Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sarah sat alone at the desk in her room, facing the computer screen.  She also had an ipad, but for certain things, the computer was better.  Right now, she was using it to skype with her father. 

“Dad, you aren’t seriously thinking of bringing Dash here!”

“You say that like you would prefer otherwise.”  Even over the speakers the warning was clear. 

Sarah’s composure didn’t change.  “No, but he just lost his mom, and we still don’t know what happened to his father.  I’m not certain bringing him here would be the best place for him to be right now.”

“On the contrary,” answered her father, his voice smooth and warm, as if explaining something to a young child, “bringing him here is the best option.  Whoever took him may want to attempt another kidnapping, or, worse yet, murder.  Our house has one of the best security systems around, and he’d be well cared for as he recovered.  It would be perfect.  And he may be able to accompany you on your trip.  It might be good for him, to travel to someplace that doesn’t remind him of his parents.  And if he left the country, he might be even safer from these people than if he stayed here.”

“And of course,” Sarah cut in sarcastically, “there is always the chance that he could test…”

“Now, we shouldn’t mention that over this feed.”  Her father cut in.  You never know who could be listening.”

“Fine.” Sarah conceded.  “You get him here.  I’ll take care of him.”

Her father smiled.  “Good.  Now, on a different subject, I will be sending you a new upgrade for our project.  Be a good little good and install it for me, won’t you.”

Sarah glared at him.  “Like I have a choice.”

The smile never left the man’s face.  “I’m glad you understand.  I love you.  Goodbye Sarah.”

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I had spent only a week home before my dad approached me.  “Pack your bags.  You’ve got a new assignment.”
“This soon?” I was amazed.  Usually, there was at least a month, usually more, between each assignment. 

“Yup.  You should enjoy this one.  That kid you rescued, well, the powers-that-be are worried about his safety.  They’re moving him to his other uncle’s house.”

“Who’s this uncle?”

“A man by the name of Jackson.  Jackson Real.”

My eyes shot open.  I should have realized it sooner, but hadn’t thought to put two and two together.  “Not that Jackson Real!  The one that owns Real Technologies.” 

“The very same.”
I was shocked.  Real Technologies was a massive organization that was well known for selling devices to the mainstream public that seemed to come out of a sci-fi novel.  It sold things such as mechanical arms that allowed the user to lift weights that would have normally required as many as five to six people to lift.  Another, highly controversial device allowed users to control their computers and phones using only their brains.  Jackson, the owner of Real Technologies, was a genius in both marketing and inventing.  He had found ways to take devices that beforehand had been in government test labs, and make them useable by the general public.  His devices were highly controversial, especially those such as the strength enhancing arms that could be used in more violent methods, but he had always been able to get away with selling them.  Real Technologies was highly successful. 

“So what do they want me to do?” I asked. 

“You are going to be his bodyguard.  They figure that it would bother him less if one of his peers was guarding him, instead of an adult.  It sounds like he’s pretty messed up as it is. 

I smiled and raised my eyebrows in a way that I hoped conveyed just how silly I thought the idea was.  “I assume that there will be adults guarding him every second he’s there.” 

My dad confirmed my suspicions.  “You know it.  If there’s a problem, your job is to get him to safety, but unofficially, if it comes between your life and his, they want you to protect yourself at all cost.  It will be an easier PR mess to clean up if he dies than if you do.”

“Great,” I laughed.  “I’m his body guard, but if he actually needs protecting, they want me to go hide.  I get it.”

My father smiled, but I could tell that he was concerned, which instantly made me concerned.  I had heard messages like this one before, and my dad and I had always laughed about them.  The fact that my dad was taking this seriously meant that I should as well.

“You know what you have to do.”  He said.  “But please, be safe.  From what I understand, they aren’t really expecting something to happen, but at this point, you never know.” 

“Do YOU expect something to happen?”  I asked.  My dad just smiled.  “I always expect something to happen.  This time, however, I expect it just a little more.  We don’t know enough about what’s going on here.  The enemy, whoever they are, have us right where they want us.  You are going to be in great danger.  This isn’t like your previous missions.  This time, it’s for real.”

I nodded.  For once, I was being put in a place that government didn’t have complete control of.  And while I knew I’d be surrounded by guards, I also knew that, in the right circumstances, guards didn’t matter.  And it was then that I realized just how much I was looking forward to this.  This is what I was trained for, and for once, MDI was getting a chance to do what it was designed to do: go to places where teens had the advantage, not adults.  And while I didn’t entirely know what advantage I had in this particular instance, I decided I would find out, and take full advantage of it.  And a part of me wanted something to happen.  I wanted a chance to see some real action.  That was one of the last times I ever had that desire. 

