I do not own any of the Fate Series, or any other series I write about in this sight.

Account P a treon: P a (slash) Parcasious

Amazon Name: Parcasious Grace

US Link (Delete Whitespace in link before searching) : Amazon. com/dp/B087WXMTZM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=parcasious&qid=1588230061&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Canada Link (Delete Whitespace in link before searching) : Amazon. ca/dp/B087WXMTZM/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=parcasious&qid=1588274061&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Fated Legacy: Dark (Sample Chapters Below)

Radio static and a flickering television screen somewhere from far off in the distance burst into life; the thrum of electricity and sparks playing a prerecorded video.

“On this day, September, 2025, we of the world solemnly gather to offer a moment of remembrance for the tragedies that occurred a year prior.”

The tragedy of 2024. Many people had died or were missing. Manhattan was gone. Vancouver was gone. Practically every country, every province, and every state were hit in their most densely populated cities across the globe and utterly decimated, incurring massive damage and loss of life. There had been no explanation, nor reasonable recompense to satisfy the grieving families involved. Mass hysteria brought about a tension and fear not seen since the era of the Cold War.

No one had known when death would come in the form of another incident. Despite intensive investigation, no answer was conclusive, but a consensus was eventually agreed upon by the world: The damage done in such a short span of time was not something that humanity was capable of without warning. Be that as it may, people demanded answers that governments would not give. To the common masses, the government was hiding something.

Static from the old and broken television mounted onto a wall crackled as the news broadcast continued to play over a semi-shattered screen. Two individuals sat across from each other while entering a heated debate, their images blurred.

“Fear is what grips us in times of uncertainty. It’s what makes us vulnerable to instability and rash actions. Before considering whether or not people have a right to know the results of a Federal-level investigation, perhaps it should first be considered what consequences that knowledge may bring?”

The voices were muffled, often breaking into unintelligible radio noise. It was a miracle in and of itself that the television was still functioning in its current state.

“Your point is all well and good Mr. Peters, but it’s also true that remaining ignorant to a problem does not make it go away. Rather, I argue that it will only delay the inevitable.”

Increased white noise and acute humming were making the voices more and more difficult to hear. The television was on the verge of breaking down; the frayed wires connecting it to an outlet releasing sparks that began to sputter out uncontrollably.

“…Inevitable or not, this isn’t a decision for you or I to make.”

The sparks on the television wires erupted into flames. The television instantly died out with a final flicker of its monitor; a screen of colours fading into black. Silence descended accompanied by a dreary breeze over a dilapidated landscape of an abandoned metropolis.

Everything was destroyed, the skeletons of steel infrastructure jutting out towards a cloudless night sky. The wind was blowing, rolling empty cans that clattered and bounced along a street lined with dented vehicles and rusted spare parts. The paint over the asphalt could no longer be seen, covered by thick layers of dust and debris from the wreckage of toppled skyscrapers and industrial buildings that marked the mega-city that was once Vancouver.

An entire metropolitan area was now no more than a wasteland mottled with craters. It looked like hell. The kind of hell only ever seen in war and reminiscent to the devastation of large-scale bombings. Nothing was left intact, and there snagged upon a warped piece of rebar steel, was a piece of torn fabric carrying the insignia of a golden fruit.

-In times of anguish and despair, look to the Garden to guide the way.

For an instant, above the ruined city-scape, the air began to ripple and swirl, twisting around a central point that ejected the figure of a man before quickly disappearing.

He was falling. Falling from so high up that he knew that the impact would shatter him if he didn’t brace himself. Wind blew fiercely against his skin, his clothes ruffled and billowing, the friction of his fall leaving a trail of bright embers. Yet he felt cold. The kind of cold that seeped into one’s bones and permeated throughout the body.

His hands balled into fists; his complexion pallid. The things that he had cherished, and the things that he had held dear, all of it no longer mattered. His arms hung limply by his side.

He had failed. In the end, he hadn’t been able to save anyone. He swallowed bitterly, a lump forming in his throat as hollow blue-coloured eyes stared down at the rapidly approaching ground. What was he supposed to do now? There was no longer any meaning in his actions.

He closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall faster, and yet, just before he’d strike the ground and die, he realized that there was one last promise that he’d yet to break.

Thunder clapped from within the heavy storm clouds overhead; tendrils of flickering white light writhing into the form of twisted webs from within the dark amalgamation of vapour. It began to rain. The pitter-patter of droplets soaking through his clothes, but he no longer trembled nor shivered. Resolve. That sentiment alone was all that he had left. Gradually, his back straightened, vigour returning to his body as his mind whirred into life. Brain running on overdrive, power quickly swelled throughout the man’s body and covered it in a protective film of energy.

The earth cratered with a bang, the abandoned city street that the man had landed on reduced to nothing more than rubble and cracked rocks. In the midst of it all, the man was laughing madly while slowly picking himself up onto his feet largely unharmed from his fall.

There was still a chance. He could still save everyone, and perhaps that was all that mattered.

Lightning struck down over the earth, illuminating the area in a fleeting radiance. By the time the radiance faded, not a shadow remained of the man that had once stood in the heavy downpour of a ruined metropolitan zone.

He’d fought for too long. He’d lost too much. His light had long since been extinguished into ashes. He was tired, exhausted; no longer able to feel the joy in the things that he once cherished and took for granted, but he couldn’t allow himself to give up after finding a single thread of hope to cling onto. He refused.

So, for one last time. One last mission.

“May the Garden light the way,” he muttered solemnly.

Lightning struck down over the earth, illuminating the area in a fleeting radiance. By the time the radiance faded, not a shadow remained of the man. He’d start it all again from the beginning.

This time surely, everything would be different.

Chapter 1

His name was Kevin Black, eighteen, tall, moderately built, and in the midst of sulking. He was Canadian and living in the western most province of the country, British Columbia in a place called Langley.

No matter how tough or difficult life gets, he’d always believed that hard work and perseverance could get you through anything, but sometimes there were things that no amount of effort or work could change.

Kevin sighed while clasping his hands together in front of him. He was sitting on a plain metal chair, his back hunched and expression somber. Around him was a white-walled medical ward, the constant compression and decompression of a ventilator echoing throughout the small room of West Langley’s central hospital.

For a moment, his eyes glanced up at the line of a heart-monitoring machine which came dangerously close to plummeting to zero. He stood up abruptly, an arm already moving to press the emergency button located at the adjacent wall. However, his concerns were unfounded as the machine soon began to stabilize.

Kevin remained tense for another five minutes, watching the machine intently before releasing his breath and slouching back onto a waiting chair when nothing happened. Relief flooded through him, but even more than that was a growing sense of helplessness.

Kevin felt powerless.

A vase of flowers was placed at the foot of the only bed in the room nearest to the open window. In the bed was a small and comatose woman in a blue medical gown attached to life support. The woman was Kevin’s mother, Amelia Black. She was frailer now then she’d been before, her cheeks gaunt and complexion pallid. Her shoulder-length black hair, once glossy and silk-like, was now lusterless and dry.

Kevin hadn’t spoken to his mother for over a year now, and thinking back, he regretted that the last thing that he recalled ever saying to her was how much better his life would be if she stopped nagging at him. The entire situation was like some kind of sick joke that he could hardly find any genuine humour in. His mother loved the colour blue. Most of the dresses and clothes that she wore often had blue as the main colour while being contrasted by lighter tones. However, he was really starting to hate the colour; it was the same colour as the blue hospital gown that his mother now wore day in and day out.

It was all just so depressing. He clasped his hand in front of him and leaned his upper body down on his elbows supported by his thighs.

Kevin’s mother had fallen sick after the events of 2024, and his father often worked overtime to make ends meet. The doctors couldn’t explain her disease. At first, they had thought that it was cancer due to speculations of a nuclear attack, but she had displayed no symptoms of cell mutation in her medical tests. No one did.

His mother hadn’t been the only one to be affected by a mysterious disease. Thousands more like her existed in the world within the areas struck by the tragedy of 2024.

Bastards. Kevin gritted his teeth, but he had nowhere to vent his anger. So many people had been affected by the attacks. Someone or some group had to be responsible.

Time ticked by, the echoing of the wall-clock the only other sound in the room.

It was seven-thirty, way earlier than he generally woke up at in order to get to school, but it was a Monday, the only day that he had time to visit the hospital. He needed to study on the other days while he worked part-time on the weekends to help his father pay the bills.

Kevin eyed the clock before promptly getting up onto his feet; he couldn’t stay for much longer. If he didn’t leave now, he’d be late for classes. He was in the twelfth grade of high school meaning that school was important for him right now for his future. Besides, his main motivation was that his mother had always nagged him about finishing school. For her sake, he could put up with all the tests and assignments.

“Get better soon,” he murmured, his reply was left unanswered as he quietly reached the door of the room and left. Just before leaving, he made sure to call a nurse to keep watch on his mother after the earlier incident. It was better to be safe than sorry.

Kevin let out a long breath, his shoulders hunching. In truth, he didn’t want to leave yet. He promptly shook his head. There could be no room for doubts. After all, doubts beget hesitation, and hesitation begets failure. It was time to go before he wavered any further. At the very least, he should be fine when he could no longer see the door of his mother’s hospital room. However, he probably should have paid more attention to where he was going rather than just blindly rushing ahead in his single-mindedness. He’d accidentally entered one of the other hospital rooms across from his mother’s room. He froze, feet planting stiffly into the ground as he noticed a familiar face staring him right in the eyes.

It wasn’t a friend per say, but more of an acquaintance that he’d never had the time to talk with. In truth, he wasn’t the only one to visit sick relatives early in the morning. Someone always came even earlier than he did, and she was presently standing right in front of him.

Her name was Charlotte Evergreen and if anything, she had always been kind. It reflected in her behaviour. He’d seen her almost every morning that he came to visit his mother. Her strength of character was admirable. Unlike him, both of her parents had fallen sick and the only one to take care of her was her elder brother.

She blinked in his direction in surprise, one hand pushing up the bulky square-framed glasses that sat just above the bridge of her nose. She was fairly short and stood a good head lower than him. Placed side by side and due to his height, he literally towered over her like a villain. Worse, her hunched shoulders and quickly averted gaze wasn’t helping the image. She was even fidgeting awkwardly.

Staring at her after he’d just intruded into the Evergreen family’s designated medical room, Kevin found himself at a loss for words. Charlotte just kept glancing at him in silent confusion as if his sudden appearance had floored her.

Kevin liked to think that his appearance had taken Charlotte’s breath away, but he knew that he’d only be deluding himself. His black hair was cut short on the sides and swept up to the right away from his blue eyes. He was wearing a plain grey hoodie, a black T-shirt beneath, khaki-coloured pants, and a pair of black-and-white-rimmed runners. He was slightly above average in appearance, but there really wasn’t much about him worth seeing for so long.

