

  1. GATEWAY TO ASTRIA

By Isaiah Gray

Gateway to Astria

Copyright 2014 © Isaiah Douglas Gray

Published: January 1st, 2014

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

~To Glorianna~

For without whom

This book would never have come to be  
My words to you: You are amazingly outstanding

~To Katie~

For without whom

This book would never have been finished

My words to you: You are amazingly talented

~To the reader~

For without whom

This book would never have a purpose

My words to you: If it is past 12AM, You are up late – go to bed
Table of Contents:

GATEWAY TO ASTRIA 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Hell continues 114

Chapter 1

The moon's gentle light glimmered off the grass, the green blades bending beneath the will of the wind. It was the first night this winter to be cold in Minnesota. In all of my 16 years I never experienced a warmer winter here. The brisk air and gentle slow fall of snowflakes sent chills up my spine as they landed on my arms.

Natalia... Wearing a T-shirt and jeans was not a good idea to go for a walk in.

Looking back at the house behind me, I felt tempted to turn back to the warm cozy abode that was now mine after what happened over a year ago, but the walk calmed my nerves. It made me forget the worries, fears and the dread sorrow of loneliness up here.

I looked up into the sky and closed my eyes letting the wind blow through my hair. The harder the wind blew, the more it blew my troubles away. I kept my eyes closed, and I listened.

There are two types of noise: Noise that helps, and noise that harms. Harmful noise is the hustle and bustle of the day. People going about their lives, the honks of cars, the sounds of sidetracked people rambling on and on, sounds like those led my family and me to move away from the city, out to farmland and wide open space, all because I couldn't handle the noise. The noise here is soothing. A cricket's serenade on its night of travels, the wind raking up the fallen leaves to keep mother nature's face clean, the emotional train wrecks of the sky, I took all of these in as I sat. I've heard them all before, and held them all close to my heart.

But today, I heard something new...

It was some sort of rumble. Listening, I tried to figure out what it could be, but I could not make it out. Confused, I opened my eyes to see my shadow extending from my body, a bright warm light surrounding it. The light coming from behind me grew and grew in intensity. It was as if a piece of the sun had just landed behind me. I could feel the searing heat on my back, the sound of something similar to rolling thunder shaking the ground and my spine itself. What could it be? It felt like I should turn around and look at whatever was causing it, but something kept me as the rumbles kept just getting louder and louder. The wind abruptly picked up, hitting me as if I had just run into a wall. The as my hair whipped around as the ground slipped from under my feet. I tried to feel around for the ground to cushion my fall, but I found nothing of the sort. Then my shoulder buckled, crushed under the sudden revelation of the ground I was trying so hard to find. A pain dug and embedded itself in my ears as a soft yet constant high pitched ringing filled my head. I tried to shake it, but it felt like my brain was spinning in my skull. My head throbbed, a pulse of pain spreading like a lightning bolt shot through my forehead. I gripped my forehead, only to have it meet a thick red substance. Pulling my hand away, I examined the black stains and white crystalline water mixing to mud on my arm with a red tint smeared across with it. My arm shook as I tried to focus my eyes on it, but it faded between states of those like an ancient oil painting and a poorly focused camera.

I tried to clear my head, and it took a few good minutes on my knees to do so. I rubbed my eyes violently, I'm not sure if it actually helped, but nonetheless I could see again when I finally opened my eyes. As I did so, my eyes were filled with a smokey haze. Coughing, I peer forward into what might have caused this. I got up and crept closer. Inch by inch I made way through the fog; The closer I got, the more tears filled my eyes. As the intensity of the smoke only continued to grow, the pain in my eyes was the only way I could know I was getting closer to the source. I coughed again as more smoke filled my lungs. Collapsing on my knees, I could feel the smoke starting to thin. I slowly eased down to the ground and waited. After several minutes of waiting, I finally was able to see enough to make out a small crater. My fingers started to shake, and soon my hands shook as well. I tried to hold it still, but that just sent a tense sensation through my entire body. I was waiting for something, but I wasn't sure what it was going to be. I immediately thought "small green ugly alien." As I waited, nothing arose from the smoking crater. A part of me wanted to look over the edge; the other was trying to pull me away. It only took a few seconds before my mind was made up for me. A silhouette of a person revealed itself as it climbed up out of the crater.

My breathing started to quicken as the figure got taller. Standing up slowly, it rose to be taller than me. I tried to reach to my side expecting to find the cold sensation of my weapon beside me, but there was nothing. I looked frantically. Out of the corner of my eye a tiny glint of moonlight flashed across something. It was my handgun lying only a few yards away. The figure was stumbling closer. Something went off in my head, I got up and ran for the weapon. I couldn't see the weapon itself, just the moon's glint. My gaze, while locked on the handgun, didn't see a rock. My foot hit the stony obstacle, the wind leaving my lungs in a jolt. The impact with the ground rendered me immobile for a few seconds. It was in those few seconds that I started to panic. The figure was hobbling it's way towards me. My arms started to tremble as I laid helpless. The air finally came back to me in a rush; I could function again. I started to crawl, but the faster I crawled, the closer the figure got. I reached for the gun; I got a slight grip on it and pulled it towards me into my shaky grasp.

Rolling over I tried to aim. My vision became a blur as everything looked like it did before. The blurry barrel of my gun in front of me was all I could attempt to focus on as my hands shook in fear so much the gun rattled. Then the sound that was music to my ears filled the air, the sound of a gunshot. The body, now only a few feet in front of me, fell limp to the ground. Smoke gently rose from the barrel of my pistol. Tear's welled up in my eyes. It wasn't from the fact I just shot someone, I've done that a hundred times over, it was the relief. I looked around, nobody else in sight.

Slowly, I rose to my feet. I walked over to the body, my hands shaking uncontrollably in front of me with my gun still raised. The moonlight shifted; it revealed a young man, about my age. My eyes widened when I finally got a good look at him. He looked just like any other person on earth, with one distinct difference: Wings, huge angelic wings gently spread from his back like they came from nowhere. I stood in awe; they were like nothing I had ever seen. For several seconds, I stood just gazing at his soiled, blood stained wings, which fluttered just the slightest bit every time he tried to move.

I heard a groan, something I didn't expect: the thing was still alive. The sound snapped me out of my trance to see that his wings weren't the only noticeable things. His attire resembled those of robes – gold and purple in color. They gave off a sort of majestic impression, though it was hard to tell, as now they were torn and dirt stained. Upon further examination, it seemed that most of the tears and gashes were the result of the lashes of a whip. Deep red blood oozed from several reopened cuts. The wounds from blades and my gunshot soiled his once-was-exotic clothing.

The sounds of violent coughing filled my ears as I looked at the boy's face. He was barely moving, blinking ever so slowly, coughing up blood and moaning in pain. The next thing the young man saw was the image of the barrel of my gun and me towering over him. My whole arm started to shake once again. This time I had enough sense to question it. Why am I shaking? Am I afraid? No, I'm never afraid; it's the trauma from being launched. Yes, that's it. I debated with myself. Regardless, I no longer could keep a firm grip on my gun. More violent coughing, and a few more groans were given off before I finally decided to speak up. "W-Who? What are you? Where the heck did you come from!?" I yelled at him.

He only coughed more.

"Answer me!!!"

"I-is this always how you treat people?" The young man asked.

"Yes."

He coughed again. "Well then."

"W-What are you? I asked again

"Why should I tell you anything? You just..." He winced in pain and gripped his shoulder. "You just shot me..."

"Why did you come here? Did your ship malfunction or something?" I said, trying to think of the most logical reason that someone would crash land.

"Ship?" He replied.

This confused me. "Yes, what you came here in..."

"What-" He coughed yet again, this time more violently than ever. "What ship?"

What was he talking about? My arm lowered as I looked at the man. His clothes were torn, he was bruised, bleeding, and charred. His arms were blackened in some spots. Taking a glance behind me, I looked into the crater that he crawled out of. Nothing, just tossed up dirt.

"You..." I couldn't finish my sentence, that couldn't have happened, there was just no way. "You crashed! Not actually in something, you – you yourself – crashed! H-how did that happen?

"Heh," The boy replied, "They do like to be cruel."

"Who!?"

"The-" The boy winced in pain. He started choking up, slipping into unconsciousness; I looked around his body to see him lying in a pool of blood. He wasn't dead yet, but he would be soon.

What do I do? Do I just leave him here to die? Why was he here?

Normally, I wouldn't care, but something made me curious. I love puzzles, and puzzles love me. Curiosity is insanity: asking "why" when you don't know why it even matters. This "insanity" was the something urged me to take him back to the house. I wanted answers and I figured the alien could give them to me. So I decided I would drag him all the way back to my house. I walked over and stood behind him, slipping my arms under his shoulders and started to back up, pulling him along. Every minute or so, his weight would get lighter, as if he was trying to make it easier for me, but then a sudden jolt of weight would burden me. It was another minute before he moved again. This time he only barely moved his head.

I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Something was telling me that it was a mistake – that I wasn't doing myself any favors while he was here. Still, he intrigued me, and that doesn't happen often. My thoughts halted when I backed up into the door. So deep in thought, I forgot to open it. I grunted and opened the door and dragged the boy inside. When I set him down, I realized that there was blood all over my arms. Blood from his back had oozed through his clothes and down his arms onto mine. There was blood on my legs, arms, and a big smear across the floor.

The cold winter bite had slithered its way into the house, my head stinging from all the temperature changes. I slowly made my way over to start a fire to try and become stable. My shaky hands made it impossible to adjust the switch for a little while, but when I finally got it to come on, blue flames flickered in the hearth. Gently waving my hands through it, the cool flame danced in between my fingers. There was just warmth, not even the slightest feeling of burning on my palm, just warmth. The heat that filled the room brought color back to my skin. After a few precious minutes by the fire, I returned to the winged man. Not really caring to be gentle, I dragged him over to a bed in the guest room. Honestly this was the first time I've used it in ages. I don't have any one to occupy it. Any friend I make. I seemed to drive away.

I got up and locked the windows, then walked over to the wall and bent down to, putting my face about an inch from a metallic device on the wall. A circle popped open to reveal a blue light that projected onto my eye and scanned it. It closed and a light blue screen, semi-transparent, appeared in front of me. I scrolled through the designs, settings and presets for the security system and selected the strongest, thickest ones. Hitting enter and turning around, the doors and windows of the room barred themselves at least three times over. I also selected automated bindings around his wrists and ankles and an electronic barrier around the bed. I unlocked the now reinforced doors. It took me about 30 seconds to get all the locks undone. There was an old key lock, finger print scan, and a code. When I got out of the room I shut the heavy door behind me and re-locked it from the other side.

Now I figured after what he has been through, I need to keep him alive, but just barely, just enough to where he won't be any trouble. I got up and walked into the kitchen to get something to help him. The cold outside didn't help his lungs as we had walked, but the warmth of house was helping. I prepared some chili, nothing really special, but a I added a few things to help clean his lungs. I got up and put a bowl of it in a small white cube and closed the lid and set a temperature. In about ten seconds it was at the perfect temperature to eat, not too hot, not too cold. I tried it myself; It wasn't all that bad considering what I added.

I grabbed a few other things that would be necessary, some equipment to remove the bullet if necessary and to stitch him up to prevent him from bleeding to death. But with everything I grabbed, a voice inside of me screamed to take my gun and just kill him while he was out, close the risk of him getting me involved in anything I didn't want to.

I walked over to the guest room with a tray, on it the tools to fix up my "guest" and the chili. I managed to unlock the door with one hand and not lose grip with the other and spill everything. Opening the door I saw him lying on the bed. He was awake and examining his bindings. To my surprise, he was not fighting them. I set the tray down on a small table and looked towards what some people might have mistaken as my prisoner – though to be honest he was.

"What'd you bring me?" He perked up.

"Chili" I replied. "What is your name?"

"Would you believe me if I said my name was chili?" He said with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"No."

"Good, 'Cause it isn't. It's Resh."

"Alrighty, My name is Natalia, and I need a few answers." I undid his binds and turned off the barrier before I moved to hand him the chili. Stopping just before I was about to give it to him, I pulled it back. His hopes for the food got crushed as a disheartened look loomed over his face.

"Can I just eat it now? I promise I'll tell you whatever you want! People always think better full than on an empty stomach, right?"

Caution welled up inside me. He could just eat the soup then shut his mouth, but something about him made me not worry as much as I usually would.

"Alright, I guess you're right." I sat with an arguably concerned expression, then handed him the bowl.

Much to my surprise, he pulled out the spoon and threw it, along with the chili on it onto my tray of medical utensils I was going to use to stitch him up.

I glanced down at it. "What are you doing?" I looked back up in time to see him dip a finger in and lick it to taste it.

"Hmm." Resh said before he started searching through his pockets. Then he did something I really didn't expect. He sat up and he walked out the door with the chili.

"Hey!" I yelled. Getting up, upholstering my handgun, I followed him out to find him searching in my cupboards. "What are you doing?"

"This chili is bland."

"No it isn't, tastes fine to me.

"Guess you've never had good food then." He said, pulling out various bottles of spices, smelling trying, smelling and examining different ones. Some he put a dash in, some the whole bottle, others he threw over his shoulder into my garbage can. He tasted the chili again, nodded and then put the bowl to his lips and drank it as if it was a soup. It only took him a few seconds. "Ah, better! Where should I put this?" He asked me, motioning to the bowl.

"Gimme that!" I said swiping the bowl from him. "Go back in the room."

My aim followed him as he walked back into the room, his wings barely squeezing through the thin doorway. I glanced down at the bowl and swiped up some of the remnant chili and tasted it. My head started to spin; as it did so, I gripped my forehead in pain. It wasn't like anything I ever tasted, but yet somehow it was. Images flashed through my mind, blurry, unfocused ones. I tried to figure out what they were, but they were too foggy for me to interpret well

I could make out I was sitting in front of an restaurant, and sitting at a table, and there was definitely a gentleman across from me of me, my hands lovingly cradled in his. It must have been a memory. I couldn't talk, I couldn't move, the only thing I could hear was the thumping of my heart. It was... relaxing. My muscles all at once seemed to say "Ahhhh...." Even my insides felt warm and at peace, it was peaceful. Then suddenly, the picture shifted. My entire body tried to call for it back; I didn't want it to go away, but the image slowly slipped out of my grasp.

Soon I was upright, but wasn't standing very tall; maybe I was on my knees. A large figure carrying a weapon walked over to me. I still couldn't make it out. He raised it and started to swing it at me, "Stop!" I heard someone's muffled voice call out. My mind looked for the person who said it. There was an older gentleman there, I could only tell by the whiskers protruding from his chin. I heard my name. But it wasn't the man's voice, I knew it wasn't, I'm not sure why.

"Natalia... Natalia!"

I realized it Resh calling me in real life. I snapped back to reality with a jolt.

What just happened? What did I just see? I couldn't put together any thoughts in my head about what it might have been, or why it happened.

"Why don't you ever smile?" Resh asked.

Was he talking to me? I thought, though I quickly realized I was the only other person there.

"Hmm?" I responded.

"Do you ever smile? You know like: Happy face, grin, et cetera?"

"Yes."

"Well you don't often."

"Yes, I don't."

"Why?"

I sighed, I knew the answer, and it wasn't all that pleasant. Resh just sat there on the bed for a few quiet seconds and stared at me before continuing. "Why?"

"Because I don't have anything to smile about."

Resh nodded hesitantly. "Sad."

I turned my head for just the slightest to grab a skin healer. The peculiar little device was always fun to use. It was designed recently to be able to mend cuts back together properly. When I turned back, the cuts, bruises, and burns had all mended themselves. "What?" I said, dropping the little device that looked very similar to a pen.

"Oh, Yea, I'm good. The chili gave me enough strength to heal myself."

"H-How did you do that?"

"Hmm? Oh yea right. Astrian's have two types of blood, one a similar red colored type similar to humans, and a thick gold substance contained within our wings. It has a tiny bit of regenerative abilities." A large grin shined on his face. "Cool huh?"

I nodded back to him in agreement, even slipping a little smirk; Even with all the technology we have, we haven't been able to create anything to make us self-sustainable like that.

"So you said you were from Austria?"

"Astria." Resh responded.

"Right, and where is that?" I asked.

"It-" He was cut off by a gentle hum and tone, my phone. I tapped my pocket and motioned for Resh to hold on a moment. I ran quick to the bathroom, turned the water on and quickly washed off the blood and dirt stains the best I could and then drying myself with a towel.

"Answer" I said.

Immediately, blue screens whirred in front of me, following me as I walked out to the living room.

The screens formed together to make a single, large one. An image of a man popped up. He had a cute, boyish smile, that's about the best way I could describe it, brown hair that was gelled to spikes, only about an inch long, the tips of his hair bleached golden. He had a misty brown color that wandered in his pupils, and a smile, a broad, joyous smile that revealed the snow white wall of teeth it masked. His name was Nathan.

Nathan was pretty much my only friend; he's the only one who I felt comfortable to just be me around. No fear of judgment or risking my safety. He was kind and gentle. He was a bit snippy at times, his temper having a hair trigger. Thankfully, he somehow managed to subdue it with me generally. We did a few jobs together, assigned by chance, but we kept getting assigned together, and eventually as partners. I swear he must have talked our boss into it. But regardless, my last teammate didn't exactly agree with me, in several ways at that. Nathan and I worked well together, the only one I've ever met who could put up with me.

It made me smile when his picture had come up.

"Hey Nathan." My grin widened. I was smiling, something I haven't done for a while. The picture dissolved to a live feed. It was a video call.

"Natalia!" He replied. "How you doin?"

"I'm doing fine, A bit of a harsh day, but fine nonetheless."

"Been having more blackouts?"

"They're flashbacks, not blackouts." I responded

"Heh!" he chuckled. "Well, whatever you want to call it. Have they been getting more frequent?"

I nodded. He pursed his lips and nodded back.

Should I tell him about Resh? I thought, looking back at the door to the bedroom. "Where did you say you were again?"

"In the cities, fixing up a few things at my new place. I smiled and gave a soft chuckle. "Well, when are you coming back?" I responded

Nathan chuckled. "Soon, I'll be on my way back by the end of the day... patience, my client was being... difficult. I'll probably stop by your place tomorrow night."

I smiled. "Okay, hurry. I miss you..."

"I miss you too. Love you."

"Love you too..."

The phone hung up, and as soon as it did I let out a huge sigh. Why didn't I tell him about Resh?

I sighed and headed to the room Resh was in. I just barely stepped inside to see him fast asleep on the bed. I decided to head to my own room. Stopping in the bathroom, I turned around and closed the door, and washed my face with warm water. I stood there for a few good seconds after, staring at my reflection. High cheek bones, and the slightest oval shape of my face stood out first. There were a few freckles here and there, parted long soft brown hair, one side going back behind my ear, the other, forward near the left side of my deep blue eyes. I hated looking at my own reflection. I hated admiring myself, adorning myself. I never got my ears pierced or wore jewelry. It just makes it easier to believe what I don't want to accept. I hate how I look. I look pretty, and it's caused me more trouble than it's worth...

Walking into my bedroom, I pressed the switch on the wall and the lights dimmed out. The rim of my bed lit blue as it floated in the corner. I threw my phone, wallet and the ring that was supposed to be my 16th birthday present from my father into an upside-down hat, a habit my dad used to do. I slipped into bed and pulled the sheets up over me, leaving the blanket at my feet as I was already warm enough. As the house fell silent, the crackling of the blue fire was the only sound in the air as my eyes slowly fluttered shut. It's faint glow seeping through my open door was the perfect source of light as I finally drifted off into sleep

~*~

The bright light stung my eyes as they gently opened. The soft texture of the blanket felt good on my face as I covered it to hide from the light. Opening my eyes, I let them adjust a bit before I pulled the blanket back down and got up. I threw on a solid white t-shirt and skinny jeans and walked over to the bedroom to see what Resh wanted for breakfast. "Hey, what do you want to eat?" I called through the door.

No answer...

"Resh?"

I unlocked the door again. I walked inside and froze. It took me a few seconds to process it before a floodgate of distress flooded into my mind.

He was gone...

"R-Resh!" I repeatedly called out as I ran to my room and grabbed my gun. Slowly, but surely, I walked around the house, ready to pull the trigger on my weapon at a moment's notice. But I found nothing, I couldn't find him anywhere. About every five seconds I looked behind me, worrying over if he was going to jump out and... well I'm not sure what he would do. For some reason I got the impression killing wasn't his thing.

I looked around the front room and listened – dead silence. This wasn't like it usually is, no sounds of wind outside, no usual hum of the security system, no anything. I rescanned the room and saw my clock. It was blinking 1:43 AM. The power went out. Turning towards the front door I slowly walked towards it. When I opened it, out before me wasn't the wheat field I expected. It was a desolate wasteland... black and charred like a nuclear war just happened here... And a smell! Oh! The horrid stench was almost too much to bear. Off in the distance, odd shaped buildings and figures, tons of them. Many of them had wings as I could make out. "Oh no..." I ran back inside and grabbed a pair of sunglasses and put them on. They had a digital telescope in them. My vision zoomed so fast I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. As I realized, just a tiny slide to the left, a huge heap of something burning was bodies – human bodies. Even THAT was a bit much for me. I gagged so hard I almost through up. It was an invasion. Did they leave anyone alive?

Yes they did. A bit to the left in a long line they all chained together were humans. The tall Astrian winged people, clad in armor and weapons. Soldiers towered over them.

"Looking for someone?" A voice next to me said.

I turned around to see Resh standing in front of me with what I thought was a full suit of battle armor. "Thanks for the chili by the way, I don't think I would have survived the collision if it wasn't for that and you giving me a place to recover..."

I raised my gun to try and shoot him but he raised a blade and sliced the barrel about half an inch on front of my finger. I dropped the half of the gun I was still holding, backed up slowly as he took a few steps towards me, then turn and ran. My ankle caught and sent me falling straight forward, landing hard enough that it felt like I dislocated something, not to mention spraining my ankle. I yelped in pain before I crawled backwards trying to get away, but he stepped on my injured ankle. Pain shot up my leg as he did so. I was stuck. My heart was thumping as fast as a drum roll; I tried to find something to throw, but no good thing in reach. My eyes locked with Resh's as he gave a chuckle. He slowly lifted his sword, twirled it around and thrust it down towards my stomach. it was the last thing I saw...

And then I woke up...

I sat up panting deep heavy breaths. My hand reached immediately to my dresser for my gun, it was there, just as I had left it. It wasn't in half either. I tried to calm myself down. It's was just a dream... nothing is going to happen... It was just a dream. I swung my legs off the couch shaking my head. It was just a dream. That only happens in movies, but yet again an alien landed in my backyard. Was I falling for Resh's plot... his, scheme, plan, or something? Whatever his little trick was leading up to, I became determined that I wouldn't fall for it. I grumbled to myself and sighed as I put on a new set of clothes. I had grabbed the same pair as in my dream, a white T-shirt and jeans. It made me hesitant until I realized it was a different set. Scratch marks scarred the left knee of the jeans; the one in my dream did not. The white shirt was of tighter fit than the other. I sighed thankfully; it made me feel like I wasn't doing a reenactment of the dream.

At that point a wonderful smell tickled my nose. "Pancakes?" I must have mumbled aloud as I walked from my room to the kitchen, because what came next startled me.

"Yes."

"W-what? W-who?" I replied as my vision adjusted to the brighter lights of the kitchen. I heard a faint chuckle as when they adjusted I saw Resh giving me a bright smile. My gaze sleepily followed the spatula as he flipped a pancake onto a stack of pancakes. I quickly grabbed my gun, twirled around and slammed on the trigger. Five bullets flew over Resh's head and through the pans hanging behind him and into the wall on the far side of the dining room. I kept pulling the trigger.

There are two sounds a gun makes. One I love the other I hate, the first sound being the echoing boom of the powder exploding in its casing. The second is the sharp clasping of the gun's hammer signaling he didn't have anything to hit. Unfortunately, I received the latter.

I let the mag fall to the ground and grabbed another from my dresser in my room.

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!!!!" I heard Resh yell. I was back within a second as I loaded the new clip and aimed it at him. But I didn't pull the trigger this time.

"I'm. Not. Going. To hurt you." Resh said, holding his hands out peacefully.

I pulled back on the top, loading a bullet into the chamber.

"NO! Hear me out!" He proclaimed.

"You got out, how?" I asked.

Resh laughed, "You forgot to close the door, sides' you really going to keep me prisoner? I ain't going back home, can't. So I suppose if being a prisoner is what it takes to get a bed then sure I guess..."

I stood watching. He sighed and reached for the plate of pancakes.

"You want some pancakes? They help to calm your nerves."

