Chapter Four: Age of Shadows

“Are you ok?” Stephen’s voice rang out but Adam just stood outside drenched. The rain failed to let up any bit. Stephen, Mario, Heather, all stood underneath the awning outside of the newest club in Manhattan, Age of Shadows. Adam along with Sharon firmly clutching onto his arm just stood in the down pour a few feet away.

“I’m…I’m not sure…” Adam mumbled underneath his breath. Sharon remained quiet, refusing to say a thing. She was still in shock over what she had witnessed.

“Maybe it would be a better idea to talk about this inside…come on.” Heather interrupted. Adam and Sharon followed everyone to the inside, their mental demeanor already shook up.

The inside of the club was a mix of bright florescent lights with dark shadows. The bar was packed with people all already well beyond the legal limit of alcohol. The bar was a finely polished oak that stretched along the right side near the entrance. Three flat panel screens attached the wall near the crack where the ceiling met the wall; just under the screens was an elongated rack filled with all sorts of liquor, behind the bottles was a green florescent tube that gave the impressions of the bottles glowing. The dance floor was wide, about 20 feet wide, and yet there was still very little room in the massive pack of raging hormones. Along the outer edge of the dance floor were a row of booths and tables where even more young men and women were seen guzzling more alcohol whether it is beer or liquor it didn’t make any difference. The age for entrance was 17, an odd number for a club that serves alcohol but it didn’t make a difference. Each person who was under 21 was marked in order to represent their age. Mario was the only one who was of age, he found himself unable to control his eyes as they instantly began to look around the inside of the club. Every girl in the club was dressed provocatively revealing as much skin as they possibly could without being naked. Only Heather and Sharon were dressed more conservatively, Heather continued to emanate a certain amount of radiance; her hair was worn up with only a few strands of hair flowing down over her face.  She was wearing a blue and purple shirt that hung over her right shoulder leaving her left revealed. Along with the shirt she was wearing an obsidian skirt that rang tightly off her thighs. She turned to everyone and just motioned that she was going to find a booth for them to sit. Stephen glanced back at his brother whose head was still staring at the floor.

“Are you going to tell us what happened?”

“….he’s dead Stephen..” Adam mumbled.

Stephen’s eyes widened, he wasn’t exactly sure who Adam was talking about.

“My father…..he was shot earlier tonight…” Sharon spoke, it was the first time she had spoken since the event.

“What?!” Stephen tried to keep things quiet; they were in a public setting. Adam walked over to his brother and began to whisper.

“I’ve seen Genesis’ true facility Stephen…there were thousands of them….tubes containing people….more specifically clones of people.” Adam’s voice crackled under the emotional strain. Stephen just stood there; he couldn’t find a simple way to respond to that type of news. His lips parted as he was going to respond but they only shut seconds later, his mind was blank. There were too many questions rambling through his head.

“Stephen…I’m not sure what they are doing, or why they are doing this, but Genesis is playing God more or less. I already had questions before I found this out, and I was willing to work my way to the top of the military with you in order to find some answers, but I’m not sure if we’ll find answers looking in the military. I think we’re digging in the wrong place….”

“Hmpf, that maybe so, but if what you’re saying is true then it would be too risky to investigate Genesis out in the open. I’m still not completely sure what to make of this, and Sharon…no words could ever express the sorrow that I am feeling for you….we have all lost so many people close to our hearts within a short period of time. Adam for both your sakes I suggest that we continue with this plan. Genesis and the military have a close relationship; I’m sure in time we’ll find the answers.”

“I’m not sure I can wait that long Stephen…”

“I see, so what do you have planned? Run into Genesis demand a meeting with the Presidents and just throw these accusations at them?”

“…”

“It would be better for you to stick to the plan. We already know of the connection between the Military and Genesis with the development of Chimera, I’m sure this won’t be too far away. I don’t mean to sound bitter, but right now you need to bury this and move on. Tonight is quite possibly the only free night you’re going to have in a long time. On top of that it’s your birthday…I know it’s hard but try and enjoy this, and tomorrow we’ll work.” Stephen replied.

Adam just glared back at his brother; he knew he was trying his best. But this wasn’t something that could just be pushed aside, even if it was only for a few hours. His eyes shut tightly in order to hold back the tears that were trying to break out, soon he felt Sharon rubbing his back gently.

“It’s alright. You should enjoy tonight…don’t worry about what happened.” She mentioned. Adam just stared at her, she had just lost her father and she was more willing to move on than he was. It then hit him; she was probably trying to avoid the pain. After all he would be leaving in a week and a half and she would have to carry the pain by herself, she had no living relative that he was aware of, no brothers, maybe an aunt or an uncle but surely not in New York. Adam embraced Sharon close to his body and smiled.

“Alright, we’ll have fun.” Adam replied.

