City of Twilight: Rise of the Hunter (The Vanguard Chronicles Book 1)

by Donald Stephenson III

  James’ eyes followed the list, but he stopped on one.

  “James Alexander,” he said out loud, “that’s me. That’s my name.”

  Above the article was a photo of emergency workers clearing the rubble where once building had stood. He recognized the location in Old District.

  ​I crawled out of that, he thought, I survived that. He suddenly remembered the creature on his back, and he understood. This thing saved my life. It somehow protected me.

  ​James Alexander. He focused on his name in text on the data screen. An image flashed through his mind, a memory.

  She was searching for her brother. He was in a panic, feeling pain and anger. Long corridors made of sterile metal. Brightly lit. There was a loud noise, an eruption. The hallway began to shake. James put a hand on his face, rubbing his temples. This couldn’t have been his memory. He started when he felt another flash.

  A young man with white hair stood in a small cabin. The cabin was dark, and small. Claustrophobic. There was a bed in one corner of the cabin, with a sink and some shelves nearby. The young man had an angry face, but he began to smile as if he’d found his purpose. There was a gun in his hand. He stood over a man on the floor who’d been shot in the head. James couldn’t remember anymore. He looked around himself. The memory felt like a hallucination. It felt important; although he wasn’t sure it had anything to do with the Shepherd Center.

  ​He stared at the data screen, zoning out as he hoped a more tangible memory would enter his mind. Why was he in the Shepherd Center? He thought of the creature on his back. What kind of research actually went on in that building?

  ​Other than the terrorist attack, there was no mention of the Shepherd Research Center anywhere in the data screens. It didn’t exist. Where do I go from here? he thought as he leaned back in the chair, placing his hands behind his head.

  ​His first thought was to find any family he might have and tell them he was still alive. It then occurred to him that his family would be in danger if this resistance knew he was alive. Or whomever was in charge of that research. No one could know, at least not yet. He needed to know who destroyed that building, why they did it. If this was creature was some sort of experiment, why would they want to destroy it and everyone who created it?

  The article’s treatment of the city officials, especially in comparison to the resistance it described, seemed somewhat questionable to him as well. There was something missing, or something omitted. He wasn’t sure what, but he’d experienced Civic Protection first hand. They were obviously not out for the greater good. He stood up and paced for a few moments. He thought about Dr. Derek Shepherd, who escaped the attack. That seemed suspicious as well. He walked down the stairs to the first floor of the library, standing in the lobby for a moment.

  It was a large entrance that had an immaculate floor. His footsteps echoed throughout the green walled lobby as he walked towards the exit. The doors silently slid open for him, a small data screen embedded in the wall beeping positively as it detected someone approaching the doors.

  ​Standing outside the library, a Civic Protection car with the siren wailing passed him by. It stopped a few blocks away at the alley where the bodies of the Civic Protection officers who had assaulted him rested. There were two other cars already there. A crowd had begun to form around the cars, onlookers trying to see what had happened as one officer was trying to block off the area with yellow tape. There were several more officers, and more were arriving. A few of them looked more like soldiers than officers. They carried large, automatic weapons and body armor and helmets.

  ​James walked over to the alley fearlessly, following the gathering crowd. As the crowd grew from people passing by on their morning commutes, several emergency vehicles arrived. He overheard someone in the crowd saying something about a wild animal attacking the officers. He watched the Civic Protection soldiers as they talked with the paramedics.

  ​He felt his perception rise again, and this time he could hear them perfectly, as if they were standing right next to him. One of the paramedics had a body on a stretcher, with a cloth pulled over the face.

  ​“What kind of creature do you think did this?” one of the soldiers asked the paramedic.

  ​“I don’t know, but it must have been big. These are claw marks here, and these guys didn’t live long after they were sliced up by this thing.” It surprised James that they would suspect it as an animal attack. I’m sure that theory won’t last long once they examine the bodies.

  ​Another car arrived at the scene. This car was small, black, and very sleek. A man got out of the driver’s seat. This man had blond hair, and a gray suit with a yellow tie, a tie that matched his hair. James didn’t recognize the man, but he stood out to him. There was an aura about him. He was important. James could see the man's spirit, or aura through his new sense. This was no ordinary man at all. Maybe it was the creature, maybe ant instinct, but James knew this man had something to do with the attack on the building. The agitation started again, and the creature started to grow, trying to cover his body. He fought it, forcing it back to the small size on his back. The creature was still trying to break through his will, and he knew it was going to be a constant battle for him. He was able to hold it this time, however.

  ​The blond haired man talked to one of the soldiers, and pulled his wallet out, showing the man some identification. The soldier let him pass and he walked over to the bodies. He started looking at each of the bodies on each stretcher individually, lifting the blankets and examining them. He had an irritated expression as he addressed the soldier and the paramedic.

  ​“I seriously doubt this was done by an animal,” he said, “but if it was I want it dead. Have an autopsy done on all of these bodies. I want to know what kind of claws...or weapons made these wounds. Let your superiors know the progress. They can contact the council.” The blond haired man quickly returned to his car, getting in. The engine revved up, but he sat a minute while on the phone.

