A Mission Remembered

by Tanner Froreich

  Wiping blood from my nose, I charged at him again, only for him to move to the side and hit me hard in the chest.

  Gasping for air I asked, “How?”

  “Do you really think I’m going to tell you that?”

  He reached down with a powered-up gauntlet, but I grabbed the glove and pushed any button I could. The weapon stuttered and flashed wildly. Mindsweeper cursed as he smacked the glove, and I pushed myself to my feet and leapt up. Trying to get some space between me and him, I ran from Mindsweeper. He, however, fired a blast at me, which caused me to lose all muscular function.

  I fell into the water face first. There was nothing more terrifying than being underwater unable to move. Sand and muck swept over me with each wave. Without the ability to control my body, I kept breathing! I was going to drown!

  Mindsweeper grabbed me by the hair and lifted me out of the water.

  I coughed and choked as he said, “You can’t die like that. Algorithm needs you alive for his plans.”

  I didn’t have time to register his comment, as the pain in my lungs and head took precedence. He tossed me onto the beach, and I still was as limp as a doll. With a kick he continued, “Just so you know, when I’m done here, I’m going to personally go back to Greenleaf and make sure none of your family or friends even remember who you are.”

  With another kick, he reset the dials on his gauntlet. I had to move, but whatever the blast did to me made it impossible to. Whether or not I could move didn’t matter, I had to, for my family’s sake. I tried but my mind simply wasn’t strong enough to force my body to move.

  Mindsweeper placed a knee on my chest, which made it even harder to breathe than it was already. “Who knows,” he added sinisterly, “I hear your friend is pretty handy with computers. IODINE could always use a good IT guy.”

  A deep righteous passion filled my heart. It was akin to anger, but it didn’t feel like sin. I wasn’t angry at this man, but his wickedness. I was not going to let him touch, let alone take, my friend. As he reached for my head again, my arm shot up and grabbed his forearm.

  Mindsweeper tried to force his way down, but then shot a blast at my head with his free hand. I moved my head over a few inches to barely dodge the bolt. The blast sprayed sand in all directions like shrapnel, some of which embedded itself in my skin. I gritted my teeth against the pain and pushed Mindsweeper’s hand to the side, causing him to lose balance.

  In that brief second, I felt for anything which held the gauntlet on. I pulled the latches and then managed kick him off me. Still holding his glove, I fumbled to my feet and tossed it into the ocean where it sparked and exploded.

  Mindsweeper cursed me. “This was a new pair, you moron!”

  I wiped the sand off my face and scowled. “Don’t know and don’t care. Now let's try this again.” I took a defensive stance as he pulled a large knife from his boot with his gloveless hand.

  I let him attack this time. He launched himself at me and it took everything I had to keep both the knife and gauntlet away from me.

  Then with a swift motion, he clenched his fist, converting it into a tazer. With a punch, he briefly incapacitated me and slashed at my face.

  “Give up kid,” he mocked, “you’re too slow.”

  I felt the blood drip down from my eyebrow and nose before the wounds healed.

  “When will you learn?”

  I had to push myself with what little energy I had left, so I rushed at Mindsweeper with everything I had. “I never give up.”

  Once again he started to turn the tables on me. I had to go faster. Pushing my muscles to and over the brink, I started getting faster and, with the speed, the upper hand. Everything burned, and I don’t think even my body was meant to operate that fast.

  Mindsweeper tried to stab me, but I grabbed his wrist and forced the knife out of his grasp before he could resist. My fists were flaming from the friction of the air again. With a fiery punch, I knocked him off balance, and with another, cracked his helmet. He tried to blast me, but I slipped behind him and with a roundabout kick, smacked him into the waves.

  He shot up and turned around as I uppercut his helmet straight off, and I immediately recognized his face.

  Chapter 36

  Coming for You

  Franklin Kingsley, the traitor in Korea, the real reason the senator was dead, was Mindsweeper! He wasn't caught off guard by losing his helmet at all. He took a weak swing at me.

