“We need to get started right away so I’ll come back for you tonight. Do you have questions before I head out?” I asked as I looked up to Nina, who at five foot ten inches tall stood nearly four inches taller than me.
“Just one,” she said as a curious look washed across her face. “Why me? Of all the people you could have helped, why did you save me?”
I thought about replying with some bogus text-book nonsense to answer her question but suddenly I realized that with the end of the world potentially lurking just around the corner it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to keep pretending.
“I just… I just had to make sure you were safe, Nina. Even if it meant locking you away up here. After hearing my plan, I know you probably think I’m crazy, but you should also know that I’m even crazier about you. I didn’t used to believe in fate, Nina, but the more I think about it the more I realize that the concept of fate must be real. I know this because there’s not a single person in my family that’s anywhere near as smart as I am yet I’ve somehow been gifted with the ability to comprehend things the likes of which no other human in the history of our world could understand. That’s how I know that saving the world is my destiny— but I wouldn’t even want to save a world where you didn’t exist… And that’s why I did it. That’s why I had them bring you here. I had to be absolutely certain that you were okay. It doesn’t matter that we’re not actually together, just knowing that you were safe is good enough for me,” I finally admitted. I actually had a lot more to say but I already felt like I was rambling, so I stopped.
My heart was already pounding due to the stress of finally admitting how I felt about her but it began to race even faster as she slowly moved closer to me.
“How long have you felt that way?” she asked, as my heartbeat echoed inside my head while my brain raced to interpret the strange look within her eyes.
“Always,” I replied as she smiled warmly at me. “I’m surprised you couldn’t tell.”
“Oh, I knew. I just wanted to finally hear you say it,” she grinned as our faces inched closer and closer together.
“Wells is out of his meeting, Howie. I hope you’re on your way out,” Jason suddenly called out in my earpiece just before Nina and I could complete our impending kiss.
Dammit, Jason, I thought as I placed my right hand on my earpiece. “Yeah, I’m on the way,” I grumbled, as Nina grinned at me.
“10-4. Make it quick,” he replied.
“Sorry, Nina, but I have to run,” I groaned as I turned my attention back to her.
“I know,” she said before placing a small kiss onto my right cheek. “I’ll see you tonight though.”
“Thank you— I mean, I— I’ll see you later!” I stammered as my face grew hot with embarrassment.
“Good bye, Howard,” Nina smiled as I turned and headed towards the exit. “And you’re welcome!” she chuckled just as I was about to leave her cell. I shook my head and blushed as I glanced back at her and smiled. Then I turned and hurried out of her cell before I could do anything else to utterly embarrass myself.
Thank you?! Are you serious, Howard Vargas? I thought to myself as I scampered down the hallway. I’m not sure if I’ve ever been quite as embarrassed as I was in that moment but I also couldn’t deny that it felt good to have finally told Nina exactly how I felt about her. I wasn’t sure of where things would go from there, but as I hurried away from her cell I couldn’t help but crack a slight smile as I contemplated the possibilities.
12. DIVINE EXTORTION
REAPER:
IT HAD BEEN NEARLY THREE YEARS SINCE I LAST SAW Monica… and now that we were finally reunited within that dark, spectral world I couldn’t help but wonder how I ever could have walked away from her. The Goddess’ enormous flaming eye continued to watch us both as I gazed at Monica in disbelief. The flowing white dress that she wore coupled with the otherworldly light that surrounded her entire body gave her the appearance of an angel, and as I peered into the soft glimmer of her lucid amber eyes I truly couldn’t tell the difference. I had changed much since we last saw each other— for I was no longer the bone-thin poor kid who could barely make it to class without getting picked on. That guy was Adam… but I was now The Reaper. She, on the other hand, was still the same as I remembered— the same perfectly symmetrical face, same long midnight waves of flawless hair fluttering about as if she was locked within an endless shampoo commercial.
“How is this possible, Monica? How can you be here?” I asked as I finally adjusted to the shock of seeing her again.
“We are both still aboard The Pillar of Eden, Reaper, but our minds are able to travel to this place because of Her,” Monica replied as she gestured to the Goddess.
“Is that why you’re here? Did she bring you here to try to convince me not to pursue the Crown?” I asked skeptically.
“Yes, but I mostly came because I miss you, Reaper. I missed you every second of every day that you were gone,” she responded.
“I’m sorry, Monica. I—I never should have left you,” I said as I hung my head in shame.
“You did what you thought was right, Reaper,” she coaxed.
“But if I hadn’t left I would have been there to protect you— and you would have never been sucked up into this nightmare,” I continued.
“There’s nothing you could have done, Reaper. My fate as the vessel of the Goddess was sealed by my mother, not by you. Even if you had stayed there was no way we could have avoided this.”
“Yes there is, Monica. You can just say ‘no’. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, and the last thing I’d ever want is for you to sacrifice yourself for me,” I urged.
“And how many times have you put yourself at risk for me, Reaper? Me doing this to keep you alive is no different from when you saved me from that bomb or stepped in front of the bullets when your brother tried to kill me,” Monica replied.
