Birth of Light

by Ross Buzzell

  “Ma’am, you would not believe me if I told you.”

  The driver leans over to Natalie as if to tell her a secret.

  “Girl, I have been a bus driver for twenty-three years. I can believe almost anything you tell me.”

  She is tenacious, but her kind demeanor hides it well. Something tells Natalie that this driver could threaten someone legitimately and the pour soul probably would never even realize what was going on. She shakes her head, deciding to give in to the woman, as she would just keep pushing until she got what she wanted.

  “Last night, I was working at a friend’s bar. It was closing time and a man crashed into the bar and completely destroyed it… I got banged up pretty badly, but from what I could see, which was hard because the impact knocked out the power, he was hurt really badly too. All he said was ‘I’m sorry’ before he just… disappeared.”

  She picks the mug back up and takes a few more sips as the driver sits in silence for a brief moment.

  “Oh sugar, that sounds just awful. He must have had a lot to drink to crash into a building like that. I am glad to see you are okay, though… did you check hospitals, or heaven forbid, the morgue?”

  Her words fall on distracted ears as Natalie’s mind wanders to the man in black armor once again; she stares into the swirling dark liquid before her.

  “He wasn’t in a car.”

  She looks up at the driver, her voice earnest as she continues to speak.

  “He fell from the sky; his impact tore the bar in half. The impact put a piece of wood in my stomach. I’ve studied anatomy rather extensively and there is no way I could have survived that. Had he not been so noble, I would be dead right now.”

  The dark eyes of the driver widen as she hears the story. At that moment, Natalie can tell that the driver believes her, be it from the passion in her voice or the fact that she believes in aliens is unknown to Natalie, but there is belief in those eyes, so she continues.

  “After he said ‘I’m sorry,’ this weird white light came off of his hands and the next thing I knew I was healed.”

  “Oh baby… Did you see Jesus?”

  Natalie laughs and shakes her head at the comment before reaching to her neck and pulling on the chain revealing the ring, which still pulsates with blue light.

  “I don’t think Jesus carries a ring around on a chain.”

  The driver becomes immediately enamored by the glowing ring. She leans in to take a closer look.

  “Oh dear, that is one unique ring you have. When did it start glowing?”

  “When I was in the restroom, the lights flickered for a few seconds, and it started to glow.”

  The waitress comes by and re-fills Natalie’s almost empty mug of coffee.

  “The lights did the same thing out here too. Whatever that is, I can tell you one thing, it is probably what affected the power and if somethin could do that, who knows what it is capable of. I just would not want to be on the wrong side of anyone that could survive a fall like that.”

  Natalie nods in agreement to the driver’s words of wisdom.

  “That is why I am headed to New York; I am hoping he will be there.”

  Natalie shrugs.

  “It’s more of a guess than anything. It’s a hub city for the entire world and in just about everything that has to do with heroes these days take place in New York… Write what you know, right?”

  The driver nods in agreement.

  “Mmm that is true. You have a good head on your shoulders, dear. It’s a big world but somethin tells me that whoever he is, good or bad, will be coming for that ring.”

  Natalie nods in agreement, her mind swirling with thoughts about the ring, the man, and how she is going to find him. She needed to have faith that it would work itself out. The driver goes back to her food as Natalie takes a bite herself. Undoubtedly, the food is amazing, but it is all dulled by the mounting anxiety that grows in the back of her mind like a storm cloud.

  The two finish their meals without saying another word. Both women pay for their breakfast and return to the bus. The driver wants to speak—Natalie can see it in her face—but she does not say a word, probably because she can see the stress Natalie is under from her “mission.” After an hour of silence, the bus begins to enter the flow of gradually increasing traffic. The bouncing of the bus brings Natalie’s eyes upward to see a strong skyline of hotels and apartment buildings, even one structure that has to be an office building that stands above the rest with its green roof and glass sides. The architecture and the climbing skyline, however, hold nothing to what stands in the center.

  There is a gap in the center of the skyline; a green strip of grass extends to the muddy river from a white building with a dome on top, clearly a form of government building. That grass makes its way through a small park where people play with their dogs, are having picnics, or just enjoying the day with their families. At the end of that little park, the thing everyone seems to be drawn to, a massive structure of glistening metal stands erect from the ground, hundreds of feet high. The arch pulls together the view, making it a truly appealing city to look at. Like a gateway into its borders, the monumental arch seems to welcome any and all who wish to enter. The sight takes her breath away, never having seen it in person. Her eyes stay locked on the arch. She can understand why so many people crowd around the base like ants. Truly it is a marvel that rivals any other on this world.

