Santa Pyre: The Burning Solaris

6. The Explosive Incident

October 17th, 2043. LS Plasma Corp Research Center, Lava Side Island.

The tour came to its final stop. He stopped us in front of a heavily armored door. "Alright everyone, here we are, our final stop. This, everyone, is our Particle Accelerator Room!"

They have a Particle Accelerator? Wow! SP Plasma Corp must be really wealthy if they can afford to run a sophisticated machine like that. I looked at the faces of my friends and classmates. Some were shocked, some looked as if they knew already, and others did not really care that much.

"Is that possible?" asked Joe.

"Why, yes indeed, young man! After all, we have been doing some forms of this since the 19th Century! If you do Physics at College level, you will learn all about it; for example, X-ray machines use heat based particle acceleration to produce the X-ray radiation. Besides, you all are about to see ours' for yourselves!" We gasped. "However, safety first. Wait here." He went to the door adjacent and went in.

He and an aide came back out with a black bag. "Hello, everyone! My name is Keith. I’m William's right hand man," the aide introduced himself. He took out and showed us a pair of sophisticated looking goggles, followed by a thick, long sleeved, hooded silver cloak. "Please take one of each." We lined up and were given the items. "You will find out what they're for soon enough."

"These look very cool," I commented, inspecting the items. The cloak was fairly heavy for some odd reason.

When everyone was equipped, William and Keith went back to the armor door and he entered a pass code into the number keypad at the right. We heard the sound of numerous locks disengaging and finally the door slid open to the left. "This, my dear friends, is where the magic happens! Welcome to the future!"

Before us in the room was a solid lead wall. Dr. Williky went to a control panel and pulled a lever. The lead wall rose up to reveal the other half of the room. In the center of that half was a large metal cube with a metal cylinder topped by a metal platform.

"Everyone, before we lower the Lead Shield, please put on your special goggles and your cloak," instructed Keith as he put on his own gear. "The chamber will be chock full of high energy UV radiation when we fire it up, which can blind you if enough of it gets into your eyes, and cause skin cancer if you don't have protection!" We all obeyed quickly, not wanting to take these deadly warnings lightly. Keith gave a twice over, and then nodded his head in satisfaction.

William had his gear on. "Alright everyone, all systems go!" We watched as William entered a code into the number keypad before pushing a big red button. Humming sounds filled the room as the Particle Accelerator came alive. William entered another code, and another lever popped out at the left of the panel. William pulled that down, and the cylindrical 'shield' came down to reveal a glass cylinder. Within the cylinder, we could observe something glowing rotating at very high speeds. Along with that were bright red and purple bolts of electricity bouncing around erratically. It was beautiful and hypnotic to watch. I could not take my eyes off it even if I tried.

"Just look at it... It's so... unreal," said Daina.

"Daina... I can't find words to describe this... It's just so... impossible."

We all took in the sight for another few minutes, and then William raised the shield. We then took off our goggles and cloaks and turned to him.

"From your faces, I can tell that you are all amazed," he said. We turned to look at him. "Tell me. What do you think?"

"It's awesome!" exclaimed Joe. "How does it even work?"

"Well, it's all complicated, don't-try-this-at-home stuff." This answer was disappointing. "But I'll let you be the judge of HOW complicated it is," added William quickly. "Keith, if you please?"

"This is a heat based particle accelerator. Inside the bullet proof glass chamber is a rotating jet burner." began Keith. "As it spins, it releases tremendous heat. The heat excites the electrons of the item to be tested placed inside the chamber, in this case Pyrium SRT. The excited electrons break off from the pyrium, building up a strong electric charge. The electrons travel at high speeds, bouncing around the chamber and into each other, the collision of which results in X and UV rays, which as you know are invisible. However, so much electricity builds up that you can see it as lightning-like bolts. Neat, huh?"

"COOL!" I exclaimed with Joe and some of the others. I looked at Daina, my homeroom teacher and surrogate step-sister.

