The Esoteric Design: Disbanding Hope

by A. R. Crebs

  Finally, tears fell from Ivory’s pale eyes. She tried to choke back a sob. “I know you did your best. I knew you wouldn’t truthfully do it.”

  “But I did!” he shouted. “Let’s be realistic. There is no way either one survived. But I had to direct Sapphire away from wanting to tear them apart. I suggested we leave their bodies out to dry in the sun.”

  Ivory’s eyes widened. “Why?”

  “I told her it was so we could make a dress out of their skin. I knew the idea would excite her and divert her attention away from completely destroying Aria and Troy. It also gave me a false sense of hope that perhaps…if they did survive, somehow…they would have a chance of escaping this dreadful place.” Dovian gestured toward the storm. “I’ve directed my focus over the desert. If the storms continue out there, it will prevent their bodies from drying out like Sapphire expects. The last thing I’ll allow to happen is for those two to become a wardrobe. I will be sure they are respected in death.”

  Dovian’s face fell; his shoulders sagged. Giving a moan, he covered his eyes and curled in on himself, his shoulders shaking. Ivory hopped from the bed and dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around him.

  “I didn’t want this,” his voice quaked.

  “I know.” She ran her hand through his hair, trying her best to comfort him. Relief washed over her as she came to realize that Dovian wasn’t exactly a cold-blooded killer. She couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to do what he had.

  “I should have let you go. I should have made you leave.” He straightened and grabbed her arms, looking her straight in the eye. “In fact, I’m telling you to get out of here. Leave. You are not safe here. I cannot protect you. I only did what I did to keep you safe. I was afraid that Sapphire would hurt you. And instead, I hurt you; I hurt our friends.”

  She shook her head. “Nope.”

  “I don’t understand,” he was almost angered by her response.

  “Dovian, though what you did was astonishing and horrid on all levels…I need you to know that I still love you. I always have, and I always will. I know…” she gave a high-pitched laugh, “it doesn’t make sense! But I’m confident that I’m right where I’m supposed to be. This is what I was made for. This is what I was destined to do—to be by your side when you need me the most. Whether I’m Ivory or I’Lanthe, it doesn’t matter. We both feel the same thing. We are not leaving.”

  The man’s hard visage loosened, and he let out a sharp sigh. “How on earth could either you or I’Lanthe stay with me after all I’ve done?”

  Ivory took a deep breath, ruffling Dovian’s hair. “Well, for starters, I’Lanthe has known you at your best, and I have known you at your worst. Together, we have formulated a similar opinion.” Her cheerful voice soothed the man, and he watched her in wonder. “You are sweet; you are caring, and you are charming and intelligent.”

  He scoffed, but she went on. “You’re mysterious, brooding, depressed, anxious, and moody. You’re deadly; you’re unpredictable, and incredibly terrifying.”

  “I’m a danger to you; it’s why you should leave,” he grumbled.

  “Dovian, look at you. You are broken. Your soul is broken. A shattered vase can’t put itself back together again. You need me here…so I can mend you.”

  “And how does one mend someone like me?” He watched her.

  “With what you always preach, Dovian–love. Let me love you.” For a moment, Dovian almost thought they were I’Lanthe’s words, but Ivory’s voice was clear as day. The two were merging together into one persona.

  “It doesn’t matter how much love you use to repair me; I will still have my flaws, my cracks.” Dovian looked at his hands.

  “And no matter how deep those cracks are, no matter how many you have, they are only a mark of how beautiful you truly are.” She directed his face toward hers as she ran a thumb across the tattoo on his cheekbone. “I would be afraid, Dovian...if you did these things without effort. If you did them without regret and pain. To create darkness and not have cracks…that would be terrible. Dovian, you do the things you do out of love, not out of hate. I see it clearly in the way your eyes shine. I feel it when I’m near you. It does not excuse what you have done, but the mistakes you have made and continue to make only reveal more of who you are. Once you figure out who you are, you can begin to repair yourself in the ways that are needed. But until then, let me love you. Let me heal you in the ways that you need. I can mend you the best I can. And though a broken vase glued back together may show its cracks, it can still hold water. You’re not completely broken yet, Dovian. Don’t allow the darkness to pour out of you freely. That isn’t who you are.”

