V.I.R.A.L

Chapter 229: Rise of a Hero Part 8

Alton sat on a rooftop admiring the view of the world he knew not of. He had been up here for a short while, taking in the sights ready for his next battle. Leaning forward, he smirked, stretching his back. "This really is the Victoria of the past. New York, the scale of this place is enough to overwhelm anyone. Sam would have lost her mind seeing this place…"

A portal opened up as Eve stumbled out, balancing on edge, holding her arms in the air as she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Freedom! Freedom!"

Alton turned to her blankly, scratching his head. "Umm, what are you doing?"

Eve took a deep break turning to Alton calm and collective. "Sometimes, when I'm away from my brother, I just have to let my thoughts out and scream it out. To remind me, we are free from the Garden." Alton didn't respond as Eve glanced at him, confused. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing… Just I've met you in the far future; you're nothing like your future counterpart."

"I see… Truth be told, the version of me you see isn't real. It's a blanket covering the real me until my big brother can save me. No one can just escape the Garden untouched unless they want you to. To escape those shackles, I had to consume the stage of Salvation; doing so is tearing me apart. No matter how much I keep my emotions in check in due time, I will forget all of what I am or once was and be a mere pawn for the Garden."

"Does that scare you?"

Eve shook her head, smiling, letting the wind pass through her fingertips. "No, it doesn't because I know my brother will save me from a horrid fate."

"Eve…" Alton stopped feeling hesitant about telling her the truth. He knows what happens to Adam and Eve and wasn't sure if he should warn her or not, even if this wasn't real. "In the future, your brother."

"Kills me. Yes, I expected he might do something like that."

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Alton stood up, shocked by Eve's revelations. "But how… If you know he intends to kill you, why do you side with him?"

"Because he's my big brother. Adam has always had a plan for everything. What he can't make up for in power he uses in trickery and plotting. He manipulated the Garden to escape whatever he has planned next; whether to kill me or take this whole world on, I know he will save me. That's what big brothers do."

Alton sat back down, smirking to himself, shrugging his shoulders. "You sound just like Alice; it's unreal… I guess you share that part with her. I never had any siblings growing up, the closest I ever got to that was Sam, but I know how Adam feels in that regard. I'd do anything to protect Sam. I almost did; I haven't seen any of them in years. I miss them dearly."

"Why didn't you see them for so long?" Eve questioned lost.

"I hurt them badly. Pushed them all away when they were just there to help me. I was too fixated on myself that I forgot them entirely. I'm afraid they would never forgive me."

"You can't know unless you try," Eve added into the mix, squatting down holding a flower letting the petals blow through the city. "I left friends in the Garden because my brother said so. I also feel bad, but I know once we liberate and destroy the Garden, I'll save them. That's what the Children of the Garden are for."

"Excuse me? What did you say?"

"About what?"

"I always thought Children of the Garden were pawns of the very same used to destroyed humanity. That's what I believed…"

"You're one of us, too, aren't you?" She suggested staring idly at Alton. "I can tell by the pain in your eyes. Seen as an enemy on both sides. We seemly don't belong anywhere. Not with the Garden nor the Humans fighting a two-side battle against our own allies. Adam worked it out a while back; we aren't born of the Garden nor this world. We are spectres of another world born for the sole reason for defeating the Garden; that's what he believed anyway."

"I see." Alton acknowledged letting smoke pour through his hands. "His theory makes a world of sense. We are immune to the Garden's influence and the stages of Grief. But if that's true, why did Adam join their ranks in the future? Why did he become Bargaining?"

"I told you it's all apart of his plan. I won't question is motives, although I'm sure Salvation won't be happy by it. Salvation is very much like Mortem, a living breathing entity with her own freewill, unlike the other stages. We came to know her as the first daughter."

"The first daughter?"

"Yes, the first offspring of the Garden under the Gardeners," Eve informed, giving more of an insight into Alton's enemy in a new light. That was until a buzzing noise went off. Alton took out his pager, confused. "You've received a message. What does it say?"

"I don't know. I have no idea how to read a pager."

Eve took the device, glossing over it, handing it back. "It's a rather short message from an unknown number. It just says pictures fury. Does that mean anything?"

"Fury? As in Shane Fury?!"

Eve looked surprised, nodding her head. "That must be it. Why is he contacting you?"

"Pictures… Say, Eve, would their happen to be any cinemas in this area?"

"I believe there is one. It went bankrupt and shutdown… The Syndicate family brought it out a year ago. You don't think…"

"I do. Shane is inviting us to challenge him. We know of his location; we should tell Hannah and your brother."

"No," Eve mentioned. "We did our research on the high council. Shane was put on there for his brilliant mind and nothing else. He has no such powers of any kind apart from Mortem's. We can easily deal with mortem itself alone. We should move on, Shane, this moment."

"That does put me a little at ease. Very well, the quicker we get this done, the quicker I can go home."

****

Arriving at the location, the cinema was as abandoned as you'd imagine. Chained up doors and boarded windows. The lights were all turned off, with no sign of anyone being here. Alton stepped on a torn cardboard cut out for a sci-fi movie looking around. "Why do I feel like this is a trap?"

"Don't worry about that. Mortem is unaware that we are aiding you. If this is such, then I shall teleport us both out immediately."

"Right…" Alton whispered, seeing a small light cracking through a broken wall from one of the screenings. Waving his hand, keeping silent, Eve noticed as the two moved in on the screening room. Hiding behind the door, Alton crouched down, pointing up. "Get to a better vantage point and await my signal. We'll get the drop on him before he knows it."

Eve nodded, jumping high into the broken building, moving between the bannisters to her target. Alton pushed the doors open, seeing an old black and white film playing of a young girl and a dog on a farm. Walking in, Alton spotted Shane sitting in the front row with a bag of popcorn. "I'm glad you got my message, Alton Brantley. Come sit; the movie is just beginning." Alton walked over, keeping his distance staring at Shane uneasy. "This film's a classic. Like you, the girl is transported to another world where she must find a way home. I've watched this so many times growing up, but there's one thing that always bothered me. The world she found herself in was so perfect and ideal. Why would she ever want to leave? You're in that same boat, right, Alton? The world you come from is a wasteland of its former self. You like it here, correct?"

"It's hard not to be wrapped in the atmosphere. Not always having to fear who's out there to kill me is a blessing in disguise."

"I'm glad we're on the same page here. Tell why would you ever want to leave then? You could live here if you want? We'd leave you and that lass roommate of yours if you gave up this silly crusade of yours. You could live in peace a happy, carefree life. One free of pain and torment, you could be happy, Alton. How does that sound?"

Crossing his arms, Alton nodded to the idea. "It does sound promising. Too good to be true when in turn, it isn't. But here's the thing, I'm not here to live out a fake life. I'd rather fight and put my life on the line in my own world for a chance at that way of life with the people who mean the world to me."

"I see. I suppose there was no way of changing your mind. Very well. Shall we begin then?"

Shane stood up as Alton held his hand out. "Don't even try it Mortem, I'm already well aware of the truth; Shane has no powers. You have no chance."