Caped (Book 1): The Burdens of Fate (32 page)

@AnonyOps -

President Yates
takes to #AirForceOne, isn't expected to land anytime soon.

Prisca
Amin
-

So, what do you believe in? God, humanity, hard
work and ingenuity, fate? Do
I
believe in fate? There came a point when
I had to ask myself that. Do I believe that a man from the future came back to
warn us about the end of the world? Do I believe my actions are going to make a
difference, or rather, if I don't act that I'm damning us all? Yes, I believe
we're doing what we must, to whatever end it leads.

The world continues to crumble around us as we
selfishly hide our loved ones. We've retreated to this island and temporarily
forgotten about the world.

People in Tokyo
didn't get a chance to hide. The stubborn Chinese government didn't run with
their tails between their legs. England
stood their ground. Today, Russia,
after watching one failed attempt after another, stood their ground. Did they
stand a chance? No, but they tried, and they faired no better than we do.

This week is the only week I wasn't proud of
what we've accomplished. It's never okay to sit back and watch life grind to a
halt. It's actions like this which make me think we deserve the end of the
world; the greatest punishment for our collective apathy.

Let's hope karma doesn't judge us too harshly.

I said goodbye to my parents yesterday. As well
as everyone else, can't be so selfish that I fail to acknowledge we all said
our fair share of goodbyes today. Ivan to his wife and son, Carter and Thomas
to their families, Kaylie and I to ours. And all of us, thanking the Turner's
for their son's sacrifices. Then we said our goodbyes and left for the far side
of the island. Alone, intermingling with each other, and trying to find some
solace within the moments.

The island cracked and split in two, as if a
massive fern had its trunk slowly bent until it could hold no more; the greater
portion on a slow decent into the choppy waves below. The weather sucked but I
still followed after them, the rain hitting my face and the strong gusts of
winds making it a challenge to steady myself, but I never left their sight,
just like I said. I hovered above the water until I could no longer make out
the island’s silhouette.

My family. My rock. Alone with strangers and
without me. And I may never see them again.

It would be another four hours before they
settled in the dark crevice of the challenger deep, seven miles away from the
troubles of the surface. Ten hours later and we cut off communications, leaving
only an encoded text-only message sent once every four hours for communication.

So, Michael's taken off over the pacific while
we're waiting, to prepare I assume. I know he finds peace among the wind and
near silent sounds of water. Kaylie's decided to do nothing but wait, nestled
within the comforting arms of her mother, who, after a very vocal argument,
Kaylie finally conceded to let stay. So they're on the common room's couch,
flipping from one news channel to the next as they follow the exodus from New York.

There was yelling and shouting between Thomas
and Edward, perhaps due to the latter insisting on leaving the island,
something he warned us not to do. He did leave, said it was important but
didn't say when he'd be back. Laurie's stuck next to Carter on the computer, laughing
and venting about their families, occasionally dipping into the infinite
hypothetical of just what is about to happen.

Me? Well, I'm not going to
level up
in
the next few hours. I want to go somewhere, possibly do something, but I find
reflecting on this beach rather comforting.

"Que sera, sera."

Edward Otep
-

Two minutes and forty-eight seconds left. Tick
tock, tick tock, pounds the tiny drum of time, warring against anyone who dares
presume his allotment of days and hours. This is a war and it always has been,
ever since the beginning when fate chose me. Sometimes change happens because
you act on the world, other times change happens because the world acts on you.
I didn't choose this fight, it very clearly chose me. I can be the slayer or the
slain.

Two minutes, fifteen seconds.

I've lit a cigarette in firm defiance of anyone
who's said these would be my undoing. I wish you could gamble on these type of
things, I'd be a rich man, somehow. I don't know how this plays out for me and
I don't know how this situation ends for them, but fate has brought us here.
I'll let her able hands take the wheel.

I'm fighting to maintain my nervous, yet calm,
disposition. Holding a firm resolution against dwelling in the passing thoughts
of fear and uncertainty. If this is the wrong decision it's too late to opt
out.

Thirty-eight seconds. I'm here, waiting and
writing because it comforts me. The world will only know what is written. It's
between me and God now.

Prisca
Amin
-

The ribbons of fate shall be spun in our favor.
I believe it because I must, it keeps the fire in my heart.

Edward's locater has just stopped transmitting,
just like Alvin's.
May their souls find peace. I guess the man upstairs thought we could use one
last pre-game curve ball. Oh well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

The day is not yet half over but I can feel the
night fast approaching. Our enemies pound at the gates yet I'll stand firm and
unyielding. Soon they will flood through with fire in their eyes and hell in
their hearts.

To that I have but one response: Let them come.

Chapter Nine

Against The Flow

–
Monday, June 14th
–

Dennis Shaeffer
-

It was the heat of the night and I knew better
than to wake my lady up. My wife is a brilliant woman, I love her to death and
I'm glad she understands why this is so important to me; to everyone. Has she
been vocal about all my shenanigans? Undoubtedly. But after the screaming,
yelling, the broken plates and wet cheeks, we came to an agreement. I don't do
anything that jeopardizes our marriage and I don't leave the house unless I'm
one hundred percent certain I'm coming back. I have never left without
promising her that.

Fate has made me a liar.

Nena's place, minutes prior to the fireworks
that would usher in the beginning of a great new world. Relaxing in a large
barren room that resembled an aircraft hanger more than anything. High ceiling,
plain gray walls; very unsettling, just like the rest of the place.

