Guardians of Light: Journey of the Mask

In an underground prison, Agent Mikhael Germain is a captive. Bound and drugged, her memory is affected. Framed for murder, her mother and child kidnapped, she's gifted with powers but they're useless

Chapter 1

 Awakened by a searing pain in my left arm, I flinch. As I crack open my eyelids, a bright light forces them closed. 

“Bonjour, Mikha'el!” 

A woman, and she said hello in French. Why? “Who are you?” I ask with trepidation. 

“Hold her head still,” she orders someone.

My heart races. “Stop! Don’t!” I want to defend myself, but I can't move. 

A light flashes in my eyes. “Her pupils are dilating,” the woman says. “Remove the bind from her other arm and wrap this around her bicep.” 

Enough said. Her accent gives her away. 

My arm is being squeezed. I think it's a blood pressure cuff. 

“BP is good,” she says. “Hold her arm straight and firm.” 

Too weak, resisting will be pointless. A sudden prick forces me to gasp. 

“The catheter is in. She's ready for the next injections. Strap her arm back down.”

I open one eye, and then the other. My vision murky, I blink several times until I can see clearer. Along with the headgear and mask, the guard is wearing the black uniform of the Bunker security team. As for the woman, her face is shielded by a white medical mask. Why? She also has on a white lab coat over a black top and pants. A red and gold colored scarf encompasses her neckline. Not exactly nurse attire! 

Heavy black makeup outlining her green eyes and the jet-black shoulder-length hair are strikingly familiar. Her bangs hide her forehead, but from the wrinkles around her eyes, she's old enough to be the mother of a, soon-to-be, twenty-six-year-old. I'm grateful we’re not related. 

I glare at her. Abigail? “W-Where am I? What are you doing to m-me?” My speech is stammered.

 She looks down on me. “Don't you remember, Mikha'el? You're in a prison.”  

“Prison?”

“Yes. For the murder of Dr. Richard Crevier.”

A psychological analyst, Richard tested candidates to become Guardian of Light agents, like me, for The Order of Perpetual Light, a secret organization we both grew up in and are members of. Flashes of his death send a quiver straight through me. I look up at the woman. “Is that the r-reason why I’m bound in this bed?” 

She glides her fingers through strands of my hair as if she isn't listening. “Your caramel locks are quite attractive,” she says, almost child-like. Her eyes, intently focused on me, are giving off the impression that something unpleasant is about to occur. 

Releasing my hair, she looks down as her hand slips inside her coat pocket. Gradually pulling it back out, she's holding a red pouch. As she unzips it, her feather-like sculpted eyebrows arch upward, and she gazes upon me once again. The two sides separate, but I’m unable to see what's in either half. “Lift her head up,“ she says to the guard. 

My head raised, I can't see her, yet from behind, I hear snipping.

Rested back onto the pillow, the woman walks to the foot of the bed and faces me. A spark of satisfaction glares from her eyes. Nervous, I have to know. “W-What did you do?”

She raises her left hand. Locks of hair, about six inches, are dangling.

“Why did you c-cut my hair?”

“There’s a possibility that the next drug used could cause a rash.” She pauses and looks away. I'm certain she's trying not to laugh. She glances back without making eye contact. “As part of Dr. Dragunov’s study, checking for reactions will be easier.” 

 Somewhat hazy, I do recall Dr. Dragunov. I don't like him. 

Because of the annoying stutter, the injection weighs heavily on my mind. “The drug that y-you forced on me, what does it do?”

“Listen to your speech. It slows you down. You're physically weakened and unable to become too emotional.” She chuckles. “Compared to the one you'll receive next, this is the more pleasurable experience.” From her eyes, I believe she’s gloating. 

“Where's m-my mother and daughter?”

 Smugness beams from her eyes. “Are they all that you think about?!” 

My emotions might be non-existent, but not my attitude. “Are you so c-cold that you have to ask?”

She's now squinting, and the bridge of her nose is slightly wrinkled. Unable to see her lips, she may have formed the perfect sneer. “They are fine without you!” she says, sounding disgusted. “You should be more concerned about yourself. Not that it’s going to matter!” 

Stay rational, I think. 

“When the doctor is ready, we’ll be back for you. Have a good rest, Mikha'el―while you can!” 

I watch as she turns to leave. I know her. Compelled to speak up, I don’t hold back. “You w-were present the evening Richard was murdered.” 

Nearly through the doorway, she looks back at me. “I was. Nevertheless, you won’t recall this moment when you wake up.” 

What does she mean by that? About to inquire, she exits. 

“Set the lights low and turn on the force field,” she orders the guard. 

