July 20, 2175
5:30 P.M.
Jack returned to the house and found Diana still sleeping. Just to be sure, he reached into his item pouch for a device called Scanalyzer—a medium-sized white box with an opening for scanning the patient and a screen on the other side to display the results.
Jack put the tool to work, and as it scanned Diana, he got up and walked to a window. He tapped a button near it to check the weather. The downpour had started to die down slowly. In total silence, Jack began to reflect on how much had changed in a single day. He had lost almost everyone he held dear—his mother, whose fate was uncertain, and his best friend, who had died fighting, unlike him, who had just hidden. He thought he had lost Diana too, but thankfully, nothing major had happened to her—though he was still unsure what exactly had happened.
The device beeped a few seconds later, indicating that it had collected the diagnostic data. Jack turned and hurried over to read the results on the Scanalyzer's screen.
It displayed:
______________________________________________________________
| |
| Breathing: Slowed and relaxed |
| Injuries: Evidence of mild concussion on the left temple |
| Kana Energy Reserves: 90% |
| Blood Pressure: Normal |
|_____________________________________________________________|
Jack heaved a sigh of relief, Her condition was stable and she would be awake in a few minutes. He headed back to the window, The rain had almost stopped.
Jack had unlocked his powers. He looked at his fist, circulating energy into it. It was enveloped in visible, colorless energy wafting around it. He needed to think about their next course of action. His decisions wouldn't just affect his own life but Diana's as well.
Could they be the only Kratians alive?
The possibility of that was almost next to none. After all, there were Kratians in the military, and if a non-Ikanami user like him had survived the onslaught, then there was absolutely no way in hell that the invaders had managed to eliminate seasoned veterans and other combatants—unless an external force was involved.
Could the Augmenters be involved?
Augmenters had been a trending topic in the news lately, with the first reports emerging three months ago. They were humans who had somehow developed the ability to manipulate Kana energy like a Kratian. Their Kana pathways were similar to those of Kratians, except they lacked Kai centers and the Dantian.
Some believed Augmenters were just rumors. Others thought they were merely Kratians posing as humans. Even the government was at a deadlock—Augmenters were human, yet no human had ever been recorded as having the ability to use Kana energy. The Kratian government was concerned that humans might be experimenting on Kratians.
Their method of Kana energy usage was different too. Witnesses claimed they weren't like regular Ikanamis, but they couldn't quite define what made them different. Still, if they could wield Kana energy, they must be powerful.
Could they be stronger than Kratians who had been using Kana energy since their origins? Jack would have a harder time believing it if they turned out to be more adept at using the power.
Just then, Jack felt a pair of warm hands gently placed over his eyelids, making him unable to see. Jack put his own hands on them.
"You let your guard down, boo. You are dead," said a sleepy yet cheerful voice.
"Well, you got me. Are you sure you are a healer and not an assassin? But tell me, how can I not have my guard down when I am around you? You are probably the only person now with whom I can be myself. No facades when it's you—I am just myself," said Jack, gently removing her hands from his eyes.
"Fair enough, and it's good to know that the version of you I like is the real one," she said, grinning.
A sentence can have many different meanings, and when that sentence is said by a person one is in love with, they cannot help but overthink every detail. Jack was no different. The statement replayed over and over in his mind, Jack wondering whether she meant it in a friendly way or romantically. Jack just stood there like a statue, caught in a trance.
Diana's hands gripped Jack's palm tighter, and Jack felt her hugging his back tightly, jolting him to reality.
"Why... Why did they come after me?" she said in a low, sad voice.
"They didn't come after just you. They came after everyone," replied Jack, turning to her and patting her on the back.
She was a head shorter than Jack. Her smooth black hair had straightened down, and her face was buried in Jack's chest.
"What do you mean, everyone?" she said in a grim tone.
"They launched an onslaught against all the Kratians and Homo Kratians. They have killed almost everyone. Some must have survived, though—like us."
Diana didn't say anything. She tightened her grip around Jack, and after a few seconds, she said, "Is it true?"
Jack realized that, one way or another, she would have to see the gruesome trail of blood and death the Ortho Sapiens had left behind. So he decided to be blunt—after all, in the dawn of this new world, there was no place for weak-hearted individuals.
"See for yourself," he said, moving aside, leaving her facing the window.
