An energy from another dimension enters the body of a orphaned youth, imprisoned inside a deep underground military base. Upon its release, the destruction of the darkness controlling the world soon begins.

SYNOPSIS:

The "Asteral Project" is a classified military experiment, using the minds of catatonic patients, to reach out to other planes of reality. What comes through, isn't what they expected. A being of unimaginable powers of light and truth is set upon a world of secrecy and darkness. (Short)

"ASTERAL"

"Asteral"

Prologue: "The Day The Whole World Went Away"

Up until Chucky P wrote "Fight Club", I lived my life as the masters wanted. I worked my 40+ hours. Paid my taxes. Bought a house. Got into that whole "debt thing" everyone said was the rage.

Bought in. Sold out. Whatever. I bought the ticket, took the ride. I was fully invested in capitalism. Politics. Sports. Religion. The whole "American Dream".

That's what it is. A fucking dream.

That was before I met "Dell".

By the time you will be receiving this, I will be long gone from this plane. This existence. This "big lie".

I'm ok with it. Now, at least.

"Such is life" as Dell once told me. You will be receiving my words, my thoughts, waves of information from a different realm. A different reality completely, one you cannot see with eyes closed.

Don't be afraid. If you are receiving this. You are the resistance.

I did not choose you. You wanted this. Deep down, you were tired. Angry.

Deep down, you wanted more. Answers to questions. Truth.

You didn't accept the narrative. Their "stories". You knew what propaganda smelled like as they flashed across your TV and called it "news".

You knew our planet was changing. Decaying. Air. Water. The soil polluted with man made chemicals and plastics. Radio active waste. Never breaking down, never going away.

You knew invasions of other "evil countries" was just the United States stamping down any third world pockets of resistance towards their ultimate goal.

Total enslavement of the planet, and its resources. Physically, and more importantly, mentally.

Dell told me, "Your bodies are just vessels for energy." And like our trash, it lasts forever.

That energy never goes away, never breaks down. It lasts forever here. Moments of existence, on multicolored waves of energy, that last for forever. Endless seas of life. Thoughts, emotions, memories, all of it to be experienced by just, dipping into it. Touching it.

It is our minds we are fighting for. Our spirits, our passions. And for the sanities of the living.

Secretly, you are being controlled. Manipulated. Harvested to continue to further their lie. To the next generation, and so on.

They don't want questions. They don't want free will. They want you looking down to a small screen and not up to a sky clouded by chemicals. Fine metals. Satellites ready to read your thoughts.

Just ignore those sonic booms in Alaska. "Earth groans" or whatever flashy title the internet labels it.

Continue to ignore the frack-quakes happening all over the world. Who needs stable land and clean water when we have cheap gas?

Who cares about massive animal die-offs? Who cares about eroding civil liberties? Who care about governments being bought by corporations?

It's all just "theories", right?

Time is relevant here. You don't understand it yet, but soon, you will.

Soon you will be with me. And everyone else who has ever existed before you.

We are all together here. Not in heaven, but in the astral plane. Together, we can see everything. The past. The present. The future. It is where we all go when our hearts stop beating, our lungs stop breathing.

Together, we are all working as one collective. To reach out to you. To open your eyes. Uncage the spirits. To allow the energies to flow freely, again.

You are still a physical body, not energy yet. You can still choose to change. To fight.

If not for you, for your friends, your families. For anyone who has helped or influenced you. Your future children.

You have been lied to throughout your entire life.

History is told by the winners. Religions want the stupid, without their pesky questions. School systems want obedience without hesitation throughout the most important years of development.

Pop a pill. You have ADHD.

Don't question man made laws. You chose to live here, do as we say.

They want to break you down, at every turn. Every day. It's to keep you weak, and dependent on others for answers.

Anymore you cannot live without permission.

But all of that can change in less than one second. In less than one earth second, you can choose to receive it all. See their lies. Their controls over you, and everyone before you. On society. On the planet.

The longer you wait, the more power they will have tomorrow.

You are only enslaved as long as you want to be. Money is made of paper, ink and belief. Truth is made of pure energy. There is nothing stronger. On this reality, or any other.

Dell came to me, because I wanted to see. I came to you, because with enough of you, you WILL stop them.

Today, your whole world will go away. It's time to punch that ticket, go for a ride.

Chapter 1: “Radioactive”

Date: Wednesday, June 17th, 2015

Time: 1:00 am (Alaska Standard Time)

Location: Ft. Greely, Alaska

My alarm hasn’t buzzed me to life yet, as my conscious floats me back into my body.I am but only a tiny ball of light, flickering down to its shell.

Today, I am going to die.I don’t know that yet, otherwise I would have called in sick.Ah, who am I kidding?I couldn’t have avoided the most important day in my life.

Would have happened tomorrow, the next, anyway.I’m telling you this now, because at this moment in time, I didn’t know the truth behind all of our government’s lies.

I was just a cog, inside a cog, inside a machine.Doing my little piece of nothing to further society for a bunch of pieces of paper.Numbers on a computer screen that kept me happy.

Today, at this moment, I haven’t woken yet.Physically, or mentally.But all of that can change in a moment of earth time.Foundations of concrete, eroded into dust, all with just a single question.

And just like me, in a second, you don’t have to be “ready”.You just have to open your eyes.

The theme song from “Trailer Park Boys” breaks the silence of a darkened military apartment.Even in the darkness, it is immaculate, void of personal possessions.

Reaching over, Jon silences the peaceful sound, and sighs,

“Fu-uck!”

Every morning, the same.Seven days a week, the same thing.Wake before the sun, shit-shower-shave.Drive across base in the cold Alaskan darkness.Badge in, go underground.DEEP underground.Badge in, again.Test-test-test.“Saving the world”, yada-yada-yada.

Keep your eyes down.Mouth shut.Everything is classified.Everything is secret from the world.Your family.Your friends.Everyone you speak to, does not, and CANNOT know, WHAT exactly you do.

End your work.Badge out.Go upstairs.Badge out.Across base, and inside.Eat-sleep-do it again.And again, for the next four years.

Every 500 days you change departments.Move to different labs.Meet new colleagues.Watch for dissidents.Never fully trust your co-workers.

And you’re going to continue to do it, smile and say “thank you”, Jon, because YOU re-enlisted.

This is the life of a biological engineer with SCI clearance in Alaska.

“Stupid-fucking-dummy.”

Jon throws the blanket back and is hit with the cold apartment air.Goose bumps populate the shoulders and arms.His hairy legs standing at attention, as he heads to the small kitchen; aided by memory and no light.

As the faucet fill the coffee pot, he thinks, “Today I could have woken up back home…back home.”

A split second memory of a farm in the country, a ranch style log cabin, green metal roof.The great white perinese, coming to greet him, “Benny”.His parents farm.The black flag waiving in the wind, with a golden tiger hawk winking.

Turning off the tap, he swallows the memory away as water is heard pouring in the darkness.

Jon walks away, as the coffee begins to gurgle and brew faintly behind him.In the darkness, he heads to the window and opens his apartment to the surrounding base.