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Daniel opened his eyes.  White walls surrounded him.  A door had opened.  He had heard it. 

“Come on, Daniel.  We’re taking you to your uncle’s house.  You’ll get to see your cousin.  Isn’t that exiting?”  The voice, which came from a tall, middle-aged doctor in a white coat, spoke in a high pitched tone that reeked of fake happiness.  Had Daniel been feeling emotions, he probably would have been annoyed.  But he wasn’t.  He wasn’t feeling anything.  Life was better that way.  So when he saw the doctor gesture out the door, Daniel stood and walked out.  He noticed the cameras trained on him; there was little he missed now.  But he didn’t care.  In fact, he couldn’t care about anything.  He couldn’t feel the required emotion to care.  And a part of him was aware of it.  But it was if that part of him was asleep.  And the rest of him simply lived.  He didn’t speak…he hadn’t spoken a word until…and then the memory came back, and his brain shut off again.
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Tory walked slowly along with Sarah.  They were walking on the vast lawn that surrounded Sarah’s father’s property.  In the rear, that lawn ended at a wide, though shallow, stream, on the other side of which was a large forest.  The Real’s property ended about ten miles into that forest.  Tory had learned all this from her long friendship with Sarah.  The two had been friends for years, and had been through the best and worst of times together.  Right now, they were walking slowly towards the stream, talking about life, and more specifically, their soon-to-take place trip. 

“I may have to delay it.” Sarah was saying.

Tory looked up in surprise.  “Why?  From what you’ve told me, all preparations are going smoothly.”  Through the leash, Tory felt her guide dog, Sampson, tense in response to her surprise.  Named after the Biblical character whose God-given strength was used by God save His people, Tory admired viewed the dog as her strong supporter.  Even though Tory couldn’t see, Sampson gave her the ability to experience life in a way that most other people couldn’t.  She had only had the dog sense she was twelve, but she couldn’t image life without him.  The two shared a close bond; Sampson often picked up on even the slightest mood changes Tory had.  Tory reached down and stroked the dog softly, letting him know that everything was ok. 

Sarah spoke up again.  “No, nothing’s really wrong with preparations,” here she suddenly froze as though a thought had just struck her, “though I will need to check and make sure that those train tickets through Columbia are finalized”  She began walking again, and Tory smiled slightly.  She hadn’t realized Sarah had stopped, but Sampson had, and he stopped as well.  Even after the five years the two had been paired together, it still amazed her how Sampson was able to lead her so well. 

Sarah continued her thoughts.  “No, the real reason is because my dad wants Daniel—pardon me, I mean Dash—to come live with us.”

“Dash.”  Tory frowned slightly.  “Wasn’t he that kid you were going to introduce me to at that family reunion you took me to?  Why was I there, anyway?” 

Sarah gave an exasperated sigh, though Tory could tell that she wasn’t really bothered.  “I told you already.  You were there to keep me from getting bored.  I swear, my family is the most boring family ever.  Sure, we have some talented people here and there, but really, nobody ever sees each other regularly.  Family reunions are just a bunch of clicks who just happen to have the same bloodline getting together to eat too much and try to figure each other out.  And yes, that was Dash.  Anyway, apparently, my dad wants to keep helping that kid out.”  Here her tone softened slightly.  “I have told you about his parents, right.”  Tory nodded.  “Even if you hadn’t, it’s been all over the news.  There was no way I could have missed it.” 

  “Right, well, anyway, my dad wants to take in Dash while they search for the thugs who took Sarah.” 

“That sounds like a great idea.”  Tory exclaimed.  “But why can’t he just join us on our trip?” 

“There are a number of reasons,” Sarah explained, “but the big one is the fact that he’ll be safe here, and if he is to join us, we’ll need to ensure that he stay’s safe wherever we go.  In addition, I’ve heard that he’s had a mental breakdown.  He watched his mom die.  I guess that would wreck most people, but it really affected him.”  Tory heard a wistful note when Sarah said the last sentence, but chose to ignore it.  Sarah had grown up without a real mother, and Tory knew that Sarah secretly missed that love and affection that only a mother could show.  Most people wouldn’t have noticed, but Tory had developed a strong ability to read people’s emotions, which she used often when around Sarah, who was very good at keeping up a barrier surrounding her true feelings. 

“When will he arrive?” Tory asked. 

