The Authority

The Authority

Vira Dawn

I smelled the muggy air. Fresh rain is on the way. Dangling from the ceiling of an open rain shelter, basically a car tunnel made for people to wait out the rain. Across I saw Jero hanging on by his wrist grapnel.

I watched various people enter and exit, then a pale-skinned man wobbled in. He’s Drunk. Glancing up, Jero nodded.

That’s our guy.

Carefully aiming, I launched a hook wrapping his feet; before he could react, Jero descended from the ceiling upside down. Carefully covering his mouth from behind and clutching his body. With a quick zip, they flew into the rafters.

I knelt next to Mr Yadoro and read off the script written on my sleeve, barely above a whisper. “The Sohen Authority has apprehended you. If proven guilty, your Identity, assets, and records will be wiped from the WCO system, and access to Verr will be restricted completely.” I yawned. “You and your known family members will be removed from the country and given new IDs upon your exile.” I did a deep exhale and stood up, my head tilting from the low ceiling.

Jero slapped a perfectly cut piece of tape over the man’s mouth, and he heaved him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Let’s wrap this nonsense up. I’m crazy hungry.” He Breathed.

***************************

I slid the door closed, stepping into the interrogation room. The train roared to life, beginning to pick up speed.

“So you’re a professor?” I said, sifting through his file.

“Yes, ma’am, but the semester ended… I’m on my vacation.” He said, his voice still dragging from the hangover.

“Why did your electric bill spike to an absurd amount over an hour?” I blurted, my eyes locked to his.

He chuckled slightly, “An electric bill? That’s it?” He mocked, “I have money, I’ll just pay the dang bill.”

A loud crunch interrupted my thoughts. In the corner, Jero stood holding a box of crackers.

“You think we’d threaten to wipe your government files over a bill? With your record, you don’t even deserve a cracker.” He jeered, his intense chewing becoming more of a nuisance. I quickly turned to him.

“We talked about this, no crunchy stuff,” I whispered.

“Butter crackers taste the best,” He stated, shoving the box in my face.

I quickly grabbed a handful. “Grab a donut, we’ll finish these later,” I said, closing the box.

“I ain’t a Law-ficer sis,” my brother said, approaching Mr Yadoro, dusting the crumbs onto the table.

“Listen, an hour before you left on vacation, your electric bill at the college spiked. However, when we checked what appliances could have possibly ruined your Finances that badly, only one showed.” He poked the crumb-covered file, listing ‘World Line Generator.’

I leaned in, my voice a delicate hum, “If you plugged into what powers half the world, you won’t see a major country for the next 70 years.”

Jero Dawn

********************************

I glanced at the large shelf. “Make sure to pack up all of those files, and organize his family to be moved,” I ordered.

The Law-ficers scrambled to destroy or seal the documents in the professor’s office.

“Listen, some of my students wanted to experiment with energy physics.” The Professor pleaded.

“Right, and how much did you charge them?” He jabbed,

Mr Yadoro shrank back, his face filled with guilt. He turned as the door to his office opened, watching my sister enter with a stack of papers.

“All your students except one, ‘Absent’, but the others reported that they paid 350 Stel to Quote ‘Research a report that would kill a GPA’.” She said, scanning the page, her face focused on finding any loose threads.

Awkward Silence.

The professor stepped closer to Vira. “Listen, you’re just a couple of kids with too much authority. If you think I’ll let you–” He barked.

One step too close to my big sis.

I grabbed his shirt collar, twisting it to a tight grip. “Step closer. I dare you.” I hissed, my hands nearly choking him. My sister continued reading, completely ignoring what was happening inches from her face.

“The receptionist said she hadn’t seen student 573 come in for the night on his usual schedule.” She stated, looking up from the page. “Let’s check out this kid’s dorm room.” She turned on her heel and started for the door.

I released Yadoro’s collar and slipped out the door.

**************

We stepped up to dorm room 573.

I knocked, but no answer.

Well, let’s head inside. I stepped back, feeling my metal prosthetic hidden under my uniform. I plowed my leg into the door, destroying the lock, allowing it to swing freely.

“Didn’t we agree not to weaponize your Medical Steel Frames?” Vira Questioned, a worrying tone in her voice.

I silently shrugged it off; pain never stopped me before. The room was dimmed, with only a flickering light bulb hanging over a small workstation in the corner. Scratches and dents lined the walls. At the desk were a Caster Unit’s wires strewn across the desk and a circular speaker, encased in copper-bronze. It lay on the floor, the wire hookup stripped out.

“It definitely was all one person; the same fingernails are in all the damage,” Vira muttered, holding a spray that colors evidence differently based on DNA.

Through the window, I caught a glimpse of a man, maybe 23 or 22, sprinting across the field. That’s the same dry hair the student in the picture had.

“Vira, I see him!” I yelled, bolting for the window. I ran toward the glass guarding my face. It shattered in contact with my arm guards. I prioritized my left leg, landing hard onto the stone bricks. I recovered and sprinted across the field, attempting to trace where I had seen the man run. He’s headed for the WL.

The World Line Generator

A world line is the path an object takes through time.

The WL generator is a power source that draws power

from every moment within the next 600 years, all at once.

I slowly crept along the corridor leading to the WLG. I heard the nervous muttering of the students inside the control room.

“Hey, stop!” I ordered, feeling the brass of my handgun. I slowly edged closer.

The man’s finger rested on a lever. He turned to see me; it was the first good look I got at Ohen Ledger’s face. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, his bones now easily showing through his skin in contrast to his picture from last month. It was a clear sign of depression.

“Who is this for, buddy?” I asked, attempting to calm him.

His eyes flickered, a moment of memory.

“Oh, so it’s for a girl then?” I concluded. “Listen, I don’t care what anyone says; no girl is worth the risk of destroying half the world.” I pleaded with him, edging closer to the control panel. I heard hums of Vira yelling orders outside the door.

Ohen’s head trembled at the sound of boots flooding in. My sister finally entered the room, running toward me.

“I don’t know if it’s worth it, that’s why I’m going to see her myself!” He screams, throttling the lever forward.

“Dang it–” I bellowed, diving to stop his hand. The world snapped to silence. I tried to speak, but nothing. The walls fell away; there were only people in an endless Void-Scape.

The delicate silence turned ‌violent. Vira reached to clutch my sleeve. With a quick and loud pop, my vision turned white. Constant and overwhelming ‌white noise and harrowing shrieks flooded my ears. I tried to scream at the sharp pain.

My ears bled… Then, quiet.

My nose caught the scent of pine; I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. I stared up at the tall trees looming above and dark clouds rolling in. Vira was still clutching my sleeve...