Beta Earth: Between Worlds 2.0 Edition

by Napier, J. R.

  Akari gets up and walks into the training room. Clave is now doing push-ups while monitoring his status closely. “That’s enough for today, boy.” Akari announces. “Time to rest. You can do whatever you want. Just be prepared to resume training early tomorrow morning.”

  Clave stops his physical session. He wipes the sweat from his face and slightly smiles. “You serious? We never had a session end early. What’s made you so happy?” Clave asks. Akari walks over and checks Clave’s workout data.

  “It’s the opposite boy. You must be rested mentally for tomorrow’s training. It will be one of our most important sessions.”

  “What is it?” Clave asks. Akari walks over to Clave and looks him in the eye.

  “Tomorrow, I’m going to teach you my specialty boy. You said you think you are invincible ... tomorrow if you survive the training. You will be one step closer to making statement a truth.” Akari says before leaving abruptly. Clave stares at her back as she exits the room.

  “What the hell is she up to? Or better yet ... what am I in for?”

  Chapter 4

  Family Pt. 2

  Time: Evening.

  Location: Sprawl 15 – Caroline’s House.

  Vin and Zuri walk up to a large house. They hold bags of groceries as they approach. It’s a slightly dilapidated building on the outside but the lawn is well kept. Zuri opens the door and goes inside.

  “We’re home!” He loudly announces. A smile crosses Zuri’s face as seven children. Four boys and three girls, come running to the door to greet them. The inside of the house is large and very clean. Pictures of the children lace the hallways and living room.

  In all of the picture the children are smiling hand having fun. One of the little boys, Sev, runs up to Vin. He makes a muscle on his small arm. “Look, Uncle Vin! I’m getting stronger. I’m gonna grow up to be just like you!” Vin kneels down to the little boy.

  “When you grow up, you’ll be better than me.”

  “Whoa, really?” Sev replies excitedly.

  Vin rubs the little boy’s head and grins. “Really,” he replies earnestly. Strange. It’s always so strange. Even though I am so different, they don’t seem to notice. They just accept me as family. I wonder if they will ever notice. Vin thinks.

  He looks at his dark skin and he gazes into the eyes of the mixed but predominately oriental-looking child. In fact, everyone in the house besides Vin and his blood sister, Anul. Has the characteristics of this small child.

  All the years’ void of racial biases and zealous nationalism has allowed this house to be a home to people of all shades. This home, in the slums known as Sprawl 15, houses the faces of a new world. The rarities are now those with the darkest and the fairest skin.

  “Okay, grub time. Where’s the old mama?” Zuri asks. Caroline, an older, heavier-set woman enters the room.

  “And who are you calling an old mama?” Caroline replies. Zuri smiles innocently.

  “Sorry, sorry, I meant, where is the very pretty old mama!” Caroline laughs heartily.

  “You gotta work on your compliments or you’ll never get a lady.”

  “Oh, is that why I can’t get a date?” Zuri replies with a laugh. The room erupts into laugher. A little girl points at Zuri and smiles.

  “Mama Caroline got you!”Caroline calms the children down with a hand gesture.

  “Okay, everyone. Help Vin and Zuri carry the groceries into the kitchen. You have to do your part, too, you know.” Zuri hands the heavy bags to the little children. They take them and struggle to bring them into the kitchen. Anul, a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl, walks down the stairs and stares at Vin. Caroline looks at Anul.

  “Well? You gotta help out, too.” Anul walks over to Vin. He begins to hand the bags to her.

  “Hey, they’re heavy,” Vin warns. Anul, with little emotion, responds.

  “I got it.” Vin drops the bags and they miss Anul’s hands. She quickly reacts and catches the falling bags, “Jeez, get some glasses, bro.”

  Vin is embarrassed by the mistake. His eyes sight has been growing worse lately.

  “Uh, yeah. Sorry,” he replies. Anul, with very little effort, carries the groceries into the kitchen. Zuri follow behind her. Before Vin can enter the kitchen, Caroline reaches out and hugs him. He is shocked at first but soon embraces the hug. “Thank you for helping Zuri and providing for us,” she says.

