+1+
The weight of the bottle is all I need to make it through the next few hours. It weighs about one pound but feels like the weight of the world duct tapped to my leg.
Lora
It’s all for you Lora. Those bastards are going to be so fucking sorry. We will be together in the end, laughing at them as they all go to hell. Single file. No pushing, bitches. This is for you. For Mom. For Gran and Grandad. Eli Ortiz, The Suffolk family.
For Everyone.
“Papers ?”
I turn to the Body. . . I mean MS solider standing there in his gray standard issue uniform, a shiny New Aeterna flag pinned to his collar. He has that same pale skin as the rest of the fucking MS soldiers. Kids around my age who’d given up their souls to join the The Morning Star division of the Helion Forces. They wanted to be more than human. Rumor has it when The Seige started the MS soldiers used to take human blood.
No one knows exactly how an MS solider is made, but you don’t have to look to hard at their pale skin, unaging faces and stillness to realize dying is a part of the processes.I let out a slow breath and shove the standard issue wallet sized folio at him. He looks at my Papers and then up at me.
“What’s your business in Helion City”, he asks, “That admittance seal is so new it’s still shining”
He indicates the shiny gold seal in the clearance section of my Papers. Ravi had made a good clean forgery so I could get into Helion City.
“Just got a new job”, I lie, “Yard maintenance—er Beautification Specialist. No big deal”
“I see”, he says, “You think about joining the Morning Star division, you’re the right age. You got the look.”
Never. Never. Never you bastards
“Maybe. In a few years”, I smiled
It’s my lucky day, the Body doesn’t bother to pat me down.
I move forward and find a seat on the crowded H train. I stand even though there are seats available. A quick glance around the train makes it obvious who is allowed work in Helion City. The beautiful. Especially the girls, I wish I’d made more time for girls.
The train rumbles and the doors close, an older woman is sprinting for the train, but the trains already taking off. She’s shit out of luck. Once the H train leaves for the day, it’s gone until the end of morning shift. When it makes the return trip. . . I won’t be on it.
+++
The trip is 40 minutes and I go over the steps in my head.
Pull the cap, light the fuse, shake
Boom
I smile
Boom
I whisper a silent thank you to Ravi for doctoring my papers and recruiting me. Terrorizing the Helions was really his cause and I was glad to be a solider for it after losing Lora.
When the train arrives Helion City, I’m mesmerized. I’d only seen Helion City in photos and on television. I’d had an Uncle that lived here before it was called Helion City. It had looked different then, more buildings.
Deconstruction was finished here first, nothing of the original borough remained. The streets are pristine and areas I used to remember as being stacked with warehouses were torn down to make for small parks and fountains. The row houses are so clean they don’t look real.
Chinese, Russian, Spanish drift from storefronts. I follow the crowd to Helion Castle, but couldn’t see much beyond the gold gates the size of skyscrapers encircle the castle. I can see why Lora wanted to work in Helion Castle so badly. To bad it killed her.
I slip away for a final meal, settling on an open air Chinese market. I’d rather have a slice of pizza and a Coke but settle for a noodle bowl and Bob’s Cola. Fuck I missed Coke.
Pull, light, fuse
Boom boom boom. Time to go.
I make my way back over to Helion Castle just after 10am. The area around it is deserted. No tours today. I walk around the sky high gold gates trying to find a place that feels right. Where I can cause some real damage.
The backside of the building has the lightest security, the new Bodies always slack off.
Pull
Light
Fuse
I lift up my pant leg, the bomb is still tapped to my leg. I pull the top off, then I flick on my lighter and hesitate. I think maybe I should duck tape it to my chest, to be sure that I go with it. I —
“You don’t want to be doing that.”
I turn to see a man watching me. I freeze thinking he is Helion. . . or a Body. I hadn’t even heard him arrive.
At least I don’t think he’s Helion. He’s got a closed shaved head and is at least 6’3. The more I squint I see the blues of his eyes and that tell-tale angular face.
He’s got to be Helion
Shit
I lower the lighter
“Wait”, he says approaching me with his hands up, “Wait”
Up close he’s different from any Helion I’d ever seen. For one he’s dirty. I’d never seen a Helion who didn’t have styled pristine hair, clean clothes or a uniform. He also has a scar around his eye, and even more so his wings aren’t on display . . . they are bound.
“This isn’t your business”, I tell him. I don’t care who or what he is. This is about Lora, “This is what you people get”
He shifts his eyes to Helion Castle.
“These aren’t my people anymore. You’re dressed like a yard guy . . . but that’s not why you’re really here. I’ve been following all morning”
“Fuck off, man”
“You want to do that? You want to kill a few Angels ? Blow yourself up to teach ‘em a lesson ?”
