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Science Fiction Fantasy

*In the previous chapter: The main characters underwent 'Project Ignite'*

_____

Loc groaned as someone poked him in the shoulder, urgently calling his name; his eyes slowly cracked open and Elric’s panicked face sharpened into view.

“We slept too much!” He exclaimed. “Clint and Keila have been dealing with their powers alone for over an hour, and we can’t find Rune! Get up and go find him!”

Loc was suddenly wide awake; he jolted upright and nearly fell from his cot. “What time is it?” He grumbled.

“Five am,” Aurian called from across the room. Loc glanced at her, quickly realizing the woman was kneeling before Keila, who sat curled up in her bed, a field of energy surrounding her and warping the air like heat; Aurian was trying to calm her. Clint was nowhere to be seen, but Elric conversed with the young man’s bed, which had an oddly human shaped dent in it. Loc swallowed. He jogged out the door, down the flight of stairs, and out the heavy doors. the sky still barely lit the ground below as the rumpled man jogged through the regularly placed floodlights mounted on the low buildings, his accented voice reverberated off the walls as he called for his ward. His protective training took over, and he became like a hound who smelled its quarry; he traced the sarsh until a steep hill and from there, anyone could have told where he went. there was a clear path in the towering grasses. Loc shouted up the hill, trying to get a glimpse of the young man.

“Rune? Are you up there, mate?”

No one answered his call save for the rustling of a gentle breeze sifting through the grasses. Loc sighed and trudged up the hill, shoving aside the stray grass as he walked; he reached the top in less than a minute and frowned as he saw the path stopped, but there was no one to be seen. Loc knew better than to turn and leave, though. there was the imprint of someone’s back pressed against the thick wall of grass. then, breaking the silence, Loc heard the sarsh’s voice.

“Hello, Loc. Do you need me for something?”

The tall man nearly gasped as the young man turned visible; he was sitting on the trodden grass, his knees drawn up and a book in his lap. Loc crouched in front of Rune. “What are you doing up here, Mate?” He asked, turning his head to see what the book was. It was a sketchbook, with a detailed picture of three children, all with similar features to Rune.

“Did you draw that?” Loc inquired. Rune nodded.

“It’s my siblings.”

Loc smiled, but was overcome by a powerful sense of sadness. “What are you doing here?” He asked again. The sarsh sighed.

“Trying to sort out my thoughts and find some peace, but I just keep thinking about my friends and I can’t rest until I know they are safe.”

Loc nodded and lowered himself to the ground. “Can you tell me about these friends and your siblings?” The man had monitored the sarsh’s activity for a long time; he knew Rune’s story, but he wanted the sarsh tell him.

The young man was silent for a minute, visibly hiding his emotions that hid just beyond his eyes. “I have a sister and two brothers, our parents abandoned us four years ago and an elderly couple took us in. I paid little attention to my siblings over those fours years until my commanders forced from my home vessel to earth and I paid more attention to them, quickly realizing that they needed me. I’ve made it my goal to protect them and give them a peaceful life, but so far, that has been impossible. Maybe once I leave here, I can give them the life they deserve,” the sarsh paused for a second, his brows creasing together.

“And your friends?”

“Artemis, Wolfe, and Colden. Artemis is a rebel leader who is attempting to bring peace to our world; there is a huge war going on,” Rune paused again.

Loc nodded. “I know,” He blurted before he could stop himself. the sarsh’s head snapped up.

“You know? How could you possibly know?”

Loc sighed. “We were going to have to tell you eventually,” He admitted. “Before we were your bodyguards, we were your watchers. Remember the large display of computer screens in the conference room?”

“Yes.”

“Those are cameras placed in the districts where Tyrene dispatched a group of his special agents. In the areas where we were watching you all, along with many other people, both enemies and allies.”

Rune was silent, and Loc was cringing with suspense, waiting for an explosive response, but the sarsh simply nodded. “I guess that makes sense, how did Tyrene choose each of us?”

there was a pause. “... Well, we weren’t looking for you all in particular; we started by looking for abnormal events such as your unauthorized ejection, and the several distressing events you caused on earth. Clint was the son of a highly wanted weapons dealer, Jethro; Clint and Keila traveled all over the place in suits of armor, which would draw an eye or two. From there, we monitored you and studied your personalities and, eventually, saw you were appropriate for Ignition.”

Rune was silent again, and Loc stood up to leave. “I’ll let you have some alone time,” said the big man.

“Wait, Loc. One more question.”

“Yes?”

“What is this?”

Loc turned around to see the sarsh holding out his dark wrist; on it was a silver design like a tattoo in the shape of a triangle, with three lines protruding from the tip and two symbols inside the pyramid. Loc smiled and knelt down, examining the mark.

