The Esoteric Design: Disbanding Hope Read online

  Aren shook his head, a frown covering his face. He looked angry now. Terminating the feed, he pulled up another one that showed Ivory sniping from the rooftops. Dovian fought in the streets below while Aria and Troy took cover. Scenes flashed as Aren pulled out bits and parts that highlighted the moments of Dovian’s capture. He exposed Feyette shooting the Sorcēarian in the head, Dovian’s miraculous recovery in which he fought off the surrounding soldiers and disarmed Feyette, and the general finally revealing the truth behind part of Walten’s plan.

  “This is where he admitted that Walten wanted to clone Dovian’s DNA. At the time, we had no idea what was so special about Ivory. That wasn’t revealed until much later…when we journeyed to Ives,” Aria stated. “Inside the cave system of Ives are all of the biomechanical androids from Dr. Camery’s program that was supposedly shut down. An entity named Sapphire is pulling the strings, using her demons and the androids to wage war against humanity.”

  There were a couple of laughs and scoffs across the room, but mostly hushed talking from those who were watching.

  Aren diligently continued. He pulled up photos from Aria’s optical camera of the clones and creatures inside the caves on Ives. He followed up with the previous feed of the Underbelly. Once Aria and her team flew away from the city, Feyette’s men kept fighting. A dark portal opened, allowing a flood of demons into the city. The civilians were outmatched, and the battle did not last long. Aren quickly pulled away from the newsfeed as the crowd’s screams and shouts were picking up.

  “Not only did Walten give the androids to Sapphire for her use, but he also unleashed her beasts onto his own city folk. He killed countless innocent civilians–fathers, mothers, and children.” Aria turned to Aren. “Do we have any of that hospital feed ready?”

  Aren nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am.”

  The pilot pulled up a new segment that showed Euclid with the demons inside the hospital located on the top level of Fountains.

  “And to all of you who are watching right now in Fountains…to all of you on the upper side. You think you’re safe? Think again,” she growled. “President Clarke was shot in the midst of battle and taken to a hospital in the upper city. This is what happened during his stay, by Walten’s orders.”

  Once again, the projection expanded, revealing a panicked Clarke inside the hospital. There was a split in the screen, the second image showing soldiers in the hallway as they were torn apart by Euclid’s entourage of demons.

  “Walten doesn’t want anyone to stand in his way. That’s why Athenia was nuked. He ordered Euclid to pull out Athenia’s reactor core and use it to blow up Cherno, his competitor. Instead, the core was sent back through the portal from which it came and inadvertently destroyed Athenia and Walten’s new enterprise, Elixis. And that’s why Walten is after us. We accidentally nuked Athenia because we were the ones who put the reactor back where it came from.”

  The crowd exploded into an uproar.

  “We had no choice! It was either that or allow Cherno to be nuked and potentially destroy the entire planet. Trust me, if we had known the reactor was from Athenia, we would have tried to find a different solution. We were cramped for time, and the only thing we knew to do was put that reactor back inside the portal,” Troy finally joined in, stepping forward.

  “I would have done the same!” Kovacevic shouted. The auditorium quickly hushed, hanging onto the general’s words. “These soldiers helped save Saray. They helped unify our city-state with Roma! They saved Cherno…sadly at the expense of Athenia. They are heroes…and our allies! There are always casualties in war, but we have a decision to make! Are we going to become casualties due to one rich little prick who is angry he didn’t get that new toy he wanted for Christmas?”

  There was a loud roar of ‘no’ among the crowd, mostly Kovacevic’s men.

  “Hell no!” the general hollered, puffing on his cigar. “Are we going to keep up with our allies and fight until that asshole and his little demonic friends are wiped off the face of the planet?”

  A meek ‘yes’ sounded.

  “What was that, you panty-wearin’ sissies?” he snarled. “Did I hear a yes?”

  Now the crowd was booming in affirmation.

  “That’s what I like to hear!” Kovacevic gave a rumbling laugh. “And how the hell are we going to do that, eh?”

  Silence.

  “I tell you what…let’s have us a lil fun.” Kovacevic spun on his heel, signaling to Aren.

