Rise of Alpha (The Prodian Journey #1)

by Lorenz Font

  “What the hell does that mean?” I asked. “Can we skip the cryptic answers? Just give it to me in plain English.”

  “The little guy has a temper.” It was obvious that Matro found this whole thing amusing. He sat up and planted his feet on the floor, but he didn’t get up. “Aarmarks are divine creatures. We’re like, um … deities?”

  I narrowed my eyes, not at all pleased by his reply.

  He raised his hands in mock apology. “Okay, okay. Where we came from, good and evil are relative. We’re a peace loving realm, and we care for our land, work with diligence, and care for one another.”

  “So you are all just boring farmers?”

  Matro turned somber. “Just like most beings, we are independent and peaceful, but we still have enemies. The Ergans and their employers from Pratrim.”

  “Now we’re talking. Tell me more.” I leaned back in my chair, making myself comfortable. Then I remembered a more pressing matter. “Wait, we were attacked by those mofos yesterday in broad daylight.”

  Matro didn’t appear worried. “You used the Mertest, right?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Of course I did. I need more.”

  “Check your drawer and your glove compartment. You’re well stocked.”

  “Dang, you’re fast.”

  “I’m always watching you.”

  That sounded strange. Why would he let me fend for myself if he was around, risking Shannon’s life in the process? “How come you didn’t help out?”

  “It was a test. I needed to gauge your capacity to protect. Besides, I was nearby even if you couldn’t see me.”

  “Did you see the part where one pawed me and drew blood?”

  He nodded. “Shannon took care of it, right?”

  “Did she know what it was?” When Matro hesitated, I waggled a finger at him. “Out with it.”

  “Elizabeth has been using it on all her scrapes since she was a child. To Shannon, it is like carrying a homemade merthiolate.”

  “A what?”

  “It’s an over-the-counter antiseptic.”

  “How come it worked on me?” This conversation was getting weirder by the second.

  “Because it’s a divine product. Our spiritualist made it for us.”

  “Kinda like the Mertest?”

  “Sure.”

  Whatever. Still the idea that he was nearby and didn’t help out didn’t sit well with me, and I spoke the thought aloud. “Next time, step in if you think I can’t handle the situation.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Fine. Now tell me about the Ergans.”

  He smiled. “Ergans are creatures of the dark. They’ve been our foes from the beginning of time. Classic good versus evil. We have been in constant battle for as long as I can remember.” He stood up and walked over to the window before turning back to face me. “Be careful with those Ergans. They grew desperate after we defeated them and destroyed their territory. Right now, they’re scattered, but they are rebuilding. They are cunning and manipulative, and they will employ whatever means available to strike back.”

  His statement jogged my memory, making me remember what the Ergans had told me some nights ago. “They called Detherina a whore. What was that all about?”

  Matro’s eyes twitched. “Those bastards will poison your mind. They’ll tell you anything to win you over.”

  “Which means?” I cocked my head. This wasn’t making any sense.

  “Detherina asked the Prodians for help. Prodians are guardians of the fair—the truth as you call it. Our people are not accustomed to fighting, and we asked for their protection. This made Detherina a whore for seeking outside help. The Ergans accused her of escalating the campaign by involving other deities—”

  “You called me Shannon’s Prodian. But I’m not a deity. I’m just human. Am I supposed to be some guardian of the truth?”

  “You are her version of the truth.” Matro walked over to my bookcase and began thumbing through the titles.

  I scratched my head, getting frustrated. “I already asked you to dumb it down. What does ‘her version of the truth’ mean?”

  “There are things that I’m not at liberty to discuss with you. But I assure you, nothing those Ergans said was true.” He pulled out a book on the Civil War and walked back to the bed.

  “How do I know you’re not just using me like a pawn?”

  “You’re a smart one. You’ll know if you’re being played.”

  That was the thing, though. I couldn’t tell. I hoped that the relationship developing between Shannon and me, whether friendship or something more, wasn’t going to be built on lies and deception.