She looked at me with a kind smile, causing me to blush slightly. I could not get over it despite seeing it so often. This morning, she had gotten up early and made breakfast. Mom was jealous since Dad was giving attention 'elsewhere.'

Suddenly, a droning alarm filled the airwaves. "What!? Everyone, stay calm!" exclaimed William.

"Shane probably set lab number 3 on fire again," said Keith quickly. "He's so clumsy when he carries things around!"

Suddenly, there was a bang and a plume of flame erupted in the left corner of the room. The ground rumbled violently and we lost our footing. We watched in fear and remained crouched as three men dressed from head to toe in black rushed inside from the hole after several seconds. The first man had a grenade launcherifle hybrid weapon while his two companions, a shorty and a big guy, carried more conventional weapons.

"Alright, listen up good, everybody!" commanded the weapon wielder with a gruff, menacing voice. "Nobody makes a move and nobody gets hurt... again!" A wave of fear washed through me as they all laughed.

"What does he mean, again?" I pondered. I put two and two together. "They have weapons. It's quite obvious what they've done." I shuddered exceedingly at the thought.

"Hey! Who are you people!? This is a restricted area!" challenged Dr. Williky, standing up. "What are you after!?"

"Shut up, old man!" the intruder shot back. "Who we are is none of your concern." I noticed the picture of the sun with an X through it on his shirt. He pointed his weapon at the scientist. "As to what we want..." He motioned for his partners in crime to secure the perimeter. "My team is the spearhead for the taking control of this facility. We just want to take possession of your precious Particle Accelerator! It is impertinent to our organization's plans!"

"WHAT!?" exclaimed William. "But it's dangerous! Are you people insane!?" He stepped forward but a bullet exploded near his feet, causing him to fall back on his bottom.

"Didn't I tell you not to move!?" exclaimed the rifle wielder. "The only reason I didn't hit you is because your knowledge is valuable. You will be coming with us." He looked at us frightened kids. "The others are worthless!" His gaze fell on Daina. "Now here's a real eye-catcher! You there, the woman! Stand up!" Daina quickly obeyed. "You are awfully captivating. How about you ditch these brats and come along with us? We could have a good time."

A horrified look came upon her face. I watched with shock as it quickly morphed into anger and she took a step forward. "I'll do whatever you want. Just let the children live. They don't deserve any of this." This answer shocked the living daylights out of me.

"Now that's a cool expression. You would have been most wonderful."

Huh, did he just speak in past tense? I thought.

"Since I was in a reasonable mood..." He switched the aim of his weapon to her, much to my shock. "I might have complied. But... You made a grave miscalculation."

"You don't have a real say here, and we can't afford to leave any witnesses, anyway," said the short one.

"It is really too bad. You are just my type, after all."

"No..." I saw it, his finger reaching for the trigger. He would really do it: shoot her. Seeing Daina about to die, any sense of self-preservation I had was thrown away as I got up. Before I knew it, I was screaming, "NO!!" I bounced into her just as the weapon was fired. The round tore into my right shoulder before continuing to hit the wall behind me. "GAH!!" Make-you-beg-for-death pain wracked me as I collapsed. Blood began to seep from the nasty, agonizing wound.

Daina was at my side in a second as screams erupted. My eyes were shut tight from the intense pain. "BILLY!!" Horrific worry was in her voice as I heard her tear off a piece of her dress. I heard a rush of footsteps and the sounds of fighting, soon followed by another shot. 

~~~~~

About several seconds before...

Keith launched himself at the rifle wielder for having shot someone down. "You monster!"

"Hey! Get off me!" said the man as the two struggled on the ground. In the background, William was evacuating the students from the room.

The leader's short companion took out his g*n and tried to get a good aim as Keith and the rifle wielder rolled about. "Gah! Hold still!"

"Don't fire, Lorentz! You might hit me!" 

Bang! During the struggle, the rifle wielder accidentally set off his weapon. The round tore into the Lead Shield of the Particle Accelerator. It hummed as it came on and unsettling sounds of static could be heard building up.

"Oh, no!" said Keith. In his moment of surprise, he was thrown off to the side. "Oof!"

