Evolution of Angels

by Nathan Wall

  The room was massive and more of a rectangle than a full-on square. Inside were dozens of aircraft, many types of all-terrain vehicles, various weapons, and small drones. He picked up one of the rifles that were lined up in a row and slid his fingers along the barrel. It was incredibly lightweight and smooth—a much larger version of what he used in the town to take out the rock creatures.

  He stuck the butt of the rifle into the crook of his arm and took aim. At the far end of the room, a target lifted up. He looked to his right, scanning the target, and then spun around, unleashing three quick shots. The pure energy beams took a slightly curved flight, but impacted directly onto the middle of the target. There was no boom, explosion, or flames; just the quick dissipation of the target.

  “It's amazing, isn't it?” Jackson said, calling down from high up in the rafters where he sat. Jarrod looked up, holding his hand above his eyes to shield them from the bright lights of the ceiling. “It's really just the tip of what we are capable of.”

  “I didn't know anyone was in here.” Jarrod put the rifle back onto the rack. Jackson leapt from his resting spot and landed gracefully a few feet from Jarrod. His right foot stuck the landing. He leaned forward and braced for impact with his left hand and knee. Jarrod smiled. “That didn't hurt?”

  “Not a bit.” Jackson stood and walked to the other side of the gun rack, opposite of Jarrod. “I'm quite used to dramatic landings.”

  “I've heard about you,” Jarrod stated, looking Jackson over. He thought that there wasn't anything too impressive and intimidating about him, but that he did carry himself well. “From what I hear, I have you to thank for saving us in the town.”

  “From what I'm told, I have you to thank for helping us catch our fugitive.” Jackson walked and motioned with a quick gesture for Jarrod to follow. “It takes either incredible guts or insane stupidity to do what you did. But I guess it worked out, right?”

  “So far, I guess.” Jarrod followed along. They wandered into a side room.

  Jackson placed his hand over a scanner. The glass wall in front of them shifted from black to transparent. On the other side of the wall was a large spherical room with a jagged stone inside. It sat on a single cylinder column, rising fifteen feet from the floor below, in the middle of the room. Jackson pressed a few strategic buttons on a keypad and a mechanical arm shot out from under the floorboard and latched onto the stone.

  “This is the source of everything we can do.” Jackson didn't take his gaze off the starstone as the arm retracted into the compartment.

  He pressed his hands together and then turned his open palms toward his chest, before tightening into fists. Trillions of little purple scales raced across his body, stretching out toward one another to form a fluid second skin. Light emanated from his eyes and fingers as the purple aurascales glowed. Larger silver plated armor materialized from the light, growing from the purple aurascales. The entire process took about five seconds. Jarrod noticed there were sections of the armor that were torn and tattered.

  “What happened there?” Jarrod asked, running his fingers over the silver exoskeleton armor. His skin and bones were drawn to the armor, as if there was a magnetic current flowing between the aurascales and himself. He slowly pulled his hand back and the purple skin reached out for him.

  When his fingers connected with the armor, a vision flashed in his eyes, suddenly changing the world around him. His hands and feet were in shackles. In front of him stood three men on a platform, their eyes glowing and peering through him. He quickly pulled his hand away, stuck it in his pocket, and ended the vision before Jackson could notice something was up.

  “Battle happened.” Jackson opened the compartment with the starstone inside and pulled it out. The starstone was smooth and looked almost as if it was made up of millions of little cubes, just like the lightweight weapons Jarrod saw in the other room. In the center of the slate-gray stone was a glowing purple gem, half of a perfect sphere, and just as smooth as the rest of the stone.

  “The gem in the middle is known as the star, generating limitless energy and power. As long as it's glowing, it regenerates the stone-like shell for protection, which is actually more of a metal alloy. Anything we can think of, the stone does.” Jackson wrapped his left hand around the gray slated part of the stone. Hundreds of little cubed pieces migrated from the stone to his suit, repairing the damage. He placed the starstone back into the compartment, with his aurascales now fully repaired. The metallic section of the stone was now much smaller, but was noticeably growing back to its original size. “It can’t be out of the chamber for too long otherwise the glowing core becomes unstable. The electromagnetic currents generated by the nuclear energy in the spherical room keep the stone stable.”

