The Turn: Chapter Forty

The Turn

Chapter Forty

~New Way of Life~

One Year Before The Turn

Funny story! I actually wrote this chapter after I had finished writing the series and started writing the Iridescent story line. I realized poor Row Harper, our favorite detective, didn’t have a type of closure chapter. So here it is! Written just in time For you!

A Week after the Fall.

 

Detective Row Harper rubbed his temples as he listened to another junkie try to explain away why he had dugs in his pocket. It was the seventeenth time he had heard the “It just appeared there!” excuse. He got up from the interrogation desk and let himself out. The suspect shouted his complaints as Harper closed the door. When the door closed, Harper took a deep breath.

“HARPER!” the sergeant called from his office.

Harper groaned. This was the last thing he needed at this moment. He forced himself to walk down the hallway and out where the offices where. The sergeant looked at him and growled.

“HARPER! GET YOU’RE BUTT OVER HERE!” the sergeant recoiled back into his office.

Harper took a deep breath and walked into the office. He made sure to call the sergeant by his real name and not the one the officers used to make fun of him.

“Sergeant Hailfeather, you called, sir?” Harper tried to smile genuinely.

“DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY ARRESTS YOU HAVE MADE THIS MONTH?!?”

Harper looked at the ceiling as he thought.

“FORTY-NINE!!!” the sergeant shouted, “DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO MAKE?!? FIFTY!!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS HARPER?!?”

Harper sighed. A half an hour of you yelling at me?

“WE CANT AFFORD SLACKERS LIKE YOU HARPER! YOU NEED TO SHAPE UP! I CAN DEMOTE YOU ‘TILL YOUR TICKETING PEOPLE AT THE PARKING METORS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!?”

“Yes, sir,” Harper said, his voice monotone.

“I DON’T THINK YOU DO! WHEN I WAS AN OFFICER I REALED IN NINTY-FIVE ARRESTS ON AVARAGE! CAN YOU SAY THAT ABOUT YOURSELF HARPER?!? I DON’T THINK SO!!!”

Harper tuned out the rest of the ‘conversation’. He glanced out the windows surrounding the office. There were sympathetic glances as the sergeant went on and on. His voice had a way of vibrating every glass window in the building. Harper could swear if the sergeant tried, he could be considered a small earthquake on the Richter scale. The other officers tried to continue their work with the sounds of rattling in their ears.

He said ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir’ at the right times but barely took note on what was said to him. Harper thought he felt the ground under his feet rumble. He glanced out through the windows into the office. There seemed to be a bit of a commotion going on. Phones started ringing off the hook. Interested Harper looked more directly out the window.

“ARE YOU IGNOREING ME!?!” the sergeant shouted, “YOU THINK YOU GOT BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN LISTEN YOU WHAT I AM SAYING!?!”

“No, sir,” Harper said, “I just think that there is something going on.

Harper walked out of the office. Phones were ringing off the hook. Harper walked over to a friend of his and looked at his desk. His friend looked up at him and shook his head.

“There are calls from all over about a flying mother ship,” he smiled, “Can you believe that?”

There was a loud explosion a few streets down. That explosion brought the whole department to their feet, running outside to the street. Harper ran out into the center of the street and saw the chaos. Civilians screamed and pointed at the sky. Harper looked and saw what had frightened all the people.

 A massive ship sailed through the sky like a black cloud. The air force descended on the ship. F-15 Eagles zoomed through the air to attack the massive air ship. Lasers and missiles struck the fighter jets, knocking a few of them out of the air. A large explosion knocked Harper off his feet.

He got to his feet quickly and looked around. There were several people on the ground, dazed and frightened. Harper grabbed those near him and helped them to their feet and pointing them in a direction that was safe.

“Come on! Get up! Get out of here!” Harper called out.

The ground shook as another missile struck a building. The National Guard appeared on the scene helping the people and getting them to their feet. A little girl lay on the ground. She was bleeding slightly for her head and looked confused and disoriented. Harper picked the girl up in his arms and ran.

He made his way down the street away from the massive air ship. The girl wrapped her arms around Harper’s neck. Harper saw ambulances ahead and charged forward. He handed off the girl to one of the paramedics. Harper watched a moment as the man carried the girl to the ambulances.

“Submit to the New Order,” a voice boomed in the air, “Submit to the new way of life.”

