We didn’t sleep on it that night. Instead, all of us gathered in the little room Rebecca and I were sharing. Pale slivers of moonlight punctured the spotty cloud cover, passing ominous, cold rays over everyone in the room through the little window in the ceiling. Smaller than the hotel room, we were about to burst out of the space and tumble down the mountainside. Deciding what to do about Cordell’s “offer” definitely trumped any kind of comfort we needed at that time.
“I guess before we even start, we need to know, do you want to join them?” I asked, placing my hand on Rebecca’s lap. She’d been looking down almost all day, avoiding any conversation. She put her hand on top of mine, still struggling to manage even lifting her head.
“No, it was a mistake to come here. I knew something was off about him. I don’t like it here. Something isn’t right about these people.” Her voice nearly broke, the burden of being the deciding vote to have all of us negotiate with Cordell finally weighing her down.
“She’s right,” Lori agreed. She rapidly tapped her foot against the stone ground and fidgeted nervously. “All of those guys out there follow the same emotional pattern that Cordell does. When he’s happy, they’re happy. When he’s mad, they’re mad. Even when they acted drugged, they still gave off something. I can read enough of him to see there’s something odd going on. I think he’s controlling them.”
“His cables can probably connect to people and brainwash them somehow.” Lizzy frowned and shivered. “I can’t imagine losing control of my mind and body like that. If we stay here, we’re probably going to be turned into slaves just like those poor people. Let me tell you, I do not pull off black hair.”
“You literally have...never mind.” Rosie shook her head when Lizzy snickered., the levity helping to lift the mood somewhat. “Y’all...I think we have to fight our way out.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the room, turning the cramped space suffocating. We had the numbers, and we weren’t exactly weak ourselves, but I didn’t like the idea. Even outnumbering them how we did, I was positive we were at some kind of disadvantage. There was something about the Sentinels that oozed a quiet, confident power.
I didn’t feel good about it. Lizzy’s power was primarily preparation-based, and she didn’t have any makeup on her. Lori’s was useful since seeing someone’s emotions could open windows to manipulation, but that was a hard thing to bank on in the middle of a fight. Cordell wasn’t going to be fooled by any voice tricks Rebecca had up her sleeve and there was no way he was going to let her get within ten feet of him, let alone lay an entire hand on his person.
There were issues with fighting our way out, and I didn’t know what other choice we had. Cordell wasn’t going to let all ten of us leave knowing what we knew, and while not a lot in the grand scheme of things, was enough. We knew about things that had been kept secret so well that they were barely even myths in the superpowered world. There was too much to risk by bringing us here and telling us that. He thought we would either comply or he would beat us into submission.
Or just get rid of us.
Talks carried on, but I was listening to the Spheresong to calm myself down. I wasn’t really mad at Cordell anymore. I knew his endgame from the beginning, so when he outright admitted to me in a thinly veiled ultimatum, I was hardly surprised. Instead, I found a small sense of peace with that, especially after seeing the Sphere. It felt like, with that, everything could still end up fine. It was warm sunlight cracking through a gloomy cloud that blanketed the sky. It gave me hope that I otherwise wasn’t sure I could have felt.
“Guys, sorry to interrupt,” I said, not really sorry, “but I think we should go find the Sphere.”
Everyone stared at me blankly and I felt my face go red. How crazy had I managed to sound asking that? I was feeling good about a ball singing in my head, so that wasn’t a question I was going to consider any longer than I needed to.
“That’s where the song is coming from. I don’t know, I feel like we should go to it.” I flushed harder, tugging at my collar. Yeah, I was doing a good job playing the part of the group’s crazy nutjob.
“Ethan, with all due respect, you’re the only one here that’s been reacting this strongly to...whatever that is.” Abigail had barely said a word since we’d arrived. It was a little bit of a shock to hear her voice. Since this whole thing was her idea to begin with, some stronger input throughout the entire event would have been appreciated.
“I know, I know. You guys can feel it, can’t you? Cordell wasn’t lying about that. It does have some kind of call to it. A sort of magnetic pull. I don’t know what it means, and it’s just my gut telling me we should all go to it. I promise, when you guys see it, you’ll feel a lot better.”
