by J Deleon
“You have the power in you. You are stronger than the others.” Ian now understood that this was Destiny. The silhouette smoothly glided to his right side and continued. “The blood of the gods. The blood of Death. You are more than mortal.” Destiny, once again, glided behind Ian and finished. “It is your sword to burden.”
“There’s so much you’re not telling me, though.” Ian argued. “Why are you forcing all of this on us? We don’t want any part in this.”
“Everything you’ve done since the day you were born has been predetermined. Though you are a special race, you still lack the inability to reason. It saddens me that your race is the only race that can be useful to me, nonetheless, you will still do.”
“What are you talking about?” Ian asked.
“Jennifer.” Destiny whipped around.
“Who?”
“One of your kind. She’s not like the others. Her will is far more than I would have imagined. I can see now why they created your kind, but it doesn’t help me.” Destiny’s voice started to become angry. “It has to be you. There are no other options. No other planet has created life like yours. I’ve searched far and wide, but you and the others are the only ones.”
“Please, I just want all of this to stop.” Ian begged.
“And it will. But you need to retrieve your sword, find the others, stop the Red Orb, and save this universe.”
“But I don’t know where—or how—to even get started.”
“You will find your way. Nothing changes—I’ll make sure of it.” The silhouette peered deeply into Ian’s eyes for a moment before vanishing.
Ian stood in the never-ending void of whiteness until his body started to shake.
“Ian?” Scott’s voice echoed.
Ian opened his eyes to see Scott shaking him.
“Ian, what happened?” Scott asked.
Ian thought for a moment in silence. “We have to get the sword.”
Jennifer
Jennifer sat crisscross at a corner of the gymnasium that the group had subsided in. After weeks of searching, the group had decided it would be best if they found a solid place to stay. The constant travelling proved to be weary for most of them. They decided on an elementary school they had come across in their travels.
It had been over two weeks since they had moved in. The gymnasium seemed the best place for all of them to stay together. It was in pretty poor shape, but it was deep into the elementary building, away from the outside. It kept them safe from the, now regular, earthquakes, tornadoes, and everything else that would happen. It also shielded them from the hot rays of the Red Orb that came closer every day, and the monsters that searched for them and the sword.
Jennifer held that sword, gently caressing the ridges of it. She studied every part of it every day as if her life depended on it. She knew it still bothered Cecily, but she was trying to protect her as well. She knew what Destiny was capable of.
After so much time, Jennifer tried to put all of the pieces together. She figured that if Destiny was an actual embodiment of itself, then there must be more like it out there. She began to question everything she had ever learned. She thought about the Christianity god and if he was real. Or if anything was real. The sword she had managed to take was something gravely important to them, and Jennifer wanted to know why.
Jennifer looked around for Cecily. She found her across the gym in a seat halfway up the bleachers. She had her eyes closed and appeared to be humming music to herself. This was something Cecily would do frequently whenever she could. She had told Jennifer that it was one of the things that kept her calm. She would usually turn to cartoons, TV shows, movies, or anything else she was obsessed with, but recently, humming was all she could do. She would also complain to Jennifer a lot about how she missed her phone.
Jennifer stood up and walked over to Cecily. All of the others with them were divided into groups. They had all made friends with each other, it was clear to Jennifer that she was the only one without any other friends but Cecily. Cecily coped with her awkwardness by getting out and talking to others. Jennifer knew it scared her, but Cecily did it anyways because that’s who she was: a loud, extroverted introvert. She couldn’t handle being alone for too long, but also couldn’t handle being with others for too long. Jennifer understood this about Cecily because she was the same on some levels. Though she wasn’t nearly as extroverted as Cecily, she was extremely shy and weird to be around. Jennifer embraced this feeling, however, because it made her who she was. Jennifer thought about all of this as she walked across the gymnasium, up the stairs, and into the row of seats where Cecily was at.
“Cecily.” Jennifer spoke.
Cecily stopped humming and opened her eyes. “Yeah?”
Jennifer noticed that Cecily looked down at the sword. She quickly returned her eyes to Jennifer’s.
Jennifer didn’t have it in her to argue with Cecily about what they should do. She hated it. Cecily was the only person who truly understood her; she never liked making her upset. But Jennifer knew what had to be done. Cecily only wanted peace and for everything to go back to normal; she was always afraid of confrontation, but Jennifer thought otherwise. If they would to hand the sword to Ian, then Destiny would win. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she knew something was. Jennifer just wanted Cecily on her side, but she knew there was no changing her mind.
“I think we should give Ian the sword.” Jennifer told Cecily.
Cecily’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Jennifer hated lying to her, but she knew she had to—to protect them. Jennifer nodded slowly.
“Why?” Cecily asked. “You were so sure that it was wrong.”
“I just know that we won’t go anywhere if we don’t see. I’m tired of running for my life. I just want this to end.” Jennifer admitted.
Cecily remained quiet for a moment. Jennifer couldn’t make the eye contact (which she never could), but she felt Cecily studying her.
“Okay.” Cecily finally spoke.
