Day 19
Chapter 1: Beginnings
Walking to each window in turn, Left, Clear. Right?, Clear. Ground?, Just as it should be. Motion Defenses off? check. Unlocking the 7 dead-bolts and opened the door into the small room that served as the airlock. Turning around he closed the reinforced door to his home. turning toward the shelves that served as Weapon racks for his outside excursions, he grabbed his Katana and strapped it to his Waist. He also grabbed his pistol and slipped it into the holster on his hip. He grabbed his bow & quiver full of arrows. He had a habit of naming all of his weapons, His sword he named Savior, since it had saved his life many,many times. His Bow, he had named Wrath, simply because it sounded cool. His pistol he named Quicksilver, again because he thought it sounded cool. He turned to the second locked door that separated him from the outside world. He unlocked the seven locks on the door and stepped out into the world.There was a scream coming toward him from above, from this scream he learned the meaning of the phrase "Blood-Curdling" he reactively turned toward the scream and saw it, exactly what he was looking for a moment ago. Instinctively he reached for his sword but he was too slow. The beast landed on top of him, kicking his feet up he launched the beast off of him, it growled as it landed on the ground and rolled onto its feet. He had trained to fight these beasts for years, he whipped his sword from its sheath and readied it in front of him.The beast lunged at him, its maw gaping wide he stepped to the side and cut the beast in half as it turned to ashes under his sword. He needed to find food, he was running out. He looked around at the barren landscape that was the outside of his house. The most alive thing in the entire landscape was a tumbleweed in the distance. "Tumbleweed? how cliche." he said shaking his head. Then he heard something. Footsteps? no. faster, it was someone running, they were light and quick, probably a girl, and then those beasts behind her, panting. He pulled out his bow and knocked an arrow, pulling back on the string he aimed down the sight at the beasts. There were two of them, running close together. He released the string and the arrow cut through the air and pierced through both beasts and landed in the dirt. the girl ran up and jumped onto him. Not being prepared for that he fell over, her hands gripping his Shirt,
"Oh, thank you ,thank you, thank you sir!" she said. He looked up, and thats when he saw it, 5 more of the beasts, running toward them. "There’s More!" he shouted as he sat up,
"Oh, no" she said as she let him go and stood up, it was now he saw it, There was a cut in the girls leg, roughly a foot long but quite shallow, no wonder there were so many of them, they were drawn to blood. He jumped up, Drawing his bow once more, Knocking 5 arrows at once, he held the bow horizontally. He loosed the arrows when he estimated he could hit at least 2 of them, the arrows whistled through the air, and pierced one. He pulled his sword out again and switched it to his left hand, he whipped his pistol out of its sheath and pulled the trigger. It exploded with sound and sparks and one of the beasts turned to ash, he aimed at another one but it was already upon him. he threw his pistol aside and slashed one of the beasts legs off,there was a sharp pain in his left leg and a scream. When he looked one of the beasts had bitten his leg and another was charging at the girl. he clicked the switch on his sword and it split cleanly in half into two swords, he impaled the beast at his leg and threw both swords at once, one aimed at the beast with the missing leg, now charging at him, hungry for the blood gushing from his injured leg, one aimed at the one still charging at the girl, he heard the final screams of the beasts as the swords flew through them, turning them to ash. He struggled to stand back up, but he forced through the pain. He ran to the girl and grabbed her hand, he pulled her back to the house and pushed the door open. He pulled her inside and closed the door. He locked each of the locks in order then activated the outside defenses. He went to the next door and led her in. Then turned and tossed his weapons into the room, thats when he realized, he had left his sword outside.
"Wait Here" he told her then closed the door to the inside of his house. He locked the door from this side to make sure she would be safe, at least for now. He had to retrieve his sword, He owed it at least to risk his life to get it back, for all the times it had saved his life.He unlocked the door and grabbed his bow. He stepped out to the sight of more beasts running toward him, he darted toward his first blade, he grabbed it, and turned around, and ran as fast as he could with his injured leg to his other sword and scooped it up and returned both blades to their sheath, then he ran back toward the house and scooped up quicksilver on the way, the beasts closer and closer the entire time. he got to the house just in time and threw the door shut and hit all the locks faster then he thought he could.He tossed his weapons to the floor and unlocked the door to the rest of the house, Gripping his leg he walked through the door and locked it behind him. He looked around the room, the young girl was nowhere present. He looked down the main hallway, the bathroom door was closed, she was probably in the bathroom, regaining her composure after the dramatic events outside. He knocked on the bathroom door
"Hey, you okay in there?"
"um, uh Yeah, I’ll be okay in a moment" she said and he heard the door unlock. He didn’t want to be accused of peeping so he took a few steps back. When she stepped out into the light, he saw her in her full beauty. She had short, dirty-blonde hair, a thin form and a soft face. She wore a grey old torn sweater and a pair of grey, baggy pants with lots of holes in the legs that revealed her newly bandaged leg.
