2012
Dark Side of the Moon, Technocratic Order Lunar Base
"There is a matter of which I have some trouble understanding, Director Rayner. How did Kai Silbern manage to escape recapture? With all the resources of the Order and the mundane governments we control, how could one injured man and a civilian woman elude them completely?" The Form Keeper asked.
"That is a matter of some speculation. We can surmise he had outside help. The man was not working alone, however, as to the identity of those who aided him? We do not know." Klaus revealed.
"So, he made a one thousand five hundred mile trip, while dying, with a civilian in tow. Any help he received was low key enough to avoid giving away the identity of those who gave it. Yes, quite a feat, I would really like to know how he did that." The Director mused.
2008
Somewhere in the Woods of Eastern Tennessee
Terra Alani barely registered the fact that they were approaching a building. Her world had become a blur of running, stopping, drinking, chewing some sort of protein bar, and running again. Whenever she faltered, she was slung over Kai shoulder and carried. She could not remember a time she had ever been so exhausted, not even in the prison.
She had not truly slept. Not even when she passed out from fatigue and had been carried. The entire time pushing her onward, never stopping like some sort of inexorable machine, had been Kai. Now the large man pushed the door to this cabin open and fell to his knees on the floor.
"Here we are safe, woman. This is where we will rest. Do not wander." Kai looked about blinking a few times and attempted to rise. His enormous body seemed to shudder. Terra watched as his seemingly endless endurance failed him. Kai fell back to the floor with a jarring thud that rocked the rickety old cabin.
Terra looked around in a daze. The cabin was clean, despite being old. It lacked the musty smell of most old buildings. There were small boxes stacked about. She walked into the restroom and saw there was more; a handwritten note was lying on the counterless sink.
House is on well water. The reserve is filled. Batteries charged. There is also a handle pump in the kitchen and a bucket if it runs low. The note read.
Terra looked in the box. Inside there were basic toiletries; soap, razors, some first aid supplies, towels and washcloths. Terra didn't know who left these supplies but was elated that even feminine hygiene products were included in the kit.
The desire to be clean after however long she had been dragged through the woods overwhelmed her misgivings about her situation and her exhaustion. Terra made use of the bathroom and once clean, explored the kitchen. The feeling of being clean slightly refreshed her.
On the kitchen table was another note in the same hand writing. This one told where the food was stored. It also listed a means of disposal of trash for when the house was left behind. The bags of garbage would be buried in a pit in a hard to access location in the cellar.
Terra looked through the food stuffs and heated a can of soup on a small hot plate. Once she had eaten she found the bed and fell into it. It was the best sleep she had ever had.
She expected Kai to be looming over her when she awakened but he was not getting up. She returned to the main room to find he was still lying in the same location he had previously fallen. Suspicious and concerned, she touched his forehead. He was burning with fever.
Terra paused. She stared at the large man on the floor. It was very likely the injury he had left untreated was now infected. He could be dying. Her medical training urged her to save him as did the odd feelings of kinship she had always felt when she encountered others of her kind.
Arguing against doing so was the fear that she'd escaped one prison only to find herself in the grip of another unknown jailor. Adding to that argument was the extreme lust this man had provoked when she saw him. Terra was a trained doctor. Her mind was a sharpened, rational tool for saving lives and discovering the mysteries of human development. The idea she could lose her grip on her senses at just at the sight of someone was frightening.
She began to rationalize again. She had no idea where she was and alone the odds were favorable that she would be recaptured. Resolving to save the large man's life if she could, Terra took stock of the medical supplies available. Disgusted with the basicness of the first aid kit, she scoured the rest of the supplies for things she could improvise into tools of medicine.
Calling upon the power that had changed her life, she let it flow about her, Kai, and the tools she was to use. She then set to work.
Fifty-Three Hours Later
Kai awakened. He was laying on his belly, naked, covered by a blanket. He found he was resting upon another such blanket. His left arm was numb. His shoulder throbbed and he felt like he'd been beaten with a lead pipe.
"Don't get up. You're still too weak." Terra said.
Groaning, Kai flexed his right arm and shoved himself up into a kneeling position.
"Damn it! Can you not follow simple instructions?!" Terra snapped peevishly.
"I am not weak." Kai said. He closed his eyes in an effort to stop the room from spinning.
"You're lucky you're not dead!" Terra said drawing closer to him.
"What happened? Where are we?" Kai asked confused.
"I'm not sure. From what I guess we ran almost three days straight. You came to this cabin and collapsed. The wound in your shoulder was killing you so I worked on it. It's not healed, however." Terra explained.
"Not healed?" Kai asked trying to force his brain to start working.
"We heal at an extraordinary rate. Even the worst wounds stop bleeding almost immediately. We are almost immune to going into or dying of shock. If our bones are shattered our body will realign the bone shards properly. Even as the healing processes kick in, the bones will never re-knit wrong. If even the ruin of a limb is still intact, it will heal back to full usefulness. Only complete amputation seems to be incurable." Terra explained.
"How do you know these things? I knew about the blood..." Kai asked still mildly befuddled.
"The labs at the prison were very thorough in their tests, Kai. Due to my medical training they forced me to help them. I was given a very close look at the sorts of damage we can endure during those tests. On others I was asked to give a professional rating to how much pain I was in when used as a subject." Terra said quietly.