“They took something from me, I want them to pay.”
“They took something from all of us. You want General Thantos and his army to pay ? You want to bring them to their fucking knees ? Then you should come with me.”
“Who are you—why should I-- Did Ravi tell you about me? ”
“No. I just know you, kid”, the man says,“ I know how you feel and what you want. We all want it and you might be the one to help us. If you come with me, you can get it all back. What do you say, kid? You want to save New York City from Helios.”
“What the fuck makes me so special.”
He smiles
“You’re human.”
“So are a lot of people”
“Yeah, but you were willing to die for a cause. You are exactly what we need.”
“Who is we ?”
The man smiled
“The Prince’s Resistance”
+++
I’d plan to die today, so I figured if I followed this scruffy looking Helion stranger what was the worst that could happen? Besides he was talking about a resistance, a way to fuck the Helions over and I was all over that.
He let me hold on to my bottle bomb as a show of trust, but the more we walked the less I wanted it.
A Resistance? It was possible. Resistance had been tried and failed multiple time over the past ten years, but this guy was a Helion. Helions turning on Helions ? That was new.
The Helion lead me to a Dumpster park near the back of Helion Park, he pushes a bin aside to reveal a sewer He moved fast, opening the grate and climbing into the sewer. He sent a message out on a small phone then started walking. For 10 minutes we walked in silence.
“You got a name?” The man asks
“. . . Theo”
“Theo”, he repeats, “You got a story ? I know a whole lotta people have it out for Helios. . . but suicide bombing ? ”
“Yeah, well”, I said as if that answered it.
I look over at the Helion, not only is he tall but he’s got big bulging muscles too. An American flag and Lady Liberty are tattooed on his thick bicep. He also has something that looks like the New Aeterna insignia on his other shoulder. Freaky
“You must of been a kid when The Seige happened.” he says catching me starting at his tats.
“Yeah”
I’d been in the streets walking home with Gary Whitner when the Lincoln Tunnel collapsed. We’d been stealing candy bars from the local bodega. By morning the news showed image after image of people being pulled out of the collapsed Lincoln Tunnel. I remember my mom watching. Everyone thought it was terrorist attack.
We were idiots
I’d been to busy messing around online and playing outside to realize the world was falling apart. When I woke up the second day Mom said she wasn’t going to work and that every bridge and tunnel in New York City had been detonated. We were trapped on the island.
After that General Thantos and the Helions laid siege to the city. MS soldiers and Helion forces occupied almost every street and neighborhood.
Smart people got out of dodge quick , they jumped in the Husdon and swam to New Jersey, others boarded ferries to Staten Island. Anything to get out off the island. That had been Mom’s plan, ferries we could afford. The price was 100 dollars a head but we were going to make it.
She wanted to take me, my grandparents and Lora. I remember taking the bus all the way Downtown and standing there in line with a suitcase and cash waiting for the next ferry. We waited
And waited
And waited
I remember watching my mom’s face fall when we realized the ferries were never coming back. The U.S waters had been shut down, we’d been abandoned.
General Thantos had taken his claim on the city and congress ( I hadn’t even known what congress was) had declared war. We barricaded ourselves during the short war that followed. From the windows we could see General Thanto’s MS soldiers take the streets, draining blood from any and every US. solider. I felt like I was in The Middle East, not the Lower East Side. People later whispered that the Coast Guard and National Guard just weren’t prepared. Our best soldiers were to busy overseas.
The world got its first look at superhuman creatures. They weren’t aliens, water monsters or giants. They were Helion. Strong and handsome winged men. There were women too, but they weren’t who we needed to fear.
I remembered the building residents huddled together during the battles. Sharing food, stories and hope. Kids took turns going out at night and scouting relief packages being dropped by the Mainland.My grandparents health didn’t get them through the 10 day war. On the eleventh day there was a cease fire. The United States had lost and the New Aeterna flag was raised in every pole around the city. That was it. This was the new normal. We were a new regime.
There were 238 Mainland U.S casualties in the 10 day war, New Aeterna lost only 2 and they were POWs.
New Aeterna was cut off from the U.S power gird, celluar towers and internet. Papers were issued, people were accounted for. General Thantos rebuilt Manhattan as New Aeterna,. Rumor was any former city officials who opposed him were killed, those who complied and helped him where rewarded.
Small businesses got first grab at currency exchange, schools opened after a 15 months hiatus, city government came back (mom went back to work) all under The General’s watchful eyes. I was so glad when we got the internet and TV back. I hadn’t even noticed or understood why we only got shows and website via a link to our new friends Cuba, Russia and China.