From the ground floor, orange lights illuminate empty roads and apartment buildings as far as the eye can see.

In the distance, the silhouettes of Mt. Kimball, Mt. Hayes both encompass the south.Blocking any thoughts of the lower 49.Above him, blues and greens dance across the night sky.

Stick to your work.Don’t ask questions.We’ll continue to let you breath our air.Pay taxes.Maybe even buy yourself a pretty little house in a peaceful neighborhood.

Quiet little life, void of trauma and disaster.Just keep your mouth shut about what you’ve done for “us”.

“…What you see, and do here, Jon, let’s be honest, is on par with the Nazi’s.Kidnapping.Tourture.Experimentation with the mind.With DNA.All in the almighty call of duty…really dollar…”

You SHOULD be proud of your work, but you’re not.

“…You’re saving future generations Jon, we as a species MUST evolve, or we won’t survive the coming changes…”

Proud is a word, you cannot use to describe the work that involves kidnapping, and altering the brain of comatose patient’s DNA.

No amount of Kool-aid can quench some thirsts.

Across the grounds, two flashlights walk and scan the outer parameter walls.Security.

Jon watches as they slowly inch closer.Above them, in the sky, a small flashing light moves over them and continues on its path over the base, heading west.

“…Another drone…taking pictures…recording temperature…collecting information…This is our reality here, Mr. Orwell would be pissed…”

Before Jon turns on CNN, he can visualize images of bombs exploding from far away.Floods washing away homes in a third world country.A sports team winning a trophy made of fake gold.Some new celebrity who did something worth talking about all morning.

This is “news”.This is what keeps people close to the pulse.That never-ending cycle of fear-hate-success.Keeping us hungry for more.

Welcome to the “news age”.

Jon showers, as the smell of rich coffee flood the humid apartment.The hot water steams over the small bathroom mirror above the faucet, as Jon is closed away from the world behind the curtain.Shaving himself in the shower mirror, he thinks, “I could get a grenade…set it off in the lab…destroy their work…but they would label me and smear my work…make ME the enemy…I could leak what I know…but through the hunt for the traitor…I would be discovered…”

The mirror above the faucet, completely covered in steam, begins to write out the words, “I can hear you”

“Stick it out” I tell myself, “four more years, and I can retire.” I can “buy myself that island”, I say.Some days, the stupid fucking dummy believes it.Days like here, now, running into the wilderness seems like better living.

Jon dresses and closes up shop without thinking outside of the details.Coffee.I.D.Coat.Phone.Lights, and door lock.

My trinkets in hand, I head into the dark, 20 degree cold.The thermos keeps my left hand warm as I head to my car.My I.D. beats in rhythm of my steps against my heart.

Getting in, the car feels like frozen safety.Five minutes of cold air from the vents until my Corolla feels like my own again.

You move in 10 mph bursts.Never really slowing down, never really speeding up.Badge in.Someone new.“Sgt. Kron” meets me with distrustful eyes.And I cannot blame him today.

Speed up.Slow down.Badge in.Someone new.A “Sgt. Spafford”, who cares more about the solitaire game on his phone this morning.

Across the base at 10 mph, stopping every block.Badging in with someone new, someone different.Every one of us, a back-story to WHY we’re here, that none of us will ever share with each other.

Above me the aura borealis stretches as far as I can see.Blues, greens, and purples.All of which can still stop me in my tracks.Freezing just to stare a moment before I enter the warmth stale air of my isolated light deprived hell.

Jon stops and takes in the night sky in awe.

“…Ok, THIS is different…It…it wasn’t like this a minute ago…I can’t remember the last time I saw it THIS large…the colors…so bright…so brilliant…SO CLOSE!...the sun must of had a busy night…”

Jon reaches into his coat, then pointing his phone to the sky.Snapping multiple pictures upwards, he doesn’t notice the flashlights coming close.

“NO CAMERAS!” a voice calls from behind, startling Jon, causing him to turn in panicked confusion.

Jon turns to see two security guards coming towards him.Guns over their shoulders’ and eyes intent on him as their feet crunches the snow, as they close in.

“So-sorry…guys…” Jon stammers out, “…Just got mesmerized by the-“

The two close enough to read names, “Kauffman” and “Prichet”.

“Don’t care.” Kauffman interrupts, “Rules are fucking rules for a reason bud…You can either hand over the phone and let ME delete them…or we can just take your phone and report this up the line…”

Jon looks from Kauffman to Prichet slightly shocked, “Guys…it was the sky…not anything from the base…I could understand if-“

“Again, DON’T CARE!...” Kauffman interrupts, “…And don’t be looking to him for sympathy guy, if it was up to HIM, we would be rounding up ALL of you nerds and send you packing!...Hand over the phone…NOW…that’s an order!”

Jon passively hands over the phone in a state of shock, as Kauffman snatches from his limp hand.Prichet watches with both hands on his riffle as Kauffman begins deleting the pictures one at a time, each causing a sound from the phone slightly more painful to Jon’s ears then the previous.

Kauffman finishes, and eyes the phone before looking to Baker with a smug smile, “Thank YOU, for YOUR support…”Baker”…Now, you go off and help us save the world…with your bullshit science and research!”

Jon shakes his head, as the two turn without saying another word.Jon considers snapping a couple of photos upwards, as they walk away, but considers the thought of having another “pleasant” conversation with his new “friends” and opts to head inside.

As the warmth of the building hits him, he silently wishes for the pictures to be on his phone.Remembering them in his mind, he tries to recapture every inch and every second he looked upwards in his mind.Forming the picture, from blurry to vivid it comes alive in his mind.Fresh and crystal clear, like a snapshot.

Badging in past “Private Esser” Jon walks to the elevators, with an urge to check the phone.To make SURE maybe one survived Kauffman’s purge.

Once inside, with the doors closed, Jon leans against the back of the elevator and checks the phone.Smiling to himself, seeing the image he just created in his mind, now lighting up his screen, just as he saw it.

With the elevator descending downwards, Jon lets out a triumphant “Fuck them” to himself, with a smile on his face, as he stares into the image.

Chapter 2: “In The House, In A Heartbeat”

Date: Wednesday, June 17th, 2015

Time: 2:13 am (Alaska Standard Time)

Location: Ft. Greely, Alaska

Seven stories underground, a dimly lit research laboratory has one awake inhabitant, who passes the time behind a laptop; monitoring nine sleeping adolescents. In the background, classical music plays in their room over an intercom system. Bellini to Berg.Elgar to Chopin.Tchaikovsky to Wolf.

The enormous room sealed off and surrounded in high tech equipment.All of which, whiz and buzz behind plastic and metal covers. One laptop’s screen lights the room, as it scans and shows vitals of each of the nine sleeping teenagers. Behind the screen, an upper body of a middle aged Caucasian male, his face hidden behind military issue glasses and pale skin. A white coffee mug dotted with brown stains sits next to him. His hair, short and face clean shaven, stretching behind tired eyes.