Kai pondered these sobering facts. He decided he would have to reevaluate all of the women who had been in that camp.
"You said, despite this, my wound has not healed?" Kai asked concerned.
"No. It's not normal. Look at this." Terra said.
In her hand she held an old canning jar. The top was rusted, but it was obvious the old jar had been washed. Inside were small scraps of metal. They were shaped similarly to thorny vines. When Kai drew close, the shards moved attacking the jar's edge, as if they were trying to attack him. It was as if they were alive.
"This is what was in your shoulder. They were radiating out from the bullet lodged in your shoulder blade. I can't get the bullet out and it is growing new tendrils. They grow slowly. It looked to me as if they're seeking your vital organs." Terra explained.
"I have heard of these things but only in rumors. They are meant for killing werewolves." Kai said groggily.
"If you're not going to be serious then this conversation is over." Terra said.
"It is true, woman. Werewolves, vampires and even worse things are all real. I have killed a few of them." Kai explained, opening his eyes again to find the room had at least stopped moving.
Terra eyed him doubtfully as she put away the jar.
"Woman, you have seen six people conjure a force strong enough to blow the side of a building off, but you cannot believe there are men who take the shape of beasts?" Kai asked, slightly amused.
"Is that why this is silver?" Terra asked, lifting his combat knife from out of the array of tools she'd used to work on Kai's shoulder.
Kai looked at her suspiciously for just a moment. He was not happy she had taken his knife. His first thought was that he was stupid for being so careless. She could have slit his throat. He let that pass, however. If she had wanted to kill him, she could have just let him die on the floor of this cabin.
"Yes that is why that is made of silver. Even so, I would not take on a werewolf at such a range unless I had already crippled it. At least before the change came over me. Now that I am so much stronger than before, things might be different." Kai trailed off arrogantly. He became lost in thought, calculating his odds in such an encounter.
"You're serious aren't you? Why haven't I heard of such beings then?" Terra asked.
"Many reasons. The same sort of people who locked you up would not want anyone to know of them, nor do they wish to be known. Vampires, in particular, work to keep the population ignorant of the supernatural. No doubt it is a big part of why you and those other women were locked up. We look too different from normal mankind to hide our differences easily and our powers are not at all subtle. To those who wish the sheep to remain ignorant, we are a threat." Kai explained.
"I guess that explains the witch hunt a few years back when everyone was trying to capture and kill all the Projectors." Terra mused.
"Exactly only it came too late. The Projectors were too firmly entrenched. Too many people had seen and believed in what they did. The powers that would hide them away lost that battle. At least, I suppose that is the case. As I am not one of the hidden masters behind the deception of the world myself." Kai said with a bit of levity.
Kai stood up albeit his balance was wobbly. He made his way over and sat on the old sofa in the middle of the room. Terra handed him a cup of broth which he took and began to guzzle it greedily.
"If you fall over you'll stay where you lay. I had a hard enough time rolling you on one side then the other to get that blanket under you" Terra said.
Kai took the cup of broth from his lips and swallowed. "One of the downsides of being so large. One of many. You are also a large target. There is also the ordeal of finding clothes that fit." Kai said with a hint of humor.
Terra changed the subject back to the matter at hand. "The main impact site lodged the bullet in your shoulder blade. From what I can tell it has grown barbs that imbed it into the bone. I might not be able to get it out without shattering your shoulder blade and while that might very well heal back to full function, given our capabilities, it is well beyond the scope of anything I would want to do here. Wherever that is." Terra explained.
"Several miles from anywhere." Kai said, exhaustion creeping back into his voice. He drank down the rest broth and let his mind start working.
"If we don't get you to a location well outfitted for surgery you will die. We have a week or two at best and that is taking your abnormally robust endurance into account." Terra explained.
"That should be enough time to get to where we can find help." Kai mused.
"What sort of help? Your employers?" Terra asked hesitantly.
"No. The identity of my employers is unknown. I would not worry about that. Anyone willing to pay for your rescue is no doubt better than where you were. If not, you might still be in luck. I know a mercenary who might be hired to break you out. He is expensive. His price ranges in the millions, but he never breaks contract and very rarely fails." Kai said
"I don't have a few million lying about." Terra said with a grim smile.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I value my life more than paltry money. So you have plenty of credit with him." Kai jested.
"What?" Terra asked, comprehension finally dawning on her. "Then why turn me over to them at all?" Terra asked.
"I value my word of honor more than my life. Besides, who knows? You might like them and then you have a surprise to call down on your enemies at a later time." Kai explained. He looked up at her over the rim of his cup with a small smile.
Terra looked at him, unsure how to respond before deciding to press for more information. "Someone prepared this place. I take it you have allies?" Terra asked.
"Of sorts. We should meet them in ten days if things go well. Even slowed down we should be inside your time frame before I succumb." Kai mused. He then carefully stood up and examined the boxes lying about. He pulled out several objects and returned to the sofa.
"You see, upon taking this job, I contacted two former compatriots. Lesser mercenaries who hired me to extract them from a situation that had become more dangerous than they could handle alone. They are less conspicuous than I am and free to travel in the United States. They have set up our rest and refit areas." Kai explained.
"I guess you trust them. I Imagine there will be a reward for our recapture." Terra mused.