  The young pilot pulled up an image of Fountains. The screen zoomed in on the largest skyscraper in the city. It zipped right up to the top floor which contained a luxurious condo with a swimming pool and an entire wall made up of glass.

  “Bio-Tech satellites…finest in the world. We can see you,” Aren muttered, twisting the view to where it caught an image of Mr. Walten standing in the middle of his living room, gaping at the massive vid screen on his wall. Good, he was watching the live feed.

  “Game starts now,” Kovacevic said. “This is a search and destroy mission. Anyone out there man enough to take out this little douchebag will become a rich son-of-a-bitch. Won’t be hard seeing as he seated his throne atop the largest building in the City of Fountains. A god among petty men,” he scoffed. “Kill him, and pillage all he’s got. Keep the riches for yourself. You do know he’s the richest man on the planet, right? Go git him!” Kovacevic ordered.

  The sounds of the auditorium were nearly deafening. People were cheering; others were shouting obscenities and death threats, and some were people of action–already packing their gear and heading out the door to prepare their hunt.

  Kovacevic held his arms out, basking in the limelight. Aria folded her arms, giving a little smirk. Anarchy, she liked it. She eyed Aren again. He was staring off into space. For some reason, she figured he’d be enjoying himself a bit more.

  Static filled the hall. The audience’s excitement was cutoff as the broadcast was interrupted. Aren’s projections terminated, and he confusedly tapped against his DNAIS. Behind the team, above the stage, was a large vid screen. It fizzled, casting its own image.

  “Now, if you’re finished having your fun…” a child’s voice cut in. Aria and Troy tensed, spinning to look up at the screen. “I believe it’s my turn.”

  Sapphire stood in the center of a room that appeared to be a conference hall of some sort. Floor-to-ceiling burgundy drapes decorated the walls. Golden chandeliers spiraled glints of light throughout the room.

  “It seems that Aria and the others have already ruined the fun of introducing myself and have revealed my sadistic plan of destroying the world, but I remain a girl of class,” she giggled. The laugh and child’s mentioning of her name made Aria’s hair stand on end. Doing a little curtsy, the girl cackled again. “My name is Sapphire, future queen of the world!”

  There was barely a response as everyone watched Sapphire on screen.

  “Oh, the sounds of confusion are growing all around the world.” She lifted her arms, closed her eyes, and pretended to listen. “Euclid? You ask. What about Euclid? That mysterious man who was luring my pets into your city-state is dead, replaced by another who is much stronger.”

  Sapphire looked to the side, giving a short nod. She eagerly waved someone off camera toward her; a large grin was plastered on her face. Walking onto screen was Dovian. He moved slowly; his drawn hood cast a dark shadow across his face. Aria gave a sharp intake of breath, clutching Troy’s arm. He tensed at her touch. The Sorcēarian looked fearsome as his black wings expanded from his dorsal side. He was a giant of menacing evil as he stood beside the child.

  “I’ve got myself a Dovian! Remember him? The precious Sorcēarian who was going to save humanity? The one who allowed Feyette to get away, who allowed the destruction of the Underbelly? He’s mine! And he’s going to follow me to the end!” Sapphire cheered.

  The cries and shouts were momentous in the room, and Aria’s head spun.

  “No,” she mumbled.

  Sapphir
e’s smile faltered. Dovian’s brilliant eyes cast through the screen, drilling a hole into Aria’s soul.

  “You’re lying! He didn’t allow any of that to happen! He’s been on our side! You, you trapped him! You’re holding him and Ivory captive!” Aria shouted.

  Troy grabbed Aria’s arm, telling her to keep quiet. Even though Sapphire was merely on screen, he couldn’t help but feel she was still capable of killing them.

  “Trapped?” Sapphire laughed. “Dovian’s a free soul. You know what he is capable of. There’s nothing keeping him here other than his own freewill! Right now, if he wanted to, he could teleport and be right by your side. You know this.”

  Aria swallowed hard. Was Sapphire right? She locked eyes with Dovian again.

  “I don’t believe you,” she stubbornly hissed.

  Dovian lifted his head, giving her a daring look.

