THE GATE KEEPER (19 page)

There
was a tube which was attached to my suit. I suck it and drink the natural fluid
with appetite. Slowly the thirst fades away. The vertiginous and hallucination
slowly dispel. I try to focus where I had heard it.
I must have been
dreaming.

‘Sad,
you can hear us but you can’t see us.’

Am
I losing it?

Yet
it was true. The same voice had dictated me of what I was experiencing. Doubts
cross my mind about whether I was right in the head. Yet I could not see anyone
but I could hear her. The similar voice of the beautiful martial artist I once
fought.

It
felt as if she was with me in the room. Watching and waiting for me to mentally
brake down. I could not make sense of everything.

Then
I could sense someone in the room. I could feel the hair on my neck erecting.
Quickly I turn around but all I could see was the nude mannequin. Behind the
statue was the wall with an escape route which leads skywards.

Suddenly
my legs collapse under my weight. I felt dizzy and the back of my neck was in
agony. I try hard to stay focus. I blink and fight through the blackness which
came and goes. It was now that I realised that someone or something had whacked
me from behind.

‘Amazing
isn’t it?’

The
same voice I had heard previously.
Maybe I was not crazy as I have
thought
I was?

‘You
can’t outrun us.’ There was a slight pause. ‘….possibly, thinking and seeking
for your sanity? Aren’t you? Don’t worry you’re not insane. Maybe if you did
stare harder you could have seen us.’

Then
I felt a hand tapping my shoulder.

She
had said it. I was right all along. I had felt their presence.
How did they
manage to camouflage themselves? Have I been given a new type of drugs that
hide reality? Stare harder
she had said.

Seek
for the truth before your eyes and you shall see.

I
could feel the pressure of what appears to be the palm of a hand on my left
shoulder. The four fingers and the thumb resting comfortably as she says, ‘You
don’t have a choice in this matter. Give us what we want or face greater
unbearable circumstances. Believe me, we’re good at erasing your past and we
both know it can be done if we go back to your creator. Let me think....,’

Seek
for the truth, I remind myself and something came to my head. I slowly lift my
head and focus ahead. The harder I stare the more I could see it. Distort
images of several figure-like human. Except that it seems that their body had
manage to bend light. My eyes became watery that I had to blink. 

Then
she carry on ‘...in your case it shall be your lovely mother.’

My
vision went blurry and then it came back. I could not see them. Yet I felt the
absence of the normal and the presence of the abnormal. Immediately I knew I
had to do something. My right hand instinctively went for what I believe to be
an invisible hand which I could only sense its presence. I seize it. I twist it
brutally. Then I quickly drive it towards me in a circular motion while still
kneeling. I felt an invisible being flying by. Moving into the circular motion
I had sent it to, I release the pressure and let it go.

I
sense the fall. The sound of a falling body onto the concrete ground follows by
the cry of agony and broken bones. I stare at the floor and something flickers
from an unexplainable surrounding colour into a black suit. Then it camouflaged
with its background and disappears again. As if it wasn’t there.  

I
close my eyes. Take a deep breathed while my head try to get round the
unbelievable. I open my eyes. Move closer to the fall. Without hesitating I put
my left foot onto what I believe was an invisible being. My boots slightly sink
into the fleshy parts.

A
sudden pressure of agony explodes at the back of the fleshy part of my right
thigh. It naturally forces my body into a kneeling position that my right foot
lost its grip. Another unexpected sudden blows comes in contact with my left
foot  

         
I wanted to dive on the floor for mercy. But I could not. Absorbing it in like
a fully grown man I went down like a sack of potato. I scan for my attacker. I
was on my own. I wonder if I was being deceived by my own eyes.
Perhaps I
was drugged
which I was certain I wasn’t
.
Forcefully my left foot
had given up on me,
I strained myself.

On
the floor I instinctively turn on my back. Deep inside I felt an extreme desire
to identify my attacker. Though the oddity of the strange circumstances where
beyond my understanding I had to at least try.

Something
in the shape of a foot presses me to the floor. I focus at the pressure on my
chest. Amazing, finally I could see it. Somehow the being had bend light. I
trace the strange camouflage upward and notice that it was a man. It moves to
what appears to be a camouflage arm.

As
part of the skin become visible I realised what it was doing. Exposing its
identity I recognise a black suite. It removes its
ninjustu’s
mask and reveals himself.

‘Surprise,
surprise, thought you could get away that easy,’
Mcneil
frowningly expressed.

Behind
him the two figures I had not noticed did the same. The beautiful martial
artist and the other gate keeper who came for me. I kick
Mcneil
in the balls. His eyes went skyward through his skull. His mouth open wide. In
agony he mumbles out senseless words as he had grabbed his balls and private
parts. He went down on both of his knees as if dying for a prayer.

