Divine Awakening

Izzy arrived at the hangar to find both Nomad and the captain already there. When the captain caught sight of Izzy, she broke off from Nomad and headed Izzy’s way.

After dragging the pack through the narrow opening of the hangar doors, Izzy shouldered it again and moved to meet the captain.

The captain didn't speak immediately, instead pulling Izzy twenty feet toward the side of the hangar, away from the soon-to-be flow of people entering the door.

"What did you see?" the captain whispered.

As usual, Izzy tried to ignore the rain of silver symbols showering the captain. It reminded Izzy of the Matrix, and she wondered what the captain did to exhibit such an icon.

"Nothing," Izzy whispered back.

The captain frowned. "Nothing at all?"

Izzy fidgeted. "No, not nothing, I guess. Wait, that was confusing. What I'm trying to say is: I feel like there's something there, but I can't see it, or maybe it's hiding from me. If I concentrate too hard on it, it gives me a terrible headache."

Izzy paused, and the captain detected it.

"Tell me," the captain said.

"There's a coldness around him."

The captain frowned.

"Not from him, but around him. Like beside him. And when I say cold, I kind of mean, like, death. It feels like there is an aura of death around him."

After a few seconds, the captain responded. "Maybe that’s just an expression of how dangerous he is. How common is it for you to not see icons around others?"

"It's rare, but it happens—maybe a tenth of a percent. What's new is the psychic pressure. I've never experienced that before, but then again, I've only had this ability a few weeks."

"Is that everything, then?"

Izzy looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure. I've spent the last half hour trying to decide if it was just my imagination." Izzy locked eyes with the captain. "Do you smell or hear anything when around him?"

"Not that I've noticed."

"Normally, I wouldn't even mention this because my confidence about it is very low, but I swear every time he moves his right hand, it sounds like an angry ocean striking the shore, and I think I smell the sea."

Neither spoke, and after ten seconds, the captain nodded.

"Thank you, Relay. I was hoping for something more concrete, but your insight is invaluable as always."

Thirty feet away, Shamrock exited a doorway, caught sight of them, and immediately turned in their direction.

Shamrock had changed clothes, but he retained the same lethal air that reminded Izzy of a tiger. He gave them both a brilliant smile as he approached.

"Hey, Relay," Shamrock said. He turned to the captain "Hi, Captain." He handed the captain a string of bracelets and then continued to speak after a quick glance at Izzy.

"I found the bands you sent me to fetch and put one on already." Shamrock held up his left wrist. "Your…” Shamrock’s voice trailed off as he searched for a word. “Engineer,” Shamrock finally said, "told me everyone should put these on as soon as possible."

The captain studied the bracelets. "Thank you for taking care of this, Shamrock. Did the engineer mention what we could expect?"

Shamrock considered. "Actually, he didn't mention that. It gave me a type of video game heads-up display in my vision, but I don't know if that's normal or just the way my brain processed what the technology wanted to do."

The captain counted the bands and seemed a little relieved that there were twenty. She untied the knot and removed two before retying the ends.

Izzy took the drab-colored band when the captain held it out to her.

The captain slid the other band over her left hand, and Izzy mirrored her.

The band shrank until it fit comfortably on Izzy’s wrist. It grew hot and cold in rapid succession, and the base of her neck suddenly felt like someone held an ice cube to her skin.

Izzy shivered and goosebumps covered her body, then all the odd sensations disappeared.

The captain shivered as well, confirming she had a similar experience.

Two portraits appeared on the right side of Izzy’s vision. The top picture was of the captain with a label reading "Crash."

"Crash," Izzy thought to herself. "That's interesting."

The captain went very still and locked eyes with Izzy. "What did you just say?"

"I didn't say anything. A small portrait of you appeared, and it's labeled 'Crash.'"

Shamrock’s voice appeared in Izzy’s mind. Raise your hand if you can hear me.

Izzy turned to Shamrock and raised her hand. He nodded, turned toward the captain, and a moment later her hand rose.

"If you can hear my voice now, raise your other hand," Shamrock said.

Izzy raised her hand and three seconds later the captain did as well.

Shamrock smiled and spoke out loud. "Whoever you concentrate on will hear whatever mental message you send."

Izzy had about a hundred questions. "Where did these come from?" She touched her temples. "How’s it reading my thoughts? This seems really advanced."

"The government is sparing no expense to help us succeed," the captain responded.

That answer told Izzy nothing, but she didn't expect to get anything better if she pressed, so she asked a different question. "Why are you labeled as 'Crash'?"

The captain frowned. "I'm not sure how that got there."

The captain always seemed very careful about the things she said and did, so the name surprised Izzy. Statistically, car crashes were common. Maybe the captain was a terrible driver.

The captain looked surprised, and her frown deepened. Izzy realized that Shamrock and the captain were having a conversation right there in front of her, and she studied the band around her left wrist in amazement.

Shamrock pointed at something in the distance as if giving directions, and as he gestured with his right hand, the sound of waves crashing returned along with the heavy scent of water.

Izzy’s vision doubled, as if tears brimmed in her eyes. She swayed on her feet and Shamrock reached out and gently held her shoulder.

As soon as Shamrock touched Izzy, her eyes cleared, but she no longer stood in the hangar.

Izzy stood in short wild grass that bent over from the stiff breeze. To her right, a cliff fell hundreds of feet to a violent ocean that smashed against the rocky wall. A windswept tree sat alone, fifty feet away. Leafless and leaning away from the cliff, its shape testified to the decades of wind that had guided its growth.

Between Izzy and the tree, a copper-haired woman sat cross-legged, looking out at the violent ocean and dark storm clouds. The woman's long hair touched the grass, but it didn't blow in the brisk wind.

Izzy stood frozen, not understanding what had happened. It felt like when her icon ability activated, but she'd never entered an icon before.

The woman sensed Izzy, and she twisted around to face her.

This strange woman appeared Izzy’s age and possessed a natural beauty that felt like a physical force. Her nose and cheeks were sprinkled with freckles, which only enhanced her flawless looks.

"Greetings, Scryer," the woman said. "It has been many millennia since one of your kind has pierced the veil. This bodes well for your endeavor. Return when you are stronger and able to withstand my presence."

Izzy wanted to say something, to ask about this place, but she couldn't move or speak. Her vision faded until only the woman's approving smile remained.

Izzy felt rough vibrations and a distant roaring. She opened her eyes to find darkness and wondered if some mechanical beast had swallowed her.

A dim glowing light caught her attention. As her mind returned to her, she realized it looked just like the windswept tree.

The glowing tree moved, and Shamrock's voice appeared in her head. She's coming around.

The ground shifted under Izzy, and her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The captain's head materialized above her. Are you okay, Relay? She asked but her lips didn’t move.

More glowing circles appeared until twenty, two lines of ten, arranged themselves on the right side of her vision.

Their team's medic, Patch, loomed over Izzy, appearing next to the captain, and understanding arrived.

Izzy lay across the laps of the captain, Patch, and Shamrock, who held her feet. The palm of his right hand held a faintly glowing windswept tree.

"I'm okay," Izzy said out loud but realized they all sat inside a helicopter, so no one could hear her. She concentrated on the portraits of Patch, Crash, and Shamrock before repeating her words.

I'm okay.

Both the captain and Patch, the only faces Izzy could see clearly in the darkness, looked relieved.

Izzy felt like her mind had been wrung out like an old dish rag, and her whole body ached like she had a terrible flu.

Now, Izzy was certain: Shamrock carried the icon of a goddess on his right palm.

Izzy’s vision returned completely, and she made out Shamrock studying her, his eyes full of concern.

How many secrets did Shamrock hold?