The Purification: Book 3 of the Evaran Chronicles (9 page)

Dr. Snowden sighed. “Yeah … but I’ve always been able to keep it under wraps. I’m not sure what’s causing me to fly into a rage. I didn’t have this problem when we helped the Fredorians.”

Evaran cocked his head. “Well … you had another emotion that overrode any anger you might have had, and even then, it did flare through at times.”

“Yeah … can’t say I miss that whole fear thing.”

Evaran rubbed his chin as he studied Dr. Snowden. “Starting tomorrow, we will begin a new program. Every morning, you and I will have a session. It will take time, but I believe you can control it.”

Dr. Snowden nodded. He half smiled at Emily. “At least you won’t have as many opportunities to call me a jerk face.”

Emily swatted his arm as she smiled at him. “I wouldn’t bet on it!”

They shared a laugh.

V walked into the room. “We have landed.”

“Excellent,” said Evaran. “You two can wait here while I investigate.”

Dr. Snowden shook his head. “I’d like to go. Really could use the fresh air.”

Emily nodded. “Me too.”

Dr. Snowden studied Emily. While he wanted to go, he wanted her to stay, in case things got out of hand. There was no way she would be by herself, though, even if it was just on the Torvatta. It was not her nature, and he suspected that as much as he needed to control his anger, she would one day need to learn to be comfortable being by herself. He slid off the slab.

“Analysis. I could use some fresh air as well.”

Emily and Dr. Snowden chuckled.

Evaran half smiled. “Fine. Before we go, follow me to the research lab. I have made some adjustments to your PSDs’ design and need to sync them with the Torvatta.”

They assembled in the research lab.

Evaran stood next to a table that had a rubberlike mat on half of it and a glass-like top on the other. He gestured at the side with the rubber mat. “Place your PSDs there.”

Dr. Snowden and Emily complied.

Evaran tapped at the glass, and a projection of the PSDs appeared. He extended his hand toward it, causing a menu to appear off to the side. With a quick motion of his hands, he selected sync, which caused the PSDs’ projection to change to a slightly bulkier model. After waving his hand toward the rubber mat, the PSDs morphed to match the projection. Evaran handed the PSDs back to them.

Emily looked her PSD over. “Three buttons now?”

“Yes,” said Evaran. “The first and second are customizable. The third projects a miniature screen above the PSD that lets you switch between what the buttons will do. You can also access the main interface from there as well. On the side is a small switch that toggles if the PSD expands or shows a projection.”

Emily opened and closed her PSD in both modes.

“Why the upgrade?” asked Dr. Snowden.

Evaran nodded. “After the events of our last adventure, I realized that in a survival situation, you would need something more robust than what the PSD offered. To that end, I have added a survival modification as well as some training videos I did long ago. You will notice the end is a bit wider. That is to support a wider array of options for the morphable metal.”

“That’s pretty cool,” said Emily. “What type of survival options we talking about?”

Evaran half grinned. “I figured you would be interested in that. In addition to information, you can now extend a container that will purify water. There is also a food pellet dispenser option, but I would caution you on using them. Each pellet contains your caloric requirements for one day, and it is packed with all the vitamins you need. Your nanobots know how to distribute it. It would be detrimental on anyone else. There is about a nine-month supply there.”

“The PSD is using dimensional mechanics for the dispenser, right?” asked Dr. Snowden.

“That is correct,” said Evaran. “Okay, are we ready?”

Dr. Snowden and Emily nodded and pocketed the PSDs.

They exited the Torvatta and entered a forest clearing.

“V, scout mode.”

“Acknowledged. Scout mode engaged,” said V. He took off flying through the trees.

“According to Agent Asher, the beacon is masked as a tree nearby,” said Evaran.

Dr. Snowden looked around. “Well, at least we aren’t too far away.” The strong smell of the forest pervaded his nostrils. Sunlight filtered down through the trees, creating rays of light. Although he did not hear any animals, the unmistakable sound of buzzing insects was ever present. He was sure Emily would love that.

They trudged through the forest, making sure to walk around dense clusters of trees. V flew back and projected a hologram. It showed two Native Americans hunting off in the distance. “Analysis. Two humanoids detected.”

Evaran studied the projection. “I do not think either is Lord Vygon.”