His
two colleagues,
Reynold
and the lady I admire made a
move but I was too fast. I was up and running for the stairs. The mannequin’s
belly slide out. On the slide there was a gun.
The AI of the building had
made my day
. I grab it. Click the side button to increase its fire power to
its extreme. I point it towards them.

In
panic the two came to a halt. They try to spread.
Too late
, I thought. I
was aiming, had a lock on the target and ready for action. Reluctantly I press
the trigger for the sake of self-defence. The lady dive for the floor and
Mcneil
try to flank me.

Light
flickers and all three fly backward. Everything went flying around. The two who
were hiding for cover on the floor were lifted and thrown backwards. The
enormous pressure of anti-matter being release from the gun sent me backward
near the flights of ladders.

I
get up and head for it. 

The
katana lady opens her eyes and search for her inner strength to get on her
legs. Unconsciousness had pinned her down for a while.
How long had I’ve
been in this
disgraceful position
? One side of her face had been
embracing the floor. With both palm of her hands on the floor as if preparing
for press up, she tries to lift her body a few inches off the floor. She
glances around searching for any sign of life.

All
the strong mortal men she brought didn’t even show a sign of life. They had
been stripped of their weapon. She had failed them. The mission was yet to come
to an end. She had to finish the mission. For her the mission was a priority.
Better
to fail die trying than retreating,
her master’s indoctrinating ideology
flash to her mind.

She
shook her head and stand up. Ahead in the room where the mannequin was she
realised that the man-made model was nude. The uniform was gone. She scans the
room for it and it was nowhere to be found. She closes her eyes and search for
her inner strength.

In
her mind the katana lady focuses on what her memory had gathered. She was after
an exit point.
There you are
. Her mind had spotted one behind the mannequin.
Bolted to the wall was a ladder. It head upwards. She thought of the
possibility of tracking her nemesis.

She
personally allowed her subconscious to believe that the boy must have used this
secondary escape route.
The primary one they have use would have been too
far down the room. It would have compromise his position. Beside the last time
he fired at us he was near the mannequin and the ladder.
She conceived
thoughtfully.

Inexperience
and young as him
, she ponder,
I would have made an exit
.
She envisions herself as the one he had called
boy.
Yes, he would
have easily made
mistakes.
He would have panic thus prone for
mistakes
.
The exit, it must be, it’s the only way and wise idea that
make sense for headway.

She
got up on her fours. Make a run for the ladder behind the nude mannequin. The
katana lady run pass the statue and jump on the ladder. With immense speed she
climbs and ascends for what she thought might be the escape route.

The
air becomes fresher the higher she moves. Halfway through it felt cold. 
It felt like the warm air from inside disperse from the one drawn in from
above. She embraces the cold fresh air and realise that she was closer to the
surface. She searches for pattern of evidence and recognise that the hatch was
open. Finally she breaks free.

She
remains still at the edge of the ladder. Stealthily she scan for disturb
ground, watching for sign of movements and listening. Outside was pitched
black. She got out of the hole, allowing the light from below to show her the
way. Behind she could hear the sound of footsteps on the pebbles.

She
steps out of the light. The katana lady went the opposite direction of the hole
and scan around. Her eyes spots movement but it disappears instantly. She runs
through thick darkness. Towards where she had seen the moving figure vanished.
She follows her sense of hearing as footsteps crack the pebbles.

19

I
had crawled out from the underground ladder and gulp in fresh air as I had stared
at the clear night sky. Admiring the shining stars from above before I came to
a halt. Though the danger was still not far behind and below, I had sensed a
new threat. My eyes had failed me through the impenetrable pitch black but I
swore that my ears had picked something afar.

It
must have blend in
. Among the noise of my footsteps through the
desert pebbles and the rhythmic of the gusting wind, I instinctually come to a
halt.
Let it be silence,
I thought. Stealthily I dive to the ground. I
remain still while I stayed all ears of my murky surrounding.

Nothing
yet, it all went dead silence as I begin to doubt my hearing. I wonder if
perhaps I was over reacting. The gust had come and gone. Silence rule for a
while. The arid land felt dead. No nocturnal creatures embracing the night.
Then I hear the same sound I had heard and could not distinguished among the
distorted gusting sound of the wind.

The
cold gust kicks in again and swallows the faint unknown sound. I notice that
the temperature had dropped. I began to feel cold. Somehow the kick in
adrenaline have prevail my mind from my cold surrounding. As if sensing the
harsh condition of the low temperature my special suit starts to warm up. It
felt like it was trapping my body heat and recycling it within the suit.