“Tyrene calls it the Ignition Crest; you probably didn’t notice when the Ignition operators put that metal cuff on your wrist, but it put this mark on your skin to identify who you are to other people and even to yourself. It’s like how people of eminent authority always wear certain clothing to show they’re different from other people.”

the sarsh said nothing, but ran his tongue over his fangs and let out a deep breath. Loc stood again and left, the grasses swaying in his wake. Rune turned his head to the sky, decorating the sky was ribbons of light, mainly purple; they swayed like they were dancing to a song only they could hear. the wind sighed in the grass and growing light awakened a sense of purpose inside the throbbing heart which yearned for peace. All along, I’ve wanted peace, Rune reflected, and I’ve only ever found it when I’m caring for other people. Maybe, the peace I’m looking for is not quite how I imagined it.

After a half an hour, the sarsh rose and made his way back to the barracks, where Loc greeted him loudly. Rune smiled to see Clint and Keila had gained some control over their power; he had seen their powers showing through when he left the building early that morning. Rune sat on his cot and Clint jogged over to him. “Can I see your Flares?” He inquired. the sarsh looked at him, slightly confused. Understanding, Clint rephrased. “Your powers; Tyrene called them flares, remember?”

“I guess,” Rune responded. “I don’t know if I can really control it yet.” He stood and, without warning, disappeared into the floor. Clint swore and Keila, who was watching, shrieked. Loc saw as well and his eyes went wide. He cursed and bolted out the door, bellowing into his communication earpiece.

_______

There was a rush of tingling, like when one sits on a limb for too long, and then Rune felt himself falling. He landed, crouching to absorb the shock, he fell backwards, his left foot throbbing. the room was dark, but Rune could see fully; he was in some kind of training room with many undescribable obstacles and objects. the sarsh had no more time to watch as he heard multiple sets of urgent footsteps and angry-sounding voices; without him trying to, Rune vanished, and in the same instant, a dozen uniformed men and women burst into the room, glancing around. Realizing he wasn’t in danger, the sarsh tried to turn his body visible again, but it was a vain attempt. He swore out loud, startling the other occupants of the room. A man stepped forward, shining a blinding flashlight into the room. “Rune?” He called. “Are you alright, mate? Where are you?”

“Invisible,” Rune responded, almost laughing: it sounded so absurd. “I think I accidentally phased through the floor.”

Loc grinned, the anxiety leaving his body. “Ok, can you turn visible again? I’d rather not look like a drongo, just talking to thin air like this.”

“I can’t.”

“You can, it’s just like your morphing; learning to use a part of your brain you haven’t before. What did you do to master your morphing?

Rune didn’t respond, Loc’s statement gave him a clear idea of what to do, and without further hesitation, he reappeared, smiling faintly. “Well,” Loc said after a minute. “I was going to train with you later today, but it seems you’re one step ahead. Let’s get some brekki and dive right in!”

______

Clint glanced up as Rune and Loc entered the barracks, the tall man let out a thunderous belch, eliciting a laugh from everyone in the room. “I’m assuming you just ate?” Aurian asked, amused.

“You got that right! Once the boss gets here, we’ll begin training.”

Clint scowled at the big man. “I though all we had to do was a test?”

“Keep your shirt on, kid. We can’t just drop you off with untrained power; that would be catastrophic! We have to train you at least a little.”

Clint huffed. “It won’t take a long time, will it?” He complained.

“That depends on you all.” Seconds after Loc said this, the door swung silently open to admit Tyrene, clad in all black clothing. Rune hid his surprise; usually he could hear anyone coming from several dozen feet away, even through walls. Tyrene treaded almost as silently as a sarsh. Loc turned to the young people behind him. “Let’s get going!” He enthused.

____

The group slowly made their way out the door and descended two flights of metal steps, held up by nothing but the wall. At the end of the stairs, Tyrene heaved open a set of the biggest, thickest doors Rune had ever seen; beyond it was the room Rune had fallen into earlier. Loc turned, walking, his back to the room, with his arms out, grinning his face off. “Welcome to the training vault!”

Clint frowned. “Why do you call it a vault?”

“Because it doubles as a safe room slash vault if danger were to arise. Now everyone zip it,” The tall man made sure the young people were all listening before proceeding.

“Ok, so, first day of training! Today is going to be about learning control. Considering none of you have control over your flares yet, this is an obvious start. Your caregivers are your assigned trainers, but Tyrene will watch and giving pointers.” Loc finished talking, and each of the caregivers beckoned their wards to a different section of the room.

