***********
Book 2 start! Thanks for reading~
***********
The death-cries of children caused John Goodwott’s heart to shudder. The sky glowed a dark crimson. Balls of fire, like shooting stars, rained down upon the small farming village.
Three people, John and his family, were hogtied and gagged in the center of a small Runic formation. Men in black cloaks -adorned with blood-red eagle insignias- were drawing enchantments in the dirt without minding the carnage around them.
John struggled, trying to throw off his bindings. The rope dug into his skin, causing warm blood to flow down over his strained-white knuckles. His attempts at screaming while gagged occasionally drew a soft chuckle from the black-cloaked men.
After a long struggle, John managed to bite his way through the gag. “Why!?” He screamed at the men, his voice cracking.
“Why is a terrible question,” replied one of the black cloaks in a quiet voice as he stepped forward and pulled back his hood, revealing brown mop-like hair. An officer’s insignia sat on his chest. “I’ve always preferred to ask ‘How?’ It’s a better question. ‘Why does gravity work?’ I can’t answer that.”
The man paused, letting his blue eyes meet John’s.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“How does gravity work?” The black cloak asked, a smile spreading across his thin lips. “That’s a question I can answer.”
Hot tears were running down John’s face as he stared at his tormenter. “Please,” John begged, “let my family go. Don’t hurt them.”
“John Goodwott, I wouldn’t think of hurting you or your family. You are very important to us. You three possess a certain… Trait, if you will. A very necessary trait for my research.”
“Research? Madman! You wiped out our village… If you just needed us for research why go this far?!” John cried, his voice breaking the very limits of hoarseness.
“My name isn’t ‘Madman’, Mr. Goodwott, it’s William,” replied the brown-haired man with a grin. “William Jackson. And not one person in this village has died.”
The runes on the ground around John and his family began to gently glow. The air started to roar with the force of a jet engine.
“They’ve simply been exchanged,” said William as he waved goodbye to John. A blinding scarlet flash filled the world.
“Exchanged for the glory of Xternity.” William’s voice fell flat. John and his family vanished into nothingness as the sky shattered with red lightning.