Northern Exposure
The Divided
Northern Exposure
Luken Du Pont
Copyright 2014 by Luken Du Pont
Chapter 18
“Enough!” Sharif intervened, he put himself in-between me and the mangled Reapers body. He grabbed my hand in an attempt at stopping me from diminishing down a wayward path, disallowing me the opportunity to destroy all the progress we had made. But he was too late, the beast had reared its uncooperative head and there was no turning back now. I growled in an annoyed rage, this did not deter the persistent man however, he continued trying to calm me down. Sharif thrust his hand with all his might into my shoulder, in a futile attempt of getting my large frame off the torn Reaper. He had gone too far, he had pushed too hard both literally and figuratively and now this uncontrolled animalistic force I had become, wanted nothing more than to push back. I looked into his eyes roared in anger then swatted him to the floor, hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes, his head bouncing off the hard surface. He stood up slowly in pain, instantaneously the side of his face had turned blue, the back of his head trickled with blood yet he still did not believe it was too late to help me. Shocked at what I had just done he slowly backed away. But I was not done with him yet, I grabbed Sharif by the shirt and sent his flying across the dirt, he kept rolling in the gravel until an old mesh fence ceased his momentum. As he tried to stand he fell to the floor unable to hold himself up on what looked to be a severely sprained ankle. Sharif lay in the dirt like a wounded animal, and I was approaching like a blood thirsty predator about to finish my kill. I lifted my hand to the air and sent my claws ploughing down straight towards his head.
Inches from his head I managed to gather enough willpower to stop my hand in time thinking “is this I wanted to become?” I had no reason for killing him. I mean sure I felt he had wronged me in the past, I believed they all had. But this feeling which surged through me had nothing to do with that incident; this was something completely different; I could not even blame it as a jealous act of vengeance on his relationship with Sky. The feelings inside were too raw to be registered as emotions. I was acting purely on instinct; I wanted to kill whoever was in front of me not necessarily because I had a problem with them, but purely for the fact that they happened to be there. Regardless of if it was Smith, Sky, Sharif or a complete stranger all the beast was seeing was red, and wanted to make the streets run with the same colour. With my arm still raised I bent over the Arab who had not backed down. Luckily for both our sakes he was no ordinary man; this was a man of intellectual substance, a man who could talk sense into anybody, a man who could calm a storm and soothe the winds.
He began persuading me as he pleaded his case, “You know you are better than this Cairo, this mindless specimen is not the boy I watched grow into an admirable young man.” “You have to control it Cairo just as we have done a thousand times over, remember he is you and you are him, don’t let him bully you into persuasion, you are calm, composed and completely at home in this form, you are not a mindless killer.” “Look down at your handy work, do not stir your feelings, be proud of what you have done here, you saved my life!” ”What you did to those creatures was justified, but it does not mean you have to degrade as they have, you are not a Reaper, oh no you are special, you will be the one who save all of us.” “Strong and full of hope, you are the one who will bring our family salvation, you are the one that will give us a chance, so stop this childish behaviour and remember the strength you possess to control him is a hundred times stronger than the strength he possesses in those mighty fists!”
I calmed myself while understanding what I had just done; this man was such a good friend he was willing to look there other way after our violent encounter. Who knows perhaps it was like he said in hopes I would help him protect the family, or if it was his true friendship towards me, regardless the fact that he suck his neck out for me showed what character he had.
But even though it felt nice to know someone was here helping me keep my sanity, I could not ask him to continue any further. This burden was mine to bear, and asking him to share the load would be selfish. I refused to put him in such a dangerous situation. I retracted my claws and stomped off, then fell to my knees ashamed and confused with what I had become. Roaring in anguish I wished all of this would go away, I never asked for this curse, I never asked for any of this. For a brief second I wished I had never woken from the coma, at least that way I would’ve never had to witness the pain of my new life or feel the betrayal of the women I loved, mostly I would not have to deal with this damn transformation which was exhausting mentally and physically!
