Going home - Writers Forum

Mystery · 07-14-2007, 10:31 AM

Posted this in wrong forum so moving it here, hope you enjoy.
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-- Prologue --

It's a bit ironic, you know, after all that money was put into leaving that place that now, across all of humanity, nostalgia is overwhelming everyone into going back.

I still enjoy hearing from older people of the "ancient era". When we left, when calendar's where abandoned in favor of the united solar temporal identification program. When the first aliens where found. When dreams and distant hopes started becoming realities.

In the end, despite all those prophets and prediction, the post apocalypse books and novels, earth wasn't abandoned because humanity had to, we left because we could. We left because as humans, we are arrogant creatures, we are curious creatures. Those two don't mesh very well.

And now everything has come full circle, thousands upon thousands suddenly trampling over people in queue's and making fortunes from land plots for earth, for home.

I was born on earth after the space age, or whatever you want to call us abandoning that place. It was never my choice to leave, you know how parents are, they wanted me to have a better future, they wanted me to have "the things we never had" and such. Better education in space, more opportunity. What a waste that was.

Twenty years later, it's my choice... I'm finally going back, and not just for a visit this time.

I can barely remember what the sea looks like, I haven't seen a mountain in years, the only reason I remember trees is because they exist in different shape and form on Messiah. I long for birdsong instead of insistent screaming from those damned bats.

Fresh mountain air... open fields full of grass... clouds... rain... thunderstorms... hot summer days lounging on the beach...

I'm finally going home.
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-- Chapter 1 -- Where the heart lies --

"We'll be entering the Native solar system in T-35, everyone, you'll soon be back home" The foolish-happy voice of a homesick man boomed across the ship from the speakers as the captain announced the flight position.

"Home..." Dayn spoke to himself softly.

"Yeah, home" Gwen spoke back to him, letting herself fall onto his side, her hands embracing his waist.

"I barely remember anything... I wonder how things are, if they've changed or if their the same?" Dayn asked her, unintentionally.

"A bit nervous?" Her voice peaked with a bit of interest, like a bored child who just found a new toy.

"Well... yeah..." He said embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you're not alone" Gwen nodded her face across the room at an aged woman twiddling her thumbs while looking down, and then to the corner where a priest has a cross in his hands and was praying silently, his lips moving as he recited the evangelion in his mind.

"It just feels so catatonic... I mean on the one side I miss that place so much and yet..." His speech let of into a sort of meditative sulk.

"I can understand how you must feel, you've lived a life away from there, it must be a bit intimidating" She tried to comfort him but to little avail. Gwen couldn't really understand his emotions, not only was she a space born but she wasn't human. Gwen was virye, the closest creation in reality that fitted what humans had once called "elves". Virye were mostly at human height, but had long hears and long horns that curved around their head. Most of them had a grayish black skin, but Gwen's skin was a deep purple, and her hair a vibrant blue.

"I just hope... I hope it's still the place I remember from childhood..." Dayn said, despite his childhood memories barely being coherent anymore. His last trip to earth had been during the beginning for the Restoration project when his was only 10 years old. Eleven years could do that to someones memory.

"Well, I'm sure that even if it's not, we can make it a place to live, together" Gwen said and held his hand, she looked up at his troubled face to find that he was smiling. At least her love for him was strong enough to overcome his fear of tomorrow.

Slowly but steadily Gwen lulled herself into a sleep, clinging onto Dayns left arm. He too eased himself into a sleep, not very intent on suffering mental exhaustion because of worrying too much.

In his dream he saw images from his childhood, or what he remembered. That place in America, the time he spent with the few that refused to leave the land, the Indians. Like watching a still theater, he saw the ocean, the mountains with the sweet aroma he so loved, the forests beneath it, he saw his home that he barely remembered, unconscious imagination filling in the gaps. He saw the desert, the giant rocks they used to climb. And then her face, her lips slowly speaking the last words he heard on earth... the last words he was told as a human.

He knew... he knew he'd have to let Gwendolyn know eventually.

A sudden jolt of the spacecraft pulled him out of his sleep and his eyes shot open as his body shot up and the same homesick voice boomed through the halls.

"Atmosphere entry in t-5, please prepare".

"Ouch" Gwendolyn cried out as she fell onto the flood, shoulder first, with a loud thud. Realizing he had thrown her down by accident in his wake, he helped her onto her feet quickly and kissed her elbow.

"Sorry, I just got a little shocked by the jolt I guess" He told her, and they both sat down again.

"You've got nothing to fear about, these things can take about 500 times the heat and pressure of atmosphere entry on earth" A young man sitting a few seats to their left told him, he was wearing a military uniform with the ranks on the side ripped off.

"Name's William" He told them

"I'm Dayn and this is my Fiancee, Gwendolyn" Dayn introduced himself to the man. Deserters weren't very popular but human deserters, especially considering the completion of the Restoration Project, were commonplace, and no one was willing to blame them for being homesick.

"Ah, that's a rarity, a Virye with a human name" He rudely pointed out.

"My parents were human empathists during the colonization war, so they gave me a human name as a show of their faith in Maxwell" Gwen explained to him.

"I see, not many Virye who supported the humans, give your parent's my regards when you talk to them next" He said.

"My mother was taken by illness, but I'll let my father know, the old sentimental fool will be overjoyed" She said, smiling at William.

"My condolences"

"It's okay"

Things were quiet for a minute and then the voice boomed over once more, slightly more professional this time.

"Atmosphere entry in T-1, please take a seat and fasten yourselves, please turn off any electronic devices and put away any objects that are unnecessary at this point, thank you."

Dayn fastened himself in and then helped Gwen, ending up helping William as well who had problems with his belt. Dayn had felt a bit awkward being so silent while Gwen spoke to William, he felt he seemed unfriendly, but at this point his anxiety was like a stone stuck in his throat.

The craft shook a bit as atmosphere entry began taking place. No one in the room seemed worry, commercial aircraft still experienced turbulence at landing because of their bulk, but they could crash headfirst into the ground and be completely undamaged.

The turbulence eased up and there were many happy faced lighting up the room as nighttime clouds started popping up at the side of the windows, barely visible, but still a sign that home was just within reach.

"We will be landing in three minutes, please prepare for landing." The captain sounded like has either on the verge of tears, or already crying. A great feeling of joy swept passed the human passengers and many started breaking down in tears or joy.

Gwen looked up at Dayn, who instead of smiling or crying had a stern look on him.

"Lighten up Honey" She poked at him, and she grabbed into him.

