The Wrath of the Revenant Read online

  As the scene became clear, Tremain found himself hovering over Capitol city, with Sen next to him.

  "I removed myself from direct contact, disgusted by what I had caused. I meditated for a long time. While I was not paying attention, your people spread."

  Tremain felt displaced as time moved rapidly again before him. Capitol city grew. Buildings were built up, torn down, city blocks re-arranged, then enlarged. The mag-lev train was constructed, Centennial Park was framed. Tremain watched as the colony spread out, new cities were formed, boats were built and traveled to other continents. Civilization flourished.

  "It seemed as if overnight your people had spread across the face of my world. You laughed, you loved, you posessed everything I had lost."

  "And when did you start sending your constructs to spy on us?" Tremain asked.

  "Not long after I ceased meditating. A group of your people had separated. I collected them to study."

  "Daylin's expedition." Tremain's anger grew. "They were studying the plants and animals. They were no threat to you."

  "Your entire race is a threat!" Sen's light grew agitated, throwing tendrils at random. "I studied your biology, created my constructs so I could learn more about your species. What I found was alarming."

  Tremain's anger, quick to build, subsided just as quickly.

  "And you found what, exactly?" He asked.

  "Your race is barbaric. You destroy each other over petty ideological disagreements. You waste your lives away, using whatever drug you choose to abuse."

  "And your people? No similarities at all? How long had you been a civilization?"

  "Millions of revolutions."

  Tremain sneered.

  "Millions, eh? We've only been around for a few hundred thousand years. We're still in our infancy compared to you. Give us time, we'll catch up. If you've paid any attention, however, you haven't seen any of those "barbarisms" as you call them, here on New Earth. If you haven't noticed, we've grown up as a species, just a little." For emphasis, Tremain held up his forefinger and thumb, spaced just slightly apart. We're evolving as well, Sen. Don't curse us all just because we have a violent history. If we dove deep into your people's history, I'd bet we'd find some similar events."

  Sen's agitation reached its peak. Tendrils whipped out and wrapped around Tremain's virtual body. With a cry, he tried to break away, to no avail.

  "This is pointless" Sen's voice boomed across the void. "You choose to argue. My decision is made. Your people will be removed."

  Tremain felt himself being thrown back into the void. Sen's light reduced to a pin prick, then went out. Tremain felt his arms and legs pinned in place. He was trapped.

  "No . . ." His whispered into the darkness.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Christopher had just finished his second glass of juice when a loud banging sound rang out through the castle.

  "That's coming from the sitting room." Alice said and rushed away. Daylin and Christopher shared a glance.

  "Maybe we should check on Uncle Tremain." Christopher suggested. His father nodded and they followed Alice, albeit a little slower.

  They entered the sitting room, where Tremain still sat on the couch, his eyes closed, but moving back and forth rapidly. His breathing was regular. Sen still remained where he had been, standing in the middle of the room, his arm outstretched to Tremain. Alice stood to one side, her arms crossed, a crooked smile on her face.

  The cause of the banging sound became clear to them as they moved into the room. Smitty was holding one of Sen's rib pieces, swinging it like a club in his awkwardly-jointed state, slamming it again and again onto Sen's oval head, his mad cackle echoing around the room.

  "HAHAHA . . . take me apart, will you?"

  BANG!

  "I'll take you apart with your own bones!"

  BANG!

  Christopher watched as the repeated blows caused little to no harm to the stationary metallic figure. He felt like he should stop Smitty. Instead, he went over to where his uncle was on the couch, still unresponsive.

  He wondered what Tremain was experiencing when he noticed a glow emanating from his uncle's temples. He jumped back as the glow coalesced into a stream that meandered up Sen's arm and surrounded the oval head. Smitty, oblivious to anything other than his feeble attempts to cause some sort of damage, was caught unawares as a metal arm whipped up and slammed into him, mid strike. He yelped as he was thrown into the opposite wall and sunk, insensate, onto the floor.

  "I have had enough of humans." Sen's voice grumbled from all corners of the room. Christopher turned to his uncle, expecting to see him rouse as well, but there was no response.