There was another explosion behind him. Harper turned just as a car flew from the explosion toward him. A woman screamed at the coming threat. Harper ran toward her. The woman raised her hands to defend herself. A blue force field surrounded both her and Harper as he ran toward her. The car struck the force field and exploded.

Harper looked as the explosion surrounded their protected dome. The protective barrier dropped leaving fire around their circle. Harper looked at the woman. She looked at Harper out of fear. She turned and ran away. It seemed Others were still afraid of getting found out.

“Submit to the New Order,” the voice said, “Submit to the new way of life.”

“No, freaking way!” Harper muttered.

The ground shook frequently as distant explosions rocked the city. They were losing, that much anyone could tell. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as more and more planes were shot down and buildings were toppled.

“Move! Move! Move!” an officer shouted as they tried to evacuate the buildings.

A fellow officer shouted, “Harper! Get those people out of the building!”

Harper nodded and headed into the building indicated. It was a business building and the workers were streaming out of it. Harper ran up the stairs to make sure everyone was out of the building. He got to the third floor when he heard someone calling for help on the floor. Harper walked through the cubicles and found someone on the ground.

“Can you walk?” Harper asked.

The person shook their head, “I think I sprained my ankle!”

Harper threw one of their arms over his shoulder when an explosion blew them off their feet. Harper was knocked back. The ceiling caved in and the floor beneath him fell through. He struck the ground and rubble fell on top of him.

Harper woke in the darkness. He wasn’t harmed but the pitch darkness startled him. Without any light he couldn’t see where his resting place was. All he knew was that he was in the dark. He reached out over his head and felt the cold cement of the ceiling above him.

“That’s a bit of a problem,” Harper sighed.

There was a little bit of a rumble and Harper scooted back in his little air pocket. The slab of concrete seemed to be moving. Harper covered his eyes when a piercing light cut its way through the darkness.

“Come into the light!” a voice called.

“You sure that is a good idea?” Harper said.

“I can’t hold this forever, you know,” the voice said.

Harper crawled toward the light through the dust and grime. He pulled himself up to the street. He looked at his rescuer. She looked Asian with short black hair and purple eyes. When Harper was clear she dropped the large concrete slab and slapped her hands together. His rescuer looked at him.

“You’re vitals seem normal,” she said, “I have to go find someone.”

“Hey!” Harper called as she turned, “How did you find me?”

She looked over her shoulder, “You’re heat signature.”

Harper looked back at the block had been trapped under, “How did you lift that block off me?”

She sighed, “I used my arms. Look, I highly suggest you find a place to hide now.”

“Why?” Harper asked.

“Because the New Order has everything under its control. They are silencing anyone who might be a future threat to them,” she answered.

Harper hurried to his feet, “What!? When did that happen?”

She shrugged, “A few hours ago. The president surrendered.”

Harper was in shock. He stood there trying to figure out the facts. She crossed her arms and waited impatiently.

“If you don’t mind I have to go before I lose his signal,” she turned.

“Who’s signal?” Harper asked.

“My partners,” she said.

“Are you a cop or something,” Harper followed after her.

She shrugged again, “Or something.”

“What’s your name?” Harper ran up beside her.

“Kiri,” she said.

“I’m coming with you, Kiri,” Harper stated.

Kiri looked at him, “Why?”

“I feel like if I stay with you I can help make this all this wrong right again,” Harper looked at her.

Kiri stopped a moment and thought. Her logical brain was telling her that he was going to slow her down and that she should run as fast as she could and loose the creep. But there was something else that told her that he could be helpful.

“Come on,” Kiri broke into a run, “I want to reach him before he goes underground again.”

Insanity: Chapter Forty

Insanity

Chapter Forty

~Another New York Apocalypse~

Day Thirty-Three

Just wanted to say again, I am sorry this took so long! Okay, Continuing!

Fang looked over his shoulder. He didn’t like the stares that he was getting from the other Agents. The Agents in the Tower glared at him, sized him up and did well to stay out of his way. Fang walked through two doors into Sage’s office. Shadow stood at Fang’s right side like he usually did. Alister whistled at the size of the place while Penelope gawked at all of the technology she was already thinking of stealing.

Arisa kept close to Blue for protection. The last time they were there they were being chased by angry Agents with guns. It was understandable that the girl would stand by her blue protector. Raven stood like a shadow behind them. She too looked impressed by her surroundings.

