Chapter 27

I did my best to wear a suitably cowed expression on my face as I met the gaze of the young soldier staring back at me down the barrel of an M16 rifle hovering a couple of inches away from my nose. It wasn’t hard, given the fact that the kid holding the rifle looked to be fresh out of boot camp and his hands shook even worse than mine had when Allie had finally badgered me into firing one of her contraptions at the range. I hadn’t hit a single target, but I hadn’t minded. Hell, I’d been grateful that I hadn’t shot myself in the foot. For that matter, so had Allie.

Of course, the stakes were slightly higher this time around since this nervous recruit would be shooting a hole right through my skull instead of his own foot. Thankfully, the soldier confronting our car’s driver seemed to have things well in hand. His tone oozed the steady professionalism of a career soldier that proved reassuring in spite of the fact that he also had his rifle pointed straight at Victoria’s head.

“Ma’am, the metropolitan Los Angeles area has been declared under a state of emergency and you’re in violation of the special curfew that has been posted effective from 7 in the evening of each day until 6 in the morning of the next day. I’m going to have to ask you to show me your hands and slowly exit your-”

Victoria, on the other hand, didn’t even bother with the pretense of civility. She just narrowed her eyes as she flicked a significant glance toward a multi-colored decal glued to the corner of her windshield.

“I’m a federal agent with an FBI-issued special permit and you’re currently interfering with the performance of my duties, Sergeant Shaw.” Victoria said, glancing at the stripes and name on his uniform.

To his credit, the man didn’t even blink at the acid dripping from Victoria’s tone. “Ma’am, I still need to see some proper identification and match that with your vehicle.”

Victoria closed her eyes and let out an exasperated breath before looking at the soldier as though eyeing a worm. “Sergeant, I’m only going to say this once because I appreciate the enthusiastic spirit in which you’re pursuing your duties, if not the moronic manner in which you’re fulfilling them. I’m driving a black Cadillac Escalade with government-issued plaques, unmarked emergency lights and sirens, reinforced steel passenger cabin, and an intrusion-resistant gun rack in the trunk along with FBI-imprinted kevlar vests.”

At this point, the soldier tried to get in a word but Victoria just held up her hand to stop him.

“I’m not finished. Standard protocol only requires that you check for the authenticity of the special permit, so lower your weapon, scan the card, then let us through before I have to lodge an official complaint and personally ensure that your lieutenant’s life becomes a living, breathing nightmare, therefore bringing your career to a sudden, catastrophic halt and leave your inconsequential life a flaming, wretched wreck.”

The sergeant’s lips twitched at her words, as though he were trying to find the words to express his confusion at how the situation had gone from a routine vehicle detention to a cold recitation of career-ending, life-wrecking threats. Once again, however, Victoria forestalled any attempts at a protest.

“And no, sergeant Walcott, that was not a threat. It was a promise,” Victoria said, and I could swear her eyes drifted in my direction for just a split second. “And unlike the baser dredges of human society, I regard such with the utmost gravity. Now, scan.”

The man fumbled for his scanner, then waved our vehicle through as soon as it beeped, hardly even checking the information displayed on the handheld device.

As the car sped down the deserted streets of a once-bustling metropolis, silence once again descended upon the cabin. I shifted uncomfortably in the back seat where I sat by myself, wincing at the unconscionably loud squeaking of its immaculate leather surface. My eyes twitched briefly toward the rearview mirror, where I caught the glacial glare of Victoria’s obsidian eyes staring straight at me with unabashed focus.

I immediately jerked my gaze away, equal measures of guilt and shame bubbling up in my chest until my heart melted into a gooey puddle. Losing one of my best friends had been hard enough without having to crawl back to her asking for favors that might well end up costing far more than even someone as capable as Victoria Song could afford. Not that I regretted calling her, not even for one second. Some decisions were almost laughably easy to make when compared to the sheer amount of grief and sorrow that were sure to follow.

“Like giving you up, Vicky.. Then calling you 4 years later to drag you into another pit of perdition..”

Memories returned unbidden to my mind: four years of living together in the cramped quarters of a studio-turned-into-a-dorm; hundreds of late-night meals pilfered away from the nearby supermarket’s dumpster; thousands of pages of insufferable essays and interminable midterm cramming sessions; they all blended together into the notes of a nostalgic song that strummed at my heartstrings and tugged until something seemed to come apart with a muted thud.

