Kentrien's - Fan Fiction

[foster]

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Chapter 1- consciousness


“So we go in, blow up the armory, and get out?” asked the teenager with wings holding a sniper rifle across his lap.

“Yeah, don’t forget to stay hidden. We don’t want to let’s our faces show,” said the sixteen-year line backer from hell.

“You’re forgetting whom you’re talking to. I am not the one to shoot at people that are trying to help us,” the kid says getting up and walking to the door.

“What did you just say to me,” says the linebacker obviously getting angry.

“Simmer down,” says an adult in the back of the room in dark clothing. “You did try to blow the head off of someone who could have healed him a lot sooner.”

“She was evil!” the line backer says.

“He almost died from the venom! He was within minutes of becoming comatose when they perfected the anti-venom!” the adult says.

“She was the one that caused it!” the line backer says not wanting to admit defeat. “Anyway shouldn’t you get to your post?”

The adult smiled and disappeared. The linebacker curses and throws a sofa into the wall. He then picks up a shotgun of his own and walks out to where he had to get into position.


The mourning was slow, nothing to get the kid up. But finally he crawled out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Finally getting there he splashed some water on his face to wake him up. Looking up into the mirror, he saw the face of the teenager with wings reflected back at him. The only thing missing from the image was the wings.

Shaking his head, the kid tried to clear his mind of the images. Ever since he could remember he had been having dreams of a mysterious group fighting against demons. It must have had some deeper reason besides some fancy dream, but he didn’t care.

Taking out a towel the kid dried his face, brushed his teeth, and then walked out to the living room. He sometimes imagined what having parents would be like, the hustle of parents getting ready for work and sending the kids off to school. But all he had to go by were from what he had seen around him.

Taking out a lab top computer and logging on, he went onto the net and searched his E-Mail for his contacts. When he had noticed a documentary on a new kind of vertebrae the kid had decided to find out what was going on. He had almost given up on the hope of receiving some data until he stopped at the last message. It was titled “One found in Wilmington.”

Opening it, the kid smiled at the data contained within. There were actual pictures of one of the creatures in an aquarium. It was from a contact in the black market that helped traffic goods under the eyes of the cops. He then added that file to a folder that contained many files on strange deaths from electrocution or strange markings. Three happened in Wilmington.

A broad smile flashed across his face as he pushed aside his coppery bangs. Sending encrypted E-mail saying thanks, the kid powered down his computer and started to pack for travel. He knew the perfect alias for getting into the town. A quick hack into a couple of computers would tell the tale of a genius child growing up with his mother dead in a car accident and his father working all day to support his only son’s education. What school in the history of Earth would deny him even if he came in alone?

Once he was finished packing he put on some light clothing, stepped out of the house, locking the door behind him. Finishing packing he put on some light clothing and stepped out of his house. Quickly he walked to the Grey Hound bus station, thinking about how it would only be a short trip to Wilmington North Carolina from Charleston North Carolina. Suddenly the dream of him with wings appeared in his head.

Would the person in his dream who dedicated his life to killing demons for the greater good, really have contacts scattered around hundreds of countries and hack into computers? He had these kinds of thoughts from time to time and he always quickly pushed them aside.

“I would like to see that kid try to support himself with no parents and no memory of his past.” he said to himself under his breath so no one would notice, his missing past always inspiring anger. He had no friends because of it, and the one time he had tried to go to school he had soon became bored. He knew almost everything the teachers said. Always seeming to know everything, he never seemed to fit in with the other kids. And then when the rumor that the person who hacked into the schools computers and gave everyone A’s was attributed to him (that was a personal favorite of his. He was having a bad week and needed something to do).

He had somehow made the connection that whatever this new species was it was somehow connected to him. The first sightings and disasters caused by them and covered up by the government (which he had no trouble slicing through with his contacts and ability to hack into spy satellites) happened shortly after he woke up in the strange house with all his memories gone.

It was his life’s work now to find out what his past was, and with his skills, who could stop him?


“You want to book a passage to Wilmington North Carolina?” asked the man in a heavy southern accent. He was in charge of the ticket booth today.

“Must I repeat myself?” he said hating people who couldn’t get things into their heads the first time around.

“And your name?”

“Elliot Eagle,” he said using a fake name. Truth be told, he never knew his real name. When he checked the owner ship of his house the name was blanked out. He thought it was someone’s idea of a game. Toying with him and keeping his identity hidden from him.

The man eventually typed in his name and asked various other questions and ID. He used a fake one to fit his name and in no time he was on the bus heading towards Wilmington.

One hour later he had all the papers and dates set up for his interview with the principle of the school on the weekend for admission to school. Two hours after that the bus pulled into Wilmington and he got out. Walking briskly to a mall he buys new clothing that fit this places ‘trends’ and went to a reasonable hotel.

He dropped his bag by his bed and crawled in. He was feeling slightly ill today for some reason. “Tomorrow I go to school and find this creature,” he said dozing off into sleep. Kept under his arm under the pillow was a pistol, just in case he ever needed it.


This dream was different. He was no longer the winged teenager wielding a sniper rifle in modern day Charleston. No, he was now the winged teenager wielding a plasma rifle blowing dinosaurs out of the sky. To be exact they were in some sort of futuristic jeep and he was hanging out the back firing at approaching dinosaurs while a guy in a trench coat drove.

“Pull!” He shouted letting loose a beam of plasma stripping a swooping pterodactyl. Immediately after that the driver spun around and the kid would have been thrown from the vehicle had it not been for his incredible strength.

“Watch how you’re driving!” shouted the kid holding tightly on to the jeep as they continued to drive on.

“It’s not my driving that’s the problem. It’s your hanging out of the vehicle that is,” says the guy.

“Well excuse me for not killing those dinos that would have just loved to chew on our bones.”
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Chapter 2- Miles


He awoke in a start the next mourning. He was drenched in sweet, from head to toe. He glanced over at the alarm clock and noticed that he had only about an hour to get to his new school. The principal had told him over the phone that he might be able to start school today.

Rolling off the bed as usual he went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and got ready for his first day of school. And if it was anything like his past experience with the education system he was going to hate every minute of it.

He waited outside the school, waiting for an excuse to go in. He hated school; he had none of the perks of it and all of the cons. Anyone that looked at him, although he didn’t show it in his smile, could tell he didn’t want him or her to come by the vibe he sent out. Of course this didn’t discourage one of the kids who had just found out that his best friend in the whole world wasn’t dead.


“Hey, are you a new student?” asks the cheerful kid.

“Yes,” Elliot says turning to face the kid. Somehow his cheerfulness actually seemed to make him happier, like a glow. He actually split a smile. “Name is Elliot, Elliot Eagle.”

“Mines Miles Barnett. Nice to meet you Elliot,” Mile says shaking his hand. “So you just arrived to Wilmington?”

“Yeah, from Charleston. You go to this school?” Elliot asks.

“Well, maybe if I get to class on time. Only have two minutes to get there.”

“Don’t let me waste your time, go to class. I might talk to you later at lunch,” Elliot says waving bye to Miles and walking into the office. Maybe school wouldn’t be that bad this time around.


It was a pretty short morning. The principal let him in within minutes of hearing his sob tale about his mother’s accident and his dad working two or three shifts to keep them afloat. He actually enjoyed the classes somewhat. After pointing out some small mistake the teacher missed in grammar, math, or science instantly got him popular as a must have student for study groups. The teachers were getting over the shock of having someone pay that close attention to their work.

Eventually he made it to lunch and saw Miles calling him over to sit with him and someone else. “Hey Elliot, this is my friend Phil,” Miles says making room for him to sit down.

“Nice to meet you Phil,” Elliot said balancing his tray on one hand and shaking Phil’s with the other, while sitting down next to Miles.

“You know there is a rumor going around that you corrected all of your teachers in every class so far, is it true?” Phil asked looking between him and Miles.

“You just want first dibs on him in your study group don’t you Phil?” Miles says taking a bite of fried potato chips and looking unsatisfied. He then adds a couple packets of salt.

“Hey, no one has ever actually paid attention to trigonometry let alone corrected the teacher that his 5th decimal point was off without using a calculator.”

Elliot blushed a little, he wouldn’t deny what he did but he wasn’t used to getting complimented on it. He takes a bite of the fries and agrees with Miles putting salt on and grabs a couple packets himself.

“You really did that?” asked Miles crunching down on his food. He was really hungry and it was just a coincidence that it was just before feeding time in the aquarium.

“Yes,” he said finally burying himself in the now salted fries.

“Nice dude,” Miles says and then looks at Phil. “So what do we have to pay you to join our study group?”

Elliot smiles very broadly, “How about being my guides to school till I get adjusted?”

Miles and Phil look at each other like they just won the lottery, “Sure.” They actually said it at the same time.

”Anyway what are you doing later today?” asks Miles.

“Well,” Elliot says thinking of why he came here. “I was thinking about checking the aquarium, I am kind of interested with the ocean life in this area.”
Miles seemed to shiver like he had a bad feeling. Could he have known what he was looking for?

“You’re in luck, Miles actually works at the aquarium,” Phil says putting the finishing touches on his fries.

“You do?” asks Elliot raising his eye in curiosity. Maybe he was a way that I can meet that creature.

“Well yeah, after school. I am kind of helping out on a project there,” Miles says eyeing Elliot. Although Elliot focused on sending out only positive feelings, he didn’t have any problem thinking that Miles might be psychic.

“Well not to pry or anything but do you think you can escort me to the aquarium? I don’t really know my way around here,” That was a lie. He had studied the maps of this place quite extensively on the way here.

“Well, I guess sure,” Miles, said. He seemed to be more trusting of Elliot now.

“What about you Phil? Want to come to the aquarium with us?” Elliot asked.

“No I can’t. Still grounded for another month.”

“For what?”

“Umm me and Phil stole a car,” says Miles eyeing his food. “Well I stole a car and Phil came along.”

Elliot smiled but covered it with his hand. Turns out he and Miles had more in common than he first thought. He remembered the first time he stole a car. Well, not the first time. But the first time he remembered. It came to him so easily but always came with the same adrenaline rush.

“You don’t seem to be surprised or try to get away from me,” said Miles looking at Elliot.

“No, why would I. You must have had your reasons.”
Miles smiled and finished his food but said, “Thanks.”


The rest of the day went past smoothly. The teachers had been chatting about him and were prepared for him the next couple of classes. That didn’t stop him from pointing stuff out every now and then. Eventually school ended (he had no homework because they were going easy on him) and he waited for Miles out by the front of the school.

It took a couple of minutes but he finally saw Miles walking to him with a bag filled with homework. “Hey Elliot, sorry about that. I have a lot of homework to do.”

“No problem, so how are we getting to the aquarium?”

“A guy named Jared is going to pick us up. He works at the aquarium.”

“OK, when is he getting here?”

“Umm he said a couple of minutes,” Miles says shrugging.

Elliot shook his head and got onto his lab top. He might as well cruise around the web, although he couldn’t use his contacts with Miles nearby.

“Hey is that a lap top?” asks Miles peaking over Elliot’s shoulder.

“Yeah, you like it?”

“I thought your father was poor and worked two shifts to keep you guys afloat?”

“He does, this was a gift from a previous teacher. She knew I could use one, helps save a lot because I don’t have to check out books for school.”

“This looks like a new model, how long have you had it?”

“Two weeks about. She gave it to me on the day I left.”

“Wow, you have really cool teachers,” Miles said as he looked up. “Here he comes now.”

Elliot watched as an old, 80s car pulls up. He watches as the guy that was called Jared comes out and greets Miles and looks over to Elliot, “And you must be Elliot right?”

“Right, and you must be Jared. I can’t wait to visit the aquarium. I am kind of a dabbler in oceanography.”

Elliot and Jared exchanged greetings and they hoped into the car. They started driving towards the aquarium and along the way started a very interesting conversation that eventually turned into a discussion on “sea monsters.”
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Chapter 3- Connection

“So Elliot. If I wanted my sea monster to have the power to electrocute how would that work?” they had decided to invent their own sea monsters. And Miles was challenging Elliot to try and explain it.

“Well many ways, might be able to store ions and release them. Salt could be a good fuel for this. It would be common in the oceans so they wouldn’t be in short supply of it.”

“So they would need to eat a lot of salt?”

“Well that or another ionic bound molecule. Their taste buds might align to make salt really tasty to them.”

“Cool, so you know what my sea monster would be like,” Miles said and Elliot smiled. Miles had just described the exact creature in the image file he had received. “What would your monster be like?”

“Hmmm I don’t know,” the thought of sea monsters pulled up countless different images. The thing was he knew all about these monsters. Especially how to kill them and what their weaknesses were. Almost like he had a monster and demon hunting knowledge.

“I have to many ideas swimming in my head. But it sounds like your sea monster would be hard to beat,” it was the best he could come up with.

“Anyway, Elliot why the interest in the aquarium?” asks Jared when the car came to a red light.

“Always have been interested in sea life. And when I heard about the aquarium here I just couldn’t resist.”

“And why the interest in sea life?”

“Because most of it is unknown. Undiscovered. Who knows how many unknown species still live down there.”

“Like what for example?” says Miles looking over at him?

“Well the vertebrates they showed on MSNBC a while ago. The American Nessie I think they called it. Anyway, it just goes to show you what lies under the ocean.”


It was about an hour later and Jared and Miles had to go to some project of theirs. Elliot secretly thought they were working with that vertebrate he saw but he couldn’t be sure. So he spent the day exploring the aquarium, checking out the fish and everything. He went to the gift shop eventually and found a cashier there by the name of Caitlin.

“So who are you?” she asks ringing up his small purchase of a key chain and a few novelty pens.

“Elliot, why?”

“We don’t have a lot of people here on the island. So we kind of know everyone here, or at least the trends. And those clothes are definitely not Wilmington trends.”

Elliot blinked in shock. To think with all his genius he couldn’t learn fashion. “I thought they made me look like I fit it.”

“Maybe to the untrained eye,” she says before getting distracted by another customer. “Sorry, work has caught up with me. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, sure,” he wonders out of the gift shop and into a display on electric eels. He just wondered there by accident really. He knew a lot about electric eels, but what he enjoyed was the live ones they had swimming around in there. He just watched them swimming, not much else to do. He let his mind wander about what he knew of himself and what he needed to do.

“Hey there you are,” Miles had found him and walked next to him watching the eels. “Looked for you all over the aquarium. Thought I saw you leaving the gift shop.”

“Oh yes the gift shop. Nice girl they have at the check out counter,” he said as his mind came out of a daze.

“Anyway, I was talking to Dr. Blomp and we kind of ran into a snag in a project. Anyway I told him about you and he thinks you may be able to help us,” Miles says looking into the water tank and seeing Nim swimming in their some how.

“Sure, I would be glad to help out,” he says turning away from the tank. He follows Miles out but not before noting that the eels were clumping together and following Miles. Now that was weird, he thought.


“Ok now Elliot you have to be careful. Don’t make any sudden movements, don’t get to close to the tank, and don’t speak to load.” Miles was telling him a list of dos and don’ts for when he was looking at Nim. Apparently Nim’s electrical field was decreasing.

“Ok, so what do you want me to help you with? I am not an expert on oceanography. That is only a side interest of mine. Biology I think I might be able to help out.” Elliot was trying to think of what this creature would be like. He wondered how it would connect to his past. Now that he was about to meet the creature face to face his mind was thinking if it really would be the answer to his past.

“Well just an opinion, we have no idea what to do,” says Dr. Blomp looking a laptop of data about the electrical field.

“Ok lets get a look,” Miles escorts Elliot into the room and closes the door behind him. They walk slowly towards the tank. Nim was resting on the bottom of it but opened its’ eyes at the sight of Miles and to a lesser extinct Elliot.

“Hey Nim,” Miles says getting a fish and dumping it into the tank. Nim looked up and shocked it, then slowly got up to it. He puts it between his paws and starts to tear into the flesh of the fish.

“Interesting, the teeth are sharp and hooked. Made for tearing off chunks of meat,” Elliot says not being able but be fascinated by Nim.

“If you don’t mind. Could you help with his electricity field problem?” Miles asks looking worried at Nim. Nim looked up at Miles almost sensing his worry and let out a small grow/meow.

“Hmmm,” Elliot let his mind wander on this question. He usually thought better like this. He let his mind wander through water, PH levels, everything. He must have done this for around five minutes before eventually Miles tapped him on the shoulder.

“Got anything?”

“Not yet, do you mind if you let me concentrate for a few minutes?”

“Sure, sorry. I am just worried about Nim.”

Elliot goes back to concentrating and letting his mind wander. Miles starts pacing back and forth across the room and Nim watches him every now and then taking a bite from the fish. He blinks for a second as a picture starts to develop in his mind. Never mind the fact that his mind seemed to be burning.

He got the image of salt. Nothing that he thought could cure this aliment of Nim. He keeps focusing and Nim starts to actually notice him, he says something in his tongue, which resembled a growl, and yet he knew it to be a language. An identified and new language.

Nim looks at Elliot and walks over to the end of the tank and says something again. Nim then stares into Elliot’s eyes and his eyes focus back on Nim. His irises seem to crack and become jagged, and turn into a pale silver color.

Miles then puts his hand on Elliot’s shoulder and he shudders like being pulled out of sleep. He blinks and looks to Miles with normal, blue, eyes.

“Did you figure out what was wrong yet?” Miles asks. Elliot shakes his head and looks back at Nim who had chomped down on his fish again.

“Yeah, there is not enough sodium chloride in the water. AKA salt. Remember what I said about salt being used for the sea monster’s electricity. Well Nim isn’t receiving enough,” he rubbed his head and got up a little woozily. His brain still felt like it was burning.

“Really? Is that it? Thanks Elliot. I think Nim says thanks as well,” Elliot looks at the creature. <Your welcome. >

As he walks out slowly from the room he hears something in the very back of his mind, <Thank you. >
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[foster]

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Chapter 4- The sword


The winged boy jumped from the ledge and flipped onto the ground below. The fall must have been fifty feet but to him it was no problem. He looks up to see the black tendrils of energy following him down.

He runs off down the tunnel but the tendrils get in front of him. So he drew, faster than any eye could catch, a sword. A lion head sword of dark green metal. He sliced through the tendrils and the magical properties of the sword do the damage he needs. The tendril was cut in half and the half not connected to the main body disappears and the end still connected retreats.

He takes out the other sword and starts running back the way he came. As he ran the chi he had stored in the blades from the years of its use to him allowed it to glow a faint copper.


Elliot awoke with a start. He was drenched like usual. But now his head burned as well. It had been a while since he helped out Miles with his ‘pet’. But ever since his dreams were becoming more real. One time he dreamed of getting a hole blown out of his right side and he awoke with fresh burning pains were the hole was in his dream.

He slid out of bed and crawled to the bathroom. One of the good things was that he was able to get a house fairly close to the high school. It wasn’t very large but it was more than enough space for him. And with his constant trickling of money from various black market contacts that were still paying him for his services, he didn’t have to worry about food and such.

After finishing getting ready he walks out of the house. He pulls out a small PDA he had and set it to a visual file coming in from various cameras he had positioned around the town. He had seen a lot of interesting things on those cameras. Especially the change Miles was going through.

But he couldn’t really focus on that. When he let his thoughts wander he was brought to the swords he saw in his recent dreams. It was like something was calling out to him. Of course it was also calling him back to Charleston.

He went to the beach and looked out to the water. He enjoyed doing that, it gave him peace. Something he hadn’t had in a long time. The sound of the waves held back the anger that drove him to this town. And yet when he talked to Miles or saw Nim it gave him the same sense of peace. It was weird.

He shook his head and dragged himself away from the beach. He would take a couple days of school and go see what was in Charleston he had to see. Otherwise it would drive him crazy for the rest of his life.


Elliot stepped off the bus in almost a daze. Being closer to where he was being dragged to only make it worse, that was totally unlike what they showed in movies when someone was getting mentally dragged somewhere. But he was able to concentrate enough to follow the pull of it. He didn’t even notice that the feeling of his hometown had changed.

The domestic feeling of every body knowing everyone in their neighborhood was gone. Everyone was afraid and stuck indoors. Only coming out when they needed too. Of course Elliot didn’t know the reason for this was that people were starting to disappear suddenly from the streets. No one knew why.

But that didn’t bother Elliot and he continued still in the daze to the beach. It was here that finally the daze left him and he looked around finding that the usually packed sunny beach goers were gone. He wasn’t too concerned though.

He looked around the beach and found nothing. Nothing and no one was on the beach that could be seen. So he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on whatever was pulling him.

After a few seconds of concentrating he got the impression to move farther down the beach to the west. After a minute or so of walking he spotted on of those creatures resting on the beach. Almost as soon as he noticed it, it noticed him and barred its’ teeth at him.

“Are you what dragged me out here?” he asks the creature pulling out his handgun. He knew what these creatures could do and doubted if a bullet would do anything bit it was his only weapon.

The creature just growled and leapt at him. Elliot quickly jumped out of the way and duck rolls on landing. He quickly turns around and assumes a martial arts stance. Which he had no memory of learning.

<Calm Down, > He thought. The funny thing was that the creature seemed to hear him and backed up and titled its’ head at him. It then moved forward again and hissed.

Elliot shot a bullet near the creature. Sand exploded from the impact and went onto the creatures face before it could jump out of the way. It hissed again at Elliot but then hopped into the sea. Apparently it could still be harmed by the bullet, just not kill it.

Elliot put his gun away before anybody came investigating the shot and he ran over to where the creature was sitting. He could still sense whatever if was still there. Buried under the sand. And now it wasn’t the daze pulling he had felt before it was a more tugging urging pulling.

So he dug through a foot of sand until his hand hit something metal. He got up and looked at what he could see of it so far. It seemed like a metal bar. So he continued to dig around it until he had pulled out, a 3 and a half-foot Japanese sword.

It was the same sword he saw in his dream, and it seemed to have been buried under the sand for a couple of years now. And who knows how long it must have been in the ocean. And yet the swords polish and gleam hadn’t faded one bit. He slides the blade out of the scabbard and watches as the dark green metal shine in the sunlight.

He pulls it out all the way and starts practicing with it with expert knowledge. Apparently he was some kind of martial artist in his past. That was the only explanation he could come up with. He puts the blade back into its scabbard and carries it in his hand. He would have to walk back to Wilmington to keep it, but at least he knew it was what called out to him. It felt so right in his hands, again.


It actually took him three days to walk back to Wilmington. And on the way, he was acting different. His strides were stronger, more pronounced. And he thought his muscles were getting stronger, or he knew how to use them better. After all he did looked muscled before and his muscle mass wasn’t increasing.

There was a time just before he made it to Wilmington when he came across a river. The bridge was blocked by police to try and corner a criminal trying to escape. He couldn’t get by it with the sword (now tied on with strong red string). So he actually went to the side of the bridge and looked at the twenty-foot long river.

And almost as if he were insane (or actually thought he could do it) he ran across the wall matrix style. When he landed from it he got up and looked back across the wall, surprised he actually did that. He shakes his head and continued on to Wilmington.

But now he had just arrived into the city and was walking back to his house. He sees Caitlin driving by and she stops to talk to him. “Hey Elliot, your back.”

“Yeah,” he says concealing his sword with his backpack.

“Anyway, I think you might want to talk to Miles. He has been acting strange lately,” she says kind of worried.

Strange, like strange turning into a creature, he thought to himself. “Were is he?”

“At the town meeting, apparently they want to destroy the eggs out in the ocean.”

“Hmmm, I’ll go check it out,” he says and then gives his good byes to Caitlin. He decides to rush home a little earlier and looks at the records of the camera he had set up. He then notices how Miles’ attitude was changing. He was definitely more creature like now.

He then logs off from the computer, puts his sword hidden under his bed. Gets changed and cleaned and rushes off to the town hall meeting. Something was about to happen; he just knew it in the back of his head.

He never imagined what was coming though.
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Chapter 5- The sh*t hits the fan


By the time Elliot did reach the meeting everyone had left except for Miles and the people from the aquarium. He walked up to Miles, who while in a daze, seemed glad to see him. “Hey Elliot your back.”

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

“Everyone is afraid. They want to hurt Nim,” Elliot noticed that he really was distracted by something.

“Don’t worry. Dr. Blomp wont let that happen,” but in the back of his mind he doubted that Nim could be hurt at all.

“Come on Miles,” says Dr. Blomp. “Nice to see you again Elliot. We already have a full team to go out collect eggs though, sorry.”

“No trouble Dr. Blomp, I probably have tons of homework to catch up on anyway.”

