by Noah Michael
◆◆◆
As he pulled into the small parking lot for the Red Rose School, Raiden sighed, relieved to have finally made it. Getting past the protest had been chaotic with bullets flying through his car. Even after he got out, the radio reported that six protesters had been shot, and two killed. No charges would be pressed, he was sure. The guards had been acting in “self-defense.”
Raiden approached the orphanage and pressed a button next to a speaker.
“Who is it?” asked a female voice.
“Hey Abigail, it’s Raiden.”
“One minute, I’ll buzz you in,” the voice said.
Abigail smiled at him as he entered the lobby. “Late as usual, Mr. Williams,” she teased.
“You don’t know the morning I’ve had…” Raiden sighed.
“Well, my security shift just ended. Let’s go together to the play, maybe I can help lift those spirits.”
“Are you asking me on a date to the school play?” Raiden smirked, lifting an eyebrow.
“If I were, would you say yes?”
“Depends. Would it excuse me from that drink I owe you?”
“Come on,” Abigail laughed, grabbing his arm.
They walked to the auditorium and took their seats near the front, along with the rest of the staff. On the stage in front of them, the curtains opened, revealing a dozen children dressed in various costumes. The audience applauded as the music began to play, and the children broke into song.
Raiden couldn’t help but smile as he watched the children, recognizing most as his students. As the first act came to an end, one of the children stepped forward to perform the closing scene. Raiden recognized the girl as Sarah, one of his brightest students. She was of average height for a ten-year-old, with dimply, freckled cheeks and dark green eyes. Her long, brown hair was tied into a pony tail.
“Sarah sings?” Raiden whispered to Abigail.
“She’s not singing, it’s an instrumental solo. She plays the flute.”
Sure enough, Sarah lifted a flute-like instrument and began to play. As he listened, Raiden gaped in disbelief. She was incredible. He was genuinely enjoying the ten-year-old’s music.
“That girl never ceases to surprise me,” Raiden whispered. “Not only is she a genius in math, but she’s a musical protégé. I wonder if there’s anything she can’t do.”
Raiden continued to watch in wonder. As her fingers moved up and down the instrument, the room filled with beautiful combinations of sounds, unlike anything Raiden had ever heard before. He closed his eyes and relaxed, allowing the music to flow through his ears and into his soul.
When the play was over, the children bowed to a round of applause, and the curtains closed. Raiden headed backstage with Abigail to meet the kids.
“You guys did an outstanding job!” Abigail exclaimed.
“You’re gonna put Broadway out of business!” Raiden added.
The kids cheered with excitement, chatting happily amongst themselves. Some of them ran forward and embraced their teachers. Raiden hugged them one by one, complimenting them on their performances. But there was one child in particular he was waiting for. He spotted her in the corner of the room alone, fiddling with her flute.
“There she is,” Raiden teased. “The star of the evening.”
Sarah looked up with a bashful smile.
“You’re a very special girl, Sarah. Have I ever told you that?”
“Every day, Raiden,” she giggled.
“And I mean it. That was pretty impressive.”
“Thanks.”
“Now I don’t wanna see you studying any textbooks tonight, so I brought you something a bit more fun to read.” Raiden pulled the comic from his bag and handed it to Sarah. Her eyes lit up.
“That’s the newest Enlai comic!”
“Delivered as promised,” Raiden grinned.
“This is perfect,” Sarah thanked him. “Today’s Thursday. Maximus always visits me on Thursdays. I can read him the comic!”
“You mean Maximus the son of Armolin?” Raiden teased, referring to a character from his comics.
“No,” Sarah laughed. “Maximus is just my friend.”
“Is he a student?”
“No, he’s a grownup.”
“I didn’t know you were friends with any grownups. Well, other than me, of course.”
“Don’t worry Raiden,” Sarah replied, smiling warmly. “You’re still my favorite grown-up. After all, you came to my play.”
“Sarah,” Abigail called, interrupting them. “Maximus is here to see you. He’s waiting in the visiting room. Are you ready to go?”
