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The Awakening
Bloodlines Chronicles Book 1
By: Wingless Morko
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Preface
My name is Wingless, if that's not my real name then I do not know what my real name is. My two brothers, Shyft and Baker, and I were adopted at the age of 5. We have no memories from our earlier years nothing that tells us where we come from, just our nicknames from the orphanage and similar raised birthmarks on each of our shoulder blades.
We thought we were just normal teens. Sure, we had grown up doing things that people thought were weird. We were trained in several martial arts and a whole lot of different weapons. We were more at home lost in the woods than in the middle of a sprawling city. We learned multiple languages; some still used some dead.
We thought we were just part of a loving family that adopted us because they wanted kids. We thought our petty day to day worries were something important. Boy were we wrong and not long after our 18th birthdays we found out just how wrong....
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Chapter 1
Before the Fall
Lightning flashes bright in the dark, thunder crashes and echoes all around; then a woman screams from some unseen place. I can never make out what she is screaming. The echo fades into the black around me.
I awoke with a start, the birthmark on my shoulder blade burned with a dull heat that was already fading from memory. The sound of the scream still ringing in my ears. Sweat clouds the view of my bedroom. I wipe the sweat away with my sheet. The clock on my side table read 0600.
"It’s still early brother." My brother Shyft said standing in the doorway.
"You were talking in your sleep again, so I came to check on you." He paused to walk closer to my bed "Was it the same nightmare?" he asked concerned.
"Yeah bruh." I replied. "Darkness then lightning and thunder, the woman screams and then I wake up. This time my birthmark was hurting when I woke
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up." I let out a sigh. "Ugh, that was probably just my imagination." The dream was reoccurring, off and on, over the years and always with the same ending.
Swinging my legs off the edge of the bed and I sit up facing my window. It was early like my brother said, there was no light coming through the blinds. My feet touched the cold floor. Standing and stretching to unkink my muscles. I walk to the double doors leading to the back yard from my room, throwing them open to let the cool, crisp, pre-dawn air fill my room.
"What time does Mom want us for our breakfast?" I ask Shyft grabbing my shirt from off my desk chair and throw it on.
"Few hours yet…Why?" He asks.
"I was planning on taking my bow to the range to clear my head, wanna join?" I offer. Unlike my brothers, I was better at archery than with guns. I know how to use them but prefer the subtle art of archery more.
"Sure, let me go get changed and I will meet you at the back gate." He answers.
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"Ok brother I’ll give you 10 minutes and wake up Baker too" I say as he hurries off to his room. I slide on my boots and grab my smart watch and my house key and I head outside.
On my little porch was a small work bench with tools laying all over it, several unfinished arrows, and a few other projects that had never seen fruition. On the wall, next to my door was a set of pegs. One held my favorite trench coat that I had made and the other held my quiver, full of arrows with my homemade ash recurve bow strapped to the side of it. With my trench on and my quiver buckled in place I exited the porch. It was still dark but I've always been a night person, finding a certain solace in the seclusion of darkness. I have always had excellent night vision and I also had the uncanny ability to "sense", for lack of a better word, my surroundings. Making my way down the very familiar paths in our backyard to the back gate was easy. Shyft was waiting for me panting slightly.
"Damn man did you run all the way here?" I ask poking fun.
"I just know you would have left if I was late." He answers.
"True." I say matter of factly. "Is Baker coming?" I reached forward and unlocked the back gate.
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"i knocked and offered. He said something,but what is was i dont know." Shyft answered situating his gear bag on his back.
As the rod iron gate swung open and we stepped through, the familiar stretch of woods on the back of our parent’s property stood before us.