  "Uncle Tremain!" He yelled as he shook Tremain's shoulder, to no avail. He cried out in alarm as he felt himself lifted into the air. He saw his father and Smitty, who uttered a mewling whine, were similarly restrained.

  "Humans . . . why I ever permitted your existence is beyond me. I will . . ."

  "SEN, STOP!" Alice yelled, her face contorted in anguish. Christopher glanced over at her, amazed at her courage.

  "You dare to oppose me?" Sen challenged.

  Alice stepped closer to the metallic frame, fists balled.

  "Put them down! There's no need for this!"

  "What do you know of need? You know nothing!" Sen waved a hand and Alice flew backwards, hit the back wall and fell onto the couch, unconscious. He turned his attention to the three humans he still held suspended in the air. "After humanity is destroyed, I will finally have peace."

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Tremain struggled. Straining at his invisible bonds, he willed himself to be free, to no avail. He was stuck and stuck good. Christopher came to mind just then. Christopher as a baby, as a toddler, a boy . . . he hasn't yet begun his life and it will be swept away from him in an instant of wind and rain. Desperation soured his soul. He could do nothing to save humanity. Frustration seethed in him as he continued his struggles anew.

  Nothing. He was still caught like a fly in a spider's web.

  Calming himself, he had to try a different tact. He reached out his awareness. If he was going to be trapped, he'd prefer to know exactly where he was.

  As he probed, the entirety of his galaxy of memories appeared in a flash. He wasn't trapped in Sen's mind at all. He was home, well, of a sorts. He knew his own mind, or at the very least, he was familiar with it. He was no psychologist, but he did know a thing or two about a thing or two. But first the restraints needed to go.

  He concentrated on his left hand, imagining the restraints as nothing but wisps of clouds.

  Nothing.

  He tried again, focusing his awareness to this one task.

  A foggy apparition took shape around his wrist, diaphanous swirls and eddies floating away. His hand was free.

  Waggling his fingers, he imagined the same thing on his other arm and his legs. Soon, his restraints were gone.

  But where to now?

  He probed his mind, looking for the exit to his own consciousness. What a field day Freud, Piaget and James would have had if they could have only experienced this. He chuckled, the irony not lost on him.

  Something pulled at him.

  He concentrated, looking for the source.

  The tug came stronger this time.

  He whirled to see a dog nipping at his pants. No, not just any dog, it was his childhood puppy. He had been a mixed breed dog, his black and grey fur shaggy on his body.

  "Spencer!" he yelled. Crouching, he hugged the puppy close, feeling Spencer's nose nuzzling into his neck. Spencer pulled away and pranced a short distance from Tremain. Turning back, he gave one yip and looked away, tail wagging.

  "You want to lead me somewhere?" He chuckled. "Don't tell me, Timmy's stuck in a well somewhere?"

  In response, Spencer yipped again, turned in a circle and started walking away, craning his neck to see if his friend was following. Laughing, Tremain followed.

  "Naturally I'll come with you . . . lead on!"


  Spencer took off. Tremain started running, then realized this was just his mind's projection and let his awareness carry him along.

  The image of Spencer burned in his memory. He could almost feel another sphere igniting and taking form. He had loved this dog with all his young heart. It was a cruel twist of fate that had separated them as Spencer had succumbed to a congenital heart defect when he was only four years old.

  Let Sen figure that bond out. Tremain thought as he followed his spectral pet.

  Spencer led Tremain to the base of a spiral staircase inside a nebula of clouds which sparkled in reds, purples and intense golds. With the galaxy of memories swirling about him, Tremain paused, struck by the surreal nature of it all.

  An image came to his mind, that of an old, withered Sen as he transferred his consciousness to his new, metallic prison. A smile came to Tremain's face.

  I've got him.

  Tremain looked up at the spiral staircase. Spencer had already climbed the first few stairs, tongue out, tail still wagging, waiting for Tremain to follow. The dog's unblinking eyes bored into Tremain as he stood at the base.