Sarah’s face lit up. “Yes, Ms. Abigail!”
She darted off, then stopped abruptly.
“Oh,” she said, turning back around. “Bye Raiden!”
“Bye Sar-,” but before he could finish, Sarah took off.
Raiden laughed. “So, who’s this Maximus she’s so excited to see?” he asked Abigail.
“Oh, he’s such a good man, a distant relative of hers. He visits every Thursday and they talk and play for hours. I wish he’d adopt her already, but he still hasn’t made the offer.”
“Wow, it’s great that he comes so often.”
“Yeah, it’s really nice, gives Sarah hope. Now about that drink…Ms. Penza is taking most of the kids out this evening for ice cream to celebrate, which means I’m free…”
Abigail lifted an eyebrow in anticipation.
“Ah, alright,” Raiden smiled. “I’ll take you at six.”
◆◆◆
After spending the past few hours in the teacher’s lounge planning the next week’s lessons, Raiden closed his laptop and headed over to Abigail’s office. As he reached her door, he hesitated. He had fun with Abigail, but lately, as much as he tried, he just couldn’t get himself to be as excited about her as she was of him.
Maybe we should try something different tonight, somewhere other than a restaurant or movie, Raiden thought.
“Hey, it’s Raiden,” he knocked. “You ready?”
Abigail opened the door, wearing casual jeans and a sweater. “Let’s go," she smiled excitedly.
They headed down the hallway towards the exit, chatting about work. As they passed by the visitor’s center, Raiden noticed something peculiar. He stopped.
“The lights are on,” he said. “Didn’t visiting hours end, well, hours ago?”
“Someone probably just left them on,” Abigail said. But when she glanced through the window, her expression grew stern. Raiden followed her into the room.
“I’m sorry, but you have to leave now,” Abigail said. “Visiting hours ended a while ago.”
Raiden saw Sarah sitting in the back of the room with a huge, muscular man, a board game set between them. The man’s eyes were slightly narrow, his mouth wide, his lips thick. His skin was dark, his hands and arms decorated with many scars. Something about the man sent a fearful chill down Raiden’s spine. It was almost as if he recognized him from somewhere.
“We finished our game, I was just about to leave,” the man said, his voice deep and hypnotic. “And she is coming with me.”
“You know that isn’t an option, Maximus” Abigail replied, growing uncomfortable.
“Abigail,” Maximus said, “You know this life. You were an orphan yourself.”
“How do you know that about me?” Abigail asked, shakily.
“Shh,” Maximus said, “Listen, do not speak.” His voice was mesmerizing. Even Raiden felt an urge to keep quiet.
“You were an orphan and were treated badly. Because of this, you’ve devoted your life to ensuring other orphans receive the love and care that they deserve. You are incredible. You are motivated. You want nothing but for Sarah to be happy. Sarah will be happy with me.”
“I…but I-”
“You are a hero. Now help me be a hero. Help me save this special orphaned girl. Let us, together, make sure that what happened to you will not happen to any other orphan ever again.�
��
Everything was quiet.
“You’re right,” Abigail suddenly said.
Raiden’s jaw dropped.
Maximus had said nothing relevant or compelling, yet even Raiden, whose childhood had not been used against him, had to concentrate to resist Maximus’s voice.
Maximus and Sarah walked out, followed by Abigail. As they passed Raiden, Sarah looked up at him.
“I’m sorry, Raiden,” she smiled apologetically. “I really wish you could come with.”
“Where do you think you’re even going?” Raiden asked, trying to process what was happening. He stopped Abigail before she could pass.
“What are you doing?” he asked, grabbing her shoulders.
“I’m saving a life,” Abigail said. Dumfounded, he moved to catch up with Maximus and Sarah, but Abigail grabbed his arm.
“You will not ruin Sarah’s childhood.” Abigail declared firmly. Raiden wrenched himself from her grasp, impressed by her strength.
“Lock the doors!”
A teacher near the entrance dove towards the control desk, but Raiden pushed through the doors just in time to see Maximus and Sarah headed rapidly towards a large, black van. He sprinted after them.
