Caped (Book 1): The Burdens of Fate (17 page)

"Who dares enter?" it asked.

"Your creator," she relied.

"And what business do you have here,
creator
?" it responded, sarcastically.

"I've come for the instrument, is it
ready?"

"Yes."

"Good, I'll need..." she said,
quickly pausing to correct herself. "
We'll
need it soon."

There was a quiet pause as if the room was
deciding, and from the silence came a definitive, "...You may have
it."

A bright sterile light flooded through the
area, emitted directly from the low hanging ceiling and far off walls,
revealing a massive stadium sized expanse of space.

She walked to the center, to a single block
above which hovered some spherical object. Swirling, and multi-layered, roughly
the size of a basketball.

She took it and placed it in a white suitcase
that sat beside the block and walked off.

"Goodbye,
creator,
" whispered
the room. "And good luck." She left without responding, just a smile.

I fought with myself for a couple moments
before finally asking what it was. "The physical embodiment of an
idea," she responded. Raphael asked which idea exactly, and she answered,
"Change."

We walked back down the same hallways and back
past the soon-to-be occupied cells, protesting my concerns about the children's
safety and well being. I didn't want this to haunt me as much as the previous
situation with Alvin Turner. They are just children after all.

Nena understands my position and recited all
the precautions taken to make sure they're taken care of. And when that didn't
work, playfully, yet in no joking manner, told me to drop the subject. I've
seen her plans and I know they've been followed to the letter, but what type of
person would I be if I said nothing? I've still got a backbone; it's a definite
requirement under the given circumstances.

I guess
it's
best then that I won’t be present when they
arrive, but that hasn't stopped my curiosity from getting the better of me.
Unfortunately being able to see the future isn't always a blessing.

I saw the tantrums, heard the screaming, and
the crying. Banging on the doors until their fists bled, even though they
haven't a hint that anyone hears or cares.

I pity them, but I cannot offer them the
comfort they. That rests on their parents now, it's time to see how far they'll
go; it's a sad fact that the children must suffer, but this is the gritty
beginning of something monumental, and for that, I can't help but smile.

Chapter
Five

In Shadow
of
Devils

–
Tuesday, April 13th
–

Michael
Serna
-

Sick individuals who defile the lives of pure
and innocent children, or end lives that have barely begun to live are no
longer men to me, they are devils in the flesh, and may there be no mercy for
their souls.

The jets were the first things I heard and it's
a rare occasion for them to scramble those at night, so right off the bat I
could tell something big had happened, but nothing had hit the news yet. Then
the helicopters started buzzing by over head, yet still no word from the media.
When the news finally broke it came in waves, first as rumors of an intruder,
then of an attack on the white house lawn, and finally as wild speculation of
an assassination attempt. None of which we had a way of confirming and each of
which would have justified the amount of commotion.

Everything inside H St to

Ground, sea, and air, was on lockdown. Unless
it was either a commercial flight coming into GWI or military it wasn't allowed
in the air. They must have woken up every cop in the county for it.

It was a full four hours of insanity before
White House correspondents received word that the President's daughters were
missing, possibly in an effort to avoid making front page news. And unfortunately
it wasn't a localized occurrence, a half hour later reports started flooding in
that the Russian President's children were missing as well, along with the
Chinese Prime Minister's, Australian President's, French President's, and the
list continues. Some taken in isolation and others in plain view of public.

Twenty-six children in all, ranging from seven
to twenty-three, with no demands and only one possible lead: An unidentifiable
male roughly six feet tall.

What are we to make of this? Lone wolf, terrorist
group, or third world nation making a power play? All options are on the table,
and the only thing we can do is wait.

Dennis Shaeffer
-

It's the middle of the night and the ticking of
my watch is preventing me from falling back to sleep. I remember the days when
I could sleep with a party going on around me, but I don't miss them. Unlike
some I enjoy my age.

So, quick update, making another Citizen One
video tomorrow. Feels like working on a crappy no-budget high school video
project. It’s fun being the voice of a revolution, even if it's a heavily
distorted version of my voice. The last video didn't have nearly the number of
views I was expecting. But I haven't lost hope yet, Raphael will be dropping
the next one off in a very visible location.
 

