Ascension

by Christopher De Sousa

  Then, silence swept across the precipice, and Monica ended the sharing of her memories. Now she and Katherine returned to the physical plane – back in the medical wing.

  “Now you know the truth,” she said, gazing thoughtfully on the young Indigo, anticipating her response.

  But Katherine had fallen silent. With her face puckered, unblinking, Katherine stared down at the tiled floor while dabbing with her sleeve at the tears she shed.

  She looked back at her. “Do you mean to tell me an Indigo can read the minds of others? If so, how did you not know Justin’s motives? Or of the many attacks made by those Corrupted? Could you possibly have prevented everything that has gone wrong from happening?”

  “I can’t just read anyone’s mind, nor can I communicate with them telepathically,” Monica offered. “As I said before, such things can only be done with whom I have a special bond. A bond like that shared between siblings or with a guardian. I soon learned of a way to communicate with you. You are my sister’s daughter, of my blood. We are family you and I, and no bond is more special.”

  She could see that Katherine was still trying to hide her tears. “I’m tired of crying,” said Katherine, sniffling. “But I’m also ready to go home.”

  Monica placed a comforting arm around her. “Once you recover. I guess it won’t be long before I’ll need to start packing.”

  Leaving Katherine to get some rest, and giving her time to process what she’d learned, Monica left the room and headed down the medical wings’ main corridor.

  “How is she?” Walter asked, as he glided towards her in his wheelchair. “Am I right in assuming she has finally awoken?”

  “She has. Good morning Senator, how are you feeling?”

  Margaret grunted, trudging along at the director’s side. “Aside from Walter pressuring me to lay off the cigars…, I can’t really complain.”

  “And how is David holding up since I last saw him?”

  “He’s reacted quite well so far to the treatment. He should be back on his feet within the next few days,” said Walter, flicking through the pages of an old tome; a memento that had belonged to his late guardian. “Although that masked Corrupted certainly caused him significant distress. Has Katherine said anything to you?”

  “She has many questions,” Monica replied. “She’s experienced a lot over a short period of time. How are the boy’s coping? I’ve been meaning to visit them.”

  He tracked his finger across a page within the tome. “They’ll also make a full recovery. They were afflicted with a rare poison. But I find healing physical symptoms far less arduous than afflictions of the mind and heart. There is however, one other thing I wish to discuss with you – about my succession.”

  The very suggestion of stepping down now came to her as a surprise, but she remembered Walter’s succession had been raised once before. The day had come where he was ready for her to assume top command of the organisation’s hierarchy.

  I am not getting any younger, and more prone now to make mistakes. This he’d told her before, but that had been five years ago.

  Although in truth, she believed he wanted more time mainly to focus on his scientific and medical endeavours. But she had noticed too that the director had grown frailer with each passing engagement.

  He frowned. “I made a significant number of misjudgements throughout this recent conflict. It is high time this organisation had someone younger to lead it; someone with fresh ideas and schemes to tackle this looming threat.”

  “I’m happy to discuss this at another time,” she said, knowing full well the burden that came with such a position.

  Monica now had to consider what Katherine needed also, as the young Indigo had openly expressed of her desire to return home. Monica also believed that Katherine should be given this option, for she was nearing her final year at Anabasis High.

  “Regarding your niece,” Walter reminded her as he was leaving. “There is still a lot we need to discuss.”

  Monica assumed it’d me more of the same; for Walter had already expressed reservations about guaranteeing Katherine’s safety if she went back to live at eleven Delphi Crescent, and Monica agreed with him on that front. But the more she’d mulled it over, the clearer it became that the organisation needed to establish a strong relationship of trust with this young Indigo if it wished to bring her fully into the fold. She also realised by having an Indigo placed nearer to Anabasis High, she would be able to provide assistance more quickly, if the need were to arise, and aid its students. As for the young Indigo’s safety: the world had changed, and Monica concluded that no one was safe.

  “I can see that you’re using this time wisely to recover,” said Monica, entering the room where Blake and Lance were being treated. “I suppose it goes without saying you must be feeling better.”

  Blake sneered back at her; he was in the middle of playing a video game. “Even the greatest minds must take the time to unwind.”

  She claimed a seat at Lance’s bedside. Heavily bandaged from head to toe, the young operative lay there gazing up at an overhead television screen.

  “How’s Katherine?” He asked.

  “She’ll be up and about in no time. You’re the one we’ve been more concerned about.”

  “How many did we lose? How many operatives were hurt because of what I did?” He questioned.

  “There are a few, much like yourself, that were severely injured,” she responded. “But if it hadn’t been for what you did, none of us would have survived.”

  He grimaced beneath the bandages. “I can’t even remember what happened. I only recall the moment that I let it all go, relinquishing my energy: bringing it to the surface. I’ve never been so scared, Monica. Terrified I might kill my own comrades, or kill my own brother…”

  Even Monica had feared this, for he’d released of his celestial element, and a twisting vortex of electricity had grown in the sky, consuming the winged Corrupted and striking many operatives in their resilient uniforms. Not since Elizabeth had she witnessed such raw power from one who’d not formed a celestial bond, and her sister’s power nearly rivalled that of her own.

