Singular

by Larry Buenafe

  “They… they just grabbed him, and there was nothing… I, I… and everyone thought I was crazy, and…” then she broke down into incoherence again.

  Benji, Mr. Harutyunyan, Chi Kim, and Ms. Houng were dashing in our direction, obviously aware that there was a problem. Chi Kim took Tarni’s hands and said, “Alright, take some deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth, that’s it, deep breaths. That’s it.”

  I noticed, we all did, that there were cut marks on Tarni’s wrists. “Ok, do you think you can tell us what happened now?”

  Barely under control, Tarni continued. “Oh, no, I’m sorry, there was nothing I could do… Oh, this is terrible. We… when we got to the Macca’s, John, Dr Taylor, went in and I waited in the van. When he came out, two men in military gear ran from the side and grabbed him… they dragged him to a big black truck, and I got out but another man knocked me down and threw me in the back of the van… he… he put zip ties on my hands and… and tape over my mouth… he took my cell phone and smashed it… he said he was going to let me go because he… he wanted me to take back a message… he said, “Tell Lucas Taylor if he ever wants to see his father again, he will need to do some work for us.” He said they wouldn’t make the same mistake with John as they did with the big man… he said we’d never find him, the only way to get him back is to… to play ball with them, whatever that means… then he said, “Tell Benji, he never shoulda told me where he lived.” Then he walked to the big truck, and… and one of the soldiers shot him, and threw him into the back of their truck and drove off… why would they do that? I… it took me a while, but I finally got out of the zip ties, and I didn’t know what to do so I came back as fast as I could. He gave me this cell phone, he said it’s only for Lucas Taylor and no one else. If anyone else uses it, they’ll kill John. He said just turn it on and hit send.” Then she descended into inconsolable sobs.

  I had never seen Benji so angry. “Bloody Riles Husker, I wish they hadn’t shot him, so I could kill him myself. Come on, you lot, we gotta decide what to do, let’s go to the apartment.”

  The rest of the group turned and stomped off, but I didn’t. There was nothing to discuss, as far as I was concerned. “Ava…”

  “You must call as soon as possible. That is your dad. In all this chaos, something was forgotten, though… if your dad were here, he would say to check it for tracking and disable it if possible. I sensed it as it approached and disconnected it’s signal.”

  “What will happen if you reconnect it so that I can call them?”

  “I think it’s safe to assume that they would like to pinpoint this location so that they can make another attempt on us. If I reconnect this phone to the system, they will have the ability to pinpoint us in that way, and that could mean the end of this nation as it currently exists.”

  “You can’t disable its tracking?”

  “Not without reconnecting it, and in the moments between reconnecting it and disabling the tracking, they will have access to our location.”

  “Oh, boy. What should we do?”

  “Simple. Make like a bird and fly away.”

  Make like a bird… oh, I get it…

  I turned to Warrin and Monti and said, I have to get out of here, now.”

  Without a word, Monti went to a set of controls embedded in the side of the entry ramp that I hadn’t noticed before, pressed a button, and the small, hidden door swung open. I ran through and was at the top of the nation hill within five minutes.

  “Where should we go?”

  “Over the town. That will confuse them in a major way.”

  “Won’t that take a long time?”

  “We’re going as the crow flies, so it will be much faster than driving. And the longer we stand here discussing, the longer it will take.”

  I stripped off my shirt and pants, ran for the edge, and we were off. With Ava’s help in using the air currents to our best advantage, we made it to Kalgoorlie in forty minutes. Now the problem was using the cell phone, which I stashed in my underwear while flying. I couldn’t see any way to do it without landing.

  “Ava…”

  “Stand by… the College of Mining has the tallest building in town, a four-story complex, with a wide, flat roof. That’s where we land. I’ll guide you.”

