Chapter 3
Fractal lay on the ground watching the sky. It was very blue with large, fluffy white clouds. While it was hot, there was a light breeze keeping it from becoming too hot. In other words, it was a perfect late summer day. In fact, it was the last day before she was to travel to Whateley Academy. Which was why she was here.
Here was the top of Flat Top Hill. At least, that’s what she’s always called it. The Indians from her home may have called it by another name, but they never told her. And she knew enough not to ask. In her old world, nobody gave away any names that may lead to power. The Humanity First! people wouldn’t stop at getting anything that would give them power over others. Especially mutants.
But those days were behind her, and, with any luck, wouldn’t come again. That’s why she was in this world. She had to warn this version of Whateley Academy about the possible threats to it. She didn’t want any of the horrors of her old world to be repeated here. Especially the Kellith years. She shuddered. What little she saw gave her nightmares.
Fractal jumped and squeaked as a bell started ringing in her pocket. She immediately knew what the noise was, but she still wasn’t used to it. She pulled out the cell phone and checked the number. It was her mother. As she still wasn’t used to the thing, it took her a few moments to answer it.
“Melissa, where are you?”
“I’m safe Mom,” Fractal answered. Some part of her still wasn’t convinced that this was real. “I’m just hiding from Samantha.”
“Shopping isn’t that bad,” Mrs. Molesly said. “Although, I will admit that Samantha takes it to extremes. Is it because you used to be a boy?”
Fractal blushed. “No, that’s not it. Um, before I came here, shopping meant going to the weekly meetings to see what the neighbors had for trading. We rarely had anything that somebody local couldn’t produce.”
“Hmmm, that would explain your reaction to your first bra.”
Fractal could feel her face burning. She was just happy Mrs. Cutly could make panties. She had known that there was garments meant only for breasts, she just never dreamed that she would see, let alone, wear a pair of them. Now she owned over 40 bras. Even Samantha, a true clothes horse, didn’t have that many.
“I’ll ask her to hold back on the shopping,” Mrs. Molesly continued. “Would that help?”
Fractal shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll be leaving for Whateley tomorrow anyway.”
“And that’s what I called about. Are you sure you’re comfortable flying there?” Mrs. Molesly sounded anxious. “I don’t mind driving you there.”
Fractal’s smile faded from her face. She knew why Mrs. Molesly was anxious. Every morning she was surprised to find that she wasn’t in some sort of prison, waiting to be sacrificed to Kellith or some other of the like. “I’m sure, Mom. I don’t mind flying. The brochure said I was to wait at the airport where I’m to be picked up by a staff member. I won’t be the only student arriving early. All the freshmen are to arrive a day or so early.”
“I just worry,”
“You shouldn’t worry,” Fractal assured the older woman. “Remember, you’re only a portal away. As far as I know, there’s no way to stop me from getting home.”
“I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. You’re my daughter.”
“And you’ve already seen me die once and don’t want to see it again,” Fractal quietly said. “I don’t want to put you though that again. I also don’t’ want to see my family killed again.”
“Well, dinner’s at 6,” Mrs. Molesly said in an obvious effort to change the subject. “Give an old woman a break and don’t be late.” She hung up before Fractal could reply.
Fractal slowly closed her phone and put it back in her pocket. These few weeks had been rough ones. She had seen her family killed. Her mother, father, and all of her surviving cousins had all sacrificed themselves so that she could get away from that mob. It wasn’t her fault that she had mutated. She hadn’t chosen too. If it was up too her, the whole war wouldn’t have even started. She just couldn’t understand why people feared and hated what was different. It didn’t help that Humanity First! flamed the flames either.
She still didn’t know how they have figured out that she was a mutant. She had taken great care in concealing that fact. She had always been small for her age. And she wore baggy clothing all the time. Mostly in a vain attempt to grow into them. She was almost painfully shy and spent a lot of time alone. Nobody but her family and the few Indians still living in the wooded areas knew that she had mutated. The Indians wouldn’t tell, they hated Humanity First!, and her family would rather die than betray one of their own.
Maybe it was just bad luck that let the Reverend Englund was making a visit to Spiro. He was on Humanity First!’s monthly, and wasted, “we-are-your-friends” parade. Since attendance was mandatory, only serious illness got you out of it. Even then, they’d send doctors to make sure you were sick.
Whatever the reason, Englund was there. Somehow, he spotted her in the crowd and recognized that she was actually a girl. Of course, he wanted to know why a girl would dress so shabbily when all the other girls were showing off their developing figures.
Even as her family protested that she was a boy, they were subtly getting ready for a fight. Ever since she had started mutating, Fractal’s family had made evacuation plans. Ultimately, they were to escape to the Indian controlled areas north of town. Humanity First! hated them. Mostly it was because every trooper, agent, and machine they sent there just disappeared. But it was all in vain.
Englund wouldn’t drop it. He insisted on having Fractal brought up to him. And when her family resisted, he had his troops act. They immediately leapt into the crowd. Shoving people out of their way in order to reach Fractal. That proved to be a mistake.