Emily smiled. “Well, this is the archaic period. They are probably hunter-gatherers out … hunting and gathering.”

“Look at you,” said Dr. Snowden. “Miss History over here.”

Emily swatted Dr. Snowden’s arm. “Maybe you should have read some of the books I suggested for you.”

Dr. Snowden grinned.

“V, distraction hologram,” said Evaran.

“Acknowledged,” said V. He shot off through the forest.

They continued their journey, pausing every now and then to verify they were on the right course. Dr. Snowden had pulled out his PSD and enabled the navigation system. He pointed forward as they walked, and the PSD would show a holographic arrow with the distance above it ahead of him. It was like a compass and global positioning system in one.

V arrived back ten minutes later. “Analysis. The humanoids have fled.”

“Excellent,” said Evaran.

Dr. Snowden tilted his head. “What hologram did you use?”

“A grizzly bear.”

“Well, that would definitely do it.”

“I increased it to four times its normal size and doubled its movement speed.”

Emily’s eyes popped open. “Uhh … yeah … that’d do it.”

V’s lights glowed a bit brighter.

Evaran gestured at a tree in the distance. “Come, we are close.”

They arrived at a large, slightly glowing tree that stood out among the surrounding forest.

Evaran scanned it with his ring, causing portions of the hologram to fade. A four-foot cylinder sat on top of a base behind the hologram. He approached it and reached through the hologram.

A rustling sound shot around them.

Dr. Snowden rubbed the goose bumps on his arm as a slight breeze wafted past them.

Evaran snapped his head to follow the trajectory of a medium-sized man falling from the tree. The dark-skinned man had on black pants and a black vest. The vest was lightly padded and segmented into rubberlike sections. A black cape fluttered behind him with a silver line indented around the edges. On his forearms were bronze metallic structures that wrapped around. A ridge ran the length of them. His profile stood in contrast to the light from the hologram. Straight silver hair flowed to the sides, and his silver eyes glistened.

The man turned his head slightly as he surveyed them. “Evaran?”

Evaran nodded. “Yes. You must be Lord Vygon.”

Lord Vygon’s eyes misted. He shook his head. “You’re impossible. You know that?” He rushed forward and hugged a startled Evaran.

Dr. Snowden glanced at Emily, who shrugged.

Lord Vygon laughed as he stepped back. “Time travel is truly bizarre.” He extended a hand toward Dr. Snowden. “An honor to see you again, as always.”

Dr. Snowden wrinkled his eyebrows and shook Lord Vygon’s hand.

Lord Vygon bowed his head slightly as he extended a hand toward Emily. “You look well.”

“Thanks,” said Emily with a smile. She shook Lord Vygon’s hand.

Lord Vygon jerked his head back. He narrowed his eyes and raised a finger. “Okay … something’s off here.”

“Meeting others out of sequence at this point in my personal timeline is not uncommon, especially for an area where I spend some time, such as Earth. It is inevitable I will meet others who have met a future version of me, Dr. Snowden, or Emily,” said Evaran.

“Right … so … this is your first time meeting me then, I’m gathering.”

Dr. Snowden found this aspect of time travel fascinating. It highlighted the difference between a personal timeline and universal timeline. In the universal timeline, sometime in the past, Lord Vygon met Evaran, and by extension him and Emily, for the first time. That would be how Lord Vygon knows them now in the present. However, for Evaran, in his personal timeline, that event in the past has not occurred yet, so he would not know Lord Vygon. Dr. Snowden remembered Evaran had said that the future already exists. That must apply to both personal and universal timelines, regardless of scope.

“Yes,” said Evaran. “This is our first meeting.”

Lord Vygon nodded. “Well then … not sure what brought you out here, but my base is nearby.”

“We could talk on the Torvatta,” said Evaran.

Lord Vygon shook his head. “No temporal shielding for me.”

“Very well.”

Lord Vygon waved forward. “Follow me.”

They followed Lord Vygon as he wound through the forest. After several minutes, they came upon a large rocky structure with a cave opening. Evaran launched his illumination orbs as they neared it.

“You won’t need those,” said Lord Vygon. “The cave is lit inside.”

Evaran snapped his head around. “We are not alone.”