  “It can do anything we think of?”

  “Well, it would be ‘we’ if you joined the Double-Helix Program. The gem in the middle responds only when certain genetic codes unlock it.”

  “So it was built for someone else.” Jarrod watched the mechanical arm return the stone back to its cylindrical platform. “I take it that's why it's split in half. Someone didn't want us having that. Your suit is cool. What is it called?”

  “We call it the aurascales,” Jackson replied. “Elliot thought of the name.”

  “That’s cool. I guess.”

  “You've seen what we can accomplish with half the stone. Imagine the possibilities and the good we can do with the full thing.”

  “Or the horrible things…” Jarrod looked at Jackson. The suit had vanished and he was now in his normal clothes. “Seems like you don't own it, but the other way around.”

  “It's true. I'm dependent on the program to survive, but the program is made up of individuals who can make their own decisions. As long as we're in it for the right reasons, there's nothing horrible we can do.”

  “I'm sure you're not the only person in history who has said that before.” Jarrod looked back at the stone, feeling the energy reaching out to him. “I don't know if... if I can give up everything to be here and wipe everything clean that makes me who I am.”

  “Who you are is in here.” Jackson put his hand to Jarrod's chest. “The things that make it beat now will make it beat when it's pumping a different code through your veins, so you'll never truly change. But I'm not trying to convince you. If your heart isn't in it, then it's not for you. Everyone has to find their own reasons for the choices they make. They just have to be sure it's their reasons and not someone else's.”

  * * *

  Three Years Ago

  “You've hardly touched your chicken,” Aunt Liv said, putting her hand on top of Jarrod's knuckles and squeezing. She smiled and breathed a sigh of content before looking back down at her noodles, twirling the strands around her fork.

  “He's probably still thinking about Austin enlisting today,” Claire chimed in, slicing through the chicken breast with her pinky lifted in the air. “Jarrod went with him for support.”

  “I know it's horrible what happened to his parents, believe me, I loved them just as much as anyone else, but you shouldn't have encouraged that. Austin has so much going for him here. I'm sure that's not what they would have wanted.” Aunt Liv took a sip of her wine and looked at Jarrod intently. “There's something you're not saying.”

  “This is a lovely dinner,” he said, smiling halfheartedly, and she knew it. He cut off a large portion of the chicken and stuck it in his mouth. “You don't know what his parents would have wanted. Maybe they would have supported him and been proud.”

  “Nonsense. He's only doing it because he wants revenge against horrible people he'll never see.” She forcefully put her silverware down on her plate, causing Claire to momentarily stop chewing. “If they were here, he would be going to college like you.”

  “But they're not here, so we don't know.” Jarrod's nostrils flared, looking at her. “All we can do is play with the cards we've been dealt and try to make the best decisions possible.”

  “Surely you don't
think what Austin is doing is what's best, do you?” Claire leaned over her plate toward Jarrod, trying to look him in the eyes. “Did you…?”

  Jarrod quickly glanced at her and then looked away, nodding. He let out a deep sigh, his shoulders releasing the several pounds of tension that had built up inside.

  “Well, this isn't going to stand.” Aunt Liv shook her head, putting her napkin down on her plate. “We're going over there right now to un-enlist you.”

  “That's not how it works.”

  “Bullshit. I can make it work that way.” She clamped down hard on the table. Her eyes and face went red. She turned her shaking body to shield the trail of tears running down the side of her cheek. “Why would you do this?”

  “Jarrod, you worked so hard to get your scholarship.” Claire leaned back and away from him, her hands folded in her lap. Her mind raced through all of the horrible things that could happen to him. “What about me? Aunt Olivia? If this is what you want, what about us? Don't we get to be selfish too? Your Aunt is right; you're being stupid. Both of you. One tragedy in a month is hard enough. It's just horrible for two more to happen because you boys are going to be stupid.”

