A beam of light generated in front of them with a shimmer and the golden A.I appeared. Her hands expanded and three large screens appeared next to each of the pods. Everyone in the room watched with curiosity as the artificial intelligence started producing graphs, tables, and medical jargon on the holographic displays. Anya watched as the computerized woman worked at her task with amazement. Why does she look so familiar?
“Dr. Geier can I ask you something?” said Anya with a sheepish tone.
“Go ahead.”
“Who is she?”
The doctor turned her gaze towards Anya and smiled. “That is the pride and joy of this station; a fully rendered artificial intelligence, Krysanthe. Pretty cool huh?”
“Does she ever leave this station?”
“No, she is bound to it. Why do you ask?”
“I thought I saw something like her at the temple.”
“Impossible. It must have been a side effect of the wave emitter that hit you earlier.”
Anya stared at all the people looking right through her as the doctor brought up the next screen. Please just tell me it isn’t that bad.
“Anya, do you suffer from nervousness or anxiety?” said Major Sorehn.
“What gave you the first clue?” said Anya as she felt her mood spike.
“You have been shaking ever since you got in the pod. I’m just concerned.”
“She suffers from a moderate anxiety disorder as I do. Your data is still being generated so I can tell you about this now. We have two options to help you with that. Option 1 is the medicinal treatment you’re probably used to, and option 2 is a small device that will administer the drug directly into your bloodstream when needed. You can choose either.”
“Medicine,” Anya said right after the doctor finished her sentence.
“Just don’t forget to take it. Alright, your results are in and- “
The doctor stared at the screen and slowly took off her glasses. She got closer to the hologram and squinted. Anya felt as if her heart would stop beating at any moment.
“Oh dear, this is serious. Anya, I am not sure if you’re aware of this,” she said, taking a moment to pause, “this won’t be easy, but you have stage 4 breast cancer.”
Anya’s eyes trembled and she started mumbling to herself. Shortly after, she felt her head hit the plastic frame as everything went black. Everyone in the room started to panic; Commander Gilbert helped get her out of the pod. Unknown to all below, a quiet mind shuffled in the air vent, stopping only for a second to peer at them with glowing orange eyes.
“Anya, are you alright? Can you stand?” said Commander Gilbert.
Minutes went by, and she soon woke up with everyone standing over her. “Give her a minute to recover,” Geier said, rubbing a solution on Anya’s forehead. Anya grimaced as she started to apply a cold lotion on her neck. It soon felt soothing; she closed her eyes for a few seconds.
“This will help and take these too,” she said handing her two small pills and a glass of water.
Anya swallowed them and drank the entire glass, realizing how thirsty she felt. The cut on her forehead oozed with blood. She quickly wiped it away with her shirt.
“She only had stage 1 cancer before we got here,” said Brenda with tears in her eyes.
“Krysanthe, run all potential medical treatments and causes for Anya’s condition. Sorry guys, it might take some time for her to analyze the data. Status report on the Harrisons?”
“The full medical analysis of Trevor and Brenda Harrison are now complete,” said the gleaming ball of humanoid energy in front of them.
“Great, now let’s see what we have here,” Janice said with her tongue at the corner of her mouth. She snapped her fingers and the area around her burst into a 360-degree set of screens that contained all of the data generated. The bracelet on her watch began to play soft classical music.
“Aren’t you going to change that song? Haven’t we heard Chopin enough?” said Commander Gilbert as he laughed and crossed his dark arms over his chest.
“Shhh, this is delicate work. Alright, let’s start with Trevor.”
“What happened to medical privacy?” Trevor said with discontent.
“There is no need as we are already behind schedule. According to my analysis, you were treated for moderate dehydration, and there is a small amount of muscle deterioration and high blood pressure. Each could be symptoms of the Time Steam Extractor. Everything is fine with you, although you may want to watch your temper if your blood pressure rises like this again.”
“I just don’t like being examined like an animal.”
