An Unlikely Savior

An Unlikely Savior

Northern Saskatchewan, Canada – 11:30 PM – December 24^th, 1999

Three men, guised in military gear head to toe stomped through the thick brush, their feet sinking into the mounds of fresh snow gathering around them each and every piece to their heavy armor black as night. A red, fuming glow exchanging from between their hands, each inhaling a heavy lungful of the toxic smoke through their skeletal facemasks, then releasing it into the cold, night air.

Ahead the very sight, sound and smell of Christmas seemed to unveil itself through the trees; carols faintly drifting in the air, while the gentle illumination of green, red and white Christmas lights shone from the only window visible.  

Irresistible smell of fresh pastries, hot chocolate, bread and a slew of other sensational scents lingered around the two-storey log cabin, arousing the mutual hunger the soldiers shared. They came to a stop behind a small, ragged wooden shed, the tallest of the men snuffed the cigarette out in the snow and glanced at the others.

“Are you ready?” The tallest spoke plainly, a light European accent present on his words. Only one thing stood out about his uniform; the silver hawk-shaped badge on his chest amidst a slew of military accolades.

“Do we really have to do this? Ivan is one of us…and it’s been ten years since they left. Can’t it just be forgotten?” The second man asked, sorrow hanging on his words.

“Unfortunately, Art, this is what he chose. You know what happens if we leave. Our bodies are basically the Government’s with what’s inside of us. Let’s be real, they weren’t supposed to go fall in love and fuck! Now they have a crotch goblin we gotta take care of.” a third spoke up, a French accent, his mask rolled up past his mouth to allow a cigarette to hang loosely from his lips. “I know you two were friends but, this isn’t personal anymore. It’s business.”

“This is what we’re trained to do. NexGen’s that defect are to be terminated. We knew what needed to be done,” The European man directed, staring at the one they called Art. “Don’t fuck up! Remember…it's business. It’s just business.”

They closed in on the happy family, weapons loaded, silent as wolves.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“When you wake up, there will be toys for you from Santa! I bet he can smell the cookies we made for him all the way from the North Pole! C’mon, let’s get you to bed, Santa doesn’t bring ten-year old’s gifts who aren’t asleep by Christmas morning!!” a woman with long, platinum blonde hair guided her son up the stairs. “Say goodnight to your father!”

“Goodnight, Dad!” the boy called from above, laughing along with his mother up in his bedroom.

Now alone, the man, Ivan Favik, sighed and gazed out of the window, overlooking the valley, the rushing rivers far below carrying the fresh water through the prairies like blood. Standing just over six feet, with a build reminiscent of a Viking, it was obvious that Ivan stood true to his Scandinavian genes. He swept his long, grey-blond hair back, then stroked his beard, taking a sip of his scotch.

Without missing a beat, he gestured at the door as it opened. “Come on in, my friends…” he finished what was left in his cup, taking a breath to cool the burn of the alcohol. Ivan set his cup down and faced his former comrades. Already accepting what was to come, almost sensing it the entire evening. “So, this is what it’s come to, has it?”

“Sorry, Van.” Art responded, extending his arm out to aim his revolver, letting loose one, well placed shot to his knee. Ivan shouted in pain and fell to the floor, clutching the bullet wound tightly. The two men closed in on him, and suddenly Astrid screamed from above – but only briefly.

The third man joined the other two soldiers, Elena, his wife, sobbing in tow, his hand tightly gripped around her long hair.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie…” she sobbed.

With a stern shove, she fell to her husbands’ side, the trio of soldiers standing above the couple. Suddenly, the third man, with the hawk emblem tossed his firearm to the ground in front of Ivan.

“Either you kill her, and the kid lives. Or we kill you both, and the kid.”

Ivan stared up at the man in front of him in shock, his wife growing silent as well. “Jaxon. We don’t have to do this,” he pleaded.

“You see…that’s where you have it backwards. You knew exactly what would happen, yet you two did it anyway. She has Government Research inside of her, and if you’re forgetting; so, do you, Ivan.”

“Take what you want from us, and we’ll disappear!” Elena screamed in defense, clutching to her husband in fear. “You can have the Soul Keys, just leave our family alone.”

“I gave you the only options I’m willing to extend to you. Make your decisions fast,” Jaxon quipped, loading another gun, ready to shoot the three of them and be done with it. It wouldn’t be the first time he let his father down, and he was ready to ignore the demands to bring Ivan and his son alive completely.

Elena grabbed Ivan’s hand and began sobbing, pushing the revolver into his quivering hands. Her green eyes shone behind her tears, and she buried her face into his neck, whispering to him and consoling him as he too began to whimper and cry, realizing what she was doing.