  I really need to work on my imagination. Spiral staircase, indeed!

  He began to climb.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Christopher's eyes bulged as he realized what was going to happen. He hung suspended in the air as Sen's anger made the couches shudder. The fires in the sconces whipped around in a fury as anything that wasn't tied down whirled around the room.

  "My storm will be unleashed. Its power will wipe your presence from the face of my world." Sen intoned as the small storm in the sitting room raged on.

  "You'd best get on with it then." Came a weak voice from the couch. Christopher saw his uncle stand. He swayed on his feet, but he was regaining his strength. He shook his head and blinked a few times. His stare was cold as ice. "Go on, do it. Destroy us." He stepped closer to Sen. "Go on!"

  Sen hesitated.

  "You astound me. How did you escape?"

  Tremain tutted and wiped invisible dust from his sleeves. Raising a hand, he tapped his temple.

  "You neglected to notice you trapped me in my own mind." He brushed his hair back. "I spend a lot of time up there on a daily basis. I know my way around. Besides," He stepped closer. "Didn't you hear me say we humans were a lot more resourceful than you gave us credit for?" He reached up and touched Christopher's arm. "Put them down for crying out loud. If you're not going to follow through, let them go."

  Christopher was amazed as he was slowly lowered to the floor. He stood, helped his dad to a couch. Smitty lay where he landed, his eyes like saucers as he stared at Sen.

  "Uncle, are you ok?" Christopher asked, his eyes full of concern.

  "Of course I am. I'm angry, is all." Tremain whirled on Sen, his finger pointing. "You betrayed me in there. I want to know why." He paused, then waved his hands back and forth, dismissing that notion. "You know what? Never mind that. What's more important is why you felt threatened." Sen took a step back, surprise written all over the body language.

  "Threatened? By you?"

  Tremain nodded, and pointed at his chest.

  "Yes. By me. By all of us." He indicated the rest of the room. "You showed me a lot, Sen, more than you realize." Tremain, feeling much better, held his hands behind his back and leaned in towards the metal figure. "I know why you were left behind." He turned his back on Sen and winked at Christopher, who raised his eyebrows in surprise.

  "How can you know that?"

  Tremain waved his hands back and forth between himself and Sen.

  "We communed, remember? Limited, I grant you, but still, you revealed more than you wanted to. I felt your anguish when your people ascended, Sen. My heart broke for you. I actually felt sorry for you. Then I realized something very important. You could have left with them."

  "WHAT?!"

  Tremain nodded, his stare never leaving Sen. Christopher could see his uncle was enjoying every second of this.

  "Oh yes, but you didn't. You were too afraid."

  The room shook with Sen's power. Everything around them that had been whirling around the room, fell to the floor with a clatter. Christopher and Daylin stumbled back into the couch. Tremain stood his ground, his steely gaze never wavering.

  "I was not afraid!" Sen shouted.

  "I beg to differ. Remember, we commuuuuuned." Tremain over-pronounced the word, making his meaning obvious. "Like I said, you shared more than you wanted to." He walked right up to the metallic man and pinged him on the chest. "It's not easy, contemplating the complete destruction of another sentient race. Not when you've felt their, well, my emotions, my memories. We're not too different a people are we? You created that storm so you wouldn't get your hands dirty. That's not good enough." Tremain leaned closer. "If you're going to take lives, do it in person. Do it so you can feel it. So you can see the spark fade before you. With your ability, you’ll feel every death. Should make it quite painful for you. But you can't do that, can you? I saw how quickly you ran to save a bird, an inferior species, wouldn't you say?" Tremain tilted his head. "I don't believe you can bring yourself to kill millions of people. Now, let's make a deal, shall we?" His answer was to be lifted by Sen's arm into the air by the front of his shirt and lab coat. He flailed for a moment.

  "You have nothing to offer me. Humanity is finished, starting with you."

  Tremain felt the air around his head grow thin. Sen was going to suffocate him. He took a deep breath.