Charlotte’s current silence was probably a product of her own personality.

From what Kevin knew, Charlotte’s self-confidence had always been lacking, and it was only made worse because she spent most of her time alone. Her brother was too busy working, and all of the friends that she had made in the past had grown distant over the years. Once, twice, she’d turned down her friend’s invitations until one day those invitations just stopped coming entirely.

This was the cold kind of reality of life. If one didn’t pick their friends wisely or couldn’t cherish the bonds that they’d made, eventually, one may find themselves utterly alone.

The silence between Kevin and Charlotte began to stretch. At this rate, Charlotte would never address Kevin’s sudden intrusion into the Evergreen family’s medical room. In which case, Kevin decided to take the initiative. “Charlotte, right? Sorry for intruding.”

Charlotte opened and closed her mouth in response before finally seeming to find her voice. “Uhm, yeah, I guess.”

Charlotte pursed her lips and glanced up at Kevin in astonishment. Kevin didn’t know whether he should be proud of her or pity her. It seemed as if she couldn’t seem to recall the last time that someone had honestly tried to start a friendly conversation with her. She was nervous and her insecurities appeared to be showing because of it.

“You’re in my social studies class...” Her words were spoken so low that the sound of the medical equipment behind her nearly drowned out her words.

Kevin heard her nonetheless, and nodded in acknowledgment. “I sit near the back in social studies class, so I never thought that you noticed me. Now that I think about it though, aren’t you usually the one sleeping with the textbook as a cover in class?”

Charlotte made a mortified sputtering noise that Kevin failed to interpret. He simply kept talking. “It’s pretty smart actually. Because you study hard in almost every other class, Mrs. Webstar hardly suspects you when you pull out your textbook to prop it up in front of you.”

Charlotte’s cheeks reddened at the fact that she’d just been called out. “Lies,” she denied in a fluster, red creeping up to her ears. “I-I was studying,” she said without much persuasion. It sounded more like a question if anything.

Yup. Charlotte Evergreen was not a good liar.

Kevin laughed “Relax a bit. I’m not trying to call you out for it to make you feel guilty. In fact, I can understand why you’d sleep in class since you visit this hospital even earlier than I do. Of course you’d be tired, so there’s nothing to feel bad about.”

Charlotte stared up at Kevin wordlessly, but it wasn’t as if he was lying. He was just trying to be honest, and perhaps she realized that too, as the awkwardness in the air seemed to fade. “I should really apologize to Mrs. Webstar for taking advantage of her trust in me.”

“No don’t bother. It’s fine.” Kevin grinned at Charlotte with the slippant wave of a hand. “That class has always been boring anyway so it’s not like you’re missing much.”

“That’s a mean thing to say isn’t it?” Charlotte looked up shyly from her slightly bowed head, a finger scratching at her cheek.

“The truth hurts,” Kevin said with a shrug. “Lying is worse, so pick your poison.”

Charlotte smiled for the first time during the conversation, unable to hide her mirth. “I guess you’re right.”

She looked good when she smiled. Her long blond hair braided lightly in a crown around her head gave her a gentle sort of air. Coupled with her brown eyes that creased lightly when she grinned, it made him wonder how she’d sound like when she laughed.

Still, the room eventually fell silent again. Wasn’t she going to say more?

Kevin waited, but Charlotte’s mouth remained tightly closed despite looking like she didn’t want the conversation to end. She seemed almost hopeful while looking up at him. However, she didn’t appear to have the courage to speak further, partly because he’d never really talked much to her, and mostly because of the apprehension of rejection.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Charlotte had been turned away by others. Anyone could relate, but Kevin liked to think that he was different from other sorts of people that Charlotte was definitely comparing him to. He smiled reassuringly, but the silence was stretching while the constant ticking of the wall clock reminded him that he never had much time to talk in the first place. School teachers didn’t care for excuses. Late was still late unless you provided a doctor’s note or reasonable explanation. Late, ‘because talking’ would definitely not sit well with homeroom teachers.

Evidently, Charlotte was of the same opinion, because she too glanced at the nearby clock and subsequently slouched her shoulders.

Looking back at Charlotte, Kevin asked the first thing that came to mind. “Want to go to school together?” He offered with a shrug.

Charlotte seemed startled at the invitation, but hesitantly nodded her head.

Kevin gestured with a tilt of his chin towards the direction of the hospital’s exit. “We should hurry then.”

“R-Right,” Charlotte quickly gathered her things before meeting Kevin at the entrance of the room. Her hands were clasped in front of her and her head was still bowed low, yet there was a noticeable spring in her steps.

Maybe she was happy? The thought itself was warming, and ended up lifting Kevin’s previously heavy mood after visiting his mother. Waiting for Charlotte to reach his side, Kevin barely took two steps before he realized a major problem while observing Charlotte.

One shouldn’t ever walk with their head bowed low. It was dangerous not because it was difficult to do, but because you also couldn’t see what was right in front of you. Kevin thought to bring the point up to Charlotte, but in her haste she’d already bumped against a waiting chair and accidently dropped an object she’d been clutching in her left hand onto the floor.

Kevin picked the object up with his right hand. It was heavier than it looked and it was also rough in texture from the numerous nicks and scratches on its metal surface. It was an old silver locket the size of two marbles held in a loop of leather thread. Rather than fashionable, it looked antique and rusted. There was a tiny metal knob at the top of the locket that when turned would reveal the fitted portrait inside.

“Here,” Kevin handed the locket back to Charlotte.

Charlotte held it tight in her hand before brushing off any of the dirt and dust that clung to it after sliding against the floor. Her actions were done with such care that it was evident just how much she cherished it. She held the locket like it would shatter if dropped again.

Kevin spoke absently. “Looks like that’s important to you.” Charlotte looked up at him, as if considering whether or not it was okay to speak on the subject. After a moment, she relented.

“Yeah,” Charlotte stared at the floor, unable to meet Kevin’s gaze while stammering softly. “It’s my father’s.”

A family memento then. Definitely important. In some ways, it was like having a part of one’s family around for mental support. “It looks good,” he said, not noticing the flicker in Charlotte’s eyes or the way that her breath hitched in apprehension. “It suits you.”

Kevin’s mother had always told him to watch out for the finer details in conversation, and perhaps he should have considered his words more before speaking them, but in this case, he was an idiot.

The conversation came to an abrupt halt, Charlotte’s expression looking distinctly uncomfortable, almost betrayed.

Kevin clenched his mouth in response. Well shit. He didn’t remember before, but he quickly realized that he’d heard rumours in school that Charlotte was an unpopular loner. She’d been having trouble fitting in from day one, and this was only made worse because of her family’s financial situation.

Kevin and his family used to live in Vancouver near the central city side before migrating to the calmer location of Langley after the events of 2024. Charlotte’s family had been much the same, but with both of her parents sick and her brother burdened by work, she generally had to wear her family’s old clothing. She was poor and often scrounged for any way to save her money as every little bit counted. Even now she was wearing her father’s baggy sweater, loose faded jeans, and brandless slip-ons. If girls were supposed to be fashionable in high school, she was the exact opposite and was constantly bullied because of it.

Saying that her father’s old and rusted locket suited her could be taken as another jab to her outdated appearance. Worse, the opinions of others must have been getting the best of her as she flinched and directly moved passed Kevin, their shoulders brushing in Charlotte’s obvious attempt to flee.

“Wait! No. No that’s not what I meant!” Kevin turned and hurriedly corrected himself, but the damage was already done.

Charlotte wasn’t listening. She bit down on her lips and sniffled before quickly running out of the hospital. Her expression must have looked terrible as the nearby medical staff started giving Kevin such piercing stares that he lost the words to defend himself.

He scratched at the back of his head and inwardly grimaced. This wasn’t how he wanted to start his morning. With that thought, he began to chase after Charlotte.

Flustered by his earlier performance, Kevin inadvertently collided with a man at the hospital’s front entrance. Kevin fell down toward the floor, his hands flying beneath him in an effort to save himself but failing.

Kevin landed on his rear and could only watch as Charlotte ran farther and farther ahead of him. And as if life was trying to knock him even further down, Kevin watched as Charlotte entered an arriving transit bus and drove away.

It was too late. There was no way that he would be able to catch up to her now, and he definitely wouldn’t be able to explain himself. The fact that he’d literally just missed his bus had not yet registered in his mind.

Feeling despondent, Kevin sighed before addressing the man that he’d run into. The collision was his fault; it would be rude not to apologize. Pushing off the ground, Kevin stood up and brushed off the dust which had stuck to the bottom of his pants. He then shifted his gaze to address the man he’d run into. “Sorry,” he said with a wince.

The man hardly seemed phased with the encounter, rather he appeared slightly amused. The man was tall, almost a full head taller than Kevin and had long black hair framed around the sides of his face. A pair of clear, emerald eyes stared at Kevin observantly. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but a flicker of apprehension crossed the man’s face if only for a moment.

The man was young, barely twenty in appearance and wearing a black denim jacket stitched with the logo of a growling foxhound on the upper right shoulder. A flash of grey then revealed a silver threaded necklace overtop a white tank-top. This was paired with baggy, dark-blue pants leading down to sturdy black-strapped combat boots with dark lacing.

Hearing Kevin’s apology, the man shrugged while looking Kevin up and down.

“No, it’s alright. I wasn’t paying attention either.” The man flattened the wrinkles over his shirt before grunting and looking down at the floor where a few of his items had fallen.

“Here, you dropped your things,” Kevin picked up the items before the man could even reach a hand out. It was only polite, because even if the man didn’t blame him, he was the one at fault for running within a hospital.

Picking up the objects one by one and giving them to the man, Kevin paused while looking at the last item; a leather bracelet.

In all honesty, Kevin couldn’t understand how it could have fallen onto the floor when the man must have been wearing it, unless it was purposely loosened? Suspicions aside, it was fairly unique as far as bracelets were designed: A tiny sword-shaped decoration with small engravings etched over the flat of the blade was looped by string and attached to the bracelet. The sword was sharp too; enough to leave a scratch, but not enough to pierce the skin, so Kevin supposed it was fine.

“Here,” Kevin tossed the bracelet back.

The man caught it, but muttered something inaudible to Kevin and tossed the bracelet right back.

Kevin caught the bracelet with his right hand as confusion welled up from within him. He looked back towards the stranger who replied before he could even get a word in.

“Keep it,” the man said cryptically. “In time, it may be of some use to you.”

Right. Like a random bracelet would have any other use than an accessory? Kevin shook his head and refused. He had enough common sense not to accept a random gift from a stranger. However, the man had already tossed the bracelet towards him and showed no inclinations of taking it back. Any effort to do so was met with a silent indifference.

“Why?” Kevin asked doubtfully.

