July 22, 2175
10:30 P.M.
Diana was still looking around at the various interesting things she saw in the arsenal. She was looking at a beautiful sword, its sleek and stylish hilt lined with a bluish metal. Diana asked Jack if it was painted that way.
"No, that is a metal from our planet, much more efficient than the metal the human devices nowadays use to attract Kana energy. See? It's in the display over there," Jack replied.
"I see," Diana said as she tracked Jack's fingers and saw that he was pointing at a metal called Kadestone.
"Now then, let's get going. I am tired," Jack said, yawning.
"Alright."
They came out of the room, and the door became solid once again when Diana stepped out after Jack.
"You can sleep here. I will go sleep on the couch in the living room," Jack said as he started walking to the exit.
"No, it's okay. You can sleep here. They are twin beds anyway. I call dibs on the top one, though," Diana said, grabbing Jack's hand and pulling him back.
"Alright, alright. Now, let's sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," Jack said, sighing.
They both climbed into their respective beds. Once they lay down, Diana realized there was no button to turn the lights off.
"Oh yeah, about that. My apologies. Turn the lights off," Jack said loudly.
The lights went out, and they slowly fell asleep.
7:00 A.M.
"Master and Miss, please get up. It's time," the house assistant said loudly.
Diana woke up first. She descended and shook Jack awake. They got ready and had breakfast, then Jack went to the basement and came up a few seconds later.
"Diana, I need you for something," he announced.
Diana arrived a few seconds later, covered in sweat.
"What is it? I was working out," she said, wiping sweat off her forehead.
"Here, take this and put it on. Not here—go into the bathroom. I am speculating something awkward might happen if you do it here," he said, shoving an Ortho Sapien wristband into her hands.
Diana looked at Jack, puzzled. She took the band and went into the bathroom. She returned a few minutes later, her face burning red with embarrassment. She shoved the band back into Jack's hand without saying a word.
"Uh... how was it?" Jack asked.
"Well... umm, I will say it sticks too close to the body," she said, putting her hands on her beet-red face.
"Ah, I thought so. Follow me, then."
Jack took her to the basement. They entered the arsenal room. Jack tapped one of the armors, and the display glasses moved from their place once again. However, no platform came up. Instead, a staircase appeared, descending to the floor below.
"Come on in," Jack said, descending.
The staircase was an escalator. As soon as they both got on, it began to descend. It was a winding staircase. They finally stopped descending and landed in a round room. The staircase was at the center, with a display table near it. The walls were lined with armors on both sides—one half had men's armor of the kind that Jack had tapped in the arsenal, and the other half had armor for women. There were about a hundred for each gender, all of them mounted on mannequins and placed in display glasses.
"Fetch armor number W0 from Row 0," Jack announced.
A pair of mechanical arms appeared from the top around the staircase, fetched an armor set from the top row, and placed it in front of Jack.
Jack tapped the glass, and the glass shrunk, uncovering the armor.
The armor consisted of a full-body suit, a chest plate, and guards for all other body parts. It was grey in color with black stripes all around it. It was divided into parts to ensure mobility, comfort, and, of course, protection. The helmet looked like any other bike helmet.
Jack tapped the metal plate over the right arm. A holographic screen popped up. Jack tapped a button, and the armor shrunk, just like the Ortho Sapien suits.
It became a small bracelet with just a single button on top. He handed it to Diana and said, "Put it on and press the button on the bracelet."
Diana followed the instructions. As soon as she pressed the button, metal sheets and fibers emerged from the bracelet and covered her body. The armor deployed in the blink of an eye and arranged itself over her body. After the armor fully assembled, a helmet formed over her head.
Jack reached out to the part over Diana's left ear two times and pressed the button there. The helmet withdrew, revealing her head.
As soon as the suit assembled, the black streaks started to glow with a teal color. The streaks formed a big K on the back, and it lightened up.
"How is it?" Jack asked.
"I thought it would be heavy and quite hard to move in. It's really light and quite comfortable to move in," Diana answered, amazed.
"The lights signify your Kana energy reserves. The metal is the same as the metal in the car. Try giving your hands a jerk."
Diana did as she was told; she jerked her right hand. A blade came out from underneath the metal plate that was guarding the forearm and stretched long. Diana gave her other arm a swish, and a blade came out of that too.
"The underneath of the metal plates is lined with Kadestone, and the plate is made of Strobium, the metal used in our car. It reinforces itself with Kana energy and aligns with polarized Kana energy of a certain intensity, reshaping itself. That intensity of Kana energy is impossible to be given by normal means, so this makes a perfect defensive suit, as Strobium uses Kana energy to reinforce itself as well, which is supplied to the blade by the Kadestone. Everything has its limits, though. The metal plates will break if Kana energy over a certain extent is applied to it."
