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Garrett Thompson stared down into the infinite hole leading into the abyss. His heart fell to his testicles. The same cold wind feathered down his spine and his mouth went dry. Suddenly his ragged old purple monk clothes felt like cement and the beautiful mountain in the distance looked like his final resting place. As far as he knew, this was the hole. This was the cliff. Yet his familiar terror he felt told him otherwise. No...this is...this is madness. This is insane!
More insane than fighting post-apocalyptic bandits? More insane than fighting hoverboarding gangsters? Or how about being stranded on an earth where all minorities were extinct leaving him the only-the only black person on that planet?
Yet as Garrett felt saw images of old life-threatening scenarios and triumphs blitz through his mind, nothing compared to what he was about to do. It was not the first time he was up here. For almost an entire year, Garrett sprinted up the same mountain, as told by his teacher Master Richard, to meditate and stare down at that same cliff. He came to the same conclusion: nothing-not robots- not zombie superheroes- not even talking dinosaurs and slimy aliens compared to this. He put himself in danger plenty of times before. This? This was -
?Suicide. This is suicide. Omigosh.? Garrett turned around and went back into the woods, where he would find a clearing that would lead to an old stone path that would take him down the mountain he sprinted down a hundred times before. He stopped mid-stride and thought to himself. He would go down the mountain then what? Help the same warrior monks that helped the same strange boy, clearly left for dead from an unknown dimension, rebuild the home he was responsible for destroying? I mean if it wasn't for him, an army of mercenaries from an alternate realm wouldn't have attacked their village. Right?
Yes, they won, but at what cost? Hundreds dead, cold magazine shells and amputated arms and blood that won't come off, no matter how much soap and scrubbing the monks did. Richard..oh god Richard.
He found his mind-melting until he was back to that night.
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He was in bed. A flat (and extremely uncomfortable) bed, resting up a full day after completely recovering from his final fight in the tournament. He fought well, Richard had said, even the eldest masters were impressed by the newcomer. Didn't stop him from feeling a sense of failure at the hands of Vokan. Yet, as Garrett laid in the moonlit room, he felt a twinge of victory. Because he pushed through something that was guiding him invisibly for almost his entire life: fear.
He pushed himself further than he ever thought possible. He lost yes, but he was one of the greatest fighters there. He'd proven that., but not for them. For himself. He could do it. He knew that when the time came when he and Victorious would throw down, that he'd be the victor. He closed his eyes, letting the image of his fist, shattering the genocidal bastard's helmet just to see his ugly face, whatever it looked like under that helmet...
He thought it was a fireworks or a crashing tree. The second explosion told him otherwise. His room shook and his sleep was interrupted with screaming. Garrett quickly rose and dressed, slipping out of his room to see his friends, his fellow monks rushing from their room and racing to the one place where it was safe: the armory. He tried to grab and question monks, but they all ignored him, leaving him no choice but to follow.
He joined the crowd of monks, sprinting down the ancient corridors, until they crossed the courtyard, now a flaming battlefield. Garrett stumbled backwards. The old Buddha statue in the center was wrapped in flames as monks around him were falling. He felt the sharp cracking in the air and his brain finally caught up to him as to the ones responsible: bullets.
He ducked behind a pillar and scanned his surroundings. The rest of the monks were quick to retreat, while others either fought, leaping on top of shadowy men with rifles, or were blown to bits. Garrett eyed the other side of the courtyard and scanned his surroundings. A group of monks tag teamed a few soldier's and by god, it looked glorious in the back of his mind. The way they dismantled the man's weapon and quickly disposed of him with their bare hands.
It was like the old comic books he used to read.
An explosion rocked the sky, lighting it in fire and sending Garrett backwards. His ears rang loud enough that he could hear the maelstrom of bullets tearing down the last of those monks. His instinct kicked in and he scurried across the courtyard, past bloodied corpses, until he was stumbling up and running into the smoking hallways of the monastery. Richard...Kimmy?
