by Thomas Shaw
“That’s not true, I want you to join me”
“Join you? Why? Your lack of trust is what’s always held you back”
“I have good reason not to trust anyone Lydia. Everyone’s untrustworthy! Everyone in my life has let me down, and no one has had any faith in me. I have never felt a part of any group or had anyone by my side!”
“And what about me?” Lydia asked, starring coldly into my eyes, “I met you when you had no one else around, when you was alone. And I have been by your side ever since!”
“And yet, I always knew that you resented me the most” I mumbled to her.
In that moment I had remembered why we had come to New London. I had been smart, had a good knowledge of engineering and was offered a position in New London, to head my own team for the development of the monorail system. I had jumped at the opportunity and relocated mine and my Lydia’s home to New London. Everything seemed great, only to realise that the position I had moved for had already been reassigned to someone with supposedly better managerial skills. My job was then changed to a simple engineer. Although I was shocked by this, I was not surprised. I had been chosen for the role as I had the knowledge of monorails, design, and was a fully qualified engineer and had the potential to learn to management skills, whereas the man who took my job, merely had the managerial skills. The higher ups didn’t care that he had no understanding of monorails or engineering, as he didn’t need to. In their mind all he had to do was delegate and the job would be done.
I would’ve argued, I would’ve complained to someone higher, but I didn’t have the balls. I had to tell my wife, the one who didn’t want to move in the first place, that this job wasn’t everything I said it would be, that this new life on this island wouldn’t be better than our previous life. I had to disappoint her. And I did.
Although she didn’t say it, didn’t show it, I knew deep down, there was some resentment for me. But she stayed with me.
And then the blackouts started. We must’ve been living here for nearly ten years when they started occurring. The migraines, the dizzy spells and finally the blackouts. Brain cancer. A big tumor on the right side. Lydia supported me all the way, but I was holding her back. She was due to start a big career in fashion design, something she’d always wanted to do. But that was when I found out. She couldn’t go to her work because she was looking after me. I told her not to worry, that I’d be fine, and eventually I got through to her because she went. All was good for a month. And then one day I passed out whilst waiting for food to be cooked for that evenings meal. There was a fire in the kitchen. The alarms didn’t wake me. Luckily a neighbor heard it though the open kitchen window and broke the door down and managed to put out the fire. Lydia came home an hour later, to find our house filled with smoke, and me on the front step crying.
I thought back to that small, frail little man and felt disgusted in myself. Lydia quit her job the next morning.
There was nothing the doctors could do for me. They said that the growth was too large. Chemotherapy wouldn’t work, and any surgery would most likely kill me.
But that is when I saw the advert. Nearly a year after being diagnosed, I was sat in the waiting room at my doctors. As I sat there, in the corner of my eye I had noticed there was a flyer stuck to the outside of the window but with the print facing inside. Large bold letter asked the question: "Do you have an incurable disease?". After my appointment I swiped the leaflet from the glass and took it home. This was the invitation that would lead me to meeting Darren Cole in that cafe, and the eventual path that would lead me to this very moment.
Lydia was still looking up at me. She turned around and walked to the side of the bed, “Really Charlie? You believe that I resented you? After everything I did with you, after everything you put me through?”
I nodded. Why wouldn’t she. I was the primary cause for her sleepless nights, her worry and stress. Even before the cancer I had ruined her life.
“Or maybe, just maybe, I loved you and stuck by you because of that?”
I closed my eyes. The room felt like it was shaking, “No. you hated me” I said, whilst I rubbed my fingers across my head. I wasn’t talking to her, I was trying to convince myself it seemed.
“Do you need to believe that?” Lydia said in almost a whisper, “So that you can justify what you did to me?”
I opened my eyes with confusion. Lydia wasn’t stood anymore. She was laying on the ground, fingers grasping at her throat! She was choking! I knelt beside her and watched as her eyes stared deeply into mine. The whites of her eyes turned red and blinked one last time. She was gone. Tears welled in my eyes and my hands started to tremble.
Seconds later there were sirens outside. I jumped to my feet and rushed to the window. Outside rushed a police car down the street followed by a black car. They both pulled up outside my house. Two officers got out of the police car and two men in suits got out of the black car. They started making their way down the path. I turned to look at Lydia, but she was gone! I looked back outside but the officers and men in suits, along with both cars had disappeared too! I was alone. I sat on the edge of the bed, shocked, unable to comprehend what had just happened. I leant back, placing my hands on the mattress I was sat on. My hands rested on the coat I was wearing, on the pockets. I felt something cold and hard inside them and slipped my hand inside to investigate. I pulled out two vials of the green liquid I had previously taken. They were in different containers this time. Thin glass vials with little cork stoppers at the end, the sort of glass tubes you see in films. I looked at them for a few seconds and thought about drinking them. I had blacked out last time, I had slept and had woken with a clear mind. Taking two should help, taking two would hopefully let me sleep this time. I pulled out the stoppers at the end and, holding both in one hand, drank them together in one mouthful.
I dropped the vials on the floor and laid back, closing my eyes. I laid for a minute, but nothing was happening, so I stood up. And that’s when my body decided to sleep. The last thing I could remember was my face hitting the grey carpeted floor.
