Adelfried
Evan popped his head back out of the car “What are y'all doing...wait, what’s going on?”
Yes! Evan’s touch could break the enchantment. Adelfried tried to call out to him but only a muffled sound came from his lips. He forced sound out through his frozen mouth, but only “Tush eee…” came out through stiff lips.
“What?” Evan got out of the car, coming closer.
“Cuh ear…” Again, Adelfried tried to force the words out. Evan took a step towards them.
“A lil it closer,” he lowered his voice, trying to lure Evan in. Breathing was becoming harder, shallower. Evan did not understand what was happening, perhaps he should have explained more, that there were others in this world that had magic. He didn’t have time to for guilt now, he had to make contact with Evan. “Touch eeee,” He forced out.
Finally, Evan grabbed his arm, his face concerned. Adelfried’s arm loosened from its stone prison and grabbed Evan firmly while it was free. The stone prison disappeared. His body moved freely now. He spun around, sure to maintain his grip on Evan. The officers walked towards them with large silver rifles aimed at them emitting a faint red beam that engulfed the family.
Adelfried stepped out of the red beam pulling Evan with him. Once clear he released Evan and let loose a furious attack of sky-blue magic. The officers whipped backwards. Their bodies crashed into the building behind them. Their rifles clattered to the ground in a cloud of sparks. “Evan, go and touch everyone. You will absorb whatever magic has ensnared them.”
“What is going on? How—”
“Now is not the time for questions. Just do as I say.” The boy’s face was a picture of terror. Adelfried gave him a little push in the direction of his mother. “Go.”
As Adelfried approached his crumpled attackers, fury filled him. The air around him crackled with suppressed magic, fighting its way out through every pore of his skin.
The woman’s eyes remained closed; her body motionless. The blonde-haired officer fumbled for something on his belt. He lifted his hand. A flash of energy fizzed past Adelfried’s head, hitting the wall behind him which exploded in a shower of bricks and dust.
Adelfried’s hands curled into fists. “How dare you?” He gripped the man in a field of magic. He lifted him up high in the air and smashed him into the ground. And again. And again. He repeated until the officer stopped grunting and blood ran from his nose and ears.
Adelfried released his grip and closed his eyes. There’s no need for death. The threat is over. He slowed his breathing. He shouldn’t kill these two. But oh, did he want to. No, that would only attract more attention. Better to understand the threat.
Adelfried examined them more closely. The woman wore a small round pin above the pocket of her uniform. He reached out and ripped it away. It was the same irregular rhomboidal shape he had seen the first day he arrived, on the back of the cloak of the man who had attacked him.
“Who are you?” Adelfried yelled. But there was no response as the pair lay motionless on the ground. He yanked the woman’s head up by her hair. “How did you find me?”
She tried to reply but her words were unintelligible.
“Leave us alone, or next time I will not be so merciful!” Adelfried dropped her and hurried back to the family who were now free thanks to Evan’s work. “We should leave. Now,” he said answering Ying’s confused face. He dragged Evan, who stood open mouthed beside him.
“What is going on?” Kyle yelled.
“That was so weird.” Kae said moving her arm around, making sure she had her full range of motion.
“Come on, everyone get in the car.” Ying snapped, fear and anger filling her voice.
“What the hell was that?” Kyle yelled. He sounded close to tears.
“Not now,” Ying yelled, as the car lurched backwards out of the parking spot and careened for the exit. Before she could turn out onto the street a silver sedan crashed down from the sky in front of them. Glass and chunks of metal sprayed their car as the sedan slammed into the ground. Ying slammed on the brakes barely avoiding the upended sedan.
“There are three more of those weird people!” Kae yelled, looking through the back window. The battered and bloodied officers had recovered enough to stand. But now they were flanked by three more figures dressed in dark grey robes.
Ying threw the car in reverse. The engine roared as they sped backwards through the parking lot. Adelfried hung onto the armrest as Evan’s face was white with shock. Just as they reached the back exit of the parking lot, a yellow jeep plummeted from the sky, crashing down and blocking the rear exit. Everyone in the back screamed. Ying smashed the brakes just barely avoiding it.