Diana took a step forward toward the window to see. She froze halfway, then rushed to the window and grabbed the windowsill firmly.
"No... Mr. Otters, Mr. Samian, Billy... Nooo..." she whimpered in shock.
"Well, you see? This is the world now. We have to watch our every step, or we could end up joining them before avenging them," Jack said, turning the glass opaque once again. He grabbed her hand and escorted her to the bed. He turned on the lights and sat down in his chair.
No one spoke for a while. Jack just sat there, looking concernedly at Diana, who was sitting on her bed, face buried in a pillow.
"Why... Why did they do it?" she asked weakly.
"Greed. Jealousy. Envy. Anger. Who knows? Even if there was not a single reason, a genocide would never be justified," Jack answered.
"But the police... Why are they not acting?"
"Who knows? We will look into that too."
"Alright. Well, at least tell me what you saw today," Diana demanded.
"I will, but before that, tell me—how did you get your injury? The wound doesn't seem like one that the Ortho Sapiens would give."
"Well... When I came out of my hiding place on the ground floor, after making sure they left, I headed upstairs to call you. But when I climbed up, I saw that Juno had... that they..." She couldn't continue forward.
"I am sorry," Jack said to her.
Diana buried her face again in her pillow. She looked up after a few seconds with a weak smile.
"Well... I can't be weak now, can I? They have eradicated whole families out there. I should not give in to my emotions this easily. Well, anyways, when I headed up and saw Juno's body, I was shocked, so I backed down a little. I stepped on a bullet shell and slipped. My head hit the railing, and I fell unconscious," she said.
"I see," said Jack, looking pitifully at the tear marks left in the pillow.
"I think my report can wait. Let's go and give Juno a proper funeral."
Jack and Diana came out of the room. Jack lifted Juno's lifeless body, her tail dangling and moving around limply. Diana opened the door. The rain was starting once again. They went to Diana's backyard, where they buried Juno.
Diana herself buried Juno after giving her a last kiss and pet on the head. She then stood near the grave, facing the clouds. The downpour was slowly picking up the pace.
Jack walked to her side and softly whispered, "It is not raining enough to hide your tears, Diana. You have no need to hide them to begin with. If you need a shoulder, you can always borrow mine."
Diana flung her arms around Jack and burst into tears. Jack stood there, consoling her and patting her on the back.
Juno was practically a family member to Diana. Since her parents were out on duty most of the time, she and Juno had been keeping each other company for about eight years now. It must hurt a lot.
They stood there for a few more minutes, then headed back inside.
Jack made dinner for them, and they ate together. Diana refused at first but gave in later because of Jack's nagging. Then they headed to the living room.
Jack asked Diana to put all her important belongings in the item pouch. He gave her the item pouch, and she returned an hour later. She handed Jack the item pouch and sat on the sofa with a thump.
"Since you seem to be in a better mood now, I will tell you my report," said Jack.
"Alright."
Jack droned and droned about what he saw and heard. Diana's jaw dropped in shock and despair. Her eyes widened, and she put her palm over her mouth. Jack finished his report and left Diana thunderstruck at the end.
"So... what now?" asked Diana anxiously.
"We need a plan of action. Otherwise, if we just make random moves, then we are as good as dead."
Diana nodded.
"We are going to need a team—a good one. That's the only way we are surviving."
"What?" exclaimed Diana.
"What do you mean 'what'? If we don't, we will get overwhelmed by the numbers of the Ortho Sapien people... Unless you want to play Adam and Eve."
"Nope. I pass on the latter part. I just said 'what' because—do you even know whom to trust and whom not to?"
Jack looked like he had just swallowed a sour lemon.
"Well... Fair enough," said Jack, hiding the pain in his voice.
"Also, you said you would do something about the police. What's the plan?"
"About that..." Jack told her the plan.
"It's dangerous!" exclaimed Diana.
"Yes, but don't worry. I have my Ikanami now. I will make them eat dirt," exclaimed Jack confidently.
"Alright, fine... Well, let's go to sleep then."
"Okay."
Jack went off into the guest room, and Diana went into her room. Jack was exhausted, so he fell asleep almost instantly. But Diana had some trouble sleeping, for she missed the cuddling sensation and purrs Juno made when they slept.