"I trust a combination of their greed and for them to fear me more than they desire an easy reward. They know how utterly ruthless I can be in pursuit of my agenda. They would not want me to have to add revenge upon them to said agenda. Besides, even a small percentage of the reward offered to break you out and bring you to the rendezvous point is likely larger than any reward that a government will officially offer." Kai said.
"Officially?" Terra inquired.
"There is only so much any government will do on the books. You have been pulled into the shadow world. This is where beings that no one openly acknowledges exists. This is where often offers become less about money and more about the bartering of power. Most of those who could and would barter high enough to overcome the scruples my allies have already have them on a blacklist. So, again, we should be fine. We just have to get to the Mexican border and well will catch up with them." Kai said while studying the objects he had acquired
"How are we going to cross the country without getting caught? Particularly with you wounded." Terra asked worried.
"I had planned that after the first race to escape, we would travel at what would be, for me, an almost a leisurely pace. I was unsure of what state you would be in. It works out for our circumstances, even if they are different. Each day we will rest in a location prepared for us. Some will be this nice. Some will be tents or caves. Each will be well provisioned, however, even if we have to stay more than one night. This was set to be the best prepared and set up for the longest stay. I had planed for up to five days wait. I was not sure if I would be rescuing a well tended prisoner, a tortured husk or someone drugged into submission. Thus, this place was equipped for me to work you back into a state healthy enough to be able to travel." Kai replied.
Kai gave a snort at the irony of the situation.
"You never thought you would be on the receiving end of the medical care? That sounds extremely self confident." Terra mused dryly.
"I trusted that, considering how my abilities have been enhanced by the change, that I would find either victory or death. There would be no inbetween." Kai said emptily.
Terra shuffled uncomfortably. For once, Kai changed the subject.
"Your previous question does not completely suprise me, however, very few people come to the realizations needed to make such a plan as I have. You are from the East, yes?" Kai asked as he looked at her beautiful Pacific Islander's skin. He knew from his dossier that she had, despite the fact that her ancestry was still fairly obvious, even when one took into account the physical changes involved in Manifestation.
Terra nodded.
"I wanted to congratulate you. You speak like an American. There is no trace of an accent. At first, I did not think you were my target. Erasing the accent in my English is something that I have...struggled with." Kai said. His accent was slight, but it was still there. It would have been a dead giveaway to a native English speaker. Terra, on the other hand, possessed no such handicap.
Terra smiled despite herself. "I've always had an ear for languages. I just imitated the cadence of those around me."
Kai nodded in approval before he continued. "Anyway, as I was saying, the fact that you are from the East should have given you an advantage in discerning my plan. If you had been from Europe, I doubt you ever would put it together. It is a curious thing. When you first came to the United States did you think about sightseeing?" Kai asked.
"I saw a few sights in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. I went to New York City during a class break. The work I was doing, even postdoctoral, was too involved for longer excursions." Terra explained in a tone of rising curiosity.
"I see. Why did you not go see the Hollywood sign? Perhaps you could have jaunted out to see the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone?" Kai asked.
"I didn't have time and those would have had to have been three separate trips. They are too far removed from each other to do in one trip." Terra said.
Kai smiled. "I once met a Frenchman who planned to tour New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. He had a month trip and planned to sandwich Las Vegas and those aforementioned sights into the same trip. I laughed at him the way he laughed at Americans who think to see all the sights of France and Germany in the same trip. The Frenchman was defeated by distance. He had no idea of the true scale of this land. Freed from the narrow confines of Europe and Britain, the people who migrated here seem to have had an intense desire to spread everything out as thinly as possible. It is as if they were a tiny puff of air released into a sealed vacuum. They spread out to fill all available space." He expounded.
"I've been to Europe once. There, cities and towns are relatively clustered together. You can spend months in a city like Paris or Rome. There is a lot of history there." Terra said, beginning to understand what Kai was getting at.
"In Europe, one hundred kilometers is thought to be a very long way. In the Americas one hundred years sounds like a long time. Neither is true...or both are. I suppose it depends on who you ask. The fact remains, however, when the authorities here are looking for someone, they put men at the airports, the major roadways and focus spy satellites around the cities their fugitives are thought to be near. If you are in none of those places you are off their grid. It is like trying to catch minnows with a net meant to catch tuna." He bent forward and pulled out a map to illustrate his point.
"We will stick to the wilderness. We are crossing through to the less populated South; the more rural lands. We will come near no cities major enough to be watched. We will cross only a few major interstate roads and those we will cross at very boring locations and at very dull hours. Due to our allies we will never set foot in a shop. We will have no need to venture close to a town to be seen. We will not have to arrange transit. We will walk to some places. Other times will be be taking small off road vehicles along trails. In ten short days we will be at the over three thousand kilometer long border with Mexico, which, along with the two and a half thousand kilometer border to the North, is watched by a mere twenty one thousand people. Then, we will be out of this country. Our travel process through Mexico will be similar, but the majority of the danger of recapture will be behind us." Kai explained.
"It sounds like if we get delayed, you're going to come close to the limit in getting medical treatment. If the trip takes ten days and you only have fourteen, you will have to find a location to get surgical treatment in a mere four days. If you experience any more delays, you may have only a day or two." Terra said in a worried tone.