My nose stung and my eyes felt scratchy for no reason. Maybe superhuman Resilience numbers weren’t all they were cooked up to be. Damn, I couldn’t even look at my former best friend without getting all weepy-eyed like some teenaged girl. So what if I’d left her stranded deep within a faceless sea of humanity without any real explanation as to why? Even to this day, some matters of the heart didn’t bear too much thinking about, let alone explaining - even to myself, let alone the person whose faith and trust I’d betrayed.

There are just some things in life that bring everything else into startling focus, to the point where everything else simply loses all value by comparison. It’s the trap that unconditional love lays for us even as life smiles indulgently behind our backs, all the while laying out one test after another, just to see how far we’re willing to go. When is the price too high, the distance too far, the sacrifice too dear?

I have yet to learn the answer to any of those questions. I shudder to even imagine a day when I’m forced to come to terms with such answers. Surely, not even god or fate itself could be so cruel?

Dexter’s voice suddenly cut into the silence with such casual indifference, it felt painfully contrived. “Hey, you didn’t have to take it so hard on that poor soldier. He was just doing his job, just like the 3 other checkpoints we’ve had to cross thus far.”

Victoria didn’t even bother to answer, choosing to step on the accelerator instead. The vehicle purred obediently, ignoring several red lights to roar down the middle of the pitted asphalt road. Not that her disobedience of general traffic laws mattered, since the entire street was completely deserted. Even if the complete absence of any vehicular traffic weren’t strange enough, the absence of any cars at all lent a surreal feel to this entire experience. I couldn’t spot so much as a single car parked by the side of the road. Smashed shards of glass scattered here and there told me of the fate of the last vehicles that had been left unattended in such a fashion. Even under strict curfew laws, it seemed that muggers and car thieves were experiencing an unexpected bonanza.

At least the buildings were still standing and numerous lights from the windows of the buildings lining the sides of the road reassured me that people were still here. They were hiding, lurking just beneath the surface and holding their breath while they prayed that whatever madness had descended upon the world would burn itself out before they drowned.

Fat chance of that happening. More than likely, Charon would be knocking on their door soon enough. I just hoped I could find my Allie before the sky crashed down on all our heads.

All the while, Dexter persisted in his attempts to make skillful small talk. He was a fighter like that, his bright teeth flashing every time he glanced back over his shoulder and lightly made another comment about our society’s slow yet steady descent into chaos.

“Between all the city folk moving out to the countryside while the countryfolk stampede to the nearest urban centers, census data has been rendered completely obsolete. All we know is that more and more people are disappearing every day. If what you’re telling us is right, those Orb Keepers have been getting busy.”

“How could the government not know about the Trial of the Orb when they already knew about the Orb Collective?” I asked with a healthy dose of skepticism.

“Maybe we’re not nearly as good at our jobs as we like to think we are,” Dexter replied, his perpetual grin not wavering in the slightest at the shameful admission.

“Or maybe we’re too good at it,” Victoria muttered under her breath.

I frowned at her words, wondering what she meant, when Dexter butted in again.

“Well, or that. Which means it’s far above our paygrade anyway. I say, ignorance is sweet bliss. People seriously overrate the value of knowledge, you know? I just do what I’m told, which means making sure to piss downstream while making sure to stay upstream from any other constipated anuses looking to void their bladders. That’s how you make it to the top in any federal agency.”

“And yet, here you are, sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” Victoria pointed out.

“What can I say? I’m loyal to a fault, devoted to my family and friends-”

“I’m not your friend,” Victoria interjected.

“.. and partners,” Dexter finished without missing a beat. “After all, and in spite of what you may say, I know you’d do the same for me.”

A single twitch of Victoria’s eyebrow was all the response that comment merited.

“Anyway, I gotta tell ya, kids are having a blast while their parents are having a nervous breakdown. I mean, no school for months on end, permission to lock themselves inside their rooms with as many videogames as they can cram into their days, and the impending possibility of a real life fire-breathing dragon suddenly materializing out of nowhere onto their front lawn. What’s not to love, right?”

