Essence: The E.S.T. Org. (9 page)

When Willy peeks just above the surface, he sees two flying aircraft. He had never seen anything like it before. They are oblong, black, and shiny like polished rocks. They are silent with no windows or doors that he could see.

Isa tells Willy, «I sense they’re looking for us. We can’t let them find the chute. That may implicate Z.»

«Let’s go,» Willy yells.

They all pull their parents out of the chute. With their parents draped over their shoulders, they try to run away from the ships.

«Too late!» Isa yells.

One of the Chreé ships turns around and spots them.

«Spread apart,» Willy says.

The ship pulses, and it’s followed by an explosion. Nicky jumps out of the way. A crater where the pulse exploded could be seen. Isa manifests a bow and arrow. She shoots an arrow that penetrates the ship damaging it. Isa senses the ship is unmanned.

«The Watchers must be flying the ships back at the facility where we were held,» Isa tells them.

Nicky jumps thirty feet in the air with a tomahawk in hand. He drives it through the ship. The ship comes crashing to the ground.

«Run!» Willy screams.

«Try the church. Maybe Z will be there, but remember don’t go too fast. I don’t know if our parent’s bodies can handle the speed,» Willy says.

The three travel at a much slower pace than they’re used to. After running for what seemed like an eternity, the group finally arrives at the church.

“It’s empty,” says Isa.

“Let’s just contact Z,” says Nicky.

“We can’t risk linking with Z, even secure communication could put him at risk,” Isa explains.

“How?” Nicky asks.

“They can’t hear us, but any Chreé close enough to Z might be able to sense a secure link has been made and I’m sure even that is forbidden right now,” Willy explains.

“I guess we just wait then,” says Nicky.

Isa, Willy, and Nicky’s parents are still out cold from the pulse.

“Isa, can you help our parents?” Willy asks.

“I don’t know, I’ll try.” Isa closes her eyes to concentrate and instinctively touches her parents’ foreheads. Like the palomino horse whose essence is now within her, her intuitiveness is more developed than the others. They awaken and happily embrace again. Isa then awakens all of the parents.

Nicky’s dad still wants some answers.

Still woozy, Nicky’s dad asks, “What’s going on?”

“Remember all the strange things that happened to me? Well, these abilities were given to us by an alien race called the Chreé. Long story Dad,
but these aliens are
not
friendly, at least most of them aren’t,” Nicky told his dad.

Isa interrupts, “They gave us these abilities to eventually clone us. They want to replace our government and enslave humanity. Using us as the guinea pigs, they want to build an army to help them do just that.”

The parents are trying to wrap their minds around what they just heard.

“What?” Nicky’s dad replies stunned. “Are they after you guys now?”

Nicky answers his dad, “Well, we escaped and we can only assume they’re hunting us.”

“Wait, someone’s approaching… I sense he is friendly,” Isa says.

The stranger enters in human form and quickly transforms. “I am pleased to see your escape was successful. I am Chléony* (*clay-o-knee). There are many of us who see our brethren’s actions as a complete affront to our ways. Chlezéon, or Z as you refer to him, has relayed some disturbing information we were not privy to. You see we are part of the E.S.T. Organization. E.S.T. stands for the Essence Scientific and Technological Organization. We form part of a larger whole. By mandate, we should not share information with the other divisions except one.”

“Divisions? What do you mean?” Isa asks.

“There is the Shelter Organization in charge of defense and internal security, the Pervade Organization which was established to infiltrate the human infrastructure, and finally there is Overwatch, who is in charge of all the divisions.”

“So Mr. Macken is not your ruler?” asks Nicky.

“Mr. Macken, as you know him, is only in charge of the E.S.T. organization.”

The parents, at first shocked by the alien’s appearance, now can’t believe what they’re hearing. Isa’s mother faints in her arms.

“Chlezéon has informed me that you were to be placed in suspended animation because you were no longer necessary. Overwatch is moving forward with the replication program. These clones will in no way be your physical equals, but what they lack in power, they will eventually make up for in numbers. Since you were no longer necessary, security had been all but removed from the facility you were brought to.”

“You mean there are others?” Isa asks.

“Yes, there are many others. I’m afraid you three have provided them with the final piece to their puzzle. Your parents should come with me.”

“What do you mean?! We’re not leaving you guys behind!” Nicky’s dad yells.

“Mom, Dad you guys can’t help us now. They will kill you without even hesitating. We have abilities now that can help us survive. Just as I’ve always believed in you, I ask you to believe in us now.”

