This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. This work contains mature themes, including violence and sexually explicit content, and may not be suitable for all audiences. It is only intended for readers 18 years and older. Reader discretion advised.

The trial of Albert Rosemont would not take more than a day. This was painfully obvious to Alexei as he listened to the witness testimony being piped through the speakers in his booth. The retired esper was a remorseless fraudster, womanizer, and cheat, who used his limited telepathic powers to talk women out of their panties as well as their pocketbooks. He was guilty– there was no getting around that fact, but he was a citizen of Oclesa, and therefore, the trial was a mandatory formality. After three more women took the stand against Mr. Rosemont, Alexei’s attention started to wane, and he opted for sketching a few crude doodles on the back of the map he retrieved from his pocket– a small, black bird holding a cigarette butt between its beak, a rabbit holding onto a severed human foot “for luck,” and a happy tree with a cartoon face, basking in the sunlight. 

As he checked the time on the device, the booth began to shake. No, not just the booth, it was the entire room that was shaking. Alexei jumped to his feet, pressing his face against the tinted glass to get a better view of the room as he braced himself with his hands on either side of the box. Was this an earthquake? The lawyers still in their seats held on to the tops of the tables, scrambling to keep their neat stacks of evidence from scattering across the floor, and the bailiff beside the bench hopped into action, securing the accused's hands once more with a pair of handcuffs. 

The doors at the back of the room swung open, and through them marched a small outfit of guards, all fitted with the same white berets Alexei had seen earlier. Upon seeing them, something inside him started to twist and gnaw as if trying to escape. He instinctively reached for the door handle, but stopped himself, remembering the rules outlined on the device from earlier. Then through the speakers, a voice crackled to life.

CITIZEN, DO NOT BE ALARMED - - - A GATE HAS BEEN DETECTED WITHIN YOUR VICINITY - - - MILITARY AND CENTER PERSONNEL HAVE BEEN DISPATCHED - - - PLEASE REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE UNTIL YOU RECEIVE EVACUATION INSTRUCTIONS - - - THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR PART

The speaker crackled again and the voice retreated. Alexei, anxiety swelling up like a tsunami in his chest, barely had a moment to process what he was hearing before a pair of guards were opening the door attached to his box. He stood there, arms outstretched, holding onto the walls, just staring at them for a moment before he realized one was speaking to him and in a daze, simply said, “What?”

“Juror #03270901, the trial of Albert Rosemont has been called to recess. Please follow us to the evacuation spot.” They turned in unison and Alexei scrambled out of the booth, breathless and hot on their heels. When they reached the hallway, people from every court room and office were filtering into a large crowd that moved like a frightened school of fish, pushing ever forward. As the group entered the plaza, it no longer held any of the architectural charm it had upon his arrival, debris and rubble littered the ground, smoke rose up over the walls, and one of the large columns he’d passed under earlier had been severed clean in half. Alexei balked at the sight of the destruction, but the mob at his back refused to let him linger, pushing him towards the center. 

It was around that time that he finally saw it. There, over a smoking block of mixed used buildings and mid-rise office spaces rose a massive gate. Alexei could barely breathe. It was several stories tall and shone like an angry, red sun with a gaping maw that tore itself open across its diameter. Out of it poured shrieks and yowls, discordant enough to drive a man to madness. Alexei knew those sounds. He heard them over and over again in his nightmares– along with the sounds of crunching bones and the tearing of flesh. He fell to his knees, slapping his palm over his mouth to keep from vomiting. By some small mercy the crowd had thinned, and so he wasn’t immediately trampled as he wretched. 

CITIZEN, PLEASE REMAIN WITHIN THE JUDICIAL PLAZA - - - MILITARY PERSONNEL AND AWAKENED HAVE BEEN DISPATCHED TO YOUR LOCATION TO ELIMINATE THE THREAT - - - YOU ARE SAFE WHERE YOU ARE, CITIZEN - - - PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RELOCATE - - - DO YOUR PART AND REMAIN CALM

Alexei doubted very much that any of them were safe where they were. It was far more likely that the powers that be simply wanted to avoid panic in the streets. All around him groups of people huddled together, checking their devices for additional news. One of the women nearest Alexei was watching a live stream from someone who lived in a high-rise apartment with direct views of the gate. She jumped up, waving her phone for anyone to see. “They’re here,” she yelled, “The Merciful have come to save us. We’ll be alright!”

This seemed to calm the crowd, though it did nothing to alleviate Alexei’s panic. The only reason The Merciful were ever dispatched was if a gate was truly a city-wide threat. Whatever was inside that gate had not even begun to rear its ugly head. The earthquake, the destruction, the death count of a decimated city block– all child’s play compared to what was to come. It bothered Alexei to no end that so few around him seemed to understand that. He started to wretch again, and the contents of his stomach emptied into his lap. From behind, a firm hand gripped his shoulder. “Citizen, you have been identified as in need of medical aid. Please comply with paramedics as we perform a routine physical examination.” 

Alexei tried to get up– tried with everything he had inside him to stand and run, but his body had nothing left to give and it crumpled into a filthy mess on the ground. The two paramedics at his side jumped to action, moving him into a position where they could begin their exam. One, a fair-haired woman in her mid-twenties, held a small light up to his eyes, moving it back and forth as he blinked in progressively erratic intervals. “Can you knock that off?” he groaned, swatting at her hand in frustration. “I don’t need any medical attention, I’m fine!” The other paramedic stepped between them, putting the full weight of his burly frame against Alexei’s shoulder as he tried, once again, to stand. “Sir,” the man ordered, “Please remain calm and allow us to do our jobs. You are experiencing heightened levels of distress and will be held liable for any injuries our team may sustain at your hands.” 

Alexei let himself go boneless at that. It was a polite threat, but it was a threat all the same. The woman resumed her exam, calling out his blood pressure and heart rate to the man as he entered the results into a bracer-like device on his arm. It wasn’t until she pulled out a small pen-like device and held it up to his bare forearm, that Alexei started to thrash. “Sir,” she snapped, thinning patience evident in her tone, “your blood type is necessary for the formulation of your prescription, please comply. Just one small prick…”

The cold metal once again touched down against his arm and Alexei, unable to wrangle the animalistic, terrified part of his brain into submission, started swinging. He felt the knee on his shoulder press in harshly and the sharp prick of a needle enter his arm. “Get the fuck off of me!” he screamed, his voice sounding shrill and disembodied as his vision started to narrow to a pinprick, the corners closing in with nauseating speed. Right before Alexei slipped unconscious, the last thing he saw was a rainbow clad in white and gold soaring overhead.