Digital Heretic (23 page)

Chapter 49

What’s the point in knowing that Timeless exist if we don’t get to view them?

 
I know I’ve commented on this before, more than a hundred times in the past few weeks, but come on — it’s like being shown a mythical figure and then hiding it away again.

 
And what’s with all this new supernatural activity on Earth? Flying? Energy that can heal people? Who knows what else?

 
Did someone suddenly flip a switch and make Earth nothing like Tygon? I doubt very much we can do the same types of things here. I know I sound negative — hell, I
know
I’m being negative, but someone has to say what millions of us must be thinking.

 
Show us more and prove that it’s for real!

 
I think if we continue to be treated like this, we should show the powers that be how much control we really have. I’m encouraging you to stop viewing the Game. Stop supporting Brandon Strayne and his silly waste of time that has become the focus of all our lives.

 
Wake up, people! Rant by Game critic, Tim Brandl

Carl

  Cold, dark and dam
p
. Figures that’s the kind of place I’d wake up. Most people would just be glad to wake up, but I’ll reserve that feeling for after I’ve determined who took me.

  I close my eyes and use my other senses. If I had a buck for every time I was dumped in the dark and escaped easily, yeah, I’d have a few bucks. I enter a meditative state, then pulse my energy field outwards, releasing it and waiting for it to come back to me. Less than a second later the pulse returns, a type of psychic sonar which gives me a brief outline of my surroundings.

  I’m
in a very small concrete cell; there’s metal mixed in with it. Looks like whoever put me here knows what they’re doing. Not much energy will get out of here or in. Once again I curse that kid who played Faraday and invented the Faraday cage. I hope the kid scored well for the invention, but it’s been a constant pain in the ass. Then I chuckle to myself; I never complain when I use it to
my
advantage. Funny how that works.

 
I turn to my left, right, up and down, releasing a pulse to get a full picture of what surrounds me. It’s so dark that when I hold my hand up to touch my nose I still can’t see it. Damned metal in the

concrete
. I can’t determine what lies more than twenty feet in any direction. There is a hallway and another cell directly across from me; it’s empty at the moment. 

 
I slowly move my hand along the bars of my cell, stopping as I feel a tray, a cup and what feels like bread with some kind of warm stew. I carefully bring the tray to my bed and sit down, then quickly use the bread to shovel the food into my mouth, not stopping to taste or smell it. As soon as I’m done wolfing the food down, I take a big gulp of liquid, then I blow out through my mouth to prevent the taste buds from working. I can’t stop the tasters from working a bit at the end, though; I’m catching faint flavours that actually taste pretty good. I quickly use my finger to scrape a bit of both the food and the liquid and taste it more carefully, searching for any telltale hints of drugs. I can’t detect anything familiar.

 
Sitting back against the bed, I slowly count to five hundred. No dizziness, nausea or any other signs of being drugged. Out loud I

say
, “That’s one.” This is how I mark the time during captivity, by the meals. Marking it out loud helps me remember, which isn’t a problem now, but I’ve been locked away in some very rough situations and it gets harder to focus as time goes by.

 
I feel a disturbance outside my cell; not a door opening — the air begins to hum slightly and a sharp line of blue outlines the shape of a door. I close my right eye and look at it with my left. No sense losing all of my night vision if the lights are suddenly turned on and then off again. Slowly, a doorway forms; blue light envelops the entire interior of an area three feet wide by six feet tall. I see two shapes materialize, one standing tall, holding the second, which appears to be unconscious. They step through and the darkness returns.

 
I say nothing, waiting quietly to see what they do next. The one who is awake — a man, by the sounds of it — utters a single word and a dim globe of light appears in the middle of the hallway between the cells. He carries the other person towards the cell opposite me and places them inside, laying the figure down on the cot. Both of them have their backs to me; I can’t make out any details. The man exits the cell. It’s too dark for me to see the new prisoner as the door closes. The man’s eyes flit to my cell and his look changes from a serious scowl to a charming smile as our eyes meet.

  “You’ve
got to be kidding me,” I mutter in disgust.

 
He laughs, “I know. Embarrassing for you, right?” He gives the other cell door a hard pull to make certain it’s locked, then saunters closer. He stops an arm’s length away, always a good precaution when dealing with a caged Carl. “You look groggy. Did you just wake up?” he asks.

 
I say nothing.

  “You’ve
eaten, at least. That’s good. No drugs, we want you awake and alert from now on. I’m not a horrible host, Carl.”

  “
Whose call was it to do this to me?” I ask.

  “
Mine,” he says. “You’ve been a bit unpredictable lately.”

 
I laugh, “I’ve been unpredictable my whole life. That’s part of my boyish charm that everyone loves.”

 
He smiles, “I mean unpredictable for you
,
Carl. She’s too important to me right now to allow you to eject her just yet.” His eyes move slowly to the cell opposite me, then back.

  “
Who is?” I ask, but I already know.

  “
Danielle,” he confirms. “It’s not an easy thing to remove a Clean Mark, I couldn’t have you taking advantage of that before I got some time with her. I assume Daniel told you to make her dead?”

