Destiny, and the Red Orb (The Destiny Series Book 1)

by J Deleon

  Emry

  The snow surrounded her feet as Emry trudged along. The wind howled at her as she had to stop, giving into her hunger. The young lady sat down, exhausted, and took off her backpack. She pulled it to her front and opened it up. There were only two small cans of soup left and a few crackers. The last town she had been in was a few days behind her now—she didn’t know when she was going to see another one.

  Emry opened up a can of soup. It was freezing, but she had grown use to the cold taste of it. She swallowed a small amount of it and then closed it by taping the lid back to the top. The tactic wasn’t as effective as she had hoped, more than often causing it to spill some, but it was the best she had. Her tape was almost out; she feared she would run out of it within the week.

  After the can was taped up and placed back into her bag, Emry picked up the hammer that she had tied to her belt. She swung it around once then examined it some more. Emry then pulled out her sling shot. It was small and worn out. She had had it since she was a kid. She remembered making one of her own before begging her parents to get her a real one. She kept it all of these years to defend herself from anything that came her way. It seemed silly at the time, but she was happy she kept it.

  With the hammer in her right hand and her slingshot in her left, Emry focused her attention on the hammer—an idea came to her. The hammer was very old. It had chips in it and cracks. Emry noticed the chips on the sides. The hammer still seemed like it could hold for a very long while, but some of the chipped pieces seemed as if they can come off at any moment. Emry picked at the chipped parts and managed to break some off. By the time she was done, the hammer was a bit misshapen, but still in good condition. Now she had small pieces of the hammer in her hand. There were six of the small pieces that she managed to break off—all different in shape and size. She kept the pieces in her bag for future use.

  “Emry.” A weak Sinda uttered in Emry’s mind.

  Emry quickly looked up in shock. “Sinda?”

  It had been so long since Emry had heard another voice, much less Sinda’s. It startled her at first, but the still soothing voice of the God of Peace relaxed her.

  “Stop the others.” Sinda’s voice faded away before the hammer began to glow a bright blue. It was the same as the Kamara she had in her.

  Emry let go of the hammer then watched as the glowing seeped into the dark cracks. The glowing blue streaks now pulsated slowly all over the hammer. Sinda was gone, but the hammer was alive.

  Adam

  The Telemy soldiers through Adam onto the ground. They had taken him from his prison and let him fall to his hands and knees right next to the fellow human. Adam stared at her, studying how a human looked again. He studied every inch of her face. Her eyes were narrow with dark brown pupils. Her cheeks were sunken in, as if she too was far beyond hungry. She wore a zipped up gray hoodie and blue jeans. Adam had been wearing the same red shirt and blue jeans he wore the day he was abducted. Dirt and sweat covered her face and body; parts of her clothing and face even had blood. She looked as if she had been struggling for a while on Earth. He wondered if it was because she was alone or if there were more.

  Adam finally took his eyes off of the other human the second he saw Lescion being dragged into the room as well. They threw him to the ground as he stared back at Adam.

  “These three have stolen the Sacred Sword and used it against our own kind.” The powerful Usepa announced. “They must pay for this treason!”

  “We’re trying to help you!” Lescion shouted.

  “Enough!” The Usepa yelled.

  “What should we do with them?” One of the soldiers asked.

  “Let them fight for their lives.” The Usepa gave out an uncomfortable grin. “Take them to The Arena and let our strongest warriors have them. No more waiting, no more single opponents. I want them dead, and I want everybody to watch it.” The Usepa took the sword from the soldier who confiscated it. “It’s about time we see a real fight.”

  “No, we’re trying to help!” Adam begged.

  “Wait, what are they saying?” The lady asked paranoid. “What’s happening?” She turned to the Usepa. “What did you do with Ian?”

  “Take them now!” The Usepa shouted.

  The three were taken down into The Arena where the screaming crowd chanted as they did so. The Usepa then appeared at his balcony at the top of The Arena to spectate as he always did—the sword still in his hand.