  “You might have, you could have,” she said. “But you didn’t. And you should be commended for your bravery.”

  “What’s our next course of action?”

  “I intend to move in to eleven Delphi Crescent,” she replied. “And once we are healthy, as an organisation again, it will be time to hunt down this ‘lord of shadows. It would seem we have unfinished business.”

  Chapter 32

  “Thanks a heap for helping me out with fixing my wheels,” Katherine heard Albert say upon entering the garage. “I’m still not sure how she got so badly damaged in the first place, but I think what you’ve done is a clear improvement upon even my own modifications.”

  Aleisha grimaced, putting some muscle into her work beneath the truck. “Happy to help, I’ll even admit that you must have had her looking in fairly good shape before this latest earthquake struck. Your modifications are fairly good.”

  “I’m just not really sure how I’ll be able to pay you,” said Albert, passing her down a spanner.

  Aleisha fought to tighten an additional bolt. “You needn’t worry about it. Like I said before, this one is on me. I actually enjoy this sort of thing.”

  That; and it was Blake’s fault the truck was so badly damaged in the first place, Katherine remembered, observing Aleisha’s efforts.

  Albert beamed, tapping at the vehicle’s side. “Katherine, your friend here really knows her trucks. I really owe you one for recommending her to me.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Katherine said, before making her way out of the garage and toward the front gate. “Besides, my aunt insisted.”

  She walked along eleven Delphi Crescent toward the nearest bus stop, often glancing back half expecting her father’s worn and beaten green jeep to rumble up beside her, and pull in next to the curb. She also envisioned how she would likely react, stoppi
ng – giving her dad a dirty look, then continuing to walk away in defiance. She’d then likely ignore the deafening honk of the jeep’s horn that would inevitably follow, or ignore Duncan yelling out for her to climb aboard. But for the first time in many years, she found herself longing for that jeep to arrive, for her father to call out her name, and insist she stop being so stubborn.

  Once the bus eventually arrived, she climbed up its steps and claimed a vacant seat toward the rear. With the bus lurching forward, she looked out the back window, searching for any sign of the green jeep in pursuit.

  As the bus arrived outside Anabasis High, she remembered how she’d braced herself in anticipation of jeers and mocking gestures that would likely follow after her father had parked. But there was nothing. No silly jokes made at her expense, no cause for reddened cheeks as her father called out for her to pay attention in class, or to remember how important she was to him. Instead, as she slowly walked toward the school’s atrium, many students she passed offered their condolences for her loss. Even Sadie Cassell: having fully recovered from the winged Corrupted’s attack, tried to offer her comfort and asked if there was anything she could do to help. Although the students were kind, Katherine would have given anything for it to be a normal day; where she would storm off embarrassed with her father, where she would face Albert and company’s constant ridicule.

  “Kat, I just wanted to say…,” she heard Naomi call out, as she headed for her locker. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

  Naomi hugged her. “I’m fine. Although I can hardly remember what happened after the party on Saturday night. My folks grounded me for two weeks, along with a never-ending lecture about the dangers of drinking. They also told me to ask if you’d like to stay with us for a while.”

  She smiled, taking her history book out her locker. “That’s very kind of them, but my aunt has recently moved in with me.”

  Naomi tilted her head to one side. “Your aunt?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Ms Hawthorne is my aunt,” she said through an awkward grin, before trundling off to class. “As it turns out, the people who teased me over our noticeable resemblance were right.”

  When they entered the classroom, she found Monica already standing before the whiteboard with a marker in her hand.

  “Make sure you keep an eye on the time as we’ll need to leave fairly early,” Monica whispered when she passed.

  Katherine nodded and glanced down at her new wrist communicator.

  “That watch looks a lot like the one Blake wears,” said Naomi, as they claimed of seats toward the middle of the classroom. “Where do they sell them? I thought I might get one.”

  Perhaps it’ll only be a matter of time before you do,” Katherine thought to herself.

  “If you don’t mind Naomi; I’d like to begin my lesson,” Monica grumbled, sketching something upon the whiteboard that vaguely resembled a pyramid. “Where’s a ruler when you need one…?”

  Katherine passed the teacher a ruler from her backpack. “Here Ms Hawthorne…, by the way, when are we taking the test on ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia?”

  At that moment, she felt so many eyes about the classroom drawn to her, accompanied with expressions from those in disbelief. Monica had already postponed the test once before, and Katherine had worked hard with what little time she had during her recovery. As far as the test was concerned, she now only wanted to be done with it.

  Monica smiled, relieving of many a student’s fears. “I’ve decided to postpone it until next week. So you should have plenty of time to re-familiarize yourselves with the content of our lessons to date.”

  Rather than celebrate this decision, and as many of the remaining students stared at her with confusion, she waited.

  Once the bell rang, and the classroom had largely emptied, she quietly arose from her desk and approached Monica at the front of the classroom.

  “Do you think, unless you have to teach next period, that we can leave for the funeral earlier than we initially planned?”

