A. Double E.E. – Codename: GEL
Copyright 2014 Tony Lepore
References
Nastisin, L. (2008-2014). All This. DeviantART. [Image]. This photo is attributed to the creator
and is located in pudo’s gallery. Retrieved from https://pudo.deviantart.com/art/science-fiction-81503668
Table of Contents
Story
About Tony Lepore
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Story
There is a loud pounding at the front door that suddenly awakens Alison from her sleep. She turns to the clock and its red light displays 3:00 am. By the time Alison gets to the base of the stairs, she hears her grandma talking to someone. She can see a tall man with short brown hair and wearing glasses. He whispers to Grandma, “It has begun.”
Her grandmother yells from the living room, “Wake up Alison, come quick!”
“I’m here,” she answers. “What’s…?”
“…Listen to me carefully. This is Dr. Livingstone. He’s a friend. Something has happened. Get dressed quickly and grab your bag.”
Frightened, Alison does as her Grandma asks. Alison just recently turned eighteenth and she remembered her Grandma telling her that this time would come. Alison moved to her bureau and looked at her reflection. Her brown eyes see her long wavy hair inherited from my Grandma. Alison too is tall like her. She feels like crying, but knows that Grandma would never let anything bad happen to her.
Alison comes running down the stairs just as Dr. Livingstone says, “I’ll go start the van,”
“Don’t worry grandchild, you will be fine.”
Alison looks at her Grandma with worried thoughts. “Grandma…”
“…The doctor will take care of you.”
“He doesn’t much look like a doctor. What is his practice?”
“He’s a scientist." Grandma puts her arms around Alison. "You’ll be fine, I promise.”
“OK, Grandma.”
Alison watches Grandma place her journal in her bag. “You remember the game we played with the words in your journal?”
“Yes, Grandma.”
“Use it to help guide you. Keep this journal on you at all times.”
“I love you, Grandma.”
"I love you too, Alison."
The doctor comes back into the house shouting. “We have to go. The agents are almost here.”
“Go, now, Alison.”
Driving fast through the streets of Los Angeles, Alison read her journal. Dr. Livingstone glances at her. “Everything will be alright.”
“I’m not so sure” is what Alison was thinking. They finally approach Dr. Livingstone’s secret lair. Alison begins to believe the stories she read in comic books and sci-fi novels. “This is my place,” says Dr. Livingstone as if he knew what she was thinking.
As they approach the entrance, Alison can see that it is just a normal place like any other home. Well other than being fancier, modern, and very expensive looking.
“Please make yourself comfortable.”
“Yeah right,” is what Alison wanted to say!
“This is going to sound strange, even maybe weird. You will come to understand that your world is not a normal world.” Alison looks up at him in anxiety.
Suddenly, from the shadows standing next to the doctor, Alison sees a boy and a girl. The boy had short hair and is very tall, almost as tall as the doctor. He stands arrogantly next to the girl. The girl had her hair in a ponytail and she was just a couple of inches shorter than Alison. She could see that this girl was shy. Alison noticed that they all had brown eyes.
Somehow she has always known them before. “Edward and Emma, I presume.”
They both respond, “Yes. Alison?”
Alison nods her head.
“Please sit down. We will all have to get acquainted later. Right now we are short on time.” The doctor plays a video and starts to explain.
“I’ll give you a few minutes,” as Dr. Livingstone leaves the room. Alison collects her thoughts. Edward and Emma look at her, like they look up to her to lead them.
Alison then realizes that this is our time. “We are key to something bigger," she begins. "We are Protectors of all Life. We have powers." Edward clears his throat and Emma just stares at her.
“Issa,” says Edward.
Alison looks at him in bafflement. “Why do you call me Issa?”
“It’s short for sister.”
“Then I should call you Bro.”
“No, Rico is fine.”
“Why? Because you’re so suave?”
Rico laughs.
“How old are you, brother?
“Sixteen, Issa.” Alison shakes her head and turns to Emma who has not said a thing.
“You are shy.” Emma nods her head. “How old are you?”
“Fourteen. And they call me MM.” “Really? Why do they call you MM?”
MM pulls out a bag of M&M’s.
“No need to explain,” laughs Alison.
“I don’t mean to shorten our conversation, but what about this protection of all life.”
“Sounds weird doesn’t it?” responds MM.
Alison looks at Rico and MM. “I’m starting to find out that there is more to us than what we know or pretend to know.” Alison puts her journal back into her bag.
“Does that journal have all the answers?” asks Rico sarcastically.
“It is something that my grandma and I did as a child. But I never thought that there was more to it.” MM responds. “Same here with my bag of M&Ms.” Confused, Alison look at Rico. “And you?”
“My cellular phone,” responds Rico. “Let me guess, because of your girl contacts?” laughs MM. Rico smiles.
The doctor interrupts them. “We have work to do.” The children follow the doctor into another room. It is like a lab. There are monitors and weird looking gadgets everywhere. In the center of the room is a big screen that has some kind of activity on it. In front of the screens are three stations with the labels: Alison, Edward, and Emma. Without asking, they sit down at each of their stations.
“It is up to you three to find the Life force. Then I can help harness your powers.” The children acknowledge.
Dr. Livingstone goes to the other side of the room preparing some sort of transport.
“It’s time,” says Issa. Issa pulls out her journal and reads through the coding based on the game she played with her grandma. Rico goes through his phone of contacts and messages to find the keywords that his foster dad explained to him when he was child. MM pulls out one of the Ziploc’s full of M&Ms with a variety of colors labeled L. “It’s a good thing they don’t melt in your hand,” laughs MM.
