Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Destiny's Call ❯ Entry the Sixteenth ( Chapter 16 )

*waves* your friendly neighborhood author here, to say hello. So, lots of stuff happening here. Watch out for some of the clues and foreshadowings, good stuff that. Sorry I went so long earlier, but I hope to continue my chapter spree for a bit. Anyways, so you know, I'm planning a few special chapters upcoming, so it could be just a short break before the new stuff hits. I think you'll like it. Cheers. *waves bye*

 

Entry the sixteenth

 

Weeks have passed, and the count has passed 3000. I've hit 4 more camps about the same size as the others, except the soldiers at number 3 didn't run. I'm not really sure where the people where taken from, and I don't know if they've made it to where I send them. I drove off the first time, right after I told them my name. the same happened at the other two camps. What I can say is it seems not everyone went in one direction.

 

Right now, I'm in a tavern, drinking rootbeer, and watching some guys satellite uplink that lets him get the news from New York. The news is mostly bad, but some good. Walker led the liberation of 2 camps to the east of Columbia, and 1 by St. Louis. He's been fighting his way through St. Louis itself, and the report is he's winning. And it is Walker the news speaks of, with his sword of red light, who leads the ones that follow to victory. No reports on the Paladins, but the Knights are more north of St. Louis, and also in the west, by Denver.

 

Word of me has spread even to this little town. Nobody here knows that I am the Legendary Corben Cypher, the Reaper, as somebody called me. I do not mention it. The tavern is located inside a sort of fortress town, near Omaha. The town has been heavily barricaded. The people here are trying to live like normal, despite the times, but apparently some kind of new Crime syndicate, the Ashmind, has sprung up from the ashes of the old ones, hence the name. They control half the men stationed in town, and the water. My rootbeer is one of the last of a small store of canned ones. It's an A and W and I only got it by trading a large jug of water to the Tavern owner. I can get water better than most, be it rain water, or just streams, because I'm on the move, and not stuck in a town, and I have purifying equipment packed into the case on the Leviathan.

 

“Hey, is this seat taken?” a voice sounds from next to me. He too is holding a can of cold rootbeer. He's a kid, about my age, with a top of blond hair, with browner underneath it. Blue eyes, bright round smiling face, thin and lankysih, and about as tall as I am, maybe a little less, maybe a little more. What what catches me most off guard is that his shirt is a picture of Roxas from Kingdom hearts, wielding both keyblades, and dressed in black robes.

 

“Um, no, but, that's…”

 

“Roxas, yeah.”

 

“I have not seen that in so long, it's incredible. Greatest game EVER.”

 

“Greatest Story ever.”

 

“That too.” I laughed, and he joined me. We spent 3 hours just discussing Kingdom Hearts, happiest moment I'd had in a long time, it was an amazing release of stress just to talk about something other than how the world was gonna end soon.

 

When it was about 8, I suddenly felt the urge to get moving. I stood up.

 

“What, leaving already?”

 

“I just, I can't stay.”

 

“then mind if I come with you? I'm heading for a town north of here. It's safer travelling together.”

 

“How'd you know I was travelling north?”

 

“Everybodies travelling north. The cold, any kind of it, is the only protection they think they have against these reptile monsters. Afterall, reptiles are cold blooded.”

 

“Not these…” I muttered under my breath, then smiled and said, “sure, come on.”

 

It wasn't until we were outside of town and heading to my Leviathan that he said, “I'm Dalton by the way.”

 

“Corben.”

 

“Interesting name.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

I removed the field around the leviathan and opened the case to stash the supplies I'd picked up in town, there wasn't much. As I dug through the case to find a spot for some canned soup, I suddenly found something I hadn't even known was in there. My MP3 player. There was a note attached. “Corben, I thought you could use some tunes, so I picked this up from your house, and I had Tarius add all the songs I could think you listened to, and he upgrade it to a 16gb. I stashed it just before you left. Signed Leon”

 

I smiled. “Alright Dalton, let's go.” I clipped it to my belt and listened through my visor's ear pieces. We head north.

 

I came across a camp as we traveled, and I was wary about doing something about it with Dalton around. But my mind was made for me. We were sitting next to the bike, heating up some of the soup I had picked up in the last town. “Almost ready.”

 

“you know, that is a really cool device. You don't even need a fire.”

 

“Nope, this bike has everything. Not that I wouldn't have minded a fire.”