  The driver takes the bus under a few bridges. Graffiti litters the concrete of the driving structures and exposed bricks of old buildings. It gives the city a little bit of character. A smile forms on Natalie’s face as the bus pulls around a turn and she sees, towering above her like a champion, a massive stadium designed for the local baseball team. The bus passes the stadium and keeps driving for a few blocks between the parking garages and the hotels and business buildings reaching for the sky around them. One building even has a circular top that appears to have spun at one point or another. The bus takes a left and proceeds to move away from the silvery arch to a train station a quarter of a mile down the road. On her right, there is a long thin park with structures of large white bunnies formed in a minimalist fashion. The large metal head of a man that is hollow and lies on its side, which is large enough for a full grown person to walk upright into. Children play in fountains that shoot water from the ground as their parents watch from benches just out of splash range of the water. The bus comes to a gradual stop next to a field in front of a large building with pillars standing at the top at least twelve stories above the ground, granting the white building a Grecian appearance.

  The door of the bus opens up, and the driver turns and looks at Natalie. She can tell the driver felt connected to her, having shared a meal and the fact that aliens exist with one another.

  “Well, sugar, this is the end of my line, but there will be a bus here in the morning to take you the rest of the way.”

  Natalie walks to the door; she turns and faces the driver once more.

  “Thank you so much, for everything!”

  “You’re welcome, dear. Do you have a place to stay?”

  Natalie nods in response to her question.

  “I do, I have an aunt that has a loft here. She is on vacation, but I’m sure she’ll let me use it.”

  “Okay, you be safe now, and if you ever need anything, you just give me a call.”

  The driver pulls out a card and hands it to Natalie, who places it in her pocket immediately.

  “I will, thank you. Drive safe.”

  The door shuts with a hiss and pulls away, leaving Natalie standing alone on the sidewalk with her bag slung over her shoulder. The ring begins to glow brighter. Natalie looks down at it, and the pattern seems familiar, like something that she long forgot and can’t quite put her finger on.

  “The diner must have given you a kick start... What are you saying?”

  She whispers softly as the pulses continue to blink in a series of three short bursts, three long bursts and three more
short bursts. It then hits her like a freight train. Morris code!

  “S.O.S. you’re calling out to him.”

  She continues to speak softly—to herself or the ring—she is unsure, but either way, it ignites a nervous excitement within her as the thought that he could be headed towards her at any moment creeps into her mind. Natalie slings her bag in front of her as she begins to walk towards the massive silver arch at far end of the quarter-mile park that sits in the center of the city like a small reminder that there is more to the world than concrete and glass. Reaching down, she grabs her phone and turns it on. The battery is low, but it still has enough juice to get to her aunt’s apartment. Dialing her aunt, she puts her phone to her ear as she crosses a gap in the park, passing two large black rectangles with orange lights forming the outline of a walking man and woman. The grass has a slight brown hue to it and the bushes appear to be wilted as if having not gotten enough water. The phone begins to ring, and after a few seconds, she hears her aunt pick up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey! This is Natalie, I am sorry this is such short notice, but I happen to be in St. Louis for the night. I was curious if I could crash on your couch for the evening?”

  “Hey, sweetie.”

  her voice crackles as if she has bad reception.

  “I’m actually out of town for the week and I am in the middle of moving out. I just put my place on the market, but I think there are still some sheets in the apartment you can use and I know my bed has not been taken yet, so feel free to use that. So long as it’s mine, you can stay as long as you need.”

  “Thank you. Where do you keep your spare key?”

  Natalie asks as a large truck passes her, contaminating the warm air with exhaust fumes, which causes her to cough slightly as it burns when she inhales.

  “The front office has one, so they can let the movers in and lock up when they are done. I’ll give them a call and tell them to look for you. I have to go, but call me if you have any trouble, okay?”

  Without a second’s pause, her aunt hangs the phone up. She has always been a thrill seeker and tends to put her fun over everyone else, but the one thing she is more than generous with is her home. If anyone ever needs a place to stay, she will put them up. Natalie hangs up her phone and places it back in her bag. She turns and takes one of the walking paths inside the grassy park, weaving between trees. She glances behind her and the grass is bright green, the plants standing up, stretching for the sun and alive and the leaves on the trees seem to have a darker green hue to them than when she walked past them the first time. She shakes her head, dismissing it before crossing to the far side of the park and behind one of the tall buildings, which blocks the sun from heating up the back street she is taking.

  The air is still and warm as she walks the city blocks of downtown St. Louis. The exposed bricks on the older buildings bring a smile to her face as they keep the city connected to its roots. She takes a right and walks down towards the arch once more. As she passes a ground level parking lot, there stands an old brick building behind it with windows painted onto the side of the building as if to keep it beautiful for the office building across the street. Within two hundred feet of each other stands old brick and mortar St. Louis and modern day, glass and metal St. Louis, complete with a fancy walking path and a fountain in front of the building. Everything about the two says that they should clash with one another, but there is something about them that complements each other, a strange symmetry like yin and yang.