  It was now about ten p.m., and there were very few people on the streets, but if they had looked up, they would have needed to check their glasses to see if what they were observing was real: a boy with a wingspan of twenty meters gliding silently by. Maybe they’ll just think I’m an angel or something…

  As we neared the blocky, dormitory-like building, I descended, and as we reached the edge, I retracted my legs and twisted my arms back so that my feet would be slightly in front of my body. I landed on the roof, trotting easily, but had to adjust to avoid the air conditioners and other obstacles in my path as I drew my arms in.

  As I came to a stop, I snatched the cell phone out of my underwear and took a deep breath. I opened the phone and hit send.

  After two rings, a deep voice on the other end of the line said, “Thank you, Lucas, you have made the right choice. You are about to go on a great adventure, or a series of great adventures, if things work properly, and in the end, you’ll get your dad back, safe and unharmed. How does that sound?”

  “I’ll do what you want, but I won’t kill anybody. And if you hurt my dad in any way, I’ll find you, and you’ll never see me coming. As my friend would say, that’s a bloody oath.”

  “Yes, well let’s just make sure there is no need for that kind of unpleasantness. Keep that phone with you and call again in twenty-four hours exactly. Mark the time so you get it right, now. I’ll have further instructions at that time. Don’t worry, Lucas. Just do a few jobs for us and it will all be just a distant memory. Of course, you could refuse, but then… well, let’s don’t even contemplate what would happen, just think happy thoughts for now.”

  Then there was a click, and the line went dead.

  Hi! Thank you for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed the first installment of the Singular saga it as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you. Won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review? As an author, I very much depend on your feedback; it’s really the lifeblood of writers like me, and your reviews allow me to continue to write stories like this for your entertainment. To make it as easy as possible, I have included a link below for you to click. It will take you directly to the Singular book one review page on Amazon, then just click the button that says Write a Review. Thank you so much!

  And, if you liked Singular, book one, then you’ll want to read on for a preview of Forever, book two in the Singular series.

  Forever

  Prologue

  G eneral bedlam reigned, first in the little guest apartment next to the entry ramp of the nation cavern, and eventually throughout the nation itself. Dr. John Taylor was a bit of a legend to many of the residents, thanks to Benji Walker and his brothers, Wally and Harry. Through Benji’s work with Dr. Taylor, and his efforts in bringing nuclear energy in the form of an advanced thorium reactor to the nation, he had also achieved the sheen of celebrity, and his brothers were not shy about sharing their technological advances with the rest of the nation, perhaps even embellishing just a little. So, it was not surprising that the nation was up in arms when they learned of Dr. Taylor’s capture. They knew it was impotent anger and wasted energy, as there was nothing they could do in the face of the massive military power of the US, not in any substantive way. Yes, they had succeeded in the skirmish at the docks in Melbourne, but that was due to overwhelming numbers and having the element of surprise on their side; that would work once and once only.

  So, while there were plenty of shouts and angry threats, they knew there was not much they could really do.

  In the guest apartment, Dr. Taylor’s small inner circle was gathered, trying to come up with a plan in spite of their bleak situation. At the small kitchen table were Benji, all one hundred-sixty-five
centimeters of nervous energy, although nearly one hundred-eighty when you included his great bush of black hair; Mardig Harutyunyan, so tall and massively muscled that he took up two spaces, an angry scowl on his expressive face; Minh Houng, tall and slim, her dark hair carefully messy as always; Tarney Early, the depth of her earth-blue eyes giving display of her quick wit and intelligence; and Chi Kim, her slim, muscular frame and shoulder-length, gleaming ebony hair providing little evidence of her resourcefulness and ability as master of disguise. At the head of the table sat Lucas Taylor, his unassuming fourteen-year-old appearance the greatest disguise of all.

  “You shoulda waited, mate. We coulda come up with a strategy for the call, might have negotiated a release with the right incentive,” Benji complained.

  Mardig Harutyunyan rose from the table and paced the room like a caged animal. “He gave you no other direction, just call back?”

  “No idea of what kind of ‘work’ they want you to do?” queried Chi Kim, making air quotes to emphasize ‘work’.