I shook my head. "You really expect me to trust you?"

"I was just trying to be nice... You made me food, so I thought I would fix you a little something..."

"What did you put in it?" I retorted back.

"Flour, eggs, all the normal stuff." He responded.

"That's not what I meant."

"No, I didn't put poison in it if that's what you're after. Somebody's on edge today... Nkohm..." I wasn't sure what the last word was, but the tone sounded equivalent of a disappointed sigh.

Oddly, that wasn't what I was thinking – though it usually is. I was wondering of the pancakes were going to make my head spin again. I was wondering if those images would come back.

I just stood, my eyes dancing back and forth between him and the pancakes.

Resh sighed. "Alright fine... Don't have any... But honestly, if I got out over an hour ago I just as easily could have killed you while you were sleeping, If I wanted to that is."

I scowled to myself. He had a point, unfortunately. My gaze followed Resh to the table where he sat down with the gigantic plate of pancakes. He put a few on a second plate. "Do you mind if I eat? Because I'm hungry." He said. I sighed and nodded. I still didn't dare lower my weapon as I walked over to the table and sat down.

"You don't have to point that at me you know. I'm not going to do anything."

I ignored his comment and rested both my arms on the table, still aiming the weapon at him. I tried to fix my gaze on him. But I found the pancakes distracting. I kept glancing down at them, but pretty soon I could feel my mouth watering. Something about them was just tempting me, was it the smell? I couldn't put my finger on it.

I sighed and I looked down towards my stomach as it growled harshly. I figured I might as well. Whatever he could have put in it would probably be better than starving to death.

"Toss me one." I finally said. Resh nodded, took two actually and threw them to me. They looked like regular pancakes, but there was...something different about them. I just can't pinpoint what. I stared down at the food before me, and then glanced up at Resh; he had already finished half the stack, which surprised me. I don't know what it is like to be hurled into earth, but don't think it makes you any hungrier. I guess I wouldn't know for sure until I've tried it, though I don't intend on it.

Slowly I picked up my fork and knife and cut a piece off. I brought it about an inch from my mouth and looked at Resh, no expression, he was eating more.

I snatched the piece off my fork and chewed. It was the same as the chili last night. They were moist, tantalizing, melting in my mouth, definitely something you would never find on earth. It took a few seconds of chewing before my head started to spin, at first I thought something was wrong, then all the images from last night engrained themselves into my mind.

"Ow!" I yelped. The images hurt; they didn't feel like just thoughts. I looked as Resh. He was now looking at me, the entire plate of pancakes gone.

I had some inner feeling that Resh knew what those images were. it was creeping me out, even inspiring the smallest notion of fear. I anxiously ate the rest of my food; I hoped they would come back a bit clearer this time. They did not, unfortunately. Even though I didn't get that blurred image anymore, the sensation of the pancake stayed. That made it almost irresistible. It tasted amazing.

"Why is the food you touch so different?" I asked.

"I just make it the way we do at home." Resh responded.

"Astria?"

Resh nodded in return to me.

"If all food there tasted this good, I may become a food critic and take a trip." I found myself attempting to hold my own self back from eating to eagerly and enthusiastically. I had to find what those images were. I finished every bit that was on my plate, and with a soft burp of satisfaction, I actually smiled.

Resh apparently heard it, smiling right after. He patted his stomach, full from eating the rest of the pancakes. It actually sunk in that he had eaten the entire stack in almost no time. No seconds for me I guess. .

"Why?" I piped up.

"Why what?"

"Why are you being so kind? You're in a strange new planet. "I kept you as... somewhat of a prisoner. "

Resh sighed, chuckled, and nodded before responding. "Let's say I'm trying to change... I did a lot of things I regret. And I'm trying to become a different person."

"I-is that why you were sent here... Because you did those things? It must have been pretty bad.

"I was a-" His voice was cut off by the ringing of the phone again.

"Hold on" I said, holding up one finger yet again. I picked up my gun as well, but instead of aiming at Resh I simply holstered it at my side. For some reason, a reason I could not figure out, I found a strange sense of familiarity with this... alien. I found it hard to be cautious. Though he was still an alien, and someone I shouldn't trust right away. It was hard not too... It was like he, or something at least was somehow messing with my mind. I know I should be worried, but I wasn't, and I had no idea why.

Tapping my pocket, the word "answer" rolled out of my mouth. For some reason – a personal pet peeve of mine – voice activated commands feel embarrassing to say in front of other people. It felt weird, awkward, or something along those lines.

The video came back up: Brown eyes. Brown, short, spiky hair, similar to Resh's hair, but Resh's was black. "Hey Nathan" I said.

"Hey, I'm nearing home, Just thought I'd remind you that I'll be stopping by later tonight."

"Alright." I bluntly replied, this time with a smile on my face. He nodded back, said I love you and then hung up.

Turning away from the closing screen, I looked at Resh who was watching me.

"You want to explain who he is, if I'm going to meet him when he gets here?" He asked?

"No, He won't know."

"You mean you're going to keep me a secret from your boyfriend?"

"How did you know he was my boyfriend?" I asked with question.

"You smile when you talk to him."

I opened my mouth to fight it, but I knew he was right, so I continued on. "Nobody will know about you, not until I figure out more about you." I snapped back.

"Why not?"

"Just no." I bluntly replied. To be honest, I wanted the first questions and didn't want anybody else to take a crack at him.

"You're not much for conversation are you?" He inquired.

"It depends on the conversation." I responded.

"Okay, tell me while you are so jumpy and edgy?"

"Am not!" I snapped back. I shook my head; He isn't going to give up is he.

"Thank you for proving my point!" He laughed at his own little joke

"No I didn't." I replied. It wasn't funny.

"Well, then answer my question then!"

I grumbled to myself before answering. "Fine... Let's just say I didn't have the most... positive upbringing, just a lot of harsh things happened to me, and not just while I was young. THAT is why, why I don't know who to trust."

"Do you trust anybody?"

I nodded.

"Like?" He replied.

"Nathan." I bluntly replied.

"Your boyfriend?"

I nodded. "Pretty much the only one I can trust"

Resh stood up. Something about that conversation tensed me enough to draw my weapon at him, hesitant.

He put his hands in the air. "Whoa! Don't shoot! You can trust me."

Somehow something started to convince me. Maybe I can. I shook my head crazily. What was I thinking? Something was messing with my mind, maybe it was the pancakes.

I sighed. "No, I can't, not after what I've been through... You're not even close to earning my trust."

Resh nodded, sighed in defeat.

"Go." I motioned to the guest room – prison may be more appropriate term. Resh nodded and sulked off to the other room.

I sighed, I needed Nathan here. He would know how to handle this. Maybe it would be a good idea to tell him.

~*~

That night, I sat in my mother's floating rocket chair by the fire, which was the only thing giving light at this point. I ran my hand along the side of the chair. It was silky smooth, pure white with glowing blue edges. It didn't make a sound. It just rocked back and forth as if it has invisible legs. It was a gift from my father to my mother and it was probably where my mom and I spent the most time together. Those were of the few good memories I had stored away in my mind, and one I cherish most. Today was one of those days, one of the day that my deepest fear sets in.

Normally, I sat with my thoughts burning my mind, the wonderful memories of my parents tortured my mind. Remembering them was like using as an axe to hack away at my soul. It only reminds me of the fact that I didn't have anyone. Memories are a precious pain for me, like ones of me as a young child, curling up in my mother's lap as she gently pulled her blanket over me and held me close to her heart. But today something was different, I didn't cry myself to sleep, I felt uplifted, so much to as if I had them both beside me, sitting beside me. I warmed one hand by the fire, and the other held onto my blanket as the air got increasingly frigid.

What a weekend... Though, not the worst I've had, to be honest. I chuckled to myself.

This whole idea was freaking me out nonetheless. While thinking I figured out what the images I got today and yesterday, the first image? It was me and my father, sitting in front of my grandfather's restaurant. I was wearing a skirt of all things, blech... It was an image in my history; I remembered the day, June 26th, 2211 as if it were yesterday. My vision slowly started to black, I couldn't see, but I could smell. The oregano, the tomato sauce; He was making my favorite spaghetti. I felt my mouth water just as my eyes started to well with tears. Then they were gone: I was snapped back to reality by a knocking on the door.

"Nathan!" I exclaimed as I ran over towards the door and opened it. Nathan was drenched from the rain. His drenched state surprised me as I didn't even know it was raining until know. I laughed when I was greeted by a bright smile and wet hug. "You're getting me all wet!" The remnants of a few tears were mixed with the water from his coat.

"Yes I am." He replied.

I gave another small smile back to his remark.

Nathan and I sat down on the couch by the fire after he hung up his coat. I cuddled up under his arm as he gently stroked my hair. It felt good. I actually almost started to fall asleep, the only thing that kept me awake was the thought of Resh coming out of the room at any moment. Did I lock it? I'm sure I did, but I couldn't remember if did everything.

"Getting tired?" Nathan asked.

I shrugged slowly. My eyes still fixed at the door.

"What's in the guest room?"

"What do you mean?" I responded.

"You've been staring at it all night. What's in there?"

"Oh..." I said dumbly. "Nothing."

My lie wasn't very good, as a few seconds after, he got up and walked over to the room. Oh no...

"W-wait!" I said, dashing up after him. "Don't go in there!" I didn't want him to find out, I wanted to tell him at the right time – whenever that was.

"Why?"

I needed an excuse, and fast. "Uh... it's a mess." Immediately I knew that wouldn't cut it. Natalia! What were you thinking!?

Nathan chuckled "I don't mind." He started to open the door; I could barely see Resh. He was reading a book he pulled off of one of the shelves. As a matter of fact, he was on the shelves themselves, sitting on the top.

"Wait!" I said, putting my foot in front of the door. "Wouldn't you rather spend time with me?" I begged him.

Nathan smiled and touched my cheek lovingly. "Not while you're hiding something."

"H-How did you guess?" To be honest, it was completely obvious. Hoping that some way, drowning out the conversation fruitlessly would end up killing the subject.

"Come on, it's all over your face. You have the door on quarantine setting. Something is in there you don't want me to see..."

I hung my head, but before I could say anything, I was interrupted. "She is keeping an alien in her guest bedroom!"

Oh gosh no... It was Resh, not Nathan who interrupted me. "Resh shut up!" I yelled.

Nathan raised an eyebrow at me. "Really? An alien? You have got to be kidding me, step aside."

I hung my head in defeat and stepped aside like he asked. He opened the door.

I looked up at Nathan's face. His jaw had dropped as he saw that Resh had wings. "Could the flying alien excuse us for a second?" he asked.

Resh nodded and retreated back inside the bedroom.

I pulled Nathan aside. "Okay, N-Nathan it's not how it seems..."

"Then what is it Natalia! You told me nothing special happened. Obviously, I would count this as special."

"I-I had meant to tell you, I was going to find him a place of his own."

"He is an alien, Natalia!"

"I found him basically dead in the wheat field" I said.

"Well, why didn't you call the authorities? Why didn't you shoot him? You have no idea what he's come here for!" Nathan said before he growled to himself.

"She did..." Resh – now at the bedroom door – interrupted.

"Did what?" Nathan responded.

"She shot me."

Nathan grumbled something I couldn't understand. Then turned to me, "Why don't we just kill him now and be done with it, this is going to create problems."

"No!" I yelled, and I yelled it loudly too. I fixed my voice and talked calmly once again. "I...I..." I sighed, I wasn't sure... I desperately wanted to know more, and that's all I could think of. Those images haunted me...

"Geez Natalia! You refrained to tell me this over the phone why?"

"I-I don't know. I was caught off guard. I figured you might understand better if we talked in person."

"How do you know we can trust him!?"

"He..." I searched for some sort of reason. "He made me pancakes?"

Nathan looked at me expectantly.

"Okay, Nathan, slow down here for a second."

Nathan sighed, ran his hand through his hair, then shook his head. "I'm sorry. This is kind of a big deal."

"I know, I was waiting until you got here. I thought you would know what to do."

"Well I don't!"

"We need to do something!" I exclaimed, not sure what else to say.

Nathan pulled out his gun. "We could kill him."

"What?" I questioned. I glanced over to see Resh's eyes bulge. He slowly started backing away further into the room.

"We could just put a bullet in his head, dump his body and this is all solved."

"Just because he isn't human doesn't mean we can't let him live."

"You don't even use that excuse for humans themselves!" Nathan snapped back. I hung my head in defeat. He was right.

"Geez..." Nathan groaned.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled back.

Resh had walked over and sat down on the bed again.

He couldn't kill him, not after what I saw. Pulling Nathan aside, I opened my mouth to tell him about the images, but something said don't. Instead, a plea came out. "Give him a chance..."

Nathan sighed. He didn't look happy. "Fine, but I don't like it."

"I don't like it much anymore than you do." I replied, scratching the back of my head.

From then on Nathan seemed a bit more anxious, as if something was troubling him. It wasn't that I let Resh out and we talked with him. It was something else, something that might have been nagging at him. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't help myself, I tried to ask him a couple times but he just got annoyed and shrugged it off. I decided to let his shock wear out, and ask him then. I figured we should all talk, maybe I could try to get some answers from Resh. So that's what we did, Resh filling in what he had already told me.

"Sooo... Let me get this straight... You can't go back to your planet why?" Nathan asked.

"Uh... Let's just say I didn't get along great with the authorities." Resh replied.

"Well it must have been some pretty big things you did to get you hurled into space." I chimed in.

Resh nodded. "They were... yea..."

The more I talked with him the more and more it increased my curiosity.

"So you are a criminal, and Natalia you helped him. Would this make her...?"

Resh shook his head. "No, I've been banished. They are no longer concerned with me, what goes on with me now that I am gone. I am no longer part of their affairs."

That was a relief, though it never came to mind until now I could be digging myself a deeper hole keeping him alive, at least in that aspect.

"Is everyone on your planet winged like you?" I asked. I tried to keep my tone stern and confident. But honestly the situation felt awkward.

"Yes, cept' for one person, born without wings and banished like I was."

I nodded, to me it sounded like Astrians rule very harshly. Is the planet even worth living on?"

"No the place is marvelous, besides all the corruption and whatnot it is a relatively great place to be." Resh tapped his fingers on the chair he was sitting on in a rhythmic way, compulsive movement. I glanced over at Nathan; those kinds of things bugged him for no apparent reason.

I set my hand in Nathan's and squeezed it gently, but he just moved it away.

"Nathan." I set my hand on his knee, trying to keep him from – what was looking like – exploding. He looked down at me. Something was different, Nathan was right. Something was taking a toll on me. I was acting different. I was protecting Resh, when I should have just put a bullet through his heart in the first place.

I don't know why, but there is something deeper at play, something that connected us. I should just kill him now and be done with it, but that something screamed no. I don't know what it is... but I want to know more...

Chapter 2

I awoke with my face in a bowl of cereal.

Slowly raising my head up, I felt the slight tingle of the cold numbing the left side of my face. "What the?"

I felt my face, it was wet. Rubbing some more I felt something solid, or somewhat solid. I was sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal in front of me. Some milk was splattered on the table along with chunks of the cereal itself. I tried to remember why or how I had ended up asleep, but I found it difficult. Blurry images filled my mind. Shaken, I sat for a few moments to allow them to decide themselves, but nothing really changed. Taking a moment to shake my head vigorously, with hopes of clearing the fog in my head, my hopes were answered and the misty obstruction slowly made way to the images.

It was a flashback, back to when I first met Resh. They happen at sometimes the worst moments, and mine are not like others. I slowly collapse at random times only to wake and find myself as a bystander to watch my history replay itself all over again. It's horrible.

I got up and found some paper towels, licking my lips to get some of the milk on my face. I must not have been out that long, as it was still cold. I found a dish towel and wiped my face down. As I did so memories of where I went when I flashed back started to flood back piece by piece. The first time I met Resh, when he crash landed in my field, the dream I had that night, the images I experienced, all of it was there. What puzzled me was that after two years, I still never found out what that second vision was from.

I threw away the paper towels and walked over to the wall – which was basically a window. I no longer lived in my parent's old home in Minnesota. I moved after the incident a few weeks after I met Resh. I brought Resh, to protect him. He stays in the guest room where I live now.

For some reason, Resh and I grew close to each other. Somehow, someway, we just got along – most of the time – like we had known each other all our lives. He put up with me and my "rough" attitude. I'm still not sure why to be honest. The one thing I know is that he is better family to me than either of the two living family members I have now.

First there is my uncle from my father's side. He owns the entire franchise of Hotels called the "Coastline Cali". The best hotels in all of California, all of them overlook the perfect blue waves of the ocean. Sure, it can get a bit spendy, they are the most luxurious hotels in the world, but that's California for you. All of his hotels are a hundred stories high with a large sphere resting on top. It isn't exactly a sphere though. it's more like a dodecahedron. Twenty sided, all the sides are pentagons. Put simply, a soccer ball. Every story from floor fifty and up had at least one entire wall made of a material stronger than metal, but as clear as glass. I forget the name, as it was a relatively new discovery and that's not really something I pay attention too.

The only thing that wasn't see-through was the floor. And the walls had some sort of glaze on the outside. They were mirrors on the outside and see-through on the inside. It also made it so the sun is diffused. That way, I can look straight at the sun through the wall and it won't hurt my eyes.

I live in the soccer ball that rests atop the very first – and most well-known – Coastline Cali, which is located in San Francisco, California.

Then, there is my grandfather. He owns a small Italian Restaurant. He was born in Italy, and – thankfully – immigrated here with my mom before the massacre that led to Europe's empire failing. He doesn't speak English, only Italian, but makes the most amazing food I've ever tasted. I learned a good deal of Italian to be able to communicate with him. My mom taught me, at least enough to get me started. Since the downfall of Europe, no languages that were major there are taught in schools. There are only a select few that carry on the knowledge of their languages.

Ever since I moved here to California I've visited my grandfather near every other day. I'm also the only one he has left. Mom was his only child. I still remember his expression when I had to tell him mom died. The hard part is I didn't even know why and neither did dad. She just got very, very sick. Then one day never woke up.

I remember kneeling down besides my mother's limp body, my grandfather next to me muttering a prayer. I was too shaken to listen or understand what he said, but I remember him wrapping his gentle arms around me while my tears soaked his shirt. He gentle muttered Italian into my ear as he hushed me. "Everything happens for a reason," he reassured me.

It's hard for a nine year old to believe that when she just lost her dearest friend.

I just couldn't understand what he was talking about, how could my mom passing away have any sort of benefit? But he instilled a curiosity. A curiosity to find what good it created. So far I've seen nothing besides this curiosity. Which I suppose is a good within itself. So now I wait. Wait for the good thing to come and take me away from the chaos.

With a deep sigh I looked out over the ocean view and watched the tide slowly lap itself onto the beaches. The view used to be better, you used to be able to see the endless stretch of water, the sun rising slowly over the edge. Now it was impossible to see. Two years after I met Resh, the earth shook. Nobody could explain why. To this day, we don't know what caused it – we only know what it became. We thought it was harmless at the time, at least compared to the degree of destruction it caused later on. A worldwide earthquake sent buildings crashing, the soft ground gave way to large crevices. Countless lives were lost.

That wasn't the end, we were just starting to return to our normal way of life, when a astrologist spotted something. A star, a blue star that every day, got closer. It didn't take us long before we realized the star was not a star, but a planet. It was a planet, humming with blue light that was stuck in our rotation around the sun. The only difference between earth and the mysterious planet, was that we were moving in opposite directions. The so called "Spacequake" had supernaturally thrown this planet into our orbit.

It didn't take long before we collided. Nobody knew how it happened, not even the smartest minds can explain what sort of forces made it happen, or kept us alive. Somehow, we're still here.

So that is what I see, I no longer see the bright light first thing in the morning. As maybe a mile off the coast now rest the border of Astria: Resh's home planet. The water bends up and merges Astria's oceans, which is a awe-inspiring phenomena, but no matter how unique the new is, there is something about the old that makes you feel wonderful. I miss the sun. I miss it's warmth, and I miss it's beauty.

I heard a soft clunk, like a door close. I turned around to see Resh sheepishly walking out towards the kitchen. His bed head hair didn't look much different than his normal day to day style. It was just a bit more... disorganized than usual.

"Morning sleepyhead." I said, giving a nod hello.

He gave a short wave back while he yawned.

I chuckled and sat down at the table while Resh poured himself a cup of coffee. He downed nearly the entire cup in less than a minute, his wings flapping gently with energy with every gulp.

I heard a chime from my phone in the other room. I got up and walked over to my bedroom and grabbed the small device on the small white floating disc-shaped end table that hovered next to my bed. That's pretty much how everything is themed in this place, solid smooth white with a thin glowing blue edge.

I looked down at it. My gaze met with bright blue letters labeled "CBI" plastered onto the clear screen on the front. It was the California Bureau of Investigation. I wonder what they want. "Answer." I said. My voice activation pulled up a floating video screen which was projected in front of me. On the screen was a man, maybe in his fifties, gray hair, more of a square face, dressed in a blue tuxedo, red tie, and an attitude. He didn't look happy. "What do you want?"

"Where are you and your friend?"

"Here" I responded.

"Where's here?"

"Home."

"Not funny."

"Kay boss, what's up?" I sassed back.

"Where have you two been? I've been trying to reach you all morning!?"

All morning? I shot a glance over to the clock. 1:42 PM.

"Phone was jacked up this morning. Couldn't get it working, something with our provider."

"Is it fixed?"

"No, it isn't... obviously."

"Don't get smart with me Natalia! You have your job because people up high think you're worth it. You wouldn't be anywhere near this if it were up to me."

"Fine by me." I said with an over exaggerated smile.

My boss mumbled something incoherently, and then finally looked at me again. "Just turn on the TV... And get down there as soon as you can."

"Got it, Ciao." I mumbled goodbye in Italian.

"Bye Natalia, and H-"He was cut off as I ended the call.

Resh shook his head. "You never handle him well do you?"

I shrugged. "I never liked him. And like he said, He's forced to keep me on. So I don't really care."

Resh looked like he didn't agree, more like disgust honestly. "What if the 'higher powers' decide you're expendable?" He asked.

"They won't." I just shrugged it off and walked over to the television.

"TV. On."

From the small dome that sat on the small platform it projected a large screen which a channel, which I didn't bother to check which one, started to whir on the 80 inch projection. I picked up a small curved remote sitting on the end table next to me and started flipping through the channels, and much to my amazement they were all the same.

My gaze was fixed on the screen as the remote fell from my hand and clunked on the ground. My hand clasped over my mouth on shock. On the screen was a reporter, well dressed. But not anything like what was behind him. It was the California capitol building, or at least it was. All it was now is a pile of rubble with lingering flames in spots around the wreckage. People were crowding around in shock as the camera's view panned around.

I was stunned, mainly on how this could happen. It had the tightest security inside, and California has the best security system for anything coming from the outside. They could have defended from planes, missiles, anything that could have caused that sort of destruction. The rubble was being zoomed in on by the reporters. A large flag stood on a pole in the middle, a gigantic flag at that. It was colored deep blood red with a gold emblem sewn into it. A triangle within a circle, inside a possessed looking face that had sound rays exhibiting from its mouth.

"Resh. Come look at this."

The stained flag lashed violently back and forth over the rubble. Resh walked over. "What's up?"

I motioned to the TV.

He halted in his tracks when he saw the flag whipping in the wind on the screen. A grim look of dread crossed his face. I walked over and grabbed my jacket off the hanger and put it on. "You wanna go check it out?"

Resh had his gaze focused on the television.

"R-Resh?" I repeated walking back over to him. I looked at his eyes; they were still fixated on the TV. I waved my hand in front of him. "Hello in there? Earth to Resh! Come in!" I teased. I hadn't gotten to do that to anyone for years. It made me chuckle.

I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes and he came back to his senses. "Hmm wha?" He muttered. "Common, let's go check it out." I readjusted my coat and walked out the door. The TV voice died and Resh came out. We walked down and to the elevator, joining me. He had on a brown trench coat, made of Astrian cloth to conceal his wings. "How does your jacket do that?" I asked.

"Hide my wings?"

"Yes..."

"Magic!" He chuckled.

He did this every time, I've asked him fourteen times and I've still never gotten a straight answer. Shaking my head in dismay as I stepped into the elevator, I glanced over all the buttons. Four rows of twenty five. I ran my fingers down the second column counting each one, just lightly rubbing my finger over each one. "Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, and... Twenty-six. My finger had found its resting place on the empty space below the final button in the column. Then the place under my finger started to glow blue, it was scanning it. When it finished, I pulled my finger away and the elevator started to move down.