“We’ll see you later,” Miles says walking off with the doctor.

“He really has changed,” Elliot says to himself. He shakes his head and heads back home.


Elliot walks in the door just as a message arrives in his E-mail. He opens it up to find a message from a contact nearby. The person who had sent him the images of Nim was dead. His death was also being held secret so it couldn’t be a normal street killing.

Just then his mind clicked with the bad feeling he had. The government agency that was covering the creatures up had found that E-mail. And would no doubt find him.

As if instinct took over he put a CD in and copied all of his files to it. He then starts packing, clothes, food, and money. He transfers the thousands he had in his bank account to many banks scattered across the glove. The CD had finished down loading.

He decided to leave a small message when he heard a knock on the door. He quickly grabs the sword under the bed and ties in around his waist. He looks through the peephole and sees a person in a government agent get up.

“Who is there?” he asks bracing the door.

“The police. We want to ask you some questions about an incident last night.” Elliot didn’t believe a word. He knew that whoever it was wanted him dead.

Elliot opens the door slowly and as soon as he saw no other agents behind him looked up at the agent. “Hello, is your father-,” he didn’t get time to finish because Elliot had grabbed his arm, forced him to the ground, and knocked him out with a blow to the neck.

He rushed out the door and ducked into the alleyways of the city. He had to find somewhere to hide.


Later that night Elliot’s house was surrounded by police tape and government agents. They were grouped together just in front of the house when Lee walks through them and into the house. He heads straight to the lab top and presses the space key killing the screensaver. He read the lines on the opened file, I will recover my memories.

Lee takes out his cell phone and speed dials someone. “It’s worse then we feared. No, Icarus has escaped. He’s learning about the creatures and you know what that can lead to. Understood,” he hangs up the phone and walks out back to the agents.

“Search the town for him. But don’t let yourselves be detected by the townspeople.”


It was a couple of days later, and Elliot was hiding out in a tree by the docks. He watched as the hunters lined up by the docks. And then watched the creatures come out. He watched from the safety of the tree as the humans were getting massacred.

And when Miles did come and led the creatures back into the sea he smiled and cheered him on silently.

<Now how do I get out? > He thought to himself.

<Drop silently from the tree and duck into the forest, > he didn’t know where that thought came from but he did it. He climbed slowly from the tree and slid into the forest not making a sound.


It was only a couple of hours later, almost about midnight. He had been moving since he saw the attack and had been moving through the swamp. A crocodile decided to give him trouble but his new sword quickly put and end to that.

He thought he was almost out of the swamp when he heard a small sound. Something like a clip being loaded into a gun. He ducks under the water as a bullet narrowly misses his backside.

He quickly gets up and ducks behind a tree as a hail of bullets hit the tree trunk and splatters across the water. He somehow could identify the type of gun and bullet by the sound it made being shot, what was he?

And he also knew that he used the last of the bullets of his AK-47. So he quickly hopped out behind the tree and brought his sword to bear. The agent wasn’t that far off and he was easily able to run (even through the swamp) and slash easily through the rifle.

The agent drops the half of the rifle he had and tried to pull out a pistol from his belt but Elliot continued on with his attack and kicked the guy in the crotch. He fell to the ground and Elliot hit him across the temple with the hilt of the sword.

However soon after he heard shouting not far off and runs in the opposite direction. Towards the ocean. He continued running, even though the sounds behind him started to get fainter and fainter until they were virtually impossible to detect.

When he did get to the beach he looked back and even though he didn’t see them or hear them but knew they would come after him. He had no choice; he dived into the water and started swimming out into the sea.


Elliot kept swimming until he was out of sight from the shore. His muscles hurt mildly but he was able to swim back if he wanted to. He floats onto his back to rest for a while, the surf was calm.

“So why is that feeling still there,” he asks himself and yawns. The sun was about ready to come up.

Of course he didn’t have to wait long for the answer to his question. Just to the right of him one of the creatures poked its’ head up out of the water. Elliot got off of his back when he saw it. Soon after a few others come up to the surface of the water.

Elliot cursed at his bad luck.


On the other side of Wilmington Island Miles and the group of creatures was swimming through the ocean. Curious about the human/creature. They had no idea about what was happening on the other side.
=======================================================


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Chapter 6- Broken


The night after the hunting incident two people washed up to Wilmington Island. One was Miles Barnett, who woke up near a restaurant with no injuries what so ever.

However five miles down the beach the kid with no name washed up. He had multiple bite wounds sometimes extending down to his very bones. Most of his outer epidermis was charred beyond recognition. He also had a collapsed left lung.

When paramedics finally did show up they were amazed to find him still alive. He was breathing, barely. They rushed him to the nearby hospital and removed his clothing. They found his sword and while some concern about it was raised, they decided to place it nearby him. He wouldn’t be able to use it in his current condition.

When they hooked him into the machines and started blood transfusions they found out something strange.

“Doctor look at this,” the nurse showed the doctor his CAT scans.

“His brain activity is off the charts,” the doctor got closer to the computer and examined the CAT scan. “This says his brain is over twice as active as a normal one.”

“That’s impossible,” the nurse says and looks over to the doctor.

“This just isn’t adding up, by all accounts he should be dead. And now this?”


Miles had just had his food shoved onto the floor by Havana’s former boy friend and sat outside on the benches. Phil and Savanna sat next to him and Elliot walked out from the cafeteria.

“Hey Elliot, so you’re going to stay with me too?”

Elliot looks over at Phil, “Of course. Can’t let Phil have all the fun with you,” Elliot sits down by the table.

“Thanks,” Miles says and tries to recover what he could of his lunch.

“Yeah, Miles could really use some support,” Savanna says and shares some of her food with him. Phil hands some other of his and so does Elliot. Miles smiles when someone launches a spitball right into his head.

“Ah the illusive spitball, its path is of a mysterious nature,” Elliot joked watching Miles removes the wad.

“Excuse me for a second,” Savanna says and walks over to yell at the person who launched it.

“Oh no, Savs on the move,” Phil says trying to cheer Miles up.

“Thanks guys,” Elliot says. He starts chomping on his food again but seems to be distracted.

They continue talking after Savanna comes back. Doing there best to cheer up Miles. Later on Phil went to the bathroom and Savanna went to get some more food leaving Miles and Elliot to talk.

“So how is Nim?”

”Hmm? Fine. He’s out in the ocean right now playing with his siblings at the moment.” All of a sudden he stopped talking and started looking around. Elliot looked curious.

”What is it?”

“Nim, I think he is around here,” Miles started looking actively around.

Elliot raises his eye and looks around. “There he is,” Miles says pointing under an empty table. Nim seemed to look around for a second and ran under to their table unnoticed. He seemed to be carrying something in his mouth.

“What’s that in his mouth?” asks Elliot. Just then Nim raises himself between Miles’ legs like a god. He then plops a recently killed fish by his leg and settles down by his foot.

“Looks like, lunch?” Miles says looking around to make sure nobody was watching. Of course they all were, it was amazing Nim wasn’t seen.

“Mmm, raw fish. Yum, just what I wanted for lunch,” Elliot says. Nim looks over at Elliot then seems to use some sort of snarl and curls up tighter around Miles’ foot.

“Strange, Nim doesn’t seem to like you. Something along the lines of you being a lot more than you,” Miles cut himself off realizing he was translating to Elliot.

“Oh don’t worry Miles, I know you are turning into one,” Elliot says and takes a drink from a water bottle. He seemed to act like him knowing was a very casual thing.

“What? How?”

“Oh you know a lot in my line of work,” he takes another sip from the water bottle.

“What line of work? You’re a kid,” Miles seemed to be surprised now and started looking at Elliot with new eyes.

“Oh you’ll know soon enough,” Elliot says in a matter of fact way and throws his trash out. He starts to walk away and while Miles wanted to go after him he couldn’t without having Nim following him and attracting attention.


Elliot woke slowly in the hospital. He could barely feel anything he was loaded up with painkillers. He slowly raises one eye to see a doctor seemingly hovering above him. He closes his eye and opens it again a little while later to see him calling over a couple of nurses to help him.

Elliot tried to speak but he had a tube going down his throat. And when the doctor saw that he was trying to talk he said, “Don’t try to talk. You have a collapsed lung.”

Elliot closes his eyes and pretends to be asleep as he hears the doctor talking to the nurse. “This just doesn’t make since. The karyotype came back saying he has 32 homologous chromosomes. Not only that but his brain, muscles, skeleton, and pretty much the rest of his body is riddled with strange tumors.”

“What do you mean doctor?”

”I mean that this patient, Elliot, isn’t human. I have no idea what to do. Should we call the government about this?”

Elliot then actually falls asleep. His body needed to heal, a lot.


“I swear, I have never felt this bad,” the winged kid said. In the back of a truck driving along a road really fast.

“How is the bite?” asks a rather concerned women looking at the large, 2 inch wide, sting impression.

“Ok, stings though,” the kid says and crawls up letting him lean against the wall of the truck.

“Shouldn’t you be able to heal the would?” asks the other street kid now in better clothing.

“The wound is magical, if it wasn’t for his healing ability he would be dead,” says the dark adult examining the wound.

“Robert, you just had to fling the kid out to were the spider was waiting didn’t you?” asks the concerned women. She looked like she was about to shoot the line backer from hell with a giant shotgun nearby.

The winged kid collapsed, the poison was starting to deteriorate his body. If he didn’t receive help soon he was going to die.


“Doctor, his heart rate and blood pressure are increasing,” says a nurse walking the doctor over to Elliot. He was all stitched up and the tube was out of his throat.

“His whole metabolism seems to be increasing. Amazing, he should be dead and he heals a lot faster than a normal human. Look,” he moves the eyelids from one of his eyes to reveal shattered irises.

“What are we going to do with him?”

“The government is going to take him. Now come on, we have to help the other patients transfer. We only have a couple of hours till the tsunami hits.


After they left Elliot raised his left eye. They decided to ease back on the painkillers so he could feel some of the pain from his wounds now. He heard the doctor’s conversation and slowly disables the monitoring system by turning it off. It hurt a lot to move his arm and he could see blood starting to come out of the bandages. The stitches weren’t working to well.

He was able to move around, slowly. But it hurt so much that he thought his head would burst. But he moved slowly and picked up his sword.

He was able to move around and get away. Everyone was to busy moving things and helping out people. Of course he left a small trail of blood. But nobody really noticed.

He made it to the heart of the city before he finally collapsed. No one was around; it looked like a ghost town. He sighs out and looks at his now opened wounds. He remembered vaguely getting torn apart by the creatures. He closes his eyes and his mind starts to wander again. He swore he could see the winged kid before he conked out.
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[foster]

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Chapter 7- It’s a new world.


Miles, Caitlin, Rich, Laura, and Nim were waiting on top of the church roof for about an hour now. Laura had carried her lab top with her and Miles was on it now when he stumbled across a news alert that went out noon two days ago.

He starts to read the article to everyone on the roof, “Early morning today, a teenager washed up to shore on Wilmington Island. He had extensive injuries including bite marks that extended to the bone, a collapsed lung, and various sever electrical burns.” As he said this everyone paid attention and came up.

“Amazingly this kid was still alive and was rushed immediately to the hospital. Further knowledge of his recovery is being kept under wraps.” Miles saw an image the media had gotten and released. And even though the extensive injuries were severe Miles could tell it was Elliot.

“This can’t be. I saw Elliot at school yesterday. How could he be in the hospital?”

“Who is this Elliot?” asks Rich not able to take his eyes off of the image.

“A friend of mine. He was acting weird when I saw him at school. But how can he be in the hospital?”

“Elliot is injured? Did Nim or one of his siblings do this?” Caitlin asks looking at Nim who hid behind Miles.

“I don’t think so. I didn’t feel anything about it.”

“What do you mean feel anything?” asks Rich getting suspicious of Miles now.

“Ahh, nothing really. I just know that Nim or his siblings did it.”

“How?” Rich was getting closer to Miles now and was about to grab his collar.

“Rich, calm down!” Laura says trying to pull him back.

Miles looks away from everybody and so does Nim. They look off into the heart of the city. “What is it?” Caitlin asks looking concerned.

“Something, new?” Miles says as Nim says something they didn’t understand.


Elliot awoke with a start. He was at the top of a building somehow. And not only that everything was weird. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. He moves his hand around and notices how slow it was moving.

“What is happening?” he says but his mouth seemed to move so slowly and the words sounded drawn out.

He starts to think instead, <Somehow I am thinking faster than I used to. Much faster, and reality seems to be slowed down for me. >

But just then things seemed to be going back to normal and he gets up fairly easily. He was completely healed, not even a scar on him, strange. He walks over to the edge of the building, he could see a lot farther to now. And a lot clearer, he though he could see fore miles.

“What is happening to me?” He looks into the flooded city and saw his reflection. His eyes were strange, the shattered and broken irises he had temporarily seemed to be a lot harder to get rid off.

He looks over to a church roof almost a mile away. It was then he realized how weak he felt because he almost collapsed onto the ground. He sits down and blinks his eyes. It was strange is body felt so unbalanced.

He then blanks out suddenly on the roof.


“What is this all about?” Rich yells turning Miles around. However shortly after doing so they can hear rescue helicopters.

“Helicopters? They can get us out of here!” Laura yells and starts jumping up and down trying to get the helicopters attention. Caitlin looks at Nim.

“What are you going to do about Nim?”

“We are going to swim back to dry land,” Miles tells her silently as Rich was trying to get the helicopters attention. “When the helicopter comes tell them to head a mile that way,” Miles points over in a direction. “There is someone there who needs their help.”

“Miles wait!” Caitlin says as Miles and Nim dive into the water.

“What is he doing? He’ll be eaten!” Laura says stopping to try and get the helicopters attention and looking over the edge.

“He will be fine,” Caitlin says as the helicopter comes near.


“How is he doing?” Caitlin asked. With Miles gone she thought she might as well look out for his friend.

“His entire metabolic processes are heightened. Brain waves, heart rate, pulse. Everything. His temperature is rising slowly and is currently at 105 degrees.” Said the doctor shacking his head in confusion.

“What could be causing it?”

“We don’t know. We have never seen anything like this. And CAT scans and X-rays show that his body is also riddled in tumors.”

“Tumors?”

“Yes, but strange enough they aren’t random cancer tumors. The tumors seem to be doing the normal job of the cells it is taking over strangely enough.”

“Is there anything you can do for him?”

“Sorry no. The best thing we can do is keep him here,” the doctor walks off and Caitlin takes a seat. She was wondering were Miles was and if he was ok. She knew she should be worried about his friend more but she couldn’t help it.”

Caitlin looked surprised as her cell phone starts ringing. She picks it up, “Hello?”

“Hey Caitlin,” Miles voiced answered.

“Miles? Were are you?”

“Ah, Mesoamerica apparently. I just wanted to tell you I am going to head back soon. Is Elliot ok?”

“No not reall- you’re in Mesoamerica?”

“Long story, we headed south and west to try and find and area not touched by the tsunami’s so that Nim could sneak around easier.”

“OK, anyway Elliot is not exactly ok right now. Something’s happening to him, his temperature and everything else is spiking.”

“What? I’ll come as soon as I can. And Caitlin, thanks for looking out for him while I am gone.”

“No problem Miles, just get here as soon as you can.”

Caitlin hangs up the phone and looks over at Elliot. He was breathing rather rapidly but peacefully.


Rich and Laura were waiting outside the hospital talking with cubs of coffee. “I don’t know what that kid is or who his friend is in the hospital,” Rich said interrupting himself for a sip. “But somehow, some way I know it is connected to my brother and those creatures.”

“I don’t know Rich. All I want to do right now is head back home and try to get Jessie back. I miss him so much,” Laura takes a sip of her coffee.

“I know how you feel. I miss my girls so much, maybe we should take a break from this for awhile and go visit our kids.”

“Are you sure Rich? I mean we were getting so close?”

“I know, but we narrowly escaped a telo-tsunami. We should be counting our lucky stars that we’re alive. I don’t say we should stop digging, but we have to at least spend some time with our family.”

“I guess your right. I should consider how Jessie is going through. I don’t even know if he knows I am still alive. And he hates being with his step-mother.”

A National Guard member comes out of the hospital and tells them that they are clear to leave. They nod and finish their coffee and head back to get their stuff. They agreed to still keep in touch and start investigating again later that month.


It was nighttime when Miles and Nim broke from the surface of the new beach. They had to be careful because every few minutes and army truck come around to make sure that no creatures were coming to the land.

But it was easy for Nim and Miles to sneak past them. They made it into the town also fairy easily although it was stockpiled with refugees that could have seen them. But that didn’t really stop them and they made it into the hospital at the dead of night.

Miles went to Elliot’s room and saw Caitlin with a blanket sitting in a chair. He walks over to her and taps her lightly on the shoulder, “Hey. Caitlin wake up.”

“Don’t you know anything Miles? You are supposed to wake the princess with a kiss,” Caitlin said before fully waking up. “Miles, you’re here?”

“Yeah, swam pretty hard from Panama,” he says as Caitlin gets up and kisses him. Nim growls from the floor and hops up onto Caitlin’s seat and looks up wanting to be included.

“I think Nim is getting jealous,” Caitlin says and pats Nim. Nim actually purrs a little and rubs her head on her hand.

Miles leaves Caitlin and Nim for a second and checks on Elliot, “Strange. All the injuries are gone and there is no scarring.” Nim hops from the chair and hops up onto the bed and scampers next to Miles.

<He’s sick, > Nim said to Miles licking Elliot’s fingers as if that might bring him back.

<Can you heal him? > Miles walks over to Nim and scratches her behind to ears.

<No, he has no open wounds. I don’t know what is causing this, > Nim lies down at the edge of the bed.

“Can Nim do anything?” Caitlin asks walking over next to Miles.

“No, he doesn’t know what’s causing this,” Miles says and sighs and takes a seat.

“To bad, I am sure he will be ok. I mean it is only a rapidly heightened metabolism maybe it will go back so normal.” She sits back down on her opposite seats and covers up. While Nim hops up onto Miles’ lab and curls up.

“I hope so, I want to know something about him. So many questions.”


It was a few minutes later and Miles and Caitlin were beginning to fall asleep. Nim was already asleep on his lab when the alarms started to ring. They instantly woke them up and Nim runs into Caitlin’s backpack.
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Chapter 8- Another disaster


Miles and Caitlin (with Nim waiting in the bag) were outside the room as doctors started working on Elliot. Nim pokes her head out of the bag and watches as well. A couple minutes later the lead doctor walks out.

“He is semi-stable right now. His metabolic processes are still high,” he says sighing.

“What else?” Miles asks as Nim puts her head back into the bag.

“Most of his brain has shutdown. Apparently the only parts still functioning are the ones for the processes to keep him alive.”

“Thanks anyway Doctor, can we see him?”

“Maybe in an hour or two. We want to keep him under heavy surveillance for now,” the doctor then walks off and a nurse stays nearby in case something happens.

“Let’s go to the bathroom,” Caitlin says.

“What?” Miles raises and eye at that statement and Nim growled a little in Caitlin’s bag.

“Not for that. So we can talk, all three of us,” Miles had a look of recognition and they headed towards the restrooms.


Laura had been driving for the past several days. All the airlines were tied up transporting people around to deal with the disaster. But she had finally arrived back home and it was early mourning.

She drove up to Sean’s house and got out. She went up to the door and knocked on it and Sean answers the door. “What do you want?”

“I am hear to get Jessie,” Laura says.

“Mommy!” Jessie screams running past Sean and grapping onto her legs. “Can I go with you now?”

“Jessie, go to the backyard,” Sean says trying to get Jessie away.

“No, I want to go with mommy!”

“Jessie, just let me talk to mommy for a second,” Sean says finally getting Jessie to run off. But he leaves Melvin by Laura’s foot.

“Sean, I want my kid back, and I want him now,” Laura says. Meaning every word of it.

“You expect a judge to by that? Laura, you were gone for months. The government wanted you and you went off into the path of a tsunami. You should be lucky I didn’t call the crazy house as soon as I saw you.”

Laura and Sean continue to argue as Jessie wanders out the backyard and sits down angrily. He wanted to head back home with Laura; he was tired of spending time with his father’s fiancé and wanted to go home.

Of course he never stopped to wonder why Elliot would appear in his garden. “Hey, you must be Jessie,” Elliot says to him and sits down next to him.

“Yeah, who are you?” he asks looking over at Elliot. Meanwhile Sean’s fiancé came out to see what the arguing was about and saw Jessie talk to himself. She though he had just picked up an imaginary friend.

“I’m Elliot, I know your mom,” Elliot says extending a hand of friendship. Jessie looks at him then shakes it much like a kid.

”How do you know my mom?”

“Well we were in the same boat after the tsunami hit.”

“Mom was in a tsunami?”

“Of course, were did you think your mom was?”

“Dad said she had abandoned me and she was going crazy. But I didn’t believe that for a second. She was just chasing her ‘marine vertebrate’,” Jessie had a little trouble saying those words.

“Your dad doesn’t sound like someone fun to be with.”

“No, and his fiancé keeps wanting to try and act like my mom.”

“You know you can go with your mom if you want.”

“How?”

“Easy just climb over that fence and get into her car.”

“What if I fall?”

“Then I will catch you.”

“Ok,” Jessie says starting to head to the fence.

“Don’t forget Melvin,” Elliot says pulling out the orange stuffed animal from behind his back. Laura and Sean were to busy arguing to notice it’s atomic structure pull apart and reform behind his back.

“Thanks,” Jessie starts climbing and easily does it with a little help from Elliot. He then climbed down the fence and into the back of Laura’s car.

A few minutes later Laura storms into the car crying. She could barely see as she pulled out of the driveway and out into the road. Of course she missed Jessie lying down in the back seat.


Miles and Caitlin were rushing back to Elliot’s room early morning. The doctors called them. “What is it?” Miles asks not out of breath while Caitlin had to pause for a second.

“This, a couple of minutes ago his brain scans reveled this,” the doctor puts up an X-ray showing that most of the back of the brain was working. “Not only that the brain waves there are three times the normal amount.”

”What does that mean?” Miles asks looking confused.

“We don’t know, but the ones that just come back sowed this,” he puts up another one with that area of the brain dead again. “We don’t know why this keeps happening.”

“Is they’re anything else,” Caitlin finally recovered enough to speak.

“No, I am afraid not. You can head back to anything you were doing. I just wanted to inform you that his brain might recover somehow.”

“Thanks doctor,” Miles and Caitlin start heading back out and go to their hotel.


Upon entering the room Nim poked her head out of the blankets and ran out to meet them. Miles picked up Nim and he sat down at the table and Nim lied down in front of him on the table.

“I wish we knew what was going on,” Miles says lost in thought.

“Don’t worry, I am sure he will be fine,” Caitlin says pulling three sodas from the fridge. She poured one out into a bowl for Nim and gave one of the remaining two to Miles.

“Yeah I guess,” Miles takes a sip when Nim burps slightly from the soda. This caused him to laugh spraying soda across the table.

Caitlin rolls her eyes, “Men.”


Laura had just entered Arizona’s border when she pulled over to stop for the day. Tried tears could be seen running down her face.

“Mommy I’m hungry,” Jessie says waking up from the backseat.

Laura has a look of shock as she turns around to see Jessie in the back seat. “Jessie?” was all she said before she went into the back of the car and hugged her son. “What are you doing here?”

“Your friend told me to hop into the car while no one was looking if I wanted to come with you,” Jessie says hugging her mother back.

“What friend?”

“He said his name was Elliot.”

Laura didn’t stop hugging her son but deep down she was wondering how it was possible. How could someone near death on the other side of the country suddenly appear and convince her son to hop into the back seat.


Meanwhile in Louisiana Rich stops his car in front of a building. He had convinced his wife that he deserved a second chance and they agreed to go to marriage therapy for a while.

He walks in and finds the room they were going to meet in. He sighs, “This is going to take awhile.”


“Hey Miles, what’s that,” Caitlin says pointing to a news report. Miles and Nim looks at it.

“A few minutes ago,” the reporter said, “A 9.2 magnitude quake was detected off the coast of California. This Earthquake is similar to the one that recently struck the Atlantic. Some People believe that the mysterious creatures that came up to shore after the tsunami might be responsible.”

“In other news the water caused by the Atlantic tsunami is not receding for unknown reasons. Scientists are trying their best to answer this question.”

“What is happening,” Caitlin says looking over at Miles.

“I don’t know, I seem to only pick up Nim’s siblings right now. But if a tsunami hits California, and considering all those people that live there.”