“In about a week.  It will be weird having a guy in the house.”
Tory looked at Sarah, confused.  “But you have your dad, and most of his employees who work around here are men.” 
Sarah snorted, a sound that she often made when she found something mildly amusing.  “Dad’s hardly home, and the servants…they hardly talk, except to tell you what they’re doing.  Not much for conversations.”    

Tory laughed.  “They’re probably scared of you.  You can be quite intimidating sometimes.” 

Sarah looked back at her, wide eyed, pretending to be shocked.  “Me!  Intimidating!  I’m certain you must have me mistaken for somebody else.  I’m the picture of a meek and innocent young woman.” 

Tory laughed again.  “Innocent.  You!  Anything but.  You’ve played with the hearts of how many young men.  Come on.  And how long’s your latest boyfriend going to last?  What’s his name again?  Kris?” 

Sarah nodded, smilingly coyly.  “Yea, that’s his name.  And he’s a great guy.  I think he’ll last longer than some of those other idiots I’ve dated.  Honestly, that last guy…I was beginning to wonder if he even knew how to tie his shoes by the end of our relationship.” 

“You know,” Tory jokingly pointed out, “some might see your choice of boys as a reflection of your character, not theirs.”

Sarah paused for a moment, pretending to be in deep thought, “I tend to do my best to ignore those people.  They’re depressing.” 

While they had been talking, they had gradually wandered back towards the house.  They were now standing at the back door.  As they were about to enter the house, Sarah suddenly spoke with a tone that Tory had rarely heard Sarah use.  It was the tone she used when she was about to say something, and she wanted to be sure that it was taken with the upmost seriousness.  “Honestly, Tory, I’m nervous about going on this trip.  I arranged most of it, but my dad had several spots he made sure that I would visit.  I know my dad.  When he does stuff like that…well....” here she paused, as if searching for the right words to use, “he’s usually got a plan, and I’m hoping it only slightly involves us.” 

Tory paused and looked over at Sarah.  She knew that Sarah’s father and Sarah had a strange relationship, but what Sarah had just said made him sound almost sinister.  Not certain what to say next, Tory chose the escape route: “Ok….???”  She sensed Sarah’s mood change instantly.  Just as suddenly as she became serious, she changed back to her normal, crazy self.  “Actually, never mind.  That was weird.  Don’t worry about it.  This is why I try to avoid deep thoughts.  They’re rarely a good thing.” 

Tory smiled.  She didn’t know what had made Sarah have this sudden mood swing, but if Sarah didn’t want to talk about it, Tory wasn’t going to press her.  Together, the girls entered the house.  And from the edge of the woods, a dark form left its hiding spot, where it had heard the entire conversation. 

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Dash’s first thought was about the fact that he wasn’t dead yet.  He had seen the barrel facing his head; heard the gun shot, and yet he wasn’t dead.  That was the last good thought that he would have in a long time.  The masked man turned and started giving orders to his men.  There was no confusion on the man’s part.  And then there was the screaming.  A long, drawn out wail so horrible that anyone who heard it would either be running away in fear or running towards looking to see what was wrong.  There was no words.  Just a long, pain-filled scream.  And it only took a fraction of a second for Dash to realize that the person screaming was his father.  Instinctively, he looked at his father, and then at what his father was staring at.  And that’s when Dash started screaming as well.

His mother lay on the ground, her head covered in head; there was a hole in her forehead.  The bullet had never been meant for Dash.

First came the denial.  She couldn’t be dead.  This was all a trick.  There was no way his mother was dead.  He crawled over to her.  He felt her pulse.  There was none.  And then he looked into her eyes.  They were already lifeless, staring blankly into the air.  There was nothing there.  That convinced him more than anything else: his mother was dead. 

Next came the rage.  He slowly rose to his feet, and took a step towards the man who had killed his mother.  His dad beat Dash to him.  With a violent thrust, his father charged the man.  “KARTH, DIE!” his father screamed.  His father was on Karth in a second.  Dash halted.  Even in his maddened state he recognized he could do no good right now.  He needed to wait.  And then, in a spit-second, he saw his father go limp.  Karth, for Dash figured that that must be the name of the man in the mask, calmly shoved the body off of him, and then, looking over at Dash, held up a needle.  “Don’t try it.”  Karth warned.  “You are nothing like your father, and I’d prefer to leave you alive.”  He smiled.  And then there was a loud bang, and the smile left his face, replaced by a look of shock and a bullet hole through his right eye.  Karth collapsed, several more shots were fired, and Dash stood through it all, the anger replaced by confusion.  For a second, there was silence, and then the clearing erupted into chaos.  Masked men seemed to be everywhere.  Several grabbed Karth and began taking him away; several more grabbed Dash’s father, and began to move him.  That sent dash into action.  He charged, as fast as his bad leg would let him, at the men, anger returning.  Dash had one goal: stop these men.  He barely made it five steps, however, before he was thrown to the ground by another man he didn’t see.  The man shoved one knee onto Dash’s chest, effectively pinning him.This one held a knife, and appeared to be prepared to use it on Dash.  It was strange, but Dash found himself focusing on the ensemble on the man’s vest.  It took him a moment, but he realized what it was: a phoenix, its body aflame, emerging from fire.  Dash thought it strangely ironic that a symbol for rebirth could be the symbol for people who murdered without a second thought. 