Sage walked briskly ahead. He had been hurrying them along since they walked up to the Tower. Alister had been significantly annoyed because Fang had insisted that they walk. With his side hurting from Alister’s Tower, he would have preferred to drive, or take a cab, or at worst public transportation. But Fang had said no, that walking would be good for everyone. Until the moment they came into the office, Alister had been muttering to himself, something about how it should be against the law to walk.

Sage walked to his desk while two guards closed the blinds on the many windows. He turned back to his company.

“Just to make things clear,” he started, “If you step into this building again, you will be killed.”

“Just like how we broke in the first time?” Alister crossed his arms, “Looks like your Agents are a lousy shot.”

“Shadow,” Fang stated.

“Shut up, Alister,” Shadow shot the red head a glare.

Sage sighed. He wasn't sure how Fang could handle being around a company of crazies. Truth be told, Fang was barely hanging on to his wits as it were. Sage pressed a button and a clear screen rose from a slot on the desk. Green lines traveled back and forth on the screed. Sage pulled out a keyboard and paused. He glanced over at Penelope; her eyes were narrowed with concentration.

"If I find out that you hacked into the Tower database using my password, I will have a missile pinpointed on your position and obliterate you from the face of the earth," he stated without any feeling, “Do we have and understanding?”

Penelope crossed her arms. Arisa ran up to her and comforted the computer wiz. Sage typed a series of keys and the screen came to life. It showed a map of the modern world in the same green color. Sage pressed one key and the screen responded by presenting all the files that were immediate ongoing missions.

A picture of a device appeared on the screen. It broke apart into many pieces displaying each piece and a description of its purpose. Fang scanned over the device. It wasn’t a huge bulky thing that he was expecting but it wasn’t anything small either. It looked like an iris. The main frame was a circle. Two bars inside the circle made the long slanted pupil, much like a cat’s. Another bar connected the circle and pupil, allowing them to spin. The base was made so that the spinning eye wouldn’t topple over as it spun at high speeds. The base was wide and extended five feet from the device itself. It looked like there was a portable control panel as well.

“This device,” Sage started, “as you all well know, can force regular humans into Others. A process that is incredibly painful,” he paused, “Well, unless you were tortured before your death then became an Other, then I guess that would be an exception.”

“All right, all right,” Alister groaned, “I think we can get the point that it is very painful! Can we go shoot bad guys now?”

Fang sighed. That alone shut Alister up. He was already on bad terms with Fang and didn’t want his leader to bash his head in or something.

“What’s that?” Raven pointed at the screen.

The screen had reassembled the pieces and started to show how it would run. It started spinning and a type of shockwave was being formed, coming from the device like the ringlets when a rock is dropped in the water.

“It’s the waves that trigger the Other gene to activate. Usually, only under certain circumstances does the gene activate but this forcefully triggers the gene,” Fang explained, “The outer circle turns counter clockwise while the inner one turns clockwise. Somehow, the action creates the right frequency.”

“Somehow?” Alister asked.

Fang turned his head slightly to look at him, “I’d explain it to you but for one thing, it is entirely irrelevant how it does it. You don’t need to know that for our mission. And, frankly, you aren’t smart enough to understand.”

Arisa covered her mouth to stop a laughter that was dying to come out.

Fang speaks the truth, Blue smiled, He barely made his way out of cereal box before we left.

With that, Arisa burst out laughing, “Oh, Blue! Don’t be mean!”

I’m not! It’s true you saw him!

Raven spoke up, “I know it’s all good fun to pick on Alister—”

“Hey!”

“But you do need to notice that Fang isn’t telling any of us either,” Raven continued after Alister interjected*.

“Ha! ‘Der it is! Not so smart now with all your telepathy, huh!” Alister smiled.

I am speaking English, just so you know. But no matter how obvious I try to make my words across, somehow that peanut sized brain just cannot understand. Blue’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“Hey! Stop lookin’ at me like ‘at!”

Blue sighed silently.

“It’s okay, Blue,” Arisa tried to comfort her taller companion, “The rest of us understand you.”

The guards looked over to Sage. They looked confused beyond reason but kept silent. Sage also kept his mouth shut. He glanced over at Fang whenever the blue one seemed to be ‘talking’. Fang seemed to be ‘listening’ to every word that the one named, Blue, was it? ‘said’. Even Shadow, who hadn’t said anything so far, covered his mouth to hide the snicker’s forming when everyone grew silent listening to their companion. Not wanting to be paired with Alister, the only one who seemed to not have a clue what the man was ‘saying’, he kept silent.

