This is a pretty long Chapter, so I'm trying to break it up into two parts. They'll both be up today. The chapter has been heavily revised since I first posted it, so if you're reading this again, go back and read chapters 1 and 2 again before you read this there have been a lot of major changes.
Chapter 3
7 Minutes Earlier
"Come on, Foley. You've got more than enough time to go through this once more before the stars come out." Renata kept her arms were folded across her chest as she looked at him impassively.
Foley Street Weston had come to the Center when he was just a child. His life there wasn't bad -- not like the science fiction stories of old where some shadowy government agency planned to train him as a weapon or assassin or something. He was tested because of his condition, but the tests were largely physical because of the nature of his mind. Foley was physically able to master motion. Because of an anomaly in the pallium region of his brain his spatial memory was far beyond anyone else ever recorded.
His senses attuned to this anomaly and he developed a understanding of motion that few others possessed. His sense of balance was finer than the finest athletes on Earth by far. And the way his senses worked allowed him to process everything about his surroundings with lightning speed. His body had adapted to his mind. His musculature was far more reactive and efficient, and his bone structure was far lighter and stronger than normal, as well as several times more resistant to injury.
He could learn moves simply be observing them once, and could retain the memory with perfect clarity. The Center was a part of the United Earth Directorate Research Division, a facility overseen by the government that housed many young men and women with exceptional abilities. Most of them had been parts of various military and civilian projects at one time or another, aimed at improving the human condition --be it for military application, or otherwise.
He and Renata were on the roof of the Center's downtown office building. It was all business tonight. They wanted to gage his physical abilities at in different environments. The study of his abilities had yielded advances in exercise science for the armed forces, as well as provided new insights into how to train pilots to improve their spatial awareness. Progress was always hampered by the drawbacks of his talent, but they made due.
The same anomaly that had given him such a fascinating grasp of the physical world had made it nearly impossible for him to communicate with another human being. His brain could understand human speech, but because of the different configuration of his mind, he could not speak without great effort and focus. His mind processed data in a way that scientists could not yet fully comprehend. To them it seemed that because he was using all of his enhanced senses at one time on a much higher level than other humans could hope to achieve, that the speech centers of his brain were relegated to the background as a lower priority service.
In addition, his problem solving abilities were off the charts, allowing him to think through complex problems far faster than anyone ever recorded. Though his mind was exceptional, it didn't help him with relating to others, and he often retreated into books early on as a means of escape. Through Renata's gentle prodding and his friendship with Leto, another resident, he'd managed to grow into a well adjusted young man.
They'd set up acrobatic equipment at the top of this skyscraper in order to see if external conditions could affect his talents in the real world. The equipment on the rooftop was designed to task even his physical prowess to their limits, which was fine by him. Seventeen cameras were filming his every move while he progressed through the obstacles provided for him. He back flipped, vaulted, cartwheeled spun, twisted and jumped with reckless abandon, while they recorded his every motion.
Sensors in the suit he was wearing monitored his heart rate, blood pressure and a number of other factors within his body. Leto, his best friend and another resident of the Center with uncanny grasp of mechanics and science, built this array of obstacles to constantly change the position and movement while he was on it. They'd made a bet shortly before his visit. If Foley fell, then he'd be buying Leto's Science magazine subscriptions for the year. If Foley won, then he'd get a customized setup in his rooms that did much the same thing as he was doing now.
Foley was in the middle of a backwards vault from a rotating sphere that was on a platform built to shift its height, and orientation at random intervals --even speed up the rotation of the ball on its access. He'd moved towards grab a series of rings that spun much like a Ferris wheel when it happened. To his right and behind him, he felt a whoosh of air, and saw bluish light from the corner of his eye. In mid vault, he grabbed the ring in a reverse grip, allowing him to change his orientation, flipping over to see what was happening. It took only an instant for him to evaluate the scene before him.
Foley had read more than his share of comic books and science fiction, so it was a simple thing to call it a wormhole because that's exactly what it was to him. The whoosh of air that he heard was not actually pouring out of the wormhole, but in fact being sucked into it even as the traveler exited the portal. The traveler came through in an awkward backwards position, landing on her rump. He said "she" in his mind because he could tell the being before him was shaped very much like a woman. The form fitting space suit clung to her like a second skin. He noticed upon seeing her land that she had on a space suit, but the helmet was in her hands -- its visor cracked.
Silky white hair whipped around her, as she tried to scramble to her feet, moving quickly away from the portal. Her movements seemed disjointed and haphazard, like someone who was being pursued, and not just trying to get to safety. Renata was on the other side of his obstacle course, unable to entirely see the events as they unfolded. He released the ring, vaulting in the direction of the portal, taking care not to land too close.
