Colemond
Earth
The moment Annia stepped foot inside her house, she immediately ran to her private office upstairs. Her right arm got locked again and sparks flickered from the edges of her fingernails. She forced herself down to her seat and quickly opened one of the desk's drawers, revealing an extra smartphone. Hence, Annia took it and placed it on her desk, opening it through tight security. Come on.
After going through the tight security setup, she braced her right arm as the pain escalated. Her jaws clenched and sweat dripped from the edge of her neck down to her shirt. As painful as it was, she had to let off the grip and bear through it. On the phone screen, she clicked on the contacts list. One scroll reached the bottom where the last entry was all symbols and various Chinese characters. A subsequent click was sent to the phone call screen, and the device beeped.
“Hello?” a male voice spoke through the speaker.
“It’s been a while, but I’m in trouble. All members should convene.”
A moment of silence. Annia heard the voice humming, as if he was thinking of an answer.
“Hmm…I’m surprised to even hear you calling us.”
Annia, who was now grunting through her teeth and her voice turned hoarse, responded. “We can banter whatever we want, but…my case everyone has to be present.”
“Alright then. Where are we meeting up?” The male voice switched tone of concern.
“My place. I broke the neighborhood’s security entrance, so you can go through freely.”
“We’ll see you then,” the male voice said, cutting off communications on his end.
Annia looked up from her desk, viewing the window at the corner of her office. Her right arm wasn’t cooperating, and it was getting filled up like being sucked up by a vacuum. Hence, the way she figured it out at the gate and tried it again here. Despite the feeling of paralysis, her one will forcibly yank up the arm right toward the window. A light of purple brightened from her palms. Each second it kept increasing to almost as if staring blankly at the sun. Her eyes reacted, forcing her head to turn away and her eyes shut.
Boom!
A force nudged her right arm back a little, not enough to tip her balance. The noise ringed her ears because it was loud, like a stereo speaker. Simultaneously, Annia tried to wrap her left arm around her face to cover both ears. Her whole body experienced a vibration from head to toe. She bent her knees in response to keep her balance on both feet.
It felt long, but the action abruptly subdued. Everything went silent. The pain and semi-paralysis in her right arm ceded. When the vibrations calmed down, Annia slowly unwrapped her left arm, loosening her fist from the back-right of her head that covered her right ear. Afterward, Annia opened her eyes, finding the office to be foggy and smelling smoky. Her focus steered towards the direction of the window. She ignored the annoyance of her nose from the effects of the fog, turning out to be white smoke.
One whiff of the gesture broke it off, revealing the window to be demolished. A couple thousand dollars' worth of custom wall panels were torn off from the blast. The smoke eventually followed the airflow from outside, quickly departing the office.
Only luck could leave the rest of the office, not an unbearable mess of rubble. An enormous space beyond necessary for a private home office but filled with many personal items and furniture. Coincidentally, she had recently done some cleaning before today and that spot was one of them being arranged. Just my luck.
Annia sat on her office chair and breathed in and out consecutively. She didn’t believe that this was real. Even today in the hospital, the powers and magic she witnessed were supposed to be fictional. There was one new thing that came to mind, and she regretted not taking the opportunity before.
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A minute turned into twenty. Annia had passed out on her chair, only to be awoken by sounds of sirens and footsteps from downstairs. The rumbling came up louder and faster. She rubbed her eyes as the office door opened, only to be met by a few police officers. Ah, great. The two of them again. What the hell do they want? She angrily thought, almost wanting to go back to sleep again, rather than seeing the police again. But it was too late now.
“You two again?” Annia asked grudgingly.
Before the two policemen could say anything, a tall, broad man in a black t-shirt and military pants appeared behind them, towering over their heads. Then a bearded man with a roughed-up face and neatly slicked back silver hair joined in.
“I’m sorry gentlemen, the issues are on us,” the former pulled out his FBI identification card.
The latter pulled out his card, also FBI identification. He took a cigarette and started smoking, unfazed by the policemen.
“I heard no such order,” the first policeman said.
“Why should we?” The tall, broad man said. “I saw you two barged into the front door. That’s fucking trespassing on someone’s property.”
“We—”
The two men each grabbed the policemen by their necks and pushed them. Immediately, they body-slammed the two down on the hardwood floor, knocking them out.
“Great. Now I’m in trouble,” Annia muttered with her hand pressed on her forehead.
“You’ll be fine,” the broad man said, dismissing the concerns. “Besides, they don’t even have body cameras or proper equipment.” He quickly investigated everything they came up with. It looked like he was pulling papers out of a folder. That was when Annia lowered her guard, realizing the situation.