His lab coat holds a cell phone in the breast pocket behind a name tag; Baker. In his mouth, an unlit cigarette hangs from his mouth, as he fiddles with a rubix cube.

In front of him, the laptop goes black. Baker notices, and sits forward; his cigarette lowers as he looks up in confusion. Baker sits the rubix cube down next to the monitor and taps the screen.

The screen stays black, in the upper left hand corner, the cursor flashes white. Without warning, words begin flowing onto the screen as quickly as thoughts.

"is this...real?...what is real?...where am i?...who am I?...WHAT am i?"

Baker looks around speechless, and fumbles to grab his cell phone. His eyes dart back to the screen, as his phone unlocks and illuminates his right hand.

"...are these words real?...why can't i see?....why can't i move?...why can't i feel?...who's there?"

Baker scrolls through his contacts till it lands on "911", then he hits send as his eyes stay on the screen.

"hello?...who's this?...who is there?!...who's thoughts are these...what am i hearing?!...i can hear your words...i can...SEE...your thoughts..."

As Baker waits in the split seconds with the phone to his ear, his mind is racing as he reads the last words. Closing his eyes, he concentrates and tries to think about nothing but a brick wall. The brick wall expands and becomes three dimensional, enlarging; it encompasses and spreads across a landscape of his mind.

Baker breathes slow, and opens his eyes to the screen in front of him. The cursor blinks momentarily, then the words written makes him inadvertently drop the cell phone.

"a brick wall will only hold me out for as long as you can imagine it...as soon as GENERAL CRANE answers, you won't be able to keep me out."

Baker's heart skips a beat, and cold sweat forms around the brim of his bald head.

Baker thinks, "A HACKER?!...How?...Did it know?"

The screen responds, "i'm NOT an "it"...i'm a person...or...at least, i think i was..what is a hacker?."

From Baker's phone, a voice jolts him back to reality.

General Crane

"Baker!...Its two in the morning!...This better be BAD!"

Baker

"Ahh...SO-SO-sorry...I-I must have pocket dialed you...So-so-so sorry sir."

General Crane

"Je-sus-Christ!...Do I need to come in there and BABY-SIT you lab rats?!"

The screen types out:

"no...do NOT trust him..."

Baker

"...No-no sir...definitely not...sir..."

General Crane

"I told ALL of you, to NOT CALL ME, UNLESS ITS AN EMERGENCY!...Do NOT call me again!...UNLESS-those "ruskys" have jumped the fence or one of YOUR ZOMBIES SPROUT TENTICLES!!...Do you understand me?!"

The screen types out:

"don't waste your time...he's already gone..."

Baker

"Ye-Yes sir...Again, I'm-"

The phone hangs up on Baker, and he slowly looks back to the screen afraid to read more.

The screen is blank, with the cursor flashing in the top left corner. Baker waits a moment, holding his breath. He coughs out a nervous laugh, and looks around, half expecting someone to come out with a camera crew.

Getting up he walks around the lab; towards the sleeping teenagers. His hands rubs his eyes back awake then scrub the sides of his face, he looks around confused.

Baker walks up to each of the patients, eyeing each one unsure. In his peripheral, across the room, he notices the security camera move and hold in his direction. Another round of sweat forms on his head as he checks on each of the sleeping teenagers.

Baker returns to his laptop and plops down in the chair. Looking to the blank screen, he can hear the light hum from the security moving again behind him.Miniature hairs stand on his neck as he feels the unwanted attention.

Inside his head he thinks to himself, "They already know something's up!...Oh-SHIT!-"

His thoughts are interrupted by thoughts not his own;

"I felt that...the change in your mind...I can feel everything you're thinking...I can...I can SEE things...is that YOU?"

Baker swallows and looks blankly to the screen without noticing the screen changing back to the patient's vitals.

Baker hesitates to think any concrete thoughts, inadvertently his mind wonders back to his teenage years. The thought of a late night in a closed park with his high school sweetheart runs through his mind. The darkness of the moon casts everything in shades of blacks, blues and whites.

The voice continues speaking in his head;

"Who are these people?...That's not what you look like...What is this?...WHERE is this?"

Baker responds in his head, "It's a memory...a happy one...My first memory of love..."

"This is happy?...awww...I can see your emotions...I can...feel them...it's like static...all around you...touching it...I can feel... feel...ALIVE...it comes off of you like a smell...radiates all around you..."

Baker thinks; "Get OUT of my head!...You are NOT ALLOWED-"

The voice interrupts, "I am everywhere...Your head is not a physical object to me...to me, it’s just...there...the information...the beauty of it...just floats freely...I can access everything just by...reaching out...and, touching it...."

Baker's mind zooms to the memory of his first kiss without consciously thinking it.

Baker's eyes open, and he jumps out of his seat. Baker looks around, slightly panicked, then up to the security camera.

"...You'll need to sit back down...and pretend to fall asleep again...They ARE watching you...both of us now...I think...I'm in the room with you...Am I...one of these...kids?...That "pocket dial"...it put you on their radar...They want to know if one of us is making “contact”..."

Baker looks from the screen, then to the sleeping children.

"One of us?"

The voice almost interrupts his words, "You don't have to say it out loud...in fact, don't...just THINK IT...I can hear you just fine...They're watching you, and the...”patients”...I can see it on screens..."

Baker rubs his head, and then moves to sit back down in front of the laptop.

The voice continues, "You have to pretend to fall asleep...They...all of them...are scared of “us”...and want any reason to “kill the project”...What is "the project"?...That’s all I can get from them...the words, "the project"...And "brain dead"...I'm it seeing through YOU, your...recent memories...This...is where you work?...what you've seen...what you do...You call it..."Glorified baby-sitter"...What am I?...Where am I?...WHO am I?!"

Baker interrupts the voice, by thinking slowly; "Whoa!...Slow down!...I-I don't even really understand what's going on right now...just-just give me a minute to collect...to collect my thoughts-my words here...ok...I'll start from the beginning..."

Baker starts to retell the facts of "Project 732", but as his words form in his head, the memory forms and becomes a visual to the voice.

Baker, "After September 11th, we passed the Patriot Act, which gave the United States unlimited military funding, in the crusade to stop future terrorists..."

The voice, "Your words are slowing me down...just think me through...everything...I can see it-everything...the meetings, their words...echoing, I can see their goal-"

Baker thinks, "It's to evolve the human body...to survive the changing planet-"

The voice, "That's...only half right."

Baker thinks, "What-what do you mean?...How could you even-"

The voice, "Because everything here exists forever...Their words, their meetings...You, Jon Baker, are just the smallest cog in this-"

Baker thinks, "How?!...How did you know my name?!...I didn't think it-"

The voice sighs, then continues, "Jon focus...It came from the memory of you and “Jessica”...She says your name like, a hundred times...You, Jon, are a small cog...Smaller than me in this, actually...Me, they are scared of...That's why I'm buried underground and surrounded by a thousand solders-"

Baker's thought interrupts, “There’s NOT a thousand troops up there!"