“You are the first positive results we’ve seen from Earth, and we need to study your condition for signs of side effects. Brenda, you’re next,” Janice said as she collapsed one screen and opened another. “You have similar muscle deterioration, and you appear to have a small fracture in one of your ribs. Easy fix. How did it happen?”
Her voice cracked as she answered, “I fell over a root on the ground and smacked into one of the metal trees.”
“If it’s alright with you we can fix that now? It will only require a small injection of nanomachines into your bloodstream. You may feel some discomfort.”
“If it’ll get rid of the pain than go ahead.”
Anya could only hear her friend start to grimace as the small needle entered her arm. The room went silent and then she heard a scream.
Brenda slammed her fist against the glass as the injection settled into her ribcage; the fractured rib cracked back into place, causing Brenda to grip her chest.
“Hey! What is going on? Is she okay?” Trevor said, shouting from inside the plastic pod.
“She will be fine. Everyone handles this differently.”
Brenda’s screams subsided and were replaced with heavy breathing. “Holy shit, that was bad. Couldn’t you have numbed me up first?”
“That would’ve required a lot more painful injection to prepare your body for the nanomachines. You did pretty well. My data shows that your ribs will be fine in 15 hours. Take it easy for a while.”
“Trevor, think you could have handled that?”
“Ha, it would’ve been no problem. I’m built like a brick.”
Dr. Geier stepped towards Trevor and Brenda, pressing a small button on her uniform. “Brahm Station, please come in.”
“This is Bernard.”
“Bernard, I am giving you temporary access to bypass the lockdown restriction on the spectrum wave emitter. Please activate it for 60 seconds and then resume lockdown.”
“Roger that,” the Russian pilot said, following a click on the radio.
Trevor looked uneasy and reached back to scratch his head
“You are both probably curious about that call. Just a minute detail I almost overlooked. The Teracians communicate telepathically, and thus we need a way to hear them. The Spectrum Wave Emitter was shut down after the station was put on lockdown. After it’s enabled in twenty seconds, you and your sister will be able to hear and converse with their people.”
“Will it mess with our brains or something?” said Brenda.
“It reconfigures the parietal lobe. So yes, it messes with your brain.”
“I’d rather go back to Earth than talk with a bunch of hairless aliens,” said Trevor.
Dr. Geier glared at him in shock. “Don’t they teach you sensitivity in college? Prepare yourselves.”
“Prepare for…” Trevor said as he was interrupted by a ringing in the air. Both twins fell to their knees instantly and grabbed ahold of their heads. The wave shut down soon after, relieving them both of the moderate pain.
The entire room remained silent, and none of the doctors said a word of empathy. Anya saw Dr. Geier return to her station. “I’m sorry to you both for not warning you, but the pain seems to be lessened when the subject is ignorant.”
Brenda stood up and rubbed her head. “You handle that okay, rugby boy?”
“Shut the hell up,” Trevor sa
id, laying his back against the pod.
The pod doors opened, and they all exited. Brenda ran straight for Anya and hugged her tightly, “I knew there was something terribly wrong. How did it get this bad? It was only on the first stage last time you were checked,” she said between outbursts.
Anya, still in shock, didn’t say anything back, but just stood there staring at the lab’s white walls.
“This must be a rare form of acceleration based on the rapid and sudden time travel. Anya, you have nothing to worry about. We can halt its progress, but surgery is inevitable,” Janice said with a calm voice similar to a mother’s.
“How can you halt it? Am I gonna be alright? I can’t handle more of this.”
“Relax, we can inject you with a more advanced set of nanomachines that will put it in remission.”
“Just don’t tell me when you do it.”
Dr. Geier walked over to Any a and had to pull up her sleeve. The redness on her skin reached up to her shoulder. She pulled out a large needle from a refrigerated cabinet. The injection, as it slowly let loose, flooded thousands of tiny robots into her blood; the procedure made her nerves flare up like fire in a jet engine. She cringed, and her knuckles went white as she gripped the chair. Minutes later, the injection was over, and she breathed out.