It took us roughly two minutes to finally make it down where it stopped. The doors slid opened and my car, sleek convertible sports car, white with a light blue stripe up the center. Walking forward, I approached the driver's side and slipped onto the white leather seats. The seats were comfortable, even more than any I could find in my house. After getting situated, I snapped my fingers and the car started to hum. Slowly it began to rise from the ground as the wheels folded under to face downwards. The rims were glowing as it started to float. Resh dashed over and hopped in. I held my hands a bit above my sides and a blue light shot from the bottom of the seat and folded itself up to my hands where it engulfed them.

Gently I moved my fingers and the car rocked a bit. I clenched them into the fist, pulled back with my right hand and unclenched. Moving it back to position, I moved my foot down; the light followed, creating pedals beneath my feet. The red garage barrier faded to blue and let the car pass through.

As the wind whipped through my hair I heard a roll of thunder. I glanced up at the sky quick enough to see deep, blood red and dark gray clouds floating through the sky towards us.

"That is definitely not normal." Resh piped in.

I nodded in agreement and sped up a bit as I flew through a back road.

After getting through roadblocks and security checks, I finally arrived at the scene of the devastation. Resh hopped out of the car before I could even put it in park. Squatting down, he fingered the dust of the rubble, drawing something by the looks of it.

"Bout' time you got here." A rough scratchy voice said from behind me. It was my boss. I turned around to greet him. "Hey. Well... The city was in a bit of chaos, roadblocks didn't help.

He grumbled and continued. "Our guys have searched everywhere. We couldn't find anything worth going on, you've always seem to find things they've missed, so get to work."

"Pssh... please... Don't rush me..." I waved a hand at him and walked off.

Glancing over to see Resh, who was crouched low, following something, I continued to walk around, taking in the scene around me. I tried to process what I could see, the crowd, the crew, the wreckage itself, and whatever was still intact. I tried to process what I couldn't see: running scenarios of what might of happened.. My thoughts came to a sudden halt when I noticed the men taking down the banner that hung in triumph over the remains of the building. Something urged me to see it, so I walked over to them.

"Lemme see that." I demanded as I set a hand on it.

"Uh we need to return this to Evid-"

"I'll do it."

"A-Alright." One of the young men stuttered back. Handing it over, hesitantly at that, he nodded and turned and walked away. I fingered the flag in my hands. It wasn't anything special: Red colored nylon with golden embroidery. Unsatisfied, I started to press it, feeling around for anything that may be different. Though it got me nowhere, I still thought there might be something.

Finally I gave up. I walked to find Resh and found him sitting examining what was left of a wall while drinking a bottle of water. I bunched up the flag and tossed it to him. Catching him off guard he flinched enough to spill a bit of water on the flag. "Darn it..." Resh mumbled to himself.

"What is it with you and always tampering with the evidence?" I mocked.

"Hardy har." Resh responded sarcastically. I was totally right though, he actually did have a habit of it.

I grinned as Resh looked it over. He held it up and examined it thoroughly. Then it caught my eye. A tiny golden glint shimmered in the corner of the flag. "Resh, other side." I grabbed it from him and flipped it around and held it up to him. When I grabbed it, the part that glowed was wet. Thankfully Resh knew what I was thinking as I sat there rubbing the spot. He grabbed his bottle of water and poured it over the rest of it. Slowly the flag darkened, golden words were faintly inscribed into the fabric came to light. Two words slowly wrote themselves out on the fabric.

Leave Us

Resh and I stood silent. He turned it over to see if there were more. There was nothing, nothing at all.

"Creepy. Any idea what this is, Resh?" I asked, but quickly realize nobody probably would. "Never mind. How could y-"

"I do..." Resh cut me off.

"W-what?"

"I know exactly what it means."

"Well? What then?" I prodded.

Resh sat down on a large broken pillar, the remains of what was a treasured part the area's society.

"The emblem on the flag... They're a group of radical cultists that is organized all over the universe. Each planet has its own division. They are made up of the native inhabitants of the planet. So for earth, they are humans. They follow patterns. Their terrorist attacks are meant to cripple a nation, a planet, a society. Their attempts that go as planned, entire species are wiped out without notice."

"What's their name?" I asked.

Resh paused for a moment. "The Golden Voice, The messengers sent by God to cleanse each planet to a state of racial purity. For them that'd be getting rid of Astrians"

"Hah!" I laughed. "That's crazy, they know that?"

"Well that's what they believe..."

"So how do they do the go about accomplishing this?"

"Rumor has it..." Resh continued. "That they have some sort of army that they rely on once they've got their government controlled or crippled. But nobody has lived long to find out what they are. Though there is one fact we know. Most think it's something of a battle horn or something. A blood-curdling sound is unleashed. Who, or what makes it, nobody knows. But it can be heard universes away. There are stories of it being so powerful that it shatters glass on the other side of the planet."

"Wouldn't that kill the people?" I asked.

"Nobody knows. Nobody lives. After that sound, it isn't long before the whole planet goes dark – figuratively and literally."

"But even we don't have the technology to generate anything that powerful!"

Resh looked me in the eyes; a strange sense of dread wandered its way from his eyes to mine. "Who said it was technology?"

We both sat in silence for a few seconds. Then, out of the blue, both of our phones rang at the same time.

"We tapped our earpieces. "Hello?" Our voices rung in unison.

"Hello Natalia, Resh..."

"Who is this?" Resh asked.

"Are you alone?" The man on the phone asked.

"Who's asking?" I sassed.

"Someone asking for your help, we know of what happened today and made the same discovery as you. But we know more."

"How much more?" Resh chimed in.

"Not the exact location, but the area where The Golden Voice meet."

"And why are you calling us?"

"Because you two have had dealings with this group in the past and we think you two are the most capable."

"We have?" I looked at Resh and he just nodded back. If I recall correctly, I never had any run ins with terroristic, religious cultists..

"How come?" Resh asked.

"Your skill sets and background?"

"Background?" I questioned.

"I was speaking of your dealings with their kind and their cause."

"Their cause?"

"Yes? You're not familiar with it?" The man responded.

"Yea... I am." Trying to remember what Resh just told me, I mumbled and glanced over at Resh.

Okay, So! Mister – What did you say your name was?" Resh said.

"My name is Kent."

"Okay then, Kent. What are we supposed to do?"

"Well." Their organization is under the jurisdiction of one leader. From what we've gathered, each planet or Nation has their own head of their specific cult. But the organization as a whole is run under a council, and that council is headed by one individual."

"What are you planning to do about it?" I chimed in. To be honest, I didn't really want to know any more about what he planned to do – I have no plan of helping. I just wanted to know what he was talking about when he said I've had "past" dealings with them, unless he meant the recent event that had just unfolded.

"I'm doing it right now. This individual, according to our inside man will be paying a visit for a speech here on earth within the month. Ms. Earhart, Resh, I am requesting your services to run an operation to make an example of the leader of this terrorist cult."

I blinked a few times before glancing at Resh. Then he looked at me. His expression was requesting my opinion. "What's involved?" I asked, not taking my eyes off Resh examining his reactions.

"Locate and get inside the cult's sanctuary and attempting to assassinate their head leader during his speech to them. I'll leave the details up to you, so as long as it gets done."

I took a glance over at Resh, trying to read what he was thinking. Any sort of emotion would be nice, but he was just thinking, thinking hardly at that.

I could tell Resh was questioning it; I was against it. We never have done anything like it, I've kept my hands out of anything involved with the Astrians since they got here. Was it really worth the risk? If we misstep, there won't be any promises we'll have anything to fall back on, and it could end badly. Very badly.

"What's in it for us?" I asked. Everything has its price; I'm curious to see how much he has to spare.

Resh raised his hand to say something, probably to stop me. I motioned for him to give me a second.

"Doesn't knowing your country is safe from an interplanetary war good enough of a reward?" He responded. To be honest, I couldn't tell if he was kidding or serious.

"This country hasn't exactly been the best to me, and I'm not from the U.S. anyway." I half lied. Technically my family heritage was not from the States, but I was.

"You're not? Where are you from then?"

"Io sono da Italia" I said, the words just rolled from my mouth naturally.

"Italy. I see."

Italy. Hesitantly I slipped a faint smile. Saying those few words reminded me of my childhood with my parents. But, both were gone now. Soon the painful memories whirred back, making my head foggy. I could just see the images fold themselves into points and try and pierce through the mental barrier I try so hard to maintain. Just one image while I'm unguarded could make me collapse. Shaking my head violently to scramble those thoughts, I focused on the conversation with the man on the phone.

"Ah. Well, I guess some payment should be in order. If you complete the mission, and if you return alive, we will discuss it."

I took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. Sighing heavily, I took a glance over at Resh. He was thinking, pondering if it was worth it or not.

"No."

"But-"

I hung up before he could continue.

"Natalia!" Resh snapped. "Why did you do that?"

"Because we need to talk about it."

"You could have just put him on hold."

"I hate doing that."

"Why?" Resh raised an eyebrow.

"I dunno. When I was little I thought that "holding" them would make their phone grow an arm and hold them by the neck. Guess I just made a habit of it."

Resh wanted to argue, but he couldn't find the words. He's never been able to answer to my random pet peeves.

He started pacing back and forth. Despite our different outlooks on the situation, we probably had near the same train of thought. Is it really worth it?

Both of us remained silent, keeping our thoughts to ourselves. Neither of us said a thing for a good few minutes before I finally piped up. "What do you think, Resh?"

Resh pursed his lips and glanced behind him at the men who were sealing the stained riddle flag into a plastic bag. Sighing heavily he glanced back at me. "They know about me Natalia... They've came after me before."

"Who?"

"The Golden Voice. Their emblem, it makes me shaky. About every rumor possible about them has been moving around. All of them don't end very well for me and other Astrian's. What If this is a way to try and pull me out again?"

"And what if it isn't?" I agreed with Resh, but one thing I've learned is that you never make a decision until you fight both sides.

"I could be walking right into their hands!"

Approaching the fact that he didn't really sound like government at all, did he really have the power to do that? I glanced at Resh. "Does heseem to care even have authority to sign off on an assignment like this?"

Resh shrugged. "I have no idea."

I got up and started to walk aimlessly, but by the way Resh only had to turn around to keep his eyes fixed on mine, I guess I was walking in a circle. "Well?" I finally piped up.

"Who says we need to give an answer right now? We can just think about it as we get everything wrapped up here."

I nodded. I guess that sounded better than going crazy over trying to figure out what to do right at this moment.

Both of us nodded simultaneously to each other and walked off without a word and in separate directions. I looked around for my boss, he was nowhere in sight. I would have liked to call and ask about this person who contacted us. Just as I was about to do so, something told me not too.

I bid my time as I walked around, taking the accounts of a few of the people around nearby, and the bystanders watching the scene before them unfold. Most of them said they barely saw anything. A few tips here and there, but nothing my boss would be able to use. There were a few people who thought their opinions might help. One young man spent about twenty minutes and five pieces of scratch paper attempting to figure out the exact time of the bombing. Going over his notes, it looked like a bunch of gibberish which finally ended in a Sudoku puzzle on the last page. He tried to tell me the time; I didn't want to crush his confidence when I realized the time he gave us was three hours in the future. I wasn't going to say anything, but that changed when he became bold enough to ask me to dinner on Friday. I shook my head, told him to redo his numbers, and he slunk away with a face as red as cherries.

I turned around to see an older woman running up to me.

"Miss! You there!" She exclaimed.

An officer stepped in her way, stopping her from reaching me. I walked up to him as the woman tried to go around and even under him. "It's okay, thanks" I waved off the officer. "What's the matter?"

"Oh! It was horrible! I was sitting down, just about to have my afternoon tea when my lucy, precious lucy started barking again! You know how she is: lively girl."

"Ma'am?"

"Hmm?" She innocently responded.

"Who is Lucy?" I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Oh! She's my dog, a border collie. Beautiful dog she is. Always barking though. Yes, always barking."

"And why does this matter?"

"Well she was barking! Barking and barking and barking she was until..." She looked at me and slowly got very close to my face. Then she erupted with fanaticism. "Boom!!! A huge explosion! Ha! You think brave, sweet Lucy would keep barking but no! She hid herself behind the couch with me."

"Wait. You were sitting behind a couch?"

"Yes? Quite a relaxing place that is...."

I shook my head. "Keep going."

"Ah yes, anyway... Where was I?"

"Behind the couch."

"Good girl! Thank you. Yes. Now, Lucy had been acting weird all week... I think it was because of this smell. I have an extra keen sense of smell. The air was off every day. Each day my super-nose kept sniffing this... stench. It kept getting stronger and I am pretty sure it wasn't my sense of smell getting even better.

"Ma'am..."

"But it helps, you know! Thanks to my super-nose, I haven't burnt anything in years! I can always smell when it's-"

"Ma'am!" I snapped.

The woman looked at me and nodded. "Yes, sorry. What do you need?"

"What did it smell like?"

"Smell like?" She responded. "Oh! Yes! Gas! It smelled like Gas. Yep, gas."

"Well, we haven't found anything pointing to gas being used..."

"Well look! My sense of smell is never wrong! Just look, we could all be in danger!"

"Alright, I'll get someone to check for gas."

"Oh thank you miss! Thank you bunches! Bless you."

With that, she turned and skipped off. Her energy was that not to be expected from an eighty year old woman. Though, I think she may have had a few issues in her noggin she needed sorting out instead.

Finally, I found Resh again, hoping he found anything to go off of more substantial than my intrepid little adventure.

"You find anything?" Resh asked, walking up to me.

I shook my head. "Nothing besides a few unlikely tips. I don't know if we have any opportunity to catch these guys."

"Besides the obvious you mean."

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean Mr. 'Gold'?"

"Since when did he get a last name?"

I shrugged. "I just made it up, seemed appropriate. Plus, it's better than just saying 'Kent!' over and over again. Kinda bland."

Resh nodded back. I was unsure if he agreed, but it didn't look liked he cared, and that was enough.

"So I take it that you want to do it for him?" I continued.

"No. I don't, there isn't much that he could do to convince me." Resh replied.

"You're starting to sound like me." I said with a slight smirk.

"So you agree?"

"Yup. So can we just go home?"

Resh nodded. "I suppose so."

My phone rang again. I tapped my ear out as we got into the car – Resh in the driver seat. It had to be Mr. Gold calling back, only made sense.

"We already said no! Leave us alone." I sassed.

"What?" The voice over the phone asked, confused.

"Oops..." I mumbled. "Sorry boss." I apologized, which I did not think I'd ever do to him.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing , just a stupid salesman." I lied.

"Well then, are you still at the capitol?"

"We're about leave, just wrapped up."

"Good, come back to headquarters. We may have found something."

"Fine. Be there in five."

Resh nodded, He probably guessed where we were supposed to go and was already headed in the right direction to get there. Not thirty seconds after I closed my phone I felt a sudden lift under the car. Slowly we rose into the air. I glanced at Resh. His hand set on a handle he had pulled back. Before I could do anything else, a rising whir was heard as the car sped faster. Looking in the mirrors I saw the wheels had folded under us again, a faint sky blue light emitting from the rim.

I grinned widely. I love this thing. It was one of the best ones out there. My uncle got it for me. That was at least one thing he did right.

Soon we landed on the roof of the office building I knew as the CTU headquarters. Getting out, I headed to the door to the main level, glancing behind me to see if Resh following. To my surprise, he wasn't. He was standing at the edge. I called for him back.

He turned hesitantly and trotted over. "What's up?"

"N-nothing." Resh said. "I just thought I heard something."

Something wasn't right, Resh's senses are toned so well. He never "hears things". Only if he didn't want to tell me.

We slowly made our way down the stairs, all the while Resh continued to look distraught. Stopping, turning around and facing him, I stared him in the eyes for a few seconds.

"What?" Resh asked.

"Something isn't right."

Surprisingly, Resh nodded back. "Yea, something is wrong."

"What is it then?"

"Keep walking."

"Har har." I sassed. "I'm not moving until you tell me what's up."

"No! Seriously. Keep walking."

Raising a single eyebrow, I hesitantly turned around to face the door which stood at the end of the hallway. The hallway was dark; a single light flickered on and off steadily. The door at the end creaked as the wind pushed it.

Wait... We're inside.

I ran down to the end of the hallway and swung the door open. The sight before me made my stomach drop.

Bodies. Hundreds of bloody bodies lay limp all over the room. Some were on the floor, others sat in their chairs with blood from their head seeping out onto their keyboards. The glass walls were shattered, the pillars were destroyed. My mind was tricking me into thinking the ceiling itself was bending as it's creaks and groans echoed in my ears.

Both Resh and I started to wander around the room, soaking in the destruction. Papers were strewn everywhere. Computers were smashed, tables were flipped, and the glass cubicles weren't exactly in one piece.

It wasn't hard to find out who did it either.

On single glass wall left standing, smeared in blood, the Golden Voice's emblem was painted along with two words under it. The same two words we read on the flag: "Leave us."

"Resh" I mumbled, pointing to it. He turned just as it started to crack. Something unnatural about the crack made me take a few steps back. It didn't jump in bursts like usual, it slowly grew, as if it was infecting the glass until the entire thing shattered.

I shielded my eyes with my hand, but something swept around me. Resh was standing in front of me, his now bleeding wings had protected me from the flying shards.

"Resh." I said, gently touching his wings. The cuts slowly started to close. "Thank you." I said turning to him. He just smiled and gave me a hug, which was something I needed. I felt confused, and Resh helped make it better.

Crackling filled my ears, the kind of something under pressure. I looked up at the ceiling, it wasn't my mind; the ceiling, now with blood seeping through from above, was breaking. I tackled Resh out of the way just in time to get out of the way of a large piece of metal and various other things from the ceiling, including a body, fall to the ground. I slowly got up and examined the body that lay atop the debris. My boss – all but his left hand – Lay atop the rubble.

I glanced at Resh, and he glanced at me. "So much for a lead."

"No... there has to be something here. They must have found something important." I stepped over at least three bodies to get to one of the computers. Whirring to life, only a blank blue screen showed, nothing else.

"Resh they stripped everything. They took it all."

Resh winced and bit his lip as he looked around at all the other bodies.

"Do you know what this means?"

"They have all our databases. Control of the satellites..."

I nodded, immediately pulling out my phone. "Call log. Latest." My phone whirred to life

"What are you doing? Resh asked."

"Calling Kent, telling him we're in."

The phone started to ring; Then I heard static. "What the...?" I tapped my ear a couple times.  
"What's wrong?" Resh asked.

"Phone just... stopped working!" I shrugged. Resh craned his head, looking at my ear. Quickly, his attention changed; A crash came from the the opposite end of the room.

From around the corner, a figure came into view. His clothing looked as if he just went swimming in a blood swimming pool. The weapons in his hands were the large, crescent blade that extended over the knuckles of the wielder.

I had my handgun – designed by me personally – drawn within a second; the weapon hummed to life with blue that illuminated the dark room. I aimed it at the figure and fired. Sidestepping, he started to run around the cubicles towards me. The sound of a door slam came from behind me. I whipped around and fired three times, hitting another man who appeared – dressed the same as the first man. Despite my steady hand, I only hit him once. He stumbled for a few seconds, which gave me a chance to turn back to the first man. I turned to see a blur of red in front of me, before I was knocked to the ground, also knocking my weapon away from me.

I felt his cold blade on my neck as he pinned me to the ground. I struggled, but he as heavy, to heavy for his size. My efforts to break free of his grip were fruitless. "Resh!!!" I yelled in fear. Usually, I can counter someone pinning me, but this man's strength was unreal. Something about his strength was supernatural.

I glanced up into my attacker's eyes during the struggle before he raised his blade. They were black, the pupils, the iris, everything. I barely registered it as he became a blur in front of my eyes. He was pulled to the side, off of me. I quickly hopped up, dazed, to see Resh standing in between me and the red-cloaked warrior. How did Resh do that? Resh stood waiting for the warrior to get up. Resh's wings were aligned with his arms as he stood, silently challenging him.

The other warrior, whom I shot, charged from behind us with a cry of rage. Resh pushed me out of the way, sending my vision into a blur of motion. When I looked up, Resh had wrenched the warrior's strange blade out of his hand. He glided to the side and twisted his arm, forcing him to swing around into the first man. I scrambled over to my gun on the floor. Grabbing it, I aimed for the two unconscious men on the floor. Just as I was about to pull the trigger, Resh grabbed the gun out of my hand and tossed to the side. What? I looked towards him to see three more warriors converging on us.

"No killing." he snapped.

"Why?"

"Nobody dies!" He yelled as he ran towards the group of warriors. With a surge of his wings, he pushed off the wall into a flip, and brought his foot down on one of the warrior's heads – taking him out of the fight. He landed in a crouch and then pushed off towards them. The first man swung. Resh used the attacker's arm as a shield for the second man's oncoming blade. The first man, now with a burning gash in his arm, dropped to his knees, gripping screaming in agony. Burning? Resh flapped powerfully once, gliding back off the ground away from the last capable foe. He looked at Resh, then back at his ally who was writhing in pain. He slowly got down on his knees, raising his hands in the air.

I walked over to Resh, my gun pointed at his conquered foe. Was he surrendering? Admitting defeat? I didn't understand it, nor did I understand their composure. Those eyes: they were haunting me.

Finally, the man who was hit by his comrade's blade stopped screaming, and laid limp on the floor – there was nothing but silence.

"What are we going to do with him?" I asked.

"Let him go."

"What!?" I exclaimed. Was he crazy?

"I don't kill, Natalia." He turned and glared at me.

I didn't dare respond. Usually Resh is pretty relaxed, and isn't so insistent.

Resh strolled up to the kneeling warrior. "You may go."

The warrior got up, and started to flee towards the door.

What is he doing? Gosh, are you insane? We could use him, letting him go won't do us anything. I've had enough of your games. Anger burned within me. I raised my gun and unloaded the rest of my bullets into the soldier, who convulsed and then collapsed.

"Natalia!" Resh yelled.

"What?"

Resh turned to me, his wings spread out threateningly. "Why did you do that? I told you, we don't anyone."

"You said 'I don't'. Not we! And 'sides, that one's dead anyway." I said pointing to the man with a gash in his arm.

"That was his friend's mistake."

"Like that justifies it."

"I took a vow." Resh said.

"Of what? A vow to put me and my sis-" I coughed, stopping myself from finishing that sentence. "Friend's safety below the life of a person who just attacked you?" I wanted to finish that word badly. I like to think of myself as his sister, but for some reason I feel I can't.

Resh sighed. "I've done things, Natalia, things I'm not proud of. Since then, I've been trying to turn them around, I took a vow that blood would never be spilled by my own hand."

"Well when are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"'

"About you, Resh! All you do is say: 'It's not the time', 'You'll find out soon enough', and other random remarks all meaning: 'I don't trust you, Natalia!'"

Resh took a deep breath and stood silent for a second.

We don't never discussed his past. That was the one thing he always avoided. He would always make up some excuse to not tell me.

As far as I know, that was the one thing he kept from me. I'm not quite sure. I need to know; he's pushed me to my limits of waiting. Resh does so many things that go unexplained – I need answers.

I looked at Resh expectantly, waiting for his reply.

"Look..." Resh started. "I..."

He looked dismayed. He gained that expression that says, "I know I hurt you, but I'm not sure what to say." I could tell he was honestly struggling, and that it hurt him.

"Natalia... It's not the time, you'll just have to trust me." He said.

There it is again.

"I'm so sorry. Really, I am, but I can't tell you."

"Why not?" I snapped.

"I just.... You need to wait, I don't think now is the time to burden you."

Something inside me gave me the urge to hit him. Instead, I just nodded in response – not happily though.

Resh wrapped both his arms and wings around me. "Trust me, I will tell you when the time is right."

I hugged him back, squeezing him tightly. The quick hug felt good, a bit of reassurance I needed.

Then I did something I haven't done in years: Cry. I didn't bawl. I didn't sob. It was but a single tear that found it's way out of my eye and down my cheek. It slowly, slowly, made it's wet trail down to my chin, where it dropped onto Resh's wing. As soon as I noticed, I pulled away from Resh's arms and tried my best to hide my emotional train wreck.

"So what do we do now?" Resh asked.

Looking around the room, I pretended to be looking for something, when in reality I was just waiting for the red to leave my face. "I think... I think we should call Kent."

"I thought you were against that."

"I changed my mind."

Resh nodded. It really was the only option. Kent probably knew where these people came from. With any luck, we could find them, and stop them. Maybe then, just maybe, Resh would open up to me.

I took a second to regain my full composure before I tapped on my ear once again. "Redial" I muttered.

With a rising tone the call initiated.

"Hello?" A voice mumbled.

"Is this Kent?"

