The visions, the sounds... It could only be a dream…
A distorted bass-outline of some pumping beat, the happy people and the flashing lights. Must be a party. Almost everyone was drinking a strange prismatic liquid, even I… The distorted dream got even more distorted as I drank of the cup. The beat seemed to slow down, so did everything else.
The sound was that of a heart beating. The feeling was being brutally taken away… To scream was impossible, they held a firm grip around my muzzle.
My heart beated, furiously, as the blurred faces carried me into a room in their iron grip.
2:00… I woke up, drawing deep breaths.
Falling back to sleep was almost impossible, with that nightmare still fresh in mind… Little did I know it’s meaning, much did this bother me.
It was as if I wasn’t myself in that dream. My hands are black, not gray as in the dream. And I felt quite different too…
It was weird and scary, but I managed to get back to sleep after a few hours.
I suddenly woke because the surface beneath me shook. Star was obviously eager to wake me, as she jumped onto my bed.
She hugged me and kissed my cheek. “Happy birthday!”
I was slow this morning, pretty much like any other, but still…
“Oh crap… Is it today?”
“Yeah! We’re 15! Isn’t it great?!”
“When was your birthday again?”
“Did you leave your brain somewhere?”
“Oh… Right… Twins…”
It was 6:00, and I guess this is when Star usually got up in the weekdays.
Next year, Star and I would be counted as adults. At 15, strange things would happen on a sexual level. Boys would be able to pick up feminine pheromones, and girls would start producing them.
Of course, this didn’t happen the very day you turn 15, but would come eventually.
“So what’re you going to do today?” Star asked. “Nothing, as usual…”
“We could ask mom and dad to let us have a party…”
The nightmare’s climax flashed before my eyes… “NO!”
I didn’t trust the idea of parties at the moment.
“As if you have any friends to invite…” Star said a bit displeased.
I try to explain the dream to her… but all she says is “You’re just superstitious…” “Hasn’t dad taught you anything?” I asked her.
“Obviously not…” She said as she walked out of my room.
I sunk back into the warm bed, only disturbed by my cell phone, one hour later. It was uncle Zaz.
“Yep?” “Hope I’m not disturbing anything,” His voice was strange and low.
“No, I was just sleeping…” “Right… Ehm… Happy birthday and all that…”
He did not call me just to say that… I could hear it by his fumbling. He never did that without good reason.
“I’ve got a present for you, I’ll try to come by later,” “Where are you now?”
It sounded like he was out in heavy rain, and it didn’t sound like it rained outside. “I am in Rasha’s Park…” He sighed “I can’t tell you this over the phone…”
He hung up.
Whatever he was supposed to tell me can’t have been good.
I saw the second waking as a sign, and got up and dressed. I went upstairs to get myself some breakfast. The house was silent this time of day, and the outside was cold and dark.
TV was warm. Warm good. Bad news on TV.
Someone had stolen stuff from the local hospital. Alcohol and some medicines. It was quite obvious that Zaz had been busy with something elsewhere, or the criminals would have been caught already.
Maybe there was some connection with that theft and my dream…
The stuff I drank… Might be alcohol, as it is known to make you temporarily blind if you drink enough. Not to mention drunk…
And as drunk, you’re vulnerable… Hmm…
After eating my fill, and watching the morning news repeat for the fifth time with only one cartoon in between the first and second, I just felt compelled to check up on Zil.
I had never really been inside Star’s room, but there’s a first time for everything. Her walls more or less screamed “I’m a girl’s wall”, but were rather silent. The room was of quite smaller dimensions than my own, but well-filled and fitted for Star. On a mattress in the middle of the room, Zil was drawing calm, deep breaths. Her clothes neatly piled beside her.
I didn’t bother to turn on the lights, didn’t really want to disturb her.
My black clothes mixed perfectly with the darkness. Almost made me feel part of the darkness that let Zil sleep undisturbed…
There were many alternatives to what I could do, but I chose to lie down on the floor, right next to Zil. Didn’t know exactly why, but it appealed to me then and there. I guess some would call me romantic, but I guess that things like this easily comes to mind when you have someone you would die for.
I touched my hand to her, without waking her.
For almost an hour I lay beside her. The sunlight gently woke her, and the sunlight made her smile seem even more magical. She was quite happy to find me right next to her.