  “These three have stolen the Sacred Sword of our planet Telemy, now they will die for it.” The Usepa announced as the crowd roared. “Open the gates!” The Usepa instructed to a soldier wielding a bow and a quiver of arrows. Adam suspected it was incase anything would to happen. The archer rotated a handle that was attached to a wheel to raise the gate that let out five soldiers. They came wielding swords, spears, and maces while the three had none.

  “What do we do?” Adam asked.

  “Just follow me.” Lescion instructed.

  “What is he saying?” The lady asked.

  “Just do what he does.” Adam told her as Lescion sprinted towards the five.

  The soldiers, taken aback, tried to fight back as Lescion jumped on one and attacked it fiercely. The soldier dropped its sword, letting Lescion retrieve it. He then slashed the stomach of the soldier and went onto the next. Adam then watched as the lady did the same.

  One of the soldiers was coming right at Adam. It swung its mace before lunging it at Adam’s head. Adam ducked down and grabbed the soldier, dragging him to the ground. The two fought for the mace until the lady chopped the soldier’s head off with a sword.

  “Get up!” The lady told him as she extended her hand to him. She helped him up as he grabbed the mace.

  Lescion slashed through the last few standing soldiers before picking up a spear and one of the bodies. “Take cover.” Lescion told them as he carried the body in front of him like a shield.

  Adam and the lady both did the same and hid under a dead body each. He then watched as Lescion ran towards the direction of the Usepa, launched the spear into the air, and stabbed the archer, who was in the process of raising the gate again to let more soldiers in, right through the heart. The archer fell on the wheel, keeping the gate up, and dropped its readied bow and arrow onto the ground next to Lescion. At this moment, other archers began to shoot at the three. The arrows pierced the dead bodies that were covering them.

  Lescion picked up the bow and readied the arrow. He then shot the arrow at the enraged Usepa who was on its feet shouting above the edge. The Usepa plummeted from the balcony and down to the ground, dropping the sword along the way down. The arena then began to scream in fear as they realized their king was dead.

  “Get out of here!” Adam heard Lescion shout out to them as he ran towards them. Adam watched as an arrow struck his left leg, causing him to fall to the ground and lose his protection. “Now!” He yelled as the arrows began to stab into him. The friendly alien continued to crawl closer to them as the trail of blood behind him grew.

  “Come on!” The lady yelled at him, already running.

  Adam had to take his mind off of Lescion. He stood up and began to run. It appeared the archers were now focused on the being who killed their Usepa rather than them. The gate was still wide open with a few more soldiers coming out. The lady used the foreign sword to slash through them and towards the Sacred Sword. Adam did the same as he followed. The lady grabbed the Sacred Sword and ran through the gate with Adam just a few feet behind.

  They were in a long corridor that headed to a two-way hallway. They looked down both ways. To the right: the sound of more soldiers. To the left: nothing.

  “Let’s go.” The lady went left.

  After a few guessed turns, the two managed to find the light at the end of the hallway. They ran towards the exit, but knew that there were at least ten soldiers right behind them.

  “We can’t fight them all off.” Adam told her. “Their soldiers. With swords.”

  The l
ady stopped. Adam ran a few feet past her before stopping himself.

  “My gun.” The lady reached to the back of her jeans and pulled out a gun. She then turned around and pointed down the hallway. She waited for the soldiers.

  Once they came, they had no intentions of slowing. The lady shot a bullet, immediately killing one of the aliens. The others stop, obviously unaware of what they had just witnessed.

  “Who’s Dean now, Cecily.” The lady stated.

  “What?” Adam asked before the lady began to run again.

  Gwen

  “The girl.” Destiny’s voice was deep. It frightened Gwen to the core. “She is with him. The one named, Adam.” Destiny circled Gwen before stopping behind her. “Your journey is nearly complete.”