  Natalie eventually comes up to a cross street with a large treasury department building before her. A walking path between the two buildings have small “infinity pools” as fountains to help bring the area to life a little bit. When the light turns red and the hand changes to a little walking man, she crosses the street and passes between the two buildings that seem to close in on one another. Coming out the other side, Natalie looks up to a large high-rise before her, complete with an accent fountain that spans ten meters by five and that is filled with water, but no water jets sprout from the surface. Natalie looks to her right, seeing the “one way” street sign before jogging across with the nearest car being over a block away in front of the hotel down the street. She passes the fountain and walks up to the glass doors. There is an overhang, which blocks the sun and rain for drop offs and pickups that stands directly over the doors. As she pulls the door open, a tall, thin African American man with large glasses and greying hair is on the phone.

  “No, ma’am, I think she just walked in. I will be sure to pass it along.”

  He hangs up the phone as he opens a drawer and pulls a key from a small file.

  “You must be Natalie. Your aunt wants me to give you this and say that you have free access to anything that is left in her loft.”

  Natalie smiles as she takes the key. The lobby attendant seems like a good man. He has a friendly smile and his demeanor is welcoming. So far, the people she has encountered on her trip have been strangely accommodating, but she is not about to complain. She walks to the second set of doors leading to an inner lobby. A buzz rings out as they are unlocked by the attendant. With a light tug, the door swings open.

  “Thank you very much.”

  He gives her a friendly smile.

  “You are quite welcome.”

  Natalie enters the inner lobby, cheap carpet underfoot and faded white walls that look like they have not been painted over in a few years. The elevators, however are a different story; the walls and floor are marble, or at least appear to be. The air smells of vanilla due to air fresheners undoubtedly hidden in the fake plants that embellish the corners. Natalie presses the up button for the elevators; she looks over the metallic doors to see what floor they are on. Immediately, all the elevators begin to travel upward. This causes Natalie’s brow to furrow.

  “You’re not supposed to do that,”

  she says, talking to the inanimate objects. Eventually, all four read that they are on floor twenty-seven; she shakes her head. Walking over to the cold stone wall, she leans against it, keeping her eyes on the numbers that never seem to change. Eventually, they begin to move again, but it literally takes five minutes for even one to reach the ground floor, and when it opens, no one is even inside. She shakes her head in frustration and enters the small metal box illuminated by cheap halogen lighting. She presses floor twenty-seven and the elevator begins to slowly rise, climbing the building like a snail in a race. She keeps her eyes glued on the metal doors and lets out a sigh; this was slightly ridiculous and after what feels like another five minutes, the elevator dings and the doors slowly open.

  Chapter: 7

  Coming Together

  Konner walks with Emma down a road with a large hedge on one side and quaint little houses on the other. The two are against the hedges with Konner walking closest to the street as he contemplates the consequences of his arrival on Sol 3. Emma is blathering on at a thousand miles per hour about her abilities, asking questions and not giving Konner a chance to even respond before she continues to talk. With his mind clear, Konner’s advanced hearing picks up something in the distance, the rumble of a car engine, and the sound of two voices speaking with each other, and they are getting closer. The man’s voice picks up first. He sounds excited and awkward.

  “So you’re saying…”

  A woman’s voice cuts him off.

  “Shh!”

  They continue their back and forth.

  “I just want to…”

  “Quiet!”

  That stern tone is familiar; he has heard it most of his life growing up; it is the tone of an irritated Emissary. A wave of relief washes over him as he spins around, his ear trained on the voices.

  “At least tell me how much further!”

  the male voice asks, frustrated.

  “Not much. I believe it’s just ahead.”

  “You mean you sen…”

  Before he can finish his word, the woman’s voice snaps at him harshly.

  “CAN
IT!”

  “Fine!”

  the man’s voice retorts in a frustrated tone. A small black car breaks the slight ridge of the hill Emma and Konner have just begun to descend. He looks into the back seat and sees a beautiful blond woman. Her eyes lock with his, and in that instant, his suspicions are confirmed. He can see the Emissary’s energy flowing off of her like the whips of a yellow flame; he can feel the power radiating from her at this distance and it brings a sense of home to his turbulent mind. Emma is still walking, not noticing that Konner has stopped. Her mouth has only taken a break from talking to breathe.

  The man sitting next to the Emissary points at him. Konner’s ears still trained on the inside of the car, he hears the man’s voice distort through the glass. Even with the distortion, Konner can hear the sarcasm dripping in his voice.