Chapter 1: Run

“You’ve seen my accolades and all of my accomplishments, so I'll leave you with this. Those who stay disciplined and execute with intent, will eventually see their wildest dreams come to fruition.” 

-  William Patrick Baron (First and Last Conqueror of Manesha)

I dropped my head, narrowly dodging the first swing. Luck was definitely not on my side today.

Piece of sh- I let out as he threw the second punch, an uppercut that connected with my stomach. That seemed to amuse the muscle headed bastard known as “Keller”. 

“Now what exactly made you believe you could come in here and make a difference little boy?” Keller sneered.

I said nothing, letting the silence camouflage the anxiety bubbling up inside. 

“Don’t want to speak huh? That’s fine,” The prick chuckled.

“We’ll find out everything once Sheldon finishes playing with you.” Keller smiled whilst glancing to his left.

Following his sight, in the corner of my eye I spotted a petitely built, pale man grin with so much glee I almost gagged.

‘Calm down, Carter! He's trying to make you afraid,’ I thought to myself. 

Frankly, it was working, but first I needed to look at the information I had. Keller was a large man, not super large, but large enough that my 130lb, 14 year old body couldn’t take him head on. I was by no means a muscular kid or early bloomer as one might call it, I was a completely average thin teenage boy, except for my wingspan being a bit longer than most kids my age.

So I looked for my next move. If I couldn’t take him head on then I wouldn’t.

Scanning the insides of “Kingsley” - the dirty, rundown bar we were in, I spotted a kitchen knife half a meter away, right next to the plethora of glass bottles on the wall, out of Keller's vision, but within mine. 

I prepared myself, bringing my body to complete relaxation as I stabilized my breathing.

As I began, I noticed there was no longer noise, only silence and the deafening tension that came with it. I brushed it off. Focusing only on me, and what I could do.

Like a panther that spotted its prey I launched myself in the direction of the bar as Keller followed closely behind. 

“DON’T RUN NOW!” The beast exclaimed, sharing a sense of glee similar to the kind the being known as “Sheldon” had moments before.

Arriving at my destination I grabbed the Knife and an empty bottle, as Keller inched closer and closer to me. 

“And what are you going to do with that, child?” He asked, seeming as if he had all the confidence in the world. This time barely an arm's length of distance away from me.

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 Breaking my what seemed like hour-long silence. I deigned to reply.

“This,” I said. Underhand tossing the kitchen knife towards the stunned Keller. Freezing him.

See, the thing is. In a fight like this one, both parties are constantly searching for openings and are hyper focused on their opponents actions trying to predict the next move they’ll make. When the unexpected happens, It shuts down a person's thought process for a split second, leaving them with confusion and uncertainty as to what their next move should be. 

Unfortunately for my opponent, all I needed was a split second.

In one swift movement, I smashed the glass bottle against the bar counter, then lunged it into the bastard's abdomen. 

Surprise and anger painted Keller's face. I breathed out as I felt the glass hit an artery, almost reaching a state of serenity even amongst the conflict.

Intuition hit me like a plane crashing into the ground and I Immediately pressed both of my hands against my ears as hard as I could, like a child throwing a tantrum. Just in time it seemed, as “Sheldon” let out a blood-curdling cry, strong enough to give a wyvern a run for its money. 

Disoriented and stumbling, I struggled to come back to my senses. With fear and adrenaline plunging me back into reality I was able to move my arms away from my ears and in front of my face to block the fist that came hurtling into me from Keller.

Distancing myself from Keller as quickly as possible, I noticed the lack of strength in my movements, and the blood coming from my ears. I wouldn’t survive a prolonged battle, it was time to go.

“GET BACK OVER HERE!” Keller rampaged and screamed in a way that brought chills to my body. Who the fuck did he think I was, an Idiot? Before my vision began to falter I started to book it to the exit. Running as fast and far away as my injured and frail body could.

                                        ✧

As I made my way past a near empty alleyway, littered with abandoned trash and forgotten belongings, I could just barely hear a conversation between two people, one of them a young kid, maybe my age or a bit younger, with tattered clothes and no shoes. 

“Father, what has been going on lately? The streets aren’t as crowded as they used to be.” The boy questioned.

“It’s those goddamned Collectors. They’ve got the entire Third Zone scared shitless, causing all this ruckus over a boy that handed Keller his ass on a platter a few days ago.” The second member of the pair, a gray haired man with no shirt and bandages all over his body explained.

“Ah, what I'd give to go back to the good old days.” The man reminisced.

“The Third Zone was a golden community in the days before the Reich. Shit’s gone especially by the wayside since Prince Xander began overseeing the Zone.” The gray haired man got out.

The gray haired man was spot on in any case. Xander was considered the worst of the worst by inhabitants of the Third Zone, there’s only so much greed and hostility the citizens could stomach from a leader before word would spread. You learn the truth of the matter early on though, what's a thousand voices to unwavering power & influence? 

The answer was clear as day,

Nothing.

Ever since Xander began overseeing the Third Zone, it slowly but surely began to corrode and fall apart. It wouldn’t take a scholar to see that the Third Zone greatly needed a change in leadership. First it was the massive increase in taxes, then it was the wanton way he threw around his power, overtaking many of the businesses in the area monopolizing his influence and wealth.

Living in the Third Zone was as good as being buried alive. Stuck in a box awaiting the eventual day you’d run out of air.

As time went, I continued on my path, making my way out of the dingy, lifeless alleyway highlighted by an eerily lit street lamp flickering on and off when suddenly I felt what seemed like the temperature drop to below freezing and every hair in my body stand up.

Every instinct in my body, No. Every fiber of my being yelled at me to run away to anywhere that wasn't here. 

But sometimes, human curiosity gets the best of us.

It was that moment, when I turned my head around and saw that same petite, scrawny figure, smiling with glee.

CHAPTER 1 - END.