 

“true.”

 

*Snap*

 

“Um, did you hear that?” I asked Dalton in a whisper as I glanced around. I began pulling out the Ground sonar, but also kept a hand near my belt.

 

“Probably just an animal.” He kept watch at the soup for a few more seconds, but suddenly stiffened. 3 seconds later, something charged into the clearing. I was already moving. Even though I was already moving, I was too late. Dalton beat me to the punch, or should I say blast. A thunderous clap and a flash of light, and 3 small raptor types were roasted and down for the count.

 

I looked at him. “Well, that explains why you don't carry a gun.”

 

He looked back at me. “And that explains that my suspicions were correct, you are the Corben Cypher.” He indicated with his gaze my blade, which I had drawn, and which blazed red. “All the stories said he had a sword which blazed red like fire.”

 

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

 

“Go save the camp with you.”

 

“You don't want to eat first?”

 

“That was a rather loud blast.”

 

“You couldn't have made it quieter?”

 

“Never could figure that trick out.”

 

“Then let's go.”

 

“Right.”

 

In all truth, I hope never see again what I saw that day, that bath of blood and fire and fear and horror and Death. None of the Antis escaped alive. We left without a word, leaving not even our names.

 

Two days later, I said goodbye to Dalton in a town some 100 miles west of Minneapolis.

 

1 day later, and I'm heading towards Minneapolis. I take a break from riding and pull out the ground sonar, to see what's around. A camp. With a signature that big, it has to be, in the direction of the extra huge hill/mountain 2 miles or so to my west. Only, wait, Minneapolis doesn't have mountains does it?

 

This time what I find is not a camp, but a turtle. A god damn super huge giant 6 legged turtle that is transporting an entire army towards Minneapolis. Now that? That is just shitty shit shit shit shit. How the hell do I stop something bigger than a freakin stadium? Answer? Attack.

 

The only time I've ever run since I left, I killed, maybe 50, which brought the but it was just too much. I retreat. And get some sleep. The turtle hasn't moved all that time. I head back that way, and into a trap. A net scoops up me and the leviathan as I drive, I don't know how I missed it. For a moment, I think I'm dead. Then, I see the face of somebody very familiar appear. All I can say is, “um, well, didn't expect to see you here Sprite.”

 

Sprite, or Josh Snowe, is a good friend of me and my family, and so is the rest of his family, and prodigy's family, and we used to get together for cards. Sprite is the third child, and his name is a play on several things, video game sprites, that he drinks Sprite, and that he is anything but short. He was 15.

 

“I suppose not, huh Corben?”

 

“um, care to get me down from here before whatever set the trap arrives?”

 

“well, considering I set it, that would be a waste.” He smiled, laughed, and then pulled a rope, and while I stayed in the air atop of field, the net fell away.

 

“Sorry to ruin your trap.” I slowly dropped myself down a few inches at a time, not altogether happy.

 

“ruin? It worked perfectly.”

 

“It did, but…”

 

“You still haven't figured out you were the target?”

 

“Wait, that was set for me?”

 

“Of course, we couldn't think of how else to catch you. I've set them all over the place. Course, I never thought the one I just set would catch you.”

 

“ok, why are you setting traps for me?” I asked him, now on my guard, hand slowly drifting to the hilt of my blade.

 

“hey now, I'm not working for the Antis, I'm on your side, my side, our side.” He grinned and laughed, and I loosened up a little. Suddenly, he stopped, and said, “now let's get moving, there are some people I know you want to meet, even if you don't.”

 

-----

 

I'm falling. I'm falling and I can't see to where. All around me is the darkness, there are no stars? Has the world ended? Is it all over? And why? Why do I feel so trapped, so caught, so stuck? I feel as though I am not moving, and yet, I know I am falling as from the sky, though no clouds are passing by.

 

-----

 

The first thing I saw as we entered the clearing was a white blur. It turned out to be Loophole, who tackled me, as much as a fox can, which ended with him sitting round my neck like an expensive fur scarf. It itched but I couldn't budge him.

 

The next person I saw was Franky. I tried a smile, but she frowned and stepped aside. There she was, the one person I least wanted to face, because at a certain depth of my heart, I was ashamed. My face reddened, and I tried to avert my eyes, but I was incapable of looking away from the wells of infinity that drew me in, their dazzling beauty that no worldly treasure could yet compare to.

 

“Um, uh, hi?”