The voice continues, "Yes, Jon, there is...You haven't seen the numbers swelling because you've been locked down here for weeks...Physically...and mentally...You've closed yourself off from the world...out of pain...Shutting yourself away from the sun will not make the time go faster...Jon, they are afraid of us...and will not hesitate to kill us if they believe we are as bad as they believe we can be...What we?...What am I?..."

Baker thinks, "Wait...What?!...Why?!"

The voice continues, "Because I can freely enter your mind...Take your... “passwords”?...Whatever that is...I can access memories, thoughts, feelings...I can access-TOUCH your-spirit, your-energy...physically touch your spirit...I can see WHO you are NOW...WHO you've BEEN...WHO you're becoming...all of it...all at once...it’s a white glowing ball...of pure energy...Do you remember how GOOD you were at baseball when you were a kid?...I can see it...see you making plays...at second...What was the little hand thing you did?...What did that mean?"

Baker remembers back to when he was a child, playing second base. After each putout, he would flash a hand signal, waiving his thumb-pointer and pinky fingers up in the air.

Baker, "Nothing...it’s nothing...just a stupid kid..."

The voice, "THINK IT!...Don't say it, Jon..."

Baker thinks, "Sorry...this is just-"

The voice interrupts, "New to you...I understand...you are not USED to THINKING a conversation...But now you see why I would be considered "dangerous"...You work for people who like to keep secrets...from their friends...they're family...from each other...What I can do, would destroy everything they've built...Their “secrets”...You HAVE to tell me...What am I?"

Jon, "I-I don't know...exactly...my best guess, you're the consciousness of one the..."

The voice continues, "Experiments...Which one am I?"

Jon thinks, "You-you don't know?...You don't know-don't remember WHO you are?"

The voice continues, "No...Jon...I can't remember anything before speaking to you...How did I become...this way?...An..."experiment"?"

Jon thinks, "You would have had to have been given up on by your parents...some form of death...You would have to have been clinically brain dead...disease, accident-"

The voice interrupts, "Where are we...exactly?"

Jon thinks, “Seventy feet underground, Ft. Greely Alaska...Could you have family around here?"

The voice pauses a moment before continuing, "I...I don't think...so...I don't think Alaska...sounds right...How Long...have I been here?"

Jon leans back in his chair, and stretches out; "Let's see...I came here six months ago...You, and the others, were already here...had been, for...two, maybe three years...That scenario puts you getting here...2010-2011 sometime..."

The voice continues, "I've...been here...for FIVE-YEARS?!...How old are these kids?!"

Jon, “Teenagers…mostly between fifteen and seventeen…all are considered “brain dead”…The government DID-NOT kill them, or make them this way…They just used…what was available…”

Jon waits a second, as the voice hesitates responding.

The voice interrupts, "How...how many previous groups have there been?"

Jon thinks, "There was one...that I know about...heard about, at least..."

"What?...Then there are MORE...like me...right?...Where are they?"

Jon thinks, "Kid, I don't even know which one you are!...I..I can BARELY wrap my head around THIS!...I'm not the answer man for this-"

Inadvertently Jon's mind is probed and he is forced to re-see his debriefing into the program, and hear the words from General Crane;

"...you boys are now apart of a classified research program known as Project 732...It's based off of a program the "Japs" did during W-W-2...back then, it was called "Unit 731"...We stole a lot of their scientists...took their research...furthered it along...Now, our friends at the C.I.A., D.H.S., along with some of the biggest corporations in the world are funding this research...this is COMPLETELY off of EVERYONE'S books...ANY of you want to go AWOL on this...they will not hesitate to END you...NOT just discredit you...I shouldn't have to say this but your work here is of national security concerns...NO-ONE, your FAMILY, your WIVES, your FUTURE CHILDREN, CANNOT know about "the project"..."

Jon opens his eyes and jumps up, walking to the restroom, jolts the memory away from focus.

The voice interrupts his thoughts, "What can't the world know about me, Jon?...Why would they create...me...only to keep...us...the project...a secret from the world?...Did we do something bad?"

Without hesitation, Jon thinks, "What YOU are...IF THEY FIND OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO...will become their weapon...You are the "missing connection" between man and God...You can do more than any other...being...in the history of man can do...IF they find out about you...they will try to isolate, probe you...try to contain you, try to figure out everything they can...about your abilities, about WHERE exactly you exist...and then they'll come in and try control you...

Jon walks into the personal restroom, and closes the door. The security camera follows him across the room. In the lab, the hum of movement is amplified in the silence between Dufay and Gershwin. The little click of the door lock clicks loudly in the confined space.

Jon continues thinking as he looks in the mirror, "...They will see you as a weapon against other countries...other innocent people...if you listen to them, they will manipulate the truth so you will do whatever they say...if you don't...they'll make you the terrorist they are hunting...At all cost...you HAVE to get OUT OF HERE!....You HAVE TO get free...You HAVE TO find a way, BACK INTO YOUR BODY..."

The voice interrupts, "But, I don't even know WHERE my body is!...I don't remember WHO I was...before this...Jon...they are coming for you...They think you're having "contact"...They've radioed someone named "Roberts"...He was told to get an interrogation room ready...What does that mean?"

Baker looks into the mirror, his face drops into his hands as water runs from the faucet.

Baker sighs, then continues; "SHIT!...Ok...This may be the last time we will ever speak...They are going to come for me...question me...interrogate me...They will want to know WHAT you are...WHO you are...WHAT you can do...Pretty good chance, I'm not going to be able to stop them from finding out...Sodium pentothal...It's called "truth serum"....I won't be able to stop myself from telling them everything..."

The voice continues, "But we don't even know WHAT I am...I don't know WHO I am!"

Jon interrupts, "You don't have much time!...You need to figure out HOW to get free from this place!...Get as far AWAY from the United States military as you can!...At ALL COST!...Do NOT trust them, EVER!...You are, to them, a WEAPON...They will want to control you...they will want to discover EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!...and as soon as you are of no service to them, they WILL kill you!..."

The voice interrupts, "Jon...what is this I'm feeling?...I'm seeing a change...The colors...they are fading...not as bright...Your...energy...it's changing...Why?...What are you...accepting?"

Jon looks into the mirror; the running water partially blocking the sound of his lab being entered.

The voice, "Jon...they are here!...What do you want me to do?!...I can...stop them..."

Jon turns off the faucet and thinks, "No...you can't stop them...it's too late for me...You need focus EVERYTHING on getting out of here!...I don't know how long I'll be able to hold them out of my mind..."

The voice pleads, "Jon...don't leave me here!...Don't go with them!...Hide...somewhere-"

Jon interrupts, "No...there is no place to hide...The only thing I can do, is slow them down...buy you as much time as I can...It's all I can do now..."

From outside the bathroom, boot steps are heard coming closer on the tile floor. A voice booms out, "Baker!...Report!"

Jon looks from his reflection to the door, then continues thinking, "This is it...God...I meet a deity...and it gets me killed...hah-hah-hah..."

The voice pleads, "No, Jon...don't...don't go with them!..."

