Before Begin
The ground rumpled and cracked. The sky had turned a blood red as giant black clouds billowed farther towards the earth. The clouds cracked streaks of red lightning as it stung a group of dragons. The thunder clouds grew bigger as the battle raged on. Rows among rows of dragons flew into the war zone, with only shadow glimpse from the lightning to watch them scream in agony as they fell down to earth. A beautiful woman ran down a pathway of stone steps with two guards flanking her and a child's hand grasped within her own. The child screamed and cried for her mother to stop, but it was no use. They entered into a giant cave with a beautiful crystal lake in the center.
"Mom," The child cried, "What is happening?"
The mother did not answer but raised both her hands into the air. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. For a mere second, there was no sound but the trickling of water droplets that echoed in the cave. In one swift movement, she clapped and thrust her hands into the water. The water obeyed her command and formed a waterfall falling into a bright light at the bottom. She turned to her daughter, who had tears streaking her face.
"My raindrop," She spoke softly, "Do not cry. I know that this is scary, but it must be done."
The mother pulled at the ring on her index finger and clasped it in her daughter's hand.
"I am entrusting you with the most sacred possession within our family history," She whispered, "Keep this as a reminder of who you are and continue to live for me."
She kissed the forehead of her crying child and hugged her one last time. She detangled herself and stepped away.
Looking at the two guards that stood next to the child she spoke sternly, "Guard her with your life."
The two guards bowed and one of them lifted the child into their arms. Her daughter screamed and kicked as her mother turned her back on her.
"Go!" The mother screamed as she shapeshifts into a giant magnificent beast and charged at the shadows walking down the tunnel.
The guards jumped without a second thought and the final glimpse the child had was her mother's shadow falling to the stone as a beast lifted its claws in the air.
ATTENTION STUDENTS! THIS IS A DRILL! WE ARE ON LOCKDOWN! SECURITY SITUATION ZULU NINER! REPEAT: ALL STUDENTS ARE TO REMAIN WHERE THEY ARE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!
"Alright class, calm down!" The professor said, "It is just a drill."
"So," A young boy, with light brown hair, scoot his chair closer to the girl in the back corner, "What do you say me, and you maybe grab a bite later today?"
The girl rolled her eyes and shoved the boy out of his seat. The entire class laughed at the red-faced boy sprawled on the floor.
"Ms. Well!" The professor yelled from the front of the classroom, "See me at the end of class."
There were a lot of snickers and 'ohhs' from the classroom but was immediately shut down when the teacher yelled once more for silence. The girl slouched over the desk as her wavy brown hair cascaded over her face. The drill quickly ended, and the professor dismissed everyone from their seats, except for one person. The professor walked to the back of the room and stopped right next to the corner desk where the girl sat slouched.
"Mind telling me what that was all about?!" He asked.
His blue eyes stared sternly at the silent girl, waiting for a response. He heaved a sigh and sat in the seat beside her.
"Listen Cordelia," He spoke softly, "I know how hard these past years have been for you, but you have to at least try and be happy in this world."
"What's the point?" She muttered.
"The point is that you were given a second chance..." He said, but he was not able to finish as she stood up abruptly.
"Well I didn't want this second chance!" She screamed, "I never wanted any of this in the first place."
His patience quickly diminished as he spat back, "Well whether you like it or not, young lady, you were given a second chance! So, be grateful that you are alive!"
"Well I'm not!" She screamed and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Student's stared, but she paid no attention to those around her. She bumped into some big guy's chest, but just kept walking without looking up, muttering a small 'excuse me.' She threw open the Garrison front doors and jumped onto a space motorcycle mobile and drove off, tears streaming down her face. Flashbacks to her final days at the place she called home ran through her memory. She was so engrossed in her own head that she did not even realize that she was headed to the edge of a cliff and someone, who was following her, was screaming out her name.
"Hey!" A boy's name screamed, "Look out!"
"Huh?" She snapped backed to reality and applied her brakes out of instinct.
Cordelia jumped off the bike when it did not stop fast enough and rolled to the edge of the cliff where she grasped onto a ledge. The bike tumbled down and a loud crash was heard at the very bottom. Her body dangled as she held on for dear life.
"Help!" She cried out, hoping someone would hear her.
"I'm coming," The boy's voice yelled.
"Hurry! Please!"
The head of a boy with pale skin and mullet black hair popped over the cliff edge and he reached down to grasp her arm. She used her legs to try and climb against the cliff side as the boy lifted her to safety. They both fell in the dirt, heaving from the stress of the situation that was now over.
"Thank you," She spoke softly.
"Don't mention it," He said, still breathing heavily.
She looked at his clothing and it was a Garrison uniform, same one she just tore up from jumping off the bike.
"You're a Garrison student?" She asked.
"Yeah," He said and lifted his back from the ground, "What were you even doing out here?"
She suddenly felt very defensive and sat up straight.
"Uh, nothing," She spoke quickly.
"Clearly it wasn't nothing," He stated, "I called out your name like five times and you paid no attention."
"I was just testing something," She said, but realized how stupid of an excuse that was.
"Testing what?" He asked, "How to kill yourself on a space motorcycle mobile by throwing yourself off a cliff?"
She stood up, her anger rising, "Are you usually this nosey or did your parents teach you no manners?"
"Hey!" He was now angry, "I'm pretty sure that I just saved your life, so I'm allowed to ask some questions."
"No, you don't!" She spat.
She spun and was about to walk to her bike when she realized that it was broken at the bottom of the cliff. She was also going to be in huge trouble with not only the Garrison, but her guardians as well.
"Need a ride?" He asked, a small smirk playing on his lips.
"No!" She said, "I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own, thank you!"'
She began to walk when the boy shouted out, "You do realize it's like an hour long walk right?"
"Exercise!" She shouted back and began to jog.
40 minutes later and she finally reached the Garrison. She was exhausted and it did not help to see her two guardians standing at the entrance, along with Commander Iverson and Commander Shirogane.
"You are in big trouble, cadet," Iverson's voice was low, which made him scarier than when he yelled in your face.
"Yes sir," she muttered, as she followed them inside, prepared to face her punishment.
She looked behind her, feeling a presence and noticed the mullet boy leaning against one of the bikes with a knowing smirk. She scowled and held her head high and marched into the Garrison. She was not sure why, but there was something about that boy that ticked her off. Upon receiving her punishment, after a lot of pleading to not get her kicked out of the Garrison, they sent her back to her barracks.
"Hey!" Katie, her bunker mate, said, looking up from her laptop, "Heard you got a hefty punishment from breaking a bike. Want to talk about it?"
"Not really," Cordelia said.
"I refilled the drawer," Katie said, "Eat away your stress."
She nodded and pulled out a stolen bag of popcorn from the kitchen.
"Night," Cordelia said.
As soon as she hit the bed she was out like a light, some popcorn pieces hanging out of her mouth.
"Night," Katie said, flipping off the light and the room went dark.