“Good…(if Genesis is already dabbling with human DNA then who knows how much time is left before they reveal their true intentions for the world.).” Stephen began to think to himself.

Both Heather and Mario were already sitting down in their booth which was right near the entrance to the dance floor. Beams of lights were flashing vibrantly making it difficult to see clearly but Adam took notice of his friends.           

“Well now that it’s settled, happy birthday Adam.” Stephen said as he extended his hand. Adam chuckled forcefully and took his brother’s hand.

“Thanks…”

The first hour was somewhat awkward, Adam tried to enjoy himself but found that it was a lot harder than he had originally planned. Distorted images of his brother’s clone floating lifelessly in a tube continued to haunt him along with images of an energy beam completely disintegrating his friend Mike’s body, a beam that came from his own MF. Adam reclined backwards against the leather cushion attached to the back of the booth. It was only him, Stephen and Sharon at the moment, Heather and Mario both took to the dance floor about 15 minutes prior to the current time. Even though they were clearly marked since it was his birthday the bartenders seemed to ignore the age limit and served them alcohol regardless. Stephen smirked as he glanced out into the sea of people; there was Mario stuck in between two other women grinding up on his body. His arms wailing out as he danced in sync with the rhythm of the music. Adam gave a half smile while his right arm hung around the back of Sharon’s shoulder.

“ADAM NOVUS?!” A voice screamed out from behind the booth causing Adam along with Sharon and Stephen to glance. The voice belonged to a gorgeous woman standing about 5’4 with long dark blonde hair and green eyes. Her skin was a healthy mix of peach and tan, she was wearing an ivory halter top with a beige skirt while holding onto what appeared to be a mixed drink in her hand. It took Adam a minute to recognize the girl, she took offense.

“Ashley?” Adam mumbled softly, he didn’t want to yell the name and then be wrong.

The girl nodded smiling and began to walk over.

“Adam Novus wow, it’s been forever.” Ashley said. Adam nodded while Sharon just remained attached to him. Adam slowly moved out of the booth forcing Sharon to move as well.

“Ashley Bellulus…it’s nearly been forever, about 10 years hasn’t it?” Adam asked.

Ashley nodded; it indeed had been 10 years since they last saw one another. Both attended the same grammar school and then after that Adam became home schooled from Genesis. They both hugged one another each surprised at how the other turned out. Sharon sneered under her breath and once again wrapped her arms around Adam. Adam glanced at Sharon and began to laugh.

“Hehe…I’m sorry. Ashley this is my girlfriend Sharon Amare.”

“Wow, how’d you get her? She’s beautiful. What’s he paying you?” Ashley asked jokingly.

“Ha..ha…ha, you’re funny. Anyway, this is my brother Stephen.” Adam mentioned. Ashley glanced over to Stephen and nodded.

“Hi, I’m Ashley, your brother and I used to go to grammar school together, but that was a long time ago.” She mentioned.

“So how have you been? I mean, the last time I saw you I was about 8 and you were like 7. I’m sure a lot has happened since then.”

“Yeah you have no idea…I almost died about 2 years ago.” She mentioned.

Adam’s eyes grew pale; death wasn’t one of his favorite topics.

“You almost died?! What happened?!” Adam’s voice grew in intensity, he had seen too many of his friends die, and hearing that another one was close didn’t help ease his own soul.

“Well…” Ashley began, “you remember that battle in Times Square?”

A sharp pain crashed through Adam’s spine, the mention of Times Square continued to bring back an array of memories that he never wanted to think of again.

“Yeah….all too well.” He mumbled.

“Huh?”

“You see, me and Adam are both MF pilots for the military….we were fighting that day.” Stephen interrupted.

Ashley’s mouth nearly crashed into the floor, she had never thought in her wildest dreams that the little boy she knew would end up in the cockpit of an MF. Her body then switched positions slightly angling towards the dance floor with her right arm arched onto her hip.

“I see…so which one were you piloting?”

“…the blue one…with the wings…” Adam mumbled.

“Really? Well isn’t that interesting….I owe you my life.” Ashley mentioned with a smile. Adam’s head shot upwards, that wasn’t the response he was expecting.

“What are you talking about?”

“Heh, well I guess you wouldn’t remember since it wasn’t anything big to you. But I was standing outside trying to get my younger sister to leave when all of that metal and whatever you’d call it nearly crashed onto us. But you showed up at the last second destroying all of it. I couldn’t believe what had happened; I was on the ground in a daze mesmerized. I tried to get information from the military about the machine and its pilot but I got nothing. Wow, who would have expected this hahaha.” She continued on. Her face was bright red and her eyes curved close as she continued to laugh. Adam and Stephen just stared at her confused, they both shrugged their shoulders.        

“Well it was good to see you again Ashley.” Adam replied.

