by Paul Ormond
“If it isn’t my loyal Earthling Servant. I hear that you’ve been a busy boy. Do you have more news of the fugitive?” the Commander asked.
“I do, sir,” Robert said while bowing low.
“Very good. Is he in your custody?” Commander Holrathu said.
“We haven’t apprehended the fugitive yet, but we have been able to find his approximate location. We believe we will have him in our custody very soon,” Robert said.
“Yes, your status report was well-received. After analyzing the data, we understand why the fugitive would appear in this particular location. The surrounding area is ripe with the dark energy required to open a gateway. This location you provided is an excellent place to establish the portal. We wish for you to build our gateway there. We believe that the energy present is sufficient enough to establish a permanent outpost. Have you completed the construction of the generator?” Commander Holrathu asked.
“We are in the final stages of producing the generator. I have been a little distracted with the fugitive and the preparations for our convention but my engineers tell me that progress is being made rapidly,” Robert responded.
“He must be apprehended as soon as possible. You do realize that this fugitive is the only thing that could stand in the way of our end goal. He happens to be carrying some of our most advanced technology. He is very dangerous and he possesses a great power. You will have to use all of the powers of your device to contain him once he has been located. I understand that you have been working hard to master your new abilities. You will need to prepare others to use these devices. On your own you are powerful, but just one man may not be enough,” Commander Holrathu said.
“As we speak, I am preparing our first security force to be equipped with armed inReal devices,” Robert said. “We will be doing our first trial run at the tech convention in one earth month. All will be ready by then,” Robert said.
“You have always served us well Robert. This is why we have blessed you with the finest technology we have to offer. The stakes are high now. We cannot afford any mistakes at this point. The fugitive must be apprehended or the plan is in grave danger of being compromised. You must focus all of your efforts onto bringing the fugitive to us,” Commander Holrathu said.
“I understand the gravity of the situation. We are currently preparing a trap that the fugitive will be unable to resist,” Robert said.
“I have read your proposal to the Emperor and he approves of your approach. It appears that we may be able to kill two birds with one stone as the saying goes on your little planet. Using your convention as a cover, you will be able to contain our problem and begin phase two of our project - a permanent gateway to our new Domain. We shall use the transfer of the prisoner as the first test of your developments. We have placed a great deal of trust in you and your abilities. Do not disappoint the Emperor,” Commander Holrathu said while glaring down at Robert.
“The Emperor will not be disappointed. It is my solemn duty to serve his Excellency and I will fulfill my obligation,” Robert said while bowing low again.
“You better for your sake, Robert. The Emperor is a shrewd ruler and he is swift and merciless with his punishments. Please keep us informed of any further developments,” Commander Holrathu said.
“Yes sir. I will bid you farewell now, Commander Holrathu. In the service of the Emperor,” Robert said and bowed low once.
“May he reign forever,” Commander Holrathu said, and with that, the orange orb and the giant head disappeared leaving Robert alone once again.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
After the announcement, Mitch felt like he was in a dream. People came up to him and spoke, but he couldn’t comprehend what they were saying. Everyone seemed to be congratulating him and acting really excited about MindHIve coming to Kingsford. It was all so difficult for Mitch to take in. He wasn’t a tech genius and he knew that he shouldn’t be going to the tech convention. That was for whiz kid scientists and computer programming nerds. All he had done was take a stick to the crotch. It was also really strange that MindHIve chose Kingsford for their testing ground. They could go anywhere they wanted. Why come to his hometown? There was something very suspicious about that announcement and he knew it had everything to do with Drak.
After the announcement, Mitch found himself heading to the computer lab at lunchtime. He had to fight off more people congratulating him as he walked down the long hall towards the lab. It was a horrible situation to be in. After being the laughing stock of the whole town, he was now instantly a local hero. But he knew that he was a fraud and he was terrified that he would be found out and humiliated once again. He knew that he had to confront Drak about what had happened. As far as he could tell, Drak was dangerous and he was going to get Mitch into even more trouble.
The first thing that Drak had mentioned when they first met was “revenge.” Mitch didn’t want to know what revenge he could possibly be after, but he was certain that Drak had some diabolical plan to destroy the internet or hack all of the world’s computers and that Mitch would end up taking the blame. He was certain that he would be sent off to a federal prison for the rest of his life. He knew that he could only blame himself for everything that had happened. Why did he give Drak access to his account, he thought to himself. If he had of just said ‘no’, then everything would have been fine. Well, not fine, but he wouldn’t be caught up in whatever terrorist activity Drak had planned.
When Mitch reached the computer lab, Mr. O’Hare was standing at the door waiting for him. “Well, Mr. Mythic, it looks like the world has made some lemonade for you. I couldn’t imagine a better way to redeem yourself than representing this community at the tech convention. It’s a great honor you’ve been given,” Mr. O’Hare said while patting Mitch on the back.
“I’ll try not to let you down,” Mitch said while faking a smile.
“It doesn’t look like Drak is here, but you know your way around. Find a spot and eat your lunch. After that, I want you to continue working on your essay. You’ll need to have it done by the end of the week if you want your suspension lifted” Mr. O’Hare said while making his way to the door. “I’ve got some beef Stroganoff heating up in the microwave right now. I like to eat it nice and hot. Congratulations Mitch,” he said as he shut the door.