“They won’t get off easy like they did in New York. Another telo-tsunami starting miles from the coast. It might swallow entire sky scrappers.”

Miles shuddered at the thought. “What would want this to happen?”


Back at the hospital a nurse was walking around Elliot’s bed when the alarms went on again. Doctors immediately rushed in and started to work on him. His brain had gone dead along with his heart stopping to beat. All of his systems had shut down suddenly.
=======================================================

[foster]

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Chapter 9- Rise from the dead


“Get me the defibrillators!” The doctor says pounding on Elliot’s chest to try and get his heart started again.

A nurse gets him the defibrillators while another nurse preps Elliot for them. “Clear!” the doctor shouts as he uses them and Elliot’s body leaps up from the sudden coursing of electricity through him.

The doctor looks up as his heart beats for a second then dies again, “again, clear!” Elliot’s body does this again but nothing happens. They try this for another minute when a nurse interrupts.

“Doctor, he’s been dead for 3 minutes now. He is not coming back,” the nurse puts a hand on the doctor and he nods. He puts the defibrillators away and everyone tries to relax after the sudden rush of adrenaline.

“Time of death is 11:23 PM. Somebody get him ready for an autopsy, I want to know why he died.”

“Yes doctor,” a nurse says as she starts packing up the stuff.

Almost everyone was outside except for the nurse who was finishing packing up. She heard the sudden intake of breath from Elliot’s corpse. She immediately rushes outside, “Doctor, he just took a breath!”

“What!” everyone rushes in and the doctor notices the slightly quickened but steady rising and falling of his chest. He gets the Elliot’s wrist and feels a pulse.

“He is alive?”

“Of course I am,” Elliot says not opening his eyes. “Why would I be dead?”

“You’re conscious?”

Elliot opens his eyes and looks at the doctor, “Yeah. I had a nice nap.”

The doctor blinks his eyes. This defied every medical fact he knew off. A body does not just turn itself on and off so suddenly. He shakes his head, “How are you feeling?”

“Tired, but nothing hurts. Can I see my friends soon?”

‘Sure,” the doctor didn’t know what to say. He just shook his mind in disbelief as they set up the monitoring equipment. However he defiantly refused having an IV tube stuck in him.

When everyone eventually left Elliot closed his eyes. <Hey, I am awake, > he sends to Miles and Nim. They were sleeping so they would see it in a dream but they might remember it in the mourning.

He then decided to drift off to sleep.


Rich was in a convenience store buying some small food and a bottle of soda. He was heading to yet another marriage counseling session and he didn’t see any reason for it. He thanks the guy behind the cash register and heads out to the car.

However when he saw the car he saw what looked to be one of the creatures on top of the roof. He blinks his eyes and shakes his head and it disappears. He shudders and gets into the car. He had been seeing a lot of things recently, and while he still believed that his brother’s voice was real he thought he was having the others through exhaustion.


Laura was driving now halfway through Texas. Jessie was in the back seat playing an imaginary game with Melvin. She smiled; although she also knew she was in trouble. Sean would report that she had kidnapped Jessie, although she still was the legal guardian for a while at least. Lee never got around to taking that off.

She picks up her cell phone and was first going to call Rich when she realized he would be busy solving his own family troubles. So instead she calls Miles at the hotel they had gotten.

It rings for a while before Caitlin picks it up, “Hello?”

“Hi, this is Laura. Are you two ok?”

“Better than ok. Elliot just woke up in the hospital.”

“Really?” she says biting her lip. So he was still in the hospital. And she knew it was that Elliot because Jessie had described him to her.

“Yeah, just before midnight he flat lined and came back to life exactly 5 minutes later.”

“That is weird. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I am heading back and I got Jessie with me.”

“Really? That is great! Anything else?”

“Ah yeah, I may be a wanted felon.”

“You know you didn’t strike me as the felon type.”

“Look this isn’t funny. You see somehow Jessie snuck out of his house and got into my car. I didn’t notice he was there until Texas. I just wanted to warn you before I got there.”

“Ok, ok simmer down. I’ll tell Miles and Nim when I see them. They went ahead to see Elliot.”

“Nim? Why would you tell the creature?”

“Well you see the creatures are as intelligent as humans. I mean Miles claims to actually talk to Nim and Nim is starting to do some intelligent things. Like one time she was actually channel surfing.”

“She? I thought Nim was a boy.”

“C’mon. Anything this cool has to be a girl. Anyway, see you when you get here. I got to go make sure Miles doesn’t do anything crazy. What would men do without us?”


“So Mr. Connelly, you say you spent the past months trying to uncover a government conspiracy. I believe that is were we left off?”

Rich nodded his head in assertion. “OK now can you tell me what the conspiracy was about?”

“Well you know those creatures that were on the news, the ones that popped up on the areas flooded by the tsunami?”

“Yes.”

“Well you see it all started when my brother was dragged down by one during a spear fishing dive.”

The councilor nodded his head and acknowledged he understood. “So you neglected your kids and your wife to chase these sea creatures?”

“I had to, my brother was compelling me to go on.”

“I thought you said your brother died in this spear fishing accident?”

“No, he is still alive. He just talks to me occasionally, whenever I am around water.”

“Right,” the councilor says understandingly and raises and eye towards Mrs. Connelly. “What do you have to say about this?”

“Well he might not have been crazy about what happened to his brother. But I wish he would have stayed with me and our family instead of running off.”

“Hmmm, so you say it wasn’t that he wanted to find the truth about his brother’s death it was that he abandoned you an the kids?”

“My brother is not dead!” shouted Rich standing up.

“Easy Mr. Connelly, the truth about his brother’s disappearance then?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Connelly said looking worried as Rich eventually sat back down.

“Ok then. Now Mr. Connelly, let’s talk about your brother compelling you to go on?”

“Whenever I am around water, although it is not happening as much now, I can hear my brother speaking to me. Guiding me on what to do.”

“You mean like a guardian angel?” the councilor says writing in his notes.

“Well I guess you can say that. But my brother is not dead so he can’t be an angel.”

“Right,” the councilor says scribbling furiously on his notebooks.


Rich walked out of the building, it was sunset now. He had spent all day in the room and his legs were hurting from sitting all day. He made his way to the car and opened a bag of chips he still had there and started eating.

“Dang it Tracy, why are you doing this to me,” Rich says as he starts the car and starts to drive off. He had a hotel that overlooked a nice river. He had a lot of thinking to get done and he eyed his cell phone.

He shook his head; Laura would be busy solving her own family issues.


Elliot was sitting in his bed with a remote control in his hands. The doctors wanted him to stay in bed, and while he did still feel a little weak he wanted to move around. All that was on though was about the tsunami that hit the California coast.

The destruction was huge, only a small percentage of the population could get away in time. The death toll couldn’t even start being calculated. Helicopters were moving as fast as they could, getting people off the top of whatever roofs weren’t flooded. Which were few, the wave was 50ft tall.

For some reason the creatures left the helicopters alone as they rescued people. They were too busy doing something under the water. Elliot thought that they might be digging, but for what.

He looks over as Miles and Nim come in the door. He smiles, it was nice to see them again.

“Hey Elliot. You’re ok?” Miles says as he pulls up a seat next to the bed.

“Sure, and you can let Nim out of your bag,” Elliot says smiling.

Miles looks confused, “How did you know he was in there?”

“Oh, just a feeling. Don’t worry no one will notice him.”

“How? There is a nurse right outside the door.”

Elliot smiles, “You have seen Star Wars right?”

“Of course,” Miles says.

“Imagine if someone could do the Jedi mind tricks.”

“No way, he can’t do that.”

Elliot smiles and presses a call button for the nurse. She comes in, “Yes?”

“You don’t see anyone but me in this room,” Elliot says as he concentrates and waves his hand in the Jedi fashion. The nurse didn’t do anything.

“Now can you move the chair back please?” The nurse responds and starts to move the chair back with Miles still on it.

“Whoa,” Miles says. The nurse then sees him and blinks. “Oh sorry I didn’t see you.”

“That’s ok. Thank you nurse,” Elliot says and the nurse leaves.

“How did you do that?”

“I don’t really know. But it is so cool. I already Jedied everyone who comes in here to not see or hear anything strange. So Nim can come out.”

“Ok,” Miles slowly opens the bag and Nim hops out onto the floor. She stretches very cat line and purrs. Then scratches just behind her left ear and hops onto the bed. Miles scratches Nim’s ear for her.

<Hey Nim, how is it going? > Elliot said to Nim telepathically. Miles also picked up on it though.

<You can speak with your mind too? > Miles says surprised.

<You can use it a lot better now. Nothing like the time it took me to so Salt to you, > Nim says and looks up to Miles who looks back at Nim.

<Does this mean you are turning into one of the creatures as well? > Miles asks.

<I don’t think so. Telepathy just seems so natural to me, and I don’t have lizard eyes. >

<What? > Nim and Miles ask.

<Look at my eyes, > Nim hops up on Elliot’s chest to look and Miles walks around the bed to see. They both saw that his eyes went the strange way his did. Cracked and shredded. And now they had a coppery tinge to the regular blue color.

<Whoa, freaky, > Miles says. Nim walks towards Miles and lies down on the edge next to him.

“So is Caitlin coming?” asks Elliot returning to regular speech.

“Yeah, after she gets ready. Why do girls take hours to get ready?”

“Because we are concerned about our appearance unlike you boys,” Caitlin says walking in. “Why is Nim out?”

“Don’t worry,” Elliot says. Knowing he would have to demonstrate his new power to Caitlin.


Lee was walking through a beat down hotel and knocked five times on the door. Various locks unlock and someone opens to door a couple of inches. The chain was still on.

“Who is it?” a female voice says.

“It’s me. Lee.”

The door closes and the chain comes off. The door opens all the way and Mr. Big appears behind it. “Did anyone follow you?”

“No, I told them I was looking into a possible information leak here. I also made sure no one followed me.”

“Well, ok. Come one in,” she moves out of the way and Lee walks in. She then closes the door and resists the locks and chains.

“How is your life working out?”

“Well I hate being away from my research. But it is better than being dead. Thank you for not killing me Lee, what made you change your mind?”

“Something a new friend told me,” he says thinking if Laura was ok. While Rich was pointing guns and wanting to kill him Laura was defending him. That crazy maniac might have killed him if it wasn’t for her.

“So if I heard correctly you have something to tell me about this, project Icarus?”

“Yes, it is something you would never had known inside the corporation. You must use this knowledge secretly.”

“Ok, lay it on me.”
=======================================================


=======================================================
Chapter 9B


The two soldiers walked slowly along the shoreline. They were assigned to guard the beach of the new Louisiana coast against a creature attack.

“Did you hear what happened in California? They can’t even begin to calculate the death toll.”

”I know, what is this world coming too?”

“I don’t know. But it sure is scary,” one of the soldiers shuddered and pulled his rifle closer.

“Did you hear something?” the other soldier spins around and points his gun at the water.

“What?” the other one whispers and does the same.

“It must be nothing, lets just get out of here.”

“Yeah, there is only 15 minutes left on our shift and I don’t want to get eaten. My family is still alive and waiting for me to return in Arkansas”

“Yeah, me too.”

The two soldiers hurry on a little faster than normal. They didn’t look back to see the 10ft long creature rise up to the surface and walk onto the land. They were already around the corner of a hill when other creatures come onto the land and start walking forward, following the river.


Rich woke up suddenly from his bed. He had a strange dream; it was his brother telling him to get out of Louisiana. Head to the mountains and stay there.

He gets up and brushes his teeth; it was still late at night. He didn’t want to leave now but the dream was so real. And his brother seemed to be weakening. Like this was his last message.

As he thought of that he remembered the last line, funny how it just popped into his head like that. He remembered his brother worrying about not being able to talk to him again. Something about being devoured or consumed.

He quickly gets ready and starts driving. He wanted to tell his kids and get Tracy and them out but somehow he knew that he couldn’t do that. If he came saying his brother told him to leave and he wanted to take them with him they would be more likely to stay.

So instead he takes out his cell phone and calls her. “Hey Tracy it’s me. Listen you are going to think I am crazy but I got to tell you something. You need to leave Louisiana and head into the mountains as soon as you can. I am heading back to North Carolina now. I still have something to accomplish.”

He hangs up the phone and starts driving back. He needed to get there fast. He had something important to do.


Miles woke suddenly in his bed as well. His mind was picking up on the creature’s communications. He had found out they were coming up on land in Louisiana to start and attack. And he was to far away to stop them.

Miles looks down as he hears Nim wake up. She looks up and looks sad, she turns her head away from Miles’ eyes and lies down looking rejected. Miles picks her up and pulls her close to his chest, “It’s ok Nim. You’re not the one doing this.”

Nim purrs a little, <They won’t be able to stop them. And you can’t do anything. The humans there are going to get killed. >

<I know, > Miles says and Nim hops down. <We can’t tell Caitlin anything. She wouldn’t understand. >

Nim lies down sadly. So does Miles too eventually. Slowly they try to fall back asleep.


Elliot was sleeping soundly until he opens his eyes and looks around. No one was watching over him. So he slowly gets up and notices the heat beat monitor on his finger. He takes it off but the alarm doesn’t sound because he mentally set up a loop in the information being received.

He looks down the hall and doesn’t see anyone and starts to slowly walk down it. He still felt weak but he could move. He spots a clothes closet and stops to dress in something more appropriate. After that he heads out the hospital totally unopposed.

He starts walking down the road almost completely blocked with refugees. Eventually he makes it into the hotel that Miles and Caitlin were staying at. It was booked solid but that was to be expected with all the people around. He eventually says that he was with people he knew.

The hotel clerk let him through and he traced the mental signals he was receiving from Miles and Nim. He was able to zero in on a room and he knocked on the door. He was lucky that Nim and Miles were still awake from their midnight nightmare.

“Elliot?” Miles asks opening the door for him.

“Yeah, mind if I stay with you for a while?” Elliot says smiling. He had pretty much used all of his energy on walking here.

“Sure,” Miles says opening the door all the way. Elliot walks in slowly but then falls, Miles with his creature strength was able to support him and sit him on the couch.

“Are you ok? Did the hospital ok you leaving?” Miles’ head seemed to be buzzing with questions.

“Just tired, my body has been through a lot. And of course they didn’t ok me leaving, half those doctors think of me as a science experiment.”

“I’m sure they don’t,” Miles stopped when he saw the look on Elliot’s face and remembered he could read mines as well as speak to them. “Oh.”

“So where is Nim?” Elliot asks slowly turning himself to lie down.

“He is still on my bed fast asleep. He went back so sleep faster than I did,” Miles yawns.

“Go back to bed Miles, I’ll be ok here.” Elliot smiles and Miles heads back to bed on his own occurred.

Elliot then closes his eyes, he knew why Miles was awake all right. He knew about the attack on Louisiana. He knew a lot of things now, it was almost hard to think of all of them.

Elliot opened his eyes when he started picking up on Miles’ dream. It was quite peace, a nice swim through the ocean. It was amazing how much of a creature Miles was already. Almost his entire subconscious had been taken over.

Elliot closed his eyes again and fell back asleep.


A group of 18 soldiers was walking down the road. There was a report of 10ft long creatures coming up this way, straight towards the primary evacuation center for much of the coast. They all had their guns ready to fire, blissfully unaware of what happened in Wilmington when guns were used.

No one understood the creatures enough to fight them, that is except for the Firm. And they weren’t doing anything, they were watching from safety as human after human, city after city, was destroyed.

“So do you think these guns can kill them?” asked one of the younger soldiers.

“Oh course, having 20 shots in the braincase of anything should kill it,” said one of the older soldiers.

“I still don’t know, what if these things are causing the earthquakes? How strong they would have to be to do that. I don’t think it is possible to kill them.”

“Shut your whinning,” said the field commander. “We will kill them and head back to base, it is as simple as that.”

Everyone nodded their solon agreement as they headed forward, right were the creatures were coming up.


“So you modified my research with the information on project: Icarus?” asked Big. She was drinking a steaming cup of coffee across from Lee.

“Yes, along with everyone else’s research. We put them together to make the creatures and project: Surface.”

“So why are these things attacking anyway? What do they hope to accomplish by it?”

“That is a complicated matter, even I don’t know the full reason behind it. I am sure only he knows the full reason,” Lee drinks from the cup he had.

“This project: Icarus, how did you release him to the humans. He would have never fit in.”

“We used surgical methods at first, although every time we tried that the modifications we made to him were scratched as his body healed. We then decided to create a virus that would not destroy what made him special, but rather make those genetic sequences unreadable by RNA enzymes. His DNA would continue to grow and act like normal but his special traits would never become active.”

“Ah, so if you ever needed to find the source you can go retrieve him easily.”

“Exactly,” Lee finishes his coffee and walks out. “Be prepare Doctor, your services might be helpful soon.”

“For what?”

“The upcoming war.”


The soldiers advanced slowly, one of the creatures was just spotted. They hear a sound and turn around to find one of them missing. Another sound behind them and another one of them was gone.

It was chaos soon after, bullets and the occasional grenade flew everywhere. Radio chatter heading back to the military base told them all they needed. For Louisiana a war had started.
=======================================================

[foster]

=======================================================
Chapter 10- Miles’ secret

The winged kid was in pain, barely leaning up from the ground. He was breathing heavily as well, and silver drops of metallic sweat coming off from him. He was in some sort of cell, with a black mirror look in. On the other side of it he could hear people talking.

“The virus is moving through his system slower than estimated. His immune system is fighting harder than we thought.”

“And this surprises you? We exposed him to Malaria, HIV, Bubonic plaque, Ebola, Lassa virus, Hanta virus, Bolivian Fever, Dengue Fever, and many more biohazard level 4 diseases and his immune system beat them all.”

“Yes, his immune system can fight off viruses. Does the chemical by product of his bio-metalloid armor do this?”

“We believe so, when the chemical was exposed to a samples of biohazard 4 viruses every single one of them were treated.”

“Amazing, has this chemical been synthesized in the lab yet?”

“No, no matter how much we examine his cells the chemical cannot be synthesized. Another thing is that the creation and production of the bio-metal and chemical seem to relate to infections or danger of them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Before we infected him with the first of the diseases his cells started producing excess amounts of the chemical.”

“How?”

“It has been documented that our bodies brace for fear 1/6 of a second before it happens. Maybe his body is so advanced it braces for infection, fear, stimuli seconds even minutes before they happen.”

“Amazing.”

“Yes, truly amazing. He has so many qualities not seen in nature before.”

The kid looked up towards the exact position the doctors were talking behind the glass. “When I get out of here. I am going to kill every last one of you,” the kid said actually crawling to his feet. With every step he seemed to be getting better and better.

“What did you give him this time?”

“A rare flesh eating virus. It was supposed to eat out his brain and work out.”

“I am guessing it didn’t have any effect either.”

”No.”

The kid finally got to his feet and breathed out a breath of anger that should have been of fire. He closed his eyes and opened them, focused on the black mirror. He roars and rams into it, the mirror shattered under his impact. A panel supposed to withstand 100 times the amount a normal human could inflict upon it.”

“Biohazard in medical lab 3, biohazard in medical lab 3. Mandatory quarantine being put into place,” came an alarm.

The winged kid looked down at the two doctors, wide eyed in surprise. He didn’t do anything to them, just walked away. He let the flesh-eating virus have its way with them.


“Elliot, Elliot wake up!” Miles was trying to shake Elliot awake. He was screaming out and moving around.

“Out of my way,” Elliot screamed coming awake. He nearly jumped out of bed but not before his arm lashed out and hit Miles square across the chest. He was sent flying into the wall.

“What? Oh no Miles are you ok?” Elliot said fully waking up and realizing what he did. He ran over to Miles who was getting up.

“Yeah, yeah I am ok,” Miles says as he slowly gets up. Nim hops up onto the table and growls at Elliot. “Nim, chill. He didn’t mean it.”

“What happened?” asks Caitlin coming out and seeing the hole in the wall. “Miles what happened?”

“Nothing, its ok. No ones hurt.”

Elliot wanders off to the other side of the room deep in thought. What was happening to him? First this dream of his being experimented on and bashing through a wall and now this. He shudders.

“Elliot are you feeling ok?” asks Miles.

“Yeah, I am fine,” he looks up and more images flash through his head. This time of coordinates, a terminal map. An island in the Atlantic. Medical research lab.

He was snapped out of it when Miles shook his shoulder, “Elliot, you cant say that you are alright.”

Elliot blinks again and the thoughts finally reside into his unconscious, “sorry.”

“What’s wrong with you Elliot. Do you need to go back to the hospital?” asks Caitlin. Nim seemed to hang by Miles trying to protect him.

“No, I am ok. Just, memories I think. But they make no sense, but they tie in to well.”

“What do you mean memories? What are you?” asks Miles backing up and little and picking up Nim.

“I haven’t been entirely honest with you Miles,” says Elliot leaning against the wall just like the winged kid would.

“What do you mean? You’re not a student? You seem smart enough to pass college already.”

“Well yes I am not a student. In fact I know how to hack into government web sites.”

“What? You’re joking Miles says looking at Elliot strangely again. So does Caitlin.

“No I am not. I know how to hack computers, steal cars, and so much more.”

“Elliot-,” Miles was saying before getting interrupted.

“And my name isn’t Elliot.”

“It’s not? Then what is your name?” asks Miles. He looked ready to freak and Caitlin was already about to.

“I, I don’t know. I don’t know my name, my age, and my birthplace. Or even my history for a couple months before meeting you.”

“Like amnesia?”

“Yes, and usually when I dream I get these strange ones about a kid who looks just like me. Only with wings and a tail, and he does all this stuff. At first I just thought they were dreams but now, I think they may be memories.”

“That’s impossible,” says Miles not doubting his words.

“Oh really? Is that as impossible as a 14 year old kid turning into a sea creature? As impossible as sentient life better than humanity existing on Earth? Nothing is impossible Miles, nothing.”

“What makes you so certain now?” says Caitlin.

“My last dream, the one Miles woke me from. I, he was getting experimented on. They were exposing him to all manner of deadly diseases. I think they might have done something to him to make him look normal.”

Everyone just looked at him. Elliot himself was looking at him too. He was changing he knew that. Already he could feel elongated teeth start to poke at his lips. His hearing was getting a lot more sensitive as well. And he could swear he saw dust mites in the carpet.


Laura was driving in the Appalachian Mountains now, almost there to North Carolina. It might take another days drive or two. She looks back for a second and sees Jessie peacefully asleep in the backseat with Melvin in his arms. She smiles and strokes his hair then looks back.

She turns back to see a car pull up right in front of her. She yells and hits the brakes turning the car away from the other car. She comes to a screeching halt and pants from the rush of adrenaline.

“Mommy,” Jessie says waking up.

“Oh my god, Jessie are you ok?”

“Yeah, what happened?”

“Nothing honey, just go back to sleep,” Laura then gets out of the car and starts to look at the other car. It had stopped in the middle of the road but seemed undamaged as well.

“I am so sorry, I was just looking into the back seat to see if my son was ok,” she said walking towards the car to apologize.

“What are you crazy,” says the man as he steps out of his car. It was Rich.

“You are calling my driving crazy? After the drag race you pulled off in California?”

“Laura? Oh my god I had no idea it was you!” Rich says astounded. “You heading back from California?”

“Yeah, what are you doing out of Louisiana?”

“My brother told me to, why?”

Laura blinked for a second before remembering the condition he had. “Really? I was heading back to North Carolina to see how those kids were doing. That and I got Jessie back.”

“Really? How is he doing.”

“Good, so do you need a lift in my car or are you ok in your clunker?”

Laura had been able to get a good car with some of the assets Mr. Big had given them. However Rich was only able to get a 2nd hand one.

“Ah sure, Jessie won’t mind having a stranger in the car with him?”

“You’re not a stranger,” Laura says hoping into the car. “You might want to move the car off the road though.”

“Right, right.”


Elliot was tapping his foot across the table; he was trying to contemplate what to do. Miles was in a chair on the other side of the room leaning back with Nim on his lab.

<So what are you going to do? > asked Miles psionically. Caitlin was out trying to find other means of living before the hotel finds out about the hole in the wall.

<I don’t know, go to the facility and demand my memories back? I have no idea. I just want to figure out who and what I am. >

<You know you could have just told me, I wouldn’t have left you high and dry. >

Nim looks up at Miles, <Food please. >

Elliot laughed; it was funny how Nim acted like a human and a creature at the same time. <Nimster chow huh? >

<That, and a couple pounds of salt, > Miles added smilingly as well. <Might get some for me too. Same for you Elliot? >

<Nah, I am not in to salt like you two. However a couple pounds of sugar might do me some good. >

<Sugar? > Nim and Miles both asked.

