The Esoteric Design Read online

  “By all means, investigate away. Just where do you plan on starting?” Clarke asked.

  “I had my own suspicions about a location, and after my little chat with Euclid, I was able to confirm it.” She hesitated. “Sir, I would like to investigate Ives.”

  “Ives?” He looked at her incredulously. Camery followed with an amused chuckle. “Aria, what can possibly be in Ives?” the President asked.

  “Perhaps the source of these creatures,” Aria’s voice softened. The President gave her a stern look, making the woman feel like a child. “I know it sounds silly, but the mythology does state that there once was a half-man, half-beast that inhabited the island. It only makes sense to check it out. Euclid even said that I can find my answers there.”

  “Preposterous! It’s called mythology for a reason!” Dr. Camery laughed.

  Everyone in the cabin gave the doctor equal glares.

  “If this man told you to go to the island, I could only assume it’s going to be a trap, Aria,” Mr. Clarke protested. “What if we are attacked once again while you are gone? What if I lose my best agents?”

  Aria folded her arms. “Sir, with all due respect, earlier today you were willing to throw our lives away. Now is the time to send us out. You know very well that Troy and I are your best bet at figuring out where these things came from.”

  “And how do you plan on getting there? The typhoons won’t allow passage by boat nor plane.”

  “Hello? Top of aviation? Best pilot in the world?” Gavin pointed at himself. “Sir, my Hawk eats typhoons for breakfast.”

  Pulling up his DNAIS, Gavin looked up the weather patterns surrounding Ives. “If I can get the baby up to 15,000 meters, I think I can fly over the top of one of the developing cells before it turns into a full-fledged storm. Then Aria and Troy can go for a HALO onto Ives.” He paused. “Once they’re on the ground, however, they’re on their own. There’s no telling how big the storms will get or how long they will last.”

  “One-way trip?” Clarke retorted.

  “Uh…I’ll have to work at the extraction point. If all looks green, then I can maybe land her inside, but guessing by all the electromagnetic static that Ives is said to emit, I could lose all gadgets in the process,” Gavin said nervously.

  “Wait, what? It even has its own force field around it? What’s with this place?” Troy let out an exasperated sigh. “Is there some dungeon we need to find on some mountain somewhere to retrieve some magic key that will let us inside?”

  Gavin laughed. The President gave the young man a strange look while Aria and Camery rolled their eyes.

  “Why can’t you take anything seriously?” Aria mumbled.

  “Aw, come on! Admit it! This is ridiculous! Monsters; forbidden islands; half-man, half-beasts!” Troy rambled. “It’s sounding a bit farfetched, right?”

  “Glad someone else is seeing it the same as I do,” Dr. Camery chimed in.

  “I’m not agreeing with you on anything,” Troy muttered back sourly.

  “Farfetched or not, Euclid mentioned it, so we have to check it out. If there’s nothing there, then we’ll come back home.” The woman sighed irritably. She reeled her gaze to the President, who merely shrugged in return.

  “It’s our best guess. Why the hell not? I suppose it makes sense in some way. It would be the perfect location to set up a secret base of some kind. Almost makes me wish I had thought of it before.” James nodded to himself. “Very well. Tomorrow you three will set off for Ives. For now,” he glanced out the window; the helicopter was coming to a halt atop a rich-labeled hotel, “get some rest.”

  With shaking hands, Professor Camery slowly lifted a small diamond-cut glass of water to his dry lips. The liquid was cold but did nothing to quench the doctor’s parched throat. The stench of smoke stuck to his clothing and hair, causing his nostrils to flare. Dark circles lined his eyes. Despite the weary look on his face, Camery’s mind was sorting through his memories of the day’s events. His blackened eyes gazed at his reflection in the floor-to-wall window of his hotel room. He looked out, past the tinted glass, deep into the blank stare of his own reflection. Feeling numb, the scientist seemed uninterested in the destroyed scenery of black night illuminated with the radiant orange and yellow of the dying flames that slowly consumed the buildings in the city’s center. No other lights were visible due to the suffocating blanket of smoke. Slight movement caught his eye, drawing his attention to the small reflection behind his, almost appearing ghost-white and levitating above the landscape before him. The doctor turned slowly, matching eyes with the little child standing patiently behind him in the room.