There were some murmurs I made myself tune out. The Spheresong was pleased with my idea, sending waves of joy through my head, and bringing me back to a simpler time. The sweet smell of freshly baked brownies on the table. No fears like going hungry or financial instability. An irreparably fractured home, once again made whole again, all by the wondrous power of this voice that sang in my head. The strange part was, it didn’t even feel like it was a deity of some kind. It wasn’t like this was God or anything. It was an actual object, created by someone and put on that crescent pedestal for a reason. And yet, I had no doubts it was alive.
“I trust him,” Rebecca said, finally snapping me out of the thoughts I threatened to get lost in. “It’s me they really want. I know it’s selfish, but I don’t want to give myself up, even if it means you all get to walk away from here to live your lives. Please, I...I don’t know how to ask this of you...can we all trust Ethan together?”
“What are you talking about?” Val asked, completely dumbfounded. “No one was going to have you give yourself up, even if he agreed to let us go. That wasn’t an option on the table.”
“Can't say I'm the biggest fan of agreeing with her, but yeah, nail on the head.” Lori shrugged, like it was stupid the conversation had turned that way at all.
“Some of us were a little rash in coming here. We got carried away.” Lizzy shuffled around and awkwardly kicked her feet, a rare sign of embarrassment. “I have as much blame to take for coming here. This was a stupid, childish, silly move. I don’t know if we can call ourselves adults after not thinking this through. I won’t let him take you.”
“Steal my thunder,” I mumbled, secretly thrilled that all of them were in the same boat together.
“You seriously trust this orb, yeah?” Lori looked me directly in the eyes. The short few months where she’d been a leader had taken their toll. She just looked completely different from the girl who met me at my school, looking like she was going to pee herself when interrogated by my sister. She wasn't the same girl who could barely keep up with grooming and bathing after watching her best friend die on TV. That already felt like a lifetime ago.
“It feels like the right idea. I don’t know, I can’t explain it very well.” I took a deep breath and looked all of them in the eye. All of a sudden, I wasn’t as confident in my idea. “I could be leading us to our deaths. Maybe Val could fly us all down off the mountain?”
Val just shook her head. “Sorry, I think I could only carry two people at once, and that might be pushing it. If the wind starts to kick up at this altitude, that would be a whole new problem. On top of that, if Cordell caught wind of it, we’d have people up here separated from others. I don’t think that’s the best move.”
It was a shot in the dark, and I knew it wasn’t a good plan from the moment I thought it up, but it was worth a shot. My palms were leaving damp spots on my pants. Everyone’s eyes were on me. Everything was really going to come down to a gut feeling I had about a magical oversized golf ball. “Okay, it’s not hard to get to it. Let’s go before Cordell comes looking for our answer.”
I was positive that clowns honking horns getting out of a tiny car would have been stealthier than all of us trying to get out of that room unnoticed. Making our way to the main chamber, everything seemed quieter than usual. Fortunately, all of us were able to keep quiet when sneaking our way through. Being in the lead, I kept an eye out for anything wearing a white cloak, holding my breath every time a torch made a shadow dance in my vision. The occasional howl of wind that broke the silence sounded like a gentle breeze inside. There was no other noise besides the wind and the gentle taps our feet made on the cold floor. I was hoping it wasn’t a façade and the mountain wasn’t just holding its breath, waiting to swallow all of us whole.
Slipping into the corridor, the torches cast more shadows that danced madly on the stone all around us. Even knowing the shadowy figures were gone from my head, I was still expecting one to jump out at me, to make me yell and blow our cover. Waving everyone ahead, I picked up my pace. It was just a straight shot, so the faster we got there, the better. Only barely could one hear our combined footsteps echoing off the narrow path. Despite the noise, no danger or opposition came to meet us. The anticipation to show everyone the Sphere was eating me from the inside out.
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It felt like an agonizing, multiday journey to get there, yet we did. We all walked into the spacious chamber that housed the Sphere. The consistency of its faint illumination battled against the wild light created by the surrounding torches. With every step I took toward it, my heart calmed and the world faded away. To make sure I stayed focused, I had to push back against the Sphere with thoughts of my loved ones. Shelly, Mom, Dad, Megan, and Rebecca were all great guests that the Sphere could share space with.
“Wow.” I wasn’t sure who said it. It sounded like it was caught in their throat. It didn’t matter who said it. It was all that needed to be said.
“Ethan, it’s showing me Rose,” Rebecca whispered. She grabbed onto my sleeve, holding on for dear life. Her eyes were wet and staring at something I couldn’t see. “It’s showing me my daughter.”
