Chapter Twelve – To Kill A Monster
26th Dec 2:20 PM
‘Aren’t you supposed to be in bed or something?’ I asked cynically, turning to see the Argonaut walking towards us across the training grounds.
‘This coming from someone who spent three days knocked out in an isolation chamber?’ she replied, ‘I guess you’re just soft.’
I laughed, walking towards her ‘how do you feel?’
‘I just have a monster headache’ she sighed, ‘I’ll be fine though, nothing I can’t handle. Are you ready?’
‘Already?’ I asked, ‘are you sure you can do it?’
‘Yes, I’ll be doing the easy part remember?’
I nodded, ‘If you’re sure, there’s no point in wasting time I guess. Should we go somewhere a bit quieter? I need to concentrate.’
‘Sure’ she nodded, ‘where did you have in mind?’
Wordlessly I floated into the air, raising a hand to lift Serena up and take her with me. We landed gently on the top of the Archon’s podium in the centre of the arena; the flat surface spanned ten metres across, plenty of room and most of the noise of the training below was silenced.
I brought you these by the way’ she thought, passing my Gladii to me before sitting cross legged on the smooth floor between the Archons large thrones. I wordlessly thanked her before doing the same, sitting a metre in front of her. She leaned forward, touching a palm to my forehead. My senses faded as I accepted her mind into mine.
‘Let us begin.’
There was no darkness at the beginning now, no massive sun. I knew what was going to happen so I just cleared my mind and let Serena show me the memory. After everything had faded we were simply standing there amongst a sea of rubble. Blue water lapped at the ruined ground in the distance, hunks or rock were all that could be seen, making up the rough shape of an archipelago almost completely destroyed. A thick cloud of ash and smoke filled the sky, falling peacefully like snow as it blocked out the sun, casting a massive shadow over the ruin.
“Where are we?” I asked Serena, who had materialised beside me.
‘Just east of Java’ she replied, ‘the 26th of August 1883.’
“Why?” I asked as we floated above the decimated land, observing what little was left.
‘This is the aftermath of Iapetus’ attempt to create the energy on a large scale; I thought you needed to see it before we began.’
“1883… this is Krakatoa isn’t it?” I asked.
‘Yes.’
The massive explosion that had literally rocked the world was Archaean in origin, it figured.
‘In the attempt Iapetus contained a vast amount of energy in his body, too much for it to bear. When it reached critical mass he was literally ripped apart, he disintegrated and the energy raced out.’
“Thanks” I muttered, “that really fills me with confidence.”
Wordlessly the world around us stopped for a moment, with a bright flash of light a mountain materialised in front of us. One moment there was nothing and the next it was simply there.
YOU ARE READING
Argonaut - The Kinetic (Part I)
Science FictionHeroes aren't born, they’re shaped by the events that both create and destroy their lives. Forced into an ancient war between powerful races, David Constantine must come to terms with death and destiny while trying to balance what he was, and what h...