The woods behind our yard were still obscured with darkness and fog. The sound of a few birds stirring awake and a few foxes no doubt looking for something to eat drifted through the air. The smell of dew and wet earth clung as thick as the night. I was loving every second of it. The stars were trying to peak through the dense fog but to no avail. A twig snapped behind us. Shyft stiffened and turned quickly towards the sound. I touch Shyft's arm to calm him. I felt him coming from a mile away. I smiled to myself,
"When were you going to announce yourself, you know it’s not safe to walk up on someone unannounced Baker." I said to my other brother who was trying to sneak up on Shyft and myself. Shyft looked at me smiling as Baker walked up next to us and laughed.
"You are absolutely the worst when I'm trying to have fun." He said feigning hurt.
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The sky was starting to brighten but only slightly I looked at both and asked, "Shall we?"
My brothers and I made the trek through the woods to a small clearing we had found some years ago while playing in the woods as children. It had become our little oasis first for play now for training since we had gotten older. There were varying targets of different sizes at alternating distances. Some metal and some wood. For years, we have been coming back here to hone our skills. Baker and Shyft both unloaded their range bags and I unstrapped my bow from my quiver. To give it time to lighten up enough for us to shoot we took to checking our equipment and the range. Once the first peeks of morning started to shine through the fog I got to our shooting mark and got ready.
"Shyft can you time me?" I asked already lining up my first shot.
"Sure, I’ll start on your first shot." he answered from behind me setting his watch. I exhaled sharply and set my mind at ease. Once I had the order in which I would hit the targets I let loose the first arrow, almost before it was off my string I was nocking the second, then third. Once my quiver was empty I set my bow on the makeshift table we had setup.
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Shyft whistled. "Damn Wingless 30 arrows in a minute that's pretty good. Let’s see how you did though." We walked from target to target collecting my arrows and the final verdict was 26 hits,10 of them were bull’s eyes, and 4 misses, one of which we couldn't even find the arrow.
"New record for you, isn't it?" Baker asked on the walk back to the shooters position.
"I believe so." I answered. Baker and Shyft both took their turns. Baker used his m1911 pistol and Shyft used his new weapon he had created which was basically a lock at the end of a long-braided length of paracord. He called them swing hammers. We each have developed our own styles over the years. Shyft is an impromptu weapon maker. He loves to make effective weapons from household items and scraps. Baker is the most knowledgeable of firearms especially ones from WW2. He loved the intricate nature of how they are made.
We made it back to the house about an hour before the breakfast celebrating our birthdays and as it so happened our graduations too. It was a tradition to have the breakfast on the day that our parents adopted us. We were 5 years old when they found us at the orphanage, but none of us can recall our lives before we met them. We used to ask about where we were from and who
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our parents really were, but we never got straight answers, all our parents would say was that we were special and they loved us.
I took a quick shower and got dressed. I headed down to the dining hall to find our father Stephen Michael Nasato leaning against the mantel staring into the fire that was roaring in the fireplace. His large frame was blocking out most of the light cast by the flames. He turned and fixed his calculating and yet warm green eyes on me. He was a man that exuded confidence without being cocky. He was well like by everyone that met him. He smiled, not one of those fake emotionless smiles, this smile was from being genuinely happy or at peace.
"Hey champ where are the other trouble makers?" he said jokingly.
I smiled slyly "Trouble makers? I know of no trouble makers here father. This is a family of upstanding gentlemen." I answered as sarcastically as possible.
A crash sounded in the hall as Shyft came rolling in on his custom skateboard. A look of shame on his face "That wasn’t expensive was it Pop?" Shyft asked ironically.
"Only a few paychecks of mine and your mothers." Dad answered nonchalantly.
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"Oh good. " Shyft said winking at me.
"Like I said Dad....upstanding gentlemen" I jested. Shyft beamed at being called a gentleman. Dad tried to hide his smile but it was evident in his eyes.
Baker came walking through the hall a few minutes later. "Am I late?" He asked.