  “He stays because of a promise. The promise to revive his people, a chance to make the world as it was supposed to be–perfect and divine! Not disease-infested and full of war as it is now. The destruction of humanity is the solution, and Dovian will see to it that my plan is fulfilled. He and Ivory will repopulate the Earth!” Sapphire gave a shrill laugh.

  “Repopulate?” Aria repeated the word. She felt her heart drop, realization hitting her. She knew about Dovian’s inner turmoil, his desire to have I’Lanthe and his people back. Still, she couldn’t quite believe it. She tried to find his eyes again, but his head was downcast.

  “God left this world. He abandoned his people. He left the world for me to rule. There are only two options. Either you give up now, surrender, and I may spare your lives. If you do not backdown; if you continue to fight, I will destroy you all,” Sapphire said, her tone lowering a bit as her eyes narrowed. “Backdown. Put an end to your useless fighting.”

  “We will never backdown,” Aria growled.

  “This is humanity’s fight. You’ll have to destroy us all,” Troy added.

  “Fine. That makes my job all the easier. It’s what I want anyway,” Sapphire retorted. “Fight all you want, but there is no hope. There never was any hope.”

  Sapphire signaled once again. There was a growl from off-screen, and only a moment later did a Brawler come into view, dragging a frightened Dr. Camery behind it.

  “Oh, God…they’ve got Camery,” Aria mumbled.

  The Brawler tossed Camery onto the floor beside Sapphire’s feet. The older man's blue-grey eyes widened as he noticed Aria and Troy on screen.

  “I…I wouldn’t tell her,” Camery stammered. “B-but she already knows.”

  Sapphire stepped forward, her hand touching the man’s head. He gave a quiet yelp as she stroked his hair. “In the basement of the vacation home. Unfortunately, there’s a key code I need. I could break the glass, but….” She waited for him to respond.

  “But, but you would alert the security device, and the whole thing will detonate, setting off the nuclear warhead inside,” Camery whimpered.

  “I figured it was booby trapped. Only a father would protect something so dearly.” Sapphire leaned forward, her arms wrapping around the man. “Give me the key code, daddy,” she sweetly spoke. Camery sobbed, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

  “I didn’t want this. I didn’t want this,” he chanted, shaking his head.

  Sapphire pushed away. “No, but you certainly made it possible. No matter. Dovian can retrieve the code for me. He has those incredible mindreading capabilities, don’t you, Dovian?”

  Dovian looked at her and then down at the scientist before him.

  Camery remained on his knees, his head shaking back and forth.

  Aria watched anxiously. Her heart pounded.

  ‘Don’t do it, Dovian,’ she thought.

  Dovian reached out but then hesitated only for a moment, his eyes flickering up for a split-second. Sapphire’s cold eyes were upon the Sorcēarian, and Dovian planted his palm atop Camery’s head. The doctor yelped and then clasped his hands together before his chest.

  “Think of the last time you opened the tank,” Dovian said in a calm tone.

  “I…I can’t remember,” Camery whispered, his eyes clamped shut.

  “Four,” Dovian stated slowly.

  “No!” Camery shouted.

  “Two,” he listed a second number while Camery quaked beneath him. “No…think about the number, Camery.”

  “I can’t,” the poor man whispered.

  “You kept the container in a separate room away from the rest of the clones. There was a code you used that dropped it down a chute into a van that took it away to your vacation home. Once in the home, you set up the security panel. What was the code?” Dovian waited a moment. “Four, two…” he waited, “six, nine.”

  Camery protested once again, trying to pull away, but Dovian held him in place, his second hand gripping his shoulder. A wry smile covered Dovian’s face. It was like a game.

  “One more,” Dovian said lowly. “Four, two, six, nine…asterisk. How creative.” He quickly removed his hand from Camery’s head, and the man gave a quiet whimper.

  “Good, we have the numbers,” Sapphire gruffly said. “Now kill him.”

  Camery gave a squeal, his hands covering his face. Dovian gaped at the little girl, and she gave him a glare.

  “No hesitation.” The girl’s hands balled into fists. “No hope.”