Fake police? She thought, upon figuring out what they were, when the broad man revealed a badge from one of the supposed policemen’s chest pockets. He handed it to her. Annia found a printed fake of Colemond’s police department badge. “How the hell?”
“You’re persuaded?”
“Yes, but in fact, I called you for a different reason,” Annia said, then showed him her right arm. “Agent Sleep, do you have a vacant spot for me?”
Her right arm looked toasted. The upper layer of skin disintegrated and tore off bits of her long sleeve. There was still some sparking blitz coming out of her fingers. It was enough for Agent Sleep (A.S). He took out his pistol and shot both of the policemen in the head, fatally killing them.
Annia’s head jerked upon the shots fired and blood splattered to the floor. “Not in my house!” She turned to the big open hole. “The fucking neighbors are gonna hear this fiasco!”
Agent Sleep put his gun away. “Did you forget we have an entire team everywhere? A few are outside right now, blocking and absorbing the sound from going any further.”
She looked back at the wide hole and walked right near it to find a few in suits standing outside on her lawn. They had swords carried on their backs. Four black Chevy Suburbans were parked in her roundabout driveway. A large security detail. Annia then saw more gathered around a car near the driveway’s entrance. Fake sirens. Darn, I should’ve known.
The next second, two vehicles came turning into her driveway. They were greeted in waves by the ones on her lawn. It parked right in front of her house’s main double door, which was empty and not taken. A black custom Mercedes Benz coupe.
“Oh, it seems they’re here,” Agent Sleep said, walking up to view the front lot. He peeked out to get a clearer view of the two vehicles that had arrived. “Great…Dale’s here. Darn, he got a Vision Maybach 6. Lucky bastard.”
The Vision Maybach 6’s headlights flashed off. Two doors opened. Dale came out of the driver’s side, revealing his rough burn scars all over his face. He has a t-shaped scrape on the left side of his forehead. Unlike his younger brother Tiberius, who was with Agent Sleep, he wore a black bomber jacket and also wore military pants and boots. Dale was armed. He had a whole tactical belt that was covered by the jacket. Annia’s one glance and she could see he had two pistols equipped.
Dale saw Annia and Agent Sleep above and waved back. He rarely smiled, so it was a surprise to see him respond happily. He then went over to the passenger side where a blonde lady in sunglasses and also the same fit came out. Dale waited until she walked out and closed the door. The two walked into her house.
Behind Vision Maybach 6 was a BMW. Agent Marriott, who looked bigger than the last time she met him and broad as Agent Sleep, exited from the SUV. His gray hair was gone and his skin tone looked smoother. For a doctor like Annia, she wondered if he had surgery or if it was some magical shit that came from Agent Sleep’s team. Magical shit can’t be shit anymore. Her experience got her sold into finding a solution or adapting to it somehow. Hence, Annia wanted everyone at her place to talk about it.
Annia and Agent Sleep retreated from the large hole and turned back into the office, where they saw Tiberius summoning a pen the size of a greatsword. The two policemen’s bodies have already been searched. The latter marked them by unleashing a load of black ink from the pen’s tip like a paintbrush all over the upper body. He dropped the pen to the side, causing the upper floor to shake momentarily. Afterward, Tiberius summoned an axe, generating a gust of black energy. It encircled him and exerted through the open space.
“Is this real?” Annia asked.
“You’re not in a dream,” Agent Sleep said, turning directly at her. “Now, do you believe us? After all these six years?”
Annia nodded, without a doubt. “I do. I’ll explain a bit when this mess is over, but I met Daniel earlier today at the hospital. That’s why I called y’all.”
“Daniel? That man…Jesus, it’s been a long ass time we saw him. I never thought he would help us the way he did. I owed him.”
Slit! Bang!
An upsurge of energy from Tiberius hit right to her stomach, powerful enough to trigger a flashback of the operating room. Woah. She took it well because her eyes flashed back to reality, finding herself still up on foot. By then, it was already over. The supposed mess didn’t exist.
No blood, no marks, or remains. Tiberius turned around and gave a nod. “All clean.”
Annia, confused, wondered what he did. “How? There’s nothing left.”
“Fúwén Mófǎ (符文魔法). Or Rune magic. It’s a type of magic system, and it's been a while since they first arrived on Earth,” Tiberius said. “We don’t know how it got here, but Agent Sleep started it all because he found a letter on a random hill while hiking at some of the Colemond’s terrain all those years ago.”
Annia turned to Agent Sleep, not even sure to deny it at this point. “That was you?”
