We never expected it, began the voice in his mind, we really never expected it. Our infallible scientists and their astronaut with their superior technology. Sure they thought there was life out there, but to think it would come to us like that, impossible. We watched too many movies and expected crazy red coloured Martians that-
De'al shook his head and he carried on running, dodging dirt littered on the floor. What the hell are astronauts and Martians, he thought to himself angrily. If only he could get this man out of his head. Since only a few days ago, he was prone to some old, yet firm fatherly voice talking to him in his mind. It was infuriating as he could never concentrate when this voice spoke. It spoke of things he did not know, and it had such a sense of sorrow and regret that at times the feelings seemed to come from De'al's own heart. Now however, he needed all the concentration he could muster. He darted right and ran in between rows of narrow hut-like structures. It was late afternoon, dusk they called it. It was getting dark rapidly and so in his Area with hovels clumped together, it was almost impossible to go anywhere without tripping over some forgotten trinket. Old possessions littered the floor, varying from broken dolls to necklaces and food. It didn't help that he was being chased by angry guards either.
'Pssst!' hissed an invisible voice to De'al's immediate right, hidden in the shadows of a hovel. Instinctively, De'al raised his right hand in the direction of the noise and a blue flame blazed alive in his hands, illuminating a terrified face of a dark skinned boy. In the dark, De'al's eyes glowed green as well, but almost reluctantly, the glow and the flame dimmed into nothingness.
'Dammit Seth, don't scare me like that.' whispered De'al furiously.
'How else must I get your attention? Tapping you on your shoulder would probably end up with my hand being burnt off.' replied Seth testily.
'Whatever, just lead the way.'
Seth turned around and let out a piercing whistle. Seconds later, a ladder appeared from above and slid down to land with a soft thump on the hard ground. With a quick glance at De'al, he scrambled up the ladder and disappeared from sight. De'al took one quick glance around before throwing a package that he had been carrying with him overhead in the direction that Seth had disappeared. Another sharp whistle sounded from above and in response, he started up the ladder.
They came as one of us. It was perfect, our human ego must have shown through like the brightest star for them to see that we would fall for such a trick. To think-
De'al shook his head violently, willing the voice to disappear. He placed one hand on the bar and was about to begin the short climb when the voice entered his mind again.
To think that we fell for it. Given, it was a good plan they made, but our scientists scanned the stars almost daily, they should have picked it up instead of arguing about how many planets there were in the world or-
'Aargh.' grunted De'al as he landed in a heap on the hard ground.
'De'al, you okay?' asked a concerned female voice in the shadows above.
'I'm fine.' he lied. Hurriedly, he got up and put a hand on the ladder again and this time he managed to start climbing. He reached the top and saw, with the moonlight, Seth, another boy and two girls waiting for him on the roof. He gave them a triumphant smile and was reaching over to pull himself up when something grabbed his ankle and started pulling with tremendous force in an effort to drag him down. The children instantly realised something was wrong and hurried over to help him. Seth grabbed his one arm whilst the boy grabbed his other and the two pulled with all their strength. De'al tried to kick whoever was holding his ankle but it was no use, either he was hitting the wall or the person didn't feel it. De'al wrenched his arm out of the boy's grip in an attempt to create his flame but, the boy, thinking it was his fault, tried with a desperate lunge to grab it. A girl screamed as he fell over the edge, the pull on De'al's leg absent as a thump came from below.
'Stay there.' he whispered to Seth and jumped back down. The drop wasn't long and so he wasn't worried about whether the fallen boy was dead and sure enough, the boy was slowly getting to his feet.
'Wayne?' whispered De'al, making his way towards him when he saw the guard was closer. The guard was big, muscles rippling through the black leather jacket he was wearing. That was the only fact that De'al noticed before instincts took over and he raised his right hand, a blue flame erupting from his fingertips. He used his mind to form it into a ball as he hummed a Song of Power. The guard sensing danger whipped around, but it was too late. Shock registered on his face briefly before De'al plunged his hand towards it, the fireball erupting. The guard dropped to the floor, clawing his face as he screamed in pain.
'De'al, behind you!' shouted Wayne. De'al whipped around, humming another Song of Power already as fire erupted from his fingertips. As he bent the fire to his will, ready to plunge it into the oncoming guard's face, this time a scrawny woman, the voice burst into his head and the pain made him drop to the floor, flame and all forgotten.
We had no technology to meet this threat. We never expected it either and the amount of civilians around didn't help the situation. The military were disgraced. I was disgraced. I remember-
Pain erupted in his skull before darkness engulfed him. He sensed himself lose consciousness, but not before his eyes flickered one more time to see Wayne scramble up the ladder whilst it was hauled up by invisible hands.
