by Brandt Legg
“I know,” I said.
“Then act like it. Be an example. It’s one thing to be called one of the seven; it’s another to be one of the seven. This great shift doesn’t have to take decades. Hell, it should have already happened. But everyone is so attached to their human world, their human ideas, their pitiful human lives!” His voice was loud enough to bring the girls back into the conversation.
“Where were you, Dustin?” Linh ran toward us, screaming. “We only came back here to find you. What were you doing? Kyle never would... we only... where were you when Kyle was getting filled with bullets?” She fell to the ground in tears. Amber knelt and put an arm around her. “No!” she screamed flailing her arms. “Leave me alone.”
“She needs Bà,” Dustin said.
That brought her to her feet. “No, Dustin. You know what I really need? I need you to stop being all woozy, all ‘I got messed up in a mental institution, the voices were too much for me,’” she mimicked. “And grow up. Be a man. It’s hard for all of us. Try being less self-involved.” The anger calmed her. Dustin stood speechless. She walked off and I followed.
“Let’s get out of here, Nate.” Her voice was pleading. “I’m afraid another one of us is going to die.”
“We can’t just let them have Outin.”
“Then let’s use our powers to wipe them out. We’ve killed before. What difference does it make now? Just one last time. I want to kill them, Nate. I want to watch them all die.” The anger lost to the tears. “Kyle was so good. He was so—” She fell into my arms, crying.
I held her a minute before speaking. “We’re going to do better than kill them, Linh. We’re going to beat them. We’re going to win.”
The missile’s whistling provided just seconds of warning. My body temperature spiked, as I threw my body against Linh and we crashed to the ground.
73
The island was half gone. We were lucky. It hit the other side and the four of us survived.
“Must have been a SAM,” Dustin said.
“What?” My ears rang. I helped Linh up.
“You know a surface-to-air-missile, a SAM.”
“Otherwise known as a Fitts,” Amber joked. We huddled together, dusting off. Amber had a bad gash on her arm, and Dustin’s face was cut. Linh’s hand hurt from where we landed on it, and a rock got my shoulder hard. But other than that, we were okay.
“They can only carry stuff in. No vehicles, helicopters, tanks or planes can make it in. So it must be a SAM. They’re shoulder-mounted.”
“How do you know they can’t bring in tanks?” Amber asked.
“You hang around long enough, and you learn all kinds of stuff. Anything too heavy will fall into the stars. And nothing can fly in that sky.” He pointed to the churning waves above us, dimly lit from the reflecting starlight.
“Let’s go. They obviously know exactly where we are. I don’t want to give them another chance.” My temperature got hotter. “Now!” We dove into the lake as another missile finished off the island, where we had just been. “Swim, follow me.”
“To where?” Dustin asked. “It’s a big lake.”
“You tell me.”
I couldn’t see his face but felt his confusion. “This way,” he finally said.
Twenty minutes later we crawled from the flower-filled waters up a craggy black hill while another missile hit near the island. As we reached the top of the hill, two rubber rafts sped toward what was left of the island. Their bright searchlights scanned the landscape.
“Where to now?” I asked.
“Depends. Do you want to run or fight?” Dustin said. “We can see so much from up here, and they can’t see us.”
“How come?” I asked.
“This hill is only visible from a few feet away.”
“Seriously? But what about us?”
“Not sure about that. I’ve never been on it and looking for myself at the same time, but if we stay near the top and keep down, we should be all right.”
At that moment I heard Kyle’s voice, “meditate.” I couldn’t be sure if it was real or imagined, but I decided, either way, it was a good idea.
“I’m going to meditate.”
“Here? Now?” Amber asked.
“I’ll keep watch,” Linh said, allowing the slightest smile, the first since we’d found Kyle.
I moved into a small nook just below the crest of the hill. After a short time, the meditation took an unusual turn. I was invisibly in the midst of thirty black-ops soldiers. They had a small camp on the edge of what we called the First Woods and the clearing around the lakes. I stood in the camp as they were readying to move out. A hard-looking guy, who couldn’t have been more than three or four years older than me, was checking his weapon. “I wish they weren’t armed,” I said to myself. At the same time, he threw his gun to the ground. He looked around confused.
