melo_nanowrimo @ 2005-11-06T16:20:00

2005-11-06T21:26:28Z

6,322 / 50,000
(12.6%)

I hope to be caught up by Tuesday, I didn't realize that writing wars are so helpful!

I'm off to rework my sucky plot, but you can also read my lovely piece of art! the slashes (//) are for italics, and the --- are just there because I needed placemarks to keep track of where I left off each war.

The ***s are for flashbacks and stuff. Ya...

The night was still.

If only for a moment, Arlain felt a moment of peace. Enough to pick herself up off of the ground and continue her pace. Out running the ones she used to know. PROGENY, sent to capture her, the fugitive that she had become. She had left PROGENY not more than three hours ago. /What am I doing/ she wondered in between steps.

The gunfire resumed. Dodging bullets and sidestepping trees as she ran thgough the forest, the scene of the previous day replayed in her mind

***
"General Markes, I can't stay here.
"And what do you expect me to do about that?" the general replied sternly. One rule of PROGENY is to always be straightforward, unless, of course, it's part of a covert operation. "I request to leave the service." Arlain said unwavering. "Lieutenant, you know it is against goverment policy for me to allow you to leave. You've been in PROGENY long enough to reveal some of the project's secrets."
"General, you know that I am trustworthy. What would I have to gain?"
"The other side could-"
"Don't you see that I /am/ the other side?" Arlain interrupted. "Lieutenant, that a violation of the Chain of Command." Arlain stared at him coldly. She no longer cared about the rules. Everything she'd learned was a lie. "In any case," Markes continued,"I cannot grant your request. We will try to keep this under investigation. That incident will be cleared up soon enough."
"So you're going to lie about it?"
"Only for the sake of you and this project. Now return to your quarters, matters will be discussed later."

Matters were never discussed. A cruel experiment ensued in its place.

***

/Damn,/ she thought. /How could I have been so blind?/

The gunfire had again ceased. PROGENY reCon heard a rustling in the forest. "MOVE OUT!" a high-ranking officer shouted. "She's using novus!"
But it was too late. A glowing stream of light brightened the forest in which they were

"No!" Arlain screamed, but she was drowned out by the sound of her own anger, an anger that had become a deadly force. Her own emotions had become a monster. Darkness fell away as she ran from the vivid brightness. There were no tears, but guilt. It was worse than the last time her rage had manifested itself into a potent consequence. But how many had she hurt this time? How many of her former friends had she killed? How much blood was on her hands?

As the world around her soon darkened again, she felt a sharp panging in her left shoulder. /What is this?/ she thought as her vision became distorted. As she stumbled to the ground, she heard weak voice from beyond the bushes. "You can't escape..." The voice trailed off.

"Why can't...I..." she mouthed, losing consciousness.