I felt the reassuring touch of Sharif’s hand as he placed it on my shoulder. “I am here for you Cairo; I always have and always will be; you don’t have to do this alone.” A sense of relief took over, knowing I was not completely lost made things a bit easier and at least one of the questions I had set out to find had been answered. I could trust Sharif; my new family was there for me regardless of what had happened in the past. It was now up to me to stop dwelling on it and move forward. After all he risked his life and limb to come and find me out here, leaving his precious girls to come to my aid knowing there was such precious cargo on the line. I would not be the reason behind anything happening to the girl’s father. What if there was another Reaper attack, it would be highly unlikely that we’d be so lucky a second time around, or worse what if I lost control again, perhaps he would not be able to stop me that time round. There was no other option, he had to return to the bunker, and those girls needed their father. I knew how titanic the task at hand would be, convincing a man like Sharif to do anything he did not want was near impossible, but I had to make it clear to him. Even if I had to tell him how his mere presence put both of us in danger, I could not guarantee anything with the unstableness of the beast. So I had to change the playing field, and strike close to his heart. I changed back to my human form, covered in dust and blood, still crouched on my knees not able to look him in the face I began begging him to return. Just as I predicted he was not hearing me at all, it was like talking to a brick wall; he had made his mind up and there was no changing that.
I reached for the last resort, “the hail Mary pass, if you will.” I knew my actions had to be drastic so I pulled the one card closest to his heart. I explained the destination I was on had nothing but blood and danger waiting at every corner, and he had a responsibility to the girls to make sure he was alive, something I could not guarantee if he followed me.
“I know how much you want to help me, and I am so grateful for everything you have done for me Sharif, but please I could never live with myself if I was the reason those girls lost their father.
”You have an obligation to protect those little girls over me Sharif; they need you more than I do, they are your family and like you have said a hundred times over, family is the most important thing!”
His response left a lump in my throat as I did not expect the emotional tidal wave which engulfed me. “You talk about obligations Cairo and you are right, I do have an obligation to those girls they are my family.”” Just like I have an obligation to you, you are just as much family to me boy and if you do not see it after all these years, well then you are just blind.””Just like you say those girls need a father, they need a big brother too.””That’s what you are to them, don’t ever think differently, you could never live with yourself if something happened to me, so how do you exact me to live with myself if I returned to the bunker, having turned my back on their Big Brother, we in this together boy, like it or not.”
He helped me off the floor, stood me directly in front of him and wiped clean the blood sta
ins splattered across my face. I could barely look him in the face after seeing what I had done, his eye started shutting as the swelling inflamed. But Sharif played it off as if it did not concern him, honestly he was a good man, a brave man, and any doubt I had about his loyalty had faded in the moment.
“So if you don’t mind lets drop all this sentimental bullshit and start making our way, the dark is creeping up on us and I doubt you want to be caught out here hugging it out with a bunch of Reapers on our ass!” “The sooner we get to wherever you going, the quicker we get back.” ”Plus do you really think you going to find a single factory in Manhattan with only the words of Smith, come on boy lets be practical shall we.”
He lightly mocked my naivety, he was right, thinking I could find the professor with such limited resources was more than a long shot, it was impossible, after all this was Manhattan not some little suburb on the outskirts of the city. Sharif pulled an old stained map of New York City from his backpack. I was shocked, as I admired the ancient relic, the last time I had seen a map was on the internet, and I wondered where they had dug up the old paper, more importantly how relevant it would still be in this day and age.
There was a direct route highlighted with a pink sharpie, which lead from the bunkers location to the industrial area where the Professor lived. Apparently he had left the map with them, telling them if they ever needed a safe place to stay they were more than welcome to come to the factory. Evidently the building which the Professor lived in could not be missed, but all we had were directions, the location would have to be trusted by a dirty piece of paper. But we would not allow that to intimidate us, as long as we kept following the path on the map, used the marked locations which had been highlighted as guides we would make it unless we bump into some unexpected surprises of course. Plus we had one more tool helping us find our way, a living breathing GPS. Sharif knew Manhattan like the back of his hand thanks to his day job as a cab driver before the rocks fell. But even Sharif would have a hard time finding his way around the newly shaped, destroyed city. However with the map and his natural guidance I hoped for the best, after all it’s all we had.
