THE BABYLONIAN

Chapter 2: Babylon

I stepped out and looked back, and found that I had just exited a large ship. Its thrusters were damaged and looked as if it had been blown off. It was evident that the ship had crashed but I couldn’t find anyone else on any bodies nearby. The sun was nearing the mountain ranges that was lying ahead of me.

I heard a quirking sound in the shrubs beside me. I took my gun and pointed it where the shrubs where moving. The stimulation of the neural network made it possible for me to even feel the gun in my hand. A small animal, about the size of a large rodent, slowly moved out into the open, and walked past me as if it didn’t notice me. It had longer legs, a flat tail, and the mouth looked very different from any animal I had seen; but what surprised me most was the details. Just then, I saw smoke rising from behind the mountains and decided to head there. I ran towards the mountains, while keeping an eye out for any dangers.

When I climbed a hill, I saw a large town; and on one side of the town was a large bonfire burning. I rushed down the hill heading towards the fire. The fire had risen to the height of a small building, and there were many people gathered around it, throwing all sorts of things like furniture, books and music instruments into it. I didn’t know whether it was a celebration or a protest.

My watch started making a beeping noise. I looked at it and saw that a red arrow was blinking at it showing the location of a rendezvous point, and the distance towards it – which was only two hundred meters away. I saw a bar nearby, from which loud music and noises were coming from. The sun had almost reached the horizon, and I saw the people on the streets staring at me with their faces appearing to be red in the twilight, as I walked towards the bar. There was a security guard by the door, but he let me in without any hesitation after just glancing at my face.

The place was very crowded with people dancing and having drinks. As I walked towards the counter, I saw a dark man in dark glasses standing by it looking in my direction. When he saw me, he gave a smirk, and I knew that he was my guy. I walked towards him and stood by his side.

‘What should I call you?‘, he asked without looking at me.

‘Zero’, said I.

‘Hmm.’

And as if being satisfied with the answer he added, ‘Zyan... Now follow me. We’re running late.’

I thought of asking whether he was a player, but didn’t. I knew that he wasn’t like the other people I had seen before, but I couldn’t be sure about him being a player.

He lead me into out of the bar through the back door of the bar. When I stepped out, I noticed that that sun had almost sank below the horizon and darkness was spreading. I noticed that the chanting of the people on the streets were louder and the flame was rising up so high that it could be seen from anywhere in the town; and my skin was able to feel the heat of the flame. Zyan went near a van and knocked on its side. The back door opened and two men stepped out – holding weapons and dressed for combat. He made me take off my gun and gave me another one from the van. After that we climbed on to the roof of a building nearby. While climbing, Zyan explained that the plan was to retrieve a clue, which would lead us to the Opium. I asked him what the Opium was, but he didn’t answer. As for the other two: they were both cyborgs programed to assist us complete the mission - B-1600 and B-700.

When we reached the roof Zyan told us to keep low and crawl to the east side. We were able to see a window of the opposite building, in which a couple of armed cyborgs were walking. We were only able to get a glimpse of them and didn’t know if there were more. B-700 took a piton gun, took a short right above the window, and attached the piton connected to the rope to the roof. It appeared that no one had noticed the sound since there was loud shouting on the streets, and the wind was blowing the smoke towards our direction. I could see the tiny bits of ashes floating through the air in front of me.

’1600, you first’, said Zyan turning to B-1600.

B-1600 opened his bag and have each of us a sheave. Then attaching his sheave to the zip line, he got ready to jump; waiting for a window when the armed guards would be at the opposite end of the room.

‘Now, we have to hurry to get the job done as soon as possible’, said Zyan looking at me and turning to look at the light radiating from the burning bone fire, he added, ‘it will be any time now… hurry 1600.’

‘What are you talking about?’, I enquired.

But then B-1600 jumped, followed first by B-700, then by Zyan. I attached my sheave to the rope and jumped following Zyan. I heard the breaking of the glass as B-1600 broke in. By the time I got in, the shooting had already begun. I rolled onto the floor, took my gun and began shooting at the guards who had already taken cover behind the wall of the next room. B-700 had already been taken down by the first round of shoots and his body was lying beside me.

B-1600 and I took cover behind a large desk lying in the middle of the room and began shooting. B-1600 took down one of the guards, and when the other paused to reload, I rushed into the other room and finished him off too. His head was split open, and there was some sort of a blue core inside about the size of a tennis ball, that kept on shining with a blue luminosity. Right then I heard a lot of screaming outside and the sound of explosions. I was distracted by the light shining through the window, and I wondered whether the bon fire had spread. No sooner had l let my guard down, than I heard a short being fired.

I quickly raised my gun and turned back. I saw B-1600 fall beside be motionless, and the footsteps of the shooter running away. I didn’t run after him because I heard him run out of the flat, and I had to find out what the clue was. All this while I had noticed Zyan's absence but I choose not to think about it. Either he had disappeared or he was the shooter who retired B-1600. Nonetheless, it didn’t matter because I had to find out what the clue was.

Meanwhile the noises that were coming from outside had ceased, but the intensity of the light was increasing. I went into a small room ahead to me and saw an unconscious girl tied to a chair. I searched the whole room to find something of importance but I couldn't find anything. ‘She must be the clue', I thought. I untied her and tried to wake her up, but she didn’t. I carried her on my shoulder as I walked down the building to find if the van was still there. But as I walked out of the building, I was shocked.

A quarter of the entire city was up in flames. I wondered how it happened in so short a time. The whole place seemed deserted. Then I heard a loud noise above me and the wind suddenly began to blow on me. That’s when I saw it – its wings covered several buildings and the entire city was being burned by its breath. Stretching its enormous wings out it suddenly turned towards me, and its abdomen glowed a bright red.