There was a slight bump and the sound of skidding tyres followed by a cry of joy from everyone in the room as the craft slowly slowed down to a stop.

"Please remember to take all your on board luggage, and don't forget to give your tickets to the Flight attendant either on the left or right of the exit... and welcome home everyone" The captain said and then there was a sudden silence, only for a second.

The sounds of safety belts clicking open and bags being ruffed around quickly filled the room in chaos. Dayn and Gwen both removed their safety belts but continued to sit quietly, waiting for the crowd to die down. After a few minutes the room was near empty and they got up and started walking toward the exit. They handed their tickets to the flight attendants and walked up to the door.

He could see outside, it wasn't pitch black, and a strange feeling shot through his body.

"Come quickly" He told Gwen as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him. He pushed open the door just in time as the light of the rising sun flashed out from the mountains and across the land. The sky was a mixture of crimson and orange and there were hints of purple, blue and brown in it.

In that moment, no artist could have painted a better picture, even with all the color, all the technology and all the talent this world had to offer, nothing could surpass the original in that moment.

"I told you when we first met, how I wanted to show you the sun rise and set on earth" his voice shook with overwhelming joy as he looked down at her, tears running down his cheeks.

"Welcome home" She told him happily and held onto his face as he leaned over to kiss her, the warm morning light embracing both of them in symphony.

"Home..." He said happily... "it truly, where the heart lies".

END CHAPTER ONE

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Mystery · 07-14-2007, 10:31 AM

-- Chapter 2 -- Native land --
After the initial commotion in the entrance port had died down, and both Dayn and Gwen had had their fill of each others share of affection they quickly hurried their way to the entrance terminal.

Despite all the rush that everyone had to get through, the new government seemed intent on delaying peoples return to earth as much as possible. First there were background checks, probably to keep anyone with a bad record off the planet now that it had been almost completely recreated. Then where were retina scans, fingerprint scans, voice scans, even presence scans.

Much to Gwen's Dismay Dayn seemed to be having problems with every check, some of the guards were eyeing her suspiciously and seemed to be stopping him because of how they walked together. Other times he was taken for a quick interrogation due to "check malfunctions".

Virye were not very welcome amongst humans, despite the few such as Gwendolyn's parents, most Virye had been against human colonization on Messiah. That why the war broke out. The reason humans still had a bitter taste about everything was because Virye are know as the universes exterminators.

Vyrie never die before their age, their consciousness simply possesses the nearest available substance and molds it back into their old form. Because of that Virye casualty in war is unheard of... but the human casualty was immense. In fact, if not for the timely arrival of Maxwell Orson, humanity would have become extinct during the colonization war. She had always assumed that Dayn was open hearted and forgiving, and that's why they were able to find love in one another.

"It seems that even after all the tolerance we mustered for one another, we're back to ground zero with tolerance for other races" Dayn said as he walked away furiously from two guards.

"I'm sorry, Maybe we shouldn't walk to close or something" She reasoned with him.

"No, I'm not afraid of loving you, and I'm not afraid of what other people think of me because of that" He said as he put his hand around her waist, "just one more check and were home free".

They walked up to the final check, a full body check done with three different sensors linked to individual intelligent A.I. It was nicknamed "buddha" because of the 'proverb' that buddha only forgives three times. Any one of the AI could suggest a different method of scanning if anything went even slightly wrong, but required that at least 2 of 3 agreed in order for it to follow through.

Dayn went first, prejudice eyes following him all the way through hoping for an excuse to cause him grief. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and all three scans checked clear and the A.I allowed him to pass. He was give at passport at the end to signify his acceptance into new earth. He turned around and waited for Gwen who slowly walked past, a little embarrassed and blushing because of all the people staring at her, entering the planet to whom her race was considered the equivalent of Satan to Christians.

"Hold it right there" One of the smaller, obnoxious looking guards said as Gwen left the last of the three scanners and the A.I sound for acceptance played.

"Whats wrong sir? She said innocently.

"Come over here, we're gonna need to do a full body scan" He said.

"Hey wait a minute, the A.I checked her, what's the meaning of this" Dayn asked, teetering on the edge of going into a mad rant at the man.

"Stand back sir unless you wish to be detained. We believe she may be using some sort of mental block for the sensors so we are going to search her manually" The man said as Gwen walked near him, two other guards were standing waiting for her.

"It's okay Dayn, common you two scan me with the plates already" She said.

"When I said manually I meant by hand" the shorter guard said, a sparkle lighting up in his eye. Vyrie has all the organs of a human female, and they were on average more beautiful and well built than female humans, Gwen being above average beauty for her people even meant that to everyone seeing her, despite all the hate, she was an enticing female.

"Why not use the plates" Dayn cried out, "If you dare lay a finger on her you won't hear the end of this"

"Sir, please stand back, if her mental passage can block a refined sensor like Buddha it can block the plates easily" He said, tried to assert some authority as a crowd was now looking at them. Most people could tell that he was lying.

"I thought that the plates were creating in order to Bypass the mental passage of races such as the Vyrie" A voice Dayn and Gwen heard not too long ago spoke up from the crowd. William passed through the sensors quickly and there was another jingle of acceptance as he came through the end.

"Sir, please stay back or we will detain you as well." The guard repeated like a broken record machine.

No one was going to stand up for a Vyrie, no one. They knew what was happening and they knew that William was speaking the truth, and yet no one would raise a hand to help her.

The guard put on of his hands on her lower back and rubbed her and she jolted back with a cry of complaint.

"Now please come quietly, we wouldn't want to have to bring you in by force... or would we".

It can't be helped Dayn thought to himself and he reached inside his jacked for the two things that would give him an ironclad hold on the guard. He had hopped not to have to do this...

"I am ex-captain William Von Verona, chief scientist of the A.I research development and Earl of Verona, and I demand that you let that women go before I decide to contact your superiors" William burst out.

"Yeah right, and I'm the kind of France, got any proof" The guard mocked. He was in an uncomfortable position now, the crowd seemed to be getting angry at him since no on wanted to go against the will of Veronian nobility. Doing such a thing would only cause them grief as it was the family of Von Verona that owned the earth-link transportation system that allowed people to return. For humans, the name Von Verona was higher than the name Christ.

William pulled a small document from his pocket and shoved it into the officers hands. The man gulped and Gwen was allowed to go back to Dayn's side.

"I'm sorry sir" He said in great fear of the man before him.

"I'll have non of it, if I hear anything else of mistreatment here I will have your head first and foremost" He said to the man.

There was a sudden outcry from the crowd.

