Caped (Book 1): The Burdens of Fate (11 page)

"Kaylie, I got it working!" screamed
the young man peering in to the camera. "I think it's recording now.
Here..."

She takes it, occasionally wincing in pain from
the deep wound leaking blood down her arm, and surprisingly enough looking like
a slightly older version of the young lady to my left.

"Okay, got it. Edward Otep, I swear to God
I'll strangle you if you even begin to think this is fake. What was it you said
to me? 'Just like a Hollywood movie.' Yeah,
well, it's just like that except we didn't get a happy ending."

"Just the facts Kaylie, we d----- -----
------"

"-------, --kay! Fuck! Umm, umm... okay: London, Syd---, ---------, ------, ---C., New York, um... Mexico City, Shanghai, Tokyo. I know I missed a
few but defend ---------. ---ake sure you're as prepared as possible... Are the
files finished uploading?! I can't speak this whole thing! --- ----- --out the
portal, how long will...

The portal only takes -- --------, -eep talking
we don't know how much information will stay intact.

It's not a country, or a pers-------, --- ---
-----nization, --- ------; ---- ---- ------ comes from the sky, right from
within our atmosphere. No warning, --- didn't ---- see them coming! We don't
know where they co-- ---- ---- ---- -ave abilities as well. On this device is
info on --- --- can help. --on't trust the govern---- ev- -- -our darkest hou--
--- ---- only about self-preservation. By the time you get this we'll be --
------ ---- cies. Me, Alvin, Michael, everyone, everyone will..."

A thunderous roar violently interrupts, shaking
everything.

"We're outta time, Kaylie!" he
screams.

"Shit, I know!" she responds,
panicked. "I feel us moving. Our position is compromised!"

"I've got the data," he says, now
wearing a large backpack and holding a small briefcase. "Give me the
tablet I'm starting on --- -----, --old them off!"

"We've got seconds left!" screams
Kaylie.

"Hold them off!" he screams, focusing
intensely, his breath quickening.

The room ripped apart revealing the light of
day, they were hundreds of feet over a desert landscaped with large fuzzy
figures, I assume were ships, extending off as far as the eye could see.
Hundreds of figures hovered in the distance and off she flew into the
background, colossal pieces of rock swinging into view as the unknown man, the
tablet tucked firm under his arm began to free fall through the open air.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" he cries
out, distraught and stricken with terror. "C'mon dammit, work! Work!"

And then the video ended...

Kaylie
Horn
-

I'm not ready for this craziness girl! Mom was
about ready to walk out and I don't blame her. But c'mon!! This is a once in a
lifetime opportunity, I couldn't leave.

I had to throw a mini fit just to get mom to
stay, and she's still not too happy about it but I just had to see what
mind-numbingly insane conclusion this came to. I already know dad's going to go
ape-shit over this, and I don't even know how I'm going to convince them to let
me meet with them again. Too much, too fast.

Ugh!! This would be my life!
Edward
Otep (Cont.)
-

So they watched the video, and then I told them
how I first met the still unnamed man that fell through the portal that popped
into the middle of my living room in such grand fashion, sending streaks of
energy trailing across my carpet, ceiling, and through the first decent couch
I'd ever bought myself. Recounted how he crawled across my floor bleeding
through every orifice and slid the device towards me.

"Must keep going," he kept muttering
to himself. Forming another portal and vanished just as suddenly as he'd
appeared, leaving only the tablet, the blood on my floor, and my messed up
living room as proof that I wasn't insane.

Alvin
Turner
(Cont.)
-

...that was just the first fifteen minutes, we
spent the next half hour browsing through all the information left on the
device. And while I appreciate the effort and possible sacrifices made to bring
us this, the majority of the data is either fragmented or irretrievable. Not to
mention there wasn't any mention about Los
Angeles, so why did he feel the need to bring us there
in the first place?

I won't lie, he seems genuine. But as the old
adage goes, "Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear."
Michael
Serna (Cont.)
-

...but I had yet to figure out the purpose of
this gathering and I'm guessing a few others felt the same way. Sure the video
was nice and the story sure seemed plausible given the footage, but all that
information could have been conveyed via Skype or something. At least I think
so.