Jon thinks, "Do NOT TRUST ME if I come back and try to reach out to you...It will be a trap...they will try to lure you out into the open somehow...Try to find a way to capture you...put you "back"...wherever you came from...You CANNOT-CANNOT-CANNOT let that happen!...You wanna know WHY I'm in pain?...Its cause I've been working for the REAL terrorists!...They will silence me...or manipulate me...You MUST get free!..."

Jon calls out, "In here!...Taking a duce...Can you give me a sec?"

From outside the door, a voice looms close and calls out, "30 seconds Baker!"

The voice comes back, "Jon...he has a gun..."

Jon, "I'm sure they've got more than that...My life's work...gone in a matter of minutes, just for hearing the voice of reason...hah-hah..."

The voice, "Jon...I'm scared-"

Jon interrupts, "Don't be...You are the greatest creation in the history of man...I'm proud...and humbled, that you reached out...connected...with me...If this is it-"

The voice interrupts, "It's NOT!...Jon, I'm not going to leave you!..."

Jon's memory flashes to a moment in his past, a moment in time in which Jon was younger, out with his friends at night. Two of his friends follow as the trio carries bags of toilet paper, shaving cream and eggs. The memory speeds up to the point in which a police car is seen, and the trio run into a wooded area. Echoes of Jon's voice saying, "I'm not leaving him!" call out as the police give chase to one of his friends.

Jon smiles as a small tear forms in his eye, "I had completely forgotten about that...it's no time for that...No hero stuff...You hear me?...Find a way to focus, get better...EVOLVE...and GET OUT OF HERE!...You won't be able to do it with me anymore...I will be compromised..."

From outside the restroom, "You've got 10 seconds before I kick this door in!"

The voice continues, "Jon!...I can stop them!...Just give me a moment-"

Jon, "No good buddy...You have to think strategically...You said it best-"

"10!-"

Jon, "...small cog, and whatnot...You are MORE IMPORTANT-"

"9!-"

Jon, "...you CANNOT be discovered...not yet anyway...Not until you're more powerful at least-"

"8!-"

Jon, "...You still there?...Don't be GETTIN all quiet on me when I need to know you can hear my final words-"

"7!-"

Jon, "...Hah-hah...Dying for a voice in my head that doesn't even have a name-"

"6!-"

Jon, "...You...you still there?...What...what can I call you?"

"5!-"

Jon, "...A name?...

"4!-"

Jon, "Perfect....I'll be the laughing stock for this one...

"3!-"

Jon's mind creates a futuristic memory of random people from his home town, laughing when they discuss what happened to the once glorified, military-scientist, Jon Baker. "...He was hearing those VOICES..." "...military, done just put em' down..."

"2!-"

Jon faces the door, and slowly reaches for the knob. Closing his eyes, he exhales and feels a flushing of his inner energy wash away. He feels calm, certain he is about betray his country, his life's work, and more than likely, die.

"1!!"

Jon opens the door, and slowly opens his eyes. Standing in front of him is a soldier, standing over six feet tall, in black fatigues.Black vest, grenades, ammo, name tag: Roberts.His eyes closed, mouth hangs slightly open. Rifle in hand, he stands upright but not moving.

Jon hesitates, unsure of what he's seeing before him. Jon tilts his head and slowly looms closer to the solider, looking him over with an unsure eye. The solider stands loaded for battle, but sleeping on his feet.

Jon, "Roberts?...You...ok?"

Roberts doesn't move, but his mouth twitches before a whisper is heard, "Dell...You can...call me..."Dell"..."

Jon jumps back, and watches Roberts in horror. Roberts stands back, his eyes still closed, he begins to walk towards the room with the nine sleeping patients.

Jon staggers, then slowly follows behind. Roberts stops in the entrance to the room, with his back to Jon, he looks over the room slowly. Unsure, Jon looks around, his eyes catch his laptop; a Dell computer with logo prominently displayed in his direction.

Jon follows Roberts as he slowly walks towards the teenagers. Unsure, he staggers to form words.

Jon, "Ah...ah...er...hah...Ah...Dell?...Is...that...you?...The VOICE...I was...I was hearing?"

Roberts stops, and turns back to Jon. His eyes still closed, his head tilts slightly before he speaks, his voice grows from a whisper to an inhuman sounding echo, "Yes Jon...do you...not recognize me?"

Roberts smiles slightly, turning back to the children.

Jon wipes his sweaty face, and runs his hands over his jaw. The nerves inside his body seem to be exploding with adrenaline. A deity, in human form, in front of him. Oh god, the possibilities. His left hand inexplicitly covers his mouth, just thinking the thoughts.

Jon slowly walks over to Roberts, never taking his eyes off of him, he walks around him.

Dell, "Don't worry Jon...He won't be coming around for awhile..."

Jon, "Ahh...You-you mean...Roberts?...What do you mean...not coming around for awhile?"

Dell, "He's busy...in a memory...I found his...happiness...I...gave it to him...Let him...relive it again..."

A single tear runs down Roberts smiling face as Jon reacts completely astonished, unsure of what to say.

Dell, "...It's ok Jon...You don't have to say anything...I'll give him his body back...I just...needed to borrow it..."

Roberts slightly turns his head around, looking around the room; never opening his eyes. Roberts lets go of the rifle with his right hand, slowly walking towards the first child with it up. Feeling the air in front of him, as he comes closer.

Jon, "Can you...see...like that?"

Roberts turns back to Jon; looking confused, "Like HOW, Jon?"

Jon, "Your...your eyes...Roberts’s eyes...they're closed...You can...you can STILL-SEE?"

Roberts turns away from Jon, and continues feeling the air above each of the sleeping children.

Dell doesn't look back as he responds, "No...Jon...I can see just fine...His eyes are busy..."

Jon follows closely behind, unsure of what Dell is doing.

Jon, "Well...WHAT exactly are you seeing?...What are you...Are you feeling their energy?"

Roberts walks past the first patient, sitting down the rifle on its bed; he continues scanning the room, both arms searching in front of him.

Dell, "I see...everything is in blacks...the outlines of objects...are greens...You...are made of...blues...bright blue light...It radiates throughout your body...You are a beautiful being, Jon..."

Jon shakes his head, completely astonished. "What do you...see for these...kids?...What colors are they?"

Roberts looks around, then over to one child in particular. Without responding he walks over to it. Holding his right arm above the child, his hand scoops in the air and brings it towards his chest.

Jon looks from the child, then back to Roberts, "Is...this you, Dell?"

Roberts nods his head slowly.

Jon, "How...how can you tell?"

Dell, "...It is the only one still alive..."

Jon looks down to the African American child, then back to Roberts.

Dell, "...I see the energy...coming off of him in blues...silvers...the rest of the children...there is only small...yellow...lights...all just...barely flickering..."

Jon, “We’re keeping them alive...so...what...now?"

Dell doesn't respond, as Roberts’ right arm drops to his side; in its place a bright blue form of energy slowly extends from the shoulder towards the sleeping male.