It just became the new normal. You got up, worked and dreamed one day of getting a cushy job in New Aeterna government or a scrub job in the prestigious Helion City. Even after 10 years people caused trouble, revolted, complained.
Me ? I just wanted to get a girlfriend.
It was liveable until Mom was killed in a violent Anti-Helion protest walking home last year, which I know is ironic considering what I was about to do today, but fuck it.
“Wanna explain the bottle.”, The man asks
“My sister”, I said, “Lora. She was one of the General’s daughter’s nannies.”
“Lucky girl. That’s a good job”
“She’s a bitch”
“Your sister?”
“The General’s daughter”
“She’s only ten”
“She’s a psychopath. Lora told that little bitch “no” to many times and she had Lora killed. She does it all the time when her staff doesn’t do what she wants, she sends them to death. I got a fucking letter in the mail telling me Lora had been punished for dishonorable service. Bullshit”.
Ravi found me a few months later and told me the details. It’s how he recruited me for this job.
“It’s Helios you know, he raised her to be that ruthless.” the man said then walked faster.
After an hour the Helion climbs up and lifts a sewer lid and we climb out, I take in a deep breath of fresh air but the air is not what I expected. I’m greeted with the smell of dust and metal with a hint of dirty water.
We are in a sunbaked dusty industrial park. The floor beneath my feet is concrete. Before me is a maze of crumbling squat metal and brick buildings; car repair shops, truck salvage and warehouses. Behind me I can see miles of blue water and the outline New Aeterna in the distance. The Helion leads me further into the maze of buildings. A lot of the workshops are closed down, most are vandalized but a few seem to still be in business. I can smell meth cooking somewhere.
There is a construction crew working in the distance and we walk past abandoned factories, junkyards, scrap metal heaps and a few places that just have rough looking men sitting in garages getting high.
We walk a few more minutes and stop in front of an old five story factory. Looted abandoned buildings are on both sides. The outside of the factory is rusty with crumbling brick but the door and windows look new. The words Bayonne Needle Factory are spray painted on the outside. A metal garage door is rolled up on the side.
“. . . are we in Helion City?”
“No”
“New Aeterna ?”
“No kid, you’re in Bayonne, New Jersey.”
“. . . America… I’m in the Mainland”, I dropped to my knees. deep in dusty American asphalt, “Shit. . . I’m out. . .”
The man laughs and gesture for me to follow him into the open garage door.
“Hey man, you gotta name ?”, I finally ask.
“Just. . . call me Leon”
I grab some American dust and put it in my pocket.
Another Helion and a strange looking man are sitting at the opening of the garage, I see they have big ass guns in their laps and are playing cards. A petite Asian chick with movie star curled hair is in the shade behind them, she’s barefoot and wearing a dress with flowers on it and her expression is stone still. She’s also holding a gun.
“Shit”, I blurt out
I kind of feel bad for cursing because I realize the girl had been stacking Legos with a dark haired little boy. The kid seemed oblivious.
“Leon”, she says standing with the gun on me, “He has a bomb”
“It’s fine, Izzy. It wouldn’t detonate anyway.”, Leon says.
“What ?”, I say looking at the bottle “How do you know ?”
Leon took the bottle bomb from me and shook it
“The pin is loose and you sweated through the bottle causing the glass to expand. It wouldn’t have worked. What do you have in here as shrapnel anyway ?”
“Screws”
He laughs and the girl, Izzy, eyes me carefully.
“You guys never got it did you ?. White gold.” Leon pulled out a sharp white gold knife, “That’s the ticket to hurting a Ange—Helion or daemon—er--MS Solider”
“How did Ravi miss that?”
“Probably doesn’t know. Ever notice all the jewelers mysteriously disappear in New Aeterna ? And that there’s no gold in town.”
“No”, I said
He Laughed
“It’s because you are a kid”
He opened the door that lead inside the factory and I wasn’t sure if I should step in. This guy though ? He knew shit. Shit that could cause problems for Helions and General Thantos.
“Leon”, Izzy said the little boy hiding behind her, “Are you sure about him.”
“It’s fine”, Leon told her, “This is what The Prince has been asking for. This kid is perfect”
“Please, don’t take that in there.” Izzy says pointing to the bomb.
Leon looks down at my useless bomb and tosses it into an open Dumpster.
“Thank you”, Izzy says holstering her gun under her flowery dress, “Paris needs his rest so don’t take to long.”
“Yes, ma’am”, he says casually and Izzy goes back to the kid and the Legos.