"Ah. Good to hear you voice again. I was wondering if something happened-"

"Zip it." I barked at him. I listened for a brief moment – nothing but silence – before finally I continued.

"We're in. What do you need us to do?"

"I want you to meet me at an abandoned factory downtown. Call me if you have any questions."

I tapped my ear, hanging up, and turned to Resh.

He was staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Where are we headed?"

"Downtown, to an old factory."

"Where?" Resh inquired.

"At – Crap!" I tapped my ear again. "Redial." I said.

In my haste I didn't get the address. I put the phone on speaker and waited for the dial tone.

But it never came.

"We're sorry. But your call can't be completed as dialed. The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected or canceled." A robotic female voice over the phone said. I glanced at Resh who blinked and looked back at me.

"Well that can't be good."

Chapter 3

The soft hum of the car's engine whirring filled my ears as we floated downtown. It was the one and only thing my mind could grasp onto. My eyes couldn't hold on to anything it saw. My brain was working like a mass of gears all stuck together. I felt like I couldn't think. I didn't even feel it when the car stopped. It took a Resh a few shakes to snap me back to reality.

"Hmm? What?" I blatantly mumbled. I looked up at the street signs that half destroyed on the ground, then at the card in my hand. It was an address we found in the pocket of one of the soldiers.

"We're here." Resh's gaze was locked with an aimless, pointless one – mine. He was trying to make sure I was ok.

"Oh... Umm, Okay." I slowly got up out of the car and nearly tripped on the curb and then over my own feet. My back slammed into a large concrete wall, my head whipping back and knocking into it as well. "Ow..." The throbbing pulse of pain creating a headache wasn't helping my current state.

"You ok?" Resh said, now by my side. I never estimated shock to be this... intense. I've always overlooked it as just a thing that happens in an moment. But it's a bit... humbling." I just stood there, examining my arms. When I noticed what was in front of them. The sidewalks were made out of outdated concrete. I glanced around me trying to take everything in. I only had to focus on my eyes and nose; I could only hear our breathing. I looked around, broken down homes that looked like shacks and not a person in sight.

"Why would they want us to come here? It's a terrible place for any sort of operation's base."

Resh sighed. "Odd place, but maybe it's just a meeting place, it's under the radar and out of the way. And when you're talking about a national level project that's generally illegal, out of the way is usually on your side... You're usually on that type of stuff." He said, looking around the building.

He was right, my mind always is able to see things, but now I'm just drawing blanks... I'm actually thinking normally. On one hand, I hated it. On the other, some tiny part of me felt relieved, I'm not sure why. I gently ran my fingers across the harsh concrete. The rough, scratchy, old, chipped away feel of the building was not something familiar to me. Now a day the goal of everything is to be a smooth as silk. The gray color, mixed with a green tint weren't common colors. It was so... different. I took a deep inhale. The clear air smelled like my old home in Minnesota, out in the country. It wasn't as clear here as it was there. But it brought back a memories from the past, but also memories, both good and bad. That's when images plowed into my brain.

Black, pure black. Red dripped from the pin of the needle onto the surface. Like a crackle of lighting, it spread through the black. As each twig of color branched forward, it felt like a needle punctured my brain. I could feel my head spinning, and ever second it grew more and more intense.

My mind started to drift back and lock down as it went to the place I never wanted to go again. I felt like I was falling towards the images that flooded my head. The closer I got the more clear they got. My eyelids were glued shut, I couldn't control my body, and all I could do was stand helplessly on the side walk. I couldn't hear anything. Resh was gone. I was alone, just like I was then. In my mind, I saw myself walking towards a bright light. When I finally stopped, the light kept coming. As it got closer, I peered with squinted eyes into the center. An image was getting bigger. Every second it grew closer. Slowly I lowered my gaze to the ground in front of me. I was at an edge. It was like I was standing on air, and in front of me was the pure white sidewalk. I almost felt like I was there now, it was happening again. I started to take a step, about to walk into the past and experience it again, But just when I was about to set my foot down, I stopped. Something was bringing me back.

My eyes closed, my legs started to tremble, my arms started to shake. The world started to spin around me, but I saw a hand – a hand reach through the spinning world. I reached out to grab it, and it pulled me out of the whirling world.

I gasped for air as my eyes shot open. I was awake, actually awake. I felt warm, despite the air being a tad frigid. The soft touch of feathers and a cloud of white engulfed me. Glancing around, I met eyes with Resh's; he was knelt down, beside me, letting me lean into his strong yet gentle arms as they cradled me and his wings wrapped around me. "Thank you, Resh." I mumbled softly, for some reason, I felt safe with him. We both are there for each other. Resh a brother anyone would want.

Resh was holding me in his arms, his chin gently rested on the top of my head. "No problem, I couldn't let my sister have another episode like that, besides, we have an appointment."

Sister... Something about Resh calling me that made me feel all warm inside. I think "special" is the world I was looking for, a very seldom thing that I felt. Though we aren't actually brother and sister, I guess we have a bond that real siblings would I imagine.

"Are you ready? Can you stand?" Resh mumbled.

I nodded before Resh helped me rise to my feet. After brushing myself off, I looked up to see Resh round the corner of the building. I quickly dashed after him; I wasn't going to be left alone again – I don't want to be left alone to fear. I unsheathed my pistol, the same one I've had with me every day for five years. I came around the corner to see Resh staring at two large doors. They stood twice as tall as him, and probably the same distance across. They were made out of thick metal. State of the art – fifty years ago.

"Big door..." Resh mumbled as he examined the door. Walking up to it, taking the large metal ring and knocking it on the door. With hardly any force, it made a large bellow that you could hear echo through the building.

My gaze swept the streets around us; my ears listened intently. Nothing tickled my senses.

Nobody answered the door; Resh set his hands on it and pushed as hard as he could, his wings fluttering to give him an extra boost. I came over and helped him. Slowly but surely, the door inched open slowly.

Darkness, the only thing my eyes could see. All that was before me was a vast black hole.

Resh had better vision than I in the dark. He says everything he sees is brighter, much brighter. Even in the day it's still brighter.

As I stood in the darkness, I followed Resh by listening for the sounds of his footsteps and breathing. "What are you looking for?"

"Light switch." He replied as we both crept forward. It took only a few steps before my foot collided with something unexpectedly, sending me reeling to the ground. My hands landing planted in a pool of thick liquid. As I stood up and glanced at my hand, trying to tell what it was, the lights flashed on. I yelped in pain and shielded my eyes. "A bit of warning next time!?" I sassed to Resh.

"Sorry." He replied in a soft, a bit embarrassed tone.

Slowly my eyes adjusted, though it took a few minutes. I had a few spots appear for a bit. When I finally focused, Resh was standing in front of me, staring.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Umm..." I couldn't tell what he was trying to say, but it had something to do with me. I glanced down. The front of my shirt was stained heavily with blood. Some was trickling down my arms. But it wasn't mine. I didn't feel anything. My gaze now on my shoes, I realized I was standing in a pool of blood. There were bodies everywhere, all wearing the same sort of uniform.

"I think our appointment's been canceled."

Nodding in agreement, I scanned the room, examining all the bodies. There were 5, scattered around the room, one looked like he was dragged, another, tortured probably. Others were just executed. It honestly wasn't that hard to tell.

Silence – the weapon of death – started to fill the room. It only gave way to the sound of the of my shoes hitting the floor as I walked. Resh stepped lightly enough, his wings gently fluttering. He silently floated over the bodies. Inching around with my gun drawn, I slipped around a corner only to stare down a long hallway of offices. Slowly I crept down, glancing into each, all of them were empty. Each one was a mess, tables overturned, papers everywhere, paintings yanked off the wall. Whoever was here was looking for something.

At the end of the hall, one office stood lit, the door open. A man sat in a chair, facing the wall opposite of me. It nearly startled me when I first saw him, and made a bit of a squeak, but he did nothing. He had dark gray hair, a black suit and pants, and a gray and blue striped tie.

"S-Sir?" I said. With my sights aimed for him, I waited for him to turn around.

He never moved. I repeated myself, but with more of a concern. "Sir?"

That's when I noticed three bullet holes in the back of the chair. I walked forward and kicked the chair, spinning it around. It was just as I thought. Blood stained the front of his otherwise perfect suit. I glanced at his hair, All of it was slicked back except one spot in the middle which was pulled back and straight up. It had to be the mysterious Mr. "Gold" that we talked to on the phone.

I glanced around the room, looking for something that could help me piece together what happened. Resh came trotting into the room.

"Well I didn't expect this..." I mumbled.

He raised an eyebrow at me but soon came back on task. "What do you think happened here?"

I continued to glance around, trying to figure out exactly that. I swept my gaze across his desk, which was flipped on its side, to the items on the floor. There were pencils, a broken mug, and a bunch of papers that had been thrown from massive amounts of file bins he had in the wall. I look through the papers, nothing stood out to me. I shook my head in dismay.

"Anything!?" he said. Clamoring for a response, Resh's voice had a faltering tone

I shrugged and glanced around the room. Nothing, we were too late. Sighing in frustration I leaned up against the door. Resh kicked the chair in anger. On wheels, it rolled across the room. There were a few moments of awkward silence before the air was filled with a yell of rage; Resh did something I didn't expect.

He grabbed the edge of the desk, and with a surge from his wings, he flipped the table through the glass wall that faced the hallway. A gust of wind from his wings blew my hair into a mess and the papers flew everywhere. When I brushed the hair out of my face Resh was sitting up against the wall, his knees pulled tight up against his body. His face was buried in his palms. I noticed something in his hand, a sheet of golden silk. That had to be what Resh was upset about.

I sighed at Resh, thinking about what I should do. He probably doesn't want anyone talking to him, I know I wouldn't. But that never stopped him from comforting me... I thought about it for a few moments, but I couldn't see any way I could really do anything to comfort him anyway, that kind of thing isn't exactly my cup of tea. I've never been good at knowing what the right thing to say is.

I took a glance around the office and noticed a cracked picture that had been torn off the wall. Walking over to the picture, I grasped it in my hands. It was a business picture of the man in the chair, I held it up next to him and compared. Something was different, I couldn't tell. They were both wearing the same suit, same tie, same hair style, except for the messed up part in the middle. Then I found it, the "insignificant" little detail.

"Resh..." I murmured.

"What?" He said in a dismayed yet, still calm tone. He slowly rose to his feet and came over. Both of us glared at the picture. "Resh, Look for a blue pen."

"What? Why?"

"I have no..." I stopped in the middle of my thought. It clicked.

"All the file cabinets, check inside theme, are there a ton of separators and folders in there?"

He walked over and opened a few of the cabinets. "Yes, But what does that hav-"

"Shh! Thinking!" I snapped.

"Sorry." Resh responded.

I walked over and pressed the side of my face up against the side of the wall. Gently, I slipped my finger across it in two different places, and then examined it.

"Resh, do you notice the faint difference in color on the wall?"

"What?" Resh replied.

"Look very, very closely. There is a slight layer of dirt and dust except for this square."

"So? He had pictures on his wall! Here, this one looks like it went there." Resh grabbed a cracked image off the ground and hung it on the wall. "What's so unique about that?"

I set the office chair on the ground upright; it had been knocked over. Jumping into it, the chair spun a few times before I finally sat down and leaned back, examining it.

"What are you-"

"SHH!" Snapping at Resh as I got up, I walked over to the wall and ran my fingers across the edges of the frame where it met the wall.

"He adjusted it constantly."

"Huh?"

"The clean spot isn't an actual square; He constantly moved the picture back and forth trying to get it perfectly balanced.

"Okay? So he organized pictures obsessively. This is important, why?" It was clear Resh was confused.

I got a sly smirk on my face. "He's a perfectionist."

"Natalia, can you please start making sense?" He asked.

"Oh, but I am!" I started to get antsy, I loved puzzles. If you looked in the trash bin at my house, you'd find forty-three Sudoku puzzles – all finished – inside. I walked over, grabbed the picture and held it up for Resh. "Look at this picture, in the front right pocket of his suit is a blue fountain pen. But on our body here..." I motioned to the chair where the body sat.

"No pen..." Resh mumbled.

"Exactly, you get what I'm getting at?"

"Obviously..."

Sure you do. I shot him the respective look. Rubbed my forehead, I sighed and continued on. "Obsessively adjusting pictures is a common thing for perfectionists."

"How do you know this?"

"Cause' I am one."

"What exactly is 'perfectionism'? "

Do I really have to explain this now? My thoughts groaned. To be honest though this was the best time to explain it, so I did. "Do you have any pet peeves, Resh?"

"Like random things that bug me? Yea, you never rinse out your cereal bowls when you're done with them."

"Do too!"

"Moving on... Perfectionism?"

"Right. Well just like you have a pet peeve or two, it's the same way for me, cept' more intense."

"How intense?"

"Basically my life is pet peeve."

"Well then" Resh said. So, back to Mr. Gold here?

"If he had a pen in his front pocket for a picture, that would be a normal that he has carrying around. A 'style' point if you would, something that compliments the look of professionalism."

"Ok, I still don't see..."

I cut him off again. "Why would someone like that ever not have it in his pocket?"

Resh raised an eyebrow, thinking. I waited for the spark. "Only if he was using it?"

"Thank you, slowpoke, now you get it." I replied. Finally satisfied, I got down on the ground and started searching for the pen.

"Aha... You know how likely that is right? I mean it could have been a one-time thing." He responded.

"Found it." I stood up and whirled around, holding out the pen to him.

"This is crazy." I could barely hear him mumble.

"Yes, I know." Taking the pen, I made a scribble on a piece of paper and compared it to the other pens around. The ink of Kent's pocket pen was a deep navy blue as compared to the black of the others. "Look around for some blue writing." I mumbled.

I walked over to the frame of what used to be a large glass wall before Resh flipped the desk through it. One of the drawers had broken out of the desk. It was tipped on its side, and sticking out was a newspaper.

Trotting over, I picked up the newspaper, I threw pages over my shoulder once I got a glance for any blue markings on them. One page after another was blank. Disappointment started to set in as it may have been a pointless find.

"Think I found it." Resh perked up.

"Already?"

"Yea." He pointed; he was pointing to the back of the paper.

I flipped it around and examined it, I noticed two things.

"Dr. Xerxes working on proper cure for Ephialtes fever epidemic." I read the title aloud.

"What?" Resh said, walking over and joining me in reading. It wasn't the story that caught our attention, but a large blue circle drawn in navy blue ink around the first "X" in "Xerxes". A line jutted across through the text, meeting with a perpendicular line that shot up to the bottom of the paper to a circle. It wrapped around the letter "Y" in Wednesday, the date. "It's a coordinate grid."

"Wow. Umm, okay? So how do we find the coordinates? There are no tick marks!"

Sliding my fingers across the "X" line. "nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two!" The "X" line crosses twenty two letters.

"And the 'Y'? "

It took a while to count them all, but we finally reached an even one-hundred and sixty.

"Now we need a computer." I mumbled.

"If only we were in a hallway of offices... That would be nice wouldn't it?" Resh responded and motioned down the hallway.

I felt so stupid. I nodded with a quick "yea," and dumped the rest of the papers on the ground and trotted down the room, looking for a computer that was still intact and hadn't been ripped apart. Resh helped too. We checked them all, but I didn't find one until I reached the very first office in the hallway, figures.

"Found one!" I yelled. I opened it up. It was a laptop, not a modern light computer used today. But as long as it can connect to the internet, it works for me. A few keys were missing, but it turned on. Loading up, it connected to the internet right away. At least one thing was working out today. I quickly loaded up a browser started searching the coordinates.

He nodded in response. "So X is 22 and Y is 160?"

I shook my head. "-160. Lower left quadrant. Go back to Algebra."

"Never took it."

"What?" I exclaimed, shooting a questioning glance back at him. He looked innocently around the room. "Nevermind... later."

Resh nodded. "So where is it?"

I opened up a coordinate search and typed in the coordinates. "This can't be right... those coords are on Astria, But I thought we were after the earth cult. Not the Astrian one."

Resh sighed. "This is confusing..."

I nodded slowly, agreeing completely. "Well, shall we go anyway? That's the only lead we've got."

Both of us almost simultaneously looked out the window in the back of that office. It gave a straight view to Astria.

Resh chimed in. "So, you ready to go to Astria?"

"You mean are we ready?"

"No – you." Resh said back, staring me in the eyes. "I can't go back."

"Right. You know, you never told me why, it's been hard not asking."

"It's not the time. Sometime! But not now."

"Why not!"

"Natalia, do you trust me?"

"Of course I do! You're pretty much the only one..."

"Then trust me when I say it's not the time."

I glared at him for a few moments in silence before I finally – reluctantly – retorted "fine."

Both of us trotted out to the car and headed for the bridge. A long process, the bridge was built over the last 10 years as a way for both planets to access each other. From what I heard it just barely passed legislation, some say by a single vote. The other half was teetering towards violence. They were talked out of it – lucky for us – they decided to build this bridge, wide enough for 20 lanes, and built with the very best pieces of technology. They say as you slowly move up the curve and onto the bridge, you feel this stomach churning shift as you do so. I gained a sickening feeling as I started up. I've heard it is actually based on human emotions; the bridge is only as strong as the bond between the two planets. A few months ago it was as stable as it's ever been. But now, I couldn't help but think it has been faltering. It's barely noticeable looking from a distance, but it has been creaking more, as if the bridge was groaning from the pain of the weight.

This bridge, located on the beach coastline, and extends up to the large gate to Astria's capitol, was where we were headed.

I pulled over and stopped before I entered the bridge. Getting out, I stood in awe of the planet that was set before me. It was just this vast glowing city, the buildings made of smooth cream stone laced with gold and splotches of blue. The whole city even glows! Though I've seen it from the other side of town, I've never bothered to come this close. I glanced down at the small slit of water that had made its way in between the coastline and Astria. It had been forever since I have seen ocean as far as I can see, something about just gazing into the space with the soft glimmer of light of the water underlying your gaze gives this soothing sensation. My mother and I used to do it all the time. I miss it. I miss her.

I took a deep sigh before I felt a hand on my shoulder, Resh's strong yet, gentle hand. I gave a bit of a smirk. "You alright? Everything okay?"

I nodded in response and turned to him, "Yea, I'm good. What do I do to get in?" I asked

Resh shrugged. "Beats me, you're smart, you'll think of something."

I nodded hesitantly. "Wish me luck." I said uninterested. Resh nodded. "Good luck."

Resh looked concerned – something that doesn't happen often to this degree. He didn't look worried. He looked scared. Not for me, but scared for himself, as if he wasn't supposed to even be this close to Astria.

Once he drove off I turned and walked up the walkway of the bridge. The gravity shifted and attached me to it, the fluids inside my stomach swished and made me feel like they were about to come up and out. It felt weird being in slanted position I was in; you had this unnerving fear that you would just detach and send yourself reeling to the, bustle below. I didn't dare turn around, so I kept on going. It took me about ten minutes to get to other side, during which I pondered the idea of what other applications the gravity changing technology. My train of thought was suddenly stopped when my body shifted onto the ground on Astria, making my stomach churn again. When I finally recovered, I looked up only to be amazed by the sight of the large gate that stood in front of me. It had to be at least five stories tall, and as long as a semi-truck. I don't see how doors of that size could in anyway sustain opening and closing, yet somehow they did.

Two large soldiers stood at the side, wearing thick blue metal plated armor, their spears towered five feet above their ten foot bodies. Do they actually fight with those?

Approaching the door, there was a crowd of people. I had come at the right time. They were letting a group in, my guess is for the daily tours, they can cost a fortune for some. I quickly slipped into the crowd, it looked like each person had a card. Some kept it clipped to their shirt or had it in their pockets. I almost nearly reached the front of the line when I bumped into another woman.

"Oh I'm sorry ma'am, are you alright?" I asked.

"Oh, yes, thank you dearie." She responded. I smiled and walked a few steps away from her. I took a glance at my hand, in it was one of the access cards; I swiped it from her back pocket. The lady finished her announcements, which I of course paid no attention to. I briskly walked up to the front and handed her the stolen card, and she accepted it without any question. "Enjoy your tour Veronica."

Veronica? I quickly realized that must have been the name of the person I swiped it from. I quickly responded. "Gracias" I muttered. It was Spanish for thank you. Though I did it in the best Spanish accent I could take, though it wasn't very convincing. Thankfully the lady handed back my card and smiled. She was Astrian. Like she would know about accents and that I didn't look Spanish at all.

I walked off, spinning the card in my fingers before sticking it in my pocket. Ignoring the voice of frantic murmuring from the lady I took the card from, I looked around for some sort of transportation. But there were no cars, no planes, and no vehicles of any sort. They couldn't fly all around the planet.

My gaze swept around me for any sight of something to take me long distance quickly. I thought maybe I'd try the big round obvious circle with beams spinning around it and a sign that read "Teleporter." I was just about to start heading towards it when I realized the entire group was heading that way. Looks like the tour wasn't starting here, perfect. We walked in, and the Astrian tour guide, a fiery orange-haired woman started punching into a small tablet hooked to the machine. As the machine came to life her expression as if she did not wish to be here grew all over her face. Thankfully she didn't notice me changing the coordinates to the ones we found in the office. The machine whirred and we were away.

~*~

I nearly threw up while we were in the weird machine. First there was a flash of light, then the entire world was swirling, slowly changing and tipping into the new surroundings. When it stopped, the lady started to talk, as if she were a programmed robot. "If you look behind us, you will see the centerhold Statue of Astria, the... Wait, this isn't right." She stopped and now noticed we were not anywhere near a statue, but instead in a small market. There were small street vendors desks up and down the street, which I had my feet planted on the sidewalk on the left side. I glanced up and down, this can't be right. Unless I was wrong about the coordinate idea and he just had an interest in those particular stocks, this had to be the spot.

That's when I received a sales pitch from an old lady.

"Hello there Miss! You don't look like you're from around here!"

I whizzed around. I stood face to face with a stranger, an old woman, wearing brown colored dress and a hand knitted shawl over her shoulders. She looked like she was about mid-eighties. She had long, long pointy ears. Her palm was the base of lengthy fingers with large nails that jutted out from the tips. Oddly enough, She had one distinct feature I noticed, or at least an absence of a feature. No wings.

"Umm, yes, you don't either... A-are you Astrian?"

"Oh good heavens dearie!" she exclaimed. I could feel my entire body tense. I hated being called pet names, but I continued to listen nonetheless. "I am a Ralschez."

"What's that?" I asked.

The old woman laughed heartily. "Dearie! We are the traveling salesmen...or women of the galaxy! We take the appearance of our customers."

A traveling saleswoman? What could she have to do with the rising dawn? I thought to myself.

"Would you like to see some of my wares?" The woman asked in a meek kind, voice.

Maybe this was something. "Umm, sure?" I replied.

The woman brightened up, like I had just made her day, she pulled back a cloth on her table to uncover all sorts of trinkets. "This week is our "Times of Old" selection. We have a very special sale on the... uh, stuff."

I glanced at and bent over and looked closely, some I recognized, like a M14 World war one bullet and casing; others I didn't, like an small rectangular device with a screen on it. I tapped it and it whirred to life. The screen moved with my finger. It was an odd thing, perfectly the size of my hand, a plain logo of a crude apple with a perfect bite taken out of it, and the screen stayed inside it, not popping out like any screens we have now. I surfed through it, using its strange wheel to maneuver through its menus. It could play music, games and use the internet. I noticed in the top left corner it said: "No service!" and a big X next to it. What's service?

"Umm, what do you call this... thing?"

"Oh that's some...thingamabob from..." She put her hand to her forehead and thought deeply. "Ahhh, about 2010, they called it the Eye-prod or something like that. Those people always had such funny names for anything, but frankly I don't care to much what it's called!"

I nodded and set it back down. If there was something about these trinkets and this saleslady that connected to what I was after, I sure am missing it.

I must have been thinking in a way I was showing it, because the lady chimed in again.

"Did you decide on anything?"

"What?" I asked, confused, then I remembered her wares."

"Umm, no, not yet..." I responded, I never planned on picking anything, besides I didn't have any money.

The woman twiddled her thumbs and stared at me in a curious way.

"You didn't come here for an eye-prod did you?"

She shook her head. "Well! I have lots of other things!"

"Sorry, I kind of, showed up here by accident, I'm looking for a place, or someone, I'm not sure."

"Who? What?! OOoo I love mysteries!" She responded excitedly.

This lady was starting to creep me out a little. She was already getting on my nerves.

"Have you ever heard of the... Golden Voice?"

"The who?"

"The.. you know, Golden Voice?" I spoke in a whisper, afraid if I said it too loud I could get in trouble.