Silence
dominates the uninhabitable land for one more time. This time I could hear it.
A faint distinctive sound far over the dark horizon could be heard. The strange
sound of blade rotates without any fierce roaring of an engine. I remain still
to confirm my suspicion. The wind kicks in and there was a mixture of a third
distinctive sound.

No,
it can’t be! Impossible,
I thought.  A chill of fear paralyse
the whole of my body. Pebble nearby crackles from my left flank. The unbearable
weight of someone or something was moving on it. It seems to be moving fast as
well.

Something
cold presses against my left chick. 

‘Move
and I shall turn you into ashes.’ Someone whispered to me.

I
try my best to calm myself and not to do anything stupid to jeopardise my life.
Death had knock on my door once again into another form of challenge. I clear
my mind from the fear of dying. I had to think of something good. Someone I
care for.

I
saw her face before he kiss her. The day she betray our new found love to Michael.
The face I had fall in love with. The love which I fear I could never cherish
just like the one I could never had before. Never give in my mum had told me.
You fail first you train and come back stronger with a better attitude to win
her over. I wanted to see her face again. Above all I wanted to live.

In
my mind I try to focus on the possibilities of disarming my nemesis. Each move
I visualise I could see myself being check mate.
Nobody is faster than a
speeding bullet
.  

‘Fascinating
isn’t it?’ The assailant said.

There
was a pause. The gust come and goes. The sound of the rotating blade got
closer.

‘Here
he is. The powerful entrepreneur and inventor, in person also believe to be our
saviour against the oil polluting machines. A ghost to his enemies, mystify
being among the environmentalists and a god to the technological
revolutionists.’

With
my head facing the ground I asked, ‘then, which one are you?’

The
assailant stealthily walks backward and in front of me, still pointing the weapon
at me. I slowly raised my head towards my assailant. The man pointing the gun
at me had painted his face with green, black and brown military charcoal. On
his forehead laid a military style night vision binocular.

‘If
it wasn’t for my boss I would have already waste you.’

‘What
have I done to you to deserve this hatred of yours?’

‘You
see, with me it’s personal. I was once married to a lovely wife. Her name was
Hannah and she had a luggage of wealth before we met. Her wealth was education.
She had all the qualification to rise as a manager as she had a degree in the
relevant matter. You see, she chose the wrong company to work for. They used
and abuse her good nature of hard work. They made her work late and never gave
her a promotion. Her less qualify bosses always search for an imbecile excuses
to suppress her from rising through the hierarchy.’

‘What
does this got to do with me?’

At
the dark horizon of the sky we could hear the muffling of the rotating machines
becoming a bit louder and closer.

‘Patience
Mr Smith, you’ll soon learn how you turn out to get entangle in this personal
affaire of mine. Anyway where was I? ....Yes at her work….the suppression…..the
excuses. They state that her English wasn’t professional enough as they know
that she was a Mexican naturalised as an American. At times they came up with
bull shit ideas such as she’s too quiet and doesn’t participate enough to the
corporate party. Sometimes they also state that if given the opportunity to
rise she won’t even be able to lead.’

The
man stand there sobbing and fighting off the tears that he couldn’t control. It
rolls down his cheek and I kept quiet. Funny as it seems to find that the
assailant was human after all.
After all,
the soldier needed to get
it off his chest.

I
felt the urge of telling him how I was feeling. Innocent was my status. A
victim of future events which were bound to happened.
Uncertainty,
I
thought,
my future is bound by it
. ‘I can’t see the point of you telling
me something that I don’t have a clue, when in fact my life is on a balance.
Why don’t you let me go?’

‘Are
you begging for mercy?’

His
story didn’t make any sense to me and yet I could not say so. After all he
holds the key of whether I live or die. The faint noise got closer and I had to
think of something quick. I felt like something bad was coming for me.

I
felt like I had to at least try to convince him. The survival instinct from
within kick in and I said, ‘No, but I believe that it’s the right thing to do.
And a man who was once honest and good would have done the same thing right now
as he would have done a few years back when she was alive.’

‘You
think you can simply talk your way into it. Unfortunately you can’t as your
company drove her to the edge that she threw herself off the building and plunge
to her death. Unless, you can trade your life for my wife which sound
impossible and inevitable if it could had been done.’

‘I
don’t own a company. Instead I live with my mother.’

‘Not
yet, but according to this year we are in, you are a wealthy businessman but
somehow you’ve mysteriously disappeared. You can’t walk out of your destiny now
as this is who you are. Your kind, are greedy for money and power. Enough is
never enough.’ 

Behind
him out of the darkness a big machine in the shape of a plane comes to a halt
mid-air. The faint sound came from its two massive blades which rotate rapidly
at a forty five angle at the edges of its wings. Then dark moving blades
sluggishly move towards the sky, as if turning the plane into a chopper.