"Oh no, Your hurt!" she said, staring at his leg.
"Its Nothing" he said, Kicking his leg against the floor and trying to ignore the jolt of pain that shot through his leg but couldn’t help a wince "I’ve been through much worse" he said smiling.
"Don’t say that!" she said, sounding worried. "come with me, ill bandage you up." she said as she grabbed his hand and led him into the kitchen. He didn't know it but he was blushing. She sat him down at the small table in the kitchen.
"Oh yeah, i meant to ask you, Whats your Name sir?" she said as she walked around the kitchen, gathering up things from different cabinets.
"My names David, and don’t call me sir, im only fifteen" he replied.
"Oh, wow. You look so much older then that, im sixteen, and my names Sarah." she said, with a happy smile in his direction. She walked over to him carrying armfuls of supplies, Gauze, Bandages, a bucket, he wondered for a moment what she would need a bucket for, but figured he would find out soon enough.As she dabbed the wounds with gauze he tried not to show any pain, but he was sure she could tell it hurt him. Once Sarah was done bandaging the wounds, David thanked her and offered for her to stay here with him. She gratefully accepted and quickly picked out a room in the large Victorian-style house. David didn't really use many of the rooms, mostly the bedroom, Kitchen, and dining room, so all the other rooms in the house were covered with a think layer of dust.
"So, do you still have power?" she asked him,
"Yeah, i got a couple generators in the basement" he replied,
"How about running water?" she asked, with a tinge of concern in her voice.
"Yep, I dug the well myself in fact." he replied once more.
"Good, because i could use a shower soon." she said, sounding very relieved.
"Ill make a run into town, find you some good clean clothes, I need more food anyway" He said.
"Alright, but be careful okay?" she said with a sad face.
"I'll be fine, I should be back by nightfall" he said as he tromped down the stairs. He went through the first door, into the Airlock he had build from the old porch, and locked the door from this side. He grabbed Savior, Quicksilver, Wrath, and his AK-47 Assault Rifle he lifted from a gun shop after the event. He named this weapon Bane, he also grabbed Thumper, a Military-grade grenade launcher that was left behind when the soldiers retreated. He grabbed the keys for the garage off of the wall, and unlocked the outside door. He stepped out into the barren wasteland he was so accustomed too. He walked over to the small garage next to his house, and unlocked the side door. The lights came on as he walked in, revealing his reinforced Silverado Pick-up truck. He walked over to the truck and opened the door, he tossed all of his weapons except quicksilver onto the passenger seat and climbed in. He Started the Engine and clicked the garage door opener. He stepped on the gas pedal and the silverado took off out of the garage and into the blazing sun.
Chapter 2: Day 1
Town was ten miles away, He didn't have a drivers license, but any cops were long gone. When he reached town he looked around at the devastation, it had only been 2 years since the event, and he could remember what this place was like before. Rolling forests, farmers in their fields. It was a nice, small country town. Then it happened, The Event, or "Day 1" as the military called it in their public service announcements. He could see it in his mind as clear as day, the ground breaking open, those beasts, or "Death-runners" as the military named them, coming up from the cracks. but if it was just the Death-Runners the military would have had no problem dealing with them. But much worse happened, Following the Death-runners were what the military called "Minions" they were short, hunched, things resembling Gargoyles, without the wings. Then came the worst, huge flying creatures called "Nightrifters" because they came through the rifts only during the night, and they has the power to create more rifts. he had heard of other types of creatures, but he had never seen any others. For him, it was Day 19, since the military retreated from this town on the first. When he reached town he drove up to the old supermarket, Luckily the electricity had not stopped here, so most of the food was still good. Now that Sarah was with him, food would go allot faster, but they could manage, one way or another. He walked through the deserted aisles, Staring at the nineteen day old items on the shelves, Spaghetti noodles, Chips, something in a jar he could no longer distinguish. As he walked into the cereal aisle, he looked around, the food stocked here was already half gone, They would have to find a new home soon, Because the food would be gone in about a year. He walked over to his favorite cereal and grabbed a large bag. "I wonder what kind of cereal Sarah wants?" He walked over to where the Lucky Charms cereal was on the shelf and grabbed a box of it, he had a good feeling that she would like them. He walked out of the Supermarket with a box of Lucky Charms under one arm and a box of Cocoa Puffs under the other. Walking over to the truck he opened the door he tossed the cereal inside and hopped in.
