Titus

by Caleb Byrnand

  Noah realises he has been a bit in the dark. Jason’s description failed to give justice to the scale of their actions. “So what’s the problem, despite the obvious fact we’re doomed to live in servitude under the hand of restrained hell dogs? Something definitely is bothering you.”

  Titus doesn’t respond immediately and avoids eye contact. “It has been pointed out to me that since my resurrection I have left nothing but death and destruction in my path.”

  “I’m not dead. Who else do you know? I’m sure those wacky sailors are still alive.”

  “Your comrades and the Major were recently killed. I am sorry.”

  The news doesn’t hurt Titus as much as it does Noah. “I know about it Titus. I’m the reason they were found... They were soldiers who knew what they were getting into. That’s not on you, so what else is there?”

  “Elias. A man who helped me when I was in a time of need, and when it came time for me to return the favour, I fear I didn’t do enough.”

  “Well, despite the certainty that they are tracking us, I can’t fight any more. I couldn’t even shoot a computer, an inanimate object. So what’s the plan? We’re not jumping out of the plane again are we?”

  Titus again draws out his response. “Not we.” Noah works out it can’t be him and can infer the rest of the plan. “You don’t have to fight, just give them a bit of chase. Buy me some time.”

  Noah comes to terms with the plan quickly; he knows it’s only a matter of time before they track him down anyway. “And you?”

  “I need to clear my conscience. Save a life for a change. Afterwards I’ll need to lie low for a while. As much as it pains me to admit, for the time being the world needs the Church of Light. Radioactive fallout, volcanic ash in the atmosphere, contaminated water sources; their technology is the only thing that will keep the planet and its people alive.”

  Noah is amused to hear him speak with modern fluency. “A week ago you were like, ‘what’s a computer?’ Now it’s all ‘technology will save us from contaminated volcanic radioactive ash’.”

  The mood in the cabin is starting to lighten. Titus can feel a weight lift from his chest.

  Noah sits back and processes his possible future. “So this is it then? They win, you go hide and I get caught, again.”

  “Yes, and if we’re being honest, you’ve already been caught.”

  ❖

  Flying over the scorched earth of Argentina, the remnants of a wild bush fire now reduced to ash and embers fills the view. Titus looks closely over the landscape, doing his best to judge the location of the estate. He opens the side door and positions his body to make the jump. He gives Noah a final nod; their tumultuous adventure is coming to an end. The start of a new chapter for Titus begins while one for Noah closes.

  “God speed.”

  CHAPTER XIII

  Dumachus

  He manages a few hours sleep. The flight over the Southern Ocean is long and he hadn’t rested in days. Autopilot has a lock on Noah, but ahead of that he is going in with no actual plan. Except to fight.

  Elias plays on his mind. He knows Titus and his crusade of making retribution, and saving this poor soul is something Titus would do. And to prove Dumachus wrong.

  “Computer, display a map of every Guardian in the region.” The holographic display springs to life illuminating forty separate signatures, mainly concentrated in Buenos Aries. “How many of these are alive?” All bar one light is snuffed. Thirty miles from the city, near the estate, he can only assume it is the one he sent to track down Elias. “What’s his current state?”

  “Main symptoms include severe lacerations to the face and torso, multiple fractures, collapsed lungs, compartment syndrome, and internal haemorrhaging. He is currently in the process of regeneration.”

  Elias got one over him again it seems.

  How? He is amused at how Titus seems to attract the most effective agitators. At least he knows where they all are, and the most likely place Titus will be. Dumachus begins to formulate a plan.

  “Computer. Take control of Noah’s ship and reroute both of us to the location of that Guardian.”

  “Calculating…”

  CHAPTER XIII

  Noah

  A hover plane blasting out profanities from inside the cabin soars over the charcoaled treed landscape of Argentina. Noah has come to the realisation that he no longer has control of his plane.

  Damn. Noah opens the side door and contemplates jumping out, but reconsiders after gauging the height and velocity of his plane.

  “Too far.”

  As the plane performs a 180° the ruins of Buenos Aries sweeps past through the windshield. He catches a glimpse before it’s positioned behind him and out of sight.

  He expected this, knowing full well that his escape was never going to be a long affair. Having unresponsive flight controls left Noah feeling very bored very quickly. He sits forward and runs his hand over the scanner, immediately bringing up his personal information. A three-dimensional likeness of him is displayed and Noah spends a bit of time discerning it. “How did you get my picture?”

  The computer’s microphones, always listening, respond to Noah. “All identifiable images are constructed by accessing the cognitive maps inside your hippocampus.” Noah jumps in his chair. Not only to have something engage with him, but the something sounding just like his love, Katie.

  “Who said that? Why do you sound like her?”

  “I am the on-board flight automation. The results from your personality matrix diagnostic indicated that this would be your preference for audible interaction functions.”

  It’s all a little too [*]unheimlich and Noah finds it confronting conversing with a simulated version of his fiancée. “Just use your default setting. No wait: Majel Barrett. Can you do her?”