The inside of the factory is five star swank. It’s clean and modern but industrial. The bottom floor is one large living room with multiple sitting areas and a shiny metal staircases in the middle. The walls are all exposed brick and the floors are brand new shiny dark wood. A frosted glass half wall separates a two story modern kitchen from the large lobby. It’s like I’m in a hotel.
I’m drawn to a larger sitting area infront of a 70 inch TV. It’s showing American television. I recognize the NBC logo from my childhood and actual commercials. I remembered those too.
Resistance living ain’t bad.
“This way”, Leon is on the metal staircase
I follow him to the open air second floor, there is a double door and some modge podge single doors on either side with initials on them.
“What’s this.”
“It’s time for you to meet The Prince.”, he motions to the large double doors.
“Is that like a codename---this isn’t a fucking cult is it ?”
“It’s not a codename. He’s an actual prince”
“What ?”
“His formal name is Prince Lucifer The X”
I really consider running.
“Okay. . .What the hell is going on here ? I followed you because you promised to help me get those Helion bastards back. Not let some crazy guy who thinks he’s royalty take over. Are you all just a crazy militia cult?”
“Okay”, Leon seems non-plus, “I should have explained. Some of us here are defectors from New Aeterna”
“Yeah”, I said, “I can spot a Helion a mile away. Didn’t know there were rogue ones.”
“Don’t”, he cringed, “I don’t go by that name, I prefer a baser term like Angels.”
“But General Thantos said—“
“Yes, I know Helios said we aren’t Angels and we’re not Angels. . . but it’s not his word so we prefer Angels around here.”
“So what ? There are more of you. . . Angels ? Royal ones?”
“Yes and no”, Leon said. “Where we Angels came from . . . there was another race. We lived in constant war for decades and it cost us our lives. A raging genocide on both sides killed almost everyone. . . except the children. That generation escaped here and lived alongside humans for centuries in peace, until Helios. Until New Aeterna. One of the survivors from the other race was the crowned prince. “
"Haven’t you all fucked things up enough. We don’t need another ruler.”
“We don’t want that. The Prince doesn’t want that. And uh, his kind might be called. . . Demons”
“What?”, I said to fast
“Once again. Not an actual Demon . . . just the best word in human history’s very very limited lexica.”
I just stared at him.
Demons
+++
Maybe I wouldn’t have believe him ten years ago. . . but in the world we live in. Why the fuck not?
“So why am I here? I’m nobody”
Leon smiled at that
“Exactly. When I saw you and what you were willing to do to raise a middle finger at Helion, I had a good feeling. The Prince will want you on our side we have a special mission and we need someone with nothing to lose. We need a new human face. Come on--”
“Wait”, I had a thought, “Does he have like. . . horns ?”
“No”, he said amused, “I mean they shave them… I think.”
“They ?”, I remembered the strange man I’d seen in the garage. He could be a . . . Demon. Izzy. . . she’d been a MS solider."
“More things in this world . . .’, Leon drawls and opens the double doors.
Leon opened the double doors to an oversized industrial loft. The walls are all dark burned brick, but the floor is carpet. The floor to ceiling windows are covered with long gray curtains, making the room appear darker, in the center is an overly made California king sized bed neatly made with medical equipment around it and a punch of pillows.
The back third of the room was a step down and turned into wa make shift office with desk and four leather chairs infront. Ahalf spiral staircase leads up to a loft kitchen with a small bar and stove. Plus there was a terrace that looked onto the back of the building.
Two men pushed open the curtains. My eyes went back to the bed in the center of the room. It was such an odd place to—something moved.
I saw a man was laying on top of the perfectly made bed, he was dressed up in a black form fitting shirt and slacks that matched the black bedspread, he was propped up on a bunch of pillows. Standing behind the man’s bed were four men all in black. Two on either side of the bed. They were clean cut, muscular and looked serious as hell.
Leon pushed me in further and I saw on the opposite wall next to a flat screen TV were two 5 ft. canvas photos of a woman---maybe an actress—from the 1950’s. Both photos are identical. I can’t figure out who’d be rich enough to buy two of the exact same photo
The man on the bed takes the heart monitor off his finger and sits up, he places a leg over the bed and when his socked feet touch the ground the men on his right side help him stand.
“Is he. . . human”, the man asks. His voice is a whisper with a slight British accent.
If he says anything else I don’t hear him, when he steps into the dusty light I try not to stare at his face, it’s completed mutilated. There are long dark uneven scars leading from his lips and across his cheeks. One stitched line drags down his chin and neck dissaperaing under his shirt collar. Other than that he is pale, deathly dark eyed and dark haired.
“Theo here is a nobody”, Leon says with a smile, “He can do the mission. . . . ”
“He’s handsome”, the man said smiling at me, “Very handsome.”