/Can't I run from the past?/

***

/It's always there/

/What's there?/

/You'll find it./

/But...how will I know?/

/You'll find out in time/

/I don't understand.../

Arlain slowly came out of her sleep. She was now bandaged and lying on a bedi n an unfamiliar room. /Where am I?/ she thought, catatonically reaching for a lamp. Upon lighting the room, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and instantly noticed two things: Her necklace was gone, and there was someone else in the room. Scaning the room, she lept out of the bed and drove an open hand into the shadows with firmly grasping the stranger by the neck. "Give it back."
"They trained you well," the stranger replied, almost with a smile."Who are you talking about?" Arlain reflexed, not losing her grip. In her PROGENY state of mind, his words could have been a trick. "I was trained by no one."
"On the contrary, It's obvious from your uniform. Your coat in particular has a special weaving pattern. It looks nonconcilliatory, but only the government uses this material or stitching. I haven't seen an outfit like this in a while..." Arlain stood silent. Surely he couldn't know about PROGENY. It was a guarded secret of the military. She'd let him assume that she was a regular soldier. "I assume you may want this back?"
"Who are you?"
"A friend. Could you release me from your clutches? It's a bit uncomfort-"
"Tell me who you really are." Her grip only tightened. "I promise to tell you later, but right now you need t-"
"Answer my questions."
"You'll find out in time."
The deja vu caused Arlain to slip in her mind. The stranger took this oppurtunity to free himself and dash to the other side of the room. Arlain quickly snapped back to reality. "Do not expect to get out of this situation unscathed," she remarked, instinctively reached for her gun, but it was not there. It was lying on top of a neatly folded pile of clothes next to the stranger. "Well, you didn't get out of your incident unscathed either," the stranger replied with yet another hint of humor. Arlain stood there, body still on guard, but her mind wandering again. "What happened last night?" she inquired. "Plain and simple, you were shot. The military's developed some powerful bullets I guess. You were hurt pretty badly."
"My own colleagues..." she said to herself. "Hmm?"
"Nothing" Arlain muttered. "Can't trust anyone these days."
"Aren't you going to even ask where you are?"
"I assume I'm somewhere in the countryside. The buildings outside don't look like the larger cities. Djaine, I assume?"
"Close," the stranger said with a smile. "Berum, just outside of Djaine and the forest." Arlain nodded and looked around the room, but suddenly stopped. "Where is the hospital?"
"Three streets away, why do you ask?"
"I couldn't have been treated there."
"Yeah, I treated you here." Arlain scanned the room. Other than a bed, a lamp, a laptop and some assorted furniture, but no equipment. “Just who are you? Do you work for someone?”
“Go to the pharmacy, your medi’”
“Answer me.” she snided. “Tell me your name or I’ll...” her voice trailed off. “Cast an opifex?” Arlain stoold still /Does he know...How does he know much?/ She wouldn’t let on. “I’d shoot you,” she started, calmly,”but it appears you’ve taken my gun.”
“Heh, you got me. I’m James.” Arlain was, temporarily, satisfied by this answer. “I’m going to get the medicine. When I return, I expect to find you here for further questioning.”
“And if I run?” James said with a grin. “If you run,” she said as she turned slightly from the door,”I’ll hunt you down and find you, and make sure you never have a moment of peace.
“Heh, it’s a deal then.” James sat down to a desk and booted up his desktop. Arlain closed the door behind her and walked to the sidewalk. She took a deep breath, the fresh air was calming. Instantly recognizing the difference, her senses registered the sents. The perfumes of the merchants, lunch at a house nearby, the smoke of the automobiles. Yes, even the smoke, being a change from the norm, was tolerable. Strolling along, she spotted a child who had fallen in the middle of the street. /Damn kids/ she thought as she walked over to him. In the perfectly rehearsed voice of care she had acquired at the Academy, she walked asked “You okay?” The boy did not respond, only looking at her with piercing blue eyes. A woman, who appeared to be the boys mother, rushed by. “I’m so sorry,” she began,”he doesn’t talk much anymore. He hasn’t said anything in a couple days and he seems impervious to everything.”
