The Soldiers of the Cyto Field

by Nguyen,Peter

“You see how dangerous the Redeemed are? Capa did that to Devah,” Seth points at the burning building.

  We finally reach the center and Seth opens the two medal doors by scanning a key card. We walk into the dark hall and the cool breezes blow against my skin as we walk deeper. The wide medal door in front of us slides open, letting enough light to see the place. We walk onto the white marble floor and I immediately notice three men, waiting for us at the end of the room by a glass door. The one in the middle is unarmed and the more we get closer the more I realizes it’s him.

  XV

  I can’t believe there isn’t a single scratch on him from the plane crash. In fact, the wrinkles under his eyes are gone and his clear skin is almost a filled with youth. His hair seems to have also gotten darker. It’s like he’s ten years younger than the last time I saw him when he was fighting with Kala on the plane.

  “You did good Seth. After five years of going under cover, you didn’t let me down.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Now do you have the sample?”

  Seth reaches into his coat, pulling out a conceal tube filled with red liquid. He hands it to Kraven who holds up in front eyes, observing it as if it’s something special about it.

  “I took her blood before she went though with the injection, sir.”

  “Is that my blood?” Faye ask.

  “This is my daughter Liz’s blood. She didn’t survive the injection like you did.”

  Kraven places the glass tube in a small medal box. He glances over at me and raises an eyebrow. “And this is?”

  “Hazer Wes. He’s one of Capa’s initiate but we turned him a day ago.”

  “Ah excellent, we need more test subjects.”

  “Don’t you dare lay a finger on him or I swear I’ll kill you!” Faye yells.

  Kraven quickly smacks Faye across the face, leaving a red mark on her soft cheeks. “Don’t ever talk to me like that!” He yells.

  Faye quickly becomes enraged, red face and her eyes quickly changes to its Redeemed form, giving off a violet glow.

  “How about we show your friend Hazer who you really are.”

  Kraven places his bulky dry hand around Faye’s soft neck and begins to coke her. I begin to worry. Faye grasps for air but he still doesn’t let go.

  “Show him!” Kraven yells.

  “Stop!” I yelled

  Suddenly a voice behind us, “Liz come play with me!”

  I turn around and it’s the little school girl again who wanted me to save Faye. She’s chasing another young girl who has white hair and is in the same school uniform. Their laughter echoes throughout the room before they disappear.

  “What is going on?” I ask.

  A grin appears on Kraven’s face as he looks back at Faye. He let’s go and then places his hands under her chin, leaning in towards her. “We’re going to have a lot of fun you and I. Tell me another gift her body possess?”

  “Super human strength and enhance agility.”

  “Oh it’s a shame your sister didn’t survive the injection. I could have had two powerful daughters.

  I couldn’t think straight as my stomach starts to ache. This is the same man who turned my mom into one of lap freaks and the one kidnapped Kala. I try to put the pieces together but how can Faye be related to this man. How can Faye be his daughter?

  “Take her to her room. I want to carry our plans on the people of Devah.”

  “NO! Hazer you have to stop him!”

  “What are you talking about? What plans.”

  “Take her!” Kraven points.

  “Hazer!” Faye calls out.

  “We have a lot to discuss, but for now I want her to be contained. Powers like that should be protected.”

  “Right away, sir.”

  Seth and the arm men grab Faye’s arm and she doesn’t fight back instead she stares at me with a ghostly face, wide eyes and an open mouth. I never seen her this frighten before. The fearless warrior I knew is gone.

  “Let her go!” I yell.

  The arm men holds me back as they drag Faye into one of the side doors down the white halls. I call out to her but she doesn’t look at me or acknowledge my presence.

  “As for you,” Kraven approaches me.

  “Go ahead kill me! You already took my mother away from me.”

  Kraven folds he arm and looks at me confusedly. His cold eye stares at me deeply.

  “And how did manage to do that?”

  “You sent someone to infect my mom with your Cyler virus.”