  “It's not stupid to take a stand. To not want to be useless half a world away when animals decide that people like you aren't worthy of living because you believe in something they don't.”

  “Cut the crap, Jarrod.” Claire stood from the table, grabbing her purse as she headed to the back door. She opened it and took a step out before leaning back in to glare at him. “If it's really what you want, it'd be one thing. But I know it's not. I know you better than you know yourself. You're not the type to run around the world righting the wrongs, and that's OK. I love you for who you are. But for you to do this because you feel you have to protect your friend rather than protect the women you love, well… it just shows me where I rank.”

  Claire walked out the door, slamming it behind her. Aunt Liv wiped her cheeks down and then looked at Jarrod, shaking her head.

  “It's amazing how right women can be—”

  “—It's egomaniacal how right you think you always are,” he cut her off, jaw tightly clenched. “You don't know the things I feel. Maybe I want to go over there and avenge the people who were like my parents. I've never had parents. Mine didn't want me. They forced me on you.”

  “That's not true. You weren't forced on me,” she replied, lips quivering as he stuck the verbal daggers into her gut.

  “It was Mr. Hanigan who taught me to hit a baseball and throw a curve. It was Mrs. Hanigan who would be the Carpool Mom and buy us the juice boxes after games. They bought me my first bike and treated me like a son. So, yeah, why couldn't it be possible for me to feel the same things Austin does? Do you have to be blood to care?”

  “No, you don't.” She shook her head. “I just wish you knew everything.”

  “No, you don't.” He stood from the table, sliding his chair in. He leaned over her, breathing heavily as he stared her down. “If you wanted me to know everything, I wouldn't know as little about myself as I do. Do you know what it's like to do a family history project as an 8th grader and to not be able to go back...?”

  She stuck her hand on his forehead and sent through him the memories she'd taken away. The truth about where they came from, who he is, the fact she was the one who brought him into the world. She showed him the future and the horrible things people were going to make him do if she didn't run away. She pulled her hand back and he stumbled backwards, falling to the ground. He looked at his hands, his reality blending with dreams and things he couldn't explain.

  “I-Is this real?” he stuttered, pushing himself back, his heels sliding across the floor. “What... what'd you d-do?”

  “Relax… And believe me when I say I can fix it.” She got up, moved to him, and knelt down, rubbing her fingers over his face. “I can make things better. I always have. If you leave, I can't protect you.”

  “Mom?” he said, faintly and full of breath.

  “You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say those words…” She closed her eyes and reached into his mind, removing the block inside to allow him to see her for who she really was. “You have my eyes and my heart. And you also have my desire to hide behind a persona that isn't you because you're afraid of what others might think. But you don't have to be afraid.”

  “Why is everything on fire?” He looked around, frantic as his heart rate increased rapidly. The visions in his head were all coming together. She could tell that he no longer understood what she was saying.

  “I love you, son. But I can't keep you from the world forever.” She put her hand back to his head and rebuilt the walls she created long ago. She hid the memories, the prophecies, and removed the truth she'd just revealed to him. She thought for a moment, however brief, to remove the events of the day and hide the love he felt for Austin's parents, all in an attempt to keep him here with her. But she didn't. That'd be a lie and she'd already fed enough of those to him. “Truth is… I can't protect you forever. Eventually, the world will have to deal with whatever you become.”

  Episode 3

  Oreios sat in his cell propped against the corner of the room. A blanket was wrapped over his head to shield his eyes from the constant shine of the florescent lights. He looked at his half blown-off arm and then closed his eyes, able to see with his mind the energy which still flowed through his phantom limb.

  Suddenly, yanking him from his daydream, the turning of the gears that kept the door of his cell secured clanked. He pulled the blanket from over his head and stared at the door as it opened.

  “It's time for some answers.” Hershiser stood in the entryway. Oreios looked behind him. Hershiser turned his head slightly to his back and then looked forward once again. “I wouldn't let him come along. You know that.”