Zil got right up and dressed herself right in front of me. Her smooth, feminine curves were highly visible in the morning sun. God I love her…
We were never really great at communicating... We were both shy, but we shared a great empathy.
“Hungry?” I ask, and she nods. I showed her where the bathroom was, and started rummaging about the kitchen, while she was doing whatever it is girls do in the morning.
Served her some simple sandwiches, and shared a blood-plant with her.
All in front of the holy flame, which is also known as TV…
There was not much else to do… So there we sat.
Zil suddenly turns her head. “Happy birthday…”
She kisses me shortly after. “You were really cute when you were little…”
I would like to say that I hate mom, but that’s a lie…
“So in other words, you’ve seen me naked?”
Zil kind of giggles as I come with my assumption. “Well, yeah… I feel that I should… “repay the debt”,” I like the way she smiles as she utters the three last words. Typically enough, as I felt a kiss coming up, the doorbell rings.
As only man in the house, that is awake at least, I felt obligated to check who it was. A hooded reptilian, looking old and tired, stood before me.
“Pardon me, but is this the residence of Joon Storm?” His weak, elderly voice sounded a bit shaky, just like the staff in his hands.
“Yeah…?”
His stiff beak, or whatever, seemed to smile. “Truly, you have become quite the likeness of your father…”
“Maybe you would like to come in?” The strange thing seemed harmless, and friendly. “That would be nice, thank you,”
His back was a great bulge beneath the grayish, black robe. He moved slowly, but then he seemed to be of a quite respectable age.
“Dare I ask your name, child?” “Joon Fredrik,” We shook hands. “Rhahl,”
His scaly, leathery hand seemed worn-down, as if he’d done this a few times. “Should I get my father…?” “No haste, child… And I believe you’ve just turned 15, eh?”
The mighty name “Rhahl” was truly mighty in this old guy. “How did you…?” “You, my dear Fredrik, were blessed with this talent like so many other Moon-Dreamers… I’ll tell you the same I told your father, when he was as young as you,” I sharpened my ears, as this promised to be interesting. “The future belongs to you… You may see it, but never will you be able to change it’s course,”
I was a bit disappointed actually…
“You did not study under my guidance, like your father once did, but it will make sense if you give it time to settle in…”
Dad arrives at the scene… Thank god…
He was quite pleased to see the ancient reptile. I crept away, and back to Zil, while they discussed the political status of Noo’Rahd.
I kind of felt like getting out of the house… I didn’t know why, but I just wanted to.
I felt a bit down, as if something was wrong with Zil. There was a strange feeling that something bad was going to happen.
She quickly picked up the scent. “What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing…” She didn’t believe me, but I guess she didn’t want to poke me any further either.
Dad brought the prehistoric creature into the living room.
Zil got on her feet when she saw the strange being. There was a touch of disgust in her face as she hid behind me.
“Please, sit… I recon you’ve traveled the length and width since last we spoke,” Dad was of course nice to his old friend. Rhahl seats himself in the sofa, right in front of me. “Pretty girl? What are you hiding from?”
Zil looks at Rhahl from behind me. “What are you?” She asks nervously.
Rhahl smiles, I think… “I’m weak and old, you should not cower for me. It is I who should cower for your powerful youth,”
I push her in front of me, holding my hands on her shoulders. “I was called ‘a turtle’ back in my youth, but my name is still Rhahl,”
He stretches out his three-fingered hand, and Zil eventually meets his gesture with her four-fingered.
Zil was still creeped out by the hooded turtle. “I’m… Zil…”
“I’m taking Zil downtown,” I inform dad.
“Stay just a minute more, young Joon…” Rhahl replied quickly “I have one more thing to tell you… Alone…?”
Dad nods and leads Zil out of the living room.
“You have chosen one who is truly appealing to your eyes and heart…”
Rhahl looked down at the end of his staff, then looked at me.
“But tell me… Do you see a future in her?”
I didn’t know what to make of his question, but I nodded.
“She has a dark future up ahead… Will you still stay close to her, even if this darkness will consume her?”
“Is she going to die?” “That is unclear… But try to remember that love is not always what you want it to be,”
I just shook my head in disbelief and left him. There was a little sense in what he said, but I chose to let fate decide my future.