The blades started drawing energy from the suit, and soon they were engulfed in transparent energy roaring sharply around them.
"You can withdraw them if you close your fist and then open your palms wide and relax them. Also, now you can wear the Ortho suit over the armor. It will not stick that close now," Jack instructed.
"Nice, that's cool. Now I can fight with you too," Diana said, withdrawing the blades back.
"Yeah, no. You are a healer. Focus on self-defense first rather than offense," Jack said sternly.
"Fine," she sighed.
"Now, let's go and get ready to set up camp outside town."
"Ooh, I see."
They got out of the room, and Jack pulled out the nail-like objects that were forming the corners of the doors. They were grabbing into the wall like magnets. Jack pulled them out and listed them into the item pouch.
"I will be getting necessary books and other stuff from my room. Be back in a bit."
"I will come help," Diana said cheerfully, retracting the armor back into the bracelet.
"Thanks for the gesture, but, well, I won't need your help."
"I don't think that's true. I bet you are just trying to hide some embarrassing stuff from me," she said smirking, elbowing him in the ribs.
"Ow, I don't have that stuff. Come see for yourself," he sighed.
"Gladly. Teehee," she sniggered.
Jack weaved his Kana energy through the books he wanted, took them out of the shelf all at once, and dropped them into the item pouch.
"See? Work done," he said smugly.
Diana stared blankly at him. "It sure is useful, huh?" she added.
"Indeed it is."
"You could've helped me too, y'know," she said, pouting.
"I didn't want to intrude. Sorry."
"It's alright."
Jack hurried off to the kitchen and grabbed all the supplies from there. He took food items, grains, rice, and other edible stuff that would be of use.
After checking around once again, he came to Diana, who was sitting on the couch reading a book.
"I think we are ready to leave. Let's go."
They got into the car and drove outside.
"Let's go gather some more supplies, then some medicines from the hospital."
"Ooh, we are raiding the place, are we?"
"I am raiding the place. Not you. You're gonna stay in the car."
"Gahhhh~ again??"
"Yeah, again," said Jack sternly.
"I want to help you, though."
"That's exactly why you should stay here. Imagine I get seriously injured—I need you to be in the best condition to heal me, don't I?"
"Yeah, but I—"
"No ifs and no buts. You are gonna stay in the car and do as I tell you to, please. Right now, I will only get distracted during the fight if you are there."
"You... fine. Just wait till I get better than you in close combat. Then you will have no choice but to take me with you."
"I will, and it would be reassuring," said Jack.
They reached a mall, and Jack parked the car in the parking lot. Just as he expected, two officers, fully armed, stood there blocking the entrance to the mall.
Jack put on his Ortho Sapien suit, took out an assault rifle from the item pouch, and got out of the car.
"Verify yourself, officer," they said upon seeing his uniform.
"Officer: 978312; code name: Xeudify."
The officer operated his wristband and entered the details there. A few seconds later, he said,
"Take off your helmet, show me your face."
Chapter 13: Infiltration
"What are you talking about? First of all, there is no face ID that was uploaded when I signed the contract. Second, even if I did, there is a rule that forbids members from showing their face to anyone except the Nine Chairs. Are you one of the Nine? Or are you an imposter?" said Jack confidently, aiming his gun at the officer.
"Woah, woah, woah! Cool down. I was asking because it was a question that I was tasked to ask by the higher officials to check for Kratians hiding as us. If you had shown your face, that sniper on that building would've shot you dead by now," said the officer, pointing at the building across the road.
Jack followed the officer's finger. At the top of a building, he saw a tiny silhouette of a man holding a sniper at the ready, its scope sparkling as it reflected the sunlight. Jack had already seen him when he was parking the car but decided to play dumb.
"Wow, that's a great plan indeed. Send that man some snacks, brother. He must've been getting bored all alone up there."
"We will. Grab whatever you want from the place, no need to pay."
"I will, thanks."
Jack headed into the mall and emptied shelves of flour, cereals, and other preserved food into his item pouch. He did it quickly with his psychic Ikanami so that he could get out before getting engaged in a confrontation this early. While emptying the mall, he noticed the floor was still covered with bloodstains.
"It seems they just opened the fire hose and washed away the blood," he muttered as he headed to the counter, pulled out a cloth bag, and stuffed it full of snacks. He had to carry something out so that they didn't suspect him of having an item pouch.
Jack walked out of the establishment and nodded to the two officers, laughing inside at the look of shock and anguish they were going to have when they realized he didn't just take snacks for a night of movies.
Jack got into the car and handed the bag to Diana.
"So is this what you risked both of our lives for? Some snacks? Seriously?" she said, shaking her head.
