Chapter 20: The Eternal Agony

A Section X agent in black suit and tie pushed the door open. A Phasewalker gave him a glance before walking inside. As soon as he was in, the Section X agent turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving the Phasewalker in complete privacy.

The Phasewalker looked around the room before an image was suddenly projected on the screen in front of him. On the screen, a man stood there. His face was hidden behind a full face mask, covering his identity. When he spoke, his voice was distorted. The Phasewalker couldn't even tell if the speaker was a man or a woman.

"Congratulations, Private. Your presence here means you have been identified as one of the most valuable members inside the Phasewalker Corps in terms of skills, determination, and most particularly, loyalty."

The voice continued.

"I think we can all agree that Earth is under attack. Our very Motherland is under siege. The Phasewalker Corps is intended to address the interdimensional threats, but while Colonel Hunter has managed to rally the morale, the unfortunate fact is that where there are people, there will always be those among us who will intentionally or unintentionally undermine our cause and bring danger upon our world."

The Phasewalker Private remained still and stoic as the speaker continued.

"Cowards, whose routing on the battlefield, if left unpunished, will break the morale of the whole unit. Opportunists, whose only intention inside the Corps is to harvest the benefits. Their lack of loyalty toward our cause means they must be identified and removed from the Corps at lightning speed. Incompetent officers, whose rapid ascension to power has deviated them from their proper path. They, and a thousand more categories of malice, must be dealt with by a surgical, yet covert hand that will stop at nothing to serve that purpose."

"For some, only the knowledge that transgression means certain death can stop them from committing their sins. For others, it's a bullet to the head."

The man on the other side of the camera stood up.

"I am personally appointed by the President to create the Shieldbearer Division. Shieldbearers will be chosen from the most loyal and determined members of the Phasewalkers. Some will act as commissars in the Phasewalker Corps with their identities revealed to all. Others will lurk in the shadows, using their covert presence to spy on and sabotage individuals that may pose a threat to our cause. Both types of Shieldbearers will work together to secure our nation and, ultimately, Humanity as a whole."

The speaker held his hand out and pointed at something down below. The Private walked over. There, on a table, sat a badge designed like a shield. It was metallic with a red border. Its left half was painted completely black while the right half was snow white.

"Pick up this badge, and you willingly become a Shieldbearer. By doing so, you willingly accept all the responsibilities and risks." The speaker said quietly. "Your compensations will be multiplied, but you will be obliged to do everything in your power to stop any ill-intent against Earth, even if that means certain death. Fail to do that, and you and your family will be punished."

"If you have any questions, ask now."

The Private turned and glanced at the door he came through in.

"Can I still leave?"

"Yes, but what you saw and heard today, you don't tell a single soul. Failure to do that will lead to severe punishments."

"Why me?" The man asked a question. "I am far from the most talented, and I haven't been as outspoken in terms of my loyalty as some of my peers."

Indeed, when some of his most extrovert comrades were expressing in words how many Mutants they would slay once they cross the Portal or how they would've acted if they were part of the vanguard, he didn't say a word.

"I have detailed files on you, Private." The distorted voice and the full face mask hid everything about the speaker. Unless the Phasewalker agreed to join, he must be kept somewhat in the dark.

"Most of our comrades are in the Corps because of one reason or another. Money. Pride. A chance to be known by all. The promise of a grand future. That is all well, but to be a Shieldbearer, one must go one step beyond. To be a Shieldbearer, you must be a part of the Corps because you truly believe in our cause. Because you truly want the best for our nation and the human race. People like that, they rarely talk. They only act. Only such individuals will do what is best for our cause, even if it means giving up everything: their reputation. Their money. Ultimately, their lives."

"And how do you know I am one of them?"

"I have detailed information on your bank account. After receiving your compensation, you only spent them on what was necessary. The medical bills and mortgage of your parents. The tuition to get your brother to a private high school. The rest, you kept in a savings account. This didn't change after you knew we would be crossing the Portal soon. Compared to those of us who threw away all their compensations on entertainment, you are extremely responsible. Of course, that doesn't mean you will remain responsible, but for now, people like you are all we've got."