  Reflexively, I caught his hand. “You? You’ve been behind all of this?”

  His bruised face curled into a wicked smile. “No Arphaxad, I’m not. Do you really think The Mindsweeper was ever one person? I’m just a good agent following orders for the good of the Cause.”

  He took a step away. I was trying to understand what he was saying. “Who’s giving these orders? Is it this Algorithm?”

  He laughed mockingly at my question, and I doubted he was going to answer willingly. He tried to attack me again, but I grabbed his other gauntlet and yanked it off as I punched him back into the water.

  I looked at the glove. A screen on the forearm gave a rather straightforward means to operate. It must have been self-powered, because it started beeping. I had an idea, a dumb one though. I slipped the gauntlet on and it stopped beeping.

  Kingsley stood up from the water. He gave a chuckle when he saw me wearing the glove. “Do you really think you can use something so incredibly complex?”

  I pushed a microphone icon and said, “Full memory wipe.” Three options came up – one was interrogation. I pressed it and the gauntlet flashed green and then back to purple.

  A look from Kingsley told me that I was on the right track. I aimed the gauntlet at him. “You do that,” he stammered, “and your family will be paying the price.”

  “What!”

  “Right now, as we speak, IODINE has agents ready to… I think you get the picture,” he said with the same wicked smile from earlier.

  I didn’t waste time wondering if he was telling the truth or not. I had to save my family. Racing back home, I came barreling through the front door, Mindsweeper’s glove still on my arm.

  I didn’t hear anything, which wasn’t good. “Guys?” I called. Suddenly Paul appeared from within the living room.

  I jumped as he replied, “Yeah?”

  “Are you guys alright?” I said, eyes darting all around.

  He huffed. “Yeah, aside from the obvious, but yeah.”

  I still had to check the surrounding areas before I realized that Kingsley had bluffed.

  ∆∆∆

  Though I knew Kingsley had been lying about the IODINE agents surrounding my family, I didn’t let up my guard at all. I had called Simon and Abigail to be on high alert and contact me if they saw anything that threatened them in the least sense of the word.

  I was sitting on the roof of my house with a pair of binoculars keeping a close eye on the surrounding areas. I had been sitting there for a while now without leaving for so much as a bite to eat. I was tired, but my determination kept me more than awake.

  I was also filled with a peaceful joy that in this stressful time, kept me focused. I enjoyed remembering every last detail I had about Rebekah. I smiled to myself as I remembered her. It seemed God had granted a few memories I had that involved her. Our friendship as young children, approaching her father about courtship, and our engagement. As a side blessing, I also had a few sweet memories that involved both Rebekah and my mother. I was finally able to mourn my mom. However, the memories of Rebekah’s death and afterwards were still absent, but that didn’t seem like such a big problem right now. I was content.

  As I climbed into my bedroom to change clothes and grab some water, I happened to tuck the paper I had taken from the IODINE base into my pocket. Back on the roof with almost nothing to do, the paper seemed to turn into lead in my pocket, begging to be brought out and read.

  I unfolded its charred edges carefully. It was a map of an island off the coast of Hawaii, one with what appar
ently was another IODINE base. I knew I had to go there and save that prisoner, but I was honestly scared. I had only just barely beat Mindsweeper. What if I encountered him at this base? Would I be able to beat him again? What if I had my mind wiped again and started this entire thing over?

  I still couldn’t explain how he was fast enough to fight me on the beach. I remembered that once the helmet was off of him, he lost his speed, so maybe the suit he was wearing helped him anticipate my actions.

  However, his extra speed wasn’t anywhere as confusing as something he said. “Algorithm needs you alive for his plans,” I recalled in my thoughts. Who was this Algorithm? Was he Mr. Bordeaux's code name, or the Director, or maybe even someone hidden deep within IODINE’s inner workings, manipulating as he saw fit? I could assume he had some unknown plan that involved me, but what and why? How much of these recent events had been Algorithm’s work?