9
“One!” A loud voice shouted.
I awoke and jumped up. I wasn’t in the room anymore, I was on top of an apartment complex downtown, around ten stories up. I had lost my poncho, and was only wearing my makeshift pants. It was dark, and the only thing telling me what day it was, was the sound of partying coming from the street below. New Year’s Eve! I had almost missed it! But then I listened again, it wasn’t the sound of celebration...it was chaos; screaming and shouting, loud bangs and at line point I heard what sounded like a roar. I scrambled to the edge of the building and looked out across the city.
I could see bright, colourful lights shining up, projecting upon the clouds above. Music was faintly playing from somewhere and-
“One! Where are you?” The voice shouted again. It was in my head, it was Three.
It was strange, Three hadn’t communicated in this way for a few days now. I focused and thought up my reply, “I’m here Three, what’s going on?”
“Where have you been?” Three called back. It sounded like he was panicking, “I’ve been shouting you all day!”
“I’ve been busy, I didn’t hear you. Is this us? Have you started?”
“We had to continue without you. We created the explosive; it’s loaded with the gas. We’re at the plaza, but we need your direction!”
“I’ll be there right away!”
I ran over to the edge and jumped off, straight across to the building opposite. I climbed a fence which ran around the perimeter of the rooftop and pulled myself up. The noises were getting louder. A helicopter flew low in the same direction I was heading but veered right and flew away behind another building. I walked to the edge and jumped off without even checking below.
As I jumped down, I took everything in. Central plaza was normally four large plazas, divided by roads crossing through the middle. However, during the New Year’s celebration, the roads were b
locked, to make the plazas seem like one big space. In one corner a stage had been set up and a band that had been playing were now just stood, instruments in hand, gazing in shock towards the centre. The people who had been celebrating New Years were stood around, creating a large semicircle in the centre. In front of the crowd was a large, long vehicle, surrounded by our new minions, all dressed in dark robes. Atop the bus stood Two, Three, Four and Five. I couldn’t see Seven and I assumed he was either driving the vehicle or was back at home. In front of the vehicle was the bomb. It looked similar to the one we had used back in the testing lab, but was much bigger. A few minions were loading canisters of the drug into the back of it.
I landed with a tremendous thud a few meters away. Everyone around shouted in shock. The others all called out and I saw Three give a sigh of relief.
“One. We thought you'd gone” Five said as he extended a had to help me up. I accepted his offer and climbed on top of the vehicle. It looked like a transport vehicle, like a bus.
“Where have you been?” Three asked.
I ignored him, “Have you announced anything?”
“No, waiting for you” Five said.
I nodded and turned to the crowd. I cleared my throat, “Citizens of New London! We are not your enemy! We come with an offer, a chance to make yourselves...better!”
There was chattering amongst the crowd. I continued, “We are going to help you. DarkWatch created technology to eradicate disease, pain and suffering. This is where we will save you. We have finished DarkWatch's experiments. We may appear to be scary, but we are not. We are not. Cohesion is possible if we try. There’s nothing you need to do and nowhere you can run. And there’s no time like the present so what have you got to lose? Who’s with us?”
The public started to panic, all eyes were set on either me or the bomb. A line of police officers gathered and all aimed guns at us.
“Shoot me!” I dared them.
Two bullets, both to the chest, pierced my skin, but got stuck in the muscle. I reached in with my claws and pulled them out, discarding them like they were dead insects. The officers seemed put off by this. One of them lowered her gun and took a step back. I laughed and was about to get down to detonate the bomb when movement in the crowd distracted me.
The crowd split apart, creating a pathway for four people. They walked towards us. Two men and two women. They were dressed in black clothing but had strange metal devices on their wrists. The girls and one of the men stopped whilst the other man kept walking but slowed his pace slightly, "We’ve come to negotiate!" He shouted.
I felt a grin stretch out across my face and my heart beat started going a bit faster.
“Negotiate with what?” I heard Two behind me, “What could they offer us?”
“Nothing” I answered, not taking my eyes off the walking man, “But I want to see what they can offer first”
I jumped down from the bus. The crowd flinched when I started walking, like I would explode myself! I walked slowly, looking back at fourth at each person. The guy at the back had short black hair, and was staring past me and was looking directly at my brethren on top of the bus.
One of the girls, who seemed to be the youngest of the group, had bright red hair, which reminded me of a bright flame. She was fidgeting with her fingers and seemed to be extremely nervous about the predicament she had found herself in. The woman by her side placed her hands on the red-haired girls arm, stopping her from fidgeting with her hands. She said something, but I couldn’t make out what it was. She had black hair and a set of thick framed glasses. She seemed to be the calmest out of the group and looked like she was taking in all her surroundings, she looked at the crowds of people, then to the buildings around us and then back at me. She was muttering something under her breath, but I was unable to read her lips.
The man in the front who seemed to lead them stood with his hands behind his back. He had a look of being young but with years behind him at the same time. From the waist up, he looked ready to talk, but the position of his legs and feet gave the impression of someone ready to throw a punch. I stepped close to him. I waited for him to flinch but to my surprise he didn’t even blink.