Sage cleared his throat, “If we’re done here, may we continue?”

“So where is Zero? Do you guys know where he is at least?” Penelope pushed her glasses up her nose.

Sage was about to answer when Fang beat him to it, “New York.”

“Oh really,” Alister said, “An’ how did you know ‘at?”

Fang glared at him, “It’s common sense really.”

Shadow stepped in, “Well, Alister, if you think about it—”

Which he can’t.

“Shush, Blue,” he turned to Alister again, “If he wants to make a statement the best place to start it New York. Either that or Los Angeles.”

            It is good logic but lets all just admit that everything happens in New York or Los Angeles. Alien attacks, the Apocalypse, the great earth quake of California; the list just goes on and on. So its only safe to say that he would choose one of the two since we are just as fictional as those movies. Blue muttered.

            “What?” Arisa asked looking up at Blue.

           Oh, nothing.

           “So we’re goin’ to New York?” Alister asked.

           “We might, but I just might push you out the aircraft while we’re over the Pacific,” Fang stated without even looking at Alister.

           “So you’re going?” Sage asked.

           “Might as well,” Fang said, “We have nothing better to do.”

           Sage smiled, he loved it when things went his way, “So when will you be setting out?”

           Fang shrugged, “When I feel like it.”

           “At least you’re going,” Sage nodded, “I wish you all luck.”

           Fang turned around. He walked toward the door and the others followed him.

           “Hey?” Alister cried out, “Shouldn’t we ask how to destroy the machine?”

           “Can you swim Alister?” Fang asked as he walked out the door.

           “Oh, c’mon Fang! I was askin’ a legit question!”

           “How about sharks? How do you cope with sharks swimming in circles around you?”

           “Sharks only attack when you bleed!” Alister sounded proud with his comeback.

           “Well then, we’ll just have to fix that wont we,” Fang said.

           Sage shook his head and smiled. The guards followed the Wolves out to make sure they left the building. Sage was left alone in the darkened room. He turned off the computer and sat at his desk. For a moment, he stopped. He looked up and searched a corner. A figure stood there smiling at him. Sage sighed.

          “What are you doing here Undertaker?” Sage asked.

          Undertaker smiled, “Oh, you know me, Sage, I’m just wandering around.”

          “Well, get out before I call security,” Sage looked back down at his desk.

          “We need to talk,” Undertaker said.

          Sage looked up again, “What about?”

          “It’s about my retirement.”

          “What about it?”

          Undertaker laughed, “You paid me a visit a little less than a week ago.”

          Sage paused. He looked up at Undertaker and searched his face. Undertaker’s eyes were clearly visible. His yellow eyes glittered as he smiled.

          Sage shrugged, “I didn’t visit you.”

          Undertaker laughed, “Like heck you didn’t! Just like how Zero didn’t pay me a visit too.”

          “I was making sure nothing happened to you,” Sage said.

          Undertaker leaned against the wall, “You were the one who hired those men knowing you wouldn’t have to pay them. So why did you pay me a visit, Sage?”

          “I was just seeing how you were fairing,” Sage answered.

           Undertaker’s smile widened, “Aw, you do care.”

Sage narrowed his eyes, “What do you want?”

“I’m going on a little vacation. I was wondering if you would keep an eye on my shop,” Undertaker nodded.

Sage looked skeptical, “You never go on vacation. And even if you were, you wouldn’t need to tell me.”

“I’d love for you to keep the shop open for me while I’m gone,” Undertaker continued, “You see, I’ve rarely closed up shop and I wouldn’t want to start now even while I was on vacation.”

“Why can’t you ask that little creature that is usually with you?” Sage asked.

“He’s coming with me,” Undertaker smiled.

Sage looked over Undertaker again, “I guess I could send an Agent there.”

Undertaker shook his head, “I don’t want just any Agent. I want you.”

Sage sighed. He looked at a piece of paper at his desk, “I guess I could move a few things around to make time to go down there every once in a while.”

“That’s all I ask,” Undertaker smiled, “I’ll get out of your hair.”

Sage looked down, “Fine, but the next time you—”

Sage looked up and found that Undertaker had disappeared. He rolled his eyes and continued on with his work.

*Look at me! I’m using big words!