July 21,2175
3:00 A.M.
Jack's sleep was broken once again by the sounds of gunshots. They weren't inside the house, thankfully. He hurried off to Diana's room and knocked. She too had awoken from her uneasy slumber.
"Alright, come in," she said softly.
Jack entered the room and hurried off to the window, turning off the opaque mode. The moon was shining brightly; the sky was clear, with a few clouds veiling the stars. The moonlight cast a warm glow on the ground, gradually mixing and disappearing into the streetlights. Even if there were no streetlights, he would've seen what was going on—the ground was painted orange from the roaring flames rising on the lawn of a house.
There were the black cars of the Kratians, lined at the side of the road. They themselves were walking around. Jack was afraid they had come to investigate the destruction he had caused while testing out his Ikanamis. He told Diana to get ready to go and hide the moment he asked her to, just in case his suspicions were correct.
The Ortho Sapiens were yelling around, shouting, and firing their guns into the sky.
"Twenty-seven humans, all fully armed. I think I can take them down with my Ikanamis unless they have a trump card," he muttered to himself.
"Jack, you don't plan on going outside, do you?" said Diana, pale with worry.
"If it comes to that, I will. I have my Ikanami now—they're little fries for me," he said confidently.
"Please, don't. Let's run away if it comes to that. I can't lose you," she said, grabbing his arms.
"Alright, I'll try not to, but please let go of me. I need to be at the ready to create a diversion if necessary."
"Okay," she said, hesitatingly letting go of him.
Jack looked outside again. He noticed they were carrying something to the fire and throwing it in. He squinted—the Ortho Sapiens were carrying dead bodies and disposing of them in the fire. Occasionally, they would shoot one of the bodies for fun.
Jack looked up. There were numerous such fires visible as orange pinpricks in the distance, their smoke columns faintly visible in the moonlight. Jack relayed this to Diana. She, too, came to the window and prayed for the parting souls—a custom the Kratians had picked up from human society.
"They're clearing up the evidence and removing the threats of ethereal revenants," he said.
When a Kratian dies, the energy in their Dantain remains trapped in them. A few days later, when the body starts to decay, the Kana pathway is exposed. The stored energy acts as a magnet, continuing to fill the Dantain of the departed. When the concentration becomes high enough, the energy forcefully divides the dead cells into life. However, once lost, consciousness cannot return. The dead wake up, their bodies stop rotting, and due to the high Kana energy inside them, they end up charred, emitting blue flames at all times. Their eyes glow blue, along with the many cracks on their bodies.
They attack anything with a high enough concentration of Kana energy, which is always present in Kratians. They are not affected by Kana energy attacks and can only be damaged by physical attacks. They can concentrate Kana energy into small energy balls, which, upon impact, result in massive explosions. When attacked with Kana energy, they not only take no damage but also absorb the energy.
When a revenant gathers enough energy, their Dantain explodes, causing a blast with a radius of several meters.
Hence, they only attack Kratians and devices that operate on Kana energy.
The Ortho Sapiens had finished clearing the bodies. They added more wood to the fire and then left.
Diana and Jack also went back to sleep a bit later.
7:00 A.M.
Jack was woken up by the sound of Diana cleaning the house. Diana's family still didn't have any house robots—they hadn't bought them because they believed cleaning around the house was great exercise. Jack got up, freshened up, and headed to where Diana was.
Diana was cleaning on the ground floor. Jack went to her, said good morning, and climbed to the first floor, where he took a wet cloth and cleaned the blood from the floor. Then, he broomed the floor and mopped it clean.
When Diana came upstairs, she got angry with Jack for cleaning, as he was her guest. Jack said it was alright—they were friends, and he would help around. Diana thanked him and hurried off to get ready for the day. Jack, too, headed to the bathroom, took a shower, and came out into the hall. Diana was still in the bathroom, probably bathing.
Jack hurried off to the kitchen and prepared breakfast. Diana came out of the bath and was again surprised by Jack's help. She thanked him for the food, and they had breakfast.
"Well, might as well get going. Time for the verification plan to start," he said, getting up after finishing his food.
"Alright, but are you sure? It's quite risky," she said, worried.
"Everything we do now will involve risk," he said firmly as he put on normal clothes.
"Let's just hope we don't have to undergo the risk then."
