The Esoteric Design Page 31

  As I crawled through the mud, my blood poured out of me. I surely left a trail, but it was quickly washed away in the storm down the drains. I don’t know how far I crawled before I found refuge behind a dumpster. There I lay, letting the wound bleed. I prayed I would die, leave this horrendous place. My powers were weak; I didn’t even try to heal myself. I felt so cold and, for the first time, so alone. I heard nothing, heard no reply to my calls. He had undoubtedly left me. Would Hell be any worse? I didn’t care as I watched the red soak through my clothing–my dark civilian clothes I had worn at the time to try and fit in. Funny, how I wanted to fit in. Fit in with a world that was nothing like the one I belonged.

  I stared at my reflection in the puddles around me, wondering about the reasoning behind my worthless existence. Soon, I was consumed by darkness. I thought I had finally died–a death of nothing but black, no memory of anything. It was a sad but almost forgiving death. But then I awoke. It was days later, a hot, sunny day. I have no idea how long I actually had laid there with no one stopping to help. Even the dumpster had been moved and emptied. That shows you how much the people cared. I looked at myself. I was a muddy mess, covered in my own gore, but the wound had healed. And I was angry.

  He won’t let me die. My punishment is to live forever. No matter what happens, I won’t die. Slice my wrists, hang myself, jump off the highest peak of every cathedral, nothing. I am a cursed man. Some would think it a blessing…but not with the horrors I have lived through, not with the things I have seen. I’m to live for all time. Only He gets to decide when I die. He left me. He left me to suffer. This world is my Hell.”

  Aria, Troy, and Ivory stared at the man. How terribly sad his life must’ve been. To see everyone you love die. To watch the very existence of everything you were meant to protect be consumed by evil. What was his purpose? Was Dovian alive merely to live an eternity of pain?

  “And no matter how I try to win this war, the other’s boundless presence continues to poison the world. I’m not the only one chained to this planet.” Dovian drank from his bottle.

  “Who else?” Aria asked, Troy nodding with her.

  Dovian scoffed. “And you don’t even know the scripture!”

  “Scripture? You mean this?” Aria asked. She dug into one of her side pockets and pulled out her small Bible. Dovian fiercely rose from his chair, the furniture slamming against the wall behind him.

  “You have one of those?!” he asked incredulously.

  “Yeah. It was on one of the men at the I.R.B.,” Aria said. Dovian quickly snatched the item from her hands.

  “How long? How long have you had it? And you didn’t tell me? One of these still exists?! And you’ve had it this whole damn time?!”

  “I, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” she stammered.

  “Aria! This was what was burned so many years ago! Government oppression! Your religions were torn to shreds, burned in mass fires. Something like this shouldn’t exist anymore. No, I mean it should, but I had thought they had gotten every last one of them. To think it still exists.” He flipped through the pages, his mood shifting to ecstatic.

  “Of course it exists. All the churches have them. Sure, it’s rare. People don’t usually own one, and it’s nearly impossible to find any information about one outside of the cathedrals, but they do exist,” she reassured him.

  Dovian’s eyes widened like saucers. “Cathedrals? You…you still have cathedrals?”

  “Yeah, Dovian.”

  “My God! The world has changed yet again!” he laughed, raising his arms into the air.

  The bar shifted awkwardly, everyone’s attention on the shouting Sorcēarian.

  “Will you sit down? People are staring.” Aria hid under her hand.

  Dovian quickly sat down, eyeing the thin pieces of parchment inside the leather binding. “Well, this version is completely inaccurate, but it gets the point across.”

  “Glad something has brightened your day,” Aria mumbled.

  “Do you not understand how momentous this is? This means there is still hope!” He slapped the cover, chuckling to himself, his eyes creasing at the corners. Aria couldn’t help but smile at him.

  “Hope?” Troy asked. He was looking at Dovian like he had grown a second head.

  “For your survival! For your next life!” Dovian quickly handed the book back to Aria. “You keep this, my dear. That, right there, is magic. Well, not the book itself but the words behind it all.” He looked at Troy. “You, too. Read it.”