“Can you hear me?” I asked. The question made him look. “You shouldn’t be fighting and trying to kill me.” That statement moved his expression closer to fear. He started moving away. “Wait, stay here.” He stopped. “I’m not going to hurt you, but if I asked you to pick up your machine gun and shoot yourself, you’d do it.” He leaned down and reached for it. “No, leave it on the ground. Stand at attention, soldier,” I said firmly. He did. I looked around; no one else had noticed us. “Wait here.”
Two soldiers passing nearby reacted just as the first one had. Within a short time, there were eleven, all held captive by my commands. Then I grew bolder and silently announced to the entire camp that they should place their weapons on the ground and assemble in front of the main tent. Astonishingly, they did as they were told. I guess when Yangchen said the battle for Outin would be huge, she didn’t account for the incredible power of the mind.
I instructed them to sit on the ground in three rows of ten and calmly explained to them the truth about Luther Storch and Lightyear, and explained my innocence. They may or may not have believed me—it was impossible to know—but they were mesmerized. In the same state, I asked Dustin to guard them. Whether their obedience would last was very much in question, especially when I took my attention away. Dustin could collect and destroy all of their weapons. Things were looking up, if this was really happening.
74
Amber and Linh were pulling me down the hill. I was uncertain of my whereabouts, but the explosion brought me back right as a SAM blew off the top of our hill. I managed to get to my feet. The force of the blast sent Linh tumbling, but I caught her. Another missile seared by. In one motion, I pulled Linh into a Skyclimb and pushed Amber down with my feet. The SAM whizzed past. As we came back down, with Gogen, I scooped Amber onto my back, and carrying her, returned to the air with great leaps toward the trees. We flew through a hurricane of missiles and laser-machine gunfire and crashed into the forest. I somehow managed to get us all far enough into the trees to be out of range. All of us had gun burns. These advanced laser-machine guns didn’t use bullets; instead they burned extremely painful holes or streaks into their targets. A headshot would certainly be fatal, even with soul-powers. Lusans worked on our wounds, but it wasn’t until Amber made one four times the normal size that we learned one huge one had a thousand times the power of a few small ones.
“Where’s Dustin?” I asked frantically.
“Don’t you know?” Linh asked.
I looked from her to Amber and shook my head.
“He said you wanted him to go and supervise the prisoners.”
“What prisoners? Oh my God, was that real? I couldn’t—”
“What?”
“He didn’t give us time to stop him,” Amber said.
“How long was I meditating?”
“Maybe forty-five minutes.”
I told them what happened and tried to recall how to get there. We raced through the black woods. Even with night vision it was difficult because of the uneven ground, low branches, and closeness of trees. Since I broke meditation, the soldiers may have picked u
p their weapons again, if they really ever dropped them.
As we ran, I attempted to reach Dustin on the astral, but there was only a void. Linh yelled, “Maybe we should stop so you can meditate again.” The same thought occurred to me, but there was no time to waste. Once we reached the far side of the forest, there was still a vast open area to cover.
“You two stay in the trees. I can go faster alone.”
“We’re not splitting up,” Amber said. Linh nodded.
“Okay.” There was no way to win that argument. Amber protested for a moment, but we had to Skyclimb. This time she used Gogen to hold on, which allowed me to move at full speed.
Suddenly the heat hit me. “Look out!” I shouted to Linh. There was nowhere to hide; we were flying and leaping over open ground. The first SAM came whirling toward us.
“How are they tracking us?” Amber shouted from my back.
“It must be the psychics they brought.”