“Memories or visions?” I asked. The Sphere hadn’t shown me my mom, the singing managing to get her essence across. It was still just alien enough to keep me grounded in reality, but it was very much trying to use my mother to make me feel nice and happy.
“I think a mix of both. There’s so much.” Rebecca gasped and started blinking. Slowly, she wiped away some tears that rolled down her face, still keeping one hand on my sleeve. “Oh Ethan, that was beautiful. It felt like I got to watch her grow up. It put memories, or footage, or something in my head. I don’t know what it did...I got to see my daughter again.”
Everyone else must have had similar experiences. All of them were looking off somewhere, mouths open, completely in awe. Even Alex, Val, and Abigail all looked overcome with emotion, feelings cracking through the tough, thick exteriors all three of them wore. That was weird to see. I’d seen Val and Abigail show some vulnerability, so it wasn’t a huge shock. To see Alex, of all people, genuinely look happy was unfamiliar territory. Almost as unsettling as Cordell’s whole personality and everything else about him.
I gave them all a little bit of time to have their moments. It’d been a stressful few months for all of us, after all. They deserved a little bit of escapism. While they all had their moments, I pulled Rebecca close against me, finding so much comfort in her. The Sphere threw in some visions of Rebecca meeting and getting along with my parents. While nice, I knew they weren’t real. The feelings and visions the Sphere sent me had a firm line in them between reality and what I wished my reality was. That kept me grounded and focused in the real world, happy as can be with what I saw. What made me happier was the most beautiful lady in the world who let me hold her tight in my arms.
After a few minutes, everyone finally snapped out of whatever they were seeing, feeling, or hearing. I didn’t ask about any of it. There were a few sniffles, a few more laughs, and everyone came away with big smiles. It was refreshing to see everyone in our two groups truly happy, even if it was for a few brief moments.
But it was time to get to work.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen if I touch it. I think it’s happy we’re all here. I...I think it wants me to touch it.” I turned to face the Sphere, reluctantly relinquishing my hold on my girlfriend.
“I don’t know what’ll happen either. That’s what we’re here to find out, right?” Rebecca was by my side, giving my hand a squeeze. Newfound confidence ran through me.
Even with that confidence, I had trouble making myself do it. Reaching my arm out, it felt like it was stuck in jelly, not wanting to move forward. But I had to move forward. Move through the resistance to make contact with whatever the Sphere really was. So, with everything I had, I forced my hand through, prepared for whatever it was going to throw at me.
Time slowed down and I was so close to touching the Sphere. I could feel the energy radiating off it, tingling the tips of my fingers. Time slowed down even more, there was a flash of gray, and I nearly lost a couple of fingers. I saw it just in time to pull my hand back, only getting a cut that dripped some blood to the ground.
“I let you into my home, show you the Sphere, offer you safety, and you repay me by trying to go behind my back to put your filthy hands on this sacred object?” Cordell lifted his cable in the air, some of my blood running down the end.
Next to him were all of the other members of the White-Cloaked Sentinels. With a scowl, four cables oozing black, tar-like liquid launched out of Cordell’s back and into the necks of his colleagues. Instantly, their eyes all sparked with life and rage, viewing us like we were wild animals that needed to be put down. Seeing him control those people like that with my own eyes nearly sent me over the edge. If I hadn’t been able to react in time on the yacht, that would have been me. How many people had he ruined the lives of by doing that? How many sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers had he taken away from families for his own selfish reasons?
“The ones before me were weak. They were all weak like you!” Cordell stomped his foot on the ground, his heel hitting stone echoing in the space around us. “Unable to resist the temptation of the Sphere. Instead of settling to be the protectors for the greatest object to grace our species, they had to figure out how it worked and what it wanted. Just being in its presence wasn’t good enough for them. A bodyguard shouldn’t sleep with the person they’re sworn to protect. I understand that, and that’s why I’m here now, prospering after disposing of them.”
I shot a Shimmer-Spear toward him with as much as I could, hoping to end the entire fight before it began. The weapon wasn’t moving fast enough. Cordell could see it all the way. If I had been asked to block that like I had the hockey pucks from my training with Alex, I would have been able to stop it with no trouble. Despite my fears, the Shimmer-Spear still made contact with its intended target, pushing Cordell back a few stumbling feet.
