The Relics- The Keystone Trilogy - Part 1

by Michael K. Damron

  “Hey, Butch, Richard,” he said in a low voice.

  “What’s up, newbie?” said Butch.

  “Look, guys, I have no idea what I’m doing wrong, but I don’t think this meditation thing is working for me.”

  “Ha! I remember how annoyed I was at first,” said Butch.

  “It wasn’t a walk in the park for me either,” said Richard.

  “Glad to know I’m not alone,” said Jack. “But are there any pointers you could give me on the matter?”

  “I’ll have to concede to Richard’s expertise. He’s benefited more than I have from the meditations,” said Butch. “I’ll catch you later, Rich. Go ahead and help the newbie out a little bit.”

  Butch continued down the hallway while Richard stepped into Jack’s room to try and help him develop a stronger bond with his exo.

  “Thank you so much. I’d appreciate any help you can give me,” said Jack.

  “Don’t mention it. Your father was the one who helped me with my initial meditating, so it’s only natural I’m happy to return the favor to his son.”

  Jack’s face began to fill with emotion when hearing a reverential mention of his dad.

  “Oh, damn, I didn’t mean to upset you by saying—”

  “No, no, it’s all right,” said Jack. “I just think it’s that I still haven’t processed all the information about what happened to him and the life he lived while he was here.”

  “He was one of the greatest people I’ve ever worked with. I’m sure he was great dad too.”

  “He was. Honestly. This was such a big secret for him to keep from my mom and me, though.”

  “It was part of his job to keep it under wraps,” said Richard. “But I’m actually surprised he never even gave you a hint at anything, seeing as how you were able to activate an exo. I would think he knew you might one day be part of the Searchers.”

  Jack kept quiet for a moment, thinking on how his father did reach out to him in a way, via Nigel and a recorded video message. He wished there were more answers, perhaps buried deep in the notebooks he brought with him to the facility from home.

  “It surprises me too, the more I think about it. Regardless, I’m glad you were able to work with him and see what a great man he was,” said Jack.

  “Everyone enjoyed his company,” said Richard. “Anyway, I think we have some meditation training to attend to.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “First off, your meditation should be a very personal thing. There are similar things everyone does, but there will also be unique aspects with how you do it that gives you the best connection with your relic. Start with getting in a comfortable position, if you will,” said Richard, motioning for Jack to mirror his advice.

  Jack lowered himself down into a cross-legged position, back against his bed and eager for the next step. Richard pulled his screen from his pocket and began to play some relaxing, ambient music.

  “This usually helps me with my meditations,” said Richard. “If you’re not feeling it, just let me know.”

  “No worries, it sounds nice.”

  “Great. Now, with your eyes closed, empty your mind of all things except your exo. Feel it on your back—its position, its weight, its energy. Starting at your spine, sense where its probes enter your body. Feel where the exo’s edges drop beneath your skin and follow its slender threads from there to the ends of your fingertips. Notice the energy that now flows along each of those threads, undulating back and forth throughout your body. Envision the potential of that energy. Perceive how the probes within your brain allow you to now control the flow of that energy. Visualize your new power giving you the capability to have dominion over morphacite, over people’s thoughts, over aspects of the natural world, and even over the laws of physics. Feel your relic’s power further opening up to you.”

  Unlike the first time he tried to meditate, Jack was now experiencing a new level of his exo’s power flowing throughout his body. He didn’t want to forget how to get to the new energy level he was experiencing.

  “How does it feel, Jack?”

  “It feels like unreal, untapped power.”

  “Now you see why meditation is so crucial,” said Richard. “It helps clear your mind so your thoughts no longer drown out the connection between you and your exo. The more you do it and experience the relic’s core energy, the easier it becomes to harness that energy outside of the meditative state. And theoretically, the more intact your relic-activating gene sequence is, the more powerful you can become.”

  “I’ve never felt anything like this,” said Jack, still intoxicated with the sensation surging through him.

  “The high you’re feeling will come down as you go about your day, but practicing your abilities right after meditating can lead to rapid progress.”

  Not wanting to waste his newfound power, Jack took control of the morphacite he brought with him to the facility and kept in his room. Instead of the common geometric shapes he previously thought himself limited to, he began manipulating the substance in more intricate ways. He splayed his hand and split the black crystal into sixteen even cubes, aligning them midair at the room’s center. From there, he divided them in half to make a matrix of thirty-two pieces, then sixty-four pieces, and continued halving until each dot was infinitesimally small, almost unseen by the naked eye. Richard was awestruck by Jack’s ability to harness such power from an exo so soon. As Jack squeezed his hand into a fist, all of the tiny morphacite dots collapsed into the shape of a staff, followed by a javelin, and then a sword. He stood up to grasp the blade and felt more energy than ever before, flowing out from his body and all the way to the sword’s terminal point.

  Richard gave a light clap to commend Jack’s performance. “That was remarkable, especially considering you’ve had your relic for a short period of time.”

  “Thank you,” said Jack.

  “I’m not even close to that good with morphacite. It’s just not in my genes, I suppose,” said Richard.