Issa responds, “C’mon MM. Let us concentrate.”
MM smiles and thinks back when her foster mother was still alive. “Each color and its quantity represent something.”
“According to my journal, I’ve found the city.” Rico interjects.
“I have figured out longitudinal digits.” MM says.
“It has to be correct, then because I have digits what appears to be the latitude.” Dr. Livingstone listens. “How could I have been so blind all these years?” His voice becomes more sinister and catches the children off guard. “I’m sorry,” Dr. Livingstone says.
“What is that, Doctor? What is that red dot that appears to be approaching a green dot?” asks Alison as she looks at the main screen.
Dr. Livingstone responds. “The green dot represents us. The red dot represents the agents. It’s time to go. Help me with the transport.”
“We are starting to glow,” says a worried MM.
“That is normal," a
nswers Livingstone. "That means we are near the Life force. Your powers are going to start getting stronger.”
“Look!” Rico points out the window.
“I see them,” responds Dr. Livingstone.
“What do we do,” asks MM.
“Kill them,” laughs the doctor.
“What,” screeches Issa?
“I mean…stop them,” the doctor clarifies.
Rico whispers in Isa's ear, “I don’t trust him.”
Issa nods in agreement. Issa looks at Rico and MM. “Disable their guns and I’ll disable their vehicles.” Forces of light flow through their hands like the northern lights lighting up everyone. The doctor thinks, “Stupid children.”
“We're almost there,” shouts Dr. Livingstone.
They approach the basement of an abandoned building and prepare the transport device.
“Quick, everyone circle the transport with your backs toward it,” shouts Dr. Livingstone.
He turns on the device. The ground around them rumbles like that of an earthquake. Underneath them dirt shoots up all over the place. The agents who just came into the basement are flown back by the shockwave. Something starts to rise from the ground underneath them. The children are in awe and want to see.
“Keep to the front. We have to stop the agents,” exclaims the doctor.
Just then, a mysterious glowing figure that looks quite human appears in the transport device.
MM takes a quick look. “Oh my…”
“What is it," asks Issa?
“That face looks familiar. I remember seeing that face just before my foster mother died.”
All of a sudden a shockwave hits the children. They fly towards the walls of the basement. The doctor laughs menacingly. “The power is mine. All mine.”
“You are trapped, doctor. There is no place for you to go,” shouts one of the agents.
“Mr. Collins, is that you?”
Mr. Collins is wearing an elegant blue suit. “You have fooled us for the last time.”
Dr. Livingstone laughs as he uses the Life force on the agents. A shot of electricity is fired from it, killing the agents.
Mr. Collins is shaking Alison vigorously. “Wake up, Alison!”
“What happened?" responds Issa confused. The shock really has her now believing that she has been Issa and with her brother and sister all these years. “Quick, you need to gather your brother and sister. We need your help to stop Dr. Livingstone.” “Wait. He’s a good guy and you are the bad guy. What’s going on?”
“Snap out of it. Dr. Livingstone has been using your family since before you were born. I’m a friend of your father.”
“My father…”
“Quickly now, get Edward and Emma.”
Alison only hears Rico and MM.
Mr. Collins helps Issa to her feet.
After approaching Rico and MM, they help them get back to their feet. “You're all right?” asks Issa. Both Rico and Emma nod their heads.
“No time to explain. You’ll have to do what I say so we can capture Dr. Livingstone,” exclaims Issa.
Mr. Collins takes a handful of agents into the main entrance to distract Dr. Livingstone. The three children run into the main entrance at full sprint using their powers to protect themselves. MM stands in front of the Life force. Rico and Issa stand on the other side. Together a powerful beam of light channels through the Life force and hits the doctor at the same time Mr. Collins and his agents shoot their mysterious weapons at the doctor. The doctor starts to weaken.
“Quick MM. Press the button to deactivate the Life force,” shouts Issa.
MM tries to reach the button, but the glow is way too powerful.
Rico shouts. “Go straight. You can do it.”
MM reaches towards the button.
“Now, screams Issa.”
MM pushes the button and deactivates the Life force. The shock knocks Dr. Livingstone unconscious on the floor. The agents start to clear up the mess. Mr. Collins approaches the children. “Everyone alright?” The children nod their heads.
“That was unbelievably intense,” states Rico.
Issa is not sure what to think. “What now?” asks Issa.
Mr. Collins answers. “Don’t worry. We will take care of things from here.” “And us?” asks Issa.
“For now, with me.”
Issa wakes up to see that it is 3:00 in the morning. “Am I having dejavu?” she wonders. There is a knock on the door and Rico and MM walk in.
“Couldn’t sleep?" Issa looks at Rico.
“No.”
“I get kind of a weird feeling being here,” yawns MM. “We all have,” says Issa. Issa glances over at her journal and then back at them. “I’ve been decoding and there is more I’m afraid. Something that the Doctor and Collins never told us. That is why I think we have to find our grandma.”
“What?” they ask in sync.
“It’s not over…” Issa pauses for a moment before continuing. “…One protects the galaxy, one protects the earth, and one protects life; we three siblings must stand together to stop a madman from stealing our powers and destroying everything we care for.”
About the Author
Tony Lepore started a quality consulting business in 2009 and spends his free time writing fantasy stories. He published I Can Drive in 2012 for The Aviator Issue No. 7. His shorts, Thellan-5, Rise of the Generals, The Hunt and Ruin are currently being considered for publication. Tony is also working on a fantasy knight series called Knights of the Protectorate and an animation screenplay, No Free Lunch.
He is currently working on a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing for Entertainment at Full Sail University. He specializes in technical and fantasy writing for quality and entertainment field.
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