‘All
you have to do is to give me the weapon and I shall leave. Nobody has to get
hurt.’

He
quickly glances at the plane and back at me. Then he said, ‘My master is here
with us as we speak and from now, your life laid in his hands.’

Sands
and weightless pebbles fly and disperse towards us. Like a helicopter, the
plane descends straight, in a gentle control manner and lands safely a few
metres from where we were. Straightaway the back door gently opens downward.
Behind us I could hear the footsteps of someone. My assailant glances behind me
and squint in disbelief.

‘What
are you doing here? A female voice said.

He
raised the unarmed hand at his forehead overshadowing the light from behind me
and responds, ‘Oh,
Nastassja
, welcome. We had to oversee
the attack and make sure that he did not get away.’

Behind
my assailant I could see the silhouette of somebody walking down the back door
of the plane. The person was neither in a hurry nor in a relax mode.

‘I see
that you’ve brought company with you,’ the female he had identified as
Nastassja
expressed.

‘If
it has to be done it must be done and beside, I’m just obeying orders,’ the
assailant confirmed.

The
lady comes at rest near me and says, ‘I thought I gave you a simple order to
stand down until the mission was over. You’re compromising the mission.’

‘Twice
he had kicked your butt. All we wanted to do was to make sure the task is done
properly. Besides, the orders came from beyond your pay.’

‘Who
authorise all of this?’

‘I
did!’ a voice from the back shouted.

The
man from the back walks out of darkness and expose himself to us. The outline
of his face comes in view. Still I could not make out the definition of his
face. Inefficient light from behind was my only ally I could rely on to see him
properly. The man my assailant had called
master
. Behind him the
aircraft’s blades produce a humming stealthy roar which violently scatters the
desert sands. Red lights flickers, underneath and atop of the shadowy aircraft.

He
walk towards me and said, ‘by now your mind must be filled with questions which
is begging for answers. Wondering why we are after you? Why we want to destroy
you? Why, why and why? The question you should be asking yourself has always
been staring at you. What is your purpose?’

‘Do
I,’ I asked. Pause to think and says, ‘I meant my purpose.’

He
walks in circle leaving me, my assailant and
Nastassja
in the centre. As if we were the centre of attraction. ‘You don’t really know
do you?’ He sceptically demanded.

‘We
don’t think he knows it yet
shihan
,’
Nastassja
replied with certainty in her voice.

Shihan
, the
Japanese word for Master,
I pondered.

The
man she had called master was hidden behind me. Conceal his face in pitch
black. Ahead at gun point I notice how puzzling my assailant was. The
disbelief,
how could the teenager that lay before his eyes be innocent.
Remorse
was what he could not afford to feel for me. Fuming vengeance was what he felt
for me.

‘Master
no matter how innocent it may all seems we must remind ourselves that he’s
destined to change the future. Corrupted it to his grave and leaves a rotten
system for us to forcefully abide by it.’ My assailant odious out his thought.

‘That
doesn’t mean that we can make him disappears. There’re great consequences to that.’
Nastassja
gave out the reality which she believes
shall obscure the future.

‘Yes,
Yes, I’m aware of that. Catastrophe consequences as we may alter the future if
he is truly the origin.’ The old man summarised his own justification.

The
assassin grips the weapon firmly at my forehead. ‘Weapon cock and ready for
firing,’ a robotic female vocal from his gun announce as he stretch his arm.

‘What
about the consequences of those that lost their lives because of him!’ the
assassin berserk with grief.

‘We
have no time for personal vendetta! We have to be smart. If he is the right one
and we take him out of the equation we just going to upset the balance of
time.’ Their master exhorted his concern.

The
katana lady intervened and says, ‘
sensai
is
right, killing him without a proper investigation could change our world.
Beside, look at him, he’s pure.’

There
was only a humming noise of the aircraft blades as they all kept quiet. In the
meantime mother-nature did not favour us as drizzling rain scatters on us.

Their
frail master quickly walks to the futuristic flight. He lifts his right hand
up. He glanced at it as if waiting for a response. It illuminate into glowing
orange colour. He made a quick repetitive circular motion and says, ‘let’s
bring him in.’

The
blades of the plane accelerate violently towards the sky.

‘You’ve
heard
sensei
, ...both
of you first,’
Nastassja
advised her colleague.

Shocked
and amaze with the outcome, my assailant gazed at me as he forcefully concurred
with their terms. Courteously he conciliates with his own anger and says, ‘that
means me and you got to stay acquainted for a little bit longer than I
expected. By the way…!’

With
an emphatic smirk on his face he whacked me at the back of my head and
uncontrollably I felt my body heading towards the ground.

‘I’m
Mac. My friends call me big Mac.’ He said as he caught me half way to the
ground.

Dizzy,
I pass out.