Sophie

Silence.

Quiet.

The only sound that can be heard is the cold water dripping every few seconds from the pipe above my head.

Silence.

Silence.

I don’t like silence. I’ve never liked having too much time with my thoughts. They never comfort me. Those thoughts. Memories. Haunting memories of the last time I saw them. The last time anyone saw anything.

The silence is broken by footsteps on the street; that too familiar rhythmic tapping of metallic boots on the wet asphalt… or what is left of it. “I think it’s the Falcon’s,” I whisper to Thom.

“What are they doing this far from the Center?” He asks.

“They’re looking for me.” I say.

“Looking for you? Who are you?”

“Sophie… The last Puritan.”

I wait… wait for his response. He puts his hand on my shoulder. I can feel the stinging cold from his metal fingers even through my coat. My heart starts beating quickly, as it has been doing for the past ten years of my life. It’s been almost twenty-five years since the first Cyborgian attack; massacre is a better name for it.

Deaiusin. Eleanor Deaiusin, the peacemaker, was supposed to bridge the world between the cyborgs, the humans, and the last of the Puritans. Thousands gathered at the Center to hear the words of the great Eleanor; words that rung with truth, prosperity and hope. She promised peace among the people, guaranteeing freedom to voices that clamored for answers. She promised, as a Puritan, to protect us and mend the tensions that were lingering from constant fighting.

“Peace,” she proclaimed.

Peace, we needed.

Peace, we believed.

We were wrong.

My mother and father were there two days later, marching against a tyrannical rise of Deaiusin’s Regime. Our people marched bravely to the Center after hearing about her treason. She became a cyborg and declared war on the Puritans. Hundreds of Puritans, the last of their kind, marched on with a few cyborgian and human allies.

But no one knew… the Falcons were there as well.

The Falcons were Eleanor’s elite; fourteen cyborgs dedicated to one thing and one thing only: loyalty to Eleanor Deaiusin. She was more than a leader to them. She was their religion. She was their god. There were few things they couldn’t do. And there was nothing they wouldn’t do for her.

The Falcons marched by the side of the puritans, pretending to be cyborgian allies. They would yell, “Freedom!” and “Hail the Dove and the Olive Branch, great leaders of the Puritans!” When the others responded with a thunderous “Hail!” they would take vials of Vidzom venom and inject it into their necks. The venom would spread through the body into the mind of the victim in less than a minute. Not enough time for the victim to react, but just enough time for the Falcons to move on to their next target.

The Vidzom venom took over the minds of cyborgs and Puritans alike, turning them into mindless, violent creatures that started killing anything in their paths. Chaos ensued in the midst of the protest. No one knew who was attacking who. The military police at the Center did what they thought to be right.

“Open fire!” yelled the General.

And they did.

The bodies of cyborgs, humans and Puritans started collapsing on the cold concrete, staining it with the blood of the brave. The Falcons did not stop there. Four moved on to end the military police. Three waded through the crowd to find the leaders of the Puritans. Six were sent to the Center’s military division, to assume control of the military. The remaining one was sent to the Center Hospital. He was to wait for the wounded there and… finish the job.

When the four finished off the military police, the three came back holding the Dove and the Olive Branch. They took them to the Center block and executed them. My parents… gone. Taken away from me, at the hands of the Falcons.

Thom interrupts my thoughts with a heavy, yet hopeful sigh.

“I thought you were merely legend.”

“I’m as real as anyone can be. Less real than I’d desire, but real nonetheless.” I reply, hesitant, still wondering why his hand is on my shoulder.

Thom chuckles a bit, and nods in agreement.

“I know what you mean. Bearing a load given by birth, not by choice; terrible existence, but existence indeed.”

He speaks passionately, listens intently, and it makes me anxious. Reminds me of the Elders of the Puritans. After the massacre, Deaiusin started hunting us down. Inevitably, we went into hiding. We scoured the sewers in search for survival but found death trap after death trap. Hundreds were found in the first few months. Our numbers kept dwindling until only about 80 remained. I was five years old at the time. I was the youngest of them all. The Elders kept me close, fearing the Falcons would find me before I turned 16.

When a Puritan is born, a drop of blood leaks out of the right eye. Tradition dictates the drop be held in a heart-shaped locket made of 10% silver, 10% copper, and 80% gold. The Elders taught me that, when I was ready, they were to teach me the power that drop contained, and why I was to guard it with my life. They were captured and killed before they could. I've been alone ever since.

“So, why are you in the sewers?” I ask Thom.

“I’m 43 years old.”

“Oh.” I said, “The 7 year mandate.”