"Then we will have to ensure we are not delayed. Leave the rest to me, woman. I will ensure we can leave this afternoon." Kai boasted.
Despite Kai's boast they did not leave that afternoon. Even with Terra aid, Kai's injury slowed him down more than he expected. Kai went into the woods and buried some of the supplies they would not need. He returned with a quad wheeled ATV and loaded the bulk of the remaining supplies. Afterwards, he was so exhausted he realized it would be foolish to leave.
"I just need to sit and rest. Perhaps if I eat something..." Kai said as he did his best to steady the slight tremor in his left arm.
"You need sleep. Perhaps not a full night's, but your body needs to devote its resources to healing what it can and refueling both your mental and physical reserves. You will need them later." Terra countered.
"Nonsense! I just..." Kai began.
"I have no doubt you know your body, however, I do have great doubt you have ever had an invasive illness like this attack it. This is not to be taken lightly. It is comparable to a very rapid cancer. I know we have to rush, the clock is ticking, not just because we are being pursued, but for finding you a more permanent solution. I might not be a mercenary or used to a violent lifestyle, but I have to make these sort of judgement calls. A doctor must decide things for their patient, such as how harsh a treatment a patient can withstand. By default I am your physician. These are not limits you can push through with your great strength and stamina. If you press further, you will shatter your strength not rebuild it. Now listen to me and sleep at least four hours." Terra said. Her suddenly authoritative tone would brook no argument.
"I once went four days without food in the rocky desert. I lay buried under a camouflage tarpaulin. I was trying to kill the world's most wanted terrorist. Had I succeeded, I would have made an unbelievable amount of money from the bounties he had posted on his head." Kai reminisced.
"I would have heard if you had killed him, if that's indeed who you're talking prodded.
"I killed one of his doubles. It was not a complete waste. It revealed to me where he was with little doubt in my mind. Unfortunately I did not pursue that lead. I could not. I knew if I did, it would be I who would die. After so long with no food and so little water I was at my limit. It was something I have rarely faced. Since gaining these powers, I have become so much stronger, but here is proof I am not yet invincible. It pains me, but it is facts that you state, woman. Self delusion is a luxury I cannot afford. I will rest. I cannot swear to sleep. I ache so badly I do not think rest will come without drugs, and I dare not fog my mind." Kai admitted.
"Go lay down in the bed. Try to sleep. We will see what happens." Terra told him gently.
Kai shed the clothes he had been wearing. He wore only very thin, athletic-like shorts as lay face down in the bed as to not press on his injury. He had shed his shirt for the same reason. For at least half an hour he rested and ran through mental exercises to combat pain and to tried to force relaxation. None of them availed him. Sleep did not come. When the door to the room opened, he kept his breathing rhythmic, hoping the doctor would think him asleep and leave him be.
He nearly jumped when he felt her hands at the junction of his shoulders and neck. Her nimble fingers began rub the tense clusters of nerves and muscle. The stress of his body started to ease.
"What are you doing? I..." He began, but as he turned his head, he found her finger went over his lips.
"You're right. You can't take drugs. We do not even know what effect they might have on this thing inside you, but there are more natural ways to combat stress and fatigue. I will help you rest. Just relax and let me work." She whispered soothingly.
Kai did his best to relax, but he was worried. Her touch roused emotions he did not want to feel. Urges that he felt no professional captor should ever feel toward a captive. Especially one the captor in question held sympathy for. He focused on his meditation, attempting to melt these emotions away into a neutral state of awareness. His body, however, had different ideas and his aroused state betrayed him physically.
Terra didn't respond to his arousal at first. She continued her massage, focusing on his legs and back. However, as the tension from pain and stress fled from his body, it was replaced by a very different tension, one caused by building lust and something Kai had never admitted, but that he found staring him in the face: a very desperate loneliness.
Kai thought about this woman. He had never even used her name to her face. He was no misogynist, but he often referred to people by pronouns, as objectifying those he met while working helped him keep his mind on his goal or mission. He thought of most of humanity as beneath him. He was, he knew, a very uncommon sort of person. He had found no one he considered his equal, let alone his better. There were few he would even consider close enough in skill or power to be his peer. He had certainly never encountered anyone he ever had the slightest inkling of a romantic interest in. Yet, deep down, Kai was afraid of this. He knew that true partnerships of any kind required a parity. One could have sex and enjoy it with someone, but to want to spend your life paired with someone, you had to know they were fully your equal. You could not look down on one and still call it love.
This woman was like him. She was, somehow, chosen for these powers...this greatness. She had endured much. She had proven remarkable, in her own way, as he was in his. He feared never finding and equal that was also his match. Now he feared he had not only found it, but he found it at the most extraordinarily inopportune time.
Kai pushed himself up to a kneeling position, facing the headboard. Terra moved back with him. With Kai kneeling on the very low bed and Terra standing, their heights were more equal. Terra moved her arms so they encircled his enormous chest from behind. She ran her small hands up and down his pectorals as her extremely generous bosom pressed against his back.
"Don't. Just...don't. Don't leave. Stop this, Kai. It's something we both need." Terra implored.
Kai stopped, as if the use of his name had mentally stunned him. He was caught, unsure of what to do.