  Dovian slowly placed his hand on Camery’s head once again. This sent the doctor into a sobbing panic, his hands clasping again as he whispered to himself.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry! Please forgive me! I didn’t mean for this to happen! I didn’t want any of this to happen!” Camery pleaded; his eyes tightly closed.

  “No use praying now,” Sapphire chided.

  Dovian closed his eyes as well, his fingers pressing against Camery’s skull.

  “No! Dovian, stop! You don’t have to do this!” Aria shouted.

  “Can it, Aria. He obviously wants to do this,” Troy snarled through gritted teeth. “He’s double-crossed us.” He sent a green-eyed glare to the Sorcēarian on screen.

  “He’s not going to do it. He’s not,” Aria whispered.

  Troy grabbed her hand, and Aria bit her lip. “Don’t be surprised, Aria. He has his reasons.”

  Troy was right. Dovian did have his reasons. She only wondered if she would be doing the same if the future of her race depended on it. In a way, she was. In order to save her race, she and Troy were going to have to destroy Sapphire and her demons…and destroy Dovian. The question was how, and could she? Could she kill Dovian?

  ‘No. I don’t believe it. Dovian isn’t like this,’ she mentally argued with herself.

  “Please forgive me!” Camery sobbed again.

  “Do you want to be forgiven?” Dovian mentally asked the doctor, unheard by anyone else in the world.

  “Yes…Yes, I do,” the man chanted aloud.

  “Do you believe?” Dovian asked.

  “I believe. Please, forgive me,” Camery wept. “I, I don’t want to die.” The sounds of his pleads and weeping were horrible. It was gut-wrenching to the audiences around the world.

  Sapphire looked upon Dovian in question. “Kill him already!”

  “Then you shall live, Camery. All will be well with you,” Dovian calmly whispered into the scientist's mind.

  Camery’s eyes opened, and he gasped; an expression of hope spread over his face. And Dovian frowned, his eyes pulsating with light. He tightened his grip on Camery’s head, and the blue energy sped forth from Dovian’s optics, down the length of his arm, and into the doctor. The energy burst throughout Camery’s body, causing him to stiffen barely for a second. The only sound Camery made was a sharp intake of breath, and then his eyes rolled back. Dovian immediately pulled away, and Camery limply dropped to the floor with a loud thump.

  Aria was as shocked as the people surrounding her. The whole hall was full of screams. She had not realized that her nails were digging into the back of Troy’s hand,
drawing blood. Troy turned his eyes away from Camery, looking at the woman by his side. He figured she was going to take this hard.

  “Like I said, there is no hope,” Sapphire coldly stated. “Surrender or die.”

  Aria raised her chin; her jaw clenched tight as she looked upon Dovian with an unreadable expression. The Sorcēarian coldly stared back, his eyes glowing brilliantly.

  “Surrender,” his voice echoed in her mind. The tone was low, quiet, and full of sadness.

  ‘I won’t,’ she mentally replied. She didn’t need to use her mental chip; he could understand her just fine through her thoughts.

  “Don’t look for me,” he added. His black wings ruffled behind his back.

  Sapphire stepped closer to the screen. “Walten, I’m calling you and your friends in for a private meeting.” Her blue eyes darkened into black holes, and the vid screen abruptly went to static.

  The whole auditorium was in chaos. People were screaming and shouting. The camera crew struggled to save their equipment from those who were running from the building, trying to get back to the supposed safety of their homes. What a silly idea, running away to hide. As if Sapphire would spare them all. She would just kill them once they surrendered. And even then, Aria didn’t feel that that was what Sapphire wanted. No, she didn’t want the humans to give up. She wanted them to put up a fight. She wanted them to suffer. It made the carnage all the more fun. Watching the enemy squirm beneath your feet and struggling to survive was always more enjoyable than watching them beg relentlessly for mercy or weep to stay alive just as Camery had right before Dovian murdered him.

  Dovian, the sole survivor of the Sorcēarian race, the one meant to preserve humanity, had killed Dr. Camery without so much a second thought. Would he do the same with Aria and Troy? No, Dovian was not intended to save the human race. He was the arbitrator. He was their judge. He would be their downfall if he remained on Sapphire’s side. The evil little girl was right. There was no hope. There never was to begin with.