"Not at all sweetie." Our mother, Virginia Sarah Nasato's voice drifted in from the kitchen like aerosolized honey. She was pushing a cart laden down with breakfast goodies and there were presents on the bottom. Her red hair was ablaze with the rays of sunlight streaming in through the dining hall windows. She kissed Dad on his cheek as she walks by him. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her in for a real kiss. Her already small frame seemed dwarfed next to our father. They both set up the table and after a hilariously out of tune birthday song, which set us laughing for a while, we ate a hearty breakfast while joking and chatting with our parents.
After breakfast was over, Dad laid a present in front of each of us and sat back in his chair, coffee in hand.
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"Well?" he asked anxiously. We tore into our presents. Baker was the first to get his unwrapped. He held up a collapsible shield and spear from some of his favorite movies. "This is perfect Mom, Dad Thank you.
I had my present unwrapped next. I was blown away by the new recurve bow and quiver set laying in front of me. " Thanks mom, dad they are perfect." Our parents were grinning like kids on Christmas. Shyft was inspecting his gift which was a beautiful multitool set and a spool of high test paracord which he loved to use to make all sorts of things.
"Fucking awesome, thanks mom, dad." He said happily. "Ok guys now we have one more gift for you three." Mom said as she pushed a stack of pamphlets across the table at us.
I grabbed one of the pamphlets. "It's a camping trip." I said to my brothers.
"Actually, it’s a survival training camp." Dad corrected.
Mom continued " We know how you three like that kind of stuff, hunting, camping, and survival training. So, we figured you guys would love it. Plus, we know the guy doing the training, he is a good man and a good friend. I looked at my brothers to see their reactions, both were smiling wide.
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Chapter 1
Before the Fall
Lightning flashes bright in the dark, thunder crashes and echoes all around; then a woman screams from some unseen place. I can never make out what she is screaming. The echo fades into the black around me.
I awoke with a start, the birthmark on my shoulder blade burned with a dull heat that was already fading from memory. The sound of the scream still ringing in my ears. Sweat clouds the view of my bedroom. I wipe the sweat away with my sheet. The clock on my side table read 0600.
"It’s still early brother." My brother Shyft said standing in the doorway.
"You were talking in your sleep again, so I came to check on you." He paused to walk closer to my bed "Was it the same nightmare?" he asked concerned.
"Yeah bruh." I replied. "Darkness then lightning and thunder, the woman screams and then I wake up. This time my birthmark was hurting when I woke
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up." I let out a sigh. "Ugh, that was probably just my imagination." The dream was reoccurring, off and on, over the years and always with the same ending.
Swinging my legs off the edge of the bed and I sit up facing my window. It was early like my brother said, there was no light coming through the blinds. My feet touched the cold floor. Standing and stretching to unkink my muscles. I walk to the double doors leading to the back yard from my room, throwing them open to let the cool, crisp, pre-dawn air fill my room.
"What time does Mom want us for our breakfast?" I ask Shyft grabbing my shirt from off my desk chair and throw it on.
"Few hours yet…Why?" He asks.
"I was planning on taking my bow to the range to clear my head, wanna join?" I offer. Unlike my brothers, I was better at archery than with guns. I know how to use them but prefer the subtle art of archery more.
"Sure, let me go get changed and I will meet you at the back gate." He answers.
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"Ok brother I’ll give you 10 minutes and wake up Baker too" I say as he hurries off to his room. I slide on my boots and grab my smart watch and my house key and I head outside.
On my little porch was a small work bench with tools laying all over it, several unfinished arrows, and a few other projects that had never seen fruition. On the wall, next to my door was a set of pegs. One held my favorite trench coat that I had made and the other held my quiver, full of arrows with my homemade ash recurve bow strapped to the side of it. With my trench on and my quiver buckled in place I exited the porch. It was still dark but I've always been a night person, finding a certain solace in the seclusion of darkness. I have always had excellent night vision and I also had the uncanny ability to "sense", for lack of a better word, my surroundings. Making my way down the very familiar paths in our backyard to the back gate was easy. Shyft was waiting for me panting slightly.
"Damn man did you run all the way here?" I ask poking fun.
"I just know you would have left if I was late." He answers.
