DarkLight Redemption: Post-Human Universe - Book One

Chapter Twenty

I land in front of Weston Tower, still in full costume as I wasn't about to waste time changing to keep up appearances, and walk inside.

The doors are unlocked, so I enter the lobby and walk up to the front desk girl. I tell her I'm there to see Elizabeth Stokes, and she gives me the same absent smile that I saw on the faces of my family.

I practically have to lead her by the hand to the elevator so that she can unlock it and send me up to Weston's office.

When I exit the elevator into the office, the first thing I see is Olive standing by the windows. The next thing I see is Elizabeth standing in a darkened corner next to The Alchemist.

Much as his name suggests, The Alchemist has the ability to transform any metal into any other type of metal. People often come to him when they need something that's hard to come by or just need a bit of gold to fund some endeavor or other.

Not really needing money from anyone, he usually works for favors. At the moment, he's turning scraps of metal into gold, seemingly at Elizabeth's behest. I lean over and see that his eyes are locked only on the scraps that he's converting.

It's an unnatural kind of focus but different than what I saw in my parents' neighborhood, which is how I know that Elizabeth put the whammy on him. I also realize that the corner is dark because the power-dampening lights directly overhead are turned off.

"Getting creative in order to pay Weston's guys?" I ask Elizabeth.

"No," she replies. "I am simply supplementing my retirement funds whilst I have carte blanche."

"For someone who seemed super concerned over her missing boss, you're certainly not wasting any opportunity to take advantage of his absence," I say with just a hint of mockery.

"These are becoming desperate times, Thomas," Elizabeth says as she walks toward Weston's desk.

"No shit, Liz," I say derisively, and Elizabeth practically hisses at my presumed familiarity. "Have you been out of this office recently? It's like everyone spiked their Kool-Aid with Valium."

"And yet you have time to make juvenile jokes," Elizabeth retorts. "I have noticed that you are here together and both still alive. So it appears as though your impromptu partnership is going well so far -- to an extent. Now tell me, what have you learned?"

"Weston was developing some sort of energy device -- more than likely a weapon -- that utilizes the same sort of energy that I do," I explain. "He pieced it together and tested it out at an Arctic research station, which is where things went bad."

"Define bad," Elizabeth asks.

"The zombified people that I mentioned," I explain. "Like that but a lot gorier. The device also brought something into our world. That something got loose and killed everyone at the station. The device was gone by the time we got there."

"I see," she says, nonplussed by the details. "So whoever took the device likely took Mr. Weston as well. Do we know yet who that might be?"

"Not yet," I reply. "But at the moment, we're more concerned about the device and what it's doing to people than we are about Weston."

"Working under the theory that they are probably in the same place, you have my full support in tracking down the device," Elizabeth says. "The question is, how will you find them?"

"I don't know," I admit, still distracted by seeing my family with their brains scrambled.

"That is most disappointing," Elizabeth states. "Do you have any further leads?"

"The Immortal," Olive finally interjects.

"And where did you get that lead from?"

"From Gertie!" Olive exclaims.

Elizabeth shoots me an annoyed but knowing glare.

"I mean, Grytlepletarch," says Olive, somewhat apologetically.

"The Immortal has nearly as many bases as Mr. Weston," Elizabeth says. "I can search the database and see if Mr. Weston has documentation on his current whereabouts."

"You say that like you're not positive he does," I say snarkily.

Elizabeth shoots me a venomous grin and sits down at the desk. She punches in some commands as I look over at Olive who seems like herself, and then I peer at Elizabeth.

"Are you doing alright?" I ask Elizabeth, who looks up at me with genuine surprise.

"Why Thomas, I did not realize that you cared," she replies.

"I don't," I respond. "Not about you anyway. That being said, have you had any strange dreams lately? Or maybe heard something like whispers?"

"I am typically the one doing the whispering," she replies, clearly enjoying the self-reference. "Vancouver," she follows up, scribbling something down on a piece of paper. "Here are the coordinates."

She hands me the paper and leans back in the chair. The sense of gratification that comes into her face brings a theory to mind. I start to walk away, but then I stop and turn back.

"Say, you didn't happen to kidnap your boss and steal his fancy new device, did you?" I ask her.

Elizabeth lets out a hearty laugh and leans her elbows onto the desk.

"I like that you are entertaining all options, Thomas," she begins. "And you said that you were not a gumshoe."

"That's not a denial."

"No, but this is," she says. "I do not have Mr. Weston or his mysterious new device. But, if what you have said is true, I suggest you find them both as quickly as possible. For everyone's sake."

I nod, and Olive follows me into the elevator.

"Do you think she's lying?" Olive asks me.

"She's always been a damn good liar," I reply. "But I don't think that's the case here."

We take the elevator back down to the lobby and step outside. Since we're both already geared up, we take off into the sky.

She turns to look at me once we're airborne, and we lock eyes. I feel something pass between us that triggers my concern.

"Are you okay?" I ask. "I mean, have you had any crazy dreams? Or have you started hearing those whispers?"

"Me? No."

There's a very brief moment when I think she may be lying to me. But I stick that way in the back of my mind.

"My mom, though," she continues, "she had a dream last night about an earthquake and a solar eclipse. Or something like that."

"My family had the same kind of dream," I tell her. "This whole thing is getting bigger and badder every second. We've got to sort this out, and fast," I let the words hover in the air before finishing, "if we can."

"We can," she immediately states. "I believe in us. Don't you?"

"I do." I can't quite tell whether that's a half-lie or a full lie.

"Let's get to it then!" she says as she peps up and picks up speed.

We're rocketing across the country, maybe faster than I've ever gone. Side by side with this girl high above the world, I suddenly forget my fears and feel my heart swelling.

We don't say another word to one another before she looks over and smiles at me. She then kicks it up to yet another gear with a sonic boom.

With everything rushing by below and all around me, I think I'm finally starting to believe that we've got a chance here.

DarkLight and Dominatrix Save the World.

I'm likin' the sound of that headline! At this rate, we'll be in Vancouver in no time.

The Immortal has been around a very, very, very long time. He'll give us the information that we need, and we'll break this case wide...