  The Judiceen had seeped into her left eyeball. Her iris was now completely black while the other one stayed gray. The red veins in her left eye were now black, just like the rest of her left side.

  “Is it there?” Gwen asked softly.

  A large tower stood out in the distance. At this distance, it was very skinny with a few rugged points at the top. Red fog clouded the area around it.

  “The key is.” Destiny informed.

  “What key?” Gwen asked.

  “What will lead you to the Sacred Realm of the Gods. This is where it must be. Time left everything there.” Destiny told her. “Now go, my child. Finish your journey.”

  Gwen stared at the tower as she began to walk.

  Emry

  Emry fell to the ground, exhausted. After months on end travelling in the east, she had finally returned to her home land. The sea was cold, but it was warmer than the heavy snow she put herself through to find the hammer she had tied to her belt. She had found her weapon; it was now up to her to stop the others.

  She had no idea whether the others had found their weapons, but she knew she needed to find them. Emry still didn’t know the extent of her powers, but she knew that even if she was a master, she was still too exhausted to do anything but walk. Emry stood up and started to walk.

  “Time’s almost up, young one.” Destiny’s voiced boomed behind her. Emry had the feeling that it was becoming more menacing.

  “Where are they?” Emry asked angrily.

  “Still planets apart, but they will find each other soon.” Destiny slid towards her. “Look above. The Red Orb is nearly here.”

  Emry had noticed that the Red Orb was clearly visible in the sky. No matter the time of day, it was always emanating its red glow.

  “Everything will end.” Destiny told her before vanishing.

  Gwen

  Gwen fell to her hands and knees at the steps leading to the inside of the tower. It was made out of cobblestone and was much taller and wider than expected. Gwen paid this no mind as she crawled up the steps and inside.

  The tower was almost completely hollow; it stretched all the way to the top where a large opening allowed the red sky to shine in. At the center of the tower was a large pedestal. It was cracked and moldy, but it was still holding. Gwen crawled onto the pedestal and noticed how the opening from above made a perfect circle of red light to fit the pedestal. In the center of it, markings were carved in. The symbol was colored green.

  “The Judiceen. It must have some.” Destiny stood behind her, staring down at the weak Gwen.

  Gwen closed her eyes, pulled out a small blade, and slowly cut her left hand. Her black blood dripped down onto the green carvings. She opened her eyes once she noticed that the green symbol was now pulsating. It glowed slowly off and on before becoming brighter. The brightness grew as the flashing sped up. Then, the bright green glow created an array of light that shot into the sky and above the clouds. Gwen felt the majestic powers coming from the green glow all around her. It lifted her up, much like the vortex from Winberly, and shot her into the sky.

  Emry

  Emry walked as the Kamara began to hurt her. The blue blood inside of her was pulsating once more, and Emry didn’t know why.

  “What’s happening?” Emry grabbed her hand. The pain started to get worse. Emry gave out a shriek before jumping at a loud sound. She widened her eyes at a glow in the distance. Not too far, there was a beam of bright green light shooting into the sky. Emry feared it had something to do with destiny.

  “There.” Emry started to run towards the beam of light.

  Jennifer

  The two ran as far as they could before giving out. The soldiers were closing in on them, and Jennifer was all out of bullets. All they had left was the sword.

  Jennifer thought about trying to use it on one of them, but they probably wouldn’t have the opportunity. There were now over a hundred soldiers after them. There was no getting out of it.

  “What do we do?” The man asked.

  Jennifer turned to him, scared. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, think!” Adam yelled. “We’ve got to do something.”

  Jennifer continued to look at him. She had recounted the memories she had of surviving with Cecily and her group the past year, but the man had nobody. She realized this now. He was on this planet against his will. She wondered if he was the only other human on this planet. His hair was long and unkempt, his large beard was dirty and filled with blood, dirt, and sweat. His clothes were covered in the same. His teeth were horrid (way worse than hers and the others on Earth) while his skin was filthy as well. Jennifer then thought about Ian and what she did. He didn’t deserve death, but she would have done it again and again.

