V Files: Chapter 16 - Epilogue

By Sama Khwaja

‘Stop it, River! I can get about myself just fine!’

River gently parted from her and gave her a concerned look.

‘You dare treat me like a weakling again I swear you won’t live for your next mission!’ Destiny grumbled.

He didn’t smile but simply cocked his head to one side as if scrutinizing her. After all, she had been confined to the ICU for the last three days because she had gone into a coma since the lab incident. And even though River had insisted she skip out on this meeting, she had stubbornly refused to listen. She had to attend. Rhett was coming and she had to know his verdict on this entire mess. Even if she’d want to kill him for it. Well, at 

least she’d have an alibi now.

‘You know no matter how hard I try,’ River said quietly and gazed at the floor, ‘I can never get that image of your lifeless body out of my head.’

‘River, I’m not dead. Look,’ she sighed and tapped his chest with her finger so he looked at her. She forced a smile. ‘I’m alive and here.’

‘Yes, but for how long? You’ve changed. You’re the not the same anymore. And I keep thinking that one day…you’ll disappear without a trace.’

Destiny didn’t answer this time. What could she say? That River knew her too well for his own good?

‘We better go in,’ she managed to utter. As soon as Zeta’s doors slid open, Destiny was ambushed by an enthusiastic Chi.

‘DEE!’ she squealed as she choked Destiny with her hug. ‘We missed you! I thought you were dead! You looked like a zombie at the ward! I-!’

‘Oi! Chi! You’re really gonna kill her with yer hug if ya don’t leggo!’ Gear drawled from his corner.

‘Good to see you, Little Dipper!’ Tito boomed as he clapped her on the back, almost sending her tumbling to the ground.

‘Nice seeing you too, Tito!’ Destiny winced as she straightened out. ‘Where’re Rhett and Keido?’

‘Did someone miss me too much?’ Keido teased as he strolled in with Rhett.

‘You wish.’

‘Awww, that hurt, Dee!’

‘Good.’

He rolled his eyes at her. She smirked. It felt good to be back. Rhett cleared his throat.

‘Considering the event conducted by our own special squad,’ he started austerely, eying Destiny, ‘without 

even informing us, certain rules need to be established to prevent any further damage. Keido?’

‘’Kay, rule no. 1, you guys,’ Keido began and stuck out his index finger, ‘silent as the grave about this. If word gets out, we might lose our allies. No. 2, about the October files; get ready with your marshmallows 

‘cause we’re having a bonfire tonight! No. 3-!’

‘Whoa, wait!’ Destiny interrupted and glared at Rhett. ‘What, we’re going to pretend that this never happened?’

‘You should be the last person to complain, Destiny,’ Rhett answered coolly. ‘I’m just making sure history doesn’t repeat itself. If our enemies realize that there is another way to manipulate Hova’s powers then Healex is doomed. My job is to cripple them. So please refrain from telling me how to carry out my duty when you clearly don’t know how to do yours.’ He nodded at Keido. ‘Continue.’

Destiny slipped out silently, fuming. She wasn’t going to stick around to hear the rest of that nonsense.

‘It’s my duty! I know how to do it so well!’ Destiny said mockingly in a high-pitched voice as she hotwired a sleek blue Aprilia motorcycle. ‘Who does he think he is? I can fry him alive if I wanted to!’

‘Well, I hope that’s just a wish and not a promise, Destiny.’

She almost knocked the motorcycle over in surprise.

‘Jeez, Will! Can you be a little less sneaky!?’ she snapped and returned to fiddling with the wires.

‘Can you really control those powers?’ he asked quietly as he glided closer.

The bike purred to life. She clambered on before looking at William and raised a clenched fist. It suddenly burst into white flames that licked her skin but didn’t burn her.

‘It’s scary,’ she admitted as she admired the flames, ‘to have such power. I thought I’d have more problems because it had been dormant for so long. But I can control it a little. Though with Rhett’s attitude, I won’t be able to master it as long as I’m here.’

The flames winked out of existence as she settled her hands on the handlebars.

‘Is that why you’re leaving?’

‘I’m a danger here, Will. You heard Rhett. If our enemies find out about me, they’ll destroy Vice. It’s best if I just disappear.’ She lowered her head. ‘You were there when…when Keido told me what else were in the October files, right?’

‘Once Mage settles in a body there is no way of extracting him. Any method will lead to death for the receiver,’ William recited. Destiny’s hands tightened on the handles.

‘If they find out how close I am to all of you, they’ll use you to get to me.’ She whirred up the engine. ‘This is for the best, Will.’

‘I just wish…I could have been a better brother to you,’ he said quietly and almost, morosely. ‘If I hadn’t been so focused on protecting you from the truth maybe we could have avoided all of this. I had put so many lives at risk because of this secret. I just-!’

‘God, Will, no need to get so dramatic!’ She grinned broadly at him. ‘You did the best you could. It’s how you click. You keep thinking but never doing. I keep doing and never thinking. So even if you had told me the truth, we couldn’t avoid the inevitable. I’d still be getting on a bike and busting out of here.’

He finally managed a small smile and crossed his arms.

‘Where are you planning to go?’ he asked.

‘North. I dunno. I’m thinking of finding a quiet place to stay incognito.’

‘Do you want me to tell River anything?’

‘No more lies. Just tell him the truth. And if he wants to find me he’s more than welcome.’

‘And…me?’

‘You don’t need an invitation, Will. We’re blood.’

He shook his head at her as she turned the bike towards the exit. Then he frowned.

‘Isn’t that Rhett’s?’ he queried and raised an eyebrow at the bike.

‘Why, so it is! Fancy my luck, huh?’

‘Take care, Destiny,’ he chuckled.

‘You too, Will. And you haven’t put our lives at risk. You’ve made them worth the risk.’

With a final nod and a flourish of his cape, William began to walk away from her. She gazed at his back for a minute before revving the bike and, lurching the bike on its front wheel, sped out of the garage.

Time for this caged bird to finally spread her wings out and fly.   

  

V Files: Chapter 15 - Birch Forest

By Sama Khwaja

‘Where am I?’ Destiny voiced aloud. Her voice echoed all around her. 

She wasn’t sure if she was on earth, heaven or hell. It seemed to be nighttime here because the moon was round and bright right above her in the pitch black sky. There weren’t even any stars out. The only living things she could see for miles around were luminescent, leafless, silver birch trees. Even the ground was drained of color. It was like she was living in a black and white world.

She shivered. What was the noise in the background? It was like a strange buzzing which was rather irksome. She needed to get out. But out of where?

‘Where do you think you are?’ came a cheerful voice from behind her. Destiny instinctively reached for her pistols but realized that her holsters were missing. That’s when it hit her how familiar the voice was.

Heart beating painfully, she turned around as she prayed that she wasn’t dreaming. She almost choked on her tears at the sight before her.

‘Alicia?’ she whispered. Alicia smiled morosely.

‘Yes, I suppose that’s my name, isn’t it?’ she sighed and glanced off in the distance. ‘Oh well, it’s useless now. I can’t ever leave this place.’

She looked just the Alicia from Destiny’s dreams; petite, young, and stunning.

Destiny suddenly realized that she was moving away now. She scrambled forward.

‘Wait! Alicia! Are we…are we dead?’ she gasped she tried to keep up.