"Mhm," Jack nodded.
Diana hurried off to her room and got ready. Her straight black hair was tied into a bun, and she put on a light brown long coat over her white T-shirt and jeans. She came out a few minutes later to find Jack, who was already dressed—wearing a black T-shirt over white joggers. His dressing style was plain as ever.
He had his holo watch on his left wrist and his Ortho Sapien band on his right.
"Shall we get going then?" he said, smiling at her.
They got out of the house, and Jack took out his Ortho Sapien car from Diana's garage, sparkling in a deep black color. He opened the door for Diana, and she got in.
"When they ask for your ID, give them this," he said, handing her an identity card showing the name Morgan Smith. Jack had grafted Diana's picture onto the original one.
"Where did you get this?"
"It was in the pockets of an officer killed by Franklin. Probably his wife's."
Diana nodded. Jack started driving, and they headed to the police station.
Even though the government was split, the police department was shared between the two races. That meant that humans' Pittsburgh and Kratians' New Pittsburgh shared a common police station.
10:00 A.M.
They reached the police station. The building was located in Pittsburgh, which was teeming with life and activity—unlike New Pittsburgh, which was completely in shambles. Jack and Diana entered the building.
"Sir, I want to file a missing report for my friend. They have been missing since yesterday," Diana said at the help desk.
"Alright, madam. Head to that counter—you'll find Officer Jones there. Talk to him," the officer said.
"Thank you," Diana said and headed to the designated place.
Jack observed his surroundings. He noticed a few people wearing the Ortho Sapien wristbands. He didn't stare too much so as not to raise suspicion.
Diana started telling the officer fake information. Jack initiated his psychic Ikanami and used it on the officer.
"My name is Morgan Smith. I am a human who lives in Apartment 472 of the building Sunshine Heights. I am a human, and my friend, Damian Wilson, hasn't come home since yesterday. We live together. Please look into the matter," Diana said, looking worried and sad.
"We will, ma'am, but we'll need some more details, like when he left the house and what he works as," the officer said calmly.
Diana started telling him the various fake details she had conjured up on the way there. Jack was listening to the officer's thoughts. He was behaving normally, writing down statements, and thinking through various possibilities. Diana continued with more details.
At that moment, Jack sensed a rapid fluctuation in Kana energy behind him. He turned swiftly, still not revealing his energy. Ambulance sirens blared outside the building.
A few officers were coming out of the inmate section, dragging another officer out of the place. Jack used his psychic Ikanami on the man, sensing Kana energy from him. The man's mind was full of chaos—multiple voices speaking at once, making it impossible for Jack to understand anything. However, the man kept saying no, denying whatever the voices were telling him.
Jack exerted more energy into the man's mind, still unable to distinguish anything. The man looked at Jack for a second, then looked away.
As they passed by Jack, the officer suddenly utilized a large amount of Kana energy, lunging at him and knocking him to the ground.
"I will kill you! I will kill you! You DAMN PEOPLE WHO KILLED MY KIN!" the officer shouted.
"You are not one of the society, are you? Watch out for them... They can use Kana energy to..... ," he whispered in Jack's ears before the officers came and hurried him off.
Jack was left on the ground in a daze. That man was a Kratian, and he had recognized Jack by sensing who was invading his mind.
Officer Jones had gotten up, and he offered Jack a hand and helped him onto his feet.
"Thank you. What was that just now?" Jack asked.
"That was Officer Simian. Workload is getting to him, and he has started hallucinating things. Please overlook the matter; we are taking him to a hospital," Jones said, looking outside as the officers forced Simian into the ambulance.
"I see. Hope he gets well soon," Jack said, brushing dirt off his clothes.
Diana finished her report, and they got into the car. They started out, and once they were on the highway, Jack told her what happened.
"Who are 'they'?" Diana asked.
"I don't know, but that was a good heads-up. I hope he breaks free and runs," said Jack.
'They'—who could they be? What can they do with Kana energy? Numerous such questions were welling up in their brains, yet the answer was nowhere to be found.
They reached home, and Jack parked the car in Diana's garage. He told Diana that he would sleep during the day so he could keep watch at night and look out for any Ortho Sapiens that had infiltrated the police and followed them here.
They had lunch, and Jack went off to rest to prepare for the night.