<Yeah, anything that puts out energy like me is going to need a lot of ATP. >

They stopped their conversation when Caitlin entered the room. “Bad news guys, I couldn’t find another place to stay.”

“Oh well,” Miles says.

“However, I did find my dad and your family Miles,” Caitlin says and sits down on another chair. “They wanted to come over tonight, was it ok I told them where we were?”

“Yeah, sure I guess.”

“I might need some sun glasses,” Elliot says.

“Huh?” says Miles looking up.

“My eyes are stuck permanent like this, unlike yours Miles which turn off and on.”

“Ok, ok. Sun glasses it is, anything else?” Caitlin says annoyed.

“Hey, we don’t make you do everything because you’re a girl. Miles needs to stay in because Nim follows him around everywhere and I can’t be seen in public because the hospital might be looking for me.”

“How did you, I hate having psychic friends,” Caitlin says and walks out.

“I got to learn how to do that,” Miles says and gets up. Nim jumps to the floor and starts looking around for fish.

<Oh and the two creatures need food, > Elliot sent to Caitlin who was already down the hall.

“Don’t do that again!” Elliot smiled and both Nim and Miles turned their heads at hearing Caitlin shout out.

“Anyway, Nim might need live food. But we don’t you want anything?”

“I’ll take one of the cans of coke, a couple slices of bread, and the peanut butter.”

<Dude, don’t play around in my mind, > Miles says bringing back exactly what he asked for.

<I didn’t, I had a small midnight snack when I needed to use the bathroom. >


It was almost 7 o’clock now. Caitlin had returned hours before and helped set up a small dinner tray and clean the hotel up while Elliot went out to get some stuff. They had set up a small party platter with various snack foods and some real food. Although Miles had added a sushi platter as well, he was starting to get a real craving for fish.

Nim herself was waiting on the table by the platter, occasionally moving around to room or onto Miles lab. Caitlin was drinking a can of soda and watching a news report on the creatures in Louisiana. They were evacuating everyone now further in land and into the mountains.

Miles was tapping his foot against the table, having no need for the news report knowing how well the land invasion was going from 1st hand psychic knowledge. Occasionally he would react as a particularly strong psychic image came to mind.

They looked up as the heard walking outside. The door opens and Elliot walks in, in his new get up. He was wearing almost the exact outfit worn by Neo in the Matrix. Black sunglasses, black trench coat, black shirt, black pants, black shoes.

“I am sorry the oracle isn’t in yet,” Caitlin couldn’t help but crack the joke.

“Elliot, you are the one,” Miles said as well grinning.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Make your jokes. Just don’t expect me to lend to you any money later on,” he says taking his seat to the side of were Miles and Caitlin were sitting and the couch.

“Money? What money?” Caitlin asks intrigued.

Elliot smiles and reaches into his pocket and pulls out a big wad of cash. “I checked my bank accounts, most of I disagreeets were untouched. I still have nearly a mil left.”

“How the hell did you get a million dollars?” asked Miles stunned.

”You don’t want to know.”

“Are we consorting with a federal felon?”

“In which countries,” he smiles broader and opens a soda.

“Counties?” Miles and Caitlin say at nearly the exact same time.

“Sí senior,” he says in perfect Spanish.

“Ok, lets just wait for Miles’ parents to get here and hope they don’t think you are crazy.”

They continue to wait for a couple more minutes before they hear more footsteps at the door. They could hear some chatter from them as well.


“I wonder how Miles is doing without us,” his mom said. They were coming out of the elevator now.

“I am sure he is fine hon. I am just glad he wasn’t dead. I thought he drowned in those waters,” his father said.

“But what was that static thing that leapt out at you, I didn’t know static electricity could get that strong,” Savanna said. They were outside the door now.

“Should I knock?” the father asked.


The four of them hear knocking on the door. Miles gets up ready to open it but Elliot waves his hand for him to sit down. He smiles and concentrates on the knob and tries to turn it with his mind. However it wouldn’t move.

“What are you trying to do?” Miles asks as a confused look dropped over Elliot’s face.

“Never mind, answer the door. I thought I might have been able to open it with my mind.”

“Oh so being a telepath isn’t enough for you?” Miles says rolling his eyes and opening the door.

“Miles!” shouts all of them. His mother actually hugs him and once he gets out of that his father hugs him as well.

“We thought you drowned after you jumped off the boat. Don’t ever do something like that again,” his father said. He eventually let him go and Caitlin gave him a hug.

“Don’t you ever do that again,” Savanna also soon let him go and they all went in.

“You know Elliot, he was my friend that came over to help me with school work sometimes,” Elliot raised his hand in an off handed hello. “And this is Caitlin,” he says introducing them to her. She gets up and shakes their hands.

“So you’re the Caitlin who claimed my sons heart,” says the mother and hugs her too.

Caitlin blushes and sits back down. Soon after introductions Miles family sits on the couch. It was then that they noticed Nim by the serving platter.

”Is he safe?” asks his mother backing up slightly. Nim looks up and growls, because she didn’t use telepathy Elliot was clueless to what she said.

“She says you don’t act to good yourself.” Miles translates smiling.

“How could you possibly know what an animal says?” his dad looked confuse.

Nim growls again and gets up, she then runs over to Miles and gets up on his lab. “He says that you are the one that are animals. He is quite touchy when you insult him.”

“You are making this up,” says Savanna. His entire family was looking at him strangely.

“He isn’t,” says Elliot and finishes his soda.

“Oh and the wonderful Neo is going to convince us?” says his dad. He was getting quite angry at having jokes played on him.

“I swear, if one more person brings that up.” Elliot shook his head and chucked the can perfectly into the trashcan across the room. His reflexes and hand eye coordination were improving. “You should listen to your son. He knows a lot more about the current situation than you do.”

The dad glares at Elliot then returns to looking at Miles. “Can you explain this a little more?”

“Well,” Miles took a breath and Caitlin rubs his back. Nim puts her head against him and starts to purr to try and encourage him to go on as well. “Nim isn’t an animal. He can think as smart as a human and I have actually talked to him.”

“How do you talk to him?” asks Savanna.

“Well,” Miles looks over at Elliot. “Elliot can demonstrate it much better than me.”

<They have a telepathic bond, > Elliot said talking to his family. They all look around wildly. <Don’t worry; it is just I playing around in your mind. >

“Why can’t Miles do that instead of you?” the mother said.

“He is a weak telepath at the moment. He can only send his thoughts to other telepaths like Nim or me,” Elliot says trying to explain the physics of psionics in mundane terms.

“That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t come up to the surface after you dove in,” says the mother talking to Miles again. “And that static shock, Miles what is happening to you?”

Miles took a deep breath and Caitlin excused herself to get some sodas. In reality she was getting out of the line of fire. “You see, I am turning into what Nim is.”

“Miles that is impossible” says the mother then getting cut off my Elliot.

“Haven’t you heard of RNA viruses? Experimental genetic treatment? It is possible for the DNA in an organism to change.”

“You see,” Miles continues on as everyone was knocked off guard by Elliot. They made quite a combo, “when Nim healed me. When I was in the hospital, he somehow passed this thing into me. And ever since it was been changing me,” Miles then lets a breath out and looks down.

“This is a joke right? Tell me this is a joke,” his farther says.

“It isn’t,” Miles says and his eyes turn Nim. His entire family backs up and looks at him.

“This is nuts, next you’re going to tell us that he’s an alien,” Savanna says pointing at Elliot.

“Actually, you’re not to far off.” Elliot smiles as everyone turns towards him. He closes his eyes and takes of his glasses and puts them away. He opens his eyes and let them see his eyes.

“This cannot be happening,” Caitlin said. Everyone else was pretty much too stunned to answer.

It was then that more walking could be heard outside and knocking could be heard. Miles was about to get up but Elliot raises his hand again. “Trust me this time.”

“What is he doing?” asks Mr. Barnett.

“Elliot, you don’t have telekinetic pow-,” Miles closed his mouth as the doorknob turned and the door opened. Laura, Rich, and Jessie asleep in Laura’s arms were standing on the other side.

“Laura? Rich?” says Caitlin as she comes in again.

“Caitlin, Miles hi. Who is everyone else?”

“This is my family,” says Miles. “And I think you’ve met my friend over there?”

Rich and Laura look at Elliot and see his eyes, “Holy!” Then they look back and see Miles’ lizard eyes. “What the heck is going on?”

“Apparently my son is turning into one of those creatures, and he is some sort of alien,” says Mrs. Barnett with the stunned look still on her eyes.

“Not an alien, but I don’t know enough to say differently,” says Elliot taking another soda.

“This can’t be happening,” Rich said shaking his head.

“I’ll prove I am not human,” Elliot gets up.

“What’s with the Matrix outfit?” asks Laura.

Elliot rolls his eyes and puts his hand out. “Sword!” he says and his sword in hospital storage turned to energy and reappeared in his hands. “See? Could a normal human do that?”

Miles looks up at Elliot, “How did you know you could do that?”

Elliot scratches his head, “I don’t know really. Kind of like an instinct or a voice urging me too.”

“This is just getting to weird, lets try going back to the beginning,” Laura says trying to get everything under control before Miles’ parents die of shock.


“The latest reports say that the creatures’ numbers are not increasing as rapidly. If this continues they will become stable in the ecosystem. If they continue to kill humans off they may just replace us.” Kessler was staring through the window out to the large desert.

“The new equipment has arrived. It might take a while for training to finish but. I am taking it will be acceptable?” Lee was walking around the desk of the office Kessler was in.

“Yes, operation Beta is being put in place. It was silly of us thinking we could control the forces of nature so perfectly.” Kessler turned around and looked at Lee. “Of course there are those few exceptions.

Lee nodded, “Shall I go make sure the training commences smoothly?”

“Yes, report to me afterwards.” Kessler then looks back out of the dessert. This facility was put into existence years before, but he hoped he wouldn’t need to use it. His plans were falling behind.


A large Nim landed softly on the bottom of the ocean floor in front of a smaller Nim. <So is it as we thought? >

<Yes, he is awakening. We can sense him far away now. >

<Hmmm then our god is coming. How soon until our final preparations can proceed? >

<The attack is already happening in the swamps of one of the main land masses. >

<We must hurry. The god is angry with us, if we don’t please him by carrying out his will and destroy all of the humans he may turn on us. >

<I understand. I’ll tell them to move up the attack. >
=======================================================

[foster]

=======================================================
Chapter 11- Departing is such sweet sorrow


“OK, so you are turning into one after you were exposed to Mr. Big’s RNA enzyme?” asked Laura with a bewildered and confused look still on her face. Miles’ parents were still there, although they had much bigger confused looks on their face. Rich was sitting against a wall unable to ‘jump’ into the discussion because Laura had conned him into holding the sleeping Jessie.

“Pretty much,” says Elliot chugging back on what must have been his 10th can of soda.

“Yeah, it started happening after Nim healed me,” Miles said wondering how Elliot was drinking all of those sodas and not burping or getting a headache. He had to look back down after Nim let out a small sneeze, they had the thermostat low.

“Wait, you could tell Elliot that you were turning into a creature and you couldn’t tell your own family?” Mrs. Barnett said a little surprised that Miles would tell him first.

“Actually I never told him. He somehow figured it out, and for that matter how come you were at the school when you were hospitalized with severe wounds?” Miles turned towards Elliot along with everyone else.

“Along those lines, Jessie said he saw you. He said that you convinced him to hop into the back of the car,” Laura added blinking as well.

Elliot smiles and puts his sunglasses back on tired of the way their eyes kept staring at his. “I don’t have accurate memories of those times. I must have used a sort of projection power.”

“All the way across the country?” asks Laura skeptically.

“You must remember we are talking about energy limits, not physical limits. Light can go around the world many times in just one second.”

“Ok, that still doesn’t explain how you knew about me changing,” Miles says now interrupting.

“Oh that, well it wasn’t that hard. Your attitude was changing and you and Nim clicked a lot better,” he finished his drink and TKed the can into the trash. He pulls another out.

“Isn’t that enough soda for one night?” asked Mrs. Barnett. Her parental instincts kicking in.

“For a normal human yes. But my body burns through sugars much faster than a normal one,” he focuses on the can and it pops open. “And it is good practice, after all. I might one day be able to affect the blood in someone’s body if I practice enough.”

“On that disturbing thought, you figured out I was changing just by my attitude?”

“Well it didn’t hurt having you under constant surveillance,” he takes a sip of his drink.

“You were watching me?” Miles blinks.

“Only in public areas, and that isn’t against the law,” he smiles and takes another sip.


It was 10 o’clock night now. Laura and Jessie were sleeping in one of the beds with Caitlin sleeping in the other. Rich and Elliot had taken to the floor and left the couch to Miles and Nim. His family had left after several hours of discussion.

<How are you feeling tonight? > asks Nim to Miles. She was curled up on his chest gently purring as he stroked her along the base of her frill.

<OK, even though my family thinks I am a freak of nature, > he stops stroking her. Nim then looks up and places her head just under Miles’ chin.

<It isn’t that bad, at least you will have me, Caitlin, and Elliot by your side.”

<Yeah, I guess, > Miles smiles and breaths out in a sigh of relief.

<Can’t you two whisper telepathically? > Elliot sent angrily throwing a pillow barely missing Nim and hitting Miles in the leg. Nim lunched the pillow back with her tail as Elliot caught it.

<Sorry Elliot, > Miles smiled and pushed Nim playfully for what she did. She purrs a little and rubs her head against his hand.

<You know Miles, there is a story that I heard while I was with my siblings. It might help us get to sleep. >

<Sure, why not, > Miles settles into his pillow and Nim does too as she tries to remember the story.

<It goes something like this. >


The world is old, far older than any of us can imagine. For it’s entire life span the world has gone through cycles, repeating over and over. This includes the animals that lived on it. Every so millinia the life on the planet gets tipped over. Animals on top die off and the little animals at the bottom get a chance to rise to greatness.

There was however one person who was immune to the cycles of nature. He survived throughout the ages and watched. Watched as things changed and changed and gained knowledge. He became a god, learning and growing throughout the ages.

He grew so old that he forgot his name, so we called him the provider. He taught the master races of each era, and they in turn worshiped him. And whenever they stopped worshiping him and forgot him, he would leave them. Shortly after they would destroy themselves.

It was because of this that some called him the destroyer, because his leaving marked an age of destruction.

However in our current era, the main race defied the laws of nature. They started to force nature to fit their needs instead of the true way of adapting to nature. The provider was still looking out over them because some still worshiped him. But when he asked them to renounce what they were doing and they turned on him.

So he abandoned that area and started looking out for the other humans. Shortly afterwards a plaque ran through the people who had renounced him. However they survived, and started to spread outwards again.

He continued to look out for those who still believed in him but as the people that renounced him spread the people who still believed in him were killed off or were changed to their ways. Some cases even enslaved. He was unable to save them because the laws of nature allow for non-indigenous animals to take over and dominate other animals.

Eventually these animals grew, started learning the laws of nature themselves but never following it. They started to meddle with nature itself. And because of this they reached a level of knowledge not known by any other animals. The knowledge of how to destroy themselves, something they put to full use.

It was the land dwellers ambition to be better, their greed, their lust, their anger that both fueled them and lead to them destroying themselves. However for some reason at the pinnacle of them destroying themselves they started uniting.

However their came a person just before this time whose ambition was practically high. He wanted to become a god himself just like the provider. In order to do so however he needed to have the power and blood of a god.

So he ventured near the top of the world to find a gift the provider had given to a by gone era. Because it was a gift from the gods it remained untouched when he find it. He took this gift and used it for himself.

However he wanted more, he wanted not only to be a near-god. He wanted to be the god. So he would imitate the provider and recreate the world. However when the provider found out he considered it the ultimate breach of the laws of nature. He was going to initiate a complete and final destruction.

When the provider did come the land dweller’s ambition got the better of him again. He stole from the provider, and took his very blood. He used this blood to create the instruments of his destruction. A race that would obey his every will.

This angered the great god, and he swore revenge. However instead of destroying the land dweller he gave his tools a will of their own. He gave them intelligence and wisdom. The ability to learn and grow. And in his moment of weakness the land dweller, known as the creator.

He buried the provider so that he would never be seen again.


Miles was asleep now, snoring softly as his chest rose and fell slowly. Nim purred and curled up under the covers that Caitlin had given them. She closes her eyes and falls asleep and joins Miles in slumber.

However Elliot was wide-awake. He had listened in on the story, and he couldn’t hope to sleep now. His mind was churning questions as memories bubbled just below his mind. He shakes his head and forces his mind into meditation. Shortly after he fell asleep.


Miles woke up slowly to hear the sound of someone packing. He looks up to see Elliot putting food and clothing into a backpack. He wasn’t paying attention to anything else and the sun was just now rising.

“Elliot, what are you doing?” he says leaning up. Nim falls off and wakes up with a start.

“Packing, I am going to demand my memories back from Iderdex,” he didn’t even look up. He was almost done packing.

“You’re just going to leave like that?” Miles says slowly getting up.

“No choice,” he stops and looks at Miles now. “I have to Miles, you have Nim that you have to protect and look out for. I have to find my memories, it is what I am striving for Miles.”

Miles looks confused not understanding, “Think Miles. What would be do if you couldn’t remember your name, your family. What if you couldn’t remember Nim?”

Miles tried to contemplate what his life would be like without Nim. Sure he cared for Caitlin but his feelings of Nim were deeper yet different. If Caitlin died he would remorse for years maybe, but if Nim died he would never recover. He just couldn’t explain it, maybe it was like the love a parent had for a child? Could that be how he loved Nim? He just couldn’t tell right now.

“You see what I mean, the people that I loved and knew might still be looking for me. I might have friends, family, I can’t remember a single one of them. If I recover my memories I can go see them.”

“Ok, but be careful. Are you planning on leaving a note?”

“Yes, I put it on the table,” he finishes packing the backpack and zips it up. Putting it onto his back. He turns around and looks back at Miles, “Don’t worry Miles. You’ll see me again. I promise you that.”

He turns back and walks out. As the door closes Caitlin comes out barely awake. “Hey Miles, were is Elliot going?”

“He is going to get his memories back,” he says handing her the note. She quickly wake up reading it and looks up at Miles.

“You let him go get himself killed? I thought he was your friend?”

“He is, that is why I am letting him go.”

<Like you let me go back into the oceans? > asked Nim looking out the still open door.

<Yes, > Miles says and picks her up. <Just like that. >

Caitlin saw the look on Miles face and hugs both him and Nim, “Don’t worry. You three really did have a connection didn’t you?”

“He was the only other person besides Nim who could speak with his mind. In some ways I was hoping he could teach me how to refine my own abilities.”

“Look he will be fine, just as Nim was fine right?”

“Actually Nim was captured by a fisherman and beaten before he escaped,” Miles says now worried.

“Oops.”


“So Mr. Smith, you want a ticket to Mongolia?” it was a clerk at an airport. He had already gotten a new name and identity. But he was having a harder time adjusting to the name. He never had taken a name for as long as he did and he never made any friends with it either.

“Yes, I have some family that moved out of China there. I wanted to go with them. The mountains there will keep us safe from the tidal waves and creatures.”

“OK, it might be hard to get a seat. Everyone is trying to get out of the country-,” he stopped when Elliot took 5 grand out of his pocket and onto the counter. The clerk looks back and forth and took the money. “I might be able to get you something by tomorrow.”

“I thought so,” he smiles and waits as he hands him a ticket.


It was a day since Elliot had left, Caitlin and Laura had found a house for sale that they could get with some money Elliot had left. Mr. Big’s bank account had been shut down by Iderdex finally. They were packing everything up.

“This place has a pool right,” he says picking up two very heavy bags. He was getting a lot stronger now. Not as strong as Elliot though, the hole was still there.

“Yeah, plenty of space for Nim to swim in,” Caitlin says picking up a large bag herself.

“I still don’t know how I feel about having a creature living in the same house as me,” says Rich taking two bags as well.

“Rich, just think of it as research. We can watch how Nim acts and behaves,” Laura says holding Jessie’s hand.

“Well ok. But if it hurts anyone, I am personally going to get rid of it,” Rich says and Nim in response jumps up onto his head forcing him to the couch. “Get it off of me! It is trying to eat me!”

Everyone laughs as they see that Nim is just licking Rich on the face. He eventually stops screaming and moving and looks up as Nim smiles and hops back over to Miles.

<Something like that? >

<Yep, you sure surprised him,” Miles reaches down and scratches Nim under the chin. She smiles and lets out some sounds of joy and a purr. “So how far from the new shoreline is this house?”

“Not far, only a few minutes drive. That’s one of the reasons they wanted to get rid of it, incase of another tsunami or a creature attack like the one in Louisiana,” says Laura walking out with Jessie.

“The marine vertebrates aren’t creatures. They’re funny like Nim,” Jessie says and Laura smiles and looks over to Nim. It was amazing how intelligent Nim was.

“So how are we going to keep it concealed? We can’t just take it for a walk,” says Rick wiping his face.

“His name is Nim. He’s smarter than you so I wouldn’t talk down against him,” Miles says and picks Nim up. She was getting big, and it looked like someone picking up a big cat or medium sized dog.

“When a creature becomes smarter than me I will be the first to admit it,” Rich says heading out the door as well. Caitlin sticks behind and goes out with Miles.

“That shouldn’t be to hard to accomplish,” he whispers to Caitlin and Nim. “After all, no one grows up wanting to be an insurance salesmen.”

Both Nim and Caitlin smile, Elliot had left given Miles an interesting assortment of information before he left. All locked up in his mind. They reach the door and Miles covers Nim in a jacket and a blanket that Caitlin drapes over him. Nim stayed quit but kept conversing with Miles telepathically.


Amazing, it had only been a couple of days and already Elliot had traces the entire path of Kessler’s expedition. It helped that he could climb so well and that he was by himself. Of course being able to go on without food and drink for days also helped. He was wondering why he didn’t feel the least bit thirsty.

He grabs onto the ridge of what must have been the 100th cliff he scaled and pulled himself up. He looked on to see the basin of a huge crater in front of him. This was definitely the same crater, there weren’t many in Mongolia after all.

He easily pulls himself up and dusts off his hands. He was covered in sand and dirt from head to toe. He didn’t even sleep for the entire trip and let he barely felt sleepy at all. It was like he was sustaining his body some other way, or that his body could go through all this without sustaining.

He blinks for a few seconds and decides to rest for a little bit. After all, he looked down and saw how much he traveled. Of course it would be a lot easier if he could fly like the kid in his dreams. And it would have been a lot cleaner.

He lies down and closes his eyes, instantly falling asleep. His body moving around in sleep to get comfy and yet his right hand grabbed the hilt of the sword like instinct.


It was funny how things changed. Or at least that was the thought the kid had. It was the same winged kid, looking only two years older but having a much more wise and experienced feel to him.

He also looked slightly different; his ears were pointed now, like an elf’s. His fingers were more delicate and yet still strong, the nails slightly pointed. His teeth were sharper as well, like those of a cat. His canines were particularly larger and sharper. But his eyes were different the most.

They were fractured and shattered, like the eyes Elliot had now. The eyes were also the same copper color that Elliot’s eyes were like now.

“Master Icarus,” came the voice of a young rebellion soldier. The winged kid lowers his glass of water to the counter. Strange having water in a bar but he hated the taste of alcohol and he couldn’t get drunk.

“What is it?” he turned towards the soldier. He was dressed in full armor and still carried his energy rifle.

“Base says that the Bolkerian fleet is starting to move, we have a clear shot and this galaxy’s supply base.”

Icarus smiles, it was an opportunity he had waited a century for. The Bolkerians had been fighting the Alliance of planets in this galaxy for five centuries now, longer than any planet system or alliance had. Although compared to there fighting the resistance has been fighting for 100,000 years now.

“Get to stealth bombers prepared, a squadron of stealth fighters for each bomber, and a fleet of blaster cruisers to knock on the door. If we can take out this supply base their supply route to this galaxy will be disrupted for years.”

The soldier nodded and ran off. Immediately talk was circulating around the tavern, soon transmissions would cross the expanse between planets to tell loved ones. After that communication would spread across the intergalactic gulf to the seven other galaxies under the Bolkerian’s control. Morale would boost and the people of the resistance would have more offspring. More soldiers to fight, we would have a new war.