Zil and I were pretty much silent while walking. There was nothing much to say anyway… I was kind of caught up in what Rhahl had said. It was disturbing to me… All I could think of was Zil’s death, and poor me left to mourn.
The trees were almost naked, and the ground was wrapped in a layer of leaves. Leaves left to rot and die, to ensure the cycle of life to continue…
Hmmm…
Right outside of Star’s school, the street was as always containing scattered groups of people. Zil was a bit nervous and held my hand. She was afraid that she would be rejected on sight, and stayed close to my body.
A small group of guys stopped us, they seemed to be a bit older than us.
“Aren’t you that Storm-guy? Star’s brother or sumthin’?”
“What of it?” I felt somewhat hostile intentions in the air, and navigated accordingly.
“We’re totally with you, man. The way you wasted… What? 5 SG’s?”
“What are you trying to get at?” I asked the leader of the bunch.
“We think those fucking SG’s should go to hell, it’s about fucking time someone takes us one step closer to crushing them,” He pats my shoulder.
“Look!” I was pissed off, he had obviously not noticed the SG attached to my arm. “I did not kill those SG’s with any intention of war! Whatever sick ideals you try to live up to are not what made me kill them!”
“Come on,” The tall leader said. “Of course you hate them red bastards… Everyone does…”
I let go off Zil’s hand, then threw my fist at his face.
His lower jaw cracked and the right side of his cheek ripped open where I hit.
The bone was showing, underneath a fountain of blood, at the tip of his jaw.
Lying on the ground, with his jaw barely hanging on, I raise my fist once again. “Joon, no!” Zil grabs my fist. The rest of the guys notice how I am accompanied by an SG, and especially how she reacted to my fury.
They seemed surprised that an SG showed mercy upon an MD, and that one looking like them would kill for an SG…
The masses of youth had gathered around the bloody scene, hoping some more violence would take place. I just grabbed Zil’s hand and pushed through the crowd.
Out in the open, a girl with a camera snapped a picture of us.
“Could you do a pose?” She asked. I smiled, then put Zil in front of me.
I put my arms around her, and my hands on her stomach. She put her hands on my thighs. The camera made a series of clicks.
“Thanks a bunch,” The photographer smiled and winked as she disappeared.
Zil’s taste in colors were easy to spot. Red, pink, purple and white. They were almost the opposites of mine; Green, blue, purple and black.
Opposites attract…
Zil was happy to know that I would pay for the new clothes she picked out.
I thought it would be nice to give her something else but problems for a change. And besides, she didn’t bring any other clothes than those she was wearing, and winter was drawing close.
“Put it on Mr. Storm’s tab,” I showed my ID to verify that I was who I was.
It was a mystery to me where dad drew his resources from, but if I’m not too wrong, those human-things were the source.
Outside again, we ran into dad. He was talking with that photographer.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Beta Storm,” She said with a smile and walked away. Dad turns our way. “Hi, kids,” “Hope you don’t mind, but…”
“No, that’s alright. You should see Star’s payload!” As usual, telepathy can be somewhat annoying, but time-saving. “You probably wonder where all the money comes from,”
I nodded, and refitted my grip on the bags. “Well, you see… It all started with paper. Than the humans came along and offered me funding in return of protection, but it ended up with the people wanting to trade with them instead of me… But they still pay my bills, and more,”
Yeah, humans, as suspected. “What do they trade with the humans?”
“Those mechanic maniacs have technology! When they first got to our world, they set up machines to build 20th-century houses. We were actually quite primitive before you were born…”
It sounded crazy… But I guess those humans were equally crazy…
Dad looks down at his cell phone. “No more time for chit-chat… Got brains to wash…”
He put his arm around me, dropped something in my pocket and whispered “Enjoy…”, then he was off. I gently picked whatever-it-was out of my pocket. Condoms… “What have you got there?” Zil asked.
I quickly stuffed them back, and said it was nothing.
“Let’s go back home…” I said “Before I beat some more guys up,”
When passing the school, there was an overseer… I mean watcher…
a watcher patrolling outside. There was a big puddle of dried up blood on the ground. Which of course was my work. The school seemed otherwise empty and lifeless.