  “It shouldn’t be a problem,” Monica replied, collecting her handbag. “I’m a bit surprised you even showed up for class in the first place. I said you could have the morning off.”

  “I thought we had a test,” she said, struggling to believe that such a thing had bothered her. “It just wouldn’t feel right. He’d often give me a hard time for being lazy and for not applying myself. I don’t want to disappoint him anymore.”

  Monica placed both hands upon her shoulders. “I don’t think that’s even possible. He felt only pride for what you’ve become and achieved. Just like your mother would have done. Let’s get moving, shall we?”

  She guided her out of the classroom, along the school block’s main corridor, and led her toward the staff parking area.”

  “Do you think I could drive?” Katherine suggested.

  Monica tossed her the car keys. “I can’t see any harm in it. That is, so long as you follow my instructions.”

  Katherine grinned. “As if I’d do anything less.”

  The moment she started up the ignition, she could tell by the look on Monica’s face that she’d immediately regretted this decision. Katherine then nearly clipped a neighbouring car, and backed into another upon her reversing. A few miles later, including the running through multiple stop signs, and occasionally excessive speeding, she eventually pulled up at the cemetery.

  “How did I do?”

  “It was not quite the worst driving I’ve ever experienced…,” Monica replied, weakly. “That dishonour belongs to the time I took your mother out for her first driving lesson.”

  They left the vehicle and made their way up through the rows of tombstones towards where Duncan was to be buried. Aleisha and Gavin arrived next.

  “The others aren’t too far behind,” Aleisha said, holding a bouquet of flowers. “But it sounds as though Lance and Blake may be running late.”

  She was surprised that Lance could even attend, for he’d hardly been able to move when she last visited him. As for Blake, she knew he had been assigned the task of following a lead as to the whereabouts of the mysterious winged Corrupted.

  “How is Blake progressing with his mission?”

  “Apart from his encounter with that earthen Corrupted – the very same one we thought we’d already disposed of, he was successful in containing the immediate threat,” Aleisha replied. “But he’s yet to find the winged Corrupted.”

  “Earthen Corrupted? You can’t mean the one we fought in the city’s centre?”

  Monica sighed. “It would seem this Randall Waite is more resilient than we anticipated.”

  “He’s been moving underground ever since, making his way toward the coastline,” said Gavin. “And we’re hoping that Blake can extract more information from Randall Waite to help us track down this winged Corrupted.”

  “Sorry if I’m a little late,” Naomi huffed, ending their exchanges about the Corrupted. “I noticed there are quite a few from class who’re now on their way here.”

  “We’ll wait – I really appreciate all the support they’re showing me,” Katherine responded.

  When Walter eventually arrived, accompanied by many members of the Project fit enough to attend, they settled in for the ceremony.

  She heard so many operatives impart their experiences with her father during his lifetime. They spoke of events relating to the organisation with the upmost caution, aware of the many present who knew little about it, or even of the ‘Project’s’ existence. But the one thing that many expressed, and which touched her deeply, was how her father had had such a strong influence upon their own lives and careers. At first, she thought many of their words sounded stilted and lacking in real emotion, but their demeanour told of a different tale: for many had their heads bowed, wore sombre and grim expressions, and were struggling to hold back their tears.

  “I worked with Duncan for many years during his time in the m
ilitary,” said Walter in his eulogy. “He was a wonderful soldier, a loving father, and one of my dearest friends.”

  Towards the end of the ceremony, Blake and Lance finally arrived and took up their positions as pall-bearers. The time had come to lower the coffin into the ground.

  With a handful of dirt, Katherine slowly approached the grave and let the soil fall through her fingers. Both Lance and Blake followed, mumbling their last farewells. Lance once told her that Duncan had been like a father to him, and Monica’s memories in a way had confirmed this – when she had seen the fate that had befallen Lance’s own father. She had heard her own father’s disgust about the way they’d neglected to take care of him, and over the past couple of days Monica had also said that Duncan had taken it upon himself to adopt a fatherly role with the boys. Katherine then thought about Blake. She still was unsure if she’d understood it correctly, but she’d learned that Blake might not even be Lance’s brother, or even the offspring of human parents. Just by looking at Lance and Blake, she could see how important Duncan must have been to them, playing a role in filling the void of a childhood without parents. Despite the difficulties in her life, Katherine took great strength and comfort from the many lives her father had enriched during his time on earth.

  As the burial drew to a close, many present during the service had already left.

  “Did you want to see the game?” Monica asked. “If you do, we can still make it before tipoff.”

  “I don’t think he’d want me to mope,” Katherine said, looking down on her father’s tombstone. “I wonder if they have any chance without Justin?”

  “You’d have to ask Naomi. As I recall, she’s the expert,” Monica replied. They found the young woman waiting for them near the cemetery’s entrance. “By the way, I’m driving this time,” Monica said.

  With Monica behind the wheel, they set off from the cemetery and headed back toward Anabasis High.

  “I heard they needed to run some last minute repairs on the gymnasium before the season officially got under way. Has everything been taken care of?” Naomi questioned.