Ying cursed madly in Thai as she fought with the steering wheel, zigzagging through the lot searching for a gap until they were back to where they had started. A white pickup truck crashed down in front of them. More screams from the backseat, accented by Kyle’s that was higher than normal pitch. Ying mashed the brakes. Before she could get in reverse, a blue SUV landed behind them. They were completely boxed in.
Adelfried closed his eyes and focused on the white pickup truck in front of them. He hurled it end over end over end back at the attackers down the street from them. They scattered to avoid it. He pushed a couple cars out of the way in front of them clearing a path to the street. The car lurched forward as Ying guided the car out of the lot.
Their forward motion stopped. The tires continued to spin, filling the air with smoke as they burned against the pavement. The smell of burnt rubber filled the cab.
“A little help, Adelfried!” Ying yelled.
“They have guns!” Kae yelled, pointing behind them. “Big guns!”
All five figures now walked towards them, the three in robes held the same large silver weapons emitting faint red beams holding the car in place. The monotone voice of the blonde-haired officer was suddenly in the car like a magical loudspeaker. “Everyone out, or you're dead! You have thirty seconds. Twenty-nine, twenty-eight…”
Adelfried closed his eyes trying to disrupt the beams holding the car in place, but this was a different type of magic he had never felt before. He tried creating a barrier around the car, but still, it didn’t move.
“Why is someone throwing cars at us? What the hell is going on?” Kyle screamed, his voice now extremely high pitched.
“Not now!” Kae fired back.
“Adelfried?” Ying said, staring at him desperately.
“…nineteen, eighteen…” The voice continued unabated.
Adelfried started to think out loud. “If we go out there, they will freeze us again, the only one who is safe is Evan…we need something…something to get past their weapons…
“…fourteen, thirteen…”
“Evan, quick, the ball you caught, give it to me.”
Evan reached for the ball but in his haste knocked it onto the floor where it rolled under the seat. “It’s under the seat, I can’t reach it.”
“…eleven, ten, nine…”
Kae dove under the seat arms flailing, trying to retrieve the ball.
“I got it!” She exclaimed, triumphantly handing it to Adelfried.
“Evan, quickly, up here and hold the ball with me,” Adelfried instructed. Evan lunged from the third row in the back across the second row and put his hand on the ball while Adelfried also held it. It started to glow dark blue as Adelfried pumped magic into it. “You are the only one who gets out of the car. Now, can you hit them with this?” Adelfried hoped this plan would work.
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Evan eyed the figures marching steadily towards them. His voice was nervous. “Yeah, I think so.”
Adelfried smiled and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Aim for the one in the middle.”
Evan nodded.
“Three, two, one.”
Evan opened the door.
“Smart choice,” the voice boomed.
As Evan stepped out of the car a bolt of black energy cut through the air with a deafening snap striking him on the shoulder. He looked down where the bolt had hit him. The attack tore a hole in his favorite Astros jersey. Evan’s jaw tightened. His brow furrowed. He reared back like one of the pitchers from the game and hurled the ball with a grunt. It was a strike, slamming into the chest of the middle assailant with a thud. The target grunted in pain as he dropped his gun.
The booming voice rang out, laughing. “You think that pathetic attempt—” A concussive explosion of blue fire sent bodies in all directions.
Evan dove back into the car. Kae slammed the door shut. Ying stomped her foot on the accelerator and tires squealed as they shot down the road.
“Oh my god, Evan, that was awesome!” Kae yelled, squeezing him tightly. A huge grin formed on Evan’s face.
“Will someone please tell me what is going on?” Kyle said, now pale and shaken.
Evan tilted his head slightly as he continued to watch behind them. “Alright, uh …Adelfried is a magician from another world and is living with us until he can figure out how to go home.”
Kyle looked at Evan unsure whether to believe this fantastical story. “Okay real funny, seriously, what the hell is going on?”
“He pretty much covered it,” Kae said, as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
Red
“Heavy ESH activity one klick east of your position,” the voice from the radio in Red’s car reported.