He finishes his drink and walks out side. The sunlight was strong, most humanoids could not live under the infrared and ultraviolet radiation. But that is what you get when the capital of the Andromeda Galaxy’s resistance was a planet just outside the corona of a blue star.


It had only been a couple of minutes driving in the car. Laura was driving while Rich was drumming his hands against the hand rest. Laura didn’t trust Rich to drive after the mad dash in California. Miles and Caitlin were in the backseat with Jessie in the middle. Nim hung out on Miles’ lab, Jessie actually patted Nim. Even though Laura was kind of worried.

“How big is the house,” Jessie asked.

“Bigger than your dads house,” Laura asks as they start to turn into the drive way. The house had two stories an a attic and was huge. They never would have been able to buy it if it wasn’t for the money Elliot had left them.

“OK, you know the rules guys. The master bedroom goes to Laura. The main guest bedroom goes to me. Free for all on the last rooms,” Rich says as Laura looks at him in surprise. Within seconds Nim had opened the doors by herself and ran into the house, Miles actually let Jessie out and then ran out.

Within the chaos of the few minutes Nim had secured a room for Miles and her. Caitlin had gotten the room right across from his and Jessie got the room next to Laura’s. Miles actually fell into the bed, the people who had it before left all the furniture.

Nim hops on top of Miles and scratches her ears, <Isn’t this called a dog pile? >

<You need more than one person for a dog pile. Anyway, I can finally take a shower. After days, you stay here Nim, > Miles slowly gets up and finds that he took a room with the private bathroom.

It was after he took a shower and got dressed in clean clothes that he realized something, he had a lump growing near the end of his spine. “What? I must be growing a tail now.”

He felt around his ears and could feel lumps growing there too. He wondered how fast these features would grow on him, he also thought about how he looked with them.
=======================================================

[foster]

=======================================================
Chapter 12- Another mob and an unknown past


Elliot opened his eyes slowly. He was sleeping two feet from a possibly hundred-foot fall. Of course he doubted he would die from a fall, for some reason he seemed impervious to danger. He tried to see what a knife would do to him and it had trouble cutting into the outer layers of his skin.

He gets up and looks down, and whistles. It was a long way down; he kicks a rock over and watched as it bounces down the hills and valleys. He could see for miles clearly, his eyes were so advanced now.

He turns around and starts to walk to the edge of the crater. It was then that his suspicions about this being the crater were confirmed. The entire crater was covered with scorch marks. Iderdex had eliminated any trace of the flower being here.

He starts to walk down the crater; it was going to take awhile. He occupied his thoughts with his latest dream. If they were memories, they just got weirder.


“OK, in a few minutes I’ll treat you all to Cajun cooking, Louisiana style,” Rich was cooking in the kitchen with Laura helping out to the side.

“I hope you don’t mind if me and Nim add a lot of salt to it,” Miles sat in his seat and Nim hops up next to him. Laura places a plate for both of them.

“Nah, use all the salt you need. Personally, just save some for everyone else,” Rich places one of the big containers of salt near them and goes back into the kitchen. “Food will be ready in one minute.”

“So the both of you need salt?” Laura asks sitting down. Shortly afterwards Jessie and Caitlin join them.

“Yeah, my friend Elliot said it has to do with out ability to zap stuff,” Miles eyes the food as Rich puts it on his plate. It looked more like Chinese food than Cajun food.

“Laura suggested the rice, said it would make it more filling,” Rich sets down next to Laura. “So who wants to do grace?”


“The last time I said it, it didn’t go over so well,” Miles said recalling the time he messed up grace.

“I don’t have the best luck with grace either,” says Caitlin.

“Jessie and I usually don’t do grace,” says Laura. They all turn to Rich.

“Ok, I’ll do it then.” Rich puts his hands in grace and everyone, including Nim, does the same. Of course Nim couldn’t stand while doing it and was lying on her back doing it. “Heavenly father we give you thanks for blessing us with this heavenly bounty. We also offer our thanks to you for giving us sanctuary in your church from the deadly tidal wave. Amen.”

“Amen,” they all say and dig in. The food was quite good.


Elliot slides the final distance to the bottom of the crater. It was huge, but smooth as well. And the bottom was filled with rubble. He walks to the center of the crater and looks up to the night sky, how long did it take him to get down the crater.

For that matter he could have sworn it was still day when he reached the bottom, this made no sense. The laws of physics don’t get thrown out the door like that.

<They do when mystical things happen,> he didn’t know were that thought came from. But it was familiar; it felt like that instinct that came over him when he was trying to think of what to do next.

<Yes, it was me who has been guiding you,> came the thought again. He blinks and tries to trace the thought trying to find the person sending it but the trail led straight to him.

<Are you my subconscious?> Elliot sent back. He was still confused over why the thought would be so strong now.

<No, but I am apart of you. I am you, in a way of speaking.>

<I don’t get it.>

<Think of a clone, I am you but not you. I have your thoughts and memories, personality and morals, but I have my own separate mind.>

<This makes no sense, where are you?>

<I am closer than you think,> Elliot blinked. Closer than he thought? In his own mind maybe, a split personality disorder? Then a sudden insight of reason got a hold of him. He drew his sword out, the normally dark green blade was now glowing a bright copper.

<Yes, you figured it out,> he could feel the sword’s energies now. They were exactly like his own.

<How?>

<Easy, you have wielded me in battle for centuries Elliot. For all those years you channeled your energies through me and around me, it was only a matter of time before spare energy from you built up within me. In short your mind was copied into me.>

<Wait, centuries? How can I be centuries old?>

<Actually you a more along the lines of 100,000 years old. You actually had a friendship with a family of dragons going down 10 generations, that is how old you are.>

<I, outlived a dragon?>

<10 dragon generations to be exact. Is it really that hard to believe?>

<Yes.>

<I awaken the memories within you, showing you the time you were the leader of the Andromeda Resistance. And still you can’t believe it?>

<But how, the image of the younger me was in modern day Charleston.>

<Modern Day Charleston was 100,000 years ago where you are from.>

<What!>

<You have the knowledge of inter and Tran dimensional physics locked in your brain and you find it hard to believe that you are not from an alternate universe.>

<I don’t know-,> he was cut off as knowledge and equations of advanced physics flowed into his head. He could picture the model of how the universes fit together. And then the knowledge flowed out of his head.

<Your brain is still too human to process all this information. You will need to wait as you other side takes over.>

<My other side? What do you mean?>

<You will find out soon, but first. We need to retrieve the other sword.>

<Other sword?>

<Yes, you always dreamed of having two swords. The swords are near indestructible but they can still be broken.>

<So where is this other sword?>

<Scattered in this crater.>

Why would it be in a crater? Elliot blinked at that, was this a volcano or an asteroid impact? If it was a volcano then it existed hundreds of miles from any hot spots, so it had to be a meteor impact. If it was a meteor impact the sword either had to be resting here when it hit or in the actual meteor.

And since he had to feeling he would never let the swords 2 feet away from him willingly he knew he had to have been with the sword when it shattered. The thing is, did you want to have lived through a direct hit from a meteor or have BEEN the meteor.

<Hello, sword to Elliot. Come in Elliot. Look I need you to channel your energies to pull the other sword back together. Otherwise the parts will never fuse together.>

<Ok, how?>

<I can’t believe you forgot this! Oh sure, psionics come to you so easily but when it comes to manipulating the force of the universe you can’t remember a thing?>

<What?>

<You don’t even remember you know how to do this? Oh great. Oh well, your semi-human cells should be able to handle the stress.>

<Semi-human?>

<Yep, besides the fact that you have creature RNA enzymes that keep reducing the number of your human genes.>

<What?>

<Oh you didn’t know? The reason your abilities are manifesting is because the human side of you that repressed your powers is slowly being removed.>

<But what is this other side of me you keep talking about!>

<I told you, all in good time.>

<Why can’t you tell me now?>

<Because you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.>

<You already told me that I am 1/10 of a million years old, I can somehow harness the forces of the universe, and what I am is going to freak me out?>

<Yep.>

<I hate you.>

<I do have your personality remember.>

<Then I hate myself too.>


Miles woke up several days later. He was starting to get used to this new life. Rich and Laura were nice, even if they didn’t really trust Nim as a full human yet. But still it was nice. The only thing he really had to worry about was what happened to Elliot.
‘
It was after he fully woke up that he heard shouting from the outside. Nim was looking from the window but in such a way to make her unable to be seen from outside. Miles gets up and looks out the window to see another riot.

“Not again,” he looks down at Nim as she looks up.

<Do humans always fear change?>

<Most of the time,> Miles then runs down the stairs to see Laura and Rich arguing about what to do.

“What’s going on?” Miles asks as Nim follows right behind him.

“Somehow they found out about Nim being here,” Laura says as she turns back to see a waking Jessie. She runs over and covers his ears so that he couldn’t hear the things they were shouting outside.

“Miles what is going on?” Caitlin says coming down still in her nightgown.

“They have found out about me and Nim,” Miles says and runs up stairs. He quickly puts together his backpack of things and jumps down the stairs. Everyone was looking at him.

“Where are you going?” asks Rich seeing Miles.

“The only way they will leave you all alone is if I go and take them with me. They only have a vendetta against me and Nim.”

“This is crazy, you can’t go face a mob alone.”

“I am not going to face them, I am going to run from them. All I have to do is get into the water and I can out swim them easily.

“Miles,” Caitlin says as Miles turns around. She runs forward and hugs him and they kiss. “Be careful Miles.”

They all nodded and said their good byes and the creature duo sneak out the back of the house. They were almost out of the property when he hears a bullet crash into the ground near him. He turns around and falls down tripping over his own legs.

He looks up to see the open end of a shotgun 6 inches from his face. Miles looks over to hear Nim growling trying to get the hunters attention. Miles closes his eyes as he hears the person [censored] the gun…
=======================================================

[foster]

=======================================================
Chapter 13- False Angels


Elliot had his hands open in front of him, his mind in a meditative state. He was concentrating and clearing his mind at the same time, allowing both instinct and knowledge to coincide. It was weird, and yet invigorating.

His thoughts drift to a view of Earth in space, the recently flooded areas could clearly be seen. However he saw areas of red emanating south of Asia. His view closed in and he saw large creatures digging into the crust, it was only inches away from causing a large Earthquake.

The resulting tsunami would make the Sri Lanka incident look like kitty kibble. It was going to be a 9.8 Earthquake. 60 times more powerful than the Earthquake that caused the incident in the Atlantic coast. The tidal wave would reach out from the Bay of Bengal and reach the east hitting China, Japan, Korea and even some of Russia. West it would actually reach the end of the Red Sea.

Then another area of red in the Mediterranean Sea. The creatures were digging there too, this time resulting in a 9.1 quake that would rush outwards, even reaching into the Dead Sea. The wave would head out of the Gibraltar Straight, although weakened it would plague the European coast line.

He zooms out again. He was both amazed and surprised that he knew so much. He gives himself a mental shake and sees another rippling wave along the world. This time not red like the others, it was a much more personal green color. He zooms in here to see his friend on the receiving end of a shotgun.

He was amazed the emotions he felt, Miles was the first friend he could remember making. And if his first friend was going to die then the people responsible were going to die as well. But who says he needs to die at all?

He smiles in his meditative state. Or sent the signal too, his mind was thinking so much faster in this state that his body was lagging behind. He focuses instinctively and decides to help out his friend.


Miles tries to back up but he hits another end of a gun. He looks back to see another person holding his gun towards him. And every second more people seemed to be coming out of nowhere. His eyes widened and turned lizard because of his fear.

“Look at him, he isn’t human,” said one shining a flashlight in his eyes. His eyes quickly adjusted allowing him to see the person with the flashlight being Greg’s dad.

“Best to put his life and the life of his creature out right here and now.”

Miles looked around frightened, he was going to have to hurt someone. And even then he might not make it out alive. He saw as the person in front of him started to pull back on the trigger.

Miles closed his eyes and Nim hissed ready to bounce on the person. When all of a sudden the guy in front of him puts the gun aside and drops it onto the floor.

“What are you doing? Kill him,” Greg’s father said looking towards him. The person who held the gun put his right hand into a fist. He raises it and Greg thinks that he was about to hit Miles. “Good, make his pain last more.”

The man then swings his fist, right into his gut. He knocks out his own breath and falls to the ground.

“What just happened?” Greg’s dad asked stunned. He looks over at the person behind Miles holding the rifle and then back down to Miles. “He must have some sort of mind control, shoot him now!”

The other person raised his gun ready to shoot when suddenly the gun went flying out of his hand with hundreds of pounds of force. The force of the throw sent the person flying 20ft backwards and landing in a soft patch of earth.

“What the,” Greg’s dad looks down at Miles who also seemed to be confused. He tries to get the gun but he was kicked with the force of a horse and sent flying as well.


Elliot smiled, he was doing good work so far. But he needed to do something more, already people were getting closer and if anyone got one good shot in Miles could be dead. He needed to do something quick. And then something he knew he couldn’t do with normal psionics appeared in his mind.

It was funny how in this trance he seemed to know so much. And be able to reach out so far to excrete his influence. In a split second he had figured out what to do. He liked the idea so much, it was perfect. Now time to carry it through.


“Try as you might you are going to die here heathen,” Greg’s dad says slowly getting up. Shortly afterwards he threw up from the force of the impact into his stomach.

Miles tried to get up and run but there were too many of them and they hit him in the back of the head with one of their guns. He falls forward and tries to get up again when someone else hits him in the back. He could hear Nim growling and tried to turn his head to see Nim jump on one, biting into his shoulder the person fell to the ground. Even though Miles body was healing itself he was still dazed from the concussion he received.

<Miles, are you two still ok?> it was Elliot’s mental voice. He must be nearby.

<Yes, for now. Get out of here, they will come after you too.>

He could see Elliot smiling in his head. <Don’t worry, I am going to use their faith against them,> that left Miles puzzling over what to do.


Elliot moves his awareness to the top of the clouds over Miles. He knew exactly what to do and how to do it. And if it worked they might start following Miles instead of hurting him.

He focused on the particles of air and started to pull them together to form chemical reactions. Oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, all started to combine. The process created light that flowed downwards like a ray of sunlight onto Miles.


Somebody had hit Nim pretty hard in the hind legs. She still wasn’t that invulnerable yet and while her skin would be hard to puncture impacts could still break bones like what had just happened to her. Miles had been able to get a hold of her and had her in his lap as she healed rapidly. He was sitting up now and they were gathered in a circle around him.

The person you took over as leader of the mob stepped forward and raised his rifle to Elliot’s forehead. The muzzle was pressed against his skin. “You shall burn in hell with your creature boy.”

Miles closed his eyes hoping and praying for Elliot or someone to save them. The leader started to pull back on the trigger when a ray of light encompassed Miles. “What the? What is this?” everyone was awe struck at the beam of sunlight.

“It must be god’s will,” said one who was obviously deeply religious. He crossed his heart and started to pray.

“You numskulls, this is just some sort of trick of these creatures,” the new leader said as he looked back and saw something that he wouldn’t be able to explain.


After the light was made and continuing to be made as the chemical reaction spread he went down to Miles. One of them had a gun near Miles and was turning around to look and shoot. Unfortunately for him, he saw more than he wanted.

Elliot focused on manipulating the light this time, the very waves of energy and photons that raced toward the ground warming Miles. He pulled them together, forced them to take a solid composition by binding them together with spontaneously created gluons. In short he was creating a solid hologram.

At first the only features able to be detected were faint lines of light that out lined wings and a humanoid appearance. The wings enfolded Miles and Nim in front of the image. The leader drops his gun as features start to get added. Facial features, color, a tail, clothes. In a few seconds he had a realistic hologram of him with white angel wings (as the winged kid in his dreams had) and a monkey tail. He had sage like clothes on.

<Children, why do you hurt the son of god?> Elliot sent out with his mind. He knew it might be going over the edge but he had to make sure they would be ok.

“What do you mean?” the leader said. Everyone else who wasn’t praying or on his or her knees groveling said similar things.

<Children, god has sent his son to Earth again. Humans are in a time of need; you are about to destroy yourselves. God doesn’t wish his children harm, so he created the creatures to create another flood, to drown the world. Those who survived this flood would be pure and the human race would begin again like in the story of Noah.>

They were all stunned. Waiting for him to go on.

<God sent his son back to Earth, to unite the remaining humans with the creatures. Together the two races would embark on a new Earth. Hopefully this time free of sin.>

<Aren’t you going overboard?> Miles sent.

<Do you want to stay alive?> he sent back privately to Miles.

Most of the people were mumbling their prayers now or groveling for forgiveness. “We’re sorry! We didn’t know! We thought that he was a servant of Satan!” the leader said throwing his gun far away.

<Just like the Jews did to him before? Don’t worry, god loves you all and will let you live. But you must promise never to harm young Miles again and you must help him unify humans and creatures together.>

“Yes, anything all mighty angel!”

<And you must not tell anyone of what you have seen today, doing so would hurt his ability to fulfill his destiny. You must only say that god led you away from killing him and gave you revelations that he was working for him.>

“Yes your mighty angel. I shall swear if need be. Just tell me your name to swear by.>

He had to think of that one, he needed an angel name. Of course it came quickly, it would link him to be an ancient angel. Of course living 100,000 years made him ancient; he would have lived around the time the Neanderthals existed. That put things in perspective.

<I am the angel Icarus. Although my body fell to the sea thousands of years ago my spirit was lifted up by god to become an angel.>


Elliot exited his meditative stance and collapsed backwards. While he didn’t feel exhaustion while in the trance once he came out it came full force. He had used most of his energy to pull off the tricks he did.

<Easy big guy, I told you to use your powers not over do it. And you didn’t get around to fixing the other sword.>

Elliot was to exhausted to send a message back. But the sword was capable of reading the back of his mind.

<I know, you didn’t have a choice but to help your friend. Congratulations on using those abilities, you’re still within the psionic category but that is at the fringes of it. Maybe tomorrow we can refine your other abilities.>

“Other what?” he said softly.

<Of course, you have a lot more to relearn.>

“Couldn’t it be possible I gave up my memories because I was too powerful?” he said tiredly wanting the sword to leave him alone. Much to his surprise the sword shut it’s trap after he said that.


“You heard about the incident over North Carolina?” asks Lee. It had been a couple days now, the soldiers practicing in the dessert below were getting good.

“Yes, oxygen started to ionize in the upper atmosphere and bond together into ozone. I must admit I didn’t know such a process could produce light,” Kessler said taking a document from Lee.

“Spectro-analysis of the particles show that not only has ozone formed. But the oxygen also linked together in rings of 4-5 temporarily before being broken down to ozone.”

Kessler starts looking over the report, “Interesting. What news of the creature’s continued assault on the humans?”

“Quakes in the Mediterranean and the bay of Bengal. Widespread damage. We are picking up chatter that the nations of humans might be allying themselves together against the creatures.”

“That would only make them more easily manipulated. Good Lee, good. I want you to head to North Carolina and see if there is any other reason for the reaction we saw.”

“Yes sir,” he moves off out of the door. Kessler continues to look out the window.

“So much for losing your powers Icarus. It looks like you are fighting against humans again. Or are there more personal reasons for your actions? Could you be defending a friend,” Kessler smiled. The problem was an intriguing one alright. He would enjoy thinking of the answer.


“Miles! You’re ok!” Caitlin came running out and hugged him. Everyone had left a few minutes before and were long gone.

“Yes I am ok. But I am still going.”

“Why?”

“I have to Caitlin. If I don’t more people will try to come get me. Don’t worry I am not saying good by forever I am just saying I need to go until things cool off.”

Caitlin starts to cry and nods her head. “I understand, please be careful Miles.”

“I will be.”
=======================================================

[foster]

=======================================================
Chapter 14- Sword re-forged


The attack was a success, in fact more than a success. Not only were they able to destroy the main facilities they were able to take over all of the supplies. But that wasn’t the biggest victory, the biggest victory was that they took the planet. Shortly after the sneak attack was a success the council sent an armada of ships, they took the relatively undefended system.

That was a first in the entire history of the resistance, they had taken a system out from Bolkerian control. But that wasn’t the biggest victory in Icarus’ mind.

He was sitting by a Bolkerian civilian in a hospital. He was only six years old and lied on his bed snoozing peacefully in what must have been the first night with his own dreams. Bolkerians used to go under another name, but that was thousands of years ago. Before then they were called humans.

But they were no longer humans, around the time the Bolkerian Empire was founded they changed their DNA to change their brains. It was an organ designed to grant psionic abilities to them. To allow them to take back Earth after they had lost the upper hand. But their leader betrayed them and used to organ to turn them into a hive entirely under his control.

He shuddered and pushed those memories away. He didn’t want to remember those days. The days he was fighting for the E.O.E., the days he had so many friends, the days when he was blessed with ignorance.

“Where am I?” the boy said opening his eyes slowly. He was still dazed from the drugs in his system.

“Medical bay, welcome to the resistance,” Icarus said smiling. The kid came running to him with a neuro-sword. He was able to knock the sword out of his hand and stun him with his pistol. He was now here after a couple hours surgery to remove the organ in his brain. The RNA virus would be put into him later to remove that organ from his DNA so he could have free children.

“The voices in my head are gone, are they all dead?” the kid asked looking over at Icarus. He smiled looking at his funny ears and wings. He looked sort of like a kitty to him.

“No, they are still alive. Your friends are alive as well and are going to be death to the voices.”

“Good, I hated those voices. They were trying to tell me what to do, trying to rule my life. My few friends and I could ignore and push them out of our head sometimes.”

Icarus smiled. He had a strong mental defense. He knew that some kids with their controller organs removed developed new brain mass and became psychic. He had no doubt this kid would do that.

“But I hated the images. The voice tried to make us see disgusting things and thoughts. We weren’t always able to make those go away,” the kid was crying softly now.

“What type of images were they?” Icarus says bending down to the kid.

“One time, the voice showed how they turned my parents into soldiers. How they were injected with DNA changing viruses and had machines put into them and turned them into monsters.”

Icarus closed his eyes; the controller of the Bolkerians enjoyed torturing these kids. It weakened their mental defenses and made them easier to control. The kid was crying heavily now, Icarus could see the thoughts going through his head. “I need to you focus on those memories. I’ll help you forget them.”

The kid opens his eyes and looks at Icarus. “You’ll take these images from my head?”

“Yes, but you’ll keep the memories of your friends and the love your parents were able to sneak to you.”

The kid closed his eyes and concentrated, “please do it.”

Icarus took his hand and placed it on the boy’s forehead, he closed his eyes and focused. He projected himself into the young boy’s mind and started deleting the memories he wanted gone from his mind, removing them. Even at the speed of thought it took him thirty seconds to remove them all.

He left his mind and returned to his own mind. Even though he removed the memories from the kid the memories would live on in him. That was the price he paid for helping these people out. He had an entire section of his mind dedicated to those memories and he slowly removed those from his mind.

“Thank you, what is your name?”

“My name is Icarus, I am the leader of the resistance.”

“Really? The leader? Why are you fighting and why are you here looking after me.”

“Because I can’t stand to sit back and let people die. I need to try and help them live, and I am helping you because I am the one who stunned you. Also, you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago.”

“Really? Gee thanks. I am feeling tired now, is that normal?”

“Yes, you went under brain surgery. I’ll see you tomorrow, I’ll try and find you a good family that you can raise you.”

“Thank you, Icarus,” the kid dozed off in peaceful sleep. At least these dreams would be peaceful, free of Bolkerian influences.


Elliot woke up in day now. The sword must have let loose it’s influence of light now. He got up and found he had dropped it letting it sink into the earth. He picked it up and it talked to him.

<Did you like that memory?>

<Yes, who was that boy?>

<A friend of yours, you raised him after he never quite fit in to a foster family. He-,> the sword stops. <Forgive me, I also have your emotions.>

He was going to ask more but decided against it. <So what to do now?>

<Let’s fix my sister now.>

<Sister?>

<You’ll see.>


It was daybreak now, Nim and Miles slept in the woods by a river. Nim turned up her electrical powers a little and kept them both warm; it was a nice peaceful sleep. Now Miles had gone into a bed and breakfast to get some food. Nim went hunting for fish in the river.

He was sitting down rather nervously, he had a cap over his head to conceal his ears and baggy jeans to try and hide his stub of a tail. He also had sunglasses to conceal his eyes; he couldn’t get them to go back to human looking now. His change was progressing.