The man gestures for me to follow him, when the man raises his hand to make that gesture . . . it shakes violently.
I step forward and one of the men guarding him stops me, placing a heavy hand on my chest.
“It’s fine”, Leon says to the guard , ”Don’t worry Callum, I checked him. He’s clean.”
I can tell this Callum and The Prince aren’t Helion. Not human. Not a MS Solider. Something else. A Demon ? That’s what Leon had said. These Demon’s seemed protective over their . . . Prince
I follow Leon and The Prince from the bed and to the back of the loft space, down the single step and to the office area. I sit in one of the plush leather chairs in front of the desk. The four men in black follow The Prince and take positions beside him as he sits. Leon seems relaxed and puts his feet up on the desk.
“Don’t mind my little harem”, he said seriously indicating the men, “They are overprotective”
“Okay”, I swallowed. Shit like this. Men and. . . other dudes was punishable by death in New Aeterna.
“May I”, the The Prince whispers. He holds out his hand and I hand him my Papers. It had my name, age, clearances, address and occupation on it.
“Theo. Nice to meet you.”, The Prince reads my name. He puts my Papers in his desk.
“What exactly is going on here?”
The man smiles, it looks hideous.
“New Aeterna has an expiration date”, he says turning to face a map of New Aeterna behind his desk, “We are going to take it down, but we need your help”
“Why would you want to help us humans ?”
“I have a personal vendetta against Helios. “
“Who doesn’t ?”
He leans back in the chair.
“I could have stopped Helios. I was supposed to stop Helios and I failed. I ran out of time. Theo, I suppose you know the event that started all this”
“Lincoln Tunnel Collapse”, I said.
“Well, did you know it was a mistake? Helios planned for all the bridges and tunnels to collapse on the same day. The detonator placed in Lincoln tunnel was defective. It triggered six months to soon and blew the tunnel early. The other tunnel and bridges followed.
Helios had to improvise. He knew he needed to get me and my Brotherhood out of the way. He had a man on the inside and ordered him to kill every Demon. The SGI—er— The Helion forces came in as back up to kill any of us left, it was sloppy but effective. “
“So you escaped.”
He laugh/coughed. In the desk light I could see his exposed skin looked like it had been cut and healed over hundreds of times
“I didn’t escape. I was captured. You know The Chancellor? Isaiah? He is one of us. He just wears a wig and contacts to pass for a Helion, it’s disgusting. I was Isaiah’s prisoner and science project for 2 years before I escaped Helion City and started this resistance . . .but that’s not the worst of it.”
He looked past me and to the canvas photos of the woman.
“Helios took the woman I loved the night she needed me. She'd left Helios after he nearly beat her to death. We were separated while running from Helion’s forces. I was captured and she. . .It happened so fast.”
He glanced at the photo of the woman, steadied himself and continued
“Anyhow, it’s been slow going but we finally have a way to defeat Helios. The problem is Helios is looking for all of us, we are fugitives and I’m Helion Enemy number one. We need a new face.”
“Why not ask Ravi ?”
“Ravi’s the most well-known Anti-Helion terrorist in New Aeterna. He has way too much passion, we need someone who has lost something and wants it back. The fresher the loss the better”
Lora.
It had barley been a month.
“What do you want me to do. I’ll do anything”, I said and I meant it.
He smiled, it was a lewd smile and I suddenly realized I had given him the wrong idea. I didn’t like the way this guy looked at me. The way he surrounded himself with all these men was strange.
“I’ll need to be sure I can trust you. Maybe we can train you before we brief you on the mission. In the meantime , enjoy our hospitality while we evaluate you”, he reached out for my hand, “Theo, Being locked away can change a man. What they did to me, what they did to that great city. . . Helios will pay.”
The Prince stiffened, he just stopped moving and fell out of his chair. I could hear him cursing on the floor and seizing. I jerked my hand back and bolted ready to run from whatever freak show this was, but two of his guards blocked me.
“I didn’t do anything. I—“
“I got you”, Leon says standing up and taking my shoulder, “I got ya. Let’go.”
I let Leon lead me out while The Prince cursed and seized in the background.
“The fuck is going on here ? Take me home. That guy is crazy”
“Look I should have explained.”
“You say that a lot. What the hell is with that guy”
“. ..The Prince was experimented on by Isaiah. He rooted around in his brain and spine. He’s a little off . . .but he’s good people. We can talk more about this tomorrow. I’m tired and need a shower.”
Leon takes me up to the third floor, there are five bedroom doors on the floor, he opens the door to one on the end. The small room has exposed brick and room for twin sized bunk beds, a small dresser and table.