“My skin is practically bullet proof, Mo. It’s not the same thing as you risking your soul,” I retorted.
“If I change my mind then you die, Reaper! Do you understand that? The Goddess saved your life because I agreed to become Her vessel. If I go back on my word then there’s nothing stopping Her from going back on Hers— and I couldn’t live with that,” Monica replied.
“So that’s it, huh?” I grumbled as I stared into the eye of the Goddess. “Divine extortion. Now that you’ve saved me, you’ll threaten to kill me if Monica doesn’t hold up her end of the bargain?”
“Precisely, Reaper, for the augmentation of inevitability does not come without a price,” The Goddess hissed.
“Well, I say ‘no deal.’ You don’t get to use me as a bargaining chip. You may have tricked Monica into agreeing to become your vessel but that doesn’t stop me from disrupting the ritual that’s needed to bring you back,” I said defiantly.
“Reaper, you’re not thinking clearly,” Monica interjected.
“I’m thinking about you, Monica— about your soul! I couldn’t live with myself if I let you go through with this,” I protested.
“And how do you expect me to live without you?! If I don’t become the Goddess’ vessel then you die! It’s all connected, Reaper, can’t you see that? Everything that has happened so far has taken us that much closer to seeing my dream come true! In the future that I saw in that dream not only do you die, Reaper, but the consequences of your actions lead to the deaths of more people than you could possibly imagine. Hundreds of millions will still die on Earth if you succeed in stopping the ritual, and if you kill The Greater you too will follow him to the grave… unless you change your mind, Reaper. That’s all you have to do. The two of you are the keys to stopping what’s coming.”
“I— I don’t understand,” I admitted.
“She speaks the truth, Reaper,” The Goddess interjected. “You and your brother, The Greater, are like two stones cast upon the waters of existence and every major decision that you make ripples throughout the very fabric of your reality. Y
ou were set upon your current path by forces who would seek to destroy us all but it is not too late for you to change your destiny and thereby ensure the salvation of everything that you hold dear.”
“You’re just trying to manipulate me,” I scoffed.
“No, Reaper, she’s trying to get you to see the truth!” Monica exclaimed.
“Screw the truth! If the truth involves me losing you then I don’t want it. What am I supposed to do without you, Monica?! You keep saying that you’re doing this because you couldn’t live without me, but how do you expect me to move on without you?!” I asked.
“You’ve done it before,” she said solemnly.
“Th— that was different, Monica. Audrey was just—”
“You love her, Reaper. There’s no use trying to convince me or yourself that you don’t. And I know you still love me too, but my fate as the vessel is sealed… You just… you just have to move on… and Audrey can help you do that.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and as I opened my mouth to respond I suddenly realized that I was at a complete loss for words. There was a small part of me that sort of understood where she was coming from but ultimately my mind just couldn’t accept the idea of completely giving up on her— even if she was encouraging me to do so. But how could I say no to her after everything she had done for me? She was always too good for me. Always overlooking my shortcomings and forgiving me in instances where I clearly didn’t deserve it. Not to mention she had basically sacrificed herself in order to ensure that I didn’t die at the hands of The Greater. How could I not honor her wishes after all that? How could I possibly say ‘no’ when the only thing that she was asking in return for her sacrifice was for me to carry on without her?
“You are understandably torn, child, but before you act you must be sure that you have considered the ultimate consequences of your actions,” The Goddess warned. “Even now as you waver between the choices that lay before you, the salvation of your world slips in and out of existence.”
“She’s right, Reaper, we can both sense the shifting tides of destiny that are linked to the fates of you and The Greater,” Monica added as she and The Goddess’ giant flaming eye stared at me.
“I— I don’t know what to do, Mo,” I admitted.
“You have to let go, Reaper,” Monica urged.
“And what if I can’t?” I asked.
“Then everything will be lost,” The Goddess answered then She and Monica suddenly disappeared into the darkness before I had a chance to respond.
13. SPECIAL DELIVERY
AUDREY:
- TWO DAYS LATER
MY HEARTBEAT POUNDED WITH ANTICIPATION AS I SAT in the passenger side seat of the blue and white semi-truck that we were using to transport the eighty-five thousand pound antimatter bomb to Times Square. The device was about forty-five feet long and at first glance it appeared to be as big as a city bus. Several black SUVs filled with Stranger operatives armed to the teeth flanked to the left and right of our truck as we rumbled down the deserted Manhattan street. I was wearing a black and maroon, double breasted trench coat over my light weight combat armor, and upon my face I wore my half smiling, half frowning variation of The Stranger mask. My driver was covered from head to toe in all-black combat gear and he also wore a pale grey Greek Tragedy mask over his face as he drove the semi-truck towards our agreed upon drop off point.
When we initially stole the Equillian antimatter bomb from Area 51, I was perfectly fine with the idea of the Anokians using it to vaporize over a billion people in order to bring back their Goddess, but the realization that The Righteous had misled us all had drastically changed my point of view. Turning that bomb over was now the last thing I wanted to do, but despite my reservations we were still headed to deliver the bomb to a squad of Anokian Knights because The Suspect thought we could use it as leverage to get them to release The Reaper. In all honesty I wasn’t sure that his strategy was such a good idea, but I couldn’t help but go along with it due to the fact that we stood the chance of liberating Reaper if everything went according to the plan.
