Paradise Awakened Trilogy

by Mackenzie Morris

  A low flying helicopter passes over the area with a spotlight shining down through the forest. He waves his arms in the air and calls out to them, but it keeps flying, leaving him behind. When he can't walk anymore, he drops down in the snow and gives up. If they're not going to turn around and come back, there is no way he will be able to make it all the way to the city with his legs torn up like they are. He'll just die out here in the cold. When he has given up all hope of rescue, he hears a distant barking, the barking of a dog he knows very well. Abel? He looks up from the ground to see the white wolf running straight towards him then it tackles him down in the snow and licks his face.

  Voices come up from the opposite direction as footsteps crunch in the snow and flashlights fill the darkness. "Oh my God. It's him. Abel found him." Velex runs to Doss and kneels down beside him. "Doss, talk to me."

  "I hate you so much right now." Doss manages to say through chattering teeth.

  "Okay, okay. You can hate me later. We have an ambulance coming this way. You're gonna be all right."

  7

  When Doss wakes up, he is surprised to find himself in his own bed in his room instead of in the hospital. There's still an IV in his arm and medical machines surrounding him, but it's a bit more comforting. He's getting tired very quickly of being hooked up to monitors and pain medicine. From what he can see of his legs, they are bandaged and the injuries don't look to be too serious. What he's really concerned about are his wings. If he loses them, he will never fly again. Not only that, but Kazimir had mentioned something many years ago that scared Doss and made him paranoid about using them much for a while. If he loses his wings, he shuts down completely.

  Velex enters the room and shuts the door behind him. "Feels like just yesterday I was visiting you in the hospital and you looked just as pitiful. Actually, I think you look worse now."

  "I still hate you."

  "Doss, I'm sorry."

  "You could have killed me." Doss says. "The next time I tell you I need to evacuate a fighter, I'm just going to do it. Why wouldn't you listen to me, Axel?"

  "Please don't be mad." Velex sits next to him in a chair and puts his sunglasses on top of his rust-colored hair. "I didn't think it was that bad. That was a multi-trillion dollar prototype that I needed in one piece."

  "More than you needed me in one piece?"

  "Don't do this. We're starting an investigation into what went wrong."

  "I'm telling you, someone tampered with that plane. Before I go up in my ship, I need it to be completely checked out. While I could survive a crash inside the atmosphere, one higher up won't have the same favorable outcome. I may have wings, but if I'm caught in the wreckage or my restraints won't release like earlier, then it's over."

  "About your wings . . ."

  Doss groans and rubs his eyes. "Oh God help me. They're pretty beat up, aren't they?"

  Velex takes Doss's hand. "You're going to lose your wings."

  "What? No. I need them."

  "I know. Let me explain. The ones you have now are too beat up for you to continue using. You can't fly with your long pinion feathers gone and the smaller ones you lost may have negatively impacted your circuitry. Turns out that a large amount of your processing power is stored in your wings under the platinum. That's part of the reason you were never the same after Clark removed your longest feathers. The scientists can't repair them and we can't give you that much platinum. So your options come down to whether you want a more modern external power source that can be easily installed in the same slots where you store your wings or you can have them replaced. They won't be platinum, but then you'll still be able to fly at least. Actually, you'll be able to fly like you used to. Maybe you can make it from here to Earth on your own."

  So he either gets less expensive replacement wings or the important parts are condensed and installed inside his back. Either one of those options makes him cringe. He's an archon. He has to have wings. Never being able to fly again would crush him. That's the one thing he has valued so highly and even when he couldn't fly as far or for as long as he used to be able to, it was still a sacred experience. When he flies, Doss feels the closest to God and at peace with himself and the universe. No matter what is bothering him at the time, he can take off into the sky and leave it all behind. The choice should be clear, but something bothers him. Replacement wings? These are the only wings he's ever had. What if they don't feel the same? Or what if they're too heavy? A million different and disturbing questions race through his mind.

  "Doss, are you okay?"

  "I don't know."

