Might's Odyssey (The Event Book 2) (17 page)

He raced through a cloying darkness heading towards a faint light. He moved at mindboggling speeds. He had almost forgotten what a joy it was to move this fast.

The threads of the black long sleeved shirt and trousers he wore hardened as he ran. Seconds later, it became black battle armor. Oh men! He had missed this. The thrill of the chase, the power coursing through his veins and most importantly, the speed; glorious, heavenly speed.

It was a major drag having to walk at normal speeds. The only access you had to swiftness anywhere in the world was a fast car. The speed of a car however could not compare to this.

The light in front of him grew brighter. He knew what that meant of course. He was closer. As he burst into the light, everything seemed to fade away for an instant and then he was looking at a wide expanse of land covered by bright green grass.

The light in this place was too bright. His eyes could hardly bear it. Screeching to a halt, he raised an arm to cover his eyes from the blinding glare as he struggled to get his bearings.

Shock surged through him when a force lifted him off his feet. He twisted and struggled but could not break the hold that seemed somewhat like a huge hand wrapped around his torso. His strength as great as it was could not free him from what held him.

He traveled at light speeds heading towards the bright sun. It was brighter than any sun he had seen. Now for some strange reason, he found his eyes could cope with the glare.

Something else hovered between him and the sun. It was too far away for him to make it out at first. But as he came closer, he realized it was a person hovering in midair.

Two translucent materials fluttered behind the person like wings. He realized a couple of seconds later that they were not wings but flaps of a shimmering white robe, which covered the body of the person.

Drawing closer, he saw that the person had an hourglass shape. It was a woman. Her skin was milky white, her lips blood red and her eyes blinding pools of white light.

He got the sense that the force carrying him was coming from her. The force drew him closer still and her lips parted slightly, the faintest of moans bursting from her open mouth.

His eyes widened in shock. There was something vaguely familiar about her. A couple of seconds after he thought this she spoke.

“You left me___”

Sadness filled his insides and he was tempted to burst into tears.

“I did not mean to__”

It occurred to him that he did not remember when he was supposed to have left her. On the other hand, something deep in his spirit told him she was telling the truth.

“Whether you meant to or not__ the fact still remains that you did.” She got out in a grim voice.

He wanted to argue, possibly try to defend himself, but he did not. What was the point?

“I am sorry__”

The light in her eyes grew brighter and she surged forward, floating towards him. When they were a foot from each other, they both stopped. He raised him arm to shield his eyes from the blinding light emanating from her body.

“Find me__”

“Excuse me?”

“Find me Swift___ before it’s too late.”

His body shook with his shock. How did she know his name?

The light in her eyes slowly dissipated and the golden hazel color was revealed. He gasped. He would know those eyes anywhere.

“Brainwave___” He whispered.

At the mention of her name she rose another six feet above him in a motion that so familiar to him. A fierce whirlwind began, ripping off everything in its wake.

Raising her hands to the heavens, she summoned a large bolt of lightening which she fired in his direction. The lightening bolt seared a couple of inches above his right shoulder and streaked to the earth causing a massive explosion.

The explosion ripped open a giant fissure in the ground and a portal of light came out. This light burst became energy. The energy reached out seizing him around the midsection and pulled him into the portal of light.

“Brainwave__ noooooo___”

“Go Swift___ you do not belong here__ find me__ you have to find me__”

Everything around him imploded and he saw fire, water, and light, fierce, scorching light, all of which consumed him_____

“Huh!!!!” Gbenga cried sitting up.

He grimaced as a sharp pain seared through his legs. Sweat poured down his body in torrents soaking the black pajama bottoms he wore. His torso was bare and his eyes were glazed and frightened. A soft light illuminated the large room.

The exquisitely furnished room was not his concern now, the dream was. He had dreamt about brainwave and the others before. However, not like this.

In the last three months, getting Might out of that coma had been his one and only priority.  He had completely forgotten about the others.

They were dead weren’t they? They perished in Nephilim. He had just assumed that since they died in Nephilim they were probably dead in the real world, in the sense that they would never wake up from their coma. Had that been a wrong assumption? Were their consciousnesses alive somewhere? Trapped in the limbo between here and earth’s grim future?

After he woke from his coma months ago, he initially thought none of them would ever wake from their comas. That was until he remembered that Might had been in the center of fusion grenade explosions severally and always survived. Brainwave on many occasions called Might indestructible. That was why he had monitored his progress and taken over his medical expenses because he knew that Might would come of his coma. It had not occurred to him that it could be the same for the others.

He shuddered as he thought this. His eyes slowly drifted to the clock on the wall to his left. It said 5.30 am. He’d wait till seven am and make a few calls. He had to find out whether they were still in coma and whether there had been any change in their conditions.

With his decision made, he lay back down and promptly went to sleep. His even breathing the only sound in the quiet room.

The trees ended, Might burst out of the forest sliding to a halt when he saw the barren ash covered expanse of land stretching for miles in front and around him.

The volcano lay on the horizon directly ahead. Its cone top spewed thick black clouds of smoke that were riddled with ash.  He started across the ash-covered ground, freezing when he felt something move beneath his feet.

Looking around, he searched for what he could use to defend himself if this was another threat. He saw nothing. His eyes grew grim. Maybe rushing across this ash field wasn’t the best idea.

The heads up display in his helmet came on, flickering like a bad TV connection. The beeping grew louder. He got the sense that it was louder because he was close to the volcano.

