The Upper Worlds (The Soul Survivor Series Book 1)

by Van Forson

  “Your identities could never be mistaken,” Ecclesiastes said. “Please regard this.” He instructed gently before unveiling the wall in front of them.

  “What the - ” Sal muttered.

  The muscles in Philippe’s face trembled.

  Brad's dazzler drooped.

  “Oh, my. Like, what?” Mindy spluttered.

  “Is that me?” Brad moaned.

  “This doesn't make any sense,” Sal murmured, “You need to tell us what in the world is happening here.”

  “Yes, of course - ” Ecclesiastes began, but before he could continue. Philippe cried out in pain.

  “Aaargh!” He grabbed his head, lost his footing and came crashing to the ground.

  “Big P!”

  “Philly!” screamed Brad and Mindy simultaneously, rushing to his side.

  “What’s wrong?” Sal cried out, totally losing her cool.

  “It’s the others,” Philippe wailed through gritted teeth. “I’m receiving multiple distress signals in my head. They’re in big trouble.”

  ***

  “…Look at it logically.” Max pleaded, “You can’t eat us. We would take ages to cook, and we wouldn’t even be tasty. Our bones are too hard and - ”

  “Shaddup!”Mr Grimm commanded fiercely. “I’ve had enough of pussyfooting with y’all. Stoke up the fire boys, and get that barbeque blazing. This one first.” Mr Grimm yanked Cindy up by her hair.

  “Like Aww!” Cindy was fearful but unable to cry; instead, she pouted prettily.

  “Listen,” I said attempting to stand up. “This is all my fault, take me and let my friends go. My father is powerful. He's a high-ranking experimental biologist on the Upper Worlds. He will get you all the DNA you want, the lab where he works has tons of that kind of stuff.”

  “I’m not leaving you,” Max said. “Against my better judgement I came here with you and I'm sticking with you.”

  I shot Max a sideways glance. He appeared to be thinking outside of his logical framework, acting out of Type, which was something unheard of.

  “We roll as a unit or not at all,” Wain agreed with Max.

  Mr Grimm grinned, amused by the show of solidarity.

  “Well if that’s how y’all wanna play it, you can perish together.”

  He threw Cindy back down.

  “So it'll be you first.” Mr Grimm cut my ties and dragged me towards the fire. “Let’s see how brave you are now!” He hacked and wheezed.

  “Enough!” A voice boomed as a tall man stepped from the shadows. A bright maroon light illuminated the noble looking figure.

  The shantytown Goons cowered.

  I knew this man. I had never seen him before on the Upper Worlds but I had met him plenty of times in my dreams. He held out his hand expectantly, and Mr Grimm removed me from his vice like grip.

  “Nice to make your acquaintance Keziah.” The tall man said.

  He was dressed in a well-tailored purple suit and had shades on in the dark.

  “Who are you?” I asked astounded.

  “I’m known as The Res, and this is my city.”

  “The Res.” I gasped in shock.

  Max wiggled himself free and walked up to The Res gawking,

  “Fascinating.” He mouthed, adjusting his spectacles. “This field trip is even better than one could have wished for.”

  “Boy, are we glad to see you. I thought we were done for.” Wain breathed a sigh of relief. Then covered his mouth with his three palms for speaking out of turn. This man was rumoured to be so bad that he could destroy an entire neighbourhood just by clicking his fingers.

  “Certainly there are others you'd like to see more,” The Res beckoned behind him.

  Jet and Skye sheepishly stepped out from his humongous shadow.

  “Jet!” I cried, grabbing and hugging my brother. I pulled Skye in too.

  “What do you two think you’re playing at?” I laughed and cried. I had never been so happy to see these little dorks.

  “It’s good to see you too, Sis.” Jet smirked mischievously.

  “Hey, Kid.” Skye rasped shyly in her husky voice.

  She hardly ever spoke, and when she did, it was usually only to Jet.

  The Res folded his arms, “I’ve been tracking your movements since you and your compadres entered Underground City. You would never have come to any harm. You just had to go through this experience so I could see what you were made of. Now please excuse me.”

