We continue to speed past the blurry world of London. During the Attack of 2020, some of the biological and chemical weapons diffused their way into England and the economy took a significant plunge as people feared for their lives and shut themselves in their Dwellings. Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Shireshire, Shirenotshire, and Howmanyshires, (that was an attempt at sarcasm) were all decimated as a result of the chemical compounds. The Prime Minister and Queen declared all of the United Kingdom in a state of emergency but that was the day the bombs came. 

 As I look out the window and see gaping holes in the ground and pavement, it reminds me how destructive the human race has become. All over are remains of the once-illustrious English countryside but no longer are there signs of life. The only thing is graves where family members buried their Loved ones. I catch a few glimpses of the tombstones and monuments erected for these people. Some of them tower above the tree lines and some more modest ones are inlaid into the dirt. All around me are the signs of suffering and death that I have been designed to enjoy. I do. Death is attractive. 

 The grey haze seems to overtake all the stones and monuments, and even from this highway, I can see remnants of great statues that have since fallen. Like my own life, it reeks of nothing; when you are born into a life of inflicting pain upon others nothing really can phase you anymore. I see the way my security teams look at each other and the way Molly looks at me. They view each other like there is some connection holding them together. When I was younger, I took a laser and waved it between these people to cut whatever connection was holding them. I thought this would sever the relationship and they wouldn’t be so happy. Nothing ever happened to them. I try to mimic their faces sometimes to see if I could look at people the way they do to each other. 

*Observe. Replicate. Eyes: Locked. Mouth: Small Upward Tilt At Corners. Nostrils: Slight Flare. Pupils: Dilate. Eyelids: Lower. Corner Eyes: Lower. [Insert Emotion]. Error: Could Not Identify. 

 Each time I tried to mimic them, the results would be inconclusive. Although I can manipulate my facial muscles, the EYE stated that there had to be some other intangible thing present in the equation. I asked Molly about this, a year after I Entered, and she said there was something special to be said about someone who was not able to care. She told me, “Colman, even if you could complete this action you wouldn’t want to. Once you are able to feel Love you can never take that back because from then on, that Being holds your soul. You are special because you will never have to feel the pain of when someone who holds your soul disappears from you. I will one day be gone and then you will find someone else just like me. I will never be able to find another Being like you. You should be happy that you have the gift that allows you to do this.” I took her word for it but I still think there is a hole in my life that will never be filled. I try to feel something other than adrenaline, excitement and happiness but nothing ever surfaces. 

 The statues rise and fall with the contour of the land as I continue to look outside until we arrive at the Buckingham Palace. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see an object moving quickly through the fields alongside the road. Thinking that it is an incoming RPG, there is an automatic surge of adrenalin and my EYE jolts to life. I analyze the incoming object but instead of seeing my Distance Meter decrease as we move it stays the same. Is this thing not coming at me? *Weapons Analysis: No Threat Detected. 

 There is no one else around and my jet was the only jet scheduled to land within a three-hour segment so no other cars are traveling along the same route. What can be moving that fast? I continue to peer out the window and Zoom on my EYE. As the resolution adjusts itself and I become more immersed in the scene in front of me, my heart rate continues to rise. What is happening to me today? My field of vision has shrunk tremendously which is one of the first things I learned (not to do) when searching for an Objective. When the resolution finally stabilizes, I see that there is a figure racing through the countryside. That is an impossibility. How can a human keep pace with a caravan of cars speeding at 75MPH. And yet, there it is. I run a cross-diagnostic test on my EYE to include heat signatures, motion sensors, and blood regression tests but it comes back as a positive match for a…Spike? That is impossible. 

*Diagnostic Test. Begin. Heat Signature: Subject registers at 99 degrees Fahrenheit. 

*Diagnostic Test. Begin. Motion Sensor: Active subject. Speed 76MPH. Moving SW. 

*Diagnostic Test. Begin. Blood Analysis: Subject. Alive. Blood Type. AB. Error. Inconclusive. 

*Diagnostic Test. Begin. Blood Analysis: Subject. Alive. Blood Type. B. Error. Inconclusive. 

*Diagnostic Test. Begin. Blood Analysis: Subject. Alive. Blood Type. A. Error. Inconclusive. 

*Diagnostic Test. Begin. Blood Analysis: Subject. Alive. Blood Type. O. Error. Inconclusive. 

*Diagnostic Test. Begin. Blood Analysis: Subject. Alive. Blood Type. ABO. Error. Inconclusive. 

*Diagnostic Test. Begin. Blood Analysis: Subject. Alive. Blood Type. B. Error. Inconclusive. 

*Diagnostic Test. Begin. Blood Analysis: Error. Error. Error. Failed Analysis. Recalibrate. 

Adrenalin courses through my body, so much so, I lose my sense of being and send my fist right through the glass of the window. The driver starts to slow but I yell for him to keep driving. I have to keep up with this thing. There is no way she is a Siv, but how can she be a Spike? Spikes do not have superpowers. The driver speeds back up as I hear voices crackling through the car’s intercom. The drivers behind me speed up and the crackling has turned into screeching. I Zoom Out and poke my head outside the window to have a better view. As I look behind me, my security team and SQUAD are poking their heads out of the car mirroring me. I know that I probably should respond to them so activate the intercom in my car which is the worst choice I could have made. Molly is the loudest and most recognizable voice squealing through the intercom. 