It took a while to remember what happened and the pounding headache didn't help the situation. Neither did the hard, ice-cold metallic floor he found himself lying on. He lay where he was for a moment with his eyes closed as he recollected all that had happened. With a vicious growl, he opened his eyes, his fury at the unknown voice causing an irrational anger to surge through his veins. To think that he could have gotten away so easily if it hadn't been for that stupid voice! Over and over, he replayed the scene of when he had fallen of the ladder and then the pain that had enveloped his mind as the voice barged on. He realised that the pain had come because he had tried to suppress the voice when he was battling the guards. Looking for a distraction before his anger got the better of him, he got up and had a look at his surroundings. He was in a room made of metal which meant that he was in one of their buildings. Probably the jail. To check, he tried to procure his blue flame but as soon as he bent his mind to do it, it was as if it had bumped into a solid wall. It was definitely the jail.
'I see you're awake.' said a cool feminine voice. De'al looked up only to see darkness. He hadn't realised he was in the dark. Running in the shadows, I'm so used to it, he concluded. Plus his other self was well adapted to lack of light and hence his eyes worked just as well in the dark as they did in the day. He looked around and saw that he was in a small room with black walls. No windows. A solitary door stood in one wall and it was made of metal but it hadn't been painted yet. It had signs of rust, as did the rest of the wall, and blood marks streaking across it which most probably came from prisoners trying to claw their way out. They weren't merciful to those that broke the law. He was lucky only because he was a child. A small sliver of light bathed the floor from the semi open door. The squeak of metal scraping against metal pierced the still room and the door opened fully. A flood of light entered the room, momentarily blinding De'al, but before he could let his eyes adjust, a hand grasped his arm and shoved him out the room. He was forced to walk blind, but soon enough, his eyes refocused and he looked at the guard carrying him someplace. It was a beautiful red haired lady; her name was Sonja. She was the nicest guard De'al had ever met, well as nice as a guard got. He ended up in jail many times and he somehow always seemed to get in trouble and get caught when she was on duty. She treated him with respect and never harmed him, except the first time he had encountered her. He had been about seven then, but there was no telling age when you were a human since there was nowhere to look when you born or the current date. They didn't think it was necessary. She had come towards him when he had been locked up and had a cloth which she was going to use to wipe his face, but thinking she was going to hurt him, he had punched her in the face. He was seven (maybe), but even a seven year old punching you in the eye would hurt. She had slapped him hard for that before forcefully holding him down and wiping his face, a sort of motherly determination on her face. Motherly might be pushing it, but all he knew was that she was as nice as guards would ever get. Sonja was an average height woman with slightly broad shoulders but her body was well in proportion and so it did not look odd on her. She had small blue eyes with pretty, full lips. Her long red hair was tied back with a pony tail in the human style. Whilst he studied her, he saw that there was a bruise on her left cheek. His mind raced back to last night and he wondered whether he had hurt her in anyway. She noticed his study of her cheek and self consciously put her hand on the bruise.
'One of your friends threw a rock at me.' she said simply.
'Oh.' was all De'al could say in return, a grin spreading across his face. He hid the grin from her by pretending to study the wall on his right, except that there was nothing to study at all since it was all the same. It was the same rusted metal wall with the same rusted doors at equal intervals. The corridor ran for a few good metres before a corridor intersected the one they were on.
'Where are we going?' he asked. He had been caught numerous times and they had always taken him out and walked to the end of the windowless corridor to a lift which led down to the entrance where they threw him unceremoniously on the dusty roads. Silence greeted his question and he gave Sonja a hard glare, before noticing her face. It had the look of one who was uncomfortable and in distress. Sensing something was not right, De'al repeated his question. Once again, she did not reply. Now De'al started to feel a little uneasy.
'Sonja, tell me-' he began.
'Drop it already.' she said.
Anger started to well up in De'al's mind until a voice, different to the first voice sounded in his head.
It will begin...soon, the book shall open and all will begin. Be prepared.
His anger redoubled due to the fact that a second voice seemed to be intruding his mind. Was his mind a place for voices to talk rubbish? Before he could take his anger out on Sonja, she halted in front of a double door, made surprisingly of wood. Wood was a rare commodity nowadays and for a whole double door to be made of wood meant that whomever, or whatever, was behind it was important. She knocked, raptly, three times on the door before letting go of his arm and taking a step back. Curiosity overrode his anger and he stood patiently, waiting for whatever was to happen, to happen. A tiny buzz filled his mind briefly before shutting off but he didn't register it, for the one side of the door had opened and a masked face had peered around. One of them. It opened the door fully after seeing who it was. A metallic black, robotic body with red lining, bulky yet with speed that put dogs to shame; a visor with a sickly yellow gleam and a voice that had no feeling in it. The Emperor's Own. The minions of the One who ruled over humanity. It was said that some creature resided in the robot but no one ever knew, or at least had lived to tell. It spoke in its clicking, native tongue to Sonja who replied in the same language. She seemed terrified yet she had a cool glint in her eyes. She shook her head before looking at De'al.