  ​James saw his opportunity. I should follow him, and find some information. He wasn’t sure what he would find, but he knew he needed to follow this man. He ran around to another alley. The claws grew from his hands again; sharp and curved, gleaming metallic silver. He focused his anger, his rage from the creature, and started channeling it into his body, into his strength and reflexes. He noticed something that wasn't there before. It felt like a dark pool that existed outside of this mind when he focused. He couldn't see it with his eyes, but it was there. It was always there, waiting for him.

  ​“Am I just imagining this,” he whispered to himself, “in my mind?” The dark waters beckoned him, and his mind called them forth. It was a rush when it hit him, and he felt it physically. He felt a strength stronger than what enhanced power the creature was giving him. He grinned and drove his claws into the wall.

  ​Climbing the wall was easier this time than it was before. It didn’t seem to matter what kind of brick or stone he was climbing, it quickly gave way to his steel claws. He moved up the wall like an insect, speeding to a point where he was practically running as a creature that moved on all four legs. In a very short amount of time he'd reached the top.

  ​Looking over the edge, he could see the crowd still watching the scene below. The blond man was still sitting there in his car, on the phone. After a few moments, the car backed up and headed away from the scene and out of East District. James leaped off the edge of the building, sinking his claws into the side of the next one. He began to claw as fast as he could along the side of each building while facing the street. If any of the onlookers had seen him, he would have appeared to be a human-like creature moving extremely fast along the sides of the buildings, leaping to the next one and the next one, gaining enough momentum to keep going. He was able to keep up with the blond man's car easily, although the car wasn't speeding and traffic had been getting heavier and more congested as it became late morning.

  ​After a short while James realized they wer
en't in East District anymore. There were signs that indicated this was Capitol District. James continued to pursue the car until it pulled in front of a large apartment building, parking in the deck below the building. James leaped onto that building, and discovered a little too late that it was steel, and his claws couldn't dig into the walls like the stone of the other buildings.

  ​He started to fall along the side the building, and he quickly grabbed the ledge of a window with his right hand. He looked down briefly as he hung from the ledge, noticing he was at least ten stories up. He stretched his left hand up onto the ledge and pulled himself up to the window. Looking in the window he could the apartment was empty. He appreciated the convenience as he forced the window up and pulled himself inside.

  ​It seemed like it was a nice apartment, but he didn't know how long it had been unoccupied. James adjusted the collar of his coat as he moved through the apartment, and stepped out of the unlocked front door. He knew the blond man had come into this building, but he didn't know where the man was. He searched for the dark pool again with his mind. It was gone. Or rather, it had changed towards him. It felt as though he didn't need it anymore. It had changed him. The strength though, that was gone. He didn't know how to call it back to him.

  ​“I don't need strength right now,” he said to himself, “I need the perception I had before.” He remembered the blond man’s voice. There was a tone that was unique about it, as if the man talked like he was in a play, with an audience. James focused his mind on that voice.

  ​He could see a mist with his mind. It was distant, yet familiar. He reached out to it with his mind. He pulled the mist around him, wrapping around his mind like a blanket of coldness. At once the vision overtook him. It was another level of reality. The dark pool had been some sort of mental entrance. He now existed consciously in two worlds; the waking reality and the dark pool. In it he could see with his mind everything his eyes couldn't see. He focused on the voice again. The voice of the blond haired man.

  ​He could hear it. It was faint at first, but if he focused enough he could hear him better. James wondered briefly if this was another trait given to him by the creature. Another enhancement. He followed the voice. It was below him, in another apartment. He found the stairs, and stopped at the floor it sounded the closest. He didn’t have to look down the hallway to sense the armed soldiers standing outside of one of the apartments. They both had a look of stoic strength. James went another direction, following a hallway to another empty apartment. He entered the apartment, which was unlocked. He was close to them.

  ​James sat and closed his eyes, listening to them talk. It felt as if he were in the same room with them. He could sense their shapes and movements as well.

  ​“How long do I have, Dante?” a man said, addressing the blond haired man. So the blond haired man’s name is Dante, James thought to himself. He focused on the other man for a moment. He was tall and thin. Bald, with glasses. The man looked to be at least in his 70's. He was a plain man who looked beaten, like the world had taken its toll on him and he was weary of it.

  ​“Not long,” Dante said, “although the most important thing is results. Ares has grown suspicious of your loyalties. He says you're dragging this out on purpose.”

  ​“What do you think?” the man asked.

  ​“I don't know what to think,” Dante said, “although I don't really know what you'd gain by betraying us. The last few connections you had to your past were lost when that building collapsed a month ago.” Dante started to pace as he talked to the man.

  ​“Between you and me,” Dante said, “the council's been getting nervous. We've been waiting years for these results. Father has been waiting decades. We finally get a prototype and it's unstable. So unstable that we have to destroy it. Along with an interception that someone at the Shepherd Research Center is working actively against us, against Civic Protection. We saved all your research, but had to destroy everything else. There was something missing, though.” Dante paused as he looked at the man. “We were missing your private notes, Dr. Shepherd. The files you kept out of the servers. The files you kept secret.”