The waitress gave him his plate of eggs, sausage, and smoked salmon. He had quite a craving for fish now. He carefully looks around and starts adding a lot of salt to his food. Everyone was busy either reading his or her newspapers or talking. Someone had a tabloid about an angel sighting nearby.

He puts down the salt after emptying it and looks over at the food. His creature side of him purred but his human mind repressed it. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He goes to pick up his fork when it jumps into his hand.

He turns his hand over and finds that the fork is stuck to it. He tries to pull it off and when he pulls it off it magnetizes to his other hand. He blinks and tries to figures out what it happening. Obviously he was becoming magnetic. Where was Elliot when you needed him?

He started to try and thinks. He remembered something about currents of electricity creating magnetic waves. Of course he remembered it because they got to create an electrically powered magnet to demonstrate it.

So he takes a deep breath and tries to calm down. His powers usually manifested when he had a powerful emotion, maybe his fear of what was going to happen to him brought this out.

Eventually the fork drops off of his hand and he catches it with his other hand. Time to dig into the food. He really enjoyed the salmon and left a portion of it aside and took it with a doggy bag. Once he had gotten out of the bed and breakfast he heads over to the mall and buys a couple things of salt. Saying that they needed it for an arts and crafts project his younger brother was doing.

He then heads over to the river and rests by the bank. He sees Nim’s head poke up from the water. <Hey Miles, how was breakfast?>

<Good, I saved some of the salmon for you. It is really good even if it isn’t live.>

<Really? I’ll try it then. Oh I have something for you,> Nim dives under the water again and comes back up with a fish in his mouth and plops it down for Miles. It was still wiggling alive. The strange thing was that he actually wanted to eat it. He was becoming more like Nim every day.

<Oh well, when in Rome,> at first he licks it and it only peaks his interest to eat it. He closes his eyes and imagines it as a cooked fish and woofs it down. <Hey, that wasn’t bad.>

<See? Oh I also want to give you something else,> Nim hops into the river again and comes out a few seconds later with a gold medallion in her mouth. <This was buried in the sand. I found it with my electric current.>

Miles takes the medallion and looks it over; it must have been in the water for awhile. It was a Chinese medallion of course. But he couldn’t really tell what it was. There was a big Chinese character on it.

<It means water,> Elliot said making contact with Miles.

<Elliot? That you?>

<Yep, thought I would say hi. Glad to see you enjoyed fresh fish.>

Miles blushed, <You aren’t going to look down on me are you?>

<No, in fact I look up to you for it. I don’t think I would’ve been able to eat it.>

<Thanks, so where are you?>

<Mongolia, anyway. I better go, bye Nim and Miles.>

<Bye,> they both said and Miles could feel his contact with Elliot leave. He was advancing in telepathy as well.

<So where to now Miles?> Nim asks and stretches near him. He strokes her back and she purrs.

<How about the ocean? We should try and get in touch with your pod. Maybe if we can get them to like humans the humans could see that they’re not all bad,> Miles realized he was talking like he was no longer human. In some ways it made him shudder but it felt more natural to him now.

<Could work, they don’t eat humans anymore at least.>


<Are you finished talking to your friend?>

<Yes,> Elliot says. He decided to meditate in a lotus position and unfolded his legs. He stands up and stretches. <So what do I do?>

<I need you to channel your energies into me, I’ll use them to attract the pieces of the sword together.>

<Ok,> Elliot concentrates and goes into another meditative state.

He focuses on himself and sees his energy flowing. He goes into a deeper meditative state and can see that the energies came in three different varieties, the white variety was the energy of his mind. His psionic energy. The yellow one must have been his chi, his life force. It was quite high, but that wasn’t surprising because he could live for thousands of years and also a master of martial arts. The last kind of energy was blue; it was more chaotic than the other two energies. In it’s purest form some would say.

He focuses on the blue energy and the other two types fade out of his mind’s eye. He tries to move and focus that energy, it changed and reshaped to his will. He then tries to think of it moving into the sword and the blue energies channel into the sword.

<That’s enough,> the sword says and he stops channeling. He leaves his meditation and looks at the sword. It was now glowing a bright copper brown.

<Ok, so what should I do now?>

<Wait.>

Elliot looks on as the sword glows and then symbols start to appear. They were patterns really, he couldn’t really identify them. But they glowed and grew, and as they did so rocks started to glow in the crater. They started to levitate and hover above the ground.

<Now, teleport the blade together!>

Elliot focuses, he focuses on the atoms of the swords. “Sword,” he says and the pieces turn into energy and the energy flies just in front of him. The energy dissipates and a sword identical to the one he had appears.

It started to glow a copper-brown as well, and the old sword starts to take a lighter copper-brown and the new sword takes a darker copper-brown.

<Hello sister,> the old sword sent.

<Brother it is nice to see you again. I was unable to pull my energies together while I was broken. It is good to see you again Icarus.>

<Sister, he has lost his memories.>

<Oh well, it is still nice to meet you again.>

<Thanks, but why are you female?>

<You see,> the male sword says, <I contain your Yang energies. Your male energies as you see. While my sister contains your Yin energies, your female energy.>

Elliot blinks, <ok, this just got weirder.>

<Really? Weirder than your girlfriend on Peraxia Prime?> the female sword says.

Elliot slaps his head, <I hate both of you.>


Rich, Laura, Caitlin, and Jessie were at the dinner table eating breakfast. They weren’t really talking that much, they were all wondering if Nim and Miles were ok. Eventually Jessie speaks.

“Nim was cool, were all the other creatures like that?”

“Well yeah, they were cool as well. Not as cute though,” Laura says smiling.

“You know Miles once told me that Nim stuck his tongue into an electrical socket. For the rest of the day Nim was acting giddy,” Caitlin laughs and so does everyone else. They decided to go on eating their breakfast talking about them. It helped cheer them up.


Miles and Nim were lying back on the beach. Although it wasn’t really a beach, there was only so much sand on the new beach. The waters still weren’t receding for some strange reason. They could see a few buildings poking out the surface of the water. But not a lot, the creatures were tearing down most of them.

<How long till your pod arrives?>

<A few more minutes. What do you think of the scenery?>

<Kind of creepy, but it is a good view. Wonder why the water isn’t receding?>

<Well, the rest of my kind are building levees to keep the water from going out.>

<You’re kidding me?>

<Nope.>

<Wow, smart.>

<Thanks, I will tell my siblings you thought we were intelligent.>

Miles smiles, and lies back closing his eyes. It was peaceful, although he felt guilty and worried about Caitlin. But she would be better if she were not around him. Maybe after things settled down.


Everyone was in the living room now, they didn’t have much to do and they decided to watch for news reports. They had heard about the two new tsunamis, the government knew it couldn’t be a coincidence and the UN was meeting to discuss it. Most of the people were able to evacuate because they had sensors there now to see it. But pictures showed that some small island chains were actually swallowed by the wave, what was left would never be habited in many years.

All of a sudden a news report on the battle in Louisiana appeared. They all pay closer attention and Rich turns up the sound.

“Because of the unique threat of these creatures, and their ability to generate an electrical field that disrupts digital data. We have not been able to cover the attack on Louisiana,” the reporter was well away from the water but the Mississippi river was clearly seen in the background.

“Now we have to bring you sad news, the attack on the creatures has not gone well. The troops retreated earlier today after all the civilians were evacuated from the areas in danger. They are setting up heavy weaponry by rivers waterways to try and contain the threat. On the Mississippi alone they are positioning 100 tanks, 25 mortar cannons, and many infantry armed with LAWs rocket launchers and other anti-armor weaponry. These weapons have been the only things that have proven the least bit effective against them.”

“This is Julie Carter with MSNBC.”

Everyone looks at Rich. He looks at them and sighs, “Look I am sure that my family got out alright.”

“Yeah, they weren’t close to the water, they would have had plenty of warning,” Laura says and hugs Jessie as the show satellite imagery of the destruction. The creatures were tearing down the human buildings.


Elliot was blinking at the two figures he saw in front of him. Now that the swords were a couple again their energies became greater and they were able to show their spirit forms to him.

The male sword looked much like himself. Except with wings and a tail. His eyes were still human though, the same blue his eyes were before. He was covered in clothes that looked like they belonged to some gangster. Cool and efficient.

The female sword looked much like a female version of himself. She had the same copper-brown hair, blue eyes, some distinct features that he had (including his wings and tail) except all of his masculine features were replaced with feminine ones. She was covered in skimpy gothic style clothing even if she didn’t look goth. Elliot couldn’t help but take his eyes off of her for long. He was getting turned on by himself. Now that was embarrassing.

“So do you know where the facility I was experimented on is located?” he asked them. Shifting his position to make room.

“Yes, located in the Atlantic Ocean. It was protected from the tsunami though, so it should still be there,” the female version of him said. Her voice was as seductive as her beauty.

“Ok, will you two help me break in there?”

“Of course, what else would swords be used for?” his male self nodded. They were glad to be used in battle once more.


Miles had fallen asleep on the beach and Nim had crawled onto his chest and fallen asleep as well. But all of a sudden they both jumped awake.

<Oh no, the creatures are going to attack nearby!> Miles shouted stumbling to get up.

<Are you sure we can stop them Miles? These aren’t my siblings you know.>

<We have to try,> the two of them hop into the water. They could swim faster than they could run now.


After a days flight on an air plane he had bought (he relearned how to fly planes) he landed on the island the facility was one. While the surface looked to be deserted and devastated by the wave he could remember where the entrance to the facility was. He closes his eyes and grips his two swords; this was what he needed to do.

He breathes out and walks forward into the ruined forest.
=======================================================

[foster]

=======================================================
Chapter 15- Tension Rising


“People, people. We have to stop fighting with ourselves and work on getting rid of the problem that is threatening our people!” it was a representative of Denmark speaking. The UN meeting hadn’t gone well. Countries either blamed each other or decided they could handle themselves.

“Why do we have to get involved?” asked one of the representatives of a middle-eastern nation. “Our country is not next to any ocean.”

“Really? Would that be true, say, two years from now?” the leading scientist of a group researching the attacks spoke up.

“What do you mean?” the president of the United States says getting up.

“This,” the doctor presses a button on a controller in his hands and the lights dim. A projection is drawn in and shows a map of the Earth. “This is the Earth as we know it before the attacks began.”

Everyone nods, “This is the world after the current attacks.” He presses the button again and the water line is shown covering the shorelines of the eastern and western North America. The islands around China were devastated with most of them wiped off the map. Mediterranean had significant damage as well.

“Notice the retreating ice around the poles,” a big difference could be seen there as well. “15% of the polar ice caps have already melted away.”

Everyone was talking now. Now this was talk, but the scientist continues.

“At this rate, in a matter of two years the entire ice poles will be gone. Water levels will rise, continuing tsunamis will continue to expand their reach. Also, from seismic activities and satellite imagery we have found that the sea floors are rising.”

The arguments raised another pitch now and quieted down after a few minutes. The scientist continued on. “After recording the data from the effect the creatures are causing we developed this estimation of what will happen in two years.”

He clicked another button and everybody was stunned to silence. North America had virtually split into two continents. The middle of the continent had turned into island chains with some islands having more area than the Japan islands. They were split off by over flooded rives which had joined the Atlantic and Artic oceans.

The Amazon River had turned South America to an almost completely submerged landmass in the north. There must have been thousands of small tropical islands poking through the shallow seas there.

The damage went on and on. After a few minutes of it the scientist turns off the projection. Some of the leaders actually threw up because of the devastation. “As you can see. This concerns us all.”


Elliot was trying to sneak into the base with stealth. It didn’t help that his two alter egos were singing an Irish drinking song in his head.

<Would you two, please. Shut the hell up!>

<What, you used to join in on singing before. Then again you were a lot more fun when you had your memories,> said his female sword.

<I can’t believe it. Why the hell was I so juvenile when I was 100,000 years old?>

<Life isn’t as fun when you have gone through 100,000 years of it. You made up for it with a jokester attitude about matters non life threatening,> his female self said again.

<Great, how far to the entrace?>

<Two kilometers.>


Caitlin runs down the stairs hearing a commotion downstairs. She sees Laura and Rich arguing over something. The sound was muffled until she opened the garage door and walked in, catching the end of one of Rich’s sentences.

“-if we don’t leave we die!”

They stop their fighting and turned toward Caitlin who blinked at them in shock. “What is going on?” she said.

“Rich wants us to get up and leave,” Laura said glaring at Rich for a half second.

“Look, I know that the creatures are going to attack here soon. If we leave now we can escape traffic and get to safety.”

Caitlin blinked again, “The creatures are attacking?”

“Yes,” Rich said.

“No,” Laura said.

Caitlin didn’t reply, she ran up stairs got dressed quickly and ran back down. She ran right past Laura and Rich, running to the shore.

“Caitlin get back here,” Laura said.

”Little Missy, you better get your butt back here.”

“You go get the car ready, I’ll go wake up Jessie,” she then ran up the stairs before Rich could reply.

“What the hell is going on here?” he said getting stuff to eat for the trip. He hoped they would leave N.C. after they got her.


Miles and Nim came towards the surface and hoped out onto a building still sticking out of the water. They had been swimming for what must have been a few hours, but they where were Wilmington once was.

Miles collapsed on top of the building, he was still mostly human and swimming for hours at full speed had taken its toll. Nim snuggles up to the sleeping Miles. They still had a few hours before the attack started.

Nim raised her head and looked out over the seas. She could feel the minds of her fellow species swimming around them. She made contact with her kind and they hopped up onto the building as well. Five kids around her age.

<Hey, how long until the attack?> she asked. She was in a position that was both affectionate and guarding of Miles incase they attacked.

<Not long, we want to secure as much of the land before the coming of our god.>

Nim blinks, <You mean the one in the legend?>

<It isn’t legend, it is facts. We know where the god it, and we hope to quell his anger with us by helping his anger against the humans.>

<Why does your mate smell somewhat of a human?> One of the other kids said.

<For that matter he looks a lot like the humans as well.>

Nim did the equivalent of a blush for the creatures. <He isn’t my mate, although I wish he were. And he used to be a human, but he is becoming one of us. Maybe when he is complete in his change he will take me for his mate.>

<Really? Humans can turn into us? But humans are evil, they stole the providers very blood from him.>

<This human isn’t evil. Please believe me, scan my mind if your want. I shall give you all the memories it takes to convince you,> Nim plead and laid her head on Miles’ chest.

<You would share memories with us to prove his good? Not necessary, if you would do with what people only do with mates then you mean every word he mean.>

<Thank you.>

<No problem, come help the battle when your mate awakes.>

Nim smiled and watched her kind swim off. She then lies back down on Miles and decides to crawl into his shirt. She curls up in his warmth and wonders how it would be if she and Nim were actually mates.

She then opened her eyes worried that Miles might have received some of those thoughts. It was then that she realized that his mind was somewhere else outside his body.


The island was practically a swamp now. And came with all the usual swamp pests. He had already had to slice up a hungry alligator. But he hated the bugs the most, he could resist the urge to slap himself silly to get them off but they were annoying.

<Do I knew any secrets for dealing with bugs?>

<Slice them up and cook them. But they need to be at least 2ft long for that,> his male sword said smiling.

<You know I loved the taste of grilled fly lizards. You were quite a good cook back then Icarus.>

Elliot sighed and felt strangely tired for some reason. He went over to a ditch covered by grass and laid down keeping his presence a secret.

<What are you doing?< said the female sword.

<Wake me if someone is coming,> he said and fell off to sleep.


Miles woke suddenly to the sound of alarms. The first thing that went through his mind was that he wasn’t in control of his own body. His body seemed to hop out of the bed by itself and run over to some sort of computer on the wall.

“Renin to base what is happening?”

A deep masculine voice answered through the computer. Miles’ body smiled and he knows the voice to belong to Neiven, a dragon hatchling of the age of 200 years. “Censor configuation 157-A has detected a source located 73 light years within Bolkerian Space. The E.O.E. is rallying spare ships to retrieve the artifact designated A-00156.”

“Thanks,” Miles’ said. Or rather Renin said. He bit his lip and walked to the door. The sensors on it detected his motion and allowed him passage the main hall. Soldiers and technicians, some already decked out in armor and weapons, some heading towards the armory.

Renin started running towards the armory when he felt a strong and slightly furred hand on his shoulder. He turns around to look at Icarus, his changes had progressed in the thirteen years since he first met him. His ears were fully standing out now, and looked almost like a cats. His skin was covered in an inch layer of fur.

“Icarus, what is it?” Renin said slightly surprised.

“Going out on a mission already? You have only had a month to recover,” Icarus smiles patting his stepson on the shoulder. Renin had given him a meaning in his life that he had given up on.

Renin blushes and looks down. He was only wearing shorts currently but he was blushing at the scars that ran their way up from his legs. Some of the scars ran their course across his upper body as well and he had some fine scarring on his face as well. It would be another couple of days before he received the treatment to remove the scarring and replacing it with normal epidermis tissue.

“A procedure like the one you went through should not be regarded lightly.”

“I feel fine, in fact better than fine,” Renin said and moved Icarus’ arm off him. The muscle tissues were already taking hold, he could feel his muscles move differently, stronger.

“Be careful Renin. This is a battle after all, life threatening, even with your new bio-implants.”

“C’mon. You know me better than that dad.” Renin smiled looking up at Icarus. Icarus had a broad smile on his face; he always did that when called dad. “After all, you’ve already helped me refine my psionic abilities.”

“I was right about you Renin. Your psionic abilities were great. I just never expected you to become a psi-warrior. And then grow to become the leader of the Artifact Retrieval Team.”

Renin blushed and started to walk towards an armory. Icarus walked with him. “I had a good father to push pull some strings for me.”

Icarus laughed, “Pull strings? I spoke against you joining, I said you were to young and endangered yourself.”

“You said that?” Renin stopped and looked his father in the eye.

“Yes, that was before I knew what you were capable of doing. I will never make the mistake of underestimating you again.”

Renin looked away and continued to walk towards the armory. “So I got in with you speaking against me?”

“Yes,” Icarus said and then looks up. “You better hurry along. I will be taking a quarter of the spare fleet to go with you. Good luck, son.”


Caitlin was out of breath when he finally reached the shoreline. She had to duck behind various alleys and shortcuts. But she was finally there.

She wasn’t worried at all, if the creatures were attacking. Miles would be there. She wanted to see Miles stop them. She knew he could do it, even if he didn’t know it himself.

She sat on the shoreline, taking off her shoes and socks to soak in the water. It was getting purer as the days went on. The water was getting used to its new state. She shuddered thinking of how much it could change and how fast.


The president was in his office, tapping his foot on the ground. He was trying to think of a way to get by this new problem. Already they had evacuated everyone in DC to the mountains. People were already setting up a new white house and D.C. here. Jokingly they called it New D.C.

“Sir,” a voice from his speakerphone came. “We have some news of the delegates returning to Normandy.”

“And?”

“They’re plane dropped into the ocean. The rest of the delegates are to afraid to leave for their countries.”

“Thank you,” he said and turned the phone off. He looks out the window to see people setting up new buildings as fast as possible. The nation needed a new heart for it. New D.C. needed to be set up quick.


<Miles! Miles! You’re back!> cried Nim hopping out of his shirt and looking up at him.

<Back from where?> he said while rubbing his head.

<You’re mind was gone for a few minutes!>

<Mind? What? All I know is that I had the weirdest dream ever.>

<Dream?>

<Yeah, I was this kid named Renin. Supposed to be in charge of this team called A.R.T. It was weird, apparently my father was a winged alien by the name of Icarus,> it was then he started to put things together.

<What?>

<It must have been a memory from Elliot, but why would I be in it?>

<Later Miles, the creatures are still attacking remember.>

<Attack,> Miles leapt to his feet when he remembered. <We have to go.>

Miles put all thoughts of his weird dream aside and jumped into the water shortly followed by Nim. They swam as fast as they could to stop the attack. They only had a few minutes until the creatures came ashore again.


“Get out of the ditch and drop your weapons,” was what Elliot heard coming to.

<Oh finally, you’re awake!> His male sword screamed at him.

Elliot blocked it out and opened his eyes to see the soldier decked out in white futuristic armor. The weapon it held in his hands seemed familiar as well as the armor. Yet they seemed newer, unlike the armor and weaponry he knew.

“I said get out of the ditch!” the soldier said again.

Elliot glared at the soldier; he must have picked up on his thermal signature. He got up slowly, delaying it as long as possible, channeling his anger towards the soldier. He did it instinctively at first, but when he realized what he was doing he didn’t stop.

The soldier looked shocked when it saw Elliot’s face. It tried to reach for his radio but Elliot had taken out his sword and sliced clean through it. The soldier then tried to point his rifle towards Elliot but was unable to as he collapsed.

Elliot bent down an examined him; he was paralyzed from the neck down. He smiled and took the laser rifle. The soldier followed him with his eyes. “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to move in a few hours.”

<Wow, you recovered your ability to control someone else’s nerves?> his female sword said.

<You know I got to get names for you two,> he said ducking behind a tree because he thought he heard something.

<You used to call us Yin and Yang, that help?> his male sword said. <By the way, the coast is clear.>

<And how would you know that?>

<We’re spirits, we can leave the sword temporarily,> Yin said.

Elliot lets out a sigh, the quicker he got his memory back, the faster he would understand this all. He was tired of having so much of his life influenced by things he didn’t know. When he got his hands on the people who did this to him, he would make them pay with their lives and blood.
=======================================================

[foster]

=======================================================
Chapter 16- A Rescue and a Capture


The sun started to set early that day, almost as it sensed what was coming. Already all animals had abandoned the area where the creatures would be coming ashore. The only living thing there currently on the shore was Caitlin. She was moving her foot through the water, unaware that only meters away, the first of the creatures was waiting.

“Miles where are you?” she said, resting her head and arms on her knees. She just watched the waves moving along the buildings and onto the beach.


<Should we attack her?> asked one of the younger creatures, only six foot long.

<No, that would give away our position,> sent a fifteen foot long creature. <We need to strike without warning.>

<But I’m hungry, and she looks like a tasty snack!>

The larger creature slapped the smaller on with his tail. <I said listen, the will of the elders command it. We will attack with their consent.>

<What do the elders know? They stay in the deep digging their holes and causing earthquakes. We should strike now.>

<No, we have to be precise. Or else you will answer to The Provider’s wraith.>

<Fine, I’ll wait.>


<Elliot, why aren’t you keeping your mind open to us?> asked Yang. He was concerned about how Elliot was acting. And that trance he went to. He didn’t just recover a memory like he sometimes did. He pushed his consciousness back into his past.

<Just look at the scenery,> he snapped back. Both Yin and Yang could sense the questions bubbling in his mind.

<What did you see?> Yin asked, trying to push subtly and non forcefully just like the Yin energies.

<None of your business.>

<You saw Renin didn’t you?>

Elliot stopped in mid step and growled. <What is it to you!>

<When did you see him?> Yang asked stepping back mentally feared of what he might have seen.

<He was getting ready to find an artifact. He was in charge of a team named A.R.T.>

<What was the galactic date?>

<Why does that matter?>

<Just tell us,> Yin asked.

Elliot thinks for a second, <13-56-100,013. Why?>

<Nothing,> they said at the same time. Elliot shook it off and started heading through the swampland. He still had a few minutes to go until he reached the entrance to the base. He powers the gun, hearing the familiar sound of the plasma, which caused the laser beam to be generated and move along the gas cylinder.


“Caitlin!” Rich shouted running through the town. He had taken to the streets while Laura would find an easier way to get to the beach instead of the crowd infested streets. Even after almost a month since the disaster-hit people were still hear. Some still couldn’t believe what had happened, what is happening.

“Caitlin!” he screamed again and a soldier came up to him and tried to calm him down.

“What is it?” the soldier asked. Rich noted that he was only a private.

“I was looking after this girl, Caitlin. She was found in Wilmington with me from a rescue helicopter. You see I think she might be trying to get to the shoreline,” he said panting because he had been running for 30 minutes now and was dog tired.

“Is that so? Don’t worry, I’ll get the word out.” The soldier pulls out his radio from his belt, “Base command? This is Private Anderson. We have a report of a girl named Caitlin heading towards the shore line.”

“She is a teenager, brunet. She also has a spunky attitude,” Rich said sitting down. Almost catching his breath. He looks around at the town, he didn’t want to spend a spare second in this place more than he had to. It reminded him to much of the evacuation of New Orleans. But much worse, an entire coastline was evacuated here.

“Don’t worry Sir,” says the private putting away the radio. “There is a jeep coming here, we’ll take you to the shoreline with us. An extra pair of eyes is always helpful.”