  “Whatever.” Troy rolled his eyes.

  Aria thumbed over the engraved gold lettering on the cover. Was the book really that special?

  “C-can I read it, too?” Ivory asked.

  “Yes! You should read it, too! The greatest book ever written!” He slung his arm around Ivory, shaking her gently. “I will save your souls yet. Even if it’s the death of me!” he chortled.

  “Yeah, well my soul needs another beer,” Troy said, quickly rising from his seat.

  An alarm beeped loudly from Aria’s wrist. She roughly grabbed Troy’s elbow. “Hold it. No time. We got to get into position. The signing starts in an hour.”

  "General Kovacevic"

  Chapter 15

  Saray’s center square, an outdoor rotunda lined with pillars and deep-plum drapes, was filled with awkward tension as the signing of the peace treaty between Dario Benvenuto of Roma and Alijah Dizdarevic of Saray commenced. The square was silent with anticipation. Outside the city’s walls, however, was a different story. Gun and mortar fire continued relentlessly, the booming sounds echoing against the buildings, giving the whole event a dream-like effect. It seemed neither one of the CEOs were going to let-up until everything was put into writing.

  Despite the supposedly joyous occasion, the event wasn’t held in much grandeur. All the tiny shops lining the rotunda were darkened, no lights shining through the windows. Even the street lamps had been dimmed to a low glow like candlelight. The streets were full of hundreds of spectators standing on their tiptoes to look at the two well-dressed men talking quietly on the small stage. Benvenuto and Dizdarevic sat on either side of a small table, forcing toothy grins to one another. Between them were three candles and a piece of digital parchment–a thin monitor made to have an old-time look and feel. They continued talking quietly, not revealing much to the audience. The event seemed incredibly secretive. Whether it was because of the threat of attack or because of each city-state’s own unease with one another was unknown. Either way, it left an unsettling feeling within Aria.

  The female soldier lay atop one of the barricades, completely cloaked from view. Eyeing the invisible Troy, a colorful blip on her radar on the opposite side of the ceremonial structure, she sighed anxiously. Something deep in her gut told her that this wasn’t right. If there was to be an attack, she didn’t feel it–at least not in this area of Saray. After trading a familiar nod with her partner, she turned her gaze to the two watchtowers at the edge of the city near the nuclear reactor.

  Dovian sat on the edge of his tower overlooking the entire city. The streets and paths surrounding the reactor were filled with Saray military. Gently, the cool breeze whipped his cape. Icy eyes glowing under the shadow of his hood watched the orange glow of the center square. Placing a long-fingered hand against the metal beam beside him, he leaned out, glancing at the watchtower opposite of him. Ivory rigidly stood next to her mounted rifle. From where Dovian was positioned, he could see her tremble as the wind tossed about her golden locks. She didn’t seem very alert, which concerned the older man.

  “Ivory,” he mentally called out to the woman. He watched as she jumped and then firmly pressed her delicate fingers against her throat.

  “Yeah?” her quiet voice sounded. Kovacevic had given her a throat mic so she could speak with the others. Her hands gripped the tiny buds inside her ears.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, using a gentle voice for the sensitive woman.

  “No,” she answered as she
turned her head in the Sorcēarian’s direction.

  “Are you alert?” He narrowed his eyes.

  After a moment, she replied, “No.”

  The giant man frowned. She was still distracted. Dovian momentarily wondered if it was he who was making her so. After some hesitation, he continued, “You need to find a way to focus, Ivory. We can be attacked at any moment. I need you to be on your best, got it?”

  “I’m trying my best. I’m not used to these situations…at least from what I can remember.” She sounded sad and very distant.

  “Do you need me to come over there?” he asked.

  There was another long pause. Dovian watched the thin woman. She stared back; apparently his cold gaze was visible to her. A small shrug came from her shoulders, and she quickly stared at her own feet, shuffling nervously. She shook her head. “As lovely as that sounds, Dovian, I shouldn’t let my own distractions pull you down. I’ll try my best to stay focused.”

  A crooked smirk crossed Dovian’s face. “Keep your eyes open. If anything happens, I can be there in a flash. No worries.”

