The Misvan Gatu: Intentions

Chapter One // John

John

They leered dangerously at me. A man with steel eyes hovered by my side, speaking in hushed tones with a woman dressed in white. She possessed a frizzy, black bob of hair that had been scraped back in thin white grips. I couldn't move enough to see any more of them, each standing still and silent. They hid their thoughts from me behind an atmosphere of anticipation, but I knew they were there; waiting. Did I trust them? No. I never could. I knew I was trapped, but I had never felt so restrained and helpless. They were probing and questioning things that should just be left alone.

The day I discovered my powers, I was drifting in a daydream at work. An old woman was sat singing quietly to her dog in the waiting room. I couldn't understand why I had felt afraid for her. Wisps of smoke were visible when she breathed; silvery sparkles entwined in the curls. Her lungs collapsed as she suffered a heart attack. Ten minutes later she was being taken away in an ambulance. From that moment, I knew that I was special. I soon learned to nourish my ability, and with my employer's training and knowledge, I improved my talents.

People sang their untimely demise to me. Their souls were visible to my naked eye. I could tell what time, where and how they would expire. I could never prevent it. My attempts at this had always failed. I wasn't born this way and I don't know why I became this way. I viewed it as a curse until the Misvan Gatu found me and taught me their ways. It was scientific and religious and inspiring. It was the future of our world! I was invited to change the future, who can say no to that kind of opportunity? Of course there were responsibilities, accidents and reasonable trial and error but we were always one step closer. There was always an improvement.

The day I was initiated into the Misvan Gatu was the day that I met Box. On this day, four years ago, I was travelling home from the vet's, still reeling from the discovery of my powers. It was a cold dark evening, the wind fought to pull my jacket from my shoulders. I pulled the collar up and wrapped it tightly around me. I wasn't looking where I was going when a young man crashed into me, knocking me off my feet. For that split second when he looked at me, a horrible, soul crushing dread settled in my stomach. His face; pale and wide eyed; his blonde hair stuck to his head with sweat and his eyes a bright blue; like the sky on the morning my mother died. A reflection of absolute horror stared back at me, before he muttered an apology, and left me bewildered on the pavement.

Strong footsteps approached behind me; a steady thud of boots. I turned and found myself looking at the most intimidating, frightful man that I had ever met; Box. He stopped and looked down at me like I was a piece of dirt on his shoe. The two men that flanked him, watched him for instruction. He didn't speak, he just nodded and then they took off; leaving me with him. He smiled and my breath caught in my throat. He took his hands out of his pockets and held out a hand to help me up. "John, how very extraordinary to meet you on this beautiful evening. I am Box, and you are just the man I was looking for..."

A sharp sensation in my left forearm brought me back from the memory. My throat was closing, my mouth was dry. Like swimming against a current; I broke the surface and came face to face with realisation. I finally knew where I was. I was in 'the room' and I knew that no one had ever come here alive before. Each and every one of them stuck in a freeze frame of eternal slumber, not knowing that they were next. There was only one difference between me and them. They became a victim by chance; never by force.

Box had employed me to perform experiments on humans. Not people that were gifted like me, but the scum of the earth; the homeless, the unemployed, murderers and thieves. Well, that was always what I was told and I never questioned it. Once I knew what the power of a harnessed soul could do, I never questioned them again. They were pushing humanity to evolution. They were going to save millions of lives, or at least that was what was intended; their intentions were good. The underground headquarters were full of secret rooms, just like this one. "Medical storage," Box had told me, "Nothing more." I ignored the secrecy and the obvious lies, until I saw the truth for myself.

No one knows how they are going to react when they come face to face with the astral soul of death. The old hag seemed to dissolve the light around her, destroying hope and love with her presence. I fell to my knees when I accepted her existence and she reciprocated by cursing mine. There was more to the Misvan Gatu than I ever realised. I should never have gone into the room that reeked of death and evil, my curiosity was misplaced. Now, I pay the price.

So, it comes to this. If I had any sensibility left now I would not scream or show any signs of panic. I would sit up and speak calmly with this woman and this would end and then I could put on my coat and leave. As if she had heard my thoughts out loud, she snapped her head towards me; her purple painted lips buttoned tight and her eyes strong; an emerald poison. They were pushing every inch of my body to insanity, faster than I had ever felt before. I recognized that look. That was my look, my stare. Only I kept that stare for those who I knew were ordinary. People who were not gifted like me.

I felt like crying to her, "I can see! I can see! I am just like you! Help me!" But the words just wouldn't form; my lips lazy from the drugs. I felt a tear crawl across my cheek, but even my tears couldn't escape. Her index finger swiped it away. She had blue finger nails; cold and sharp. Who was this woman? I didn't know her and it turns out that really, I didn't even know myself until the moment I saw my reflection in her eyes.

My body was ice cold but I found I couldn't shiver; my body couldn't react to my mind. It was as if I had been disconnected. I was dead; unmoving, but my mind was still fighting; leaning in for the last lap. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Any longer without attempting anything and I would lose consciousness. I kept telling myself I could not do that. I had to stay aware and be able to speak for myself. The more I considered the outcome if I didn't speak, the worse my fear got. Panic rotted my thoughts and this woman just stood there, nodding half-heartedly to Box whilst he prodded his stubby fingers at a clipboard and eyed her reactions greedily.

My legs were heavy and dull, my arms and fingers not uttering a twitch of complaint. My body was howling at every sitter, stood nearby watching. They all knew me, Box, Shark, Moss, even Frog and Buff, my best companions, stood in silence; listening to the ache of their betrayal. Was she a replacement? I'd heard myths about this before, I should have known that they always replaced the last of them. Was she aware of this? I never knew a female to join us. Was it even allowed?

Box was chauvinistic and a mean character. Balding and holding more fat than muscle, he appeared to be an ex-convict with a tattoo on his neck. Why in hell would this woman want to be a part of this? She was going to use me as her first, but I was alive! She couldn't! It was against all the rules, all our beliefs! Everything they said couldn't have been lies!

The Misvan Gatu was my home, my family. I worked as a vet before they came to me. I had no one left in my family, I was lonely and drifting through each day without hope. I felt like I had a purpose with them. God, I was the luckiest man alive four years ago. It was off the scale, what they asked me to do and I jumped at the chance to be involved.

Life and death is so simple to some but with the Misvan Gatu it was unpredictable, solid and touchable. I could feel my patient's minds slip, see the colour of their souls and watch them dance with death, before sucking them back into this world in ways unimaginable. Up to now, it was always an unsuccessful result, but I was so close to breaking the mark and solving it. They gave up on me and now, I was the patient. The roles had been reversed.

Air dissolved in my throat before it could reach my lungs. I was sucking it in painfully, but it was pointless. My strength was fading, they had defeated me. It was my turn to dance with death. I had never felt so disturbed and helpless. What had I done? What had I been doing? How many had died the same death as me? Taking my last breath, my body buzzed with power not my own and then the shadows came.