  She firmly held his head and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Dovian winced.

  “You haven’t healed yourself, yet?!” she shouted, her mature demeanor fluctuating.

  “I figured I deserved the pain for a while,” Dovian murmured, holding the back of his neck. “That was quite a hit, by the way.”

  Ivory held a hand to her lips. “I did whack you pretty good, didn’t I?”

  He gave a crooked smirk, but she didn’t find it amusing in the slightest.

  “You heal yourself this instant!” she yelled.

  Dovian hesitated but complied. Placing a hand on his cheek, he healed the cracked bone then moved to the fracture in his vertebrae. It only took a moment, and Ivory was relieved.

  “I’m sorry I hurt you.” She gently touched his cheek again, being much more delicate in her caress.

  “And I’m sorry I hurt you, Ivory. I plan on making up for it…somehow. I will work on keeping my darkness at bay.” He placed his head on the woman’s shoulder.

  She planted a soft kiss on his head, holding him. “You are keeping it at bay. Darkness knows no love, Dovian.”

  Dovian mumbled, “No, it only knows of pain and suffering.”

  “Perhaps darkness is like a hole. Maybe by filling it with love, the darkness would turn into light?” Ivory suggested.

  Dovian pulled away and looked at her, intrigued. In that instant, they each had the same thought. What if Ivory showed love to Sapphire? Was that monster of a child capable of accepting love? Could Sapphire possibly love in return?

  “Do you think she’s capable of feeling love?” Ivory whispered.

  Dovian opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden thumping commenced, tearing his attention away from Ivory.

  “That isn’t thunder.” Dovian sat up, rushing to the window. He stared with anticipation at the sky. “Turn it down! Cloak yourself!” he called out.

  “What is it?” Ivory asked, joining his side.

  For a second, she caught the sight of a blinking light that emitted a pulsing thump. It passed them by and headed toward the site of Aria and Troy’s wreckage. Then, all went silent, and the light disappeared.

  “What was that?” she asked again.

  Dovian’s eyes were aflame. “A Hawk.”

  “Hawk? A hawk…oh!” She nearly fell out the window as she pressed forward to get a better view. “A helicopter!”

  Dovian watched with her, trying to gather a set of data from his optical camera. His heart pounded within his chest. All kinds of ‘what-ifs’ traveled through his brain. For a moment, he finally had some hope. Apparently, Ivory felt the same as she hopped and slung her arms around his neck and squealed loudly, toppling the man over.

  “Ladies and gentlemen! I present to you…the forbidden land of Ives!” Nerd called out over the intercom of the Hawk. He wasn’t meant to be a pilot but knew enough about the vehicle that he had managed to get them safely to Ives.

  Spoofy and the others leaped from their chairs, scattering to the various windows in the cabin. Though it was night, they could tell the land was lush and vibrant with life. On the horizon was a clustering storm, one that made Nerd anxious. As they neared the city, Spoofy darted to the front of the craft.

  “Nerd! Get her in stealth mode! Whatever it is that brought Aria and Troy down could still be out t
here! We need to make this quick and as quiet as possible.” She leaned against Nerd’s seat, looking out the front of the airship.

  “Aye, aye, captain!” Nerd sputtered.

  As they flew near an ancient rundown city, the Hawk shuddered into stealth mode. Spoofy’s eyes narrowed as she watched for any sign of life. Her optics portrayed numerous life signs, but all were relatively small–most likely animals of some sort. She hoped they weren’t all monsters. However, the city held no light, which comforted her somewhat. It appeared there was no surviving civilization on Ives. If there was, it had to be rather primitive as everything seemed worse for wear.

  “They could be anywhere,” Nerd muttered.

  Spoofy pulled up her DNAIS, reading the SOS data again. There should have been a position analysis somewhere in the report, but there was none. If anything, the Hawk should have emitted a signal of some sort unless there were a type of electrical disturbance. The woman eyed the horizon where the storms flickered with life.

  “Head toward the clouds. I bet they’re preventing the signal.” She pointed.