'Go inside.' she said with a tone of finality.
'I'll see you later.' replied De'al. She gave him a sad smile that confirmed De'al's suspicions. This was not going to end well. As she marched off, he noticed a glint in her eyes which he only saw briefly in the light as she had turned to walk off. His heart started beating faster and faster, his throat seemed to clench up and his fists were shaking involuntarily.
'Come.' said the robotic voice. With one final glance towards the retreating back of Sonja, he walked through the door and was met with the loud noise of a party. Of sorts. A large, gleaming wooden table, with shiny wooden chairs occupied by various EOs, was laden with wads of paper that were being scrutinized by some of them. Evidently a meeting was taking place, but what made this a sort of party was a human girl that was tied up against the wall. She had the same shade of red hair as Sonja. She had Sonja's eyes as well, although the body wasn't as bulky. Her body was a slim, sleek body, yet you could see she kept it in shape by the slight hardness of her biceps and her stomach, which was exposed since her top had been torn in the middle, had some definition as well. What sickened De'al was that some of the EOs were studying her and prodding her like she was an animal, but you didn't grow up in this world as a human by caring about others, so De'al ignored her situation and focused on his own. There were a few windows here and there which covered the room in a warm orange glow which meant that it had to be morning or early afternoon. The metal of the jail also made up the walls in this building since it was the only material that the EOs used for their buildings. The floor was made of the same material as well as the ceiling. Windows were made of a transparent form which allowed light but not a breeze. His study of the room was cut short as the EO that was holding him threw him in the direction of the table.
The clicking language was spoken by the EO in the direction of the table. As De'al regained his footing, he looked up to see a human face staring at him. No, not quite human, just human like. Completely yellow eyes stared at him, the fluid in the eyes swirling around. Bright red lips, long, lush green hair flowing around her sharp face, a human like nose, green nails that were longer than claws and were as sharp and a black leather coat with a high collar finished off the look. De'al had never before seen something like her and he realised she must have a higher status than the EOs. Which meant that she was powerful since their society was all about who was the strongest. The EOs would argue often amongst themselves about who was stronger and better and sometimes could be seen having wrestling matches if they were off duty. They, however, had all been in their robotic skin-like suits, not like her in her sickly green flesh.
'Look at you. To think you escaped my notice for so many years.' she hissed, her voice scraping against De'al's eardrums. 'Do you know why you are here?' she asked. De'al just stared at her, not wanting to show his fear by responding to her command like a slave. He may be a slave in name, but his pride was still there in his heart, deep where they would never reach. With this reassuring thought, he let his courage out and glared at the woman, not taking his eyes off her, willing his pride to swamp her thoughts and make her fear him.
'I see you have no respect for those more superior than you. You dirty, filthy human.' she spat out. Anger started to boil in De'al, but he knew that she was not someone to take it out on; he didn't know the extent of her powers. 'Since you will show me no respect, I shall cease attempts at civil behaviour. You creatures only know strength' she continued, De'al's temper rising with each insult, 'and power. I will show you dog, that I contain ample amounts of both. I shall show you with her.' she said, her arm snapping out to point at the girl tied up against the wall. De'al glanced at the girl and saw her face was frozen with terror. He had no inclination however to bow down to the wishes of the woman and so he remained as he was, his face radiating calmness he did not feel, superiority he could not express and anger he could not release. The woman stared at him for a moment, presumably to see if he would give in to her threat, before making her way towards the girl. The EOs around the girl hastily stepped back to make ample room for the woman. De'al had a brief moment of childish pride. His guess had been right, she was the superior one.
'What is your name girl?' the woman asked.
'Maya.' said the girl obediently, her head bowed down in a sign of obedience. Disgust showed across De'al's face as he saw how quickly she submitted to the EO. The woman turned around to look at De'al.
