Beyond Tomorrow

by Leigh Vernon

  "Get in!" he shouted. "We can't wait around for you to steal a car."

  Justin swore under his breath. When this was over, he would make sure he went as far away as possible from these two. As Denzel drove out the town, he kept stealing glances behind them, checking the mirrors every now and then.

  "I'm not sure they'll be coming after us anytime soon," Justin said to him. "They saw what you did."

  "WL 4," Denzel said to him. "It was a very popular thing during the civil war..."

  "I know what a WL 4 is, okay?! I used them too."

  Denzel took his eyes off the road for a while and stared at the man beside him. "You fought in the war?"

  Justin sighed. There was a distant look in his eyes. "They made us fight. Every single one of us was used to fight the war. I don't know if I was supposed to be sad or happy. The other side won, but lots of us were glad to be rid of the Septs. Many of us haven't recovered from what they did to us."

  Denzel remained silent for a while. He concentrated on the road ahead of him, occasionally drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. He looked like he was trying to avoid a conversation between them both.

  "And you, how did you come about those WL 4s?" Justin asked him.

  "Well, I didn't fight in the war if you must know. There are some of us who didn't want it to happen."

  "You're a Neutral!" Justin nearly screamed his head off. "You idiots nearly cost us our lives!"

  "And are you any better for it?" Denzel shouted back. "Whatever we did, however we did it, it still would have been the same result. You think we didn't tell your revolutionists what would happen if they declared war against humans?"

  "They were fighting for us all! Yeah, they were douchebags and all, but they fought so that you and I could be here today, driving this stupidly old truck to some place where I have to do… what? I don't even know!"

  Denzel sighed. He glanced at the man beside him for a while. "Powered or not, everyone is human. We told the Septs not to go to war with the humans. We warned them about how it would turn out but did they listen? Do you think we didn't try to stop them from drafting more powered humans to fight in their senseless war? We did everything that we could to stop them from slaughtering unarmed humans in a town, but they still did anyway. Women and children made up more than seventy percent of that town and they slaughtered them all like they were animals."

  Justin kept his gaze to the road. They had heard about the things that the Sept did during the course of the war, but hearing it again made him cringe.

  "And Clover, we warned him against trying to use the humans he captured for experiments but did he listen? Did he? So, the next time you want to talk about how we left you all to die in the war, remember how hard we tried to stop it from happening."

  "No need to gloat; we all knew it was a hopeless war. We only fought in it because they told us our families would be safer after everything was over."

  Denzel turned to look at him. "And those families, where are they now?"

  Justin turned away from him. He rested his head against the door and drifted into a whirlpool of thoughts. He hadn’t seen his mother for years after the war was over. They had taken her to so many camps that it took more than a year to trace each camp she had been to. His sister had died during an attack by the humans, and when he found his mother, he had wished he hadn't found her. She had become a shadow of herself, talking about how ghosts would walk the earth if she didn't get to meet her daughter. To her, he was dead; they had told her so. So, it made no sense trying to worm his way back into her life after all that had happened. He chose to walk away instead, living as a free man.

  "You know what's worse than feeling the way you feel right now? Having to know how others feel even when you're not in their shoes," Denzel said to him.

  Justin shot him a look.

  Denzel laughed. "Oh, you didn't know? Shay didn't teach you anything?"

  "Anything about what?"

  Denzel stopped the car. "Boy, you're one of us now."

  Justin snickered. "I'd rather be dead than be one of you."

  "Listen," Denzel began, "when one of us dies, our souls either pass on to another, get trapped in the Underworld and wander for years, or just get taken by the soul eaters. But you - you have your own soul and the soul of another sharing your body. It's amazing you're not even dead by now. I've never seen a body harbor two souls at the same time."

  "You tell me," the other man answered. "I've had my own fair share of death."

  You shouldn't tell him such.

  "Does he know he's talking about me while using my own mind to answer you?" Justin asked in bewilderment.

  Denzel nodded. "It would take a very long time to get used to that."

  Justin turned his attention to the road as Denzel eased the truck into gear. "Where are we going?" He asked.

  "To get the weapons we need for this war."

  "Oh, I'm done fighting. I don't know which war you're on about."

  Denzel didn't answer him. His mind was miles away from where they were. He knew they would be walking into the very place he had promised himself to never go back to, and as much as he'd like to deny it, he was afraid of what lay ahead of them.

  "You're awfully silent for someone who has an answer to every question," Justin said to him after a while. "Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to regret this journey?"

  "You should. You're going to regret it."

  The reply was icy cold, not what Justin had expected at all, but he didn't care. If this was the only way to get his mind back, he'd definitely take any chances.

  You'll be fine, and I don't plan on staying inside you forever.

  "What annoys him the most?" Justin asked Denzel who smiled ruefully.

  "You have no idea."

  "Not to sound stupid but, if I die, what happens to him?"

  "It depends. If he is strong enough, he might find a new body. If not, he'll die with you. Either way, you won't have the chance to come back like he could."