Old memories pulled him down a hall, and a few turns later, he was colliding with a monk. They crashed into each other, causing one another to fall. Garrett barely felt the pain, instead of feeling terror as behind the monk, a gunman was walking towards them, his red laser sights were targeting them. Richard's training flashed through his mind: In battle, there is no time to think. This is where your greatest weapon-the body- comes in.
Garrett was on the gunman before he could fire. He moved fast enough to surprise himself. He sent flurries of hits, but it was like punching concrete. Padded armor feels like that. The rifle was out of the gunman's hands, and the two were wrestling. Garrett quickly switched to grappling and flipped the heavy man over and it was a ground game by then. The gunman went for a side pistol, but Garrett gripped his arms just in time and sent a sharp elbow in the gunman's exposed face. His black mask soaked with blood before he lay unconscious.
Instead of wallowing in his quick victory, Garrett turned to see a dozen lines of lasers turn a corner, but by then, he was tackling the door into the next room. He was getting closer to the main quarters where the masters resided, and alongside his rendezvous, more explosions, and bullets, shattered his eardrums. He would have thought it was an earthquake if not for the falling debris and dust clouding his path.
He was a blur, rolling around corners and sweeping a soldier or two before he heard the scream. His first thought was to Kimmy, but she didn't sound like that. He turned to the source and in a room, with a laser pointing in their direction, were the young children. Garrett didn't think, just charged the faceless enemy. He struggled to yank the rifle out of the gunman's grip until a hard foot sent the gunman to unconsciousness. He looked up and Kimmy- battered, bruised, her long black hair a matted mess, but alive and wide-eyed looked at him.
She took his hand before he could even say anything and they raced off further into the monastery. Garrett felt confused. It was like the enemy was coming from everywhere. He and the girl ducked and covered as their old friends were gunned down. A few monks found swords and spears and sunk their last breaths into slaying their foes, but with every dead soldier was just three more, defenseless monks. Garrett felt his stomach twinge with each gunshot after that. Somehow, he and Kimmy made it back outside and into a near desolate courtyard, where they covered over quickly. It seemed the explosions laid back in the distance behind clouds of smoke and flames until a gunshot rang closer to them.
They didn't notice it until a bullet shattered the wooden pillar right next to them. They turned a corner and Garrett came to a stop, a cackling echoed through his ears.
He recognized that laugh.
No?
?GARRETT THOMPSON," the robotic distorted voice said. Kimmy yanked him to keep going, but Garrett yanked his hand back. He took a deep breath, then turned the corner to meet Zephyr. Short for Zephyr's Blade. He was a stout assassin in metallic crimson and silver armor, from head to toe strapped with ammo and grenades and a sword across the back of his waist. His helmet's eyes glittered blue as he slipped one of his two shapeshifting guns back in their holsters. Garrett would have laughed to see the assassin flick his white scarf back in place around his neck. He was straight out of a Youngblood comic.
Garrett instead stood tall and faced the mercenary. ?I thought we had a long talk about this Zephyr. But this-?
?Is a contract-?
?IS A MASSACRE!?
?Like I told you last time kid,? The mercenary started walking towards him. ?I'm not here to convince a kid. I came here for one thing. ? Zephyr pointed a finger at Garrett then drew a line across his throat.
?These people were innocent!?
?Once again. I'm not going to argue philosophies with you. Come quietly, or I shoot your new pretty girlfriend.?
Kimmy appeared behind Garrett with a bo-staff. He eyed the mysterious alien then looked back at Garrett. Zephyr sighed then held back a laugh. ?I'm impressed. You know how to get around don't you kid. Sasha that weirdo, now a monk-girl. Got interesting tastebuds now don't we?? Zephyr was a blur, drawing his pistols and aiming them at the two teens. The Crimson pistols morphed until they were plasma caliber, bulky but still small enough to be considered pistols on an alternate earth where war became a sport. The guns whirred with raw blue energy, ready to decimate anything in its path. ?I should do it right here, right now. No more running. Come with me. Now.?
Garrett nodded. His mind raced alongside the adrenaline flooding his body. The tightening in his stomach was a noose and he felt his muscles harden. Only one thought came to mind: Fight.