  “But if it’s providing electrical disturbance, it could take us down, too,” Nerd said worriedly.

  “Fly low, then. We have to find them.” She patted him on the shoulder, giving him a rough shake.

  Just as she spoke, the stormy weather churned, spiraling to all sides of the island. It was as if the storm was alive, granting the Hawk access to their destination. Within a few seconds, Spoofy’s DNAIS chimed with the coordinates to the wreck. She quickly pushed the information onto Nerd’s dash, and his windowpane lit up with blinking triangulation finders. One red beam picked up on a piece of fiery debris, highlighting it before zooming in on the crash site.

  “I think we found our wreck,” Nerd spoke apprehensively.

  Spoofy eyed the clearing storms.

  “This is kind of spooky, eh?” the pilot asked.

  The men in the cabin all made murmurs of agreement as they watched the clouds.

  Spoofy’s mouth twisted into a frown. “Just keep on the alert. Either someone or something is helping us out, or we’re walking right into a trap.”

  Spinning about-face, the woman trudged into the cabin, snatching up her enormous rifle. Loading the weapon, she only gave a fleeting glance to her teammates. They all moved, taking up their arms and supplies.

  “Keeping up stealth. Preparing to land. I’d like to make as fast a getaway as possible,” Nerd quickly stated as he lowered the invisible vehicle to the ground.

  Spoofy nodded. “Stay in the copter, Nerd. We’ll check out the wreckage for any survivors.”

  Monkey opened the door. His body seemed to materialize out of thin air as he jumped into the outside world. He aimed, taking quick steps toward the demolished Hawk a few meters away. The others filed in line behind him, checking to the left and the right for any potential ambushes.

  A clattering sound came from the wreckage, and the team paused and tore their attention toward the source. Giving a shrill shriek, a spherical drone slowly rounded the corner. A digital white flag popped up over its head. Its clamps opened and closed; the large camera in the center of its face darted from side to side as it gathered data on Team Phoenix.

  “Team Phoenix has arrived,” the bot whined.

  Spoofy moved to the front, only lowering her weapon slightly. “State your name and status.”

  “Franklin. A-okay!” The bot twirled. “Pilot, Aren Hagar, in critical condition. Requesting medical aid.”

  Spoofy looked over her shoulder at Kaino. He was already on the move, leaping over the wreckage.

  “And what of Aria and Troy?” she asked the drone.

  “MISSING…MISSING.” Franklin twitched, searching for life signs.

  “What happened to them? Why aren’t they at the site of the crash? Were they with you when the Hawk went down?” Spoofy inquired.

  “Aria and Troy were inside the Hawk. After crash, gone missing.”

  “Now how in the hell is that possible?” Zombie questioned.

  Franklin moved a few meters off to the side as a green scanner searched the ground. “Rain has destroyed most evidence. But evidence reveals some form of resistance.”

  “Resistance?” Spoofy looked at her comrades. They all shared worried glances.

  “GATHERING DNA READING. STATUS POSTULATION: ARIA AND TROY IN CRITICAL CONDITION.” Franklin moved ahead.

  “Hey! Wait for us!” Spoofy trotted after the bot.

  “Franklin doesn’t take orders from strangers,” the robot beeped.

  “Franklin! Stop!” A younger male voice shouted. The drone abruptly halted.

  Kaino walked toward the others, supporting a staggering young man.

  “You’re the pilot?” Spoofy asked the injured man.

  “Yes, ma’am. Aren Hagar.” He offered her his hand. “Spoofy, I presume?”

  “That’s me.” She pointed to her other teammates. “You’ve met Kaino; this is Zombie, Monkey.”

  Aren nodded toward the others. “It’s an honor to meet you all. I’m a big fan.” He winced, his hand gripping his bandaged shoulder.

  “You going to make it?” she asked.

  Sweat beaded on Aren’s brow. “Uh, maybe. Surprised I’m still alive at all. Franklin patched me up pretty good though.”

  Kaino shook his head. “He needs medical attention ASAP. He may be alright for now, but his health is declining fast. Pretty sure he has a nasty infection.”