  I heard a lower window open and plunged the paper back into my pocket. Simon’s head appeared over the edge. “I thought I would find you up here,” he said as he began to climb up. “You know last time you did this; you were keeping a look out for the Troll.”

  I was still fairly upset at Simon, Abigail, and my family for not telling me about my real relationship with Rebekah. However, with my new found memory, I didn’t feel too mad. “What is it, Simon?”

  “I just wanted to check on you, man. You’ve not really left this roof for two days. Why the change?”

  I sighed and scanned the surrounding area before answering. “I ran into Mindsweeper again.”

  Simon was shocked, and he sat down next to me. I noticed that there was a folded piece of paper in his hand. “What? What happened?”

  “He tried to wipe my mind again, and he almost did. But by God’s mercy, I was able to overpower him. He tricked me into thinking all of you were in danger so he could get away.”

  “And you’ve been up here making sure everyone stays out of danger, right?” I nodded. “So, what are you going to do?”

  “About what?”

  He shifted his weight as he tried to find a more comfortable position on the roof. “IODINE. You can’t just wait for someone else to act. You must be on the offensive. You need to learn why they keep coming after you and how to put an end to it.”

  I sighed. I knew I needed to do something, but I still didn’t understand why I was such a big target that IODINE would continue to pursue me and how it related back to this Algorithm. Were their ‘experiments’ incomplete and they want to bring me back as a prisoner? Was it Algorithm who ordered the experiments or someone else? If so, wouldn’t racing back to their base be a foolish thing to do? I couldn’t make eye contact with Simon. “You remember that prisoner I told you about?”

  He nodded and replied, “Yeah, the one that got left behind? Is that still bothering you?”

  “With everything I’ve experienced with IODINE, I can’t figure out what to do. I’m always reacting. IODINE is calling all the shots, and I’m just running to catch up. But that man who they have prisoner, me getting him out is something IODINE hasn’t planned. And I owe it to him, I was the one who left him behind. I know I must do this. Yet even then, I don’t know what to do from there, as I don’t have a way to incriminate IODINE.”

  He huffed as he passed me the paper. “Well, unless we can tie them to this.”

  The paper was a snapshot of a news article. The US had finally declared war on North Korea on the basis of Korea making aggressive actions, such as the murder of a US senator. I wondered what the US wanted to accomplish through this war, and what good it would do?

  “Do you realize what this means Arf? As soon as I read this, I did some research and it looks like they are going to institute a draft.”

  “Why?” I started to worry, since the military no longer distinguishes between the genders, anyone older than Paul could get drafted. Though I’m sure Ruth and Abigail could request exemption upon religious beliefs, my brother, Simon, and myself didn’t have a good excuse.

  “It seems that after the appearance of a certain superhuman, the military’s application rate has been at an all-time low the past two years,” he stated, trying to not sound accusing.

  “So, this is my fault? All of it. You are going to be drafted because I simply exist? If I had just listened to Agent Welsh in Korea, the senator would still be alive.” With the recollection of the events that led to the Senator’s death, I remembered that Kingsley was responsible, but he was working for IODINE the entire time.

  Also, I just remembered that I had been told that Kingsley had also died in Korea, but he was living just fine on that beach. IODINE had orchestrated this war, and I’m sure they had men and women in D.C. pulling strings to ensure this war takes place. It was all making sense now, except for one thing. Why me?

  “I don’t think I can do this, Arf,” Simon admitted. Apparently, there was something really eating at him. “Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have a problem serving my country, even if I knew there was something fishy going on behind the curtain.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I know you probably don’t remember this, but I’ve never had much interest in getting married.” He kept rubbing his hands together, clearly he was nervous. “That was always your ‘dream’, if you could call it that. But from the moment I saw her teaching your brother’s biology, I knew she was the one.”

  “Simon, who are you talking about?”

  “Abigail, Arf, that’s who. I never even considered courtship or marriage before meeting her, but recently it seems that is all I can think about. Now with the draft looming, I don’t want to have any chance at losing or leaving her, and the only way for both of us to guarantee we dodge the draft is to get married.”