  “Oh, I know.” Oreios smiled as he stood. “You're just not quite the date I had in mind. One can hope.”

  “You'd do well not to mess with him anymore than you already have.” Hershiser clenched his fist and then relaxed his hands. He unsnapped a small shiny metallic device from his belt and pressed in on the sides, causing the device to elongate in a drawn-out arc. “Turn around.”

  Oreios stood, turning to face the back wall. Hershiser stepped behind him, placing the crescent moon shaped device to the back of Oreios' neck. He clicked in once more on the side and the crescent device formed a full circle around the prisoner’s throat. A thin red line illuminated all the way around the center of the device.

  “Try and remove it, please,” Hershiser dared as he squeezed Oreios' shoulders and pulled him back. He shoved him forward and walked out of the cell. “Follow me.”

  “Oh, you know I have a fetish for rough foreplay,” Oreios laughed as he followed along, walking among Hershiser and three other heavily armed men. He used this journey through the halls as an opportunity to gain his bearings and look for what he came for. To his captors’ credit, they did a nice enough job building the place to make it as mundane and repetitive as possible. All the twists and turns and subtle corridor changes made wading through the endless walkways nearly impossible without some sort of guide.

  As they walked down the middle of yet another long passage way—one that Oreios swore they'd just traveled through—Hershiser stopped the group in the middle of the hall and pressed a few keys on his electronic wristband. Two walls shot up from the floor, blocking the five men in a small square room, and then shifted them sideways to the left. After ten seconds of moving they came to a slow stop. The doors retreated back into the floor.

  “OK, now I'm impressed.” Oreios smiled, looking around intently and nodding his head. He received another shove in the back and walked forward again. This time, he saw the man he'd been hoping to see. A person he felt somehow connected to, but also obligated to torture. “Hello, Jackson. I see you dressed up to meet me.”

  Jackson stood silent in his full armor. He didn't move in response to Oreios, but instead sunk back into the s
hadows of the room.

  “We need to know about the rifts.” Elliot broke the silence, lifting his head. The light from the monitors behind him draped over his shoulders and hat, casting a long shadow over his face. His neatly manicured fingernails strolled across the tabletop and glided up a glass of water. He picked it up, taking a sip. “Our satellite imagery shows that activity has been increasing steadily over the past three months centralized in the Noshaq region...”

  “I don't know what you're talking about.” Oreios blew the hair out of his eyes and leaned back, flopping his heels on the tabletop. He clicked his toes together and hummed. He did so for about a minute until he realized no one was going to smack him around. “You're desperate.”

  “More eager than desperate,” Elliot replied.

  “Naturally you think because I'm a guardian of the mountains that I know who's been rifting.” Oreios slid his feet off the table and leaned forward, pressing down on his elbow. “My services were no longer required as of the last time we met, in case you forgot.”

  “You arrived in the region before the activity started. You can't lie to us.” Elliot cleared his throat.

  “You've not proven without a shadow of a doubt that A and B are connected.” He laughed and shook his head. “They're not... just in case you were wondering.”

  “Then exactly how and why did you make the two thousand mile journey from your old stomping grounds to our backyard?” Hershiser walked back and forth in a line with his hands folded behind his back. His dark eyes fixated on Oreios, grinding his teeth together.

  “There's no point in asking the Devil for information.” Jackson stepped forward and broke his silence, much to Oreios’ pleasure. “Even if you got him to talk to you, he would just lie.”

  “The Devil? Really, I'm flattered. However, he's not this handsome and I'm not that evil.” Oreios stood from his seat and lifted his hand to keep people from rushing him, reassuring them that he knew very well what the device around his neck could do. “But I will throw you a bone. The rifting and my being here are completely unrelated, at least to the best of my knowledge. I was moving east on a job and confidentiality prohibits me from disclosing any of those details. The only reason I stopped was because I heard my favorite person in the world was drudging through this area. And what would a trip be without stopping to say hello?”