  The Res turned from the group and strode up to Mr Grimm and his Goons.

  “Jeez! If that’s The Res, shouldn’t we be afraid of him or something?” Wain asked wide-eyed.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t think so,” I answered.

  I couldn’t explain that The Res always helped me in my dreams. That would sound way too weird.

  “I can’t wait for school on Monday when I tell the entire Top Tables what went down,” Cindy said poofing out her hair and reapplying lip-gloss, unfazed by the mayhem all around.

  Max and Wain looked at each other unbelievably.

  I pulled Jet to the side.

  “Seriously Jet, what do you think you’re playing at? You can’t go running off like that.”

  “I’m not a drama queen.” Jet said flatly still hurt by what I’d said yesterday.

  “Ok, ok. I’m sorry," I knew that Jet was as sensitive as I was. “But you didn't need to run off to teach me a lesson.”

  “I wasn't trying to teach you a lesson. I wanted to find out about the Harlequin, but I got sidetracked. There’s so much to see and do down here. I went to a music arcade and played my guitar with real musicians. They taught me ancient music chords and everything,” Jet said excitedly. “This place is incredible!”

  “That’s all well and good that you had fun, but it's so dangerous down here. It’s no place for us.” I argued feeling like I sounded like our ma, or worse still our dad.

  “It hasn’t been scary for us at all. Skye and I have been with The Res the whole time.”

  I looked over at The Res who was sternly talking to Mr Grimm and his Goons.

  “How did you find him?”

  “I didn’t, he found us as soon as Skye and I entered UC, he had the Torpedo waiting for us at the bottom of the escalator.”

  “What’s the Torpedo?” I asked.

  “It’s a-a-a. It’s too hard to explain, you’ll see.” Jet said.

  I frowned. None of this made any sense.

  “Why was The Res waiting for you? Why does he care who you are? Why has he rescued us? How did he know to - ”

  “I don’t know.” Jet interrupted with a shrug.

  Jet’s dismissiveness annoyed me. Why was he acting so blasé amidst so much trouble?

  “You put us all in danger. The whole crew came out to get you and Skye home safely, and all you can do is smile like an idiot!” I yelled.

  Jet shrugged again and walked off to join Skye.

  “Don’t be upset with your brother; anger is such a wasteful emotion.”

  I heard The Res speak to me, but when I turned to look his way, his lips weren’t moving.

  “All of this was meant to be.” The Res continued coolly, his voice inside my head. “You have many questions; all will be answered in time. Now please, give me a moment.”

  The Res refocused his attention on the Shantytown dwellers. He glared at Mr Grimm and his Goons whose spindly legs trembled in fear.

  “I’ve warned you before about this kind of behaviour Sidney. Now, what do you think I should do with you?”

  “Errm maybe let us go with a stern talking to? Let’s call it a final warning. We’ll never break the law again, Your Honour, Mister Res sir.” Mr Grimm wheezed nervously.

  “No, I think you should be punished.” The Res said coolly.

  With one flick of his index finger, he made several of the Goons’ hair and teeth fall out. The Res swiped his finger the other way and sewed their lips together, pulling a zipper across their faces.

  Some Goons a
t the back of the mob tried to escape. By wriggling his little finger, The Res turned them into paper-thin shadows of their former selves and one by one they fell to the ground like a row of dominoes. The Res blew out a soft puff of air, and the Goons closest to him inflated like helium balloons and floated high into the sky.

  “Woah!” I gasped.

  The Res had hardly moved a muscle.

  “I don't like wasting my time or my talent.” The Res bellowed. “Let that be a lesson to all of you.”

  He turned to Mr Grimm and addressed him quietly, “Don’t let me have to embarrass you in front of your clan like that again Sidney.”

  “No Mister Res, I mean yes Mister Res.” Mr Grimm trembled feebly.

  The Res left Mr Grimm and his now oddly shaped mob quaking in their boots and strode, long powerful steps, towards me.

  “That was spectacular.” I gushed.

  The Res smiled a perfectly symmetrical grin that seemed out of place on his stern face.

