CHAPTER 10- “When the End of the World Comes Knocking at Your Door.”

The sun slipped out from its hiding spot behind the eastern horizon, casting the first rays of light upon a chilly Sunday morning in Northtown.  There wasn’t normally much traffic out at this time on a Sunday, and given the events of the previous night, there was even less than usual this morning.  In the last ten minutes, Elias saw only one car go by on Main Street and heard no others in the distance.  Not even the early-morning joggers were out in their routine; the streets and sidewalks of Northtown were as deserted as if the town were abandoned.  

Elias stood off of the avenue of Virginia and 4th, glaring up at the doorway that lead inside to Daniel’s loft, a grey haze of nanomites him undulating in the wind and shimmering in the sun.  

Only revenge mattered now to Elias.  His life was gone, stolen from him by the man in the loft for money.  Years of friendship betrayed for numbers in a bank account.  

After this, after exacting what vengeance he could for his ruined life, Elias was going to disappear, quite literally, and let the world continue its journey of hurdling through the void of space without him.

But for now, Daniel had to pay.  

Elias continued staring, heart pounding, and for a moment, doubt entered his mind.  Was he going to kill the only person who could help him?  Was he throwing away his last chance for a normal life?

But the moment of doubt passed as quickly as it arrived, and it was now time for Daniel to give the Pale Horseman his due.

Motioning with his hands, Elias tore Daniel’s stairway out of the brick and sent it flying hundreds of feet into the air behind him.  For added effect, he then ripped out the rest of the front walls, tearing out hundreds of individual red bricks simultaneously and leaving the embedded door to Daniel’s loft exposed.  With a flick of his wrist, the bricks launched into the air and rained down like missiles blocks away.  They crashed indiscriminately through people’s roofs and car windows, setting off a cacophony of car alarms and injuring more than a few people.

Elias floated up in the air to be on same the level as Daniel’s door and slowly made his way across the street.  A lone red Dodge Neon dared to turn the corner onto Virginia street only to be greeted by Elias smashing its engine down into the road with a nano-cloud hammer as casually as he would swat at an ant.  The car’s driver, a blonde college coed on her way to the gym, did not see Elias or what hit her car as the white air bag exploded into her view.  Combined with the force of the sudden stop, she was knocked unconscious.  Elias continued his mission.

He blew the door off its hinges inward, sending it crashing into the opposite wall and shattering into large chunks upon the floor.  

"Anybody home?" asked Elias with a pale grin.  As expected, no reply came.

Reaching out with the nanomites, he shook Daniel’s stainless steel-paneled refrigerator loose from its spot in the kitchen and lifted it off the ground.  Turning it on its side, he sent it crashing through walls back and forth like a wrecking ball until launching it through the wall containing the shower and bathtub.  Unfortunately, Daniel wasn’t hiding in the bathroom.  For good measure, Elias made the porcelain bathtub launch itself out the side of the wall and through the bedrooms with the refrigerator following close behind.   Sheetrock dust and debris filled the air, but with a wave of his hand, the nanomites cleared it all away for Elias so he wouldn’t have to use his inhaler.  Right now would be a most inopportune time for an asthma attack.

The refrigerator, now resembling a crumpled soda can, cleared out the rest of the walls between bedrooms.  Daniel was not in either of them, and the beds had not been slept in the previous evening.  Either Daniel was a very early riser, or he wasn’t home.  Checking one last place, Elias shattered the glass doors to the patio and sent Daniel’s beloved minibar flying through the floor to the private parking garage below.  Elias followed.

The parking garage served the connected lofts as well as Daniel’s and was almost pitch black inside.  Elias selected a red Volvo and sent it flying through the garage door for more light, crumpling both like tinfoil as they skidded along the asphalt outside.  He scanned the area.  Daniel’s black Lexus was not there.

This was not good.  Not good at all.  He was supposed to be here, and Elias was supposed to be able to finish this once and for all.  Anger seethed inside of him and threatened to spill out of his very pours.  After all this, now Daniel would even deny him his revenge!  Oh, but he hasn’t done, not by far.  He commanded the nanomites to find all the organic material they in the garage and up in the apartment for replication.  In a matter of minutes, the nano cloud grew a full third in size.  Should Daniel escape this day, Elias would at least deny him the status symbol of which he was so proud.  