‘Dead? Of course not! Don’t be silly!’ Alicia laughed as she swung from one trunk to change direction. 

‘Don’t you feel alive? As long as you can feel, you’re not really dead! At least, not yet.’ She smiled ruefully at Destiny. ‘I don’t know about myself, really. I forgot my name when I came here. Once you can’t remember your name, you’re stuck here. You can’t move forward or go back. You’re here until you fade away.’

She brushed past Destiny to another tree and turned right from there. 

‘Wait! Alicia!’ she cried out as Alicia weaved through the birch trees. ‘Ms. Crescent! Mom!’

That word stopped Alicia in her tracks, allowing to Destiny to finally catch up with her.

‘There’s so much I want to ask you. So much I want to know,’ Destiny gasped. This all felt so surreal. Maybe it was because she was seeing Alicia in a different light. She was no longer just a scientist. She was her-

‘Aren’t the answers to those questions so very simple?’ Alicia said kindly as she patted Destiny’s cheek.

‘No! They’re not!’ Destiny said desperately. ‘Why me? Why did Shears have to pick me? Why did Dr. Temp- why did dad take me away after all his hard work? Why-?’

‘Because we love you, Destiny,’ Alicia sighed and cupped Destiny’s cheek gently. ‘Shears knew about Samuel’s mutated genes which is why he wanted to use you. But Samuel couldn’t bear to give him our child. Shears didn’t understand. He couldn’t. It could only destroy him.’

‘Shears...oh my God, Shears!’ Destiny suddenly looked about wildly, half expecting the villain to pop out of nowhere. ‘What happened to him?!’

‘It could only destroy him,’ Alicia repeated listlessly. She gave Destiny a grave look. ‘You need to hurry. Before it’s too late. Just like it was too late for me.’

And she was gone. Destiny’s mind throbbed. This was all too much. She was stuck in this strange in-between world and the only way to get out was to remember her name. But every time she tried to, it seemed to elude her. Like it was on the tip of her tongue but the minute she realized that it would vanish. To add to her frustration there was that constant buzzing that just wouldn’t go away.

‘Shut up!’ she hissed at it and glared at the black sky. ‘I can’t remember my name if that idiotic noise keeps blaring through my head!’

Fear suddenly gripped her. What if she couldn’t remember her name? She’d be stuck here forever until she was gone, like a whispering in the wind.

Whispering…

Her eyes widened as she realized what the buzzing in her head was. It was voice! Voices murmuring from somewhere. Earth? She wasn’t sure.

She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated. Shapes and lines shifted across her mind until they began to form a face. The face had soft caramel hair and worried eyes that looked like windows to the sea. His lips (it was a he, she was sure of it) were repeating one word over and over again. She frowned. What was he saying? She concentrated on his lips, moving her own to mimic him. Panic and anticipation kept slowing her down. Every second that passed felt like an hour and made her slip further into despair. Was she fading away already?

‘Des…nee…’ she mumbled, her brow furrowing even more. ‘Des…nee…Des…Des...’

Realization hit her like an ocean wave as her eyes flew open.

‘Destiny!’ she yelled at the sky at the top of her lungs. ‘My name is Destiny, you hear me?! DESTINY!’

A gust of wind almost knocked her off her feet as she went flying into a tree. Catching her breath, she shakily looked behind her to see a door in the middle of the birch forest.

‘That’s the way home, isn’t it?’ came an elegant voice behind her. Her eyes widened.

‘William?’ she blurted out as she turned around to find the source.

‘Close,’ Samuel Templeton said with a smile. ‘How is he?’

‘Worst brother ever,’ Destiny answered, trying to stay calm but she felt her voice cracking from emotion.

‘He never had a way with children,’ Alicia teased as she came from behind Samuel and linked hands with him. He smiled affectionately at her as she returned the look. Destiny felt like her heart would burst. She stretched out a hand towards them.

‘Come with me?’ she pleaded.

‘It’s too late for us,’ Samuel said softly, his eyes reflecting sadness. ‘We’re just glad you can escape.’

Destiny nodded in understanding but wished she could act like a child and beg her parents to come back with her. But she did the next best thing. She rushed forward and hugged Samuel fiercely. He froze for a minute before he wrapped his arms around her lovingly.

‘I never got to thank you for saving me, dad,’ she murmured, reveling the word on her tongue. He patted her head.

‘You should get going,’ he whispered, his voice sounding watery too. She sniffed loudly and, after hugging 

Alicia just as passionately, parted from them. She paused with her hand on the doorknob.

‘Funny,’ she murmured and gave them a watery smile now. ‘I’m losing you again but it doesn’t hurt this time. Is that a bad thing?’

‘Well, it doesn’t feel bad, does it?’ Alicia replied as she rested her head on Samuel’s shoulder. ‘You haven’t lost us, dear, you’ve found us.’

Tears now flowed freely down Destiny’s face.

‘I guess I can say, ‘see you folks around’,’ she mumbled, her heart lighter as she opened the door to reveal nothingness. She stepped in.

‘And thank you,’ she whispered before the door shut behind her.

 

      

V Files: Chapter 14 - Give Up, Give In Or Give It Your All

By Sama Khwaja

Gunshots…

Are there gunshots in heaven? Or maybe she was in hell. Destiny forced her eyes open and blanched.

‘William!’ she exclaimed in surprise. William hurtled through the mass of GroundUnders with River close at his heels slicing at the deformed army.

She watched as he tried to land on a blow on Shears with the butt of his gun but the sinister man held him off with his newly grown strong limbs. She flinched when she felt someone dragging her out of her circular prison. The symbols on her arms slid off her skin like ashes, leaving behind their blackened imprints.

‘Dee, move!’ River urged her as he pulled her towards the ladder. He pulled out a blade from a sheath parallel to his shin, stuck it in the ground and twisted the handle. A stream of electric currents shot out to clear all the GroundUnders in their path. Unfortunately, Shears noticed what was happening around him.

‘How?’ he roared, as he glanced suspiciously at River. His figure emanated so much energy William was thrown off his feet. ‘No! The transfer is not complete! I want ALL the power!’

His hair was now an ash blonde shade and he was standing up from his wheelchair, his body wholesome once more. Extending one hand in the direction of the ladder, he released a ball of electric blue energy which buried the exit in rubble and earth.

‘Behind the canister!’ William ordered as he grabbed Destiny from under her arm and dragged her to safety.

She felt drained and useless. This was all her fault. If she hadn’t been so curious to uncover her past; if she’d only listened to River and taken backup or something. And now William was involved. This just couldn’t get any worse.

‘River, you need to get Destiny out of here!’ William grunted as he fired at Shears once more with Kane, his silver Walker Colt.

‘Our only exit is blocked, William!’ River argued.

‘Use your blade to clear a path! I’ll hold Shears off!’

Destiny snapped out of her stunned silence.

‘No!’ she said fiercely and looked William right in the eye. ‘I’m not running away like a coward! This is my fight, William!’

‘Destiny, this is no time to remember your pride,’ William replied in a strained voice as he loaded Kane.

‘You can’t hold him off yourself, William, he’s too strong now! You need us! So stop bossing me around and let me-!’

‘Damn it, Destiny, let me do my job as your brother and get you to safety before you get killed!’

It was like the explosions in the background had been switched to mute. The glass canister was shattered, forcing the trio to seek shelter behind the controls now. But even as they switched shelters, Destiny couldn’t take her eyes off William.