  “But what do I have that is so special?” This conversation was getting more frustrating with each passing minute. My shoulder jerked once and then again, a bit stronger. I breathed in and out, trying to suppress the next one.

  Matro looked up from the book. “Are you okay?”

  I hated the intrusion of my ever-present curse. “Why did I make the cut to be her protector? Look at me—I can’t even get through the day without humiliating myself. I’m not the hero type.”

  “Detherina already told you about the vision of our sage. It is predestined. We have no power to change anything. You’ve been chosen to deal with this. It does not matter if we agree with it or not.”

  “What’s in it for me?” As much as I wanted to be the one to save the day, the question remained. It sounded selfish, but I wanted to know what was waiting for me after all this was said and done.

  Matro nodded as though he’d been waiting for that particular question. He closed the book, marking his place with a finger stuck between the pages.

  “You’re making good friends. More than what you’d expected.”

  It was a bizarre answer, but true. I watched Matro while he focused his attention back on the book. His pale eyes moved rapidly across the page. Right then, he looked normal to me, like a regular human.

  “What sets humans apart from your kind?” I asked.

  “Well … ” He thought for a moment and then looked me straight in the eye. “Nothing, really. We just belong to a different universe. We can travel though time and sense the general emotions and thoughts of lesser species.”

  I knew it. He could read minds. I should have realized this the moment he started answering my unspoken questions. “That is a big difference in my opinion. Travel through time? Talk about big gas savings.” Wait, did he just call me a lesser species?

  He laughed, amused by my rambling. “What else do you want to know? You’re entitled to as much information as I am permitted to give you.”

  “Why are we keeping Shannon in the dark? I mean, look. This is her life we’re talking about. Don’t you think she’s entitled to know what’s going on?” I meant it as an observation, but it came out sounding like a challenge.

  “That is the Totren’s call. Daughter of our leader or not, we are all subjected to secrecy until one is considered a matured Aarmark. Even Shannon.” He paused. “I know you feel it’s not fair on her. She knows enough to get by, but until the Totren—or in this case, her mother—is ready to give her all the details, then it will remain a secret from her.”

  “I believe in full disclosure. My life and my choice.” I felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for Shannon. What would happen after they told her? They would whisk her away to an unknown place instead of letting her make the decision for herself? Gone to a place where I wouldn’t see her anymore?

  The idea unhinged me. How would I live after that? The past weeks had been the best I’d ever had. It didn’t matter what I had to do, as long as I was able to see Shannon every day.

  “Human values are well-intentioned, but they don’t apply to our way of life.”

  “But Shannon is being raised as human. You can’t turn her point of view on and off like a freakin’ light switch, you know.” How could they manipulate Shannon’s life without giving her room to choose for herself?

  “We can argue all
night long, but our rules are different from yours. There’s nothing I can do. We all have our own burdens to carry. This is Shannon’s.”

  “Totally unfair!” I shouted like a pouting child before I remembered that my parents might hear me.

  Matro flew at me—literally flew—to cover my mouth with his hand. Then we heard footsteps outside my door.

  “Son, is everything okay?” My dad knocked on the door.

  “Answer him,” Matro whispered, removing his hand from my mouth.

  “Yeah, Dad. I’m on the phone,” I answered, trying to infuse a good amount of irritation into my voice.

  Dad lingered outside for a moment before the sound of his footsteps faded away. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I told you to keep your voice down,” Matro said.

  “Whatever. I still believe Shannon has the right to know what’s going on. She’s not a child, and I hate to be added to the list of people lying to her.”

  He started putting on his shoes. “It’s not your call, buddy. I’m sorry if you don’t agree with how things are going. This is for her protection.”

  “That doesn’t mean I have to go along with it,” I answered.

  Matro narrowed his eyes at me. “Don’t do anything rash, my boy. Once things are done, it is difficult to take them back.” He lifted the book and waved at me. “I’m going to borrow this. Until we see each other again.”