"You say I have entered a world of magic? The only magic I know about is life. The magic of birth and sex. Of male and female forces. Compared in so many cultures as dynamically opposed yet harmonious when brought together. In the light of what we face, I choose to come into this world wielding the magic I know. Let me chase away pain and bring healing. Let's not fight these primal feelings nature or our powers have given us. If that bullet is the power of death, let's give into the forces of life and see if we can raise a power that it does not understand." With that she leaned up and kissed the back of Kai's neck.
Kai inhaled deeply. The heady, intoxicating aroma of flowers assaulted his nostrils. "Equal but opposite forces?" He asked.
"Yes! Wind and water. Heat and soil. The powers of old that man worshiped and prayed would make the crops grow and the hunts plentiful." Terra said.
With that, Kai relented. He turned around and cupped her chin in his huge hand, her emerald eyes meeting his sapphire. While it seemed such a small thing in the cosmos, the joining of one man and one woman, it was a harbinger of things to come. Spirits both humble and great took note. The Children of the Dragons bred in the world once more.
Later
Kai seemed to recover in strength. True to his plan, he and Terra's trek across the country was, for the most part, uneventful. A few times they had to hide while hunters or hikers passed. The quiet and isolation left both Kai and Terra with a long while to think. They both had the same thought on their mind; the change in their relationship. It weighed on them in different ways.
Kai continued to berate himself for his unprofessionalism. He knew he should bottle up these feelings and put them aside for the good of the mission. Yet, most of the evenings when they stopped he could not get that voice to speak loud enough to actually put a halt to their amorous activities. On the plus side, he thought, it was the absolute best sex he had ever had.
Terra was concerned as to exactly why she had seduced Kai. Early onset Stockholm Syndrome? An attempt to humanize herself to her captor? A desperate attempt at filling the loneliness and isolation? Her stint in prison had given her reason to fear all of these. However, this wasn't the same. She didn't have the same sort of fear. She couldn't even really say for certain she felt any fear at all being with Kai, despite her analytical side begging to differ. She was most definitely not desperate for male companionship. She had been completely disinterested in her captors, and no opportunity had arisen to give into a desire for intimacy with her fellow inmates.
Now that the proverbial bridge had been crossed, however, Terra saw no reason to end their encounters. It did provide some much needed relief from what was an extremely boring trip. Being a social person, Terra had not enjoyed her long isolation in the prison nor did she relish it here.
Eight nights into their trek, Kai stopped their travel early. "We will be going into a city." He stated.
"Isn't that what we've been trying to avoid?" Terra asked.
"Yes, this, however, is a well planned exception. In the edge of this town we will find a cargo storage container marked for shipment by a moving company. It will be delivered to a house in Texas along the outskirts of a town called Presidio which is on the Mexican border. There we will exit the cargo container and travel a short way to meet the rest of our group." Kai explained.
They crept close and found the cargo container sitting at an old house. Kai turned the dial on the combination lock and opened the door. Inside were a few boxes and a covered mattress. Like many of the other places the pair had taken shelter, it appeared old and dingy on the outside, but inside it was clean. The unit was even fitted with a climate control device to help regulate airflow and temperature. There was even a portable sink and water tank. Terra rummaged through the supplies and found the same sort of portable sanitation supplies and basic necessities that she had become accustomed to along the journey.
For the first time since the house in the woods, however, Terra found they had time and no particular need to be especially quiet. She watched Kai silently as he took off his shirt and began to clean himself in a makeshift wash basin. She found herself staring, despite herself, at his incredible musculature. She'd never seen a physique so...large and yet so defined. She had decided that she liked his chest the most. His huge pectorals were like two heaving plates of muscle. She could not help but admire them. She caught herself and shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts. She decided to take advantage of the situation and attempt to stop her mind from wandering. She was going to use this opportunity to learn more about this mysterious, hulking giant who had freed her only to capture her again.
"How did you become a mercenary? I can't imagine it's on too many high school or college recruitment programs. How does someone end up in your line of...work?" Terra asked, perhaps a bit more acerbically than she intended.
Kai paused in his efforts to clean himself and pondered the question. Finally, after what seemed like several minutes, he spoke. "My family, the Silberns, have a long history of military service. This history stretches back to the days of the Holy Roman Empire. Perhaps even before. My own time in the military, however, was disappointing. I picked up the skills as if born to them, however, I despised the petty bureaucracy that runs the modern military. It brought to mind an ancient proverb: There is more to fear from an army of sheep lead by a lion then from an army of lions lead by a sheep. No military force in what has come to be called the 'civilized' world is without this bureaucratic element; this parasitic force. Gone are the days of warrior kings or statesmen soldiers. The proud military traditions of ages beyond count have been tossed aside in favor of men who are soft. The kind who make rules simply for the sake of having rules. The sort who feel if they regulate everything, somehow, they will have true power. I despise their ilk with every fiber of my being."
"So the men who'd have peace rather than war?" Terra asked.
"Not so. There is no man who appreciates peace more than a soldier. Soldiers put their lives on the line and see the terrible price that comes with war. Soldiers take no delight in war. Warriors enjoy the test of skill, the incredible stakes, and challenge of war more than soldiers do, yet they remain aware that war for it's own sake is wasteful. Only in service to a worthy cause should it be employed. Bureaucrats sign papers. They sit behind their desks and send others in their place and never see their victims. They slay with a pen stroke. The blood of the fallen concerns them not at all.
