Exodus

by R. J. Wolf

  “Wings!” Daviathan repeated.

  There was a rustling noise and then a loud pop. The walls in Anthony’s cell shook and out of nowhere a man appeared in front of him.

  The man was thin, yet had a very commanding presence. He was shirtless and had a physique that Anthony thought was built for fighting. His scraggily gray beard and tussled hair were the only signs of his age.

  His deep blue eyes surveyed Anthony like a microscope. His tattered rags and filthy hands bore the signs of a life of imprisonment.

  He moved closer to Anthony, his feet silent against the cold floor. Anthony shrunk away, cowering in the corner. Noticing this, the man stopped and straightened up.

  “I’m Daviathan Anthony. There is no need to fear me. You are young and you look like…this can’t be. This just can’t be.” Daviathan began to mumble.

  Anthony didn’t move. He knew the man was telling the truth. His voice sounded exactly like what Anthony had heard in his head. But how could he just appear in his cell?

  “Where did you live? Who raised you?” Daviathan asked, still keeping his distance.

  “I’m from North Shore.” Anthony mumbled. “My…my parents raised me.”

  “These wings, can you show them to me?”

  Anthony bit his lower lip considering him. Daviathan stared at him inquisitively, but he seemed genuine. Sighing, Anthony nodded his head.

  “I can try. I really can’t control them.”

  With his jaw clenched, he slowly began to push himself to his feet. His legs felt like mush, but they held him up. He forced a smile and then took a step forward.

  “You might want to stand back.”

  Daviathan grinned at him and moved to the side. Anthony took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He concentrated as hard as he ever had, pushing the pain from his mind. He thought of the wind brushing against his face, the spray of salt water on his tongue. He thought of freedom.

  With a snap, his wings shot from his back, the force jarring him forward. Daviathan gasped and stared in amazement.

  “This can’t be! This just can’t be!” Daviathan stammered.

  “Keep it down!” A voice yelled from the door.

  Anthony could hear keys rattling in the hallway.

  “Put those away!” Daviathan said urgently. “Keep your head down and stay out of trouble. I’ll be in touch soon.”

  With a pop Daviathan was gone just as the door swung open.

  VIII

  “Mr. Hanson…Mr. Hanson is this going to be a problem?” Ms. Sniz eyed him from behind the desk as she lowered her glasses.

  “It might.” Steve said with the slightest bit of aggression in his tone.

  Ms. Sniz slowly stood up and walked towards the back of the room. Her heels clicked loudly on the floor, echoing in perfect rhythm. Her hips swayed from side to side as if she were dancing more than walking. The navy blue skirt she wore gently brushed against her legs as it caught the slightest breeze.

  “Stephen. Stephen I didn’t call you here after class for your uncertainty.” She whispered in his ear.

  Steve looked around the empty classroom then swallowed the bulge that had grown in his throat. Sighing, he looked up at her. “I know. I know it’s just…”

  “You’re nervous. I can completely understand that.” She placed her hand on his shoulder. “Take a deep breath and calm down.”

  Steve grinned at her and then stood up. He looked down into her green pupils and bit his lower lip. She grabbed his hand and brought it up to eye level. Brushing her fingers lightly against his she opened his palm.

  Steve swallowed again trying to fight back the nerves. His throat was dry and it felt like he was swallowing sand. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The smell of rain water and peaches seemed to saturate the air.

  He felt Ms. Sniz place her hand in his and he slowly opened his eyes.

  “It’s time.” She said softly.

  Steve shook his head and closed his fingers around the chalk she’d just placed in his palm. With a nod from Ms. Sniz he turned around and marched to the blackboard.

  The string of random numbers and letters seemed daunting. Passing this course depended on whether he could make sense of it or not. It’d taken him all class to get this far, but now he was stuck.

  Feeling defeated, he placed the chalk onto the board and started to write. Suddenly, a siren blared and red lights started flickering throughout the classroom.