Chapter 3: Taken
David Clicked the Garage Door Opener and pulled the Silverado into the Garage.Slinging his weapons over his should and grabbing the cereals he hopped out of the Silverado and walked over to the front of the House. Running the routine for each lock and door and leaving his weapons in the room behind, he stepped into his house. He smelled something on the air, Flour?, yeah, that was it, but why was he smelling flour? He walked into the kitchen, to see Sarah wearing an Apron, Stirring ingredients into a large mixing bowl with a small smear of flour on her cheek that looked quite cute. He could tell what she was doing by the ingredients she was using, Flour, Sugar, Eggs, Milk, Peanut Butter, and other miscellaneous things. She was making cookies from scratch. He walked over to the cereal cupboard and place the fresh cereal in the back behind the older boxes. When he looked over he noticed she wasn't wearing the same gray outfit as before, now she was wearing a Yellow sun dress with yellow low-top shoes he recognised from his sisters old closet upstairs. She also had a Cherry Blossom hair clip that was very cute.
"I Grabbed you some Lucky Charms, I had a feeling you would like them." he said.
"I Love Lucky Charms, Their my Favorite!" She replied.
"That's Good, I'll, uh.. get out of your way now." he finished.
David walked upstairs to his room, sitting down on the couch in the middle of the room, He reached over to the bookcase on the nearby wall and picked up his favorite novel, "Ghosts of Ascalon" from the makers of his favorite computer game "Guild Wars". Even though he had already read the book, he wanted to read it again for the moments with the main character and his Love Interest.
David got though 6 chapters by the time Sarah called for him, He was a quick reader, and even faster with a book he already knew. He walked down the stairs to the first-floor kitchen. As he walked into the kitchen he saw she had set 2 plates out for them and placed glasses on milk next to each plate and an even distribution of the cookies on each plate. Putting her head down and looking up at him in a cute way, blushing she said "I... um.. Made you some Cookies."
"Now, you didn't have to do that for me." he replied
"I Know, But i wanted to, and their Peanut butter Cookies." she said, noticing him inspecting the cookies.
"My Favorite!" He said, probably a little too loudly he thought.
"Oh yeah-" she said, biting into a cookie "Where are the clothes?"
Slapping him self on the forehead he said "I Totally forgot, but i probably wouldn't have gotten the right size anyway."
"Oh, its okay, i found a girls room upstairs and found some leftover clothes. So its not a problem."
"Alright, and that was my sisters room, she moved out a while ago though."
Taking a lady-like sip of milk she said "I was going to ask you, what hap-" she was cut off by a huge explosion. Dust rushing in from outside shortened their breaths and impaired their vision. There was a scream, and then a blunt pain in the back of his head. The last thing he saw were men walking out of the house, carrying something over their shoulder. Then it all went black.
Chapter 4: The Crimson Vultures
Darkness? No, it was the insides of his eyelids, wait, eyelids?, Then he jolted awake. "Ugghh, What happened" he said rubbing his face, "What the heck?" he said, now noticing a sticky liquid on his cheek, He rubbed it and looked at his hand, Bright red, He rubbed the back of his head. The same sticky substance was coagulating on the back of his head, that settles it, it was Blood. He looked around, trying to grasp the situation but finding it hard as the loss of blood and head trauma had dazed him. But if the blood was coagulating, that meant he had stopped bleeding. But then he realized, Sarah wasn't here. "They must have taken her!" he shouts and slammed his fist on the table, sending shock waves of pain through his skull. He stumbled over to the cabinet he saw Sarah put the medical supplies in and opened the door. Grabbing the gauze and medical tape he placed the gauze on the back of his head and wrapped it up with the tape, which he thought gave him a cool, Battle-scarred look. He looked around the house some more, then he found exactly what he had been looking for, spray-painted in bright crimson of the floor of the foyer, was the mark of the Crimson Vultures gang. He knew who did this, he wasn't sure why, but he knew who, and where they were. He also knew he had to do this smart, and be prepared. He walked upstairs to his room and changed out of the blood-stained clothes he was wearing and into some fresh, clean clothes. In addition he also put on his finger-less gloves, wrist-guards, Combat boots, and duster coat. He walked into the antechamber, both door were blown off the hinges. Most of his weapons had been stolen in the attack, everything except Quicksilver, Even Savior. He swiped up quicksilver and dropped it into the holster on his leg then walked out the front door. He walked toward the garage, knowing full well what he was about to do. He had to assault the Crimson Vultures stronghold, recover if nothing else his sword, and especially save Sarah. And all he had was a Pistol, and one truck. Then he hopped into the truck, and drove off in the direction of the Crimson Vultures stronghold at full speed. He could see the Stronghold within minutes, although he considered whether it could be called a stronghold, it was more of a Shanty castle, Made entirely of scrap metal and rubble. He drove up to the front gate and parked the truck. he walked over to the gate and the guard raised his weapon. "What's your business here, outsider!" the Bald, scruffy-looking guard said in a hoarse voice. "I am here to retrieve something you stole." he said with a piercing stare at the man. The man lost his gruff immediately at the aggressive face of the young man standing before him. "P-Please c-come in t-then" he said in a high-pitched voice and stuttering as he opened the gate. The halls were empty at this time of day, as it was sundown already the entire gang was most likely in the mess hall eating dinner. That gave him the perfect opportunity to sneak around undetected. He looked around, the inside was nothing like the outside. Polished wood planks covered the floors and high chandelier illuminated the hall. Directly in front of him was a large spiral staircase, probably used to facilitate going up and down the various floors. He calmly walked over to the staircase, appearing innocent if being watched by anyone hiding. He descended