  “I was wondering if you would show up,” Camery spoke in stuttering words. He brought his glass back to his lips, trembling under the child’s grey stare. “Well, I assume you had something to do with this.”

  A smile crossed the pale child’s lips. “I’m glad you made it out safely,” her sweet voice replied. The girl, no more than eight years old, walked slowly to the window. She gazed emptily at her pallid self, pale skin wrapped in a white lace dress with white shoes to match. Even her long hair, platinum in color, was ghostly against her ashen eyes. The flickering of orange in the distance caught her dead stare. A tiny crease formed on her lips.

  “I-I almost didn’t,” Camery fumbled his words. “One of those things almost dragged me away. If it weren't for Aria, I’d probably be dead.”

  “If it weren't for the creature taking you, you would be.” Her harsh stare lifted to meet his frightened expression.

  “Then, you sent them?” he asked harshly.

  “Of course I did. You’ve yet to finish your end of the bargain.” The child’s voice, however small it was, sounded very adult in nature. She turned away from the window and walked with tiny steps to the man’s bed, hopping onto the mattress with a small bounce. She gave him her sweetest smile, eyes glittering in the light of the nightstand lamp. “Were you able to find your documents?”

  “Y-yes. I managed to grab a couple before they forced me into the infirmary.” Camery nodded. He reached into his lab coat’s pocket with quivering hands. The handwritten pieces of paper, the only thing not monitored through Bio-Tech’s computer systems, rustled between his fingertips as he organized himself. He cleared his throat. “Um, yes. The Faze Shields are simple to make and, as you have found out, are quite easy to come by and maintain. But its radius of vibration is quite narrow.”

  “I need you to make one that is bigger. Much bigger.” She leaned forward.

  “H-how big are you thinking?” Camery swallowed thickly.

  “Very big. Perhaps one that can disrupt energy fields by fifty meters.” The child swayed her feet back and forth, humming quietly as she did so.

  “Fifty meters….That’s a hefty piece of machinery. Whatever would you need it for?”

  A small, innocent giggle emitted past the girl’s soft lips. “I have lots of friends who want to play.”

  Piercing blue eyes stared from a lightless void. The glow flickered, the pupils nearly nonexistent. Aria stared, feeling herself being stripped down to her core. She couldn’t move her body, frozen and strapped into place as the electric eyes watched her. She felt naked under that stare, shaken and turned upside down for her insides to be displayed for all to see. How eyes like that could make her feel so vulnerable was beyond her. The woman struggled, trying to call out, but her voice was no longer there. Gasping for air, her mouth widened; she felt like she was suffocating. Heart beats drummed loudly in her ears, quickening with her rising fear. A soft rumble shuddered in the distance, rapidly climbing in volume, nearing her very spot in the empty void. A soft breath sounded and smoke, like a cigarette’s, filled her sight, the smell entering her subconscious. Aria twisted her wrists, trying to free herself as the rumble consumed her, shaking her, vibrating within her mind. It knocked, becoming more form in sound, pounding louder and louder. Then, she was released and falling into the black pit.

  Aria spun, falling over the si
de of the bed, and collided with the maroon carpet of her hotel room floor. Her eyes opened wide as she gasped. Another loud knock sounded. Lifting her head, her hair a wild mess, she gaped open-mouthed at the door.

  “Aria?” Troy’s muffled voice sounded from the other side.

  She groaned, slowly climbed to her feet, and fussed with the sheet that was tangled around her ankles. Why was it so hot? Her hand wiped at her forehead, clearing the sheen of sweat on her brow. With aggravation, she swiped her DNAIS across the door, the panel sliding into the wall. Troy nearly fell into her room. He appeared to have been listening through the door.

  “Jeez, sleepy head! I was wondering when you were going to get up! Sleep well?” he asked, giving her an eye up and down.

  “Hrm…not really,” she replied.

  “Yeah, I can tell,” the man grumbled.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” She spun and returned to her bed, picking up her pillow and comforter. Shower, she needed a shower.