  Caroline then slowly backs away and holds Vin by the shoulders. She tears up, emotions swell inside her as she thinks about what they must have gone through to get the groceries. Vin shakes his head. “Come on, it’s the least I can do for taking us in. Plus, being around a family is just what Anul needs.” Caroline wipes her eyes.

  “If we could just get that child to smile … I mean she doesn’t show any emotions. Sometimes I wonder—”

  “You’re reaching her. Trust me, I know.” Vin replies with a smile. Caroline returns the smile and nod reassuringly.

  “Come on, let’s do our part.” Caroline and Vin enter the kitchen.

  Chapter 5

  A New Day Pt. 1

  Time: Next Day.

  Location: Earth—an abandoned factory in an undisclosed location between Sprawl 15 and City District 8.

  Akari leads Clave into an abandoned factory. The inside is set up as a training ground. The interior still has most its original façade. It contains rusty metal beams and large, nonfunctioning generators.

  Giant, stationary half circles of white metal are scattered all around the factory. This addition makes the ultimate obstacle course and scrimmage battlefield. Clave walks to the middle of the factory. At the same time, Akari walks over to a standard-issue UF projectile pistol resting on a nearby table.

  As she approaches the table. Clave readies himself for combat. Akari notices he is on edge. “Calm down, boy. Today’s training is special.” Akari picks up the gun resting on the table. She examines it closely while continuing to talk.

  “Three of my students have died during this training. I’ve only had one student able to complete it unharmed … which only barely affirms my belief that others can endure it.” Akari tosses the gun toward Clave and it lands on the ground with a heavy thud.

  “A gun?” Clave asks.

  “Let me explain.” Akari walks over to a pair of seemingly plain but perfectly balanced. Six-foot broadswords with modern, special-grip hilts. “My special ability, so to speak. Is the ability to find my students best traits and help them exploit those traits to their own advantage. This usually entails finding their unique physical and mental aptitudes and applying that information when helping them to develop their combat strategy. In other words, some people are very creative and have good perception. They can master the gun. Other people have great muscle control and good coordination. They can be masters of the fist. Do you understand?” Akari explains. Clave looks at the gun lying on the ground.

  “Yeah … sorta.” Akari picks up one of the broadswords.

  “Well, then, let me explain further.”

  Akari demonstrates a beautiful yet powerful sword combat dance. Each strike forceful and precise. She moves as if she is in combat with an army of combatants. Dodging, parrying, and striking. She utilizes every part of her body to take her imaginary foes down—an elbow to stun and then a strike.

  A leg sweep to ground and then a stab. She finishes with a graceful pose. Her breath is only slightly heavy from the exhibition. “Clave, pick up the gun and shoot at me three times.” Akari demands. Clave is perplexed by the request.

  “What?” He looks at the gun. Has she finally lost it? Does she want me to kill her? He thinks.

  “What did I say about questioning me boy?” Akari says. Clave snaps back to the present. He picks up the gun and aims.

  “Now!” Akari yells. Clave squeezes the trigger. The bullet releases from the chamber and flies directly at Akari. Her eyes widen and her arm muscles twitch. A loud, heavy clash is heard and sparks fly as the bullet is deflected by Akari’s sword. Clave
is frozen in awe. “What are you waiting for?” Akari yells. Clave fires two more shots. Both deflected gracefully by Akari while she slowly walks toward Clave. The two bullets ricochet off the sword and spark against the metal in the factory. Akari recognizes this look.

  She has seen it many times in her life. The look in a student or an opponent’s eye when they realize she is much more dangerous than previously imagined. It is suspicion cast aside all at once by sudden empirical proof. First, amazement sets in, then terror, and eventually acknowledgment.

  Clave, remains frozen by the display as he contemplates.

  When? When did she get so good? Has she always been—Akari pushes Clave’s firearm down disturbing his thought. Clave is so mesmerized that he didn’t notice her approach.