"Why is a Von Verona allowing a Vyrie into out home?!" A man cried out and many soon agreed.

"We took the Vyrie's home in war, so we should at least allow them to see ours in peace" He spoke, and whatever momentum had allowed anyone to speak up against a Von Verona was gone. William took the document he had given the man prior, and escorted Dayn and Gwen outside.

"I'm sorry about that, it seems that not all can be perfect in this world, despite all our efforts" He said, bowing to Gwen and kissing her on her hand as any nobility is accustomed to doing. She blushed slightly and thanked William.

"If you are a Von Verona why are you flying with the normal transport, and in a military uniform stripped of ranks?" Dayn asked, always being the curious and investigative type.

"I'm sorry, but that is a conversation for another time, place and life. I must bid you farewell now" William said as he walked away from them, hand waving, to a nearby army vehicle. His prose, voice and speech was completely different from the William they had met on the craft, the young Von Verona was a good actor.

"I guess it can't be helped" Dayn said as he pulled Gwen onto him softly.

"I'm sorry I didn't stand up for you right away... it's just..."

"It's okay, I don't want you to have to show that thing here, this is your home, I came here with you so that you can leave that behind" She said to him and pressed her head against his chest. Smiling, they both walked away from the entrance terminals doors.

Dayn had reserved a car for them for when they arrived, it was old fashioned in appearance, but as far as technology went it was top of the line. It worked on Esther, a non-pollutant fuel that was created by the Restoration Project. The last thing people needed was a repeat of the cataclysm that took place a few years before the project.

When they arrived at the car there was a main in a long overcoat, smoking ambiguously, sitting on the hood of the car. As they got closer he turned around and a broad smile swept across his face.

"Dayn! It's been a while!" The man said as he stood up and walked over to them, grabbing Dayn's hand for a shake.

"It truly has Chief" Dayn said merrily at the sight of an old friend.

"Ah no need to call me that, we're not in my land and I'm not a man of formalities" the man said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, making a long lock of hair fall out of his coat and onto his back.

"Well you still are a chief, Pao." Dayn said jokingly, Gwen didn't understand the laughter that followed, it was obviously an inside joke.

"And who's this beautiful young lady that you've so rudely forgotten to introduce" He asked, looking at Gwen slightly shocked.

"This is my fiancee, Gwendolyn" Dayn said. Pao seemed a bit taken aback, and Gwen began to feel uneasy at what seemed like shock at their relationship. She was a Vyrie after all.

"Ah you can't keep me out of light like this boy, you make an old mans heart jump" He said as he walked up to Gwen, "welcome to earth Gwen, I am Chief Pao, one of the last remaining native Indians on earth".

She looked up and quickly realized that there was no hate or concern in his eyes. They were the eyes of a father accepting his daughter.

"Th... thank you sir" she said timidly.

"Ah no need to call me sir, Pao is fine" the old man laughed and he turned to the car and opened the door.

"Get in you two" He said to them, pointing inside the car.

"I'll drive Pao" Dayn said, but Pao seemed to not hear any of it as he pushed Dayn into the passenger seat and then helped Gwen in.

"It's been a long time since you've been here boy, enjoy your ride and view, I see this place everyday" Pao said, closing the door and getting in the at the drivers seat.

"Welcome home Dayn" He said looking back at Dayn, and then started up the engine.

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It was amazing, how far technology had come. Looking out the windows the entire journey Dayn's mind was refilled with all the things he had forgotten. Deserts, open plains, mountains, forests, rivers, everything. It was all there, beautiful and real as it had ever been. In just 11 years the Restoration Project had managed to rebuild earth just as it had been many years ago, in all the pictures and on the antique shows.

They arrived at the airport where a man took the car from them to take it back to the rental company. They payed him and all three walked into the airport and handed in their tickets. It would have taken days to go by car, but only a few hours by plane. Having just gotten out of something similar thought both Dayn and Gwen weren't very happy, but Pao was overjoyed.

"Still love flying don't you?" He asked Pao.

"I don't remember ever stopping" he said jokingly.

The two of them chattered on for the entire flight, and Gwen felt out of place, being unable to say anything as the two rejoiced and recollected old memories. When the plain landed she latched herself onto Dayn's arm again, she was tired and in need of some affection.

"Don't worry, it's not much further" Dayn reassured her as this time they got into Pao's car, an old 4-wheel drive with a refitted Esther engine.

"You don't mind me sleeping do you?" She asked shyly,

"Took the words out of my mouth" Dayn said and kissed her cheek. She rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on hers.

"You two sleep, it's not the shortest of rides but I'll wake ya when we're there" The old man told them cheerfully, starting up his old car and turning off the radio so they could doze off.

As Gwen dozed off, Dayn took the chance to get a burden off his chest.

"Is... Is she okay?" He asked, trying to hold back his anxiety and fears.

"You mean Kai? She's fine Dayn, we were both in the shelter when the environment began acting up." He told Dayn.

"Thank God" he breathed out a sigh of relief and eased up, sliding down the chair a bit.

"She was very happy to hear you're coming back, I think she missed you a lot since last time" He said, but to no avail, Dayn had fallen to sleep in an instance of his anxiety being cleared.

"Heh, sleep well".

His dreams were a silent still theater of images again, this time renewed with mountains and rivers, snow and autumn leave. The desert, the cave and then as if out of nowhere he saw it's snarling face and heard her voice crying out again.

Dayn shot up out of his sleep in a cold sweat. Gwen was sitting upright next to him having woken up first and turned to him.

"What's wrong honey?" She asked, worried at his sudden waking.

"Uhh... nothing, bad dream"

He looked out the window to see a familiar, nostalgic sight. The desert.

"We're almost there now" Pao told him as he turned on the radio and some old country blue began to play. Dayn had never consciously missed old fashioned music, and yet it was in all seriousness, music to his ears.
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Taking a break

Mystery · 07-15-2007, 08:36 AM

slack · 07-15-2007, 10:15 AM

Really good, keep it up.

Watch out for missed commas and mispellings, though.

Johnna · 07-15-2007, 03:10 PM

There are some grammar mistakes, misspellings, and run-on sentences, but they should be eliminated in the editing process. This is a really good story, interesting. Keep working on it.

SilverShade · 07-16-2007, 04:27 PM

Yup, an interesting start, and I caught the same things as Johnna and slack.

The first chapter caught me more than the prologue did, but I didn't mind the prologue either. I like Gwen, her name sounds slightly like one of my character's names, actually. ^_^ I'm curious to find out more about the happenings of the story... You seem to have the foundation for a pretty creative setting. Keep going!