They are next of kin to those who put you in a cell. It is these parasites, and those like them that perhaps irrevocably marred the reputation of the Germanic peoples by ordering millions of harmless innocents to their deaths. Neither a true soldier nor warrior would do such a thing. People should have dignity. They should not be reduced to numbers in a ledger or butchered like cattle. How can there be dignity in death when one has been robbed of their pride? If there is no dignity in death how can there be any in killing?
No, they are not men of peace they are men who think they know power; the power of ruling other men. Ironic, that they steal away the very thing that would make such an accomplishment praiseworthy. They seek to turn men into a sort of herd animal. They are proud that they lead so many as they survey the numbers under their supposed control. They fail to see that the act of leading even just ten true men, ones of skill, wit and will who have seen that your will is stronger, you plans grander, and your strength unfailing and serve you willingly is a far more praiseworthy goal than directing a mindless herd of thousands.
"Men, huh?" Terra noted, her voice lilting at his choice of words.
"Well humans anyhow. The military is still primarily a male institution. The reasons for this are strictly biological. There is no less of the strength of will present in females. We men merely have the luxury of being more expendable." Kai explained with a smile.
"Expendable?" Terra inquired. Her curiosity was piqued, as Kai did not seem to be the kind to refer to himself as expendable.
"For a culture to thrive it must have women. A single man might, in an emergency, be of service to many women, but each individual woman devotes a great deal of time and effort to procreation. Compare this to the miniscule amount of time required of a male. If a culture was to lose ninety percent of its males, it would have a terrible road to recovery, but might still restore itself. A people who lose ninety percent of their women, however, would be wiped from the Earth. Thus, historically, we are expendable. If sacrifices are to be made for a community, logically we men should make it. Do not mistake my meaning though. In this age of technology and sophisticated martial arts, women are just as dangerous physically. Not to mention women have always had a will just as great as men. The challenges of living are often greater than those of dying." Kai explained.
"You know, I'm a doctor of prenatal development. I know a few things about the challenges of raising a new generation even if I have never birthed my own child." Terra told Kai.
"Yes, well, back to what you originally asked. I took what money I had saved from living a spartan life while in the military and when my first chance to withdraw without dishonor came I left. I bought some basic equipment and traveled to less civilized lands. I joined causes, insurgencies, counter rebellions, even criminal organizations if I thought there was some worth to their cause. As my reputation gained merit I had less trouble joining ranks. Then it got to where people would travel further afield to offer me work. Soon, I was part of an elite group, those who had became so good we'd see the underbelly of the world. The mysteries and magic that are kept hidden from the masses. Not unlike the fighting spirit and strength of will of days past which is still buried deep within humanity. The sort of secrets that those who would make men sheep wish to hide. They do not want power in the hands of those who might rise and turn from the herd to another path." Kai said as he took a towel and dried himself. He gave Terra a bitter smile.
"That is how I began this life. I was alone in mountains of Hungary. I was searching for a man condemned for mass execution; a war criminal. It was known he had been turned into a vampire. Those in the know about the supernatural still wanted him dead. He had retreated high in the mountains where he thought mortals could not find him. It was during the ordeal to get to him deep in the mountains that these powers came over me. With them, his execution was laughably easy. I did just a bit of follow up work; killing a few associates of his creator. By then some knew of my new powers. It had only been a month or two. That is when I received the offer to extract you." Kai looked at Terra, and then decided to turn the tables on the conversation. "You are from Indonesia? That is what the dossier said about you." He asked.
"Yes. I'm proud of my land. It's rich in diversity and true crossroads of cultures." She smiled and looked down at her feet before looking back up. "I know I sound like a travel brochure, but it's true. For the most part we Indonesians see the many cultures on our islands as a strength. I think part of that is what made me so accomplished at languages." Terra said fondly.
"Then why have you stayed so long in the United States?" Kai asked.
"My family, I supose. When I was young, I lived with my mother and father. My mother was a nurse, father worked in construction. Like most of my family they were Buddhist. However, some of the family converted to Islam. This wasn't really that big of a problem at the time. I remember there were some rather lively debates over the merits of one over the other when I was younger. I caused that debate to intensify and turn bitter. When I became a teenager, I discovered that my sexual attraction had more to do with the personality of the person in question rather than the physical sex they possessed." Terra said, reminiscing.
"What was that?" Kai inquired, his head snapping up slightly.
"I discovered in my early teens that I was bisexual, Kai. My mother and father thought it was odd and that I might grow out of it, but if not, that it was harmless. At least that's how I remember it. My great uncle said otherwise. He was older than my father. He was not only Muslim, but a strong proponent of the harshest interpretations of Sharia law. He would very loudly argue with father about me and what should be done about, what he felt, was a shameful blight on the family's honor. When my father and mother died trying to help perform rescue work during a mudslide, he attempted to gain custody of me. He was convinced he could reform me." Terra frowned as she stopped speaking.
"I..I did not know you were bisexual." Kai paused for a long moment before speaking again. "Might I ask you a question unrelated to your story?" He inquired.
Terra looked up, shocked out of her revery by the question. "Yes, I suppose."