  "Kill me and you'll never see your people again." He rasped. The air pressure in a millisecond returned to normal, making Tremain blink and pop his ears.

  "You cannot know that."

  "Oh I can. But first, put me down you rusted-out pile of tin!"

  Surprised, Sen dropped Tremain, who landed on his feet and made a show of brushing off his shirt front.

  "Tell me. My patience is not infinite."

  "No, but your thick-headedness seems to be." Tremain folded his arms. "You had thousands of years to improve yourself. You showed me as much. There were many times you could have returned to your people, but you didn't. You were afraid. You still are. That's why you're threatening us."

  "I. Am. Not. Afraid!"

  "Oh you most certainly are! And here's how I know. You haven't let go of your mortality, have you?" Tremain waved his arms, indicating the castle and all around it. "You have all the trappings of an organic being here. Soft couches, bedrooms with actual beds in them. You don't have to eat, sleep, shower . . ." He turned, gave Christopher a theatrical wink, mouthing the word "poop", then turned back to Sen. Christopher laughed, then stopped himself, seeing his father give him a warning look. Instead of obeying, Christopher stood and walked over to his uncle, crossing his arms, mimicking Tremain.

  "Exactly, Uncle." He said and faced Sen. "Why did you create the constructs but to live vicariously through them? Alice is every bit a human being as I am, despite you. She cares about us. Why else would she have convinced you to give us a chance to change your mind?"

  As if on cue, Alice began to stir, rubbing the back of her head where she hit the wall. Tremain turned to his nephew.

  "Very good, Christopher. You've been doing your own analysis, I see." Turning back to Sen, he said, "Now, I see two outcomes here." He indicated the window. "You can destroy humanity and go on living your lonely, isolated, bitter life, such as it is, with no hope of ever seeing your people again. Or," he paused for emphasis, "you can stop that foolishness, stop your madness with that enormous storm and I can help you to ascend."

  Sen paused for a long time. Tremain threw up his hands in exasperation.

  "YOU really are a pain in my backside, do you realize that? I present you with your heart's desire." He held up a hand. "Don't argue with me, I know what you really want." He threw his arms wide. "And then you have to think about it? You'll be with Illya again! What do you have to think about?"

  Sen's head swiveled to look outside.

  "H-how
do I ascend? I do not hear the call. I-I do not know how."

  "You really are stupid, aren't you?" Christopher piped up, surprising his uncle. He put his hand on his uncle's arm. "I've got this, Uncle. I think I've figured it out."

  Tremain motioned Christopher forward, a proud smile on his face.

  "The floor is yours."

  Christopher took two tentative steps towards Sen.

  "I think you do know how. How did you get into this metal body?" Behind him, Alice clasped her hands together and grinned. Her eyes sparkled.

  "I . . ." Sen started.

  "You didn't ascend," Tremain said, moving next to Christopher again, "you moved laterally. You showed me that. It looked exactly like when your people transformed." He looked directly at the oval head, which had swiveled to face him. "You have to let go."

  The silence dragged on. Sen's head stared at Tremain for a long time. Tremain held up a finger to keep everyone from moving.

  The oval head tilted one way, then another.

  He stormed to the window, as if looking for the answer in the clouds.

  Sen whirled back again, the oval head looking up, a light had appeared in the center of his head, making the silver glow from the inside.

  They all watched as the light encompassed Sen's head. The arms reached out, the palms facing up, as if in supplication. He jerked in surprise.

  "I hear the call!" Sen's voice was full of wonder.

  As if on cue, sparks of light appeared around Sen. They whooshed in from the windows, from the ceiling, from everywhere. They swarmed and surrounded the metallic figure, as if coaxing him. The glow around Sen's head grew, fully engulfing the metallic body.

  Christopher and Tremain watched as the metal shell was absorbed into the light, leaving only the glow of Sen's essence. Tendrils of energy undulated around the light, reaching out to touch each little spark that seemed to dance in joy around him.

  "My people!" Came Sen's disembodied voice.

  Alice had moved next to Tremain. Her eyes were wide, following each spark of light as it swirled around the room.