"True." I say matter of factly. "Is Baker coming?" I reached forward and unlocked the back gate.
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"i knocked and offered. He said something,but what is was i dont know." Shyft answered situating his gear bag on his back.
As the rod iron gate swung open and we stepped through, the familiar stretch of woods on the back of our parent’s property stood before us.
The woods behind our yard were still obscured with darkness and fog. The sound of a few birds stirring awake and a few foxes no doubt looking for something to eat drifted through the air. The smell of dew and wet earth clung as thick as the night. I was loving every second of it. The stars were trying to peak through the dense fog but to no avail. A twig snapped behind us. Shyft stiffened and turned quickly towards the sound. I touch Shyft's arm to calm him. I felt him coming from a mile away. I smiled to myself,
"When were you going to announce yourself, you know it’s not safe to walk up on someone unannounced Baker." I said to my other brother who was trying to sneak up on Shyft and myself. Shyft looked at me smiling as Baker walked up next to us and laughed.
"You are absolutely the worst when I'm trying to have fun." He said feigning hurt.
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7 / 14
The sky was starting to brighten but only slightly I looked at both and asked, "Shall we?"
My brothers and I made the trek through the woods to a small clearing we had found some years ago while playing in the woods as children. It had become our little oasis first for play now for training since we had gotten older. There were varying targets of different sizes at alternating distances. Some metal and some wood. For years, we have been coming back here to hone our skills. Baker and Shyft both unloaded their range bags and I unstrapped my bow from my quiver. To give it time to lighten up enough for us to shoot we took to checking our equipment and the range. Once the first peeks of morning started to shine through the fog I got to our shooting mark and got ready.
"Shyft can you time me?" I asked already lining up my first shot.
"Sure, I’ll start on your first shot." he answered from behind me setting his watch. I exhaled sharply and set my mind at ease. Once I had the order in which I would hit the targets I let loose the first arrow, almost before it was off my string I was nocking the second, then third. Once my quiver was empty I set my bow on the makeshift table we had setup.
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Shyft whistled. "Damn Wingless 30 arrows in a minute that's pretty good. Let’s see how you did though." We walked from target to target collecting my arrows and the final verdict was 26 hits,10 of them were bull’s eyes, and 4 misses, one of which we couldn't even find the arrow.
"New record for you, isn't it?" Baker asked on the walk back to the shooters position.
"I believe so." I answered. Baker and Shyft both took their turns. Baker used his m1911 pistol and Shyft used his new weapon he had created which was basically a lock at the end of a long-braided length of paracord. He called them swing hammers. We each have developed our own styles over the years. Shyft is an impromptu weapon maker. He loves to make effective weapons from household items and scraps. Baker is the most knowledgeable of firearms especially ones from WW2. He loved the intricate nature of how they are made.
We made it back to the house about an hour before the breakfast celebrating our birthdays and as it so happened our graduations too. It was a tradition to have the breakfast on the day that our parents adopted us. We were 5 years old when they found us at the orphanage, but none of us can recall our lives before we met them. We used to ask about where we were from and who
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our parents really were, but we never got straight answers, all our parents would say was that we were special and they loved us.
I took a quick shower and got dressed. I headed down to the dining hall to find our father Stephen Michael Nasato leaning against the mantel staring into the fire that was roaring in the fireplace. His large frame was blocking out most of the light cast by the flames. He turned and fixed his calculating and yet warm green eyes on me. He was a man that exuded confidence without being cocky. He was well like by everyone that met him. He smiled, not one of those fake emotionless smiles, this smile was from being genuinely happy or at peace.
"Hey champ where are the other trouble makers?" he said jokingly.
I smiled slyly "Trouble makers? I know of no trouble makers here father. This is a family of upstanding gentlemen." I answered as sarcastically as possible.
A crash sounded in the hall as Shyft came rolling in on his custom skateboard. A look of shame on his face "That wasn’t expensive was it Pop?" Shyft asked ironically.