I simply grunted in response, surprised that a federal agent could take such a blase tone about this whole affair. I mean, the world was melting into a stinking pile of shit right before his eyes and it was supposed to be his job to pick up the mess, right?

“Hah, stick my hands into this gigantic mess? Not likely,” Dextor said, scoffing and waving the ridiculous notion away as though he had just passed some serious gas. “Like one of my favorite childhood heroes would often say, ‘Live long and prosper.’ That’s my whole motto in life. In fact, the only reason I applied for the job was that I could carry big ass guns anywhere and I’d be among the first ones to know if and when the shit hit the fan.”

I hadn’t realized I’d spoken those last words aloud. Someday, I was really going to have to do something about that.

“Um, your favorite hero is a character from Star Wars?” I asked, just to fill in the awkward silence.

“Star Trek!” Dexter immediately growled, sounding genuinely flustered for the first time since I’d made his acquaintance. “Please tell me you did that on purpose.”

“Don’t,” Victoria warned me.

“Did what?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

“Oh damn, you’re really serious, aren’t you?” I got a front seat view of the impeccably groomed insides of Dexter’s nostrils as he looked back over his shoulder and tilted his head back with that insufferably smug look of superiority only world-renowned experts on a particular subject matter get when lecturing the hapless plebeian. “The Star Wars saga was created by George Lucas with the original ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope’ film debuting in 1977, spanning a total of 9 films to date, while Star Trek debuted in 1966 as a television series created by Gene Roddenberry, spawning countless motion picture films and television series. In fact, Star Trek’s United Federation of Planets has united humanity during the thrilling age of discoveries and endless human development in a 23rd century Earth that is actively exploring new galaxies, while Star Wars chronicles the intergalactic struggle between multiple major factions such as the Galactic Empire, the Galactic Republic, and the Rebellion, as well as the clash between the Force-wielding champions of the Light side and their nemeses, the Dark..”

Dexter continued to drone on enthusiastically while I could barely suppress the cringe when I saw the sheer resentment simmering in Victoria’s eyes as she glared at me through the rearview mirror. How was any of this my fault?

That’s when I felt it. One moment I’d been shrinking back into the deeply cushioned confines of the back seat, then the next I felt an immaterial hand grabbing me by the scruff of my neck and shaking me back and forth until my mind snapped into sharp attention. Before I could even think about what I was doing, I closed my eyes and took a deep whiff. The windows were shut and the smell was all about the familiar lavender scent drifting from Vicky’s snowy skin, the strong cologne flaking off from Dexter’s body, the gunpowder of the guns in the trunk, and the supple leather smell from the upholstery.

There was a faint tugging upon my senses that went beyond the summons to my olfactory capabilities. It went far deeper than that, this ghost of a whisper that had stirred the chains binding the monstrous creature that demanded answers now. It was only then that I discovered how fragile my peace was, and how close to the surface that thin veneer of calm layering over my hunger for Allie really went.

Yes, she was safe, even content. I still missed her like crazy. I ached to hold her in my arms, to smell the scent of her skin, to taste her lips and drown myself in the sweet monsoon of her laughter.

“Stop!” I cried out, reaching out and grasping Victoria by the shoulder.

Something about my voice must have reached her on a level I wasn’t aware I was capable of, because she suddenly slammed the brakes and sent the vehicle into a screeching halt.

“What?” Dexter asked, fumbling for his gun while searching all around the car for threats.

Victoria simply stared at me through the rearview mirror, an oddly resigned look on her face.

I didn’t answer. In my own defense, it wasn’t a conscious choice. I simply didn’t have any presence of mind to do anything but claw at the door handle and shove the door wide open. I scrambled out of the door and ran blindly ahead, following that familiar scent. Only, it wasn’t a scent. It was The Call, a whisper that only star-crossed lovers could share, like the begrudging last concession a cynic-eyed fate laid out as a pitiful consolation prize.

“Allie..” I whispered back, my steps growing more hurried, even as my heartbeat became more erratic.

“Fuck, wait a second. Isn’t this..” Dexter cursed out loud from the car, then trailed off for a moment before continuing. “Did you do this on purpose?”

“I.. didn’t expect..” Victoria began, her voice sounding frail and pained for some reason. “It.. It wasn’t supposed to be like this..”

