STALEMATE: Part Two

Locking up the sun

Image: Giulia Squillace via Unsplash+

Welcome to STALEMATE: Part Two! Please make sure to read Part One first for the best experience.

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I had never been on a boat before. In fact, I'd never seen an ocean. The rocking of the waves, the churn of the ship's engine, and the smell of the ocean air were too much for my stomach to handle.

"Didn't know you folks could get seasick," the captain chuckled.

I stood up, one hand grasping the railing as the other wiped fresh bile from my lips.

"I suppose we're both learning something new today, then. How much longer until we arrive?"

The captain scratched his coarse grey beard, mumbling as he plucked the lit cigar from his mouth.

"About two hours, I'd say. What do you want with this old place, anyway?"

I walked over to a pair of chairs on the deck beside the wheelhouse and collapsed into one of them.

"It's one of the places still standing from before the Fall. Call it a professional curiosity."

The captain laughed. "Sure, professional curiosity," he shrugged, "Well, the truth doesn't matter to me; your money spends the same as anybody else's."

After a few breaths, I felt the nausea finally relent.

"I'll be in my room if you need me," I said.

The captain nodded, his gaze fixed on the ocean before him. It was a short walk to the guest cabin; the boat was not meant to carry more than a few passengers.

I shut the door behind me and sat at a small wooden desk. Papers spilled out from an open folder.

Most were covered with the phrases "CLASSIFIED" and "TOP SECRET." Entire swathes of text were blacked out, but enough remained to be useful to me in my research.

I dug into the pile and pulled out a document labeled ARCHIVE #67. Aerial photos of an island showed multiple buildings connected by catwalks that stretched between them like spiderwebs.

The island used to house forty Petrovian soldiers, but it was decommissioned after the armistice of 2082.

I flipped the page over. On the opposite side was a wall of black ink covering the text below a section labeled THE GAIA VAULT.

I had lost count of the hours I spent going through these documents, chasing this secret that Petrovia had buried deep beneath the surface of our world.

The excitement and anxiety mixed like oil and water in my stomach. I had barely slept the two days it took to reach the remote island. I packed the papers back into my folder and lay on the bed beside the desk.

Just a few more hours.

Despite the anxiety, I managed to fall asleep.

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People like me weren’t supposed to have dreams, but I did. Just the one. Based on a memory from what felt like a lifetime ago.

It was a beautiful day. I was sitting in a garden with a woman whose beauty could not be truly described. She was my mother, but in a way, she was the mother of us all.

Her name was Gaia, and in a war between humans, she was something different. Something more.

Her hair was made of sunshine. Her skin was composed of stardust. In each of her eyes, galaxies swirled as stars went supernova behind her irises.

The garden we sat in that day hadn’t been there moments before. Prior to her arrival, it was dead land, littered with broken buildings. The skeletons of a once-thriving civilization.

But that was the beauty of Gaia’s power. Everywhere she went, everything she touched bloomed with new life. With a wave of her hand, flowers would bloom in the ashes in the wake of death and destruction.

She was not my mother by blood, but she was my family nonetheless. I would have done anything to protect her.

“Noah, I need you to know something,” Gaia said, gingerly placing a bumblebee down on the petals of a nearby flower.

Her voice sounded like the wind.

“What is it, mother?” I asked.

“They are coming for me. The Petrovians.”

I felt the fires of rage ignite in my heart. “They are complete and utter fools!” I shouted. “Why must they continue this conquest? Do they not see that this path leads to their destruction? How can they be so blind?”

Gaia looked up into the crisp blue sky as a tear, golden like honey, slid down her face.

“For some, destruction is the path they were meant to tread. It is the path they have chosen to walk. The one they constructed, piece-by-piece, as a product of their decisions. It is not our place to question such things, Noah.”

I clenched my fist, holding back tears of my own.

“I won’t let them take you, Gaia! I will not let them destroy this world in their pursuit of power!”

I knelt down and buried my face in her knees. They were strong, like unwavering trees that had weathered many storms.

Gaia reached out and touched my arm. Her fingertips felt like sunshine on my skin.

“You will have your chance to spare this world from its darkest fate, my son, but only if you do exactly as I say.”

I looked up. “Of course, I’ll do anything.”

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"I think you should see this!"

The captain's voice broke through the silence, jolting me from a restless sleep.

I nearly fell, trying to reach the cabin door. I ran outside toward the boat's bow, quickly realizing what the captain wanted me to see.

The island approached on the horizon, but above the old metal structures, the sky churned with clouds that had a strange, almost oil-like consistency.

Colors danced within the strange shapes, creating an almost hypnotic effect. I had never seen anything like it.

"Wasn't like that last time I came this way," the captain remarked.

"How long since you've been here?" I asked.

"About a year, give or take. You still want to dock?"

"Of course, I'll get my things," I said, returning to the guest cabin.

I stuffed my papers into the leather folder and grabbed my coat. When I returned to the bow, the darkened skies were hanging overhead, turning day to night in the blink of an eye.

The captain deftly guided the boat toward the dock, cutting the engine as he stepped out to tie a rope onto one of the posts.

I stepped off the boat as well, grateful for solid land. The captain extended his open palm, awaiting his payment.

"Yes, of course, one moment," I said, pulling on my coat and adjusting my glasses. I reached into one of the pockets and pulled out a stack of brightly colored bills.

"Half now and half when you return, as we agreed."

The captain counted the money and nodded. "I'll be back in twenty-four hours."

He quickly undid the rope and climbed back onto his boat. I watched him drive off toward the horizon before taking a deep breath and climbing the stairs toward the Archive.

The building was impressive—a monolithic blend of concrete and metal, topped with a golden dome.

A loud siren blared across the island as I reached the concrete landing. I froze, looking around for any signs of life. In the distance, I spotted a figure dressed in a faded yellow hazmat suit. My blood turned to ice when I saw the rifle in their hands.

They raised their gun, and I instinctively raised my hands into the air.

"Don't shoot, I mean you no harm!"

I only had a moment to consider if they heard me before a gunshot rang out.

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Stay tuned for the finale (Part Three) in the coming days!