–
3/15
–

Jensen Arellanes -

Do you see what these freaks have done now?
Treating us like toys for their personal amusement, how can we treat them as
anything other than a threat? Death to them all, better them than me!

Sicily Jones -

If you're not paying attention to the news
rights now you're an idiot. The world is crumbling down around us.

So this guy (let's just call him
The Devil
,
because honestly, who kidnaps children?), covered in black from head to toe,
jumps into a news studio for all of two seconds, and drops this video on the
news desk. "Citizen One," he calls himself. I'm going to call him
The Devil
.

The video's all theatric and has shit tons of
unnecessary imagery. That's beside the point, for those living under a rock, here's
what he said:

(
THE DEVIL
): "Do not fear me for I
am our savior, through my actions we will achieve peace. It is only those who
oppose the prosperity I bring that shall needlessly suffer. Their war has been
lost, they've only yet to see it.

It is for this purpose I have rescued their
children from the corrupt morals they would inevitably learn. They will be
loved and nurtured far better than their power hungry parents could ever hope.
They will be the first generation of a better and more loving world.

Stop the bloodshed; we are all part of the
human family. We can work for the betterment of each other, lifting ourselves
higher through cooperation and understanding. The many working to eliminate the
needs of the few, acting as one conscious organism and realizing that an
organism at war with itself is damned.

Feel my words and let them speak to your inner
being. My fight is not with the people but rather the system that oppress them
and those that support it. I speak in the name of love. Do not fear me for I am
your savior.

Resist, my brothers. Join me, and resist."
Like I said, he's the devil, and I can't wait until someone puts a bullet
through his skull.

Prisca Amin
-

I've heard it said, not too often mind you,
that you could get to know a person by the secrets written in their diaries. By
the secret thoughts formed and so carefully, or often times carelessly, placed
within its pages. I find myself wondering, of those few who get the opportunity
to peruse, in full, through the diary of another, how much thought is given to
those moments of a person’s life that aren't captured. Yes, it's possible to
come to understand someone on a deep personal level through their writing, but
how many will remember that that same person lived, breathed, laughed, and
loved, often forgetting all about the little book they return to, however
frequent or infrequently it may have been, to vent their frustrations or
capture a moment they wish never forget?

To the person reading this, know that you may
never fully know me; no matter how closely you may relate to my circumstances,
know that this book contains only a fraction of everything I've ever wanted to
be or have ever wanted to do. A fraction of my anger, a fraction of my tears,
and a fraction of my thoughts. There may be tear drops, but you can never truly
weep with me, and though there may be the occasional drops of blood, you can
never share my pain. We are forever and increasingly separated by the constant
flow of time, with you reaching backwards through visual memories I've edited
and present to you with extreme bias. Though because of this fact we are
connected. Thus the human drama continues, and we all know I love a good story.

The narrative of peoples lives are driven
forward by the drama around them, and often times we are the instigators,
either purposefully or by accident. And in other, often more unfortunate
circumstances, fate takes it upon itself to intervene. Taking with it the
conflict and drama of a person's life, bundled with all their stress and anger,
and forcing it without notice onto some hapless group or individual. But I
don't need to tell you that. No. You can turn to any one of the numerous
reality shows and see it for yourself. However, what interests me is the
developing drama around this unprecedented reality shift thrust upon us.

Now, all the social and financial inequalities
that we, as a people, have ignored by keeping tucked in the back of our minds,
and convincing ourselves "
that's just how it is,"
are issues
we are literally unable to ignore any longer. These people, who were tired of
being depraved and taken advantage of by a system that treats them as
acceptable casualties
are now able to forcefully take that which they
desire with little or no rebuttal. And yet we scream and cry foul because those
who begged us, for countless generations, have finally found a way to get even
and claim that happiness so wrongfully withheld.

So now the most ingenious minds that have ever
walked the earth, as clever as they are, pace about in their expensive suits
refusing to see what I've grown to realize must be done. They wake up every day
and conjure up fantastical laws which hinder personal freedom. Does anyone
honestly think the CRA law is the end, how could they? They've already admitted
there are more laws coming down the pipeline.

