Soul Census - War of Shadows - Book 1

Chapter 1.2 - Awakening

Maddock peered over the side of the cockpit, looking down at his young patrol give chase-- too inexperienced to realize what they were really chasing.

He tried to get their attention, but the hunger to score a first kill against the Huns was a feeling he remembered all too well-- it overpowered any sense of discipline.

Maddock zoomed his SPAD XIII up, just as the other six continued to blindly give chase to the decoy.

As he leveled the plane, he scanned the draping blue sky and cloud banks around him trying to look for the enemy. It did not take him long to see the Boches-- twelve of them donning the wings of Fokker D VII’s and stalking over his squadron. The trap had not yet been sprung, but it soon would be.

Maddock banked hard left, kicking the rudder and spiraling himself into a dive. The wind hit the small bits of exposed flesh on his face like icy knives and the stick vibrated in his hand as he clenched it hard to retain control of his plane.

As he closed in on his quarry, he could see his gun sights gradually enclose the tail of the closest Hun. Patiently, he waited as it became filled with the fuselage of the Boche. Any second now... he fired his first burst.

As the tracers lanced out at the Fokker, another plane suddenly dove in between them, nearly colliding with his SPAD and absorbing his attack.

Maddock stopped firing and broke away, avoiding a collision.

As he fought the controls for a moment to straighten out, he scanned around for the enemy. It was then that he saw the smoke trailing from another SPAD he inadvertently riddled. The blue and white emblem on its wing cast one last glint of sun light, just as it fell to its end...

---

Earth Date: 9th of April 1933 CE
Location: Reflection Room, Soul Sphere, Earth

Maddock woke up, sitting up slowly. He put his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes to dry them out. It was one of many nightmares he relived during every attempt to sleep... reliving the day he killed one of his comrades. One of many accidents that took place during the Great War.

Shaking off the memory, he focused on his surroundings. He was alone, laying on a crescent-shaped couch of a bare room.

It was dimly lit and one wall was white, the others smoked glass. The white walls had a rough texture, like rock or ocean coral. Both floor and ceiling were a black onyx, with an exotic swirling pattern above. There was no door-- no apparent way out.

Where the hell am I?

Maddock stood up and looked down to examine himself. His clothes were filthy and the trousers had a tear in them. It was at that moment the memories returned-- the hoods in the alley, the fight, the agent and the couple who kidnapped him in a Studebaker.

“...can’t keep going... so thirsty,” a voice said.

Maddock whirled toward the source-- something at the center of the room. It looked like a round bump on the ground with pulsating lights that seemed to float just above it.

He went closer to inspect it, and as he approached and focused on the lights, he realized they were more than lights... it was a moving picture, like a film, but so much clearer-- and in color!

The image seemed to hover around a thin, barely dressed man in rags roaming a desert expanse. The sky was bluer than any sky he could remember and the sun was a boiling yellow. This was unlike any film he had ever seen.

“...just take me God, take me so I can see Saryana,” the man said as he dropped to the ground.

Maddock noticed that even though he heard the man speak, his lips did not move. It was as if the film maker was narrating his thoughts.

Just then, Maddock heard footsteps and voices echo from outside the room. It was coming from the direction of one of the smoked-glass walls. He went over to it, putting his ear to the wall to listen.

“...there was no reaction to the life replay. It looks like he doesn’t remember,” a man’s voice said.

“Are we certain of this?” a female voice said. “The timing must be right.”

There was a chuckle from the other, the voice sounded like that Agent Wolfe character.

“This solid is as dense as a rock-- trust me, he’s far removed from enlightenment...”

“He’s awake,” the woman interrupted. “He can hear us.”

“Oops,” Wolfe said, just as a section of wall suddenly began to give way.

Maddock jumped back, diving into his pocket searching for his knuckles-- only to realize they had been taken away from him.

The wall bulged out like a bubble-- and like a water bubble seemed to pop as the two figures stepped into the room. The wall retreated behind them, magically sealing the hole that was there a moment ago.

Maddock froze, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

“Sorry about that,” Wolfe said. “You weren’t supposed to wake up for another hour--- you really are a tough son-of-a-bitch.”

Wolfe was wearing the same 4-piece suit and those thin-rimmed glasses. Next to him was the woman from the con in the alley. She was wearing a strange-looking outfit-- it was a cross between a man’s suit and a skirt, but the top was parted a little... enough to reveal the fact that she did have bubs. Like Wolfe's, her outfit was mostly black with highlights in white.

She gave Wolfe a stern look, and that grin on his face seemed to fade rather quickly. It almost seemed as if she were the one calling the shots around here.

“I apologize for this agent’s crass words,” she said. “My proper name is Samantha Black, but you will refer me by my title of Director. Director Black is appropriate as well."

"So that whole caper was staged?" Maddock said. "What happened to that bum I was rescuing? He work for you too?"

"If you mean Agent Mason," Black said. "Yes, I am sure you will see him again. Look Mister Maddock, I know this all probably seems very strange to you, but what I can tell you is that Agent Wolfe was sincere when he told you that we are not here to hurt you, we are here to help you. To offer you a job even...”

Maddock waved his hand. “Wait a second, dame...”

“Director!” Agent Wolfe barked.

Maddock had the urge to drive those glasses through his skull.

“It’s okay, Agent,” Black said, she seemed to detect his sudden rage. “He deserves some latitude, let him speak.”

“I deserve latitude?” Maddock said. “I deserve to rip you two apart and bust out of here. You better start spilling a good story or I’m going to start cracking heads.”

Black looked at him impassively, she did not seem to be at all frightened.

“I was attempting to do just that when you interrupted and insulted me by calling me a ‘dame’,” she said. “But I am letting that go as I understand how this is all very strange and unexpected for you.”

She walked over to the couch and sat.

“Come on,” she said, her expression softening. “Let’s sit together and talk. We will need your full attention as there is much we must go over...”