Mystery · 07-17-2007, 09:23 PM

-- Chapter 3 -- Home --

The car came to a halt and Pao turned back with a serious expression, or as serious as the old man could get.

"Let's walk from here" he said, pulling the keys from the ignition with a soft rumble from the engine.

Gwen opened her door first, she didn't want to edge Dayn to get out, this was his moment. It was that time, where there is neither day or night, the very essence of yin and yang, the line that divides. The hot desert sun as well as the cool desert moon both shined down on Gwen as she stepped out, the sky was painted the same enthralling colors it had been when they had arrived, but out here with nothing but flat land for miles it was more beautiful than ever. Half a sky of stars, half a sky of pillowy clouds floating on a bed of mauve and crimson.

Pao opened Dayns door. Gwen turned and looked at the old man and for a moment she had trouble understanding who as more anxious.

"You gotta step out some time" Pao said, the mockery in his voice was overpowered completely by it's ebb and flow in the melancholy that only reunion could know.

Dayn said nothing. He stepped out, his right foot first, then his left, and for a few silent seconds he remained seated in the car, both feet out, staring endlessly into horizon.

"Home..." He said softly. He stood up and closed the car door, and walked over to Gwen, not allowing words to cheapen the moment he embraced her as gently as was possible for a man, and slowly moved his head down onto hers.

Pao looked away, and only dared look back again when Dayn tapped on his shoulder.

"Well then, lets get a move on" Paos voice was caught between excitement and anxiety now. Gwen only knew that as much as this was returning home for Dayn, it was welcoming home for Pao. She couldn't really understand and for a moment the feeling got to her, and a slight sadness overtook her as she frowned to the desert ground. Yet, looking up, seeing her lovers face she couldn't help but feel an overpowering sense of satisfaction, of completion.

They didn't walk for long. They trudged through the desert dirt, in between huts and hovels of white stone that had turned a desert beige, that when one looked at them seemed as if they had been kisses by not only the desert wind, but the desert sun as well. Thick logs of wood peaked out from the top of each house, about five to six per side, supporting the wood and sometimes stone that served as a roof for the small houses. Every few houses there would be a small store with rough handmade wooden tables standing outside, some of them with discarded cloth on them, others nestling under a raised hammock that served as an easily built extension to the roof.

Odd faces would peak out as well, from the windowless square holes of the houses. Some were young, but undoubtedly most were old, there was a strange curiosity and insensitivity in old people that even cats could stare at and misunderstand. And then there were the special faces, middle aged men and woman who looked out their windows with surprise, some in tears, others with a smile or a smirk of welcome for that man.

"Where are all the children?" Dayn asked to break the silence that had overtaken them from the wealth of emotion that had been thickening the air since their arrival.

"Curfew for kid's has had to become earlier lately, with the coyotes and wolves returning" Pao said happily, "it's kind of an uneasy feeling, but you even miss slightly troublesome things when you turn around and realize they're gone"

"It won't be long before we have neighbor's screaming in the night and shooting rifles, will it?" Dayn joked

"Haha, doubt it" Pao answered, and they both laughed a bit to themselves. Despite the long car drive, neither had really gotten to say anything to each other, their voices and odd conversation gave away their anticipation in catching up with each other.

"Well, here we are, it ain't much if you can still remember what it was like before, but we're a humble and proud people" Pao announced to the couple, coming to a halt before what was apparently his home... their home.

It wasn't much different than all the others. It had two stories to it, and as opposed to having separate columns, it had cloth tied onto the roof support for shade. There were strange marks all over the cloth that Gwen felt strangely proud to gaze at, and at the door was a worn out rag of a door mat that had what was once welcome on it, now the letters had faded and it wrote "wecme"

"Is kai..." Dayn tried to say, a slither of sadness in his voice.

"Yes Dayn, Kai's in there, she's been waiting for 11 years, don't make her wait anymore" Pao said, a fathers pride in his voice.

Dayn walked up to the cloth that hung from the entrance, that doubled as a door. Pushing it aside roughly, from impatience, he stepped in, while Pao gestured to Gwen to wait a bit. After a few seconds there was a scream from inside and Gwen rushed in.

She was greeted by the sight of Dayn, soaked from top to bottom, with a look on his face that read of expectancy. A girl, younger than Dayn by first glance, stood in the doorway opposite him with a bucket in her hands that was bobbing back and forth.

"D... D... Dayn... no way... is that?" She stuttered in shock. Dayn nodded at her and without a seconds pass she leaped onto him, hugging him as he stumbled for footing.

"It's good to see you too Kai, but can you not try to kill me from the first moment" He said, smiling widely at the girl who now had her face fixed on his, eyes sparkling.

Gwen couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy and she cleared her throat. Both Kai and Dayn turned at her and Dayn quickly skittered onto his feet.

"Who's that?" Kai asked with more than an abundance of curiosity in her voice.

"This is my Fiancee, Gwendolyn" Dayn said, and there was a spontaneous disappointment and second rush of shock and joy in Kai.

After she was done screaming and babbling incoherently to both of them for a few minutes, neither really knowing what to tell the overeager girl, Pao walked in happier than Gwen had seen him before. The old man straightened up and hugged Dayn and Gwen.

"Welcome home you two".

It wasn't long before they all sat huddled around a table in the middle of the living room, glasses of various drinks perched in different edges of the table and an ash tray with a cigarette in it, burning away with the same light of the rising and setting suns sky.

"When did you get Engaged? I know you're some kinda big shot flying around space but it's not like it's hard to get a message across" Kai blurted out rudely at Dayn, miffed that she hadn't heard of it before, " I was hoping a single little hopeless Dayn would come back so that I could tease him again"

"Heh, I don't know so much about you teasing me, but the engagement was only just a month ago, I'd have liked to send a message but I thought since it wasn't so far away, I'd let you know in person" Despite all logic and sincerity Kai didn't seem satisfied with his answer.

"Looks like it means extra morning chores for you Dayn" Pao said mockingly.

"Aye, just like old times" he answered, and all of them seemed to get lost in their memories and laughed at one another.

"I'm sorry Gwendolyn, we must make you feel a little awkward talking about prehistory, we're just trying to make Dad feel a little more comfy" Kai joked

"Aww common, I'm not that old" Pao protested, but age was not as willing to believe him. His hair had grayed considerably, and now his face, even cleanly shaven, had tufts of hair poking out.