  “Ahh yes my daughter’s missions. I’m not sure whether it was Liz or Faye that completed that mission, but I can say is my apologizes. Don’t take it personally, your was just pond in this plan. Small world we live in that patient zero happens to be your mother,” Kraven gives me a sly smile.

  Kraven looks to his arm men and says “Put him with the other Redeemed.”

  The glass door slides open and Kraven’s men pushes me into the room. Immediately the temperature drops, stealing the warmth from my breath. I start to shiver and I can see the my foggy breath as I walk forward. The huge room is big enough for a storage place with all the strange medal pods stacking on top of each other. Are there humans inside?

  As I approach the middle of the room, the light shines down from the glass dome to two people who are in blind folds. They start to panic as we approach them but their hands are chain to the floors, restricting them from doing anything.

  “Who’s there?!” said the bald wrinkled man who has cuts on his blue dress shirt. His cheeks are bleeding and bruises so purple that its looks like he’s been punched over and over again in the same spot.

  I look over to the other prisoner who looks completely unharmed. Young blonde girl, high cheek bones and smooth skin. Even though the blind fold is covering her eyes I can still see the Redeemed mark on her face. It’s like is I’m seeing old friend again.

  It’s Kala.

  “Chain him next to them,” says Kraven.

  They push me down beside her where my hand loses all its nerves as the cold medal cuffs clips together on my wrist and attaches to the floor. I’m force to knee on the surface because the length of the chain is too short.

  Kraven begins to circles us with his two hands behind his back, observing our existents to live. I start to fear for my life as I heard stories of Devah whenever I went camping with Carter’s family. Mr. Rivera would tell us that Devah’s experiment has no purpose but to explore the unnatural realms of science. At least Capa uses the redeemed to control the population.

  The warlord walks over to the older man and slides down his blind fold to his neck, revealing his deep-set eyes. The vein on his forehead becomes more noticeable as he stares at Kraven with rage. He’s not even afraid of Kraven who smiles in response.

  “Look what you done to Devah, you bastard!”

  “What I’ve done? I did what you couldn’t. I saved these people while you sit on your fantasy chairs and neglect the war that is just waiting for us outside these walls.”

  “By keeping them in these insane pods?”

  “They are kept inside them for a reason. I’m preserving them for the future as I continue this war alongside my army and wipe out the other territories to extinction. I’ll be a better leader than you ever would Amin.”

  I realize Amin is the Realm Leader of Devah and Kraven must have been his right hand man. How Kraven manage to persuade the soldiers to turn against their own leader?

  “You’re nothing but corrupt bastard!”

  Kraven gives the older man a punch to the head, causing him to fall over. He then kicks the older man in his stomach repeatedly, causing him to groan in pain.

  “STOP!” Kala yells.

  “And you, the girl, who brought hundreds and hundreds of innocents to their deaths. You’re just like me you know.”

  Kraven takes a few steps towards Kala.

  “I’m nothing like you, you coward!” she yells.

  “But you are. The plane
that you hijacked really did serve my plans to convince the citizens to take extreme measures, preserving their bodies for a better time period, a time without war,” says Kraven as he bends down and lifts the blind fold off of her face.

  “If I weren’t in these chains I would beat you up in front your men!” Kala shouts

  Kraven quickly takes out his gun and pulls the trigger but Kala’s eyes immediately turn yellow, causing the bullets to fall off her forehead like it was nothing. She replies with a smirk, letting Kraven know she can’t be harm.

  “Smile while you can, you’re going to miss it when I’m done with you.”

  Kraven faces me and glazes over me like my existents means nothing to him. Each step he takes matches the heavy pounding in my heart.

  “The boy, who I infected his mother with the Cyler virus. I heard you took my daughter from her bodyguards back in the Cyto field. You clearly didn’t do it alone. Must have been the third subject Seth had promises me.”

  “Rylan?” says Kala.