  “Wait!”

  “What?” He sounded annoyed.

  “How do I get in touch with you if I need to talk?”

  “Go get yourself a shrink!”

  “Ha ha. You’re so funny,” I shot back.

  “Here’s my calling card.”

  He threw something on my bed and vanished. Just like that, I was all alone in my room. I picked up the flat, dark thing and was surprised it wasn’t as light as I’d expected. The surface was coarse. It felt like its weight was similar to that of a little rock. I inspected the swirling inscriptions in yellow ink, but there was no way of knowing what they said. There was no number or other useful information. It was just a rock! I threw it in the wastebasket.

  The wastebasket began to glow. Dumbstruck, I stared at it for a moment before realizing I’d better keep the darn thing, just in case it could be a real ticket to salvation. I retrieved the rock and placed it on my desk.

  After a quick shower, I was getting comfortable in bed when my phone rang. I picked up after glancing at the caller ID.

  “Mark, what’s up, bro?”

  “Someone nominated you as homecoming king,” Mark said on the other line, sounding annoyed.

  “Must be a joke,” I replied.

  “Has to be. Who would do such a thing?” he asked.

  It wasn’t rocket science. “Kevin Masters.”

  “That SOB. If he wasn’t a teammate, I swear I would’ve kicked his butt a long time ago.” Mark was angry.

  If he weren’t going for a college football scholarship, I was certain Mark wouldn’t hesitate to introduce his fist to Kevin’s face. I sighed, feeling like a total loser. Being nominated as a homecoming king was supposed to be an honor, but this was meant to humiliate me, especially if I was going up against Kevin.

  “Bro, are you still there?” Mark asked after a minute of silence.

  “Yeah. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Kevin did this so he could show everyone how great he is.” And what a big loser I am.

  “One day, you’ll get even with that asshole.”

  “Who knows, I might win,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood. Yeah sure, Morrison. Dream on.

  After we hung up, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark until sleep found me. It was past midnight when I woke up from another terrible dream. This time, Shannon was being herded into a corner by the Ergans, but I was nowhere in sight. I could hear her crying out for me. Terribly upset, I sat up in bed and glanced out the window. I couldn’t shake the panic the dream had stirred in me, so I got up, put on a shirt, and without making a noise, ventured out of the house.

  I just wanted to check on Shannon. To make sure she’d gotten home in one piece. After all, being her Prodian, it was my duty to protect her. With just the porch light to guide me, I made my way across our lawn to theirs. The grass was still wet, so I stopped and folded the hem of my PJ bottoms. When I straightened up, I almost screamed when I found Shannon standing in front of me, grinning.

  “What the hell are you doing out here?” I asked, lowering my voice when I realized I’d shouted.

  “I should ask you the same thing.” She placed her hands on her hips.

  “I can’t sleep,” I muttered.

  “I have the same excuse,” she said.

  Reumdag

  We stood there in the darkness, the wet grass soaking our feet, and stared at each other. This was not an ideal place for Shannon to be, so vulnerable to the creatures of the darkness.

  “You should go back inside.” I held her shoulders and turned her around to face their house.

  She resisted and wiggled out of my grasp. “I’m not sleepy. Why can’t we just hang out for a bit?”

  I considered her proposition, and then asked, “Your house or mine?”

  Shannon was thoughtful for a moment. “Yours.”

  She took my hand and led me to my doorstep, not giving me a chance to voice a protest. I turned the knob ever so gently, praying that the door wouldn’t squeak. When I pushed it open a little, there was no sound. I stuck my head in first, making sure it was safe to proceed before I opened the door wider, holding my breath. With a sigh of relief when the door didn’t make its usual squeaky noise, I let Shannon in.

  Even the hardwood floor gave me a break. Our steps didn’t create the creaking noise I expected. We tiptoed into my room, and I locked the door. I went straight to the bathroom and changed into dry shorts, pulling a towel from the rack on my way out.

