F
U T U R E B A R R I E R
( The
3rd Novel )
Secret Technology,
Unrequited Love, Absolute Vengeance
© April 2019 - Written by David Wicker
Please do
not reprint without permission
CHAPTER 99 -
"Epoch"
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* * *
This chapter is Rated: TEEN
One million years in the future, things definitely looked grim.
Galactic Fissure, if you did not know, was when man-made antimatter particles were released in an uncontrolled state. Were this natural anti-matter, the effects would be worse, complete implosion of the Earth and outlying planets within mere moments.
Man-made antimatter was not quite so devastating. But by releasing it uncontrolled it can and could cause Galactic Fissure, where normal matter is converted to Antimite. A rock hard substance, a type of ash left over from the flameless burn of antimatter with matter.
Were the antimite to spread, say to Earth's atmosphere, the sky would literally be falling. 100 times harder and heavier than hail, few could survive being outside and more buildings, vehicles, and other structures would be pulverized. This was called Galactic Fissure as it literally split the atoms of anything and everything, then combined them into a more compact form - the antimite.
Back at base, Murphy and Hum were rapidly going over the figures and calculations to see what the problem was. And then - there it was, as plain as day.
When Hum manually wrote down the calculations, whomever interpreted his figures had mistaken his zero's which had a dot in the middle to distinguish them from the letter O, instead for 8's ! It was a wonder the blessed rocket even left the pad without exploding first !
Once Hum realized this, he reeled back. "So the universe is going to explode because of a human typo !?" The entire launching station rumbled as if to agree and the Richter Scale started to reach dangerous peaks in earthquake values.
. . .
Tyr had her orangeade and went back to the computer. There. In very small print on the side, was a case of someone disappearing at this particular hospital. The hospital claimed the person never entered, yet there was evidence, at least from the family, to support they had.
The family was heartbroken and the mystery was never solved. As there was no direct evidence or any indicator of foul play, the case was thrown out in court.
Tyr nibbled on the soft end of a pencil as she read this. Then to herself, "So he is there ! They've got him, just like they got me ! I'm certain of it."
She stepped back and waved her hand. A thin stream of light petered out, much like it was peeing on the floor, but nothing greater happened.
"D****t all !" she said. Then she changed into new clothes, grabbed her keys, and was just about out the door to her bicycle when the phone rang.
"Hello ?" she answered on it.
A familiar voice spoke that Tyr did not immediately recognize.
"Yes, I'd like to speak to Tyr Cryshta if I may."
"Who ?"
"Tyr. Tyr Cryshta. I'm certain she is there."
"Well what if she isn't ?" Tyr asked, angrily.
The voice on the phone laughed, "Tyr. Is that you ? This is the doctor from the hospital, back at Gobi, the other side of the planet. I got this number by cross-indexing your full name, which you gave us. My, you certainly do get around ! At the cost of one of our X-ray machines I see."
"Whaddya want ?" she asked, fuming.
"You. I want you, dear Tyr. You obviously have some degree of ability that allows you to teleport to anywhere you want, possibly with the help of radiation. You also have apparent telekinetic ability, though not very powerful. I was going to take a flight out to see you there and discuss this with you if that's okay."
Tyr bunched her mouth up angrily, "What !? No, go away !"
His voice pleaded, "Tyr, you can't avoid this. You're special, can't you see that ? You could do the world of science a big favor if you would share your - "
She interrupted, "No and no ! And don't call again, or I'll put a curse on you. So help me, I will !"
The voice laughed, "I have no doubt that you can. A nasty one I'm sure. Alright, well, if you change your mind you can call me at - "
She slammed down the receiver. Great. Another nutcase after her ability. And in any case, it didn't work. The phone rang again. She didn't bother to hear the answering machine pick up and just left, locking the door behind her.
She knew where Cherry Tree hospital was. Not far from where she lived. By bicycle, she could be there in 15-minutes.
. . .
Back at the hospital with my Dad and his detective friend, they were just now addressing the receptionist there.
"Oh ? You are Mr. Borne ? As I mentioned on the phone, I'm sorry, but he was not admitted here nor your wife. Now if you don't have any further business here, I'm very busy and must get back to work."
Dad's friend, Jim, flashed an important looking badge. "I suppose you won't mind if we look around ?"
* * *
She eyed the badge dolefully, "Yeah. Whatever, detective. Just don't disturb the other patients."
Jim pocketed the badge and whispered to my Dad. "I don't think we're going to find him. Let's go back to the car and try and retrace your wife's steps."
. . .
With me, I was still bound in a strait-jacket, apparently almost a mile underground of the hospital where special cases were kept. I was blindfolded and gagged earlier by Dempsey.
Suddenly a soft hand carefully removed my blindfold. I was blinded by the light momentarily, but then I took in the sight. There were several girls about my age and younger directly ahead of me.
Each of them were dressed pretty kooky like they were going to a costume party.
