Clash Of Worlds (44 page)

“She did her duty,” her father had told her. That hadn’t made her feel any better.
Nobody should have to die so young,
she thought. Stacey worried that Chad would be taken from her before his time too. She felt bad for him also. He had been close to the two twins and Rachel’s death had clearly hit him hard. Stacey wanted nothing more at that moment than to go and comfort her boyfriend, however. the secrecy of their relationship would have been compromised and so she did not go to him.

The priest took a handful of dirt and dropped it onto the coffin. Then he created the holy cross with his hand in a blessing. Those present then each took their turn dropping a piece of dirt onto the coffin, queuing up in an orderly fashion, heads bowed whilst they waited. One by one, they all said their final farewells and the crowd slowly began to disburse. James patted Chad on the shoulder as he left in an offer of comfort. Then Chad and Jade embraced in a hug, the latter then left, not being able to look at the bearers for a moment longer. The funeral staff was already waiting with their shovels in hand to bury her sister.

Rachel is not even fresh in the ground and they are ready to throw the dirt on top of her!
The thought angered Chad. He now stood alone at the graveside. His mind began to wonder. He should have done more he knew. She was one of his best friend’s.
How could I let this happen?

“It’s not your fault you know,” spoke a voice from over his shoulder. Stacey walked alongside him. Chad took a quick glance behind him to see if the coast was clear, which it was. The pair now held hands. “I know what you’re thinking Chad. It wasn’t your fault, ok?” she said, trying to fill him with words of comfort.

“I should’ve protected her. I should have stopped him,” said Chad, shaking his head.

“You did everything that you could,” replied Stacey. She had also heard the rumours about Chad’s odd behaviour during the mission, which resulted in him kneeling before Lucius, although she hadn’t been able to see him in person until now.

Chad turned and faced Stacey.
She knows.
“You know the truth, I can see it in your eyes.”

Stacey did not speak.

You know I attacked my own friends,” he said, ashamed.

“I don’t know exactly what happened out there Chad, but I know you! You would have done everything in your power to protect her. To protect all of them!”

“You don’t know me. I don’t even know me!”

“What do you mean?” the girl asked.

“I’m dangerous Stacey. I even scare myself!”

“No, you’re not! I know you! Deep down you’re a good person Chad!”

Chad lowered his head. “You don’t understand…”

“Then talk to me. Tell me. What is it that scares you?” she asked. She desperately wanted to help him. Ever since she had known him, Chad had always been the definition of confidence. He had inspired her so many times. However, he now looked like a shell of the man she had fallen in love with. Chad didn’t respond. She squeezed his hand tighter. “You know you can trust me. Please…let me help you.”

I’ve kept the truth from her long enough. She needs to know,
he thought. He took a deep breath and began to talk. “There’s a part of me I don’t understand. I have nightmares of pain and suffering night after night. That same part of me that kneeled before our enemy and willingly handed over a powerful weapon. There’s something inside of me Stacey, something that is not really me.”

The girl could not hide her concern. This was the first time she had ever seen Chad afraid. He had always protected her, kept her safe.
Now it is my turn to look after him.
“We can get through this Chad, together!”

“Didn’t you hear me?” he said, raising his voice. “I’m dangerous Stacey. I endangered the whole mission!” Chad looked at Rachel’s coffin. The bearers had already begun tossing dirt on top of it. “People get hurt because of me. Look what happened to Rachel. Who next? James…” Chad turned back to Stacey. “…You?”

“Chad…”

He cut her off abruptly. “I’m a threat to the World Order, Your father was right about me.”

“What are you staying?” asked Stacey.

“It’s best if I was gone. I have to get out.”

“Get out? To where?”

“I don’t know. Anywhere…”

“If you start running now, you’ll be running for the rest of your life. Chad, you have to figure this out,” she said, tears filled her eyes.