  “You are terrible with a gun … which is why I never trained you with one.” Akari calmly states. Clave devotes is full attention to Akari. He wants to absorb all the knowledge that she has to offer. “I shouldn’t say terrible. You could actually be quite proficient with one. But I am here to exploit your true ability. Clave, like me, your natural strength rests with this ancient relic.” Akari brandishes her sword and swings it slowly in front of Clave.

  “I … I can do that?” Clave asks.

  “Not only that. Clave, you have amazingly good eyes … probably the best I’ve ever seen. But your true, innate strength lies in your accelerated mental processing speed and accelerated muscle reflex. This combination is extremely rare. Basically, you can slow down the world in your mind and adapt your speed to the world you see.”

  Akari takes the gun from Clave and hands him the sword. “However, in this state your timing is off. Your coordination is hindered by your perception. So you must feel your way through combat. A good way to enhance your coordination is by using the sword as an extension of your arm.” Clave slowly explores the grip on his sword. It feels good, like it was made for his hands.

  “How do you know all this?” Akari walks away from Clave. “During our training you’ve slipped in and out of this state very briefly. What kind of trainer would I be if I didn’t notice it? Now warm up.” She orders him. Clave carefully swings around the sword and he begins to realize Akari is right. With each swing and each movement, Clave feels as if he is coming into his own. Even though he has used a sword many times during training.

  This time, his arms are covered with goose bumps as he moves. Akari has confirmed Clave’s feelings. He now believes he can be something more than normal, something in his own league. “Very good.” Akari says softly as she watches Clave's exhibition.

  She walks away from Clave while still holding the gun. “However, you should realize, boy. This only means you have great potential.” Clave continues to swing the sword. Dispatching invisible opponents one after another, accelerating in speed while keeping good form.

  Akari continues to move further away from Clave. “The three I trained before you were older. They had already acquired great skill before I tried to teach them this ability. In other words, potential means nothing”—please forgive me for what I’m about to do—“If you are dead boy.”

  Akari turns abruptly and fires the gun directly at Clave. Clave instinctively brings the sword around and closes his eyes. A loud clank rings out. Clave opens his eyes. His hand shake as he breathes heavy. His left arm is bleeding. Akari releases a slow sigh of relief.

  “Good job. You felt that one through. Next time block it with your eyes open. You need to always be aware of your surroundings.” Clave rests his sword on the ground and holds his arm with the other hand.

  “But I was hit.” Akari walks over to a table with weapons on it. “It’s only a flesh wound, but you are correct. This technique is only efficient if you never get hit. So we will keep trying until you come out scratch free.” Akari picks up another gun and cocks it.

  “Wait, what?” Clave asks. He already nervous at the prospect of going through that again. Akari turns to face Clave.

  “You have your first mission in one month. If you want to survive, you will have to perfect this skill. Clave, I will make you invincible.” Clave grabs on to his sword and stands in a defensive pose. I’m sorry boy, but I can’t lose you like the others. Akari thinks. She then fires randomly at Clave. He deflects two shots and then leaps for cover behind a white metal sheet.

  Chapter 6

  A New Day Pt. 2

  Time: One month later—afternoon.

  Location: Faux Forsaken hideout in Sprawl 15.

  Zuri and Vin are eating at a table away from everyone else. Tooth watches them from a corner. He is sitting with the other gang members. The Faux Forsaken Clan is filled with a majority of the bad seeds from Sprawl 15.

  They are an unofficial offset of the original, legendary Forsaken Clan (a.k.a., the Forsaken) located on Beta Earth. Most of the members of the Faux think they are a part of the baddest gang around. A lot of the members, including their regional leader Shane, tries to emulate the Forsaken wardrobe. Which includes a smooth, white metal mask, usually etched with some design, and very long, claw-like hand attachments.

  Since most of the Faux Forsaken members are poor. They can only afford rusted masks and short, often broken, makeshift claws. These derelicts mostly sit around all day or wander around the sprawl causing mischief. Only a few members are allowed to carry guns.

  The gang is mostly made up of youth in the sprawl who realize they can never attain the type of lifestyle that the city kids have. They join to earn quick money and quick respect. Although, once they join, they usually lose their ambition and soon succumb to the lifestyle of laziness and thievery. There is no real ranking system among them. Only a gauge of respect that stems from their exploits or their length of membership.