the stairs quickly and found himself in a tunnel, long and stoned in, it reminded him of dungeons from video games. There were two doors on each side of the stone hallway, he walked over to the first and listened, Running water, most likely their water supply or bath room. He walked over to the next, Sizzling sounds and shouting, Must be the kitchen. He walked to the second door on the right and listened carefully, he heard a mans voice clearly. "You prisoner scum! how dare you not join our noble cause to unite the world once more." then he heard a smack, and a scream. David burst through the door, rushing forward at the man before he had a chance to draw his pistol and punched him square in the nose. The man fell back, apparently knocked out. He looked over to the young girl he noticed lying on the floor, no older then 8 or 9 by the looks of her, that meant Sarah wasn't the only one imprisoned here!, he rushed over and helped her up. He looked around the room he just entered, no other doors. "over there" the young girl said with a sniffle and pointed across the hall to the other door. He grabbed his sword which was laying against the desk in this room and led the girl by her hand into the room across the hall, There were six Jail cells in this room, 3 on each wall. then the young girl spoke up "Everyone! this man has come to save us!" Faces appeared at the cell doors,all but one, they all pleaded for help. He had no time to waste, he un-sheathed savior and clicked the button to split it in two, then trailing each blade behind him he ran to the end of the hallway, slicing the locks on each of the cell doors. The people ran out of their cells to greet their savior, all but the one cell, David leaned in closer and looked inside. Far in the corner, he saw a Girl, with Dirty, blonde hair, and wearing a yellow sun dress. "Sarah!!" he shouted, she turned around, tears in her eyes, then leapt at him and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his shirt. When she finally stopped he said "come on, lets get out of here." She looked up from his shirt and nodded, then stood up. David looked around at the people he had released, There was a a young man, he looked roughly David’s age, A young boy with blonde, spiky hair. A tall, thin young woman with long, golden-brown hair. and a little girl, no older then six, with long blonde hair and a dirt smudged face. "Come with me everyone, we're leaving this place"
Chapter 5: A Full House
The group of people ran up the stairs just as fast as they could, David carried the little girls on his back so they wouldn’t slow them down. When they reached the top of the stairs everyone froze, as if turned to stone. Standing in front of the gate, was the old gate guardsman, and a large group of crimson vultures. They were unarmed in the way of guns, but they had baseball bats, led pipes, and other pieces of junk. At the front of the group was a large, muscled man. David knew this man, he was the leader of the crimson vultures. "Move aside and none of you will be harmed" David shouted across the main hall at the group of men and placed his hand on his sword. A few of the vultures backed up, but when they had the numbers to their favor they regained their resolve. The vultures began to charge past their leader, who stood tall and silent. David whipped savior from its sheath then remembered the young girls behind him he had set down with the rest and dropped it back into his sheath, not wanting to scare them. The first vulture reached him and David easily side-stepped his amateur attack and kicked him in the gut, and he fell to the floor. Three more jumped him from behind and he reacted by stepping between their attacks and punching them each out. There was a tiny cheer from the little girls behind him. The vultures now balked in attacking him, as he had easily taken down four of their number so quickly, then they all charged at once. David began moving through their attack like water, striking them when their guard dropped with swift punches and kicks. Even dispatching them as swiftly as he was, there were still many more left, if he didn't hurry they might get the idea to attack the innocent bystanders. He took down ten, twelve,fifteen, by now he was starting to tire out. "Stand Back, men." he heard a deep, gruff voice say, and all the vultures heeded its words and stepped aside to reveal their leader, poised to attack. Then the big man charged at him, drawing a huge hammer that looked truly sinister. The big man swung over head at David, He jumped to the left, but the man simply adjusted his hands and the momentum shifted directly at David, with no time to move, it hit him in his left shoulder and threw him into the wall. He hit the wall with so much force that he could barely breath, and he slumped against the wall, bleeding from his shoulder. He hear a whimper from the crowd, then crying, and knew those little girls thought he was dead. The large man walked over to David and looked down on him "is that all, little mouse?" the big man guffaw-ed at him. "No-...not by a long shot!!" he yelled at the man, and immediately the man's eyes widened, obviously not excepting him to be alive. David jumped up sending a flying kick at the mans face, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. The large man caught him by the leg and tossed him into the air, he landed flat on his back with excruciating pain, He screamed louder then he thought he could. David sat up again, enduring the pain, for the sake of all those people he rescued, then regained his feet. He ran up and launched a spinning his move at the man, once again the man grabbed his leg, but David was prepared, he spun his other leg around and hit the man square in the side of his face with his boot. He fell to the floor as the mans grip released, landing on the floor in a squat, he stood back up. The big man was already on his feet again and charging him, blood trailing from the wound on his face. The man swung overhead at him again and David launched a jump-kick into the mans face before he could bring his hammer down. This time the man did not stand back up. David’s heavy boots put quite allot more power into his kicks then usual. "If nobody wants to get hurt, you will allow us to leave." All of the vultures stepped out of the way and David led the group of people out, the little girls turned to stick their tongues out at the remaining vultures as they all walked away. "Who’s Driving?" David spoke up once they stood at his silverado. "I certainly cant with a broken arm."
