Core of Confliction Read online

  Jared’s body slowly shifted back into its original form. His short dark hair turned light brown and grew to his shoulders, his features softened and his skin went a shade darker. Breasts and hips swelled beneath the constricting human clothes, creating tears in the fabric. This form was female and her name was Jaron.

  **~**

  Sara and Klein stood in the great hall of the mansion they were escorted into by three enforcers. Stark white floor to ceiling walls surrounded them and smack in the middle against the far wall sat a giant white marbled throne. It seemed unreal, and a bit silly, their boss actually sitting on it dictating orders from above. Klein smirked and a low grunt left his mouth. Sara elbowed him in the ribs. The side door had opened and out came the man himself.

  The boss was tall and slender with straight pitch black hair hanging to his waist. His sinister eyes were an odd color of dirty forest green. This man had killed, possibly murdered, many in his lifetime. Klein gulped. The boss walked slowly up the steps to the throne and sat, throwing one leg over the side of the arm, his elbow resting on the other to hold his head as he cocked it to one side.

  “So,” he drawled, “I hear you had an encounter with some sort of manbeast. Tell me, what did it look like again?” An eerie hush fell on the room.

  The two looked at each other and nodded. “Well,” Sara started, “ at first it was our pet dog but then it changed into this bear like thing but it changed again and had a lot of long hair and claws but a human face.”

  “Slow down,” Klein whispered to her. She was talking a mile a minute.

  “You know, when I destroyed that putrid world of yours, I expected the two of you to go with it. But low and behold, here you are as my ignorant employees.”

  Klein’s face wrinkled. “What are you talking about?” He snapped. He heard Sara gasp and immediately became surprised at his own boldness.

  The boss threw back his head and let out a loud fit of laughter. No one else in the room joined in. Afterwards, he brought his head back and his eyes bore into theirs. It was clear he was not amused in any way.

  “Do you know why your planet was destroyed? Because the two of you betrayed your own kind and opened the gate for me. You have no memories of it because your cores were ripped out. You’re just soulless empty vessels doing my bidding. Shameful really.”

  They both stood stunned like two deer in headlights. None of what their boss was saying made any sense, but to insinuate they betrayed someone causing the destruction of a planet was too much.

  “You’re lying! That’s a lie!” Sara began to cry. Her body moved towards him but Klein stopped her. “We would never do something like that!” She clamped her hands over her mouth in fear.

  “No?” The boss slid his leg off the side of the throne, sitting upright, then leaned forward. Dark tresses of hair fell across his shoulders covering the white shirt he wore. “Such deceit the two of you had in you. And now your kind has scrounged up what is left of it to come and rescue its lost vessels. Should I let them take you? Have your souls returned to you? So they can all know the truth about their demise?”

  Klein shook with rage and confusion grabbing Sara’s hand. The boss sat back and waved his hand toward them. “Get back to work, you haven’t met your quota for the week.”

  “What about Charles and Jared?” Klein was scared but some assertive streak had taken hold of him.

  “Your fearless leader and his cabinet member? I am taking care of that. By the way, that creature, formerly your pet dog, is really one of the great beast warriors of your kind.” He laughed again.

  **~**

  Jaron opened her eyes and focused on yet another bare room without furniture or windows. Turning her head to one side she saw Modas curled up in a chair next to the bed. His sleeping face caused a twinge in her chest. As much as she loved him, she was never able to show her affection. It pained her still, but she did not disturb him.

  Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice him awaken and their eyes locked. Having her core back was a curse and a joy. She remembered her time on Earth but also the carnage left by the attack that destroyed her world. The heartache was much worse as she remembered the death of their children. She knew Modas could see it all on her face.

  “Don’t think of that. I can’t bear to see you crumble anymore.” He pleaded softly.

  “How many?” She barely whispered, fearing the answer.

  “Jaron.” Modas reached up to touch her face.

  “How many?” She screamed, slapping his hand away.

  “Three.” Her face blanched. “Their cores are in the garden.”

  “Out of seven of our children, only three.” Jaron sank down onto the bed and covered her face with both hands. “Only three.” She felt Modas move from the chair and climbed on top of her, his body heat too warm. “Please, don’t try to comfort me.”

  “I won’t let you go.” He lowered himself onto her and rested his head in her bosom while she cried silently. His hands tightening into fists as he gripped the blanket beneath her.

  The Big Boss

  Undersecretary Janice paced around the anteroom chewing on her thumbnail. Seeing the boss had that effect on her from the day they met. Something about him was not quite right, like he didn’t belong in this world. She had seen him do impossibly horrid things to people and swore to herself that none of it was real. Still, there were the nightmares.

  “He is ready to see you now.”

  A grotesque looking enforcer had come to escort her. His features were off as if he was wearing human skin not fitted correctly.

  “Thank you.” She turned around and hurried out to the throne room with an air of authority.

  There he was, Halfar, lounging on his throne as usual with his left leg tossed over the side. He seemed bored and agitated at the same time, which would be impossible for a normal human being.