Jon, "Wo-ow-God!...I-I can SEE the...the ENERGY!...What...what are you doing?!"

The energy forms a long narrow extension, glowing and pulsing as it inches towards the sleeping boy’s forehead. The instant the energy hits the child, a light pulse spreads throughout the boy; his eyes jolt open, rolling back till only white is seen.

Dell, "There is...something...foreign...near the cerebral cortex...mercury...surrounded by living tissue..."

Jon, "...It must be the "restrictors" they mentioned...Be VERY careful...Any charge of energy could cause them to short out the brain!...Dell...what if the others found ways to make contact...”

Dell forms another beam of light from Roberts’s forehead, and extends towards the sleeping patient.

Jon, “Dell...What IF the others short circuited the brains when they removed them?...Are you sure?”

Dell responds without looking over, “No, Jon...I am no man’s weapon...no man’s slave...I will live free...unrestricted...or not at all...”

With the beam of light still connected to the sleeping patient, Dell begins pulling the object from the sleeping boy’s head.In the background, his monitor flashes a quickened heartbeat, and racing vitals.

Jon, “Dell...Dell...DON’T!...It’s KILLING HIM- YOU!”

The heart monitors begins beeping loudly, as blue sparks and flashes of lightning arch and connect Dell and the sleeping patient. Jon jumps back, as electricity flows from the monitors to the surrounding medical equipment. The room fills with static energy all around, as sparks come from under Jon’s shoes with each step backwards.

Monitors pop and explode one by one, as crackling sounds all around the room. Jon looks to the security camera.It smokes and dies, little bolts of electricity dancing around it. Everything plugged in, every computer, every monitor, all surrounded by smoke and blue bolts of electricity.

Jon, “DELL!...YOU HAVE TO STOP!...IT’S GOING TO KILL YOU!”

Dell doesn’t respond, as he slowly materializes the object from the sleeping boy’s head.As soon as it’s free, Dell studies the small piece of metal before it heats up to a glowing red. A tiny pop is heard, and Jon barely sees a bright blue wave of energy form from the metal.

The tiny explosion rocks Roberts, and his body reacts. A form of Dell staggers back from Roberts’s body, his form a true dull black, outlined in bright greens. Still attached to Roberts, and the sleeping patient, his form slowly fades from reality, fuzzy, like static. Jon freezes in horror, as Dell seems to take in the pain from the explosion without vocalization. His beam of light still connected to the patient, now becomes stronger and his attachment to Roberts seems to fade.

Dell looks to Jon, as parts of his bod slowly evaporate into the sleeping patient, “Thank you, Jon...I will never forget you...”

Jon, “DELL!...NO!!”

Dell’s form turns to bright blue particles, flowing into the sleeping body. Dell reaches out towards Jon, and Jon moves fast to touch his hand. The moment their fingers touch, Jon is filled with an overwhelming sense of calm. A serene place in his mind opens up to the island of his dreams. His home away from, “big brother”.

Dell’s words echo as he completely disappears, “You WILL see your island Jon...I promise you...”

As Dell completely dissipates, loud explosions come from all around Jon and Roberts. The room loses all lights, and alarms sound from all around them. In the dark, both are drenched, as the overhead sprinklers spray everything underneath.

Yellow emergency lights come on and Jon is caught off of guard by Roberts standing directly in front of him. Jon is frozen in terror, looking from the rifle then back to Roberts.

Roberts, “We HAVE to get them OUT OF HERE!...NOW, JON!...COME ON!”

Jon is shocked as Roberts moves fast towards the sleeping adolescent, but follows unsure.Roberts scoops up the teenager in his arms, and moves past Jon.

Roberts, “My GUN!...GRAB IT!”

Jon instinctively follows Roberts’ orders and runs to keep up with the solider as they run out of the lab. The two run down the darkened corridors. Red and yellow lights flash in the darkness, sirens screaming from all around them. The tunnels seem to last forever, as they seemingly run without direction. The wail of the alarms making their nerves race, an endless panic. Sprinklers flood everywhere around them as they run. Their shoes soak up the water, Jon’s socks stick to his feet as he follows Roberts blindly.

Jon, “WHERE...WHERE ARE WE GOING??”

Roberts, continuing to run without looking back, “WE HAVE TO MAKE IT TO THE SERVICE TUNNELS!...PROTOCOL!...THEY’LL COME DOWN THE SERVICE ELEVATORS!”

Jon, “YOU...YOU HAVE A PLAN?!”

Roberts turns down a corridor, responding back, “DELL’S PLAN...IT’LL WORK...”

Jon, “YOU’RE...YOU’RE HELPING HIM ESCAPE!?...BUT...BUT ARENT YOU...”

Roberts stops, “A solider?...I washuman first, Jon...”

Roberts points upwards, and Jon looks to see a hidden access hatch.

Roberts, “Think you can carry my gun up seventy feet?”

Jon nods, as Roberts reaches over and takes his glasses.

Jon, “Uh...hey?...I kinda NEED those...”

Roberts looks to Jon with sympathy, then climbs the ladder to the ceiling and snaps frame, revealing a small metal wire.Closing his eyes, Roberts fishes the wire in the lock and jiggles it around.

Jon, “How?...You’re NOT going to-“

An opening latch silences Jon before he can finish.

Jon, “How?...”

Roberts returns to the ground, picking up the sleeping teenager, responding without looking back, “Dell showed me...” Roberts looks Jon directly in the eyes, “...everything...Come on...”

Roberts begins climbing upwards into the darkness as Jon follows. Behind them the sirens and sprinklers fade. Jon reaches back down and pulls the latch closed, then looks up. Above him the darkened tunnel extends upwards, illuminated every two stories by small flashing yellow emergency lights. Roberts continues to climb with the sleeping boy, over his shoulder.

Roberts, calling back down, “MOVE JON!...WE’VE GOT LESS THAN THRE MINUTES BEFORE THEY REACH YOUR LAB!...ANOTHER FIVE BEFORE THEY FIGURE OUT HOW WE GOT OUT!”

Jon follows Roberts upwards, each floor the sounds of sirens and commotion is faintly heard on the other side of the concrete walls. They slowly make their way past evacuation procedures and past the muffled screams from the security forces making their way downwards.

Each rung, and each floor, his shoulders burn, his back aches from the sheer work, but his eyes never stray from the closed eyes of the sleeping teenager strung over Robert’s shoulder. The implications of his existence weigh so heavy on Jon’s mind, he ignores the pleas from his body to stop. To rest.

With each floor, Roberts gains more and more distance on Jon, until Roberts makes it to the first floor. With Jon more than three floors left to go, Roberts waits to open the access tunnel. On the other side, only sirens are heard, and Roberts slowly opens the access tunnel door; peaking out.

From below, Jon continues to struggle up the ladder, focusing on the small light of the door above him, he doesn’t notice the sound from below. Still climbing and struggling, his attention so focused on “Dell” that the first shot of pain barely registers until it begins to burn.