  On occasion, they receive missions from their only set leader, Shane. Shane doesn’t really care for the advancement of his gang. So most of the missions he gives usually involve petty theft to keep the clan vault filled and mild territory intimidation to ward off other gangs. A member named Jest-Ker arrives. He gloats to the Faux members as per usual, boasting lies about his toughness and cunning exploits.

  No one knows why he feels the need to lie all the time, but they allow him to … mostly out of boredom.

  “So I hit that old dude in the head cuz I’m hardcore, ya know? We gotta rep, ya know?” Jest-Ker boasts to the gang. “Hey, hey, Tooth.” Jest-Ker pesters Tooth and he is disturbed from intensely watching Zuri and Vin.

  “Huh? What? Shut up, Jester. Can’t you see I’m thinking?” Tooth responds. Jest-Ker casts a frown.

  “It’s Jest KER, man! Damn, how hard is it?” Tooth grabs Jest-Ker and slams him violently against the wall.

  “Then you should have picked a better name than Jester.” Tooth says irritably. With a short breath, Tooth releases Jest-Ker and walks toward Zuri and Vin. Jest-Ker recovers from his trauma and rubs his neck. Then, as if nothing happened, continues talking to the rest of the guys.

  Tooth approaches Zuri and Vin. They are still eating and pay no attention to Tooth. He slams his fist on the table. The act startles both of them. “What the hell makes you think you can come in late and eat with us?”

  “Late? What the hell, man? There is no time to meet here.” Zuri says.

  “When the sun is in high in the sky we meet.” Tooth points up.

  “Well, what are you waiting for, look up! How else you gonna know?” Zuri rolls his eyes at Tooth.

  “We are inside.” Zuri responds. Tooth is irritated with Zuri’s growing arrogance.

  “What the hell? Just because you two got families means you can do whatever you want whenever you want? None of us have family, so we gotta meet when the sun is high! So look up! Both of you, dammit!” Zuri sighs and looks over to Vin. Vin nods, puts down his sandwich and they both cast their eyes upward. Tooth grins as he sucker punches Zuri hard in the side of his face. The force knocks him out of his chair and onto the ground.

  He then winds up to hit Vin. Almost instinctively, Vin grabs the top of To
oth’s head and slams him on the table, pinning him down. Zuri rubs his face and stands back up. Tooth as struggles against Vin’s strength. “Let go of me or you’re a dead man, Vin!”

  Vin continues to hold his head down. Shane bursts out of the back room and silence enters the room. “You two!” Shane yells. He points at Zuri and Vin. “In here now!” Zuri walks toward the bone room. Vin lets go of Tooth’s head and follows Zuri. Tooth rubs his head as he recovers.

  “I’m gonna kill you! —” Shane pops his head out again.

  “I gotta speak with you next, Tooth. Don’t leave.” Tooth stops his charge, spits on the ground and folds his arms as the two enter the bone room. Zuri and Vin sit down in the guest chairs next to the desk. Shane sits down on his couch next to two lethargic women dressed in punk attire. As the women lean in close and rest against him.

  “So, boys.” Shane says. He is eerily calm and relaxed, as if under the influence of a drug. “I like you,” Shane says as he stretches back on the couch. Making the women shift to accommodate him. He smacks his lips and continues. “You do your work and don’t question. However, many people around here don’t like you.”

  Shane stares at Zuri and Vin. Who wait patiently for him to continue. “Just … lay low and watch your backs. It doesn’t take much to tick these guys off ... and they don’t forgive easily. That being said, I have a mission for you.”

  Shane points his finger at a folder on the desk. “Easy mission, fast money. You’ll start tomorrow. Oh, and tell Jest-Ker he’s going with you. I would have told him myself but I can’t stand all his talking.”

  Zuri grabs the folder and both of them stand up to leave. “Hey, send Tooth in, will ya?” Zuri nods in reply as they exit the room. Moments later, Tooth enters the room. He sits down in the guest chair and immediately puts his feet up on Shane’s desk.