"Uhmm... I can't say I have though, their probably one of those 22nd century groups... they have funny names, even weirder than an "eye-prod."

"So you don't know anything?" I asked.

"Nope! I know I want you to buy something though! I'll give this thing for a percent less than what's it's worth!"

"Sorry... Not today." I responded.

"Oh..." She sounded disappointed. "Two percent?"

"No money, I'm sorry."

"What?! You shopped this entire time and you have no money! What did you do? Leave your purse at home?"

"No, I'm not Astrian." I'm not even supposed to be here.

The lady tilted her head down and tipped her glasses off, looking at me up and down and then in my eyes like "Are you serious?" But then she piped up again. "Ah, I see, well, you should go then. Have a good trip! Next time remember your purse so you can take something home with you."

Wait, what trip?

I blinked, and the world around me started to swirl, it twisted turned and did figure eights all over. Stop the ride! I wanna get off! I nearly felt like I was about to lose my stomach contents again. When I gained my bearings, I was standing on a corner at the end of the bridge.

"Consider this customer service!" A voice inside my head muttered, it was the saleslady.

A smirk slipped its way onto my expression. I think I did get a hint from that lady after all. I needed to find Resh.

~*~

I walked through the sliding glass doors, stepping into the

giant lobby. It was huge. The ceiling – commemorated by a plethora of decorative features – reached three stories tall. Pillars rose to the ceiling ever several yards. Arches and chandeliers all made out of blue-tinted glass decorated the room. My uncle put so much time into designing it. His work was worth it; it truly lived up to its reputation.

"Natalia!" A voice called from behind. Oh gosh... Turning around, I saw a man, dressed in gray suit and tie.

"Natalia!" he called again.

"What?" I sighed.

"You've been gone all day. I saw what happened on the television. Is everything okay?" He blurted.

"Is what okay?"

"The capitol building, have you guys gotten anywhere on figuring out what happened."

You guys? What "you guys"? That's when I realized he was talking about my work team. He didn't know they were all dead. "I can't tell you, you know that." I tried to cheap out. I didn't feel like explaining everything. He would just try to comfort me, and I just need to get to Resh.

"Please? Just... Please." He pleaded.

"No." I shook my head. "I just need to go upstairs. Just leave me be right now." I turned around and started walking towards the elevator. When I got inside, I turned around, held down the button for my floor, and waited for the door to close. Just before it closed, I caught a glimpse of my uncle staring. He was looking at me. My eyes locked with his. He had a frown, lifted brows, and he sighed in just a way that made the ride up the elevator unnerving. He looked depressed, but frankly I didn't care. I always turned him down whenever he started to baby me. I couldn't stand it. All the "are you okay?" and "I'm here for you" statements. I didn't need him to be my dad. He didn't get that it was hurtful – not to mention annoying – anytime he tried to be.

The elevator finally reached the top. "RESH!" I called out, coming out of the elevator and into my living room.

"In here," I heard his voice reply.

I walked in and peeped around the corner to the living room; he was sitting in front of a fire, made with actual wood. He was reading a newspaper and drinking something of the sort.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Relaxing... What are you doing?"

"Trying to tell you where we need to go."

"Oh, what did you find there? Anything?

"Nothing, just an old lady trying to sell me even older stuff."

"Then where do we go if you didn't get anywhere?"

"We need a boat."

"What?

"The Golden Voice, how long have they been around?"

"A while?"

"Exactly, a while ago, enough to maybe base their ops in a place before Astria came.

"Are you saying what I think your saying?" Resh asked. "Because I think I know what you think you're saying which is what I'm thinking,.I blinked several times. "What?"

"Never mind, what are you saying?"

"I need a computer again." I turned and ran to the desktop in the corner of the room.

"Wait, so the Golden Voice's origin date being a long time ago makes you need a computer.

Why do you have to be so... so! I couldn't think of anything to actually tag him with; My mouth was getting ahead of my mind again.

"We need to do a coordinate search of before Astria landed here."

"Oh... I get it now."

"Of course you do." I said, smiling now that I got a remark in.

I pulled up a search and retyped in the coordinates. The computer started up and away. Resh and I sat silent as we waited. When it finally showed us where it was, I was shocked.

"Hawaii" Resh murmured.

"But Hawaii was crushed? If they're still there..." I raised an eyebrow. How could this be?

"Maybe most of it was. Guess we'll have to find out." Resh responded.

"Now," I started, "where do we get a boat?"

"Don't you have one?"

"I wish."

"Doesn't your car have a submarine transformation button or something of the sort?" Resh asked, an eyebrow raised.

"No. That was a twenty grand add-on."

"Well, then what do w-" Resh was cut off mid-sentence. The elevator chimed. Its doors opened to present my uncle. Oh gosh no, please just go away.

My uncle started towards us, glancing at Resh's wings as his eyes. He'd seen them before, but it still seemed to surprise him.

"Um, hey."

I nodded back in reply.

"How you guys doing?"

"We're fine. Now please, just go away, we're busy." Ugh.

My uncle sighed and nodded. "Well, I just came up here to say: I am leaving for my business trip to Florida, so I'll be gone for a few days. My jet is in for repairs, so I'll be taking my sub."

Perfect.

"Wait." Resh chimed in.

"Hmm?" My uncle replied.

"Let us use it." I snapped. Resh stamped on my foot, causing me to wince in pain.

"Use what?"

Resh glanced expectantly at me. "May we please use your sub." I said through gritted teeth. I shot a glance over to Resh. Happy?

"Well, I kind of need it to get to Florida?"

Resh interjected. "We need it, badly."

"Uncle, please." I found myself pleading.

"W-why?" He asked, "why do you need it?"

Stop caring. "We need it for work..."

"Don't they have a boat of some sort? Your job I mean?"

"It's being repaired." I replied.

"They don't have one." Resh said at the same time as me. I glared at him. Well there go our chances.

"Currently, I mean. They have it sent off for repairs and possibly replacement." Resh tried to fix his answer.

My uncle looked at me suspiciously. "Why do you want it? I would need to cancel my business meeting."

"You can use the car, it's flight should be able to get you there close enough." I snapped.

"Your car? This has to be intense to let me use that. You never let me touch that thing."

"It is. Just please, let us use it."

My uncle stood for a few moments, looking back and forth between me and Resh before continuing. "I don't like it, if you are coming to me for a boat, then nobody else could be coming with you. Are you two going after them yourself? That cult they are talking about that did all this?"

"Yes." Resh beat me too it, though I was going to say the opposite.

"What? Are you crazy?" My uncle responded.

"Oh please, we can handle ourselves!" I shouted.

"You'll get killed! Or worse!"

"We'll be fine!"

"No you won't, Natalia, be logical! You're going up against-" His voice started to raise, but then he stopped. "No. My answer is no." He turned to start walking back to the elevator. I ran over and stood between him and the door. "You don't understand. We need that sub."

"I haven't seen a reason worth risking your safety for." He retorted.

"We're the only ones left."

I stared into my uncles eyes as he blinked a few times.

"What?" He mumbled.

"All my co-workers are dead. You'll hear about it on the news soon enough." I nodded. I had never thought about that. Resh and I were the only two who had any ability to stop them. My hands started to shake. Why am I shaking?

"And you need a boat?" My uncle said looked at me, then Resh.

Resh nodded to him.

"Alright, fine." He responded. "But Resh," He said, gazing him down in the eyes. "Don't let her out of your sight." The seriousness in your tone was surprising. I knew he was protective, but not that protective. My eyes widened as Resh smiled and nodded back.

My uncle reached into his pocket and pulled out a key card and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I mumbled. Resh got up, and we walked into the elevator.

~*~

Water rushed past our submerged vessel as we glided towards the coordinates. We were hitting speeds upwards of 500 miles an hour, yet it felt like we weren't even moving. It was pretty spacious – the submarine was – more than I thought we would get for what we paid. The softness of the seats and hum of the boat was relaxing. I might have fallen asleep if I wasn't high on anticipation.

The closer we got to Astria, the faint blue aura the planet had above still lingered underneath. The closer we got, the stronger the blue light's soft touch almost mystified me as I examined my hand, which was now glowing blue.

It took us a good twenty minutes under water, but when I checked the screen to my right, we were nearing the coordinate, just on the verge. Slowly, it felt like my body pulled forward just a tiny bit. We were stopping.

"Windows Resh?" I asked, turning my head to him. He nodded yes, the metal plating around us retracted to a stripe down the middle. The vessel was made of a glass layer on the inside. I was in awe of the sights, the mist of the water made it so much more inspiring, I was so enthralled by it I missed the fact that we nearly collided into a building.

Wait, A BUILDING? I looked up, the faint glow, the architecture. We were under Astria. We were gliding down the side of an underwater canyon. We were right on the edge of the coordinates. If we were going to find anything, it would be here.

A giant wall to both sides, and a planet above us, all we needed was a glimpse.

"Natalia?"

"Yes?" I responded, perking up.

Resh just pointed. From a crack in the wall to the right, there was a faint, amber glow. I nodded and he proceeded forward. There was one light that glowed in the middle of the crack. Resh drove around it and once past. It went near pitch black, but then slowly the light grew. We reached a small alcove, a tiny pocket of air with a spire of land in the center. The water rushed of the surface of our ship as we got a clear sight of the small cove. We had pulled up parallel with where the water met the soil. The only thing on the patch of land were two amber torches and a door that slanted down to who knows where.

I think we found something.

I turned to Resh who took a deep sigh. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"They do things I don't agree with, and they have a problem with you. They want you, so they have to survive me. Plus, there's something about this that is intriguing." As I spoke to Resh, every bone in my body was firing with energy. It was like I was being stirred with something I haven't felt in a long time: Passion to go after something, a longing to fight. It felt good.

I walked to the back of the boat to some bench seats. The seats of the benches in the back of the ship lifted to reveal a stash of weapons. Resh got up from his seat. "Ready Natalia?"

I reached inside and pulled out a single handgun. I turned a dial on the side, and the white metal hummed to life with blue streaks around it. Technically, I wasn't supposed to have this weapon, it isn't exactly standard issue. But I have it, and I love it.

"Yes, Yes I am."

Chapter 4

There was something about the small alcove that daunted your spirits. I was slightly disgruntled, my weapon gave me a stronger sense of security. I approached the door slowly and came to a halt right in front. I bent over and grabbed the handle and pulled up harshly. My body was prepared for it to whip open with ease. Instead I think I pulled something in my shoulder yanking on the locked door. Biting my lip, I tried to stretch out the tension in my shoulder. I don't know why I expected I would be able to just walk in.

I took a deep sigh and examined the door. My thought process was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a few "thud"s and scuffles. I didn't bother turn around; I just figured Resh tripped or something. The ground here wasn't exactly smooth. I squatted down and gave a shove around the edges, seeing if anything was loose. It was perfectly sturdy despite being extremely wet and damp. Again more background noise was heard, this time followed with a giant splash. "Resh! Will you stop fooling around and-" I turned around and didn't see what I expected...

Resh was standing looking at me, holding a sopping wet boy by the ankle, clothed in crude black rags. He was coughing water up from his lungs. It was a funny, peculiar sight to see him hanging upside-down in such state. That wasn't much of a hassle, as the boy was a skinny fellow. He stood based on Resh's height, roughly less than six feet tall. His torn, dirt stained jacket was too big for his slender body.

"Well, what have we here?" I stated, curious how this came about.

"Let me go!" the boy said, flailing his arms at Resh. In response, Resh dropped him to the ground and yanked him up to his feet, standing upright now. The boy looked exhausted, Resh on the other hand looked like he barely broke a sweat, and besides a small slit of blood close to his shoulder – was completely unscathed. It was almost like a semi-circle around his arm.

"He attacked me with this." Resh held up a silver sickle, a longer handle with a hooked blade, which must have hooked around Resh's arm to give him the cut.

Resh tossed it aside. The sharp ring when the blade hit the ground echoed in my ears. The clamor created from the object hitting the ground sent the same sound throughout the alcove, at least I thought it did. Regardless, I felt a piercing ringing in my ears, something I've never felt before. The pain it created wasn't like other pain, it felt like my brain itself was being tortured. My thoughts briefly hazy, it took me awhile to collect my thoughts, but a high pitched noise continued in my ears.

I shook my head briefly and walked towards the boy, examining him. Something about him screamed that he didn't know what he was doing wielding that thing. He looked like one of those kids who would mess around pretty much anytime he got a chance.

"What's your name?" I asked as I tapped my ears; it helped calm the ringing a bit.

"Something the matter Natalia?" Resh asked.

I shushed him abruptly; he flinched like it surprised him. I'm not sure why, that's what he gets for asking silly questions. I'm perfectly alright... I told myself.

"Natalia? That's your name?"

"I asked first." I snapped back.

"John Smith"

I raised an eyebrow. "That's really what you're going with?"

"Why does everyone always say that!?! My first name is John, my last, Smith!"

"Really?"

"YES, REALLY!" He yelled. His yell heightened the ringing in my ears again.

"Shush! Talk softer, will you?"

"What? Like THIS!?!" He yelled again. It spiked once more.

"Gah!" I hardened my grip on my gun and slammed the butt of the stock into his face. He yelped in pain and gripped his nose. I motioned for Resh to drop him, he immediately let go and he fell to the ground. "Geez lady! What is wrong with you!?"

"You tried to kill us, a slam in the face is the least of your problems."

"Oh, Gosh... I think my nose is bleeding!" He moaned and wiped some blood away that was running from one of his nostrils.

I turned my attention back to the boy. "How old are you."

"Why should I tell y-"

"How. Old. Are. You."

"16, most people say I uhh... look older than that though.", He brushed his hair back and straightened up. I'm not sure if he was trying to look more mature or something, but it didn't work very well.

"You're a terrible liar. Your overconfident and the hesitancy shows it."

"No I'm not!"

Resh after watching the conversation unfold, finally chimed in. "Don't argue... you'll get smashed again. Besides, you are a very terrible liar anyway."

"Hey! Who's side are you on!" The boy remarked to Resh

"Hers... Why would I take yours?"

"Uh, no reason, I just have always wanted to say that." He stared at the ground and scuffed his toes in a slight embarrassment.

"Alright, 13..." I changed the subject back.

"No way! I'm 15... Sheesh."

"14" I replied again.

The young boy kicked the dirt in frustration and grumbled something about annoying adults. "Yea..."

"Who sent you?" I asked. The interview began.

"Nobody, it's my dad's watch night. But I'm in his place, he's off.... you know." John pretended to be chugging a drink. It wasn't hard to figure out what he was getting at.

"So..." Resh started. "You have watch nights?"

"Yup." The kid replied. "I live not too far from the entrance here. I honestly never got why they wanted a guard here. Regardless, the guard is paid to kill on sight."

"So why would the Golden Voice hire a single person to guard?"

"The Golden who?" John responded.

"This isn't their headquarters?" I asked; a single eyebrow rose.

"Headquarters? Who says that anymore? Are you peoples military?" John remarked. He looked up and down at Resh. "Well, I know what he is..." he boy chuckled and spat at Resh's feet.

Resh's eyebrows narrowed and his whole stature tensed. I could see he felt like taking his anger out on the boy, but thankfully he didn't. I still had questions.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."

"Right. Don't ask, don't tell." He made jazz hands in the air before looking at Resh and grumbling. "Can you let go of me? I ain't going anywhere..." Resh looked at me for approval as John piped up again. "I know better than to cross you guys. I already was thrown into the lake once."

I sighed and nodded to Resh, who set him down. John shrugged Resh's hand off of his own shoulder and took a few steps sideways, spacing himself. "So what are you here for? You don't look like anybody else I've seen."

"We don't?" I inquired.

"Nope, nobody down there has wings... everyone I know hates wing people. Are you from Australia?"

I could see Resh chuckle. "No, Astria."

"Oh... right. I've never seen one of you before." He examined Resh closely, walking around him in circles. "Hmmm..."

Resh chuckled and tightened his wings back behind him before letting out a smirk. With a strong flap of his wings, he sent a current of air towards John. He was lifted off his feet and thrown back onto his rear end.

"Owww-what the? That was awesome?" He said getting up and rubbing his back and rear in pain. "I wish I could do that..." he continued.

Their words started to drown out, I tapped my ear again, this time it didn't get any better. Soon I couldn't hear a single thing but slow constant drip of water from a stalactite. I whirled around in its' direction as it startled me. I tried to see if I could see where it was coming from, but it was dark. To make it worse, the ground started to spin. I turned around and looked at Resh and John talking and neither of them was moving. It had to be all in my head. I had an idea of what was happening, but there was something about this place that was different.

A thick black mist started to seep through the walls, yet Resh and John were doing nothing. It was happening again.

I tried to fight it, but the mist just crept towards me, the edges of the room were disintegrating into darkness. The mist burned away anything in its path. I took a few steps away, but it was behind me also. Sweat poured from my forehead. My breathing slowly deeper. With every second the beats of my heart became farther and farther apart.

The mist thickened to a wave of black, tangling itself up my legs, the higher it reached the weaker my legs became. Gravity doubled in strength, and it felt like I was hit in the back of the knees at the same moment. The harsh, rocky surface cut open my jeans at the knees.

All my senses were slowly disabling: I couldn't feel my own arms, the air was odorless. There was not a chirp in the air. And the darkness was all around. Though all I could see was the pitch black around me,the black itself felt alive.

Until, a small glimpse of hope appeared as a white light. It started faint, only a few feet from the reach of my hand. Slowly it grew stronger and closer...

And closer.

And closer.

~*~

I was back at the edge, the edge between darkness and the scene before me, a perfectly white sidewalk and smooth gray road. My body forced a step forward inside, I tried to fight it but it was useless.

Everything was normal, I could feel the crisp nip of the dry wind blowing on my face. I could hear an animal tipping over a trash can with a loud "bang!" in the alley.

A tingling sensation shot through my entire body. I could move again. I whirled around to run back, but all that was there,was a glass window. The darkness was gone. I set my hand to the glass and sighed. I know where I am. I stood at this very spot that very day... June 26th, 2211. It's been nearly three years.

I wanted to find a corner to hide in. I don't want to watch this again. Why does this always happen to me. I lived it once, seen this twice, they've broken me all three times.

I turned around and started to run, but it was the same result. Something kept me from walking away. I could move, but it felt like I was stuck. It kept me facing the disaster that was about to unfold. I sighed and closed my eyes, at least I didn't have to look. But that's when I heard her... me.

My voice sounded like me, but the tone did not. I sounded happy. I slowly peeped my eyes open. The younger Natalia and my dad were headed right for me. My body just dissipated into mist and then reformed as they passed through it like nothing had happened. I gave a tiny yelp, but no sound came out. They couldn't see me, feel me, hear me or smell me.

"Dad! Come quick!" My fifteen-year-old self giddily exclaimed. Shaking my head, I couldn't believe how I acted, how I dressed, how I looked. It was the day before my birthday, my dad had had me dress up. Informally dressed up I guess would describe it. My dad came around the corner, I giggled and spun as my dress flowed with the air. I couldn't stand myself – all the cream lace and blossoming frills. Entangled at the collar, was the cuffs – even sewn in ribbons at the hem. It was ridiculous. I was ridiculous. And high heels? Good Lord, what was I thinking.

There was one thing that stood out – the color. White. The purest yet the most easily tainted. I can remember my mom's words as if it was yesterday. Her countless comments on how it brought out the tints of silver in my eyes. The constant exclamations on how it "made my smile shine even brighter". In the years since she passed, it's one of the things I treasure. Though I don't always agree with what she said, I still wear it to remember her. Over the years I've lost so many mementos of hers: many of her trinkets and gifts were lost in moving and a few other disasters and chaos. I tried to hold on to the few things I had left to help me remember the compassion she showed me – as a mom and as a friend. She really was the only friend I've ever had back then.

My dad and I sat down at a table in front of an ice cream shop; we had thirty minutes before the dinner. I'm not sure why, but I found myself watching what was about to unfold like a movie, like I had never seen it before. I just stood – eyes closed and ears tuned.

"So... I have a few... apologies to make." My dad said with a hint of nervousness in his eyes. It was unlike him.

"N-No dad, you don't-"

"Yes I do!" He said, cutting my younger self off. His tone startled my poor helpless self. I sat in my chair, waiting for his attempt at an apology, he's tried it before and it never goes over well.

"N-Natalia... I know I'm not the best father I could be... I drink, I can't control my anger, and it comes out on you."

"Yea..." she mumbled softly.

"I'm sorry; I know it's been hard, with your mother and all. I'm trying to work on it, But I..."

He just stopped and sighed, I could see the sincerity in his eyes, but a loss for words as well.

"Dad. It's alright. You have your bad moments, but you have you're good ones as well. It's a process."

He glanced up at her with a tiny smirk, it looked reassuring to him. "Thank you." He took her hands and clasped them in his, gently caressing them. "Thank you for being so forgiving, I'm proud to..."

He stopped suddenly. A muffled sound arose in the distance. We all turned our head its direction.

It's starting. I clamped my eyelids shut. It didn't help. The images ingrained into my head. I knew exactly what was going to happen. It played like a video as if I was seeing it. I tried to will it to go away, but it would not.

But something else was pushing me to watch. Every bone in me was screaming to watch it unfold before me as it had done countless other times. I couldn't help it; I gave in.

We were all standing, peering down the street. A mob of people swinging guns, signs and holding banners were marching towards us. Glancing around at everyone nearby, they were all confused. Nobody knew why they were here. They began firing off old World War III rifles. Everyone, including me thought they were just blanks, but then it started.

They were spraying bullets by the hundreds up in the air. They came down in a hailstorm only to land in side of buildings and on the street. I stood shocked as a single bullet landed in a boy across the street. It was like nothing I had seen before. Only seconds after the boy collapsed when it hit his leg, his skin started to glow. It got so intense that I had to look away. I heard a tiny explosion and looked back, he was gone, a pool of blood and scattered skin lay where he was.

My younger self just stood motionless, tears in her eyes. I was planted next to her, a stone cold expression on my face.

I turned to look at her. A part of me was disgusted, I was so weak, so helpless, so scared. Yet for those reasons I felt something different, I couldn't pinpoint what it was. Compassion? Guilt? Something kept me from completely and utterly despising who I was. Something was different about this. This was a different experience. What is wrong with me?

The gentle touch on my hand made me glance down at it. Nothing was touching it. I looked at my other self, my dad had grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the indented door to the shop. It was locked. My dad pounded on the door, yelling and screaming for whoever was inside to open it up. As more small explosions went off around us my dad wrapped his arms around my younger self and huddled by the door. He had me cradled in his arms, his forehead to mine. The screams, the explosions, the yells and the smell of the electronic gunpowder going off in the guns drowned out as she did nothing but stare into my fathers eyes.

"Everything is going to be okay." He said softly into her ear. I could hear the fear in his voice, but it somehow comforted me. I felt his warm embrace around my younger self. Though I was standing a few feet away, I could still hear his words in my ear. For a few moments, my heart felt calm, and at peace, it had been so long. Then in an instant it changed.

I gasped, my heart rate climbed through the roof. It felt like my entire insides were tring to climb up my throat. I looked at my dad, who was gripping his ankle. A bullet had embedded itself in him.

"DAD!!!" Both me and my younger self yelled.

My dad knew was was going to happen, he had seen the child as well. He looked up at my younger self and sighed.

"Natalia... I'm proud to call you my daughter..." He managed out.

I saw it in his eyes, tears gushed out my own as his eyes and skin started to glow. I was going to lose him again. I wanted to run over and shield my younger self, but I still couldn't move. My dad got up and ran away, leaving her alone. He only got a few feet away before it happened. Both me and my younger self turned away. The sound came, and then I felt it. A thick liquid soaking my shirt, large drops scattered on my face. I could feel his blood and skin on my own face. My younger self screamed as loud as she could. Heart pounding faster than what I even thought possible, it choked any words out of me. She wiped away the blood and strips of skin that were thrown on her. I could feel the repulsive texture slide off my arms, making me shiver in disgust.

I looked around; there was nothing but carnage everywhere. It was like something out of a bad movie. The streets were stained with blood flowing down into the sewage systems.

I saw myself get up and run, bullets whizzing by her head, missing only by a few inches. Unfortunately, one skinned her leg, only shaving the side. Screaming in pain as she tripped into an alley where she hid behind the garbage can, I gripped my leg, I felt the searing burn of the bullet. I could see only her hands wringing blood out of her dress, which dripped and slid down her leg. The bullet left glowing remains on the edges of the almost burnt-like skin in its wake. Both her and my hands shook as I could hear myself crying in agony. Something propelled me over to her. Crouched down next to her, I saw her tears mix with the smears of blood on her cheek. I stretched out my hand to hers, but only dissipated and went right through as my own eyes started to water.