Where is the consent of the governed, where is
our voice?

Yet this isn't some isolated Hollywood
wonderland, people will continue to use their abilities for increasingly
nefarious means. The government knows this and will strike preemptively and
irrationally. And because of it, the world will suffer.

This could've been our saving grace, just
imagine how almost every industry could've been revolutionized, but instead we
are stagnant, and like a slug on salt will shrivel and die.

What should happen is a massive surge of
profitability as companies discover the everyday applications of using our
abilities. But what will happen, for fear of its inevitable conclusion, is the
prohibition of any profiting by a corporation. They're going to work
tirelessly, and relentlessly, to make sure that 'normal' humans continue to
live in a world that resembles the now outdated model of years gone by.

Yet I'm just a lone voice shouting my words
down through muscle twitches and plastic tubes, ending in black ink trapped on
this four sided prison, only to be looked back upon for self-reflection so that
I remember that at some point I had a moment of clarity. That I rose above the
systems crumbling around me and realized something had to be done before the
point of no return was reached. And that I did nothing.

No, worse; I fought against that which was best
for me because the only other person out there who came to this realization
embraced it in such a fashion, that to align myself with such a man would be to
go against the better part of my humanity.

Kaylie
Horn
-

Why can't they leave me alone? This is
obviously important, and I'm not even talking about in the 'I'm being
self-centered' sort of way! Yeah, I'm afraid. I'd be stupid not to be! I
watched a future version of myself have her life snuffed out in a terrifying
blaze of glory the very same day I was turned into a mind controlled killing
machine. My level of fear, of others and myself, is through the roof. And they
want me to keep calm? Nobody's really trying to stay calm, they're too busy
running off with their pick axes and torches on their next big witch hunt,
except this time there are actual witches!

It's just a matter of time before we see the
public school system crash and burn. Would you want your child attending class
with a walking teenage powerhouse? Every normal kid on earth is nothing less than
a completely sane individual for fearing for their goddamn lives. Hell, I'm a
noc and I'm paranoid. It's only a matter of time before someone does something
stupid. If not here then somewhere else. I'm not safe anywhere. C'mon mom and
dad, get it together.

Lady, I'm just tired of screaming at them. My
voice is going hoarse. They won't let me go this weekend, acting as if I can’t
see the
bigger picture
or understand they're trying to
protect
me.

Of course I want them protecting me. They're my
parents and, no matter what grand feats I can do, I'll always be their little
girl. But more than their protection I want their support, before there's
nothing left of me or anyone to keep standing.
Edward
Otep
-

Just finished speaking with Thomas, who agreed
this whole mess is "concerning." I asked him for his opinion and
solutions, but he's decided to withhold any suggestions until after he's
"figured it out."

–
4/16
–

Michael Serna
-

People are still worried another L.A. is just around the
corner, and they should be. Totally plausible. Then in storms this lunatic
romping onto the scene, stealing kids, and throwing Bin-Laden type videos into
the laps of national newscasters. At least we know he's a teleporter now,
though little good it does us at this point, agreed?

"Citizen One," as he prefers to be
called, definitely wants this played out in the media as that's the only way
he's allowing himself to be contacted. And for a government and administration
that hasn't been nearly as open as promised on the campaign trail four years
ago, it may not work out entirely to their favor.

Legalization and disclosure are the names of
the game. As expected there's definitely a list of demands but so far the white
house has remained mute on the topic, after all, the official policy is they
don't negotiate with terrorists. But I'm assuming things play out differently
considering the stakes.

Excellent move if you ask me, regardless of my
personal opinion of this monster.
Edward
Otep
-

The future is always in motion, so it's been
said countless times. However, I can see; I assumed surprises were a thing of
the past. I was incorrect. The future has changed and certainly not of my own
volition. In this new future the kidnappings begin again, with the Japanese
Prime Minister's daughter the first victim; taken in Tokyo while showering at
10:34am local time, this coming Monday.

This leaves ample time to inform Alvin and notify the
authorities, but it does beg the question, why can I see this one?