“Thanks,” Rich says looking up. He looks around unable to take his eyes off of all the people crowded in the streets. If it weren’t for Elliot they would be just like them.


The president was busy, if it was one thing he hated it had to be flying all over the country to do charity events. However today was not charity event. He was going to give a speech along with some delegates from other countries. It was finally decided that the countries would team together against these creatures. They had also decided to name it the first species war.

“Thank you Mary,” he said dismissing his tailor. He straightened the tie on his neck. He had to spend 15 minutes just getting ready for the event, then an hour of rehearsing, and finally the event would take place.

He looked out the window when finished with the tie, New D.C. wasn’t that bad. Even if it had only been worked on for a day. Already army camps had laid out where permanent structures would be going up. And the mountains helped add to the beauty in the background.

“Mr. President, I need to escort you to the staging area,” one of the secret service agents said walking in.

“Very well,” the president said and walked towards the agent.


“Is Caitlin going to be ok?” asked Jessie in the back seat. He was playing with one of those Nintendo DS games.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine. We just have to find her,” Laura said as she came to an exit. It was blocked by some rumble, maybe from bulldozers moving debris that washed up on shore. She opens the door and gets out, then lets Jessie out as well.

“Where are we going mommy?”

“We’re going to walk down the shoreline now; we have to look for Caitlin.”

“Oh, why did Caitlin run off to such a dangerous place anyway?”

“She wants to see Miles again really bad,” Laura said as she got her backpack of supplies and put Jessie’s DS in the back of the car. She took Jessie’s hand and they started walking around the debris to get down to the new shoreline.

“Why does she want to see Miles again?”

“Because she cares for Miles a lot.”

“Like you care about me?”

“Yes, Jessie. Something like that.”


Elliot stopped still; he could hear footsteps being taken just around the bend of the path he was on. He looked up and saw a tree that had lasted the tidal wave; its branches were strong and could easily support him. He jumped up, caught the branch, and silently flipped himself on top of it.

He looks down to see a soldier in the same type of hi-tech armor and weaponry as the other one. He was trying to find out why the soldier Elliot had disabled wasn’t checking in. Elliot seeing no one behind the soldier silently takes out the Yin blade.

He drops quickly form the branch and onto his feet. Slicing through the soldier’s radio with precision and ease. The soldier hearing the movement of air behind him tries to turn around but was knocked into a tree twenty feet away when Elliot span around and kicked him in the back.

<Not much longer,> the Yin sword said to him.

Elliot turned to get up but before he could do so something hit him in the back. He fell to the ground as his back goes numb. He growls and tries to get up as another half a dozen shots hit him in the back paralyzing him.

An Iderdex soldier walks out of the tree line, “So project Icarus, welcome home.”


The waters were surprisingly clear, except for a few areas, there was almost no trace that this used to be land. The creatures’ irrigation projects had made it blend in so well with the sea. To the east large levees can be seen, holding the water in until the polar ice caps finish melting.

Miles and Nim were swimming as fast as they could to reach the area were the creatures would attack. Nim easily able to keep up with Miles while swimming around him.

Miles was swimming as fast as he could, but his mind was distracted. He kept thinking who was Renin? Why was he seeing and doing everything from Renin’s point of view? It just made no sense to him.

But he shook it out of his head and started to swim even faster. He needed to save Caitlin. He saw in his minds eye here having her foot in the water as creatures swam only feet away from her.


Rich grabbed onto the sides of the jeep for dear life. It was true what the private said. They not only sent a jeep, they sent 10. While listening to the radio chatter Rich could hear that M1A2s were being brought in to defend the highway defense line.

“So this girl Caitlin. Why would she risk life and limb to go play at the shore?” private Anderson said. He had been assigned to escort Rich into what people are calling the ‘creature lands’. Lands where the creatures could attack without warning.

“Well, she was in love with someone who had died in the tsunami. She might believe that if she can get close to the water she can see him again,” it was a lie on the spot but it was nicely done.

“That’s sad. My little brother Travis lost his girlfriend in the tsunami. Although I don’t think she was caught in it they lost contact with all the chaos.”

“Yeah,” Rich said. He was looking at the terrain around him. Obviously they were setting it up to act as a wall to try and defend against creature attacks.

“You know I think I saw you somewhere else,” the private said scratching his chin. “What was your name again?”

“Richard Connelly.”

“That’s right. You were the guy the scientist on the creature report were talking about. Heh, not a lot of people are making fun of you two now.”

“I can see why,” he bit his lip.


Elliot awoke slowly, his hearing was muffled at first but he quickly regained his sense of hearing. He was restrained, tied down to something. He tried to open his eyes but even that was restrained. It was then he realized he wasn’t restrained; he was just stunned so that his muscles wouldn’t respond. Somehow he was still able to breath.

“So this is the infamous project Icarus. He doesn’t seem to fearful to me.”

“Vat iz becauze he iz unconzciouz,” said another scientist with a heavy Germen accent.

“So? What type of creature was he if he could get stunned in a few shots?”

“He waz zhot wiv zeven heavy blaztz.”

“Seven? And he isn’t dead?”

“No, now you zee why he iz to be feared.”

Elliot felt something brush across his face, his sense of touch was returning as well. “What is this stuff on him? It looks metallic.”

“Zat iz hiz zwet. He iz produzing high levelz of it az hiz body buildz more healing gel.”

Elliot dropped back into unconsciousness. His body was quickly healing the stunned nerve cells with new ones. Usually the effect on the nerves left after a few days or hours depending on setting but to his body nerves that didn’t function for fifteen minutes were considered dead and replaced.


Caitlin had fallen asleep with her arms and head on her knees. The sun was almost fully set now, a few stars appearing over the water. She woke up suddenly when a large wave from a creatures sudden movement snapped her awake.

She shivered, it was getting cold out here and she didn’t have her shoes on. So she brings her foot out of the water and sees her toes all pruney. It made her remember how Miles’ skin never pruned in water.

She runs over and puts her socks on, succeeding in getting those wet, and then putting her shoes on. She stands up and shivers looking out over the water. Her teeth start to chatter because of the cold. She should have taken a warm jacket with her.

She walks a fair distance from the water and rests against some of the debris. She folds up trying to keep herself warm and watches the sunset, small puffs of crystallized air escaping from her mouth.


Laura and Jessie were stumbling across the shoreline. Small puffs of cold breath escaping from both their mouths. However unlike Caitlin Laura had been smart and packed jackets and gloves.

“Mommy, I’m cold and tired,” Jessie said now stumbling along the ground.

Laura reached down and supported her son and continued to walk along, “Just a little further honey.”

She stops for a second and looks around. Jessie tugged at her sleeve, “What is it?”

Jessie points in front of them, “Who’s that?”

Laura looks up and sees Caitlin crawled up near a rock. She lets go of Jessie’s hand and they go running to Caitlin. She puts her hand on her shoulder and shakes her awake. “Caitlin, are you ok?”

“Wha? Miles?” she asked looking wildly around. When she calmed down enough she saw Laura looking worried at her. “Oh, hello Laura. I thought you were someone else.”

“I could see that,” Laura says and takes a blanket she had wrapped around herself over Caitlin. She wrapped it around herself many times to try and get warm.

“Miles, I know he is coming here,” she says drifting off again.

“Caitlin, Caitlin wake up. Oh god, you might have hypothermia,” Laura takes off her jacket and wraps it around her head. She then starts looking around the beach frantically. “Jessie, can you help me find some dry wood?”

“OK,” Jessie said and started searching around for wood.


“Project Icarus, what brings you back to this facility?” asked the scientist who was talking with the Germen scientist.

“Who the hell are you?” Elliot muttered slowly opening his eyes. He had almost recovered his proper nerve functions.

“You don’t remember me? I don’t suppose I can blame you for that. That memory whipping virus must still be working.”

“A virus huh? What did it do?”

“Oh quite ingenious, we made a silicon based virus. It worked enough to block out your long term memory.”

“Heh, and now my brain is starting to heal itself.”

“Yes, remarkable. Human brains cannot heal brain damage, and yours heal nerve and any other damage at a remarkable rate.”

“Heh, and I don’t even know who to thank.”

“We do know that it wasn’t a natural occurrence. You see you have 32 homologous chromosomes, 23 human, 9 alien. They are put together in such a way that couldn’t be done by natural reproduction.”

“Oh really, and how do you know that?”

“You contain a complete set of both chromosomes. In normal zygote reproduction half of the chromosomes are combined.”

“So I am some sort of experiment.”

“We don’t know, we didn’t do it.”

Elliot opens his eyes to see the doctor standing just outside the glass. He smiles and closes his eyes again. “You shouldn’t get to close to the glass.”

“It is fully protected against your strength, and you are to weak to move anyway.”

“Heh, I don’t need my strength,” Elliot focuses his energies into his hand. A white shuriken of energy appears in it. He tosses it weakly towards the wall but even then it slices clean through the glass and creates a one-inch gash in the scientist’s left shoulder. “Beware, objects through glass are more dangerous than they appear.”


Jackson was sitting in his cramped quarters, ever since he was captured from the boat he had been forced to work. He had signed on to Iderdex a while ago after Laura dumped him. He had signed on in his depression from it.

Now he regretted that move ever since. Although he was well cared for, given plenty of money, and was even promoted to sector chief. He could no longer walk around and live like he did before. Now he had an armed guard wherever he went. He couldn’t even give a message out to Laura, trying to explain what he could.

“Jackson,” came the voice on his phone. “We have something for you?”

“What?” he asked without emotion.

“Project Icarus has returned.”

Jackson leapt to his feet. The one thing that gave him his promotion was that he helped on the Icarus project. More importantly, he was able to make friends with him. When Icarus was first found he was working on equal terms, he freely shared the knowledge he knew of biotechnology. It was only when Kessler backstabbed Icarus and started experimenting on him that he was locked up.

“Where is he?”

“On the same island he was locked up at before.”

“Thank you, Lee.”

“No problem Jackson,” the line closed. Jackson smiled and got up; he went to the guard outside and told him he wanted to go to the Pacific base. Since he still had access there the guard didn’t decline and escorted him to a helicopter.


The jeep Rich was in slowed down as it approached the shoreline. They had spotted a fire on the beach and piled out. They rushed out and Rich ran to the fire and saw Caitlin, Laura, and Jessie piled together under blankets.

“Laura are you OK?” Rich asks shaking her shoulder.

“I’m fine Rich,” she said getting up. The soldiers came over to Jessie and Caitlin, they were OK. Caitlin didn’t have hypothermia, but would get a bad case of the flu. Jessie was handed a cup of hot cocoa as one of the young soldiers started joking around and playing with him.

“What are you doing out here ma’am?” asked Private Anderson.

“I was looking for Caitlin as well. When I found her she was cold and I didn’t want to risk moving her.”

“Very well,” Private Anderson then heads back up to the jeep and starts talking into the radio.

“Rich, you’re looking for me too?” she sneezes after saying this. She could walk around slowly now, but was covered in two layers of blankets to keep her warm.

“Little missy, you are in big trouble! Do you know that if Laura didn’t find you, you could have died! And another-,” Rich was cut off as the sound of the creature resounded all along them. It was loud enough to shake his teeth.

Private Anderson turns a ghostly white and reaches for his radio, “We have a code red. Repeat code red, creatures coming ashore!”


Elliot walked back and forth along his cell. The only people outside his window now were soldiers armed to the teeth. He had tried to start up a conversation with them when he was bored but they just remained silent. He could sense they were scared of him for some reason.

He whistles and leans against the wall when he could sense someone coming. He was really improving in his powers. His vision was so acute now; he could read a road sign 15 miles away! And yet, he could also see clearly up close and read letters while he could see the very fibers of the paper he was looking at. He could see the fibers of the fibers.

And his strength was getting large already. He could see his muscles had gotten larger and thicker. And somehow different, they were no longer human muscles. He estimated his strength to be around 300 times the normal human average based on how easily he could twist the titanium bars of his furniture.

He looks as the guards talk to somebody he couldn’t see. He then sees Jackson walking right in front of him, next to the glass. He presses a mike and earpiece into his ears. So that is why the soldiers didn’t talk to him.

“Icarus right?”

“No, my name is…” He pauses but remembers that he does not actually know his name. “Well I don’t know my name, but I prefer Elliot.”

“Yes, sorry about what happened to you. I just want to say I didn’t support it.”

“Well so glad to hear that, you’re now absolved of any crimes you committed against me.”

“Cynical as ever Elliot. Anyway, my name is Jackson. Jackson Holden, pleased to see you again.”

“Jackson Holden eh? It does sound familiar. Oh, how is my little scientist friend who had his shoulder cut?”

“Ok, he is under surveillance currently, you sliced clean through a nerve.”

“He deserved it. Anyway, do you know someone by the name of Laura?”

“Laura? Yeah, how do you know her?”

“Oh, she is sort of a friend of mine.”
=======================================================

[foster]

=======================================================
Chapter 17- Earth’s new fate


“You four! Get behind the battle lines!” screamed Private Anderson, covering them with an assault rifle.

Caitlin tried to run with the other three but she tripped on a stone and fell into the sand. She screams out in pain with tears in her eyes as she looks down to see her ankle twisted. “Help me!” she screamed out trying to crawl behind the soldiers.

“Caitlin!” Laura said and tried to reach back for her. But one of the soldiers pulled her back behind the firing line.

Caitlin freezes when she hears a creature roar behind her. She turns over on her back and looks at the 6-inch teeth on the creature near her. She tries to crawl back slowly but the creature opens its mouth and lunges at her.

She raised her arm in useless defense.


Elliot walked back and forth across his cell. It was a pretty good cell, comfortable bed, small kitchen, and even a bathroom. All made to look futuristic.

He sat down on the bed; it was that intelligel style beds with the smart gel. He lies back and takes off his shoes; they were starting to feel tight on his feet. When he finally did get his shoes and socks off he whistled.

His toes had grown longer and with bulging out and his nails were getting thicker, turning into claws. His heel seemed to be growing towards his leg, and his foot was lengthening. His feet were turning animalistic.

He threw the shoes into the trashcan across the room. He made a perfect shot and lied down on the bed. He closed his eyes and opened them to look at the roof. His eyes were still stuck like they were, however his nose was retreating into his face. His ears had lengthened now and were starting to thicken and hang out.

He looked over at the kitchen and put his hand out, focusing on the doughnut on the table he lifts it toward him into his hand. He took a bite with his sharpened cat like teeth and closed his eyes. Slowly chewing on the dough.

“Elliot, I see your changes are speeding up,” it was Jackson. He made a point to visit everyday and chat. Over the past few days Elliot had learned that he and Laura had a small fling after her divorce.

“Yep, most of my human DNA was already degraded from 100,000 years of use. And whatever you did to me is breaking down.”

“Yes, we theorized as much. We also got the lab analysis finished, your alien and human chromosomes have been combined in such a way that couldn’t be accomplished normally.”

“What do you mean?” he asked sliding off the bed and standing up.

“The way your human chromosomes are suppressed at certain areas can not be accomplished with any known genetic engineering techniques. They were combined someway else.”

“Well that is always fun to figure out, so was it psychic surgery or some form of chaos manipulation.”

“Chaos manipulation?”

“I believe humans called it magic. Certain people have learned how to manipulate energies unknown by your science. It is theorized most of these energies exist from a different dimension that leaks through stronger at certain places.”

Jackson blinks and shakes his head, “I’m not a scientist. I’m just in charge of what some scientist’s do.”

“Never mind then, chaos energy is beyond this level of humans knowledge anyway.”

“Anyway, before I go I have something for you.”

“Really?” Elliot raised an eye and looked curiously at Jackson. He slides something in a cloth through a small door and locks it again. Elliot went over and picked it up, slowly unfolding it from the cloth.

“You gave it to me just before you were taken off for the experiments.”

Elliot looked up and finished unfolding it. The object in the cloth was a small metal dome, flattened dome. It seemed to have a button on the top but it was really a mirror to help project photon rays for a hologram. Around it were 4 other indents that were buttons to crack the code to see the hologram.

“I tried to crack that code ever since I got it and still haven’t been successful.”

“Hmm,” he takes the device in his left hand and presses a random series of buttons. At least they seemed random but the code works and the device emitted a small beep. “It also needs a certain DNA signature. I must have assigned it to scan for certain genes on my alien DNA.”

“Well I’ll leave you to your device. I have work to attend to,” Jackson sighed and shook his head. He hated working for the corporation.

“Thanks Jackson, when I get out of here I’ll tell Laura that you are safe.”

“Thanks, I hope you get out of here,” Jackson headed out of the view from his window and Elliot returned to his bed resting the device on his chest. He was contemplating whether or not to activate it.


“Hello?” Mr. Big said answering the phone. She had already packed all her things into three suitcases, not much to stash your entire life into. But somehow she had managed, she didn’t have a lot to pack since she ran from Iderdex.

“It’s time to go, head to the new coast of North Carolina.” She didn’t make out the voice because it went through a voice disguiser but she could tell it was Lee.

“Where on the coast?”

“You will know,” the phone line went dead and she hung up the phone. She picks up her suitcases and stumbles with the keys, trying to get out of her home for the past few months.

It would be a long walk to the airport.


<STOP!> With that one word everything did stop. The soldiers stopped firing, the creatures stood stock-still. Everyone had heard that word, creature, human, everyone.

Caitlin looks up as the creature that was about to devour her step back and turn towards where it felt the voice. All the creatures did, they were the most affected. The humans were still stunned at hearing a voice in their head and seeing these creatures suddenly stop attacking. They rapidly picked up the few people who were already injured, mostly from falling down while pulling back.


Miles had been swimming for hours now, normally his muscles would be burning but now he felt at ease swimming. It somehow became easier, not that he would notice he was too busy trying to focus on Caitlin. If he did focus he would have known after an hour in the water he had grown a 2 foot tail, his fingers had already webbed halfway up his fingers and toes, and his ears were fully pointed creature like. His fingers and toes had already grown claws.

However, when he approached the shore his tail had grown to reach down as far as his legs. His eyes had changed, forever, and his muscles had bulged slightly. The creature parts of him were already green fading into a light green. The pigment was slowly spreading from these areas outward. His teeth had grown sharp too, able to tear through flesh easily.


Everyone looked as a sudden splash of water came from someone leaping out of it near 50mph. He lands with drops of water splashing around him on the beach. He slowly stood up as Nim came out of the water and went to his side.

“Kid, what the hell are you?” stuttered the commander of the soldiers.

“What do you mean?” it was then that Miles felt his tail play across the sand. He looks down and literally jumps ten feet and onto his back in surprise. Shortly afterwards Nim runs over and jumps onto his chest and starts to rub her head on Miles’ chin.

<Nim, what happened?>

<Oh you were changing faster as you swam. I don’t know how, ask Elliot when you get in touch with him.>

Miles opened his eyes in wide surprise as he heard Nim’s voice in his head. It was different; he could not only feel her familiarity. He could feel her voice characteristics. She had a certain tone, a certain pitch, just like a real voice would but only in his head. Of course that didn’t surprise him that much, what surprised him was hearing her voice being female.

<You’re, you’re a girl?>

Nim picked her head up and blinked. Then seemed to put a smile on her face, <Oh, you can finally tell that I am female now huh?>

Miles blinked confused until he finally shook it off and got up. Nim jumped off of and followed him towards the middle of the commotion. <We’ll talk about this later Nim.>

<Whatever you say Miles.>


Elliot finally finished toying with the disk and raised it above him head. He started to stroke the activation button on the bottom of the button then lets out a sigh.

“This could contain the secret of my past and yet I am hesitant to open it. Why?”

He thinks of the answer in his head in just a couple of seconds. His brain was becoming altered, less human and more alien. Already he was no longer grouping himself with the human race.

“Maybe because I am afraid I would lose the memories I had when I didn’t have my old memories. Or because I think after I do gain my memories I wouldn’t be friends with Miles or any other people on Earth.”

He closes his eyes and breathes out a sigh and presses the button. The device peeps and starts producing a hologram above him. He opened his eyes to watch it play out; it had remarkable resolution.


Renin was sitting in a chair being waited on hand and foot as people started putting on his ceremonial uniform and getting his hair fixed up. Once they were done he waves them off and sits down in front of the computer terminal. He sighed and typed into the keyboard sending a call to someone.

“Ah Renin, nice to see the war hero getting ready for his speech,” came Icarus’ voice.

“I am not the war hero, you took out most of the enemies. My team just snuck into the facility and captured the artifact.”

“Don’t take your compliments lightly. You do know what you came across.”

“Yes, a time machine. Designed to project objects into the past by bouncing them off of the 4D universe.”

“That is only the initial scan. We now know it to be the first attempts that the artifact builders had at crossing into the 4th dimension. It was later modified into a time machine.”

“You mean we can cross into the 4th dimension with this thing?”

“Better, you now have a way of transporting an armada through space-time. You can pop out anywhere and give the Bolkerians hell.”

“And are you still going ahead with project: restoration?”

“Yes, two weeks from now I am heading 100,000 years into the past. Before the 3rd world war and before EM technology was even dreamed of coming into existence.”

“Do you think the Bolkerian Empire would be destroyed?”

“I hope so,” Icarus smiled. “See you after your ceremony.”

“Good bye, dad,” Renin smiled and ended the transmission. He was being assigned as the new leader of the resistance now.

He didn’t want Icarus to head 100,000 years into the past but there was no choice. His unique physiology made him the only one to be able to live through the forces put onto biological materials that close to the 4th dimension.


Elliot closed the hologram and put it into his pocket. His mind was racing with thoughts and he was slowly remembering things. He remembered the Bolkerian Empire, its variety of enslaved soldiers. How a tyrant who started carving an empire by making other humans his slave ruled it.

He then remembered the people he knew throughout the ages. Dragons, humans, mutants, a variety of aliens, he knew and touched the life of so many people. He then remembered why he wanted to come to the past and change it for the better.

He had been around when the original E.O.E., the Empire of Earth, reigned. He did nothing as the remaining humans destroyed it. And that was the source of his anger down all the centuries. Although near the present of his life it had turned cold. That was why he hated the Bolkerian Empire. Not only because of what they did.

And that would explain his anger to get his memories back. Even though he couldn’t remember it he was still angry with himself and was channeling it. But now his anger was gone.

Because he had done something to resolve his anger, he had actually stepped back in time and stopped the humans from taking the same path again. He had changed history, and it finally healed his anger.

Elliot smiled and sat up, time to escape.


Miles reached Caitlin first. She was looking up at Miles with wonder in here eyes, “Miles, you changed.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why,” Miles says and looks down at her injured ankle. “Your ankle, its hurt.”

“Yeah, I kind of twisted it,” she laughed as she said this. The soldiers and everyone else, except the creatures, were staring at him. The creatures followed him with their eyes, but more if with an understanding look.

Miles had a burning instinct. A package of memory that Elliot had given him the first time they met. Of course Elliot had given it to him subconsciously but that knowledge was still in his head. He reached down and grasped Caitlin’s ankle gently but it was still enough for her to gasp in pain when it was first touched.

“Don’t worry, I know what I am doing. I think,” he said and gave Caitlin a warm smile. He then turns his attention to focusing on the ankle and starts to concentrate as he saw Elliot do many times.

His hand started to glow green, and then the glow spread down to Caitlin’s ankle. When the green glow made it to her ankle it started to heal itself. The swelling dissipated and the ankle’s ligaments healed and became normal again.

Caitlin sighed and closed her eyes in relief as the glow produced a tingling sensation that got rid of the pain. However the glow didn’t stop at the tendons, it started to spread along her leg and throughout her entire body. After the green glow dissipated Caitlin opened her eyes and got up with a helping hand from Miles.

“You OK Caitlin?”

“Yeah, thanks. How did you do that?”

“I learned,” Miles smiles and takes her hand as they proceed to where Laura and Rich were. Caitlin didn’t mind at all that Miles’ hand was webbed and smooth.

“Kid, stop right there,” Private Anderson said pointing his gun at Miles. Miles looked confused until he turned around and saw that the creatures were following him.

<Nim, what is happening?>

<Well, my race seems to think of you as a leader.>

Miles looked confused, <Why?>

<Well you are older than any of us. And your psychic signature is stronger than most of the adults as well.>

<You know it still unnerves me that you’re a girl.>

“What is that strange look on your face?”

“Umm,” Miles drew out trying to get out of it. “Well I just found out that Nim is actually a. Well a female.”

“You’re kidding? I knew it, only a girl could be as cool as Nim.”

“Hey, like I’m not?”

