CHAPTER 3

March 12, 2019

7:30 PM

1

Damion was in an unfortunate situation. After countless worried messages from Natalie, Damion is stuck on what to do and feels little regret for responding. She is returning home in about an hour, and Damion doesn’t have enough time to explain the upcoming threats he is dealing with.

He walks around the kitchen back and forth countless times and wastes ten minutes just walking in distress.

“DAMION!” Helix yelled at him.

“OW!” Damion braced his upper head.

“Get yourself together. You are not solving anything if you keep wandering around. Have some water.”

Damion opens the refrigerator, grabs a cold bottle, and goes to the kitchen island. He pulled the stool and sat on it, leaning towards the counter. He took a couple of breaths and ingested some of the cold water. His heart is still beating fast however, he regains his senses.

“Better now?” Helix asks

Damion nodded his head and drank the last half of the water bottle. “Bearable.”

“How about just writing a letter? If you want to leave now, at least leave something behind.” Helix highlighted a notepad nearby in one of the kitchen drawers.

Damion opened the drawer and grabbed a notepad. He sat back down, pulled a pen from his pocket, and started writing it down.

“Write down exactly as I say. Word by word.”

He wrote all the words line by line, eventually filling the whole first page. He let Helix scan through the page. “Alright. That should settle that matter.” He said and followed a click, revealing the notepad. He had screenshotted the letter, and the picture went to the gallery.

Damion got off the stool and left the notepad open flat on the counter. He went upstairs into his bedroom and snatched all his main clothes, shoveling them into the duffle bag. He grabs the backpack from during the battle and sprints down the stairs.

Adrenaline rose once Damion reached the bottom of the stairs and ran into his home office. He opens the prior chest and grabs a stack of cash, pulls out the same notebook, and stashes it inside the backpack. He closes the chest and leaves the home office, shuts off the lights, and locks the door.

Damion went back to the living room and picked up the tablet. "Can we generate energy right?" Damion asked.

"Affirmative," Helix said.

Perfect. Damion slightly grins. He unzipped the front of his backpack and slid the tablet inside. He closes the front door and shuts off the remaining lights. Damion opened the garage door and reached into his car and placed the duffle bag into the trunk while placing the backpack in the passenger seat.

He went to the garage shelves and grabbed back the Glock 19. He takes the holster and straps it near his belt. He reloaded his 9mm magazine and concealed it in the holster, and Damion untucked his shirt and pulled it down concealing his Glock.

"Unfortunately Natalie is not alone."

"What?!" Damion replied

"When I said I can affect technology in surroundings, I forgot to mention that as long as there is connection it can impact further."

"Get to the point. Does that mean Natalie is nearby?"

Helix pops up the map pinpointing her location, "Affirmative, somebody who is supposedly taking her home sped up on the highway."

Damion’s heart starts to beat rapidly, "How much time we have left at its lowest?"

"Five minutes max."

Christ. Damion opens two remaining shelves. On the upper of the first shelf, he grabs the M4 Carbine, AK-47, and two Desert Eagles from the second shelf. He placed it all in the duffle bag rapidly while being gentle. The ammo boxes are on the bottom shelves and labeled. Glancing at the duffle bag and back to the bottom of the first shelf. Damion pulled out a couple of boxes of 5.56 mm and the 7.62x39 mm cartridges. Not seeing the first shelf, he looked at the second shelf and took the .50 action express.

He tidied the duffle bag and zipped it, dashing to the backseat, and placed it there. As he was about to enter the car, Damion heard the humming from the street. "Don't tell me…"

"Yes, that is her. She is about two blocks away. Hurry up." Helix is about to gibber.

Damion clicked the garage door button at his car door and leaped into the driver seat, turning on the car. He slammed the gas pedals and dragged the gear stick. The car blasted in reverse. Looking at the rear and side mirror, Damion turned the steering to his left, drifting the car to the right. He pushed the brakes and shifted the car into reverse. He steered to the trees and parked under them.

Thank goodness my car is a dark color. Pretty much invisible at this hour. Damion's mind starts to race when he sees the gate open. Two vehicles came into the driveaway. “That’s Natalie’s car,” he murmured to Helix as he stared at the compact SUV... “Who is driving the SUV behind her?”

“Some friends. Maybe related to the one you saved, Tess.”