Home… I could finally let Zil’s clothes be somewhere else but in my hands.
Although… If they’re in my hands, then they can’t be on her body… Heheh… But anyway, mom greeted me with “Happy birthday,”
She gave me a hug, as she usually did every year. “I heard there was some kind of riot at the school… Do you know anything about it?”
“Joon knocked a guy down,” Zil said “because he was talking dirt about us SG’s…” Mom’s face was a cross between proud and ashamed. “Well, at least it was a noble cause… I think…” “The bastard said I killed those people for some sick MD-cause…”
Mom went silent for a bit. “Racism…”
Zil fondled her tail, and nodded.
“Just go to your room, Fredrik. And try to salvage what’s left of your present from me and your father…”
Mom was worried. Last time I saw her this nervous was before I turned into a monstrous being and killed that gladiator.
Zil followed me down to my room. Star and the gang had of course broken in… “Great TV, Joon…” Careen said, when she saw me.
On the opposite side of the room, there stood a wide-screen TV.
“Ooh, look! It’s that girl from his photo!” Careen had obviously not glued her face to the screen. Yet…
The other girls reacted to Careen’s observation, and leaned forward to see.
Everybody greeted her. Zil responded with a shy, little wave of her hand.
She and I momentarily blocked the view, as we passed the full packed couch on the way to my bed. I lie down, Zil sat down next to me. She let her tail stroke my legs, gently. It kind of turned me on…
The TV was an almighty religion, with many characters, all with their own destiny. All of which are determined by a higher power.
There were still few programs that were produced by Noo’Rahdians, but it was easy to identify yourself with those humans from time to time.
They too had feelings, even if it was just acting…
“I’m bored…” Jool suddenly said. “There’s not enough action around here… How do you do it, Joon?” “Do what?” “You’ve got 6 dead on your conscience, before you turned 15! There must have been something you went through to get that,”
Jool was that kind of creature with killer looks and killer instincts.
“Please…” Thoughts were returning… “Don’t bring up that issue…”
Zil knew what I meant. She was an eyewitness. “You really should have known what he went through…” Zil backed me up. “I never realized it was as bad is it first seemed, but then one day… BAM!”
They were back… The names, the fists, the knife… Along came the tears, building up a pressure. I suppressed it, for the time being, though one drop found it’s way out.
The roar of two hover-cycles stopped outside. Make that three.
Shortly after, mom called out for me.
Tracing the sound, it lead to some visitors. Jusuf, Foxxy and aunt Eve.
One shook my hand, one kissed my cheek, the last touched my soul.
The message was the same. Aunt Eve handed me a metallic orb and a small package. “Uncle will come see you and your friend later, he has important news for her,” Eve told me, then pressed a few spots on the orb.
The orb felt as if it melted a bit, then it flashed a tiny green light and bleeped. “Our turn,” Foxxy said. “I hope you enjoy feeling raw power between your legs. I know I do…” Jusuf grins. Foxxy nudges Jusuf.
“A fully restored, Sky-Tech THM. With some “minor” adjustments…”
Jusuf was eager to show me the bike… “I’ll take the kid outside for a lesson…”
He pointed out which of the three was mine. Black with green tiger-stripes.
The other two were standard grayish brown, or my guess was that it was standard. “Get on,”
It was almost like a missile, with an onboard steering mechanism and padded seats. “Throttle is on the right, and… try leaning forward,”
As I leant forward, the bike changed a bit. It pulled me from a sitting position to a lying position. “Now, press the button on the left,”
The bike raised plates on the side of my legs, and raised an energy-shield over me. “Imagine the velocity in this position…” “How about breaking?”
I liked playing it safe… “Breaks only ruin the fun, but those levers right in front of your knuckles should do something like that…”
“Shouldn’t I wear anything for protection?” “Jeezuz…” Jusuf was getting religious… “If you’re so keen on protection you should use condoms!”
I get back to an upright, seated position. Jusuf dug about his trenchcoat, and threw a tiny chain to me. “God be with you…” He mumbled, among some other things.
A small cross hung on the chain. “How’s that for protection, huh? I’m drawing upon a divine presence to protect you…”
A priest AND speed-freak… Scary…
We went in again.