When he righted himself after the slight inconvenience, I saw I only damaged his cloak, revealing his body heavily guarded by slithering cables. At that moment, I wished I understood my own power more. I wasn’t strong enough to end the fight in one hit and I doubted I was going to get a better chance. Still, I manifested my Shimmer-Armor around me, placed myself between Rebecca and our threats, and tried to steel myself mentally for the battle.
All around me, everyone did the same. Val drew her sword and took to the air, the tall chamber leaving her ample room to use her power of flight. Alex’s arms started to glow brighter than I’d ever seen. Julio’s antlers sprouted into wicked, jagged points. Braden created four shadow warriors while pooling the rest of the room’s shadows under his feet. I couldn’t tell what Rosie’s battle prep was, given her power, but she was as ready as everyone else to fight. Lori and Lizzy backed up slowly, scanning everything they could take in, their particular powers not being the most suited to direct combat.
I didn’t know who was going to take who or what powers matched up best against which opponent. All I knew was that I had Cregene in front of me with six of her mannequins rapidly approaching from behind her. Their twitchy, unnatural movements made them all look like they were repeatedly getting jolted by an electric cattle prod. Their mannerisms got under my skin in the same way Eric’s strange illusions had. Sadly, it was obvious they weren’t illusions. Those creepy things were as real as I was. Her power was going to be a tougher egg to crack.
The tension was palpable and could have been cut with a dulled butter knife. There was a sort of energy in the air that almost felt palpable. Not just from the Sphere, but having fifteen superpowered people in such a tight space, all ready to unleash the full strength of their power the instant someone finally blinks first. Even in our brief skirmish with McLeod, for all his power, I didn’t feel a sensation like the one I had in that chamber. A bead of sweat created by my nervousness and excitement raced down to my chin before dripping to the ground.
That might as well have been the starting gun because it was just chaos after that.
Three of the mannequins charged me at once. I disposed of one with a well-placed Shimmer-Javelin to the chest. The mannequins weren’t as durable as Cordell with his metal cables protecting his torso. It didn’t destroy it as much as it did immobilize it. I was pretty sure they couldn’t be killed outside of being blown to bits, so pinning them to the walls or the ground was my best bet. With that train of logic firmly becoming my battle plan, I already had one down.
I wasn’t as lucky with handling the others. The javelins I sent toward them were dodged or only scratched the mannequins’ surfaces. I wanted to start sending out any weapon I could muster until the problem was dealt with. That was all before I saw Alex charging toward Devon, shattering through the coral he created. I didn’t trust myself enough to avoid accidental friendly fire, so I stuck with attacks that wouldn’t have me running the risk of skewering my friends. Using that method to fight things that couldn’t be killed was easier said than done, however.
One of my javelins hit a mannequin in a weak spot or a joint, which sent its leg careening off behind it. I had a small hope that the leg would either hit Cregene or another Sentinel in the head and take them out of the fight. Of course, annoyingly, the thing just spun harmlessly to a stop on the floor. After that, the mannequin’s crawling speed wasn’t anything near its running speed, so that just left me one to deal with, and I was completely unscathed.
Then the mannequin left standing launched a punch at me. I thought the danger in them was how hard they would be to take down and their numbers. My silly little head was sure that the biggest risk was that they could easily overwhelm someone through their sheer resilience. Then its punch hit me square in the chest of my shimmer armor and I was positive the mountain had exploded around me.
I was sent several feet back, landing on my backside and nearly crashing into the unforgiving wall behind me, only stopping a few inches in front of it. My armor, amazingly, still held. There was a huge spiderweb crack that radiated out through the entire torso, but it held. I placed my hand up to it to repair the damage while I struggled for full breaths. Without that armor I put on as a precaution, a head-sized hole would have been blasted through my chest. As it stood, getting the wind knocked out of me was the alternative that was a million times better.
Even with the protection that saved my life, it still stung, to say the least. My breathing was raspy and uneven, each individual breath sending a searing pain through my midsection. Just the simple act of standing took a lot out of me, something I had to push myself through. I needed to get my butt in gear since the mannequin wasn’t wasting any time with a follow-up attack. It wasn’t a training session with Alex or Braden, and my opponent wasn’t trying to fake me out with illusions and overconfidence like Eric. Cregene and her toys were legit.