"He has a point, ill drive back" Sarah said
"Just follow the compass on the dash, it points back home"
"Alright, everyone else, hop in the back and hold on tight." she waited until everyone was seating securely in the back seat, with David in the passenger seat she put the truck in drive, and followed the compass home.
When they returned home the young man, named Christopher, turned out to be 4 years older then David was. Helped return the doors securely to their place while David directed him, only after Sarah put his arm in a sling. While the doors were being repairs, everyone else was helping make dinner in the kitchen. The two little girls, who turned out to be very dirty twins, were named Aria and Keira, helped by fetching ingredients and utensils for Sarah, while the tall girl, Amy, kept an eye on the younger boy, Edward. It was a full house, so everyone had to help whatever way they could.
Chapter 6: A Good Life to Live
The next day David woke slowly, not wanting to get out of bed. Aria and Keira slept next to his bed, they were worried about his injuries from the fight. They had adopted the room next to his as theirs, it was empty, so they were going to need a run into town for furniture, but one pickup truck wouldn’t enough to carry enough for everyone, there must be a shipping truck somewhere. He sat up, his shoulder flaring a bit when his back muscles contracted to lift him off the bed. Aria stirred a little in her sleep, but remained asleep. David heard a light thud, he looked over to the door and Sarah was standing there. “Thank God your awake!!” she shouted and she ran over and jumped on top of him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her lips against his. It was a magical feeling,Like being in Heaven on Earth. He never wanted this moment to end. He felt her lips come apart from his, he tried to talk but he just mumbled his sentence. Sarah gasped and put her head down and looked away, he thought she must have felt embarrassed after what just happened. “Oh, good your awake.” Christopher said as he walked into the doorway. David shook himself, “Yeah, by the way, dinner was great last night.”
“You don’t realize it do you?, You’ve been asleep for three days.” Christopher interjected.
“What? how could I have been out for so long??” he said, flabbergasted.
“It must have been your injuries, you got beat up quite a bit you know.” Christopher said as he pointed to David’s arm that was still in the sling.
“Oh, Thanks” David said sarcastically. “Yay!, He’s awake!” he heard the twins harmoniously say as they hopped up on the bed and both hugged him. Realizing nobody else had seen her, Sarah said “I better get breakfast started,” and left the room. “I’m Fine, I’m fine, Really!” he said, Laughing as the twin girls didn’t want to let him go. “Really ,Father?” Aria said, this struck him off guard but he showed no signs of it “Yes, really.” he said laughing as they finally let him go.
“Now, why don’t you two go get dressed for breakfast and I’ll do the same.” he said, rubbing Aria’s hair, he would have done the same with Kiera, but he only had the use of one arm. “Alright Father, but let us know if you need any help with your arm.” Aria said. “You’ll be the first to know,” he said, this seemed to cheer her up, as she left the room skipping with Kiera right behind her. He shooed Christopher out of the room and closed the door and locked it, a habit he taught himself whenever he was changing or using the restroom, Simply precautionary though. He walked over to his closet and grabbed his best-fitting pair of jeans, and a random t-shirt from the rack. Quickly changing into his clothes he unlocked and opened the door.
