Seven Day War

Death.

Death.

The majority of the lights were dimmed, except a solitary light in the center of the room which shone down over a white sheet covering a table. Under the sheet lay a body, it was easy for anyone to tell. The setting gave a measure of privacy for family visiting the deceased.

Trevor sat in the observation room. Ellie’s body was laid out on the table in the dark room that Trevor occupied only hours earlier. Out of tears and stupefied, he sat there in a daze waiting for his daughter-in-law to jump off the table full of life.

Smith and Jones left him in the room. The installation had never been set up for so many uncleared persons. There weren’t enough holding cells, besides it quickly became evident that however little Trevor and his party understood, the Government grasped less.

Time passed swiftly, and it all seemed impossible. Everything about the last couple of days seemed incredible. How did those kids and that creature appear in the center of the town?

He considered all the steps taken that brought them to this point in time, trying to decide if there were any choices he made that could have gone differently and saved all this pain. If he never left London, if he’d never came to Texas, the events would probably still have happened, he just wouldn’t be in the middle of it.

Shouting outside the door of his little room interrupted his self-torture.

He clearly heard Evan’s voice say, “You can’t cut her open! She’s a human being, not some lab rat!”

Trevor watched as they locked El into another room, unconscious. She dropped from exertion after the fight in the center of Marysfield. He didn’t defend her as strongly as he should, and it added to his pain.

Jones or Smith’s voice came next. He couldn’t remember which was which, but it was the male agent. “I don’t know if you noticed or not but you just got your ass kicked. If we didn’t show up, you would be dead now. We need to find out what those things are and how they attacked you.”

“Then you should catch one and cut it open. Cut one of your people open! You can’t do that to Ellie, and I will stop you!” Evan’s voice cracked.

Trevor became deeply concerned this was going to grow out of hand quickly if someone with a calmer head didn’t step in. He wished he knew someone with a calmer head, but figured he would have to do.

Trevor pushed off from the swivel stool he perched on. Lightheaded from the enormity of it all, he swerved to the door. Cracking it open he peeked outside and said, “I understand you’re both trying to do what you think is right. But please remember emotions are running high for everyone right now. That’s my daughter-in-law in that room lying on the table. My wife, my son and daughter, my grandson, and El have been through too much today. Agent man, you’re right. We do need to investigate this to the fullest. However, right now you need to give us a chance to mourn. Billy is back in your hospital. Shannon has been sedated. The two children are with your Radar…” Unable to finish the sentence, he glanced at Evan and started crying again. Through his tears, he said, “Let us go for a walk outside for a while.”

Agent Smith looked at them both, shuffling on his feet while he noted the crying Trevor. He nodded his head and pointed in the direction of the exit.

Trevor grabbed Evan’s arm and led him down the corridor.

Evan started pleading a few steps down the hall, “We can’t let them do this, what if Crystal comes back and brings her back to life?”

“If Crystal can fix what that little bastard did to Ellie, then she can fix what these scientists are going to do. You didn’t touch her…” Again, he couldn’t finish the sentence. The thought of Ellie’s twisted and busted body grew too graphic for him to relive. He would never be able to forget her body lying at impossible angles, feeling like every bone in her body had been crushed from the force of the attack, even if he wanted to.

Evan opened his mouth as if about to speak but closed it again and walked down the hall. They came to the outer door that had been yanked out of the wall and thrown into the hallway. Trevor stopped at the doorframe lying at his feet. “How do we, how does humanity fight against something that is this powerful? What are these things? They’re not Crystals.”

Now Evan led Trevor past the destroyed door and outside the building. “I’m not sure how much you heard Crystal say, I’m not entirely clear on the whole process. Did you know that Crystal has a sister, Misty?”

The heat of the Texas night struck Trevor in the face like a wall when they left the air-conditioned hallway for the desert outside of Marysfield. “Yes, Crystal told me, she mentioned her five years ago. Said she was a real bitch.”

“That’s her, best I can tell the two of them have been here for some time. All the while they’ve had kids, and their kids had more kids. Over the generations some developed powers, some not.”

“And you’re one of those kids?” Trevor asked softly.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure how it works. I’m one of those kids. Crystal and Misty’s offspring are called Chosen. They call regular humans norms. I’ve no idea how many Chosen there are. Crystal did say, and stressed this fact, that not all Chosen will develop powers. I got the impression that each power would be different.”

Trevor shook his head. “What was that thing that attacked us? Why are they after us?”

“I’m not sure…” Evan hesitated before continuing, “The twins attacked us in Cambodia. Before El and I discovered our powers. We escaped through Crystal’s portal to the island where we found you. I don’t know what the tentacle creature is. That’s the first I ran into. I feel terrible that they chased us to your hometown, and because of us Ellie is…” Evan’s words trailed off.

Trevor wasn’t in a forgiving mood, but he’d never been known as a cruel man. “They might’ve chased you to Marysfield, or they might not have. We can decide blame later. One of those tentacle monsters attacked me a couple of days ago at my brother’s church. I barely escaped alive. It’s strange that the twins and the tentacle creatures seem to be working together. I’ve never seen Crystal show any signs of being a tentacle monster, have you?”

Evan shook his head. “I never knew Crystal existed until we landed on that island off the coast of Cambodia. I never guessed I was Chosen until after I met you. I can’t remember anything past about four years ago. My life doesn’t make sense to me. Now I don’t know who or what I am.” Evan stopped, turning his head toward the bright Texas sky. He examined the stars that filled the pitch-black Southwest night. “What do we do now?

Trevor stopped beside him and followed his gaze. He would never grow tired of the night sky over Texas. There were a multitude of stars compared to what he might find in London because of the city lights and overcast skies. “I’m not sure, but I think it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.”

In many ways, Trevor accepted that Evan was a lot like him. He understood being a young adult, and he remembered being clueless. Always sure he recognized the intricacies of how the world worked. Honestly up until five years ago his mind had been made up on how things were meant to be. Even if he didn’t like the answers. Then he came to Texas and met Crystal, his certainty dissolved with the chaos. Perhaps he should be thankful for the five years of peace that he and Shannon were able to enjoy before the shite hit the fan. After meeting Shannon, he always felt his life became too good to be true. Now he needed to deal with everything the universe threw at him, oh yeah and possibly the end of the world.