Before darkness takes over, I see the drab gray color of this box-in-the-wall of a prison cell, which has no bars. A small stainless steel table in the corner is the only furniture, besides the bed. 

The woman's footsteps fade away and silence takes over. With the exception of a guard outside the open electrified doorway, I'm alone. Strapped to this bed and too dark to see anything, there's nothing to occupy my mind. I close my eyes. Richard’s mutilated body flashes like a light switch inside my head. Sickened by the macabre scene, I quickly re-open my eyes. “Center y-yourself, center yourself,” I murmur. 

Three and a half years ago, Richard became a close confidant of mine. Sixteen years my senior, I used to joke that his dimples and sandy-colored hair were going to get him into trouble with the wrong woman. Sadly, only days after my life took a downward spiral, I discovered his double life. His ultimate betrayal. He handed over to the enemy the top-secret high-tech uniform I wear as an agent. Along with it, my personalized Guardian knife, the instrument that was used to kill him, and the noose that led to my false arrest. 

Using bilocation, a spiritual gift that allows a person to be in two places at once, visible or invisible, I witnessed it all without being seen, including his involvement with the wrong woman―Abigail. And then, somehow, I woke up in Richard’s car with the carnage of his death beside me. Immediately after, I was subdued by campus security guards in the parking garage of the private college I once attended. Those two incidences were the worst of my memories on that fateful day, before becoming a captive. Securely cuffed and shackled, I wound up in this underground prison, and no one knows where I am. 

I take a deep breath in. I don't blame Richard, or anyone for my downfall. I allowed anger over my father's murder and my mother and daughter’s disappearance to overcome my emotions. Never certain who I could trust, I went in the wrong direction. Now I’m paying a horrible price. “I messed up," I admit to myself. Brought up to be a soldier for heaven, I failed. My greatest screw-up since my junior year of college. 
            Through the darkness, I look upward at a shiny air vent, near the ceiling. “I don't d-deserve any of my heavenly gifts. … Sorry, God―your gifts! You've probably already r-relieved me of each one anyway. I'm not worthy of w-wielding a speck of your power.” Far opposite of the founding fathers of our Order, who, more than four hundred years ago, suffered through countless trials to earn heaven’s blessings for future generations. “I made a mess of everything.” I gasp for a breath of air. If not for the drug that was given to me, I'd most certainly be crying far greater than a few tears.     
          I envision my family. “I miss you, Mother and Alisha. Hold on.”

Too tired, I cant stay awake.

 “Mikha'el, it’s time to wake up.” 

Unable to open my eyes, they seem to be glued shut. Something wet and smooth is being rubbed across my eyelids. 

“All clean. You’re ready to go,” says a woman with an accent. French?

Now able to see, she's wearing a medical face mask. I glance at the two guards who accompanied her. Both unmasked, I'm not contagious. Must be that she’s sick. Or she doesn’t want me to know her identity. No matter which it is, something about her is familiar. 

 “Where are y-you taking me?” I have a stammer. Another familiarity.

 The woman watches intently as my binds are released. Raised up, I'm placed on a gurney and bound once again. “Follow me,” the woman says to the guards. 

I guess I’ll find out where I’m heading soon enough.

As I'm rolled down a well-lit hallway, I notice the open doorways along the path. Some are empty cells, and recognizable, but I don't know why. Maybe I’ve gone this way before and I can’t remember. Although, having a photographic memory, that would be odd!

The woman finally stops in front of sliding glass doors. Upon opening, I peek inside. I’ve been here before. 

The gurney is pushed forward and placed next to what looks like an examining table. The binds removed, I'm raised up and placed on a smooth padded surface. My forearms and wrists are braced into cuffs. Separated about a foot apart, my legs are bound at the thighs and ankles. Instead of a medical gown, I wish I had on a top and bottoms. Lying here as I am, I believe I've endured this routine at other times. Whatever the reason, I'm unable to recall when.

Nervous for what’s to come, I take a hurried glimpse around the room. Shiny metal walls, lights and medical equipment all around. This place gives me the creeps.

          A guard crosses a strap over my shoulders and secures it at the side. The table is moving. In only seconds it stops. Elevated at the head, I can see more area. The same doors that I entered through open. A man of average height and build, wearing a white medical coat, walks in. I know him.

Author's Note

Appreciate any errors found. Flow of story, Content, dialogue is clear, and keeps a readers attention to read the next chapter.

Reviews

[Nefertiti Virtudes Ahme..]

This first chapter instantly held my attention! The way you started it off made it seem like we were going through it with the main character. We were thrown into the action right a long with her from the start. Fantastic!

[Michelle]

Thank you! Two other people who had read it gave similar views. I'm glad you liked it!