Chad put his arm around Stacey and the pair kissed for a few moments. After the kiss, Chad then uttered one final word to her. “Goodbye.” Chad walked away from the grave, and away from his girlfriend. Stacey called out to him several times, but he dare not turn back. He wasn’t sure if he had the strength to do what he knew he must if he looked at the woman he loved again. Chad kept onward on his path, an empty path to nothingness.

Professor Milton and James strolled along the Miami Beach coastline, pondering on the events of the past few days. The heat in the State was humid to say the least, and both men had taken off their ties and opened up the top buttons of their shirts. They still wore their suits from the funeral, which were not best suited to the searing heat. The yellow of the sun reflected off the whiteness of their shirts, which were sweaty against their skin. The two talked at length about what had happened during the ill-fated visit to Argentina. They discussed Chad’s discovery of the strange golden axe and about James’ ability to manipulate the water inside the temple. The professor was intrigued with everything James had to say, especially when he talked about what happened to Chad.

“He completely lost control sir,” said James, in reference to Chad’s freak-out. “It was as if it wasn’t him, almost like he was another person.”

“He was being manipulated by Lucius?” asked the professor.

“Possibly, I don’t know.” The truth was that James had no idea what happened. All he knew was that he had never seen that look in Chad’s eyes before and they had known each other a long time.

“Then you must keep an eye on him,” said Professor Milton. The professor knew that if Chad were ever to go rogue or turn for whatever reason, then James would be their only hope to stop him. The professor had prayed for that day to never come and thankfully it hadn’t. However, he now realised that Chad posed a potential threat and he could no longer ignore that fact.

Professor Milton and James went on to discuss the strange drawings on the temple walls. “I have never seen anything like it, but I could read the language it was written in. So could Chad for that matter!” said James. “What did it say?” asked the old man, the bushy brows above his eyes narrowed as he spoke. He was very fascinated by this discovery. As a man of science and of great creativity, part of the old man wished that he had seen the drawings himself.

“It spoke of two legendary beasts, and of two worlds.”

“And?” asked the professor, who wanted a more lengthy description from the agent.

“It spoke of a world called Alexandria, a world of eternal light. Also there was Underworld, a place of everlasting darkness. The two creatures stood beside either world, like protectors. Also there was something else.”

The old man didn’t say a word, electing instead to listen.

“Fire was edged behind the dark world, and water behind the light.”

“Two different elements? Very interesting,” said Professor Milton, rubbing a hand against the clean-shaven smoothness of his freshly shaved chin.

James couldn’t help but think that the professor had figured something out in that brilliant mind of his. “Professor, what is it?”

“I’m not sure yet. I must acquire more data before concluding whether my hypothesis is correct.”

“What hypothesis? Tell me professor!” asked James. The agent had not found the answers he was hoping for when he set out to Argentina to confront Lucius and was eager to know what the professor may have learned.

Professor Milton smiled. “All in good time my boy. I cannot make bricks without clay. You shall be the first to know.”

James rolled his eyes.
Tell me Dammit!
The professor had always kept his cards close to his chest and now was no different. James wiped the sweat from his forehead. He seemed to be sweating a great deal more than the older man. His mobile phone began to ring. The agent reached into the pocket inside his suit and picked out his phone. On the other end of the line was a distraught Stacey. Recognising the voice on the other end of the phone, James took a few steps away from the professor. Professor Milton had no idea of Chad and Stacey’s relationship as well as anyone else. James intended to keep it that way; although the old man was so smart it wouldn’t have surprised him if he already knew. The professor had an incredible ability to figure things out, and no doubt if he had learnt that Sergeant Coopers daughter was ringing his phone, he would eventually deduct the reason why.

“Stacey, what’s the matter?” he whispered. The girl struggled to get her words out; she sniffed and cried on the other end of the phone.

“It’s Chad. He’s gone…”

A week had passed since the funeral. Chad walked around James’ apartment in New York. It was set up on the edge of a large cliff on the coastline. Chad couldn’t help but think that James had hit the jackpot by being selected to have New York as the city he would watch over. Chad preferred it here far more compared to Paris. James even had a large balcony that overlooked the coastline, giving a great view of the ocean.
The view is perfect,
Chad thought. He could even see the statue of liberty in the distance. Chad made his way down to James’ basement, the place where his agent devices were kept. He had travelled from Miami to New York to see James in private, planning to wait until James eventually came home from agent duties in order to discuss the mysterious and increasingly chaotic events that both of them were somehow connected.