‘You knew,’ she finally managed to utter. ‘All this time, you knew who I was. And you never felt the need to tell me? You never had the FREAKING GUTS TO TELL ME?!’

‘Destiny, calm down,’ William exclaimed as he ducked to avoid a burning shard of metal.

‘CALM DOWN?!’ she roared and yanked at his shirt to force him to look at her. He didn’t even flinch. 

‘Why, William? Why didn’t you tell me who I was?’

‘I thought you’d be better off not knowing,’ he answered bluntly, not even batting an eye. Her own narrowed in anger.

‘Oh yeah, this is so much better!’ she snapped as Shears launched a hunk of metal at them this time. They quickly rolled out of the way to the next set of controls.

‘I want my powers, Destiny!’ Shears shrieked gleefully, his power so immense it was ripping the 

GroundUnders to shreds. ‘And I want them NOW!’

‘Hate to break up the family reunion but we have a situation here!’ River snapped.

Destiny glanced briefly at the power hungry Shears before her eyes slid back to William. However, the anger melted away when she finally got a good look at William.

For the first time ever, Destiny saw how tired William looked. Was it because of all the responsibilities he was forced to shoulder? She wondered, if she knew who she was, what would she have done? Would she have been happy? Or would she have gone insane? Perhaps these very thoughts had plagued William when he found out who she was and he did the best he could to save her. Everything he had done, up until now, had been for her wellbeing.

‘Will, any ideas?’ River yelled as he snapped his two swords together to make one. Silently, Destiny stood up while drawing out her two pistols.

‘Well, what would you do if you got a villain, weapons, and the fear of dying?’ she heard herself utter. She cocked her guns ready. ‘You fight.’

Without hesitation, she bounded out of their hiding place while turning sideways to fire her guns at Shears.

‘I have to do this just right,’ she thought firmly as Shears shot a wad of energy at her. ‘No second thoughts now.’

She dodged the shot and landed on one knee. When she looked up her eyes widened as a slab of glass came flying at her. Suddenly, a sheet of metal slid in front of her, deflecting the danger.

‘What’re you planning, Dee?’ River grunted as he supported the metal shield to protect both of them from the raining wreckage.

‘What makes you think I’m planning something?’ she retorted and leaned out from under the shield to shoot at Shears. He deflected the shots.

‘You’ve got that look.’

‘What look?’

‘Destiny.’

She stood up so that she was standing between River and the shield. She gave him a sad smile.

‘I’ll miss you, River,’ she said softly and kissed him quickly on the lips. He stared at her, stunned. Before he could react, she was gone and barreling towards Shears.

‘William!’ he choked out. The red-eyed man hurled forward to block Destiny’s path but she sidestepped him. He looked at her in surprise. She just grinned and gave him a salute as she rolled backwards right back into the circle which had previously been her prison. The circle began to glow again and the symbols slowly danced in front of her once more.

‘You want all the power, huh, Shears?’ she hollered at the greedy man as he eyed her warily. ‘Well, let’s see if you can handle all of it!’

The same gut-wrenching feeling she had felt at Bianca’s church overwhelmed her as her sight began to blur. She heard screams of pain but it seemed to be coming from somewhere else other than from her own mouth. She also thought she heard someone screaming her name but she wasn’t sure who it was.

The pain seemed to be ebbing away now. For some odd reason, she felt relaxed. Maybe she’d finally let go of everything. Maybe she was finally free.

She smiled.

Finally.

  

V Files: Chapter 13 - So Is Reconciliaton

By Sama Khwaja

‘You’re the one,’ Destiny murmured in shock. ‘The one with those eyes…’

The creature’s smile widened wickedly.

‘So you do remember me!’ he said gleefully, raising his stubby arms. ‘Well, this saves me the trouble of explaining! Come, come, I have a job for you! You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to finally get my hands on you!’

Destiny staggered back as he wheeled closer.

‘What do you mean you have a ‘job’ for me?’ she said sharply, her heart thrumming loudly against her ribcage. The man’s eyes narrowed.

‘Why, Destiny,’ he said softly. She shivered at his tone. ‘You have something that belongs to me and I’m just going to take it back now.’

Her eyes widened and she clutched her shirt right over her heart.

‘You mean…’

‘Do you know you are what you are because of me?’ he continued delicately. His wheelchair seemed to be moving towards her of its own accord as the rest of the GroundUnders surrounded them. ‘That it was I who had forced Alicia to experiment on you? I had threatened to kill you if she didn’t? Oh, she cried. She cried a lot. But it was worth it. I mean, look at you! I had feared that your body might have disintegrated and all my hard work had been for nothing! But you have turned out so healthy and strong! As might have Mage as he matured with your body!’

He giggled maniacally. Destiny wrinkled her nose in disgust and jumped to one side as a GroundUnder moved too close to her for her liking.

‘You’re sick,’ she sneered at him. ‘How could you do that to a mother and force her to experiment on her own child? You’re twisted; you’re heartless; you’re abominable!’

‘Ah, the price to pay for power,’ the man sighed. ‘I’m used to the ridicule; Shears Bucan was the butt of every joke at the Hova Project! But then I discovered Mage and realized the power I could wield once I owned it! But who should I use as my lab rats? And then along came little Destiny. You’re genes sparked my interest. Especially from your father’s side.’

‘My father? Who was he? Tell me!’ Destiny lurched forward but the GroundUnders moved to block her path. There were too many. She couldn’t fight them all off.

‘Patience, little Destiny!’ Shears trilled and waved his stub of an arm at her. ‘I haven’t finished my story! Now where was I? Oh yes, your genes! Very interesting! I just knew you would be able to contain Mage! 

You couldn’t imagine my joy when the experiment was a success! But then…that dratted Samuel Templeton whisked you away and hid you from me! I was furious when I found out! But he paid. Oh, he paid dearly with his life. As did Alicia.’

Destiny’s heart plummeted and she tried not to collapse on her knees. A GroundUnder pushed her and she recoiled.

‘You’re a monster,’ she hissed.

‘But at least I finally got what I wanted,’ Shears murmured. ‘I knew if I was patient enough, that I would find you. I was an outcast at the Project for my failure. So I hid out here, keeping myself alive on these rejuvenating serums Alicia had made in case your body disfigured. Though I forgot that there were…side effects.’

He glanced down at his deformed body and sighed gravely. Then he smirked at Destiny.

‘When I saw your name on Healex’s wanted list I thought I was dreaming!’ he crowed and came forward until his chair was situated right in the middle of a weirdly marked circle on the floor. ‘I kept trying to lure you here by having my GroundUnders cause havoc at the government. They always knew where you were. Like they could smell you out. Must be the Hova blood in them.

‘Oh, by the way, dear, you are standing in a circle yourself which the GroundUnders had so graciously guided you to. The markings seem alien, don’t they? They’re from the Hova’s ship and are just the right formula for this final experiment. They react the minute they make contact with Hova. We had to remove them before we could extract Hova from her ship.’

‘What the-!?’ Destiny yelped as the circle suddenly glowed an eerie green while the patterns burned ebony black. Her legs felt like jelly as she tried to escape but green crackles of electricity shocked her back into her circular prison.

‘What are you trying to do?’ Destiny screamed over the sizzling electricity which seemed to be all she could hear. ‘Mage is inside me! You’re-!’