"You can call me Gwen" she said, trying to be a bit friendlier, "It's okay if you reminisce, but don't complain when I join in five or ten years from now"

"The more the merrier" Dayn said, holding Gwen's hand and staring at her intently.

"Hey common now, no mushy lovey dovey stuff" Kai told them, stretching her arm out and waving her index finger left to right as if it gave her any authority.

"So, how's things been with the restoration, I haven't check up since... well... forever" Dayn revealed, a bit of shame in his voice.

"Every thing's going better than anyone could have hoped. Last I heard 90% of the land and ocean mass has been fully restored, most animal species have been successfully bred and reintroduced to their natural habitats, I even heard their managing to breed previously extinct animals" Pao explained, ending with a laugh.

"I see, that's good, how are things out here?" Dayn had a bit more interest than shame in his voice this time around.

"Their going good, there wasn't much need for restoration around here, just some reforestation and reinitialization for desert species, you'd be surprised how had it is to create a pillar of rock"

"It really sounds like a great thing" Gwen said, " I don't really know much about earth, so you'll have to forgive me if I ask a lot of questions, but what species live in desert, I've so longed to see the earth animals Dayn told me about"

"Well, the ones I think you'll enjoy most are the Coyotes and the eagles, the rest are mostly insects and reptiles, not stuff girls find attractive" Pao told her

"Hey, I find snakes attractive" Kai jumped in to the conversation again.

"You are one, so you would" Dayn joked, and Kai seemed to fume with anger.

They talked for quite some time, Gwen mostly watched them talk and every so often took her turn and asked about everything. Mostly they talked about the restoration project and old times, so there wasn't much for her to relate to, but she tried. She didn't want to ruin Dayns time by making him think she was uneasy.

When all was said and done, or all that was possible before sleep caught up with everyone, Kai led Gwen and Dayn upstairs to a small room with a single large bed, nothing fancy, a wooden frame and a mattress covered with a white sheet with two pillows at the top. It was laying beneath a window, the starry sky just beyond the thin curtains.

"You two have a good night, it's a big day tomorrow" Kai told them as she closed the door.

They both began their nightly rituals, first relaxing, undressing, then relaxing again in each others arms, doing what most couples do when the passion runs deeper than thicker than ever between two people.

But as they lay, exhausted, on the verge of sleep.

Dayn shot up as the morning sun baked his skin.

"Good morning honey" Gwen said, lying in the bed clinging on Dayns waist, "whats wrong? Bad dream?"

"No I just... no dream" Dayn wasn't really a man of sleep, he didn't like things about himself he was unable to control, and sleep was one of them. Never conscious of going to sleep, never conscious of the time that passes. It frightened him sometimes.

He got up and got dressed, Gwen simply pulling the covers over herself and going back to sleep. Vyrie didn't mind the heat as much as humans, but they minded not getting sleep much more. He walked downstairs as the soothing fragrance of breakfast caught his attention.

"Morning" Pao said, the oil in the pot crackling as he dished slice after slice of bacon from it.

"Morning" Dayn said, he took a seat on the couch adjacent to the TV and turned it on to the morning news. As a child he had never understood morning news, and as an adult he just watched out of some subconscious expectation of adulthood needs.

"This new power supply is something, getting all the way out here" Dayn remarked. IT had been a long time since things such as satellites or Electricity poles had been seen. Everything ran underground now.

"Pretty impressive eh, that's technology for ya" Pao said. In reality it was the least of the great achievements of technology. People weren't as thrilled at the cure for cancer now that a few years had passed, few people even remembered it as a scientific milestone.

"Kai should be down in a minute" A groggy Gwendolyn said as she lopped down the stairs sleepily, only a long shirt covering her, she sat next to Dayn and leaned onto his shoulder.

"She didn't let you get extra sleep did she?" Dayn smirked

"Nope, something about chores" Gwen moaned.

But before Dayn could say anything a shrill shriek ran through the house, catching everyone off guard. Paralyzed in shock Dayn turned his face to the stairs, where the noise had come from, only to witness a bloodied, ten year old Kai standing at the stairs, here eyes wide with fear and her mouth gaping open, trying to let sound out, but unable to even breathe.

"What the hell... kai?" Dayn said confused, he rushed from the couch to her side and kneeled over to look at her to search for wounds, but when he did her face locked on his, but there were no tears or frightened eyes, no mouth gaping for air or words. Kai's beautifully innocent ten year old face simply stared at him, eyes wide, grinning madly.

"What's going on!?" Dayn shouted

"Did you think you could run away? DID YOU?" Pao shouted from the kitchen, throwing a pan of burning oil at Dayn who barely managed to protect his face with his hands. He screamed as it burned his forearms.

"Why did you lie to me?" Gwen cried out from the couch, now she was bloodstained, just as Dayn had first found her a few years ago, staring at him, "Why? I trusted you! I believed in you!" She cried out to him again.

"Do you think you deserve this peace? How dare you think of joy you bastard creature!" Pao yelled.

"You lied to me or... no... did I lie to myself? Did I tell myself I could be happy?" Gwen was murmuring insanely to herself, "I did, I did lie to myself". She grabbed a knife from the table and Dayn tried to charge and stop her but his body wouldn't move and he sat, paralyzed in horror and confusion as Gwen stabbed herself, again and again, blood gushing from her chest and throat onto him, warm.

"Whats going on?!" HE cried out desperately, "Gwen, stop it!"

"Could it be? No... your not going to run?" A strange voice said, coming from Paos mouth but not belonging to him.

"Possibly, no you don't want to repent..." IT came again but this time from Kai, "You just want to lie and live like none of it exists.

"No... thats not it" Gwen said this time, the same voice possessing her speech, "you think you can live with it... don't you?"

Dayn scrambled to stand up, and as he did utter silence befell the room and he stood now, the Kai he had just seen yesterday in front of him, looking at him.

"Kai... thank god... what the hell is going on!?" He tried to reason, but only a few seconds after, as her face started to look up did he realize it was not Kai as he knew her.

"You will not be allowed to Repent" She said as her face locked onto his, and as their eyes met he saw everything replay, again and again and again, his past, his service for "justice". His duty. Blood. His blood? No. Not his blood. Their blood. All of it. Their hopes. Their aspirations. Taken. And then that room. Her voice. Maddening. Her throat. So soft, so vulnerable. So kissable. Their daughter. Gone with everything else.

Dayn shot up with a maddening scream, whatever rooster had been calling out to the morning sun had silenced, and in that moment even sunlight seemed to avoid the room even for a flicker of a second.

