Victernus - Chapter 1
Namara drew the hot cell phone slowly away from his face, shifting his attention to the television across his spotless living room. On a live news channel, a fresh feed streamed in. Soldiers under the new Administration broke down the doors to his lab and were streaming into the lobby. He grumbled, "Lynn..." as the reporter said that the research done there was going to be repurposed for the public.
A familiar voice emerged from below, and he remembered that he was still talking to his friend. He lifted the phone back up, "Mahalia? I have to go. Lynn finally did it. No... Meet me at the sanctuary. I'll be there in a few days."
He hung up and then grabbed his gear - a black jacket, a stun gun, and a silver wristband. Heading over to his kitchen, he left the living room and turned his phone over to see an inscription: "Preheat to 650." He chuckled, cranked up the oven and threw it inside. The reporter on the TV was still talking about how he was probably an evil man who only had his own interests in mind. Shaking his head while walking out, he picked up the remote and chucked it into the screen where her face was.I do have my own interests in mind. Nobody can take my goals from me, especially when they don't even know the truth.
Namara left his small brown house and walked along the path to the driveway. He concealed the gun in his jacket while taking in the afternoon air. A fresh wind blew across his face and the trees of his forest. He smiled. Pulling out another remote, he pressed a button and materialized a hoverbike over the driveway. It was finished by one of his few companions a year before, in 2037.
He grasped the handles of the bike and thought, I'm gonna miss this. Putting his leg over, he started the bike and floated backwards over the road behind him. The breeze picked up, caressing the short black hair of his distinctly Puerto Rican features. Pressing some keys on the handles, the bike became invisible and he charged off to his lab.
As he made his way through the forest, he tried not to look down at his body or the bike. He wasn't used to the odd "ghosting" effect the invisibility had on him. A sort of echo of his image trailed slightly behind his real self, and it made him a bit nauseous looking at it. He kept his eyes level with the road and tuned it out.
The facility was only a mile or two down the road from his house, affirming the theory that Lynn just wanted to throw him away and take his research when it was done. He would not have it. Namara circled around the facility once to get a good look at where the guards were posted and then set the hoverbike down behind some rocks in the rear of the facilty. He activated his wristband, taking the invisibility field with him.
Two soldiers were posted alone near the rear entrance. Namara skirted around them, trying to keep his footfalls inaudible. He pulled out a keychain and searched for the right key while he crept closer. When he found the right one, he held the others to muffle their sound and then reached the door. He put the key in, turning it slowly while the soldiers paced back and forth.
When the door was unlocked, a voice emerged from one of their radios. "We have a bit of a situation in the main lobby. We can't get the main doors to the lab open for some reason. Send Reynolds down here immediately!"
He responded and waved his gun at the other man, who promptly jogged around to the front. Seeing his chance, Namara left the keys in the door, tiptoed behind the lone soldier and uncloaked himself. He raised his stun gun and fired it, shocking the man and rendering him unconscious. He activated his cloak again and dragged the man behind the rocks. Taking his gun, he ran back to the door and removed the keys, going in and leaving the door cracked.
Namara entered a dark staircase that led down to the lab. He crept down them silently, in the case that Lynn was still in the lab, and made his way to an electronic sliding door. Through it, he saw that the only life in the room came from the computer near the right wall. Good. The power hasn't been cut. A familiar contraption stood in the center, luring him in. He swiped his keycard on the scanner to the right and then stepped inside. When the door closed behind him, he turned his cloak off and sighed. That was easier than I thought.
He walked triumphantly toward the desk with the computer. It was hooked up to the security system, and it showed that the soldiers were still in the main lobby. Smiling to himself, he turned to the machine and switched it on. It made a slight hum as it brought its components to life, which consisted of two chairs, a main console, and two oddly-shaped helmets that housed a sort of brain scanning device.
While it warmed up, he pulled over a heavy metallic box from one corner of the room and placed it at the foot of one of the chairs. He bent over and undid the locks. Grabbing the handle on the top, he opened the case. Mist floated out and fell, almost resembling liquid nitrogen when poured out on the ground. Namara moved to the open side and then peered in. An intense feeling rushed over him. He knelt down and reached in, running his hands through the fur of a young wolf. You are my key to the Koanthanatus. We will find it together.
He put one of the helmets on its head. You were made just for me...
A sharp banging echoed from the main entrance. Namara looked up and saw the frame of the doors buckle. Immediately filled with worry, he jumped up and started typing on the computer frantically. In less than a minute, he wrote a program to wipe the databases and backups and set it to run in two. He stepped back in awe and then heard another bang, which jolted him back to reality. Lynn's old voice came from behind the doors, "We know you're in there, Namara!"
Turning around, he typed some commands into the console of the device and sat in the chair, moving the console in front of him and putting the helmet on. A warning flashed on the screen: "OPERATION NOT RECOMMENDED; NINETY-FIVE PERCENT CHANCE OF FAILURE."
Namara narrowed his eyes and shook his head, dismissing the warning and initiating the transfer. "Screw you, Lynn." As the transfer began, he recalled the words of a close friend he once had. I know that you can find it. Don't let what they think get in the way. You need to do it for yourself. I know how beautiful this is, and I want to go with you, but my time is up. Solve the Koanthanatus for both of us.
Tension began building up within his head while a numbing feeling crept up his legs.
I will.
_ _ Another bang and the doors blasted open. The soldiers poised to shoot and their leader shouted, "Fire!"