“Quite understandable,” Arlain replied,”I know it’s a little early, but perhaps he’s just experiencing angst.”
“No,” the mother said with a sigh, looking towards the sky,”there’s something strange about this place these days.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Arlain inquired, not knowing what that would entail. “No, no, it’s quite alright. All he needs is a prescription. Not available here, but I have some remedies that will suffice. Thank you again for helping him.” The boy and his mother walked towards their house, and Arlain continued her trip. /Government officials and their lavish lifestyles/ she thought with disgust. /Why don’t they care about these people?/ Though PROGENY had rendered her almost completely emotionless, she was not completely apathetic to the state of things around her, one thing that her superiors were annoyed bythe most.
/”Lieutenant, you cannot stop colleteral damage.
“They’re civillians sir, and they haven’t died yet. They don’t have too.”
“Even so, they’ll be collateral soon. That’s how war works.”/
Sighing, she finally reached the pharmacy. “I need 2 bottles of pain reliever and a bottle of something to stop bleeding.” THe man behind the counter gave a smiling nod. “Say,” Arlain continued, internally frowning upon her slang,”you’d know about the plague that’s going around, right?”
“Yeah. The kids don’t talk very much anymore. Or play. It’s like they’ve lost their joy. I wouldn’t exactly call it a plague either.”
“Really?” Arlain inquired. “How come?”
“It’s all psychological. No physical effects whatsoever, unless you count the loss of their smiles.” THe man continued. “It’s why the medication is so expensive, and it’s not completely effective either. It keeps them at a balance, gives them some emotion.”
“How much money would it cost to give this town a good supply of these?” The man’s stare changed to slight amazement. “Probably a lot morethan what you have,” he replied, but his eyes told Arlain he hoped for her to give a better response. She skirted a card accross the counter. “Withdraw 1 million karns. May want to do this quickly.” The man’s eyes lit up. Still, he carefully analyzed the card. There were obvious features that signified it as an official military card, but there were even small details that assured him of its authenticity. “Are you really in the military.”
“Yeah” Arlain said. /Well, it’s not an entire lie./ “I can’t say much more though.”
“No problem,” the man said with a smile. He punched some numbers into a registry and handed over a box of her medicine and a bag of the other medicines she had ordered. “I’ll make sure this town gets a good supply.”
“Thank you, and good day.” Arlain said as she walked out of the store. /Hopefully this act of kindness will go farther than I can/ she thought. She knew her journey would involve many complications. /Heh, and just as I get into the habit of this goodwill thing./ It was unnatural for her, anyway. Approaching hte house where teh boy had been, she knocked on the door. The mother appeared at the door. “I didn’t catch your name, but I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Anything.” the mother replied, grateful for the event from earlier. “I need you to hand out these medicines to the afflicted in town.”
“They’ll be used with care, I assure you.”
“No need to worry, there will be restocks available in the pharmacy.” Just then, the boy appeared at the door. Arlain kneeled and patted his head. “Be good to your mother. Don’t be afraid to smile.” His mother smiled and walked in to take set out the medicine. “Smile.” Arlain continued in a whisper. “Even when you don’t feel it on the inside.” Something in the boy’s eyes changed. “Smile, to let them know you’re there.” Arlain stood up. As she did so, the boy mouthed something. She would have asked him to repeat, but he turned on his heel and left. “I do hope he’ll be okay,” the mother said in a worried tone. “Don’t worry,” Arlain assured her, staring at the boy, who was now sitting at a chair near the table. “I have a feeling about him. About this whole this whole city.” With that she turned towards the sidewalk and waved goodbye.