  “So that’s his name? It’s a shame he isn’t here with us today. We could have had more fun with his redemption but I guess I’ll just have to work with what I have right here.”

  Kraven turns away and walks out the sliding glass door along with his arm men, leaving the three of us in this cold room. I start to clam as I try yanking on the chain but it’s no use.

  “Hazer what are you doing here?”

  “Shockingly enough, I’m here to rescue you.”

  “Well you can’t do anymore rescuing much there. Is Rylan okay?”

  “I don’t know,” I say, hoping she won’t freak out if I tell her he’s been shot. She going through a lot right now and I don’t want to startle her.

  “Well we have to get out of here.”

  Kala looks over at the older man who’s is in pain as his body curls up in a ball.

  “Amin, you know away out of this?”

  “These chains are energy powered. It’ll match the person’s strengthen, whoever it holds. We aren’t going anywhere,” Amin groans.

  Kala tries pulling on her chain but it’s no use. She looks over at me and a sly smile appears on her face.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “If I can’t pull mines off. Doesn’t mean I can pull yours.”

  She’s right; the chain that is holding me is only as strong as I am. If she were to use her abnormal strength it might work.

  I quickly slide over to her, holding out my wrist in order for her to reach it. Kala tries to reach for it but length of the chains is only a centimeter away from her fingers.

  “C’mon just a little bit closer.”

  Using all the strength I have to bring the chain towards Kala is a lot harder than I thought. I can feel all my muscles are about to give up as the cold hard medal cuffs around my wrist starts to hurt. I bite down my teeth while using my legs to pull the chain closer. I can see Kala is also struggling to reach my chain.

  “Just forget it. It won’t work. We’re dead as it is,” says Amin.

  “No, I’m not going to give up!” Kala shouts.

  I can see the tears rolling down her cheeks from her golden eyes, trying to get her hands across. I can see the determination in her strength as she keeps pulling and pulling towards my direction. The tip of her fingers finally touches my chain but it’s not enough.

  “Hazer you have to come closer.”

  I press as hard as I can with my legs. I notice Kala’s fingers are now able to grip onto the medal.

  “A little bit more Hazer.”

  I can’t give up. Not when I promise Rylan that I will help him rescue Kala. I have to do this for him. I pull a little bit more, causing my wrist to draw blood from the medal cuffs.

  “I GOT IT!”

  Kala quickly grips my chain with both of her hands. She gives it a strong jerk but my chain doesn’t break off.

  “I don’t understand. My strength should be five times as much as you.”

  “Kala, there’s something you need to know.”

  “What is it?’ Kala grows more concern.

  “I’m actually a…”

  “A what? Spill it!”

  “Redeemed.”

  “How is this so?”

  “I was turn by Faye’s blood. I don’t know which powers I have so it’s useless now.”

  “You’re a Glitch, Hazer.”

  I look at her confusedly. “How do you know that?”

  “I can see the green lightly appearing in yours every now and then. Hazer this is a good thing. This means you can drain the energy from the cuffs! Concentrate.”

  I take a deep breath and grip on the cold medal chains. All of a sudden green energy starts to flow up towards my hands and into my arms.

  The cuff falls off and my hands are free, but the indentions from the cuffs are still warm.

  “How did you do that?” Amin ask.

  “That’s not all he can do.”

  With strange instincts I hold out my hands and bright green bolt shoots out, hitting the wall.

  “That’s so cool.”

  “Hazer get us out of here.”

  “Right!” I quickly grab on to Kala’s chain and begin to drain the energy. For some reason there is a lot more power in this one then mine.”

  “Look we don’t have time for this. Kid have to wake up my people. Kraven thinks he is preserving them for the future, saving humanity from extinction but there won’t be any future what he’s planning to do.”

  “He’s right there isn’t time. Wake up these people first.”

  I nod quickly run over to the triple stack human pods. I wipe the fog off the glass, revealing a scruffy man in deep slumber. “How do I wake them up?” I ask.

  “Try breaking the glass,” says Kala.