  “Very well.” The automated voice now sounds like that from Star Trek, and Noah is pleased with the familiar computer voice.

  “Computer. Why can’t I fly this thing? What happened to my controls?”

  “All flight controls have been disabled and locked. You do not possess the necessary authority to disengage this command.”

  Noah is without the patience to argue with a computer. “Fine. Where are we going then?”

  “You do not possess the necessary authority to access this information.”

  He starts to get testy now. “Errgggh! What can I do then?”

  “You have access to personal diagnostics…”

  “Next.”

  “Digital and audible files of the Book of Light…”

  “Ha! Pass.” The efforts are beginning to look futile. Even though he has accepted his fate, it doesn’t mean he isn’t going to try and make the best of it.

  Eventually the flight computer gives him a viable option to chew through whatever time he has remaining. “You have complete access to our registry database.”

  Noah sits up in his chair, interested for the first time in a while. “Is that everyone who has been caught?”

  There is a slight pause before the computer responds. “Please revise the parameters of your question.”

  “Everyone with the mark?” he says quickly.

  “That is affirmative.”

  “So everyone who has been caught then?” The computer does not dignify that last statement with a response. “You knew what I meant.”

  Noah starts to scroll through the names and locations of people now registered with the Church of Light, eventually stopping on KATHERINE DAX CLARKE. He taps her name and her image pops up. He is a little winded when he sees her face, and for what feels like an unmeasurable amount of time he stares at her. “Computer. Where is this person?”

  “She is presently located in the city of Sydney, outer suburb containment centre LL2.”

  “Containment centre?” That doesn’t sound particularly good.

  “A facility established by the Church to house all those who are displaced.”

  “Can I contact her?” Noah waits with
bated breath for the response. “You do not possess the necessary authority to access this application.” That’s the last straw. Noah screams out a battle cry and smashes the console with his robotic fist. The display distorts before shutting down and a splitting headache blinds him for a minute--punishment for violence and destruction of the Church’s property.

  Once he gets his vision back and the pain subsides, Noah slumps back down in his chair again, defeated, and awaits the jury.

  CHAPTER XIII

  Tony

  Six days on land. The first three are spent scavenging for food and water not contaminated by the tidal wave. As they head up towards the coast they pass through several towns, each dispensing varying degrees of welcoming receptions. On the charity of locals, they collect enough supplies to avoid dying of malnutrition or dehydration over the coming week. If they can make it to the Rio de la Plata there’s a chance the marina might not be too badly affected, and they hold onto the hope they can sail out of the country.

  “Rio de la Plata. Is that the one that looks like the dick and balls?” The group have stopped for a drink and to catch their breath. Rosita’s question has come out of the blue and a little left-of-field.

  As Tony tries to figure out how to respond, he begins to smile when he spots that Rosita has inadvertently disturbed an ants nest, and replies, “I don’t know Rose, but remember what I said. You need to look out for those Ants, man.”

  Rosita isn’t sure what to make of it, until a second later when she looks down and jumps to the side kicking and slapping the ants advancing up her leg. “Urrgggh. How much longer are we going to be here?”

  Cap’n does some quick calculation in her head. “Walking at a pace of two point five knots for fifteen hours a day, over a distance of eighty-five nautical miles means that after three more days of walking we will have reached our destination.”

  Rosita tunes out. “I was speaking rhetorically.” Rosita hates it here. They all do, but out here her voice is the loudest. Today is going to be another long day.

  Taking a deep breath through his nose he catches a whiff of something familiar. Rosita and Cap’n pick up on something in the air and follow suit. “Does anyone smell smoke?”

  Looking behind them they can see smoke billowing up. It could have been there all day and they would not have known due to the ash cloud. The high canopy from the trees that line the highway cuts out a large proportion of the view, so the fire must be close.

  “I think we’ve stopped for long enough.” Tony has no intention being anywhere near a bushfire, knowing full well how fast they can move. They each grab their bags and take a walk down the road, approaching a street sign.

  “Lobos, thirty miles.”

  CHAPTER XIII

  Jason

  Walking arduously through the smoking embers with feet blackened, hair singed and clothes torn and covered in dried blood, is Jason. After being ejected against his will from his hover plane he has landed unconscious in a field, specifically, in a trench ploughed into the earth by his crashing craft. Semi-protected from the bush fire by the uprooted soil he lies for a night and day until the fire burns out and Mother comes back online. Consciousness regained, the multiple contusions, fractures and haemorrhaged organs begin to heal. His damaged lungs and trachea that allowed the minimum amount of oxygen to enter his body to sustain life starts to de-swell, allowing him to breath regularly. For some time his life was balanced on a knife edge. Lucky for him the Church regained power, this pain was all behind him and the future awaits. If he can just survive the isolated environment he finds himself in and make it back to civilisation.