The dream was ending, I would wake up with the images freshly engraved into my mind. Like tiny leaves, my younger self's skin started to flake away, leave only pure white where it was. The buildings and surroundings as well. The sound drowned away until only pure white was left. My heart rate dropped, slowing and slowing until it felt nonexistent.

Then a surge of energy flew through me, and I was awake.

~*~

As my eyes jolted open, they met the gaze of two sets of eyes. Resh and John sat next to me, watching me. I, still in shock, stretched a shaky hand for Resh, who pulled me up into his arms and wings. As we both sat there, my shaken self leaning up against Resh, I heard him whisper. "What did you see?"

I didn't want to reply. Just that one sentence flashed images in my mind. I wrapped my arms around him as he held me tighter.

"Dad"

All Resh did was just nod. John on the other hand piped up. "What! What happened! I wanna know what that was all about!"

A quick shush was exerted that had John kind of slink back. The sharp tone sounded like it could've been me, but it wasn't. Resh had hushed John, Even though it was something just small like a shush, I hadn't seen any of that sort of side of him.

Hesitancy in his eyes, John chimed back in. "So... Will someone tell me what all this is about?"

I finally sat up. Wiping away the tears away, I realized that I had quite a few. I had snapped.

"You don't need to know."

John nodded anyway, taking a step back.

"Natalia..." Resh said softly as he slipped a hand onto my shoulder.

I just shrugged him off, picked up my gun and headed to the door. "How do we get in?"

John shuffled through the pockets his oversized and sopping wet coat. When he withdrew his hand, he held a key. A key made of bronze, a few glints and glimmers behind the dirt and muck covering the trinket. John rolled it over in his hand and then reached out towards me. "Here."

I snatched it from his hand and and turned to the door. The lock wass rusty, beaten and deformed – yet the key fit perfectly and turned without the slightest resistance. I pulled open the door, all I could see was a long stairway into nothing, dark for as far as I could see. It unnerved me. It wasn't frightening or scary, but as you continued to gaze down into the dark cavern of black, something was trying to eat at my soul, eat away at my mind. It made me want to turn away and leave, the thought actually came to my mind. "Caspita! We have to go down there?" I asked, looking back at Resh and John.

Resh gave a face of bewilderment. He knew it wasn't me to ever even question stepping down from the face of anything. He gave me a confused glare as John took to answering.

"Yes ma'am! Emotion barrier! Kinda freaky huh? Like somethin is trying to choke you from the inside. Every human feels it the first few times they enter. If they ever enter at all that is."

Resh prodded me along. "Just go down, you'll get over it."

I nodded, thankful it was something beyond me that was holding me back. But the answer didn't satisfy Resh.

John had grabbed a stick off to the side from the door. The stick was covered in a dark, damp cloth. He had his back to us, I could see what he was doing, but I heard a coarse scratch and then a burst of vibrant color rose. It startled me. I had never seen such a glorious color. "W-what's that?" I asked, watching the flickering, glowing color as it gripped the tip of the stick. The way it moved it reminded me of the blue fire we have in our hearths at home. It flickered in the same way and patterns, constantly moving. I always loved waving my hand through the flames, feeling the fire dance on my palms. It was peaceful.

"What? You've never seen fire before? Geez, you really are crazy people." John responded.

"That's fire? Why is it... Warm?" I responded, his sarcastic remark going completely over my head.

"Haha! Fire's always warm! What is it where you come from? Cold!? Hah!"

"Yes. Not temperature I mean, I mean... the color." The way it danced mesmerized me. Slowly I reached out a hand to it.

"What? Orange? You've never seen orange before? Wha- Woah! What are you doing!" He batted my hand away from the flickering flame, but not before pain surged through my hand.

"Ahi!" I exclaimed in Italian. "It bit me!"

John looked astonished. "You've never been burned before?"  
"Burned?"

"Yea like what just happened?"

"N-no?"

Resh was watching with a slight smirk on his face. He must think I'm an idiot. How could he know this stuff though?

"Look lady, I don't know what it's like up there. I've never actually seen the sun, but things can hurt down here. Use your senses."

"You've never been outside?" Resh asked.

John shook his head. "Nah, sides' I like it down here."

"Like it? With fire that hurts you and all this... dirtiness?"

"What? Your fire doesn't hurt you?"

I shook my head. At home, I could wave my hand through all the fire I wanted, I could put books and even my hands on stoves or boiling pots and wouldn't feel a thing.

"Well, like I said, things will hurt you down here. use your brain."

I raised an eyebrow at him. What are you talking about?

When the exchange was over, John tended to my burn. When he was done, he took the stick – or torch as he called it – and took point down the stairway. About one in every ten steps was missing, and it would keep changing in from smooth stone to a coarse, rickety and rotting wood. It bend so much I thought it was going to snap but not a single board ever cracked. We continued on for quite some time, going deeper and deeper down the winding staircase. Finally, there was light. it was the same color as the torch, orange I think he called it.

"Is there more orange fire down there?"

"It's just fire... and yes, just more torches and lights, et cetera. Nothing that will be a problem."

At the bottom of the stairs was a tiny archway. No gate, no walls. Just a small open archway, and I nearly had to duck to get through. Resh had to squeeze through with his wings. What I saw on the other side was nothing I could have expected, and it definitely was nothing I could have prepared myself for. Every step I took through the crowds was a jolt of shock that shot through my entire system.

I expected it to be a large city, buildings made out of something useless like concrete, and a bit of trash on the streets as unlike our cleanliness above.

But, I saw people living in tents and makeshift shelters made with charred wooden remains and hardened dirt that could collapse any moment. There was dust kicked up everywhere. I couldn't tell if there was a difference between sidewalk and road. Thick red blood collided with the green water and oils trickling into the rusted drains in the middle of the paths.

I expected to see ground running cars at best, maybe transportation boards or some sort of bicycle.

I saw torn up feet, broken sandals, and people walking with barely enough room to move in such the crowd.

I expected to see someone guarding the archway, someone with armor and a weapon.

I saw a blind man in torn and tattered clothes, a walking stick nearly cracked in half, his fragile arm that was all skin and bone stretched out with a cup.

I expected to see a market, a place of business and trading.

I saw people who were covered in mud and grime, begging and groping for even a quarter, yelling out for a morsel of food to spare. The people were scrounging for every drop of water, every single crumb of bread and every sprinkle of rice they laid their eyes on. I smelled dead bodies piled and burning off in the distance.

At one point there was at least ten people reaching out to me, asking for anything, something to feed them, something to sustain them. One woman, covered in a torn shawl and cloak, grabbed my arm and locked her eyes with mine. Her eyes were so bloodshot I couldn't tell their color. Scars covered her face, her hair was discolored and her teeth were worn and jagged. Her dry, filth ridden skin was a total contrast to mine. I yanked away, her longing gaze pierced into my heart as I slowly backed up. She sat kneeling, staring at me until we both were engulfed by the crowd.

This can't be real...

I felt like I was in what most call a dream. I've never had one before, but I can imagine this is what it feels like. I couldn't control what was around me, it was just pure chaos. We walked in a path the crowd made for us. There were two types of people: the ones on their feet and the ones on their knees. The ones on their knees would approach me, yelling, muttering and begging in desperation, but as soon as they saw my sidearm they cowered away. They covered their face and curled up into the tightest balls they could. The ones on their feet paid no attention to me. They focused on Resh and his wings, which were tucked back behind him. They watched in disgust. One even attempted to lunge at him with a large blunt staff, but two men held him back.

Then there was John. Every man, woman, and child approached him with their hands cupped together and out towards him. He reached into his thick satchel and pulled out various items, like a loaf of bread or some fresh tomatoes.The man who he gave it to split it between his kids. John also procured a few glimmering coins, which the ones who received those shouted praises towards the sky, kissed the coin as tears came down their eyes. "Kentiryai!" The people all mumbled to him. John gave a wide grin back each time and repeated it back to them the same.

I tapped him on the shoulder as he gave out the last few sections of bread he had, he turned to me and grinned, his thick bulky satchel now as thin as could be.

"Yes Natalia?" He said.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Sharing!"

"Sharing what?" I asked, confused.

"My lunch!"

"But there's nothing left for you."

"Mmhmm. Exactly." He said, not looking phased by the notion.

I couldn't wrap my mind around this. Why would he give away his food to them? Does he owe them a debt? Is he trying to make an appearance? Prove something? John turned to keep walking again, but stopped when I called his name.

"Yes?"

"Why?" I asked. I had to know.

He smirked and let out a breath of air. "Because they need it." And with that, he turned and continued walking.

Che sciocchezza. What nonsense.

We finally split off from the main road, following a slow incline up a path towards a cul de sac of caves. A few people with infuriated expressions on their face followed us for a little while. They were reluctant as they walked off as we approached the door to a small cave. The door was the same condition as the door from above was – except a bit more scratched and chipped, and it didn't cover the entire entryway. There were slits and holes I could see through, But at least they had a door. Looking around, many of the other caves didn't.

John walked in, holding the door open for me. I walked in expecting it to be this tiny one or two room kind of thing. But it was big. Multiple rooms delved into several levels of rock.

I nodded, a bit astonished as I looked around. There were wooden cupboards buried in the wall, the only light source was again the orange fire burning from little glass containers. There were table tops and chairs that were not even decent quality. I sat down on one of them. To my surprise, it held me up. "You live like this?"

John turned over his shoulder as he closed the door. "Live like what? This is one of the best places you can get 'round here!"

"It's just... This is too unreal."

"What are the caves like up there?"

"We don't have caves." I responded. "They're called houses."

"I think there's one of those around here somewhere. There used to be quite a few." John replied.

Resh chimed in. "What happened to them?"

John took a long deep sigh. "I don't know if anybody knows, the stories I've heard on the street sound like myths, but they sound more realistic than what my teachers say."  
"What have you heard?" Resh inquired again.

"There's too many versions that I don't really know what I've heard. I can't tell the difference between the truth, lies and my imagination."

I wasn't really interested on how this place came to be the way it is. I just cared about wanting to get out of her and just finish what we set out to do. I wandered around the house looking for a picture or some sort of thing I could find that would give me a background to this kid and his family. But I couldn't find a single thing. Coming back to the entryway, Resh and John were sitting and talking.

"So why was everyone staring and angry at me back there?" Resh asked.

"You don't know?"

I was about to go sit down with them, but then I heard a cough. It was faint, I started listening for it again.

"Nope." Resh responded. "Should I?"  
"Yea." John started, getting up and walking over to the furnace. He took a kettle full of water put a few bags of tea leaves inside. He walked over to the makeshift fire and hung it from a spit.

"You are one of them aren't you?" John asked

"One of who? Astrian?" Resh responded.

"Yup. At least that's what they teach us in school. Again though, I'm not sure what to believe."

Another cough. I looked around but didn't see anyone else in the room. I started subtly moving about again in the room, listening. I glanced at Resh in time to catch him giving a questioning look towards John. "Go on," Resh said.

"Well, a group of activists got sent down here right around the time when Astria crashed into earth. They were said to have rioted, killing a ton of people. They came down the streets waving banners and signs, firing blank gun shots into the air." John made sarcastic finger quote marks when he said "blank" and then continued. "They were supposed to be blanks, but someone switched the ammo. I heard half the group knew about it and were a part, and the other half were not. It was chaos."

I realized what he was talking about. There was only one event that could match that. It was the same riot, the same chaos that took my dad. Images flashed and made my head spin. I leaned against a wall and rubbed my forehead softly, trying to hide that something was happening. I wanted to hear him out; I wanted to hear more.

"The authorities handled it finally. And the ones responsible were sentenced for their crime. The innocent were all killed in the chaos. The activists were sentenced to where everyone the overworlders don't want."

"Where is that? And how does that connect it to this?"

"Because they were sent here! For the last two-hundred years, this has been just one big giant prison. Anybody who challenges the way of life, the "cleanliness" of above, is tossed away where nobody has to worry about them. We're all just discarded like leftovers... "

Silence: neither Resh nor I knew how to respond to that. We just stared at john, without a word.

Finally, John continued."Nobody knows how they get here. Nobody's ever gotten off. Few have tried to find out, and anybody who's gotten close has wound up gone, mentally insane or found dead.

"So how did that lead to this?" I asked. If it would tell me anything about who was responsible for that day, I wanted to know.

"When they came, they smuggled resources. Contact with the outside world. They displayed their dominance and ruined what sort of society we had."

"Who are they?" Resh asked.

John sat thinking for a second. Then he got up and frantically dashed to one of the drawers. He grabbed the handle and yanked the entire thing out of place, scrounging every utensil out. Then that cough was heard again. That was it. I was finding where it was coming from. The coughing was picking up as I walked through the house. I stopped in my tracks when I lost the sound when John yanked another drawer out and it crashed to the ground.

Then I found it. It was coming from behind a dark drape that I didn't even notice before. I pushed it aside to find a small room. A single candle illuminated the small space. The candle stood on little end table that sat next to a bed. And on this bed, a woman lay. Her whole body was sickly, thin as a bone.

John came running in. "Guys you'll want to see-" he stopped when he saw me staring into the eyes of the woman. A voice called out to me.

"Natalia..."

Images relayed in my brain. It couldn't be.

"Natalia."

Impossible.

"Natalia!"

Mom...

John stood there with a hold on my arm. He shook me a little.

"Natalia!"

"W-what?"

"This is my mom."

I took a closer look at her face. She looked so much like my mom, but she had died so long ago. I only had a few memories and pictures of her left. Studying her closer, It wasn't her. Her hair color was slightly different, and my mom had a tattoo on her neck of a heart with the letter "N" drawn into it. Frankly, she looked the exact same as when she was sick.

"W-who?"

"My mother!" John responded. "She's sick."

I went over and kneeled down beside her. She looked me into the eye and smiled. "T-tea John?" She asked looking to John then back to me. John nodded and hopped off, coming back with a cup. He set it down gently on the table and helped his mom sit up against the wall. All the while, she was smiling at me. She drank some of the tea, all the time smiling but you could tell she was in pain.

"John? What is she sick with?"

John took a deep breathe. "I don't know. Nobody does."

Just like Mom...

"Sad." I simply responded. Resh was in the room as well by now.

Both Resh and John looked at me surprised. Maybe at the first signs of empathy I've had in a long while. "When did she get like this?" I continued.

"Ever since I could remember."

Just like me.

We sat in silence for a bit before John has us leave her alone. We came to the entryway again. "I think I know what you're after."

It took me a good ten seconds to realize what he was talking about. I completely forgot the reason we were actually here. I was so wrapped up in the images and memories of my mother. Luckily Resh chirped in. "What?"

John held up a piece of red cloth. An emblem made of golden thread. It was the same emblem I saw from the men who attacked me and Resh. It was the same emblem I saw on the clothes and banners of some of the rioters. It was the same emblem on the flag we found in remains of the capitol building.

John took a deep breath. "I think I know what the group was called. And I know where they are."

Resh nodded and looked at me with a satisfaction. The Golden Voice had roots way deeper that any of us had thought. I nodded back to Resh and we grabbed our things. "Okay... Can you tell us where it is?"

"Pshh! I'll do better than tell you. I'll show you where they are!"

Resh looked at me and then John. With a glance back at me he started to answer. "I don't think Natalia would be fine with-"

"He can come." I cut him off. I blinked a few times and pulled all my hair over to one side as I looked at Resh, who looked at me like I was crazy.

"He knows more about it, and is brave enough to try and take you back there."

"Or stupid..." Resh responded.

John didn't care; he grinned widely, and after quick stop in his mom's room, arrived at the front door, slung on his bag and picked up his sickle. He looked excited, and it actually made me smile.

Chapter 5

The moment I could see the mist I could feel fear welling up inside of me. It was the mist that enshrouded a single pathway to where we wanted to be. I turned to John, who was on the edge of the foul cloud, was waiting. He had told me what He had learned about the mist. Anybody who enters gets lost. They don't die; they just aimlessly wander within the midst.

"How do you know it's here?" Resh asked.

Shaking his head slowly, John shrugged. "I don't. But I've been around every rumored "headquarters" that has been brought up looking for answers... Except this one."

Resh looked out into the fog and back at us. "Well, what are we waiting for? It's just on the other side... isn't it?"

John gave a quick nod.

"Then what's the catch? You seem hesitant." Resh continued.

"You don't feel it?" John said, raising an eyebrow. "Something bad is going to happen the moment you set foot in there. Some say the fog brings out true you. Others say it brings out the old you."

I felt what John was talking about; apparently Resh did not.

"Umm. Okay? Is there anything else?"

"Mirages, hallucinations, the usual scary stuff. I'm honestly not sure how much of it is true. Nobody knows if these stories came from personal experience or myth to keep the people in fear."

Resh grinned. "Right. Let's go!" He said, unperturbed by the mist.

"Resh!" I exclaimed. "Y-you're so..."

"So what? I know you are so not yourself today. What's going on?"

"Nothing..." Roughing up my tone, I wasn't going to be so weak anymore. "Why weren't phased by the mist?"

"Dunno, Maybe cause I'm Astrian? I'm not sure!" Shrugging to me and then turning towards the mist, he walked in and whispered, "Just keep going forward," as he disappeared into the fog.

I glanced over at John. He entered right after Resh did, the cloud engulfing him just as quickly. Reaching out to feel the mist, all it did was bend beneath the will of my hand waving back and forth.

Those are just stories. Nothing like that could actually happen. Right? Things like that would take magic, and magic is just a combination of science and others weaknesses. Even if I wanted to go back, Resh and John were in. I couldn't turn back even if I wanted too. I'd be alone, and I'd be leaving them.

One foot in front of the other. With each slow step, my grip on the handle of my gun got tighter and tighter. Every time my foot hit the ground as I moved forward, it felt like it was pushing the awful feeling harder into my body. The air wisped out of the way as I continued to walk. There was only the mist now as far as I could see in every direction. It went on forever. When I held my hand up I could barely make out my knuckles.

I was alone, enshrouded in a place where everything was the same. Walking forward, it felt like I had been walking for minutes on a moving sidewalk going in the opposite direction. Hundreds of thoughts and images rushed through my throbbing head all at the same time, making my head throb. There were so many thoughts in such short bursts that I couldn't make out a single image. Disoriented, I set a hand to my temple, feeling dizzy.

"R-Resh!?" I called out. looking around for any signs of light. Not able to see a thing, I stood still and listened. I heard the gentle whisper of a soft wind. It got closer – closer and louder – then I felt a giant gust blew right past me. Spinning me around several times and then reeled me to the ground. And just like that, I'd lost my weapon and sense of direction. Slowly inching up to a sitting position, I tried to remember which way forward.

Forward...

A whispering voice was coming from all directions, a whisper accompanied by a soft hum of voices that grew increasingly closer.

Forward...

"I know!" I responded. "I don't know which way!" I yelled out. I normally wouldn't believe I was talking to an ominous voice, but with what John said about being aimlessly lost, I would try anything to get out.

Forward... Is...

I waited. That's all I could do. I waited and waited for it to finish the sentence. A figure – a shadow – approached me from the fog. I waved my hand fruitlessly to blow the fog away, but it came back. I sat still, my head still throbbing as the figure came into view as it mumbled two words. "Hello Natalia."

Dad.

There he was, my dad standing right in front of me.

"No! You're not real."

"Of course I am! I've been waiting for you for so long..." He responded. His voice sounded just the same, so soothing and gentle. It conflicted with what John said. He looked so real! The same shaped wrinkles on his forehead, same slanted smirk. Everything about him was just what I remembered. I slowly got up, my gaze fixed on what I was trying to comprehend.

"Natalia... Come to me, let me hold you."

"Y-you're not real!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, trying to convince myself. It wasn't helping. I need Resh.

"Stop telling yourself things that aren't true. The mist is messing with your mind. Let me take you away from all of this." My dad's tone sounded so soothing as he looked into my eyes. What do I do? As my gaze locked with his, the words he said seemed to be using my eyes as almost a gateway to my heart. Somehow, it compelled me to move to his now outstretched arm. Resh, please come....

I inched closer. "That's it." My dad said in his calm tone. Just as I was about to grab a hold of his hand, the image of my dad burst into mist.

"DAD!"

Another image of my dad appeared behind me. "Ouch!" He exclaimed. "What was-" He was cut off as a golden flash seared right through his torso.

"Stop doing that! Natalia, come quickly! Take my hand!" he reached out to me. This time I wasn't budging. I knew something wasn't right now. I merely shook my head to the peculiar image of my father. He craned his neck, his expression becoming angry. "NATALIA!" He yelled, but it was as if multiple voices were saying it once; that is because they were. Image upon image of my father appeared in a circle around me. Each mumbled my name with outstretched hands. The words rung in my ears, generating a shrill that did not subside as I gripped my ears in pain. Then one by one, each image dissolved into the mist after a flash of gold and blue this time.

His voice howled through the air and slowly drowned out the moment the images were all gone. Where the final one had there stood, was a new figure kneeled down. In his hand, he held a sword. He had cut right through the image of my dad. The blade was a deep blue, with gold trim along the handle and edges of the gleaming weapon. There was only one person who had a weapon like that. "Resh..." I muttered.

He didn't respond; he just stood up and walked away without a word. "R-resh? Where are you going?"

That reaction wasn't him. That and the fact that he was in different attire threw me off. He was dressed in royal robes similar to what he was wearing when I found him so many years ago. He was wearing a hood that covered his head enough so I couldn't see his face from any direction other than straight ahead. The black and red flowing silk was expensive, rich fabric unlike any I've ever seen – clearly Astrian. There were some leather straps going from his shoulder to belt. Every stitching in the leather had a pattern that was followed: wings. I'd never seen him wear anything like it before. What's with him? Why did he leave me?

John was right about one thing, this mist messed with your mind. He was the one I had to find. Resh will survive on his own; he always does.

I looked around for any sight of him. I couldn't see, but I could hear: joyful laughs and a happy bark of a dog. Then saw a path. The thick fog started to move to the sides to create a path to a patch of clear air. As I approached, my foot ran into my handgun, sending it sliding across the ground. After picking it up, I walked over to where John was. I saw him and a dog. That was honestly the last thing I expected. If anything, the dog should be attacking him, but it wasn't. They were playing together, wrestling, laughing and barking. The dog looked like a young wolf pup. She was wagging her tail and even was smiling.

I stood astonished. John finally noticed me. "Oh! Hey! How's it going?"

"Umm... Who's this?" I said ignoring his question, more concerned with the dog... wolf thing.

"Hmm? Oh, her? She found me in the mist! Do you know what it is?"

"You don't know what this is?"

"No?" He said, patting the dog on the back, who yipped happily and panted heavily. His tongue hung out the side of his mouth.

"That's a dog."

"A DOG?" He said looking at the little beast. "But she can't be!"

"Why couldn't she?" I said sitting down. The dog came prancing over to me and put its front paws on my lap and looked at me with its ears perked up and neck craned.

"Because dogs are these rough looking things with beady red eyes! And... and... " His words drowned out mid-sentence. A confused look was on his face, until a light bulb went off in his head. "And that's what you were!"

"What?" I said confused. Even the puppy turned and looked confusedly at John.

"In school, they always taught us that dogs were these savage beasts. I was wandering through the fog when I heard a growl. A large silhouette with piercing red eyes approached me, I tried to run but tripped over a snag and fell. I knew it was going to kill me so I stood up and accepted it... I thought I was going to die! Strike that KNEW I was going to die. The big ugly shadow of a dog jumped out. I don't really know what happened, but I feel like I accepted the fear – conquered it so to speak. It brought the light." He said pointing up to the sky. a light shone down at the spot we were at. "And this lil' girl appeared instead of what I feared."

I nodded. "So... The stories were true. The mist does do things to you."

"You too?" John asked. "What happened?"

I was about to explain, then I remembered that we actually had somewhere to go. "Not now. We have to get out of here first."

Dissapointed, John nodded. "I know they way out! Follow me!" He hopped up and walked towards the fog.

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "How do you know?"

"I heard a voice. It talked to me." He said with a triumphant smirk. It had to be the same voice that half-spoke to me.

"What did it say?"

"That's the thing about forward, forward is whatever direction you walk in as long as you're walking on a straight path." He said with a large grin before he turned and marched into the fog. But instead of disappearing, the light followed him and the mist created a path in front of him. He turned back, bent over and patted his legs. "Here Misty!" He said calling the dog, who got up and happily ran over and jumped into his arms.

"Misty?" I said, chuckling a bit.

"Yea! I thought it'd be appropriate as of the situation." He said turning and walking away. Misty gave a chirp of a bark at me and laid her head down on John's shoulder as he carried her.

