Caped (Book 1): The Burdens of Fate (18 page)

I've got so much on my mind I almost forgot
tomorrow's the big reveal.

–
4/18
–

Michael
Serna
-

Genius! We finally have a headquarters and it
is absolutely genius! You imagine them in your head, a super base of
operations, and you see them on paper, artistically drawn by skilled artist. But
as always, no two dimensional representation or anything, anything you could
possibly see, can prepare you for the moment you stare wide-eyed and
open-mouthed, jaw agape, and all manner of words melting into a pool of
senseless dribble as you try to fathom the words to explain something so
perfect as the sight before you. The gall of such an object to exist and make
so petty a creature as man feel like a god. Yet as my feet touched down I dared
think a place a divine as heaven existed, and was built for me. My mount
Olympus; fertile, rich, and full of life in every direction. Lush green grass
so healthy and vibrant I'd swear each blade were given a days worth of
attention, trees so lush you'd believe they were grown in the fertile womb of
Gaia herself.

A marvelous affair, the entirety of it.
Starting at daybreak on the docks as the red sun rose over the San Diego
cityscape. Ivan's floating throne, a mansion of a yacht that moved so
gracefully over the water it were as if it were carried to her destination.
Faster than any ship that's ever sailed, he said. As big as a whale and as
swift as a falcon. Tearing through the water with the wind in our faces. Thomas
called us to the ship’s wide stern, and there we stood before two amazingly
happy men, tearing at themselves with excitement.

The yacht slowed to a stop, gently bobbing in
the waves. Thomas speaking as if the world could hear, clearly imagining a far
grander crowd in his mind's eye. An intoxicating and empowering speech. His
words touched us, moved us, and worst of all, reminded us of the monumental
task that lay ahead. Speaking us free of our sober doubts until we were drunk
on hope. Everyone, noc and normal, young and old, was filled with adrenaline
and the boundless vigor of youth.

The water began to move, and a very apparent
depression continued to grow in the water ahead until an unending torrent began
to flood in from every direction, creating an impossible sight, a circular
waterfall. The roar of water, the rising clouds of mist, and our increasingly
dangerous drift towards it. Then, like a divine titan of a beast slowly seeping
through the cracks of reality, it gradually showed us the enormity of its size.

Infinity Isle. Over twice as big as the bland
rock Kaylie had created. Hanging there above this massive sink-drain. The
morning sun, the deep blue water of the Pacific, and the open emptiness of
ocean and sky interrupted by this enormous floating island oasis. An
honest-to-god painting in motion.

Pure genius.

Like I said, words fail. The bow of the ship
rose out of the water just as it would have plunged down towards points
unknown. The thunderous roar so loud that even screaming proved pointless, that
was until Ivan turned down the volume. How awesome is that? Even more awesome
once we discovered the whole thing is just an illusion. Be-still my beating
heart, and if you could ever be so kind, do me a favor and pick my jaw up off
the floor, could you? If a combination of words exists to adequately describe
such an epic sight, I am unaware of it. I was going through a surge of joy and
I couldn't wait to get my feet off the ground and see it all. It stretched back
so far, rose up so high, and the dull, brown, jagged, rocky underside, which
resembled a mountain range hanging from the sky, looked so awkwardly majestic
that I couldn't wait to explore and get lost in it all with Iris.

The island's an ingenious mixture of technology
and nature that's infused into every cubic inch. Open fields and dense packets
of trees sprinkled with tiny bits of civilization. And one large building at
its center, positioned at the base of a miniature mountain that towers over it
in the background.

Leading to such a grand structure is what I
call the
Promenade of the Gods
. Lined with enormous black marble
statues, accented with gold and silver, that tower over the small sparse trees
and staring boldly towards the future. Thick red capes falling off their
shoulders, looking like monuments to forgotten heroes. Walk through such a
place and you're assured to feel amongst the worlds elite.

A tall ceiling and dim lights, video feeds and
media coverage on screens everywhere. Transparent touch screens, movable
screens on the wall and on the table; a large black circular table with nine
seats surrounding it. Just imagining what decisions we'll come to around it
gives me chills.

And even more so once I discovered the prizes
sitting in the seat. The final surprise. Suits. Uniforms. Communal attire.
Whatever you need to call it, just not a costume. Costumes are put on for a
performance. I'm here to save lives, and I wouldn't dare put on such an item if
I didn't intend to do such. Sleek, simple, and completely necessary. The only
person who can actually take a bullet is Laurie, Alvin can dodge them point-blank, and I
could
keep a barrier up 24/7, but that's a bit extreme, and exhausting. In
other words, we're not saving the world with those odds.

A slick yacht, a flawless reveal, and a
straight walk to headquarters. Wonderful. Glorious in fact, but I've never been
one or private tours. I was getting antsy and irritable, so I was more than
delighted to find out it was over. The roof opened up in case anyone wanted a
dramatic exit. Of course I did! Grabbed the lady, a map, and off... we... went.

Kaylie Horn
-

Oh. My. God! Lady, if only you had ears. Mom
and dad are going at it like there's no tomorrow. I tried to help but they've
confined me to my room, it's like a freakin police state around here. All over
something they knew was coming, you'd think they'd be over this by now. I
already told them it's what I want. But I guess, as always, that doesn't
matter.

Brandon
gets it, he was in here earlier when I was
trying on the suit. Oh yeah! Ha! I forgot to tell you this is all because
yesterday (fucking-amazing yesterday) we got to see what Thomas and Ivan did
with that big freakin rock they had me lift. They certainly took some artistic
license with that thing. It's huge, and amazing! Kind of like a dream, that was
until we got to the main hall and saw the suits in the seats. Yup. They
flipped, quietly of course.