Damion shuts off the car and watches everyone leave their vehicles and walk inside, following Natalie into the garage. Then he remembers something. Shit. I forgot my sword is still in the room! “Uhm Helix, we have one problem. I forgot my sword upstairs.”

“Christ, dude…Uhh fine. I say when and where to go and not go. Got it?” Helix said in a lower serious tone.

“Yeah…Yeah. Got it.” Damion replied. He put the backpack under the passenger seat and jumped to the passenger side. His eyes still focused on the villa, putting his fingers between the handle on the passenger door.

“And…NOW!”

Damion jerked the door open and dashed towards the front of the house.

“Wait…I hear footsteps coming to your room.”

Luckily, Damion’s bedroom is directly above him, but Helix and Damion can hear the noises upstairs.

“I don’t see him,” a faint female voice Damion heard. That is probably Natalie looking for me.

“Ok, you clear.”

Damion climbed up the roof. Now besides the wall leading to the window of his room, he slowly maneuvers himself through the edges. Once he reached the edge of the window, he glanced over the window. It’s all dark, and the door is closed. “You should be able to enter now,” Helix said.

Keeping momentum, he thumped the window pushing it open. He slid into his room, plummeting to the floor head down, almost knocking down his bedside table. “That was a fucking close call. Now get up.” Helix whispered like he was there in person. Damion gets up and turns behind him, seeing the sword leaning beside the wall. “Quickly,” Helix said, trying not to grow impatient. Damion took the sword and leaped out of the window, barely landing on the roof.

“I got you.” Helix triggered weight adjustment to keep Damion’s balance on the roof. Damion closes the window and backflips back to the driveway. Helix giving the signal, Damion sprinted back into his car. Phew. That was close. He clicks a button on a remote, opens the front gate, and turns on his car.

Vroom…VroooM. Damion nudges on the gas pedal. He looked at the villa before he pulled the gear stick, and the car dashed out of the grass. It drifted out of the front gate leading to the street.

Goodbye. Damion glanced at the rearview mirror and viewed the villa one last time. He pressed harder on the gas pedal, leaving the neighborhood.

Before reaching the highway, Damion reached the intersection, and as he waited for the red light to turn green, he reached for his phone. He taps a few buttons and then places his phone close to his ear.

“I need to make a delivery package.”

“What kind?” the masculine voice from the other end.

“Me. ETA of one hour, prepare me for the cargo plane.”

"What's the location?"

"Greece. Near Mount Olympus is the objective."

"Give me a moment…clear. Ok, we got one ready when you arrive."

"Perfect, the payment will be delivered shortly." Damion ends the call.

The street light turns green, and Damion heads up on the highway. As he drives out of the suburbs and the city, he notices two suspicious unmarked vans with one on each side of his tail.

Man, another problem again? Damion annoyingly thought. While keeping one arm on the wheel, he grips the other on his holster.

SCREECH! Damion pushed hard on the brakes. He glanced at the van and could faintly see the driver’s appearance. Those marks and that mask. No way it’s them already. He doesn’t want to believe it was them until Helix popped an alert confirming more Riseods, going red on the heads-up display.

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“Damn, It!” Damion said frustratingly and instinctively focused towards the left van. For a brief second, he can see in the passenger side view mirror where the driver of the second van at his right is about to pull out a move.

Wasting no time, Damion, currently behind the left van, rammed the gas pedal and steered towards the van’s rear wheels. Losing traction, the van skids, losing control, leaving its side vulnerable. Damion pressed the brakes faintly. Once it was perpendicular to his car, he rammed the gas pedals, slamming the van.

“Get Down!” Helix yelled

Damion ducked down from the windshield as the van popped the side door open with multiple Riseods in position firing bullets.

“Grab the sword! You Go! I’ll take the wheel!” Helix blurted.

“You can do that?!” Damion asked

“Yes, just GO!”

Damion snatched his sword from the passenger area and braced himself. “PUNCH IT!” He yelled as he let go of the steering wheel and pedals. The car briefly slowed down before going up a notch, and a loud vrooming sound followed.

The car activated its boost system, ramming the van much harder than prior, startling the Riseods in the back. Damion strapped his sheath to his back and leaped out of the windshield, barging right into the back of the van. He grabbed one of the Riseods and kneed him to the face. Knocking it out, he snatched the unconscious Riseod and threw its body to the other, slamming its head to the bulkhead.