  Jennifer knew she was never going to see Cecily again. She would never see her friends and family again, Sean, Lela, none of them. She had made her decision, but her decision saved them all. Destiny only wanted the worst from humanity—Jennifer stood against that. It controlled everything that ever existed, whether they wanted it or not. Jennifer knew that nothing was predetermined. You live your life by your choices; choices you choose to make. Nothing is certain, everything is up to you. The brave lady Cecily had come to know and care for would have wanted Jennifer to live happily and die the same; Jennifer was going to try and make that happen. She only wished Cecily knew that what she did needed to be done. She hoped that Cecily would forgive her.

  “Here.” Jennifer handed the man the sword.

  The man looked at her, confused. “What?”

  “Use it on me. It will take you out of here.” Jennifer put it in his hands and pointed it at her.

  “What, no. We have to get out of here.” The man argued.

  “This is the only way out, but it can’t be with both of us.”

  “Yes it can. We can figure this out.”

  “No, we can’t. This sword is magical; it can take you away from this planet—far away. Back to Earth.” The man’s eyes read freedom. Jennifer knew he wanted nothing more than to return to Earth. “But it needs life to do so. I made a choice. I killed a young man to get the sword away from him. I know what I did, and I’ll stick with my decision until I take my final breath. He didn’t deserve to die, but Destiny gave me no other choice.” Jennifer pressed her stomach against the tip of the sword. “Remember this: my name is Jennifer. I killed Ian. Destiny is not real…Nothing is real. We are given life, we live, and then we die. Nothing is set in stone, anything can change, and nothing is as bad as you think. Just please, tell Cecily I love her.” The soldiers were getting closer. “Tell her that she is strong; stronger than she knows. She’ll do great things in her life. She’ll be better than all of us. Don’t make the same mistakes I did, Cecily. Stay strong and always believe in yourself. You can do it.”

  “No.” The man began to cry. “Don’t.”

  The soldiers were just a few yards away. They would have them in seconds.

  “NOW!” Jennifer screamed as the man stabbed the sword through her stomach and out through her spine. She immediately saw the bright swirling colors that sucked her and the man in before closing her eyes, taking her last breath, and smiling.

  Gwen

  The green light around her faded, re
vealing a dark, cold room. It was large in size and seemed to be completely made out of some sort of stone. Pillars were aligned on each side of a long corridor. The walls were far stretched on each side, covered in strange markings. In between the pillars, and stretching into the shadows, were statues of beings of all different forms. Most resembled humans, but others resembled different things entirely. They each wielded an item in their hands. One statue held a simple book while another held a large axe. The statues must have been thousands of years old at the least. Gwen hoped to learn more about them, but it wasn’t why she was there.

  The same green symbol once again pulsated under her on the pedestal. It continued to pulsate, slower and slower until the light became solid.

  “Hello?” Gwen asked to no reply. “Destiny? I’m here.”

  Gwen looked around. She took notice of a small hint of light ahead of her. She forced herself to stand up and walk down the long path. She studied the statues as she walked. All of them embodied an essence that Gwen felt. To her, it felt like she was connected to the statues in some way. Were they gods? She stopped at one of them that actually had a hint of color. She faced it and looked at the face. There was a mask, resting on the statue. It was gray with a smooth build. Dark color swirls circled inwards to the center of the mask. It rounded off the edges and concaved at the eyes. On the forehead was a symbol. Gwen couldn’t make out what it meant, but she knew it must have been important.

  She slowly reached for the mask, feeling the urge to take it. Before putting her finger tips on the mask, she restrained from the feeling.

  Gwen retreated her hand back to her side, keeping her eyes on the mask. Once she was finally able to break her stare, she continued walking over to the dim light ahead.