CHAPTER 1
"I don’t like it" said Mixie as she turned away from the window. “That’s the third Angel sighting in the Ruins this week.” She dismissed the emergency report flashing on the screen inside her helmet. Her face-plate opened, revealing a stern expression.
“Did they say which color?” asked Rylan.
His smirk was ironic given the circumstances but he knew the ridiculousness of the question. He was a tall man, militant posture. No one would ever have guessed based on his physique that he was nearly 50 years old. His face betrayed his age more than any other part of him. The once dark brown hair on his head was now peppered with gray and the scars on his cheeks met the wrinkles of his eyes like rivers on a map. He crossed his arms and allowed himself a small laugh.
“What difference does it make? We’re no better off against any of ‘em.” replied Gerry, playing directly into Rylan’s question. He was nervous, it had been tough sneaking into Emerald Nation without being caught and the threat of detection was still hanging in the room.
“They’re messing with us you idiot!” Sherl called.
His lack of tact was ever present even in life-threatening situations. Despite the constant danger of being discovered, Sherl nonetheless consistently chose to speak his mind when he wished, where he wished, and how he wished.
Mixie craned her neck outside of the open doorway. It had taken four days to find a way across the border into Emerald Nation, and another three just to penetrate the GOD’s Hand force field that guarded City-7. However, with it being the city furthest from the Tower it was, in theory, the safest.
She looked up the dark street. The large buildings were eerily quiet. She was still not used to the silence that follows curfew. Back home in Cobalt Nation, there was no curfew. There was no presiding Angel, Beasts, or even temples. It was the one part of the world where GOD had no major presence however, to be fair, there wasn’t much of anything at all. It had officially been classified as Ruins many years ago. The only monuments remaining were a non-functioning Tower and a broken statue of the Weeping Woman. It had been rumored that the people of Cobalt Nation had rebelled against GOD at one point and as a result their cities were demolished and the entire nation was left as a wasteland. Regardless, the influence was still ever present. The different Sects each had their own belief, and many still considered GOD the supreme being on the planet. It was hard not to. According to written history, GOD had always controlled Earth.
Mixie knew the stories despite growing up in the Ruins. The sermons from the nations’ Priests that broadcast throughout the cities would eventually trickle down via word of mouth into the badlands. Ideas carry weight, Mixie learned, and regardless if the information is exactly correct or not, as long as someone is discussing an idea then
it has power. Lies have as much power as truth if everyone believes them. It was this conviction that led her to form the Hackers.
She sighed. Even this far from the Tower, GOD’s Voice was still being broadcast into their helmets.
“Concentrate”, she told herself. “Kill your thoughts.” The mantra they had learned to repeat in response to GOD’s Voice whenever they entered a city. It was their life line to sanity. Otherwise it was easy to get caught under the consistent bombardment of propaganda that was fed from the Tower into every electrical unit. Tower’s were the main source of energy but with it came the constant hypnotic persuasion. It was the price of using Shadows.
Shadows was the term used by everyone in the Ruins to describe the suits now worn by Mixie and the Hackers. Shadows were not actually suits but bio-tech organisms created by GOD that, much like everything else, were powered by the Towers. However, the people of the Ruins had discovered that when Shadows wondered far into the badlands, they began to seek another source of sustenance in human electrical pulses, the Ki. They believe an individual’s Ki, or “hidden energy”, calls to the Shadow so that what is missing within both may be found in each other. However, here, within the limits of a Tower’s influence, the Shadow along with the human mind could become subject to GOD’s Voice.
“Kill your thoughts before they kill you” Mixie whispered to herself, “don’t think, just do. If not, you hesitate. If you hesitate, you die.”
“Mixie” Rylan called from behind. “We’re ready.”
She straightened up, her face-plate closed.
“Alright, torch and tag”, she said through the com-system.
The Hackers began their departure of the abandoned building, making sure to keep in formation. It was important since each Shadow was specifically modified for a different area of combat and expertise. Mixie led the way. Her Shadow was predominately black, however, tendrils of faded blue were etched on her limbs, stopping at the shoulders and thighs. Her helmet, including the face plate was scratched such that any identifying markings were unrecognizable. The armor was sleek, completely contoured to her body with no, what she considered, “wasted space”. She preferred close quarters combat as evident by her sole weapon, a very powerful Buster-class Particle Blade that activated out of her suit’s right forearm. Her movements were quick and sure-footed, a confidence that was lacking even amongst those considered Shadow masters by their tribes.
Gerry followed closely behind. He was the youngest of the Hackers, seventeen to be exact. Tall and lean, he often had to duck to enter most doorways. Though he was native to the Ruins, his Shadow was not. It was a bronze tint with white circles on the shoulders and thighs meaning it was originally from Gold Nation. Since Shadows were no longer bred near the Ruins, it was more common for a native to encounter one from other parts of the world. Mixie’s was the first seen from Cobalt Nation in close to 200
years. Gerry’s was equipped with a custom Fuma-4 Particle Rifle that separated and folded behind his right shoulder when not in use. On his left shoulder was a small E- Pulse Emitter that consistently spewed forth waves of varying frequencies. He had designed it himself and it served as a type of radar, letting him know when anything disrupted the electrical field around them. Though young, he had a brilliant mind and an avid appreciation for technology. His mother was a devout believer of the Machinae and instilled in him the divine relationship between flesh and metal. He served as the group’s main technician and had more than once been employed by tribe leaders to repair dysfunctional equipment.
