Rapture Part I
The outside garden terrace shines under the bright, orange full moon. The waters of the reflecting pool are undisturbed; smooth as a mirror. In the shallow water of the pool is contained the moon. True, it is only an illusion for they are the satellite and Dramatus, the larger of the two celestial bodies, is the actual planet they revolve about. Both Dramatus and Obscura are home to the systems entire population of humans and minorities. Billions of lives call the two their home, and all are crammed by the thousands into small, dirty housing blocks.
The reflecting pool truly is an artfully crafted and deceptive illusion to hide the sprawling filth of the cities. Such reserve from society is only a dream to most, but being the daughter of the representative of her race has it's perks. No friends, no shopping in public stores or dining in public eateries, her only contact with the outside world is through the unblinking mechanical eyes of the hordes of reporters. With great power comes great boredom she thinks. She has always longed for some sort of excitement more than her father burning dinner and setting off the fire sprinklers.
Here in the garden is only tranquility and glass-like water. It is so perfect that some unwary soul humbled by perfection might attempt a stroll across it's beautiful surface, only to be rewarded by a half meter plunge into it's cold, true nature and effectively breaking the trance it holds over it's visitor. Tonight, it's only visitor is all too aware of this ponds duel nature of beauty and and icy heart. Too many times when she was small has she fallen for it and crawled out betrayed. Tonight she only sits at it's bank to think. A drop breaks the calm surface like a bullet through glass. Kendra decides to go inside before The rain can catch her running back as it has many times before.
The drop pierces the shallows of the pool, spreading red plumes as it descends. This single crimson drop contaminating the pristine clear of the water will only be the first of many. Like a pouring monsoon it'll soon be raining red.
Puddles crash and leaves crunch. Nameless, faceless troops close in on the lonely house tucked deep away from the city. They have one thing in mind: eradicate any chance of an uprising. The guards stationed around the home are highly trained and carrying mid ranged rifles but are in shortage. Most of them have gone with kelly's father for his trip. After 20 years of nothing more than a trespassing raccoon, they don't even see the elite military force bearing down on them. High powered slicer rounds tear through them noiselessly one by one.
Kelly decides that there would be nothing better to combat this rainy night than a nice, handmade sundae. Handmade by the fridge of course. "Ain't technology great" she says aloud to herself, trying to make the empty house seem more friendly. She swipes through the instant food catalog on the display floating above the counter and selects the sundae builder. Extra chocolate, no strawberry, lots of nuts, just the way she likes it and exactly how the machine remembers after years of learning her taste. She sets the bowl type to random and stylishly flicks the completed order in the direction of the fridge across the room. The sleek, black machine lights up and the order pops up on the door, then the machine whirs to life and begins making the synthetic snack.
"Two minutes left, if you aren't on the pad then you'll be left behind" crackles a voice over the radio. The troop splits apart outside the house, two take up sniping positions, two make ready outside the entrance, three proceed up the walkway and one sniper and two troops make their way to the other side of the house.
"Two minutes?" asks Kendra. "We can fly to the farthest reaches of space in hours, use water as bullets, even engineer our own planet but for crying out loud it still takes two minutes to make a sundae? I thought you just had an upgrade." "My apologies miss, it still takes 90 seconds alone to solidify the artificial ice cream. Then to grind the peanuts it takes-" "Alright I get it, takes long time, you can end file now."
The door team takes up the breach maneuver just outside the heavily reinforced, yet still elegant, front door. The first person, the slicer, kneels down in front of the glass panel next to the door and pulls out a small, black device that resembles a book light. He then hooks it onto the panel and begins typing out the commands on it, hacking the systems alarm and locks. The other two back him up on the other side of the doorway. "5 seconds to breach, 4...3...2"
"4...3...2...done, miss" "Thank you, finally," says Kendra taking the dish from inside the fridge. She walks up the velvet stairs to her room and shuts herself in for the night.
High above the estate a black figure glides silently down to the ground. His chute retracts back into his sleeves and he runs low along the waters edge of the back of the house. He creeps behind the stationed sniper and wrenches her head back at such an angle that her neck breaks without even giving her the chance to scream. Her body relaxes and he rolls it aside. After searching through her he reveals a silenced pistol, night vision goggles, first aid kit, phony ID, food rations, canteen, a second pistol, and a vial of ammo concentrate. He removes her pack and fills it with the supplies then slips it over his back. The sniper's rifle is still balanced on it's legs and aimed at the house. The wolf lays behind it and slows his breathing, enabling him to pick off the two soldiers waiting at the back door. With the path cleared he snatches up the high powered rifle and folds it in half to be stowed in the holster on his newly acquired backpack. Before he leaves he turns to the body of the sniper. A moment of respectful silence is given to her and then he runs down the pathway.
Kendra enjoys the last spoonful of the dessert she hungrily devoured. So good, she thinks, why not another. With a simple flick she sends the command from her personal display. Her father would never allow her two desserts, especially without dinner. Dad isn't here and he'll never know, she thinks. Unless I leave two bowls in the sink again, damn so that's how he always catches me. Duh. Kendra gathers her dishes, determined to clean them before her father returns from his business.
As she enters the kitchen and sets her dishes on the bar, a strong arm grabs her and holds her to the floor. She tries to move and scream but terror holds her tongue. The wolf who has been staying with them for the past few days is sitting on her, pistol drawn. Glasses explode on the counter, showering the two with acrylic. Automatic gun fire tears through the kitchen. The wolf releases Kendra and focuses hard. His eyes glass purple and she knows not to touch him. The walls slip away and everything turns to energy. He sees three glowing spots of fluctuating color past the black and grey that were the kitchen walls. He can literally taste them and see different shapes and colors being produced by the sounds being interpreted by his mind. To him, sound and sight blend with his taste and color. Without looking over the bar he fires at the spots of life. One by one the colors change to a fading white and blue. Suddenly everything shakes and his depth perception loses focus. With a terrible screeching, reality breaks through and he's back. Kendra is sitting next to him, shaking him. He's slumped against the bar, dazed and holding a freezing cold pistol still releasing steam. "What's going on?" she yells to him. "We have to go, it's not safe." The two get to their feet and run past the fallen intruders to the back door. "Wait I need to get some things." "There's no time," he thrusts the pistol into her hand, "I know it's hard to take a life but if anything outside moves you shoot it as many times as you can." She tries to plea but he beats her to it. "I have to steer so it's up to you" They run outside and the wolf takes a knee next to one of the bodies. He strips the body of an assault rifle, holster and gun sling. Reconfiguring the sling into a harness, he threads it around Kendra waist and shoulders and then clips it to himself. "Here, holster the pistol on your hip and this will work better," he says as he hands her the holster and rifle. Before she has time to respond he throws his hands up and releases the glider from his sleeves. The glider forms and takes the air, sweeping them along with it. The night is cold and silent as they sail along through it.