  “Thank you. Please excuse the minor distraction.”

  “All of my tech is ruined,” Max said picking up his broken aero pad from the heap of gadgetry destroyed by the Goons. “I have no idea if the rest of the crew are okay.”

  “Oh my goodness! Where’s my Twinny?” Cindy wailed, finally showing concern for the scary situation.

  “Your Twin and your friends are all fine.” The Res assured us as he flipped out his phone.

  “Now!” he commanded, and in a split second a shiny, oblong-shaped vehicle appeared.

  It was completely sealed with no indication of wheels, windows or doors and levitated in the air silently. With its state of the art design, it was the most impressive cruiser I had ever seen.

  “That’s the Torpedo.” Jet smiled.

  An entrance in the Torpedo, the closest thing to what you could call a door, opened up to reveal a spacious interior that could not be detected from the outside.

  “Hey, Langston.” Jet greeted the driver who was fully kitted out in racing gear.

  “Yes, young squire.” Langston high-fived Jet, then saluted The Res as he entered the vehicle.

  “This is phenomenal!” Wain exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

  “Take a seat.” The Res ordered.

  Jet and Skye scrambled straight in. Wain, Max and Cindy ventured into the Torpedo in awe. I remained on the dusty sidewalk with the disfigured Goons wailing in agony behind me.

  On the Upper Worlds, The Res was regarded as the number one enemy of the state. How could we trust him? The Res stared at me poker-faced.

  “I think it would be wise if you joined us, Keziah. You must have many questions, and your explanations are long overdue.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  Wain and Max stared wide-eyed looking back and forth from me to The Res. Jet and Skye lounged comfortably. Cindy buffed her chipped fingernails.

  “Playtime is over, so please sit!” The Res commanded.

  I realised he meant business and quickly hopped in. The doors closed instantly, and the Torpedo pulled off at top speed.

  ***

  “This is a place of divinity,” The Res said as he opened the door to the Great Hall revealing Sal, Mindy, Philippe and Brad.

  “Cindy, you’re safe!” Mindy squealed in joy at the sight of her sister.

  She ran and threw her arms around her Twin.

  “Oh, Minds it's been just awful without you.” Cindy sniffed sadly, smiling all the while.

  “Ditto Twinny,” Mindy said, but if truth be told she was having the best day ever.

  The Res stepped aside as the rest of the gang were reunited. Everyone hugged and high fived each other, excitedly all talking at once.

  “…Then the blob came out of the Capsule and was a seriously hot chick.” Brad slapped Max on the back.

  “So the Goons had us tied up, and I wasn’t scared at all, yo.” Wain boasted to Philippe.

  “…Look at the thrones; they’re pure gold! It’s better than being voted Ms Teen Upper Worlds.” Mindy gushed.

  “...And the rumours are true, they dance down here, like this.” Philippe demonstrated to Wain.

  “Has anyone got any blotting powder? I’m like all shiny” Cindy queried.

  “Fascinating,” Max said making a mental note of what was being said since he had no more working tech to record anything on.

  “Kid’s friends are so lame,” Jet snorted.

  “Be nice; I think they're ok.” Skye rasped softly.

  “Do you?”

  “Yeah, they're always cool with me.”

  “Well, if you like them I'll try and make an effort.” Jet relented. He would do anything for Skye.

  “We are your loyal servants. You are most welcome.” The Arcadian Urbanites threw themselves at my feet.

  “What’s all this about?” I asked.

  “Pretty cool isn’t it?” Jet was amused as more people dropped to their knees as we walked by. “People have been doing that to me all day.”

  “You can stand up guys.” Unlike Jet, I was uncomfortable with this intense attention.

  The Arcadians rose on my command.

  “You will lead us to victory.” A part elephant, part man, part machine said shaking my hand with his trunk.

  I had never seen such a being and gawped in speechless awe.

  Sal urgently pulled me to the side, “You have to see this.”

  “Brace yourself Kid, this is going to mess with your mind,” Brad warned.

  “You guys come and look too,” Philippe signalled the others.