The Private nodded slowly before reaching down and picking up the Shield, accepting the appointment.

The speaker tilted his head and slowly removed his face mask, revealing an identity the Private immediately recognized. Ryan Carlson. So that was why he hasn't been appointed into an official position yet...

Ryan went on to talk about the mechanics. How the Shieldbearers would act. What were the protocols of moving and striking. So on.

As the meeting concluded, the Phasewalker left, and the screen went blank, Ryan quietly used the moment of privacy and took a breather. Masks weren't really his thing. As he stretched his neck, he quietly reached into his pocket and pulled out a Shield of his own.

This one had a shiny golden border instead of a red one, revealing Ryan's identity as the head of the Shieldbearers.

The black and white contrast in the middle of the Shield remained the same, symbolizing the nature of the Shieldbearers: They were the light that would contrast whatever darkness that would expose their ugly nature to the Phasewalkers.

When the President and General Kennedy offered him the position as the Colonel in command of the entire 1st Phasewalker Battalion, Ryan refused. Being out there in the open and making key tactical choices just wasn't his thing.

The task with the Shieldbearers worked a lot better for him. It was more of a cold, hard individual job that required logic and determination rather than the ability to make open decisions, face endless debates, or be the model for hundreds of men and women to look up to.

As the head of the Shieldbearers, Ryan Carlson only answered to the President. He didn't even have to answer to General Kennedy. This meant a lot of freedom and power for one individual, but Ryan has proven with his past actions that he wouldn't fail the trust placed onto him.

The President didn't have any other candidate either.

Finally, he rubbed the Shield before returning it to his pocket and calling out an order.

"Bring in the next one."

---

Caity walked down the white hallway of a hospital. A man was hot on her heels.

Caity glanced at the man on the right and sighed. Her initial days as the commanding Colonel of the 1st Phasewalker Battalion wasn't exactly perfect. First, she had to come to the realization that as the ranking officer in the Corps, she needed an assistant.

"To be fair, I am also your bodyguard, your driver, and your secretary. I'm more than just an assistant."

That was what the man said when Caity expressed her concerns. He was a Phasewalker by the name of Eric Hemingway. "And, I know what you're thinking. I am not related to that guy that wrote Old Man and the Sea that you were forced to read in high school. It's just a coincidence."

Caity had to agree as much as she didn't like having a guy follow her around, she had no choice. Someone had to help her with her job so she could focus on the more important things. She couldn't make decisions nearly as well if she had to drive her own car or look over her shoulder every other second.

Before she could put that behind, she found herself with a concern not completely related to the 1st Battalion.

"Maria Throne, former Phasewalker Ava Throne's mother…" Eric reported.

Caity cut him off. "Just Phasewalker, no former. She died one of us. She will always be one of us." She said sternly. Even now, she could remember the way Ava's body laid there beside the Humvee. In pieces.

Eric nodded slowly, not fighting Caity on that. "Mrs. Throne has been hospitalized for cancer. Section X moved her to a more privileged location after Ava became a combat medic. Lately, her treatment has been making progress. She has woken up, and she has been asking to see her daughter."

Caity froze right then and there. "Didn't Section X tell her what happened?"

"They never got the chance." Eric shrugged. "Mrs. Throne has been unconscious the entire time. Last time she could remember things, Ava just joined Project Phasewalker."

"And what's their excuse to leave that to me?" The Colonel complained. "This is not World Alpha. There are a hundred people more qualified in PR to decide what to do with this."

"Actually," Eric paused. "actually, I asked for the job...well, for you."

"What?" Caity snapped around at her new secretary. "I definitely don't recall giving you an order for that."

"Indeed," Eric shrugged, not at all intimidated by the annoyance of his boss. "look. Maria Throne is old and sick. If Section X goes to her, they will tell her the truth! Can you imagine how she will react when she hears that her only daughter got ripped to pieces in another world? Especially, Ava died to save her! I doubt that'll be good for her health."