The bigger one, apparently the leader, stepped forth and spoke.
"What are you doing here ?"
I mumbled, still having the gag over my mouth. She sighed and undid it.
"Answer the question."
I spoke, "I was kidnapped, the same as you, apparently ! I don't know why Dempsey pushed me into here. There clearly was a different door for males. Maybe he thought it would be funny."
She stepped somberly forward, "Do I look like I'm laughing."
I immediately recognized authority in her voice and shook my head, "No ma'am."
She smiled to my acquiescence and looking to the locked door I came from, spoke in a nicer tone. "Well, who do you think is in charge here ?"
I motioned my head behind me, "I think Dempsey might - "
Suddenly the girl rushed forward to give me face a mighty slap, hard enough to bring tears to my eyes.
She stepped back with a confident smile, "I ask you again. Who do you think is in charge here ?"
My mind whirled in a frenzy. Suddenly I knew the answer she wanted. My voice was tearful from the pain and I spoke in a quiet and frightened voice, "You are, ma'am."
The other girls murmured amongst themselves, impressed by the way their leader carried herself.
She leered at me, "Damn straight I am !"
I tried to dismiss the terrible situation and spoke, "Well I'm - "
She stepped forward holding her hand up, "I didn't give you permission to speak now, did I ?"
I realized if I answered this question I would get slapped again, so I just shook my head.
More murmuring from the girls, impressed, as she stepped back.
She then spoke louder, "It's not so important that we know who you are that you know who WE are."
I nodded, agreeing.
"I'm Angel. This is Blade."
One of the girls stepped forward dressed almost in solid black with a sash over her mouth. She carried and wielded two plastic knives like you get from a kitchen. I forced myself not to laugh.
Angel explained, "Blade here is really good with any knife. With a regular steel knife she can cut through brick. These - " and she pointed to the plastic knives, "are still pretty formidable in her hands."
That girl then stepped forward and prepared to slash down the strait-jacket, but Angel stopped her. "No, not yet. Let's keep him bundled up till we know more."
Angel continued the introductions.
"This is Nidra, Keidlyn, Flower, Petras, Froggy, Squirrely, Aoni, Star, and Chrona." She stepped back to hold her legs and hands in a dramatic X. "Our team is called the Y-Women !"
The others cheered and applauded. That is, until I spoke, "But you're prisoners just like me, right ?"
Angel came forward with fury in her eyes, determined to whallop me a massive smack on my face. But suddenly she smiled at the last minute and patted my face twice gently. "You're observant, boy, I'll give you that. Yes, we're stuck here. Occasionally they come to test us on our abilities. But then they leave and we're back to where we were."
I felt it was okay to ask another question, "Because each of you have superpowers, right ?"
She nodded, being more comfortable with me now. "Yeah, that's about the size of it. So you, boy, what superpowers do you have ?"
One of the girls laughed, "To kiss a*s of authority." And the others laughed at the mean joke. That is, until Angel looked over her shoulder and everyone at once was quiet.
"Well ?" she asked me.
I thought about it for a moment but couldn't give a proper answer. I shook my head, "I'm not sure. Sometimes, things just happen around me - that are strange. I have these dreams ..." but then my voice fizzled to silence.
She tilted her head quizzically to see if I was trying to hold something back from her. Satisfied I wasn't, she nodded. "Well, we all have strange dreams from time to time."
I looked beyond the group and saw a strange glassed in room where all the 4-walls were mad of glass. "What is that ?" I asked her.
She replied, "That's the room they test us in. It's apparently important for them to let everyone else see whomever is getting tested and with what. I don't know why, some kind of 'buddy' system and it ensures none of us can claim we were mistreated - not without evidence."
She went to a table and brought forth a plate of food.
"Hungry ?"
I nodded, "Yes, if you can just remove this - " and I squirmed in the strait-jacket.
She shook her head, "No, not just yet - " she picked up the handcuffs with keys and pocketed them. "You could be a real danger - that could be why they bundled you up in here. We're pretty formidable with our own powers, that could be why they sent you here instead of next door. That we would take better care of you."
I looked at her helplessly but she spoke, "No. The jacket stays on. Here, Squirrely, give him some food. I need a little time to think about this."
With that she handed the plate to one girl who had a face mask on looking very much like a squirrel. As she fed me I spoke. "So, what are your superpowers ?"
But she was quiet, not saying a word. She was very kind to me and somehow - someway, I felt I knew her from somewhere.
Just then an alarm ringed once. A light I hadn't seen earlier flashed red. Angel, grumbling, got up to look at a small computer console beneath it.
"Who is it ?" one of the other girls asked Angel.
She looked up and straight ahead. "Me. They want to test me."
I realized this would be a good opportunity for me to see just what powers Angel had and possibly find out why it was she was chosen to be the leader of this group ...
TO BE CONTINUED ... 
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