Kai shifted uncomfortably "How should I word this...? I do not want to be insulting, but it is a difficult subject. You see, when I looked upon you for the first time, I felt an intense physical desire to have sex with you. It was the strongest physical attraction I have ever felt. I felt a similar desire, but slightly less so, when I saw the other women who were like us; your fellow prisoners. Did you experience similar feelings, and if so, were they only for me or for the other women as well?" He asked in a somewhat rushed, nervous manner. The uneasy and uncertain tone was echoed by Kai's body language, which was plainly obvious due to his bulk.
"I felt desire for them as well as yourself. They felt such urges, despite three of them having been at least, as far as they could tell, completely heterosexual before their powers manifested. We were fairly sure the sexual desire were strongest in myself and Kayla, who was strongly lesbian." Terra said in an analytical fashion.
"I felt the surge of lust most strongly for you. I do not know if this was because you were the first woman I saw. I do know what we have shared during this trip has been the most enjoyable sex I have ever had." Kai said, some of his old confidence returning.
"Flattery like that might make a woman blush. I'm glad you've been impressed. The sex has been quite good hasn't it?" She smiled and changed the subject back to their original topic. "You were asking about why I chose to stay in America, however, weren't you? As I became a source of tension in my own family, I was eager to spend some time away from them. When the opportunity came to take a scholarship program and finish my medical degree in the United States, I leapt at it. I wanted to travel and see other places. This is also a land built on diversity and, like my home, it also doesn't always live up to its creed, but I had thought it was an interesting place to start my own life. I applied for citizenship because of that. I wanted to make my own place in the world, my own mark. My research into the minutia of the mother-fetus bond and prenatal treatment of developmental problems was coming along so well..." Terra said as she shook her head sadly in loss.
Kai pondered her words. First, he focused on how she had evaded the opportunity to return the sentiment that the sex was the best she had ever had. Terra's tone of loss, however, sparked in Kai a desire to chase from her such sadness.
"Do not fret over how your life's path was disrupted. The smooth course is for less interesting, less grand people then we." Kai remarked, attempting to console her.
"Do you truly think we can survive when the world itself seems to be turned against us?" Terra asked.
"No, I do not think we will merely survive. I know we will prevail. I am not the sort who gives up in the face of adversity and neither are you. It also appears to me, from what you have told me about your captivity, all those who have received these gifts are not common people meant for the everyday world. We are the sort whose path is written large on the face of the world. We are not followers, but leaders and we will blaze our own trail! Whatever challenges are set before us we will rise to them, for we are not lesser than any challenge the world can toss our way." Kai proclaimed.
"Maybe we can prevail. Maybe we can make a world for ourselves." Terra pondered.
Kai pulled Terra into an embrace. She rested her head on his massive chest. "Do not grieve for matters past. The trials we face make us the strong people we are. Do not fear for the future. We will write it ourselves. Come! Let us rest and enjoy this reprieve. Our path from here should start to become easier." He said as he lay down. Within minutes, despite his desire to remedy Terra's lack of affirmation of his sexual prowess, Kai soon fell asleep. Terra took sheet and spread it over his form and lay down next to him on the mattress. His enormous weight caused the mattress they shared to dip, and she invariably found herself pressing up against his huge body; not that she minded too much. She changed into a more comfortable sleeping attire that had been left for her and snuggled down next to the shirtless Kai.
Sometime in the night, Terra felt a jolt. She woke up with a start, but began to relax as soon as she realized the trailer had obviously begun its journey. She rolled over and peered through the darkness. The container had entered the highway. Streetlights now periodically shone through the very small one by six inch 'windows' near the container's forward ceiling. There was a pair of them on the opposite sides of the wall from each other; they were too high to use to look outside or for anyone to see inside, so much that Terra wondered what function they could possibly serve. She was just barely able to make out the form of the sleeping colossus next to her each time they passed a lightpole. He didn't even wake from the movement.
Terra tried to keep calm and keep her priorities in check, but she fretted over the state of the big man. She was concerned that he was sleeping on his back might exacerbate his wound for starters. He had been pushing hard and they were getting close to the edge of her estimate of his ability to hold out against the invasive device in his body. She sighed and lay back down. She truly hoped he would be alright, but she knew his time was running out. Sleep soon washed over her again as she drifted back to sleep.
The next day, the container came to a stop. The uninterrupted sleep and rest seemed to do Kai some good. As the pair exited the storage container, he quickly found the next cache of goods in a storage shed out back of the house in Presidio as well as a simple dirt bike. Terra climbed on with him as he revved the bike and they took off. Hours later, after traveling down some twisted paths through the hilly scrubland, Kai slowed the bike down to a crawling pace.
"Why did we slow down so much?" Terra asked.
"So we can be seen. You don't see him, but we are being watched from that rock up there." Kai informed Terra.
"One of your people?" Terra asked, suddenly alert. She still, however, didn't see anyone up where Kai was pointing.
"Yes. We are almost there." Kai said as he revved the bike again. They went around the hill upon which the rock was stationed and came to what appeared to be a small depression between the hills. Upon closer inspection there was an opening into the hill side. It faced the other hill and had a sloping entrance covered by a slatted wood awning that had been covered with dirt and local plant life; from a distance or above it was almost invisible.