"Whats wrong" Gwen quickly asked, her eyes staring at Dayn intensely. They were not mad, or depressed, they were loving and concerned.

"Horrible... horrible fucking nightmare" Dayn said, quivering from cold even though the desert sun was above them.

Pao and Kai came rushing into the room, both looking as though they had just woken up.

"It's alright," Gwen told them, "just a really bad dream"

Both of them breathed a sight of great relief and went back to their rooms after they made sure that a bad dream was all it was. However, Gwen knew better.

"Why are you having so many bad dreams lately, and now?" She asked, compassion flooding her voice, "whats wrong honey?"

"Just... horrible dreams" He said again. He hadn't moved an inch, he couldn't, right now his mind couldn't barely process the task of breathing. IT was a miracle that he could hear and talk coherently.

"Are you sure? Please... tell me" Gwen begged him.

"It's okay, I just need to get a few days normal rest and I'll be fine again" Dayn reassured her. Relaxing and resuming a more familiar face to her, a smile, he held her and laid down again.

"I guess so, sleeping in cars and spacecrafts can't be all that good, and everyone has nightmares every once in a while" Gwen tried to reason, not to him, but to herself.

He kissed her forehead and they both lay there, eyes closed, not sleeping but relaxing for a while longer in each others arms before the day began.

Deep in Dayn's mind however, only one thought prevailed.

"Damn you... why now... damn you... I thought... I thought you'd leave me alone!" he screamed in his mind but to no avail, "you had so many years out in that god damned black fucking void, WHY NOW?"

He wasn't paying any attention anymore.
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Going to reread, rewrite and then repost it tommorow.

SilverShade · 07-18-2007, 09:14 PM

Creepy. I'm going along just fine and dandy when you slipped that little disturbing bit in the end. lol.

Quote:

Half a sky of stars, half a sky of pillowy clouds floating on a bed of mauve and crimson.

Loved that line. ^_^ But... just looking at it right now, would it work if you said "Half a sky of stars and half a sky of pillowy clouds floated on a bed of mauve and crimson." ? I just realized that it's a fragment as is, but if you meant to do that then pay me no mind. I still like that line.

Quote:

"Their going good,

Should it be "They're"? I didn't see too much of that kind of stuff, so I thought I might give you a heads up on that one.

Well, that's the main things I noticed. I'm interested in reading more. ^_^

Mystery · 07-20-2007, 07:30 AM

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-- Chapter 4 -- Intent --

William was honestly not having the best of day's, first the little fiasco at the airport and now he was running as late as ever.

"Can't this primitive thing go any faster?" He nagged the driver from the comfort of the limousines passenger seat.

"I'm sorry sir but there are speed limits imposed on earth's roads, I can't go any faster than this" The driver pleaded with him.

"Nonsense, I am William Von Verona, who the hell do you think is going to give my driver a speeding ticket?" He laughed arrogantly, and the driver bit down on his teeth in annoyance.

"If we crash, I don't think death is going to bow down to the name Von Verona, sir" The driver remarked

"Hmpf, I guess you're right..." William didn't like conceiting defeat, but any fool could tell when it was this clear cut that there was no evading it.

"I'll just fire him when I get home" William thought to himself, satisfied with his mischief.

"We're here sir" The driver said as they pulled up to a pair of large steel gates, a sign stuck onto them reading "Military Personnel Only".

"Finally, you go do what it is you do when I'm busy and I'll call you in a few hours" He told his driver as he kicked the door open and stepped out. He stretched a bit with a groggy moan and then walked up to a little screen in the wall adjacent to the massive gate.

A few letters flickered on the screen, "Identification" and then the outline of a hand. He pressed his palm gently onto the glass and felt a tingly warm sensation as micro-lasers passed over his palm. There was a buzzing sound and then a voice confirmation, "Please proceed through the gate" the machine spoke as A.I was able to.

The large gates slowly shifted to open, just enough for William to pass through, and on the other side a few meters away two men stood waiting for him.

"Ah, William, it's about time" One of them, wearing full military uniform, called out to William with a surprised look on his face. The other was smirking to himself and looking down intently.

"I'm sorry, car's and slow drivers, all the novelties of earth are returning to me I suppose" William told the man, and they chuckled to each other.

"Well, if that's enough idle chat, let us get going gentlemen" The other man spoke. He was adorning a white lab overcoat and very noticeably smirked constantly, even when he spoke his face seemed to be unable to return to a passive expression.

The men walked in each other company through the small pathway that led beyond the gate, on each side was a fence and trees dense enough to prevent any view of what was on either side, and at the end of the road was a small official-looking building with an enormous white dome behind it that all but dwarfed it in size.

"So this is it?" William said

"Oh, unimpressed again young prince?" The military man said.

"Of course, it could have been bigger" William exclaimed to the pair, the scientist quite obviously took offense as his smirk broke.

"Some of us aren't trying to over compensate" he said abruptly as he walked up to the door of the smaller building and pushed it open, a sign above the door read "Earth Restoration" but all three men present knew better than to believe that sign.

"What's his problem?" William asked.

"That's Lord Islund, quite the Genius, and this just so happens to be his pride and joy, his also not very adept at human communication despite all of his intelligence" the man answered

"I see, well, let's get going then Mark"

Both men walked inside the door that Islund had left open for them, and immediately upon entry there was the stale smell of paperwork and coffee, the horrid aroma that plagued all who knew the other side to the horrible duty called "official work". Islund was waiting for them at the very back of the room, at a much more sturdy looking metallic door, punching in some numbers into a panel.

"What's wrong" Mark asked him

"Someone's been messing with the entrance code" Islund said

"Ah, sorry, we had it changed only a few hours ago, I forgot to let you know" Mark said, and quickly walked up to the panel and pressed in a sequence of numbers, to which the machine pleasantly buzzed and opened the door.

"Follow me now gentlemen, I don't want anyone breaking anything they shouldn't even be touching" Islund said, confident of himself.

Mark whispered to William in haste "He might be arrogant, but I'd trust him in there".

"Oh and, you'll need to also wear decontamination outfits, we take all precautions here" Islund told them, handing them two identical plastic bags that contained bulky white and yellow suits in them. Both men quickly switched into the suits and then walked through a decontamination exterior chamber. Inside lasers piercing right through their body, scanning their biological systems.

"No outsiders detected" The machine said, and all three men walked past the room and into what was obviously the colossal white dome they had been in before.

"I'll never get used to that scan" William said

"It's not so bad after doing it a few times daily" Mark said

"The temporary nerve paralysis is annoying" Isplund cut in, "and no matter ho w much you use that damn scanning system it never gets any less worse".