  “Nothing.” He cleared his throat. He watched the woman circle around her bed, glance in the closet and then peer into the drawers of the dresser. A wry smirk returned to the man’s face as the woman met his hazel stare. “Dry cleaning.” He flipped his wrist from over his shoulder, pulling a transparent bag from behind his back. Aria snagged the sack from his hand.

  “Did you forget?” he asked with amusement.

  Ignoring the man, she entered the bathroom and huffily kicked her boots out of the way. Troy entered her room, not caring that she gave him an ugly glower, and then plopped onto her mattress.

  “We were supposed to leave an hour ago.”

  “What time is it?” she called out over the sound of the running water from the shower. Steam flowed back into the area where Troy was sitting. He curiously eyeballed the over-turned alarm clock.

  “Nine,” he grumbled.

  Silence ensued. Troy sat in the room, staring at nothing in particular, listening to the woman as she showered. The sweet scent of honey and flowers filled his senses. He stayed like that for a few minutes, spacing out as he thought about Aria’s recent behavior. She apparently had been stressed or bothered by something. He could tell she had nightmares all night long; if the wrinkles that covered her forehead when she opened the door weren’t any indication, her bed gave it away as it was a rumpled mess.

  Aria strode into the room, towel firmly wrapped around her body. She eyed the distant Troy. “Are you awake?” she asked him firmly as she tugged a brush through her tangled hair.

  “Huh?” Troy shook his head.

  “What are you waiting for? A show?” Aria grumbled as she lifted her dry cleaning and emptied the contents onto the bed.

  “Does it involve removing your towel?” he asked.

  “Get out!” She pointed her hairbrush at the door.

  Troy quickly stood, a broad grin on his face. “I’ll be in the lobby.” Then he left.

  The woman sighed loudly and then quickly began dressing herself in the eerie silence of her room. Tugging on the white halter, she paused and glanced over her shoulder. Her neck hair stood on end as she felt the familiar stare of piercing blue eyes gazing upon her, no doubt caused by the strange dream she had all night. Giving a shrug of her shoulders, she continued dressing, not able to see the invading glowing orbs that watched her and the invisible smile biting down on a cigarette.

  A high-pitched beep sounded in the room, causing the woman to jump. Aria glanced at her wrist; it was a message from Gavin saying he was leaving without her. Another alarm chimed followed by a second message stating how angry he was that she showered in front of Troy and not him.

  “Children,” Aria griped through gritted teeth.

  Grabbing her knapsack, the woman quickly left the hotel room, trotting toward the lobby area.

  “Ah, there she is!” Gavin hollered with a smile. He waved at Aria as she descended the carpeted stairs. She gave the pilot a gentle smile in return. “I thought you said she was in a bad mood.” He peered toward Troy.

  Aria narrowed her eyes at the other man, slugging his arm quickly before heading for the elevator.

  “Ow!” Troy growled, rubbing the sore appendage. That was his bad arm, the one that was nearly dislocated and gnawed off by a creature the night before. Aria smiled at his pain.

  Together, in silence, the three rode the elevator to the top floor of the hotel. Rounding the corner, they took the emergency exit to the roof where the Hawk 90 was waiting.

  “Got everything we need?” Aria asked, slipping on a pair of sunglasses as she entered the bright sunlight.

  “Enough to equip a small army.” Gavin opened the cabin doors to the helicopter.

  “Good…I hope it’s enough.” Aria stepped inside and immediately began loading and organizing her arsenal into her rucksack.

  “Enough?” Troy laughed, overlooking the cabin stuffed with assault rifles, massive containers of ammo, and every type of explosive Bio-Tech had ever manufactured. The man grabbed multiple handfuls of the SABO and EMP grenades. He glanced at the air fuels and hesitated before snatching some to add to his pack. “It may not kill ‘em, but it can at least slow ‘em down.”

  “Hopefully we can do more than slow them down,” the woman muttered. Her fingers trailed over the side of her rifle. “We’re going to need more than this,” she said in a dejected tone.

  “How is this not enough? If we can’t keep ourselves safe with this, then we’re screwed.” Troy gave her a look of disbelief.