‘Mage was raw power when he was extracted from Hova,’ Shears said calmly, his voice growing stronger and deeper. ‘He needed to be encased in order to mature. Once that’s done, his power is up for grabs. The casualties of extracting that power were all recorded in the October files but since those aren’t available, we’ll just have to make do.’

He grinned maliciously as the patterns on the floor began to peel away and attach themselves to Destiny’s skin, burning her and making her hiss in pain.

‘Though I do remember Alicia telling me that death is one casualty,’ he said nonchalantly. Destiny could feel her vision blurring. ‘But it isn’t going to be me. So I suppose this is goodbye, little Destiny. Say hello to your family for me. I’m sure they’re dying to see you again.’

V Files: Chapter 12 - Remembrance Is A Pity

By Sama Khwaja

Is it even possible? It can’t be! What kind of mother would do that to her own child?!

The paper in Destiny’s hand fluttered to the floor. She glanced at her trembling hands.

What kind of mother…

This couldn’t be true. A piece of paper didn’t prove anything. She needed more answers to this messed up mystery that’s claiming to be her past. And there was only one place left where she could find answers now.

‘We need to go back?’ she said firmly and turned towards the exit.

‘Back where?’ River queried as he caught up.

‘Alicia’s lab.’

‘Dee, there’s nothing there now. It’s gone, remember?’

‘There might still be something there! A lab! There’s a hidden lab under that summerhouse! We need to find it. I need to find it! It’s-!’

‘Will you stop and breathe for a second!?’ He grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her. ‘Dee, this is all happening too fast. You need to slow down and think. Tell William, tell Rhett, tell somebody. You can’t take on all of this yourself! It’s too much!’

‘Since when did you care so much?’ she snorted and wrenched away. Their eyes met.

‘Since I joined Vice, Dee,’ he said curtly. ‘We’re a team and we look out for each other and I’m not going to let you throw your life away right now! This could get dangerous!’

‘Yes, I know. Which is why I don’t want to get anyone involved! This is my past, River, so it’s my problem! I’m going to get to the bottom of this and if you want to get dragged along be my guest! I’m not going to be responsible if you get hurt!’

‘I’m more scared you won’t be able to protect yourself,’ River muttered as the two left Omicron. She just glared at him and refused to utter a word as they reached the blackened remains of the summerhouse. They found the abyss quite quickly and made their way down to it. Destiny went first.

She walked down the lane to the glass canister and placed a hand on it. The glass felt nice and cool against her skin and she could see her own reflection. She looked gaunt and exhausted. She tried to smile. Today had been quite a long and eventful day. No wonder she looked drained.

Suddenly, her reflection twisted into a scared Alicia. Destiny jumped back in shock.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered and quickly disappeared. Bewildered, Destiny whipped around to see River descending from the ladder.

‘River!’ she cried out but before she could get anything out, a sudden explosion on the side cut her off. Smoke and rubble blocked River from her view and the impact sent her sprawling on the floor. Grunting, she forced herself up, praying that River was alright, and stopped in her tracks when she saw hundreds of glowing red eyes peering out of the smoke at her.

‘I wouldn’t do that Destiny,’ came a chilling voice from the fog. Her eyes flicked over the smoke. That wasn’t a GroundUnder talking.

‘Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about me, Destiny,’ the voice laughed. ‘After all, we go way back.’

She could see those deformed creatures limping out of the fog now. One of them, however, was pushing a wheelchair forward, like a king being led to his coronation. Perched in the wheelchair was a something just as disfigured as the GroundUnders. The only difference was that this one had a shock of salt and pepper hair and familiar piercing cerulean eyes.

Destiny’s eyes widened in shock.

‘It’s you,’ she whispered in horror.

V Files: Chapter 11 - A Scavenging We Will Go

By Sama Khwaja

Destiny woke with a gasp followed by a shuddering sob as she sat ramrod straight. She covered her mouth with her hand, hoping she wouldn’t throw up.

She could still it. Those tentacles reaching out to trap her so that she would cease to exist. She could feel her lungs being constricted; her body going numb; that horrible, horrible laugh ringing in her ears.

‘Dee? You alright?’ murmured a familiar voice. She looked up and saw concerned sea green eyes watching her intently.

‘River?’ she muttered, confused. She reached out to grab his scarlet jacket. Was he real? ‘River, is that you? Are you really here? You’re not…you’re not…’

‘I’m not what?’ he asked in alarm. He stared at Destiny in surprise. ‘Of course, I’m here, Dee! What happened? What happened on the roof? Destiny?’

Destiny groaned as her head began to spin. She released River to cradle her head, rocking back and forth to still the shifting colors across her vision. What had happened on the roof? Why couldn’t she remem-

Her eyes widened as memories of burning and a scintillating white flitted across her mind. She glanced about quickly and realized she was no longer on the roof. She was on the ground beside the Church.

‘River, what happened on the roof?’ she suddenly demanded as she whipped her head to stare intensely at him. He quirked an eyebrow.

‘Considering I’m asking you the same thing, you think I know?’ he pointed out.

She groaned in frustration. This wasn’t helping! Everything was so confusing and she needed answers! Just what had occurred a mere few minutes ago on the roof might be a clue to this complex puzzle!

‘The reason I want to know is,’ River began slowly as he stared up peculiarly at the roof. ‘When I reached, I was blinded by this bright, white light. And when it cleared…’

He gave Destiny a hesitant look. Like he didn’t know whether he should continue or not.

‘Out with it, River, this is a matter of life and-!’ she began to snap.

‘I saw burning bodies,’ he cut in. His eyes never left Destiny’s; even when hers widened in horror. ‘Just…a lot of…corpses…being burned alive. And they were screaming.’

Destiny shuddered involuntarily again. This all just didn’t make any sense. Why was this happening to her now? Was this Mage? And if so, would it consume her completely so that she would no longer be Destiny but a weapon of destruction? She needed answers. And she needed them now.

‘Destiny?’

‘I need to go,’ Destiny remarked flatly and stood up. She spotted her bike and made her way towards it. Suddenly, River moved in to block her.

‘Destiny, what’s going on?’ he asked quietly and crossed his arms. He wasn’t budging. She scowled at him.

‘Move, River!’ she said sharply. ‘I don’t have time to explain things!’

‘I just saw you surrounded by a sea of screaming and burning GroundUnders,’ River stated curtly. ‘Until you clear things with me, I’m not letting you go anywhere.’

Her scowl deepened. He wanted to know the truth? Fine, she’ll give him the truth!

‘You want to know what’s going on, River?’ she snapped angrily at him. ‘Alright, I’ll tell you! You know all those inhuman experiments Alicia was doing? And then the one which was successful?? Well, you’re looking at it! I’m living proof of her success! Right this very minute, residing in me, is the offspring of Hova! Mage itself in the flesh!’

With every sentence she uttered, his eyes widened in disbelief. His mouth parted but no sound came out. His hands slumped to his sides like he had no control over his body. She continued to glare angrily at him. She could feel her eyes burning but this time, it was due to tears threatening to spill.

He was probably going to turn her in to Vice and they’d wish to experiment on her. Something to poke and prod at and make sense out of. That wasn’t the life she wanted. She somehow escaped it years ago and she wanted to keep it that way. What she wanted now was answers and she wasn’t going to get it stuck in a test tube in a laboratory.