A few words were exchanged and we eventually
took a quick poll on whether or not we were willing to help. It was unanimous,
though not without some very vocal hesitation from a few people, which is
perfectly understandable.

I've agreed to go along with this only because
it intrigues me, and lord knows Iris has given me hell ever since, completely
opposing the very idea of it. She'll come around.

Honestly, I'm curious if this rag-tag group of
ordinary people can pull it off. It sure seems like we've got the potential for
greatness.

Besides, two words: Floating island. How could
I not stick around to see if they pull that off?

So once everyone was done freaking out about
the world coming to an end and in agreement that, yeah, we should probably do
something about it, Edward gets right down to business.

"Since we've agreed to do this together
then we'll need a base of operations."

And almost immediately Thomas sprang to
attention with, "Oh, are we there yet?" as he finished writing down a
lengthy stream of notes. "I've been waiting for this part."

"So... I agree we'll need a place to meet”
Thomas continues, “and, considering how shallow our knowledge of our abilities are,
it would only seem natural we have a place where we could openly explore our
limits. Any effort to secure land would draw pressure and require us to
register with said nation; however in international waters we'd be free to
continue unabated."

So yeah, okay, the middle of the frickin'
ocean. Sounds fine.

"Now, this may sound a little outlandish,”
Thomas continued, “but with Kaylie's ability to move earth and Ivan's ability
to seemingly create matter out of nothing it's incredibly feasible, depending on
their limitations."

And I guess that was why he was there, because
I was thinking of some type of office space, or at most a variation of the Hall
of Justice or the Avengers
Mansion, but this sounds
far more legit. And if the super brain says it's feasible then who am I to
argue?

But don't get me wrong, it wasn't just one
person talking while we listened, there were some serious fears brought to
light. The legality of these actions, the protection of our identities, public
opinion, our various stances on certain issues, and more.

The two most uncomfortable people in the room
were Iris and Kaylie's mother, who I still believe may end up calling the CIA
on us.

The night crawled on and we stayed long after
we'd finished what little food we'd ordered. It was cool how we just threw out
one idea after another, the only limit being the depth of our combined
imagination. Kinda made me feel like a kid again, not that that's ever been a
problem for me.

Did I know these people? No, not in the sense
you would expect to, but last night we put aside the knowledge of a dark and
ominous future, of our impending deaths, the downfall of our species, etcetera
etcetera... and spoke with bountiful optimism, excited about creating something
far more grand than the sum of its parts.

By-golly, I think I may just enjoy myself.
Edward
Otep (Cont.)
-

No matter how hard one tries, the sun still
rises, and the strain of so many hours awake was becoming ever more apparent on
everyone's face, including my own. I picked up the check and we all said our
goodbyes.

Alvin
was generous enough to give us all a lift to
our respective states; I'm guessing he's no longer annoyed with me. But sunrise
on the west coast meant it was well into the morning on the east. I was lucky I
even made it to my bed. It's exciting to be making progress and I can't wait to
see what the next few days have in store.

...Oh, wait. I already know.

Prisca
Amin
-
Journal Entry #211

She lives! And by "she" I mean me.
You can consider me a believer in miracles ladies and gentlemen, I have seen
the light. Okay, maybe I'm taking it too far, but you can be sure I'll be
adding a tally mark under divine intervention tonight because they don't make
coincidences that big any more.

I was supposed to die yesterday, that much is
certain, and something I'm not sure I've fully wrapped my head around. The fact
that I'm not supposed to be sitting here and writing this, that one less
casualty was reported. Kinda cool, kinda scary. I just hope some Final
Destination stuff doesn't start happening to me now, I've got enough drama in
my life. Lol!

Um... yeah, but moving on. I ended up in a
hospital in San Francisco
of all places. They patched me up quickly enough and then started asking me all
these questions about the two men who'd rescued me, and not to sound ungrateful
to Edward, Ed, Eddie, Otep, or whatever the hell he wants to be called, but I
don't even remember him being there.