Jennifer turned to her.
“Let’s give him the sword.”
Adam
A bowl of water splashed down near Adam’s bare, dirty feet. It spilled all over the red dirt that Adam had been sleeping on. The strong, crystal like bars kept him locked inside of the small prison he had been in for months.
Adam crawled to the wet dirt and tried his best to drink whatever water he could. There was barely anything for him left. He wiped whatever wetness was on his large beard and tried to lick it off. He sat up on his knees and stared pass the bars and into the arena just outside.
Adam was being held captive as a prisoner on Telemy. The Usepa had sent him and Lescion, who he hadn’t seen since their capture, into their own cells that surrounded an arena. It was a large circle that held audiences just above the cells. Adam had been in his cell since the day he was put in. For months on end, he watched as other prisoners were released into the arena and were forced to fight to the death.
Adam was horrified the first few weeks of watching, but over time, Adam had grown used to the violence. Not even the sight of the aliens that had imprisoned him scared him anymore. It had been so long since he had seen another human, he was going mad.
The dirt never stopped burning under his feet. It had been a few months since the sky completely turned red. The less red night sky was the only thing that made him feel free.
The day was just starting and that meant it was feeding time. Every morning, Adam would be given a small amount of water to drink and something to eat—this wasn’t one of those days. Instead, the guard who would usually bring his food, moved the small crystal door to the side and grabbed Adam. To his surprise, Adam tried to fight the alien off. Never had they tried to take him from his cell, but today, they dragged him into the middle of the arena.
“It’s your turn to fight.” The alien guard told Adam as she dropped him down.
Adam hit the ground hard. His weak body was barely able to pick himself up. Once
he got to his knees, he immediately tried running back to his cell. He would much rather be imprisoned in there than to fight in the arena. Adam had never been in a fight; he certainly didn’t want to start then.
Behind him, another cell opened. It was on the other side of the arena. The guard on that side soon dragged out an alien that didn’t look much bigger than Adam. He fought as well, but his fatigued body kept him from braking free.
Adam, terrified, cried for them to take him back. He hurried to his cell, but the guard was ready to kill him herself. They pointed a bow and arrow directly at him, stopping Adam from proceeding.
The guard dropped the alien once they were at the center as well. Adam turned around quickly to protect himself. Adam noticed then that the usual audience had already garnered up into the arena to watch the fight.
“Welcome, everyone, to The Arena!” The Usepa stepped up from his balcony that hung thirty feet in the air straight across from Adam’s cell. Adam would study the Usepa and his throne in the arena, dreaming about the day he had the chance to kill him. “Today, we have a special battle for you all. The first ever human from the planet Earth is here!” The audience roared excitement. “After conspiring to steal the Sacred Sword, and killing our own, remembered warriors who went out to search for it, the human will be forced to fight for its life!” The crowd roared again. “Opposing the traitor is Lundala, the one accomplice who helped the human take the sword away from our home!”
Adam turned to the alien a few feet away from him. The alien stared back at him.
“You lead them to my planet?” Adam shouted over the loud audience.
“We were scared! He forced me!” The alien trembled. “I told him not to take the sword, but he wanted to get off this planet! Please, don’t hurt me!”
Adam stared at him, then the ground, then at the audience. He didn’t know what to do.
“Now, let the fight, begin!” The Usepa sat down on his throne as the guard threw down a sword in between the two.
Adam hesitated as the alien ran towards the sword. Adam watched as the alien picked it up and began running towards him. It wasn’t until the alien was near enough to attack when Adam decided to move. He stepped back a few feet, narrowly avoiding the lunge. The alien prepared for another slash when Adam stepped back again. The alien lost its balance and fell over. Adam stared at the alien trying to recuperate. The sword was still tightly in his hand. Adam watched as the alien stood back up and went after him again. Adam dodged once more and reached out to grab the sword. He grabbed a hold of the alien’s hand and didn’t let go. The alien hit Adam in the chest, forcing him to move back to recover.
The sword was coming after him again, barely missing him once more. Adam had ducked down and kicked the knee of the alien, forcing it out from behind. The alien screamed and fell to the ground. Adam then picked up the sword and held it. He looked over the injured alien. It was just like him. They were both just prisoners for the Usepa. He didn’t deserve death, but Adam had been on Telemy for long enough to know what he had to do to survive here. Adam slashed the sword at the alien’s head, slicing it into two parts. The top half of the head flew like a golf ball away from the body. The audience cheered as Adam dropped the sword.
Adam finally knew what was going on. This was all real, and he was out of the cell. He hadn’t stepped outside in months, but at that moment, he wanted nothing more but to be back inside. He slowly walked over to his cell.
“Looks like you live to fight another day, human.” The guard told him as she locked the cell door back up.
Gwen
“I think we should give Ian the sword.” A voice echoed in Gwen’s head.
Gwen only saw darkness as the voices continued to speak about Ian and a sword. Suddenly, a misshapen sword appeared. A lady was holding it tightly in her hand. It was carved out of bone and had streaks of red, glowing all around.