"Of course not. I put the loot in the item pouch. These were just to put up a facade of me enjoying movies at night with my wife."
"Pfft~ AHAHHHHHAHHH! Neat," she said, laughing as she opened a chips packet.
"Ayo, watch out! These are for my wife!" he said, sniggering.
"So can I have them or not?" she said, pouting.
"Well, of course you can," Jack said, patting her shoulder.
"So where are we headed now?" Diana asked as she passed the packet near Jack for him to eat as well.
"The hospital. I know they are gonna have strict security there. I ain't gonna be let inside that easily if I say I have a cold or something. They might get suspicious, and it will foil all my plans as well."
"Then how do you plan to infiltrate the hospital?" she asked, squinting.
"I will break off my left arm," he said nonchalantly.
"Alright... Wait, WHAT? Have you gone stupid? You can't do stuff like that," she said, her face pale from shock.
"Do you have a better plan?"
"Well..." she said, speechless.
"That settles it then. I am gonna sneak into the hospital, sneak off with some high-efficiency medicine. I will get back with the supplies soon. Don't come out of the car unless I tell you to do so. And if I don't get back till morning, drive away and hide," he said sternly.
"Okay, but..."
"No ifs and no buts. Do what I tell you when it comes to our plans, please, so that I can be out there and fight freely without having to worry about you."
Diana nodded silently. She knew if they had to survive, medicines were a must. But her heart was still not ready to let Jack go to such a place where a single wrong move meant certain death. She decided to object but, faced with Jack's determination, she gave in and agreed reluctantly.
"Once I return, heal my arm soon, and then we will drive off."
"Okay, but are you sure you don't need help?"
"Yes, and also, just in case you get bored, I have this," he said, showing her a button.
"What's a button gonna do?"
"It's a button camera. I will stick it on my helmet's mouthpiece, and you can watch the video live on this," he said, handing her a tablet.
"That's cool," she said, her voice suppressed by anguish and worry.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on leaving you so soon. You won't get rid of me even if you die," said Jack, smiling at her.
"I know," she said with a weak smile.
Then they drove off to the hospital.
6:00 P.M.
The hospital slowly came into view, a grand building colored in white. The sun was barely visible on the horizon anymore, painting the transient, cloudless evening sky in a shade of orange. Jack turned the car into the hospital's driveway.
The hospital was a grand, multistory building. It bore two flags initially—one belonging to the United States and the other belonging to the Kratians—but since the Ortho Sapiens took over the place, the Kratian flag was taken down, violated, and was now lying in the dustbin. He drove the car and parked it in the parking lot, which was streaked with red blood in many places. As soon as he parked the car, fourteen armed personnel came out of the building.
"Wish me luck," he said, smiling at Diana.
"Good luck. Oh, Jack, please be careful," she said, smiling weakly at him, her heart trembling violently.
Jack put on his Ortho Sapien suit and took a deep breath before exhaling.
He gathered his strength and counted.
"1..."
"2..."
"3..."
The numerous officers surrounded Jack's car, their guns at the ready, waiting for a chance to strike at the intruder if he came out to be an enemy. The more time passed, the more their suspicion rose.
Jack was inside the car, his left biceps clutched tightly in his right hand, a Kana hand gripping tightly on his left arm. He looked at Diana, her face pale and sweaty from concern. Jack gave her a smile and nodded.
"Graaahhh," he groaned.
Jack pulled his arm forward, his right hand clutching his left biceps securely. He then manifested another Kana arm and used it to strike sharply with a large force on his elbow. There was a loud crack, followed by groans of pain from Jack as he tried to stifle the cries that threatened to surface because of the blinding pain. After a few seconds, the pain subsided, and with a final meaningful smile at Diana, he put on his helmet and got out of the car.
The officers aimed their guns at him. He raised his hands above him.
"Identification," the officer standing at the center barked.
Jack told them the credentials. One of the officers entered the details in his wristband and nodded.
After seeing his nod, the officers lowered their guns. Then the center one said, "You are verified. Now tell me, why did you take so much time getting out?"
Jack stretched out his left hand, his arm below the elbow dangling lifelessly.
"I think you can see why, or are you just blind? Of course I would take time getting out. It hurts like hell," Jack said in an annoyed tone.
"I see. Very well. Follow me," they said.
Jack looked back in the car and nodded softly. He took out the button camera and stuck it on his helmet.
As they approached the door, the officer turned and said, "Don't take your helmet off, even when you are in the bathroom. It smells like shit inside."
"What do you mean?"
"See for yourself," he said, pushing the door open and waiting for him to enter.
The hospital, the place that serves as a border between life and death, is always characterized by the same sterile environment, air full of the smell of medicines, and a subtle whirring of machines in the air. But when Jack entered the hospital, all he saw was another evidence of the monstrosity of the Ortho Sapiens.