Agent Sleep nodded, gesturing her back to the office’s doorway. “Where would you want us to talk about this? This is almost like an introductory lecture course, after all.”
“The other side of my house is a movie theater. We can all convene there. I’ll ask my maid to send the drinks,” Annia said and pulled her smartphone out.
“Hello, Annia?” The maid responded through the phone.
“Can we hold back dinner for a moment and bring the drinks up to the movie theater?”
“Of course, but do you want to have dinner in the same place? The seats have tables too.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Annia looked at others, asking if they wanted dinner. They won't mind. Agent Marriott came up the stairs at the last moment. He accepted the offer because he was actually starving.
“Ok, sure. Tell Gretel to come upstairs…You can join us in the movie theater.”
“…I’ll think about it, but thanks,” the maid said, then ending the call.
Annia put her smartphone away. “Alright, well, let’s go to the movie theater, shall we?”
“You have a big house for yourself,” Laura said, taking off her sunglasses.
“Got to spend the money somehow,” Annia said, walking out of her office first. “Since this is y’all first time, I can give you a tour once all this is over?”
“I could use some spare time,” Tiberius said.
All unanimously agreed, and Annia departed the office with others following her across the hallway. It was indeed a big house for only three people since the maid lived with her and Gretel. Seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
“And there it is,” Annia said, opening the theater’s secured door. Heavy and multiple-layered material to suppress the noise. Nothing inside or outside of space can be heard once the door is closed. She let everybody in first before her, leaving the door open for the maid and Gretel. “Do you guys want any drinks?”
Annia walked to the movie theater’s open bar next to the doorway, stationed on the highest platform. The home theater was constructed like an actual movie theater where it was constructed on an incline and stairways leading down to the screen.
“No thanks. I rather eat dinner first before having a drink,” Agent Sleep said.
“Same thing for us. Wait until after dinner,” Dale said.
Annia mentally felt disappointed but exited the open bar and walked down the home theater’s stairs to the middle of the space where it was the most open of all and there were actual dinner tables. There were two, and they were placed very close to each other, so the group conversations wouldn’t be as awkward. Everyone got their own seats with various comfort features. Laura, once immediately sat down, pushed the button to lift her leg, putting her on a slight incline. She took her boots off, allowing her feet to get comfortable.
When they all sat down, Gretel came in with the maid behind. Tiberius and Dale stood from their seats, prompting her to respond. “It’s fine. Even without my legs, I can still go down like everyone else can.”
She wasn’t lying as the wheelchair she sat on smoothly went down the staircase. Agent Sleep carefully looked at it, appearing to be interested in the technology and the wheels when interacting with such elevation. “Young lady? Who built that wheelchair?”
“I did,” Gretel said. “It took me two years to find the equation and an innovation in the ending process.”
“Impressive. You should join us after all this time.”
“Agent Sleep, not now.”
“You didn’t know? Daniel left her a phone number six years ago that led to us. She was a great help, and in return, we gave her the materials she requested,” Agent Sleep said and turned to Gretel. “I never knew you were using it for this…You impressed me.”
“I appreciate your kind remarks. Now, can we all eat?”
The maid came with two carts worth of meals. She might look like an average woman, but her strength was unique as she walked down the stairs while having the whole filled cart on her shoulder. Once she reached the table, the maid carefully leveled it back down, leaving no spills or slipped dishes. Dinner today smelled good and attractive.
Annia glanced at the cart to find multiple dishes of fried salmon and mixed greenery on the second rack. On the first rack were all the non-alcoholic beverages, cups, and a stack of large rice bowls. The maid handed everyone a dish before serving the drinks and placed two large rice bowls at each table. Afterward, everyone savored the fresh salmon.
The conversation began about Daniel’s recent moment.
“Daniel was here?” Dale asked, sounding surprised.
“At the hospital, yes,” Annia said, while chewing the green vegetables. “He might be the reason I got his new power.”
Agent Sleep stopped eating, expressing his curiosity. He drank a gulp of root beer and asked. “He has powers too?”
“I’m not an expert, but after sensing Tiberius that got me recalled back to the operating room, Daniel’s energy was much stronger than him. He almost wrecked an entire floor and the operating room to fend off against a portal that was summoned in the viewing room.”
“Where’s he now?” Dale asked.
“I don’t know. He disappeared,” Annia said, leaning back in her chair. “You heard about his resignation?”
“Are you serious?” Agent Sleep didn’t take those words passively. When Annia nodded, he took a breather. “Shit, he was the reason this city thrived for the past three years…Daniel was the only one in government that understood these issues with the rune magic system and put the bridge of communication with the mayor.”