“Yes”

When Deaiusin took power, she ordered all humans over the age of seven to be killed or be forced to become cyborg troops for her army. The rest were to be cared for by certain cyborgs and “taught” by the Deaiusin Regime. Their minds were still young enough to be molded into believing anything. They were trained into believing Eleanor Deaiusin was the savior of the world, born as a gift to humans and cyborgs. She erased history books, destroyed statues, and snuffed out any trace of the Puritans and the massacre, including anyone opposed to the Regime. Or so I thought.

“I was 18 when we opened fire to the people at the Center,” says Thom.

“I thought it was my duty. That is, until I saw the eyes of those dying at my hand. I could not bear it. I took my rifle off my shoulder and hid in an alley. That’s when a Falcon swung his dagger at me. I managed to move, but he still cut almost my entire left hand off. As he went for a second blow, the Dove came and blew the Falcon’s leg off. She had a vial of Vidzom venom on her neck, still dangling, but she seemed impervious to its effects.”

I… I can’t move, or think, or even breathe. I’m stunned at the story Thom is telling me.

“As you know, cyborgs can regenerate any part of their body, so long as it’s metallic,” he continues. “Still, your mother’s actions gave me enough time to escape. For a while, at least. They captured me soon after.”

“Is that why you became a cyborg?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“So, you are part of her military?”

“No,” he replies. “I was spared military due to my ease of teaching. I was able to convince the Falcon General to allow me to become a teacher. As a teacher, I was granted access to the Center archives, where I discovered the plans for these old sewers. I prepared for a few years until I finally escaped. I’ve been living in these sewers since then. I always knew there were Puritans down here, but by the time I came, all were gone. I gave up hope until today, when I found you.”

I am at a loss of words. Thom’s story is incredible, but what does he mean by hope? What hope could I give anyone? I cannot give what I do not possess.

Can I?

“I’ve been down here for what seems like millennia. After all, it’s hard to tell time without the sun and the moon telling you which is day and which is night.”

I knew what he meant. I haven’t seen the light of day since the Regime finished the construction of the Dome surrounding the city. That was a decade ago. That was when they started hunting for me personally. I don’t know what is significant about the day I turned sixteen, but maybe Thom does.

“What else do you know about the Puritans?” I ask Thom.

“I’m sensing you have a particular question you want to ask me.” He replies.

My heart starts pounding again. I didn’t noticed when he let go of my shoulder, but his hand was back on it again. I gather up my courage and take out my heart-shaped locket from under my jacket.

“Can you tell me why this locket is so important?”

Thom’s eyes fill with surprise. He seems eager, intrigued and terrified at the same time. He reaches for the locket, but I pull away. I think he senses my unease.

“I’m sorry. I can tell you without touching it.” He says.

“This locket contains your first drop of blood. But it is much more than that. You see, you are a Puritan, otherwise known as the sons of God. The first creation. Your DNA is special. It has the power of creation itself. The silver in the locket keeps its integrity, the copper its strength, and the gold its power. The shape of the locket ensures it has enough space to remain effective.”

“How does it have the ‘power of creation’?” I ask.

“I don’t know how it works, but I do know why Deaiusin is terrified of it. The moment you turn sixteen, it's transformation is complete and can render her and her army powerless.” Thom explains.

“Puritan DNA, when released vastly using a specific instrument, has the ability to remove metallic DNA from a human body, turning cyborgs back into humans. And, since the Falcons and Deaiusin herself have made most of their bodies metallic, those metallic parts will disappear, turning them into helpless torsos and heads.”

“Again, I do not know how it works, but I do know this: they will stop at nothing to find it. However, there is a chamber under the Center palace where the instrument you need is located. If you’re ready, I can take you there.”

I’m not ready. I’ve never been ready, and I never will. But if this is how we end this reign of terror, so be it.

“Let’s go.”

We move along the sewers. The tension in my mind is drowning; the heartbeat in my ears is deafening. I struggle on, my breath getting heavier. And yet my soul is hopeful. Hopeful of a future outside these sewers.

We get to a large door with silver, copper, and gold décor all over it. Thom pushes a few buttons in a certain order and it opens. We walk in, cautiously.

The inside is beautiful. The light hurts but feels amazing. The colors on the floor and walls wrap around me, filling me with joy.

I am at peace.

A voice awakens me.

“Thomas. Have you done what I asked?”

“Yes, master. I am your humble servant, here to deliver the daughter of the Dove and the Olive Branch. I present your prisoner: Sophie, the last Puritan.”

The lights grow dim. The colors change to a dark red as the Falcons surround me. I see a woman getting closer to me. It has to be Deaiusin.

“Thank you, Thomas.” She says as she walks towards me, her face still hidden in the shadows. “What would I do without you, my Son.”

I am frozen. I cannot think… or breathe. Her face is still hidden in the shadows. She extends her hand and grips me with her metal fingers. She leans in enough for her face to become lit. I’m stunned. I can only say one word:

“Mom?”