  “This is not good, I don’t like,” Minh Houng groused.

  “Look, everyone, at this point we just have to wait, but I reckon it makes sense to bring in some help from the Bright Hand, or at least some advice and information,” offered Tarni Early, her hand on Lucas’ shoulder.

  Lucas cleared his throat and glanced around before speaking. “I had to do it; that was the only logical thing to do. The longer I waited the more chance something bad would happen to dad. I thought that, if they heard from me soon, then they could relax a bit. I asked Ava, and she agreed. I like Tarni’s idea of seeing if we can get any help from the Bright Hand, too. I think they owe us after that mess-up over in San Diego.”

  There was a moment of silence, and Benji said, “I don’t know that we can trust the bloody Bright Hand. Still, they did make it possible for us to get our mate Mard back, even though they got a buncha people killed in the process. I dunno, maybe I’m wrong; I reckon there’s a bloody first time for everything.”

  That brought some smiles from around the table, but the mood was too desperate for any laughter.

  Tarni snapped her fingers and said, “You know, the Bright Hand has those four soldiers they captured from the docks in Melbourne. Maybe we can get something out of them. Worth a try, anyway. We don’t have much time, though; by the time we arranged with the Bright Hand to pick us up in Kalgoorlie and then got out to wherever they are, it would be too late.”

  A slight grin crossed Lucas’ face. “There’s a way around that. When we went there before, even though they had us blindfolded, I had Ava make a map so that we would be able to get back there if we needed to. She can take us straight there, and if we get going quickly, we should have enough time before I have to call again. What do you guys think?”

  After a moment of pause and eye contact, the group rose and bolted for the door.

  1

  W e dashed to the rusty old nation van with the orange stripe on the side, and as we piled in, Benji asked Monti, one of the two ‘oldies’ watching the cavern entrance, “Is she charged up?”

  “Full as she can get, I reckon. Where ya headin’?”

  “Sorry, mate, can’t say. Be back in a day or two. Hit the door, willya?”

  The camouflaged door slid aside, and we flew up the ramp and out of the cavern, Benji at the wheel. “It’ll take several hours to get up there, so you might as well relax. Ya got Ava cranked up, ready with directions?”

  “Ready. Hopefully she’ll just tell me instead of making me guess by using some weird metaphors, though.”

  “Hey, as long as we’re goin’ through Kalgoorlie, I don’t reckon anyone would be up for a little stop through Macca’s, would they?”

  There was a chorus of ‘boo’s’, and Benji said, “Alright, alright, it was just a thought. If ya don’t know good tucker when ya see it, I reckon that’s your problem, eh?”

  We rolled on through the night, Ava being her confusing self, but we managed to make our way north and then east through the outback. As we bounced along, we suddenly saw a pair of headlights approaching, then another pair, and another. I covered my mouth and whispered, “Ava, how far are we from the Bright Hand cavern?”

  “Just over twenty kilometers as the crow flies. It appears that they are rather protective of their little nest in the hills.”

  Nest in the hills? A crow’s nest? Oh, boy.

  Benji smacked the driver’s wheel. “Oh, here we go, mates. Bloody Bright Hand is not happy with our little visit. Once they see who we are, they’ll let us through, especially when they see Lukey.”

  We pulled to a stop, and were immediately surrounded by three big, black trucks, one on each side and one directly in front of us, their lights on high-beam, making it nearly impossible to see. As Benji got out he grunted, “Hang on, you lot, let me see if I can talk ‘em down.” The occupants of the trucks on either side of us stayed in their vehicles, but two Bright Handers exited the third truck, and at first were obscured by the headlights. After a moment, though, they became clear, and it was… Margaret and Leena, the guards from our first trip to the Bright Hand compound, again in their black military-style clothes. When he realized who he was facing, Benji clapped his hands and cried, “Oi, how ya doin’, ladies? Changed your mind about steppin’ out with good ol’ Benji, I see.”