Laura grunted. “Mayor Burman? I hate that guy. He was terrible and was only bearable because of Daniel’s pressure…Fuck.”
Dale was definitely not pleased with the sudden outcome of Daniel’s mysterious departure. He requested more water. The maid handed him a bottle of alkaline water. He drank another gulp after pouring it into his glass. “If we don’t act quickly, this could go a reverse 180. Who knows when he’ll come back?”
Laura leaned up. “If the Chief of Operations’ desk ain’t up on the table, we to stop him from winning a third term next year.”
“Not only that, but if touches or finds out anything related to Rune Magic, he’s going to destroy everything and put us closer to a global war,” Tiberius said.
Annia, who was listening to all of their input as it continued, ate the last greenery on her plate. She drank a sip of crème ale and offered something. “I have one offer. My place isn’t that far from downtown. Fifteen minutes on the interstate and we immediately arrived at the city hall. Since I’m on temporary leave from the hospital, I’ll be here more often and free,” Annia said. “So, do you guys accept a suggestion that a part of my house is a temporary satellite base for your operations?”
Everyone looked at each other simultaneously before turning back to Annia. The maid has some opinions to clear out of the way. Annia let her say her concerns. As a result, it wasn’t crazy, and, in fact, it was worth telling. Hence, she wondered what the rest felt about it. Dale suggested it wasn't crazy to borrow a part of her backyard to build a guesthouse. Annia already made her stance, adding the maid’s critique; it wasn’t breaking the boundary. She was lucky that her house and the neighborhood where each resident had an enormous lot, so the deal was settled on the condition there was no swimming pool.
The requests and critiques the maid made were about her limits of serving other people, which everyone else had to tell her they appreciated her dinner today. They understood the stakes and could take care of themselves, so the table wasn’t bothered.
With that out of the way, they took the rice bowls and ate all of them. The conversation continued while the maid went to the open bar and served them homemade wines and cocktails.
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A couple of hours have passed since dinner began. Gretel and the maid had left the home theater to do their own personal thing. The entire conversation until now was actually catching things up rather than getting to business. An actual conversation had only begun.
Agent Sleep and Annia were at the home theater’s open bar, taking their whiskey sips, with the former pulling out a question. “How’s your arm?”
“Thank god nothing crazy happened yet, but I wonder what you can do to help me with this?”
“Well, since your lot has huge acres of space, we can do training in your backyard. The second option is to go to Colemond’s private airport. We own most of the hangars there, but knowing you, I don’t think you will pick the latter option.”
Annia smiled, drinking the last sip of her whiskey. “You got it…I’m doing it in my backyard. If the neighbors watch, then I don’t care anymore,” she said before immediately feeling a tingling in her head. Her hand gripped the back of her right neck while grunting involuntarily.
Agent Sleep put his glass down, prompting Annia to dismiss his concerns.
“Ok, we will start training your body tomorrow morning,” Agent Sleep said. He announced it to the rest, allowing them to set up the schedule. He turned back to Annia, making one remark. “I wonder what your powers can do. It’s always fascinating for everyone’s first-time experience.”
“Is it really that unique?”
“Yeah. Anybody can have the same element or attribute, but on a micro level and psychologically, it’s not the same. There was no paragraph mentioning it, so go with the flow.”
As long as I don’t get this paralysis shit again. Annia thought, hating that experience of a locked limb.
The two continued conversing for a little longer before joining back with the rest. Everyone would talk about future plans and ‘Daniel’ was mentioned in almost every sentence.
Once the conversation was finished, at this time Annia would feel it was time to go to bed and instead do the tour tomorrow because it was past ten. Tonight was the first time she didn’t feel drowsy or sleepy. She told the table, and they said that if her power was related to the Rune Magic system, her basic stamina would increase, and sleep necessity would be significantly reduced.
Everyone stood up and Laura placed her left palm out, dispersing an inverted vacuum pressure to the table. It sounded like a flashbang as it throttled Annia’s ears. In a flash, the table was clean, with no residues or food stains left behind. Incredible. I want to know what the heck my power is.
“I know it’s late, but since I’m still full of energy, can we do the tour and training right now?” Annia asked.
“How about we skip the tour?” Agent Marriott suggested. “…Save that for later than we will be busy in your backyard, getting this new situation sorted out.”
Agent Sleep turned to Annia. “We can train right now.”