  "You need to decide soon so the robotics and computer experts can get to work on whichever configuration you decide on." Velex says. "Once they get it done, you'll be sedated and hooked up to a computer to keep your processes running without stop as well as life support for the organic parts of your body. You're quite tricky to operate on."

  "How long will I be out of it?"

  "You'll be unconscious for at least a week."

  That long? "A week? I can't be away from work for a week."

  "The military will be fine in my hands while you take a week or two to recover. After all, I was able to run things when you were gone for thirty-two years. I have Annette to help out."

  "Hildegarde? You can't trust her."

  "Turns out that I might have been wrong about my vice admiral. I'm still planning on promoting you to take her place once I find a reassignment position for her." Velex says as he feeds Doss some ice chips.

  "How can you trust someone who you know is a member of the Blood Force, especially after she killed Byron Erikson?"

  "Because yesterday after you crashed, she helped me look for you and revealed a very important secret." He holds up his watch and speaks into it. "Go ahead and come in here so you can talk to him before he is put under again."

  When the door opens and Byron comes to the side of the bed, Doss gasps. "Byron? We thought you were dead."

  He grins and pats Doss's arm. "Nah. It will take a lot more than some stupid tiny nanobots to finally take me out. Where's Blice?"

  "He's at the library doing some research." Velex says. "He wouldn't tell me what on, though. He doesn't like me very much. Maybe you should go see him. He doesn't know you're alive. I told him that you were still missing so he wouldn't freak out and try to kill me."

  "Have you heard from Katarina?" Doss asks.

  Byron shakes his head. "No. I have no way of communicating with her. Don't worry about her, though. She's fine in Jarred's hands."

  "You trust that guy a lot for just meeting him a few weeks ago." Doss says.

  "Blood transcends time."

  "Blood? You're related?"

  "I guess it doesn't matter much now. Jarred is my grandson."

  "Whoa. How-"

  "You don't get any more answers about it." Byron says. "You know all you need to know."

  "Well, now I feel kind of bad for arresting him eight times."

  "Don't. It's what the Inquisition does . . . or did. I don't know how many inquisitors are left now."

  "I have a scouting ship en route to Earth as we speak to assess the situation down in Paradise." Velex says. "Then they'll deliver back a report. Also, they have a long distance space radio on board and one to leave with Isidore so we will have direct communication with Paradise. Well, it's delayed a few hours, but with the sound propelling laser technology, it can move much faster than the speed of sound. That has to count for something."

  "So it converts sound into light?" Bryon asks.

  "Kind of. It's faster than light, though. You'll have to talk to the scientists about it. I know it has something to do with the various satellites and transmission stations we placed between here and Earth a few years ago. Other than that, I can't tell you much."

  Byron turns back to Doss. "So, you didn't tell me how you're feeling, Doss."

  "I'm okay, I guess. I keep getting banged up." He holds up his left hand to show Byron his metal fingers. "Check it
out. Kind of like your leg, huh?"

  "Nice. How'd you do that?"

  "Clark cut them off."

  "Oh God."

  He shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah, well . . . stuff happens."

  Velex lifts Doss's left wing and examines the pitiful remains. "Right now, Doss has to decide if he wants replacement wings or an internal system instead."

  He has already made up his mind. "I want wings. What's an archon without wings?"

  "An advanced cyborg?"

  "You're not making me feel any better, Axel."

  "Sorry. Do you have any preferences about the color of your wings? We can't afford platinum so they'll be something else."

  Doss clutches his rosary to his chest. "White. Pure white."

  * * *

  Isidore misses Blice. Being away from him for this long is beginning to wear on him. Sure, they haven't been anywhere near as close as they used to be, but Blice is still and will always be his owner and best friend. Theirs is a bond that no amount of time or other forces will ever be able to break. Death couldn't separate them so surely life won't either. Even now, Isidore is passing the time being stuck down here in Zach's laboratory by growing some orange chrysanthemums for Blice. He'll love these when he gets back.