Sherl held back several paces from Gerry. His Shadow was dark green with overtones of brown speckled on the limbs hinting it was more than likely birthed somewhere in Emerald Nation. It made sense, Sherl was from Emerald Nation. He had only recently joined the Hackers but for several years been part of various small, short lived anti-GOD terrorist groups. His armor was reinforced with thick plates and he preferred physical ammunition over Particle weaponry. He carried with him: an Eagle-74 assault rifle, a 5.25 Hawgs-Head shot gun, a wide assortment of hand grenades, and two combat knives. His helmet was morphed to resemble a skull and he took great pride in the intricate skill and control it had taken to reshape the face of his Shadow.
“You wanna hurry it up old man?” Sherl hissed.
Rylan smiled under his helmet. He strolled through the alley with ease, even pausing at the end to admire the large temple across the street. It was their target after all, the city’s communal center where every day citizens gathered to hear from the Priests. There was no better place to make a statement than here.
“Stop.” Rylan said, his tone abruptly serious. He put a hand up to signal the others.
Rylan was the group’s sniper and unlike the other Shadows his helmet had two distinct eye pieces instead of a solid visor. It was with these that he was able to notice and zoom in on what looked like a very large Shadow standing guard by the temple door.
“It’s a Golem” he whispered, “switch to Com. Frequency 77.24, we don’t know it’s monitoring capabilities.” The others followed his lead and crouched back into the covering of the alleyway.
“What is that thing? It’s huge!” Sherl asked.
“A Golem....a sentient Shadow”, Gerry replied. He held his hands out in front of him like he always did when explaining something. “It’s a Shadow that can think for itself and doesn’t need a host.”
Mixie looked around the corner of the alley.
“Rylan”, she said. “You’re only going to get one shot before it sends an alarm.”
Rylan’s sniper rifle mobilized from his back to his right shoulder. He knelt and braced against the alley wall. The Flugel Particle Rifle’s quiet hum felt deafening in the tense air around them. Rylan held his breath and shot.
“Go!” Mixie yelled. She reached the steps of the temple as the Golem collapsed. What was left of it’s head smoldered from the charged particle blast of Rylan’s rifle. “We’ve got two minutes before they send a troop in response to this thing’s signal being cut!” she added. “Stick to the plan! Gerry, you and Rylan tag the building on the right! Sherl’s with me on burn duty! MOVE!”
The Hackers divided into their respective groups. Mixie and Sherl split to opposite sides of the temple.
“Timers set to 20 seconds” Sherl said. “It’ll be a nice welcome for whoever gets here first.” Mixie placed her explosives around the border of the cathedral. Homemade Gel-Bombs they acquired from a few sympathizers in Azul Tribe.
“Explosives are set. Rylan, are you two done?” Mixie asked.
“We’re done. Blow it.” He responded.
The explosion shook the ground beneath the Hackers as they stood several blocks down from the scene. Military police and armed guards in full Shadow uniform arrived seconds before the eruption. The flames lit up the words painted on the building adjacent to the temple:
KILL YOUR THOUGHTS
The phrase was now in blatant view of the public for the entire city to see.
“Think they’ll get the point?” Gerry asked.
“They’ll notice it at least. And they’ll know GOD can’t control everything. It can’t be ignored.” Rylan answered.
“Let’s get out of here, before they send a Beast.” Mixie said.
The four of them stuck to tight corners of the back alleys until they reached the edge of the city limits. The fire was an excellent distraction and in a few hours they made it to the outer sewage system.
“What next?” Sherl asked. “I signed up for more than a measly demolition job. Though, you scads are crazy for bombing a bloody temple. The second they find your neural signatures, you’re all dead.”
“We head back to the Ruins, we can recoup and plan another assault.” Mixie said without turning around.
“Sure you don’t want to check out this ‘Angel’ business on the way?” Sherl smirked at his taunt.
Mixie turned to face him.
“Yea that too actually.” she said, her mask now open.
Sherl met her face, his own mask retreated. “There ain’t no Angel in the Ruins. What’s got you so convinced this ain’t some punks pulling one over on you?”
Mixie held his gaze for a few seconds before speaking.
“I’m concerned because as a matter of fact, they did mention a color.” She said the words to Rylan, looking past Sherl. She paused and focused again on Sherl’s eyes. “They said it was blue.”
She turned and continued to walk down the sewage line towards the border of the GOD’s Hand. Sherl stayed where he was, processing the response.
“But.....that’s impossible.” Gerry was the first to speak. “There isn’t a blue angel.”
“Wasn’t”, Rylan spoke as he walked past Gerry. “There’s no telling what GOD’s up to. It was only a matter of time before they sent something into the Ruins again.” Sherl collected himself and walked in silence behind Rylan.
“What’re we going to do?” Gerry asked.
Mixie stopped. She let the rising sun briefly have her attention. Here in the cities behind the force-field the sunlight wasn’t nearly very bright, but she enjoyed the sentiment nonetheless. With her fists on her hips she looked at the ground then back towards Gerry.
“If there is a new Angel and it’s in our Nation.” She used that term whenever speaking with pride about her home. “We’re going to find it and we’re going to kill it.” ================================================================ “They say I need GOD to survive, they say Shadows need GOD, not true, we require only each other.” - Krishan Hillworn, Priest of the Azul Tribe