  "That was so motivational. I could have sworn I felt deeply inspired," Justin said to the other man.

  Denzel didn't look his way. His mind was on the task ahead of them - what happened before that didn't matter to him.

  "Quickly, one for you," he said to him. "Do you have any superpowers?"

  Justin stared at him for a while before he began to laugh hard. "You're kidding me, right?"

  "No."

  "I guess we'll have to find out if I have any superpowers or not."

  Chapter 4

  Gianna gasped loudly as she opened her eyes. They were coming; the wolf and the bear were coming and she knew there was only one way to stop them. She asked the bodyguard who stood by her to help her up. He tried to avoid staring at her nakedness, but he couldn't help himself.

  "Do you remember the names of those who died during the civil war?" She asked him as she saw sweat break from his face.

  He gulped hard before answering. "No, I don't think anyone would know the names of everyone who died."

  "Exactly. There are some of them who fought bravely and would be remembered forever. There are others, however, whose names would be buried with them as they were lowered beneath the ground."

  The guard nodded. He didn't know what she was on about.

  "One day, you'll tell your children stories about the things that you did while you worked for us. Or you may never live long enough to tell those stories, if you have no control over your human desires."

  There was a knock on the door.

  "Who's there?" Gianna asked loudly.

  "The Mayor is ready," a voice answered from outside.

  "Okay," she answered back. Then, she turned to the guard. "Get ready. We're going hunting."

  ---

  The Drunish people of West Michigan were very powerful people. Amongst the first Sons of the Powered, they were ranked second. Many of them could use water to their advantage, but a handful of others could use more than two powers at the same t
ime. When the Sons of the Powered had made their pacts, the only sect who had chosen the old language were the Druns. They believed that they held a powerful connection with the history of the world and as such, it was in their best interest to stick to the old language. On their beaches and shores, mermaids and mermen were often seen lounging under the sun. Their children were excellent swimmers and great fishermen. Hence, the coastal city was extremely blessed.

  On the roads to West Michigan, there were always rich displays of aquatic animals for the pleasure and enjoyment of those visiting the city for the first time. The city itself was built with ice and stone, with houses arranged in numerous rows along the city road. Despite this, the city was not behind in the aspects of technology - a majority of them were successful marine biologists working in larger places in other cities.

  "Do you know why they call West Michigan ‘the Elder Girl?’"

  "Because their founder was a girl? A first girl in the family?"

  Denzel laughed heartily at Justin's response. He laughed so hard that he coughed.

  "What's funny? Did I say something funny?"

  Denzel had to force himself to stop laughing. "Of course you said something funny."

  Justin ignored him. He was eyeing a display of fish meals that smelt as good as they looked.

  "You're going to run down there and steal their food?" Denzel taunted him.

  "What are we? 1801?" Justin walked to the stalls and made an order. He sat under an umbrella with his meal, savoring each bite.

  "This is very good," he said to the man who owned the food truck. The man smiled back and thanked him.

  "We're not here to enjoy the city's beauties. We need to see someone," Denzel said as he stood directly in front of him.

  "Relax. What could happen now? It's not like it's the end of the world."

  Justin took another bite and chewed hard. He was about to swallow when it hit him. At first, it felt like the crashing of ocean waves against a rocky beach, and as hard as he tried, he couldn't get out from under the waves. Then, he began to feel himself going under, like he was drowning. He held his chest as he tried desperately to breath.

  "What the...? What did you give him to eat?" Denzel asked the scared food vendor who watched in terror as Justin continued to wheeze.

  "I didn’t' do anythin', man. I swear it!" The man's voice quivered as he ran to help Justin.

  "Help me get him on his side," Denzel said to the fidgeting man. After a few more seconds, Justin stopped wheezing and sat upright.

  "What am I doing on the ground?" He asked the two pairs of eyes staring intently at his.

  The food vendor turned Denzel. "He has another soul inside him?"

  "And how would you know that?" Denzel asked back.

  The man called out another man and asked him to watch over the stall while he asked the two men to follow him.

  "Some weeks ago, I got a text from my cousin in Coal City," the man told them as they walked along with him. "He says the new Mayor is a bit strange."

  "What do you mean, strange?" Denzel asked.

  "Well, we are yet to know for sure, but something happened that hasn't happened in a very long time." He turned to face them and produced a key from his pocket. He opened a door and stepped in. When they were in, he closed the door behind them and turned the key.

  Justin gave Denzel a look, but the other man only shrugged.

  "How long have you been in West Michigan?" Justin asked the man.

  "Long enough," he replied as they began to climb a staircase.

  "He's not Drunish," Justin said out loud.

  "Of course not - I am not from this place. Everyone knows that."

  "It's pretty obvious," Denzel echoed.

  Justin felt stupid.

  "Now, some of our people went to Coal City to study. Most of them seldom came back, having been enticed by the beauty of human ways. Some of them decided to never use their powers again, others just dropped the accent and began to speak the human tongue instead."

  They were in a large room now. There were three bodies arranged on some sort of table with equipment scattered all around. The bodies were covered, but Denzel and Justin could see that the sheets were stained with blood.