He nudged Kimmy to the side. ?Find Richard.? his voice changed from the squeaky weasel to unfamiliar. Kimmy went to speak up but Garrett cut her off. ?GO.?
He grabbed the Bo-staff from her and didn't turn to see her runoff, to find their master. Zephyr laughed. Really laughed. He laughed for a good moment before he could muster the words to speak. You could always make me laugh kid. You think one-year training under a few Jackie Chans and Jet Li's make you a Baki the Grappler??
Garrett started walking towards him. The staff twirled in his hands at its favorite wielder.
Garrett kept walking. Zephyr understood. The mercenary put his guns away and unsheathed his long, barbed blade, permanently stained with old contracts. Under the helmet, he couldn't help but smile. ?You underestimate me,? Garrett muttered.
The two charged each other.
Besides the heavy armor, Zephyr lived up to his name. He was fast, fast enough to duck and evade every blow from the staff. And Garrett was underestimated. Fueled by adrenaline has its perks. He swiped from and evaded the mercenary's blade, cold steel barely missing him. They were down the corridor and halfway into the fight, Garrett could tell that it wasn't in his favor. Monk shoes didn't make a dent in the merc's armor, and each fist would just rattle his bones, a sign of pain later on. If he was to survive.
Zephyr was good with the blade, one arc later, Garrett's bo staff was split in two. Yet he found himself boosting with energy. He changed his style, from Bojutsu to Kali, and danced his batons across Zephyrs body. The merc' was surprised. Garrett decided to grow upon him. He was impressed. But he came for a contract. Dead or alive. Guess the boy chose death.
He butted the end of his blade into the boy and Garrett's brain rattle. He was stripped of his batons and was crashing against a wall, nearly bouncing off it to meet a fist to the gut. It took the air out of him. A switch went on in Garrett's mind: now or death.
He sent a finger into Zephyr's eye socket, giving him enough time to roll out the way and barely feel the sharp slice of his flesh meet the merc's blade. He felt the warm red liquid run down his back, in the cold air, but ignored it, as that would be nothing compared to what was coming next. He pivoted around a corner right before Zephyr's shapeshifting pistol obliterated the corner where Garrett used to be. Garrett was sprinting down the hall, over dead bodies and grabbed a sword along the way. He wasn't taught how to use swords yet, but it seemed simple. Then again he was known for seeing everything from an ignorant nerd's lenses.
A blast of blue light appeared, and Garrett ducked in time from the plasma blast that left a rupturing hole in the wall that Garrett dived through. He was in the middle of a battlefield.
Monks sliced and speared into enemies and the soldiers could be any faster to reload before they were taken apart In the center, a figure appeared. Garrett's eyes widened. The tall slender figure in the overly large orange robe with long flowing black hair looked back at him. A grin appeared on Richard's face. He was a dancer in that crowd of fighters, hopping from enemy to enemy. His hand glistened in the fire and Garrett looked close to see the robotic hand clench a soldier and snap his neck. Garrett almost forgot about the foe behind him. Almost.
He ducked in time to avoid another bright blast of energy and scurried into the battlefield towards Richard. Richard pummeled a path for him and by the time they met, A circle of monks surrounded them. Garrett grinned. ?I knew it! I knew you weren't from here!?
?What gave you a clue?? Richard grinned. His grinned faded however as Zephyr appeared on the field and bright bursts of energy disintegrated monks.
?Who is that?? Richard pointed. ?Oh him. Some asshole.? Garrett turned to his sensei. ?This is all my fault. They're here for me!?
Richard nodded. ?Or me. Let's assume for all of us.? and Richard grabbed the sword from Garrett. Zephyr approached with interest. He rubbed his eye. ?That. hurt. For that kid. You're dead.?
Richard whistles. Zephyr looked over to Richard. The sensei wave a robotic finger at the mercenary. ?We haven't met.?
?I know. And I don't care!? Zephyr raised a weapon and Richard was on him. Before Garrett could join the fight, something happened. Behind him, a hard thud to the head sent him to unconsciousness.