 
I look at him blankly. He knows I don’t break confidences. He shrugs, “Well, if he didn’t give the order yet, he soon would have. I need her. Don’t worry; when I’m done, I’ll let you finish her off. Just sit patiently for a while and we can all get on with our business. What do you say to that, young friend?”

  “
Why did you bring her here?” I ask. His look told me all I need to know; that’s her lying in the other cell.

  “
Just in case you need to learn her aura signature better,” Shane says. “Once I let her go, it’s important that you catch and kill her quickly. She’ll have information that I don’t want shared with others.”

  “
Then kill her yourself,” I say.

  “
It’s a bit complicated, but the truth is I won’t be able to. It will make things messier than they need to be.”

  “
I don’t know what you’re yapping about,” I say.

  “
You don’t need to,” Shane snaps. “Just relax a while and keep your mouth shut.”

 
He glares at me, letting me remember that I’m sitting in a cell. If there’s one creature in the world for me to be afraid of, it’s this old monster. I give him the respect he’s owed and say nothing.

  “I’ve
got things to do; it’s a busy time right now for me. Some very exciting developments are going on inside the Game. Lots of loose ends for me to tie up before I head out.”

  “
Head out to where?”

  “
I think I’m finally going to be able to head back to Tygon.” He looks at Danielle’s cell again. “If this young lady has the skills I think she does, soon I’ll be standing over Brandon Strayne’s broken body.”

  “
Everyone needs a goal,” I say.

 
He raises his hand and the doorway appears again. “I’ll leave the lights on for you two. Try not to bore her to death before I get back. I know how much you love to chat.”

 
He chuckles at his own joke and enters the portal. It stays open for a moment, then disappears. The lights in the hallway get a bit brighter and a small light appears in both my cell and Danielle’s. I look at her and see she’s fully awake; she’s been lying quietly, listening to the two of us talk.

 
I look at her for a moment. “You feel okay?” I ask.

  “
What do you care? You’re just going to kill me anyway.”

  “I’m
ordered to hunt you,” I say. “That gives you a chance to turn it around and kill me, Danielle. And from what I’ve seen over the past few years, you just might be up to the task.”

  “
I don’t have my Sever Spike with me,” she says.

  “
Maybe you’ll get it before we face off,” I say.

 
We sit in silence for quite a while. I try to come up with clever words, but I keep drawing blanks.

  “It’s
funny that we both wound up here,” I say.

  “
Not funny for me,” she says. “I get nabbed by some crazy, then I’m thrown into a cell across from my worst enemy. To make matters worse, it looks like you are actually afraid of the nutjob that grabbed me. I don’t know who he is, but when you bow your head to him, that must mean he’s very dangerous.”

  “
He is,” I nod.

  “
I know that after he’s done with me, whatever hell that entails, I’m going to have to fight you. I just hope I have the strength to kill you, Carl. I would be very disappointed if I don’t succeed in that.”

  “I’m
not going to kill you, Danni.” I say.

 
Her laughter fills the room and continues for a few moments.

  “I’m
serious,” I say. “From now on, you’re safe with me.”

  “
You expect me to believe that?” she asks.

  “
No,” I say. “But it’s the truth. I have orders, and I follow those orders.”

 
“I just heard him. He’s going to order you to kill me. The Devil has likely already given you the same command.”

  “
Yes, but I also have orders to keep you alive, at all costs.”

  “
You have orders to kill me
and
to keep me alive?” she asks.

  “
Yes,” I sigh. “I’m to kill you, and protect you.”

 
We sit quietly for a few moments. Finally she asks, “So what orders do you follow?”

  “
How well can you see me from over there?” I ask.

  “
Perfectly,” she says.

 
“Then get closer to the bars. I want you to see something.” I push my face against the bars and she gets close to hers. “Timeless are all bound to follow orders in the same manner. There is no discussion when it comes to this point. We follow our eyes. The orders that match my eyes, that’s what I follow. Infernals ordered me to kill you, Eternals ordered me to save you.”

  “
Oh, my god,” she gasps. “Your eyes!”

 
I nod my head wearily. Her look confirms what I’ve been able to hide from everyone but Gabriel. I’ve seen the red disappear, replaced with gold specks swirling mockingly in my eyes. “Yes, it looks like after all these centuries, I’m to be an Eternal for a while. I’ll protect you, Danni. I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.” 

Chapter 50

Miranda

 
Long before
I
was taken by Shane, I learned how to wake up without moving or opening my eyes. It’s a routine that has come in handy countless times over the years.

 
Part of the routine involves a greeting from Sparx not long after I wake up.

  ‘
Hey come on, I’m awake.’ I say. ‘I’ve done my part, now you say something witty or clever like you usually do.’

 
I remember being in the alley; I open my eyes and sit up. “Sparx?” I say out loud, looking at my surroundings. I’m in a small room, well lit, with cute little pictures hanging on white walls. There’s lots of pink, and a small window with a dainty curtain that is keeping out most of the morning light.

 
The door opens and a young woman walks in; she’s Chinese. Shoulder length, straight black hair, pretty round face with long eyelashes and big dark eyes. The tray in her hands holds a teapot and some small treats.