Mitch was left alone in the lab. All he could hear was the soft whirring sound of the computer fans. The Venetian blinds on the windows were shut but a lot of the flaps were broken or struck together, allowing light from the warm spring day to spill into the room. Mitch sat down at the computer station he had chosen the day before and placed his bag on the ground. He took out a brown paper bag which contained his lunch and placed it on the desk in front of him. He wasn’t hungry at all. He was still in shock about what had happened.
Mitch bumped the computer’s mouse with his elbow bringing the computer out of sleep mode. He glanced at the screen as the desktop became visible on the ancient computer. An old chat program was open and it sat idly in the middle of the screen. The cursor on the program flashed rhythmically. He pulled out a ham sandwich and started to eat. As he took a bite, a text bubble appeared in the chat program.
“Mitch,” it said. There was no ID attached to the text but Mitch new that it had to be Drak.
He thought for a second. How was it that he knew where Mitch had sat down? He had probably hacked into the school’s CCTV network and was monitoring everything that he did. He sighed and then began to type.
“Where are you? We need to talk,” Mitch typed into the computer.
“I know. Do you see door at back of lab?” the text bubble said.
“Yes,” Mitch typed.
“Go through it and head down stairs. At bottom of the stairs is door. Open it and go inside. You’ll find me in there,” the text bubble said.
Mitch paused for a moment and groaned. Drak was no doubt aware of everything that was going on. Why was he trying to lure Mitch into the basement? Was he also a serial killer along with
being a hacker terrorist, he thought to himself. Mitch got to his feet and walked to the door. He shook his head and opened it. The door opened to a long hallway and to the right of the door was a dark stairwell. Mitch couldn’t recall ever seeing this place before, which was strange considering the fact that he had been attending Kingsford High for three years. Mitch stood at the top of the stairs and took a deep breath. “Well, the only thing he can do now is kill me. I guess there are fates worse than death,” he said out loud and made his way down the stairs. The heavy door appeared locked, but when Mitch tried to open it, the door swung open easily.
A large room lay beyond the door and it was stacked with old bleachers and wrestling mats. Mitch picked his way along a shelf stacked with ancient text books. Dust sprang up as he cautiously stepped over the debris that lay scattered across the floor. There was hardly any light in the room, save for some emergency exit lights that lined the walls. Their orange glow allowed Mitch to find a central column between the shelves. Beyond the shelves, there appeared to be a clearing. After Mitch picked his way past some old gym equipment, he came to a large empty space. A window at the end of the room allowed for some daylight to spill in.
Drak stood in the center of the room. His long arms drooped at his side. He appeared relaxed and calm, but after Mitch had seen what he was capable of, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy around him. Mitch paused at the edge of the open space and looked directly at him.
“Good see you again, Mitch. Things different now, yes?” Drak said while flashing that same knowing smile.
“I don’t know you and I don’t know what you are up to, but I do not want to be a part of this anymore,” Mitch said.
“You a part of it now, like it or not. Things not what they seem. More important things happening all around,” Drak said. His face was serious now.
“You keep saying all this vague crap. You need to tell me what you are up to. You know what? Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. I’m not involved in what you are doing. I think you are going to get into a lot of trouble and maybe that’s what you want. I just want things to go back to the way they were, before all of this craziness,” Mitch spat out.
“No going back now. I need show something. You saw TV yesterday, yes? MindHIve guy show big new thing - inReal. This big news for people here,” Drak said. “Come, I show something too.” Drak reached down to the ground and pulled up a drainage grate that stood at the center of the room. “Follow me,” he said as he hopped down.
“You want me to follow you into the sewer?” Mitch said while screwing up his face.
“Not sewer. You’ll see. You not be disappointed,” Drak said and he flashed his all too familiar grin.
“Oh fine, but if this gets gross, I’m turning back,” Mitch said and he lowered himself into the drainage system. He landed on his feet and was surprised to find that he was in a tunnel large enough to walk through without crouching.
“Come this way,” Drak said as he walked deeper into the tunnel. They travelled for a distance and then the tunnel abruptly ended. A formidable looking metal door embedded into a concrete wall stood in their way. Drak reached out and did something with his hand and the door easily opened. A rush of cold air burst through the door and Mitch peered into an inky blackness.
“We’re going in here?” Mitch said with a worried look on his face. “Where does this go to? I didn’t even know this was here.”
“You know your town old mining town? Well, this is old mining cave and it goes deep underground. Follow me, I show you something,” Drak said and he stepped into the doorway.
Mitch took a big breath and sighed. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and activated the light.
“All right, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he said as he followed Drak into the blackness.
The tunnel seemed to go on for a few hundred feet and it felt like it was sloping downwards. Then Mitch felt a change in the air. It seemed like the roof was rising. He shone his flashlight into the darkness and he could see that he stood within a massive cavern. The cavern seemed to stretch in all directions. All this time that he had lived in Kingsford, he had no idea that this place existed. Everybody in town knew about the old mining caves but they were long ago abandoned and most people had assumed that they had all caved in years ago.