~~~~~

Back to me...

As Daina worked to tightly tie up my hideous wound in hopes of slowing down the bleeding, I slightly opened my eyes to behold a chaotic lightshow of red static bouncing around the room. They were streaming out from a hole in the shield of the Particle Accelerator. The fluorescent bulbs exploded overheard and the energy fed into them. I noticed that the men and Mr. Keith had been zapped by the stray bolts.

The room began to grow hot and my skin felt itchy, as the shield lowered. Very weakly, I said, "Da-Daina... We... we have to... To get out of here!"

A flash erupted. "Whoa!" We both looked to the Particle Accelerator. In ridiculous slow motion, I watched as the glass cylinder cracked and contorted before imploding on itself.

"AAHHH!!!!" Daina and I screamed out in pain as the now freed energy and radiation detonated in a blinding light with a bang. And then I knew nothing. Darkness. Never ending darkness stretching as far as the eye could not see.

~~~~~

Meanwhile, everyone else had gotten out. Matthew, Cory, the rest of the Eighth Grade, the remaining scientists, and William and Julie; they were all staring in awe as giant bolts of static could be seen arching out randomly from the Research Center.

"Ack! Keith, and those two!" William started making for the building.

"Willie, wait! It's too dangerous to go back!" exclaimed Julie in warning.

William ignored the warning and continued on. He only got within 200 meters when the entire building exploded violently. He screamed as the windforce picked him up. A towering pillar of flames, plasma and smoke was rising like some kind of beacon.

*****

Time: unknown.

I stirred from unconsciousness. When I finally opened my eyes, all I could see was white. The ground was white. I looked up to see a white sky with no clouds. "Huh?" I was lying in a white world. "Where... am I?" I thought as I stood up. I was alone... or so I thought. "Huh? I feel like there is something behind me."

Slowly, I turned around; ever so slowly. And then, I laid eyes on her. No, not Daina, not Lauren, and not even my Mom. I knew that the being was not human, but it had feminine qualities. The being had skin as white as snow, peach white hair and piercing eyes of blue sclera and white irises. With those mystical eyes, she was staring dead at me, so keenly that I was under the impression that she could see into my very soul.

I was obviously startled, but not afraid for some reason. "Uh... Hi. Do you speak English?"

I received no answer or reaction whatsoever. She did not even blink, and was still.

"I guess not. Okay, well, I'm just going to scream now. Ready..."

The being held up a palm as if she was aiming at me. To my immense surprise, sparks of light began gathering to one point before the palm, forming into a glowing orange ball. I took a voluntary step back, a sense of danger activated within me.

"Uh, hey. Let's talk about this. What are you doing?" My only answer was the ball growing in size and releasing static. "Hey! Please, stop whatever it is you're doing!" I backed up even more.

The woman smirked at my scared face. She pulled her hand back, preparing to throw the ball at me. "Bill... Zipzap... Prepare to die."

If my life was not in danger, I would have been confused. So, I did the only thing a scared person in the face of death would do. "AAHHH!!!!"

"Die." The alien pushed her hand forward, launching the ball. As soon as it hit me, this world blacked out.

~~~~~

"AAHH...!! HUH!?!"

This time, I really did wake up. I heavily caught my breaths as I tried to look around. My neck was in a brace of some sort, so I could only move my head. At least my head was on a pillow. All I could do was peer up at a white ceiling. My nose twitched, and I scowled as I realized where I was. The stench of sickness and disinfectant could never be mistaken in a hospital. But, I could faintly pick another scent, and it was coming from me; the scent of something burnt.