Mom had served Foxxy and Eve. Or, well, Eve was there at least… Jusuf hung his coat over a chair, and sat down with them. He had a white patch of fur showing up by the back of his neck, continuing down into his black tanktop. “Sit down, Fredrik. And have a chat with your visitors,”
“Let the boy play with his friends,” Jusuf could see I wasn’t particularly interested in talking with elder generations. “It’s his day, and his sister’s,”
I returned to my room. There was no trace of Zil, Star, Kitty, Careen or Jool, except for 5 mindless bodies with their eyes locked onto the TV. I joined their little cult, even got a little movement out of the red one. I snuggle up behind the lying vixen, and there I stayed for quite a while.
We were mindless and uninterrupted, until dad came home with cake and soft-drinks. Crumbs wreaked havoc on my floor, sugar on our brain. Carbohydrates fuelled our muscles, letting us laugh even harder as Star and her gang kept telling about many silly things they had seen, especially stupid things they had done themselves.
Jool was an ex-gymnast, and had an almost masculine thought-pattern. Revolving mostly around sex and violence. Careen was a girl, period. She used to be arachnophobic, but through extensive training she had learned to fear them even more, including the rest of the world of creepy-crawlies. Kitty had an affection for small animals in her dreams, she called them cats and dogs. The sick thing was that they looked like underdeveloped versions of Noo’Rahdians. Star, well, she hadn’t done much. She was just a witness to all those strange tales. Zil felt like contributing too. She had been an accomplice in a big operation; Smuggling out copies of the teachers’ solutions. They were caught, eventually, just because they thought they were busted. Zil concluded that burning the evidence wasn’t always the solution, especially if you do it on the school-grounds during recess…
“Come on, Joon,” Careen said “You must have done something cool you too,” I gave it a bit of thought, chewing on chocolate-cake. “Well…” I swallowed my bite “I sprouted wings and killed 5 people,”
I kind of spoiled the mood. The laughing died down quickly, but Jool was the only one who kept smiling. “How did you kill ‘em?” She asked with a strange fascination. I answered; “I blew up,” Jool didn’t fully understand what I meant with that, she probably thought I went berserk.
“How about when you turned into that big, savage monster?” She asked. “How the hell do you know about that?” Zil was surprised that an MD knew about what happened in SG-grounds. So was I… “Are you kidding? Ever heard of the show called “Blood-shed”?” “Eww…” Careen said “That show’s sick!” “I think it’s kinda cool…” Star said right after. “Shut up, Careen.” Jool didn’t like Careen’s cowardice. “How the hell could you be that beast? It’s like, three times your size, and those sick claws and jaws…” “I-eh… really don’t wanna talk about it…” I hated that episode… Hated it! But Jool kept at it… “It was so damn cool! Come on! The way the claws ripped flesh and bones, and the way you took all those bullets!”
I was seriously pissed off… I wanted to kill. I wanted to forget. But most of all I wanted to cry… My eyes felt a bit moist, and my hands ached. My claws had grown out a bit… “Holy shit!” Careen said when I held my hands up to get a better look at them. Then I felt some movement in my mouth… I just rushed to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Closer studies with a mirror showed that my teeth had grown a bit too… I was afraid I would hurt anyone again… I kept looking for other things on my body, but found nothing more abnormal.
I was a freak, just like they said I was… I wanted to just roll up in a corner and die… But instead I sat down on the toilet-seat and cried. I felt ashamed that I actually thought of killing Jool… And feeling ashamed of that brought back even more painful memories and thoughts…
Thinking is an evil spiral sometimes. I hate my brain…
Zil was of course worried about me, but I just told her to stay away. Several times. She then brought in the artillery; Eve. The lock was no match for her. She came in and shut the door behind her. Then she pulled me up and started talking to me. “Look at me, Fredrik. Look at me,” I looked her in the eyes. She could see through me. “Don’t listen to the voices in your head, listen to me… You are a beautiful boy,” I didn’t feel that way at least… “Don’t doubt me. You are beautiful and gifted. Not many have the abilities that you have!” “But that’s what makes me a freak!” I replied telepathically. I could hear the whispering of girls outside the door, wondering why it’s so quiet in here. “Then what am I?” Eve posed a damn good point. She was a half-assed piece of work, made from dad’s DNA. I stood and thought of it for a while, and strangely enough it calmed me down. Eve’s soft arms slipped around me. “You’re perfect in my eyes… Why can’t you see it with your own?” Her eyes were sad. All she ever wanted was for me to be happy, and seeing me down in the dumps brings her down too. It helped to cry on her shoulder, even my claws and teeth returned to their normal shape.