I was angry and wrecking everything in my
house. The stupid hood rats from up the street bust through my front door and
shot my dog. I heard gunshots and I went into shock. I heard a scream, wasn't
sure if it was me. Saw a stranger who I now know was Alvin. He told me something about a doctor
and then the next thing I knew I was in the hospital.

I stayed there for the better part of the day
until Alvin
came back to essentially kidnap me, I can't wait until I have to explain that
one. When I thanked him for saving me I got the stereotypical, "Don't
thank me."

So I asked him to take me to the person I could...
and that's how I ended up in Seattle.

Honestly, if I'd have known I was going to end
up a part of all the craziness that followed I would've given him a friendly
pat on the shoulder and told him to kick-rocks. I guess you never truly
appreciate the phrase "Ignorance is bliss" until you know the world
is coming to an end.

As a fella once said, "Ain't that a kick
in the head."

Chapter
Four

The Epic and the Ordinary

–
Saturday March 20th
–

Dennis Shaeffer
-

Death unnerves me because I'm not a psychopath,
and if you ever come across someone who can say otherwise they're suffering
from a huge deficiency of love.

A good night's sleep isn't something I expect
to get any time in the next few weeks, my conscience won't allow it. I'll
manage somehow. Though, on top of feeling like shit, I've got two women biting
at my bootstraps. As if life wasn't hard enough with just one.

We were in the air on our way back when word
came through that everyone in LA was coming to their senses. Nena shot me an
awkwardly long and cold look of dissatisfaction that spoke a tirade's worth of
insults before she slumped back into her seat and withdrew inwards in silent
contemplation. She didn't speak again until we'd made it back home.

On top of that the wife lost her mind when I
told her what we'd done. She isn't happy with me. She's terrified and she has
every right to be, I'm definitely pushing the limits of "'Til death do us
part." She married an architect not a murderer, and although I've tried
explaining this to her, she doesn't understand that what we're trying to build
is far greater than anything that has ever come before it.

My cell phone won't stop ringing, the nation's
going crazy because Los Angeles
is torn to shit. My neighbors think I'm actively destroying my marriage, our
countrymen are on edge, and international democracy is grinding to a standstill
as most nations have begun to turn their attention inward to deal with the
increasingly vocal E.C. population. It'd be a fair bet to wager the end of the
world is coming. We're sure trying for something like it.

Everybody with a six figure salary is
evacuating LA; spineless bastards. Too many people are just out for themselves
these days; they forget we're all in this together. Phone lines are overloaded
as everyone’s trying to contact their loved ones, reaffirm their relationships,
and try to move past this and onto tomorrow.

And what have I been doing with my life? Well,
I spent the better part of my day recording audio with Nena for a video we're
working on that I'm pretty sure is going to go viral in the next few days. The
New Age is upon us, and we need to rally the people behind us.

This is why YouTube is Wonderful, it's capable
of turning Joe Everyman into a bona fide digital monarch. What we've created is
more than just a man with a voice or some ambiguous revolutionary figure. It's
the embodiment of a revolution, ushering in a civilization without boarders or
petty limitations. He is, she is, we are: Citizen One.
 

"Let it begin my brothers and sisters,
awaken yourselves to the true evils of the world. Watch as your governments
constrict their grip around the mindless drones they preside over. Digital eyes
that see all, a number for every man, woman, and child. Your every motion
tracked, cataloged, and over-examined.

Mankind is meant to be free, and yet they feed
us these hollow fears to justify our increasingly shrinking prison. They speak
of free speech, yet move to silence us; they boast of freedom to choice, yet
limit our options!

Land of the free
. A bunch of malarkey!
The free world
.
Bollocks! They feed us our freedoms from tall podiums presiding over vast
crowds hoping to pacify us, but we remember that in a truly free society nobody
has to tell you you're free.

Every mouth can be fed, every back can be
clothed, and all families sheltered. It is the structure of our society that
prohibits us, that has crippled us, and that we must inevitably move beyond.