  “I can smell him on you. Soap and water does not wash away a stench so powerful. How is Charles?” He never even looked at her when he asked it, unnerving her to the point where she became scared. She wondered how he knew what Charles smelled like causing her insides to churn uneasily, making her nauseous.

  “I would assume angry since your enforcers waited outside my place to pick him up.” She heard her own voice quiver.

  His gaze turned on her and she froze with fear. Those were the eyes of a monster.

  “Are you questioning my methods?”

  “Not at all, sir.” She gulped to clear the lump in her throat. He heard it.

  “It would seem we underestimated Charles because he is not here. And neither are my enforcers. What do you think happened?”

  “I...” No words came to mind. It never occurred to her that Charles could defend himself against enforcers. “I'm not sure, sir. I left him there as instructed.” She tried to conjure up an image of Charles taking on enforcers and failed. It was not feasible.

  “Yes, it is.” He replied, having somehow read her mind. She felt the color drain from her face. “I know Charles better than anyone here but I was not consulted about his little quest therefore I lost enforcers. Not even Charles knows how good he really is.”

  “I don’t understand.” She licked her lips. It was clear she had been left in the dark on something very important.

  “Nor will you. You won’t see him again. I am assigning you to another district effective immediately.” She was about to protest and he raised his hand. “Now.”

  As the undersecretary was escorted out, one of the boss’ generals came into the throne room. He was not very tall at six feet two inches compared to the rest of the boss' entourage, but his body was all lean muscle. His wavy hair had a dark oily look to it and his eyes were an odd shade of amber. Tearing apart flesh was a specialty of his. It was rumored that his very presence made the other men’s skin crawl. The boss sat correctly and a smile crossed his lips.

  “What do you think, Rass? Shall we prepare for war?”

  “Not likely.” General Rass stood next to th
e throne and motioned for the room to be cleared. The long robe he wore laid open in the front but was secured around his waist with a thin sash, exposing his tight tunic and animal hide leggings. “That race is in shambles and it would be years before they can muster up the courage, let alone the numbers, to come at you with an army.”

  “I do not want to let Charles go.”

  “Hmm, well it may be beneficial if you do. He is easy to control because his core is missing, but that’s not what you want. You want him whole again.”

  “Whole again, yes, but still under my thumb.” The boss wagged his index finger at Rass.

  “Who you need to worry about are those two imbeciles who betrayed their own kind. If they are capable of such treachery then there is no doubt they will do the same to you.”

  The boss’ right arm morphed into a giant reddish black claw with pincers and he snapped them once, the sound echoing within the room. It glistened as if dripping with blood.

  “Then I guess they will have to be sliced in half, hmm? Find Charles.”

  Rass smiled. It was hideous. He went back through the door from which he came. It was time him to go hunting for insubordinates and bring them back for his own brand of sentencing, which he doled out with great pleasure.

  “Charles.” The boss closed his eyes remembering the last time they talked. “Chardon.”

  **~**

  It had been a cloudy day, the sky signaling rain which would be good for the crops. He watched Chardon breathe in the fresh air then open his eyes to stare into Halfar’s. As the ruler of his home world he traveled a lot, but had come to see Chardon for a personal agenda.

  “You will not accept my proposal?” Halfar was tense.

  “No. I will not submit to your terms just so you can enslave my race.”

  “It is not slavery, just safe keeping from harm of other more powerful forces.”

  “That is not what you are doing!” Chardon turned away from him but glanced back.

  “I can destroy you!” Halfar could feel himself shake with anger, regretting what he said.

  “And, that is why you will never win.”

  “Listen to me! This will not end well. You know how she is!”

  Chardon balled his hands into fist and whirled on him. “I know better than anyone.” He hissed.

  “No, you don’t.” Halfar turned and walked out of the room.

  It was not long after that Halfar sent a planet destroyer through the portal gate Sara and Klein had given him access to. He opened his eyes, still burning with even more regret, and surveyed the empty throne room. It should not have happened. He truly wanted to protect them but, his ego was hurt so he had reacted like a spoiled child, annihilating Chardon’s entire world.

  To the right of the throne, double doors opened and his other General, Kur, entered. His flowing locks of deep green hair bounced slightly around him as he strolled slowly towards Halfar, frowning at the expression on his lord’s face.

  “That is not the face of our cunning ruler. What could possibly make you look this way?”

  “I haven’t killed anyone in over three months.” Halfar made sure his face conveyed boredom. It was good to keep up appearances.

  “Ahh, so I was mistaken, it being a lovelorn look. Surely, Rass is not slacking?” It came out as a question drenched in sarcasm. Kur fancied himself having more flare than the crude and messy Rass.

  “We must keep it down to a minimum or we lose allies.”

  “Allies! These disgusting, fragile humans? You must be joking! They are a means to an end for our race to take over and enslave them.”

  “True but they have a saying here I have grown fond of. You catch more bees with honey.”

  “What does that even mean?” Kur did not like being confused or taunted.

  “How I understand it is we give them what they want, make them feel safe and when everything is in place, we take it all away. WE have to get them on board first.”

