Caped (Book 1): The Burdens of Fate (24 page)

However, the floor I visited this time was
different, even if no more welcoming. Raphael jumped us straight there then
began explaining to me what was about to happen. Considering I'd done the whole
"Citizen One" thing a couple times before I sort of tuned him out,
assuming he'd let his reinvigorated relationship with Nena get to his head. I
was wrong.

This was Nena's home, or the closest thing to
it. It was a bit unnerving to be back there, I kept expecting to hear that
eerie voice speaking again. That somber "Good luck" kept echoing in
my mind. As if there were more to it. But I have a tendency to make mountains
out of mole hills; hell, it's the whole reason I'm in my current position.

We round the corner to her room, lit from the
bottom edges as if the soft blue glow was trying to crawl up the walls to a
ceiling the light barely reached. The walls were sprinkled with different types
of pentagrams with various markings in them. Her Bed, in the middle, large and
ominous, with thin black drapes shrouding it. The various pots and grains which
once occupied my basement were in much greater supply here. Some sprinkled in
circles or occult designs on the floor, others in piles, or in the center of
more unfamiliar markings, and lit by tall thin candles about a meter tall. All
that was missing were the pools of blood and human sacrifices, and yet I don't
doubt those are coming. It was an alien type of eerie that made me feel
unwelcome and unsafe.

Nena let me know I couldn't stay for long the
very moment I stepped through the door, at least not in that room. I asked her
why we couldn't move to another room. She informed me that she couldn't leave
until the process was complete. I offered to check on exactly how long that
would be, and she said I wouldn't be of any help, at least not without
endangering myself. Her response scared me, but she didn't let me dwell on it
for long.

"Mic check, mic check. Is this thing
on?"

I tapped the mic a few times to make sure my
voice was registering. Never was much of a computer guy, no matter how much I
tried to keep up with its changing pace. Nena gave me the go ahead and I began
yet another ad lib rant against societal failing, making sure the world knew
that the sickening level of corruption and greed was our primary reasoning for
targeting Chicago. I did my best to mask my voice, as always, and even though
Nena runs it through her own software, I figure it can't hurt. Makes me feel a
bit safer.

Before I left she reiterated the importance of
not looking into her future and focused on the importance of me becoming more
intimate with my ability. Something she wants from all of us.

I spoke with Raphael on the way out, who's
English has definitely improved, and asked him a few questions about Nena; none
too personal. All he could tell me was that she's passionately focused on
killing Alvin,
to the point where she's stepping into area's she's not too comfortable with.
We kept walking much further than the point I'd arrived. Maybe it was the
lingering feeling of being watched, or maybe he just wanted to remind me of a
fact I ignore far too often, that Nena isn't human. At least not in the way I
think of it.

Is it awkward to trust someone who wants to
save the world for selfish reasons? That's partly the reason I trust her, she
isn't out to save us, it's just a fortunate byproduct. Not too bad of a deal if
you ask me. A win-win situation; and victory is inching closer.

But until that time, I'm back home and enjoying
a bit of normalcy. Sure could use it, and a part of me hopes it lasts a while,
though that's never the case. Just have to take these things day by day.

Ryanne Crumbie -

Whoa! My BEST friend just came out the
closet... no she's not gay (not that I'd care), but she's a noc! I'm freakin'
out, but it's also super cool. She's a shifter, one of those crazy demonic
looking things, but she can fly super fast! ...can you say VACATION?!

Kyle Gaffney -

Just a bunch of damn thugs is what they are, no
fucking respect. If you knock my wife over you apologize, simple. I wasn't mad
you were drunk and having fun, I GET IT! But if you're gonna talk shit and push
people you're asking for a fuckin' fight, and I'll sure as hell give you one!
Man to man! But when you start losing don't let your fuckin noc friend step in
and handle your business, you take your loss like a goddamn human being.

Fuckin' Asshole! Tossing me and my fuckin'
friends around like a damn rag dolls, when your friend was the one talking
shit!

And the fucking cops think they can police
these people? Do they think no fly zones and a stupid registration is going to
stop them? Fuck no! But I can, we'll see how you handle a bullet between the
eyes you telekinetic bastard.
 

LeRoi Moody -

My boss didn't show up for work today. Why?
Well he's being detained in Chili for traveling without proper documentation.
This, from the guy who's always getting on my ass for not wearing my name tag.
Ha! What goes around comes around buddy!

 
–
5/6
–

Laurie
Stahl
-

My thoughts of late betray themselves, it's
been many years since I've believed in a loving God above, perhaps a little
contradictory to the belief that as one ages they seek to "f
ind God
."
No, my search ended decades ago, and this whole mess hasn't done anything but
enforce it.

I mean the theologians must’ve had one hell of
a meeting to figure this one out, flipping through page after page, trying to
find the passage where superpowers fits in. I mean Jesus walked on water,
healed the sick, and rose from the dead, are we to now believe he was possibly
the first of us? Ha, wouldn't that turn religion on its ass! But that isn't why
I started writing today. I did so out of frustration.

You see, while I may not hold to a particular
religion's "God," I still believe in one, and I believe he has some
sort of good intentions for us. So why all of this? Why this madness? Were we
not doing well enough as a species; did we fail some sort of test? What purpose
does this serve? Of changing everything we've learned, of making us start from
scratch in the middle of the game? Or is this the proof that he/she/it truly
has a sense of humor? That they don't, and maybe never have, cared?

Believe it or not, I'm fine. After a rough
couple of months I finally made it back to a place I can be happy, but only
when I focus on myself. I need my space. I hope my family and friends can
understand that.

