"For the breadth of my years, I had one goal.
To find my—well, we all have our own word for them—my chosen.
And every moment thereafter, to keep him alive, whether he liked it or not.
Those were turbulent times. Before humanity found hope for the future.
But I was prepared to kill for it. To die for it."
—A light from a dark age
2. The Stranger
"How you livin', sister?"
"... Huh?"
That was the first word Alina was able to think of. It was barely even a word.
It was all she could say to a simple question coming from the bearded stranger, whom had saved her life while ending five others.
Out of all the possible scenarios she had thought of where this mess of a situation could've ended, having another stranger with a heart of gold and a hot barrel of iron was never in the list, for good reason.
"I said how are you doin'? Lookin' a bit like a statue there."
She must've been quiet far longer than she realized.
His tone sounded friendly, and his expression was curious. But it never left her mind, the thought that at any point, this man could kill her as swiftly as he had done her enemies. Yet so far, he hasn't.
"I- I'm fine. Who are you?" She finally answered with a proper sentence.
Suddenly the man ignored her question, as he quickly shifted his focus to her right.
"Hey, woah woah woah! Easy there, kid." He shouted, but not at her.
She turned in response, to see the child earlier, now with a crossbow in hand, with its end pointed towards the bearded man. Naturally, she intervened in the middle of the two.
"Hey! Calm down. Look, we're not gonna hurt you... okay?" She raised her hands defensively, trying to calm the young boy.
He was understandably shaken, the traumatic experience within the last five minutes had begun to blur his thoughts. From his perspective, everything and everyone around him is a death trap.
She slowly walked towards him, her hands still up and stretched forward, as the boy finally lowered his shaking hold on the weapon. He had finally started to trust her.
"Kid seems to be listening to you... you should get him to put that thing down." The bearded man spoke aloud behind her.
She continued to comfort the boy. "Hey... put the weapon down, alright? You're fine now. You're safe. No one's gonna hurt you anymore."
The boy listened. The crossbow was no longer in his grip, now lying in the snow. She slowly knelt in front of him, and examined his hands and face.
"What's your name?" She asked him.
"... Andrei." He whispered.
She was about to tell him her name, but a question emerged in her head.
"Do you know... who I am?" She asked Andrei.
He stared deeply into her eyes for a few long seconds.
"No."
He didn't know who she was. Maybe he had never personally met her before, or that she had never been to this village before nor had she ever lived here. Or perhaps she had been dead far longer than she would've thought.
She noticed his arms, and gently traced her fingers along the skin. Several bruises can be seen, varying in size.
"Does it hurt anywhere, Andrei?"
She continued to observe his face, noticing the trail of black rocks protruding on his left cheek, some hidden under his jet black hair. She lifted his chin up slightly, noticing a small wound on the side of his neck, where a blade was once pointed at.
"... I'm okay." Andrei muttered. He was putting an act, and she knew that.
There must be something she could do. Something the Light could do.
"Ghost, can you heal this?"
After a moment, her companion which had been silent for a long while, finally spoke to her again.
"No, I can't do that. I can only share my Light with you."
It was not the answer she was hoping for.
"But that doesn't mean you can't."
Her eyes lit up in curiosity. So she could use the Light in such a manner, other than violence?
"Me? How do I do it?"
"Remember what I taught you before?"
She recalled the steps the Ghost taught her before, and reached out to the Light again. The familiar burning sensation raced across her arm gathering at her palm.
"Now, try to focus your Light again. But instead of something that can hurt, imagine the energy in your palm as a sort of remedy. Something that can heal that which is broken. Take as long as you need."
It did not take her long. As she continued to focus the Light, she could feel the heat growing in intensity, but something felt... different. Instead of a yellow flame raging violently waiting to explode, it was more like a gentle dance of white sparks, mesmerising to the eyes.
Andrei was wide-eyed, his mouth agape, seeing the miraculous display in front of him. He had never seen anything like it before.
"Can you feel it? Now, let go."
She did, as the Ghost told her. The orb shone brightly, and a gentle warmth enveloped the two.
The boy felt a refreshing sensation across his arms, as he watched in awe seeing the bruises disappear, along with the cut on his neck, and all the pain across his body subsided.
Meanwhile, the bearded man watched the scene in complete silence. Soon, he eventually holstered his weapon and switched his gaze toward the bodies, unknown to the other two.
"You did it! I knew you could do it. You're a natural at this." The Ghost sounded more ecstatic than he ever did.
"Thanks, Ghost." It was the first compliment Alina has ever earned, from anyone.
It was then she noticed the black rocks on the side of Andrei's cheek that haven't gone away.
'It didn't go away?' She thought the Light was supposed to heal all of his injuries. So why did the black rocks still remain?
Her Ghost however was oblivious to her thoughts, and so he continued. "The Light can be used in more ways than you could imagine. For centuries, Guardians have explored and mastered the various applications of the Light. To build. To mend. To fight. The only limits are your will, and your mind."
She pondered on everything her companion told her, and was subtly curious by his use of the word "centuries". It hasn't occurred to her to wonder, how long Guardians have truly existed.
"If you don't mind me asking... how old are you, Ghost?"
Her companion took a moment to answer. "Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't really been counting. But if I were to give you a guess..."
He briefly paused.
"Older than every tree in this forest."
It took her an eternity of a second to comprehend it.