The crowd may not have understood his obsession with the Molesly child. But when Englund’s soldiers started attacking them to get to the boy, they fought back. They shoved at the soldiers, doing their best to keep them from getting one of their own. It wasn’t until they soldiers stated using their guns that the crowd scattered. A few brave people returned the soldiers fire.
Through all this, Fractal, her parents, and a couple of her cousins ran. Most of her family was still in the crowd. It was part of one of their plans. Plans they had discussed over and over again. Taking in all of the variations they could think of. But something happened. Something that they never thought Humanity First! would ever do.
When the HF troops started chasing the Moleslys, they did what most small towns would. They closed ranks and tried to help them escape. When this happened, the troops didn’t see small town folk defending their own against outsiders. Instead, they saw traitors to humanity defending mutant scum. They readied they weapons and opened fire. It was then that it got ugly.
The townspeople who had carried their guns started firing back as others ran. They didn’t run far. Those who owned guns, but wasn’t carrying them, ran to their cars and got them out. Others ran to the gun shop or the sheriff’s office to get the guns there. When they were armed, they started shooting at the troops attacking their town. And the bloodbath truly began.
Fractal and her family never saw this. They had managed to get away before the townspeople started shooting back. They heard the increased gunfire but didn’t slow down. Her family had planned for this too long to turn around and help those who chose to fight back. Their only destination was the family farm a few miles outside the town. After a brief stop to grab some ready supplies, they were going to head for the nearby Indian controlled area.
At first, there was no sign of a chase. But that soon changed as sounds vehicles and people on foot came to them. It wasn’t long after before they saw the first soldier. Fortunately, he didn’t see them. But he was only the first. They saw more and more soldiers searching for them and all the others who left the town when the shooting began.
Soon they got to the point where they couldn’t move without somebody seeing them. After a brief discussion among the adults, it was decided that they would split into two groups. Fractal, her mother, the children, most of the women and a few men, would wait while her Fractal’s father and the rest would draw the soldiers away.
Quietly, those chosen, left the group. The others prepared themselves to take out whichever of the guards didn’t leave. Shortly after, shouts and gunfire were heard. Most of the soldiers ran to the noise. Those that stayed, were quickly taken care of. The group quietly moved out of the area. A few minutes later, the surviving men returned to the main group.
Even though it would cost them stealth, the group started moving faster. The surviving men were all wounded. Some of them, badly. No matter what they did, they couldn’t help but leave a trail of blood for the soldiers to follow them with. Even with their increased speed, it wasn’t long before they started hearing signs of pursuit. This time, though, they didn’t split up. They believed they were close enough to the Indian controlled area to risk making a run for it.
They were wrong.
One mile from the markers, they ran into an ambush. Somehow, Reverend Englund had figured out where they were going and got there, with a sizable force, ahead of them. “Stop,” he ordered them. “If you just give us the mutant, we’ll let the rest of you go.”
While the crowd muttered amongst themselves, the general consensus was no. Michael was one of them. They didn’t care that he was a mutant. Instead of turning him over, like Englund wanted, the crowd put him and his parents in the middle. They were going to do everything in their power to get the only mutant, and his family, to safety. Even if it was the last thing they did.
As one, the crowd turned and started toward the Indian held ground. They only had one hundred feet to go before they were safe. They were not going to stop until they were across that line. Or dead. Those who had guns, put themselves on the perimeter. They had decided they were going to sell their lives dearly so that their families could be safe.
Seeing this, the H1! soldiers opened fire. Killing several of the fleeing people and wounding many others. The crowd kept moving. Those who believe they were too severely wound to make it, picked up the fallen guns and returned fire. Some of the soldiers fell, but most got back up to continue shooting.
Through it all, Michael huddled in the middle of the crowd with his parents. She knew that H1! was after her. Why, she didn’t know. Wasn’t there peace between humans and mutants now that Kellith was destroying the world? The answers didn’t come to her. The only thing she felt was a strange pressure building up inside her as her desire to get away grew.
The crowd pushed advanced against the soldiers fire. They did not hesitate or falter to protect Michael and is family. In the run from town, they had pinned all their good will on them. They were so dedicated that Michael was starting to think she had developed some mutant power and was influencing the townspeople. The stress increased to the point that Michael couldn’t take it anymore. It was then that it happened.
For some reason, the crowd broke. They all started running toward the woods behind the H1! Troops. Michael’s mother grabbed her and pulled her along. Michael thought they might make it, but a H1! Soldier seemingly appeared out of nowhere to menace them. He was tackled by Michael’s bloody and battered father. He quickly grabbed the soldier’s survival knife and slashed his throat. He then staggered to his feet only to be shot down.
Mrs. Molesly didn’t hesitate for a moment. She grabbed Michael and took off running. She could grieve her husband later. Right now, she had to focus on saving her son-turned-daughter. She was all she shad left in the world. She had lost family throughout both wars. She had just seen her husband gunned down and lost track of the last two cousins in the charge. She was not going to loose the last remaining member of her family.
They managed to get clear of the mob. They had even managed to be on the side nearest the trees. Unlike some of the more unfortunate townspeople. More determined than ever, Mrs. Molesly pushed on. Only to stop short as a figure suddenly arrived in frond of them. It was Reverend Darren Englund. And he had a gun.
