Short Story – Clean Up

Surreal was the best word to describe what Brandon felt as he stood on the parapet overlooking the city below. Thunderstorm raged overhead in the late afternoon sky while massive amount of raindrops fell from the black colossal clouds, pulled and tugged by the strings of Earth gravity. The thunderous clapping of raindrops against the windows and concrete made him believe he was in a concert hall, right after the end of a show.

Like an eagle targeting its prey, he watched a particular group of people as they cross the road towards the opposite building—a church. He was on mission and planned it for months. If he fail to complete this mission, the repercussions would be disastrous.

The group of people looked like any other civilians on the street. In the heavy rain, visibility was low but it didn’t affect him as he was not a human being. He was something more. With his genetically enhanced eyes, he could still see his targets and make out the smallest detail that humans would require a telescope to see.

These people were armed to the teeth with automatic plasma-based weapons and were not of Earth either. They had been hiding amongst the humans, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Their main goal was the destruction of all religions and had been roaming around the galaxy, seeking out religious group to mount attacks against them.

It was not the first time Brandon had crossed path with them and this time, he hoped to put a stop to this menace.

As soon as the group arrived at the church gate, he leapt off the parapet. His feet touched ground seconds later and was not injured despite the height of at least six stories. His landing was softened by his use of telekinesis. Even without that ability, his bones were dense and tough enough to withstand the impact energy from a fall at this height with ease. His rapid healing could also fix any organic damages incurred without any issue.

On the surface, he looked like any other fifteen-year-old but his actual age was at least three times that amount. He stood no taller than sixty-seven inches and was of average build at best. His blemishless, boyish face allowed him to sneak through most places with ease and could get near to his target with without raising an alarm. Everyone believed, on first sight, he was just another child until he attacked at the least expected moment.

Brandon wore a simple black cargo pants, a hooded black jacket with white tees and a pair of canvas shoes. It was his favorite dress code and he never goes anywhere without his hooded jacket.

Though drenched, he never felt cold as his body automatically produced more heat to compensate. Brandon stuffed his hands into the side pockets of his pants with the hood over his head. He walked briskly towards the church while ignoring the stares people gave as they carried umbrellas and hurried across the street. They thought he was one of those spoilt children walking in the rain.

His targeted group entered the church. Brisk walk broke into a sprint as he knew he had only minutes before everyone in the church ended up dead. And It was Sunday. The amount of causalities would be unthinkable.

When Brandon reached the church gates, he rolled up the sleeves of his jacket, revealing two unique armlet-like devices on both of his forearms. They were of different sizes and the one on the left had some blinking lights along the edge.

“Eva, fabricate sword and pistol and switch to battle order 3,” Brandon spoke without specifically looking at anything. Eva was the Artificial Intelligence residing in the devices on Brandon’s left arm.

“Acknowledged. Beginning fabrication. Battle order 3 initiated.”

He yanked the door open. As he stepped through the entrance, a twenty-two inches sword materialized in his left hand. The edges of the sword’s blade glowed with baleful yellow. The sword was made of materials alien to Earth and was extremely durable, able to withstand a direct nuclear blast and light to carry.

Brandon walked in and shouted, “Your attacks on religions end today!”

The group turned around simultaneously. Their faces were hideously disfigured but they had hoods on, preventing the public from having any actual glimpses.

One of them said with a low booming voice, “Ah, a Perfect Child. Even with all your powers, weapons and technology, we will succeed today. Earth will understand that religion is illegal.”

Brandon was never given the chance to response when suddenly; he felt the air behind him changed in pressure. As a Perfect Child, Brandon’s reaction time and senses were at least six times faster than a human being. He knew danger was coming and he sidestepped to see a large battleaxe landed on the floor near his foot. The impact cracked the concrete floor.

He glanced to the side to see a large burly man holding on to the axe. The man had been hiding in the small landing above the main door all the while, and Brandon’s mind immediately sounded alarm. The group had known all along that he would come. So they set up the ambush to kill him first.

A large pistol operating on the principles of electro-magnetism appeared in Brandon’s right hand. Brandon spun, bring his pistol up to shoulder level and he squeezed the trigger. A loud crack echoed as a heavy slug burst out of the barrel at speeds exceeding four times that of sound. The slug slammed into the man’s chest, punching through and exited through the back, severing the spinal column in the process. Blood spewed out of the holes on both side and the man dropped to the ground dead.

However, before the man hit the ground, Brandon had thrown out his sword at the group like it was a shuriken. By then, the congregation had broken up, screaming and cowering in fear from the gunshot. The first two men dodged out of the way but the sword struck and severe two other men’s head. Their neck stump spurted blood as the body dropped to the ground. The sword continued spinning until it was brought down by gravity. It impaled itself against the concrete floor.

Four more men remaining and they pulled out their plasma-based weapons. They aimed their weapons at Brandon and squeezed the triggers. Hot bluish plasma balls flew out of the barrels at high speed but Brandon dodged the shots. The balls struck the door and burned through it, starting a fire.

Brandon jumped onto the benches and gestured with his left hand. Brandon telekinetically pulled the sword out and threw it at the next available target while aiming his pistol at a target on the corridor above him. He fired the pistol just as the sword penetrated through the enemy’s torso and cutting the heart into half. The bullet found the target in the head and splattered brain matter all over. The target was dead before he dropped to the ground with a thud.

All the while, the enemy plasma shots continued to miss Brandon as he leapt from bench to bench, performing his self-created style of gun-sword play. Within minutes, the battle ended and all his target were terminated.

Brandon lingered around for a few minutes when he heard the police sirens. Even against the heavy rain, the sirens were distinct and clear. Someone had called the police. Brandon, not wanting any trouble, disappeared in a blue flash of light, leaving behind the frighten congregation and dead alien bodies.

P.S.: I wrote the initial draft of the story back in 2009 and only found it yesterday. I decided to edit parts of the story to make it read better but I made sure I keep the core of the story.