He blacked out for what seemed like hours, until he returned to be on the ground, surrounded by fallen friends and foes with Richard and the mercenary in the center fighting. Richard was an animal. As tough and intimidating as Zephyr was, he was a child compared to the robed fighter. His blade left his hands and his helmet was cracked to reveal a bald, pale man, who was sweating with rage under.
Garrett felt pride. But that was short-lived. He saw it, but there was nothing he could do. In the midst of the bloodshed, a soldier rose in the corner of his eye. He found a weapon, yanked a rifle out of his dead comrade's hands, and pointed it towards Richard. Garrett was running towards him but that's the thing with time: It always escapes us.
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Garrett turned back toward the cliff. His duffel bag felt like an elephant on his chest as he walked towards the cliff. That night, Richard was one of the fallen. Kimmy survived but changed. As for the rest of the monks, they were scared, frightened of the next attack. An unknown alien enemy, marching on their mountain only to gun them down? It was too much stress for them. Garrett felt his stomach quiver. He was on the precipice of tears. Too many people died and he blamed himself.
He came stranded on that world, alone and broken. The monks helped him, healed him, and had him find himself so that he could stand today, contemplating suicide?
No...this isn't suicide.
Garrett felt it. Felt the abyss call to him. He was found there that day on the mountain. Alone and literally broken, physically and mentally. The void opened a portal and flung him here. That was for a reason. If it could bring him here, then it could take him away from there. Towards home. Towards his family. Towards. The void was the unmanifest world that led to all possibilities. He And Richard suspected this. If Richard found it and could map through it, then so could he. Right?
But there was no A.D.ON.N.A. No artificial intelligence to guide him across the wide multiverse. No Sasha, no Guilden, no friends. He was alone again for the first time in a very long time His terrors of the dark sent a shiver through him.
No...There is no choice. Garrett walked away from the cliff until he was back on the edge of the trees. Victorious was still out there. His family-his entire earth was still out there.
I'll be back. And your earth, your favorite home is next.
Victorious's words echoed in Garrett's mind. It was up to him to even the odds. Too many people were depending on him. His dad, his mom, his sister, his friends, Sasha?
He turned back to the cliff. Strong focus on what I want?
He started to run. In those seconds, images flashed through his mind. Of monsters, demons of some of the multiverse's greatest horrors. But they changed. His family appeared. They smiled at him. Come home?
He took a leap of faith.
I awoke with a start, my eyes adjusting in the darkness. I looked around hearing the bombs in the distance. I was in a room with twelve other children; it was the norm to hear the bombs going off and bullets springing from the canisters of military-grade weapons. We lived in hell; all of our families sent us here, ordered by the government to send children off. I was nearly 13 when I was sent here. Now I am 16 and still too young to go. I have dreamed for years to be back with my mom, on our small farm where the mountains met, and with my old cow, Granny Bertha. I awoke to my bunkmate, a 5-year-old kid with the longest nose, crying on the edge of the bed, hanging over my head.
I slowly crawled out of bed, climbing up the creaky steps to his bed. He put his thumb in his mouth sobbing about something. I slowly crawled to him, leaning over the edge as I wrapped my arms around him, as he smiled taking out his thumb from his mouth.
?What's the matter, Luca?? I asked as he snuggled into me.
?I had a nightmare again.? He said finally as he jumped a bit at the sounds of the next bomb. He was the only young one in our cabin.
Luca and I met when he was 2. I took him under his wing as I taught him what I knew. I was from the mountains that seemed like a distant place a long time ago. He didn't remember where he was.
?You know you need sleep, Luca.? I cooed to him as he nodded, still sucking his thumb, grabbing for my hand.
?Artemis Phoenix, can you tell the story again.? He asked slowly yawning into his hands.
?Okay, and you promise to go to bed,? I said pointing to his pillow.
?Cross my heart, hope to fly.? He said giggling a bit.