“I’m still not convinced that this is going to work,” I whispered into my communicator, soft enough so the driver wouldn’t hear me but loud enough for The Suspect to hear on his end.
“It will work, Audrey,” The Suspect’s mechanically distorted voice answered in my earpiece.
“What makes you so sure?” I asked.
“Because the rest of the world will be watching. I have no doubt that the rifts that have perpetually divided our nations will cease to exist once they all discover the true mission of The Anokian fleet. We will give them a common enemy and I am sure that I don’t have to remind you of the ancient proverb that speaks to that situation.”
“No, you don’t. I just hope you’re right about this,” I murmured.
“I am. The Anokians won’t send a force large enough to trigger a full scale response from the U.S. military, and you’ll have more than enough Stranger support to push them back if things don’t go according to plan,” The Suspect reassured.
“But these are Knights that we’re talking about, Sir. What do we do if The Strangers aren’t enough?” I asked.
“Then we hope that the rest of the world gets the message in time,” The Suspect answered ominously.
How reassuring, I thought sarcastically as I peered down the street and noticed that two triangle-shaped Anokian spaceships were already parked in the center of Times Square.
“Park it at the end of the street,” I told the driver as our semi-truck neared the decayed site that was once the most famous commercial intersection in the world.
An uneasy silence filled the air as the driver stopped the truck on the edge of Times Square and the fleet of SUVs that had been trailing us parked in a perfect line to the left and right of us. I took a deep breath and climbed down to the street as my driver shut off the semi-truck’s engine. Within seconds forty Stranger operatives, armed with high powered assault rifles, emerged from the SUVs and looked to me for direction.
“Hold this position and don’t move unless I say so,” I said to the squad leader who was standing next the SUV to my immediate right.
“Yes, ma’am,” the squad leader said before turning and signaling to the other Stranger operatives to hold their positions.
“Do you need an escort, Alias?” my driver asked me as I withdrew the Desert Eagle at my waist and made sure a bullet was in the chamber.
“I’ll be fine,” I said as I whipped my gun back into its holster and started toward the center of Times Square. “Hope you have the cameras rolling,” I mumbled as I continued toward the sleek silver and black Anokian aircrafts parked in the center of the intersection.
“Absolutely,” The Suspect replied in my earpiece as the doors near the center of the Anokian crafts suddenly began to hum and slide open. I paused about fifteen feet from their ships and waited patiently as Jonas, The Redeemer, Lemore, The Supernal and four more Knights of Eden exited the two ships and walked down the exit ramps towards me. The four Knights were dressed in all-black armor with red cloaks round their shoulders and The Redeemer was equipped with a full suit of high-tech silver and black armor along with a sophisticated helmet that covered his face as well as a portion of his lengthy black hair. The long cloaks that they all wore around their shoulders fluttered in the wind behind them as the small group of Anokians made their way across the intersection. The Supernal wore an elegant white and gold cloak over her jade and black Anokian-Steel armor and I couldn’t help but admire how graceful yet equally fierce she looked as they made their way towards me.
“Good to see you alive and well, Knight Commander,” I said to The Redeemer as they approached. “Last I heard it was not clear if you had succumbed to the injuries that you had suffered at the hands of—”
“Rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated,” The Redeemer interrupted as he raised his newly installed metallic hands.
“So it would seem,” I ac
knowledged.
“And it would also seem as though you have come expecting a fight, human,” The Redeemer replied as he glanced at the squad of Strangers posted near the SUVs and the semi-truck behind me.
“On the contrary, we merely wish to discuss that which was promised to us by your High King,” I replied as several knots tightened in my stomach.
“I am here under the orders of Cyrus, The Godhand. Any agreement struck with The Righteous is not of my concern,” The Redeemer replied.
“Yet you expect us to deliver on our part of the deal?” I questioned.
“That would certainly be the wise choice— if you value your lives, of course,” The Redeemer answered.
“We do not wish to fight, Knight Commander, but I would ask that we at least have a chance to speak with the High King regarding compensation for the aide that my organization has provided thus far,” I urged.
“Your request is denied, human, and I am frankly tired of this pointless conversation. Have your men unstrap the bomb at once,” he ordered as he glanced at the semi-truck behind me.
“Alright, cut it loose,” I yelled as I turned and gestured toward the truck.
Six more Anokians that were dressed more like engineers than soldiers suddenly exited the Anokian ship to my right as my Stranger operatives sliced through the straps that held the massive bomb in place on the bed of our semi-truck. I watched silently as the Anokian engineers walked over and removed a hovering platform from their ship then remotely steered it toward the truck’s flat bed.
“So that’s it? You’re just going to take the bomb and leave us here?” I asked The Redeemer as the engineers positioned their hovering platform near the right side of our truck.
Savior Part 3: Legion of The Godhand (The Savior Series) Page 11