  Back in my room, I turned on my desk lamp and handed the towel to Shannon. “Dry your feet. We don’t want you catching cold.”

  “Thanks,” she said and started to dry off.

  When her face broke into a smile, I wanted very much to be privy to her private thoughts, but I knew better than to pry. My gaze slid down to the creamy skin peeking out above her pajama bottoms, but then I inhaled deep and turned around. Any more skin showing would wake a sleeping dragon. I busied myself with the remote control, feeling my hand tremble when I pressed the On button.

  “What would you like to watch?” I asked, not sparing a glance in her direction.

  She didn’t answer right away, so I figured she was deliberating. I dared not look at her again to check, so I kept facing the television.

  “Do you have Hangover?”

  When I heard her stand up and realized she was heading to the bathroom, I let out a long sigh of relief. “Who doesn’t own Hangover?” I asked in mocked horror.

  I heard her laugh in response. Hoping Darryl or Mark hadn’t borrowed the movie, I rummaged for the DVD on the shelf. I found it and was popping the disc into the player when Shannon emerged, looking too damn cute with her hair tied in a ponytail. There was that mark again, which I’d forgotten to ask Matro about. My hands shook a little. This was destined to be a night of torture, shut in my room alone with her. Why did she have to be so pretty?

  To distract myself and keep her from noticing how nervous I was, I asked, “So, how was the party tonight?”

  She sat on the edge of the bed. “It was all right.”

  “Just all right? All the popular kids were there. How could it be just all right?” I pressed further.

  “Well, Kevin showed up with his friends. You know, the boys who think they’re all that.” Shannon rolled her eyes.

  My blood boiled upon hearing Kevin’s name. The bastard had better have stayed away from her. “Did he give you a hard time?”

  She nodded and wrinkled her nose at the memory. “He was drunk. He had that glazed look in his eyes, and his breath smelled like beer.”

  “What did
he do?” I asked, trying not to get all worked up and pressing the play button.

  “He was getting all handsy again, so I pushed him, and he fell on his butt.” She admitted with a smile.

  “You did? Nice job!” I raised my hand for a high-five, and she slapped her palm against mine.

  “Yep. Mark and the other guys on the football team held him back. I left early, and Veronica drove me home.”

  I hated that once again, Shannon had been subjected to Kevin’s asshole behavior. Nonetheless, I was relieved that she’d come out unscathed. I rubbed my jaw, feeling frustrated.

  “You need a bodyguard,” I muttered.

  “Are you volunteering?” She laughed and picked up the remote.

  That caught me off guard. “I guess I am.” No matter what, Shannon going anywhere by herself was going to be dangerous. It was either Kevin hounding her or the Ergans coming for her.

  “Then you’re going to go to the homecoming dance with me?” Her smile got wider, and I stared at her, dumbfounded.

  Homecoming? Was someone playing a cruel joke on me? The dance would be the last place I wanted to be if I were smart.

  “You’re asking me to the dance?” I asked, feeling dumb. What if she was just joking? The uncertainty was pure agony. I hadn’t been to any dance, let alone with the prettiest girl in school.

  Shannon smiled. “I guess I am. So … are you going to take me?”

  The thought of the potential ridicule I’d face made me cringe. But how could I pass up a once in a lifetime chance to go on a date with Shannon? I should be thanking my lucky stars for this opportunity. I nodded my head, still unsure if this might blow up on my face.

  Shannon squealed in delight, which confused me. I mean, she was a kind person and all, but was I just a charity case?

  “Fantastic!” She clapped her hands. “We’ll make plans later, okay?”

  Then I remembered Mark’s call earlier. “Did you know that someone nominated me for homecoming king?”

  Shannon shook her head. “That is even better. We get to wear our crowns together,” she giggled.

  I had a sinking feeling that she was making fun of me, so I started the movie and focused on it, trying my best not to look worried.