Eventually we were back on the road and travelling at a brisk pace, hoping to get as close to the industrial area as possible before the sun set. As we walked Sharif took the time to continuously bombard me with different meditational and scriptural teachings from his past life. The man was an avid reader and religious buff. He had studied the bible, Quran, Dharma and many other religious books, compiling all their teachings in an amalgamation of spiritual guidance on how one should live their lives. He preached as we walked trying to help me better understand the ideals of power and responsibility which came with it. His voices became a soothing back drop, like a faded musical tone in a movie playing perfectly as I got lost looking upon the tranquillity which wrapped itself around the destroyed city.
I thought about the Reapers, us so called New Breeds, the living conditions we had endured and wondered; would people around the world ever know exactly what we were going through? Would they ever come to our aid, did they still care that we were alive? From what Smith had told me countries had stationed ships off our coast, and was ordered to shoot any and all vessels and aircrafts which tried leaving the U.S. If he was right they clearly didn’t care if we were alive, but what if they knew what we could do, would that change their minds? I soon started thinking about home again, I doubtfully wondered if I would ever get the chance to see my family again? I mean it was highly unlikely but the thought of being reunited with them gave me a sense of closure, a feeling that they would know their kid was okay. I laughed as I imagined how my mother would faint if I showed her what I could become, and my dad, he would be just as shocked but would soon be bragging to the entire town how awesome his son was. Oh how I’d give anything for just one more day of lazily watching TV with my old man as we shared a packet of nachos and laughed together for hours, knowing I was completely safe and had not a care in the world. The only thing that kept me from breaking down was that I knew they were at least safe in South Africa. I just wish I had some way of letting them know I was alive.
By the time Sharif had finally given up on his lecture the sun was beginning to set we had to find a place to set up camp for the night, walking around in the darkness would be nonsensical, we could not navigate and needed the light of the sun or protect ourselves from the vulnerability of the darkness, we had to sleep the night away and continue in the morning. Now we had the task of finding a place warm enough to shelter us from the cold of the night, yet well enough hidden from the presence of the Reapers. Luckily in the distance our salvage came in the form of an old tow truck, which was buried under an uprooted willow tree it had crashed into. The beat up vehicle was a much better option than using one of the buildings which most likely were sheltering the Reapers from the cold. We walked up to it and tried to prior the door open. Nothing, it was shut as were all the other doors, I thought about smashing one of the windows out, but that would be pointless the cold air would come flowing into the car. My arms grew and I became taller. I grabbed the steel door of the tow truck, and with a slight tug obliterated the lock, the door open easily, I had to use all my control, to not send the door flying across the road.
We climbed in, the warmth of the car immediately cocooned me in its toasty embrace, and it felt so good to be out the strong cold wind. The front of the tow truck was not that spacious but Sharif and I managed to both fit inside, we’d be sleeping sitting up right for the night, but fine as long as we were warm and safe. Sharif moved back and forth bumping the back of the seat, I watched him, and unsure of what he was doing, he ordered me to move away from the seat, so I leaned forward onto the dash board. As he pulled the seat forward he revealed a bunch of stuff which would come in handy for the night. Looks like this tow truck driver had been well prepared. Sharif started pulling out the items one by one, firstly a large warm blanket, than some extra jackets and last but most definitely not least two cans of tomato and onion soup. As we indulged in the bounties of this apocalypse refreshment stop I could finally relax, even though I needed the rest, it was more important that Sharif got off his swollen ankle and let it rest for the night. I knew we were going to have to do something different in the morning, I could not expect him to walk much further with that sprained ankle.