Nicky’s dad pauses and looks down. With a lump in his throat he replies, “Okay Nicky. We will.”

“But how will we know if you’re okay?” Nicky’s mother asks.

“I assure you Mrs. Hernandez, we will keep you abreast of their progress and condition.” Chléony hands Willy a note.

“Now please come with me,” Chléony tells the parents.

All the kids hug their parents one last time, and say their goodbyes.

Nicky’s dad clears his throat. “I love you Nicky.” Tears well up in his eyes.

“Love you too, Dad. Love you Mom.”

“Oh! One more thing Chléony?” Nicky asks.

“Yes?”

“Do you know why we survived when so many others have died?” asks Nicky.

“Our processes have improved over many years of research. I would say, more importantly though, you three all shared a common trait … even your spirit would never give up.”

Nicky’s dad winks at him. “We never do! Good luck guys and go kick some ass!”

As their parents walk out of the church, Willy reads the note Chléony had handed him. “Okay guys, it says: Go to 7737 Commerce Lane. Safe house.” Along with the note, there was some cash.

“We can’t be out in public for too long. We’ll need a cab. Why don’t we go back to Denny’s and try to use the phone there,” suggests Isa.

They split up and adapt, becoming almost invisible. They’re careful walking back through the desert, since at a close distance they may still be sensed by a Chreé. Only Isa is able to block them telepathically from being identified.

When they finally arrive at the restaurant they call a cab. It arrives about a half hour later.

The cab drops them off at a beautiful home on Commerce Lane. The three stand outside the home on the driveway. It’s a picturesque, upper-class, suburban street. Each house is two stories with pretty black lampposts, large trees, and impressively landscaped lawns.

“Wow, maybe we can keep it!” Nicky says.

“Please! I just want to be home. So how do we get in?” Isa asks. Immediately the door opens. “Strange, I don’t sense anyone inside.”

“Maybe it has a device that allows it to open when we’re near,” Willy says.

“Cool! Alien technology! Maybe it’s full of alien blasters like in Halo. We can vaporize some Chreé,” Nicky says.

“Oh God,” Isa sighs.

They enter the house and immediately run around. They discover there are five bedrooms, there baths, and luckily for them a very nice pool and Jacuzzi.

“Nice house! Pool table! Oh and look a Jacuzzi and …”

“Xbox!” Nicky interrupts Isa. “Yes!”

“Guys we have to focus,” Willy admonishes them.

“Relax! We’ve done plenty already,” Nicky says.

“Yeah, chill,” Isa says.

“We can all chill when we’re safe and so are our parents,” Willy scolds them.

A phone rings in the house. Willy picks it up.

“Hello, Z. Yes we’re fine. What? Six are on the way. But … Okay I understand,” Willy hangs up. He looks upset.

“Well what did he say?” Isa asks with a concerned look on her face.

“He said they finally cloned us. There are six of them so far. He said these clones were specifically designed to sense us from almost anywhere in the world. That should lead them straight to us. Isa can you sense them? Can you block them from finding our location?” Willy asks.

Isa closes her eyes. After a few seconds Isa says, “I sense them, but I don’t think I can block all of them. I sense they’re on their way,” Isa says.

“If they want a fight, they’ll get one!” Willy exclaims.

“We can’t risk the people in the neighborhood or the safe house location. If we have no other choice, we should face them in the desert,” Nicky suggests.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go,” Willy replies.

Carefully, so they’re not seen, they run through the neighborhood towards a secluded desert area many miles away.

“I sense them. They’re very close. Over there, I see them,” Isa says. All three see clones approaching. The three are shocked by their appearance.

Six carbon copies stood before them, two of each. The clones are wearing the same coveralls the Chreé wore.

“It’s like looking in a mirror,” Nicky says.

“We have been asked to acquire you. Will you surrender peacefully?” Nicky’s clone speaks first.

“Wow, you look like me, but you’re a jackass. No we aren’t coming with you,” Nicky replies.

“We are required to either terminate you or capture you,” one of Isa’s clones states. They stare each other down for a few seconds, and without warning the clones attack simultaneously.

Nicky’s clones charge into Nicky, throwing him back approximately twenty feet and knocking him on his backside.

“Ouch! Hey, I thought we were brothers!” Nicky rubs the back of his head. “Hmmm … They didn’t laugh. Guess they don’t have my great sense of humor.”