One tried to grab Damion from behind and shoot him in the lower back. To no avail, Damion stomped on their foot, yelling in pain and loosening its grip. He withdraws his sword and slices its head off. The Riseod's head slumped to the floor, and he grabbed it and projected it to the bulkhead, splattering it through the holes and making a mess at the front.

Few more are left. Damion stomps one of them before also throwing him to the bulkhead, significantly denting it. He gripped his right arm tightly on the blade, igniting it on fire. “Now DIE!” He lifted his sword and inflicted the flames toward the two, hearing their screams.

The two were scorched and dissipated to dust as the flames throughout the van. The frame of the cargo van starts to crumble and disintegrate as Damion goes up to the bulkhead. Using the unconscious Riseod he got his head slammed into earlier, and he puts his body directly in front of him. With force, he stomped on the body, now killing it, tearing the bulkhead.

The driver tried to pull a weapon, and Damion grabbed its right arm and tore it from its shoulder. Before it could yell, he stabbed its neck and slammed the hilt, making the blade go upwards, slicing the driver’s head in half.

Looking back at the rear larger holes appear from the scorching blazes. Damion sheaths his sword, canceling the fire. He seized a loaded rifle from the side of the seat and ran back out to the side door he leaped in. The second van rammed the back of his car intently to make him lose balance, but he already launched into the air. He pulls out the loaded rifle and shoots a barrage of bullets before landing on the hood of his car.

He looked back at the van seeing its tires blown and flipped. The van exploded, splattering blood up into the air. “Not again,” Damion murmured and rolled back into his car. “Let’s get out of here!” he said, prompting Helix to direct it away from the first van. Damion got himself up and seated properly back in the driver seat. He placed the rifle on the passenger seat near his sword and wiped all the soaked blood off his face.

“HELIX! MOVE AWAY!” Damion yelled as he was about to hit a random car on the highway. Unfortunately, it was too late as the car barely nudged away from the upcoming car, slamming the side head-on.

Wheeze…Wheeze. Some time passed, and Damion jolted awake and spun around. He noticed the wrecked vehicle he hit and saw the two vans behind him all burned and melted, all debris scattered across the highway.

I must be out briefly. I wonder how long, but I have to get out of here. Damion remarked. Surprisingly he is calm, unlike Helix where he blurted out in apologies. "I'm sorry, sorry, for all of this!" Helix apologizes in a high-pitched voice that sounds like he is breaking down.

"Hey, it's fine, relax…relax." Damion tries to subdue Helix by calming him down. To no avail, he lost it, going on a trample.

"HELIX!" Damion burst in yelling. "Please calm down. You always tell me to take deep breaths. Now take a deep breath and relax…"

Huff…phew…huff…phew…huff…phew.

"Better now?" Damion asked.

"Yea. Thanks. Unexpected from you. Usually, it's the opposite.

"No kidding, anyway, don't worry about what just happened. Is the car still functional?"

"Let me see."

Damion attempts to turn the car on. It partially ignites. Shit. Wait. "Helix, can you transfer a portion of your energy here?."

"What are you planning?"

"I theorize this can work on a car. If it worked on a tablet, maybe on a car too."

"Uhmmm. I guess we can try."

Damion pulls the ignition button out, revealing the keyhole. He placed his right palm directly on the keyhole, and he pressured his palm, ejecting a faint surge of energy he could feel flowing from his arm. He immediately yanked the ignition button back into the keyhole and pressed it.

Sounds of revving roaring. Damion nudged on the pedals a couple of times. Vroom vroom Vroooom. "Well, that is convenient. Alright, let's get out of here." Damion said, and he reversed the car out of the crash site and drove off to an exit leading to a different highway moving westward away from the city as he was going north prior. He gave one last glare to his right of Downtown, Illuminating the distance.

He passed through a sign stating:

Leaving Colgar. Safe driving

2

"Approximately an hour later, Damion made it to a private airfield. He parked near the cargo plane and was greeted by a man wearing military boots and pants.

"Greetings, long time no see." The man said in a calm, soothing voice.

"It has, Hendricks," Damion said as he shook hands with Hendricks.

"You look fucked up. Are you working again?"

"Not yet, but very likely. Twist of fate ain't it."

Hendricks nodded and helped Damion gather his stuff onto the plane. Damion reversed his wrecked sedan onto the ramp leading to the platform.

"We set?!" Damion asked.

Hendricks nodded with a thumbs up. Damion shuts off his car and goes up to the upper deck. Hendricks closes the ramp and follows him up the ladder.