Suddenly, the pressure on Dash’s chest was removed. 

“Be glad for yourself,” the man said.  “We want you alive.  For now.”  The man sprinted away, and just like that, the clearing was empty except for Dash and, as he looked around, two bodies.  One was his mother.  The other, at the area of the clearing that Dash had entered, he didn’t recognize for a second, but as he got closer, he realized that the man was his uncle.   

The rage returned; Dash stood over his uncle, tempted, even in Dash’s weak state, to give his uncle the thrashing he deserved.  Then he saw the bullet holes.  The body was littered with them; Dash counted seven going through various body parts.  Most of them were fatal by themselves. 

Dash finally lost enough of the adrenaline in his body to realize what he was seeing: death, in all its nature.  He fell to his knees and emptied his guts by his uncle.  When he finished, he slowly, shakily, stood up.  His bad leg was holding up; thanks to the boot, he wasn’t very worried about it. 

Finally, his gaze returned again to his mother.  She lay near the center of the clearing, her body lying at an unnatural angle, due partially to the fact that Dash had picked her up earlier.  Dash approached her.  The anger was gone now.  Dash didn’t even understand how it had come in the first place.  In its place came an emotion he understood much more: sorrow. And so he wept.  He wept until there were no tears left to cry.  And yet, even before the tears had gone, a numbness began to set in.  His body had experienced too much, and his brain quietly began to shut down.  At last, the tears stopped.  Dash starred at his mother’s face, perfect except for the hole left by the bullet.  Somewhere in his mind he wondered where that bullet was.  It was a strange thought, but it was what came to mind.  It was a safe though; there was no emotion in it.  Until the thoughts led him back to his mother.  But there was still no emotion.  Dash paused.  He knew he should feel sorrow.  He had just lost his mother.  But there was nothing.  And maybe, Dash thought, it was because his mother was dead.  There was no life in her, so maybe it was Dash’s way of honoring her: if she couldn’t feel, neither would he.  And he resolved, right there, that he would hold onto this numbness for as long as he could.  Because, though he told himself that it was honoring his mother, he also knew what would come if he let emotion live.  Fear.  Pain.  Anger.  And they would not stop.  He knew now that he couldn’t possibly allow himself to feel those emotions.  He had felt them just moments ago, and they hurt.  So now, he decided, he would feel nothing.   

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I reached the end of the road.  I saw the parked car, and instantly identified it as the one the uncle had been driving.  I pulled out my cell, and only then realized that, this deep into the forests, there was no service.  They had phones that got around this problem, but I apparently hadn’t been issued one.  I sighed.  Yet another issue that was caused because of the joke that was MDI.  I looked around, and soon discovered that someone had left a trail so clear that even I could follow it.  (I have many strengths, but my weaknesses are many when I’m out of a city).  The grass and leaves had been trampled down, but not so hard as to be a deer trail.  This wasn’t as defined, but whoever had gone through here had been in a hurry.  I wasn’t a good tracker, so aside from the fact that someone(s) went through the area, I couldn’t tell much.  I followed the trail, as it was obvious, and after about ten minutes of hiking, I came upon blood stains.  They were small, but they were there, and they gave me new energy.  It was a good thing too, because I was becoming worried that I’d made a mistake.  But after I saw the blood I became even more convinced that whoever had taken Daniel had gone this way, and I followed quickly. 