  “Can you at least make basic shapes with it?”

  “Shapes? Ha, I can barely make the stuff levitate. You’ll find that some people’s genes allow them to access somewhere between everything and very little of what the relics have to offer. It just depends on how much of the ancient DNA strain they still possess. It’s like playing evolutionary roulette.”

  “I just hope I can progress fast,” said Jack.

  “It’s good to have ambition, but why the rush?”

  “I don’t know, the situation just seems dire with everything going on. As far as we know, Mark and his minions are trying to hunt the Searchers down, right? And now I’m part of the Searchers. He already killed my dad and I want to have a chance to defend myself if he comes for me too.”

  “A chance to get revenge?” said Richard.

  “I didn’t say revenge . . . but I can’t say I haven’t thought of it.”

  “I’d want the same thing if I were you,” said Richard. “There are certain primal instincts you can’t suppress.”

  “You may be right,” said Jack. “Do you have any more pointers that could help me develop my skills?”

  Richard put his hand to his chin and paced the room for a moment, thinking of the best advice he could offer.

  “There’s no doubt that meditation helps you bond with your exo. You’ve just experienced it for yourself. If you want to get better faster, spend more time meditating and training with morphacite. For only having your exo a short time, you’re already further ahead with controlling it than most other Searchers were. You should double down your morphacite skill, for sure. Get as good as Marcel, then Alexie, and keep going.”

  “What about the other weapons that are available for us to train with?” said Jack.

  “Morphacite can become any of those weapons and more. You’ve already seen some of what it can do. But a weapon that can transform from a liquid to a solid of near titanium strength is something anyone with a normal weapon would have a hard time co
ntending with.”

  “I get what you’re saying. So does anyone else meditate more than once after the morning training is over?”

  “Honestly, some members of the team don’t even do it anymore,” said Richard. “They did when they first arrived, but I think only Alexie, Marcel, and I still meditate. At least, that’s what I’ve gathered from various conversations. I try to do it about twice a day, myself. But if you want to get good fast, do it as much as you can. I believe that the more time you spend connecting with your exo, the less you get in the way of harnessing its raw power when you need it.”

  “I can’t thank you enough for all your help,” said Jack. “Believe me, I’ll take your advice to heart and work hard.”

  “If you’re anything like your father, I’m sure you will,” said Richard, giving him a pat on the back. “I’ll let you take it from here and see myself out.”

  Richard exited the room and Jack, excited with the new knowledge he received, found some ambient music available on the facility’s local network for his screen to play while he continued with his meditation.

  The next few days at the Searcher facility went better than expected for Jack. He would have selected Alexie to train with again, but decided to vary things up by choosing Butch, Richard, and Bridgett to spar with. Although he held his own during combat, meditating continued to yield the greatest results for him. Controlling morphacite started to become easier during the training brawls, which allowed him to show off some formidable moves and tactics. There was also a noticeable increase in his strength and agility. His improvements were noticeable enough for John to pull him aside one morning for acknowledgement.

  “Jack, I wanted to tell you that I’ve been very impressed with the progress you’ve made in such a short period of time.”

  “Thanks, I’ve been doing extra training with every spare chance I get,” said Jack.

  “Well, whatever the extra you’ve been doing, keep it up. And don’t be afraid to step it up a bit more with your sparring, especially with Alexie or Marcel. It’s good to spar with every Searcher, but you’ll progress even faster if you train with the best we have. And be sure to take a break here and there to bond with all of your teammates. In the long run, it’s good for everyone’s morale and it increases camaraderie. It won’t be long before you feel like they’re becoming a kind of second family to you.”

  “I’ll be sure to start bonding more,” said Jack, still wanting to avoid Marcel as much as he could. “And I’ve been meaning to ask you, speaking of family, is there a way I can get a connection to the civilian online network outside the facility? I connected to the one that’s local to the building, but that’s not doing the trick. My mom wanted me to let her know how things were going and it looks like all outside connections to social sites are blocked.”

  “It’s true, we keep the facility isolated to protect ourselves and prevent our location from being traced. But that aspect isn’t helping you find a way to talk with your mom. I understand why you would want to contact her, so I’ll gain you access to one of our encrypted screens sometime soon. They allow you to access those kind of sites while also keeping the facility safeguarded.”

  “Great,” said Jack. “I’m sure it would put her at ease to hear from me.”

  “I agree. And it certainly puts me more at ease to see you and the others continue with the progression and strengthening of your abilities. If we ever came into contact with Mark and his rogues, I’d like to say we may have a fighting chance.”

  “I feel the same,” said Jack. “And you don’t have to worry about me, I’ll keep up the hard work.”

  After a decent session of meditation, Jack took John’s advice and made his way to the downstairs common area to try and connect more with the other Searchers. Not everyone was there, but he was happy to be able to try out a vicious game of darts with Garnet and Ferra. He could tell in the time that passed since his exo attached to him, his vision had made a discernible improvement. Near the end of his game with the twins, Bridgett and Alexie entered the room together and took the opportunity to sit with Jack and get to know him better. By the time he rolled into bed, much later, he felt like it was an overall good day for him at the facility. He hoped there would be more just like it to come.