But this was our moment. We stood on the edge
of history and no mortal force could stand against us. They failed in Tokyo, Shanghai, London, and Moscow.
I was so proud of what we'd accomplished, we couldn't be stopped.

Every day we met, executed the plan, and
rejoiced. Today was to be no different.

I was with Naim and Luis waiting for the others
to arrive, talking about our personal lives and telling jokes and silly stories
we'd heard about other nocs. Simple idle chit-chat.

And then it hit me. The abrupt shifting of time
came upon me like a cold chill racing up my spine, accompanied with a brief
dizziness that made it feel as if the world had turned on its side. An
unmistakable feeling. Like sitting in a car that swerves to avoid a pothole,
except you're the only one who feels it. They both took notice as I staggered
to keep my balance.

"Are you alright?" asked Telan.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I stated, regaining
my composure, "But I believe we're about to have some company. Bad
company." It was just a feeling, but I've learned to trust them. I didn't
have to look too far for the shift; I had only a few moments before it would
arrive. "Right over there," I said, calmly pointing to the corner of
the room. "Whatever is about to happen, happens right there."

The moment grew near and I cautiously moved
myself to the opposite end of the room. Luis' body roared with flames, and
Naim's oily black substance encased his body, with even more crawling into the
air behind him like a living amorphous shadow. As curious as I was I was more
eager to put some distance between me and the coming madness. They wanted to
know exactly what was coming but I was useless, my ability was being blocked.

Little follicles of energy started sprouting in
the air before them alongside a growing crackle and buzz of electricity.

He appeared with a loud and thunderous roar,
amidst a storm of dark blue and white arcs of energy that raced through the
room, almost instinctively muttering a quick incantation which put a dome of
translucent energy around him. He was a young man with a large backpack and a
tattered leather briefcase.

Naim and Luis shot their attacks forth almost
immediately, but it was too late, the young man's barrier was too sturdy and
neither Naim's black substance nor Luis' flames had any effect.

"Get Nena!" Luis shouted, over the
fury of his attack. "We've got this!"

I rushed towards the exit but there was a
bright flash of light, all I could see was white for a fraction of a second,
and when it was over I was inside the dome of energy.

"Dennis," he said, "I don't have
much..."

Panicked, desperate, and fearful for my life, I
lunged at him. Screaming and striking at him with all the strength I could
muster.

"Nena is going to kill you!" he said
wearily, yet still managing to block or avoid my attacks. I'm not much of a
fighter, never have been, but I gave it my all. But it wasn't nearly enough,
next thing I knew I was pinned to the ground.

"I'm trying to save you!" he
screamed, briefly interrupting himself to cough up some blood. Maintaining the
dome around us was starting to have a visible physical effect on him. "You
must leave."

He shoved the briefcase against me in a very
clear display that I had no other option but to take it, then tucked a tablet
securely under his arm. "Take this and don't do
anything
until
you've looked through it," he said. "Save them."

He put a hand on my shoulder and I was
immediately teleported to my current location, an empty hotel room somewhere in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Although I was safe his trouble had just begun.
His dome quickly began to fail, cracking and tearing, with small trails of
flames leaking inside at a growing rate. His skin began to boil and pus, and
through the pain he repeated the same incantation as quickly as he could. His
suit and skin split open forming deep gnashes on his legs and arms. Trails of
warm blood ran from his eyes and he soon fell to the ground in pain. Yet
somehow, even while engulfed within the growing pressure of the swirling mass
of fire, the dome strengthened.

There was blood, lots of it. So much so that
the man underneath appeared only a vague afterthought to its form, yet he
continued.

Dark blue and white strings of energy formed,
thin at first but rapidly growing long and thick. Whipping about as the fabric
of space and time folded around him in a brilliant display light. And then with
the same thunderous roar that signaled his arrival, he was gone.

Fate has made me a liar.

Inside the briefcase was a crystal and a
tablet. Those damn crystals. The moment I saw it I knew I'd been used. I
reached for it, terrified. My hands were shaking and my heart was pounding.
Just what had I done?

I wasn't ready for the truth; it was too much
for me. I sat there on the floor in silence, ashamed of what I'd done. A single
tear slid down the side of my face, followed by another and another until I was
nothing but a mess of a man creating a mournful cacophony of sounds.

Betrayal can rot the soul. To not only watch my
faith go unrewarded, but all my efforts used to support the type of tyrannical
power acquisitions I hoped to destroy.

Forgive me. Dear God, forgive me. I've messed
up so badly.

Was it wrong to have hopes so high?

To
change the world
. Ha! A foolish dream
of a mortal man. I could never change it, and anyone foolish enough to believe
themselves capable of such a feat will only be humbled by time. It is a fool's
errand, and if you're not humbled by your efforts then you will be broken, and
I have only a merciful God to thank that I'm the former.

For every life lost, forgive me. For every
ounce of blood shed, forgive me. For every tear of sorrow that has rolled down
someone's cheek, forgive me. For the horrors, for the pain, the loss, for every
dark thought, for every harmful gesture. Forgive me. Forgive me my trespasses
and I'll forgive those men who've trespassed against me.

Oh God in heaven, however hallowed thy name may
be... forgive me my sins.

This guilt will drown me. I can cry no longer,
that well has run dry. I cannot sleep, nor can I think of anything other than
this rank offense against humanity. I've betrayed you all.

I've been fighting against the greatest hope
we've had for the world I wished to live, and they stand on the precipice of
their most difficult challenge...