He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, Sarah was making pancakes by the look of it, simply imagining homemade pancakes from such a wonderful chef seemed so surreal. Aria and Kiera wore similar dresses, Aria’s a bright Yellow, while Kiera’s a Deep Lavender. They were helping Sarah in the kitchen as usual. David just smiled at them and walked on into the library as Breakfast wasn’t ready yet. He looked through Row after Row of books, Most of which he acquired from the bookstore in town after Day 1. But some he had inherited from his parents, Such as the Xanth novels, Written by Peirs Anthony, which he never finished as he got tired of it changing the main character so often and stopped reading on the sixth book, Entitled “Night-mare”. He loved mystery Novels, but the only bad part was that once he read them once he knew the story, so it wasn’t much fun to read again. His love for mystery never faded however, so he always looked for more books he hadn’t already read. “Breakfast Is Ready!” Aria Ran through the house calling to everyone, She stopped at the library doorway when she saw David and said “Come on, Father. It’s time for breakfast!” then returned to calling everyone else downstairs. David walked through the Foyer, smelling the Pancakes the entire distance, when he entered the dining room he saw Pancakes, Eggs, Bacon, Hash-browns, and Biscuits laid out across the table. It was a veritable Feast. David took his seat at the end of the table, Directly across from Sarah. Aria was in the seat to his right, and Kiera in the seat on his left.David immediately reached for a biscuit and pulled it back and sat it on his plate, followed by two pancakes with butter and a small amount of syrup, one hash brown, some scrambled eggs, and a piece of crunchy bacon on the side. When he bit into the pancake he nearly cried, it was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. He quickly ate the rest of his breakfast as well, not wanting any of it to get cold before he had the chance of eating it. David was the first one done, Followed by Sarah, then Aria and Kiera, Amy, Christopher, then Edward.David, Christopher, and Edward went upstairs to the Dojo, it was just an empty room for a long time but David turned it into a training room since it had direct bathroom and closet access. David spent most of the day teaching them how to fight in hand-to-hand combat, but instead of teaching them his style, which relies on his speed and long legs, he taught them their own style of fighting. He didn’t get very far since it was their first day, but they learned enough to distract him. Once they almost overwhelmed him by attacking from both sides, but David countered with a kick in one direction while facing the other and quickly overwhelming them both with fast strikes from his good arm. They practiced straight through lunch without noticing and only began to notice when it became dark. After another lavish meal made by Sarah and the twins they went to bed. Laying in bed, David thought to himself, “This is a Good Life to Live.”
Chapter 7: Winds of Change
There was a loud crash and a blood-curdling scream and David shot awake, quickly looking around the room, he saw what caused the crash and the screams. There was a huge arm reaching through his windows and Aria was curled up in the corner crying. David grabbed Savior and whipped it from its sheath. He jumped forward and sliced the arm clean through, severing it. There was a ground-shaking howl from outside, David ran to the window as the arm turned into black smoke and dissipated into the air. Looking out the window he saw what had howled just a moment ago. An enormous shadow, twice the size of the house stood staring back at David. He watched as the shadow regenerated its arm, David jumped but didn’t get far as the shadows other hand hit him in midair and grabbed ahold of him. David struggles to move but it was ineffective against the Shadows giant hand. It lifted its arm and threw David into the air. His entire life flashed before his eyes as he plummeted, his heart raced and felt like it would burst from his chest. He had failed to protect those important to him. He just wasn’t strong enough. He closed his eyes and cried, Then there was a jerk on his stomach that knocked the breath out of him. He regained his breath and opened his eyes, The was flying, no, he was being carried. he looked down, there was a glowing arm around his stomach, but this was a normal human arm, aside from the glowing. He felt the impact when he hit the ground. It hurt, but at least he was still alive.
He jumped up and regained his feet, he looked around for what had saved him, but nothing was there except the shadow. There was suddenly a bright light coming from his chest, it was glowing so bright he had to shield his eyes. When the glowing stopped he felt something weighing on his hip, he looked down and there was a belt with a small pouch attached. Upon opening the pouch he found it was full of cards, he pulled the first card out. The card read “Shaoran, Angel of Courage” and depicted a guy with angel wings and a sword shooting lightning from his hand. he wished he had this guys help, he could make quick work of that shadow. Then the card began to shine, just as bright as when the belt appeared, He turned the card toward the shadow and the lightning-shooting guy from the card appeared from the card and shot a bolt of lightning at the shadow and then disappeared back into the card. The shadow now turned its sights upon David, Quickly pulling the next card, this card depicting some kind of armored giant he held up the card but nothing happened. The shadow continued to close in, but there was still no result from the cards. There was a blinding light in the distance and then a bright light darted across his field of vision, shooting smaller bolts of light at the shadow. With its attention elsewhere, David pulled more cards from the deck, hoping something could help him defeat this thing. He held up the card that read “David, High King of Angels” and the card responded and produced a Winged warrior in white armor & hood with Angel wings. He flapped his wings and took off then dived low and slashed at the core of the beast, then returned to land next to David. Now he held up the card that depicted a great sword and it burst forth from the card and into the Angel King’s hands. There was a voice in the distance “Use this card!!” it yelled at him and then a card flew at him from that direction. The card read “Ray of Hope” David held up the card and the Armored Giant appeared from it and Pummeled the Shadow with its huge fist, reducing it to smoke that dissipated like the arm before it. Once the shadow dissipated the Giant and the Angel King turned to spheres of light and returned to their cards.
“That was some display for a kid, kid” The voice said as a man walked into view. “I’m no kid, Stranger.” David said back at the man. “I am called Michael, and you?”
“My name is David, Who are you?”
“I am nobody important, but you, and your friends are very important. As well are your Chaos Cards.”
“Chaos Cards? So thats what these are called then?”