She nodded and walked out of the home theater with others following her. They headed down the grand staircase that led back to her house entrance’s double door, which was trashed. Both of the expensive doors lay cracked on the tile floor. Annia ignored it and turned back into the house which directed to the living room and the open kitchen. The door that opens to the backyard was in the living room. She unlocked it and revealed the backyard to them.
“There it is. Is that good enough?” Annia asked, as her backyard was only grass and flat surface. There were partial fences far straight ahead, enough to figure out the border. “Also, those few trees on the left and right are the corresponding borders.”
Agent Marriott walked down to the center of the lot, analyzing the space. “Not bad. This will be enough.” He then looked down and did a few stomps with his boots. Annia didn’t know what he was doing but watched. She heard Agent Sleep send command lines through his phone.
Tiberius joined with Agent Marriott, summoning a giant-sized pen. He followed the latter’s instructions where he pointed to where to mark and draw lines, treating the backyard like a canvas. Tiberius was really proficient in how much ink to use because having a pen that big would result in the possibility of black ink squirting out if it was poorly handled.
From Annia’s perspective, their process turned into watching track and field. Two racers ran at a constant speed, but one was giving instructions while the other set the ink. It was a big backyard, so it made sense. She pulled out her smartphone, opened her stopwatch, and pressed the start button.
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“Done,” Agent Marriott said.
Annia clicked the stop button, ending at two minutes.
“Nicely done,” Agent Sleep said, giving Marriott the clear. He nodded and told everyone to step back.
Agent Marriott threw his jacket away from the site and raised his right hand into the air, clenching it into a fist. Light triggered around his entire arm, gathering around his knuckles. The color of his arm turned grey. His arm grew longer and bigger than his torso, and the skin turned rocky where between the small cracks dropped residues of dust. Agent Marriott was looking up at the night sky until the arm was fully formed. Then he leaped up high with his enlarged, rocky right arm aimed right at the ground. He was probably eighty feet up in the air before a dive, boosting his speed with a prepared punch.
When he landed, Agent Sleep stepped in front of the group and summoned a three-story high shield, protecting themselves and Annia’s house. While covering herself, the latter could hear the rocks clashing right to it as loud as gunshots.
Thank God that it was quick. Annia thought and breathed when it was over. When she looked at her backyard, most of the grass was gone. It was as if a pavement was built. That wasn’t all. The incomplete borders of her lot were replaced with high rocky fences like at a medieval castle.
“There you go. A pavement has been built with no construction equipment.”
“If it wasn’t for his shield, you would have destroyed the roof,” Laura said, warning him to be careful next time.
“Alright…alright,” Agent Marriott responded, not wanting to create an argument.
Agent Sleep stepped onto the new pavement, taking a few walks. He nodded, approving it. Afterward, he glanced at Annia, directing her to stand at a spot. Hence, Annia went right to the spot where she stood on his opposite side. Her eyes stared at him, wondering what he was going to do. That was when he told her to take a couple of steps back. She listened and Agent Sleep did the same.
“We’re ready!” Agent Sleep yelled.
A couple of suited agents that were from the front lot flew up in the air, carrying some technological equipment. Annia saw them placing them at the edge of the pavement on her left, while a few were on her right. Once they finished, a transparent wall shield was generated, forming a rectangular closed space.
“That will keep us from destroying the neighborhood,” Agent Sleep said.
“Destroy the neighborhood?!”
“Let’s begin!” Agent Sleep shouted, summoning two katanas. “Here! That’s yours. Work with it.”
Annia grabbed the sheathed katana. It felt heavy, almost as if she held up a chair and moved it. As her hands grabbed the hilt after withdrawing the sheath, an immediate weight from her shoulders gushed through her arm, right to the wrist. The same electric charge from hours ago, but Annia felt no paralysis as she gave a little swirl. The more she moved her arms with the katana, the weight lessened. However, there was a sting from her forearms, and she jerked her arm downward. She let go of the katana and found a small gash in both, leaking blood.
“Are you ready?!” Agent Sleep asked from across.
“Give me a moment! There’s blood all over my forearms,” Annia said.
“You’ll have to get used to this pressure if you want to make it out long-term!” Agent Sleep reminded her and threw a gauze roll. “Wrap this up! It will save you some trouble…Get used to the wear and tear.”
Shit. Annia hurried, wrapping the gauze roll around both of her forearms one at a time. Once she was done, she put it in her pants pocket and picked the katana back up. The weight came back but it will have to do. A moment of deep breaths, not knowing what she would expect in the next few minutes or whenever.
When her eyes saw him move in a flash, Annia’s entire body instinctively moved, leaving it to do the work.
Clash!
Her first day has begun.