“Colman, what the hell are you doing? We are not supposed to be flying through the countryside! Our Country is going to be fined for this! Get your head back inside that damn car or you will not like the Being you have to face when we reach the Palace!” she says. 

“Who is that racing alongside us Molly?” I yell. 

“What…” I hear her mutter. “Someone get me a visual on the east and west side of these cars. Now!” 

At that, cameras rotate to the countryside on either side of the car as SQUAD focuses on the woods as they attempt to capture movement alongside the caravan. The heat-seeking setting on and everyone is frantically scrambling to get a shot. Meanwhile, the cars are pushing 90MPH. I Zoom In and look back towards the figure - it is a girl. She is still there. Thank goodness, I am not dreaming this time. 

“Colman, honey tell your driver to please stop. We need to have a little chat.” Molly says frantically as she cuts back on the intercom. 

“What? If I lose pace of this girl then I will not be able to find her again, she is too fast.” 

“Colman! Stop the car now!” she screams. 

I Zoom all the way out now because the two cars, carrying my security detail, speed up to overcome mine. My driver slows down then come to a complete stop. The girl continues running and disappears out of view. The cars are now nestled on the side of the bomb-ridden road a pair of high heels and four pairs of Country boots click as they approach my car. I am pulled out of the car and normally, I would not stand for this type of treatment but it is the gesture of yanking me out of the car that conveys their point - I know that I might have messed up. Molly pulls me in close and looks me straight in the eyes. Her hand is balled in the Henley but I am six inches taller than she is (even in high heels) so she has to shout up at me. 

“This is not what we had planned for this ride young Spike! How dare you not listen to me when I speak to you. Do you even know how much trouble I am going to be in? You blazed past us and all I see are shards of glass flying back at my face as I looked out the window to see where you are going. How did that happen? Did you throw them at me? Did something break? I have no idea how you can be this reckless on a sweet little ride through the English countryside!” 

I open my mouth to speak but my smile is already too wide. What a weird reaction. I will never get over it. She continues, “How am I supposed to explain this damage to my Producers and the Keepers monitoring you at home? You use an entire vial of blood in your efforts to adjust your EYE back and forth and run all those tests! Why were you even running those tests? There was no Being even out there! I ran the same tests with the team monitoring this transport and would you like to know what I came up with? The answer is nothing! There was nothing out there. What were you doing? On top of all this, we have been cruising along at this speed for over twenty minutes what do you think that will do to the agenda…” 

I watched that girl for thirty seconds. “What do you mean twenty minutes?” I say. 

“I mean that at 11:02 AM I saw pieces of glass fly at me as you accelerated to one hundred million miles an hour and now we are standing here at 11:24 AM while you smirk at me while I scream!” 

“That is not possible.” I counter. 

“Well it is possible, and if you do not believe me then go check the energy levels for your EYE. You just used it for, let me see here…twenty-one minutes and sixteen seconds.” 

I go into the History of my EYE and she is right. What is going on right now? 

“This is not going to be how this trip goes. I thought you would be grateful that I got you out of The Country so you do not have to fight anybody. Now all you do is throw pieces of glass in my face and say some women are so obsessed with you that they train to run alongside the car?” 

“I did not say that,” I say. 

“That is what I am taking away from this situation. Look, our agenda was to arrive at Buckingham at 12:05 PM because the Queen’s granddaughters will not be able to greet you any earlier. Now you have screwed it all up. It will probably be easier to sit here and look at ourselves for the next eleven minutes so we fall back onto schedule. In addition, I need to give you another vial of blood. You know what happens when you use the Manual functions of your EYE. Next time please keep it on Automatic. We have to carry all of our blood supplies because it is illegal for English people to sell their blood for your use…you know that! Next time, I will not take it so easy on you.” 

“Is that what you call easy?” I smirk. She smiles at this and retreats toward her car to pull out a reserve vial of blood. 

I look around at my SQUAD and security detail. My SQUAD has all their cameras plastered in my face. I know they got that interaction on tape, they get everything on tape. I cannot see any of their faces but for once they are silent and not asking any questions. There are many tricks that I have learned over the years but there is one constant - anytime where I am made to look like a lesser being by a Siv, is never aired. They would see that as a detrimental marketing technique. Although my smile has faded to a grin, I am feeling good. I have no clue what just happened but I know for a fact I saw a girl. My Diagnostic Tests may not have been saved in my History but I know what I saw, no one can tell me anything different. Molly stomps back and thrusts a syringe of blood straight into my neck. I say thank you to Molly and she silently walks back into her car and orders everyone else to follow her. 

Our little roadside stop wasted seven out of those “off-agenda” minutes so I wait another four minutes before I hop back in my car and tell the driver to move. I apologize to him, not because I feel bad but because Molly has told me that this is what regular Beings do when they do something they are not supposed to. He smiles at me and says in a wonderful English accent, “Sir, it is my very pleasure. I am sorry that you had to go through that. Your female handler looks like she can handle about anything.” 

“Oh, she can,” I say, 

“She is a tough act to follow.” 

“And by the way Sir. I did catch a glimpse of that young woman speeding past us.” I snap my head towards the driver’s mirror so I am able to see his eyes. The eyes are the windows to the soul and you can tell a lot about a Beings’s intentions if you are able to understand their soul. The driver is telling the truth and his intentions are sincere. He apologizes for speaking out of turn but I thank him as he puts the car into drive. Today is shaping up to be one for the history books.

Next Chapter: Chapter 6