  “Stephen we’ll have to pick this up again. Either the school is burning or some force of nature is compelled to keep you from your tasks.” Ms. Sniz said annoyingly as she held the door open and ushered him into the halls. “Next week Stephen, it’ll be waiting for you.”

  Steve smiled and took off towards the front of the school. When he made it outside Mit and Mikey were waiting on a bench in the courtyard.

  “I thought you could use a little help.” Mikey grinned.

  “You pulled the alarm?” Steve smirked.

  “Of course, now let’s get out of here before Principal Harris realizes the ship really isn’t sinking.”

  “Wait, aren’t you gonna tell him about…” Mit stopped them.

  “Yeah, but in the car. I’d like to avoid being arrested.” Mikey grinned.

  Following him, they took off for the student parking lot. They quickly piled into Steve’s red Camaro and slammed the doors.

  “Where to boss.” Steve asked.

  “Well, we really need to go to…” Mikey started.

  “I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to sweetness.” Steve snapped at him. “Never interrupt a conversation between a man and his car.”

  Mikey rolled his eyes and continued. “We need to go meet Nickie. She said she can help.”

  “What!” Steve said in almost a scream. “What did you tell her?”

  “Well not much, you know the basics.”

  “Yeah not much if that includes everything.” Mit interjected.

  “What’s your deal Mikey? Clark said not to say a word.”

  “Look, she wants Anthony back just as bad as we do. Besides her dad works for LSK, how else are we gonna get into that laptop?”

  Steve grunted. “What did she say?”

  “I think she believed me. I mean she didn’t run, or laugh, or call the cops. I told her we’d meet her at the mall after school.”

  Gritting his teeth Steve pulled out of the parking lot and peeled out down the street. He turned to Mikey and shook his head, shooting him dirty looks.

  “What?” Mikey finally said.

  “You’re an idiot is what. This better not go bad. Where are we meeting her?”

  “Out front of McDugals.” Mikey sighed.

  Still rolling his eyes, Steve pulled up in front of the mall and parked. He jumped out of the car and headed inside, leaving Mit trapped in the backseat.

  “Not funny! Mikey let me out of here.” He yelled.

  The North Shore mall was the hotspot for after school activities. It was the central meeting place for a slew of shady events, normally frowned upon by the school administration. The football team, the baseball team, even cheerleaders hung out there for hours.

  The building was a plain white box speckled with floor to ceiling windows. It had three stories and skylights that let a flood of sunshine in. An enormous fountain was centered in the middle, right outside of McDugals Frozen Treats.

  Nickie sat on a bench next to the fountain with her head down, tapping her shoe and chewing gum. As Steve and the others rounded the corner she looked up and smiled.

  “Thought you guys would never show.”

  “Well, Steve here needed a little one on one with Ms. Sniz. You know how that goes.” Mikey laughed.

  “Let’s get out of here. It’s too crowded.” Mit said glancing around at all the other kids.

  Nickie stood up and they followed her outside into the courtyard. The jeers and shouts died down as they stepped onto the concrete patio and found a table in the far corner.

&nb
sp; “So what did Mikey tell you?” Steve blurted out before anyone had even taken a seat.

  Nickie gawked at him for a moment then turned to Mikey. He looked back at her with a blank face. Sucking her teeth she smirked and turned back to Steve.

  “Well, LSK…my dad or my stepdad works there.” She rolled her eyes. “Mikey says you needed help with some laptop you stole.”

  Steve punched Mikey in the arm. “Yeah good one.”

  “Well we did steal it.” Mikey whined as he rubbed his arm.

  “Anyway, he said you guys think LSK has something to do with Anthony missing, and that you guys are going to go get him. You can count me in.”

  “Count you in?” Steve laughed. “This isn’t some episode of The Avengers. What do you think we’re doing here?”

  “Do you know what you’re doing? Doesn’t look like it. All I can tell is you stole some laptop and without me it might as well be a paper weight. You wanna break into an LSK facility, you’re gonna need my help.”

  It’s not that simple.” Steve shook his head. “It’s dangerous. People have been killed. You could get killed. All over some kid you hardly know.”