“We’re on our way.” Red ended the call as a dot appeared on the screen of the car’s navigation. He turned the car and gunned the engine.
When they arrived at the spot indicated on the screen, they found a few blocks of parking lots surrounded by brick buildings. Smashed and broken cars were scattered about like a tornado had run through the lot, randomly reorganizing it. A hole had been ripped out of the brick façade of a building, with clear scoring that was without a doubt from a discharged ESH weapon. Glass, brick, and metal lay scattered everywhere. Red recognized the two Sovs, Maggie, and Lamont, dressed as officers, laying on the curb wounded. He smiled and hopped out of the car.
The one with short black hair, Maggie, pulled a telephone line loose from a nearby pole with a jolt of telekinetic energy. The free end of the line landed in her hand readying her for a quick escape.
Red moved closer, hands up. Even in a ditch and wounded, Maggie was capable of anything. “I always knew you were gutter trash Maggie, but I never thought I’d actually find you in one.”
She put a hand on Lamont, the blond-haired officer next to her. An evil smirk crossed her face. “Lisa sends her love, Red.”
A deep fury rose in Red. ESH poured out of his outstretched hand in a massive strike. She and Lamont disappeared into the telephone line in a flash of light. Red’s attack tore a hole in the concrete an instant later.
Nina came up beside him. “Who’s Lisa?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Red, frustrated he missed his shot, started to survey the destruction around him. “Call in a containment team before the police arrive and keep an eye out for witnesses. I’ll set a daunter.” Red pulled a black cylinder from his pocket and twisted a knob on the end until it read ‘50 meters.’ He placed it in the middle of the street. It started to hum and pulse with psychoactive waves that would deter ESH free individuals from coming close to it, so they had a little time to work.
“I got ESH markers all over the place.” Nina said, as she walked over to more Sovs dressed in their standard grey.
Several vehicles in the parking lot were on their side or upside down. “Looks like they were tossing vehicles, maybe trying to catch someone.” He reached down to check the pulse of one of the Sovs. “This one’s alive.” The Sov, feeling Red’s hand on his neck, started to move. Red delivered a tiny pop of ESH to his head, knocking him out.
“Know any of them?”
“Only the two who got away, these must be new.” Red leaned in pulling a tight-fitting necklace from the unconscious Sov and stashed it in his pocket. It was the standard issue for Sovs, it contained enough ESH material for the wearer to be a competent wielder.
Nina continued scanning the area with a look of puzzlement. “I don’t get it. Why do so many people fall for the Sovs' promises? Like, who believes them? Yet they seem to have an endless supply of recruits.”
Red glanced up at her unsure if he should say anything. Better to leave that topic alone for now, it wasn’t his place. After all, the Wreckies compartmentalized for a reason. “See what you can do about those upside-down cars after you bag some of their blood. I’ll check the other two.”
Nina kneeled to examine the blood and scorching on the street. “Looks like something powerful put them down.” She pulled out a small plastic sample bag which automatically vacuumed up some blood and sealed itself. “The blonde left a lot of blood, I bet he was about to bleed out.”
“That’s Lamont, and glad to hear it.” He walked back over hunting for more clues as to what had happened. “He was an asshole before he became a Sov.”
Nina crossed the street to a parking lot where a Jeep lay that was mostly unharmed considering it was on its side. She glanced around to confirm no one had made it close before flipping it back on its tires. “So, do you think it was our rogue wizard?”
“Same city, same destruction, and five Sovs nearly zeroed out. It's gotta be.” Red said with some confidence. “I’m starting to root for this guy.”
“It could be a gal, you know.”
“Whatever, my point is they could be anyone. I’ll never admit it to Reggie, but I think he’s right, it has to be someone with a newfound ESH source. No one is claiming ownership and these attacks, while clumsy, are the result of someone very powerful with only a rudimentary understanding of ESH. Did you see the ESHwear on that guy? It was shredded. Plus, both battles seem to be in self-defense.”
Nina raised her voice, heat in her words. “Oh, so you think this wizard killed our agents in self-defense?”