Inside of the dome, every footstep was an echo, and every word boomed back and forth the men. It soon became evident that they were the only three souls in that room presently, and William began to feel uneasy being inside such a large space alone, a reverse claustrophobia.

"Here we are" Isplund said, opening the door to a relatively small one room building that, to the best of Williams perception, was just a little past the middle of the dome, "you two take a seat while I ready the machinery".

Sure enough, once both of them were comfortable there was a consecutive click and buzz of lights turning off as the entire place darkened, and then only a blue eerie light remained inside the room, the roof slid opening with a mechanic drag and both men looked up in wonder as the entire room, as far as the eye could see, mirrored the night sky.

"It's broad daylight outside, mind explaining what this is" William asked Islund who was seemingly slamming away at the keys of a stange machine in the corner of the room.

"This, Gentlemen, is the fruit of the first two years of the Restoration project, we call it Isis" He said, "Isis may appear to you as a night sky, but it is in essence a tracking machine, what it tracks we have no idea, we only know that it can detect the presence of anything non human, and no only that, but it can detect anything that follows a specific sample pattern that we give it"

"So whats so great about Isis? We already have a genetic tracking satellite" Mark said.

"No, this isn't nearly the same, a genetic satellite requires studied and observed samples as well as thorough input in order to detect something with only a 75.56% accuracy. Isis is 100% accurate and only needs a single strand of DNA" Isplund explained

"I don't see why this was great enough for you to call me here before the Project was complete, especially considering I was brought here in so much secrecy" William complained

"Let me finish explaining then. You see, Isis has a direct uplink to the information network across the universe, it can at any moment, identify a strand of DNA, and then find every scrap of information about what it is tracking and give you a 100% accurate account of what it's seeing. We know this since Isis has been tested on 7,000 subjects over the course of a year, the year just after its initial development"

"No this is getting more interesting" William said

"Oh, but that's nothing compared to why I called you here. You see, Isis has run into something it cannot identify, and something it lost momentarily and cannot pinpoint again" Isplund declared to them

"What, I thought you said Isis was prefect" Mark protested

"Yes, Isis is 100% flawless" Islund confirmed for them.

"Then what could this mean?" William asked

"Well, It can mean one of two things, something either spontaneously evolved and changed it's DNA pattern withing seconds to something that Isis is unable to recognize, which would mean a life form we have yet to discover on earth, or it could mean something much, much more interesting" Islund said with mischief rising in his voice.

"Well common, explain to us" William demanded, getting impatient with Islunds constant use of cliffhangers in his explanation, "I didn't come here for a Hitchcock novel"

"I think this will speak for itself" He said, tapping a single button.

An translucent emerald screen appeared before them, above the keyboard on which Islund had been typing and was now leaning on, smirking confidently.

"Isis: Restoration Tracking Fundemental -- Loading...
Load complete, begin system analysis for extermination of corrupt data...
System self-analysis complete...
...
...
...
Isis - Complete"

A large flash of light burst from above them as the stars that were mirroring down from the dome began to move quickly, spiraling in what seemed like chaos, and then after a few moments of beautiful dance, they stopped, and remained rigid in their place. A long list of subject identification continued with various code numbers and then a wealth of information appearing.

"XZK02YNX6 - Subject William Von Verona:
Time of atmospheric entry - 6:45
Time of Arrival at Restoration Project Dome - Isis - 16:53
Status or Arrival - Late
Profile... Uplinked... Retrieved, please click code in order to view subject Specifics."

William was amazed that this machine could already identify so much about him, it even sensed when he came into the atmosphere.

"What kind of sensors are you using for this thing?" William remarked, dumbstruck from awe.

"The earth itself is the sensor, Isis is symbiotic biotechnology, it can tell when anything upsets the environment's balance and then can process it and come out with every logical conclusion, then isolate it to the most probable cause" Islund exclaimed, "but wait, here's the interesting part"

The machine came to a halt from the flurry of information that was passing through their eyes. And there was a single error beep.

"XZK02YNX7 - Subject Unknown
Time of Atmospheric Entry - Non existent
Temporal period between entry and landing at entrance port - Non existent
Temporal period between entrance port and destination of stasis - Non existent
Profile... uplinked... No profile exists for this subject."

"I don't understand, whats so different about an unidentified species and this?" Mark asked

"Very simple... it never entered the atmosphere, it took not time to land, and no time to move between two place, despite it being confirmed to exist at all three..." William explained and Islund smiled at the mans understanding.

"Thats only the half of it, Isis will only search for a profile if it is a humanoid species, if it is not, or if the DNA is too far removed from humans, it will look for a "Genetic Status Report" instead of a profile, that way we can differentiate between humanoids and everything else. But thats not all, it gets more interesting" Islund said, his smile expanding with his ego.

"Please, continue" William urged

"Well, I had Isis run correction and information gathering simulations, it ran 777 before discovering 77 links, and out of those 77 links only 7 where viable where there was a .7 ratio of correlation. I'm not one for conspiracy theory Gentlemen, but when I programmed Isis I forbade it to give out statistics like that, if it gets such a statistic it is meant to rerun all the information a thousands times over, it stopped the rerunning at 777 reruns where it deduce, that the statistics it gathered were at the highest point of accuracy possible with the provided information and ability of the system, 77%" Islund explained to them

"What are you trying to say, Isis is corrupt?" Mark asked

"No, I'm trying to say that whatever Isis scanned, whatever XZK02YNX7 is it realized immediately that something was watching it, and it did to Isis what Isis normally does to others, it gathered all information existing about it and then somehow influence it's system. Whatever XZK02YNX7 is, it's playing games with me and Isis" Islund told them, a hint of anger and embarrassment in his voice, when it came to losing, he apparently wasn't so good, "unfortunately for whoever XZK02YNX7 is, Isis has a backup system called Osiris, which is beyond any technology you can imagine. It's even barely comprehensible to me, but it's basically a protection system for Isis that can override, destroy, and fully recreate Isis in an instant by removing all the corrupt data strains. It did that, but removed 0 strains, meaning that the first bit of information on XZK02YNX7 was gathered, whatever it is it can influence Isis without the use of similar technology or means"

"Okay, run that by me again" Mark said and William nodded

"Whatever was playing with us didn't need to use any method in existence that we know of in order to do it. Even Vyrie mental control leaves behind traceable corrupt data" Islund told them.