Both sat at a dining table while Damion placed a duffle bag on the table.

"What's this?" Hendricks curiously wondered, staring at it.

"My weapons stash. Just like how I always do." He unzipped the duffle bag, revealing the arsenal.

"Way more than usual. Something up?" Hendricks stared Damion in the eye.

"Very unordinary."

Damion sat down pushing the duffle bag aside. "Never thought this would bring me back. Nobody would be sane enough to think it's legitimate."

"What would that be?"

Hendricks leans back in his seat and sees Damion revealing his right arm. "You might not notice it till now. It's this."

"What the hell happened to you? It even briefly got to your neck." Hendricks pointed.

"Let's say. Aliens exist. One of them is an Alien Artificial Intelligence that bonded with me. Now I'm trying to find the answers."

"This correlate with Greece?"

Damion nodded. "Indeed. All of this blood on me was from them. They tried to ambush me as I drove here because I have Helix."

"Helix? That's the name of your AI. I see." Hendricks crosses his arms. "That's just bizarre. Does that mean now that I'm taking you to Greece, I might be their target?"

"That is possible. So far, the Riseods have no regard for morality and shame."

"Do you get an idea of what they look like?"

"I do, they are…" Damion's phone beeps.

He pulled out their phones and saw the message notification "From Helix."

They stared at each other confused. "I'm gonna click," Damion said. He tapped the notification, and a link popped up.

"Helix, is this you?"

"Uh no…that's weird."

Could there be multiple Helix that I might not know? He taps the link causing the phone to restart. It's bizarre. Both, including Helix, stared at Damion's phone rebooting back up.

"This better not be a hacker situation."

"I give the benefit of the doubt. However, it's strange that the sender has the same name as Helix."

Beep.

The screen looks normal until a pop-up appears on the lock screen.

Welcome to the Helix system. We have personally selected you for The I.E.P or Individual Enhancement Program.

To answer your concerns

No, you are the first one to receive this message.

We are currently in an undisclosed location setting the release of this Progressive-Learning Program.

Warning: Anyone with low willpower entering the I.E.P. are at a higher risk.

Anonymous

Helix system…I.E.P what is this. Damion comprehends the few lines. He feels suspicious, and as he tries to back out or turn it off and on, the message is still there. He looks back at Hendricks.

"We're still on the ground, right?"

"Yes. We have around 5 minutes left till we fly."

"Alright. Guess I have no choice." He clicks accept. A bright flash of light illuminates the whole room unleashing gusts of wind as Damion braces himself and blocks any from blowing on his face.

Whoosh.

He heard another gust coming out now the wind exponentially increases blowing not only at his direction but also at Hendricks. He got himself back up now seeing Hendricks bracing through the wind. Man what the hell is this?

After brief seconds of trouble, the gust abruptly stopped. Hendricks slowly got up back to the table, looking disturbed. Both got back up, and Damion's phone popped out smoke particles, inflicting their eyes.

Both fell hard on their backs, gasping in pain, covering their eyes.

"Can this not get any damn worse!! The day is not even damn over yet!!"

"Grhh…hgh!" Hendrickson screamed and gasped as he could not pronounce words through his mouth.

Both didn't get up till the plane started to move. Damion braced up slowly up back to the seat. He rubbed his eyes, and bits of particles fell off from his sockets.

"Helix. Can you explain what just happened?"

"I'm sorry. I can't. I didn't even know Helix is more than just me. Could that be…Woah.” Helix gets interrupted by a program entering the heads-up display.

I.E.P downloaded

System activated

Merge…

As Damion adjusted his eyes and drank a bottle of water he found from a fridge below the table, another pop-up appeared.

Hendricks jerked back towards the seat. Damion pointed at a floating display in the air. “You seeing this?”

He shook his head as he doesn't see anything. Damion glances at the display.

Damion Aetos

Level: 1

Affiliation: Seelenkrieger (Soul Fighter)

Taxonomy: Locked Locked

Attribute: Power (Red)

Stamina: 150 Attack: 56 Defense: 32 Critical: 20 Speed: 28 Iryoku: 80

“Is this a video game?” Damion murmured to himself.

Another message popped up:

New Objective:

[] Arrive to Greece - 9800 km

Damion were bewildered because he is already going to Greece. Now the objective even says so as well.

“What a field day.” Damion said as the plane reached takeoff.