Elias screamed and directed all his anger outward, send the nanomites out in every direction from his body.  The building exploded.

Elias floated out of the blast zone and rested on a pile of rubble.  He eyes went back and forth, surveying the destruction.  The building now resembled pictures of bombed buildings he’s seen from World War II.  If Daniel was hiding in it anywhere, he would not have survived.  But he hadn’t been hiding.  Either Daniel had already hopped a plane out of the country to never be seen again, or he was back at Chemplex, trying to find a way make the nanomites’ shutoff signal work and save his own butt and reputation in the process.  

As angry as he was, Elias had qualms about ripping every plane he found out of the sky just to find Daniel.  But leaving the country would only be Daniel’s last last resort.  No, Daniel was too much of a company man, and there were still too many figures to be added to his bank account if he got things back under control.  He would definitely be back at Chemplex, so that’s where Elias would just have to go to give his resignation in person.

He smiled wickedly and floated off.

"But it should have worked,” said the bald man in a lab coat quivering and walking next to Daniel.  His thick German accent punctuated every word.  “There’s no reason for the signal not to have shut off the nanomites.”

"Well, it didn’t, Stein.  Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here at seven o’clock in the morning on a Sunday trying to stop this personal armageddon we’ve made, now would we?"

Daniel quickened his page and Stein followed in suite as they walked through the corners of Chemplex’s R&D division.  Richter Bernstein (Stein to his colleagues) was a bald man in his late forties who originally came from Germany to work at Chemplex.  He wore a white lab coat over his slacks and blue button up shirt, and had grayish stubble lining his face.  After every sentence he spoke, Stein ran his hand over his bald head in exasperation.  

"The specs were based off of Elias’s own designs.  It was completely flawless."

Daniel stopped walking and held out his arm to stop Stein, as well.  "What did I just say, Stein?" he asked without even looking at the man.

"That, the signal didn’t work, sir.“

"Correct.  And is going on about how it should have worked ad naseum going to make it fix the problem or find a solution any quicker?”

"Uh, no, sir.”

"Correct again.  Now, quit your excuses, quit your platitudes, quit your whining, and give me some real answers, or it will be your head."  And then under his breathe, "quite literally."

“Yes, sir.”

"Do I, as your boss, make myself clear?  I have neither the time nor the luxury to babysit a whining child.  Do we have an understanding?”

"Yes, sir."

Daniel continued walking, and Stein hurried behind him.  ”Good man, Stein.  Now, talk to me and tell me how you’re going to fix this.  And dazzle me.”  

A beeper on the inside of Daniel’s suit jacket went off.  Daniel reached in and pulled out a small LED screen device the size of an iPod, and a little light blinked blue at the top as a message scrolled across the screen.  His face dropped.  It was his apartment alarm, indicating a break-in.  And what’s more, the device was reporting an inability to connect back with the unit at the apartment.  

Elias was searching for him.

Daniel quickened his pace further to almost a jog.  ”I’m afraid, Mr. Bernstein, that we have even less time that previously thought  Now, give me a very good reason I pay your outrageous salary."

"I’m not making excuses on this, Mr. Jones,” said Stein, his voice quivering.  “I’m just going to talk it out, walk it through, okay?”

“Fine.  Go on.”

“The nanomites should have shut off at the signal.  That was their programmed, hard-coded signal."

"My patience wears thin, Mr. Bernstein."

"Just hear me out, sir.  The nanomites are programmed to relay the signal to other nanomites, causing a chain reaction to shut them all down at once.  If the signal didn’t work, then the programming must have changed."  

"Are you sure you set the right frequency?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you put in fresh batteries?"

“Uh, yes… sir."

"Then go on."

"If the programming changed, then it must have been when they acclimated to Elias’s brain waves.  Somehow that process must have transformed them."

"Somehow doesn’t pay the bills, Mr. Bernstein."

"Sir, I’m doing the best I can."

"And that’s why you for the time being you’ll still get paid the big bucks.  Here we are."

Daniel and Stein rounded a corner to Stein’s lab.  Inside were five other members of the nanomite team.  Stein took his place next to them.