For generations they have horded the technology
that would allow our species to flourish, discredited every scientist that has
dared step forward or dared claim the possibility. But now there are
individuals capable of granting us the blessing they've denied us. Individuals
who can cleanse and revive our dying oceans, capable of regrowing the
endangered forests, and make our barren soil fertile. Individuals capable of
doing for all what governments never wanted for any.

And they will force down your throats whatever they
must so that you fear these people! This is the true reason they want us
cataloged like cattle, so they can eliminate all who rebel against their view
of the perfect future.

Resist, my brothers. Join me, and resist."
Michael Serna -

Hello again! The sun is shining, the birds are
chirping, the smoke is rising, and our government has come up with another
marvelous way to keep us safe!

Earlier this morning the House of
Representatives passed the Civil Registration Act, which was first drafted
earlier this week, requiring all civilians to register as either an
Extraordinary Citizen (E.C.) or Ordinary Citizen (O.C.). It is expected to pass
through the senate shortly, and to be on President Yates desk by the end of the
day.

He's a tool so of course he'll sign it.

The main objective of the bill requires every
citizen to register as an E.C. or O.C., with false registry being punishable by
up to 50 years in prison. In the wake of yesterday’s events the bill has run up
against little opposition and is rumored to be only the first in a small list
of bills to protect citizens from the uncertain threat a growing E.C.
population presents. Because we're just
so
dangerous.

The President made a statement shortly after
the bill made it through the House stating how important he believes this bill
is for the safety and security of the American people, and that he has every
intention of signing it into law as soon as it reaches his desk. Hip-hip
hur-fuckin-ray! I guess it really is too much to ask for a government with a
little bit of a backbone. Way to go POTUS, you make me so proud.

For the sake of fairness, I should note that
similar versions of this bill are being drafted in several European and Middle
Eastern Countries, so it's not just America smoking from the crack
pipe, we've got company.

In other crazy news that shouldn't be happening
(really? Is this my journal or am I still at work?), despite yesterday’s tragic
event, attendance at major protests around the country remain the same.
Seriously, have those people learned nothing? I'm all for fighting the good
fight but at some point common sense should kick in, if for nothing more than
self-preservation.

And all that crazy bickering on
AbilityRegistry.fail
isn't helping either. Just a place ignorant fools
bunch together and shout at each other. There should be a law about too many
idiots gathering in one spot, where are the lobbyists for that one?
Edward
Otep
-

Seven days was all I had to pull this off. All
while struggling to get familiar with the intricacies of my ability. I can
thank the tablet for what little insight it was able to offer, but with so much
irretrievable data the majority of the work rested on my shoulders.

I found out about L.A. on my first
look
through time, a random peek a
week and a half to the exact same spot.

I started from scratch. No plan, no guideline,
and little margin for error; but somehow we've pulled it off. We did it and
we're still alive.

Perhaps I'm alone in recognizing just how
wonderful today was with nothing begging to be done. No calls to make, nobody
to double check with, no plans to lay out, or tangent timeline to over-examine,
not even a single bill to pay... nothing. For the first time since all this
started I am able to simply exist, and I'll continue to take full advantage of
this opportunity.

–
3/21
–

Kaylie Horn
-

Hey girl! I'm back to vent and possibly cry,
get used to it because I don't see that changing, lol. At least I can stay calm
now. Honestly, I can. In fact the more it sinks into the past the more it seems
like a horrible dream than anything else. I just wish it were.

Actually, right now I just wish mom would stop
asking if I want to be a part of this. I've told her I do like a thousand
times; but that could be a myriad of things talking, and I've been far too
harsh on her the past couple days for her being incredibly flexible with the
whole
Band of [Super Powered] Brothers
tangent my life has just veered off on.

Maybe it's because I'd prefer to die fighting
if the world is coming to an end. Lord knows I'm not a tomboy, but I've never
been afraid to get my hands dirty when needed. Or maybe I'm just trying to
compensate for my failures. I don't know.

I've put my self-destruction on a slow burn,
letting it fester and silently eat away at the pieces of my soul. A slow burn,
hot and damaging, never fully catching fire, just smoldering with puffs of
smoke and ash.