“By tomorrow, the side effects should start to wear off. Get plenty of rest tonight.”
The west exit to the lab suddenly opened, and a group of soldiers entered followed by a decorated man in an olive drab uniform. His limbs appeared abnormally large, and Anya saw glimpses of metal all over his body. Behind him were three other men with rifles strapped to their backs.
Commander Gilbert and Major Sorehn stood at attention and saluted. “Lieutenant Colonel Miller.”
“Gilbert. Sorehn, I’ve come with an announcement from Actavian. Report to the Earth Sphere for the debriefing,” said Miller, puffing a long cigar, “and Y'all better hurry since the shuttles only gonna be here for another 30 minutes.”
“You heard the man, let’s wrap this up,” said the major.
**********
The large group boarded the express transport bound for the Earth module. The rotation of the spheres was just right for easy access, especially for a team of this magnitude. The ride was smooth, but she felt numb. Anya stared out into the reaches of space, tired and overwhelmed; sleep was not coming soon enough. Before she could think, she spoke what everyone wanted to ask since they arrived.
“When can we go home?”
No one replied, and everyone looked around for someone to answer. Jace Sorehn brushed back his black hair and looked at her through his visor, “I would love to tell you that you could leave right now. No one wanted to drag you away from your home, but we had to.”
“You had to? You didn’t have to do anything,” said Trevor, resting his head on his hand.
“Look, we all deserve the blame for this, but it wasn’t our idea. We had official order’s from Actavian.”
“I’ve heard that name so many times now, and I have no idea who he is. What kind of man is Actavian, Sorehn?”
“Actavian is our leader and a good one at that. He defended us when Dante’s Rebels attacked us and unleashed the plague. Actavian soon after brought us here to a new land. A new beginning, or so I’ve read. Not too many people are still alive that remember Earth.”
Anya moistened her lower lip before speaking; her mouth dry and chapped. “The Dante Rebels?”
“Yea, I don’t believe they are related in any way to your boyfriend, but be grateful for that. They started the Quantum War by releasing the Delta plague, killing billions of innocent people.”
The shuttle halted, and the giant Earth Sphere stood mighty and proud among the collection of modules. The large doors opened, and everyone began exiting.
“I’ll tell you more about the war after the debriefing. Come, Actavian is waiting.”
Anya and the rest descended into the massive structure. The inside appeared to be empty, save for a glowing door.
“I forget that you’ve never been here before. You’ll be okay passing through the plasma and prepare to be amazed. You may even feel a little nostalgic,” said Major Sorehn as he led Anya and the rest through the door. She closed her eyes as they walked through the plasma door; the matter tickling her as it brushed past.
“Oh, this is gorgeous,” said Brenda as she stopped and stared.
Anya opened her eyes and saw green hills and blue skies. In the distance was a rotating wooden windmill and cows below it, grazing for grass. The white fluffy clouds floated by without a care. Flowing peacefully to their right was a crystal-clear river. She squinted and saw a large church-like building to the north.
“What is this place?” said Anya as she covered her mouth.
Sorehn took a few steps forward and let his boot skid across the emerald grass, “This, Anya, is our little Earth away from home.”
Ten
The Shining Light of Sorrow
“You really think this is a good idea, Trevor?” said William as he kicked a nearby pebble with his steel-toed boot. It bounced along the concrete and smacked into a piece of construction equipment with a bang.
William trailed behind, walking next to his kid brother, Cody. With hair down to his shoulders, Cody wore a look of apprehension as the night sky grew around them, and the cold, drenched grass dampened his socks.
Trevor cocked his head and cracked his neck. “Don’t worry man, this part of town is never busy, and besides, this is a deal I couldn’t pass up.”
“Why do you need this motorbike anyway? What’s wrong with the old one?” said Cody as his voice cracked. The sheepish middle schooler stuttered slightly as he spoke.
“Well, little guy, believe it or not, but that bike is getting pretty small for me. My parents bought it from a friend up in Huntington when I was 15. It’s a little scratched, but it still works.”