“Think about it,” Red said, considering their first call. “It could have been a Sov that actually killed our agents. I remember seeing at least one of our agents down before that blast that knocked us all out.”
Nina flipped another battered car upright with ease. Damn, she was an efficient wielder. “I guess it’s possible.”
“Hold on,” Red saw people standing at the end of the edge of the daunter’s range. “Too many people around now. We’ll have to have the Media Department put a story out to cover this up.” Even with the daunter, people seemed to really want to get to their cars, and if someone was determined enough, they would completely ignore it. He headed over to a silver assault rifle laying on the ground and picked it up. The grip just felt right, as if it were made for him. He took a quick test look down at the sights. “I’ve always wanted one of these.” He couldn’t help but admire the four feet of sexy chrome-trimmed death, and the four barrels capable of varying levels of lethality and uses. The power source, a blue crystal situated just above the trigger, glowed softly. The print on the back panel read, “M.E.A.R: Multi-purpose ESH Assault Rifle, Mark seven.” He sniffed. “I used to carry a Mark five before the ban.”
Nina added in a dismissive tone. “Not that I need one, but a big mistake banning those if you ask me.”
“Exactly,” Red said, somewhat surprised by her response. “Not everyone can sustain your output, but with one of these, it levels the playing field. A lot.”
“Why were they really banned? No one will tell me.”
Red laughed. “Compartmentalization.”
Nina shook her head. “Why are we so damn secretive?”
Protocol dictated he shouldn’t share information other than what was operationally necessary, but this was a stupid secret. He started to wiggle the blue crystal which was already loose due to the damage the weapon had sustained. “Alright, you see this crystal here?” He popped it out of its socket. “As you probably know, with any artificial ESH power source, if you set up a feedback loop on itself, it can overload and explode. Well, an overloaded crystal this size could barbecue a couple square miles easily.” Red held it up to his eyes to examine it closely. At this point the crystal was starting to flicker between blue and green.
“Yeah, so?”
“Well, the crystals they used for the Mark fives had a flaw. If the enclosure around the crystal broke, and there was even the slightest damage to the crystal, like this one…well…boom.” The crystal now started to let off a green hazy smoke.
Nina eyed the smoking crystal taking a step back. “Shouldn’t we, you know…do something?”
“Nah, after the mark fives, they fixed it.” Red said, still watching the crystal which had changed hue to a deep jade green. It started smoking intensely. “Supposedly.” He glanced around, starting to get nervous himself as green smoke billowed from it. He lobbed it into a deserted lot against a building.
Boom! An intense but small ball of blinding white energy showered then in dirt and stone. “See? We’re still alive, just don’t be too close to the explosion.”
“Damn it, Red, was that really necessary?” Nina yelled at him, brushing dust out of her hair.
“There, now we have our cover story, gas line explosion,” he said, with a shrug. “Did you notice how the explosion was super intense but contained to a tiny spot?”
“I’m sorry I asked.” Nina picked up the last MEAR sitting a few feet away. “And don’t worry, I got this one.” She double-checked the crystal was still fastened in place before putting it in the back of the DeVille.
Red stashed the dead Sovs in an alley where a Wreckie containment vehicle, that looked just like an ambulance, showed up to collect them. This was followed by a large grey street sweeper truck which started to wipe and extract all the remaining ESH radiation from the scene. This would prevent anyone from accidentally encountering it and absorbing it. By this point the game had ended, and the crowds were filtering out of the stadium and into the streets just as the local police were arriving.
Red turned off the daunter and stashed it back in his pocket. “Wait, I think I saw something by that building.” He strolled over to a closed-up storefront. On their way, they passed by a man wearing a blue hat with a white T on it. His clothes were soaked, and he smelled of beer. He and the woman he was with came up to a white pickup truck that looked like it had been tossed around in game of ping pong. He stood there, aghast, staring at the truck before starting to yell all manners of curse words.
Red saw something on the ground in a small alleyway at the side of the building nearby. A flat piece of cardboard that had faint hints of ESH on it, like someone had spent a long time there. The sign read “Anything helps.”
Red looked at Nina. “Someone witnessed everything from right here.”