/They’re coming for me./ Arlain thought to herself. /How could that boy have known?/ She didn’t want to believe it, but she quickened her pace anyway. It soon became a run. She dashed towards the house, dodging traffic and and flying past pedestrians. She hurdled a few shop items and didn’t slow down until she reached the door. She opened it, but before she could even open her mouth to speak, she was interrupted by a the sound of a shattering window. She skipped to the side and flipped towards the wall. Slowly creeping along it, she stayed silent until the gunfire began again. She barelled towards the assailant, but jumped behind them. In the moment he turned around, she slid past them on the other side and grabbed their ankle. She flipped again, toppling the her opponent. She quickly drew her own gun and shot away their weapon. “Who are you, and why are you here?” The assailant was silent for a couple of seconds before replying “Who are you, miss?”
“Excuse me, but who’s holding the gun here?” Arlain quipped, brandishing her weapon. THe would be assasin grunted. “I’m here on government business”
“I don’t know what you want, I live here alone and mind my own business.”

---
“You seem a little belligerent if there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Life in this town is hard, you know.” Arlain stared off into the distance, pretending to be wistful. The man saw this as an opportunity to grab his gun, but she fired off a warning shot just inches from his ear. The man glanced around the room. “What do you do here?” he asked. “I take care of sick kids. Trying to figure out what’s going on in this town. Some sort of psychological disease that makes ‘em...angsty, I guess.”
“I see.” the man tried again to sit up, but he was quickly jabbed again in the stomach. Suddenly, he kicked his legs out and struck the gun out of Arlain’s hand. /Damn it./ Before he got up, however, she kicked both guns over to the side of the room. “Dare to tango?” the man said in a condescending voice. However, Arlain was already up and rushing to a corner of the room, flipping off the wall and striking the man in the chin. He, in turn, grabbed her ankle and swung her across the room. Arlain landed in a half split and got up again, dashing towards the man. She grabbed his head and rammed it into her knee, before smacking him upwards on his nose. His face was now a bloody mess, and he was in excruciating pain, but he got up again and ran towards her. She ducked his punch and tripped him, but he quickly grabbed her hand and dragged her down with him. Arlain kicked him in the knee, but soon stopped when she felt a cold, metal object pressed to her temple. “Didn’t know I had a second gun, did ya?” the man snickered. Arlain’s palor changed slightly. There were so many things she could do at this moment, but would they all fail and cost her her life? She stood there with an uncharacteristic bead of sweat running down her forehead.
---
The man cocked his gun, finger about to go for the trigger. /How could I have fa-/ A shot errupted from the far corner of the room. A bullet struck the man in the hand, then pierced his neck. As he sunk into a pool of his own blood, he fired a shot that skimmed Arlain’s forehead, but didn’t strike her. She stumbled away as James emerged from behind a desk. Reaching for her wound, she yelled “What the hell were you doing?” Her eyes bore witness to her anger. “Waiting for the right moment.”
“What is wrong with you? I could have been killed. I risked my life for you when you could have fought this guy all along?”
“I was downstairs, analyzing my research when I heard someone enter the house.” Arlain scanned the floor of the house. There was a large shifted tile on the ground, leading to an underground room. James continued “Your footsteps were far lighter than his.”
“Why didn’t you sneak up on him and shoot him like you just did?” Arlain said harshly, her voice only becoming slightly quieter. “I would have, but you walked in.”
“Why didn’t you shoot him when he faced the door?”
“Well,” James said with a slight chuckle, “you went for him. I couldn’t shoot him without risking your life.”
“You didn’t seem to mind letting he fight him all by myself.” Arlain turned away from him, walking towards the fallen man. “He should he dead in a couple of minutes, we’d better le-”
“What?” James rushed to the man’s side. “I thought I’d only hit his hand!”
“Why does that matter? You subdued him.”
“Nothing, I’ll explain it later.” James frantically reached for a needly near by, and injected a blue substance into the man’s vein. “Arlain, you have to go. Too much danger here.” Arlain knew he was right. She was prepared for it. Gathering up her things, she caressed the necklace. It was small and silver in color, with an odd insignia. Whatever it was made of, it always escaped detection at the academy, She wore it everyday and no one knew. She holstered her gun and checked the powerlevels. “James, there are still questions I have to ask. You never told me about yourself, and I don’t know what you’re doing here.”
“Well, neither have you,” he replied jokingly. “I’ll meet you by the train station in 15 minutes.”
”Aren’t we going together?” Arlain inquired. “Well, I’ll need to heal this guy and erase his memory before we leave. It’ll be a bit of a shock for the town’s people to just leave him here”
“Heal him?! He tried to kill you. He almost killed me! And how can you even erase his memory? You’re not a Lynla, you can’t save him, you can’t erase his memory”
“There’s a lot of stuff the government didn’t tell you about novus”
“The government has spent years co-“
“Go” James replied in an unusually stern voice. “Go, and I’ll meet you there. Don’t worry” Gathering up her bags, Arlain turned almost as if to protest, but decided against it and walked out the door.

/So many strange things about that man/ she thought to herself. She knew that under PROGENY protocol, he was not to be trusted, but there was something about him.

Arlain stood patiently, watching as trains passed by. /Where is he?/ Suddenly, a loud clattering was heard throughout the platform. “Could you be any louder?” Arlain sneered. “Sorry, there were some things I needed to gather last minute. Arlain stared, disappointed. “Three trains passed by, but there’s another coming in 7 minutes,” she commented. “Well, that leaves enough time to eat something. Are you hungry?” Technically, Arlain was a bit famished, but she could have gone for 3 more days without a problem. “Not exactly, but since I’m not training, I guess I could try something.” James handed her a packet of potato chips. She scrutinized the label with disgust. “Preservatives. Damn presevatives and fat. How can civilians live on this junk?”
“But it’s good!” James chimed, downing a second bag. “Well, I’m surprised the average lifespan is even as high as it is.” Arlain said as she tossed away the bag. “I’ll get some real food later, when I’m hungry”
”I assume you haven’t eaten in days, though.”
“That’s how they trained us” Arlain stared off into the distance. “Funny, I don’t remember that being protocol when I was in the army”
“You? You were in the army?”
“Yeah, could’ve been a general had I not left.” Arlain was still pondering his words. “Why did they let YOU into the army?”
“Hey, back in the day I was an ace shooter. I could also fly most of the planes pretty well, but that wasn’t my branch in the war.”
“War? You were in the war?”
“Yeah. To be honest, I really couldn’t stand it. I’d wanted to be a doctor, or a pilot at the least, but I guess I was too talented for my own good.” Arlain noticed him reach into his jacket. She soon saw what it was for. “I’ve had this gun ever since I was a kid. My dad gave it to me when I was a child. I used it sometimes in the war. Sadly, even at the worst of times”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll explain it later.” Suddenly, the station rattled lightly and the tracks shook in their places. “Well, I guess it’s here!” Arlain and James boarded quickly and paid for their tickets. “You know, I’ve never actually ridden on one of these before.”
“You scared?” James chimed. Arlain replied with a glare. “I know this thing inside and out, I could stop this thing if I wanted to.”
“What are they teaching you kids?” James said in an almost disappointed voice. “Well, my division is different. And we’re not kids. At least, not anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s the way the academy is set up, that’s all.”
“They give you kids a school?” Arlain sat up. “How many times must I tell you, we’re not kids. You can’t be older than 20 anyway.” James smiled “I’m 21, so hah.” Arlain withheld the urge to punch him right then and there, but thought for a moment.