On our next touch down, it seemed as if we hit a landmine. An explosion of black and stardust chunks of “glass” erupted, and something in the sky punctured as swirls of pastel-powder and sky-fluid enveloped us in some kind of tornado. The girls were both thrown toward the trees; I dove behind a cratered ridge. The incoming rockets appeared small compared to the raging storm. Something resembling bright purple fire swept out from a second impact. I didn’t know whether it was a weapon of the soldiers or an Outin reaction. Thinking lost context.
“Get to the trees!” I yelled. But it was like one of those nightmares where you scream as loud as you can and you can’t hear your own voice. In another twist of horror, I also couldn’t run. There was a glimpse of Linh Skyclimbing toward the woods through the smoke. In the other direction was Rainbow Lake. I struggled to raise the water onto the troops but something blocked me. My temperature was hotter than ever—unbearable. Where was Amber? There was too much smoke, sky-fluid, flames, and debris to see much of anything. “To the trees,” I repeated verbally, and to Amber over the astral. The heat from my own body was going to kill me. I couldn’t move. The SAM propelled out of the hellish haze and pastel fog milliseconds before it exploded next to me.
Time’s a funny thing. It felt like hours later, but it could only have been a few minutes. I watched soldiers approach my body and after an inspection, search for vitals. A young soldier looked up to his commander and said without emotion, “He’s dead.”
The commander motioned to someone. Another soldier ran up and began taking photos.
“Let it be noted in the record that Nathan C. Ryder was pronounced dead at 8:12 a.m. on 29 January. Not sure what the hell to say about location. Mount Shasta, California, will have to do—GPS doesn’t work here in this... this alien land.” My hearing was perfect, but I was dead. I scanned the scene for the girls, but there was still too much smoke and powder swirling.
I was dead; it was not a shock, and not even unusual for me to actively experience my own death. I’d been here hundreds of times, watching Outviews of every conceivable type of death. This one actually wasn’t too bad compared with many of my torturous ends. It was surprising not to feel sadness though. The soldiers were busy looking for the girls. I tried to reach them on the astral, but that frequency was off; there was nothing. I turned around and began moving through a dense cloud. Intense gold light surrounded me, but it didn’t hurt my eyes. It was very much like a portal. The air was perfectly pure and I felt free, relaxed, and on the verge of laughter—as if I were part of the laughter, playful and happy, like first love.
Kyle glowed in the light. As soon as I recognized him from a distance, we were instantly together. “Now I know I’m dead,” I said to him.
“It’s not your time, Nate,” Kyle said.
“What? But I’m dead.” Nothing seemed to matter—the girls, IM, Mom, Dustin, stopping Lightyear—everything was obscured by the absolute peace I felt.
“You can stay if you want. There are others who will try, but you have the best chance,. You know this.”
“What do you mean, stay? I am dead, right?”
“Yes, you are clinically dead, but you can go back and live.”
“Seriously, that’s possible?”
He nodded, smiling. “Everything is possible.”
“But how? Kyle, you look great. I feel incredible, so different, so light. Why would I want to go back to all that darkness and heaviness?”
“It’s really a radiant place, Nate. It’s extraordinarily beautiful. People have just cloaked the beauty with fear. You can help change that. Show them what they’re capable of, what they really are.”
“Do you want me to go back?”
“I want you to do what you think you should.”
“Come with me.”
“I cannot.”
“Why? Was it your time?”
“Time’s a funny thing.” His smile made me feel extraordinary. Kyle’s face was bright with love.
“I’m not sure what to do. I’d like to explore this.”
“You’ll be here soon enough, and it’ll be waiting. You won’t miss a thing. I promise. All the action is back there.”
75
Again on Outin’s starry ground, I was longing for Kyle and the light. Why did I come back? Amber. She was screaming, “No! No! No!” Her hands were manipulating a Lusan, which grew rapidly. When she noticed my open eyes, the screaming stopped with a gasp. The Lusan suddenly filled the space around me to a diameter of six feet.
I rose up in a translucent Lusan. Sixty stunned troops scrambled and took up positions. Without an order, several fired. Their bullets were ineffective against the shimmering orb. I levitated, and with the full force of Gogen, drove them into Rainbow Lake. I froze the colored water around them then heated their weapons to such a temperature that they flung them onto the ice. Their guns remained only moments before melting through and disappearing into the lake. The men who weren’t screaming in fear were awed.