Then, River did the most incredulous thing. He smiled lightly at her. Now it was her turn to stare in disbelief at him.

‘What are you smiling about?’ she blurted out angrily. Was he making fun of her?

‘Well,’ he mused. ‘You finally let me in, Dee.’

She stood still, stunned by his words. Of all the things he had deciphered from what she’d said, that’s what he…

‘You’re such an idiot!’ she snapped and pushed him aside to reach her motorcycle.

He chuckled as he hopped onto his own and whirred it life along with hers. She didn’t stop him from following her to Vice and into Omicron, Vice’s enormous database hall which contained practically every bit of data one can think of. He knew everything now and there was no stopping him from sticking by her side to the bitter end. That’s just how River was.

‘Have you found it?’ she called out as she ruffled through files in an aisle ahead of him. Omicron was basically a huge maze of shelves upon shelves of stored data. They decided to stick close by to prevent the other getting lost.

‘Nothing ye-found it!’

Destiny raced to his side, her own heart running its own race. The information from Alicia’s drawer had been organized into a steel tray, making sifting through it really easy.

‘Should we take all of it?’ River suggested. Destiny nodded. She pulled the steel tray out of its place. There was a work cubicle nearby with a computer set up and everything. They could work there.

As she whirled around to stroll towards it, a CD accidently slipped off to clatter loudly to the floor. The impact caused the top to break off. Destiny groaned. If Rhett wasn’t angry before, he’d be furious now!

River picked it up the pieces and frowned.

‘It’s empty,’ he murmured and flipped it around.

‘The disk probably popped out too,’ Destiny exclaimed as she placed the tray carefully on the floor to get down on her knees and search for the supposedly lost disk.

‘I didn’t see any-hey!’ he pulled out a folded piece of paper wedged behind the CD’s cover. His jaw dropped when he unfolded the paper and glanced at it.

‘Dee, it’s a birth certificate,’ he said softly. ‘With your name on it.’

In the blink of an eye, Destiny snatched the paper from him, her eyes scanning it wildly. There was her name. But no surname. Well, was she really expecting one? Her heart raced as her eyes landed on line claiming who her parents were.

She brought the paper closer, her stomach suddenly twisting. No, no, it can’t be.

‘Destiny? Dee, what’s wrong? What does it say?’ River demanded, his heart palpitating.

‘River, it can’t be. I mean, how can I…who…’ she stuttered as her hands shook uncontrollably. She swallowed as she looked morbidly at River. ‘River, it says Alicia Crescent is my mother.’

V Files: Chapter 10 - The Office

By Sama Khwaja

Black.

Nothing but endless black as far as Destiny could see.

She stretched her hands out, hoping to grasp something. To her surprise, her hand touched something cold. Her anxiety level dropped as she wrapped a hand around the object and realized it was a doorknob. Out of curiosity, she turned it.

A silhouette of a door flickered into view as she pushed the door open to reveal…

…Alicia Crescent’s office.

Her heart raced as she stepped in. She remembered this place. Just by looking at it clicked some old memory hidden deep in the recesses of her brain. It wasn’t part of the laboratory summerhouse. It was part of her mansion. And it was…the one room she remembered quite, quite vividly.

The wooden floor gleamed newly, a geometrical patterned carpet laid right in the middle of it. Bookcases covered two walls stacked to the top with thick novels. At the head of the office was Alicia’s mahogany desk complete with its swivel chair behind it. Just like it always was.

Except there was somebody there.

A distinct humming was audible from the swivel chair that’s back was turned to her. It made her skin crawl. There was something wrong about the way the chair’s occupant was humming. It almost sounded sinister.

Destiny knew she should leave. She could smell the danger in the air. She took a step back. And that’s when the chair suddenly turned around. Destiny bit her tongue to hold back a scream.

It was the man with the terrifying blue eyes. She could see him clearly now but she didn’t think that was a good thing. He looked more terrifying with a properly defined face. His thundercloud hair was everywhere and his eyes almost looked worse than before.

She gasped when he rose out of the chair. His body began to distort and look molten like he was morphing. Now, he looked like Alicia. And then, he was himself again. Then, Alicia. He kept changing every second but his piercing eyes never changed and continued to stare menacingly at her. ‘It’ spread its arms out to her.

‘Come to us,’ it hissed as if a hundred people were talking simultaneously. But Destiny was already sprinting back to the open door, back into the black. At least it was better than watching that thing.

Suddenly, Destiny jerked back. She stopped in her tracks before she could trip and glanced down in alarm. To her horror, a thick tentacle of smoking black material wrapped firmly around her boot. She looked to the source of this repulsive tentacle and her eyes landed on a sinisterly laughing man/Alica. She’d tried not to manic before, thinking that escape was at least possible. But now, she felt there was nothing stopping her from acting pathetic and begging for her life.

‘Let me go!’ she screamed at the monster and tugged frantically to pull away. It just laughed harder.

‘But we need you!’ it said gleefully and out of nowhere, more tentacles thrust out from behind it to wrap around Destiny’s waist, her wrists and her legs.

Her struggles were getting more useless. The more she pushed forward, the further she was pulled back. The door kept on getting further out of her reach. This was truly a lost battle she was fighting.

Then, all of a sudden, the door slammed shut.

‘DESTINY!’

V Files: Chapter 9 - Ashes To Ashes

By Sama Khwaja

‘So that’s what I was? What I am?’ Destiny thought bitterly, her heart sinking fast to the pit of her stomach. She sighed and gazed out at the sprawling city of Torch from the church rooftop she was currently perched on.

She felt sick. Sick of all these horrible truths popping out of nowhere and sick of how those truths were messing with her head.

‘I’m not really human, am I?’ she realized miserably as she glanced at her hands. ‘Was I ever human? Or was I always an experiment?’

She clenched her hands into tight, angry fists. She hated this. But more than anything, she hated Alicia Crescent for doing this to her.

She wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face in them, letting her hair sway forward to shut her off from the world. She wanted to forget everything: her name, her rank, Vice, River…

She quickly wiped out the image of River. She wanted to hit herself for coming here. This would be the first place River would come to look for her. Face it. She wanted him to find her. She was pathetic. She just couldn’t let go of him even though it would hurt them both.

‘Can I love someone one day, Ms. Crescent?’

The glowing field sways about her hypnotically. Destiny clutches her ball with pudgy fingers and gazes curiously at a tearful Alicia Crescent. Behind Destiny stands a figure swathed in dark shadows. The only thing visible about him are his piercing ice blue eyes that seem to be boring a hole into Alicia with their gaze.

‘No,’ Alicia chokes out in fright.

‘I…can’t?’ Destiny asks, hurt.

‘No, I mean,’ Alicia wipes away her tears and bends down to cradle Destiny’s face in her hands. She smiles affectionately at the innocent toddler. ‘Of course you can, honey. You can love anybody you want. Just make sure they love you back. Nothing is more special than having someone love you back.’

‘Really?’

Pause.

‘Really.’

Destiny feels a sharp pinch at the nape of her neck. Like a mosquito bite. Her vision gets blurry. Alicia pulls away, tears refilling her eyes and some sort of sharp needle in her hand.

‘I’m so sorry.’

Destiny gasped and jolted out of the daydream. Though she wished she hadn’t. Her skin prickled as she saw she was surrounded by creeping and crawling GroundUnders in all directions. She held her breath as they staggered closer, their wheezing breathing heavy in the air.