He placed his hands together in a peaceful way, “I’ve been sent to negotiate. Tell me what you want and DarkWatch will help you”
“DarkWatch?” I repeated.
“Yeah, we work for them”
“You have nothing we want. We already have all that” I sneered at him, “But why not join us”
The man shook his head and smirked, “Nah, not really my thing. If you’re not willing to cooperate, I must ask for you and your.... friends to come with us”
I looked down at my muscular body then back at this small man and smiled again, nearly laughing, “Come with you? And tell me, if we refuse, how will you make us?”
“We have ways” He said. He placed his hands by his sides. There was no weapon in either so I was confused by his threat.
“I don’t think you could land even one hit on me before I could snap your neck”
“Yeah, you’re probably right” The man said, “But he could”
He jerked his head to the right and I turned to see what he was indicating to. The other man was stood right next to me and he threw his fist into my face.
I wasn’t expecting the punch to hurt let alone send me flying back with such force. I landed and dragged along the floor for a few meters. The crowd cheered. I heard the man shouting as I laid on the ground dumbstruck.
“Everyone! Head south! Get out of here now!” He called out loudly. His voice echoed through speakers that had been set up to play music, “Laura, do it now,”
I jumped up and looked at the others. They had got down from the bus and were running towards me. Our underlings were still stood by the bus, “Help us!” I shouted over to them. They started running, eager to help, when suddenly water started covering the floor, from seemingly out of nowhere. It ran around us, making a huge water ring a few meters wide on the floor, and then started to rise up, until it came in on itself creating a huge dome encasing us, the four of these DarkWatch people, half of the four connected plazas, and one of the bars in some sort of water shell. I noticed the last civilian jumping through the water and then it started freezing quickly from the bottom upwards! An eerie silence fell upon the ice dome. We all took a stand, facing these four DarkWatch members.
I looked at one of the girls, the dark haired one. She had her eyes closed, hands flat out, like she was concentrating on something. I looked above and as the top of the dome froze completely, the girl opened her eyes and rested her hands. She had done this. I immediately pounced at her. I was about an inch away from her when a streak of electricity hit me and went through all my body. The pain was intense, like I was freezing cold and little pins were stabbing the entirety of my skin. I collapsed to the floor, shaking from the shock. I looked up and saw the blonde-haired man, his fist raised, tiny little yellow sparks crackling in between his knuckles. He opened his mouth to speak but was quickly distracted by an attacking Four, who knocked him off balance. I jumped to my feet and grabbed the man, and threw him towards a parked car. He flew through the air but as he was about to hit the side of the hatchback, he slowed down, like some invisible force was pulling him back. I noticed out of the corner of my eye the red-haired woman had her arms outstretched towards him. She was doing this somehow. The man landed on the ground softly, a meter away from the car and got back to his feet. Our eyes met but he got distracted with Three. I observed as Three went to punch him, but the man ducked down, threw his own punch which did nothing, but with his other hand, aimed it at his head and lighting sparked out of his fingers!
These people, these abilities, I then realised who these people were. This was the Sentry team that Darren had mentioned. The minions weren’t doing anything, they were stood around, waiting for orders. I approached one of them, “Tear down the wall”
He ran away, and I heard him shouting to the others, “T
ear down the wall!” They all ran to the edge, where the bus would be on the other side, and started hitting at it, clawing and kicking at the ice. I was too busy watching them that I didn’t notice the strong man running at me! He tackled into my side with such a force, I thought I had been hit by a car at first! He smashed me against the wall of the bar and kicked me in the kneecap, bringing me down to one knee. He the hit me in the jaw and head butted my forehead. His strength was amazing, and I wondered how he had gained it. In the background, I could see Five looking around, looking for a target. He saw me and ran over, jumped on to the mans back and tried to yank him off of me. The man managed to break free from Five's grasp, but I had recovered and grabbed his arm. I dug my fingers into his skin but, even with the sharpness of my claws, I failed to draw blood! Frustrated I instead swung him to the right, through the window of the bar. He went through a table and slid right up against the bar itself. He was strong but strangely light. Five started climbing in the building as I observed the battle around us. The underlings were making slow progress with the wall. The dome made groaning sounds and I could swear it was moving, I had the impression it was constantly melting and then re-freezing. I looked for the woman who had created the dome. She needed to be stopped. I saw their leader, Three had a hold of him and Two was hitting him in the stomach repeatedly. I saw him spluttering blood and briefly felt sorry for him. That quickly passed as he closed his eyes and Three started shaking like he had just shoved his finger in a plug socket! I was going to go help when I felt someone on my back. I turned to see the red headed woman, arms around my neck, gripping on. She had a smile across her face. Whatever worries she had before were gone. I tried to grab her but couldn’t reach that far back so instead I tried to shake her off.
“Wow, you are hot headed aren’t you?” She gripped my sides tightly with her legs and placed both hands at either side of my head. It felt like my brain was melting in my head! Her hands were like lava and I couldn’t focus, I started to lose my vision and nearly all sound had gone. The only thing I could here was a static sound and the voice of someone calling over an intercom: “David? David I’m here. Where's the lab? I’m at- “