“I love you, just make sure Lars is safe. He can live without one parent, but not without both. Don’t give up on him! I sent him to my sister…please, make sure she’s safe, too.”

Ivan bit his lip, clutching his wife with all his might, hand clenching the gun, his finger quivering over the trigger. “I didn’t mean for this to happen…. don’t make me do it. I love you…so much.”

The woman in his grasp shook her head, kissing his chest as she pulled the gun closer to her head, Ivan’s hand trembling more.

“It’ll be okay. I love you both.”

She kissed him, pulling the trigger, her hand over his. He sobbed uncontrollably, grasping her lifeless body in his arms, tears washing over her bloodied, disfigured face. Suddenly the three men, who formerly Ivan had called his best friends, tore him from his wife’s body, and dragged him out of the building, kicking and screaming. Ivan’s screams eventually disappeared, fading from an echo into the night.

The man with the heavy European accent returned alone to the cabin, ready to console the boy they came for, though he immediately found it strange that there was no sound coming from the cottage. Paying only a short glance at the dead woman on the ground, the killer drew his weapon once again, creeping up the wooden staircase to the room at the top left, where a light beamed dimly from within. With frightening intensity, the killer rushed into the bedroom, and ripped the blankets away, finding that the boy they had come from was gone.

“That damn woman was hiding her mutation from us all along…I’ll find your son, Elena, you can’t keep him from me. Even in death, your schemes piss me off.”

 Gas Town, Vancouver, British Columbia

September 30th 2019

A gentle, persistent mix of rain and sleet washed over the coastal city, the fresh smell of the ocean filling the air, the sun just slipping behind the mountains, casting its colors across the buildings and ocean. Laughing without a care, a girl jumped through the puddles alongside a man, cigarette in hand, each of them smiling ear to ear. They had a chemistry that most married couples lacked and drew the attention of everyone around them.

“So, tell me, whatcha been up to? If I hadn’t chased you down last week, I bet you woulda got on the train without even saying Hi! Last time we saw eachother…what was that, five years ago? I didn’t even give you my number after we hooked up, stupid me! Though, I assumed you’d ask.” Ivy grinned, winking playfully. “Before that…I think the last time we saw one another was before Christmas break when we were…probably ten years old.”

“Ah…I never said anything? My mom and dad were murdered. I got taken into foster care. I’m bad at talking about it. That’s pretty much what got me into the military, but that kind of went…off the rails. It’s really hard to hide … whatever it is I got from getting that virus. Ever since my parents were killed, this started, and it’s been harder to control. I wish I could go back to my normal self to be honest…”

“I’m sorry…although, for what it’s worth, I think you’re a damn incredible guy, hun!” she responded happily.

“Thanks, I guess. What about you? What has the great Chef Ortega done with her life in twenty years? Let me guess, the restaurant went under and you now have a crippling drug problem?”

“Oh, shut the hell up!! For your information, I became a successful, and well decorated chef, who’s not just pretending at home!” the girl laughed alongside her date, clutching his hand. “I didn’t ever want a restaurant, too much work. When I realized the money was shit, I joined the military. I’m working with the DSD now, training new soldiers how to use their powers. We find NexGen’s in need and give them purpose. You know what people are like towards NexGen’s. Maybe I can help people use their gifts for good, so we don’t have to hide them like monsters, or try and cure them.”

“So, after all those years trashing me for being a dog for the government, you up and followed in my footsteps! Hypocrite much. I didn’t take you much for a soldier, V…. what’s the deal? I thought you were all pro-peace, kiss the trees and all that shit?”

“Yeah, well, sometimes to make a difference, you have to do things that aren’t quite in line with what you believe. Besides, remember that saying you told me when we were kids? Change the way you look at things, and things you look at change. I’ve remembered that all my life, and it’s only brought me success. So maybe, you should be taking your own advice, cuz it seems you’ve been doin’ pretty shit lately, hunny.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lars retorted with a huff, cheeks red, growing quiet in defeat. Ivy leaned against him lovingly, nudging his shoulder with her face, getting his attention.

Without warning, Ivy leaned up and kissed Lars, eyes closed, half grinning against his lips. She stood on her tippy toes, and finally stepped back to see his shocked expression, giggling. Amidst the crowded SkyTrain loading bay, a hooded stranger walked from across the platform, readying the knife in his hand, eying up the laughing couple.

“What was that for?” Lars responded in awe, staring with wide eyes back at the girl he, for some reason, just couldn’t get away from.