Sharif grabbed one of the soup cans and pierced the top with his knife; he drank half of the cold liquid tomato soup before handing it to me. The slimy cold soup slid down my throat giving me the shivers, but taste was just a luxury we could do without, we need nutrition and the soup was a means for substance, no matter how gross it tasted. Sharif turned his head and rested it against the window; he readjusted his hood and gingerly rested his swollen cheek on the cold window pane, he told me to get some rest as we had a long day ahead of us and without even a goodnight I fell asleep.
With Sharif fast asleep in a matter of seconds I had no one to converse with, all I could do was close my eyes and let my imagination run wild. But it did not take long for Sky to bombard my thoughts. Even though I had come to terms with her relationship with Sharif and understood she was trying to build a family for the girls. I had come to the realisation she was off limits, the lustful scenarios we shared in my dreams where the only thing keeping me from losing my sanity, I wondered most times how Smith survived so long without a women’s touch, I unfortunately was not as strong as the old man, I needed something, a kiss or touch, even a hug would suffice. Nonetheless all I could do now was follow this cinematic story of imaginative relations Sky and I shared.
My dreams were crystal clear; it felt as if she was standing right by my side. Her light brown olive skin and Latin features was the epitome of Mediterranean beauty. Those voluptuous curves and big breasts leading to that perfectly rounded luscious derrière. It was easy to become transfixed with her sexy body and forget all about that beautiful face until she stared at you with those big brown eyes. Sky was the total opposite of the first women
I had fallen in love with, who happened to help her take over my thoughts. Layla was tall; her long slender body seemed flawless. I can remember how the lines curved down her body running perfectly parallel to one another, like arrows directing downward to the pot of gold! Her small perfectly rounded breasts made her model like physique so indulgent. Her blue eyes shone like diamonds and her sun-kissed hair rolled off her shoulders. I felt like the luckiest man alive, and found myself smiling even though I knew it was only a dream.
Luckily I managed to get some sleep and put the two of them out of my head, tomorrow would be one hell of a journey and I did not need the slightest distraction, even if the distraction happened to be as hot as they were.
The warm sun broke through the chill of the crisp air as it shone through the windows directly onto my face. The feeling was amazing; I tried enjoying the moment as much as I could, keeping in mind it would not last forever. I looked to my left, wanting to wake Sharif to allow him to part take in the beautiful sunrise, but all I found was an empty seat. As I opened the car door I saw him in the distance, just standing in the cold doing exactly what I presumed he was. The air was so fresh that you could smell the crispness flow through the gentle breeze. For these few quiet hours it felt as if the world was at peace, Sharif stood with his nose raised to the sky and his eyes shut, taking in the sweet smells of the morning air. While approaching him I was quickly brought back to the harsh reality of this world .Thanks to the blood curdling screeches of a Reaper in the distance. Reminding me of the brokenness which co-existed with the beauteous landscape.
Sharif looked to me, I knew what he was about to say before he even said it, “It’s time to go Cairo, get your things and let’s make way.” He was right; we did not want to be lingering around with Reapers so close by. We were both lightly packed and in a few minutes had packed our backpacks and were on the road. I followed behind Sharif, trying to figure out if I had ever visited this part of the city before, with the destroyed buildings and over grown vegetation, even if I had visited this place a hundred times it would still be hard to recognise. We had been on the road for an hour now, and he had not said a word, I started to doubt his knowledge of the city. Was he walking as blindly as I, merely hoping we stumbled into the right direction? Or was he methodically calculating our course in a confidant well orchestrated manner, with all the short cuts and side streets we walked through I wondered which one of the two it was?