“Well, you’re the exception to that rule.”

“What the hell is going on here?” Rich nearly shouted in confusion.

“Oh allow me to go to the beginning. I am here to save your butts from becoming nimster chow.”

<Nimster? I like that word. You know we need a human name for us.>

<Really? What is the Nim name for us?>

<We call ourselves water dwellers.>

Miles blinked for a second, <What is the Nim name for humans then?>

<Land Dwellers.>

“Miles are you ok?” asked Laura coming down the slope and feeling his forehead for his temperature.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just talking to Nim.”

“All right, no one moves another second until I know what in hell is going on here!” shouted the commander in frustration. Shooting a few bullets into the sand to get his point across.

“Um it’s a long story,” said Miles smiling. It was funny; he could feel the commander’s frustration.

“Give me the summary,” the commander glares at the creature humanoid.


“Get that look of your face,” one of the guards said through a microphone as Elliot walked towards the glass. He had a slight grin, almost impish, with a sparkle in his eye as he imagines all the ways to get out of there.

“You two look so tired, why don’t you go to sleep?”

“What?” the other guard was able to say before suddenly falling asleep. The other guard was soon to follow.

Elliot smiled and put his hand against the window. A small spark of copper electricity jumps from his hand and travels through the glass into the metal walls. This allowed him to tap his mind into the sensors around his cell. He started to feed it false information, and when he was finished he smiled in satisfaction.

“Break,” he said and suddenly the glass shattered into a hundred pieces. No alarms went off and the Camera’s showed him going back to bed as the guards woke up and cursed at him for doing that.

He stepped over the piece of wall remaining and his bare feet crunched against the glass. He didn’t feel any pain and none of the pieces embedded themselves into his foot. He raises one foot and turns it over to see that the skin of his foot was turning a copper-brown.

“Bio-metal must be infusing with my skin cells. Wonder how long till I grow fur?” he shrugged and liberated the two unconscious guards of their laser rifles.

“Window,” he said and the many pieces of glass glowed yellow and disappeared and reformed into an intact and complete glass plane.

Elliot holds the rifles, one in each hand, and TKs the ammo clips from the guards and the belts they were in around his waist. He walked down the corridor as his mind traveled through the system taking control of sensor after sensor.

“Hey you! Stop right there!” shouted the most unlucky soldier in the world. Elliot smiled and spun around faster than the eye could see and let lose 2 energy blasts into the soldier’s chest. It wasn’t a killing wound but some of the armor would melt and fuse with his skin making it too painful to move.

“So much for stealth.”


Jackson was being escorted to a helicopter. He had been assigned to a facility in the Savanna desert to prepare for something. Of course he had no idea what it was he was to prepare for but he did it all the same. He was two steps away from the helicopter when the alarms went off.

Immediately his guards shoved him into the helicopter and the helicopter took off, heading for Africa. He looked out the window trying to see what was going on until he was to far away.


Elliot was running down the corridor now, every other second blasting a guard in the chest. He had already burned through half his ammo, although he had picked up some more quickly from the occasional guard he knocked out.

Eventually he made it to a large room. There were many vehicles, both high tech and modern, parked in a neat array. A garage apparently, Elliot quickly glanced around till he saw a landed hover tank.

“And if things couldn’t get better. Wonder how my driving skills are,” he ran towards the hover tank, the occasional laser blast from nearby soldiers almost hitting him. But he made it to the tank without receiving a scratch.

“Oh man, they didn’t leave the keys. Oh well, time to improvise,” he pointed a finger towards were the ID card was needed to start the tank. A spark of golden light leaps from his finger and goes in, attaching him to the tanks system.

“1st floor, hover tanks, laser rifles, and quick and painful death,” he joked to himself letting out a laser stream, incinerating a higher floor.

The tank rocked slightly as a laser turret near the entrance hit the tank. Elliot quickly scanned over his instruments, minor damage to the outer hull. He had forgotten to activate the shield, stupid him.

He launches the laser streams towards the turret blowing it to pieces and activates the shielding. A plasma spherical oval surrounds the tank, when the laser beams from the soldiers came in contact with this field is was either reflected or dispersed resulting in minimum damage.

“Hmm, ion particle deflection shielding. Not very advanced, a photonic deflection shield would be much better.” He smiled again and launched the streams of laser energy buckling the blast door out of the garage.

“Hmm reinforced titanium maybe? Nah, not strong enough, maybe a ditanium blast door.” He smiled and scanned through the tanks weapon systems.’

“Ooh, plasma missiles. Lets test them out,” he presses a button as a targeting retackle comes onto his screen. He aims it towards the blast door and fires two missiles. It hits and incinerates a small hole in the door, just large enough for the tank to go through.

“Oh I almost forgot.” He smiled to himself and took a hand off the tank wheel. “Yin, Yang,” he said and his two swords teleported to his side.

<About time, what took you so long?> Yin asked.

<Hey cool, you stole a tank. Nice going Elliot,” Yang asked projecting his astral form into the co-pilots chair and putting on the targeting helmet. “I’ll take over the main cannon.”

Yin then appeared in her form too, they still looked like him before the fur and other alien features. “I got shielding and secondary systems,” she said sitting in a chair and starting to type away as a shield and tank diagnostic screen came up. “My, my, I can improve the shielding here by 213%, they got the ion wave pulse way off.”

“Well get on it, and hey. Can this thing go over water?”

“One sec,” Yin types away at the controls until the engine diagnostic comes up. “Uses ions to force air under it to keep it above ground, and also uses the ions to move the air like a plane. It should function under water.”

“What do you mean by should?”

“I could make it definite with a few mechanical modifications, would only take 30 minutes.”

“Maybe later,” Elliot said and drove the tank to turn and continue in the same direction. The hover tank slowly compensates for the direction resulting in a sharp turn without compensating weapon targeting.

“Does this thing have radio?” Yang asked.

“Only radio Disney and some religious channels.”

“Dang it, those channels are everywhere!”


It took nearly an hour of explanation and some psychic memory transfer but Miles had finally convinced the soldiers that the creatures were in fact good if you gave them a chance. He also told them of why he was turning into one.

[foster]

Chapter 17 Continued.......


Nobody really believed him though, and they decided to set up camp on the beach until they decided. But it was mostly to keep civilians away from the ocean. Rumors had spread and almost the entire population of the nearby shelter town was waiting nearby.

Everyone was watching, talking, trying to decide what to do. Miles and the rest of the group were unofficial prisoners of the soldiers until they could decide what to do. Remarkably they let Nim stay with Miles because the creature didn’t attack. It didn’t even try to hurt anybody, in fact it sometimes helped out when somebody was searching for something.

Private Anderson was snacking by the shoreline. Of course most people stayed away from the water because everyone could see the creatures there. The young ones seemed to be playing, leaping out of the water and playing some sort of tag game. The bigger ones, around 10ft long, mostly lied around and watched after the smaller ones play. A lot of the other soldiers enjoyed watching this, it brought about a sense of calm.

He had just bit down on a potato chip when he heard a creature sound nearby. He looks down to the water closest to him and sees a creature two feet long poke its heard out of the water surface. It looked up to him much like a dog begging for scraps at a dinner table.

“You want this?” he said pulling out another chip and moved it up and down. The creature’s head followed the chip hungrily. “Fine, they were too salty for me anyway,” he threw the chip towards the creature. He aimed slightly higher than it’s head but the creature leapt out of the water and caught it in its mouth.

“Hey, you’re pretty athletic aren’t ya?”

The creature made some sounds and looked up at him again. “Oh you want more?”

The creature nodded its head up and down. So they were intelligent.

Private Anderson smiled and tossed the bag lightly to the edge of the water. The creature came up and poked its head into the bag as crunching sounds could be heard. The creature then pulled its head out and licked its paws and then used the paws to clean off the salt like a cat. Then the creature licked the salt off the paws.

“Just like a cat,” Private Anderson said and started to walk away when he could feel tugging at his leg. He looks down to see the creature had run up to him and had curled itself around his leg.

“Look I don’t have anymore,” Anderson said and bent down to scratch the creature under its chin. It purrs then looks up at him. After a few seconds it turned away and joined with the fun in the water.

“Kids,” he said smiling to himself. The creatures just won them over to their side.


“We are approaching a cliff 50ft tall. At the bottom of that we have the ocean,” Yin said as a map played itself across the screen she was looking at.

“I am keeping the enemy forces 125ft away using the laser canon,” Yang said monitoring a map showing enemy energy signatures.

“Hmm, Yin. Find me some kind of good radio station, we are going to see if the hover engines can work on water.”

“I’ll try my best,” Yin said typing away on the keyboard.

“Approaching cliff in 5 seconds,” Elliot said as he finally put his seat belt on.

“Found a channel,” Yin said just as the tank approached the cliff.

Everyone listened as Hallelujah started to play throughout the tanks compartment. It was near the conclusion and reached the final hallelujah as soon as the tank hit the water. They made a big splash and the water reached half way up the cliff.

The tank then pushes out and heads over the water going a good 70mph.

“Looks like it worked,” Elliot said typing in the autopilot to go towards where Wilmington, North Carolina used to be.

“This tank can only make a good 200 miles. This tank runs off of batteries,” Yin said bringing up power diagnostics.

“OK then, turn off the ion shielding, and bring the hover engine to only hover a few inches off the water. And turn off any and all secondary systems and the radar. We can open the hatch to get air in here. Anything else we can do to save power?”

“I can try to get the solar cells capacity increased, that with the power saving could get us halfway there.”

“And the rest of the way?”

“We would have to fly,” she smiled and picked up a tool kit to start on the power cells.

“But I can’t fly,” Elliot said getting up from his seat and chasing after Yin.

“Go to sleep, your cells multiply faster that way. Maybe then you can grow wings,” she smiled and went out the hatch.

“I can’t wait till I fully change,” he grumbled and sat back down. He leaned the chair all the way back and put the pilot helmet over his face.


Miles was asleep while the commanders were discussing what to do next. They finally realized the creatures weren’t dangerous after similar events to what happened to Private Anderson were being told around the camp.

However Miles’ mind wasn’t in that much peace. His mind was wandering around, leaving his body to see things away from him. His subconscious was aware of what was happening and recording it, every now and then a sequence popping into his head as strange dreams.

His mind just happened to wander over to Elliot and his crew of the joyful SS back pain (as Elliot, Yin, and Yang had nicknamed their hover tank).


Elliot was snoozing lightly in the main chair. He had been sleeping for several hours now. Now he had two-inch copper-brown fur covering his entire body. His legs looked full anthro now, something of a humanoid cat. He had grown large retractable claws in his hands and feet now. His teeth had also grown out, and his canines had the look of a vampire.

He also had a full grown set of copper-brown feathered wings. His change was almost completed, he just had to unlock the last mental block between him and his full powers.

His eyes jump open as he goes over to the control board and starts activating the shield and every battle related system online again.

“What is it?” asked Yang appearing behind him.

“We’ve got trouble, about fifty or so Iderdex Jet Fighters coming towards us.”

“Holy, there is no way this tank can take that.”

“I know, that’s why I need more options.”

“Hope you remember how to fly at full speed and get the hell out of dodge?”

“Did I tell you I hate you?”


It was two minutes later, everyone was at his or her stations and Elliot had taken manual control of the piloting system, even the automatic systems that corrected for kickback and wind. Yin had been able to add some range to the laser canon to catch the planes off guard, and Yang had increased the range and accuracy of the plasma missiles.

“One minute until planes are within range to shoot at us. 45 till we can get a head start,” Yin said bringing the armor and shield diagnostic online. There was already a yellow spot on the tank amongst the normal green.

“I think we can deflect photonic energy an additional 29% if we can get some extra power,” Elliot said looking over at Yin’s screen. “Take it from our batteries, that should help us out, and set ion dispersion frequency to 92.9 times 10 to the power of 5 parts per million per second.”

“Rerouting power, shielding enhanced by a further 28%,” Yin said typing in the corrections.

“I am getting the first planes in range in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, fire!” Yang said before launching the laser canon. Elliot quickly uses the kickback from the canon to increase the speed of the tank.

The searing blue energy slashes across the first of the planes, melting and shredding them into shreds falling towards the ground. Some of the planes behind them got hit and parts of their armor melted. Those that weren’t destroyed do to key parts melting together pulled pack for repairs if it was serious enough.

Oval Spheroids form around the planes as air starts to scatter the ion deflection shield. It was the reason why planes had lesser shielding, their fast movement scattered it for full effectiveness.

The tank launches another blast of energy this time only hitting two planes but it was enough to crash those two into the ocean. The planes then release their own lasers, however their accuracy wasn’t as good and their best shot glazed the shields. It was surprising at all that Yang could hit so well when there was 100 miles between the two forces.

“Man, they need better targeting computers,” Yang said and launched another blast of photon energy. This time scrapping three planes.

It was then that the planes launch what must have been hundreds of volleys of missiles towards them. It was surprising so many missiles could have come from just 39 planes.

“Ok, we can’t shoot all of those missiles down before they come. And our shields can’t handle it. Any ideas?” Elliot asked watching the missiles on the map. They would reach them in just a minute.

“I have an idea,” Yang said sadly and looked towards Yin.

“Well what is it?”

“If you had all of your abilities back, you could easily take those planes out,” Yin continued on in the same sad tone.

“And?” Elliot said confused.

“Well we are made up of your energies, energies that were saved before you lost your memory and abilities,” Yang continued.

“So if we give your energies back to you, you should recover your abilities,” Yang finished.

“But wouldn’t that kill you?”

“If you die, our energy patterns would degrade soon anyway,” Yin said.

“So you’re going to sacrifice your lives to give back my abilities to destroy the planes?”

“Either that or we all die,” Yang said and they both closed their eyes and concentrated.

“Hey, stop that. Don’t do it!”


The missiles were all a direct hit. Even if Elliot had tried to dodge the missiles were the smart variety, they followed their target and could make perfect 90 degree turns. The plasma missiles hit, incinerating the tank and evaporating the surrounding water.


”Noooooo!” Miles screamed out and jumped out of bed and into the floor. He was sweating like a pig, and was now crawled onto the floor.

“Miles, Miles calm down,” Caitlin said taking a hold of his arm and slowly rubbing his shoulder. Nim also came with her and she started to rub her head across his chin sending some psychic calm.

“I saw, I saw Elliot get blown to bits by Iderdex,” Miles startled and leaned back against the bed.

“Miles you were having a nightmare,” Caitlin said still rubbing his shoulder and trying to calm him down. Nim plopped into his lap and started purring and licking his fingers. Miles wrapped his tail around him and hugged Nim with it as well.

“But it felt so real, and I could sense Elliot,” Miles said and Nim growled. What was strange was that he understood what Nim was saying.

“So you had your first psychic vision.”

“How can I understand you?” Miles asked back in growls and hisses. Caitlin stepped back stunned.

“I, played around in your head for a little while,” Nim growled back and bumped her head against his chest.

“General Barnett,” asked Private Anderson coming into the tent. Miles raised his head and looked towards the Private.

“I’m not a general.”

“You are now,” he said smiling motioning for him to come with him.


“HQ, this is B9-057. We have a confirmed kill, the tank is incinerated,” the pilot spoke into his helmet mike as his plane flew over the wreckage. It was completely incinerated, a few pieces floating on the surface with fire and smoke spewing from it.

“Roger that B9-0057, patching you through to high command.

Kessler’s voice came up in the pilot’s earphones, “are you’re sure that nothing survived the explosion?”

“This is our second sweep now and we are still not seeing anything.”

“So the H5-0000 α (alpha) experimental prototype is destroyed?”

“Yes sir, but we did scan some modifications they made. Particularly shield modifications that allowed the shields strength to increase to nearly 300%. Also they made some solar cell modifications to increase power output by 23%.”

“Good, begin construction on the β (Beta) version. It is a shame that we lost project Icarus. But at least we can move ahead.”

“Yes sir. Should I report back to base now?”

“Run one more sensor sweep of the area first. I want to make sure that Icarus is dead.”

“All rightly sir beginning sweep now. Huh? That’s strange; we are picking up massive photonic energy being generated. About 1,000 times the H5-0000 α tanks main laser cannon.”

“Commander, get your troops out of there-,” Kessler was cut off as the line went dead.


The first thing that was noticed was the glowing ball of copper-brown light hovering just below the water level. After that the ball moved up and out of the water accompanied by a 6’9” copper-brown winged humanoid. His hand was outstretched and his palm opened towards the ball of light, almost as if he was directing it.

He looked up towards the flying mass of planes circling and he smiled. He closed his palm and said, “fire.” The ball started to fire off bolts of copper light that seemed to bend and curve like a missile. The beams of strange light sliced through the shielding and incinerated the planes on contact.

Two seconds later he was surrounded by a mass of burning wreckage. He brings his hand to his side and he looks around. He was floating just a foot off the water. He then took the time to notice that though his clothes were incinerated in the blast his fur wasn’t even blackened.

“Specially reinforced fur, comprised 65% hydrocarbon, 20% bio-metal, and 15% normal hair,” the knowledge just flowed into his head when he thought about it.

He looked off towards the east coast, “Well Miles seems to have things going. Guess I am not needed on Earth anymore. The EOE might need me though,” he smiled.

“But first I have something to take care of,” he looks at two tai chi lion head swords float by him on the water.


“General Barnett,” exclaimed the commander happily as Miles stepped into the commander’s tent. He reached out a hand and shook Miles’ hand gratefully.

“Why am I a general?”

”It is part of the deal,” came Elliot’s voice. Miles sees the alien Elliot sitting in a chair with one of the 10ft Nimsters waiting outside the tent.

“Part of what deal?”

“An alliance between humans and the creatures. Or Nimsters as you fondly call them. Part of the deal was that you become commander and chief of this alliance. And since you’re not a country yet, you became a 5-star general.”

“How? How did you convince them to make me the leader?”

“I convinced them that you had the potential to become a great leader. It helped giving them psychic doses of knowledge.”

“What?”

“You see Miles, I told them about what the government is about to do. What Iderdex is, and all about the creatures. These soldiers want peace not war, and they believe that the best way to peace is an alliance of humans and Nimsters working together against Iderdex.”

“And now they want to create their own country with me as the leader?”

“Well unofficial leader, you will have advisors until you grow into your position.”

“This makes no sense. I am 14, I should be worried about girls and school. Not about ruling a nation.”

“It’s this, or all the creatures die.”

“Ok…”


Miles was escorted to what would become the headquarters of the small nation they were creating. It wasn’t much, just one of the big city skyscrapers that wasn’t torn down by the Nimsters yet. They gave him the penthouse room for some reason so he had an easy view of the city flooded by water.

They were talking about building a city designed to work for both the humans and creatures. Or should say Nimsters as they were called now. It was remarkable how quickly the humans adjusted to the creatures, after a few stern commands by Miles to the creatures on humans being treated as friends.

People were even discussing a name for their new nation. Some wanted to call it the Species Alliance, others the Unites Species Army. For every person there was as almost many suggestions, but for common usage everybody was calling it themselves the followers of Nim. Because this all started with one egg which later hatched into Nim.

By evening he was looking out the sunset on the veranda. The sun was just peaking over the horizon now and in a few moments it would be dark. Below him humans could be seen working on trying to set up construction, everything was moving so fast. The Nimsters were already constructing foundations by digging and moving rocks together. People said the capital would be finished in a few months.

“Amazing isn’t it?” came Elliot’s voice behind him. Miles turned around as the winged humanoid alien that used to be human.

“Yeah, I still can’t believe that I was put into the position of the leader of this.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll do great, you did wonders with the E.O.E.”

“But I was never the leader of the E.O.E.”

“No, not yet. And you may never will be, the time stream has been altered beyond the ability of the Bolkerian Empire to form and the Resistance that later grew into the E.O.E. But your mind is still the same, you should quickly grow into your position.”

“I don’t know, still seems like a big responsibility. Why didn’t you make yourself the leader?”

“Heh, don’t worry Miles. You were already doing a good job as a leader for the Nimsters. And I can’t be the leader, I am leaving Earth.”

“What? You’re leaving!”

“Yes, my services are needed elsewhere. Don’t worry, I am leaving the Earth in your care.”

“Oh great, that makes me feel a whole lot better.”

“Here, take these as a gift from me to you. Whenever you feel like you can’t handle your situation take these out and think of me,” Elliot summoned forth his two lion head swords. And handed them to Miles.

“Your swords? Won’t you need those?”

“No, I no longer need these. They would have better use for you. You don’t even have to learn how to use them if you don’t want to.”

“No, I’ll learn how to use them. Might come in handy if I ever get attacked.”

“Good,” Elliot places the swords into Miles hands. He looked at one of them and lightly felt it with his hand when the razor sharp edge lightly cuts through his finger.

Miles looked as it quickly healed without leaving a scar. “So, is this good bye?”

“For now, I might come visit every century or two.”

“Century?”

“You are a creature remember, your life span is greatly increased.”


Miles had rested the blades against the ledge of the veranda when Caitlin, with Nim following behind, walked in. “Hey Miles, what are you doing?”

“Miles what is that sad look?” Nim said in her growls.

Miles smiled and looked behind him. He motioned the two of them to come over and watch. They did, and when they reached there they saw what looked to be a high moving shooting star going upwards. Once it reached must have been the edge of the atmosphere a yellow energy shockwave emanated outwards and overhead. Covering the entire globe.

“Just saying good bye to a friend,” he said and smiled. <We will see each other again, Icarus Felcrono Eagle.>


The president had just finished getting ready. He was going through a couple of his lines when his secretary came up to him.

“Ready Mr. President?”

“Yes, just another speech right?”

“Well, a speech that is declaring the alliance of all countries on Earth to combat the creature threat.”

The president looked up as he was introduced, “Well. Here goes.”


The president walked out onto the stage. There must have been thousands of people crammed all around it. The military was doing its best just to keep them quiet as he took the microphone. He watched all the news reporters that were streaming their images across the entire globe.

He took a big breath in, “People of Earth.”


Soldiers running through the barracks putting on armor and grabbing their rifles.


“We have discovered a crisis that threatens not just one country, but all of us.”


Marine waving the light sticks in the air on an aircraft carrier. He watches as an F-14 Tomcat takes off over his head.


”Already, many countries have dispatched their troops.”


Dozens of M1A2s moving across the dessert to arrive at a naval base.


“But we can not take on this threat without total human alliance. Already, millions have died from tsunamis caused by these creatures. Already, the United States has been attacked along the Louisiana River and we have lost contact with the North Carolina coast.”

“There are reports of these creatures massing along the European coastline and Chinese coastline. We believe that they are getting ready for similar attacks.”


Hundreds of Aircraft Carriers escorted by submarines massing together along the European and Chinese coastline.


“Already nations are working together. But we need more than the muscles of each country working together. We need their minds, their hearts, and their very blood working along side each other. We need all of you, citizens living millions of miles apart, to work together and keep the muscles moving.”

“Already people have called this the First Species War. Let’s show them how we mean it just like a war. We shall fight to the very last tooth and human. We were here first. The human race, shall survive!”

As he said the last bit of his speech the crowded roared. Seven jet fighters also flew close to the ground adding their roars to that of the crowd. It had begun, the First Species War.


<He is waking,> the elder Nimsters sent. It raised itself so it was lightly standing on the bottom of the ocean floor. Before him there was a crater, dug by the Nimsters and nearly 1,000ft deep. But it was a smooth descent, not like the tunnels they usually made to dig. It was to be a symbol of what they would do to serve The Provider.

What must have been hundreds of Nimsters joined him. Taking positions that resembled many circles inside of each other around the deepest part of the crater. At the deepest part there was what looked to be a metal egg, about 10ft high.

The egg wasn’t smooth, it had crevices and folds. Making it seem almost like an oval gear more than an egg. The egg stretched slightly and an eerie green light escaped it.

<How long has he been trapped there?> asked one of the smaller Nimsters in the group.

<Too long.>

The egg then started to glow in the same light until it seemed to be another sun. It then exploded into a shatter of light, the Nimsters turned away because the light was blinding.

They looked back to see a 9ft tall humanoid. He seemed to be partly Nimster. He had a slender Nimster tail that extended out of his back, the fins were larger proportionally however. He seemed to have large retractable claws that could no longer fit all the way in.

He had a pair of large wings that while seemed to have some sort of waterproof feathers, ended with leathery skin. He was leather skinned, with most of his leather skin covered by sleek fur that seemed to reflect the green light being produced by him. His eyes, were copper-brown. They looked like normal reptilian eyes except the irises appeared to be shattered and broken.
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