I smiled tucking him back in as I slowly snuggled into him, covering him with the ratty quilt that needed to be washed. I would do it in the morning for him. I smiled as I leaned next to him on the pillow pointing up to the ceiling above us. I wiped his face with my nightgown, which faded from use. He smiled as he grabbed his stuffed bear; he named it Leo, after the Greek god from the story, after telling him I was named after a Greek goddess.
He slowly leaned on his side, facing me as I went into the story.
?Okay, well a long time ago, before this war. There lived a girl named Artemis, and she was like every single teenager at the time, didn't think it would happen to her. She had a phone, a secret Facebook, and a secret boyfriend. Her mother was a farmer and she would help her mother every day on the farm from 4 in the morning till she had to go to school. And then after school, it would be back to work, shucking the fields of corn, picking the tomatoes, feeding the pigs, the goats, the cows, and starting to make the cheese.
?She loved this life. She loved life itself. It was easy and she would swoon every boy there was in her small town. Well one day, it came to play that there was unrest. People were spooked in the town; people were frightened and afraid for us children. We were being killed off one by one for no reason by a philanthropist group, called the damned. They wanted all of us dead; the government decided that all children from 0 to 19 years of age must go to this place called Eternia to be safe and to be free. But in my eyes, it was a nightmare.
?We were told to pack one suitcase and one backpack and head to city hall to be sent to Eternia on a rotten old school bus. Well, I was scared but my mom told me it would be okay. It will be okay; this war will blow over soon. I smiled and remembering my mother, holding her, and kissing her cheek. She wrote me a note; I still have it and a locket, with a picture of me and her in it that I wear every day. My father was gone in my life way before I was born so I don't know who he is. But when I walked onto the bus; that was the last day I saw my mom. I remember her golden blonde hair, her bright wide smile, and piercing blue eyes. She had pearly white glasses that always cast a shadow on her face.
?My mother was my life and I lost her that day. I miss her every day but I guess you miss your momma too. Eternia has been horrible to us, but we will get out. We will be free one day and when we are free we will go back to my cabin. I know it is standing and you will see the cows, the goats, and even the chickens. And we will be free from this place, no more manual labor, no more strict uniforms, cold restless nights or so many secrets. It will be me and you Luca, till the end.? I murmured kissing his cheek and putting Leo next to him softly, to make sure I didn't wake him again.
There was a pause between us as he slowly shut his eyes. He started to mumble but his final words were; will we ever be free. I smiled at him, kissing his cheeks, whispering that one day we will look forward to running away from Eternia. He smiled as he went back to sleep. I slowly hopped down from the top bunk and went back into mine.
I tossed and turned for the rest of the morning till we had to be up at 6 in the morning for roll call. I yawned getting up to frantic kids running around pulling on socks, brushing their teeth, and pulling on their uniforms, dresses in long leggings and black flats or long-sleeved shirts with brown khaki pants.
I woke up Luca, helping him get dressed, brush his hair and help him brush his teeth as we got ready. We both were dead tired but happy as we walked into the cold world around us. We didn't have a sense of time around here. But I could feel it was roughly October, my birthday was Halloween coincidentally.
I smiled as Luca grabbed my hand slowly walking to where we had to stand for roll call. The sergeant, Angry Eyes as I called him, Luca agreed with that. Once our names were read, our first names only; we had to scan the barcode tattoos that fixated to our wrists to get into the mess hall.
We nodded as we walked to the scanner, scanning our wrists in and walking into line. I had Luca get his food which was on these green trays that each kid grabbed as she or he went by, grabbing milk or water and a snack for the class. This was our only meal till dinner so we had to eat our trays to completion.
Today's menu was pancakes, eggs, and hash browns. We couldn't complain too much, as usual, the mess hall had some good food. I and Luca waited for morning announcements. Today there were none thankfully. I smiled as Luca and I walked to his classroom. I always walked with him making sure he got to class.
We finished up, and I helped clean him up, making sure he did his homework the night before and had all the right things. We scanned out and walked to the auditorium where we all waited for our classmates to arrive standing in our respective lines. I was in the 16-year-olds class, so I had to stand in the 16th line. Luca was in the 1st grade so he was in the 1st line. This was his first year of school.