‘Where is he? When is he? What is he?’ they whispered incessantly, their crimson eyes glittering menacingly.

Destiny hugged herself even tighter as though even their breath could harm her. One of them reached out to touch her but she scooted away. She literally felt the decay of their hands on her skin. It burned her.

‘We need him,’ one hissed close to her ear. ‘Bring him to us. It’s your destiny.’

Something snapped inside her and ignited a wild fire. Her eyes blazed.

‘Get away from me!’ she growled, venom dripping from each word. Without warning, she struck out a hand to grab one and flung him clean off the roof. The sudden violent action made the others snarl and move in for the kill but she was ready. Vice hadn’t trained her for nothing.

‘Don’t aim to destroy. Your purpose is to survive.’

As William’s advice echoed in her head, she breathed deeply to control the adrenaline coursing excitedly in her veins as she parried and attacked effortlessly. It was natural to fight when one felt that high but true strength was controlling that and using it wisely in order to emerge victorious.

As a GroundUnder leapt at her, she nimbly hopped onto its face and used it to propel herself out of the circle of attacking monsters. As soon as she was clear, she broke into a run, not stopping until she reached the front of the roof where a giant golden cross was mounted to face Torch.

While she recollected herself, her mind buzzed with possible escape routes. She needed to get out fast before those creatures overwhelmed her. Sure she was a strong fighter but not even she could fight off such a large number of GroundUnders.

That’s when she caught sight of a motorcycle approaching the church. Her eyes widened. It was River.

She forgot all about wishing he wouldn’t come looking for her. Right now, she was glad to have an escape route, even if it was him.

‘HEY!’ she shouted and waved frantically. Somehow, her voice carried down and he glanced up. She couldn’t discern his expression from this height but she knew he was shocked to find her there. That’s when he saw the broken body of a GroundUnder she had previously cast to the ground and he understood.

Whirring his bike up on its hind wheel, he burst into the church to make his way up to the roof as quickly as possible. Destiny didn’t bother trying to wonder how he was going to do it. If she could get up here without a ladder than he could surely bring his bike up if he wanted. She just hoped he’d hurry.

Suddenly, she felt something grab her forearm and yank her back. She choked back a gasp as she came face to face with a horrendous depiction of a rotting human face. Those demonic crimson eyes were like pits of hellfire. She actually felt like they were burning her up from the inside. She tried to look away but she couldn’t.

‘You will bring him to us,’ the monster whispered through a gash on that so-called face. ‘Because you can.’

Destiny could feel something burning inside her but she realized it wasn’t due to those fiery eyes piercing her with their gaze. It was something deep inside her, a power thrashing against some kind of cage. Even her eyes were stinging due to the heat within her.

Everything seemed to slow down; her breathing, her movements, her heartbeat. Even her vision was blurring due to a bright, white hot light creeping in from a corner. She felt like she no longer belonged to her body. Her hair, her ears, her clothes…she couldn’t feel anything anymore. Like she had gone numb.

This new feeling made her sensations tingle. It was amazing. But there was something…something holding her back. Like this wasn’t all this sensation could make her feel.

‘I have to let it out,’ she realized. The GroundUnder’s face had completely faded into the white light.

‘Didn’t I tell you,’ she heard herself snap angrily. ‘To get away from me?!’

And then, she dropped the barriers.

V Files: Chapter 7 - The Church Girl

by Sama Khawaja

Swerving the bike to a halt, Destiny gazed up at the tall elegant spires, smooth cold walls and beautifully stained windows of the building looming in front of her. The Church of Torch. It was once a grand building. In fact, it was the only church available in the whole of Healex. The government body didn’t want its people following a new leader of any sort. So they made sure they demolished every religious building they could find. Except the one in the city of Torch. The Church of Torch wasn’t just any church. It belonged to a very wealthy and renowned man who was also the benefactor of the Hova Project. This man supported the Church and the family who cared for it. They were a humble and respectable sort; a loving husband, a devoted wife and a lovely daughter by the name of Bianca.

Destiny’s stomach clenched as her mind forced her to remember the girl with her vermillion tresses, her laughing turquoise eyes and her petite frame that River embraced every time he saw her. She was his first and his whole life. They had been childhood friends up until River had been inducted in the army. He was reunited with her after he joined Vice but that was short-lived. The Church’s benefactor passed away, leaving the place up for grabs and vulnerable to attack.

On 1^st January 1998, exactly ten months ago, the church was attacked by the Hova army. It had been a bloody massacre since it had been the start of the New Year and most of the citizens had congregated there to repent for the previous year. How ironic that the one place of peace was also the one place of the most brutal bloodbath in the history of Healex. The statistics claimed that a mere seventy had perished that day. But Destiny knew how many had died. She had been sent there along with the rest of Lethal Vice to stop the madness that day. She had never seen River so agitated, so worried and so livid. She felt so sorry for him. Sorry he had to witness his comrades killing innocents he had worked so hard to protect. Sorry he had been too late to save her. Sorry he had to watch her die as a bullet was driven through her chest.

The ancient doors creaked as she pushed them open. Nobody was permitted to enter it anymore. The government let it stand as a reminder to the people of what happened when they disobey them. Her hands balled into fists. But it was an unfair world after all.

After that day, River had changed. He preferred to be alone; to train alone; to eat alone. And yet, he would crave for her company. But Destiny jilted him. Not because she felt nothing but she feared to feel something. If she finally acknowledged his feelings, would he acknowledge hers? Or would he continue to revel in the memory of Bianca? Perhaps that’s why she jilted him. She was afraid he would expect her to be like his Bianca.

She sighed. Sometimes she wished he had never loved Bianca…

The high ceilings echoed her footsteps as she approached the pulpit. The flagstone floor had cracked in places to sprout little beds of daffodils and daisies, creating a space of solitude and beauty. Upon reaching the pulpit, she bent on her knees, clasped her hands in front of her and began in an awkward tone, ‘Hi up there; how’s it going? I guess you probably don’t know me ‘cause I never come here but, well, this is important so I decided who else can help me but the big boss himself, huh? Anyways, it’s about love. I know, I know; you’re probably going to say, ‘Just go love and be loved.’ But it’s not that easy! Hey, I don’t even know who I trust let alone love! I need a sign. Any sign that might help me know I’m doing something right! I wonder if you’re even listening to me right now…’

‘Destiny?’

Destiny jumped up and instinctively placed her hands on Ebony and Ivory but relaxed when she saw River down the aisle.

‘I needed some time alone to think,’ she said hastily.

‘Oh,’ he murmured and turned around to leave. ‘Sorry.’

‘River,’ she blurted out before she could stop herself. However, it made him stop.

‘I’m sorry, Dee, I shouldn’t have come on so strongly,’ he suddenly said. ‘I just…missed having someone…’

Destiny felt a pang of jealousy as his eyes roved the church. She started forward in his direction.

‘Tell me why, Dee,’ he uttered when she was just a few feet away. ‘Why do you push me away?’

She hesitated before saying,’ I’m afraid.’

‘Of what?’ he asked as he turned around to face her.

‘That I’m going to hurt you.’

‘Bull.’

‘It’s my past,’ she said in a strained voice. ‘It keeps coming back to haunt me. So I’m afraid of what it holds. And of myself.’

Those liquid green irises suddenly mirrored confusion.