“You too….OOH, I love this song.” She began shaking her hips in accordance to the rhythm of the music. Adam raised his hands shaking, he refused to dance. Ashley then glanced at Stephen and with a devilish grin grabbed onto his arm. Stephen struggled for a bit while Ashley continued to tug onto his arm. Mario smiled from behind and managed to move towards Stephen. Stephen’s eyes caught a glimpse of Mario, he knew what was coming. With a quick shove from Mario Stephen ended up on the dance floor with Ashley. Adam began to laugh; it was the first time in the entire day that he had shown any sign of positive emotions.

“So you refuse to dance?” Sharon asked. Adam glance back at her still laughing.

“It’s not that I refuse to dance, it’s just that I don’t dance that often.”

“I see…well then, now’s a good time to start.”

“Huh? Wha?...Wait a minute!” It was too late Sharon began to dance around Adam while pulling him towards the dance floor. In the beginning Sharon just danced slowly around his body but as the music pounded forward her hips began to swing more vibrantly and provocatively. Adam really had no choice at this point, as Sharon’s body moved up and down his torso his inhibitions were tossed to the wind. His hands firmly placed on the curves of her hips and they continued to dance to and fro as the music continued to blare.

            Seconds turned into minutes, it all happened quickly, they all stayed on the dance floor for a good portion of the night. When they all finally had enough they nearly passed out into the booth. Sweat dripping down their faces as they breathed heavily. Something in the air just enticed them to continue after every song. They only stopped as the DJ cut the music. The dance floor had been empty for a few minutes as every person ran to the bar or sat down and order another drink.             

“That was…interesting..” Stephen mumbled. Ashley soon punched Stephen’s elbow abruptly.

“Oh you know you enjoyed it.” Ashley replied in between long pants of breathing.  

“I don’t know you…I’m Heather.” Heather mentioned as she had just noticed the new girl who was sitting with them.

“Oh…I’m sorry, I’m Ashley. I used to know Adam when we were kids.” She replied.

“I’m Mario.” Mario interrupted.

They all became quiet as a screen lit up just on the other side of the dance floor. It was massive taking up the entire wall; in the screen was a single line of text, “Azure Cup Tournament.”

“Hey guys, what’s the Azure Cup?” Adam questioned. Stephen then glanced to the screen confused as well. Suddenly a familiar voice echoed out of the speakers.

            “The Azure Cup, a tournament being held in order to decide just who is the strongest MF pilot on Earth and Mars…I’m Luscious Malum, and along side me are the prodigies of Genesis, Severen and Caleb Prodito.”

Adam’s eyes flared, there stood Caleb his one time team member. He quickly looked back at Stephen and then glanced at Heather.

“Is that Caleb? The pilot of Gemini Caleb?” Adam asked.

“I believe it is…and from the looks of it he’s the other twin of Genesis…” Stephen mumbled.

“But what the hell….” Sharon’s finger touched the outer brim of Adam’s lips forcing him to be quiet as the announcement continued on.

“Genesis is proud to hold the first ever MF tournament in hopes to direct everyone’s attention from this pointless war. Every MF pilot is allowed to register, all MF pilots in either military faction whether it be the EAP or the TA is already registered for entry and just has to reply to an RSVP notice received in the mail. Now for all you youngsters out there who are interested in MFs and perform well daily in VR training don’t fret; you can register as well. In fact if you register Genesis will manufacture your very own customized MF for use in the tournament. Now I bet you all are wondering where this tournament will be held, well let me answer this for you now. For years Genesis’ space program has been building a space arena attached to an asteroid, we have just recently finished development, added a control center and thrusters and are able to control its orbit. That’s right; this tournament will be held out in space.”

“In space….” Adam mumbled. No one could believe what they were hearing.

“I’m also sure most of you are wondering why we are holding this tournament free of charge. To be blunt, it’s because we are more interested in MFs being used in sport then in war. We hope that this tournament will stall if not put the war to a halt so that everyone can sit and enjoy the spectacle of battle. Registration ends on February 18th, you have 6 weeks to enter. Once you are registered you and your MF plus one friend or family member will be transferred to the Genesis Space station, Prosperity and will live there until the end of the tournament. The tournament date is scheduled for March 1st, hope to see you all there…” Luscious finished his speech as the screen shut off leaving everyone in the club in darkness for a few moments. As the lights turned back on Adam sat staring outwards, a grin lighting his face.

“Oh no…you’re going to register aren’t you?” Sharon asked the minute she saw his face. Adam remained silent, and nodded.

“Normally I would do the exact opposite of my brother…but this might be a good opportunity to see what Genesis is doing…I’m in as well.” Stephen replied.

“What the hell can’t let you two have all the fun. I’m in.” Mario replied.

Heather sighed. “Fine, someone is going to need to look after you three. I’m in.”

“Well then, looks like we’re going to space.” Adam said.