The man shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Just think of it as an apology for my inattentiveness. It’s not everyday that I lose myself in thought.”

Kevin inwardly frowned but maintained a cordial expression. Whatever this guy was saying, he didn’t buy it. The man was acting weird. Still, Kevin thought as he turned the bracelet over in his hand, it did look pretty cool.

“So, you’re really just giving this to me?” Kevin raised the bracelet to eye level in order to inspect it closer. Regardless, it didn’t seem like it was that important of an item to keep so perhaps the man had simply grown tired of it?

“Do with it what you will.” The man shrugged in disinterest before walking past Kevin. He was holding tightly onto a bouquet of blue coloured bell flowers, a somberness exuding from him. Obviously, the man came to the hospital to visit a patient.

“Hey hold on,” Kevin called out. He’d never agreed to taking the bracelet. Turning around with an arm outstretched, he froze in confusion.

What was going on?

The hairs on the back of Kevin’s neck rose as a cold breeze pressed against his skin. He shivered. Gone. The man was gone like he’d never been around in the first place.

Kevin shook his head hard and blinked his eyes a couple times in distress. There was no way that he imagined that entire encounter.

The hospital entrance was surrounded by passing nurses and waiting sick patients, but no one aside from Kevin had reacted to the man’s sudden disappearance. Rather, they were pointing at him and whispering as if he’d just been talking on his own.

Fighting down the embarrassment, he forced himself to believe that he wasn’t, in fact, crazy.

Kevin looked down at the bracelet in his right hand and frowned. Honestly, he didn’t have much time to think about what to do with it yet, so he just placed it into his pocket and left. Besides, he was too busy mentally screaming at himself to really care.

Only now when it mattered did he realize that he’d overlooked something important after seeing the time. Reality was harsh. It always was. His expression fell as he reached his bus stop.

He’d missed his bus.

Chapter 2

Running was good. Running was healthy. Kevin had always been good at running and endurance in general, and it made him feel refreshed to stretch his legs. However, doing a ten-kilometer run first thing in the morning just to get to school? Yeah well, it was probably time to wave the white flag.

Kevin was panting for breath, beads of sweat layered overtop his forehead before being idly wiped away with the back of his hand. The school was only a couple more minutes away, so he soon slowed down to a light jog, and then to a steady walk.

His school was one of four regional schools created after the events of 2024. Many people who were displaced from the Vancouver incident were forced to move outwards for shelter. Surrey, Coquitlam, and Langley became prime targets for migration. Langley in particular had been the place that Kevin’s family decided to move towards, along with many others who used to live near Vancouver’s Eastern region. Because of this, Langley underwent rapid development.

Four main schools were established in the North, South, East, and West in order to accomodate for the boom in population. It was set up much like Vancouver used to be.

West Langley Secondary School was the one Kevin attended. It was big, almost like a university with four departments and a large, central, open-air area. Due to the migration of many of Vancouver’s former inhabitants, the school’s student-to-teacher ratio would be disproportionate until more schools could be created in the area. There were around sixty-to-one hundred students per teacher. Honestly, it should have been easy to sneak into class unnoticed, but this wasn’t the case. There was only a single door into each classroom, placed directly across from the teacher’s desk.

Tardiness was something that all teachers disliked in their students, and that was exactly what Kevin was right now. Tardy. Frowning at this, he picked up his pace after a short stop to catch his breath. The other students Kevin passed by on his way to school gave him odd looks, but at the time, he was in too much of a rush to notice.

He was a fool.

Five minutes later, Kevin's upper lip twitched in annoyance while looking at a notice posted at the school’s entrance. Classes Cancelled. School not in session.

“I didn’t think you’d show up, but guess what? It probably would have been better to sleep in. No classes today.” A smug voice called out to him.

Exactly. Kevin had basically run for nothing. Shoulders sagging, he turned towards the source of the voice, only to see a broad grin on his best friend’s face.

Max Pawel, seventeen years old and former resident of Vancouver’s Eastern side. He was wearing a white-and-blue jersey under a baggy sports hoodie, contrasting against his blue sweatpants. These sweatpants had two parallel white stripes that ran down from the waist to the ankles where they met a pair of blac- and-grey jogging shoes.

Like Kevin, Max was pretty tall. The two were basically the same height if not for the hair. While Kevin kept his hair styled and cropped short on the sides, Max wore his lucky baseball hat backwards to hide the majority of his shaggy brown mullet.

Kevin had told Max that his hairstyle was out of trend many times, but Max argued that it “built character.”

“Shut up,” Kevin replied hollowly with a stiff expression.

“Now that’s no way to speak to someone who waited for you.” Max had lingered in the area by the school entrance where the both of them generally met every morning. “You’re looking a bit winded there, buddy.”

Max walked over to Kevin, his hazel coloured eyes twinkling in mirth while observing the sheen of sweat on Kevin’s brow. “I figured ‘You’ of all people might go for a run if you ever missed the bus, but I didn’t think that you’d actually do it.”

Kevin glared. Max raised his hands sarcastically in surrender. There wasn’t really any bite to Kevin’s glare anyway. The two of them had been good friends for years and were long used to each other’s company. Kevin had always been the determined and studious type while Max tended to be easier going and mischievous. The two had first met in Vancouver and the friendship kept going from there.

“So, take a look at that.” Max pointed ahead where the class cancellation notices were posted at the school entrances.

Kevin grimaced. “You don’t have to rub it in, you know?” He sighed. “Or rather, you could have just sent me a text with your phone.” His tone shifted into one of accusation.

“Would you have read it while running?”

Kevin started to argue, but stopped. Even if Max didn’t know it, he had a point. Kevin had put his phone on silent, and got too distracted to bother checking it for messages.

Max shrugged before shaking his head and wrapping an arm around Kevin’s shoulders. “Seriously though Kevin, I didn’t mean those notices. I meant further to the right.” Max pointed a finger. “Over there just a bit away from the entrance.”

Kevin humoured Max and followed his finger to see what he was talking about. Kevin’s brows soon furrowed together. Police? A uniformed policeman was standing guard near the door, armed with a handgun and bullet vest.

“There’s more of them over there,” Max pointed out discreetly. “Some of them are in black suits. It looks all official like. What do you think is going on today?”

Honestly, Kevin didn’t know. When it came to police and other enforcement groups, most teenagers tended to stay away from them. “Maybe they caught Ryan Peters?” He offered an explanation.

Ryan Peters was well known within the school for the selling and distribution of local narcotics. No one knew where he got his sources from, but everyone understood that Ryan was always trying to sell ‘something.’ Unfortunately, Ryan was smart, he’d never actually been caught with solid proof yet until possibly today? It was better not to make assumptions.

“Nah,” Max shook his head, his forehead creasing. “I don’t believe that Ryan’s worth this many police officers. If anything, I think it’s bigger. Even if classes are cancelled, they’re not even letting students get their belongings from their lockers.”

Max was right. This situation was strange, but what did that have to do with them?

“What’s the point in wondering?” Kevin asked disinterestedly. “You could just ask your dad. He’s the principal.”

Max stiffened at his reply and coughed lightly into his hand before speaking. “I’d rather not.”

Kevin supposed that he had already expected Max’s answer. It wasn’t that Max and his father didn’t get along, but Max was a bit of a troublemaker in school. He supposedly had difficulties studying and possessed a short attention span. which translated into getting easily bored. When he should have been paying attention to the teacher, Max was more concerned with entertaining himself. However, that didn’t mean that Max was incompetent. Far from it, Max was actually gifted with a stunning level of intelligence. He never studied, but he’d always somehow been able to achieve passing grades. Max was the kind of friend who could solve a Rubik’s Cube in under a few minutes if he tried hard enough. His father always kept pushing him to try harder. At the start it was fine. Max had enjoyed the feeling of achievement and pride in his father’s eyes. However, the more Max achieved, the more his father pushed.

Eventually, Max grew to dislike the added expectation, and more often than not, chose to obtain detention to try and lower his father’s expectations of him. This led to a string of further misdemeanors that had the two arguing ever since, but that didn’t mean that they hated each other. It was just somewhat awkward.

“I could ask him, but knowing my old man, he’d say something like ‘figure it out.’ Therefore, there’s no point.” Max grumbled. “That, or he’d just warn me that it’s official business.”

Kevin nodded and didn’t pursue the topic any longer. “Want to head home then? I got a couple of new games that we could try.”

Max shrugged before pushing away from Kevin and resting his hands behind his head. “Better than school any day. Lead the way,” he said.

Kevin didn’t waste any time. The school complex was fairly large, and to get to his house, he’d have to circle around it. In the process, he ended up discovering what Max meant by a lot of police officers. The entire building was being surrounded by black vehicles and cruisers with members of Special Forces in black suits monitoring outside activities.

“Weird,” Kevin couldn’t help but mutter.

Max didn’t comment. He’d already been contemplating what was going on all morning.

If things went well, then both Kevin and Max would have left the school property within a couple of minutes, as intended. That wasn’t what happened.

Kevin felt his legs slow down to a crawl, his feet sticking firmly beneath him and refusing to budge. He was still tired from his morning run, but this wasn’t because of his exhaustion. There, a short distance in front of him and surrounded by a group of other girls, was Charlotte Evergreen. He hadn’t seen her since this morning and the memory was still fresh in his mind.

In truth, he would have been happy to see her interacting with so many people, but she looked far too uncomfortable. Her skin was pale, and her anxiety was written all over her was good for Charlotte to be around more people and to try and make more friends, but that wasn’t what was happening. Charlotte was retreating into herself, surrounded by a group of girls talking about something that Kevin couldn’t make out. It was clear however that this was the last place that Charlotte wanted to be.

While Kevin was sorting out what he was seeing, he felt something snap inside him as one of the four girls snatched the locket from Charlotte’s hands and laughed. It would have been fine to solve everything with an apology had things ended there, but the girl lobbed it over the school walls and into the central courtyard.

Charlotte looked devastated, her lips quivering and her shoulders trembling. Kevin balked.

What the hell? No really what the hell?

Everyone nearby was just watching, not doing anything. Heated whispers began to break out amidst the small crowd, but that was the most of what actually happened. Many were glancing at each other in discomfort and awkwardness, yet no one was stepping forward, as if someone else would take it upon themself instead.

Kevin felt a hand fall over his shoulder, and when he turned to look back, he saw Max frowning before shaking his head.

“Think before you act.” Max warned him lightly. “You shouldn’t do anything half-assed.”

“This is wrong, Max,” Kevin felt a knot form in his stomach, his expression contorting. Charlotte had told him earlier in the morning that her locket was important to her. “How could they just throw it away?” He looked closer.

Charlotte’s hands were trembling, one arm rubbing the other while the girls around her just laughed. Beautiful as their make-up and pretty hair made them out to be, in Kevin’s eyes they were ugly. It’s not the looks that count, but the personality and care one had towards oneself and others. No amount of cover up could hide what was already rotten at the core.