“yes, they are very powerful magic tied to your soul. But even magic has it’s limits. We shall speak more later, we should make sure your family is safe.”
David nodded and Sprinted back to the house. He burst through the front door “Hello!? Is everyone alright?” The basement door opened and Sarah came out, followed by Kiera and Aria, who was still crying lightly. “Why are you still crying? We’re all safe now.” he said with a gentle smile. “Cause...cause, you got hurt again” she said, sobbing and pointing at where the demon had slammed him in the shoulder, He was bleeding from his shoulder, Not much, but enough to cause a panic. “I’m fine, I’m just glad you’re not hurt.” He said wiping her tears away gently. Christopher, Amy and Edward came down from the upstairs. “Good, now that we know everyone is safe, I can tell you all what those cards are.” Michael said, stepping inside. David now noticed that everyone had their own Chaos Cards.
“The cards you all have now come to possess are linked to your soul, They reflect your essence, your entire being. Not everyone has the ability to summon these cards. They are very powerful magic that is able to summon Warrior, Beast, and Demon alike from their ethereal prison inside the card. Not all are directly powerful, it is up to your intelligence to put these cards to use and keep yourselves alive. The cards origins come from a war as old as time itself, Ever since the creation of the world two factions who call themselves Angels and the other who call themselves Demons have vied for control of this middle ground between their own worlds. When the most powerful warriors from each side Clashed in battle, the resulting force turned them to stone, and almost all of their subordinates to Cards which were sealed into human souls. Some however, Escaped sealing and run wild. These are ‘Wild Cards’ Without a master they run rampant and destroy everything in their path. What caused that shadow card to lie dormant and only awaken now, I don’t know. But i do, however, know why you posses these cards. You are meant to bring peace to this eternal war and capture the wild cards.”
“Why should we believe you?” David said. “Because, I just saved your life, and they won’t stop coming after you until you are dead.”
“Why do they want us? we never attacked them” David Interjected.
“Because your souls hold the key to unleashing their leader, Oni-Kabo. And if that happens, then the world is truly lost.”
“Isn’t there anything we can do to stop them?”
“If you can collect enough Cards, then you can Free David, High king of the Angels.”
“Oh, you mean this guy?” Said David as he pulled The angel kings card from the deck and holding it up for Michael to see.
“That is but a fragment of his being that was sealed inside that card. If we wish to revive his true form, then we must collect the cards and use the Revival from Stone magic. But for that we need many, many more cards.”
“But why us? What makes us so special?” David said,
“Like I said before, It is tied to your Heart and Soul. The cards chose you for your heart, You are very special for the card of the Angel king to accept you as its commander. The Winds of Change are blowing, and this is just the beginning.”
Chapter 8: The Hot Spring
David stumbled a little the next morning, he couldn't sleep a wink after what happened last night. Aria and Kiera slept on his bed with him, they were still scared after the night's events. They were still sound asleep on his bed while he walked downstairs in his pajama pants. He stumbled into the kitchen, grabbing a bowl from the overhead cabinet and filling it with the usual cereal, nobody else was awake yet. He sat down at the table with his bowl of cereal and began to eat away, he immediately began to feel more awake and alert. He finished his bowl of cereal and stood up straight, stretching his arms above his head and touching the ceiling. He picked up his bowl and walked over to the sink and rinsed it out. He sat down on the floor by the sink and leaned against the counter and leaned his head back, thinking about life, the universe, and everything.
“What ARE you doing?” Came a voice from the Foyer door, it was Christopher, and he was looking straight at David.
“Thinking,” he said Apathetically.
“About what?”
“Everything,” he said again, apathetically.
“Well don’t do that, you will exhaust your brain that way.”
David chuckled at that, since he normally did this all they time. “I doubt that,” He returned with a false smile.
“Look, I’m sure you feel bad about what happened last night, but there was nothing more you could have done, so get over and move on.”
“Your right, that’s enough laying around moping already.” He said as he stood up. “I’m going to go get dressed, I’ll be right back down.” He said as he walked past Christopher and into the foyer. He nearly ran up the stairs and into his room, where Aria and Kiera slept. He stepped inside, both girls still sound asleep. David walked over to the closet and took out a normal pair of jeans and a blank tee shirt. He walked down the hallway and into the bathroom, he walked in then spun around to close it and locked it on reflex. He changed quickly, then placed his pajamas into the laundry hamper in his room. He slipped on fresh socks then snuck back downstairs. This time Sarah was awake and downstairs too, she was working on the usual breakfast in the kitchen, consisting of a lavish proportions of Eggs, Bacon, Sausage and toast. David wished he had more room in his stomach. Aria and Kiera woke up soon after, as they stumbled downstairs, rubbing their eyes.
“Good Morning Girls” David said to them with a smile.
“Good morning Daddy!” They chimed in unison with a spirit unexpected from drowsy children.