  “That’s so old, Skye and I have seen it already.” Jet tutted.

  “It is icy though.” Skye fidgeted, linking his arm.

  “What is it?” I smiled in anticipation; everyone seemed to know what was going on apart from me.

  “This.” Sal slowly turned me around.

  The main wall of the Great Hall was a shrine. Several portraits were displayed majestically in jewel-encrusted frames. The works of art were beautifully crafted, hand-drawn paintings on old-style paper. It took me a moment to compute and then I realised that the pictures were of us!

  My image was the centrepiece. I was seated on a beautiful throne, looking over my shoulder at Jet. Jet’s portrait was of him as an adult. He looked rugged and serious. His eyes were not their usual brown but instead reflected silver. A line of people I had never seen before stood behind him. Skye was next to Jet linking his arm like she always did. She too looked older and wiser and sat cross-legged levitating above the ground.

  On the right-hand side of my image stood Sal, she had two heads. Philippe’s painting blew me away. It portrayed how he would look if he had been born as a bonafide Code Type without any mutations. He was dashingly handsome with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes.

  Next in line were the Twins. Mindy was smiling, but tears streamed down her face. Cindy had a frown, which was so odd as it was an expression she could never genetically pull.

  In his portrait, Brad was laden with many sporting medals, but instead of his buff physique, he had the body of a Sap - small and scrawny.

  Max stood at the head of an army of scientists. He was dressed in the official Authoritarian issue white coat and safety goggles.

  Wain stood at the end of the line. His arms outstretched with three fists in the air, in the Tachion Liberation victory salute.

  I gazed at the paintings in amazement.

  “My Mind is officially blown.”

  “Why are all our pictures here, yo?” Wain asked, wide-eyed.

  “Like they could have drawn a better picture of me,” Cindy squealed in horror. “My face is like totally distorted.”

  “Forget you, look at me,” Brad shuddered. “How come I’m Mr puny?”

  Max walked around eyeing the paintings. Then he began a slow handclap.

  “Bravo, you've got us this time Kid, you trickster, you. I get it. Where are the TV cameras? Is this being filmed for one of those prank shows on TEN?”
/>   “This is nothing to do with me; I didn’t set it up,” I said as utterly bewildered as the rest of them.

  Everyone started talking at once, pointing to the pictures of themselves and discussing why they looked the way they did.

  The Res strode up to the shrine. As he did so the Arcadian Urbanites once again dropped to their knees and cowered, this time in fear and not reverence.

  “I…I…I don’t understand. I don’t get it.” I said, searching The Res’ face for answers.

  “Ha! It’s got to be a big joke, right?” Wain laughed nervously.

  “This is not an elaborate hoax.” The Res addressed the group seriously.

  “Then what is going on here?” Max said. “These portraits of us look ancient. That is just not logical.”

  “Do not question me, boy!” The Res said ferociously.

  “Sorry Mr Res, sir.” Max gulped fearfully.

  The Res’ sharp tone hung in the air as a hush descended across the room. He turned his scowl into the most uncomfortable rigid smile. It wasn’t a smile with genuine warmth; rather it looked like one that a great white shark would give you before it gobbled you up in the ocean.

  “All has meaning.” The Res said more cordially. “Ecclesiastes, please make sure our young guests are well looked after and told precisely what they need to know.”

  “Yes Your Honour, Chief Resident in Charge.” Ecclesiastes bowed knowingly.

  My stomach flipped, I wanted to be sick. I was scared and intrigued at the same time. I needed answers to questions that I didn't even know to ask.

  The Res must have read my mind and said, “Let me explain.”

  What's the use in trying?

  When there’s nothing more you can do?

  Just Be.

  Embrace the Humankind in you.

  Seven: The Prophecy

  I sank into a soft cushioned chair in The Res’ dwellings. It was a strange den decked in purple and black velvet materials and old paper books. The very few forms of modern gadgetry, like the transporter, looked out of place in this museum piece.

  The Res took a seat in a wooden chair by a hole in the wall that simulated a roaring fire. He rocked gently back and forth as he chugged on a pipe.