by Kunz, C. A.
“What do you mean 'enhanced soldiers'?” Joey chimes in.
“In a nutshell? Super soldiers. Basically, you’ll receive a series of implants, that I’ve developed, which will modify your biological composition, leaving you with enhanced abilities. You’ll be changed forever.” He stops, almost seeming like he’s mulling something over. I stare at him with anticipation for what he’s going to say next, but he dodges it to take another drink of water. After setting down the glass, his focus returns to us. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but the implants are fused with the essence of a Bringer.”
“A Bringer!? We’re going to have part of those things put inside us? You’re right, that is crazy,” I reply, completely shocked by what my dad just said. “I won’t have any part of those things inside of me! Those things killed Dylan. Does that not bother you at all?”
“Of course it does, Kenley. And trust me when I say that I hate this as much you do, but the Magnus project is the last hope we have in the war against these creatures. I told you this wouldn’t be easy. There’s nothing I can do now though. You have to go through with it,” my dad says with eyes full of sadness.
“You can’t be serious. How is any of this even possible?” I hear Joey ask, but my eyes are still affixed to my father’s.
He breaks eye contact with me and looks over at Joey. “We’ve had some major breakthroughs in bio-modification research, and this project was born because of it. I can assure you that all of this is one hundred percent true. And sadly, you two will see that firsthand very soon.”
“I’m so not looking forward to telling Mom about this, especially after all she’s been through.”
“No. You can’t tell her, or anyone else for that matter. This is top secret. If they trace any leak back to you, they’ll hunt you down and…well, I’d rather not think about what they’d do to you.”
“Got it, don’t tell anyone,” I reply seriously.
“All we need to tell your mom is that you did well enough in the preliminaries to land you a safe desk job. I hate the fact we have to lie to her, but with what happened to your brother, and me being gone for so long, I don’t want to put her through any more stress.”
“I hate lying to Mom too,” I say and then pause. “I know you guys wanted me to throw the preliminaries so I’d be safe for two years, and then go back to a normal life. But ever since Dylan’s death, life has been anything but normal, and I want to fight. There’s too much at stake not to,” I say, failing to keep the sadness from my voice.
My dad leans forward with his elbows on the desk and his hands clasped. “I knew you wouldn’t purposefully fail the tests. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised when the Federation wanted you two. You’re perfect hosts for the implant.” He reclines in the chair and rests his hands on his chest. “You’re right though, we did want you to be assigned a desk job, but this is your life, Kenley. I guess I’ll have to put my feelings aside. As much as I hate the idea.” He wearily pushes himself up from his chair and makes his way to the door. Opening it, “All right, you two. You better get on home. You’ll receive your assignment papers through the mail within the next couple of days or so. These papers are very important as they contain the location you’ll be meeting with the three other draftees from your region.”
As I go to leave the room, my dad grabs me in a hug. I can only remember him hugging me like this one other time. It was right after my brother’s funeral. He’s holding on to me so tight, it seems like he’s afraid that if he lets me go I might disappear.
I hug him back and whisper, “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll be fine.”
“I know you will. Be safe, and I’ll see you soon, okay?” he chokes out.
The drive home with Joey is somewhat quiet. Not because we don’t have things to say, we have plenty to talk about, but we just kind of keep to ourselves. We both begin to talk to each other several times, but the conversations kind of just drop off.
Drumming my fingers on the armrest of the car door, I watch the scenery outside fly by. I’ve always enjoyed gazing into a forest as you drive by it. The blurry pattern the trees make as you look in between them has always fascinated me.
Ahead of us I see a large section of the forest full of charred trees. As we get closer to them, I notice several rows have been leveled, leaving a pathway that leads deep into the woods. A thick smoky haze fills the area.
“Joey, stop the car,” I yell out, seeming to startle him. “Do you see that?”
“Yeah, what did that?” he asks, and then pulls the car onto the shoulder of the road.
“I don’t know, but it definitely did a number on those trees,” I reply while opening the car door. My mouth hangs open with shock as I stand there, scanning the destruction. A path has been cut straight through the trees, ending in a circular section. It looks as if someone took a precision laser and cut them down by hand.
“Are you sure we should just go investigating?” I hear Joey ask through my open car door.
“What if someone needs our help?”
“Out here? In the middle of nowhere?” he asks dryly. “What if it’s the Bringers? What would you do then, huh?”
“That’s why I have you here to protect me,” I joke, but inside a twinge of fear bubbles up at the thought of a Bringer being in the forest.
Joey groans in protest as I move away from the car and close the door. He finally opens his door and glares at me over the top of the car before reluctantly joining me at the edge of the forest. “Just so you know, if we die…I’m going to be really pissed at you,” Joey whispers.
I laugh off his comment. “Aren’t you the least bit curious about what caused this?”
“Sure, but I can’t help thinking of all the movies that have taught me not to do this,” he replies wryly.
“News flash, this isn’t a movie. It’s real life, and if it was the Bringers, don’t you think we’d already have run into them by now?”
“Fine, we’ll go check it out. But I’m definitely still on team ‘this is a bad idea,’” Joeys states huffily.