  “
Hi,” I say weakly. “Where am I? And who are you?”

 
She looks at me politely, then says something in Mandarin. Okay, looks like she doesn’t know English. Mandarin is fine. I can speak most dialects from around the world. “I’m sorry, but I don’t speak English,” she says. “I am glad to see you are awake. Can you understand me?”

  “
Yes, I can,” I say.

  “
Excellent. Your Mandarin is impeccable. I detect no accent at all. It’s like you were born speaking it.”

  “
Thank you.” I bow slightly from my seated position. “How did I end up in this room?”

  “
You collapsed in front of my father’s café,” she says. “We did not know what to do with you. We brought you to this spare bedroom to allow you to rest and warm up. You were very cold and dirty.”

  “
Thank you,” I say. “My leg was injured.”

  “
Yes, once we got you cleaned up I noticed that your leg was damaged. We summoned a healer. It should be fine now.”

 
I look down at my leg and flex the toes to test it out. It appears to be completely healed. “How long have I been here?” I ask.

  “
Three days,” she replies.

  “
Where am I?”

  “
We are in the Longhua District, in the province of Hainan,” she says. “My name is Jing-Wei.”

 
I visualize a map of China in my head. Wow, I’m in one of the very southernmost parts of China. “I am happy to meet you, Jing-Wei. My name is Miranda.” There’s no point in lying to her.

If she wanted to hurt me she could have done so
at any time over the last three days. I wonder how I got here. Shane can create portals; he must have opened one and, from the condition I was in, kicked me out of it.

  “
Do you have a telephone?” I ask.

  “
We have access to a cell phone, yes,” she says. “I will go and ask my father if we can borrow it from his cousin.”

  “
Thank you,” I say. “I will rest a bit more while you go.”

 
She nods and leaves the tea and snacks on the table beside the bed.  I close my eyes and lie back. I hear the door close a few moments later. Taking deep breaths, I begin to meditate, focusing on my body, trying to locate Sparx.

 
After a few moments, I open my eyes and blink rapidly to keep the tears away. I can detect a presence, but it’s empty. I think they destroyed her circuitry. Sparx is gone.

 
I lay back in my bed and try to remain calm. Sparx was more than just a sentient nanocomputer, she was my friend. We were together for decades. It’s like part of my soul is gone, a part that I talked with and loved every day; a part that not only shared my life, but added so much to it. 

When we volunteered to infiltrate Shane’s lair, it was assumed that I would be the one sacrificing my life. It never occurred to me that he might detect and destroy her instead.

 
I look around the room once more and see the clothes I was wearing in the alley. They are washed and clean, folded neatly on a chair. There’s a note sitting on top of the pile, I reach over and open it. It must have been in my pants pocket; it’s written in English;

 
Sorry to cut our time short, Miranda, but I have more pressing matters to attend to. It was a delight to meet you. I enjoyed our brief time together. Perhaps we will run into each other again and can continue our work; there is much I would like to learn from you, it’s a shame this new project requires so much of my focus.

             
Shane

P.S. Don’t worry about your little friend
. I'll take very good care of it for you
.

  I fold the letter into a small square and place it in the palm of my hand, holding it out in front of me. I allow the rage that Shane has stirred in me to focus into a small ball of dull grey energy; it envelops the letter which slowly rises into the air an inch above my palm. The note spins quickly three times, smoking as it spins, then vanishes in a flash of icy light. I brush my hands together and lie back on the bed, trying to think of a plan to get Sparx back from that monster. I’m still tired. I soon fall asleep.

***

  I hear the door open again and wake up. It’s Jing-Wei and she holds a cell phone in her hand, smiling triumphantly as she walks towards me. I smile as she hands it to me. “Thank you, Jing-Wei.”

  “
You are most welcome, Miranda,” she says. “You have the most beautiful eyes. The small flashes of red in them are very remarkable.”

 
I smile at her. “Thanks. They’ve been like that for a long time, although long ago instead of red, the flecks were gold coloured.”

“
Truly?” she asks.

 
I nod as I dial a number on the phone and wait for it to ring. A Chinese operator comes on and asks me for some information; we speak for a few moments and then she connects my call. Eventually it rings and I hear a familiar voice on the other end.

  “
Hello?”

  “
Hi, Steph,” I say.

  “
Miranda?” she sounds surprised. “Where are you? Done already? How did it go?”

  “
I don’t think it went well, Stephanie,” I say. “As for where I am, It’s going to be a bit of a trip to come get me, or send me money to get home.”

  “Don’t
worry, Miranda,” she says. “There is nowhere on Earth that we cannot come to get you.”

  “
Actually, there is,” I say, remembering the cell somewhere underground that was my home for the past few months. “But right now I’m in China.”

  “
Give me the details and we’ll come get you.”

  “
Steph,” I say, “Sparx is… I think Sparx is…” my voice breaks off into a sob.

  “Let’s
just get you first, Miranda. Sparx is a tough nut; don’t give up on her.”

 
I take a deep breath, nod silently and swallow. “Okay. Here’s where I am.”