Kevin had known that Charlotte didn’t fit in very well at school, but he didn’t think that it was to this extent. No, maybe it was because he’d just never paid much attention to it before.

Suddenly, Kevin realized just why Charlotte had been so sensitive earlier in the morning. This entire situation was ridiculous. Worse, under the scrutiny of the crowd and the company of the girls around her, Charlotte started to laugh along as if what had happened was just some small-time joke.

Grin and bear it. Smile even though it hurts. If you laugh like everyone else, maybe it would hurt less?

Max grimaced beside Kevin, clicking his tongue.

“What a load of bullshit,” Max said firmly before he cracked his knuckles and began stretching his arms.

Kevin glanced back at Max. “Are you serious, right now?”

Max hmphed and adjusted the hat over his head so that his hair wouldn’t fall over his eyes. “I know you, Kevin,” he said snidely. “We’ve been friends for years. Are we going or not?”

It was a redundant question. Max already knew the answer.

Max patted Kevin on the back as he stepped forward. “Look, I don’t hit girls but they’ll probably stop if we walk over? Yeah?”

Intimidation? Kevin could get on board with that plan. He straightened his back, rolled his neck, and then pulled up his sleeves. “Girls? You mean those harpies?”

“Fair point,” Max grunted in amusement. Screechy voices, rude personalities, a perfect comparison.

Pushing through the crowd, Kevin and Max walked over to the girls and the entire area fell silent. Charlotte looked up at Kevin in a daze before pursing her lips and turning her head slightly away. Kevin didn’t pay her too much attention. He was too busy trying to shoo off the other girls with Max. Their show of intimidation was proving inadequate, so it was time to take it to the next level.

“You see this shirt?” Kevin pulled out a garment of dirty gym clothes from his bag and waved it in the air while sniffing exaggeratedly. “That’s the smell of man, sweat, and glory.”

He tossed it on the face of one of the four girls. “Drown in it.”

The girl gagged before tossing the shirt aside as if burned. A retort was at the tip of the girl’s tongue, but Kevin dumped his bag of gym clothes on the ground, stopping her short.

When Kevin said ‘drown,’ he meant it. He was a high school student and a boy who played sports, meaning that he always carried around his gym clothes from practice to practice. Week old shirts, socks, and shorts made a small pile on the ground that oozed with the subtle scent of cheap deodorant. He began throwing at random.

Any scathing retort that the girl had was muffled by her panicked yelps. In her disgust, a dirty sock ended up touching her open mouth.

“!” Her face turned blue, and she started dry heaving.

Kevin felt that last throw may have taken things a bit too far, but why did it feel so satisfying?

The girl’s friends were quick to raise fingers on their friend’s behalf, but all of them faltered when Max stepped forward with a low whistle.

Max didn’t have any gym clothes on hand, so he spat on his palms and absently rubbed them together. “You see, Kevin tossed a shirt, but me?” Max raised both of his hands up. “I’m going to do much worse.”

Thick strands of saliva were visible between Max’s fingers as he stepped forward threateningly.

“Y-You, disgusting- !” The girls visibly shuddered before hurriedly backing away. “Wait till we tell Mrs. Pe-”

Another well aimed sock hit home on the same girl, brushing against her mouth mid-rant. The life seemed to die in her eyes, her body swaying as the pungent odour assailed her again. The other girls recoiled, bristling like startled cats. None of them bothered speaking any longer and left while dramatically supporting one of their own.

“And I have more where that came from! My locker’s full of it! Full. Of. It!” Kevin clicked his tongue in slight disappointment. His targets were gone.

With nothing else to look at, the small crowd soon dispersed, leaving Max, Kevin, and Charlotte alone. Charlotte wasn’t speaking while Max uncapped a water bottle and washed the spit off his hands.

Kevin was the one who broke the silence. He tentatively approached Charlotte while scratching the back of his head. “Are you alright?” He asked her.

“Fine,” Charlotte responded curtly. “Thanks for the help.”

She looked lost if anything, her gaze focused in the direction that her father’s silver locket had been thrown within the school’s interior. Judging from the way that her gaze then focused on the school entrances, it wasn’t difficult to imagine what she was thinking. In fact, it was made all the more apparent when she ran towards a police officer and asked if she could enter the school. She was bound to be disappointed, as the police were not letting anyone inside despite Charlotte explaining her circumstances, but maybe she could try a different entrance?

Charlotte looked frantic, and when she tried to pass by Kevin in the direction of another school access point, he couldn’t help but call out. “Wait!” He said to her.

Charlotte stopped, and Kevin used the opportunity to run up to her. “You can’t get in from there. The school has already been locked off on that side as well. The police are being efficient, so they must have already covered the other entrances,” he explained.

Charlotte swallowed nervously and shook her head. “I still have to try,” she insisted.

Kevin felt like sighing. The entire scenario was frustrating. “How do you expect to even do that? How can you try when you can’t even get in?” he argued back.

Charlotte didn’t have an answer. It wasn’t like they could force their way past trained police officers.

“We can come back early tomorrow morning,” Kevin reasoned. However, waiting did not seem to be an option for Charlotte. The locket really did mean a lot to her.

It was then that the two heard the sound of Max clearing his throat. His back was straight and his expression was somewhat strange.

“Well actually,” Max scratched the back of his head. “I may or may not know of another route inside the school.”

The two stared blankly at Max. Max could only maintain a stoic expression. Constant detention and free time really did go a long way.

Chapter 3

“You know I’d be questioning you right now of how safe this is, but knowing you, there’s really no point in asking.” Kevin said in exasperation. “Your father’s going to kill us if he finds out.”

“That’s why he won’t.” Max grinned smugly. “None of you will tell him, right?”

Kevin shook his head wryly while Charlotte looked conflicted. “But that’s lying,” she spoke in a subdued manner. “What if someone gets hurt?”

“Look, can I trust you or not?” Max glanced at Charlotte while frowning. “I’m only helping you as a favour. If you want, we can still turn back now and we can all just forget about this?”

Charlotte promptly closed her mouth against her better judgement and didn’t say anything else.

As they spoke, the three crawled through an abandoned construction zone in the north side of the school. Dust and gravel clung to their clothes, the area too dark to see far ahead. Max was the one guiding the way through the winding network of unfinished halls and arcing steel-frame structures by feeling his way forward with his hands.

Due to the influx of migrants from the Vancouver Disaster Zone, West Langley Secondary School, and many other educational institutes like it, had undergone intensive expansion projects in order to accommodate. However, West Langley Secondary School never completed its northern expansion due to conflicts between the construction companies and the school-board district in regards to funding.

The area was considered hazardous and therefore the school banned student entry. Plastic covers and bright orange pylons were set up until the school eventually decided what to do with the construction zone. That didn’t stop Max from exploring it in his spare time though. He’d long since grown familiar with its layout.

The group travelled in silence after entering the construction zone. Max was too focused on what was in front of him, while both Charlotte and Kevin had things on their mind.

Although Kevin figured that now wouldn’t be the best time to bring a certain topic up, he knew that he couldn’t keep quiet any longer. Misunderstandings were best solved early. “Hey, Charlotte,” he called out. “I have something to say about this morning.”

Charlotte paused in her movements, looking uncomfortable as Kevin brought the topic up. She seemed as if she wanted to run, but couldn’t due to the circumstances. Her eyes avoided him, and her posture was rigid, her hands balling into fists.

Max glanced back at Kevin in curiosity but refrained from touching on the subject for the moment. It wasn’t his place.

“You know that I wasn’t trying to insult you right?” Kevin stressed, but he furrowed his brows together as his words seemed to have no effect.

Charlotte pursed her lips and said nothing; Kevin’s words seemed to enter from one ear and out the other.

Being ignored left Kevin feeling like he was being wronged in response. It was frustrating when he was only trying to sort out a misunderstanding. He frowned.

Seeing the expression on Kevin’s face, it was Charlotte’s turn to feel like something wasn’t quite right. To begin with, why would someone intent on belittling her go out of his way to explain himself?

After mustering up her courage, Charlotte turned to look at Kevin to give her point of view. “My father’s locket is scratched up, bruised, and dented,” she began reservedly, her tone somewhat tense and her palms clammy. “How else was I supposed to take your words as anything other than an insult?”

By thinking? Kevin’s thoughts didn’t match his words.

“I honestly meant what I said,” Kevin argued back sharply. “Old or not, your father’s locket would suit you if you ever chose to wear it. I think it adds personality.”

Charlotte blinked, then blinked repeatedly, utterly taken aback. “B-But it’s ugly? Everyone thinks that it's ugly,” she insisted, taking the time to push up her glasses with a finger.

Kevin sighed, mental exhausted. It was like talking to one of those girls who insisted that they were fat when they were actually thin. Worse, Kevin had no idea how to fix her self esteem.

Up ahead, Max had had enough of just listening and intervened when Kevin looked like he was struggling.

Without turning around, Max asked flatly; “Have you ever asked a guy’s opinion?” Max stopped and turned around to face Charlotte. “Sorry, I was going to keep quiet, but this conversation sounds so dumb that it’s annoying. Well?” He pressed for an answer.

Charlotte opened then closed her mouth but no words came out. Instead, she shifted her gaze away in embarrassment. “No,” she eventually admitted after buckling under Max’s gaze. With her confidence, it had alway been hard to approach others, especially someone of the opposite gender. Moreso when it was to broach on a subject as sensitive as her appearance which she’d often been bullied for.

Max relented and suddenly grinned at Charlotte’s answer. “Well, there you go. Why not ask a guy now?” he said cheerily. “Personally, I agree with Kevin. Just because something is old doesn’t mean that it’s not cool.”

Max gave Charlotte a curt nod and resumed leading from the front again. However, he paused briefly. “Out of curiosity, just who was it that said to you that your father’s locket was ugly?”

“The other girls in my glass. The ones that you saw me with earlier,” Charlotte’s voice was soft, hardly even a whisper.

Kevin was appalled. “The harpies?”

“Harpies?” Charlotte echoed. She sounded confused, but neither Kevin or Max chose to elaborate. Inwardly they just shuddered.

With the matter sorted out, the air between the three became less tense. Max had explored the unfinished construction zone before, so he already knew a path to follow. Carefully, moving through the hazards around them, Kevin, Max, and Charlotte soon reached their destination.

“And we’re in,” Max pushed his way through a small blockade set up by the school staff leading in from the school’s uncompleted north section. “We just have to make sure to cover our tracks when we get out of here.”

Kevin didn’t have any complaints. “Let’s just get this over with,” he said.

Kevin looked towards Charlotte. “Do you remember where the locket was thrown at?”