Nicky’s clones run at incredible speeds towards him. Nicky jumps ten feet over them. He manifests a tomahawk and in midair throws it towards one clone. It moves faster than a bullet instantly killing him. When Nicky lands, the second clone throws a punch to his face. He slips the punch and sweeps the clone’s legs out from under him. After two punches it’s over.

Isa’s clones are fast but not anywhere near as fast as she is. Isa sidesteps them and jumps towards them. Her lower half transforms into that of the palomino horse. She throws a hook kick. But the clones are faster than she anticipates. They jump out of the way.

When Isa lands, one of the clones manages to kick Isa’s stomach.

Isa grunts in pain. “You shouldn’t have done that,” Isa exclaims. She screams, “Ahhh!” and runs at top speed towards them. Running into one of them, she hurls the clone across the desert. The other Isa clone follows and positions herself just behind Isa. The clone lifts her right arm to strike Isa from behind. But before she throws her punch, Isa gives her a reverse hook kick to the head. The Isa clone falls to the ground.

One of Willy’s clones gets in front of him and the other behind. They run towards him. Willy waits and leaps out of the way. The two clones collide into each other. Willy lands and then jumps towards them. In midair he manifests his fangs and claws. They are similar in appearance to those of the grey wolf he was merged with. The only difference being his fangs are infinitely more powerful. He lands on a clone knocking him down. With one quick bite, he creates a bloody gash to the clone’s neck instantly killing him. Willy ducks a punch that is thrown to the back of his head. He spins his left arm back towards the second clone, slashing his neck. The second clone collapses.

It was all over in seconds.

“Everyone all right?” Willy asks.

“Yeah,” Nicky replies.

“I’m okay too,” Isa says. “They were definitely tougher than the Chreé.”

“Yeah and that’s just the first batch. Who knows if they’ll get stronger,” Willy says.

Nicky responds, “Or how about thousands of them. They’ll be unstoppable.”

“We need to stop them at the source. We need to stop the cloning,” Isa says.

“Yeah, but how?” asks Nicky.

The next day they are back at the safe house. They’ve been sitting all morning resting and watching TV. Nicky is bored and feeling a little homesick. He starts to sing, “School time … oh yeah … oh yeah.” It helps remind him of home.

“What are you doing?” Isa asks.

“What? You don’t like it?”

“Shhh … guys … the phone,” Willy tells them. “Hello Z, I see. Okay, I’ll let them know,” Willy hangs up after a brief conversation. “It seems they just wanted to know how their clones would fare against us. We are not a priority anymore. They got what they wanted from us,” Willy says.

“Did he tell you where the cloning facility is?” Nicky asks Willy.

“No. I’m sure he will, just give him time,” Willy replies.

“So what do we do now?” Isa asks.

“We wait,” Nicky replies.

For the next week, the three fight off boredom by training, playing the X-box, swimming, and relaxing in the Jacuzzi. After a week, they are becoming a little stir crazy.

“I love the pool and training and all, but we need to get out. If Isa senses anything, you’ll let us know, right?” Nicky looks at Isa, “Come on, let’s go somewhere.”

“No thanks. I’m staying, too risky,” Willy says.

“Isa, how about you?” Nicky asks.

“Okay, I’m bored. Let’s go!”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Willy warns.

“We need a break. We’re going,” Isa argues.

“Fine, just be careful,” Willy says.

“Yes mother,” Nicky sarcastically replies.

“So how do you suppose we won’t be spotted moving as fast as a comet?” Nicky asks.

“Backyards, alleyways, and don’t forget, only I move as fast as a comet. You’re more of a, well … fat grizzly,” Isa replies.

“Very funny, enjoy watching my grizzly butt cheeks from back there,” Nicky laughs.

Like two streaks, they’re gone jumping over fences and running through people’s back yards. They pass so fast that if a resident were outside, all they would notice would be a very strong breeze.

They stop near a strip mall.

“Look. There’s some stores. We have money. Now let’s spend it!” Isa tells Nicky excitedly.

“Oh no! A teenage girl shopping. I want to go home now,” Nicky protests.

“Be quiet. Let’s go,” Isa says.

For a few hours, they almost feel normal again. They eat a pizza and even catch a movie.

On their way out of the theater, Nicky tells Isa, “You know in real life, I could have kicked that superhero’s arse, and …”

Isa interrupts, “You mean we; we could kick that superhero’s arse.”

“No, just me,” Nicky says. They both laugh.