  “I know him. I don’t expect you to understand.” Nickie snapped. “I know how you are with the ladies. I’d say love em’ and leave em’, but I’m sure the only person you’ve ever loved is yourself. I can’t explain it, I wish I could, but I can’t. We’re connected so you’re just gonna have to accept it.”

  “Ohhhh, she told you.” Mikey grinned as he and Mit jeered.

  “Okay whatever. You’re willing to die for him, fine! I won’t stop you, but more is going on than you think.”

  “Oh it wouldn’t take much to convince me. I’ve seen the type of stuff my stepdad brings home. I’ve snooped a little bit more than I should before.”

  “Oh yeah, and what have you found?” Steve looked at her skeptically.

  “More than I wanted. Weird experiments. Weirder looking people. I don’t know what they do there, but he seems to believe in aliens.” She laughed.

  Steve stared back at Mit and Mikey with a straight face. Moments passed in silence and then Nickie finally spoke again.

  “Look I just wanna help. Mikey said you needed me, so why don’t you tell me what you need already.”

  Steve shot Mikey a dirty look. Sighing, he looked at Nickie shook his head. “Yeah, we stole a laptop and we need to get into it. It’ll probably tell us where Anthony is. If your stepdad works there you should be able to get us his password.”

  “That’s it?” Nickie grinned. She reached in her bag and took out a piece of paper and started scribbling on it. “Here you go, let me know if you need anything else.” She handed Steve the piece of paper and stormed off.

  “Good job Steve. Way to bring her on board.” Mikey griped. “You just gonna let her walk away? We need her.”

  “Then you run after her. I don’t care, I don’t trust her.”

  Mikey gritted his teeth and then took off after Nickie. She was almost at her car by the time he caught her.

  “Nickie. Nickie wait up!” Mikey huffed and leaned on the door of her car.

  Nickie turned around rolling her eyes. “Look Mikey I want to help and all, but Steve’s impossible.”

  “Yeah I know he can be a pain, but he means well. Just…just come by Mr. Clark’s tomorrow.”

  Nickie sucked her teeth.

  “Come on. You want to help get Anthony back right?”

  “Well of course.”

  “Then just come and check it out. We could really use your help.”

  Nickie sighed and brushed the hair from her face. “Fine what’s the address?”

  ********************************************

  “Mitchell. Mitchell, I’m going to need that last page now.” Mr. Clark yelled from the basement.

  He waited for a response in silence. When it didn’t come he slowly began to march up the creaky old steps. The wood whined with each thud as he awkwardly hobbled, leaning against the handrail.

  “Mitchell, where are you?” He yelled again as he pushed open the door and poked his head out.

  When no one answered he stepped into the hallway and swept from side to side. The house looked empty, but minutes earlier Mit and Steve had run upstairs to raid the refrigerator.

  Sighing Mr. Clark walked into the living room and stopped. The front door creaked and slowly began to swing open. He smiled expecting to see Steve or Mit walking inside. To his amazement a tall brunette he’d never seen was standing in the entryway.

  Mr. Clark furrowed his brow in confusion and bit his lower lip. Before he could ask who she was or what she was doing there, she stepped forward and spoke.

  “Mikey said I…I might be able to help find Anthony. I’m Nickie, Nickie Sutherland.”

  Mr. Clark still looked confused. He clicked his teeth and tilted his head like a dog pondering why squirrels run up trees.

  “My um dad works at LSK.” She mumbled, extending her hand in a friendly gesture.

  Mr. Clark’s eyes widened and he took a step back as he gasped. Quickly gathering his composure he straightened up and gripped her hand in his weathered palm. He shook it gently then cleared his throat.

  “Nice to meet you Nickie. So very nice to meet you.”

  She smiled back at him as he welcomed her into the house.

  “What else has Mikey told you?”

  “Not much Mr. Clark.” Steve interjected as he followed behind her into the house.

  “Yeah, we were thinking it’d be better if you explained the details.” Mit smiled, a step behind Steve. “I mean she knows things, but she doesn’t know things.”