  Spoofy placed her hands on her hips. “Perhaps we should have Nerd take him to the nearest hospital and meet back up with us?”

  “No!” Aren shouted. He groaned and held a hand to his head. “No. I’m not leaving. We have to find Aria and Troy as quickly as possible and get the hell out of here. You have no idea what’s on this island.”

  Spoofy folded her arms. “Oh, I can guess.”

  Aren’s face fell. “Sapphire’s entire army is located here in the cave systems. All those monsters that have been attacking the city-states? They’re all housed here! The sooner we can leave, the better, but I’m not going without Aria and Troy.”

  Team Phoenix once again exchanged concerned looks.

  “How do they keep getting themselves into the worst kinds of trouble?” Monkey looked over each shoulder, paranoid.

  “You think the monsters took them?” Spoofy asked.

  Aren warily eyed Franklin. “Not sure. I’d assume so. Franklin! What data do you have on Aria and Troy?”

  Franklin whirred, spinning and floating toward the pilot. “Aria and Troy have received critical injuries. DNA reading reveals movement away from crash site. Large amounts of blood lost. More DNA trails that way.” The bot turned to the side and projected a beam in the southern direction of the island.

  “That goes away from the cave system. Perhaps they survived and found a place to hide,” Aren mumbled. Feeling lightheaded, he dropped. Kaino grabbed him, securing him to his side.

  “Everyone to the Hawk! Aren, can Franklin follow the trail?” Spoofy moved slowly with the pilot and medic as the other two men jumped back inside the vehicle.

  “I can have him track it as far as he can read. Follow in the Hawk. Hopefully, something will show up on radar for you. I’d suggest running a DNAIS scan to find their location,” Aren said, struggling with his words.

  “Franklin! Follow the trail! We’ll be close behind,” Spoofy hollered.

  “Do as she says, Franklin!” Aren puffed.

  The robot only protested with a noise before speeding away, tracking Aria and Troy.

  Spoofy and Kaino hurried into the aircraft with Aren and quickly settled. Nerd lifted immediately and pushed forward, his eyes locked onto the green scanner from Franklin.

  “Fast lil bugger,” Nerd called out.

  “Just don’t lose sight of him,” Aren whimpered.

  Spoofy sat in front of Aren, resting her elbows on her knees. “So, what’s been going on? We’ve been in the dark for a few weeks.”

  “Did y
ou happen to see any of the live feeds recently?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Okay. Now, this all may sound a bit insane, but I’m going to say it straight out. Sapphire is that little girl that interrupted the news. She’s as evil as evil can get. She’s not what she appears to be. She’s some otherworldly being. Some think she’s the devil.” Aren groaned as Kaino applied more antiseptic to his wounds. Kaino speedily made a cross over his chest in response to Aren’s tale. “Those monsters are demons I guess.”

  Zombie and Monkey shared skeptical expressions.

  “Hit yer head a little hard?” Zombie snorted. Spoofy punched him in the arm, causing him to yelp.

  “I need you to believe me on this.” Aren glared at the men. Lifting his wrist, he pulled up his data log. “I’ll send copies of everything I know to you all. It’s got my and Aria’s notes in it.”

  “Who’s the scary guy with the wings?” the woman asked.

  “Dovian. He’s a Sorcēarian. He was originally in our party, but things got too dangerous last we were here, and we had to pull out. He was left behind. We were trying to rescue a friend…Ivory. She has some weird connection to this place. Now she and Dovian are stuck here, and I guess Sapphire’s using Dovian for his powers. Not really sure whose side he’s on now.” Aren frowned. “I really hope Aria and Troy are alright. Maybe Dovian had something to do with their disappearance.”

  After a few minutes, an alarm chimed at the front of the cabin. Nerd lowered the copter.

  “Got a read on some life signs hidden in some ruins. That bot’s radar is goin’ through the roof!” Nerd spoke over the intercom.

  Aren tilted to get a look at the windshield of the cockpit. “Aria and Troy had mentioned some ruins once. They had holed up there before. You think it’s them?”

  “That bot of yours is sayin' it is!” Nerd exclaimed, nearly dropping the craft in excitement.