  “NO! They are kept at a certain temperature to stop aging, if the air flows out, their body will go in shock and die,” Amin shouts.

  I try examining the pod, but I don’t see any switch lying around. I bend over and see a small black lever, sticking out underneath the side of the pod. I pull the small lever and the glass quickly opens, letting all the cool mist out of the pod.

  “I think it worked!” I said.

  I look closely at the man, whose eyes slightly lift from his deep slumber. I quickly look over to the next pod and do the same. I continue the process down a row, waking up four more people from their sleep.

  All of a sudden I hear a group of men, marching outside the sliding glass doors. I look to Kala whose eyes widen.

  “Hide,” she whispers

  I quickly duck down behind a Colum of stack untouched pods. I look over to the first pod that I had open first and the scruffy man slowly jumps out. He lands on his bare foot in a light blue patient gown.

  “Get down!” I whisper.

  Kraven walks in along with his arm men. His eyes quickly widen as I can see the panic in them. He stares at some of the pods are opening. Four more patients walk out of their pods, holding their arms as they looks around the room in confusion.

  “EVERYONE RUN! Kraven is just keeping you alive so that he can populate the continent after he destroys everything!” Amin yells.

  The five patients look to each other and start mumbling in a foreign language.

  “Sir?” says one of the soldiers.

  “Shoot them. All of them.”

  The arm men lift up their guns and open fire at the five patients. Two of them scream in terror as the other three immediately fall to the ground, their gowns drench in blood. The remaining patients scream for their lives as they run pass Amin and Kala. The soldiers follow behind them.

  The loud shooting echoes thought out the room, causing my heart to rapidly beat as I fear for my life. I slowly peek out see Kraven walking pass the stack columned pods, holding out a pistol.

  Kraven walks up to Amin, kicking him to the floor and points his gun to his head.

  “We deserve a leader who is willing to do what’s necessary.”

  Kraven cocks his gu
n as Amin closes his eyes. I realize he is about to accept his fate. “On second thought, inject him with the Cyler virus. I want to test the antidote.”

  “NO! Please I’ll do anything, I beg of you!” Amin yells.

  One of the soldiers in the back steps forward. He is holding a medal box as he opens it for Kraven. He takes out an injection that seems to contain some sort of clear liquid inside. He walks back to Amin and grabs the old man by the mouth.

  “We’re doing this for Devah. Surly you out everyone would understand.”

  Kraven presses the needle into Amin’s neck, causing him to open his mouth and breathe rapidly. They back away from Amin, including Kala who is 2 feet away from him.

  He yells in agony as the virus spreads throughout his body, causing his veins to abnormally stick out. I can almost feel the pain as I listen to his unbearable scream. He gets louder as if something he’s getting mauled by a bear. I have to stop them but it’ll be stupid of me to walk out unarm. They’ll kill me.

  “Find the rest of them, including the boy!”

  The five soldiers begin to scatter the room, walking in different lanes of stack pods. I quietly crawl away in a different direction as they hunt down the other patients.

  “AHH!” Amin screams in pain as black veins stick out underneath his pale skin.

  “Give it to him!” Kala yells as she tries to move away from Amin but her chains are too short.

  “Not yet,” says Kraven.

  I glance over and one of the armed men as he walks near my pods I’m hiding behind. He turns my direction and I immediately duck down. My heart pounds against my chest as I try not to make single sound. I hear his footsteps getting closer.

  “AHH!”

  My heart begins to calm as the soldier’s foot step starts moving towards a different direction. I slowly peek out to see Amin lashing out towards Kala. The chains are still holding him back but his teeth are inches away from her flesh.

  A man wearing hazmat suit walks up to Kraven and holds out a tray. There is one injection, lying on top of it. Is that the cure?

  Kraven holds up the injection at the same level as his eyes. He glances to Amin’s suffering as he thrashes his body, trying to bite Kala. The needle pierces through the side of his neck and immediately he begins to calm.