  The loud hum of the starting propellers droned overhead.

  “No, I mean we’re going to need to engineer something more.” She pressed against her wrist, and a holographic keyboard came into view. Her fingers typed against the pale-blue lights. “I’m sending a request for Dr. Camery and his team to develop a kind of ammunition that will give the same effect as an EMP. Maybe, upon contact, they can send tiny shockwaves that will eat away at the Faze Shield’s energy.”

  “That’s a good idea, Aria. You should be a scientist.” Troy smirked.

  She gave him an amused stare. “I can come up with ideas, but don’t ask me how to make them work.” Her smile faded, and she glared at him instead. “Besides, I need to be here to keep your butt in line. Where would you be without me?”

  “Probably not much worse off seeing as you almost blew my head off the other day.”

  “Stop bringing that up!” Aria smacked the man on the arm again before taking her seat. Troy gaped at her, grabbing his arm with a pained expression. She was particularly moody today.

  The Hawk 90 jolted, lifting into the air. “We now have liftoff,” Gavin’s voice called over the intercom. “Thank you for flying with Hawk 90; I am your pilot, Gavin. I ask that you remain seated and buckled through the duration of our flight. At this time, please be sure that your seat back is returned to its upright position and that your tray table is stowed. As a reminder, all carry-on items must now be stored under the seat in front of you or in an overhead compartment. Please notice the emergency exits to the left and the right. Parachutes are located on either side of the cabin. In the case of a water landing, you can use Aria’s chest as a floatation device.”

  Troy laughed; Aria rolled her eyes, unconsciously crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Children…” she grumbled in irritation.

  Rain pelted softly against the marble windowsill as Dovian stared absently at the nothingness surrounding the tall superstructure. It was a wasteland out there, nothing more than a garbage dump, ground zero. This was once a great city–a bustling, musical, beautiful city.

  ‘A waste of civilization.…’ The man let out a long, deep breath. He closed his eyes, listening to the soft slaps the droplets created.

  Harshly, the wind whistled through the torn metropolis. It mixed with the sound of low thunder and clattering raindrops. Dovian heard the voices, the whispers of conversation not far away. He heard the laughter of flirting lovers, the chattering of young students, and the high-pitched twinkle of
bells and flutes playing melodiously within the chambers. He heard the many footsteps on the cobblestone pathways and the shuffle of robes across the grass.

  “Dovian?” The all too familiar whisper that had haunted him for most of his lifetime called in his ear.

  Dovian twirled around, glancing over his shoulder as he did so. “Lanthe,” The name stumbled from the man’s cracked lips. “I’-I’Lanthe….” His eyes lowered to the floor, staring at the path his robes had made on the soot-covered marble. He was the only one that had been in this room for years. There had been no one else in there before, and still no one else made a presence.

  The howl of the wind screeched from the streets below. Dovian turned his icy gaze back to the outside world. It was hard to tell anymore where the cries came from. There was too much rubble and debris. Sometimes Dovian would find himself standing next to the destroyed buildings, listening to the wind wail and shriek between thin pieces of metal. It reminded him of voices, and sometimes it reminded him of the screams that still haunted his dreams. Screams were the last thing he had heard–the death of his own people, his family, his friends, and the very woman he loved, all because of a nonsensical war.

  “I’Lanthe,” Dovian murmured to himself. Even now, the name sounded foreign. “Do you haunt me?” He strolled away from the window and out into the darkness of the cathedral.

  Like a freight train running into a stone wall, he began to feel the murderous pain. It nearly killed him every day but never pushed him over the edge, to the edge of death, something he often prayed for. Alas, as much as Dovian sometimes wished he could join the rest of his family, he knew he deserved to suffer in this world and suffer in it alone. There was no forgiveness for his actions. He wondered if even I’Lanthe was capable of such mercy and compassion.

  Dovian wafted toward the broken pillars in the center of the gothic core. He grimaced in pain, gripping at his chest. He dropped hard to his knees, folding across a crumbling stone chunk on the floor. Water fell generously from a hole in the ceiling thirty meters above the man. It pounded heavily against his aching body, doing nothing to soothe the fire within him.