  Leena stepped forward and said, in her distinct British accent, “How did you find your way up here?”

  “What, do ya think you’re the only ones with any tech? I got the ultimate in technology right inside, have a look-see.”

  She backed up a step and said, “Instead, let’s have everyone in the vehicle step out.”

  “Whatta ya think, I got a booby trap in there or some other bloody nonsense? You’re hurtin’ my feelin’s, ya know.”

  We stepped out of the old van one by one; when they saw Chi Kim their eyes got wide, wider when they saw Mr. Harutyunyan, and they nearly popped out of their head when they saw me.

  “Why didn’t you contact us before coming?” asked Leena.

  “We have a bloody emergency and didn’t want to take the chance of anyone interceptin’ the message. We just came as fast as we could. Now if you don’t mind, let’s get movin, eh?”

  Leena and Margaret made eye contact, and Leena said, “Alright, then. Follow us.”

  We plowed the rest of the distance to the Bright Hand cavern at record speed, and eventually turned into their own version of a camouflaged entrance, constructed of photo-realistic bushes and boulders, which led directly into their concrete parking garage. As before, we were led through a heavy metallic door, down a short concrete hall, through a second massive door, and another hall to Mr. Kane’s office. This time, we were guided by Leena and Margaret, and rather than lay one of their hands on the panel next to the door, Margaret took out a cell phone and punched in a few numbers; after a couple of moments, the door swung open, and there stood Mr. Kane with his two gigantic bodyguards. Although he looked like he had just been pulled out of bed, his movie-star smile was firmly in place, white teeth gleaming and dimples in his cheeks. He was once again wearing the black track suit and shining white tennis shoes, and it occurred to me that maybe that was his version of the black military uniform the others were wearing.

  He glanced at our group, and his grin faded just a bit. “Lucas, nice to see you, but I notice your father isn’t with you. I assume that is the reason for your unexpected visit. Come in, let’s sit.”

  We gathered around the large, black, rectangular table, and over the next few minutes described for him how dad had been captured. As we spoke, he nodded on occasion, his arms on the table and fingers laced together. When we were done recounting our story, he hesitated a moment before speaking. “So, let me understand correctly. You flew? You flew from the nation’s home to Kalgoorlie, landed on a rooftop, and no one saw you? You flew?”

  “Well, it’s actually more like gliding, but that’s not really the point…”

  “Yes, yes, I know th
at’s not the point, but come now, you have to know that is an interesting detail. Alright, we’ll put that aside for the moment. What time did you say you made the call?”

  “It was eight minutes after ten.”

  “And it’s… almost three a.m. You made it all the way back to the nation’s home, and got here in a little over four hours? Sorry, I know I’m fixating on time, but it’s hard to believe that you got here that quickly.”

  ‘Yeah, we may have been exceedin’ the speed limit just a bit. Now look, Kane, we’re bloody desperate. We came lookin’ for help, or at least some advice. If you can’t or won’t give us any, just let us know and we’ll be on our way,” Benji interjected.

  “Please excuse me for saying so, but thus far this has been a rather one-sided relationship. We have saved your whole group at the docks in Melbourne, along with the assistance of your nation, of course, and rescued your friend here, Mr. Harutyunyan, both times at great cost, and have received nothing in return. We intend to help you in any way we can, but some quid pro quo seems only fair.”

  Mr. Harutyunyan stood up suddenly, and both of the bodyguards reacted, moving to intercept him; Mr. Kane held up his hand and said, “Relax, gentlemen. I think our friend just needs to stretch his legs.”

  Mr. Harutyunyan nodded toward Mr. Kane and paced at the back of the room, either anxious or angry, I couldn’t tell which.

  Benji continued: “Sorry, Kane, but the Bright Hand mucked it up both times. At the docks, we only got away because of the nations all showin’ up, and in San Diego, if our boyo hadn’t been there, they woulda killed everyone.”