I felt loaded with energy when I exited the bathroom, and I had to get it out of my system… I came to think of that package Eve gave me, and went to my room and opened it. It contained a big bunch of microchips, or at least something looking like it, and a note. “Interface-grafts; Master and Props (the humans) are planning on bringing back a popular blood-sport. These chips are essential for linking up with the virtual world it takes place in. One of the chips are not standard, and is meant for YOU and only YOU! It’s a replica of my prototype T-MAP (Tech-Military All Purpose). I guided missiles for both my own side and the enemies’. I just hope you find a more peaceful purpose for your chip. Install it by giving it to your 20-13-unit (metal ball). Good luck, love Zaz,”
I found a chip looking somewhat different from the rest, and put it on top of the metal ball. It swallowed the chip, and I picked it up. I was really going to try to find out where the chip went, but the unit melted and ran like water up to my neck. The unit covered my neck, and slipped through the skin and to my spine. It didn’t hurt, but I could feel it touching my inside, gently… It gave off a bleep and rolled into a ball in my palm. I got the Insta-school out of my desk and taught myself what there was to know about the 20-13. The chip gave me direct control of the little bastard, reacting to my every thought, but filtrating useless information so that it doesn’t do stuff it wasn’t supposed to do… I made it sink into my clothes, and I headed for the door to the outside-world. “Where are you going?” Mom asked as I touched the door-handle. “Out…” I said and disappeared into the cold reality.
I got on my bike, and started it up. Then I was off… I didn’t care where, and didn’t know why. But I did. The sun was sinking into the depths of the horizon, and the moon had a pale shadow in the ruddy sky. The cold air got colder, the shadows grew darker. I stopped somewhere and used the 20-13 as night-vision goggles. Then I leant forward on the bike…
The energy-shield kept the cold air out, my hand made the bike go faster… Many thoughts passed by, as the scenery passed by even faster.
I didn’t know how long I was gone, but I returned home after the sun had set. There was another bike outside the house, I put mine in the garage.
There was a bad moon out, and a bad mood inside. Zil was crying her eyes out, and my mother was doing what any good mother would try to do. Jool was standing next to Zaz, shuffling through some photos. Zaz turns around, looking at me with one eye covered by a patch. “What’s going on?” I asked with a nervous undertone. “This is just sick…” Jool said and gave the photos to Zaz, then he gave them to me. Shuffling through the photos showed footage of two slaughtered SG’s. In one picture there was a picture in a smashed frame between the two corpses. In that picture, I could make out that Zil was in it accompanied by her parents… It could only mean that the corpses were the remains of Zil’s parents… “What does this mean?” “This…” Zaz mumbled “This means war…” He didn’t like the situation one bit. “Zil is now your property,” “What do you mean?” I asked. Zaz whispered to me; “I was called by my contacts, to confirm their belief in the murders. I found her parents beaten and shot beyond recognition, and made claim on her body before the council. I went through blood-right, and signed her body to you,” “Does she know that?” “Not yet…”
This was indeed sick… The SG military mangling a poor girl’s parents because she’s with me, and me being the owner of her body.
“What’s with the eye?” I whispered to Zaz. “I fought five gladiators…” Enough said from Zaz. He was good, but he wasn’t a god. “Go take care of your girl, Fredrik. She needs you now… More than ever…”
I relieved my mother of her duty, and took Zil to my room. Her tears left a trail all the way. I tried talking to her, but she just shook her head and kept crying… I was clueless as to what I was supposed to do. “Do you want me to sleep with you tonight?” I thought a good rest would dry her eyes a bit… She nodded. I could at least make her feel safe, or so I hoped.
Could it be like Zaz said? Was this a declaration of war? Could it be that the SG’s know how my feelings for Zil are, and thereof killing her parents to see if I would come out to play? So many questions, so few answers… I wanted to avenge her loss, but I didn’t want any more killing.
I was torn… But Zil was a ruin…