Our teachers came in with the rest of the student body taking the students to their respective classes. I followed my peers to our English class. I daydreamed in all of my classes, my grades being subpar so the teachers never really got on my handle for taking a quick nap or two. I just can't do this when Angry Eyes or the Dean comes in.
Today was an easy day; I turned in my assignment, read the short story about McCarthyism, and wrote my paper within about half an hour. I spent the rest of the hour sleeping. I started to look towards my future and I wanted out of this hell hole. I wanted to be free and wanted to see my mom again. I missed her so much that I could remember our farm, to the road we lived on, and every time she made me homemade tomato basil sandwiches, with the crusts cut off, grown on our farm.
I was awoken to screaming. Angry eyes were banging my desk so loud that the teacher was screaming at him. I got up immediately and bowed to him, his eyes scanning my pale uniform shirt that was frayed and faded at the ends.
?What is this? What is this?? He screamed in my ear as I stood tall, staring straight ahead.
?I was taking a nap, sir,? I said thinking of ways to escape.
?Taking a nap, your teacher, lets you take a nap.? He barked as I shook my head slowly.
?No, he doesn't sir. I said staring straight ahead at Mr. Bug bean, the 16's teacher.
?Then you are insubordination girl.? He growled in my ear.
?It is Artemis sir,? I whispered.
?I don't care if you are the queen of England. You are not going to sleep in class. I want to see you in my office after the bell rang. She is excused from the rest of her duties for the rest of the day, Mr. Bag bean.? He said throwing my bag away from him.
?It is bug bean, sir.? The teacher whispered.
?Whatever.? Angry eyes screamed, walking towards the door.
I nodded as he banged my desk again, walking out. Mr. Bug bean took a minute to collect him and told us to write another paper on our short story. I slowly wrote mine, my hands shaking as this were the first time Angry eyes has given me an infraction. And I was scared, some kids never came back after his infractions, some were so messed up they moved us to a different facility.
At that moment, I knew I was never going to be free. I knew I wasn't free and that I was going to run away, with Luca. I slowly stood up, wiping my tears on my sleeve, as I slowly slipped out of the room unnoticed.
It didn't matter if I walked or talked, he was about to kill me. I just felt it. I walked towards the living quarters and slipped in quietly, packing mine and Luca's stuff. I had only a few possessions but it was easy to pack up our stuff. I then ran to the 1st's classrooms, bowing to his teacher, Ms. Apple.
She looked up from reading a story to them and smiled the second bell reading. I was holding a backpack for Luca behind my back.
?This is a surprise, we have a visitor everyone. How are you Miss Artemis, what do you need?? Ms. Apple asked sweetly.
?I am doing well, uhm I need to talk to Luca real quick,? I said kind of quickly.
?Okay, make it only a minute Ms. Artemis.? Ms. Apple said turning back to the book.
?Will do, come on Luca,? I said as he stood up smiling at me.
Luca got up from coloring a picture and walked towards me as I grabbed his hand a little too firmly and walked out of the room, slowly walking off to the side.
?What's up?? He asked softly.
?We are going to be free, going to escape,? I whispered, just out of the camera shot that was in the hallway.
?We are going to be free, for real.? He said ecstatically.
?Yes, now we need to go to the fence that is behind our cabin and we need to scale it and run as we have never run before.
I grabbed his hand, securing his bag to him, my bag to me and we started to run, the combat boots and flats clipping the sides of the ground as we ran out of the auditorium doors to the outside world with the bright cloudy sky.
We smiled as I stopped and slowly picked him up running towards the fence. We were alone thankfully. I slowly put him down as I put him above my head forcing him to climb the 12-foot fence. I heard people screaming at us as I told him to climb fast and quick and that I was just underneath him. His breath was catching fast.
I heard angry eyes yelling at us, shaking the fence, and calling for backup. I didn't look back down as we climbed to freedom. Once we were on the other side, I flipped him off and grabbed Luca, putting him on my hip as I knew he would be a slow runner as we ran to our new lives, feeling a bit guilty for leaving the rest but happier to be free from Eternia and that hell hole.
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