Reaching back to the pain in his side, Jon produces a bloody left hand.Immediately a cold sweat covers him and all sound goes to a distant echo. Above him, Roberts’ screams are inaudible cries.From below slow motion lights flash and the sound of whizzing bullets go by. Each rung, a painful journey upwards towards the light. Each rung, pain in his lungs. Each rung, another round of distant popping. Sparks bounce all around them, as he nears Roberts.

An explosion of pain in his ankle causes him to slip, and catch himself two rungs down. Roberts arm never waivers from its stretch downwards. His screams never cease as he demands Jon make it, with the pain and chaos all around him. Jon stops and starts again, this last set of rungs, without the use of his right leg. Slowly and painfully he pulls himself upwards, until the reassuring safety of a human grasps his weakened arm, pulling him to safety on a protected ledge.

Jon collapses; watching as Roberts pulls a grenade from his vest, and pops its pin, then drops it downwards. Roberts grabs both Jon and the boy, into the open corridor, and closes the access tunnel. Roberts ushers them across the hall, and into a janitor’s closet.

A second later, a small explosion is heard deep underground, slightly rocking the foundation of the first floor. Roberts takes his rifle from Jon, then grabs a handgun from his ankle and hands it over to Jon.

“You DO remember how to use this...right?”

Jon slowly nods, trying to catch his breath.Roberts checks Jon’s wounds, wrapping his ankle with a towel, until the red begins blotting through the thick cast.

Roberts, “Think you can still run?...Jon?...Stay with me...Can you put any weight on it?”

Jon nods instinctively, “Yeah...yeah...we have to...we have to...get him out of here. ..”

Roberts nods hesitantly, “I need to check the other wound...ok?...Just sit still...”

Roberts moves to Jon’s side, and pulls back his shirt to reveal a shot in his upper back, bearing no exit point, that still bleeds steadily. Roberts swallows to himself, before turning to face Jon.

Roberts looks to Jon, unsure how or what to say to him. To convince him, he’s not going to make it, and now he’s a liability to the mission.

Jon nods to Roberts, and swallows, “They got me good, didn’t they?”

Roberts slowly shakes his head in anguish.

Jon, “Arrhhaaa...yeah...I...I know...I know...Roberts...take...take this...by the time they find me...I won’t have a use for it anyway...”

With a weakened grip, Jon barely raises the gun up towards Roberts.

“...Make...make sure...he gets free...at ALL COST...”

Roberts gets up and makes his way to the door, opening it up enough to peak out. Jon continues, talking to himself.

“...wasted...wasted my life...working for them...my...my family will think I’m a traitor...”

Roberts turns and comes back to Jon, “You, Jon, were the first hero of humanity...Jon...Dell called out to YOU...YOU freed him...YOU will be remembered as HERO...You are a hero to me...”

Jon makes eye contact with Roberts, breathing shallow breathes, his face slightly smiles before his eyes make their way past Roberts, and freezes. His shallow breaths stop, and he sits still in the darkened room.

Kneeling over Jon, Roberts realizes he has no one. His “brothers” all think he is a traitor. They are coming for him, and this kid. This teenager. This “deity”.

Roberts lets out a panicked laugh at his situation. A “traitor”. A “terrorist”. All alone, in a janitor’s closet while the security teams flood the floors below in search. Every second, they are coming closer.

From behind him in the darkness, a scream comes from so close he turns with gun ready. The boy. Is awake.

In front of him, the teenager sits upright, crying out, “JON!”

Roberts moves quickly to silence him, “Dell?...Dell...you got to quiet down buddy...”

The kid looks up to Roberts in confusion, “Who...who’s Dell?”

Roberts looking towards the door, freezes with his words.

“What do you mean, who’s Dell?...YOU are DELL!...YOU are the entity that CAME TO ME!...CAME TO JON!...You SHOWED ME the TRUTH!”

The kid looks up scared and confused, “No...no, I’m not...I...I don’t know you...I don’t know where I’m at...WHO are YOU?!...WHERE AM I?!”

Roberts standing up, begins to pace, as he looks from Jon then back to the scared teenager.

“Jon?!...You don’t remember him?...You JUST called out for him!...HE SAVED YOU!...YOU are in a military facility in Alaska...you’ve been a part of a classified project...I don’t know for how long...or how they got you...but we HAVE TO GET YOU OUT OF HERE!...You may not know it, or understand it yet...but you are VERY important...IF you get out...You CANNOT trust the military...the government...THEY are the ones behind ALL OF THIS!...”

From behind them, the sounds of loud voices call out from behind the door, “WE KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE!...COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!...ROBERTS!...DROP THE GUN, AND KICK IT OUT HERE!”

Roberts reacts in frustration, then looks back to the teenager, “Do you know how to use this?”

Roberts hold up a hand gun to the scared boy, who shakes his head out of fear.

Roberts, “...Yeah...Come on Dell...WHAT can I DO here?!...”

From behind the door, a different voice yells out:

“ROBERTS, WHATEVER IT SAID TO YOU, DO NOT BELIEVE IT!...IT IS A TERRORIST ENTITTY!...IT WANTS TO CONSUME MANKIND!...YOU NEED TO HAND OVER THAT BOY!”

Roberts looks to the boy, and shakes his head “no”. Making his way to the door, Roberts slowly pushes the lock in, securing the door. On the other side, someone is heard saying, “BLOW IT!”

In the next second, behind the door, an explosion propels Roberts backwards into the teenager. Roberts lands on boy, and immediately checks on him. The small room is dark, filled with smoke, and fresh sounds of boots moving across tiled floor.

In his arms, the boy lays unconscious. Roberts reacts, snapping out of fear and anger. With gun in hand, he gets up and returns fire from the tattered remains of the door.

The explosion and reverberations of sound bounce from inside the tiny room. The sound waves shake an unseen force behind Roberts, as the teenagers body begins to twitch.

From outside the janitor’s closit, a bright blue light begins to illuminate the room from within, causing an unconscious stop in attack, as all the security forces freeze in terror from the light.

Roberts stops firing, as the room behind him begins to brightly illuminate. Slowly turning around, the bright blue light blinds Roberts, but he continues staring into the bright orb in front of him.

The orb slowly forms, as what looks like sand coming from the teenager’s body, and collects in mid air. Small lighting arcs, and bounce from all over the orb as it grows.

Outside the voice calls out, “DONT STOP!!...KEEP FUCKING FIRING!!”

Bullets ricochet and bounce all around Roberts and the orb, as no shot can hit either. The door is torn away to fragments with shots, as nothing can land a penetrating shot inside the closet. All around, bullets whiz by and bounce around the orb and Roberts, ricocheting into Jon’s body, and out of the closet.

The voice calls out, “CEASE FIRE!...CEASE FIRE!!...STREET!... NUKE IT!”

Roberts ignores them, standing less than a foot away from the blinding unchained power, his entire body feels transcendent, impenetrable, with endless energy. Reaching out, Roberts touches the now large orb in front of him. A bright flash of light blinds everyone as it passes through walls, and spreads beyond site. Roberts stands, unaffected, staring into the blinding light.