I collapsed into Amber’s arms. Linh ran from the trees. “Is he okay?” Linh panted. “Look at him! My God. How is he still alive?”
“I’ll be okay,” I whispered.
They were inspecting my wounds, which the Lusan had improved but still were substantial. “One of these days you’re going to get injured beyond healing. They thought you were dead,” Amber said.
“When there’s time, I’ll tell you an interesting story.” My voice was strained. “Can you make some Lusans for my legs and chest?” I pointed to some painful places. The giant Lusan still blocked us from the soldiers.
“What are we going to do with them?”
“Let them chill out for a little while.” I forced a laugh. “We still have to get to Dustin.”
“Not until you’re better,” Amber said.
“How did I die?” I asked, unable to argue.
“After the explosion, it took me a few minutes to find you. Five soldiers surrounded your lifeless body. They said you were dead. I screamed and two guys grabbed me, but I broke free and threw myself on you, crying and making a Lusan at the same time. About a second later your eyes opened, and the Lusan was suddenly gigantic.”
“You saved me. Thank you, Amber.” She kissed my forehead.
“Seems you have survived against all odds,” Dustin said, across the astral.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got the place secure, but I could use a little help over here.”
“We’ll be there soon.”
“Amber, you spent more time in that lake than anyone,” Linh said. “What are the soldiers seeing?”
“It keeps changing. Rainbow Lake is like a drug.” Amber’s words trailed off. “We control it. Every thought, every word changes it. And not just ours but everyone’s. Each time I left Rainbow Lake, I wanted to go back in and see what changes there were.”
I walked to the shore and addressed the soldiers. “You’ve killed me today. That was your mission, and it has been completed.” I looked directly at the man who pronounced me
dead. “This was not the first time I’ve died.” The highly trained soldiers cowered amid pleas for mercy. My supernatural demonstration and whatever Rainbow Lake had shown them combined to dramatically change these men, and I stunned them further by asking for their help. Once a mental or verbal yes was received from all sixty, I thawed the lake. The commander I’d seen from the “other side” offered complete assistance and led us to the camp where Dustin was waiting.
“Don’t you think it’s risky to trust them?” Amber asked.
“We’re walking with the enemy,” Linh said, before I could answer. “They murdered Kyle. His killer is among us!” She hissed.
“It’s about forgiveness. Before we left Gibi, she embraced me and imparted a vision that we’re now a part of. I had no idea how it would happen, but it showed us walking in this field and the soldiers willingly following me. I’m their leader now.” I stopped. The commander, who was just ahead of me, paused and turned because all the troops behind us stopped when I had. “I think we should jog now,” I said. Everyone, including the commander, took it as an order.
Linh was not convinced. “I don’t trust them.”
“I’m not asking you to. Just trust me.”
A few minutes later, we arrived to find Dustin patrolling the outside of a mess tent containing thirty unarmed soldiers and fourteen psychics. He was holding a machine gun. I used Gogen to pull it from his hands and added it to the pile he had collected.
“Hey, all you had to do was ask,” Dustin said, annoyed.
“Sorry, didn’t want to debate. Commander, please ask the others to join us out here.”
He barked an order and quickly the entire force was lined up in formation. I spoke with the psychics telepathically and used Solteer to weaken their powers.
Amber ran up to me. “Nate, you can’t just leave that pile of weapons there.”
“Trust me.” Amber looked at Linh. Dustin’s stare moved from the girls to me to the troops. I tried to calm Dustin and the girls telepathically, but there was such tension that the entire camp seemed to buzz. The soldiers believed I could strike them down at any moment and had agreed, under duress, to commit treason. Even if they thought this was the best choice, it directly contradicted their basic nature and training. Dustin and the girls were another matter. For months they had been running from, and targeted by, these very men, and now we were on the same side?