The lone crack in his visor was now a series of cracks that kept duplicating every couple of minutes. He knew it was just a matter of time before it shattered. When that happened, he was as good as dead.

Throwing caution to the wind, he raced forward as giant earthworms burst out of the earth. One almost took off his right leg. He increased his pace huffing and puffing as he ran.

Looking back, he saw that the worms were now slithering after him moving almost as fast as he was. As if he didn’t have enough to deal with, loud roars rang out on his right. These roars came from the tree line.

Three giant creatures burst out of the trees a couple of minutes later. They were exactly like the one that socked him with its tail earlier on. Three pairs of dull red eyes scanned the open plain, freezing on his fleeing figure.

Roaring in unison, they tore after him. With their twelve-foot long legs, they covered three times as much ground as he and the earthworms did.

Might put on an extra burst of speed, taking ten-foot long bounds as he did so. When he had gathered enough momentum, he leaped into the air, sailing so high that the volcano appeared to be a tiny model beneath him.

His face became puzzled. He had never leaped this high before.

“Gravity here is not as strong as it is on Nephilim__ that’s why all the creatures are bigger. There is also a field generated by the volcano that subdues the force of gravity even more.”

That was good to know. He started to plummet aiming for the hole in the volcano. Plunging into it, he was blinded by the thick cloud of ash and smoke rising up around him.

The instruments in his helmet started to screech. The heads up kept flickering as more cracks appeared on the visor. A red glow lit up beneath him.

“Press both of your  fists together as hard as you can__”

He was tempted to ask why, but he quickly obeyed. Two tongs of thick steel cable shot out of his gloved fists. The hooked ends buried itself in the rock on either side. He fell for another six feet before the rope became taut bringing him to a crushing halt.

He swayed over a pool of bubbling lava, his hands held high above his head by the rope.

The heads up display suddenly came on. The arrow pointed to his right. Looking in the direction it was pointing, he saw a slab made of a grey concrete like substance built into the rock. That was where he had to get to.

“Push down on the space in the middle of your left palm.”

Might frowned as he obeyed. The line holding up his left hand cut and he swung to the right, heading towards the slab. He slammed into the rock with a dull thud digging a sizeable hole in it.

As he started to swing back, he grabbed hold of a rock that protruded from the side of the volcano. This hold kept him from swinging back out. The slab was now between the wall of the volcano and his body.

He was tempted to push the space in the center of his right palm but he thought better of it. He still needed to get out of the volcano. Holding on for a minute and a half, he gingerly let go of the rock. He swayed slightly but the rope from his right hand kept him up.

Reaching forward with his left, he touched the slab. It was as hard as steel. Taking a deep breath, he drove his fist into it and ripped off the front of the slab. A small space appeared. It was about the size of a medium sized safe. A bright glow emanated from its depths. Reaching into it, his large hand closed over the second key card.

He brought it out and slipped it into his suit.

“Now climb up__”

Sighing he started to climb.

When he reached the point where the steel tongs buried themselves in the rock wall of the volcano, he punched a hole into the rock with his left hand and hung on.

Pushing the space in the center of his right palm, the steel cable immediately cut. He swayed precariously, held up only with his left hand still buried in the rock.

Raising his right hand up, he aimed for a spot at the top of the volcano. It was difficult to be precise because of the thick black smoke. A gust of wind blew at that instant, taking away some of the smoke and he pressed the space in the center of his palm. Another steel tong shot out burying itself in the wall of rock very close to the top of the volcano.

Pulling on it to make sure it would hold, he brought his left hand out of the hole and repeated the earlier action he performed with his right. A second tong shot out hitting a spot close to the first tong. After checking the line to see that it was firm, he started climbing.

Within minutes, he reached the top and climbed out of the smoky volcano. He balanced on the outer part for a few seconds examining the plains around him.

The creatures hunting him milled around the bottom of the volcano with their red eyes fixed on him.

As he debated what to do, more cracks appeared on his visor. He knew he had just a couple of minutes before the glass exploded.

“You must go__ you don’t have much time.”

Eleyon’s voice as usual came suddenly and without warning. Thanks Eleyon for stating the obvious. His thoughts were sarcastic. He instantly repented of it and he began to mutter long apologies in his head. If Eleyon turned his back on him now, what hope did he have?”

“You must get to the drop site__”

“Drop site?”

“The plains you landed on after you exited the light jump. You are too far inland. The teleportation shift module transmitter cannot reach your transmission belt.”

“How do I get there? And with the creatures waiting for me at the bottom it’s not going to be easy. I don’t think I can fight them all.”

“Have you forgotten what I told you about the gravity here?”

His eyes narrowed as he considered Eleyon’s words. Taking a deep breath, he leapt into the air. Instead of plummeting as he had expected, he sailed high into the air crossing almost a hundred kilometers before hitting the ground with a loud thump.

He turned around slowly, looking back with his eyes wide with wonder. The creatures hunting him had completely disappeared. All he could see was a thick cluster of trees, the coniferous forest. Even they appeared to be some distance away.

A smile lifted the corners of his lips very slightly and he leaped again. He soared even further this time before he came crashing down. Pausing he gave the land around him a thorough sweep but he could see no familiar landforms.

“Keep going, you are not there yet.”

Sighing he leaped again. He continued to leap until he saw the plain he landed in.