“Take the top”, Leon says, “It’s all yours until the mission. Shower is in the hall. I can maybe sneak back to New Aeterna and pick up some stuff from your home.”
“I can go-“
“No. Can’t risk you telling someone about us. We are fugitives, public enemy number one in New Aterna’s inner circle.”
“I ain’t got anything anyway”, I say and that’s the truth
“Well then. . .You’ll fit in fine here.”
I smile, I fake smile like this is okay. The truth is I’m getting the hell out of here as soon as possible.
+++
Leon lets me watch his TV, it’s shocking how negatively the news talks about New Aeterna. Like it’s some scary secretive regime. When really it’s kind of boring. If you follow the rules it’s actually not that bad.
In the evening Izzy, the girl in the floral dress, invites me down for dinner. They are having a cookout in the backyard, which is mostly a concrete courtyard and astro turf. They are all spread out around picnic tables or the steps. Some people who don’t live in the safehouse even drop by. They always stop and go upstairs and pay their respects to The Prince first before coming back down. It’s bizarre.
I recognize one of The Prince’s guards, Callum, is working an oversized grill. Izzy is next to him fixing plates. She gives me a half smile when she hands me a hamburger and salad.
“All-American.”, she says before moving on to Leon who moved in behind me, “In honor of you.”
“Really ?”
“No”, she says with a laugh. Her glossy lips parting, “I was just trying to make you feel welcome.”
There are about 28 fugitives hiding out here. Most are that strange dark haired dark-eyed race. The rest are Helion followed by a few MS soliders, here they called them daemons. They all avoid me for the most part. Leon sticks close by though. I spot the child from earlier digging in a dusty patch of grass and putting rocks in his mouth. Izzy kneels by him trying to get him to eat.
“What’s with the kid?” I ask Leon
“He’s the youngest member of the resistance. Rescued him from Helio’s baby prisons a few years ago. His father was a high ranking Helion official.”
I wanted to laugh at “baby prison”, it was what some people called the program set up to take in orphans, misbehaved kids and kids of traitor families. They are supposed to train them to be servants in Helion castle, but were mostly kept imprisoned or used as slave-labor. Fuck, that kid looked so young.
The Prince doesn’t make an appearance in the yard, but I see him up on his terrace. When he sees me looking he waves back, expanding that ugly smile. He was clearly getting the wrong vibe from me.
I’m sure these people aren’t completely crazy. If there are Angels then hell, I’ll believe there are Demons. A revolution would be nice but I sure as hell am not getting involved.
+++
I decide to sneak out a little after midnight. I leave a short note promising not to tell anyone about them. I’m just not cut out to do something like this.
The only catch?
I needed to get my Papers from The Prince. He’d never given them back, I gathered on purpose. Anyone caught without official documentation in New Aeterna was imprisoned on site.
I waited until past midnight to sneak back into The Prince’s room to get my papers out of his desk. The floors are solid and don’t make a sound as I creep down to the second floor. I saw his guards retreat back to their rooms after dinner, so he had to be alone.
The double doors to The Prince’s rooms are unlocked. I open the door a crack. It’s dim and I don’t hear a sound, he must be sleeping.
I take another step forward and in the glow of the television light I see The Prince on his bed. His eyes are closed and he is sweating, he is on his back with his head craned on a pillow and mouth open while one of his men sat in front of him on the bed sucking his dick.
“Fuck”, falls out of my mouth louder than I want
I back out as he makes eye contact with me, then I run down the stairs. I knew it. I fucking knew there was some screwed up shit happening. Leon appears at the top of the stairs and runs down towards me. He seems to have guessed what I saw.
“Fuck you man,” I scream, “What the hell, is going on here. Is that what you want me to join ? Some sort of freak jerk circle ?”
“Hold up”, Leon says and grabs me.
Izzy appears at the top of the stairs, I take note of the short lace night gown she is wearing underneath a flimsy robe. Her hands are over the little boy’s ears. Soon the others follow, it’s like every Helion, Demon and daemon is up and watching me.
“Theo”, I turn to see The Prince. Two of his men are helping him down the stairs. His right side spasms out of control. . . I’m just glad his pants are up.
“Get the fuck away from me”, I yell.
Leon lets me go and I make for the door, when I grab the handle I hear a loud pop and a bullet pings off the door, inches from my hand. I turn to see the guard that had been blowing him had a gun. He was still undressed in just black briefs and undershirt.
“You don’t go anywhere”, the guard said.
“Were you looking for these?” The Prince asks holding up my Papers with a slick smile.
“Look I’m not up for whatever freaky shit this is.”I tell The Prince.