“I dunno, you’re cute…I guess?” She winked, but in a split second, her expression shifted from happy-go-lucky to horrified and fear stricken, the hooded stranger lurking behind them finally grabbing Ivy tightly, his right hand clasped tightly around her mouth, and left hand gripping his knife firmly, which had now been firmly pressed to her side; the cold steel waiting to sink deep into her flesh to taste her blood.

“Give me your money, and everything will be just fine!” The man chuckled drunkenly, sliding his hand across the woman’s thigh. “Wouldn’t want anything t’happen to your girl, bro, would ya? Be careful or might just kill you and have my way with her, now that I think bout it! HEHEHEHE”

Before he could even take another breath, Lars cleared the distance between him and the drunken attacker with a quick shuffle,  a blackened blade of energy erupting from his wrist as he thrust it up into the attackers chest, blood pouring out of the bewildered drunk and onto the cement pad. Onlookers began to scream, running away from the violent display taking place, many filming from their phones, while others had already reached emergency lines to report the murder. The dead drunk fell to the ground, and the young woman gasped, her hands covering her mouth, attempting her very best to process what had just unfolded.

“What did you just do?!” She questioned in horror, eyes wild and scanning the dead body for any other wounds besides the massive impalement through his chest cavity. “You know what’s going to happen now, right!? The Department is going to send a containment squad as soon as they hear from the police; and if they catch you, you’re going to be killed, Lars! NexGen’s are killed for harming human civilians - with no trial, and no second chances - quick, it’ll be dangerous to go alone, take this, and don’t say a word!”

Ivy shoved her scarf to Lars, urging him to disguise himself so they could get away, by now civilians had cleared from the platform; but the shouts and voices of police officers drew near, dogs barking and growling only steps ahead of the officers. They each ran in a panic, Lars blindly following the woman. His mind spun with thoughts, wondering how in the world he had let himself slip up like he had!

They darted through alleyways, dove across dumpsters and even barged their way through the back door of a restaurant; forcing themselves through the hot, chaotic kitchen and then the quiet, elegant dining room.

After overturning almost every table, and ruining every diner’s meal, they stormed out the front door and ran towards a towering, concrete apartment building. They slid to a stop in front of a glass doorway leading into a towering apartment building, the faint echoes of police sirens not far behind them. Ivy hurried him into the building, then the elevator, and hastily smashed the “16” button, and then tapped the door close button as if trying to destroy it. Before long they arrived at the top floor, where only one door could be found upon exiting the elevator, the door marked with an “H”.

Without waiting for a reply, the girl stormed in dragging Lars behind her, and slammed the door shut, entering into a huge living room. Everywhere they looked had modern furniture, bookcases and artifacts; the three walls behind the only man present were all windows that overlook the city. From this high up, the sirens had but disappeared.

“I don’t recall giving you permission to come over, agent?” A man stated, standing in front the fifteen by fifteen-foot window overlooking the city. “And I see you brought a friend…”

“This is the recruit I was telling you about. It’s a little earlier, and I didn’t have a chance to tell him much, but we had to improvise.”

“Wait, what?!” Lars choked on the iced coffee he had managed to retain in their flee from the cops, dropping it on the polished wooden floors of some enigmatic man he had never met. Lars groaned, as if defeated by the fact the drink met its end here, after that long.

“Shut up, if you want to get out of this alive, you’ll do what I say!” The girl whispered sternly, though clearly frantic and jabbed her elbow into his side. “Besides, he knew your mom and dad…”

Lars jolted to attention at the mention of his parents, eying up the suited man in front of him with great interest.

“I’ve heard lots about you, we’ve had our sights on you ever since you left the Canadian Military. Ready to avenge your mother, Lars? I was close to her and your father, it’s a shame what happened to them…”

“Wait, what does that mean? Who are you, and how do you know what happened to my parents?!” Lars yelled, tears filling his eyes, no longer concerned about the mess he had mad; black and violet smoke starting to gather at his hands, churning and twisting with his rising emotions.

“They were killed by rogue NexGens, people given powers by the virus, like you. Without truly being deserving of the special gifts Earth is blessing us with, I’m afraid that’s just hell waiting to happen, so here I stepped into give a solution; to be the leader and sole man responsible for every NexGen - like you – on earth. Thanks to me, I’ll prevent rogue NexGens like the ones that killed your parents, from acting like Gods.

“That’s why I’ve started the DSD in their honor – they were close colleagues of mine, Lars. We were working on a vaccine to stop these unnatural side effects from this virus. Although it was unprecedented, we still have hopes of fighting it if we study the blood of those mutating from whatever it is turning normal human beings into … something unnatural. Join me and let me help you learn how to use your power to avenge her. Together we can bring the untamed NexGens to order, and you can lead them, and be their savior when I can cure you of your mutations, too. Come, let’s change the world, shall we?”