‘Why?’ he asked perplexed.

‘Because I don’t think I’m human,’ she whispered fearfully.  

V Files: Chapter 6 - I Think I Love You

By Sama Khawaja

Destiny angrily cast a pebble into the rolling waves of the ocean.

‘Rhett is such a...UGH!’ she screamed in her mind. ‘I know I brought the wrong file but at least examine it before giving me hell! Arrogant egomaniac!’

She heaved a sigh and let the cool waves lap over her bare feet as she watched the sun set. She loved coming here when she actually felt like breaking something, preferably Rhett’s face. It calmed her temper and let her think rationally. The first thing that did pop up was the hallucination she had in the lab.
‘Why me? And why now?’ she pondered. ‘Is it for the organization’s benefit? Or mine?’
‘It isn’t your fault, you know,’ said a familiar calm voice behind her. She sighed deeply as River sauntered over to her side but she continued to look ahead at the setting sun. The waves seemed to be the only thing in the picture that wasn’t tense.
‘We were all really stressed out back there,’ he continued when she didn’t respond. ‘The GroundUnders were large in number and all. I’d be scared and mess up too if I were-!’
‘I wasn’t scared,’ she cut in curtly. ‘And I didn’t mess up.’
River sighed and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. The setting sun painted a gorgeous departure for its onlookers; using soft pastel shades the colours seemed to meld into one another to form new, even more breath-taking hues.
‘Looks beautiful, doesn’t it?’ Destiny mused, hoping to break the awkward silence.
‘Yes, very,’ he murmured softly and she flinched. She could tell he wasn’t looking at the view and saying this.
‘River, this needs to be said,’ she said firmly and turned to face him. ‘You have to stop. Just…stop caring about me…’
‘You say it like it’s the easiest thing to do,’ he murmured, his eyes reflecting hurt.
‘I know it’s not! I just…you know it’s not that simple for me to-!’
‘To what? And since when has anything in our lives been simple, Destiny?’
‘Exactly. Which is why we can’t.’
‘You actually believe that there’s a ‘we’.’
‘Don’t mess with me, River. I’m not in the mood.’
‘Oh, so you can disregard my feelings but I have to be sensitive about yours?? How fair is that, Dee?’
Destiny sighed. ‘I think I love you, River,’ she managed to say in a strained voice. ‘But I’m not so sure.’
‘Don’t mess around with me, Destiny.  You say you don’t love me but you also say that you can’t see me as ‘just a friend’ either. What do you want, Destiny?’
‘I don’t know…’
‘That isn’t helping, Dee.’
Destiny threw her hands up in exasperation.
‘Well then I’m sorry, River! I’m sorry I can’t make your life easier while mine is slowly spiraling towards confusion! You want an answer? Here’s my answer: stay AWAY from me!’
And with that, she stomped away, grabbing her shoes on the way. She expected him to stop her. He didn’t.
‘Like I care anymore,’ she thought bitterly but unfortunately, she did.
She continued venting in her head until she stopped to sink onto a bench in a skateboarding park. She groaned as she buried her face in her hands.
‘Who am I kidding?’ she mumbled.
‘You know you’re messing with his head,’ a mischievous voice drawled right next to her.
‘You actually enjoy stalking me, don’t you, Keido?’ Destiny said coolly and raised her head to narrow her eyes at the annoying redhead.
‘What can I say? You’re quite interesting to watch,’ Keido said and looked up at the bleary sky.
‘What do you mean?’
‘C’mon! I’ve seen the way you always look at him!’
‘So you’re always looking at me?’
‘Oops! You caught me,’ he smirked, his eyes twinkled impishly.

‘I don’t know who I hate more now,’ she seethed as she got up. ‘You or Rhett.’

‘Don’t insult me. I’m nothing like my brother. But seriously, Destiny, before you start blaming River for making the moves on you, you ain’t no saint yourself in this mess you call a relationship.’
‘It’s NOT a relationship, Keido.’
‘Bull.’
‘Ugh! I can’t think with you idiots spying on me 24/7!’ Destiny snapped and caught sight of a 250cc Street Cruiser motorcycle with a phoenix silhouette imprinted on the hood. Vice’s insignia. She strolled over to it and hopped on gracefully.
‘Hey! That’s mine!’ Keido argued and dropped the pompous attitude as he sprung to his feet in alarm.

‘Walk. You could lose the weight,’ she remarked as she whirred the engine and sped off.

Monologue

by Zaariyah Bashir

If there’s anything I’ve learnt this past year, it’s that time is a tricky little bugger. It takes almost an entire lifetime to make memories that ultimately define you and just a couple of months and one diagnosis to sweep them all away.

I remember the day you were diagnosed. It was the day I learnt what senile dementia really meant – loss of brain function with old age. That was the way the doctor so sweetly put it. It hadn’t sounded particularly pretty.

I was right. It wasn’t pretty. I remember how you forgot your own name and then mine and eventually mum’s too. I remember the look of genuine bewilderment that spread across your face as you struggled to recall them. I remember watching you trying to figure out how to use a fork and knife at dinner, looking like a helpless child. I remember realizing, at that point, that it was time to put you under proper care.

Often, mum wakes up in the middle of the night calling out for you, only to realize that you’re not there. We come to see you a lot at the hospital, mum and I. We’re not sure if any of it makes sense to you, but we take consolation in the fact that we can still talk to you. You’re not completely gone, right? Sometimes you ask me why I’m crying, endearingly, like you did when I was little, when I sit beside you, only to watch you have a panic attack at the sight of me because you think I’m the ‘nasty nurse trying to poison you with sedatives.’

It only gets worse with time. Now you’ve lost motor control and can’t even lift your hand to hold mine. The other day, you forgot how to chew and almost choked on your own food.

I’m not completely sure if you would understand any of this if I said it to you. I think you lost that ability somewhere along this unfortunate ride. I know you’re still there somewhere, where every word I say makes sense to you. I sincerely hope that, in that place, in your disoriented head, you are happy and I hope happy is the way you go. I’m not pessimistic. I just know that time plays mind tricks because time does not heal. It remains only as the constant reminder of what once was.

V Files - Chapter 5: The Lab Chase

by Sama Khawaja

Destiny quickly grabbed the rusted ladder rung and twisted one foot around another to steady herself. If she hadn’t acted fast, the sinister darkness would have been the end of everything. But it seemed that the tunnel had no end. What if it just went on and on? A never-ending centipede? What if-

Click!

Her heel suddenly made contact with a metallic floor and instantaneously, a neon green glow bathed the room. Well, more like an enormous high-ceilinged cave completely bare save for an oblong glass tube in the middle surrounded by control panels. Destiny slowly strolled up to the tube and placed a hand lightly on one of the panels.

‘Amazing, Alicia!’ came a sophisticated voice.

With a sharp intake of breath, Destiny looked up to see Alicia and Samuel on the other side typing away at a keyboard protruding from the tube. And floating in the orange liquid that now filled it was…

‘Destiny’s abilities have no limits,’ Samuel murmured in awe which echoed in the cave.

Destiny blinked and suddenly, everything vanished: the scientist, the liquid, the figure in the tube…

Puzzled, Destiny turned to walk away.

‘Is that a good thing, Samuel?’ echoed a worried voice.

Destiny swiveled around fast, her heart beating a tango and shuddered as she saw her lifeless body floating in the glass tank once more with a gas mask covering her face.