__

“Ok, Clint, are you listening?” Elric asked in his soft voice. The young man nodded, nervously rubbing his hand on his pants. The two of them were in an enclosed area, with one doorless entrance, it had no roof; it was just a simple box. “Here’s what we are going to do; do you see this orb?” Elric was pointing at an orb suspended on a cable; again, Clint nodded. “It’s going to spin, slowly at first, and I want you to turn invisible before the red laser passes over you. Do you understand?” Another nod. “Ok, I’m going to turn it on. Remember, don’t let the laser touch you.” The young man gulped, frantically rubbing his hand against his pant leg.

Slowly, the orb moved. One side projected a vivid red line, tracing along the wall, creeping dangerously close to Clint. Elric didn’t tell me what happens if that thing touches me, Clint realized. What if it actually is a laser that will burn me? Fear struck the young man like a bolt of lightning and like a switch, his body warmed up and he vanished just in time. The orb stopped and Elric nodded knowingly. “What made you do it?” Elric asked. Clint swallowed.

“I don’t know.” he responded.

“I do. Fear. An instant and uncontrollable reaction, that was not you controlling your flare, that was your flare controlling you.” Clint’s shoulders slumped, but Elric was smiling at him. “Don’t expect to get it right the first time, it’s like an infant first learning to walk.”

“I’m not sure I enjoy being compared to a baby,” Clint said, smiling.

Elric ignored his jesting complaint and nodded to the orb. “Try again.”

“Can you at least tell what happens if it touches me?”

“Nope, that’s part of the training. Learn to control your fear.”

___

Keila glanced about the room she and Aurian entered, the outside was identical to Clint and Rune’s, but lining the walls inside was rectangular holes. The young woman furrowed her dark brow and swished her braid over her shoulder. “What are those for?”

Aurian grinned. “You’ll see,” she answered cryptically before stepping out of the doorway. She twisted something on a remote and there was a multitude of clicking sounds, and following close behind, a barrage of tough, but slightly squishy bricks of something. Keila curled her arms around her head and crouched to avoid the flying projectiles.

When they finally ceased, Keila peeked out from the crook of her arm and grinned sheepishly at Aurian, who had her hands on her hips and her lips pursed. “Let’s try that again,” Said the woman.

______

Rune frowned as Loc pointed to a wall, multiple feet taller than himself. “On the other side of that wall is a maze made specifically for someone with powers like yours; it will train you to disappear quickly and phase when necessary. Also, don’t phase through the floor. I don’t think there’s another level to this building.”

The sarsh frowned and turned his attention to the wall before him. “Do you want me to go through it or over it?”

“I prefer you go through it, but it could be helpful to learn to get over large objects without your power.”

Rune sighed, silently cursing the people who forced him into this situation. Glancing back at Tyrene, the sarsh felt a spark of anger in his heart, but he stamped it out. No time for that now. Closing out all sounds and distractions, Rune walked several paces back, ran forward, and took a mighty leap over the wall, clearing it by a foot. He landed softly and, straightened, glancing around; only more walls met his gaze, all around him. Taking slow breaths and steadying himself, the sarsh closed his eyes and focused on the unknown part of his mind that was like a flame, the glowing, growing piece to the puzzle which makes Rune who he is. He opened his eyes again and choked on his own breath. The walls had become like sheets of glass and Rune could see through all of them; he spun around and saw the shape of Loc, who had a vague outline, and Rune could see every part of the big man’s body. Quickly, Rune turned back around and carefully walked forward, feeling his skin tingle as he passed through the wall; jogging though the next, and the next until he cleared the maze.

His vision cleared and faded to normal as he bent over to catch him breath and abate the dizzy spell that overcame him. Loc jogged over to him. “That was amazing, Rune!” He exclaimed, reaching out and patting the sarsh’s shoulder, whipping it back almost instantly. “Whoa. You’re burning up.”

The sarsh frowned. “I don’t feel hot.”

“Your regular body temperature raised when you were Ignited, so it’s possible it raises even more when you use your flares, but it will lower again.”

The sarsh furrowed his sky-blue brows. “I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“How did my cybernetic arms and clothes go through the walls?”

“Well with you, it’s special. Because you secrete that special enzyme which bonds your clothing with you mind, and because your cybernetic limbs are a part of your mind, they at as if they were a natural part of your body, thus reacting when your body changes. With Clint, he turned invisible while still wearing clothes and we could all see was his clothes in his shape,”

Rune nodded. He had seen his friend while he was invisible too.

“We will have to make something that reacts to his body so that he doesn’t have to either be hovering clothes or walking around buck-naked,” Loc snorted as he said this, trying to get rid of the image he had just conjured. Rearranging his features as he saw his younger companion was not amused, Loc gestured to the maze. “Let’s try that again, a little different this time.”

November 02, 2021 20:36

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1 comment

TJ Squared
04:25 Nov 13, 2021

Interesting lol iNvIsAbIlIty XD

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