It feels like this'll kill me, lady.

Now I have to reconstruct my sanity one logical
thought at a time. Hopefully it'll take away the faces. So many faces I can't
get out of my head. Screaming, running, and festering with as much hate for me
as I had for them. Their bodies crushed, twisted, bloodied, and choking on
tainted red sand until the last of their life slipped from their eyes. I was
mind raped and manipulated like a puppet on a string. Stomping out a lifetime
of potential like a used cigarette on a slow burn.

I've put my self-destruction on a slow burn.

How do I get over this? I feel used and unclean,
as if unwanted hands have perverted every single cell of my body. Violated in
the worst way. Down through my skin and into my muscles and veins. How do I get
that feeling out and make this body feel like it's mine again?

I guess it's just a bit of paranoia. Well
founded, but paranoia all the same.

Will it happen again, will I murder someone
close to me? I'd never forgive myself; the thought alone takes me to dark
places.

Self-destruction on a slow burn.

Maybe saving the world is just the type of
distraction I need, even if the gravity of such an undertaking is too big to
fully appreciate, and most likely illegal. To be fair, we've never mentioned
the word vigilante because that's honestly not the focus but you can be sure as
hell we'll be drawing someone's attention. If not the local media’s then
perhaps the bigger fish, and that's a hell of a lot to deal with.

And another thing; I'd convinced mom not to
tell dad anything until after the meeting, but once that was over all bets were
off.

The hotel was a mess, the city was nowhere near
back to finding any degree of normalcy, and dad had just come back from the
supermarket so we could have some form of breakfast.

Brandon
was on the phone figuring a way for us to get
out the city. LAX definitely wasn't an option, and a drive back to Arizona definitely
wasn't something I was looking forward to.

As usual, mom was the last to wake up, and that
conversation was definitely not something I was looking forward to. I tried
talking to her to see if I could change her mind, see if she could give me an
extra day. Anything. But no luck, she wasn't going to keep that big of a secret
from dad.

I slammed the door as she left, screaming in
frustration. Brandon
came by to see what was wrong but I just told him to piss off. That was right
before I went storming out the room and walked in on mom and dad sharing a
small personal moment. Mom told me to go back in the room, and I didn't. Then
dad told me to listen to mom and I just looked at mom and asked if she told him
yet. Then she raised her voice a little and told me to go back in room. Again,
I said no, that I wanted to tell him. And of course then out pops dramatic
mommy, questioning why I wanted to tell him now when I didn't want him to know
just a few seconds ago. And then she repeats that she wants me to go in the
room. And then of course dad starts backing her up even though he had no idea
what the hell was going on. And I stand firm, why? I dunno. I'm normally
respectful towards them, but not that time. Maybe I felt emboldened, maybe I'd
just lost my mind.

So Brandon
comes in out of no-fuckin-where telling me to listen to mom and dad. And who is
he to tell me that? Really? Brandon
is always talking back to them, but he wanted me to listen? No! I get it, I'm a
little spoiled, I have my tantrums, and they thought this was just me picking
the wrong time to be the little kid. But mom knew better.

So then I'm the center of attention again,
dad’s confused and frustrated, Brandon
was trying to be the mature older sibling and calm me down. And then mom
started asking me if I was doing this so she wouldn't tell dad, and he's asking
what the hell is so important that he still hasn't been told.

I told her “no,” but I wasn't sure. I was just
more afraid than anything. So the whole room goes silent, building with tension
and unease. And out of nowhere mom's like, "Tell him, Kaylie. You have
five seconds to tell him, or I will."

It was more of a reflex than anything else, I
absolutely hate when she gives me a stupid little countdown. I'm not some cold
dish in the microwave, I'm her daughter. Before she'd even started counting.
Next thing I knew I was screaming how I was a murderer and how the world was
coming to an end, and how I, in my new-found freakishness, was going to die in
a blaze of glory trying to save it. Short, loud, and to the point. I love my
mom, but honestly, she can be a real bitch sometimes.