Jack entered the hospital. The corridors were clean, with just stains of blood like those at the mall. He looked at the officer, wondering what he was talking about.
"Don't get too excited now. Go look inside any one of the rooms."
Jack obliged. He strode towards one of the rooms and opened the door.
"Oh my God," he gasped, looking at the disturbing sight in front of him.
The room was the general patient lobby, lined with beds and normal equipment along the walls. The room in which one usually sees normal patients meeting up with their loved ones, but this time, this room was nothing less than something straight out of a horror movie. Children, women, men—people of all ages were lying there, dead. Some were huddled in a corner, lying on top of each other, probably as they retreated to the corner to escape. The victims were just lying there, dead and covered in blood. Bullet marks covered their bodies.
The shock and sadness filling Jack's mind slowly turned into fury and disgust. He clenched his fist, some energy radiating out of him even after he tried his best to control it.
"Hey, you alright?" the officer walked to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Jack jumped back to reality. He wanted to rip every Ortho Sapien there apart, make them pay, but then he remembered that he was responsible for Diana's safety too now. He breathed out heavily, trying his best to act calm.
"Ye—yeah. I was just shocked a bit. Why didn't they clear the bodies?" he said, looking at the officer.
"Well, as you might've heard, the higher-ups are going to demolish the Kratian hospitals and make something new on them. They decided it wasn't worth it to clean the bodies. They're just gonna demolish the building and build anew on it."
"I see. That's a worthy insight," Jack said as he bit into his lip, trying to calm himself down.
"Yeah. Dead don't need medicines or hospitals. They need graveyards, and they'll get one as they get buried in the rubble," the officer said, laughing.
Jack nodded silently as he held back the urge to kill the guy in front of him.
"Now then, let's get that arm of yours fixed."
The officer escorted him to the medic room, where an Ortho Sapien medic was sitting, looking outside the window. He didn't have his helmet on. As he turned, Jack saw his face—a man of about 40 years of age, his eyes tired yet full of experience.
The officer filled him in on the situation. The medic gave a soft nod and asked Jack to sit.
"Hmm. Dislocated elbow, quite clean. Did you get into a fight?" the doctor said, squinting.
"Yeah, we spotted a Kratian. He had the body-strengthening Ikanami. So it was quite the battle. We made it out though. Zero casualties," Jack lied.
"I see."
The doctor stretched the broken arm. He straightened it. The dislocated bone was sliding beside the bone it was connected to, visible as a sharp bump on his hand. The doctor tugged his arm quite hard, and the bone fell back into place, leaving Jack groaning in pain.
"All right, that's taken care of. Don't move the arm for a while," he instructed. Jack nodded, and he slumped into a chair because of the continuous pestering from the doctor.
A doctor—someone who is supposed to save lives—was working with the terrorists. Those terrorists who had committed genocide and had almost wiped a whole race from a planet with a plan that had been in the making for more than a decade. Jack's mind filled with disgust as he looked at the doctor peacefully smoke a cigarette after giving Jack some painkillers.
"I should go patrolling now. Idling around makes me uneasy," Jack said fifteen minutes later.
"All right. Use a handgun for now," the doctor instructed.
Jack got out of the ward and headed to the bathroom. When he was finally inside the cubicle, he took out a healing syrup and drank it. His elbow muscles felt like they twisted and churned, making him feel stings throughout his arm. When it was finally over, he slid the now fully working arm back into the fiber splint. He took out the button camera from the helmet and turned it towards him, giving a small smile and then putting it back on.
Meanwhile, Diana was flushed as she saw him enter the bath.
"Remove the camera, idiot. I don't want you flashing me," she muttered, putting her hands over her eyes.
But when she saw what Jack was doing, she relaxed, and when she saw Jack's teasing smile, she couldn't help but give a small laugh.
"You lil—" she muttered. Her eyes hadn't left the screen even for a second ever since Jack entered the building, her heart racing with worry and shock as she saw the dark scenes inside the hospital.
Jack started moving around the hospital, opening every door to make a strategy. He wanted to do something that would serve as payback to these terrorists and a small gesture of sadness to his kin that was lying dead around him.
Diana's eyes widened in shock and disgust when Jack entered the pregnancy ward, her heart threatening to jump out of her chest. The weight of the innocent lives that were taken there was just too much. Blood littered the floor and the bodies of the doctors that were performing delivery of the children were lying beside the beds of the patients. They had shot them during operation. The mothers were also dead, their children too. A few unborn children were stuck in the birth canal, their heads poking out from the bodies of the mothers.
Jack closed the door swiftly, panting. He turned around, determined as he had finally figured out a plan.