Sitting in the shade of the entryway in a lawn chair in the breeze of an oscillating fan, was a short and slight man. He was maybe five foot six, Terra estimated. He had pale skin and dark black hair that was parted on the side, but was so short it almost spiked up. He held a bottle of Tequila that was so cold the sweat ran down the bottle. He took a swig from the bottle and looked up, lowering the sunglasses he wore. Despite the shade of the enclave, Terra could see his extremely dark blue eyes.
"Just in time! It was just about to get boring around here! I'm a big fan of just chilling and drinking, but it was actually on the border of getting dull around here." He quipped to Kai.
"I am not pleased at your lack of alertness, Mike." Kai said simply as he stepped off the bike.
"Hey, I'm keeping guard in case anything comes up the tunnel from the Mexico side! Axe was keeping watch for you." Mike replied.
"Who is Axe?" Terra asked.
"The man standing behind you." Kai replied without looking back.
Terra turned and suppressed the urge to jump. Without making a sound, someone had walked up right behind her. This one was six foot four, his hair was a wavy chocolate brown and came down to his shoulder blades. His skin was the rich, dark tan of someone that was caucasian but mixed with a heavy dose of either Hispanic or Native American ancestry. His eyes, however, stood out the most; they were a very strange shade of pale blue, and the irises were very large and very noticeable.
"Your name is Axe?" Terra asked.
"Don't bother talking to him he's shy around women." Mike made a motion to Terra's chest. "Given your endowments, I doubt you'll drag two words out of him the entire trip." Mike stated.
"These two are the backup. That one talks too much and the other too little." Kai looked down into the tunnel as if thinking.
"I see." Terra said simply, distracted by the fact that, despite Mike's fan not being plugged into any sort of outlet or generator, it was still working.
"Well she doesn't seem any worse for wear or a vegetable. So what took so long? Sight seeing? Not that those massive tits aren't worth taking the scenic route to gander at for a while. Not sure those alone are worth what were being paid to spring her, though." Mike said with a lecherous leer.
Kai's hand flashed over and seized Mike's shoulder wheeling the shorter man around to face him.
"Keep a civil tongue and keep your eyes off her! Do you understand? If I learn you have touched her or harassed her you, are finished little man." Kai ordered with a snarl.
Terra was surprised by the speed at which the one called Axe dropped the package he had been holding and leapt to the side of Kai. He stood in a crouch, hands spread, ready for combat.
"Ease up buddy... Kai's just being a hard ass, right? Come on! You know me, man! Do I look like a newb? I'm a professional! I won't mess with the merchandise. I know the rules. Business first. Come on, ease up! The last thing we want is a battle with a super sized Germanic murder machine." Mike said, a nervous pitch rising in his voice.
"You are a professional, but just barely disciplined. I repeat; watch your mouth around the woman. As for you, wolf boy, you had best remember if I chose to come for you, there is little you can do to stop me. I was your better in combat before these powers came to me and I am now worlds beyond you." Kai informed the pair.
He released Mike's shoulder with a shove that sent him stumbling back toward Axe. Everything was quiet for a moment. Terra decided to break the mounting tension.
"How is this fan working when it's not plugged in?" She asked.
"It is magic. The short one is a Mage. He is also lazy enough to waste his powers on creature comforts. What worries me is the size of this tunnel. This is not the sort of thing I expected. I know drug runners and illegal border hoppers have made tunnels below that river, but this is large enough to drive a small truck through. Who was using this?" Kai asked.
"Drug runners. A major cartel in fact. They were running a forklift through it to be exact, not a small truck. They were moving drugs by a pallet load." Mike explained.
"An operation that size and they have not noticed their tunnel was taken from them two weeks ago?" Kai asked.
"Yeah, sure, they noticed but blamed someone else. We framed another cartel. They're both busy fighting it out right now well away from here. Each is too busy attacking the other to come mess with us. If a patrol comes to check on this place, we kill them and toss the bodies where the other side find them and boom! Escalation of their conflict! Less people coming to snoop." Mike bragged
"This had better not be headed toward a disastrous breakdown." Kai stated darkly.
"Hey don't be so dour! We got this! We are about to be well away from here regardless." Mike said.
"Yes, there is that... still, given your history, I'm surprised it has not bitten you upon the ass already." Kai said with a shake of his head.
"I thought you said they were survivors?" Terra asked.
"They are. Surviving the trouble they cause for themselves is their greatest accomplishment." Kai explained.
"So he's a Mage. I take it thats some sort of magician or wizard thing and this one is...?" Terra said looking at Axe.
"Yes, that one is a werewolf. He acts more like a lapdog for the mage, though. Not the proud and independent warrior he is supposed to be." Kai explained.
"Well, as absolutely fascinating as listening to you rag on us is, we need to move. Come on, we'll grab the forklift and ride to the other side, then we can get the truck and be off." Mike said.
The fan slowed, as if unplugged, and the group moved on. Terra wondered if they were truly out of the proverbial woods yet. Despite Kai's assurances, she wondered if the party that was paying for her liberation was anyone she wanted to deal with, and if not, would she ever find a safe haven? Not just for herself, but for others of her kind. Remembering her conversation with Kai in the storage container, Terra resolved to take heart. Kai might not have noticed it, but occasionally he was even thinking of their kind as a group he belonged too. Forming a self identity was the first step to them becoming their own people. If that could be accomplished, she was quite sure they could indeed create their own place in the world.