“The courtyard,” Charlotte mumbled out quickly, her hands brushing off the dust that had gathered on her clothes.

“Alright, then let’s go.” Max began moving ahead, Kevin and Charlotte following while doing their best to muffle their steps.

The school was empty, the locker-lined hallways and waxed floors pristine without the presence of students. The silence made the clacking of their feet distinctly audible.

“I’m sure that the police may be around so the quicker we do this, the better,” Kevin said. “Do you think we should crawl to reduce the noise?”

Charlotte and Max considered Kevin’s proposition, but Max suddenly froze and waved for everyone to take cover. “Careful,” he whispered while pulling Kevin and Charlotte to the nearest adjacent wall. The intersection of the hall they were at branched into three other parts.

“Keep quiet, and listen,” Max cautioned. “Do you hear the footsteps? There are people ahead at the bend.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened. “The police?”

“Probably,” Kevin answered while frowning. “They’ll see us if we take this hallway, so we’ll have to circle around the long way.”

“But there is no long way,” Charlotte furrowed her brows. She knew the squared layout of the school, and the only method to access the courtyard was through the main corridors.

Kevin and Max shared a knowing look before the both of them spoke. “Who says that we’re taking the hallways?”

The group was on the school’s main floor. The classrooms here were spaced evenly together and sometimes connected by a small office room where teachers congregated to mark test papers and eat lunch. These office rooms were generally locked, but Kevin and Max had no intention of going through them. Instead, there was a more viable option for students.

The classroom windows.

There were small segments in the classroom window panels that could be opened enough to be able to crawl through. It was similar in size to a vent, and was definitely a viable option. Better yet, a majority of classrooms within the inner section of the school had windows facing the courtyard.

“Will this really work?” Charlotte was hesitating when she heard the plan. Wouldn’t they get caught?

“C’mon just try it,” Kevin encouraged.

“Just do your best impression of a worm,” Max spoke helpfully from the side. “A little wiggle to the left and a little wiggle to the right and then you’re done. It might be a tight squeeze though.”

Charlotte weighed the importance of her father’s locket in her mind. Blatantly break school rules which she was already doing, or retrieve something important to her? She relented. “Fine. We’ll do it your way.”

The plan decided, Kevin, Max, and Charlotte began to circle around in the direction of the nearby classrooms facing the courtyard. However, as they neared their destination, they heard the steady sound of footsteps and were momentarily forced to backtrack.

Max was once again leading the way. Being the son of a school principal, he knew the layout of the school the best. He’d move first, scan ahead, and then wave Kevin and Charlotte over when it was safe. In this case, they were cutting it close even with their caution.

Whatever the police were doing in the school, they were gathering at a location near the courtyard which made it more likely for Kevin and the rest to run into them. At this point, the only way that they were going to be able to enter the courtyard was if they snuck past the police. Everyone understood this and were fine with it. Sure, they could get caught, but it was unlikely that they’d be put into much trouble for sneaking into their own school.

Max and Kevin already had an excuse. If they were found, then all that they’d say was that they’d stayed for too long in the washroom taking a number two before classes were officially cancelled. Charlotte refused to use such a vulgar excuse out of shame, but given the circumstances, she decided that she could take the blow to her school image. It couldn’t get any lower anyway.

Soon, the group had their first encounter. Max signalled for everyone to stop before he glanced ahead at the intersection to see what they were dealing with. Subtly peeking his head around the bend, he visibly stiffened before he pulled himself away and shut his mouth.

“Hey, Kevin,” Max spoke up. “You know when we all thought that we were just dealing with police? Yeah well, I think we were wrong.” Max swallowed nervously; his mouth was suddenly dry. “That’s not the police. That’s the army.”

What? Kevin didn’t register what Max meant until he himself took a look, a cold sweat running down his back causing him to shudder.

Men and women in camouflaged military attire were standing in groups down the long hallway by the school’s main gymnasium. There were dozens of them, and maybe hundreds more that just couldn’t be seen congregating within the school gym.

Those they could see carried assault rifles, hand guns, grenades, and ammunition. Most of the weapons were types that Kevin couldn’t even name. Cold sweat began to run down his back, his breathing shallow in his growing unease.

Kevin followed Max’s example and pulled himself back out of sight. The both of them had their backs pressed against a hallway locker.

“Maybe we should leave?” Kevin firmly proposed. “This isn’t normal.”

Max had no complaints; however, a hand grabbed onto Kevin’s sleeve with a light grip.

Kevin looked up to see Charlotte pleading with him, her teeth biting lightly on her lower lip. She hadn’t seen what he and Max had seen so she wasn’t as inclined to leave. More so when they were so close to fulfilling their aim.

The courtyard was right there. All it would take was a minute at most. Moreover, Charlotte could already see the gleam of silver where her father’s locket had landed and was reflecting light from a courtyard window.

Kevin looked to Max who sighed, but nodded.

“Let’s just get the locket and get out of here,” Kevin murmured hurriedly. “Those officers seem busy looking at something else, so we should be safe if we’re fast.”

Charlotte’s expression brightened. They all crawled on their knees to avoid being seen or heard and soon entered the courtyard through a classroom window when the coast was clear.

The courtyard was square in shape with two small trees growing inside separate stone foundations. Grass lined the inner fields while cobblestone tiles made a pathway all around. The locket itself was visible from where it had caught on the branches of a bush.

“Grab it and let’s go,” Kevin said hurriedly. “The army people are nearby so we don’t have much time.”

“Right.” Charlotte ran forward and picked up the locket. The locket itself was a bit dirty and banged up, but for the most part it was intact. Holding it in her hands, Charlotte kept it close and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Not to rush you or anything, but does anyone else feel that?” Max suddenly spoke up.

Max was the last one to enter the courtyard through the classroom window, and when he did, the hairs on the back of his neck abruptly raised. Kevin was the same, and that was why he was acting so on edge.

Something had changed in the air. It was hard to describe but it almost felt like static: a buzz that remained unseen but reverberated within one’s body. A wind began to pick up, the breeze intensifying and blowing up loose dirt and gravel.

Kevin was forced to shield his eyes. His heart began to beat wildly in his chest.

The things that were happening; the things that would eventually happen; everything began from this very moment.

Clumps of light drifted down from the sky. Small and fleeting, they resembled flakes of snow, but shone with a deep marigold. Descending from the heavens, they danced like the fluttering of wings while the clouds above gathered and blotted out the morning sun’s rays, tendrils of lightning writhed within them.

Thunder clapped with the furor of a wild beast, but there was no sign of rain.

A freak accident? Some kind of natural disaster?

Everyone outside of West Langley Secondary wouldn’t have known the truth. A gate appeared, floating above the courtyard, shackled with broken chains and ancient withered vines. In the distance, shouts from the military men from inside the school echoed in a panic.

Max and Charlotte gasped behind Kevin while Kevin could hardly react.

Bands of energy expanded outwards from the Gate, pulsating with a kind of strength that no one could have ever imagined, yet this was a familiar feeling to the survivors of 2024.

Kevin, just like Max and Charlotte had lived in Vancouver before the incident. The sensation that they were feeling now was identical to the phenomenon that occurred just before Vancouver’s destruction.

Kevin retreated. One step. Then two, but he was still too late. The Gate opened and blinding light enveloped him. He felt like he was falling. Falling so fast that he feared that he’d die if he ever made contact with the ground. A scream escaped his mouth, but not out of fear, but out of a pain that sprouted at the small of his back, forming a distinct seed-shaped mark.

A Mark of Beginnings.

Chapter 4:

Kevin groaned while feeling his head throbbing. It was the sort of throbbing that started from the back of the eyes and travelled down to the base of the neck. Annoying, but bearable. He was able to shake it off in time, but not before pressing a hand to the bridge of his nose to soothe the dull ache.

The ground felt rough beneath him, almost gritty, which was odd since he recalled standing on the grass of his school’s courtyard mere seconds ago. He blinked, his vision swimming before stabilizing, finally allowing him to survey his surroundings.

The scene around him was eerily familiar. It was a desolate landscape with a soft breeze blowing up loose ash and dust into swirling clouds that hovered overhead before dispersing. The wreckage of ruined buildings and shattered roads mottled with punctured holes took up the majority of Kevin’s vision. Empty cars and toppled streetlights dotted the landscape, while cracked windows and dented metal spoke of an unprecedented disaster.

Kevin’s stomach lurched, his mind going numb from a rush of memories as his eyes darted back and forth. He’d been here before. His mind registered everything one by one down memory lane.

The old bakery, the shops, the stores now destroyed and barely recognizable; the remains of the newer sky train lines that ran across the city’s urban areas; everything that Kevin was seeing indicated only a single location in his mind: The Vancouver Disaster Zone.

Kevin could easily recognize the area because he and Max had used to drop by the central Vancouver area to hang out with friends on the weekends many times in the past. The only reason that he and many others had survived the tragedy of 2024 was because they had primarily lived at the edge of Vancouver; well away from the events that occurred within the city’s center.

Kevin shivered from the memory. Looking further out, he felt his mouth dry, his breath hitching within his throat. In the distant horizon, the safety blockades that were constructed to keep people out were missing. Instead, it was as if the world itself just stopped after a certain boundary. The sky turned black and the ground abruptly cut off to a steep cliff. Beyond that, there was nothing but a void that seemed to stretch on endlessly. Rather than just being transported to Vancouver, he had entered a separate space entirely.

A world different from his own. A different dimension? The explanation already sounded far fetched. There had to be some other answer, but his mind was already running wild with theories he blamed on the books and games that he used to read and play.

Standing up onto his feet, he shivered when he realized that he could see no one else around him. Was he alone? The thought caused a chill to travel down his back. Back when the light had enveloped him, he knew that he wasn’t the only one nearby. If he failed to escape, then Max and Charlotte must have been caught up along with him.

“Max? Charlotte?” He called out uneasily, his voice echoing down the empty street.

Silence. A minute passed, then two. He was starting to inwardly panic at this point, but the shifting of a small mound of rubble at the corner of his eyes drew his attention. A pair of hands burst out from the mound, fingers curling to find purchase on the loose debris before pushing outwards in order to make a hole.

Max emerged, pulling himself out from where he had found himself buried. Groggy and disoriented, it wasn’t until he took a moment to rest that he was able to notice Kevin staring at him.

“Miss me?” Max’s voice sounded slightly garbled as he brushed off the dirt and dust that clung onto his clothes. “Wait, don’t answer that yet.”

Max moved back to the pile of debris that he had crawled out from and began digging just enough to get a grip on Charlotte’s hands. He then promptly began dragging her out through the hole he’d made.

When Max and Charlotte had been enveloped by the light, they were close enough to each other that they appeared at the same location buried under debris. At first, Max had thought that he was alone, but fortunately he had noticed Charlotte during his attempt to crawl free. Charlotte looked both confused and terrified as Max pulled her out.