  “Okay,” Ivory’s timid voice replied.

  Dovian leaned back but kept a careful watch on the woman through the duration of the ceremony. He, too, had a nervous feeling, and he didn’t know what caused it. Possibly it was a number of reasons—the fact that the signing was in progress and war still insisted to erupt outside, that at any moment they could be attacked by Euclid and his demons, or that Ivory could be fallen victim as either Euclid’s prey or hurt in any way during the attack. He swallowed hard. Whatever happened, he would just have to prevent what felt like the inevitable.

  Large vid screens throughout Saray revealed the events of the peace treaty signing. Dizdarevic and Benvenuto both stood. Placing a hand on each other’s shoulder, they smiled–this time more genuinely. Thunder raged outside the city-state. The war was nearing the walls. If it weren't Euclid’s monsters, then the humans would inevitably bring the city to its knees. Together, the two men lit a center candle with each of their own–much like a wedding ceremony–symbolizing the joining of two cities. Then, they signed the digital parchment, the signatures large and swooping with dark-red ink. The two men stood tentatively in the center of the stage, slowly lifting their heads.

  It was like magic. As soon as their pens finished signing the document, the barrage of noise from the ongoing war abruptly ceased, filling Saray with an eerie silence. It was something the city hadn’t known for over thirty years. It was almost suffocating, heavy like a blanket. Dovian’s ears were ringing, quickly adjusting to the lack of volume. His senses returned as a gusting wind brushed through the tower, pushing back his hood. It was simply amazing.

  Dizdarevic and Benvenuto also seemed amazed by the sudden change of the dark, silent city. Together they laughed and briskly shook hands. The city became alive with loud cheers and shouts. It was over; the war between Saray and Roma was finally over. The senseless war, now something perceived as sport, had finally ceased, and the soldiers could finally go home to their families, relax, and enjoy the potentially beautiful city.

  Thunder on the south wall shook the landscape. Dovian propped his hands on either side of the lookout walls, leaning over the side. Giant clouds of smoke littered the sky, billowing in churning, dark wisps. Then silence.

  “The treaty was signed! Why is my city still being attacked?!” Dizdarevic shouted.

  “It isn’t my men! They immediately pulled out once the document was signed!” Benvenuto hollered back. He locked tense gazes with the other CEO and then quickly lifted his wrist to speak into his DNAIS. “Why ‘asn’t the fighting ceased?” he growled.

  A static screeched from the Roman man’s earpiece, causing him to call out in pain.

  “I-it isn’t us!” an alarmed male voice sounded from the other end. Benvenuto quickly turned his frightened gaze toward Dizdarevic. The streets filled with gasps and shouts of distress.

  Another rumbling boom collided with the south wall, sending another cloud of dust. Dovian shivered in the cold air, watching tensely as the structure holding back the violent storm cracked and splintered. Like scurrying ants, the soldiers rushed down the streets toward the reactor. Dovian picked up two heat signatures jumping from the barricades–Troy and Aria. Saray was dead silent outside of the pattering of boot heels on the pavement.

  Another pound sounded, causing the whole city to jump. It was followed by a monstrous groan, something new and very sinister and low. After the loud call, dozens of tiny soldier bodies launched into the air, high, almost to the height of Dovian’s tower, and over the wall. The streets filled with screams, and the barricade was shattered to pieces, letting an onslaught of monsters into Saray.

  “Get your EMPs ready!” Dovian shouted with thunder. “Don’t stop shooting!”

  In seconds, the whole city was infested. War erupted once again, gunfire blasting from all sides as the creatures spilled in like flood waters. Crackling electricity violently surged from the hole in the city’s wall. A temporary fence fed EMP currents from one side to another. It was an excellent form of defense as the beasts were simultaneously electrocuted and rendered defenseless as they passed through it. Their bodies dropped one after another in the firefight, and within moments, the pile of demon corpses was nearly the same height as the wall itself.