As we make our way down the path, the smell of burnt wood and melted metal assaults our senses. The remnants of the trees crunch under our feet with every step we take. I jump when I see a tree in the distance smash into several others around it, sending them crashing to the ground in front of us.
“Whoa, that was close,” I say breathlessly.
“Uh, you think?” Joey replies sarcastically.
Reaching the end of the path, we come upon a crater in the ground with some kind of large shiny object at the center of it. It’s still on fire, and black smoke billows from it into the air.
“Is that a wingtip from a spaceship?” Joey points to it.
“Possibly. I think it might be one of ours. It has the logo of the Federation on it,” I reply.
“Whatever it is, it definitely did some damage when it crashed here.”
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
The trees around the edge of the crash site were barely there anymore. Most of them were shadows of their previous selves. I reach out to touch a branch and it crumbles into a pile of ash onto the ground. A gust of wind blows through the area and sweeps the pile of ash up into the air, swirling it around in front of me. It’s oddly beautiful.
“Could you imagine the whole world ending up like this?” I ask Joey as he stands there continuing to examine the object in the deep craterous hole.
“No, no I can’t. These bastards need to be stopped, and we’re going to be the ones to do it.”
“Agreed.”
I grab Joey’s hand and pull him in the direction of the car. He pulls me to a stop in order to take one last look at the destruction behind us.
Our attention is drawn to the sound of sirens in the distance. “We better get going. I knew it’d be only a matter of time before the Federation showed up,” I say and then tug on Joey’s hand.
Standing in front of my house, I hesitate putting the key into the lock on the fr
ont door. It feels heavy in my hand as it hovers there just in front of the lock. I know that the moment I open this door, I’ll have to lie to my mom, to my little brother, and I dread doing that.
When I finally decide to place the key into the lock, the door suddenly flies open and I see my little brother Gavin standing there, biting his lip. He flings his arms around me and grips me tight in a hug. I’ve never been happier to see him. Maybe it’s because of the finality of my current situation, or the fear that these next couple of days might be the last I get to spend with him.
He backs away and looks up at me with sadness in his eyes. I push back his dirty blond hair that hangs in front of his face to see him more clearly. “Hey, Little Bit,” I say with a half-smile, hoping that I sound cheerful.
“Mom’s out back if you want to talk to her.”
“Thanks. How was school today?”
“It was okay.”
“Only okay?” I ask as I put my arm around his shoulder and begin walking with him toward the kitchen. Over the past year he has grown so much, and soon, "Little Bit" will be taller than me.
“You know just as well as I do it’s not school anymore. They’re training us for the war,” he replies, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “I mean, look at these uniforms we have to wear now. They’re black and gold. They even say Allied Federation on them.”
“It won’t be that way for long, we’re going to change that,” I reply while rubbing his head and messing up his hair.
He pushes my hand away, and his boyish face with his bluish-green eyes that match Dylan’s, turns serious. “I don’t see how.”
“Don’t talk like that. This war will end, and things will be back to normal before you know it.” I try to reassure him, even though I’m not sure of my own words.
“I hope so,” he replies.
I see my mom out in the garden through the kitchen window. She has her light blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail, and her usual navy blue headband is resting atop her head. “Hey, I’m going to go talk to Mom real quick, and let her know I’m home. When I get back we’ll play some video games, okay?” My brother nods with a strained smile and leaves the kitchen.
My mom turns to look at me when she hears the back door open and close. At first she smiles at me, but it fades quickly as she goes back to watering her flowers.
“Please tell me they gave you a nice cushy desk job to work at for the next two years,” she says as she wipes the sweat from her brow with her gardening glove.
I hesitate to answer. This is a lot harder than I was expecting it to be. I hate that I can’t be honest with her. Somewhere, though, I find the strength and reply. “Yep, a real nice cushy one.”
“I’m so torn up by this, Kenley. You have no idea. I’ve been losing sleep for months now, anticipating this very moment…when you’d return with your assignment. I hate the Federation for taking my baby girl away from me,” she explains as tears come to her eyes.
I grab her in a hug and she wraps her arms around me tighter than she ever has. I have to do everything in my power not to break down. “Mom, I’m going to be all right. You have nothing to worry about.” That lie resonates deep within me and my heart breaks at the thought of possibly never being able to see her again.
She releases the hug and pulls away from me while wiping away her tears. “You’ve been my saving grace ever since we lost Dylan. It’s going to be very tough around here, but at least now I’ll be able to get some sleep at night knowing you won’t be in harm’s way like your brother was,” she states, a sad smile returning to her face.
“Here, I got you something.” I pull out a small pot of flowers wrapped in a plastic bag from my backpack. “It’s some blue poppies for your garden. I had Joey stop by your favorite flower shop in town before he dropped me off.”
“Oh, these are lovely, Kenley,” she replies, giving me another hug and taking them from my hands. Tears come to her eyes again and it suddenly dawns on me why. “They’ll go perfectly with the red ones your brother gave me before he went off to war.”