  “Sounds lovely. It does have a nice ring to it.” Crude knotty wings a darker shade than his hair tore out of Kur’s back and he knelt down in a launching position. “I shall return with something good for you to play with.” His body shot straight upwards towards the skylight, causing a funnel of wind to spiral after him. As he got close to the ceiling, it split in two opening up to let him through.

  Halfar rose from his throne and went to the double doors on the left leading to his personal chamber. As ruler of his race, he knew what they expected of him but he was getting weary of being so ruthless and cunning. He wanted peace. He wanted … love.

  Extraction

  Charles was cold, hurting and angry. A lot of his energy was used to take those enforcers down and he had a few deep lacerations as a memento. Those wounds would heal after some time, but knowing that Janice had set him up was a whole other matter. One would think there was some level of trust when two people were intimate, but it seemed not the case. An ambush in broad daylight meant the organization didn’t care about the laws of the land anymore.

  As usual, the people in the neighborhood had hid themselves, leaving Charles to fend for himself. The only reason he got away moderately injured was the low level of the enforcers sent. He realized halfway into the fight how fast he was moving and how easy it felt. Still, those buggers fought him hard before going down. It was usually anything for the boss’ glory but Charles was fighting for himself now.

  Tearing more fabric off his shirt to tend yet another wound, he rose up and peeked cautiously around the corner. The alleyway hid him well enough but not if enforcers were lurking. Those monsters could see through walls and Charles had not figured out how yet. Pulling the piece of cloth tight around his forearm with his teeth, he winced from the pain. At least the bleeding had stopped. It was clear to him that the boss wanted to speak with him, preferably alive but not necessarily undamaged.

  “Shit, Charles, you need a plan," he said to himself as he crouched back down to think. His eyes went blank again, his face expressionless.

  **~**

  Ganna tapped the side of Modas' and Jaron’s chamber door frame. She had left them alone for a few days after Jaron’s full awakening. According to her patients who had gone through the process, getting back your soul was exhausting and the memories flooding in all at once took a toll. That was the consensus. She had never lost her core.

  “How are you feeling, Jaron?” She found her up and about fixing the bed covers.

  “A bit weary but more than anything, I’m angry.” Jaron leaned over the bed to straighten up the pillows as the sleeves of her robe dragged across them. She was wearing the white and blue cabinet member robes. “To know that I was working for our enemy! He must have been full of smug joy ordering us around.”

  “Yes, well the dire matter at hand is getting Chardon and the rest out of there and back to this world so we can reinstate their cores.”

  “That should be easy since they are not in any danger.”

  “We are not certain of that. Since you were brought back and all of you did see Modas, it is safe to assume they reported the incident to their boss’ henchmen. That means, Halfar knows we exist and may take drastic measures to keep them.”

  “Then we have no time. Do you have a plan in mind?”

  “Besides going in blazing? Not really, but I do have a way of pinpointing Chardon’s whereabouts. Retrieving him comes first.”

  “When do we go?” Jaron stood upright ready to walk out with her.

  “YOU do not. A small team will go through the gate and get him.” Ganna wagged her finger.

  “Why not?” Jaron yelled.

  “How are your powers?”

  Jaron stopped advancing towards her and frowned. She lifted her right hand and a small orb of light blue energy formed. “Damn it!” It shrunk, disappearing in the air.

  “Give it time. For now just rest and try to be nice to your mate. I never understood how he could love someone like you who always ignores him or treats him badly.”


  Jaron looked away and went to hide her face against a nearby wall. Ganna knew she didn’t need to tell her that. It was a work in progress, especially now.

  “Maybe he sees something in you that the rest of us do not.” Ganna turned to leave. “At any rate, some bonding time is much needed. I won’t need to report, we will all know when Chardon has arrived.” With that, she left realizing she had overstepped her boundaries. Jaron probably wanted to burn her to cinders, but Ganna could care less.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Jaron saw Modas get up from the chair and head towards her. She stiffened for no reason and spun around to face him. He stopped, hesitant to continue, but followed through, grabbing her by the back of the neck to draw her close to him. He kissed her hard. She pushed him away, sending him across the room back near the chair he had just vacated.

  “What are you doing? There’s no time for that!” The moment she pushed and yelled at him her heart felt great pain. ‘Why did I do that?’ Watching Modas get up with no ill intent towards her made it worse. He just stared at her, not saying a word. “I need to assess the level of my power. Show me a vacant area on this world.” Jaron hurried out the door, Modas not far behind.

  **~**

  A street vendor dropped his tongs in the hotdog water, his mouth gaped open at the sight of a black hole appearing on the road right in front of him. Warping inward like liquid it enlarged to a size big enough that four figures emerged from. Once all four were securely on the ground, the hole disappeared. There was really nothing strange about them except the entry. The vendor packed up and left the area without saying a word, pushing his cart down the street as fast as he could. In that part of town, crime was rampant but no one bothered to notice since anything or anyone that might look bad was avoided. Nothing had been seen or heard if anyone asked.