Drak stopped in front of him and turned around. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small square. He held it in his hand before Mitch.
“Seem like nothing, yes?” he said and he placed the cube back in his pocket. “Now see this,” he said. He crossed his arms in front of him and he was encased in a blueish glow. Mitch jumped back defensively.
“What is that?” Mitch asked.
“This same technology MindHIve introduce yesterday,” Drak said.
“Where did you get it? They haven’t released any devices yet. Did you steal it? Is that what they want?” Mitch demanded to know.
“Not steal. MindHIve not invent this. Like say, things not what they seem,” Drak said while crossing his arms.
“Where did you get it then? It must’ve come from somewhere. Where are you from anyway? I thought you were like a refugee or something,” Mitch asked.
Drak reached into his pocket and took out the cube and placed it on the floor. “I need explain some things, but you need listen. Open mind. See clearly,” Drak said. He reached two hands out in front of him and raised his arms up above his head. A blue sphere appeared above the phone illuminating the cave. Drak reached out and touched the orb. He made a few gestures with his fingers and then he flicked his wrist to the left causing the orb to spin. Mitch stared at the orb in awe. Slowly an image appeared in the sphere. Mitch could make out figures huddled in a dusty wind. They appeared to be digging on a dry surface. Around them were larger figures. They had an orange glow about them. One of the smaller figures appeared to stumble and fall. The larger figure walked over to the slumped figure. It made a gesture with its hands and suddenly two orbs of light blasted into the slumped figure instantly disintegrating them.
“This my people. The ones digging. We slaves now to Masters,” Drak said. His face was tense.
“What? Where is this happening? What Masters?” Mitch asked.
“I say before, I not from here, from other place. That place not here. It difficult to understand but I from…”
“So what, you’re a space alien?” Mitch said cutting Drak off.
“I say open mind,” Drak looked at Mitch earnestly. “Space not place. I come here using special technology, Masters’ technology. They bad people but they know how to use technology to move between places,” Drak said. He was lost in thought for a second.
“You mean like a different dimension or something?” Mitch asked.
“Yes and no,” Drak said. He was trying to find the right words. “Time all same. No time. Everything here. Everything now. Everything connected,” Drak said while peering into the big sphere in front of them.
“Like wormholes. I’ve heard about those things. They don’t know if they exist. I don’t believe you. Where did you get this stuff? You probably bought it on the dark web,” Mitch scoffed.
“You not listening. This not joke. Let me show. It easier with pictures I think,” Drak said while reaching out to the orb again. He made a few gestures and an image of the Earth appeared.
“That’s earth. Your planet,” Mitch said.
“Right, but here, not here,” Drak said as he spun the orb again. Planet not what it seems. “None of this real. Well it all real, but not what we think it is. We not sure, but we know that all things are . . . ” Drak was cut off by Mitch.
“A simulation. I’ve heard that too, but It sounds crazy. Are you trying to say that this whole thing is a computer game?” Mitch said while he laughed out loud.
“You not listening and this not joke. No one really know exactly how it work, but we know everything connected. We don’t know what is. We just know that we in it. My home is like this planet but in other space. Ma
sters know how to connect these spaces and what you call wormhole exists everywhere,” Drak said and he spun the orb again. A new image of the earth spinning appeared in the orb. “This space connected to all other spaces,” Drak said. “Masters know how to control wormholes. They can move between worlds easily,” Drak said while his voice began to grow distant.
“My home like this place.” Drak said. He flicked his wrist again and a new planet appeared in the orb. It was purple and yellow. “This my home, we call it: ‘Chalthantar’.” Drak reached in with two hands and was able to zoom into the planet. A strange yet familiar-looking city appeared in the orb. People like Drak were walking around and driving strange vehicles. There were old people and young children and what seemed like markets and shops. “My people don’t know what they are or where they are. They just people,” Drak flicked his wrist again.
A new image appeared. This time there were angry men in armor. Giant ships flew overhead. The people attacked each other. There was blood and destruction everywhere. “Many wars and fighting. Many people dying,” Drak said. He flicked his wrist again and a new image appeared. A giant crowd was gathered around a large glowing orb similar to the one in the room. A large hooded figure stood before it. “One day Masters come and say they want to help. My people get crazy. They think Gods come. Everybody think Masters are amazing. Here to help to make world good. My people make deal with them. Masters say they can help my people. Make my people like Masters. Masters say they can end our wars,” Drak said as he flicked his wrist again and a new image appeared. The people were bowing before the masters. “My people surrender and let Masters take control.”
Drak’s face was tense. A new image appeared on the orb. The people wore glowing collars around their necks. Large figures stood over them as they marched along in columns. “Masters trick my people. Make them slaves. Now we work for masters,” Drak was angry as he looked at the images. “Masters have powerful weapons and amazing technology. My people cannot stop them.” The hooded figures were seen shooting light from their hand and they levitated high into the air. Mitch could see tears forming in Drak’s eyes. “I lose my mother, my father, my family. We separated. Now don’t know where they are,” Drak flicked his wrist again. An image of Drak surrounded by people like him appeared.