  “So why are you talking to me and not her?”

  “Because I’m scared, dude.”

  I slouched as I looked back out across the rooftops. “That makes two of us.” I smiled and added, “but you can’t just wait for someone else to act. You must be on the offensive. Be happy what you have to do doesn’t involve punching, but anyway I would encourage you to do it Simon, before it’s too late. Also..” I cringed as I force myself to be humble, “my behavior about the invitations…”

  Simon interrupted, “Arf, you have nothing to apologize for. We shouldn’t have kept her from you. I’m sorry.”

  “No, my response was out of anger. You guys are nothing like IODINE.”

  Simon nodded. “Thanks, I forgive you, man. I’ll pass the word to Abby.”

  “I think I should apologize myself.”

  Simon didn’t argue.

  I wanted to but refrained from telling Simon about my memory. I knew the excitement might pull him from thinking about what he needed to. I remembered how long it took me before I talked to Mr. Crown, and Simon is probably going to have to talk directly to Abigail.

  I was ready to go face IODINE now. I got up too fast and almost fell off the roof. Suddenly, I remembered the gauntlet I had taken from Mindsweeper. Realizing what that could mean I said, “Speaking of Abigail, I have something I’m sure she would love to see.”

  We climbed down off the roof and into my bedroom. I opened a dresser drawer and pulled out the glove. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked in surprise.

  “I took this from Mindsweeper in our last fight. Do you think you can get this to Abigail?”

  He took the glove and looked it over. “Right away, anything else?”

  I thought for a moment, considering what I was planning on doing. I came up with an idea that might give me the leading edge against IODINE. I looked at Simon and asked, “Yes, can you help me make a good video?”

  We immediately headed to his apartment. On the way I explained my idea. He and I were going to make a video of the Blue Blur calling IODINE out and revealing their involvement in this war. This wasn’t designed to do anything because I knew IODINE would shut it down before anyone saw it, but I did know it would be enough to send them on alert.


  It took only a few minutes for us to make the video once we were at his apartment. In my Blue Blur suit and repaired mask, I stated everything I had learned about IODINE in what would become a thirty-minute discourse about names, actions, and places.

  As I finished I said, “This is for the Director of IODINE and Jeff Bordeaux, I know where you are and I’m coming for you.”

  Simon turned the camera off. “I can have this up in fifteen minutes. What now?”

  I smiled. “Send it as soon as you’re done. While they figure out what to do to protect their Director, I’m going to go save that prisoner.”

  “Be safe.”

  “I’ll try. If I’m not back within three days, pray hard. God’s Speed.”

  Still wearing my suit, I hurried to the ground floor of the apartment complex and bolted off to the Johnston Atoll to rescue the man I had left behind.

  Chapter 37

  Into the Depths

  Iraced out of Greenleaf, going through the woods in a similar path I took two days ago. As I stood at the edge of the waters, the sun had already set over the horizon. I had to make sure I ran in the right direction. Since I was about to run farther than I ever had, that is, that I could remember, on water no less. I ran back a few miles and got a running start at the ocean. With a wake which would make waves, I rocketed across the deep blue. I was soaked within moments and kept running for what felt like an hour.

  There was nothing but ocean in front of me and behind me. I had thought I would have to run at crazy speeds to maintain my position above the surface, but I found that I didn’t need to run that fast at all. Within the first hour, I experimented with how slow I could go before sinking. I found that I only had to be running around forty to fifty miles per hour to stay above the surface of the water.

  But forty mph wasn’t going to get me where I needed to be, so I pushed myself to go faster than I usually ran. I reached Hawaii within a few hours and as I headed in the direction of Johnston Atoll, I encountered a sinking cargo ship. Though I knew time was of the essence, I couldn’t let someone drown if I could help it. Helping the survivors only took thirty minutes, and providentially they were not far from Maui, Hawaii. Though everyone was alive, some were a little motion sick from the sudden start and stop.