"And what can I do, exactly?" Caity failed to see the point of all this. Even she couldn't go back in time, at least not now. Did Eric expect her to pose as Ava and hope her mother wouldn't notice?

The answer was much simpler.

"You can lie." Eric answered quietly. "Tell her Ava's on another mission or something. Keep her hopes up."

"Yes...so when the truth comes out, she'll be hurt even more!"

"At least she'll be alive to be hurt!" Eric exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how much it takes to fight off cancer? If you tell her the truth, then she'll have nothing to live for! Do you think that's what Ava would've wanted?"

Caity frowned. "I don't lie. I value my own credibility." She whispered quietly. "Lying is not what Ryan would do."

Now, if it was anyone else here, they would've just gone quiet at this point, but not Eric. He heard the whisper, and he wasn't afraid to show Caity he did.

"Ryan Carlson is a good soldier. We all saw it. That's a fact." He protested. "But that doesn't mean he is perfect, or that everything he does is correct and should be followed!"

Caity snapped around in anger. Even though she wouldn't admit it, but deep down, she has been adoring Ryan since the first days she met him. This admiration reached a peak during and after the exploratory mission. She did what she saw he did. Although it didn't work well with her parents, she didn't blame Ryan. It was her parents' fault. Likewise, she didn't react to Eric's suggestion that well.

"You are in no position to challenge him." She protected Ryan without a second thought. "I just knew your name today, and Ryan has saved my life." She turned back. "Fine, I will go to the hospital, but I will be telling Mrs. Throne the truth."

She remembered what Ryan said. What to say was her problem. How the others would react was not.

Eric opened his mouth, but he quietly returned to silence. A few hours later, the two were there. As she walked to the hospital room, Caity eyed a Section X agent in a suit sitting outside the room. Eric leaned forward and explained.

"Mrs. Throne has demonstrated unstable tendencies. The agent is here on the off chance that she decided to expose us. You know, out of grief." He said slowly, hoping his words could change Caity's opinion.

Caity didn't answer. The agent looked up as she approached, but he quickly turned his attention away as Caity and Eric walked into the private room.

There, laying on a bed, was an old woman. Her head was bold, and if there was one word that could describe her, it was frail. Her arms and legs looked like tree branches with grey veins exploding outwards.

She looked up as soon as she heard the door open. When she saw a blonde in a black suit, her eyes widened in excitement. That excitement quickly died down when she realized it wasn't her daughter that came to see her, and any words that could've come out her mouth ended up being a few weak coughs.

"Mrs. Throne," Caity started. "my name is Caity Hunter. I…" She gulped. "I am from Section X."

"Oh!" It took the mother a few seconds to comprehend what Caity said, but when she did, she exclaimed with excitement. "So you know my daughter!"

"Yes. I did...do." Caity paused. Go on, Caity. Say it. Say it! I'm sorry, but your daughter was killed in a mission. Just say it and get this over with! But looking down at the dark yet hopeful eyes of the mother, she found herself speechless. It was as if her vocal cord suddenly decided to take the day off.

"Well, how is she?" Mrs. Throne asked impatiently. "She's in some sort of training, right? The last time she came to see me, she said she's becoming a doctor!" She stared into Caity's eyes, waiting for an answer.

It suddenly occurred to Caity that Ava never told her mother she was becoming a combat medic.

Suddenly, she took a deep breath. Tell the truth! Your responsibility is to tell the truth! Nothing else matters! How this old woman would react was none of her concerns!

"Your daughter was part of a vanguard into World Alpha. She, along with ten other men on the job, was killed in action." Caity was spitting out words quicker than she ever did before. "Section X will take care of all your medical treatment and cover all your expenses. I...I am sorry for your loss."

With those words spat out, she turned around and dashed out of the door. As the sound of the mother crying appeared behind her, for a brief second, Caity suddenly wished she was the one mauled to death in that Humvee.

Sometimes, it took more strength to live than to die. For the dead, the pain was brief. For the living, the agony was eternal.