  ❖

  After tramping through the ghost forest he finally makes it to a road. Not a guarantee he will be found, but a much better chance of stumbling over a small town or city, if he makes it that long. The nanotech can only keep the human body alive so long without any reserves. His head back looking to the sky, hoping to see one of his contemporaries flying a plane or any indication that he is not alone, he waits. Shortly after, his prayers are answered. Not a plane, but a clone. Jason jumps up and down waving his arms, doing his best to grab the high-flyer’s attention.

  It works.

  With a broad smile he welcomes the landing clone, only to have the smile wiped from his face as fast as it appeared. It isn’t a Guardian. It is Titus.

  “I can’t fly you or anyone else anywhere, so don’t ask.” Jason has only served a single purpose since converting to the Light; ferrying people around with or without his approval. Titus is no exception.

  Titus looks surprised, even concerned. “What happened to you?”

  Jason is unaware that Titus had already been informed about the hijacking and is happy to offer an explanation of his tribulations. “Last night in the city someone forced me at gunpoint to fly us away. So I did. Then after a while instead of landing the plane he thought he’d attack me and make us crash, killing me in the process. Then the fire happened. I can only assume he was the one that started this fire once he was clear of the crash site. But I suppose it was a good thing my body was thrown into a clearing.”

  Titus is oddly interested in his story, more than Jason would’ve assumed. “This is great news.”

  Jason looks over his healing scars from the ordeal. “I suppose dodging death again is pretty…”

  Without letting him finish, Titus interjects with, “What did he look like?”

  “The hijacker? Um… Six-foot, short dark hair, South American. He was wearing a tie, I remember that.” Titus smiles. A smile that is off-putting for Jason, considering the context.

  Satisfied with the information, Titus turns to leave. “Thank you Jason.”

  Jason runs towards him, grabs Titus by the arm and pleads, “Wait. Do you have any water with you? Where are you going?”

  Titus is a little taken back by his piteous questions. “No I don’t and I’m going this way.”

  “Can I come? I’m kind of in the middle of nowhere here. Plus, I’m dying of thirst and you owe me.”

  Titus looks around while considering his request and sees a fallen road sign read, “LOBOS 20”. Jason’s shoulders drop when he notices the sign and continues his argument. “I’m not going to make it that far. I’m going to die if you don’t help me. Please?”

  Titus’s smile falls from his face and his sense of duty kicks in. As much as he hates it Jason has a point. And knowing that Elias is alive has resolved a burning question, so he complies.

  “Fine. Just hang on and try not to pass out.”

  Jason walks towards him and very awkwardly puts his arms around him, questioning whether or not to stand on his feet like a child would. “What do you mean pass out?”

  Titus holds onto Jason and takes off into the air with such speed the G force renders his passenger unconscious.

  CHAPTER XIII

  Elias

  His plan worked. Lure the Guardian into a trap and bury him. He never intended to take as much damage in implementing it though. The shockwave from the blast has taken its toll on his ears and eyes including an incapacitating headache and a rather nasty knife wound in his shoulder.

  Using his shirt as a tourniquet he staggers slowly down the tunnel, every so often cracking a flare to light the way down the pitch black burrow. His lack of pace has given him time to think and dwell on regrets. The prime one being that he's not going home. Weapons, supplies, water, and a nest egg of baby supplies. Camila was fastidious when it came to (over)stocking infant goods and must-haves. Now he just hopes that Seth is still alive, and that he will see him again. A small hand painted sign and arrow reads ‘LOBOS 10 M’. Elias conserves his strength for the marathon ahead.

  ❖

  The caved in section of the tunnel--where the Guardian is buried--has a long slope of earth running from floor to ceiling. The dirt begins to agitate and become animated as if it is alive. Rocks and stones push through the looser soil and the slope begins to vibrate, sliding the soil further down the tunnel until the
vibrations exponentially build to an explosive force. Walking through a cloud of dirt, like a creature reborn from the earth is the Guardian, restored by the reawakening of Mother. Covered in dirt caked to his skin by his own plasma, he tears off the sections of his tattered robes and takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes and directs his mind to wander through the tunnels. No sign of Elias, but Gloria, Matias and the rest of the group stand out. With his target locked the hunter Guardian pushes forward.

  CHAPTER XIV

  Cap’n

  The smoke from the bushfire now safely in the distance, the three wayward sailors walk into the small town of Lobos. There is clear evidence of destruction from the quake but no signs of life, except a painted sign reading [*]‘Ayuda de desastre’ with a medical cross symbol and an arrow pointing down the street. It all feels ominous but they follow the direction all the same.

  Where is everyone?

  Tony feels it too. “I was going to suggest we do some scavenging but now I think I’d rather just go. This feels wrong. Some shit went down here man, ain’t no one stuck around to find out the rest.”

  It is like being stuck in still water on the ocean. Not even a breeze. Reducing your existence to just an inconsequential object devoid of any purpose but bouncing photons into infinity. This type of silence Cap’n is accustomed to on sea, but not land. “There is something off here though. Look, the people were organised, they painted signs, used horses for transportation.”