"The others will be here shortly,” Daniel addressed.  “No one is allowed to leave the facility until we have a viable solution to shut down project Phoenix.  Call your families now, have them bring… whatever-- medicine, cots, pillows, and make sure they check it in with Felix at the front desk.  There will be bonuses for all when this is over, but until then, you will work like your very lives depended on it.  Am I clear?"

The scientists all nodded.

"Good.  Then pass it along to the other members when they arrive."  And again, under his breathe, "because more than likely, all our lives depend on it."

Everybody had gathered in the children’s Sunday school room upstairs as Phillip and Wendall arrived.  Half were watching the television, the other half were listening to a radio.  No matter what channel they flipped to or station they tuned into, the news was all the same.

“—explosion rocks downtown Northtown."

“—in what appears to be another terrorist incident."

"Mayor Anderson has ordered a curfew for the remainder of the day."

“Four Officers lost their lives in the assault.”

“—asking for comment from Police Chief Hall if last night’s apartment explosion and the latest incident are related."

“—stay inside and do not leave your homes.  If you are out and about, return home immediately."

"Elias," whispered Phillip.

"What would have made him blow up another building?" asked Alicia.  "Do you think he lost control again?"

"It’s possible, Lisha,” shrugged Sun.  “But it looks like the building he blew up was one of those fancy loft apartment buildings downtown.  Surely he wouldn’t be stupid enough to risk another confrontation with the police by walking around in broad daylight?"

Phillip chimed in, ”No, he wouldn’t.  He would have to had a reason for being there.  Considering how much it costs to live in that area, I’m guessing he went looking for that Daniel guy from Chemplex he said infected him."

"That make sense,” said Sun.  “Do you think he found him?"

"Hard to say, either way,” said Toby.  “As unstable as Elias is right now, he could’ve blown that building to kill Daniel or just did it for spite.  One thing’s for sure— if Elias didn’t find Daniel, he’s still out looking for him."

Phillip sighed.  ”Then we’ve got big trouble on our hands.”  

"Wait a minute, what do you mean ’we’?" asked Alicia with raised eyebrows.

“We, as in the city.  Well, us, too, but we in the general generic sense."

"That’s good, because if a with great power comes great responsibility speech was on its way, you were going to get smacked, Phillip Jacob Mann.“

"No, we’re not super-heroes, and this isn’t a comic book,” Phillip said while laughing.  “Just because we have abilities doesn’t mean we go dress up in tights and fight bad guys."

Wendy smiled and raised her hand.  ”I like to dress up in tights and play ballerina.“

Alicia smiled as well and put her hand on the girl’s shoulder.  ”I think he meant funny costume tights, Sweetie.“

"Oh.  I might like that, too!" Wendy beamed.

"No, baby-girl, we’re not the police,” cautioned Wendall.  “We need to let them handle the bad man."

Wendy scrunched her face up at her dad.  ”But he’s not bad.  He just hurts.”

"Yeah, but that’s not an excuse to hurt other people, too,” Wendall replied.

"The way I see it,” started Edwin,  “if the good Lord has seen fit to give a person gifts, then they ought to use ’em.  The Lord gave my daddy a healthy body and strong arms, so when Hitler started killing all those folks, my daddy knew it was his responsibility to use those gifts to help those folk."

"Edwin, we’re not in a war,” responded Alicia.

"Well, that may be true enough,” Edwin conceded.  “But each of us has these gifts for a reason, like the Pastor said.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we got these abilities the same day as that Elias fellow.  The Lord don’t work like that.  Now, you can shrug it off all you want and say we ain’t the police, and we ain’t.  But can you really look back at last night and think the police can stop this fellow?  Can you really think that we weren’t meant to help somehow?"

"Edwin, this isn’t a movie,” said Phillip.”  “This is real life.  We all could get hurt like you did, or even killed if we tried to go after him again.”

"I realize that.  I ain’t ready to take another bullet in my knee, that’s for sure.  But if something needs doin’, and it’s the right thing to do.” Edwin sat down.  "Well, I’ve said my piece."

The group was silent.  In the light of day, it had been easy to leave last night tucked away in the back of their minds, relegated to the space of bad dreams and bogey men.  But the horrible truth was that Edwin was right.  It was no coincidence all of them received their powers.  And if so…

"Elias might be dead,” Sun offered.  “He might have been killed in that blast back at the loft.”