  "Last week, we were told some students had an accident in the city and died. Their bodies were sent back for burial, but somehow, one of the parents was able to see through the deceit."

  He pulled back one of the covers, revealing a pale face. Justin moved closer. There was something odd about the face; he could have sworn he had seen that he had seen something like this before.

  "You're saying it wasn't an accident?" Denzel asked.

  The man shook his head. "The bodies were sent in good shape and all, but the parents who had suspected foul play said that their daughter wasn't as fair as they remembered. So, they wanted an autopsy."

  Justin continued to stare at the body, hoping that he would remember where he had seen something similar before.

  The man opened a second body. This one looked better than the first, but it had been cut open.

  "You see those swellings?" The man asked them both, and they nodded. "That wasn't meant to be there. Normally when a human dies, they bloat. Then, the bloating bursts open and pus begins to ooze out. But Druns don't bloat."

  He touched a part of the body with his gloved hands and something that looked like pus oozed out.

  "If Druns don't bloat, how come these three are bloated?"

  He let the question hang between them as he took the gloves off.

  "You notice anything else?" He asked.

  "There's no smell," Justin offered. "There's supposed to be a bad smell by now, and there's none."

  The man nodded. "Very good." He moved to a door and pushed it open. "Now, when this was happening, two other students went missing in the city. Days later, they washed up on our shores, mangled by sharp rocks and crashing sea waves. The autopsy report showed that they were dead before they were thrown into the waters."

  He walked to a large drawer and pulled two trays out. There were bodies in them. Despite the ugliness of their mangled bodies, Justin recognized the way they looked instantly.

  "Soul eaters," he said softly.

  "That was what we thought at first, but look at these marks," he said as he pointed to some deep marks on the neck and shoulders of each corpse. "Soul eaters use their teeth to suck out the souls of their victims. These are claw marks."

  Denzel looked up at the man. "Are you saying a beast ate them both and tossed them into the sea?"

  "If you were a beast, would you go through the trouble of also deleting their social media accounts?"

  Denzel and Justin exchanged looks.

  "Emails, Twitter, Facebook… every single social media accounts these five had were wiped clean."

  "Surely, they couldn't have gotten all of their accounts. Like, all of them? I mean, people use crazy aliases and all that," Justin chipped in.

  The two others looked at him like he was crazy.

  "Sorry," he said quietly. "I was just, you know."

  "What happened to these kids?" Denzel asked.

  The man didn't answer. He walked to a door and pushed a hidden button. The door opened into a very large library with thousands of books stacked in long rows.

  "Why are we listening to this man again?" Justin asked Denzel, who shrugged.

  The man walked them to a table and opened a large book.

  "Long ago, the earth was made up of elements. Four clans controlled these elements. The earth clan, the water clan, the fire clan, and of course, humans."

  "I think you've got the Avatar all wrong," Denzel said amusingly. "Weren't all these clans humans?"

  The man didn't reply; he just flipped the book to another page. "What humans call superpowers are what the older generation called magic. All other candidates had magic and only the humans didn't. They were afraid that a day may come when the other clans may decide to wipe them off the face of earth with their powers, so
they decided to make one for themselves."

  Denzel shifted. Justin rubbed his head. The man paid them no attention as he opened another page in the book.

  "The man they created had seven children. The eldest daughter, alongside the second first son, was blessed with the power to use ice. The following three were blessed with fire while another was blessed with the gift of using earth. But when the last son came, he seemed to have no powers at all. In a bid to not make the young boy feel out of place, the others tried to teach him what they could, but the boy was a bitter human. He hated himself as much as he hated his siblings. He vowed he would never live with anyone who had powers and that he would destroy his brothers and sisters. One fateful day, he disappeared."

  "Sounds like a good one," Justin said. "Why do I think you're going to say something terrible soon?"

  The man opened a page with an unusual drawing. "What everyone didn't know," he said while trembling, "was that the last son had more powers than the world could ever imagine."

  "Ah, plot twist. Great," Justin butted in again. Denzel and the other man gave him death stares till he began to feel uncomfortable. "Sorry," he muttered silently.

  "Let me guess. This last son came back to wipe off the rest of the family from the face of earth?" Denzel asked.

  "No. He wrote the Book of the Seventh," the man answered.

  "The Book of the Seventh?" Justin asked. "I thought they said that thing wasn't real."

  Denzel didn't say anything. He stood rooted to a spot, thinking deeply.

  This is why I told him to find you. You're the only one who's seen what this book can do.

  "You should have let me be," Denzel said loudly.

  "Okay. Dead students, claw marks, Book of the Seventh, what are we really up against here?" Justin asked.

  The man closed the book he had been reading from. "There was a time, long ago, when a certain sorcerer almost brought humanity to its knees. He nearly wiped out half the world with his mad desire to rule the world. The other six children of the Powered were able to stop him, banishing him to the underworld, never to return again."

  "And there are people who want to bring him back, am I right?" Justin butted in.