“Says the voyeur.” the Prince shoots back, his hand was shaking by his side.
“I get it now. All the men here. What do your guards take turns being your bitch boy and sucking you off.”
He laughs.
“You really shouldn’t talk about my wife like that when she’d holding a gun.”
+2+
I look back up at Izzy whose empty hands are now stuffed inside her robe. I stop and really look at the muscular guard who’d been blowing him, when the guard lowers the gun I realized the man. .. might be a woman.
The Prince puts his arm around the guards waist and now that I look closer at her sleek cheekbones and eyes I realize she looks very familiar.
“Go” The woman says calmly. The other guards help The Prince back up the stairs and everyone else disperses until we are alone. Just me and . . . her ?
“You”, she says to me and gestures to the kitchen. Still holding the gun, “Follow me”
Even though she keeps it emotionless; her voice is soft, husky and sexiest thing I’ve ever heard. I follow her into the kitchen, in the light I couldn’t help but to stare at her long legs dotted with a few scars and her nipples visible through her black undershirt. I’m 6”1 and she still has a few inches on me. She sets the gun on the counter and I look away.
“You tried to shoot me”, I take a seat at the long counter.
“You tried to leave. We need you”, she has an intimidating Eastern European accent.
“Why”
“Lora.”
“You know Lora ?”
“No, but I lost a little sister too. I lost a whole life because of Helios, because of New Aeterna and this fucking country.”
“You were Chancellor Isaiah’s prisoner too ?”, I said remember the Prince’s story.
“No”, she said and a slip of emotion comes out, “I was detained by the U.S government.”
“Lucky you”, I said, “That means you got out of New Aeterna”
She scoffed and reached into a high cabinet grabbing a kettle, her shirt pulls up a little to reveal a solid six pack, covered by more scars. What the hell happened to her ?
“Leon, Ares and I used to be Helios’ confidants. I became a traitor very early on and defected to The Demon Prince’s side and bed. When Helios found out about my treason her ordered my death and let his men rape me.“
She shook it off, rolling her shoulders back. She was quiet for a moment before filling the kettle with water. Her thick bicep had a deep black tattoo that looked kind of like the New Aeterna flag.
“I escaped that night and went to my Prince in Riverdale. I’d barley had an hour to recover when the Lincoln Tunnel accidentally collapsed and Helios decided to take his siege. The spy Helios had within the Brotherhood started . . . exterminating everyone. Then the SGI—Helion forces-- came in and we all started running. My younger Sister Ariel couldn’t run fast enough, for a moment it was just Paris and I and . . . Paris fell behind. I saw them descend on him. I knew what would happen if I got caught, so I kept running. I left Paris behind”
It took me a minute to realize Paris was the Prince’s real name.
She placed the kettle on the stove and opened another high cabinet grabbing an orange pill bottle, she shakes two white pills out, placing them in the bottom of a mug. She tops the pills with a generous portion of sugar and crushes the sugar and pills together with a spoon.
“I ran until I was in Upstate New York . I was out of it, traumatized and lost... My body broke down on me. The police picked me up and by then the world had its first glimpse of the Helion. The daemons and Helions were blowing up bridges and tearing apart the Coast and National Guard. The authorities saw my blue eyes, brown hair and remnants on my back and knew I wasn’t. . . human.”
“Remnants?”
She turned and lifted up her shirt. I saw two thick scars going down her back, the ridge of bone where wings could have beneath her skin. Between her shoulder blades was a tattoo of a decorative arrow.
“I was detained as threat to national security and placed in a classified detainment camp by the U. S military”
“Holy shit. . . like Area 51”
“Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.”
“Shit”, I said. Although I wasn’t sure what she was talking about.
“They interrogated me, but I just couldn’t talk. They knew I couldn’t help, but they kept me detained because they didn’t know what to do with me. I had a brief encounter with two other Helion POWs but they didn’t live long enough to make it out.”
“What happened to them ?”
“I killed them.” she spins a rack with loose tea and picks one without looking.
“Fuck”
“I spent five years Isolated in that inhumane prison. 24 hours a day locked up alone. The guards were all military. They hated my kind becauase of how many Guardsmen were killed figthing for New York. They tortured, violated and deprived me every moment they could.”
I consider the scars on her body. I knew New Aeterna had fucked a lot of people over, but her shit was to real.
“How’d you get out ?”
She leans over the counter, I’m eye level with her inhumanly bright blue eyes and soft lips. I can pick up that cotton fresh laundry and spice smell on her. She stops talking for a second and we are caught in this strange trance. I shift realizing I’m getting hard.