After another ten minutes of walking, I came to a clearing.  I saw the three bodies immediately, and through myself back into the forest, grabbing for my gun.  I scanned the area carefully, though I knew that if there was anyone hostile around the clearing, I would have already been dead.  After about thirty seconds, I began to slowly walk around the parameter of the clearing, my entire body on full alert.  I made it completely around the clearing without seeing any signs that there were other humans aside from the bodies on the ground, and by this time, I could see that one of them was breathing.  I decided to risk it, dashing out into the clearing, aiming for the one body that still showed signs of life.  He was lying face-up on the ground, and I confirmed what I had already suspected: that he was the boy that had gone missing.  I did a quick examination, and, finding no visible injuries, I moved on to the other two.  It didn’t take me long to find that they were both dead.  I had already seen a fair amount of dead bodies, so it didn’t bother me as much as you might think.  It still bothered me though.  My dad once said that if I ever become comfortable around dead bodies, there is something seriously wrong with me.  I was now faced with a problem, however.  I was obviously standing on a murder scene.  I needed to get the right people here soon.  There was only one real problem.  I still had no signal.  My only option was to hike out and call once I had a signal.  Finding my way back wouldn’t be a problem, but I still had to deal with the teen who was still alive.  I was saved by the problem of how to wake him up when his eyes shot open.  I started a little, because of how suddenly he became awake.  He looked at me with a blank expression. 

“You ok?”  I asked.  He didn’t answer.  He just stared at me. 

“What happened here?” Still nothing.

“Who’s that?” I said, gesturing to the woman who lay just a few feet away, though I suspected the answer. 

He looked at her, and I saw a series of emotions flash across his face in an instant.  Pain.  Fear.  And something else.  Something that scared me.  It was only there for an instant, but I saw what had to be anger.  And an amazingly strong anger.  And then it was gone.  His face seemed to grow even blanker, if that was possible.  And that’s when I realized what was going on.  During my training, I had learned to recognize several varieties of shock.  This kid had just gone into a coma like state that sometimes occurred after a severely shocking experience.  While not an actual coma, the person in this state would force themselves to act like they were in a coma.  They would literally force themselves to shut down.  It was the first time I had ever seen someone in that state.  I was again in a tough situation.  If anything, I was in a worse situation that when he had been asleep.  Now he was awake, but not functioning.  And if he decided to wander off while I went for help, there was a high chance he would find some way of hurting himself.  It was then that I realized another problem.  The sun was starting to set.  While I was only a twenty minute walk away from my car, I had two dead bodies and one person in a dysfunctional state.  It was then that my phone rang.  I reached to answer it instinctively, only then realizing that only moments ago I hadn’t had a signal.  I looked at the caller ID.  It was my dad.  I shrugged, and answered the phone. 

“WHERE ARE YOU!” My dad’s voice exploded through the speaker. 
“About a twenty minutes’ walk from the end of a small path that breaks off from the highway.” I responded.  “And I have bodies.”  That got my dad’s attention.  I explained my situation to him, and he then proceeded to explain that about ten miles from where I was, a van came shooting through a roadblock, with guns firing from virtually every angle.  He wanted to make sure I was still ok.  He had tried calling several times before, and this was the first time that he had gotten through.  He knew about the poor coverage, so he had finally been able to pull some strings to get through to me. 

“What now?” I asked.  The boy in front of me had laid down and fallen back to sleep.  It was strange.  He still looked tense, like a single sound could wake him up.  I had walked a short distance away so I could have some privacy.  Even though I knew that he wouldn’t overhear anything that he shouldn’t, I still wanted privacy. 

“I have your GPS coordinates now.”  My dad said.  There will be people with you in about five minutes.”  

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The rest of the evening past in a blur.  After the rest of the feds showed up, I was pretty much out of the picture.  I gave my report, short as it was, and then settled down at a hotel for the night.  The next day, I learned what I had already suspected; namely that the kid was the same one who had gotten kidnapped, and the women was his mom.  The other dead guy was the kidnapper, which did surprise me.  I had thought that he was the dad.  But the police suspected that the uncle had been nothing more than a tool, and once he was finished with, his boss had disposed of him.  They were working on the teen, trying to get him to talk to them, but he wasn’t responding. 

All this I learned through my father, who then told me to prepare to come home.  I suspected that would happen.  I had done my part, and now that this had gotten big, I could get out of town.  A part of me was ready, but mostly, I wanted to stay in the action.  I thought that, when this became a kidnapping, I would get a chance to play a larger role, and in a way, I had.  But they wanted experts handling this case, not a seventeen year old rookie.  I got it.  Didn’t mean I had to like it.  But orders were orders, and I hadn’t expected this trip to last long anyway.  I boarded the plane later that afternoon, and was home late that night, anticipating going back to a normal, mundane life.  The problem with anticipating, however, is that when you’re wrong, you’re really wrong.