  ​So this is Dr. Shepherd, James thought. I guess I don't have to go looking for him.

  ​“There's something else you'd probably be interested in,” Dante said. “Four soldiers were killed early this morning in an alley in East District. Paramedics think it was some sort of large animal. There were also some soldiers assaulted early this morning by an unknown man near the Shepherd Center. You and I both know that even dogs and cats are almost extinct in this city, and nothing else exists other than all of us. Nothing, except the prototype.”

  ​“It couldn't have survived without a host,” Dr. Shepherd said, “we made sure of that.”

  ​“It should be dead,” Dante said, “but so should you. It was only be sheer luck I was able to get you out of the Shepherd Center in time, before it was destroyed.”

  ​“You all didn't have to kill all of those people,” Dr. Shepherd said, “they didn't deserve to die like that. They were innocent.”

  ​“No one is innocent, doctor." Dante scowled at the man. “Ares said it was the only way. The council ordered it to be done.”

  ​“Do you just blindly take the council's orders?”

  Dante place his hand on the doctor's face.

  ​“I am the council,” he said with a rage, “what difference does it make? The world's gone to hell anyways.” He forced the doctor to the ground after squeezing the man's face for a moment. Dante paused, collecting himself. The doctor must have hit a nerve when he said that, James thought.

  ​After a brief few seconds, Dante collected himself. “Wouldn't you rather live? Survive? Do you have it, the missing files?” Dr. Shepherd quietly walked over to a picture on the wall in the apartment. Opening it up revealed a safe behind it. He placed his hand on a data screen on the safe and it gave a positive beep. The safe made a small mechanical whir sound and the door slowly opened. He put his hand in and pulled out a small data screen. He then handed it to Dante. Dante held it in his hand for a moment.

  ​“I’m taking this to my brother,” Dante said, “but you'll be hearing from us soon. You did the right thing, giving this to me.” There was a slight hint of regret in Dante's face as he placed the data screen in a briefcase nearby. Dr. Shepherd stood quietly. Dante moved to the door, and pushed it open. “C’mon, let’s go” he called to the men standing at the door, and they followed him down the hallway that led to the elevator. The man moved around a little, but James was focusing his attention on Dante. In a few moments Dante had left the building, and James was alone with Dr. Shepherd.

  ​After waiting a few moments, he moved to the other hallway; to the door of the apartment where the man lived. It was strange, but it did not seem like there was anyone else in the entire building. This man lived alone in an empty building. Now I’ll get some answers. James banged his fist hard on the metal door to the apartment.

  ​The man moved to the apartment door quickly and didn't wait to check to see who it was, assuming it was Dante. The door unlocked quickly.

  ​“I gave you the files, what more do you...”

  The doctor stopped speaking in surprise as he saw James standing in front of him. James pushed the doctor back into the apartment, following him. The man had a surprised look on his face. James had anger and frustration, but he held them at bay as he stood, facing the doctor. As tall as the doctor was, James stood much taller over him.

  ​After a brief moment, James marched them both into the living room. James looked at the man with his silver eyes shining in the morning light. “I need answers.” Dr. Shepherd smiled at him.

  ​“James,” Dr. Shepherd said, “you made it out.” He stared at James critically for a moment. “It saved you, didn't it?” Dr. Shepherd approached James and slowly reached an arm towards him. “Can I see it? The xeno?”

  James lowered the collar of his jacket while letting the creature grow up t
he back of his neck. The doctor's hand hovered over the metal, but he hesitated. He drew his hand back.

  ​“How do you know me?” James asked.

  ​“So many times I wanted to see this on a person,” Dr. Shepherd said, “to see this on you. I’ve watched you your entire life. I knew your parents. You’re a very special person, James. I knew that before the xeno attached itself to you.” James was calmly frustrated at the man's answer.

  ​James turned from the man, walking towards the window and looking out at the city. The doctor approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

  ​“James,” Dr. Shepherd said, “you're the only one that can control the xeno. You're the only one was meant to have it. It was always supposed to be you."

  ​“Who is to blame for destroying that building,” James spoke slowly, “who is responsible for killing all of those people?”

  ​“The media would have you believe it was a resistance,” Dr. Shepherd said, “but only a fool would believe that. The High Council made up that resistance, a fictitious entity made to look foolish, so they have someone to blame when they attack their own city. People can see the truth plain enough. Every street corner is a squad of soldier protecting us.”

  ​“Are you telling me,” James said, “that this creature attached to my body is the prototype you and that man Dante were talking about? What would they want with it? What is this creature?"

  ​“It’s a symbiotic parasite,” Dr. Shepherd said, “made of an organic metal. It first attaches itself to your nervous system, but it liquefies itself inside your body. It is composed of billions of microscopic hive-minded creatures. It has a consciousness, a will of its own. You feel its feelings, as it does yours. It’s why you feel anger, uncontrolled and unchecked. That's because it wants you to kill when it feels threatened or angry. Its animal instinct now permeates your own mind and thoughts.” James turned to face the man, taking a step back as he listened.