“I’m so sorry, Mom. I didn’t even think about that,” I reply with sadness in my voice. “I just wanted to get you some of your favorite flowers.”
“It’s all right, dear. I love them, and I know exactly where I’m going to put these. Right next to your brother's.”
“So, have you heard from Dad lately?” I ask, trying to change the subject before I start to cry.
“No, but you know your father’s busy with this project of his. He’ll call when he has time, dear. I can’t wait to tell him the good news about your new assignment, though. I think he’ll be relieved to hear you’ll be safe for your two-year service with the Federation. Are you hungry? I was planning on making your favorite tonight, eggplant parmesan.”
“I’m actually kind of more tired than anything else, but that sounds great, Mom.”
“Well you go rest up a bit, and then let’s plan on having dinner at around seven?”
“Okay,” I reply, trying to keep my emotions at bay. I’m bawling on the inside and it’s so difficult not to just burst into tears. I’ll be leaving my family soon, and my dad and I are the only ones who know the truth.
After giving my mom another hug, I head up to my bedroom. On my way, I pass by Dylan’s old room. The door hasn’t been opened for months, and my mom has kept it just as he left it the day he went off to war. I realize the door is slightly ajar and hear noises coming from inside. My heart skips a beat as I push open the door the rest of the way and see Gavin sitting at the edge of Dylan’s bed holding something in his hand. I sit down next to him and he doesn’t say a word. He just continues to stare at a photo of him, Joey, Dylan, and me. It was taken the day after Dylan’s assignment. All of our faces are strained in the picture even though Mom had told us to smile. Tears come to my eyes as I remember back to the day a soldier brought this picture to our front door with a message. A message that would change our lives forever.
“Don’t go, Kenley,” Gavin whispers.
“I have to,” I reply as I wrap my arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. “I’ll be okay. You don’t have to worry about me or Joey, all right?” I feel him nod into my shoulder and hear him sniffle. Wiping away my own tears, I look into his eyes as he raises his head to me. “Mom says dinner will be ready at seven, so that means we’ve got an hour to play some games. What do you say?” He nods. “Well, go set it all up and I’ll be in soon, okay?”
“Okay,” Gavin replies, wiping his eyes and handing me the picture.
I go to put the photo back onto the mirror, but then stop to look at it once more. Tears begin to well up in my eyes again as I look at Dylan’s handsome face. He almost looks like he knew this was the last picture he would take with us. “I’ll make them pay, Dylan. You have my word.”
Chapter Two
The Shrouded Facility
As I pull up to our usual Thursday night hangout, my car’s headlights shimmer off the side view mirror of Joey’s old red Mustang. The black stripes on the sides of the car have almost all but worn away, and the vehicle is a little beat-up, but he absolutely loves that car. It was what allowed him to get away from his parents.
Thursdays were barhopping nights for his dad, and Joey never wanted to be home when he returned. I’ll never forget the first night he came to my bedroom window after his Dad beat the crap out of him. That’s actually why we started meeting in this field by Old Man Gary’s farm.
Ever since we were kids, Joey and I have loved looking at the stars, and this field was the perfect place to do that. Before we were old enough to drive, we used to come out here with Dylan. We’d all lie in the back of his truck and stare up into the peaceful night sky. Those were definitely happy times.
“Hey, stranger. I wasn’t sure if you’d show up tonight. You know, with us leaving tomorrow and all,” I say as I see him shielding his eyes from the brightness of my car’s headlights.
“I’d never miss our Thursday nights,” he re
plies with a grin. “Besides, Dad’s been in rare form lately, and I didn’t want to push my luck.” He laughs off his statement, but I know it bothers him. “Hey, what? No pizza this time?”
“Oh crap, I knew there was something I was forgetting.”
“You just don’t want to go to Jonnie’s Pizza Place anymore since you found out that Bobby Fowler has a crush on you,” he jokes.
“Not true. Bobby Fowler has a girlfriend.”
Joey laughs. “Uh, he’s a guy. Just because he has a girlfriend doesn’t mean he isn’t looking. And word is he’s been looking at you a lot lately. And you know how he has a thing for tall, athletic blondes.”
“First of all, gross. And for your information, not all men are like that. And second, he’s not even my type,” I reply with a huff.
“Uh-huh,” Joey mutters sarcastically as he jumps onto the hood of his car and takes a seat. He taps the space next to him for me to join.
I crawl onto the hood of the car and lay back on the windshield. As I look up into the sky, I take in a deep breath and begin to think about everything that will happen tomorrow. There’s a light breeze and I can hear it rustle through the field of long grasses that surrounds us, as they swish and sway. The smell of fresh flowers fills my nose as I take in a deep breath. It’s soothing really.
“What’s on your mind?” Joey asks me as he settles into a laying position, resting his head on the windshield next to mine.
I let out a little laugh. “Tons,” I reply and look over at him with worry in my eyes. He returns my look and grabs for my hand.
“You know what, Kenley? No matter what happens to us, no one can take away the memories and times we’ve shared. Those are ours, and we will never lose them.”
“Wow, you sound final,” I state with slight sadness in my voice.