Just as my faith began to linger Sharif stopped dead in his tracks, his arm was extended as he pointed at a large familiar looking building. The dilapidated structure shone a dulled yellow colour, contrasting in front of the colourless background. It was the MDEL “Manhattan Digital E-reader library”, a structure that had become quite popular with the intellectual, readers and researchers in this day and age. I was taken back to the only time I had visited the MDEL. Honestly, this place was not for me, I much preferred the confinements of my humble abode as I causally browsed through my fictional tales of warriors from days far passed. I just could not get past the awkwardness for having a bunch of random people cramp up next to me with their noses buried in the digital books, to me it was illogical but I guess to others it was a place of sanctuary, a quiet relief from the hustle and bustle of the boisterous city life. Sharif explained we were on the right track, looks like his skills weren’t all but washed away, he had gotten us this far.
“This is good Cairo, this means we are on the right track, according to this map the library is only 6 miles from our next marker, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s.” ”So once we reach the museum we take a right onto Park Avenue, from there we going to have to find the Park Avenue National Bank.” I thought to myself, how the hell were we going to find one bank in such as large area, but he soon answered my questions, “Don’t look so worried Cairo, I think you have forgotten my previous line of employment I followed directions like I breathed!” The arrogant man smiled content with his knowledge of the city, and truthfully he had every right to me as bashful as he wanted. Sharif knew Manhattan like the back of his hand, the former cab driver loved his job and every day soaked in the city he had grown up in.
Jubilant with the news of our progression I was excited, yet the reality was that I was exhausted from all this walking, I only imagined how Sharif was coping, even though he kept himself propped up on a long rod as he hobbled in front, I knew he could not travel like this much longer, his ankle was so swollen now, you could see it bulging through his sock. After a half a day of walking we had now only reached the bank. This time round I did not have the privilege of watching in awe as we passed by, all my concern was figuring out a way to help stubborn Sharif get off that ankle.
I stopped in a weary protest, I suggested the beast, I mean, I could carry him with ease all the way to our destination. But the horror on his grim face soon suggested he was not ready to interact with it yet. Sharif lowered himself to the floor and rolled up his pants leg, exposing his purplish blue foot. I grabbed my pack and placed it under his foot, hoping that elevating the limb would release some of the swelling. But that was only a temporary solution. More import was getting him out of the open, with dusk once again closing in on us we had to make a plan and get to the factory. Not even he could push through this time of pain and soon confessed the injury had completely demobilized him. There had to be an easier way to get there, I just had to think as I scanned the area, all I saw was cars upon cars. I felt the irony of the situation physically taunting me as I looked into the window of a Mercedes dealer, with all that German horse power unable to be driven. Then I remembered something I had I seen a while ago which brought me to the conclusion, maybe four wheels were the wrong answers.
I threw my bag to the floor and ran across the road, straight into the dealer, I prayed they had one in store. And like a gift from the heavens, the toppled AMS Solarcycle lay on the floor waiting for us to come and rescue it. Now I was no mechanic but knew the basics, we could not use any of the cars due to their beyond flat batteries, stagnant fuel and array of other problems. The Solarcycle however had none of these problems. Twenty minutes charging in relative sunshine and you were good to go. As Sharif watched me run into the store I could see the doubt on his face; it was obvious that no type of vehicle would work after such a long time being exposed to the harsh elements of the city. But he never knew what I did, this was not some petrol driven motor cycle. No, this was 2030 technology, not some old out dated petrol guzzling 2025 cab like the one he drove. This bike had another means of motion, Sun power baby! The bike was covered with miniature solar reflector panels capturing energy from the sun and a process took place which converted the suns cells into electrical energy. In all honesty it was way more complicated than that, but who actually knew everything about the vehicle they drove? Not me that’s for sure.
Sharif helped me pull the bike from the debris which covered it, as we got it to stand we both stood in apprehension, scared to start the bike and watch our hope die as it failed to start. But with a press of a button the sweet soft purrs of the battery vehicle sang a song of rejoice to our ears as we knew the strain of the journey would be eased thanks to our new means of transport. Sharif and I jumped onto the bike, he wrapped his arms around me and immediately I turned my head to smile, he laughed and said,” Don’t you dare say a word.