/Wasn’t he too young to fight?/

“Yeah, I know.” James replied, having an idea on what she was thinking. “They recruited us when we were young too. I know how you feel.”
“No, you don’t.” Arlain replied curtly. “The government is different now. Things have changed. Their strategies have changed.”
“Well, perhaps the train wasn’t the best way to go.”
“Why would you think that?” James smiled, staring out the window. “It’s obvious that you’re on the run. I know that people get hurt all the time out in the forest, even by bullets. But there’s something about you, a vibe I get from when you talk about the military and the government.”
“How do you know that I’m not offduty?”
“Because you’re thinking far too much like you’re still at the academy.” Arlain said nothing, only listening. “Whatever project the military is operating on you kids now is going farther than they ever did before…”

Arlain stayed silent. /How can he know…/ “Arlain, I know a lot about the project based on your attitude. I’ve never met a child so resilient before. I can’t exactly figure you out.”
“It’s the point exactly”
“Well, it’s kind of amazing. I assume you didn’t like the service…no, couldn’t be.” Arlain stared at him for a moment before looking away.
“No, you must have found something out.” Arlain kept looking through the window /He’s awfully close to the truth/
“Something that went against policy, in away? Something about you, maybe” Arlain’s heartbeat rose only slightly. “What do you know?” Arlain inquired. “Well, I’m pretty sure you’re in PROGENY.” Arlain’s eyes widened with fury, but her voice only rose slightly. “What do you know about PROGENY. Who told you?”
“It was started just before I left.” Arlain smiled slightly. “You’re wrong. It’s been running for years, I’ve been in it since I was born.”
“Many children went through that program, but about 5 years ago, they began to filter out the best and the brightest. They formed PROGENY, child mercenaries, if you will.”
“I am not a mercenary,” she shot back at him. “Well, you aren’t now,” he replied in an unchanged tone “but you were. It was meant to be a subtle change from the normal program to the project, but I’m sure you remember the day you switched.” Arlain thought back. “Well, there was a day…”
/“Hey Seram, Aren’t you excited to go to the new wing of the Academy?”
“I…I didn’t get selected.”
Arlain walked over to her roommate. “Why not?”
“I don’t know. I thought I’d passed all the tests. And…I thought I…” Seram went silent as tears streamed down her face. Arlain put her hand on Seram’s shoulder. “Perhaps you aren’t cut out for that part of the military. I see you as more of a…doctor!”
“You really think so?” Seram said with a smile. “Yeah. Follow your heart. You’ll end up somewhere you like.”/
“Touching story.” James commented. “Yes, but a mere fairy tale” she said in a low voice. “How so?”
“Look at me. I ‘followed my heart,’ and now where am I? On the run. This is not where I’d like to be. That’s the thing about children,” she said, now standing up. “They have such a perfect view of the world. So skewed. We’ve got to live in reality.”
“Is it wrong to think of things optimistically?” James looked at her with a question in his eyes. She was still turned away. “If it ruins your judgement, then yes. I never had a true childhood. Frankly, that day was probably the one where I told the worst lie. Life is all about chance. I don’t even know what happened to her...” She turned back too him. “What do you know about PROGENY?”
“Quite a bit. I know that you’re mercenaries, as much as you may protest,” James started, acknowledging her angered sigh. “It was a way to create super-kids, sort of, who would listen and become more submissive, but very powerful as they grew up.”
“I submitted to no one.” Arlain replied sternly. “Well, that’s what you may think, but really, you listened to people all your life, haven’t you? You swallowed every bit of information they gave you.” James sighed. “They taught you to hate in ways you didn’t realize. Perhaps you didn’t stay long enough, but given a couple of years, you could have learned to scope out Lynla. Kill them without leaving a trail of clues.”
“The subjects of PROGENY were only assigned to protect the sanctity of the government and this nation.”
“You see,” James began,”you were only subjects, not children. Though not easily replaced, they wouldn’t have minded losing you in a battle.”
“It’s a progen’s sacrifice for the good of the whole, on their honor.”
“There’s nothing honorable about killing some one.”
“The Lynlae pose a serious threat. They could destroy us all in a matter of moments?”
“Yes,” James said as he stared out the window, “but aren’t you one of them?” Arlain was fumed. Grabbing him by the collar, she said in a stern whisper “Not by choice.”
“As if the Lynlae had one too.” Arlain had had it. “You’re an imbecile. I doubt you ‘left’ the military, they probably kicked you out.” She stormed off into another train car. The train was mostly empty due to the fact that it was expensive for the average citizen to ride it, but still Arlain felt slightly uncomfortable in each train. /The nerve of him.../ She got up to the front and sat down for a couple of minutes before deciding to get up again. After walking through her third car on her away back, she felt a tremble. She ran again towards James’ car, but he was no where to be seen. /Did he feel it too?/ she thought. /Or was it because of him?/ She ran up to the next car. /Have you seen a tall man with black hair and a briefcase?/ Many of the passengers noded. “He ran towards the next car, but disappeared in there.” one said.