"Only a few paychecks of mine and your mothers." Dad answered nonchalantly.
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"Oh good. " Shyft said winking at me.
"Like I said Dad....upstanding gentlemen" I jested. Shyft beamed at being called a gentleman. Dad tried to hide his smile but it was evident in his eyes.
Baker came walking through the hall a few minutes later. "Am I late?" He asked.
"Not at all sweetie." Our mother, Virginia Sarah Nasato's voice drifted in from the kitchen like aerosolized honey. She was pushing a cart laden down with breakfast goodies and there were presents on the bottom. Her red hair was ablaze with the rays of sunlight streaming in through the dining hall windows. She kissed Dad on his cheek as she walks by him. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her in for a real kiss. Her already small frame seemed dwarfed next to our father. They both set up the table and after a hilariously out of tune birthday song, which set us laughing for a while, we ate a hearty breakfast while joking and chatting with our parents.
After breakfast was over, Dad laid a present in front of each of us and sat back in his chair, coffee in hand.
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"Well?" he asked anxiously. We tore into our presents. Baker was the first to get his unwrapped. He held up a collapsible shield and spear from some of his favorite movies. "This is perfect Mom, Dad Thank you.
I had my present unwrapped next. I was blown away by the new recurve bow and quiver set laying in front of me. " Thanks mom, dad they are perfect." Our parents were grinning like kids on Christmas. Shyft was inspecting his gift which was a beautiful multitool set and a spool of high test paracord which he loved to use to make all sorts of things.
"Fucking awesome, thanks mom, dad." He said happily. "Ok guys now we have one more gift for you three." Mom said as she pushed a stack of pamphlets across the table at us.
I grabbed one of the pamphlets. "It's a camping trip." I said to my brothers.
"Actually, it’s a survival training camp." Dad corrected.
Mom continued " We know how you three like that kind of stuff, hunting, camping, and survival training. So, we figured you guys would love it. Plus, we know the guy doing the training, he is a good man and a good friend. I looked at my brothers to see their reactions, both were smiling wide.
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We all agreed that we wanted to go to the camp, with that settled Mom and Dad told us to go pack for the trip because we were scheduled to be leaving in just a few days. Those days flew by with great haste.
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The trip into town took several hours from the house. The sky was dark with storm clouds moving slowly across the sky. My brothers were passed out during the whole trip, leaving me to my thoughts and my music. Our parents took us into town to eat at our favorite diner for a going away lunch. The diner was in the middle of town which was only a few blocks away by from the transport meeting place. We chatted and joked with Dad, trying to ignore our mother's cooing and crying. It had been 15 years since they adopted us and we had never been out of their care. We finished up lunch and went to the meeting spot. Only a few minutes after we arrived a black van pulled into the parking lot. The side of the van had strange symbols on it that matched the symbols and words from the pamphlet.
The driver parked next to us and got out of the van. He was around 30 years old, average height and weight, and average looks, but there was something about him, a weight or aura that he gave off. I looked at Baker and Shyft and from
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the looks in their eyes they felt it too. Mom walked up to the guy and gave him a hug and Dad shook his hand like an old friend. I don’t know if I was imagining it or what but I thought I saw something, smoke or a shadow, jump from Dads hand to the drivers right before they shook hands.
"Boys come meet our friend Mr. Stoneman." Our Mom motioned at the man.
"Hi Mr. Stoneman, how are you?" I said walking forward to shake his hand. He shook my hand heartily and smiled
"Nice to meet you, young man that is quite a hand shake you have there." he said. Baker and Shyft followed suit and shook his hand.
"Well then are we ready to go?" He asked after the introductions. We shook our heads yes and grabbed our bags from the SUV. We said our goodbyes and loaded into the van. Driving away we looked back to see mom crying again.
"Jeez, it's like she is never going to see us again." Baker said.
Shyft added "yeah we are only going to be gone for a few months." ……...or so we though
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