“Good morning Girls” Sarah Called to them from the kitchen. “Go get dressed and come help me with breakfast.”
“Yes Mama” they chimed and hurried back upstairs. They returned in what felt like no time, while David and Christopher had a chat about old games they used to play, and how fun they were. The girls helped Sarah finish Breakfast. Amy and Edward came down from upstairs, Edward complained it wasn’t ready yet, since the smell alone already got him out of bed. Which was met with a swift” It will be ready when its ready” from the Girls. Edward nearly turned scarlet when David and Christopher chuckled at this. “Alright Boys, here it is” Sarah said with a smile, as she and the twins carried out platters full of Eggs, bacon, and every other breakfast necessity. Including Pancakes and a choice of 3 Syrups, Maple, Strawberry, or Blueberry. “I didn’t even know we had 3 kinds of syrup.” David said, Flabbergasted. “I made a few trips into town while you were asleep. I hope that’s okay.” Sarah said, sounding worried.
“Why would it be? I probably haven’t told you this, but I don’t get mad at people I care about.” He said matter-of-factly.
“That’s good, I was worried.” Sarah said, sounding on half as relieved as she looked. After breakfast every left the table to do something on their own or with someone else, Christopher Practiced in the dojo room upstairs. Aria and Kiera went off with Edward to play. Amy went to read a book in her room, and David and Sarah went outside for a walk. David showed her to a spot he knew, untouched by all the chaos. Out in a forest, there was a small lake, The trees were so dense it always seemed like night there. There were always a few fireflies around this lake, the only word he could come up with to describe it was magical, but he kept all of this to himself, it was a surprise for her. They reached the end of the forest in the Silverado, but had to continue on foot from there. The forest was dense, but not unpleasant. It was quiet, but serene. After a shirt walk through the forest they arrived at the small lake in the center. It was on very large, it was small enough that the trees blocked out the sun.
“This is so beautiful” Sarah said excitedly,
“Yeah, I enjoy coming here a lot.” David replied.
David walked over to the bank and rested his hand in the water for a moment, testing its temperature, like usual it was the perfect warmth.
“Well, come on!” Said David as he took his shirt off and jumped in.
“But I don’t have a bathing suit” Sarah said sounding sad.
“Neither do I, clothes are clothes, what does it matter if they get wet.” David replied matter-of-factly.
“I guess, but still.” Sarah contested.
“But Nothing, Look under that rock.” David said as he pointed to a nearby rock pile.
Sarah walked over to the rock pile, lifted off the top rock and found a two piece bathing suit. “Who’s is this?” She said
“It was my sisters, we kept forgetting them so we began to just leave them out here, since the rain never gets through the trees.” David said as he laid back in the warm water of the hot spring. Sarah got the idea and stopped contesting, so she took the bathing suit a few trees into the forest and began to change. “No Peeking. Alright?” She called from out of sight.
“I can’t see you, and since I’m in the water you will hear me if I get out.” David replied with his eyes closed, just incase.
Sarah returned in a moment with the bathing suit on, It was a deep red, that contrasted well with her hair and eyes. She held her head down, turning scarlet, she was obviously embarrassed. “You have no reason to be embarrassed, its just me and you out here. So come on in, the water feels great.” Sarah hesitantly walked over to the rim of the lake, testing it with a toe she then continued to walk into the hot spring slowly.
When the water had risen above her shoulders she stopped. “Don’t look at me, I’m so fat” She said, putting her head down.
“No, your not. You are beautiful just the way you are. Here, follow me for a second” David walked forward and grasped her hand to lead her up out of the water a bit. Once the water was only at their ankles, they stopped and turned around. Pointing at the reflections in the water David said “See, You’re beautiful. You don’t have to be sickly skinny like the women in beauty magazines to look pretty. At least, I think so.” Sarah turned bright red again at this. “Come on, lets relax” David said as he led her back down into the water. Sarah leaned up against him, David grasped her hand again, and she placed her hand on his shoulder. He placed his other hand carefully on her hip, like he had seen in movies. Sarah stepped closer to him, so they were not even an inch apart, and laid her head on his chest. They stayed like that for what felt like days, but it had only been a few minutes.
Nearly submerged in the hot spring, closer together then David had ever experienced before. David stepped back slightly, he wanted to look into her eyes. She stared up into his eyes, and David felt like the only person in the world. He reached his hand up, flipped some of her hair behind her ear, placed his hand gently on her chin and raised her head up little. He leaned forward, and she stood up on her tip toes.
Their lips pressed together so perfectly, so heavenly, he never wanted this moment to end. A few moments later, Sarah pulled away. “Sorry,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “I’m really tired.”
“It’s Okay, here, you can take a nap right now.” He said as he laid back on the bank of the hot spring. Sarah “Awwwww’ed” at this, but laid down on his chest anyway. Sarah was asleep within minutes, and David was asleep just a few minutes later.
