Qubits

"The scriptures aren't like, a religious thing. Or, not really I guess", Miri said to Ethan, staring right at him instead of the road while accelerating down the highway.

"Eyes on the road!" Miri just smirked.

"Like I was saying, the scriptures are actually culled from ancient writings, religions, prophecies, even some artwork, of all the cultures on Earth. Religion always tries to answer 'why' and usually the answers are ridiculous, because people are stupid." Miri smiled again. "Still, after thousands of years, and billions of people, asking 'why', some patterns emerge. We saw the patterns hundreds of years ago, and have been preparing."

"We. You mean your organization, the Fraternity of the Rising Phoenix?" Ethan said, looking at her sidelong. It was a ridiculous name, and he still thought it was all some elaborate hoax.

It isn't often you come back from the dead, and find a hot woman and a bunch of commandos who say they have been waiting a few hundred years so they could protect you. Ethan never missed his family and regular school life as much as he did then.

"Yes, we go by Forp, for short," said Miri.

"Forp? That sounds even dumber than the actual name," Ethan laughed. Then Miri punched his arm.

He considered the woman beside him. Even though she was young looking, and a powerful warrior, he knew she had to be in her 20s... at least, right? She seemed to like him, but he knew that was really about the prophecy. After all, he was still in high school... but then she smiled at him and he didn't care why she was with him, he just wanted to enjoy it.

"I think I could come up with a better name," Ethan said. "How about 'Ninjas Over Other Bastards'?"

"That doesn't seem to make sense either," Miri said looking a little puzzled. Then she hit him again. "NOOBs!, you little jerk," but she was laughing as she punched him mercilessly.

Ethan laughed a little too, but he fell back into his thoughts. They were travelling to a new safe house he was told, and apparently Liam was going to check on his family and the people watching them. He hadn't met much of Forp yet, but he had seen a room full of armed people at various times meeting with Miri and Liam, and thought maybe there were 20 or so in this 'cell', as Miri called it. He believed she was sincere, but Forp seemed like a cross between a cult and a terror organization... with a beautiful captain, mind you.

"So the people watching my family... they aren't bad guys, but you don't work together? So how did you both end up focused on me and my family?" Ethan said. He had asked versions of this question before, but it all really hadn't made sense.

"They are called, The Centre. It is a really powerful organization, and we have shared information in the past. You aren't the first Locus that has appeared you know." Miri paused, it could be dangerous to share too much with Ethan, he was still a kid. He was clever and strong, and had amazing combat abilities though.

"Think of it like this. Forp is focused on Earth, on the things that we've observed and prophesied over the millennia. The Centre is more... science based? We seem to believe similar things, but they are looking to the stars and science to find their answers. The fact that both groups came to you tells me that we are working towards similar goals."

"And what is that goal exactly? Other than kidnapping, I mean," Ethan said with a smile. Strangely, he felt embarrassed. He really didn't want to highlight that he was a kid to Miri.

"The best goal of all, of course. Saving the world"

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"... Saving the world, of course," Cedric said. He had a big easy smile on his face, even as they sped down the highway. Dan wasn't sure if he was joking, or if the guy was deluded enough to believe it. However, Dan was willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt after they saved him from a sword wielding maniac.

"Ok, sure. What I meant was, why was that guy after us? What is going at Lily's house? And what the hell is the Centre again?" Dan was still on an adrenalin high, maybe that is why panic hadn't set in completely yet. Lily was worrying him though, she hadn't said a word since they got into the vehicle.

The SUV seemed to be driving fine, despite ramming into a person and a wall. Dan noticed how confident, and how big, this Cedric guy was. 'He might be dangerous even without the vehicle,' Dan thought.

"That is a mouthful of questions son, and you deserve answers. I can't tell you everything, but I will say that the Centre is on your side. We suspected that the events preceding Ethan's death might interest certain groups, and this could put the family at risk. Colleagues of mine were there, watching for danger," Cedric said, then paused. He looked directly in Dan's eyes.

"I don't know what happened at Ethan and Lily's house, but I do know that my team of 5 agents were all killed. The people that did it were from the same group as the man threatening you. Before I could learn more, I saw you both approaching and knew I had to get to you fast."

"My parents are dead, aren't they?" Lily said. It sounded like a question, but her eyes were hard and arresting.

'What a lovely girl,' thought Cedric.

"That's crazy! Tell her that is crazy," Dan said, almost franticly.

Cedric's lips drew in a tight line. "Look, I prioritized getting you away safely over getting more information, but," he turned to look at Lily, "I think so. Yes." He looked back to the road. He didn't want to tell her this, but there was no sense lying either. Better to pull of the band-aid. These fuckers were ruthless, and, with more than 30 trained Centre members dead, he knew a mom and dad didn't stand a chance.

"So tell me, how does this all relate to Ethan? And how are we going to kill those bastards?" The words were calmly spoken, but that hard edge was still in her eyes.

"Lets get to safety, and then we will start making plans." It was as much as Cedric could promise at this point.

"The world has gone fucking crazy," Dan whispered to himself. Even though Lily and Cedric heard him, they thought he was just commenting on their conversation. They couldn't tell that he was now seeing the world through an electric blue filter. It had been happening sporadically since the accident, for seconds at a time, but for the last two minutes his senses were overloaded by this extra information.

He could see and hear Cedric and Lily just fine, but at the same time he saw pale blue mirages of them that moved slightly differently, had different expressions, or said slightly different things. It was like they were surrounded by a cloud of afterimages that seemed to be doing the wrong things! Even more strangely, instead of a cacophony of noise drowning out the real conversation, he could hear everything. He wasn't sure how.

'Did I hit my head harder than I thought? Do I have a mental illness?' Dan thought. He looked out of the window to avoid the distraction of Cedric's and Lily's... 'what are those images, ghosts?' he thought. Gazing out at the dark highway, he watched as they passed cars and long haul freighters... and ghost cars, and a surprising number of ghost car crashes.

"Fuck" Dan said, then closed his eyes.

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