/The roof/

“Thank you,” she said kindly, casually walking towards the door to the next car. “You may not want to go in there,” some passenger warned. “Oh, don’t worry,” Arlain replied, thinking of a plan. “He’s my brother, a technician.” Some of the car’s occupants nodded, while others were a bit skeptical. Arlain felt another tremble. “By the way, you may want to get off at the next stop. This train’s due for some repairs.” Ushering them out, she turned on her real and ran to the next car. She jumped onto a seat, climbing through an open window on the car’s ceiling. She found her balance and ran to a scene where a few people were fighting. “Get back!” a voice Arlain instantly recognized as James’s yelled. James hadn’t turned to look at her, however, only focused on his altercation with two mean looking guys. Arlain ignored James’ command and ran up to one of the men, kicking him in the face. But he caught her by the ankle and through her over. Though it was most unexpected, Arlain still managed to slide through a window on the side of the car. She quickly reassured some startled passengers inside that there were some repairs going on, and that they should board another train at the next stop. The passengers nodded in a fearful silence and quickly moved up to the exit car. Arlain jumped back up into another open ceiling window and rejoined the fight. She flipped and locked her ankles on one of the attackers’s wrists. Tumbling backwards, the man lost his balance, but drew a gun. Arlain, however, was quicker and fired a shot at his hand. The man tumbled off of the train’s roof and his body landed next to the track, fading away as the train accelerated. Before Arlain had a chance to stand up again, the other man fired a shot and narrowly missed Arlain.
---
She ran towards him and flipped onto his arm, slamming him against the ground. He tried to fire at her ankle, but she soon skipped onto his back and stepped on both of his hands. “Who are you?” she demanded, stepping on his wrists even harder. The man didn’t speak, only muttering something about ‘activation.’ Arlain instantly knew what this meant. “James, run!”
“Why?”
“JUST DO IT!” Arlain jumped and kicked the man across the roof of 2 cars before running over in the opposite direction. She turned around and her eyes widened. “James, jump, there’s a tunnel!” Arlain quickly flipped onto the top of the tunnel, and reached her hand out to James, who was runnining. Grabbing onto him and pulling him onto the tunnel with her, she assesed the situation. “His signal must be jammed. We have to jump.”
“Really?”
“James!” she yelled,”this is no time for joking, if he detonates his equipment while we’re on this tunnel...there’s no time to explain, just GO!” James nodded and ran towards the edge of the tunnel. Arlain ran with him and gave him the signal once they were at the edge. Simultaneously, they lept off, down into the darkness of the forest around them. Arlain, unconsciously, held onto James’ hand as they made the descent. Her jacket acted as a sort of parachute, slightly slowing her down the air raced around her. “We’ll have to dive into the river.” she yelled, almost drowned out by the sound of the wind. Somewhere above them, they heard an explosion. A wave of heat flew over them, but it was soon overpowered by the coldness of the river. Arlain quickly tried to surface, but something caught her. Her jacket had snagged on a rock. Diving down to free herself, something pierced her arm. The bandages were coming undone and her wound was becoming exposed to the rushing currents. The pain was disorienting. Arlain struggled to rid herself of the jacket, but she became more fatigued with each movement. The saw a hand coming out from somewhere and reached out to it. “I’ve got you.” a voice said. The world around her went dark.