“Let her go!” Raiden demanded, coming around to block their path.
“Move now,” Maximus demanded. Raiden resisted the urge to obey, but just barely.
“You are strong, human, but you are foolish. Either you come with us now, or you die,” Maximus said, impressed by Raiden’s strength.
Raiden stood his ground. “Leave the girl alone!”
Instead, Maximus dove at Raiden, taking them both to the ground as a giant mortar shell shot across the air above them. Sitting up, Raiden could see it digging into the front wall of the school.
Before he could even form a question, the front wall of the school exploded, shooting bricks out in every direction. Maximus pulled Raiden to his feet.
“Get in the car! Now!”
He jumped in and jammed the keys into the ignition, turning in time to see Sarah running toward the flames.
“Sarah, come back!” Maximus shouted.
“I have to save Abigail!” Sarah shouted, disappearing into the flames. Rather than pursue her, Maximus ran back to the car. “Let me drive,” he growled.
Raiden scooted over. “Who’s trying to kill us?”
“Not us. They want the child. No more questions, human.”
He sped to the school’s nearest standing wall, but as they reached it, the wall exploded. Maximus swerved to avoid the debris and headed for the next wall.
“What about Sarah? We have to help her!”
“She can take care of herself. Now, as I said, no more questions!”
Before they even got close, the next wall exploded as well. Maximus yanked the steering wheel, making a sharp turn towards the western wall, hoping Sarah could reach it before the sniper.
“Hurry, little one...” Maximus whispered to himself.
The last standing wall was moving – impossibly rippling like water. The edges of the wall shimmied in waves that grew larger and larger until finally it collapsed. From the dust emerged Sarah, holding in her hands a small, blue flute, attached to a necklace she wore around her neck. By her side were Abigail, a couple more teachers, and a group of twenty children.
Maximus swore softly to himself.
“Run!” Maximus shouted, opening the back and trunk doors. Piling in and squishing, everyone miraculously fit. Sarah shared the passenger seat with Raiden, the flute dangling from her neck. Maximus slammed on the gas and sped away from the school. A final mortar landed, crushing any of the school’s remaining structure.
As they drove down the highway, many of the children cried. Raiden sat quietly, his head spinning, trying to digest all that had happened. There wasn’t much that made sense. He looked back at Abigail, smushed among the crying children, seemingly in a state of shock.
Maximus exited the highway. A few miles down, he pulled into a zoo.
“Everyone out,” Maximus ordered, opening all the doors and the trunk. “Except Sarah.”
Raiden knew something was up. He didn’t move.
Maximus glared at him. “I’ll deal with you later.”
Maximus herded the children and teachers ahead of him to the zoo’s entrance. The group sat down against a fence listening as if in a trance as Maximus spoke.
“What’s he doing?” Raiden asked Sarah beside him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he doesn’t do it to you. I like you.”
Raiden didn’t know whether to feel intimidated or warmed by Sarah’s words.
“Why does he refer to me as human? Is he a different species? Or from another planet?”
Sarah giggled. “He’s not an alien. He’s an Enlai, like me. Except I’m not a Reader like Maximus. I’m a Surger.”
“An Enlai?” Raiden raised his eyebrow.
“Mhm.”
“Like from my comics?” he asked skeptically.
“Exactly,” Sarah confirmed.
Raiden hesitated, contemplating what she was saying, then broke out in nervous laughter. “Nooo no no,” he said nervously, running his hands through his hair. “I’m hallucinating again, just like when I was a kid. The psychologist said it might happen again. It’s all in my head, my way of coping with my father’s murder-”
“Raiden,” Sarah said, placing her hand gently on his shoulder. He looked at her. “It’s real, all of it. But you don’t have to be scared. I’m going to protect you.”
As Raiden gazed into her eyes, the realization slowly dawned on him. “The man outside, Maximus, I know him. I’ve seen him before, in the comics, in my dreams, he’s-”
“The son of Armolin,” Sarah finished.
