Crow - The Awakening (15 page)

"That is me." Asherah put her hand on the back of his head and held him tight as the surge continued washing over him. Steven tried to say "Wow," but his lips wouldn't work right. He felt the accumulation of five years of attraction rushing through him and saw himself from her eyes over all those years and was simply stunned by it all.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in that embrace, saying nothing but strangely not needing to. For the first time, Steven felt a distinct connection with her that transcended anything he had experienced before, like a part of her was in his mind and most definitely in his heart. For a while he wandered in her memories of their time at the meadow, melding with his own memories, as if they were two eyes of the same head, both seeing from different angles but forming a single image. Vertigo washed over him again, but just as quickly there was a sudden rush of calm and contentment. She sang softly, the ballad they had worked on. It was a love ballad, and he realized that it was their ballad now.

As the sun started to wane in the sky, Steven suddenly remembered that he had to get back home. They looked at each other and he kissed her again, this time soft and short. She grinned and stood up, helping him up. She knew that he had to return and helped him as he grabbed up his laptop which had long since shut itself off, and put it in its bag. He turned and looked at her, desperately wanting to stay. He was afraid all of a sudden but couldn't tell why. He didn't want the moment to end, nor did he want to leave her.

Asherah seemed to sense his reticence and fear, and Steven could tell she knew his thoughts. "It's okay, Steven. I'm here." She put her hand over his heart, then caressed his face. "And here." Her touch soothed him. "We are part of each other now." Her lips didn't move with that last sentence but he heard it all the same. He stared at her in wonder. So many questions and so little time.

Steven smiled wistfully, not fully understanding what she was saying, but he did feel her distinct presence, like a whisper that he could just about hear, and he knew she would miss him too. He backed up a few steps, unwilling to break their gaze, then finally turned and walked out of the meadow. Her presence remained with him as he walked away and his fear melted away. He didn't even notice as the tropical plants and sun faded away to a gray dreary day and several inches of snow.

The trees closest to the meadow had lost all their snow as the tectonic disturbance had shaken them. Steven waded through several piles as he left the meadow and he shrugged into his jacket almost as a second thought. He was different, no longer Steven, but something more. He looked up at his tree house as he walked by and remembered his discovery. His parents were now a fact and his relationship with Asherah has become something more than he could have ever imagined. They had always been soul mates, the very best of friends. But now it was more. So very much more than he thought possible. He had been in parts, and now he was whole. He had trouble digesting it and felt so overwhelmed, but at the same time at perfect peace. Asherah was there with him. He closed his eyes and could feel her heartbeat distinct from his own. Vertigo hit him again and he leaned on his walking staff as it consumed him, then faded like a massive ocean swell. Life for him would no longer be the same. But at the same time, he couldn't imagine life being any different.

As Steven recovered from the vertigo he began jogging through the forest, letting its brisk, wintry energy flood him and clear his mind. As he ran, he heard her singing within his mind, a haunting song that sounded distinctly Celtic. It was a song she had sung for him often but now had a new meaning for him. Her voice filled him with peace and comfort and blended with the energy of the forest, and he found himself at a comfortable sprint. Before he knew it he was climbing up into the treetops and racing through the canopy of the forest, dodging the dislodged snow as he jumped from treetop to treetop. He felt invigorated with energy that was more than what he was accustomed to, and somehow Steven knew it was coming from Asherah, as if she was adding her own energy to him. He was at a complete loss as to how this was happening but he accepted it nonetheless and sent his own energy back to her as the trees lent their own strength to his flight through their canopy. Branches reached for him as much as he reached for them and physically lent their energy to him as he sprung off them into the next trees. The trees seemed to make way for him as he traveled through them, increasing his speed far beyond anything he had known before. The forest came alive in a way that he had never before experienced, even in the dead of winter. There was more to his connection to Asherah than he ever thought possible and he was determined to ask her about it tomorrow when he returned to the meadow.

Laurence stood patiently as he held his hand on the wall scanner. The scanner glowed as his palm was scanned. Automated guards manned their secure facility that was located deep within what used to be a salt mine, a plethora of weapons and sensors that eliminated human error and operated without mercy. Accidents do happen, of course. But the alternative is not acceptable given the critical nature of their mission. The scan is thorough, not just collecting palm print information, but also other biometric inputs such as the minor differences in heart beat at preset points of his hand, internal translucence readings, sweat markers, and a range of other options. If it's not his hand, it's not him. He smiled at that thought.

A heavy mechanical click intruded on his thoughts. Laurence had entered a secure and heavily fortified chamber just to get exhaustively identified and once the identification was confirmed, a heavy cylindrical door opened in front of him. As it rotated, a passage was revealed. He walked through quickly since it only stays open for a short moment before closing. Getting stuck in the door would result in maiming at best or a death sentence at worst . It will continue to close regardless of what is in the way.

He walked down another hall that had weapons ports on either side. Laurence knew he was being scanned and observed as he passed down this walkway. He had a part in the design of that security system and no effort was spared to render this base practically impregnable not only to local threats but non-terrestrial threats too. The scans in the walkway were so thorough he may as well walk through naked and be made of glass. The TSA would drool at this system. Even the data on his electronics devices was searched remotely, ensuring no surreptitious recording or digital pathogens. By the time he arrived at the far door, security knew everything about him that day from what he ate that morning to when he last had a cold to what pictures he had on his flashdrive.

Laurence's handler met him in the waiting room. As a second set of heavy blast doors closed behind him, he greeted his friend and handler with a broad smile. "It's good to see you, Jacob." There were few people in the world that Laurence trusted. Jacob Bradly was one of them.

"Likewise. But it's about to get even better." Jacob handed Laurence a tablet computer and Laurence's eyes got big when he scanned the text and looked at the images.