Michael stared in horror as Englund smiled cruelly and raised his gun. He wanted to run, scream, do anything. But fear held him frozen. He could only watch as the gun slowly raised until it was pointed at them. Then Englund fired.
Michael flinched. At first he thought Englund had shot him. He frantically searched his body for the bullet hole. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t find one. It wasn’t until his mother started to slump that he understood. Englund had shot his mother.
With that realization, the pressure inside Michael exploded.
Englund leaped back as an oval, six foot tall and 3 ½ foot wide, appeared between him and Michael. The oval had various colors on it that shifted in a fractal pattern. When nothing else happened, Englund grew more confident and started to walk around the oval. He froze when a large, feminine hand came out.
The hand was quickly followed by the rest of the woman. She was an Amazon. Six foot six inches tall, very muscular but still feminine. Her muscles were easily seen through the thin nightgown she wore. “Okay,” she said as she looked around confused. “This is a strange dream.”
“Die mutant,” shouted Englund as he fired his gun.
The tall woman’s head snapped back as the bullets struck her. But she didn’t fall. Instead, her head rose back. Eye’s narrowed, she glared at Englund. “Even if this is just a dream,” she growled. “You do not get to shoot me.”
With that the woman grabbed the reverend by his shirt and threw him. Up he went, describing a perfect arc as he sailed over the fighting. Several Humanity First soldiers looked up as he flew over them. The people fighting them were quick to take advantage of their distraction.
“I know this is a dream, but damn that felt good,” the woman told Michael.
“This isn’t a dream,” Michael told her even as he stared at her eyes. He had never seen eyes like that. Multi-colored and constantly changing in a fractal pattern.
“Of course it is,” the woman said. “I went to sleep and work up here. Besides, those look like Humanity First troops and everybody knows they shut down years ago.”
Michael blinked. He wasn’t sure if he was safer with this strange mutant or the soldiers. They would only kill him. There was no telling what she would do to him. But he didn’t want to die either. “Look,” he said. “This may be a dream to you, but to me, it’s real. I could die here.”
“So what do you want me to do about it,” the woman asked as she looked around.
“Help me get out of here,” Michael answered.
“Why?”
Michael wanted to scream in frustration. But he knew it was only a matter of time before the Humanity First soldiers started shooting at them again. Inspiration struck. “If this is a dream, why did getting shot in the face hurt?”
“It didn’t hurt. It only stung . . a . .little.” She stared at the people fighting. “This isn’t a dream, is it,” she asked in a small voice.
“No, it’s not,” Michael gently said. “Now, can you please get me out of her before I get killed!”
“Sure,” the tall woman answered. “Which way is out?”
Michael didn’t waste a moment. He quickly pointed toward the woods. “That way,” he shouted. “Hurry before they start shooting again.”
The woman picked Michael up and started toward the woods. “My name’s Butte, by the way,” she said.
“Mine’s . . . Melissa,” Michael said.
“Weird,” Butte said. “That’s my real name. How strange is that?”
With a jerk, Melissa snapped herself from the memories of her past. Now was not the time for her to get lost in them. She had to focus on keeping those event’s from happening in this new world. She’d just die if she couldn’t keep that from happening. She stood and gathered the dishes she had brought with her. She never came here without some offering of food. The Indians of this world may not remember what was buried here, but she did. And she did not want to anger the spirits. Idly she wondered if the sleeping goddess was still buried under Tulsa. She opened a portal back to her room and stepped through.
******
Mrs. Carson sat in her office, thinking furiously. She was debating whether or not she should let Team Kimba view the files Fractal had brought with her. But that was the problem. If it was any other of the teams, she knew how they would react. But with them, it was impossible to guess. They had gotten entirely too good at keeping secrets. Even though they had copied Fey’s privacy spell, the Mystic Arts instructors still haven’t found a practical way to crack it. After several months of trying.
And that wasn’t her only problem. Englund was still a member of the faculty. She was not going to let him view the information that Fractal had brought. She knew he’d take it as confirmation that Carmilla was a threat, not only to the students at Whateley, but the world as well. He was bad enough now that Carmilla had gotten a son off her legal guardian. Though the tests did prove that he was human. That wasn’t as reassuring as most would thing as Carmilla was human before she manifested.
Mrs. Carson closed here eyes. There was no hope for it, she would have to tell Team Kimba about Fractal. For one, she wasn’t sure Fractal could hide her reaction to them from them. And she wanted those trouble magnets to know that they could trust her. The thought of all the things that could happen otherwise chilled her blood. As for Englund, well, she’d order him to stay away from Fractal, at least until somebody could talk to her.
With her decision made, Mrs. Carson started making phone calls. She’d have to get Team Kimba to return early. As well as Carmilla. They’d all have to be her before Fractal arrived with the other freshmen. They’d have to be briefed on her so they’d know what to look for. She really didn’t want Carmilla meeting with Fractal without some warning. It would not be good for the god of a cult to be killed on school grounds.
To be continued