Max then turned back to look at Kevin. “Feel free to answer the earlier question now.”

“Shut up, Max.” Much of Kevin’s tension and unease was sapped away by Max’s easygoing attitude.

“W-What happened?” Charlotte finally collected herself enough to speak, her eyes darting left and right before she pushed herself up onto her feet.

No one responded to the question because no one knew the answer. Kevin could only shake his head while Max was too busy staring everywhere else to respond.

“Woah,” Max’s mouth slightly hung open. “Am I really seeing things or can you guys see it too?”

“Don’t worry, I see it. Maybe we’re just both crazy,” Kevin replied. He’d had the same experience moments prior.

They turned to look at Charlotte who fidgeted under the attention. “I see it also,” she admitted before looking at the rubble around her and carefully narrowing her eyes in scrutiny.

Max mimicked Charlotte’s actions until they both realized that they were standing inside the Vancouver Disaster Zone, or at least a replica of it because there was no way that they were still on earth. Regardless, Max stiffened while Charlotte instantly paled.

“D-Don’t breathe the air,” Charlotte covered her mouth with both of her hands in a panic. “We might get sick.”

The news reports regarding the incident of 2024 speculated that some type of unseen pathogen present in the disaster zones made survivors ill. It was the same disease that afflicted Kevin’s mom and Charlotte’s parents.

“It’s too late now,” Max helplessly shrugged his shoulders. “We’ve already been breathing plenty and there’s no way that we can hold in our breaths all the time.”

Max was right. Evidently, Charlotte knew it too so she just gave up. However, the anxiety present in her eyes couldn’t be hidden.

For his part, Kevin grimaced because he could understand what Charlotte must have been thinking about. The only family that Charlotte had left right now was her older brother, and if she got sick too, then who would be there to help him? She depended on her elder brother for emotional support just as much as her elder brother depended on her.

Alternatively, Kevin didn’t know what his dad would do if he fell sick and was confined to a hospital bed. Frankly, he didn’t want to know. His father already struggled enough both mentally and physically while coping with his mother’s illness. He didn’t want to add-on to his father’s burdens. He could guess what kind of pain and loneliness such an outcome would cause.

Kevin’s hands balled into fists. It wouldn’t happen. He wouldn’t get sick. No one would get sick. He just had to find some way to fix the situation.

As Kevin racked his mind for answers, an acute warmth sprouted at the small of his back and seemed to spread throughout his body. It was an odd sort of feeling, and one that was hard to explain, but it didn’t last for long. He didn’t even know what it was. Ever since he had entered this place, he’d been feeling something off about himself. The light that he and the others had been subject to before their arrival into the current area seemed to be the root cause.

The small of his back began throbbing lightly. Not enough to hurt, but more than enough to feel it. Even if he didn’t know what was happening, instinct was already kicking into overdrive. The hairs at the back of his neck raised, causing goosebumps to form over his skin.

Something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

“We can’t stay here.” Kevin spoke up hastily, his heart beating rapidly. The longer that he stayed still, the more intense the throbbing became. It felt like ants were crawling over his skin.

He looked to Max and Charlotte who were both already staring back at him. Perhaps, they were experiencing the same situation? Regardless, the earth began to shake lightly, tremors travelling beneath the rock from the force of an impact. Loose stones over the ground began to clack and wobble. Something was approaching in the distance.

“Hide!” Kevin yelled the first response that came to mind.

Max and Charlotte ran back in the direction of the mound of debris that they had been buried under while Kevin chose to take cover within the nearest abandoned car. It was old and rusted, but the door frame still functioned well enough for him to pry open and close after he entered. The inside smelt of ash and soot, the leather of the driver and passenger seat burned from where it had once been alight.

Fumbling with his hands, he reoriented himself in order to be able to peak out from the car’s window. He was close enough to be able to still see and communicate with Max and Charlotte, but he didn’t dare call out, even lightly. Not yet.

The vibrations from the ground reverberated within Kevin’s chest. Huddled alone within the car, the throbbing was only growing worse. Beads of sweat formed in a thin layer over his forehead, his gaze wearily darting back and forth for any sign of trouble. He saw it first in the form of an object colliding with the road fifty feet away, the impact producing a plume of debris that shot up towards the sky. Dirt and grime pelted the ground and sounded like thunder while smacking against the car’s roof. It was deafening, but he could hardly care at the moment. Instead, he watched in horror as the smoke cleared to reveal a mangled corpse in army attire cratered a foot deep into the ground.

Dead. The man was dead as dead could be.

Kevin sucked in a breath and heard Charlotte gasp from where she stood crouched next to Max, who was blatantly staring with wide eyes.

For an instant, Kevin couldn’t move. He couldn’t think. It wasn’t until the sound of hurried footsteps and gunfire jolted him into attention that he snapped himself out of his daze. A group of Armed Forces appeared, firing spontaneously behind them in abject fear and terror with semi-automatic rifles.

Aside from nuclear weaponry, firearms were at the height of human warfare. No living body of flesh and bone could endure the penetrative power of a bullet. Even the largest of animals whose hides were composed of several layers of skin and fat would not survive. In which case, what could they be firing at that made such weapons ineffective?

“What the hell is that?” Max mouthed in disbelief. Kevin couldn’t answer.

Sparks showered over the ground as the bullets fired reflected and bounced harmlessly off into the surroundings. Soon, the enemy came within view.

It was a sphere-shaped monster only heard of in fantasy. It floated a foot above the ground, a massive singular eye composing over half of its body. Its pupil was a deep red and surrounded by thick web-like arteries visible around the sclera. Said arteries pulsated with a strange light, creating a translucent film that blocked out most forms of attack. Some bullets were piercing through, but even then, armor-like plates fitted over the monster’s skin added an extra layer of defence that was difficult to penetrate through.

It’s eye constricted and dilated while staring at the Armed Forces in front of it. Around its sides were hooked appendages with the thickness of a man’s arms. Scaled and durable they were capable of directly shattering rock. This was the cause of the impacts that Kevin and the rest had felt earlier.

Kevin swallowed, heart beating rapidly within his chest. This wasn’t a game nor a movie. The monster that he was seeing before him was reality. What started as a low-pitched hum suddenly increased in volume as bands of energy coalesced at the tip of the monster’s eye, forming a condensed ball and causing the air itself to distort.

“Type one energy-class projectile incoming!” One of the Armed Force members called out in a panic. However, the warning had come too late. The group of Armed Forces failed to react in time.

One moment the Armed Forces were running, and in the next, a conical beam of superheated light reduced everything into ashes and embers drifting in the wind. The heat caused the tar over the streets to bubble and pop, black viscous liquid producing a pungent odour mixed with charred flesh.

Kevin’s breath hitched in his throat, his chest constricting. In the distance, he saw Max desperately muffling the scream that had been moments away from escaping Charlotte’s mouth with both hands.

Max and Kevin looked at each other nervously before nodding in tacit understanding.

Max and Kevin had been friends for so long that they could read each other’s intentions just from the minor changes in expression.

“Keep your head low. It’s coming this way,” Kevin mouthed while motioning for Max and Charlotte to get further under cover.

Meanwhile, the low-hum of the monster’s attack came to a halt before the monster gazed around the area, its appendages substituting as feelers, dragging it forward. The noise it was creating was akin to nails scratching against a chalkboard, acute and shiver inducing.

“We’re going to die. We’re going to die.” Kevin could hear Charlotte even from where he was. This wasn’t good, she was in shock. Her hands were hugged around herself and her eyes were starting to water. She was trembling and nothing Max did was calming her.

Max himself wasn’t fairing much better, but unlike Charlotte, he was just less vocal.

Kevin felt his stomach sinking. Presently, the monster was too far away to hear Charlotte’s quiet murmurs, but the closer it got, the more likely it would be to detect them. It would make no difference even if Charlotte was being silent. He sucked in a breath, and then released it while eying the door handle of the car that he was in. His hand reached out and settled around the door handle, his forearm tensing. Max noticed his actions and almost immediately began shaking his head at him. Kevin, however, ignored Max.

This was not a good idea, and he knew it, but what other choice did he have?

He was good at running. He’d always been.

He clenched his jaw and looked to Max one final time.

‘You idiot, don’t you dare!’

He could almost imagine what Max was trying to say to him.

Max was his best friend; a good friend, and good friends were always hard to come by which was why he didn’t hesitate any longer. The lives of Max and Charlotte were in danger and rather than save them because he was selfless, it was more because he was selfish.

It hurt far more than any physical injury to lose someone important. It was a type of wound that would never heal only fester, and he didn’t want to experience it again.

Kevin pulled on the handle of the car door and loudly kicked the door off of the car’s hinges, the chunk of metal clanking piercingly in the calm. “Come at me you bastard!” He jumped out and yelled at the top of his lungs, the monster’s eye narrowing on him.

He then took off sprinting in the opposite direction of Max and Charlotte, certain that the monster would chase him.

Regardless of what kind of attack the monster had used to annihilate the group of Armed Forces, it didn’t seem like it could fire it off repetitively. Otherwise, why had it been chasing the Armed Forces in the first place?

Kevin was taking a gamble and he knew it, but at the very least it was paying off.

The screeching noise of the monster’s appendages dragging on the ground confirmed that the monster was giving chase.

Wind whipped across his face as adrenaline pumped furiously within his body. It was probably the fastest that he’d ever run in his life, and it was still doing no good. No matter how far he ran or how fervently he attempted to out maneuver the monster through the obstacles of the Vancouver Disaster Zone, it always maintained a constant pace behind him.

His lungs burned, numbness spreading first from his calves then to his thighs, but he couldn’t give up. To stop meant death, and besides, he was still near the location where Max and Charlotte were hidden.

Just a bit more.

He gritted his teeth and willed himself onward.

If there ever came a time where he couldn’t allow himself to fail, this would be that time. He groaned while narrowly dodging the appendages that sought to flatten him. All that he had seen was the brief image of a shadow before it had struck. Fortunately, he trusted his instincts and stepped to the side.

Kevin swallowed nervously and kept going, but no matter how good he was at running, his stamina was waning as exhaustion quickly began to befall him. In the worst possible moment as he attempted to vault over a broken fence, he tripped and fell into a tumble.

Sprawled on his back, Kevin’s chest heaved up and down while staring directly at the monstrosity which soon loomed over him.

It was at that moment that he knew that he was going to die.

The monster’s eye was directed at him, its sharpened appendages poised to strike downwards.

Kevin’s life flashed before him starting from his earliest childhood memory. It was when he was first beginning to walk, his mother and father in front of him and encouraging him to take that first step forward despite many failed attempts. Small pudgy hands pushed their way up onto tiny feet. It didn’t matter how many times that he failed as long as he never gave up.