Chad had turned his back on the World Order and had no plans to return. He knew he was a danger to them and thought it best to track down Lucius on his own. He wished to figure out what was going on without the aid of the other agents. He knew James was connected to this just as much as him and he planned on asking his friend to come along with him on his quest.

The former agent walked down the stairs and broke the electronic lock that protected the door. There was a numeric keypad and Chad considered entering the pin number combination to unlock it. However, he knew that this might alert the World Order to his presence inside James’ apartment. He had already disabled all of the cameras on the property and he intended to sit tight inside the basement. He sat down in the chair at the head of the agent’s communication system James would use to report back to Professor Milton. He waited…and waited…and waited.

Three days passed and still there was no sign of James. Little did he know that, upon his disappearance, Sergeant Copper had ordered a worldwide search. He knew that Chad posed a potential problem and he wanted to section him off, at least until they could figure out exactly how Lucius was able to manipulate him. Chad suspected they might begin to search for him and it was, for this reason, he chose James’ apartment to hideout in. He knew that this was the last place they would ever look.

His thoughts dwelled on Stacey a lot over the past few days. He had disposed of his mobile phone when he left Miami due to the tracking system within it; therefore he had no contact with Stacey since he left her at Rachel’s funeral. He wanted to talk to her, more than anything. He knew he couldn’t though. He did not wish to endanger her and he knew she would be at risk to even be around him. He knew only James would be able to handle himself if he was to lose control again.

Chad heard the sound of a door open upstairs.
Finally,
he thought. He made his way up the stairs, taking care to move as silent as a shadow just in case it wasn’t James that had entered the apartment. Chad moved into the living room and carefully surveyed the area. There was no sign of anyone.

“I thought I might find you here,” said an all too familiar female voice. Chad turned around, and just as he thought, Stacey stood behind him. The girl didn’t look pleased either. She had been less than thrilled at the way Chad had just taken off without telling anyone. Like the others, she too had been looking for him. However, she was much smarter than Chad gave her credit for. She knew him all too well.

They both began to walk to each other at a gentle pace. Then Stacey slapped him suddenly, taking Chad totally by surprise. She was upset at the way he had left her. Besides, after all the secrecy and sneaking around they had done together for the past two years, she thought they were stronger than that. Chad looked up at her after the sting of the girl’s slap wore off. Her eyes were filled with tears. The pair embraced in a hug.
How could I have ever left her?

“I’m so sorry,” he said, immediately feeling a deep sense of regret about having left her without giving a reason.

“Were in this together Chad. Do you understand?” she said, still hugging him tightly. They looked into each others eyes and a soothing feeling filled the pair. They both felt better just being around each other.

Suddenly, Chad felt ashamed. He could trust her, no matter what. “You’re something special, you know that?”

Stacey smiled at Chad’s comment. “You only just figured that out now?” The pair hugged once more. “Everyone’s out looking for you.”

“Thought as much,” Replied Chad.

“So what are you doing here?”

“Waiting for James to come back. I need his help if I’m going to figure any of this out.”
It’s time to tell her everything
.

They sat down in the huge living room in the apartment and Chad went on to explain as much as he knew about his childhood and also about his strange gifts. He wanted to tell her everything and no longer have any secrets between them.

As he told his story, Chad could tell from the bemused look on Stacey’s face that she had a hard time believing him.
She thinks I’m lying.
He didn’t blame her. If the girl had suddenly told him she possessed amazing abilities he would have probably thought her crazy. So he decided to give her a demonstration. He walked over to the corner of the room to where James had set up a mini gym. Despite his impressive strength, James still had to work out like a regular person in order to maintain his high fitness levels. Chad began to place the heavier steel weights onto a weight’s bar.