“And Roko-”
“Is the head of the Following, working secretly to wipe out all the good Enlai and enslave humanity.”
Raiden took a deep breath, taking it all in. “So, Maximus is a Reader. And you’re a Surger?”
“Yup,” Sarah said, “I can feel vibrations pulsing through every material. With my flute – it’s called a kaza, by the way, and is the last of its kind – I can play a matching note to any frequency, even ones humans can’t hear. When I match notes on my kaza, I can break anything, like the wall.”
“Of course, makes sense,” he pretended to understand.
Maximus was heading back to the car. Behind him, the group walked to the entrance of the zoo, only to turn around and head towards the street. To Raiden’s surprise, Maximus climbed back into the front seat and began driving.
“Hey, wait!” Raiden demanded. “That’s my girlfriend you left back there!”
“She has no memory of you,” Maximus answered indifferently. “Besides, we both know you were going to break up with her eventually.”
“What do you mean, ‘no memory’? What did you do to her!?”
“They have forgotten all the events of the past day. They believe they are returning from a field trip to the zoo and will discover that someone has blown up their school. No more questions until we arrive at our destination, human.”
Just before Raiden could yell back, Maximus turned on the radio.
“—destroyed an orphanage in Michigan. Local police have called in federal reinforcements and are on the hunt for a young man named Raiden Williams in connection with the attack.”
Raiden’s eyes grew wide. “What the hell!?”.
“Watch your language!” Maximus scolded. “There’s a child in the car.”
“He’s also wanted for questioning regarding the disappearance of one of the children from the Red Rose Orphanage. Jimmy Roko himself has offered twenty thousand dollars for the apprehension of Williams, and one hundred thousand for the safe return of the child.
Raiden screamed with rage.
“Shut up, human,” Maximus said bluntly.
“Shut up!? Roko ruined my life, again!”
“It was your choice to follow us. You are now part
of The Resistance.”
“Resistance? What the hell is going on!?”
“Language!” Sarah teased, sticking her tongue out playfully in the face of Raiden’s glare.
“You shall see.” Maximus answered.
Raiden leaned against the window, looking out at the passing cars, thinking over how crazy this entire situation was. In a way, part of him was relieved. What he’d seen as a child, his dreams…they were all true. But why him? Why was this all happening to him?
It was another half hour until Maximus exited the highway. He drove down a maze of streets before pulling over at an abandoned gas station. “We’ve arrived.”
“Where?” Raiden chuckled hysterically. Looking at his dilapidated surroundings, the absurdity of his day was getting the best of him. Sarah and Raiden followed Maximus inside. There was a row of snacks and drinks that hadn’t been removed when the gas station closed. Passing the counter, they walked through a door which read “employees only” into an empty, decrepit elevator.
“Watch your head,” Maximus said as they descended. The ride lasted ten seconds before coming to an abrupt stop. Maximus opened the door, revealing a room the size of a football field. Along one of the walls was a line of freezers, ovens, and sinks. Another wall housed a massive collection of weapons Raiden had only seen in sci-fi movies. There was even a collection of workout equipment and a gigantic flat-screen TV.
“Where are we?”.
“This is a safe house belonging to the Resistance. We have them located all over the world.”
Raiden looked at Maximus, his head spinning. The man’s muscles were incredibly large and protruded from every inch of his body, as if his insides were made of stone. His cheekbones showed through his face and his forehead was proud like the statue of a Greek god. He was a warrior, born and shaped for one purpose—war. And whether he liked it or not, Raiden was stuck along for the ride.
Chapter Four
Bella
London, England
July 3
2:30 p.m.
Alia walked through the revolving door at the Procare Nursing Home and, after checking at the front desk, took the elevator to her sister’s floor. She entered Bella’s room and smiled as she found her fast asleep. Bella’s beautiful, blonde hair had grown very long and was beginning to curl. Her cheekbones protruded slightly from her rosy cheeks, her smooth skin an angelic white. Her sister’s eyelashes were naturally long and dark with eyes a deep shade of blue.