He didn’t know why that particular memory came to him mere moments away from his death, but it pushed him to his limits. The throbbing at the small of his back which he had largely been ignoring now burned like a roaring flame.

Keep standing up, keep pushing forward, because in the end, there was meaning in perseverance!

Life itself was a struggle; the means in which to continue living, unique from individual to individual. Just as a trapped man may amputate his own limb, people will do whatever it takes to survive which is reflected in their very will.

He’d once made a promise.

He thought of his mother who was sick in bed, then he thought of his father who would be devastated should he perish. Thoughts of his friends and loved ones soon followed.

He’d sworn that he’d take care of them. Protect them. Now and in the future.

The images caused his hands to ball into fists. He refused to just concede his own life. Not when people were depending on it.

He needed strength. He needed power. The thought was like a catalyst in his mind, the mark on his back thrumming and reverberating. Energy swelled up from within him, surging forth like the waves of a storm, overbearing and unrelenting.

He couldn’t die. Not unless he had nothing else to live for. He’d sworn an oath!

The seed-like mark which he had yet to notice on the small of his back gradually evolved. From what looked like a seed, root-like branches began sprouting outwards and up his back. It was a sequence that he’d later understand to be called an ‘Awakening.’

A fierce wind originated with him at the center, blowing up tufts of his hair and fiercely whipping back his clothes. Veins popped over his skin, pressure building at the back of his head which he released in a roar.

“Back off!” He kicked up at his adversary, and the ground caved beneath him from where he used his hands as leverage.

His feet hooked the bottom of the monster’s body and sent it careening away just as its appendages shot forth to strike him. His arms raised up in defence, but rather than injure him like he had expected, they missed him by a wide margin due to the distance provided by his previous kick.

Sent flying, the monster crashed into the street and lay in a daze as if it couldn’t understand what had happened. Kevin himself had no idea and was just staring at his arms and legs like he was looking at them for the first time.

He blinked. Regardless of what was happening, he understood one fundamental point: Right now, he was strong and that was all that mattered. He felt as if he could shatter rock with his bare hands and run fast enough to match or outpace a car.

His legs carried him forward, his feet digging into the ground as he pushed off.

The mark over his back released a dim glow, his senses suddenly enhancing.

The monster was moving in slow motion, its limbs still in the process of pushing it upright by the time that he arrived and kicked it again and again. It didn’t seem able to resist, and it wasn’t because it wasn’t strong, but because he was too fast. By the time it reacted to his strikes, he would already be gone.

He was nothing more than a blur from the perspective of a bystander.

It was incredible.

He’d never felt anything like it in his life. It was like he was suddenly a superhero like the ones that he’d seen in games, books, and movies. In fact, when his thoughts reached this point, he couldn’t help but believe that it was reality. It was then that a distinct difference occurred.

There was a tug in his gut, his movements momentarily freezing before the energy within him erupted once more, catching the monster off guard after it had adjusted itself to his assault.

His strength doubled, his exhaustion vanishing like smoke. The monster raised its appendages up in defence, but it amounted to nothing more than a larger target to hit. Pivoting on the balls of his feet, he punched and sent the monster bouncing across the ground.

He was clearly winning and yet, his expression was strained.

Just because he couldn’t feel his fatigue, didn’t mean that he wasn’t fatigued. Exhaustion was numbing his body and there was nothing that he could do about it. Ten minutes had passed, and he’d kicked, punched, and did whatever that he could in order to incapacitate the enemy but nothing was working.

Panting for breath, he soon fell on his knees after his legs gave out on him. A hollow laugh escaped his mouth devoid of any humour as his shoulders visibly slumped.

Y-You’ve got to be kidding me. What kind of rubber bullshit was this thing made out of? Despair clouded his features as the monster which he had just pounded into the dirt pushed itself back up into an upright position.

No matter how hard he struck, it felt like he was attacking a ball. It just wouldn’t stay down. The situation wasn’t good, but he could no longer lift a finger to attack. Retreating wasn’t an option either. If he left, then what would he do if the monster turned back in the direction it came and stumbled into Max and Charlotte?

He couldn’t let that happen. Fortunately, his predicament ended far faster than he could have ever expected.

A sudden flash of silver streaked through the air before piercing the monster’s defences and lodging itself into the monster’s eye. It staggered and howled in pain before its screams abruptly ended.

A man appeared above the monster and stomped it into the ground. The monster’s spherical body deformed in on itself as a low groan escaped whatever mouth it had.

Looking closely, Kevin realized that he knew the man who had appeared before him. It was the same man that he’d seen in the hospital; the one who’d vanished on him as if he was a ghost.

“It seems you’re doing better than I thought you’d be.” The man grabbed the hilt of a metal sword that was still lodged into the monster’s eye before twisting and wrenching it out. The action killed the monster beneath, ending the entire battle in an instant.

Kevin shut his mouth. The man defeated the monster as if it was a bug on the road.

Knife holsters were strapped to both of the man’s thighs, and the air around the man was entirely different. If before, the man’s temperament could be described as docile or subdued, now it was wilder and almost entirely unrestrained.

The man was staring at Kevin in reproach as if the man knew that he’d done something stupid. Of course, he did something stupid.

“Heroics without strength mean only death,” the man lectured while crushing the monster beneath his foot for good measure. The man then held his silver sword in his left hand, and right before Kevin’s eyes, the silver sword shrank to the size of a pin which the man tucked away inside his jacket.

“How did you do that?” Kevin couldn’t help but ask. He was panting, but the adrenaline within him was mitigating the effects of fatigue.

“Not important.” The man hummed lightly. “What matters is that you can’t fight these things using blunt force. Clearly you haven’t been using the gift that I gave you.”

It took a moment for Kevin to realize what the man meant before he pulled out the bracelet the man had given him earlier in the morning.

Upon seeing it, the man nodded before gesturing with his finger.

The bracelet flew from out of Kevin’s grip and into the man’s hand.

The man curled his fingers around the sword ornament on the bracelet and channeled some sort of power through his palm which produced a tiny shower of crackling sparks.

The bracelet’s tiny sword enlarged. It grew fifty inches in length while the detail over the sword’s surface instantly became more pronounced. It was still plain in appearance, but the edges appeared sharper. At the hilt, a crimson circular jewel embedded within the pommel shone with a mysterious luster. The blade itself was polished flat, deep grooves carved along the fuller of the sword. It was a great-sword of sorts, a claymore.

“You can shrink and enlarge objects?” Kevin guessed at what the man had done.

“Not quite,” the man said flatly while tossing the sword over to Kevin handle first.

Kevin frowned after catching the sword. It was heavy, the weight forcing him to use two hands to wield it, but oddly enough it felt natural in his grip. The longer that he held it, the more accustomed to it he became.

The feeling was akin to walking for the first time, disorienting, yet fulfilling. Small vibrations travelled from the sword and ran up through Kevin’s palms, the sensation like electricity snaking through him. Pulses of a certain type of energy that he was unfamiliar with resonated with the marking on his back before the sword shrunk to its miniature state accompanied by the sound of static.

‘Bound by a promise. Kept strong by a will unbreakable.’

White noise suddenly sounded in Kevin’s ears, and when it disappeared, the sword had shrunk back into a bracelet over his wrist. The shock must have been showing on his face, because the man no longer kept quiet.

“That sword is special. It’s called Ormitikós, one who stands by faith and Greek for Oathkeeper.” The man released a weary breath, expression solemn. “Its name and purpose no longer have any meaning to me, but for you and only you, it’s different. The oath sworn upon the blade still stands.” Ormitikós thrummed within Kevin’s grip, but the man remained unperturbed. “When in times of grief, despair, or danger, look to the sword. Its light of myriad forms will clear the way.”

“Myriad forms?” Kevin echoed.

“It takes on the shape of whatever the wielder needs the most.” The man said absently. It was less like he was answering a question and more like he was reminiscing of the past. “A spear, a shield, a gun, a bow, it can become anything required for a given situation.”

Kevin could already comprehend the relevance and usefulness of such a weapon; namely, versatility. A sword could become a gun; a gun into a shield, and so on in the midst of combat. He was incredulous. “Why give it to me?”

The man did not respond; instead, he shrugged the question away. “It’s not important because knowing won’t change anything. I can’t use it anymore anyway, so I might as well give it to someone that can.”

Kevin didn’t buy the explanation. It was too hard to logically believe. “That makes no sense. I don’t even know the first thing about swinging a weapon, let alone how to use one.”

“Then you’d be surprised at what people are capable of in times of great danger.” The man did not give Kevin any room to doubt. The man was certain.

“I’m just a high school student. Why not give it to the army people I saw earlier?” Kevin pressed on regardless. There were too many others better than him that could put the sword to good use.

“Because you’ve already awakened your Seed.” The man spoke with finality, expression darkening in annoyance. “The throbbing you’ve been feeling on your back, it’s been what’s giving you the power to fight all this time.”

“A Seed?” What was that? It wasn’t as if he was some kind of plant. Kevin began to frown.

The man shook his head. “No time to explain. A select few that enter through the Gate are branded upon entry with the mark of a Seed, becoming Seed Users. Just think of it as a power source of dormant Life Energy unique to every individual. Ormitikós has already attuned itself to your particular Seed and won’t accept anyone else’s.”

“But you just said it was yours,” Kevin locked onto a particular point, the man falling silent.

“Look, you’re going to need Ormitikós now more than ever.” The man grimaced, jaw clenched tightly. “An awakened Seed attracts the attention of the monsters called Outers named after the mystery of their origin in this world within the Gate. We’ve just killed one. A Scout-Class known as a Pathfinder.”

Outers? Pathfinder? The terminology lingered within Kevin’s mind as he glanced at the once-floating monstrosity now dead on the ground.

“Outers vary in shape and form, but all have the distinct characteristic of being entirely black bodied, almost like the pith of a shadow. They don’t need to eat. They don’t need to sleep. I doubt that they’re even alive.” The man’s tone turned harsh. “It’s like their very existence is to just wipe out all traces of life.”

The man’s fists were clenched so tightly that the whites of his knuckles were showing. Silence descended between the two, the man losing himself to some kind of horrid distant memory, his eyes haunted by numerous regrets.

Kevin wisely chose not to pry into the matter for the time being. Presently, he was far more interested in learning how to keep himself and his friends alive. He fidgeted for a moment, not knowing if he should speak up, but the urgency of the situation forced his hand.

“How do I use this Seed that you said that I have?” He asked tentatively. If he didn’t know how to use this new power, then there was no way that he could protect himself let alone Max and Charlotte.

The man glanced at Kevin while falling into contemplation. The man seemed all too eager to distract himself.

“Do you know anything about magical theory? No never mind. Magic Theory is too difficult a concept for you to understand right now, so I might have to dumb this down further.” The man mumbled.