'This creature understands the chain. She knows who is at the top and who is at the bottom. You should heed her wisdom.' she said smugly, giving De'al a loathing glance. He kept his silence, not trusting his tongue to speak civilly towards her. She took her long green claws and delicately traced an imaginary pattern on the girl's exposed stomach. 'You see, you humans are so easy to subjugate. So easy to manipulate. There is no backbone in your species, merely power hungry leaders that have no care for the people that gave them the privilege to reign over them. Anyone of you could have taken power as long as you put on a facade of caring for the mass. Stupid.' she ended in a violent tone, her hand swinging towards the girl's cheek. A loud clap rang in the room and a moan escaped the girl's lips. The woman turned to look at De'al, her eyes glowed a sickly yellow colour, her skin seeming to glow a greenish tinge as well. 'Where do your powers reside mortal?' she asked in a completely unnatural voice. The glow of her eyes seemed to melt into De'al's soul and for the first time, he realised just how evil and menacing he woman looked. Eyes without pupils, a glowing skin and a black, high collar coat made her look like something from hell clothed like an assassin; a demon in human form. If hell had to infiltrate Earth in a human form, it would manifest itself like this. It was then that a revelation occurred to De'al. The fatherly voice that intruded his mind at odd moments was explaining the infiltration of the Earth. He, De'al, was being told the secret that The Empire had hidden from humankind for decades. The purging of the older generations that could remember the time of The Beginning, as it was referred to, ended anyway of humankind ever being able to know how it had found itself in the pitiful state it was in now. Excitement and fear mingled in De'al's mind, confusing any sort of order in his mind. De'al was being told how humankind had become enslaved to The Empire. Just like how he imagined hell would disguise itself in the form of the woman walking towards him, was how The Empire had invaded Earth and taken hold of it so easily and so completely. Yet, De'al still did not understand some of the words that the man used but now that he realised how important what he said was, he was willing to listen and understand.
To think that I have been so ignorant for so long. But one thing at a time. How to-, his thoughts were interrupted by a hand flashing from his right to strike him full on the side of his face. His head reeled from the blow and he felt his neck protest at the sudden, sharp movement. His vision swam for a while before rage took over him. His hand shot out and before he knew it, a blue flame flared up in his hand. His hand sped towards her exposed face, his lips already singing the Song of Power needed to form his fireball. With a sickening roar, the ball connected with the woman's face and she crumpled to the floor, her hair smoking and her hands covering her steaming face. She squealed loudly, her feet stomping the floor like a child, her body thrashing as she rolled around on the floor.
'You squeal like a pig.' De'al heard himself say. He turned to look at the girl that was tied up against the wall and even in his rage, her look surprised him. A look of longing and love was carved in her face and shining in her eyes. Their eyes connected and for a moment, a sense of familiarity came over De'al and a feeling of security and peace filled him. For only a moment. In the next second, his unnatural rage bloomed and all feelings of love and security fled, leaving only room for anger. Anger at The Empire, anger at the puny woman on the floor who had dared to strike him. Anger at his friends for leaving him to the guards and not trying to rescue him. Anger at his long lost mother for leaving him. Anger at the voice for not being anymore help. Anger such as he had never before felt, flooded him and his other self screamed for release. He felt somewhere in the back of his mind that something other than anger was running through him but he decided what happened, happened, and he mentally released what had been hidden at the very core of his being. A blue mist crawled out of the pores of his skin, flowing over one another until it completely covered his body. The mist then began to stir, as if alive and soon it was flowing in wild loops and circles all around him, but a strand, no matter how wild it flew, never left contact with his skin. Strands circled one another but always to come back and lay low on his skin. Other strands raced each other and flew high to bounce against the ceiling. He felt alive at a level so profound, his immature mind could not comprehend it. As he relished in this new feeling, he felt a presence enter his mind, but this one, unlike the fatherly voice, had the sense of family and it entered his mind politely, with a bit of hesitance.
Welcome. mindspoke De'al.
My love, it is I.
I-I do not know who you are.
I am your inner self. You named me, your other self.
This is too much for me. Too much is happening at once.
Young one, I am a right that is yours by blood. A blood you share with your mother that is not lost at all. You will see. For now, trust me and I will deliver you from your chains. You have released me and because of that, I have a bond with you that nothing, not even death, can conquer. Be still young one, I must leave you. You are not ready to wield me.
Slowly, De'al saw the mist retract and grow less wild. It seemed to sink back into his pores until with a final whisper, it disappeared completely. He felt a great sense of loss overcome him and he yearned to feel the way he had just a moment ago. Then he thought back to everything that the presence had just said, but he had no time to take it all in as the woman had gotten up, her face horribly deformed.
'You did this to me.' she whispered, her voice quavering with barely controlled anger, as she slowly felt her face with a quivering hand. 'You have DESTROYED MY BEAUTY!' she screamed, flinging herself at him. De'al had expected magic to be thrown at him, not this primitive means of attack. He braced himself for the attack and lifted his arms up like Sonja had taught him, except that his arms would not lift. He attempted again to lift his arms but they would not respond. The woman had raised her arm into a fist that had a glow of magic around it and was coming for his face. De'al glanced anxiously around with his eyes and saw that one of the EOs had a glowing visor, which meant that it was performing magic. He realised he was trapped and had no means of defending himself. He took one last look at the mysterious girl and the last thing he thought before the fist slammed into his face was that she really did look a lot like Sonja.