“Shit, we better stop him before he runs into the cordon,” Dexter said and I heard the car door opening and closing. “That place still has a heavy military presence patrolling it while the investigation continues.”

At this point, I realized I could still register their words but they simply bounced off my brain like rubber pellets striking solid steel. No amount of rational argument would stop me. I’d tried to keep a low profile with my newfound powers, but to hell with it. Now that I had finally found a trace of Allie, I’d be damned if I let anything stand in the way.

My freshly minted determination lasted for a solid 5 seconds. That’s how far it took me to round the next corner. Even before I did so, a deluge of unfamiliar scents inundated my senses, nearly making me retch. As it was, I had to place a hand against a nearby light post as my disbelieving eyes confirmed what my nose had already told me. My knees nearly buckled and I would have fallen on my ass if my hands weren’t convulsively clutching at the wooden post. I felt my fingers digging fresh furrows along its ash-coated surface, but I simply couldn’t bring myself to care.

My eyes stared ahead while my heart fluttered like a leaf tossed about in the wind. Chaos and desolation reared up before me to say hello with a tyrannic fist that shoved my tongue straight down my throat. At least a couple of dozen soldiers stood guard before bright cordons of yellow tape. Beyond, where tall buildings and glowing neon signs should have been beckoning, I found only a massive crater with charred scars scoring the earth and blackened rubble collected in crumbling mounds as the sole remaining witnesses of the tragedy that had enfolded at this place.

It’s one thing to hear about hundreds of people being massacred and buildings being crushed like eggshells. It’s but a pale shadow of the blackened ash and the reek of their charred flesh still lingering in the soil beneath. Even now, it was like the copper taste of their smoking blood stung the back of my tongue like a vengeful wraith reaching from beyond the grave. The ashes of what had once been Los Angeles’ Chinatown District stared back at me with hollow anguish and wordless resentment. It demanded answers that I didn’t have and extracted excuses that weren’t mine to give.

“Allie, what have you done..?” I whispered to myself, all the breath choked from my lungs by the fist that had suddenly crushed my heart.

For I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that my Allie had been here. Not through her physical scent, for the flames would have long scoured any such remnants away. Instead, it was the voice in my head, the one that summoned me with the sweet agony of the love that ever burned within my heart.

“Kai..”

Her voice reached me from impossibly far away, invisible hands cradling my face in a gesture so tender, so familiar, that it effortlessly cleaved my heart in two. Her words echoed from the confines of a shard of memory that came to me unbidden in all its agony and sorrow, crushing all the breath from me in a trembling sigh.

“I will never give up on us. Don’t forget this sacrifice and the promise that lies between us. As memory returns, so too will this promise find you and in our love bind you. Cherish it, for your Allie dies with you on this black day. Remember, for I will dream of this promise..”

I had to clasp a hand to my chest, as though trying to plug a hole that could never be filled.

“Oh, Allie.. my Allie..”

What promise? I scoured the confines of memory, but it scattered like so many butterflies of light taking flight before the ripening storm. I howled in impotent fury and wordless desperation as I clutched at the precious grains of remembrance trickling past my cupped hands like sand from a child’s clumsy grasp.

It was at this moment, when the very last vestiges of memory spilled past my hands, that my fingers managed to clasp a single grain of sand in their trembling grasp.

“I will.. remember.. and I will..”

A smile blossomed then, unbidden. It wasn’t my smile. It was but a memory that had been dredged up from the unsoundable depths of an unspeakable nightmare. It was a smile from back then, one that had never managed to crawl its way past the prison of its own flesh. But that’s alright because it bloomed now. Its spring had arrived at last, borne on the wings of the one memory that I truly needed at this moment. The one memory that really mattered. Not Allie’s but mine, because this wasn’t a promise for one. It lay between us both, stretched across the invisible boundary that separated us - for now. I heard it then, the other half of this silent, unspoken promise. It echoed inside my own heart, just as it had back then, gazing into the tear-stricken eyes of my girl, my Allie.

“I will remember.. and I will bring you back..”

Those words, they weren’t the grief-stricken words of a broken man and a love torn asunder.

They were the solemn promise and grim determination of a man to protect the gossamer dream of a girl who lay waiting for him still.

“I will bring you back!”