"So whatever this thing is, it's better than Isis?" William asked

"Not better, but it's able to function like Isis while being fully organic, and it is also able to manipulate Isis without leaving anything behind" Islund said

"It's hiding" Mark budded in, "it's afraid of Isis watching it, so it's hiding"

"I don't believe so, It seems to me more like whatever it is, it's challenging Isis" William said.

"There is a bit of truth in both of those. Whatever XZK02YNX7 is it does not like having it's presence known, but at the same time it likes toying with anyone who has the ability to locate it" Islund said and then halted both of them from speaking.

"There is one more thing that I discovered, XZK02YNX7 has some kind of link to XZK02YNX4, a Female Vyrie that arrived at almost exactly the same time as you William, which means she was on the same craft as you." Islund pressed a few keys and Isis began working again and in an instant has a code number and basic information, Islund clicked the profile link and William was taken aback by the face he saw looking back at him.

"Subject - Vyrie - Gwendolyn (Unidentified)
Age - Unidentified
Gender - Female
Species - Vyrie Eitmosis
Location - Zone BK182 - South America"

A long list of information followed after that.

"I met her, at the airport" William said.

"I know, Isis has the a video of not only you talking to her in the craft, but also of you protecting her from being abused by guards" Islund said mockingly, "Do you enjoy the Vyrie flesh little earl?"

"She one of my acquaintances Fiancee" William said, and for a moment he was shocked, "Wait, if my code ends in 5 and hers in 4... and this thing is 7, you don't mean to tell me that 6 would be Dayn?"

"No, her Fiancee happens to be number 3, number 6 is of no importance to us, it's some smalltime businessman here to set up on earth, the estimate of him having any relation to XZK02YNX7 is -0.0005873%." Islund told William, and he was relieved. Even thought Dayn hadn't shown him any friendship despite their past, he would have been worried if an old friend was involved in something dangerous.

"Wait, if this XZK02... uh"

"XZK02YNX7" Islund cut in

"Yeah, if this XZK02YNX7 thing could mess with Isis' logic system and all, isn't it possible it set it's relation to people lower?" Mark asked

"No, Aurora, Isis' static data bank which, every second, prints out all the information on Isis, creates 20,000 backup files of it, and then compares it to Isis' new file and then cross-references for corruption or alteration wasn't affected, probably because it's completely separate to Isis and is completely mechanical. If anyone had changed the relations from the initial reading, we would know, and if the relations were fixed from the initial reading, it could set some very low in order to attract out attention, since both probabilities are possible I don't think it would have bothered" Islund spat out at them quickly, he didn't enjoy anyone doubting his creation.

"I see" both mark and William said, there was more to Isis than initially seen or understood.

"Isn't all of this illegal, the tracking and taking information?" Mark said.

"Hah, Isis itself is a travesty to human right and legality, the entire restoration program is" Islund laughed, "you shouldn't be worried about whats legal or not, just worry about why the universes most powerful piece of machinery is having an error"

"O... Okay" Mark was still a bit old fashioned, being older than both Islund and William, he still remembered the pre-space age earth days.

"In any case, whatever link there is between XZK02YNX7 and XZK02YNX4, every time Isis investigates the link, it comes up with a higher possibility of accuracy. Whoever this Vyrie is, I'm positive that we could locate XZK02YNX7 through her" Islund explained to them, tapping a few more buttons that switched off Isis, removing the starry night sky above them and returning to the florescent lights.

"Why do we want to find it anyway? Can't we just let it hide, it's not like it's bothering us or anything" Mark asked

"Captain, considering we are on the final steps of the Earth Restoration, where all our dreams are about to be complete, I don't think we can let a weapon as powerful as Isis be overpowered by anything. We need Isis if we are to make the Earth Restoration not just be a giant waste of money on an ancient planet. We can't let anything get in our way" Islund said.

"His right, none of the members would be too happy if they found out that not only the 10 years worth of funds they spent are being challenged by one creature, but that the weapon that we all risked our lives and fortunes to obtain is being rendered obsolete" William continued.

"I see... so what course of action should we take?" Mark inquired, taking on a more official tone.

"I want that Vyrie girl under surveillance, I don't care what rights or people you have to step on, just get it done" Islund said

"No, wait, I have a better idea" William said.

"Oh, I'm intrigued" Islund said in disbelief.

"I think I'll go pay an old friend a visit, much simpler, no?" William chuckled to himself.

"Ah I see, not bad little earl"

Islund and William had a few laughs with each other before they passed through the decontamination chambers once again and stepped out of the office building. Mark felt uneasy at what was going on, even as captain of military resources during the operation, he wasn't told much, he tried to stick to his job but with Islund and now William made it hard for him to keep composure.

"It's a shame you quit that job working in the A.I, it would be nice to still have a man on the inside" Islund remarked, "you should get into some decent clothes instead of those soldiers rags."

"All in due time Islund, first I need to visit my old friend"

"What do you intend to do when you visit this old friend" Mark asked innocently

"Well... I do actually enjoy the Vyrie flesh" William exclaimed, a hint of evil reaching out through his otherwise passive voice

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Continued below

Mystery · 07-20-2007, 07:30 AM

"Isn't she... well..."

"Dayn's fiancee? What's your point? I'm pretty sure I could get little miss blue to change the way her heart is, that way I can kill two birds with one stone, and who is Dayn to stand in the way of true love" William laughed as he mocked his friend

"Ah, I love this feeling" Islund yawned out to the two

"What feeling" Mark asked, feeling at the greatest unease since he had arrived in Islunds company.

"Power, just like William, we can do what we want, and who's going to stop us? I do beg, when you are through with the little Vyrie, bring her in so I can have some fun with her too, I've always wanted to conduct a few... ahem... "experiments" on Vyrie"

William and Islund laughed with each other, Mark had never seen Islund be so sinister, and he had never seen a man like William ever show such intentions, breaking up a friends marriage just because to keep track of someone, faking love, and using that person as much as possible. It was sudden, all too sudden that they went from perfectly normal to being sadistic, but mark couldn't help but love it. Even he, still embracing now ancient beliefs couldn't help but love the feeling of power.

William departed through the gate, and Islund said goodbye as he started walking to his home on the premises, and Mark was left all alone.

"That Islunds right, this does really feel great"
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That's all for now

Mystery · 07-21-2007, 10:51 AM

And another bump

dbay2006 · 07-23-2007, 07:35 AM

Science Fiction is not necessarily my niche, but i enjoyed reading the first couple of chapters. Not necessarily any grammatical errors either. I liked it. And thank you for the advice, it helped.