  Just as it was looking like the humans had the upper hand, the treacherous roar sounded again. Bursting through the hole in the wall, widening it more, a giant beast lunged at the frontline men. The EMP fence did nothing to stop it as it merely shook its head as the blue current temporarily shocked its system. It gave another low growl, turning its proportionately small head from side to side atop its thick, burly shoulders. Gunfire blasted into its hulking form, causing the thing’s muscles to ripple and flex. Clasping its giant hands together, the five-meter tall fiend swiped across the soldiers, sending their bodies into the air and crashing into neighboring buildings. Giving another snarl through its wide mouth, its high nostrils flaring between two golden eyes, liquid fire spewed from the creature’s mouth. Horrible screams erupted from the men who were now covered with and burning from the fiery, putrid ooze. After a couple more bursts of the monster’s magmatic flame, it spun and gave another war cry and darted with thick, stomping legs toward another flank.

  Watching the hulking creature, Aria thought she may have to rethink her bestiary since the name ‘Brute’ was already taken. Another burst of fire ignited the southwest side of Saray as the monster spewed once again. She and Troy watched with interest as they hid around a building corner.

  “How in the hell are we supposed to stop that thing?” Troy called out to Aria. He and Aria’s cloaks were removed for the sake of not getting hit by friendly fire. “EMPs are doing nothing!”

  “I don’t know! Keep shooting until we figure out another solution!” Aria loaded a secondary clip to the front of her weapon. Giving a large sidestep, she rounded the corner and shot a grenade in the monster’s direction. The projectile erupted against its chest but caused absolutely no damage.

  “Holy shit!” she growled through gritted teeth. “He’s not going down easily.” She gave Troy a nervous look.

  All around, while Troy and she tried to tackle the giant beast, the original I.R.B. creatures–Brawlers–lined the streets. It was chaos.

  “Let me try a SABO.” Troy slammed in his secondary clip on the front of his rifle and followed the woman’s previous actions, firing the bladed weapon at the enemy. Already focusing its attention on the corner of the building Troy and Aria were hiding behind, the giant growled in protest as Troy’s SABO barely nicked its chest. “Shit.”

  Troy spun, pulling Aria down with him, just as a pool of fire rained over them; the majority of the spew landed only half a meter away, eating through their barricade. Aria and Troy quickly wiped at their armor, cleaning off the liquid debris. The two gave each other a frightened glance as the booming pound of the creature’s footsteps neared their hiding spot. Th
ey simultaneously rolled to their feet. Aria twisted, firing behind her a second grenade as the beast rounded the corner and proceeded to eject its fire toward them. Dodging the molten blasts, the two soldiers darted to either side of the streets. Aria gasped for air, her lungs filling with the suffocating sulfuric smoke. It was hard enough trying to run in the heavy armor, but now she was sweating and her eyes were narrowing, stinging from the heat of the flame. She turned her sight toward her partner who ran on the opposite side of the road. He was barely visible through the smoke. Casually, he’d toss a grenade or two behind him in an attempt to hold back the charging beast.

  “Camo! Put your camo back on!” Aria shouted through her mental chip.

  In a second, her partner disappeared, cloaking within the smoke. She did the same, quickly turning around another corner and ducking behind a large garbage bin. Breathing heavily, she pressed against one of the many buttons on the side of her helmet. A respirator enclosed the front of her helmet, filtering her oxygen. After a couple of puffs, she slowly stood. The alleyway she was in was full of smoke, giving her no visibility. Even the garbage bin directly beside the woman was nothing more than a foggy silhouette. Pressing another nodule, her visor switched to thermal. Everything was yellow and red. Giving another click, it all turned to sonar, dispersing tiny, inaudible blips into the surrounding area. Everything flickered to life, revealing a solid wall to her left, the bin, and a ladder high above her head. Quietly, Aria climbed atop the bin and hopped up to grab the lowered rungs. Pulling up, her hands gripped the second and then third, up until she could plant her feet on the first. Agilely, she silently scaled the ladder and made a safe escape to the rooftop. Taking quick and quiet steps, she neared the street side edge of the building. Something caught her attention on the roof across from hers. A tall silhouette leaned against an air-conditioning unit.