‘She needs to be controlled, Alicia,’ Samuel assured Alicia. ‘We don’t want to fail. The October Report is by far the most accurate. We need to continue down that path.’

‘I don’t want to do this anymore,’ Alicia choked as she stared, mesmerized, at Destiny. ‘Shears is…mad…’

‘You know what’s at stake if we don’t,’ Samuel said gruffly but his voice was beginning to crack.

‘DESTINY!  A little help here!’

Chi’s voice broke the spell and the memory trickled away like grains of sand. Destiny stretched out a hand to the now empty test tube as if trying to will it back. Then, on second thought, she withdrew it and turned heel towards the ladder. Her team needed her. This will have to wait.

Upon reaching the surface, the wall opposite her suddenly collapsed as Tito came hurling through it.

‘Where’ve you been, fool?’ he thundered and sprang to his feet to glare menacingly at the hissing gaggle of deformed mutants on the other side. The GroundUnders.

‘I’m here now, aren’t I?’ Destiny snapped as she whipped out Ebony and Ivory, her twin Browning FN HP-DA automatic pistols that fit snugly in her hands as if their extensions. She stepped through the hole and crossed her arms to shoot incessantly. A battle cry was heard as Chi jumped up from the crowd to hopscotch on their heads and then somersault to Destiny’s side.

‘So what’s the plan?’ she panted and took on a fighting stance.

‘Get out of here alive!’ Destiny snapped through gritted teeth as she slammed a nearby mutant in the face with the butt of her gun.

‘Did you find the file?’ Tito hollered over the brawling as he smashed two GroundUnders together.

‘Not yet!’

‘Maybe now would be a good time!’

Without hesitation, Destiny sprinted to the upturned filing cabinet and scanned the files spilled across the shabby floor. Her eyes suddenly spotted it. Upon grabbing the November file, her eyes wandered to the file underneath and froze. She unintentionally allowed her hand to ghost the cover of the faded file.

‘The October Report is by far the most accurate,’ Samuel’s voice echoed in her head.

A window shattering cut through her thoughts and she glanced up to see a sleek Fenrir motorcycle purring like a kitten in the middle of the room.

‘’Bout time you showed up, River!’ Tito rooted and hurled a GroundUnder out the window.

‘Where’s Destiny?’ River asked calmly as he unsheathed his gigantic blade from his back, his sea-green eyes hardened at the sight of the GroundUnders closing in on them.

‘Here!’ Destiny called, the file clutched tightly in her hand as she swung herself onto the back of River’s bike. ‘Move! Move! Move!’

River whirred the bike to life as he spun it 180 degrees to shoot out the way it came in. The rest of the group followed suit and at the same time, Tito hurled a grenade from his vest at the summerhouse. One minute, it looked solid. The next, a mushroom explosion was sending pieces of it flying everywhere. The team skidded to a halt to watch it smolder away in the cold gloom of the night.

‘Pretty,’ Chi commented and placed a hand on her hip. ‘Think they’re still in there?’

‘The more the better,’ River muttered and turned to Destiny. ‘Want me to take that?’

‘Huh? Oh, sure,’ Destiny said, still dazed as she handed him the file marked ‘October’. 

All They Wanted

By Rida Baqai

The frivolity with which Mehtab sat in the Nadia Coffee Shop at The Marriot in her skanky red sari
earned a scorn or two from the passing ladies. Little did the ladies know that their husband’s enjoyed
scantily clad Mehtab’s sight as much as they hated it. She clutched her bag: a fake DKNY peeked
inside the pockets and then ordered a glass of limewater. Her calm countenance faded as her phone
kept ringing .Her eyes scanned the men at the shop, separating the suitable ones from this lot. Her
reddish brown hair curled at the tips, it was so long that it covered her cleavage at times, whenever
this happened she would toss her hair back. And she never forgot to hurl a flirtatious smile at men who
smelled of money. All she wanted was fame and fortune.

Karim Mani was just up for a midday stroll in his own hotel, The Marriot. He walked slowly. he seldom
raised his eyes to watch where he was going which were glued to the floor. On his way, he struggled in
ignoring all the salaams he received from his employees. He took out his personal cell phone from his
DKNY pouch for the tenth time in the past, half an hour but the mobile screen stared blankly at him. His
eyes fell upon this young couple who seemed intensely hung up in each other’s company, too busy to
notice the world and envy gripped him for a few seconds .Immediately he wanted to look away ,so he
moved his eyes to the left .What he saw spellbound him. This delicate, ethereal beauty dressed in red
sat, poised on one of the tables in the coffee shop .He knew he wasn’t dressed to kill. His white shirt
and blue diesel jeans did not look that impressive but he knew that he wanted to talk to her .He moved
towards her table quickly. All he wanted was love.

Tired of covering the press conference of a B grade singer in the boardroom of The Marriot, Ahmed sat
in the waiting room agitated. He gave the actress’s pictures a cursory once over then put his camera on
the table. Next to the camera lay the menu: untouched. Hunger pounced on him every now and then
but he couldn’t do anything more than just stare at the menu. He loosened his DKNY belt, the one he
had picked from a thrift shop in Karachi, to ease himself but hunger couldn’t be satisfied by anything
except food.

His mind searched for a story which could make headlines the following day. Anything from a scandal,
rumor, trivia, gossip, politics, affairs, sports, simply anything. Anything that would give his wallet weight.
Enough weight to sufficiently provide for his wife’s needs. When he checked his phone there were
several texts from his wife, he replied to her in Urdu telling her that he would be late. All he actually
wanted was money.

Three long hours had passed ever since and Mehtab was yet to come across someone with who she
could lead a life of fame. Her dreams of leading a life of a celebrity seemed very surreal to her all of
a sudden. It seemed that she couldn’t bid farewell to the world of a struggling actress after all. Her
back still ached of the long bus ride but she straightened up because she saw this decent looking man
approaching her. She could read a man’s interest in her from miles, one of her few idiosyncrasies.
Although the man who was approaching didn’t show any signs of fame or fortune but Mehtab thought
she would just take the benefit of the doubt.

Kareem pulled the chairs next to the lady. He introduced himself, small talk followed. Kareem could not

resist staying away from his Goddess. He had contained himself for a good one hour. He couldn’t do
it any further. He rubbed his hands on Mehtab’s thigh back and forth .His left hand reached her lower
back and he worked his way through .For he was offered with no resistance ,he moved forward and
kissed her, her lipstick smeared all over his face.

As Karim spoke to Mehtab, Mehtab couldn’t help noticing an I-phone and a Blackberry in Kareem’s
lower pocket. As Kareem moved closer and closer, Mehtab got a better chance to sniff Kareem’s cologne
which sure as hell was very expensive. When his neck bent forward she saw gold chains jangling with
diamond pendants. He then kissed Mehtab and she offered no resistance for the diamond piercing in his
ear, conveyed wealth, rather she kissed him again.

Suddenly, The Marriot blared with camera flashes, as if a journalist somewhere had stooped on the
city’s biggest scandal. As soon as Ahmed learned that the frivolous man and woman he was seeing was
none other than the owner of the International Chain of Hotels, he wasted no time in trying to make it
the next day’s headline. Ironically neither did the scantily clad women nor the hotel owner refuse for
pictures rather they comfortably posed with one another.