If Kevin was insulted at the man’s jab at his intelligence, he didn’t react. Why bother when the man was correct that he didn’t even know what magic was in the first place?

The man eventually nodded before speaking. “Since it’s you, do you remember Laplace’s Demon? It’s a popular topic amongst scholars regarding a Demon of science that knows of all things.”

Kevin momentarily balked. What did the man mean by ‘do you remember?’ It was as if the man knew he’d once taken a science history course in the summer to better his chances at being accepted into a prestigious University.

One famous scientist in history was called Laplace, and he theorized the concept of a Demon of science who knew of everything. One who knows of all things would understand the key concepts of the universe, namely position, velocity, and force the foundations of which create the basis of the natural world. Through the Demon of Laplace, anything and everything could theoretically become possible.

A concept of linking Thought to Reality.

“Okay?” Wierded out as Kevin was, he did not see any relevance between Laplace’s Demon and the current subject until the man snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared over his thumb.

“Your power is related to Laplace’s Demon,” the man said flatly as if he was talking about the weather. “To an extent, your power can be whatever you want it to be limited by only your own understanding. One can’t use fire if one does not know the mechanics of the oxygen burning from within it.”

The man blew on his thumb, and the small flame extinguished.

“Huh?” Was Kevin’s intelligent reply to the man’s words.

The man’s lips thinned in impatience before he suddenly jerked his head to stare off at the distance. “No time to explain. You’ll just have to learn on the fly.”

“What do you mean?” Kevin asked. They’d just killed the nearest source of danger. What was there to fear?

The man gestured towards where Kevin had left Max and Charlotte behind.

“The Outer that you just fought, the Pathfinder,” the man stared Kevin dead center of the eyes. “Pathfinders move in pairs.”

Kevin felt an ill premonition.

“We’ve only dealt with one, so where’s the other?”

Kevin felt his stomach begin to sink.

The distinct sound of a scream reverberating across the horizon.

Chapter 5

“I’ve got to go.”

Kevin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Contrary to his belief, the man did not follow him in order to help rescue Max and Charlotte. Instead, the man had gone elsewhere after giving Kevin a simple pat on the shoulder and a nod of encouragement. He didn’t even have the time to get the man’s name.

Kevin’s outstretched hand fell listlessly back to his side, a light breeze blowing across his face as the man’s figure faded quickly into the distance.

Great. His brow twitched. Encouragement was the last thing that he really needed right now. Max and Charlotte were in danger and it was up to him to save them. Worse, he’d not yet fully recovered from the fatigue he’d built up from his earlier confrontation. He wiped away the sweat matting his forehead with the back of his hand and took a deep breath before resolving himself.

Damn it he was tired. “Fucking shit.”

Here goes nothing.

Kevin clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth while forcing himself into a full-on sprint back in the direction that he had come. The extensive use of what the man had called his “Seed” was causing his vision to spin. The energy that his Seed was providing was definitely not infinite and was quickly running dry. The man had called it Life Energy, and if that meant what he thought it meant, then he had a justifiable reason to presently be feeling unnerved; he did not want to entertain the idea that he could potentially be killing himself right now, but this wasn’t the time to just be thinking about himself.

The screams that he could hear in the distance were getting louder, more panicked, almost strangled.

In life, there were certain things that were always worth fighting for even at the cost of self harm. One could fully risk one’s life for a stranger, never thinking of the consequences. But in Kevin’s case, his motivations weren’t so selfless. He just didn’t want to lose anyone anymore.

Wounds may heal, but mental and emotional scars would linger for an eternity.

So, Kevin would run with all that he had. Even when his muscles groaned in protest or when the edges of his vision began to dim, he still pushed himself forward because he was the only one that could save what he cherished; the ties that he’d made with others connecting him to friends, family, and even acquaintances: Bonds.

C’mon!

He stumbled while running, his knees buckling under his weight, but he steadied himself through sheer force of will. The scenery around him was a blur. All that he was thinking in his mind was that he had to move faster. This thought was all that he had focused on, not realizing that his speed was gradually increasing.

To achieve any goal or achievement, one first had to be able to believe that they could do it, and that was exactly what he was doing. He’d get there in time. He’d save Max and Charlotte. There was no room for any doubts and uncertainties for they would only inhibit him.

The screams had long since ceased, causing his heart to lurch from within him, but he pressed on regardless. Over boulders and mounds of rubble, he single-mindedly vaulted and strode across all obstacles.

Just a little more!

Kevin reached the apex of a distant hill before he caught sight of his friends; trapped between a Pathfinder and a narrow crevice formed by two collapsed buildings which Max and Charlotte had forced their way into. The Pathfinder’s body was too bulky to make its way in, but it was sending its long appendages through the narrow opening to smash down upon Max and Charlotte. The only reason that the two were still alive was because Max had somehow pried off of a car door and was using it as a shield that he wedged in front of him and Charlotte.

It wouldn’t last. Already, the door was at its breaking point, the mirror shattered and the steel frame dented. The duo looked like nothing more than toy soldiers from Kevin’s perspective, but even still, Max seemed to spot him atop the hill and shook his head as if warning him that it was already too late to act.

What were friends for? Kevin could already understand Max’s intentions despite barely being able to make out his face.

‘Run. Don’t come.’ If they weren’t able to survive, then what was the use in throwing another life away?

Kevin sucked in a breath and balled his hands tightly into fists. No. NO. He refused this sort of outcome. He’d made it in time. He just had to do something despite his waning strength. Anything would do.

Both Max and Charlotte were moments away from dying under the Pathfinder’s attack. The Pathfinder had many appendages, dozens of which sprouted from its armoured body and split off into smaller sections when it attacked. All of them were aimed at Max and Charlotte as the car door finally gave way.

Kevin had to act and now was the time. Whether or not he could change the situation didn't matter. Right now, he just knew that he had to.

C’mon. Think! His mind raced for an answer before recalling what the man had told him.

Laplace’s Demon. A theory to understand the aspects of reality and make it real using the knowledge of known variables. Just as the burning of oxygen made fire and the dropping of temperature made ice, if he knew the basis of a system, fictional or otherwise, didn’t that mean that he could use it through the power of his Seed? Wasn’t that what the man had meant by Laplace’s Demon?

He didn’t understand the concept of how his power truly worked, but if it could be anything based on his own knowledge, then what if he took from the ideas of others before him?

The stories of Homer.

The Heroes of Myth and Legend.

Or perhaps the Heroes of Fiction?

He knew that he wasn’t the most creative of individuals, and as such could not easily construct an elaborate sort of rational power in his mind. However, in the process of growing up, he’d read many books and watched many movies, most of which he could no longer remember in detail. Be that as it may, what he did remember were the Heroes and Villains of the stories, some of which he’d read from mythology, and others from comic books. All had systems of magic or abilities that were ingrained upon a set of constraints bound by a world law and order. So long as he knew and understood those constraints, then wasn’t that all that he needed in order for his Seed to replicate the process?

With just their individual powers alone, each Hero or Villain had the means to directly alter the course of events in their worlds.

If he, Kevin Black, couldn’t find a solution to a problem on his own, then why not imagine himself to be someone that can?

This was it. This was probably what the man was hinting towards.

In his moment of enlightenment, Ormitikós suddenly formed into a bow. It was a weapon that morphed into the shape of what one needed the most, and what Kevin needed right now was range.

The bow got him thinking.

He’d once seen a figure in a popular TV series who could accurately shoot with anything designated as an ‘Arrow’ from any distance. The figure was called Red Hunter, a Hero of Fiction made for the setting of the historical Hundred Years War between France and England.

Born an orphan, raised as a hunter, forced into a war, became a legend.

The Arrows shot by Red Hunter were said to be magical, incomprehensibly bending and shifting in order to hit a target.

There was no escape. It aims for the eyes.

In the battle of the Hundred Years War, the only weak point found on armoured Knights were their open visors. Red Hunter capitalized on this aspect and felled many foes. However, he was never a man who sought out honour or fame. All that had ever mattered to him was providing for himself and his family, which was why he was blessed with a miracle.

He never ran out of arrows.

The author who had written the story of Red Hunter described the magic bestowed upon them as the energy of Faith. Nature and the wild itself was Red Hunter’s ammunition because he’d never had the money or status to afford actual arrows. He’d never needed them.

In essence, an Arrow was what Red Hunter made of it.

So long as an object could fly or be thrown, there was nothing in the world that could not be designated as an Arrow. There were certain restrictions to the process such as length, weight, and dynamics, but for the most part, all that really mattered was Red Hunter’s Faith. A Faith that Kevin was now attempting to emulate in full.

If there was ever a time that he needed to believe in Faith, now would be that time.

There was no real science in this ‘Faith,’ but what the TV show described it as was a type of energy or force. This concept was all that Kevin really needed to direct the power of his Seed into motion.

Faith was energy, therefore, the power of the Seed within him simply played a game of imitation, emulating a set basis and thereby laying down the foundation of Laplace’s Demon.

Kevin sucked in a breath, his body suddenly feeling lighter despite his weariness. He wasn’t Red Hunter, but it didn’t matter. Right now, like Red Hunter, he just wished for the power to protect.

So, soar.

He grabbed the nearest rock with his free hand and nocked it over the string of his bow, tendrils of mysterious red energy shrouding the rock in a crimson film just like the Hero of the TV series.

Designation. Set.

Red Hunter’s iconic lines played within Kevin’s thoughts as the world came to a stand still before his eyes. This was an innate skill of Red Hunter known as “Hyper Sense” which enhanced all of his senses to superhuman levels. Kevin could now see accurately from even a mile away.

Target locked. Affirming set values.

Veins bulged over his skin, power rippling through his arms as Ormitikós reached its full draw. The string was bent taut, the flexible frame of the bow, strained and near its breaking point.

Wind. Speed. Distance. Conditions met.

The world of Red Hunter was one fraught with violence and conflict. People often died just on the basis of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Others died on the basis of greed and ambition for personal gain.

Shoot to kill. There was no mercy in suffering.

Red Hunter was a victim of war, but that didn’t mean that he was resentful. He was an honest and upright man who firmly stood by his own principles.

The corrupt shall fall.

Those that maliciously killed, wronged, or unjustifiably harmed another would only taint the tranquility of the world. For the sake of family; for the sake of peace; they were reason enough to fight and make a difference.

O blessed Arrow guided by crimson light. Bring forth the dawn.

A dawn of hope. A dawn of renewal. For the sake of a world without lies.

Kevin’s fingers loosened their grip around a taut string, the rock notched to the bow rapidly accelerating forward as his vision blackened with the echoing twang of a bow.

Fire.

The crimson energy suffused around the rock expanded and flew with such force that it left dust and debris at its wake.

A crimson fang streaking across the horizon.

(To find the book, go to the Amazon Kindle Website and search up the title or my name)