CHAPTER 2

Arlain woke up to James holding her wrist and taking her pulse. She sat up. “Where are we?”
“I dunno, somewhere in the forest. I should probably avoid making virtual connections here to pinpoint our location.” James sighed, looking towards the sky. “They’re probably looking for me now.” He went back to taking notes on Arlain’s status. He smiled “How many times will I have to save you?” Arlain glared at him and ripped her hand away. “You’re rude, you know that?” James only continued to smile, going back to his work. “If you’re looking for it, your necklace is over there,” he said, pointing to a low tree branch near where she had layed down. Arlain nodded and said a quiet “Thank you.”
“What is it about that necklace?” James inquired, still intent on reading over some other research. “I don’t know. I just think it was my mom’s. At least, that’s what my adoptive guardians told me.”
“You were adopted?”
“Yes. They didn’t tell me much about my past. None of the children in PROGENY knew much about their parents to begin with. They thought we’d get too attatched.”
“Like you?” Arlain shot him a harsh glance. “I’m not attatched. --- There’s just something about it.” Arlain walked towards the thickets of the forest. “I’m going for a walk.” James spun around. “In this condition? I can’t let you.” James said in a serious tone. “I have a gun, I can fend for myself, and my bandages are just fine.” Without giving him a moment to protest, Arlain was gone from the river bank. James sighed and packed up his things, stuffing them into a bag and slinging it over his shoulders. Looking around, he soon caught up with Arlain. “Where do you suppose we go from here?”
“To Darmel.”
“The capital?” James said with surprise. “Do you not understand that we are wanted people? You’ve already killed 2 people, maybe even more.”
“It was for my safety, and you should be more grateful that I’ve saved you too.”
“At the expense of another’s life?” James sighed, glancing around him. “You soldiers don’t get it, do you?” Arlain stopped and spun him around. “Would you rather have them take my life? Is that any better?”
“No, but you could have just-”
“I could have done nothing, James. You don’t seem to understand that sometimes, there just aren’t any other options. I wouldn’t kill if I didn’t have to, but that’s how I was trained. You can’t take chances, James.” She continued her pace, a little faster this time. “Then why do you use novus?” Arlain stopped abruptly. “I told you, I’m not one of them.”
“Arlain, I know that you can use novus, you just need some trai-”
“I said,” she said loudly, “I am not one of them.” She turned around again towards him. “You don’t understand it. I don’t control it. Whatever it is, it’s out of my power. I know it’s complex, but it’s a evil art.”
“So is the art of war. Yet it is emplyed by the government daily on its own people.”
“That is not true.”
“Then explain the psychological state of the kids in Berum.”
“Perhaps,” Arlain said, pacing back and forth now,”It’s a new strain of an older virus, things like this have happened before. Maybe not to this degree.” She looked up to the sky. “It’s getting close to evening. We’d better leave this place soon.” She walked off again, not listening to James. After about 2 hours of walking, they finally found a small clearing. “---We can rest here for a while. Well, you may need to. I’ll stand guard.” James nodded, not wanting to go through another argument. They sat in silence. /How can he be such an idiot/ Arlain thought. She stood up and paced the clearing. “What do you know about novus?” she finally said. James looked up. “Well, it’s sort of like magic, from fairy tales, you know?”
“I didn’t read fairy tales.”
“Well,” James said, fumbling a bit for words. “You channel some sort of energy, and it manifests itself into a power. It takes years to know how to control it, but not much is known on what energy you channel, but it has to be some sort of potent force.” Arlain nodded. James continued. “You know, there are theories that everyone has the potential to use it.”
“You don’t say.”
“Really. I’ve studied up on it a bit myself.” Arlain wheeled around “Why?”
“It seems...interesting, to say the least.”
“It has done nothing but spark war.”
“Both sides have played their parts in the current events.” James leaned back. “Novus can also be used for good things, I guess.” Arlain looked at him, turning her head slightly. “Like what?”
“Well, you can make fires for cooking. You could call up water, for cleaning. You can even heal people.”
“You’ve been healing people all this time with novus?”
“Only when true science can’t help me.”

Scribbles and Scribbles

melo_nanowrimo @ 2005-11-30T16:27:00

melo_nanowrimo @ 2005-11-06T16:20:00

melo_nanowrimo @ 2005-11-01T18:07:00

melo_nanowrimo @ 2005-10-15T14:38:00