"Cute!" I couldn't help but grin at the dog. It reminded me of the puppy my dad got me after my mother died. A simple Siberian husky, very hard to find with all the crossbreeding and new breeds nowadays. That was probably one of the best memories of my childhood. I even remember her name too: Mistress.

I followed John as he led the way through the mist. Unfailing, the light kept making a straight path in front of John. I questioned whether we're actually going in the right direction but I decided to just trust.

I still tried to wrap my mind around what John did to have the light follow him. Sticking my hand out into the fog, I tried to see if it would do the same for me. The fog didn't move – it only felt frigid as I dragged my hand through it. How did he do it? I wondered. What did this young boy have that I lacked?.

Then I remembered a moment when I was a little girl. My dad was taking me through a history memorial. It had a single path that wandered through a beautiful garden. It changed every now and then in design, and the change was based on one thing and one thing solely: A plaque. Now this plaque wasn't a plaque of award, not one of distinction or accomplishment, but a way to remember. Each one of these held a quote. So long ago, I walked through it with my dad; him reading each one to me out loud. I only remember one.

"I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear." ~ Rosa Parks

So John knew that he would have to deal with the oncoming fear, and he stood against it. How come it didn't work for me?

I didn't try yet – at least not truly. If it wasn't for Resh, I would have given into fear.

I needed to let go. I thought about what I had, as compared to what I didn't, I took a deep breath. I had Resh. He would always be there for me; I can always count on him to make a decision in my best interest. He's a brother to me, and the best one at that.

Oddly enough, I had John. I never would have expected me to ever think of him as a friend. I figured once this was over we could just get rid of him if he didn't get himself killed in the process. There's something about him that I don't have. He's so much... Happier.

Then there were the people I had neglected for so long, people like my uncle. The hurt expression on his face back at the hotel came back. I can't believe I treated him like that. He always went out of his way, even unnecessarily, to try and help me through losing my parents, and I treated him only with contempt and disgust. There were so many times I waved him off even when he was just trying to ask how I was doing. If I ever got out of this, I need to make it up to him.

My heart was growing softer, but for once – maybe – that was a good thing.

I reached out into the fog once more, and just as I expected, nothing happened. I sighed, but I let my hand linger in the frigid mist just a little longer.

But then, It got warmer, warmer and warmer until the mist was the same temperature as the normal air. The path widened where I was and it spread all along the path. Misty perked up and yipped and then buried her face back into John's shoulder.

All I could do was smile. Strangely, I felt good, better than I had in a long time.

~*~

A breath a fresh air filled my lungs as we exited the foul cloud. As soon as John got out, Misty sprung from his arms and started rolling around on the ground excitedly.

"She was stuck in there..." John said, smirking towards her. Misty turned to John and jumped up on her hind legs and barked. He got down on his knees. Misty climbed on him and started to lick his cheek. He laughed until Misty stopped. Then the little puppy came over to me, looking me in the eyes. Crouching down to her level, I put my forehead to hers as I scratched her ears. Her little puppy grunts of satisfaction made me smile.

"We're keeping her right?" John said.

I glanced up at John as Misty hopped up into my arms. "Of course! We couldn't just leave her."

We sat there for a little bit, playing with Misty. She looked as comfortable as she could be, which I suppose after being in there for so long any sign of life would be exciting.

After a short while, the image of Resh slashing the images of my dad came into my mind. I knew it was him, it had to be. I recalled the picture of his silhouette as he walked away. Being too stunned before, I hoped now that I could remember some details to maybe help me figure out what state he was in. The image was vivid. His clothes had changed, I could tell that even though he was shrouded by the dense forest of air, He was wearing a sort of robes. He was hooded also, as I remember not being able to see his eyes, even when he was close. and He did indeed have his wings. There was no doubt in my mind that it was him. But why didn't he respond to me? Was he just an illusion or was it actually him?

"John?" I piped up. "What did you say the mist's effects were on you? The rumored ones?"

When I said "mist", Misty turned her attention to me. Looks like she was learning her name already!

"Uh... Let's see." John said, thinking for a while. "There was hallucinations, visions, mirages."

I counted along on my fingers. He mentioned three things before.

One.

"There was bringing out your true self." He continued.

Two.

John thought for a few seconds, then announced his answer to me triumphantly. "Making you the person you were!" I could hear him faintly mutter "yes, I remembered" to himself after.

Three. Was that what hit Resh?

"Why do you ask?" John piped up, snapping back to reality.

"I think it got to Resh, possibly more than either of us." I said looking down at and petting Misty. She watched me as I talked and then looked at John for a response. She looked to be was making a habit of watching whoever was talking, her gaze following whoever's lips were moving. She was loving the sound of our voices.

"So what do we do?"

I shrugged back to him. "Resh has a way of finding his way to me; let's give him time."

So we waited...

and waited...

and waited...

But he never came. As time went on I grew more and more fearful that Resh wasn't going to come out anytime soon, maybe not ever.

"Natalia?" John piped up.

"What, John?" I retorted back.

"I don't think he's going to come out anytime soon..."

No. He will come. "He has to come!"

"Natal-"

"He has to come!" I snapped back. "I swore, the day I met him that I would stick with him through thick and thin. And if this isn't thick and thin I don't know what is."

I turned to enter the mist and try to find Resh. Misty – who had been watching our conversation from my lap – rolled off when I got up. She ran over and grabbed my pant leg in her mouth and pulled back. I felt like ripping it out, or shouting at the dog, but something stopped me when I looked at her. She looked worried. I never noticed if dogs ever expressed emotion through their face; I sure was noticing it now.

"Natalia, you'll just get lost."

"We know how to get out don't we?"

"But you know how far we walked! You could try and find him for ages and he could be out by then."

"Then what do we do?!" A tenseness built up in my body; it made me jittery, not knowing where he was.

"Ever think he could have gotten out already?"

"He would have waited for us!"

"Well what if he didn't? What if he was in the position we were in right now! Hmm?"

I sighed. John was right, but it didn't feel right. If John was wrong I'd be leaving him out there all alone.

"Natalia." John said, setting a hand on my arm. "Our best chance is to keep moving forward."

I sighed. Every bone in my body was screaming to go in and find him. He'd be worth the risk, but John had a valid point. The best choice was to move keep moving forward.

"Alright." I finally agreed. Misty yipped in satisfaction and let go of my pant leg, making me smile.

I never thought about where we would go if we ever got out of the mist, and what we were faced startled me. There was a large crack that rose up the side of a large rocky wall going as high as to the rooftop of the cavern. The crack started wide enough for a semi to fit through, but slowly narrowed to a point as it rose higher. From inside was the warm, flickering glow of fire inside. I took a glance back at John to see him slightly shaking. "Hey..." I started. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"How do you know?"

"Because you have something I don't..."

"Which is what?"

"I'm not sure, but it's special, and if anyone is going to be fine, it'd be you." I proceeded to make my way towards the entryway.

"Thank you, Natalia." I heard John respond.

I took a glance back and nodded to him before continuing. Misty ran to John and wove in and out of his legs, gave a soft yip, and then skipped off after me.

The entrance led us to a long winding staircase. The warmth of the wall torches dimly lit the unnerving setting before us. Every few feet there was a section of the wall where a skull made its home upon a shelf that jut out from the rocky surface. Above this was a single phrase or sentence. What the phrase was, I could not tell as each was a different language. That is until I reached the final one. The letters were arranged in a way I understood.

"La voce d'oro" I read aloud.

"What's that supposed to mean?" John said. Misty also craned her neck.

"The Golden Voice." I muttered. "We're definitely in the right place."

The stairway mouth opened to a series of tunnels. A lot of them looked like they intertwined. But some split apart separately.

"Split up or stay together?" I asked. I would rather stay together, but I would leave it up to John.

"Split. As long as we don't attract attention, we can search faster."

I nodded. If it would increase our chances of finding Resh, maybe it would be a good idea.

"Fine. Who's taking Misty?" I asked, looking down at the pup.

John was about to raise his hand to volunteer to take her, but before he had the chance to puppy dove behind my legs and peeped out in between them. John grinned. "I think that'd be you."

At least I'll have a little bit of company. I thought, bending over and giving her head a rub. As much as I didn't really think it was a good idea to be bringing her in with us, it was better than leaving her alone again after the mist. I nodded back to him and turned, making a clicking call for Misty to come along, which she did as I entered one of the tunnels. Looking over my shoulder, I saw John draw his sickle and then duck into one of them as well.

I sighed and walked forward. Slinking behind me, Misty gave off a few grunts and whines here and there. Her tail tucked under her body more and more as we ventured further into the cave. I hushed the pup softly and gently. Both of us crept down the dark and winding hallway. The same daunting decors dotted the entire pathway. Flags of various colors – all bearing the emblem of the Golden Voice – were hung every now and then. The only source of light is the faint torchlight. As we walked on, I became more and more resistant to the fear the tunnels seemed to be inspiring.

For once, I didn't know what was going on with me. My head was so filled with emotions and confusion, I can't tell them apart. Maybe it's because they are the same thing, or maybe it's worry for Resh. Whatever it was I hated it, and I wanted out. Badly.

We came to a corner. Two distinguished voices were just around the bend. Misty heard their mutters and growled softly. Shushing her quickly, I heard the voices stop. Then I heard footsteps, and they were coming closer. I reached to my side for my handgun. Pulling it out, I quickly turned is to silenced mode. I did it just in time, as I could see the toe of one of them peek around the corner. One of the two men was shushing the other as I tried to think of what to do.

Making up my mind, I aimed and put a bullet into the foot of one of the men. He bent over in pain. I kicked him in the head, sending him unconscious into the wall. The second man grabbed the ankle of my outstretched leg and lifted, flipping me onto my back. Jumping on top of me, he wrapped his hands around my throat, grabbing me in a choke hold.

I tried to get out of his grip, or at least stretch for my gun. It was slightly out of reach.

I tried harder and harder to reach, but focused my gaze on the man trying to kill me. Then the gun moved right into my hand. Not able to guess what it could have been, I glanced over at it to see Misty. I grinned widely at the pup and turned my attention to the man on top of me. Putting the barrel to his head, I pulled the trigger. The dirt-covered wall became stained with the blood from the man's skull. His body fell as limp as a piece of string. Rolling the body off me, I turned to Misty. "Misty, I love you."

Little Misty panted and had a little hop in her step. Wagging her tail as she followed me along, we bounded the corner. I stopped when we did so. The room we entered was not lit the same as the tunnels, but lit with a light blue, just like above. It was just as dirty, just as filthy, but blue fire lit this room and this room alone.

There were shelves of vials and liquids all around the room. A table full of what tools used to operate or torture lay there. But in the middle of the room, What I was looking for lay still on the table.

"Resh!" I exclaimed. He lay strapped onto the table with leather.

"Hey." He said, He looked fine, a bit bruised from what I could tell, but that was all. The only noticeable difference was he was down to just a tight white T-shirt and blue jeans.

"You got out of the mist alive!" I exclaimed with a hushed voice.

"Apparently..."

"Apparently? Do you not remember or something?"

"Exactly." Resh said, shaking his head.

"Then you don't remember saving me?" I said, something about what he just said made my heart drop. I couldn't tell what it is though.

"Oh? Well, that must've been mighty heroic of me..."

"Well yea it was! How did you end up here? Don't remember?" I asked.

Resh nodded to me. That's when Misty gave a satisfied puppy grunt. Resh tried to raise his head to see, but he was restricted by his bindings. Quickly undoing them, He was free as Misty jumped up onto the table and onto Resh.

"Oof!" Resh exclaimed. "Who's this?"

"Misty! John found him in the-"

"Mist?" Resh said with a smirk. He ruffled Misty's fur and scratched her ears gently. Misty happily wagged her tail and licked Resh's cheek once. Resh grinned and waved his wings ever so slightly. Misty became intrigued his wings, startling her as her eyes widened.

I chuckled a bit and nodded. "Resh, when you saved me from the... hallucinations. You were wearing something different."

Resh nodded and glanced over his shoulder. The same set of robes he was wearing in the mist were laying on a table. Turning back to me, he gave a large sigh. "You know what I'm going to say."

"It's not the time." We both said in unison, both nodding and chucking as well.

Checking over my shoulder to make sure nobody was coming; I couldn't see or hear anything. Resh looked at me with seriousness. "I promise I'll explain, Okay?"

"Fine." I said, it took a few moments of silence before I wrapped my arms around Resh, gripping him tightly in a hug. "I thought I'd lost you."

Resh chuckled and wrapped me in his wings as he knew I loved. "I'm not going anywhere."

It reassured me when I heard him say that. It felt good to have him back.

Voices started to mutter and shout down one of the tunnels. Slipping out of our hug, I grinned and pulled out my holstered weapon. "Alright. Let's find John and finish this."

Nodding back to me, Resh hopped up and grabbed his weapon that lay next to his robes, but left he set of clothing there.

Something intrigued me as Resh got up, whenever he moved, a thin cloud of mist lagged behind his head as if his head was still offering refuge to it

"Resh?"

"Yea?" He responded. I took a look into his eyes, their bright blue color still glistening as usual. But as he turned his head to the tunnel – leading deeper into this cryptic place – and then back to me, his eyes seemed to turn to a murky gray as if they mist itself was filling his eyes. As soon as it dispersed, his perfect blue eyes were replaced by a deep thick orange. That was the last thing I expected.

Resh lost control after that. Faster than I had ever seen him go, he zipped off the hallway, almost running along the wall as he bent around the curve. At first there was nothing, and then there were screams. Not a battle cry, not a warrior's yell, but screams of pain.

"R-resh?" I hesitantly called his name. I wandered my way around the corner to see the entire hallway strewn with bodies. Only a single fatal slash to each. Each one was different. I couldn't even imagine what happened. It struck me hard and disturbed me. Not because they were dead, but because of who did it. I've been with Resh for two years now, and all this time, in all the different things we've done, all the assignments we've taken on, through everything I've not seen him ever kill a single person. That oath he told me earlier today. I will never let death claim someone at the will of my hand. Not again. Those were his exact words.

As I stepped over the dead bodies. What is happening? Resh has taken on a horde of warriors before without even a weapon. He used his bare hands and tactics to trick the soldiers into hitting their teammates. He injured them still, though rarely. Looking back, I should have been able to see he was administering self control beyond what I thought was even physically possible. What is the mist doing to him? I thought. I needed to find him before something bad happened.

~*~

I finally found the end of the tunnels, thanks to Misty who had her nose low to the ground the entire time. She led me close enough to find my own way before I couldn't keep up and lost her. As much as It pained me to keep going, I couldn't find her. I was once again alone.

I could hear more wails of pain coming from the room ahead. I came charging out only to barely catch myself as I wobbled on the edge of the overhang I exited out of. It was a large stone balcony that overlooked a giant open room. Semi-circular in shape, it had enough space for seating and even a stage in the center against the wall with a podium on it. The entire room was old, cracked and rusty – dirty as the rest of the place. This seemed to be where all the tunnels led, and I had came out of the only tunnel that led to the balcony. There was a stairway on the far side that led down to the stage. and there at the foot of the stage was Resh, taking on at least five soldiers wielding various swords and battle axes.

Resh was winning; He was winning by far. His wings gave way to an aerial advantage. His weapon helped too – his Astrian sword he crafted himself. Using a bit of "magic", so he said, to give it "adaptability". Holding his weapon at the hilt: it became a quick moving, light, arm severing blade. It was sharp enough to chop through an arm with ease if used correctly. Even in the middle of a swing, Resh could grab the tip of the blade and a golden glow would quickly wrap the blade instead of cutting his hand. The glow would diminish, revealing a skull smashing battle hammer. The head made of the same blue metal with gold brace and lining on it. And that wasn't all it could do. The last thing it could be a bow when he grabbed the center. Spawning a streak of blue out of thin air as an arrow, it would pierce through any human armor with ease.

All of this unfolded before me as Resh used the combination of the three, some while midair to unleash fury upon his attackers. The mist was openly flowing from his eyes at this point.

Hiding behind one of the pillars, I peeked out to try and get better view of the stage. Three lone figures stood upon it, Resh being one of them. The second was John; he was sitting with chains holding him to the stage. He couldn't move more than a few feet before his shackles would pull tight on his wrists and ankles. Resh was slowly approaching the third person. I stared long and hard at in order to try and figure out who he was.

Then it clicked. It was Kent "Gold", the same man who had hired us to track them down. The same man we found dead in the warehouse, but how was he still alive? It didn't make any sense!

"Ah! Resh! You made it. It took you a lot shorter than I expected!" Kent said with his illustrious voice projecting around the theater.

Resh stood vigilant, wiping the blood off his blade and onto his shirt. It made no difference as his shirt was already already half covered in the thick red liquid.

"You did fine job finding me here. Bravo. Bravo!" Kent continued, his words giving no amusement to Resh. "And where is your female companion? That fine, grumpy, stubborn, heartless sister of yours..."

Each word made my body tense. Though I couldn't help but feeling he was right, I felt like I was changing... Maybe I wasn't. Maybe it wall all for nothing.

"Stop it!" John said, tugging against his chains.

"Shut it, John!" Kent snapped back. "I'll stop when I want too! This is getting good."

Resh growled to himself before releasing a cry of rage and charging Kent. Not moving from his spot, Kent only chuckled in place. A fiery blaze blew up from the stage in front of him, blinding Resh, burning his wings and sending him tumbling to the floor. putting out the flames as he rolled, I could see the path of charred feathers from his now singed wings. Kent laughed as he walked over and pulled a few chains from the ground and locked him up.

"Alright, I think the mist has had enough fun." He waved his hand and the gray gas seeped from Resh's eyes, Resh's howl of pain as it left and the mist's violent howl as it rose into the air and vanished filled the room. For a few seconds, Resh tried to make it to his feet, but he was too weak to try and fight against the chains. Watching both him and John sitting there helpless pained me. Even though I was the last chance. I could do nothing.

"Resh... You're so predictable! You made this all the much easier for me!" Kent said; a devilish grin covered his face.

"Made what all the easier?" John piped up, as Resh was too weak to reply.

Kent's laugh echoed in the theater, he turned and took a deep breath.

"The destruction of your home planet, and the end of Astrian life as you know it!"

Chapter 6

At that moment, I stood up and fired. His words angered me so much that I came out of hiding, enraged with fury. Half the magazine was gone before I even realized what I was doing. My aim was terrible as my hands shook from the tension they homed.

"Woah! Woah!" Kent yelled. The three bullets cemented in the stone around the stage, dirt flying up on impact. "There she is!"

Every word made my body get even tighter as I fired eight shots, I couldn't see where they all ended up, but I know none hit what I was aiming for. Kent was standing in the same place laughing. "Woman! You know you can't hit me from here!"

He was right. I had to find a way to get closer.

"Why don't you come closer? Hmm? That way you can get a good shot at me." Kent said with a chuckle, waving his hand towards the stairs.

That was the last thing I expected him to say. I looked at John, he was shaking his head violently, waving his hand frantically. I knew he was right. I shouldn't go, but Resh was there! I had to try and do something. I made my way down to the ground floor, the room looked huge from below. It didn't feel as big as when I was looking down above. I slowly made my way from the side to the middle aisle. Keeping my gun pinpointed on him.

"Let them go." I requested. "Pick your poison! Let us all go and get away with your life, or I can put a bullet in your brain, unlock them myself and then we'll leave."

Expecting Kent to wince, grimace, gulp or show some sort of fearful emotion, it caught me off guard when he started to laugh.

John craned his neck. "What's so funny?"

Now on his knees, fists clenched, Resh was now standing – barely.

"I'm not talking to you!" Kent said with a sarcastic voice. John slinked back at the Kent's harsh tone.

Turning again to me, Kent grinned and chuckled. "Pretty miss, do you really think I'm intimidated by a measly handgun? Even your illegally obtained one at that..." He said, brushing his coat off. Dust fluttered off it. "Ew." He continued.

"Wait..." I muttered, confused. "How do you know that? And it's not... illegal, just... specially issued."

"By whom?" He said with a sly rasp to his tone.

"Me... But still! How do you know that?"

"Tsk tsk! Don't ask such silly and senseless questions! You're a smart girl! And... you've been listening!"

"Huh, well maybe I'm not, bother to elaborate a little?" I probed, by aim was slowly steadying. Definitely being in a state I could shoot him, it dumbfounded me why I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. It probably was because I wanted to hear him out, how he had found out about what I had tried so desperately to hide. Me.

"Oh gosh, You... people! You really don't like fun don't you?"

"What?"

"Oh nevermind! Your good at solving puzzles! You don't think you could figure out that I have some smarts!"

"Obviously." I retorted back.

"You don't think, a brilliant and exuberant mastermind... Like myself, who developed and executed such a brilliant plan of events, would overlook to do a simple..."

"A simple what?"

"Uh, What's it called?" He whispered to himself. "Oh! Background check! Yes! A background check of his prestigious participants."

"How? Next to nobody even knows who I am!" My teeth clenched together, he was toying with me.

"Please! Having a few connections helps with that."

"What connections?" I inquired.

"Well!" He started. "It helps when the President of Russia is a childhood friend."

"You grew up with him?" I asked

Kent barely nodded his head as he enthusiastically continued. "The Vice-President of this... disgusting country, has our beautiful emblem tattooed on his shoulder!"

"He what?" I exclaimed.

"I have people everywhere Natalia. SO! When I want to find out more about a particular person, It isn't hard for me to obtain such information such as, where you work, where you sleep, who you're with. It's quite simple to do! I even found out about how both your parents died. Oh wait! I did that didn't I..." He broke into an hideous cackle.

That was the last straw. Pulling the trigger on my weapon, the next sound to come out of his wicked mouth would pure and utter silence. I expected to hear the sound of the gunshot ring all throughout the room. Much to my disappointment, the illustrious bellows was replaced with a clicking noise of an empty magazine.

"Oh. Guess who's out of bullets?" He said in a high pitched mocking tone.

I checked my pockets, no extra clips. I stared long and hard at Kent and threw the weapon on the ground, my gaze undeterred.

"You see, When I look for someone who I'm going to... fun the chance allowing someone to aid me in my endeavors, the first step is what threat they are to me."

I stood vigilant, clenching my fist so hard I could feel my fingernails digging into my palms.

"I learned, that at all times, Natalia Earhart keeps at her side a throwback 21st handgun that resembles Jewish standardized military sidearm, modified for safety, power and adaptability to further enhance in potency, and adjusted for the most advanced ammunition available and even unavailable to the world military. I also know that its standard clip size is fifteen bullets. Eleven of which your shaky arm fired at me. And four of which echoed through my catacombs. Oops! All out!!" He gave a large grin.

"How did you take my spares?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Please... With the only people with access to above. People of the streets, master thieves will owe favors to get their hands on things from the outside world."

Resh was rustling in his chains now, as was John.

"Come on Natalia! I've done my research and you've proved it! You solved my little puzzle. You should have figured all this out! You're taking my fun out of it!" Kent started pacing back and forth. "Wait!" It said holding his hand up. "Oh! Well played... Well played, Natalia."

I sighed. He saw through my plan.

"Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant!" Kent said with increasing speed. "You! Are! Stalling!" He continued. "Round of applause to you!"

I sighed. "So did I finally win something? Seeming as this whole thing was just one big downfall."

"Ah! Nope! Your stalling has only further aided my plan, but it woulda been a good plan." He replied.

I nodded. "Figured as much."

"Flattery won't work either!" He chimed. "Anyway, enough chatting! Let's get the ceremony started!" He clapped his hands together.

Glancing over my shoulder, rows of armored individuals came down the aisles. I wasn't Resh; I had no chance in hand to hand combat with all of these people. Two men led me up onto the stage and chained my wrists and ankles; I didn't resist. They were heavy and rough. Tight on my wrists, they gnawed at my skin even when I moved the slightest.

"Why did you bring us here? Why us?" I asked as I tried to remain as still as possible.

Kent slowly walked over to me. "I need some special liquid." He made his way over to me and pulled out a syringe. Grabbing my left arm and wrenching it forward, he slowly drew blood into the syringe now in my arm. "Ow!" I exclaimed, something about the needle hurt more than usual, It felt like the blood near it was vibrating.

Finally pulling it out, he flicked the syringe and glanced at it in the light; he looked confused, not sure why. He tossed the thing over his shoulder and it shattered on the ground, creating a small pool of blood. Next, he did the same thing to Resh, but Resh blood came thick, dark red with glints of gold shinning in within and all around it. "Ah yes!" He started. "Perfect, I started to get distraught for a second."

What was he talking about?

"Well you have your blood... Can we just go?" I asked at the impossible chance.

"Psh! Heck no! You get to enjoy the fun! Watch the show! It's going to be exciting! Why would you... go?"

