Torchwood Nigeria; Sokoto State, Nigeria
Sunday, October 29, 2021
More than a week passed since Keara Montfert woke to the maelstrom of voices. Tones varied, but the loudest were angry. She had no idea who they were or why she could hear them. The only one she understood kept saying, "I know what you did." The other versions of herself, both from futures that no longer existed, appeared to cut her off from whatever psychic connection they had. She thought about contacting the solider version on the space station, but had no idea what she'd say. From what she understood, despite having a powerful ability at times, it was nothing compared to the solider or Other Keara. They had to know she was struggling.
Suddenly dizzy, Keara stumbled and bumped into the wall. "Computer, medical emergency." While she normally had no problem navigating the nearly identical hallways, she had no idea where she was. Her vision blurred.
"It's coming," a wispy voice echoed through her head.
She lost her balance and fell.
"Keara," someone said over the intercom.
"Help."
"Just hold on, help is coming." He continued talking softly. His voice distorted, seeming to echo down the hallway.
Running footsteps soon joined the echoing voice. They seem to come from all around her. "Can you hear me?"
She looked at Vijay but he didn't seem real.
Azrael entered the infirmary as soon as he heard. Chasing Sai became a full-time job. Between him and Kol, they could only track him by his actions. Sai brutally murdered the fake guru in India. Then he targeted false prophets. He left eight bodies and no way to find him.
"What happened?"
"I don't know," Dr. Kazadi said apologetically, his Congolese accent obvious. "Her neurology scans are…" He shook his head. "The Refuge is sending a specialist."
Good, Azrael thought. The psychics at the Kenya compound had been easier to deal with since they raided the compound over a misunderstanding. Their culture respected psychic abilities and created a kind of caste system where the most powerful were at the top. Keara's ability exceeded their understanding of psychics.
"When she talks." Dr. Kazadi searched for a description. "She sounds high. My first thought was hallucinations. I don't think it's that simple."
The door to the infirmary opened and Idrissa stepped in carrying a tablet computer. He looked worried. "I know what Sai's doing."
Azrael walked over to his husband.
"After the guru, he started targeting Christian-based end-of-the-world preachers who claimed to know when it is happening," Idrissa explained.
It fit what he knew of Sai. He was declared criminally insane in India and escaped a mental health facility. Then appeared on their doorstep. What they didn't know was why. Something set him off. Possibly one of his own visions of the crashing alien ship that he believed was filled with demons.
"Any witnesses?" Azrael wondered if Sai targeted religious leaders violating their own religion or religious texts. The Bible said that man would not know when the Second Coming would happen.
Idrissa shrugged. "The Christian conspiracy sites are filling up with outlandish accounts."
"We need a list of the surviving prophets." Azrael did not want to rescue frauds taking advantage of the vulnerable.
"Vijay is working on it." Idrissa paused, thinking. "Sai is only targeting fakes as far as we know. He came here to test you. If he only harms fakes, we might have witnesses. There are other legitimate community leaders with abilities."
"Matt."
Idrissa nodded. "If Sai went to Tangled Briers, he would find that Matt was not performing miracles."
"But he is saving lives."
"I spoke with Yvonne last week. She said a Brighton religious leader died under unusual circumstances. She belonged to a group that ran an in-patient reparative therapy facility until a Tangle Brier's resident helped shut it down."
There were any number of people, himself included, that might be motivated to stop a person like that. "Is Hoggle still there?"
Idrissa obviously had not thought about that. "Sai would have sensed Hoggle the same way he sensed you."
An alarm sounded before Azrael could respond. Keara started seizing. Dr. Kazadi rushed to her side.
Keara said in a distant, hollow tone, "The world will be cleansed by fire." The medical cot shook.
"Doctor," Azrael said moving between Idrissa and Keara, "Get behind me."
Dr. Kazadi hesitated for a moment and the cot shock so hard, it ripped up the floor it was bolted to. He stumbled back, turned and ran.
"The faithful will ascend to heaven." The metal crunched beneath her. "Sinners will burn."
Azrael shifted his physical manifested into a shield as metal pieces flew off the cot and ricocheted across the room.
"Evil will be cleansed." Keara screamed before sliding off the breaking cot onto the floor.
Silence.
"I think I saw that movie," Dr. Kazadi said quietly.
An alarm sounded. Then another. And another. The cacophony was deafening; then suddenly stopped.
"Emergency response teams," Vijay's stressed voice came over the intercom, "We have fifteen critical emergencies. Four in the secured ward."
"Non habes impirium!" Mata, one of Idrissa's twin sisters, yelled. "Et abierunt!"
"Mata," Idrissa said carefully.
More voices chimed in. Languages mingled in a chorus of madness.
When it ceased, Jama the other twin continued. "Non habes impirium!" Pause. "Et abierunt!"
The voices rose again in a jumble of languages.
Dr. Kazadi looked uneasy. "The Latin sounds like an exorcism from a movie."
"What are they saying saying," Azrael asked quietly.
"'You hold no dominion. Be gone.'" Dr. Kazadi translated. "I think."
Mata declared, "Draco mundi ultra non opus est tibi."
Static filled the intercom and the building shook.
"She asked a dragon for help."
A roar erupted from the intercom, shaking the building again. Azrael kept Idrissa and the doctor from falling as the building shook around them. Unprepared for earthquakes, books and items tumbled off shelves. Furniture slid across the floor into walls and medical cots secured to the floor.
Silence.
An alarm sounded, glitched and shut off.
"The computer was unable to handle the number of emergency medical requests." Vijay sounded shaky.
"Psychic chain reaction?" Idrissa whispered. "Keara had a weird religious vision and…" Even he didn't believe it.