The world is more foreign to me now than it's
ever been. The people look the same, and they try to act the same, but how am I
supposed to find my place when everyone seems to be changing theirs?

And here I thought these problems were for the
young.

–
5/8
–

Edward Otep
-

Where to begin? We finally got everyone back
together. It's been about two weeks since we've all been in the same place.
Carter, Ivan, and Thomas, were in the middle of a heated debate about whether
or not the term "noc" should be taken as derogatory or not. Kaylie
arrived with her older brother, and quickly joined a conversation with Prisca
and Alvin. Michael arrived alone because Iris had prior engagements.

We sat around in the main hall, and talked for
a good half hour after everyone had arrived, before we started talking about
the main topic of the meeting.

"Magic!" Thomas belted, in a long and
drawn out proclamation that cut through the remaining chatter.

"It exists. Pow! Poof!" He exclaimed,
as puffs of colored dust popped into existence around us. "It's real. Now,
this..." firing off another one, "This isn't magic. No, magic is raw,
untamed... Dark and mysterious. It can interfere with the workings of the
world, without notice. Subtlety. Altering weather patters, behavioral patters,
make you lose sleep, cause you pain and torment. It is an abomination to
science!" he shouted, creating his own comedic echo.

"Or is it?" he continued. "My
first thoughts were that I'm a 'brain.' An intellectual, and that means
science. It's easy, it's mathematical. Things get smaller and less complex
until you hit the quantum level and they just seem absurd. But even then there
is some form of order.

And so I assumed that our abilities had some
type of scientific explanation, mutations, quantum physics, or workings of the
mind I'd yet to understand." He utters a series of hard to comprehend
words, Latin maybe. He then throws a handkerchief into the air and it explodes
in much the same way as the clouds of smoke prior. From it emerges a dove that
flutters around the room before turning back into a handkerchief.

"But, my friends," he continues.
"It wasn't until I allowed myself to see the two operating within the same
universe, and subject to the same rules, that I begin to understand it. And
what's more, once I had a concentrated sample of something with magical
residue, I could locate other sources giving off the same energy." A
holographic map of earth was projected in the middle of the table, with
multiple white dots scattered about.

"Egypt,
the ancient Sumerian and Mesopotamian civilizations," Thomas continued,
"multiple locations in China,
India, and Japan, as well as central and South
America.
It's
almost too simple, the kicker? None of the signals are
recent,
probes of the area have confirmed this."

None were recent, meaning magical activity was occurring
long before we received our abilities. But by whom, and for what purpose?

Does this mean the ancient tales of dragons and
giants are actual encounters? Have centaurs, mermaids, sea monsters, demons,
and mythical Gods, now all given credence? Crazy shit... and doubtful. So what
now, how about the present?

Thomas figured that out as well. With Carter
doing most of the grunt work, they were able to accumulate a vast encyclopedia
of magical information. Ivan developed remote covert probes that scanned the
interior of every ancient site on earth. Discovering over twenty sites in the
process and unearthing masses of new information on existing ones.

Alvin Turner
-

Magic. Tarot cards, transmutations, hexes,
curses, spells, and mantras. You know, there is so much crazy shit going on in
the world these days that I honestly can't muster the mental energy to find it
even remotely interesting. Hell, you could tell me there's a giant yellow
dragon that breathes cotton candy instead of fire rampaging through New York City, tickling
senior citizens, and I'd feel half inclined to believe you. The world is
honestly that fucked up. And to top it all off, I feel as if there's a target
on my back.

I have every right to be afraid, and I am. They
know who I am, what I look like, and they've already tried to kill me. Twice. I
feel the furthest from safe I could possibly get. Let's just hope a third time
isn't the charm.

Just to cover my bases, Thomas stopped by my
place earlier to see if there was any magical residue lingering around. I
honestly can't believe that's a factual sentence I just wrote. But I'll
continue to thank God he gave me the all-clear. So best-case scenario is they
don't know where I live. But, honestly, it wouldn't be that hard to find out.

Maybe they don't know, maybe they don't care.
Maybe they're scared. I don't know, but if I think too much about it it'll just
make me paranoid, and I don't have time for that.

Definitely not telling mom and dad though,
again, not what they need to be worrying about. But maybe it's time I visit
again, it's been long enough, I think... The days go by so slowly.

Kaylie
Horn
-

Recently everything just seems so extremely
amazing! First off, and I'm going to cut the goodies. Magic! Flippin' magic!
It's real and out there! Around us, between us, flowing from one consciousness
to another like the force or something.

And today we discovered just how much of an
insane genius Thomas is. You see, he didn't have any innate magical ability,
but after combing through information from ancient ruins around the world, he
discovered an incredibly dangerous and painful way to get them. So what kind of
powers does he have? None, or so he says; he did this just to make
experimenting easier. We’ll see.

But this explains why after spending weeks
cooped up, he suddenly took a few days rest. It's because he was bleeding
through every orifice and nearly vomiting up his intestines. He actually died,
twice! We can thank Ivan for saving him.

The man's a genuine mad scientist. But he's
alive, so I guess that's saying something.

William Hopkins -

Yes! Finally some action from Uncle Sam. I
completely approve of all the new laws they're putting in place. The other day
I was in the subway and this teenage boy just started floating over the tracks.
So what if he was laughing and joking with his friends or just showing off how
cool he was. Given recent events, I was terrified.

And I wasn't alone, dozens of people were
looking at him. After a minute or two even his friends were asking him to stop.
It's not normal. No-fly zones and a registration list of just exactly who is
capable of what is necessary for our safety.