“New Aeterna became . . . a permanent thing. It’s conquer was an embarrassment to the United States. New Aeterna was becoming a powerful adversary that was to close for comfort. Since the U.S government had no real reason to hold me, after five years they deported me back to New Aeterna as a good will gesture.
The Prince’s resistance rescued me in transport. My Prince had orchestrated the whole thing. Getting people out of Helios’ hands is his specialty.”
She takes the whistling kettle off the stove, it seemed like an oddly domestic thing for a woman who had been through all of that. I couldn’t quite figure out what was behind that look she gave me. Or why after only knowing me for a few moments she’d decided to talk to me alone, in a kitchen, in her underwear. But I didn’t mind the view.
It was obvious to me something was off about that Prince. Women like her didn’t just get with men like him. I wondered if their agreement had anything to do with him rescuing her.
“What’s with The Prince? Is he going to want to take over after Helios.”
“Paris is a prince in name only. He’s no fool to want to rule a small nation of humans.”
“He seems to be getting the royal treatment around here.”
She leans over the counter again, our eyes meet again.
“My Prince’s worth isn’t in his title or status.—“
“Or his looks”, I added, because come on I had to. Her expression faltered for half of half of second. She was amused, maybe close to laughing. I wondered when the last time someone made her laugh.
“My Prince’s worth is in his knowledge. Isaiah cut him open and drugged him. Isaiah thought him a despondent patient but Paris was stronger. He heard and learned things. He memorized floor plans, conversations, names and secrets. Paris is charming. . .He made friends with lower level workers. He formed a network and got things done from the inside of a cell. He orchestrated his own escape and thousands of others."
“. . and you’re married to him”
“Five years”, she said, “It was the least I could do after he rescued me. . . after all he’d been through”
“What about all you’ve been through?”
She poured the hot water into the
mug and looked up at me. It occurred to me that maybe no one had ever
considered what she had been through.
That the shakey small man upstairs was getting all the credit.
“I mean”, I continued, “I’d think you deserved a better place, since you’re his wife.”
“I’m right where I need to be. Protecting my Prince.”
She said need. . .not want. I remembered that.
“That’s what I like to hear”, comes a voice.
The kitchen goes bright and I see The Prince leaning against the doorway, dressed in black cotton pants and a tight cotton shirt on his thin body. He has a shit-eating grin on his ripped face.
“You should be in bed”, she says and I realize I don’t know her name, “I’ve got this handled.”
“I’m fine.”, The Prince says but both his hands are shaking. Callum slips into the kitchen and moves beside him. The Prince braces himself on the counter and jumps to sit on it so he is closer to her height.
“You need to rest . . .I’ll bring up your tea, love” she says distantly, adding green tea leaves to some type of mesh ball and into the cup. She brings the cup to his lips, forcing him to take a large sip.
“Fuck. . . it’s hot. I burned my—“
The Price hadn’t finished because she’d kissed him, or more so just put her lips over his. Not even offering a bit of tongue. Still it seemed like a strange amount of affection in front of two other people one a stranger. His hands start to wander and she steps away.
“Callum, make sure he doesn’t fall down the stairs”, she said. Callum glared at her but helped The Prince upstairs. I can hear him cursing, his body shaking violently.
“So. . . you’re drugging your husband ?”, I ask when he’s gone. She doesn’t even look after him, her entire focus is on me. We can’t stop looking at each other.
“It’s for his own good.” she says, “Listen. We need you to stay. To carry out this mission for us. I promise it will be worth it. I don’t beg, but I will.”
“I’ll think on it. . .” I reach for her name, but I don’t have it, “I didn’t get your name”
“It’s Seraphina”, she said taking a sip of the tea, “Seraphina Prince”
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
Alternate Universe is Alternate.
Ares is alive in this version because I’d always had some ideas about Ares, Seraphina and Leon being a trio (No not that kind of trio) . This isn’t in here, but I like the spirit of it.
New Aeterna = Island of Manhattan
a Helion = SGI/Angels
Helion City = Brooklyn
Helion Castle= Queen Anne’s
Morning Star Soliders/MS Soliders/ “Body” = Daemons 2.0
Characters who are alive and appearing : Isobel, Paris, Seraphina, Leon, Ares, Callum, Dante/Paul, Damien, Augustine, Lucien
You can pretty much assume everyone else is dead including Ashe and Lysnder ):
Also our narrator is super unreliable.
Also in this AU Leon isn't crushing on Sera anymore because if you spend ten years in the friendzone she's just not that into you. I realize this only matters to me.
Letting this go is seriously the hardest thing I've ever done. It's been like
my little pet project I go to whenever nothing else is working. I mean I have
other things but this is my favorite.
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