  “Is that so? And did you round up lucky number three?” Mr. Clark raised his eyebrows.

  “Present!” Mikey giggled as he stumbled through the door.

  “Mr. Clark I…I know something weird is going on. I just want to help.” Nickie stepped forward and grinned.

  “Nickie, I can’t lie we definitely could use you help, but…” Mr. Clark scratched his head. “But it’s all rather hard to believe.”

  “Spectrals, elementals…crazy stuff right?” Nickie smiled.

  Mr. Clark’s eyes shot open and his mouth fell to the floor. Steve stumbled backwards and tripped over Mit.

  “After I met with you guys I went through some of my stepdad’s things and found a page on some government project he’s been working on.”

  “You think her a dad is one of them?” Mit whispered in Steve’s ear.

  “My stepdad!” Nickie shot a look at Mit. “And whatever is going on it wouldn’t surprise me if he was right in the middle of it.”

  “So you know, you know about them?” Mr. Clark asked in confusion.

  “I really don’t know anything. It all sounded like something from a movie or some nerdy computer game. All I know is there are some very shady things going on where my stepdad works.”

  “I think it’s time you come downstairs.” Mr. Clark turned and headed into the hallway.

  “After you.” Steve smirked as he held his hand out.

  Nickie followed after Mr. Clark rolling her eyes at Steve as she passed him. Hesitantly she stepped into the cramped closet and hurried after him down the stairs.

  “Are you sure, you’re ready for this?” Mr. Clark asked. “There are some things you can’t unsee.”

  Nickie raised her eyebrows and looked back at Mikey. He smiled at her and lifted his thumb.

  “Ye…yes Mr. Clark I’m sure.”

  Mr. Clark nodded and hit play on the DVD player. “Nickie, this is what they do at LSK.”

  IX

  “You okay Nickie?” Mikey stepped onto the porch and asked.

  “Yeah. I just…I just. What the hell Mikey? Those were kids. That’s what they’re doing to Anthony?” There was a somber, confused tone in her voice.

  She turned back around and stared into the lawn. Mikey took a seat next to her and sighed.

  “I hope not, but we need to find him and I thin
k we’re close. That password you gave us worked. There’s a facility they use for holding somewhere near here. We just need to find an address.”

  “There’s some secure lab my stepdad works at off of Highway 92. I’ve been there with him once. He made me stay in the car, but there were guards and everything. It could be that.” Nickie looked up.

  “That’s great! Do you think you can show us where it is?”

  “Sure.”

  “She puke yet?” Steve’s voice echoed from behind them.

  “Nah, she’s a trooper. She knows where that facility on the computer is though. Said she can show us where.”

  Steve tilted his head. “Oh yeah, let’s go.”

  “What, now?” Nickie stood up.

  “Yeah, why not? If he’s really there don’t you think rescuing him sooner is better than later.”

  “Fine.” Nickie shot back.

  “I’ll go get Mit.” Mikey headed for the door.

  Steve stopped him. “Nah, him and Mr. Clark are still looking into a few other things. We can handle this. We’re just going to check it out.”

  Mikey stared at him for a moment and smirked. “Alright, fine.”

  With Nickie navigating, they jumped into Steve’s car and headed off down the road. The sky glowed an amber hue as the sun started to dip into the Earth. Traffic was light enough that on some stretches Steve managed to get the car up to a hundred and fifteen before backing off.

  “Slow down champ. We’re gonna die before we can rescue anyone.” Mikey griped from the backseat.

  “It’s not me.” Steve smiled. “Sweetness is motivated.”

  “Boys and their toys.” Nickie rolled her eyes.

  “Like you’d know.” Steve shot back.

  “What’s your deal?” Nickie whipped around in the seat, turning her body so she was completely facing Steve.

  “What’s your deal with me?” Steve glanced over then turned back to the road.

  “Guys, can’t we all just get along?” Mikey sighed, trying to calm the situation.

  “No! No we can’t. He’s had a problem with me since day one. Don’t be a girl about it, just say it.” Nickie raised her voice in agitation.