"Do you really believe that, Sun?" Phillip asked.

She hesitated.  “No.”

Wendall grabbed his daughter by her shoulders and brought her up against him.  "I’m not putting Wendy in danger."  

Toby put his hands up.  ”No one has to do anything at all.  We’re not a super gang, we’re not crime fighters.  We’re just talking, that’s all."

"Hmph," grunted Edwin.

Toby continued.  ”This is all speculation for something that might not even happen.  We don’t even know for sure that the explosion downtown was Elias’s doing."

"That’s a heckuva coincidence, Pastor,” Edwin declared.

"True, Ed, but that’s all it could be:  just a coincidence.  Until we get more information, if we ever even do, we’re just worrying ourselves for nothing."

Wendy scratched her head.  ”Are you saying we should consider the lilies, Pastor?"

"Something like that, yes.  Glad to see someone stays awake during my sermons.  Now, the best thing for all of us to do is go home, shower, and eat something.  Once we’ve had a couple of days to get things back to normal, then we can meet up again and talk.  But we’re all too stressed and emotional right now to make any rational decisions.”

"But the television said there’s a curfew on,” reminded Alicia.  “How are we going to get home?"

"I’m sure the police will understand if you told them you were on your way back from church because the Pastor told you go home, and there’s probably officers still out there in the parking lot who would be more than willing to give any of us a ride home.”

Sun hesitantly took a step forward.  ”I went out and looked earlier; Everybody’s car that was parked in the front of the building is totaled."  

Several moans emanated from the group, and Wendall spoke up.  "I parked my pickup about a block away so I could get Wendy some ice cream before we came.  It should still be okay.  It’ll be a little cold, but a few of you could ride in the bed, and we could squeeze another person in the front."

"Thank you, Wendall,” said Toby.

"I don’t really need a ride with the whole speed thing," said Sun.

Toby clapped his hands together.  “Okay, folks.  It sounds like we’ve got a good plan, then.  Now, let’s--"

A sound like a loud, muffled thunderclap boomed all around, shaking the windows.  A few seconds later, concrete blocks rained down, one punching a hole in the church’s roof, narrowly missing Wendall as it embedded itself in the floor.  Others smashed up against the side of the church building, leaving large holes and dents in the exterior.

Everyone ran to the windows.  About a mile away, a plume of smoke rose from the southwest.

"I’m on it," said Sun as she hurried out of the room and down the stairs.  Phillip watched her exit the building (she didn’t want to run inside to ruin the carpet) and then saw nothing but a gray streak headed toward smoke.  Two minutes later, she returned.

"It’s Elias."

"Did he see you?"

"No, he was too busy tearing at the Chemplex building."

Their faces were all solemn.  Each one of them knew.

"There’s not enough police in the city to stop him after last night," said Alicia, quietly.

"Everyone, let’s pray,“ prompted Toby

"Now?" asked Sun.

"Especially now."

They gathered into their familiar circle, bowing their heads and shutting their eyes as Pastor Toby lifted them to the Lord in prayer.

"Precious Heavenly Father, your children come before You now and lift their eyes to You.  You took slaves and made them into a great nation of conquering warriors, Lord.  We’re not slaves, and we don’t want to be warriors, but we will be whatever You want us to be right now.  Father, if it be Your will, we will go into battle.  If it’s not, then please show us another way.  But if we do have to fight, then go before us and show Yourself mighty, oh Lord.  Raise a banner for our victory, Lord.  We love You, and we trust You.  In Jesus’s name, Amen."

"Amen," repeated everyone.

More muffled explosions shook the building and rattled the remaining windows.  The disaster sirens roared to life and sounded their continuous loud wail across the city.

“I guess that’s our answer, Pastor,” ceded Wendall.

"No one has to come who doesn’t want to come,” assured Toby.  “And if you do come, you don’t have to fight.  We don’t know what we’re going to face when we get there, but the Lord has made it clear we need to go.”  Toby looked at the faces in the room to see if there were any objections.  When there were none, he added, "And who knows but that you came to your position for a time as this?"  Everyone nodded, even if reluctantly.

"Let’s do this," said Phillip.