Lord Vygon flung his arms to his sides as he stood beside Evaran. Blunted blades extended above his forearms and wrapped around to the front of his fists. The bases of the blades were anchored to the forearm guards’ ridges. “I hear them too.”

Evaran gestured for Dr. Snowden and Emily to move to the cave entrance as bald, black-clothed male humanoids swarmed the area. They wore padded boots and a covering over the lower half of their faces. A small circular crystal was embedded in their foreheads. Red triangles surrounded their eyes. They wielded metal staffs with a glowing crystal embedded on one end, while curved daggers hung off their belts. A barrage of beams shot out. Lord Vygon ran behind Evaran as the beams hit Evaran’s shield.

“They are shooting mass teleport beams,” said Evaran, studying his ARI. He extended his utility handle into a baton and aimed at several of the humanoids.
Boom!
White concentric circles shot out, sending several of the humanoids flying. Those not hit moved behind the trees.

“That won’t work well here. Too many obstructions,” said Lord Vygon. “You can’t be teleported, so draw their fire. They also shoot bolts, those will be the ones to block. I’ll hit the perimeter. I could use V’s help with distraction. Just like old times.”

Evaran tilted his head. He sidestepped one of the humanoids that had charged forward and batted him away. “Are you sure?”

Lord Vygon ducked as a beam shot over his head. “Of course. Don’t worry, I won’t kill. My blades are blunted.”

Evaran narrowed his eyes and nodded. “V, assist Lord Vygon.”

“Acknowledged,” said V. He flew high into the air, dodging beams as Lord Vygon shot out into the forest.

Evaran hunkered down, letting the beams hit his shield, and switched to his ranged stun beam. He took potshots, but the amount of bolts trying to hit him caused him to focus on moving his shield around. As Lord Vygon and V went around the perimeter, the amount of bolts began to decrease.

Dr. Snowden’s breathing went haphazard as he watched the fight. Lord Vygon was a blur, and the bodies being tossed into the air were the only way for Dr. Snowden to track him. V flew around casting multiple copies of Lord Vygon, which seemed to confuse the attackers. Dr. Snowden faced Emily and gestured to move farther into the cave.

“Uncle Albert?” asked Emily as she grabbed Dr. Snowden’s arm.

Dr. Snowden spun around as one of the humanoids dropped to the ground in front of them. Dr. Snowden barreled forward, yanking Emily to the ground in the process. His eyes raged as he bowled the man over. Dr. Snowden scowled as his fists went into a fury of strikes. He pummeled the man until he was barely moving.

“Uncle Albert!” said Emily as two others dropped to the ground.

Dr. Snowden jumped up and tackled one of the humanoids. The other took a step back and shot a beam at Emily. She cried out as she vanished in a bright flash of light.

“Emily!”
said Dr. Snowden as he wrestled the staff away from the one he knocked down. He swung at the second humanoid, causing him to fly out of the cave entrance and over Evaran. He felt a sharp pain in his side as the humanoid he took the staff from shot him with a bolt. He wheeled around and cracked the man over the head with the staff. The man faltered for a moment, then stopped moving. With a toss of the staff, he dropped to the ground on all fours. He crawled over to where Emily had vanished and frantically searched the ground.
“Emily!”

Evaran, with shield raised, walked backward to where Dr. Snowden was. When he got there, he pulled Dr. Snowden back into the cave and out of sight.

“Where … where is she?” said Dr. Snowden as his voice cracked.

“I … do not know,” said Evaran with wrinkled eyebrows. “We will scan the area when the rest of the attackers are gone.” He proceeded to peep out, shooting his stun beam. After a few minutes, a silence washed over the area.

Lord Vygon and V joined Evaran and Dr. Snowden. “They’re leaving. That was a small group. We were lucky.” He scanned the surroundings. With a tilted head, he said, “Oh … this is not good …”

“Where is she!” said Dr. Snowden. He burst forward to where Emily had vanished and kicked the dirt and leaves around.

“We will find her. You need to stay calm,” said Evaran.

Dr. Snowden shook his head violently. “Calm? Emily’s g—” He put a hand on his chest as a jolt of pain shot through him, causing him to grunt and fall to the ground. His breathing slowed, and his vision dimmed as he saw Evaran and Lord Vygon rush toward him. Everything went black.

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