The 7th grader’s voice bounced across the construction yard. “Can I have it? Aw, man, that would be so cool!”
“Cody, you can’t just ask like that. I’m sure Trevor has plans to sell it to someone.”
“Actually, I haven’t had any offers yet, so if you want it, you can have it. Might wanna have your older brother fix it up for you. Right, William?” he said, nudging William’s arm.
“Yea, sure. I can take a look at it,” William said as he zipped up his jacket across his slim figure, hiding the cut across his arm. “Damn, I don’t see the guy? It’s getting cold out here.” His breath warmed the air as it left his lips.
“Hell yea! Thanks, Trevor. I hope mom and dad won’t mind.”
“Dad won’t, but Mom might. Hey, is that him?”
“I hope so. He’s late. The website said that he would be wearing a sports jacket.”
Out of nowhere, “Will, are you really going to join the Marines after high school? Have you told anyone yet?”
“You know I’ve been training since freshman year for it. I’ve only told you guys and Dad.”
“Who will I hang out with then?”
“You’ll make a ton of friends when you’re in high school. Grandpa was in the army, and so was Uncle Rick. I want to continue in their footsteps; you’ll understand when you’re older.”
William got a small chill on his back, and his skin started to prickle. Why would we be meeting this guy this late and in an abandoned construction yard? Trevor didn’t tell me it was this far out from Indy.
The group approached the sloppily dressed stranger and instantly smelled cheap cologne. He brushed his hair back and revealed a string of stitches along his head next to a pair of sunglasses A small gun-shaped protrusion laid on his waist, and when the wind breezed by, William saw the dark gray holster of a handgun.
“Sorry I’m late. You wouldn’t believe how many cops there are around here. Could make a man paranoid, know what I mean?” the man said, hiccupping.
“Yea, there are a lot. Here’s all the money. $4,000 –”
&nb
sp; The man stepped forward and thrust his hand into Cody’s hair, messing it up, “What a cute kid you have here. How about we make it $8,000?”
William shot a look at the man that made his brother shiver as he stared at him helplessly. With a drunken stupor, the man wobbled over to a nearby storage shed and steadied himself; his arm started to shake at his side.
“Excuse me, mate? That wasn’t the deal. I can go as high as $5,000, but not a penny larger.”
“I don’t think you idiots know what’s going on here,” the man said as he scratched his dirty goatee. Without hesitation, he tugged at his pants, showing the gleaming revolver. “I’m taking all of your money and not a penny smaller, mate.”
Every fiber of William’s being screamed at him to run, or to at least protect his friends, but his pocket knife wouldn’t help unless he got closer. He raised his hands and tried to see an opening, but his advance was halted, and the crazed man took out the gun and grasped it with two hands. With shaky fingers, he tried to steady his aim.
“You keep your ass back, boy,” he said as spit flew over his mustache. “I better see money, or someone’s gonna get a bullet.”
“Trevor, don’t give him anything,” Cody said, trying to stand up to the menace.
“Shut the hell up kid. Trevor, I’m giving you 10 seconds,” the man said, wiping away the sweat from his face.
William’s keen eye saw a small opening as the man dropped his sunglasses. The moment his attention waned, he slammed into the drunkard, knocking him to the ground. With a flash, the stainless-steel knife was out. The man was faster and dodged the swipe from the blade, trying to get back up. It began to rain, and a sudden strike of lightning tore through the sky, landing on the metal roof.
“Trevor, do something!” the boy said as he watched his brother wrestle with the robber.
“Cody, get behind me,” Trevor said as he moved to the side, but it was too late. A string of two shots rang out above the growing rain, muddled by the orchestra of thunder.
“Cody!” Trevor said, falling to the pavement as William’s younger brother landed on top of him. Blood was seeping out of a hole in Cody’s side, and the boy cradled it as he screamed.
The Gauntlet of Possession (The Teracian Chronicles Book 1) Page 11