  The next morning, the Searchers went to the outside fields for more sparring sessions. Taking John’s advice from the day before, Jack asked Alexie if she would have a go with him.

  “You know, just because you’ve improved a little, it doesn’t mean you’ll be able to keep up with me,” she said, smirking.

  “We’ll have to see about that,” said Jack.

  Both Jack and Alexie chose to wield morphacite for the spar.

  “I’ll let you make the first move,” said Jack.

  “Oh, how chivalrous!” she sarcastically replied, beginning to hurl orbs of morphacite at her opponent.

  Jack avoided being hit by dodging some of them and forcing others away from their initial trajectory. Alexie summoned them back to her, forming them into a long staff to block Jack’s physical assault. They parried each other’s blows for a short time and both were able to sneak in a hit or two.

  “Not bad, Jack,” said Alexie. “I can tell you’re much better than the first time we sparred together.”

  “I’d assume that’s the case, or else you’ve gotten much worse,” he joked.

  Alexie split her staff into multiple equal-sized spheres and started to have them orbit around Jack.

  “Let’s see how you do with being hit from all directions!”

  As she sent a random half of the spheres his way, Jack formed his morphacite into four thin panels that he spun at a high speed around himself. Alexie’s first batch of projectiles were batted away. With great exertion, she was able to slow down the panels’ velocity enough to have the remaining spheres deal a strong blow to Jack’s legs and torso.

  “AGH!” Jack yelled, doubling over on the ground and waving one of his arms in submission.

  “All right, that’s it for this spar,” said John.

  Alexie walked over to Jack to see how he was doing.

  “Did I flex a little too much of my strength for you?”

  “No, I’m good,” said Jack, breathless. “Just got the wind a bit knocked out of me.”

  Alexie grabbed his arm to help him get on his feet and helped guide him to the side of the field where everyone else was standing.

  “Not too bad at all, newbie,” Butch said to Jack.

  The Searchers continued to watch as Garnet faced off against Richard and Ferra faced off against Marcel. Feeling much better after a short rest, Jack asked Butch if he would spar some with him.

  “Sure thing, man . . . if you think you can handle it. I mean, you just had a go with Alexie.”

  “I think I might be able to hold my own,” said Jack.

  Butch accepted his request and picked up what looked like an engorged wooden bat from the weapon table. At first, Jack was having a difficult time blocking the fierce blows Butch dealt with the heavy club he wielded. But he began to notice how the weight of the weapon still ever so slightly slowed Butch down. Jack made his move by charging toward him, maneuvering to avoid the onslaught of swings. He then encased Butch’s arms and chest in morphacite as he was halfway through a swiping motion, causing him to fall forward onto the ground like an overturned statue.

  “Woah, nice work buddy!” said Butch, his torso seeming to be frozen on the ground.

  Jack withdrew the morphacite from Butch’s body and helped him to his feet.

  “You know,” said Butch, “you can be pretty nimble on your feet when you want to be.”

  “Thanks,” said Jack, pleased with his morning training performance.

  When he turned to look at John and the group of Searchers, he noticed that Marcel’s face was displaying a nasty grimace. The same countenance even lasted through an entire sparring session between Ferra and Bridgett, which made Jack decide to head back into the facility and get st
arted on his daily meditation.

  “There goes your admirer,” said Bridgett, prompting Alexie to look as he walked away.

  “Give me a break, Bridgett.”

  “C’mon, I know you’ve gotten to know him better.”

  “He’s only been here for, like, a week,” said Alexie.

  “You can’t hide your feelings forever, you know.”

  “Definitely not from a mind-reading, no-good, ne’er-do-well eavesdropper like yourself.”

  “I don’t need to read your mind to see how you feel,” said Bridgett. “It’s not like I’m blind.”

  “It’s not that noticeable!” said Alexie, jeering at Bridgett.

  “Actually, it kinda is, for those who pay attention,” said a hushed voice from behind her.

  She turned around to see Ferra standing in her shadow.

  “Oh, you two are ridiculous! The worst, even!”

  Alexie stormed away toward the Searcher facility while Ferra looked at Bridgett with raised eyebrows.

  “Someone’s got it bad,” said Ferra.

  Bridgett had to quickly cover her mouth to suppress her laughter.

  Jack didn’t have a previous desire or appetite for meditation before joining the Searchers, but he began looking forward to the peaceful quiet time he set aside for himself each day. The benefits of the practice went beyond those of just connecting with his exo and extended to feeling less stressed, depressed, and anxious than he had been in quite some time. Even so, Jack was finding it difficult to focus due to the constant, returning thoughts of the scowl Marcel gave him during training. Three light taps rapped on his door, saving him from the unpleasant thought.

  “Come in,” he said, relieved to have company.

  “Hey, are you busy? Is this a good time?” said Alexie.

  “Uh, yeah, please, I’m not busy or anything.”

  “Okay, good, I didn’t want to interrupt you if you were trying to meditate or something.”

  “Meditation would be easier if I wasn’t replaying Marcel’s glare in my head over and over.”