It was really starting to bug me how immature this guy was. All the talk about fun, as if it was some sort of game! Psychopath... I thought to myself.

"So why us?" I requested again.

"Well, I needed something only you have!"

"Then why not just kidnap us or something?"

"Cause' that's boring!" He exclaimed. "It's much more fun to have you walk right into my hands! It also lets me work on other things in the meantime!"

"Crazy..." I accidentally slipped out; he didn't hear me thankfully.

"I bet you're wondering, how did you manage to pull that off? Well! I can say it definitely wasn't easy! It takes a lot of careful strategical stuff, concocting, and oh so very much brain power. But it was so worth it! I got exactly what I wanted and I even had fun doing it! Who would've guessed?

"There are so many variables though. It never could have worked."

Kent stood blinking for a while, then burst out in a hysterical laugh. "Hahaha! Oh Natalia! It's a lot easier when your life was being guided."

What was he talking about?

"You see..." He continued. "I've had my eye on you for a very... very... very long time... " Kent's eyes went black, pitch black for a few seconds. Not just the pupil, but his entire eye, like the soldiers we faced earlier. They changed back to normal quickly. Maybe I was just imagining things.

I didn't say anything. He had a pattern of making me curious.

"Every major and even any minor event in your life was predestined to happen. I lost quite a few men in that riot."

The riot that killed my dad. This was old news. Not interrupting, I let him keep on going.

"The first boy to ask for your number, ever wonder why he, just out of the blue, stopped texting you?"

"What?" I said. Thinking by now I'd forget it, I was surprised to find I remembered that moment as clear as day.

Kent smirked and chuckled. "Poor kid, his brakes malfunctioned and he took a spin off a cliff."

"You..."

"Yea that was me!" He raised his hand slightly. "You ever wonder why your college set you a letter offering you a scholarship?"

Yes... I thought. I replied "No" regardless; this was starting to frighten me.

"And you know how hard it is to demolish the state capital building?"

He was talking about recently now.

"It wasn't... that hard... actually." he said in a mellow tone before picking up again.

"Even arranging the destruction of the California Bureau of Investigation facility."

"You did that?"

"Well, all of these I've done indirectly, maybe you would recognize the ones who actually did it?"

With that, a man stepped from behind the curtain. "Hello Natalia."

To my surprise, it was my boss, the one who I never got along with. I closed my eyelids shut as images sped a mile a minute into and out of my brain. Every single conversation I've had with my boss.

"Ah! There it is! Natalia Earhart's one famed weakness. Her ability to re-live the past. Too much info, too much data! Senda ya right back to the horrible things you've seen! Most are random but you're good at blocking the ones that trigger."

My heart was racing from the burst of moments. My mind pumping, feeling like I was about to collapse. The high-pitch ringing was back in my ears.

"But to me that's a challenge. Come!" He said and motioned to the curtain. A woman, older in age. I recognized her, but I couldn't pin where. Racking my brain, images flew through my mind, trying to find out who they are. Then it clicked. She was the woman with the border collie who was complaining about some "gas". She was one of the people I interviewed after the destruction at the state capitol building. More images of that scene whizzed through my mind at a million miles an hour.

"There we go! Next!" Kent yelled. His eyes flickered again.

I closed my eyes and looked away, I didn't want to relive something, not now. I wasn't going to look, nothing could make me. Until I heard the voice.

"Hey there niece."I turned back. "No... Nononono" I said. Slowly peeking through my narrowed eyes, I saw a man standing there, dressed in a suit and tie. It was my uncle, the one who let me use the room at the top of his condominium complex. Every image of my uncle all the way down to my childhood whirred through my brain. It hurt and it hurt bad. My head throbbing intensely, I teetered on the edge. I could feel the dark crawling up around me, but I fought it.

"Woohoo! It's woooorking!" Kent exclaimed, dancing around like he was either excited or had something in his pants. "Oh and we haven't even gotten to the best part!"

"Oh no... Whatever came out next I knew would push me over the edge. On my knees, my breathing had become extremely heavy, and my body was shaking extremely violently.

"S-stop!" I yelled out.

"Huh, never thought I'd hear that coming out you."

"Please..." I muttered. The thing I fear the most is the tragedy of my own story.

"That's so ironic! Because I'm pretty sure those are the exact same words you choose to ignore at your old job! Isn't it? Hmm? You did this for a living... You messed with people's minds, tricked them into telling you every deep and dark secret they had and that your superiors wanted to know!" He walked over to me and leaned up to my ear and whispered. "But we both know you were the superior one the entire time." He chuckled in a hushed way that you could describe it as whispering one.

I pulled away as much as I could, but my chains kept me from going very far. My hands were shaking and my heavy breathing made my head start to spin.

"Seeming as how you ignored their words then, How does that old proverb go? Do onto others as you want them to do unto you?" He crossed his forearms to make the letter "X" and made the sound of a buzz. "Request denied!" He whispered at me.

"Leave her alone!" A voice yelled out. John was trying to stand up for me again, but this time instead of a harsh grumble or snappy phrase, Kent turned around and roared. A deeper, throatier roar than a lion unleashed from his voice. His eyes flickered black for a moment as well. The jump of fright it gave me sent me from my knees to the ground. I could hear chains rattling in the distance, and as my eyes were still closed, my best guess is they were John's.

"What do you remember from those days Natalia?" I heard Kent ask me. "Anything? Anything at all? Probably not, there were tons of people and different faces you saw every day. It's not like there's one who was always there."

No.

"Wait... Oh yes! There was someone wasn't there?"

Not him...

"Hoho! and if I remember right, you had quite a thing for him too!"

No! Please, I don't want to go back there, not there, somewhere else please!!!

An single image passed through my mind, an image I tried so hard to block out forever.

"AH! What was his name..."

A smile, dark black hair, bleached at the tips.

"Oh yes!"

Two misty brown eyes.

"Nathan."

Nathan... That set it off. It wasn't long before the black overcame me.

~*~

I was standing in the parking lot of the State of Minnesota High School. I knew exactly where we were. I desperately hoped that this was all I was going to see, but something inside me told me it wasn't. Sitting silently on a bench, a few feet from me, was the younger me. At 15 years of age and her nature to make enemies out of everyone she talked too, she sat alone. But there was one who she didn't, and he was coming towards her. A young man approached, I passively looked on as my younger self brushed all her hair around her neck to one side. He had given her a compliment saying he loved my hair that way not to many days before this. It stuck. She gave a quaint girly smile towards him. There was something about him that changed her personality, but she couldn't figure out what! All she knew is her heart raced each time she saw him, and she felt safe, happy and satisfied when she was around him.

This young man was Nathan, and the young, vulnerable girl – me – was madly in love with him. Sitting down, Nathan smiled at the her, and she got a sheepish grin back.

"So we're graduating..."

"Yea." The younger me said with a slight frown.

"I will miss seeing you every day."

I slipped a slight smirk, my younger self was thinking the exact same thing, but was at a loss for words to admit it. So she just nodded back.

"I was thinking..." Nathan continued. "I was wondering if you'd want to go out and catch a bite to eat with me Friday?"

"Like... a date?" She asked.

Nathan bit his tongue and nodded.

"A-alright! Sure!"

With a large grin and nod, Nathan stood up. "Excellent! Perfect. I have to go here. Work, you know."

She nodded back.

"Meet me at my house at six?"

"A surprise dinner?"

Nathan nodded. "Perfect."

What he did next caught her off guard. Nathan leaned forward and put his lips to her cheek, giving her a quick kiss before he left.

Watching him go away, I could feel my heart warm. The connection between me and my past self. To feel that feeling of being loved, it wasn't something I felt in a long time, and to be honest was something I missed. This was the first in a long string of events that would lead to so much pain.

My eyes started to blur as I watched Nathan walk away. Everything just started to melt together and fuze colors. It was like somebody spilled fifty different colors all over a perfectly painted canvas. Rubbing my eyes, I tried to clear my foggy vision. When I reopened them, I was in the front room of my house.

I just saw where it started, and now I was at about to see the end.

Something started to happen, something that hadn't happened before. A blur of color started to spread from my direction to my younger self. Looking down, my hands were slowly dispersing into a tan mist and finding it's way into my younger self's head. Everything went black for a few seconds before it reappeared. My view had changed, I was going to see it and feel it through first person, just like it was unfolding for the first time.

Sitting on the sofa, I had my knees pulled up close to me. My head was buried in my hands as I wailed. The images of the past were flooding back. The explosions, my father's words, everything was haunting me.

I looked up to see Resh, even though it was only about a year ago he still looked younger in my eyes, and it surprised me. He came in and set a gentle hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off. Sighing and walked off, He walked into the other room as the doorbell rang. It was the last thing I wanted, company.

Walking over to the door she opened it up with a sassy remark. "What do you want- Oh..." My eyes bulged. "Sorry Nathan. I'm just not in a good mood..."

Nathan stepped through the door, wiping a tear from my eye as he did so.

I smiled and let him come in and he smiled back in his usual gentle way. Completely out of habit, I adjusted my hair around my neck like I always did whenever I saw him.

Slowly walking over and plopping back down on the couch again, it took a few moments for Nathan to join me. He gently caressed my hair, he knew exactly what I was going through. I'd told him before.

Silence was prevented by only the sound of the fire, crackling in the fireplace. It's dim, warm rays of comfort projected throughout the room.

I could hear Resh come around from the kitchen and disappear into his bedroom. Something caught Nathan's attention when he did so.

"Does anyone else know who your brother really is?" Nathan inquired.

"Only you and me." I replied, gently shaking my head, I took a deep breath and wiped away a few tears, regaining my posture a bit.

Nathan nodded back to me, he checked over his shoulder and looked back at me. "Natalia?"

"Yes Nathan?" I replied.

"I don't think it's good for you to for have Resh around you. I don't think he's worth the risk."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "W-what?" I stuttered.

"There are people Natalia who... Who would go at any length to get their hands on him. And having him so close to you puts you in danger."

"You've got to be kidding."

"What?" Nathan said, confused.

"That's exactly why I want to be around him. I need to protect him!"

"It's not worth it Natalia!" Nathan exclaimed.

"He's my brother Nathan! What am I supposed to do?"

"He's not your brother! He's an... Alien who you found!" The conversation had quickly turned into a shouting fest.

"I don't care what you're saying, Resh doesn't get in the way of our relationship. He keeps to himself and I've handled everything fine so far." I explained.

"Yea? Well what if he is? Okay? What if it makes me uncomfortable?"

"Well, what would you have me do?"

"Get rid of him."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What? No! Never! Let him roam on his own, He isn't back to full health!"

"It's me or him Natalia." Nathan asserted. He was giving me the look. The look he always gave me when he really really meant something.

I was torn. I loved Nathan, and loved Resh. I loved them in different ways. Resh saved my life, and I owe him.

"What's going on?" A voice said off to the side of us, Resh had come out. I sighed and looked away. This wasn't... couldn't be happening.

"Choose Natalia." Nathan said. "Choose."

I didn't want to choose. I didn't want to answer, so that's exactly what I did. And not answering is worse than picking either.

"You leave me no choice." Nathan said,

"What?"

"Resh doesn't belong, he's going to contaminate our way of life. Not just you and me but all of humanity. Humans aren't ready to have their kind walk among us..." This was a side I'd never seen in Nathan before. He walked over to Resh, grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to the wall.

"Nathan! Stop!" I yelled. Running up to him, I grabbed his arm with a tight grip. "Nathan!" This is when it happened, I was sent tumbling to the ground. Nathan hit me. I was disoriented and dazed. Intense throbbing filled my head. With my heart beating so hard, I thought it was going to pop. Did that really just happen?

Able to make out Nathan shoving Resh into the bedroom, I ran over to the door as I collected my bearings. Trying the handle,it didn't budge. Locked.

"You're finally getting what you deserve." I heard from inside.

I tried to kick the door.

"Don't get in my way Natalia! This has to happen."

Pulling out my handgun to blow off the handle, it was empty. I always kept it loaded, Nathan must have unloaded it.

infuriated, I ran to my closet and grabbed a rifle out of it. Heading back to the door, I shot a bullet and it blew out the lock. I kicked the door opened, looking to aim at Nathan. Instead, my hand met the blunt of a baseball bat. Sending me reeling to the ground as I gripped my hand, Nathan continued to hit me again in the side. "Stay. Down."

What was going on? I felt so confused. Why is he doing this?

I couldn't move my hand, it probably was broken. Desperately, I reached for my gun only to have Nathan kick it away.

Watching as Nathan went on to bind Resh's hands, feet and wings together. "When will you ever learn...when will you give up? You let your feelings cloud your judgment." He said.

He was right, I wasn't sure how, but all I could tell as I was weak and my emotions were at fault.

"I won't let you take him..." I groaned.

"Really...? You know as well as I do that when I have the upper hand I never lose."

"I. Choose. Resh." I yelled through bared teeth.

"Ha! Too late for that... Shoulda kept your mouth shut now." He said, proceeding to hit me again with the bat once again. Screaming in agony, it was times like now I wished I lived in an area where someone could hear me scream. Someone to help. I was alone.

I barely caught glimpse of Resh's gaze. Something about it gave me strength. Something about it gave me the determination and courage to make a move. "Nathan?"

"What!?" Nathan snapped back.

"Tell the Devil I said hello next time you go home for Christmas."

That infuriated him. He came at me bringing the bat down. Rolling to dodge it, I swept Nathan's legs from out with under him. I didn't feel any of the pain I expected from my beaten and bruised back.

In one movement I grabbed the bat, stood up and brought it down, smashing in Nathan's skull... Just like that, it was over.

Everything sunk in all at once. Tears produced so fast that I couldn't contain them. I collapsed to the ground with my eyes so full of tears, I couldn't see anything but a blur.

Only one thought flew through my brain.

I will never love again...

~*~

In an instant, a bolt of energy surged through my system and I was awake.

"Ah!" A voice called out. "Sleeping Beauty awakens!"

Glancing over, John, Resh and I were all still chained, Kent still stood in the middle of the stage. All the memories were still fresh in my mind. I still, to this day, have trouble dealing with killing Nathan, but it makes it easier knowing he wasn't the man I thought I knew. Something of such conviction doesn't happen in an instant, it grows over long periods of time or already exists from the beginning.

"Have fun? Ha!" Kent said as he turned to a large computer screen behind him. It was now that I noticed that the stage was set differently. It was home to many large computer systems and screens. All of them were be centered around a large frame that by my guess was a good twenty feet tall and ten feet wide.

Trying to stand, my legs gave out from underneath. I collapsed onto the hard stone. My knees planted themselves in stains of blood. They themselves were covered in dry blood. Bound, my wrists were also covered in blood. Dizzy, my head had trouble trying to orient the room in place. My mind was uncontrollable, my body was broken, my heart was broken as well. They all take a long time to mend again.

I couldn't explain my thoughts. I couldn't explain my emotions. My friends were chained up and the only thing I knew at that point was I was lost. For once, I had no idea what to do, no idea what to say, and no idea if I was going to make it out alive.

Kent walked over to me, squatted down and whispered into my ear. "What does it feel like to realize you're entire life was a lie?"

That's exactly what it was. It never was real. No matter what I would've done my life, I would have wound up here.

I stayed like this for hours upon end – mentally torturing myself. It got to a point where I even questioned whether or not existence was still worth it. I could easily wrap these chains around my neck and be done with this horror. Seriously considering it, My gaze wandered between my friends. First to Resh, then to John. Resh was looking at the machine, and John was looking at me. Why? With the entire world spinning, I tried to get a focus on John. He was just staring at me, like Resh did earlier. John's gaze was different. Well, maybe it wasn't so much his heart, but rather mine. When I looked at John, I don't see a fourteen year old kid; I don't see a guide through a mysterious place. I see a friend, someone who means something to me. He was there when I didn't have anyone else, even through through a strange of place as the mist. We made it out alive. I made it out alive. I did it by doing the one subject I thought I would never do: Love.

Instantly, all of the thoughts of suicide left my mind. I could think a bit clearer, and even found the strength to somehow hobble to my feet knowing that he was there.

"Look who's up and at em'" Resh whispered.

"Yea... Why hasn't anything happened yet."

"I don't know, said they're doing setup and troubleshooting."

"Why doesn't he call customer service?"

Resh slipped a smirk and chuckle. "Look who got their sense of humor back!"

"Yea, and my wit... Possibly." Slyly grinning, I was concocting something.

"Go for it." Resh's smile gave me a huge grin.

"Start whistling. You'll know what to do when the time comes."

"What?" Resh said, questioning it. "Fine, whatever you say."

After that, Resh started to whistle a soft and gentle tone, it wasn't too loud.

I waved to John the best I could without moving my chains. Lucky for me he happened to look up at the perfect moment. With his attention caught, I mouthed out the word "Talk" and pointed to Kent. He nodded back and turned his attention to the exuberant lunatic.

"Soooo. Big shot!" John said, getting Kent's attention.

"Hmm? What? What do you want? I'm busy here."

"I just was curious about all your... Gizmos and gadgets. Would you care... Explaining what it does and why?"

"Pff! Like I'm going to tell you... That'll ruin my big finale! Or beginning, I'm not sure... Hmm..."

"Well why are you doing this then?"

"Ugh, I thought every kid is taught this down here."

"Taught what?" John kept at it.

"Astrians! It's to rid this... despicable planet of what shred of dignity it still has left!"

"Not big into Aliens I presume?"

"That's what this organization was founded upon. Duh. Nothing that can advance our species. And overall, No mingling. So I'm going to rid our planet of their filth, That's all."

"How?"

"Stop asking so many questions!" Kent yelled in rage.

"Sorry, you like to talk, so I thought."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing..." John slunk back. Once Kent turned back to his instruments, John shrugged to me. He did perfect.

Then a sound filled my ears that made me smile. The high pitched yip of Misty. Resh's whistling bringing her to us, it made me relieved to see her alive. it might be our last chance to get out. She had only yipped softly and came running up to Resh and looking at him.

"Good girl!" Resh whispered. He went to grab her but she dove out of the way and over to me. At this point, she full out barked at me. It was of joy to see me, but it certainly would call the attention of people around us. Doing just that, I tried to get her to shush, but she dashed off towards Kent. He turned around. "Aww! Look at the little puppy!" He exclaimed, not noticing that it had any connection to us.

"Are you lost lil guy?" He said, going to pick her up. Misty snapped her jaw at him and growled before moving on to another person. I guess she doesn't like being called a guy.

Nobody knew what to do with her. She was wandering around and sniffing everyone's feet. Well there goes our plan. I thought. But she stopped when she came over of the soldiers she sat down on her haunches and took a look at him up and down.

The soldier wasn't sure what to do, so he just waved. "Boss?" He said.

"Kent. It's not Boss, just Kent." One of the other corrections.

"Right. Kent." He changed his address.

"Yes?" Kent finally answered.

"What do we do with her?" He motioned to Misty.

"Dunno! Hold her, dispose of her, I don't care! Just get her out of the way before the machine has its haywire moment."

Many of them were intrigued enough stay still in shock, totally caught off guard. But one guard charged her. Misty was fast; she was already in my arms.

The guard halted when he came up to me. "Don't let her leave your arms he snapped." I nodded.

That's when Resh got up, pulled as hard as he could against the chains. He tried to sweep out the feet from under the guard. He succeeded, but the ring of keys that was attached to the guards belt was just out of Resh's reach.

About a dozen people started towards me. The guard kicked Resh in the jaw before returning upright. He turned around and walked back to his post, but not before he spat on him.

Another hour went of nothing went by. Soon enough, a few guards left. Arriving quickly after, they started to hand out bowls of soup to everyone except me and Resh. It was some sort of soup – even Misty got a bowl. A masked soldier walked over to her and set it down in front of me, just out of reach. I watched as Misty got up and walked over to it. After a few sniffs, she started to lap it up. That's when I noticed something.

After Misty drank about half the contents of the bowl – which she ate quick – the level of the soup lowed low enough to reveal a small metallic item in the middle: a key. That is the last thing I expected to find in a bowl of soup.

I looked around for a bit before I spotted the soldier who gave Misty the bowl. He was off in the corner upon the balcony. I, just barely, was able to see him nod to us. That was enough for me. I stretched as far as I could, but the bowl was too far. I eventually had to end up grabbing it with my teeth, which after trial and error I succeeded in. I retrieved it finally and dropped it into my hand, then went to work on the locks.

Then the ground shook. My guess is it was the machines that Kent had set up that he was turning on. Each one of the men and women fell. Some fell on their weapons and were killed, others were just dazed. But as I crashed to the ground, the key clicked and unlocked. Quickly unlocking the other, I handed the keys to Resh who unlocked himself.

"Now what?" Resh called out.

Honestly, I never thought we would ever get out of those chains, so I didn't think enough ahead of what to do after that. I noticed a few of the guards that were sent reeling to the floor dropped their guns, and just as they all were standing back up, I ran over and grabbed one of their guns.

"Everyone back!" I yelled, pointing the gun at Kent. Everyone but one stepped back, He lunged for my gun. I couldn't turn in time. He would've grabbed me, but he brushed right past me and fell onto the ground. Looking down at him, blood was quickly spreading on the floor. On the other side of me, Resh stood with his blood-covered blade out in front of me.

Everyone was standing. Nobody wanted to move.

"Kent. Stop what you're doing right now."

Kent turned around. "Why? If you shoot me, my... minions will just finish the job."

I grinned, and with a resounding, "Sounds good to me," I put three bullets in his chest.

Falling to the ground, Kent fell over dead. If there wasn't any way we were getting out of this, I might as well put an end to him; maybe it will stop or stall them long enough to do something about it.

Everyone in the room was startled as stood on and watched Resh walked over and unbound John's cuffs. I knew we were doomed; the ammo left in my clip wouldn't be enough to even manage my part. Three men versus who knows how many was impossible even with Resh.

Throwing down my weapon, I was accepting defeat, something I swore to myself I would never do. But one thing I've learned is to not hold onto things. If I came away from this, things would be different.

I waited for someone to come and take me away, but they all just stood and kept staring. What could they be looking at? A single laugh filled the theater. A deep, dark, and evil laugh that loomed around the room, echoing in the silence.

Kent was alive. He was picking himself up off the ground. "Oh, that felt good." He said, sounding surprisingly un-sarcastic. "You've got to try a lot harder than that to kill me."

Firing another two shots into his back, as he was facing away from me, he barely even flinched as they hit him. Adjusting his neck before he turned back to me, it revealed huge neck veins. His skin started to fade from its pale color to a thick, blood red. What is happening?

Kent's body started to grow to at least around nine feet. His shoulders broadened and arms thickened with muscle. I couldn't hear his voice, but I could hear growling and gnashing of teeth coming from his direction. A deep, sinister voice echoed again. "There is a passage in an ancient book here on Earth that says "all angels are sent to help out with those lined up to receive salvation." Well, they left out the part about the demons." it uttered.

Then I heard a sound I will never forget. Sending a surge of pain through my head and a chill of fear down my spine, I could barely stay standing. It was his scream. The power and pitch was so high that it felt like someone was taking a chainsaw to my eardrums. Never in my life had I felt such pain. The brief scream lasted forever in my head. Gripping my ears in pain, I collapsed to my knees and curled up. It hurt so badly.

I finally was able to look back at him, that... thing, was turned, staring me down. It stood several feet above the tallest man, had pitch black eyes, the same torturous eyes. His roaring voice felt like a shock wave of air even at the distance we were at. Three rows of Incisor teeth, a jagged chin of his now blood red rock skin. And the horns, it had horns! Large horns that curled straight back.

He looked at me, not speaking or growling, just looked. Slowly raising his arm, the behemoth set his hand on a lever, muttering. "Our voice be heard, Mistress of the Sunset."

The earth shook again once more, almost as there was an animal in the heart of the machine and it was screaming to be set free.

"From the ashes, the trapped world unkempt"

"No shallow shout, no shimmering silence"

"The father will fall, the fire voiced intense"

"A demon's scream, a devil's roar"

"Up rises the second side of the inner war."

Then he slammed the lever down. Filled with life, the large frame activated a red glow that filled the darkening room. A rush of air blasted forth, sending every standing person except the demon off their feet.

Then came more! More and more of the vile beasts of various sizes, horns and weapons, but they all had the eyes. The foul, black, demonic eyes. Some strolled right through the portal; others flew through the portal and perched around the walls and balcony.

"Resh!" I yelled, both of us next to each other on the ground. "What are those things?"

Resh looked panic stricken. The fear in his eyes sucked all chances of hope out of my heart.

"Resh... What are they?" I asked once again.

"They're Astrians..."

  2. Hell continues

in part two...