“Ian.” Gwen whispered.
Her younger brother, Ian, was now in her vision. She hadn’t seen him in so long. He had grown so much. His hair was a mess and his clothes were dirty. This only made Gwen happier, however. She took this as assurance that he was still alive.
“Ian needs the sword.” Destiny appeared behind Ian.
Gwen hated the sight of it. “What are you doing with him? He has nothing to do with this.”
“He has everything to do with this.” Destiny replied. “The sword is his to bare.”
“No, just give it to someone else.”
“He is destined to wield it; just as you are destined to wield the bow.”
“He’s just a kid.” Gwen argued. “He can’t be a part of this.”
“Have faith in your brother. He will succeed.”
“No, no he can’t do this.” Gwen finished. Just after, her Judiceen began to hurt once more. It had spread to past her elbow and up her bicep.
“You will see your brother again, with the sword in his hands and the bow in yours.”
The Judiceen stopped. Gwen tried to catch her breath as she spoke. “Then who’s the third?”
“You do not know the third.”
“Then how did you choose who were destined for this? Me, my brother, and some random person?”
“I chose the people who were able to wield these weapons. They aren’t like any others. These are three that were powerful enough to create the Red Orb itself.”
Gwen took the information in. It would make sense that if she was able to wield the sword, her brother would be able to as well.
“So no other person could hold the sword?”
Destiny remained quiet. “There are others.”
“Then what the hell? Give the sword to one of them.”
“They are not worthy. Though they can use the sword, they don’t have the strength to stop the Red Orb. Only you three do.”
Gwen looked at her hand and thought about the Judiceen. “So does Ian have this in him too?”
“No. Only you.”
“Why?”
“Ian is special. He doesn’t need the Judiceen to help him.”
“But I do.”
“You are strong with it. You just haven’t realized it yet.”
“Just don’t hurt Ian.” Gwen said sadly.
“He is under my wing. Nothing will stop him nor you.”
“What about the third person. What is their name?”
“Emry.”
“Emry.” Gwen repeated. “Are they strong enough to not have the Judiceen?”
“She will find her weapon and help you two. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I hope so.” Gwen replied.
Suddenly, the lady, Ian, Destiny, and the sword all disappeared, leaving Gwen by herself once more.
Cecily
Cecily gathered her things and met up with Jennifer outside of the gymnasium. She had hoped to stay there a lot longer, but she knew that the sword had to be given to Ian. She said goodbye to the place before the group met up outside to discuss where they would start.
“Maybe we just start walking?” Cecily suggested.
“As of now, we don’t have any other options.” Lela spoke up.
“The city is nearly in complete ruins now.” Breanne stated.
Cecily took this into account as well. It had been over half a year since the disasters started. Over time, the city had just gotten worse. It was to the point where it was nearly just rubble all over. There were several areas that were still standing, but in the large city, that wasn’t much.
“We have to go.” Jennifer told them. “We need to find them.”
“We can stay here.” Lela suggested. “It’s safe here. We’ve found plenty of food. The buildings in this area are still holding. This is the safest place to be in the city right now.”
Cecily agreed with her. The former college student had grown used to the gymnasium they had called home for some time now.
“That Ian could stop this.” Michael spoke. “If we give him the sword, then he can give us back the lives we once had
. The god’s told him so.”
“We can’t trust them.” Jennifer said sternly. “I just want to give him the sword. Whatever the outcome, it’s not my burden to carry. It’s none of our burdens to carry. Only his.”
“But what if you’re right?” Albert, a younger man spoke. “What if they shouldn’t be trusted? I mean, we all saw what they made that man do to Sean. What if they kill all of us?”
“Then we’ll stop them.” Jennifer answered.
“But how?” Michael questioned. “They controlled us. They created us. We can’t stop them.”
“Yes we can. You just have to trust me.” Jennifer held the sword tightly in her hand.
Cecily looked down at the two children that were still with them, Audra and Gabriel. They were confused and scared. They were skinnier than when she first met them; all of them were.
“It’s going to be okay.” Cecily whispered to them.
“We have to find them.” Jennifer finished.
Nobody else spoke up. The group had continuously shrunk since the start. There were very few left, but they went on, following Jennifer; the one who found the sword.
Scott
The wind howled as the small group pushed their way through. Scott led the group back into their home city. They had travelled some distance beyond it, but it was time for them to come back. There were no monsters at all outside of the city for some reason. All of them had gathered in the one spot. Although they had come across faint screeches from the monsters far from the city, not one was ever seen. Scott figured that a few had landed elsewhere.
“It’s too strong!” Melody, a lady behind Scott shouted over the wind.
“We have to keep moving!” Scott replied.
The group had endured months of travelling and trying to survive had taken a large toll on them all. The group had lost several members during their journey, having to bury them along the way. The sword could have been anywhere by then. There was no way they could have found it easily. Scott assured the group that the journey would be a tough one. Few members decided to try and make it on their own while others stuck with Ian; the proclaimed chosen one.