"You got one?" Laurence asked, incredulous.

"That's affirmative." Jacob grinned as they started walking down the hall toward the laboratory wing. As they walked deeper into the complex, the abundance of guards gave way to an abundance of agents and scientists, all busy and obsessed with their missions.

"What kind of shape is it in?" He looked at the tablet again, enlarging the images to get a better look.

"Rough. Whatever hit it had power far beyond anything we remotely have. But there's still a lot of useful information." Jacob smiled. This day had been long in coming and they thought they'd never get their hands on an actual specimen.

They entered a decontamination room one at a time for the air and UV shower, then entered into the dressing room to put on environmental suits that completely sealed them in. By the time they were suited up, they may as well be about to walk out on the moon. Jacob adjusted Laurence's breathing tube and they walked into another air and UV shower to catch any microbes or dust that made it through the first decontamination session. The clean-room they were about to enter was cleaner even than the most modern chip fabrication rooms and great effort was taken to remove any contaminants.

Laurence eagerly looked through the view port as the room was depressurized and the massive pressure-door finally opened. The sound changed radically when the air was removed, and suddenly every breath he took seemed too loud. Jacob came across his radio and ushered him into the examination room. Laurence didn't need a second invitation. He walked quickly up to a large case with thick glass and peered in, looking at what appeared to be a heavily scorched body. "Rough? You're not kidding." Laurence watched as mechanical arms performed a dissection. The tools required were extremely robust and more suited to machining high grade alloys, and yet they still wore out rapidly as they attempted to cut through the burnt flesh. The cutting tools used ranged from powerful lasers to plasma torches. Physical cutting tools were unable to penetrate the material that made up the flesh.

"It's been slow going, but we do have some samples we're examining now." Jacob led him over to a large automated scanning electron microscope. "Look at this."

Laurence peered at the view screen. "Those little globs?"

"They used to be nanites," Jacob grinned. "The signature is irrefutable." He shifted the scanner and zoomed in.

Laurence couldn't make heads or tails of what he was seeing but could tell that whatever scorched the body did so in a way that altered the complete molecular structure of the flesh, rendering it nearly impossible to identify specific cells or organs. There were hints of them nonetheless. "This fella was engineered from the ground up?"

Jacob smiled. He knew he liked Laurence for a reason. "Yep. You're looking at a non-biological life form of immense power. And whatever took it out is still out there."

"How did it get in this damaged state?" Laurence pointed back at the body in the case.

Jacob stared at the carcass for a second, a quizzical look on his face. "We're still trying to figure that one out. Our first inclination is a massive arc blast. But it would take a phenomenal amount of electricity to do that kind of damage to what this thing is made of and we haven't seen any spike on any grid that could even remotely have done this." He thought for a second. "I don't think anything in our grid even has the power to do this, come to think of it. These materials are not on the table of elements, Laurence. All are completely artificial from the protons up."

Laurence stared at him, speechless. It took supernovae to form the elements that were all around them, and these materials were beyond that? "Okay, we're facing creatures made of matter that we've never encountered before and there's a weapon out there that is still able to destroy it?"

Jacob nodded.

"My mission parameters just expanded, didn't they?" Laurence looked at Jacob.

Jacob grinned. "If anything, these folks are job security for you." He walked over to the case and looked at the body inside. "We need to know how this was done and how we can do it too." He looked at Laurence. "Someone has an awfully powerful weapon that is self powered and obviously portable. I want it. We need it if we are to have any hope against these aliens, Laurence. Without it, we may as well put paper sacks on our heads and lay down for all the good we'd be defending against them."

"Consider the technology yours. What about my other mission?"

"Keep your cover. They're examining the dummy body we planted and we need to make sure they remain unaware of the switch." Jacob looked at Laurence. "This could change everything. This is the edge we need."

"Oh, you have so got to start taking care of your clothes, Steven," Sally muttered to herself as she started in on Steven's collection of dirty clothes draped over virtually every piece of furniture in his room.

Jonah walked by and peeked back in. "You need any help?"

"A bulldozer would be nice." Sally looked at her husband wryly. "For a prodigy, Steven is a slob." Jonah stood in the doorway, trying not to get underfoot as Sally went back and forth grabbing and piling up clothes. "Well? Grab one." Sally pointed.

"Yes, ma'am." Jonah bundled up a pile in his arms and traipsed off to the laundry room.

Sally shook her head as she started finding clothes sequestered in some of the strangest locations. She grabbed a sock that appeared to be doubling as a bookmark and as she pulled it, one of Steven's sketch pads fell to the floor. "Great," she grumbled as she reached over and picked it up. Something caught her eye as she was about to put it back on the dresser and she flipped through the pages. Her eyes got big when she came across sketches of Asherah. "Jonah!" Sally put her hand on her chest to try to control her racing heart.

Jonah came rushing back into the room, ready for another load of clothes. He stopped when he saw the terrified look on Sally's face. "What?"

Sally held up the sketch. "We have a problem."

The trip back from the meadow seemed to take no time at all. Steven was deep in a haze as he thought about the afternoon he had, and he tried in futility to digest everything. His head still throbbed a little but it wasn't an active pain. He could feel that Asherah was still there. As he entered the home he rubbed the back of his neck, thoroughly exhausted. Dr. Dougherty was sitting in the living room chatting with Sally and Jonah, and they stopped when he walked in.

"Hey, Dr. Dougherty! I wasn't expecting you. How're the bees?" Steven was surprised at the late visit, though his friend does visit the homestead from time to time. He tried hard to focus on what was happening now. But it got easier suddenly as Asherah's presence became vastly more subtle. It was like going from a full out sprint to a moderate jog all of a sudden and Steven fought the vertigo that threatened to topple him. Where did she go? But she wasn't gone altogether and Steven looked around the living room, able to focus again.