  This small act of growing flowers has also kept his mind off of his urges to return to taking the nanochems. He's been clean for two weeks after Raphael found his secret stash and threw them out. It's admittedly nice to have this uninhibited level of clarity again. He had a nice quiet dinner with his daughter last night that was long overdue. They had a conversation and discussed some things that need to be addressed. He has a hunch that some of it was probably brought up by Jarred, but it was refreshing and reassuring to set things straight. Katarina is a good girl, just too absent-minded and flirtatious at times. Her lack of apparent emotions regarding Byron's abduction concerns him the most. He knows that she is hurting deep down under the tough exterior she has been putting up to make Jarred and Jayce happy.

  They have never been around women or anyone else, really, so they don't know how to treat females. Those two are all about combat, grittiness, and toughness. That much testosterone should have regulations placed on it to keep it from escaping and hurting someone. They even run their marriage with an almost military efficiency. Jarred takes care of the small things while Jayce dictates and gives orders. They like it that way. It's odd to watch them, especially when they get close in public. Jayce initiates every kiss or affectionate gesture and if Jarred tries anything without Jayce giving his silent consent, Jayce will walk away and whistle for Jarred to follow him. And Jarred obeys like some kind of dog with its tail between its legs that knows it's about to be reprimanded.

  Then there's Zach, the creepy guy with a red beanie who now avoids Isidore like the plague after he caught him and Katarina having sex in the lounge one night. Zach has been working long hours in the other rooms of the lab on a secret project, probably making more cyborgs to help defend the remnants of this pitiful city.

  "Need any help?"

  Isidore turns around and smiles at the dull silver-winged archon with the black cloth tied around his eyes. "I'm about done. What have you been up to, Raphael?"

  "Talking with my bonded one."

  "Jayce is recovering from losing his eyes well, isn't he?"

  "About as perfectly as anyone can. It helps him to know that I have voluntarily been living blindly for years. I've grown quite attached to him since becoming his guardian. He's been using his new programs and having a great deal of luck with them."

  Isidore has just put down the can of water when the building begins to shake and a loud engine grows closer outside of the building. Panicked screams fill the streets above them. Doors around the lab begin to open as Zach runs into the lounge with laser pistol at the ready. "Isidore, are you ready to fight?"

  "What's going on?'

  "It's an IGR scout ship."

  Raphael holds up his hand. "They don't mean us any harm. If it's a military transport, then it's probably one of Axel Velex's ships. He's on our side."

  "Hell no, he isn't. He's the one who took Doss."

  "Because Doss is his friend and captain of the IGR military. He's a pilot. Doss was going back to Himmel to take his position again. These are the good guys."

  Jarred, Jayce, and Katarina run into the room with rifles and backpacks, prepared to go fight. Jarred sets down a hologram projector on the table and video footage from the security cameras surrounding the lab entrances comes to life.

  When Isidore sees the men in IGR uniforms attacking the people of his city, he knows he can't sit down here while they're defenseless. "Good guys don't slaughter innocent citizens, Raphael."

  "I don't understand. Let me go out there first and speak with them. They will trust me."

  "How can we trust him?" Zach asks. "He's an archon demon just like the rest of them."

  Jayce ties back his long black hair. "He's my guardian archon. I trust him with my life."

  "That's not good enough!" Zach screams as he pushes Jayce backwards, sending him to the floor.

  Jarred and Raphael both jump on Zach and pin him against the wall.

  "Get off of me." Zach struggles to get free, but strong hands hold him there.

  "Pushing down a blind man? Nice, Zach." Jarred says.

  "What? He started it."

  Raphael sighs. "No. You're being heartless."

  "If you touch Jayce again, I will disembowel you and eat your intestines for lunch after I strangle you with them. Is that understood?" Jarred lets him go and goes to Jayce. "Are you okay?"

  He nods his head and grabs onto Jarred's arms to help him stand. "So what's the plan?"