"Who... or what... was that? Darn, what a nightmare. But more importantly, why am I in the hospital and why do I smell like the ashes of a cremated person?" I tried to think, but I could not remember anything after Daina had moved in. "Daina!" I tried to sit up, but my body was mummified in thick cloth wrapping, not to mention my neck brace. Whatever happened to me must have been really bad if they did this to me... But oddly, I feel fine. Experimentally, I tried to move again. I felt a sudden electric jolt and the next thing I knew I was paralyzed. My muscles began to shiver and vibrate. I felt heat welling up inside me and flowing through the air. To my amazement, my vision became super sharp like that of a hawk's, which caused my eyes to become irritable in the wake of the heat. The white cloth burned into ash and vanished with a breeze of wind. The heat died down after that and the paralysis was gone. I beheld in amazement as my skin changed from a dull grey to my normal light brown. The only thing that had survived was my hospital underwear. Okay, let me just say one thing... "WHAT ON THIS CRAZY EARTH IS GOING OOOON!?!" I screamed out.

About ten minutes later, I heard a door slam open and hurriedly approaching footsteps. "My baby!" exclaimed my mother's voice. In an instant, she was a sobbing mess over me, seven years of strict medical training thrown out the window. Her weight made it difficult to breathe.

"Mom!?" I managed.

At least Dad was keeping his sanity together. "My boy, are you alright?" he asked.

"Not with mom crushing me like this I am!!" I exclaimed in answer.

"Bill!" Mom got off of me at that. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me... I was so worried."

"It's alright, Mom. I am your child after all..." I said. "Now, can you two tell me why am I in the hospital, and which one?"

Dad came up to Mom's left and peered down at me. "That's funny. You look fine. We were told that you and Daina were found at the site of the incident littered in third degree burns!"

"WHAT!?" I exclaimed. They quickly covered their ears. "Sorry. Incident? Burns? I don't remember what happened."

"It looks like you suffered a bit of amnesia," said Mom. I noticed the stethoscope she had in her neck as she put on the ear pieces and began to use it on me. It was pretty cold. "Your heart rate sounds about normal..."

"Normal!? Hmm, should I tell them? Maybe not, but I don't like the idea of keeping what happened to me a secret either." I took a breath. "Mom, Dad... I may look well, but something is up with me. I'm just not sure if I can explain it..."

"My son, what are you talking about?" asked Dad. "I'm sure the doctors were probably just exaggerating about your conditions." Even Mom nodded her head in agreement with him.

"No, I don't think they were," I answered, alighting looks of shock on their faces. "Why would doctors lie to breed unnecessary stress? I can understand lying to prevent worry, though. Anyway, listen. Believe it or not, about ten minutes and 30 seconds prior to your precise arrival in this room, I was mummified in thick cloth wrapping. My body smelled of ash. I think I really was burned badly."

"HUH!?"

"But miraculously, I'm fine now. I smell like 'me'."

"But, Bill, what happened to your wrappings?" asked Mom, arms akimbo.

"They got... Darn, I really don't think they're going to buy this... Um, I'll tell you later. Can you give me a moment?"

"Anything, you need, son. Take your time," said Dad.

"Thanks. Oh, one more thing. Mom, can you take off the neck brace?"

"Sure thing, Honey." Mom carried out the favor. "There you go. Oh, let me get you a spare gown." She turned to a drawer between my bed and another.

"Thank you." I sat up and turned my head slowly from side to side. An audible crick told me that I had been like that for too long. "That feels much better." I took the gown she handed me and placed it over me. "There we go."

"Okay, son," began Dad, "your mother and I will be back soon. Take care of yourself and don't give the doctors and nurses any trouble. Today is Saturday, October 18th and you are in Saint Wesley Fire Hospital in West Flame City. If anything happens, your mother is the closest around. I'll rush over too from work if I can. Bye for now." Mom and Dad held hands as they went to the door and left the room.