Roberts blinks his eyes back to sight, the blur fades, as an enormous seven foot tall figure stands before him. All black, with little feature of detail. His clothing looks skintight and without details. All surrounding him, a bright blue light details the edge of his body. Small arcs of white and blue electricity bounce from various body parts to others. His eyes slowly open, both glowing with bright white light.

Roberts looks form the unconscious teenager then up to the large figure, sputtering, “De...Dell?”

The figure nods without speaking.

From outside, a voice calls out in panic, “BLOW IT!!...BLOW IT NOW!!”

A second later, a solider runs to the door, throwing in C-4 charge into the room. Roberts moves to fall on it, but an unseen force launches him backwards, and propels the C-4 out of the room in the same movement. The explosion, bright and its heat felt through the protective barrier Dell forms around the room.

The large orb surrounding them flashes a translucent pink and red as panic and screams are heard outside of the confined space.

Dell looks to the sleeping teenager, then to Roberts, “You will get him out of here…I will do the rest…”

Dell levitates off the ground, and towards the opening. His body dissipates then reforms out in the open corridor. Outside seven soliders lay dead, with body parts missing, Kevlar and fatigues on fire. Down the tunnel, from both sides, more soldiers open fire towards Dell. Their shots bounce all around him, passing through without effect.

Roberts watches from within the closet as Dell looks from left then to his right, with bullets whizzing past; slowly raising his arms in both directions, an energy resonates from within his feet and rises throughout his body, spreading at the arms and firing bright flashes of energy in each direction.

Explosions from each direction silence the bullets, as painful screams of agony are heard. Dell turns slightly back towards Roberts, and nods before levitating down the tunnel and out of sight. Roberts scoops the teenager and his rifle in one solid motion, and tries to keep up.

Coming out of the janitor’s closet, Roberts is met with the destruction, as the once pristine tunnel is now destroyed rubble. It’s walls cracked, and shattered all around, the debris fallen to the floor.Soldiers, and body parts lay in bloody chunks all around, in yellow and black hues from the flashing lights. Roberts steps over the dead and flames, and down the corridor making his way past the destruction.

Carrying the boy, he tries to move fast as carnage and explosions happen out of sight ahead of him. Dell moves further and further down the tunnel, small pops of white light are silenced by bright blue explosions coming from the floating figure’s arms. Sirens sound from all over the base, and make the sound inside the compound echo in a painful-vertigo inducing rhythm.

Roberts runs past more bodies, more smoking guns, more small fires, trying to keep up with Dell and his onslaught. Roberts reaches the remains of the entrance, its doors blown completely off its hinges. Outside, the snow stained red, carpeting the entrance to the base. Away from Roberts, gun fire and explosions rock the base. The darkness of night illuminating with chaos all around him.

Roberts stopped for a second and sees the soldiers in the distance, running towards Dell. His form is lighting the base with a bright blue charge. Surrounding him, an orb of pink withstands the onslaught from the soldiers. Nothing penetrating, he returns fire, scorching the earth and soldiers in blasts of energy. With each blast ten men drop, and are replaced by twenty more coming from different directions.

Roberts watches invisible, as tanks come from his right and move past.Overhead, helicopters take flight. Flame throwers surround, and unload without hesitation Dell as an enormous fire engulfs him.

Dell disappears into the flames, and then a white explosion resonates outwards from the large fire. The men with flamethrowers ignite and explode all around, as now a flaming pink orb surrounds Dell.

Dell reaches up to the orb, extending his arm to the length; he pulls a handful of fire from his shell, and throws it in the directions of gunfire. The ball of fire catches speed and enlarges as it explodes around a group of firing soldiers.

Dell uses the energy from the fire as a weapon, destroying different groups of attacking soldiers with little effort. Snipers begin firing from different buildings surrounding the battle, as five tanks surround and position themselves around Dell.

Dell stops firing, closing his eyes and looking downwards, his arms jet outwards and project pure blue bolts of energy into the surrounding orb. The orb flashes various colors of pinks, then to a solid orange. The orange absorbs, and coats the shell surrounding Dell; its color reflects a brilliant bright orange in the night.

Snipers bullets bounce off the shell as tiny white chunks fall off of the shell then are regenerated immediately. A brief stoppage in sniper fire is followed by an all out assault from the tanks and helicopters. Barrages of explosions surround and encompass the orange orb. Fire and more explosions continue all around, as the assault continues without hesitation.

Roberts, shaking his head in scared confusion, turns and begins trotting with the teenager over his shoulder away from the destruction. Not wanting to look back, the explosions and rocket fire barrage his ears, as what seems to be a never ending assault with everything the base has.

Roberts runs along the darkened corridors behind the housing units, as explosions light up everything around him. No cover anywhere. Roberts makes it to the last housing unit, before the area opens up, with no buildings for cover. Only open road, a sitting duck for anyone looking away from battle.

Taking a knee, Roberts tries to gain his breath, and senses as the explosions continue around him.Looking towards his exit, it’s illuminated by orange lights from high above. His rifle not having the range, would only give him away. His best chance is to run and not look back.

A feeling of desperation takes hold, as he scoops up the teenager, knowing his chances are so slim. This could all be a waste of so many lives, for an answer the government will never give.

Grabbing his rifle Roberts is stopped by the scariest noise he has ever heard. What sounds to be an inhuman growl resonates all over the base, and shakes everything in the explosions. Roberts looks over speechless to the carnage, as the clouds of explosions grow in the air over a hundred feet. Behind the smoke, an enormous dragon looking beast with white glowing eyes emerges.

The beast roars so loud towards one of the tanks, it flies backwards like a toy and topples onto another tank, causing a minor explosion. From under foot, soldiers are seen turning and running for high ground, as other tanks and helicopters continue to fire.

The beast tucks its chin and breaths an enormous wave of fire that encompasses, and overtakes multiple tanks in its path.

Helicopters turn and move for distance on it as the beast unleashes waves of fire in their direction. Roberts turns to run towards the exit, as the sound of helicopters come crashing to the earth all around the base. His run is slowed by falling debris from battle, as more and more explosions are heard from behind. His adrenaline and fear keeping him moving, as chaos rains down from above.

Reaching the entrance, Roberts looks back to see Ft. Greely on fire, its buildings collapsing, and explosions echoing out of sight. Taking in the destruction of his once home, he notices the boy, barely covered with a hospital gown, radiating heat as if he is somehow protected from his surroundings.

Roberts begins trotting into the wilderness, along a path he’s run for training a thousand times before. One that will take him away from the base, and the surrounding society. No surrounding towns are safe. Roberts grimaces, when the realization of safety lies in the Yukon Territory, over three hundred miles away. If he can make twenty miles tonight, he can locate one of the militaries hidden bunkers.Shelter, heat, clothing, and possible food. He had enough hardware to fend off any attack, but surviving the cold Alaskan night with a half naked teenager over his shoulder would be resume worthy.

From up above, near the parameter lights, a security camera picks up Roberts as he moves away from the base and out of sight into the wilderness as explosions continue to illuminate the night.