To be honest, I absolutely love them. Nothing
like those skimpy slut suits you see in the comics, it covers everything but my
mouth, even has an opening for me to put my hair through. They're amazing and,
considering they're made by a man, they have excellent breast support, even
better than my sports bra. Haha, maybe I should ask him to make me some. But
seriously, these things rock, and mine actually has a cute little cape that
hangs off the shoulder. Super cool. Come at me bro! I'll knock ya block off!
Woo!

But yeah, this thing's designed to take a
kicking and keep on ticking, (I love my cliché's) which is where mom and dad
started to panic, even though I've told them I'm
saving the world
more than
fifteen times. Maybe that hasn't made it through their thick skulls yet. Brandon understands, and
as I've said before, we're all scared. But seriously, we're talking about the
world, kind of gotta take your doubts and fears and tell'em to keep walkin'...

Speaking of people who can
keep walkin'(!)
,
and I completely forgot about this, mainly because yesterday was so fucking
amazing.

Anyway, this is how people continually irritate
me. They get your hopes up with cool news and they end up being nothing but a
huge disappointment. Remember that guy Amanda met in Virginia who said his friend was a noc?

Yeah, he kinda dropped off the face of the
earth... well he's back, some sappy story about pissing his friend off by being
a douche. Whatever, if he was shopping for sympathy or pity he was definitely
preaching to the wrong crowd. Show us the cool trick or stop wasting my time,
right? Too heartless? I don't care. You promise us a good show and then drop
off the radar, dick move. So if you've got the balls to come back after that I
better see something jaw dropping. Columns of fire, mind control, warping the
space time continuum. Blow my mind, dude!

I mean with all the hoopla and hullabaloo I was
expecting something truly amazing. But just like almost every guy who pounds on
his chest about how great something is, it was severely underwhelming. Maybe
I'm biased, I never was a fan of cold weather, and being able to making ice
sculptures definitely could come in handy at weddings, that and he'll never
have to worry about air conditioning ever again. I'll chalk it up to crummy
presentation, you've gotta know how to sell it. Also, I'm not discounting the
possibility that he was holding back, I know I would. But after the long wait
it was definitely anticlimactic.

Maybe hanging with top tier nocs (not to
mention being one) has left me a little jaded. To his credit, Amanda was
enjoying every moment of it, and I think it's fair to consider him the new/old
crush of the week. If only it were that easy for me, I blame it on my high
standards.

Anywho, later chica, I've got some homework to
finish before school tomorrow and I've procrastinated enough for today. Byee!

–
4/19
–

Michael Serna
-

It's Monday, which means a couple things.
First, we get updated pictures to show us the kidnapped children are still
alive; candid shots taken in lazily dolled up concrete cells. Some of the kids
bloody and bruised, others just crying. It's sad. Carter had to hack the
pentagon to get most the pictures, the media's only showing President Yates'
two children.

Talk about pressure, drone warfare's been used
in the middle-east for a few years now. Sure there's been a few domestic
sightings, but nothing too big. Until now. It's amazing how fast Uncle Sam can
act if given the right incentive. It's been six days, and people are already
posting pictures of drone sightings. And with crazy legislation like those in
last years NDAA, I wonder how long until we see our first casualty? No due
process, no trial, just death by drone. It's coming, just you watch. Either
that, or people are going to start disappearing... oops, I meant being
indefinitely
detained
. We should have protested while we had the chance, you go out
there now and you're a "low-level terrorist," which means they can
indefinitely detain
you too. Gotta love it.

Oh, and Carter, who's taken quite nicely to the
computer system on Infinity Isle, pilfered another interesting bit of
information out of the Pentagon. Nothing extensive, just an internal memo
suggesting that they're going to be putting together a specialized team of
nocs. I guess when you've got Green Berets and Navy Seals it's the next logical
step. But if they can handle situations like L.A., kind of makes me wonder where we're
going to fit in; I doubt they'll be working
with
us.

Okay, well, that's enough for now. I've got to
drag my lazy ass out of bed and head to work.
Or do I?

Just kidding. I waste any more time and I'll
have to fly to work, and I'm not too eager to try that again. Last time my editor
almost... yup, I'm stalling. Time to go. Iris has already left, it's time for
me to put on my big boy boots and do the same.

Bah-humbug... I've definitely caught a severe
case of the Monday Blues.

Edward Otep
-

Remember when the extraordinary became the
mundane? When you walk in on the love of your life and just see another person,
when your first car stops being your
first car
and is just your car,
when your new house becomes a home? It's an inevitability for most things in
life. Familiarity breeds contempt. That said, I can't wait for the day when all
of this feels familiar. The first time I approach Infinity Isle, be it by sea,
land, or sky, and fail to feel that captivating sense of awe or wonder. The
first approach where I don't feel the need to give it an ounce of my attention.
What a day that will be.

I didn't want the private tour, if this is
truly
our
Island I wanted to explore it
by myself. Get intimate with the sandy beaches along the north and south sides,
the lush greenery and wide open clearings that make it seem as if you've
stumbled onto a piece of paradise. And that tiny excuse of a mountain in the
center. I want to walk down the plaza to the main hall, marveling at the
towering faceless granite statues that make me feel as if I've stumbled upon
the realm of the gods.

Let me soak it all in before it becomes too
commonplace. Away from all the commotion and gossip of the families who, I
believe, don't fully appreciate what Infinity Isle truly is. It's our new home,
our safe place, our last resort, our haven, and most likely the place we'll
make our final stand. That's right, if we fail, and it's an outcome I'm forced
to accept simply because it's happened before. But if we fail it will most
likely be right there. Kind of takes on a different feeling when you could very
well be walking around your own tomb. It's amazing how quickly something so
foreign can feel as if it belongs to you. To have such unhindered access to
something I held no part in constructing is a joy, so much so it almost seems
wrong.