered not to report anything. And did Joanne’s husband really take a job in Nebraska’s greenhouse? I’ve been sick all week, so what else might I’ve missed? They probably won’t like it that I’ll be gone for longer.
I started to dial my office. With a chilling suspicion, I stopped.
Lee didn’t want to tell me where he was, I thought. He didn’t even tell me the name of the airport. Is my phone tapped? That would seem ridiculous, but with everything going on…
Despite my annoyance with him, something told me to trust my brother.
My mind raced as I got dressed and swallowed what might’ve been a few too many prescription pills. Before I left, I made sure to text the neighbor kid to feed Toto. I had no idea how long I’d be gone.
The next several hours blurred together, but somehow I reached the airport and even the correct private hanger. I fell asleep before the jet took off, and I didn’t stir for some time.
4
“Some Kota prophet’s wacky dream journal”
I stand in a thousand different places at once, yet they’re all the same place. Whenever the scene changes, it’s only the time of the place that changes. I suddenly stand in my living room, and a swirl of red and yellow light is before me. I make a motion with my hand that triggers the anomaly. I’m then floating in a place where only the light exists. It seems eternal. Swirling hues of red mix around me and pulse in and out, acting as the heartbeat of this realm. Different openings appear before me. As I float over the lights, I see that these openings look into many exotic lands and places.
The dream ended as I felt myself being nudged. With a start I opened my eyes, and I looked up at a woman in a flight attendant’s uniform. She smiled. I held my head to make the interior of the jet stop spinning.
“Sir, your brother is waiting in a vehicle outside if you’d like to follow me.”
I nodded and rose from my seat. Carrying nothing, I joined her at the open exit. Stairs awaited me here, and cold wind blew into the jet. The flight attendant gave me a reassuring, if somewhat fake, smile before I exited.
I’m not one for adventure, I thought. I need an explanation for whatever’s going on ASAP. Where’s Lee?
On the top stair, I was met by a dark, cold night. My coat flapped in the wind, and I nearly fell over but caught myself on the rail. Despite the darkness, I knew immediately we were no longer anywhere on the eastern coast. The air was too bitter cold against my face. The landscape showed a different kind of vegetation. Every direction I faced showed only hills of forest.
Holding the rail as I descended, I saw we were at a private airport in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere. When my feet touched earth again, I noted that the pavement of the runway was cracked and covered in pebbles.
Car lights approached from behind, and I turned woozily. Some sort of jeep-like vehicle pulled to a stop a short distance from the jet. Considering absolutely no one else was around, I assumed the vehicle had been sent for me. I proceeded with an arm raised against the beams of the headlights, but then a man with wavy hair and a beard leaned out the nearest backseat window.
Lee, I thought.
He waved me toward the jeep. “Have a nice flight?”
“I don’t really remember. –Is this a hover jeep?”
Lee laughed and disappeared back into the vehicle. The door opened for me. I climbed into the dark back seat and shut the door. Lee motioned to the driver. It was a hover jeep, and I felt a smooth, gliding motion as we sped off. It smelled like leather.
My pills were wearing off by this point. Conscious of my feelings once again, I realized I was extremely annoyed. “Where are we? Lee, what’s going on? What did you mean this might be the last time I see you?”
He turned to me in the darkness, and the leather squeaked as he shifted. “Troy, when we came up here for Dad’s funeral, our Kota relative showed me a lot more than just that book he gave me. The Kota have a facility up here that’s tucked away and virtually unknown.”
“I don’t want any part of-”
Lee
waved me off. “After the Kota volunteers left – and you know how that turned out – I met with our scientists. We then began the next big task ahead of us.”
“There are scientists in the Kota?”
Lee laughed. “They’re not all little men in humble robes, Troy. How do you think we funded the WSP craft?” He wasn’t picking up on my frustration. “Anyway, in order to do what we have to do next, the scientists needed me to come to this facility. It’s amazing.” He pointed across me out the window. “See for yourself.”
The jeep slowed to a stop, and I turned reluctantly to see where my brother had brought me.
We’d reached a military-grade security gate. Our driver was talking to an armored guard, and a gate before us swung open to allow the jeep entry.
Inside the compound, I saw a cave ahead in the hilly forest, but this was no rustic scene. The cave was enormous, and an entire building fit inside the open cave mouth. The facility blended in with the surrounding woods and hills, but it was clearly visible from the angled road we’d arrived from. Our jeep drove into a wide parking lot, and this lot held trucks and more jeeps. Atop the roof that jutted out from the cave, floodlights swept back and forth.
Finally, we parked beside the building’s entrance. Soldiers working to unload a truck looked over as our driver got out. He opened the door for Lee and myself. Lee smiled and ushered me to follow.
Why soldiers? I thought. What’s Lee gotten us into? If this is some sort of militia planning a coup…
I followed Lee into the building through a set of security doors. Once inside, I blinked to adjust to the bright florescent lights. I then saw that we stood on a wide balcony running around the building. Glass doors on this level looked into medical rooms. The interior’s lower level was cluttered with instruments, computers, and mechanical devices I didn’t recognize. People in lab coats scurried about the various work stations. An excited and anxious mood hung in the air, not to mention the smell of chemicals.
The Kota Page 3