When he landed, he could see another traveler exit the portal. At that instant, he was overwhelmed for a moment by a terrible sense of dread and unease. For some reason, he felt a surge of anger spread through his limbs at the very sight of this traveler. There was no reason for it -it felt like an instinctive reaction more than anything else. He just couldn't quite place his finger on the reason why.
Like the first, she also wore what could be thought of as a space suit, though she did not move with the same sense of panic. This one was all business. The huntress moved with a sense of menace, leveling a rifle in the direction of the first traveler. In an instant, Foley embraced his vast understanding of science fiction. The weapon looked as though it was a beam weapon of some kind. he couldn't see any clips, though it was shaped like a heavy rifle. Was the blast concussive, or was disintegration its aim? He didn't know. He needed to know before doing anything stupid.
He watched the twitch in her arm as the muscles within pulled at the trigger mechanism. She moved like a soldier, with practiced precision. The pursuer was so intent on her quarry that she didn't notice him close the distance. He brought his hand down squarely on the top of the rifle pushing it down and away towards the lip of the rooftop as she pulled the trigger. A ball of energy about the size of a basketball leaped from the front emitter of her weapon --directed at the rooftop itself. It impacted in a ball of exploding light against the roof top spraying bricks and mortar outward from the top of the building. He watched the fragments. they appeared to be very close to remaining intact which meant that the weapon she was firing was concussive in nature.
She brought the rifle back up and struck him in the chest. It was a clumsy blow --hitting him in the chest driving him up and backward. He used the momentum of her blow to reposition himself. She didn't try to do what most people would --drive the gun back the way it came and level it at him --but instead she used her own momentum to continue pivoting in the direction of her blow, spinning completely around to bring the gun back to bear much more quickly and precisely. She was not quite as fast as he was by her movements but she was certainly able to keep time with him, bringing a new dimension to this confrontation.
He dropped low, bringing his leg around to kick her feet out from under her. She pitched backwards towards the edge of the roof, flipping expertly while casting the rifle to the side. She might not be as fast at him but she was apparently very well versed in the art of combat. He had noticed that the other traveler was nowhere near as proficient. The woman before him moved like a soldier. He felt his own pulse quicken. He'd been in a fight or two before, but this was the first time his life had ever actually been in danger.
He came to rest on his feet between the hunter and her quarry. She came to rest in a crouching position --her hands already reaching across her, presumably towards some less bulky, but sufficiently powerful weapon. Her arm flashed outward, unsheathing a light, straight bladed weapon a little less than on meter in length. He'd watched her movements for only a few seconds but that was more than enough to gage her speed and limitations.
He held his position. He'd hoped desperately that his refusal to back down would make her pause, but the soldier was not swayed for a moment. She advanced towards him, and he felt a surge of anger. He heard an unfamiliar hum emanate from behind him. He cocked his head to the side for a split second; enough to get a glimpse of two more aliens exit the portal in the air behind them. The two above were similarly armed as the hunter before him with similar markings on their suits. Through some alien means, they were hovering above, bringing their weapons to bear on him!
She lunged, thrusting her blade in front of her. Thrusts were difficult to evade in swordplay as he'd seen in many demonstrations. He did not have a sword, so there was no point in acting as though he did. If the weapons were still being leveled at him, then it presented him with a unique solution to his predicament. He could hear the click as the lead fired his weapon at his back. The other fired for the path he was most likely to take away from the side of the roof, figuring that the pattern would get him if he tried to dodge.
He didn't try to dodge her thrust immediately. Instead he waited until her blade was a hair's breadth away from his belly, then he spun towards the edge of the roof around her thrust. Expecting to meet resistance from his flesh, she continued her forward motion --committed to the action. He could tell that she'd realized her error too late as he clasped the belt of her space suit, pushing her forward into the blast of her comrade's weapon. What hit her was pure concussive force, driving her down into the roof of the building, buckling the small section of roof where she struck, pressed down by the force and direction of the blast.
Renata was moving as well. She was his caretaker, but like all of the staff of the center, she was also tasked with his protection. during the seconds he'd been moving, Renata had reacted and drew her weapon. She assessed the threat and moved to assist him, leveling her Smith and Wesson MP .40 at the lead shooter in the sky. Renata was a tactical shooter and would aim for the back of his suit --center mass. Her weapon barked twice, puncturing his space suit, tearing through its fabric and deep into his flesh. The alien shuddered violently then stopped moving, still hovering in the air above the rooftop.
Foley had remained in motion, rolling towards the gun the huntress had cast aside. He gripped the its handle as he tucked it under and spun. The third alien whipped around towards Renata in order to ward off the threat from behind but he was nowhere near as quick enough. Foley pulled the trigger as soon as he brought the weapon to bear sending a ball of energy hurtling towards the alien. Engulfed in the concussive blast, he tumbled to the rooftop.