  Raphael goes to the door with his golden staff in hand. "I'm going to go talk to them and figure out what is going on. Do not follow me. No matter what you see on those security cameras, I don't want anyone to come outside until I give the all clear."

  "You can't see. How are you going to fight if it comes to that?"

  He chuckles and pushes back his grey bangs. "Just watch and learn." Raphael steps out into the dark streets where people are screaming and the soldiers immediately turn their focus to him. "Who is your commanding officer? I demand to speak with him."

  "It's the defected archon! Kill him." One soldier fires his pistol.

  Raphael's staff falls to the pavement as he drops to one knee, clutching his stomach. Then instead of crying out or showing evidence of pain, he starts to laugh. For a minute straight, he continues to laugh as more soldiers surround him and look around, as confused as everyone watching the security footage is. Then the archon holds out his arm and opens his hand to reveal the bullet.

  Jarred gasps. "He caught the bullet? What the hell? How?"

  The soldiers have a similar reaction as they start to back away when Raphael stands and picks up his staff. He tosses the bullet down in front of them. "Anyone else want to take a shot at me?"

  "No. Don't kill us." Someone begs.

  "Then go back to Himmel and tell Admiral Velex to call back his forces." Raphael says.

  A large man in a red cloak moves up behind Raphael and places the barrel of a laser pistol against the back of his head. "They're not from Himmel, archon. Though, because you've given us a good show, I'll have them call Velex and tell him that Strafe is now under Blood Force control. Reichsleiter Clark will be pleased to receive that information. Now, tell me, Raphael . . . can you catch a laser?"

  8

  "Get up, Doss. Wake up, please. We don't have much time."

  Doss looks around sleepily at Velex, Blice, and Byron in his room. "Ugh . . . what?"

  Velex shakes his shoulder. "Come on. You're gonna have to recover on the ship."

  "He just got out of surgery three hours ago." Blice says. "You shouldn't move him."

  "I'm not. He's going to get up, get dressed, then walk himself to the base. Get up, Doss. That's an order."

  Doss can barely understand what is going on around him.
The lights hurt his eyes which he can barely keep open. His voice is hoarse and his throat feels scratchy and dry when he speaks. "What's wrong?"

  Velex throws the pieces of Doss's uniform on the bed as he pulls out the IV from Doss's arm and turns off the machines. "Raphael is dead. We received an emergency transmission from Paradise. Katarina managed to sneak on board the scout ship that the Blood Force hijacked and used their radio to call. She sounded scared. It's very urgent. Your crew has already prepared your ship and gotten everything ready to go. They just need their vice admiral to give the orders."

  "What?"

  Velex holds out a silver sash adorned with a large pendant of the red and yellow skull of the IGR. "Will you accept your command, Vice Admiral Doss?"

  Doss uses all his strength to sit up and take the sash from Velex. "I will."

  Byron sits next to the bed. "Doss, I can help you to your ship. We have to get going, but don't listen to Velex. We can wait for a bit if you need to recover. I'd rather you not die on the way."

  "Axel, please give me a few minutes to recover."

  "Fine. You have fifteen minutes. While we wait, I'll tell you what's going on down on Earth. Paradise is a war zone. The Blood Force has joined with the prisoners from Strafe. Michael is leading the assault and he's out for Isidore's blood."

  "Why do they want Paradise so badly?" Blice asks. "There's nothing down there worth saving. We have all the same technology up here and better."

  "Except for one thing. We don't have Kazimir Dark."

  "Neither do they. He's dead. Michael killed him."

  "Did he?" Velex asks.

  "Yes. I saw it with my own eyes."

  "Oh? What color eyes did Kazimir have?"

  Blice crawls up to Doss's arm. "I don't know. Brown, I think."

  "Kazimir Dark is a dark matter M.A.G.E. so he would have those obvious purple eyes. Let me make this easier on you. Did he look like an older Doss or did he have purple eyes and paler skin?"

  "Oh my God. So Kazimir is still alive? Then who died? And every time I've seen Kazimir, he has never had purple eyes. Was it some kind of disguise?" Blice asks.