So stunned she was, that she didn't realize how odd her behaviour had been to Andrei, who wasn't aware of the invisible Ghost. Even more so when she began speaking back to a disembodied voice belonging to no one.
Before she could ask the Ghost anything else, the bearded man announced his presence once again.
"You should take that kid with you."
She turned around to the sight of that same man with a couple of crossbows and swords in his arms, as he proceeded to pick them off the ground, laid between the corpses.
"Take him where?" She asked.
The man stopped and turned to face her.
"Where you came from. Somewhere far from here. You are from someplace else, right?"
She couldn't answer truthfully, because she simply doesn't know.
"No, it's just... I don't know..."
The man stared at her for a few seconds, before something finally clicked in his head.
"Lemme guess... fresh out the grave?"
She was slightly taken aback. She never told him anything about her past, nor her true nature. He shouldn't be able to know, unless...
"You know... who I am?"
The man scoffed. "Heh, your name? Nah. What you are? 'Course I do, think I didn't see your little stunt earlier?"
He had been here longer than she realized. She quickly looked back at the site of three burnt bodies, or more accurately, piles of ashes. A direct result of her Light.
She turned back to the man with a regretful expression. "I didn't mean to go that far, I had no choice-"
"Hey, don't apologize to me. I ain't the one layin' over there." He apparently didn't care for her apologetic attitude. "Anyway, where's your Ghost? Care to introduce yourselves?"
She couldn't know the man's intentions yet, but he has been of no harm to her or Andrei thus far. The least she could do is to simply answer him.
"You can come out. He won't hurt us." Her invisible companion eventually materialised himself by her side.
"My name's Alina."
As she introduced herself, her Ghost did the same. "It's just Ghost."
The man smirked. "You haven't named your Ghost?"
She looked at her one-eyed companion, seemingly dumbfounded. She never realised it before, but 'Ghost' isn't really a name. "I... I thouht you have your own..."
"It's alright, the topic hasn't come up before." Her companion responded. "You can keep calling me Ghost."
She could never truly tell how her companion feels deep inside, with the limited expressions his geometrically shaped being could have. Only his words could tell her such.
"And how about you? Do you have a name?" The Ghost confronted the bearded man before them.
"... Call me Drifter."
Her Ghost remained quiet once more. Alina didn't ask why. Instead, she acknowledged the man.
"Um, thank you... Drifter. For saving us." That name didn't sound natural to her. It may not even be a name, but simply a title. But she refrained herself from prying more.
The man known as Drifter scoffed at her in response.
"I didn't do it for you. I did it for the kid. 'Cause it looked like you weren't doin' a good job."
Alina lowered her eyebrows. Clueless as she is about many things, being mocked at is not something she's oblivious to.
But before she could say anything back, he continued. "If you died one more time back there, these guys could've figured out your little trick. What'd you think would've happened?"
She took a moment to process his words. She obviously wasn't aware of what happens in the period of between her death and her eventual "resurrection". Could her Ghost have been targeted, were she to be careless with her spare lives?
"But I get it, you did your best. We all gotta start somewhere." He finished, before picking up another pile of crossbow bolts from the bodies.
She could no longer ignore his bizarre behaviour. "What are you... doing with all that?"
"Well, they're not gonna need it anymore, do they?" He spoke in a joking manner, rather casually. "If you got a problem with lootin' off corpses, then I gotta say you're lucky to be stuck with cueball over there. Or you won't make it past your first week 'round here."
She chose to ignore his comment on her Ghost, and continued to observe the Drifter silently, as he gradually stripped the dead bodies of all their weapons and bolts. Why he would ever need all that to begin with, she has yet to find out.
"I don't like him." Her Ghost whispered.
"He's just being resourceful." Alina wasn't trying to defend him. It was just her observation.
In truth, the man wasn't growing on her either. But she still owed Andrei's life to him.
"That's not what I meant." Her Ghost clarified. She was now intrigued.
"This is just between us but... I've heard of his name before. Be careful around him."
Alina's eyes shifted to her side, meeting the gaze of the floating machine. Why was he telling her to be careful around this Drifter? Is he someone not to be trusted?
"You got any rides?" Drifter's sudden question snapped her out of her train of thought. She kept her composure, remembering what the Ghost asked of her.
"Rides? No, I don't." Of course she wasn't aware of what he meant. Even if she did, chances are she might not have them anyway.
"Nothing? Vehicles, transportation? You don't expect to just walk through these woods, do ya?" He asked more thoroughly.
She knew what vehicles are, or at least a vague description of them. But she had no experience or recollection of ever being in one. And walking through the terrains for hours again might not be a viable option, with the boy by her side.
"No, I guess not."
Drifter looked far ahead past her. "Over there."
He gestured towards something behind her, beyond the ruined houses on the edge of the village. Two large vehicles can be seen in the distance, their black paint contrasting the white landscape.
"Looks like your friends left you something. Think you can drive that?"
Alina stared at the man with a blunt expression.
"I don't know how to drive."
Drifter in turn, stared at her in disbelief. 'Am I truly this ignorant?' She thought to herself.
"How long exactly you been risen?" He queried.
She told him the truth. "I woke up... a few hours ago."
He clicked his tongue upon hearing her answer. "Really fresh, huh? That's unfortunate..."
His sudden empathetic tonecaught her off guard. She wasn't sure why exactly he was feeling sorry for her. Sure, she was only recently awakened, but she has all the time in the world to learn everything. Right?
And as of now, she has yet to learn anything substantial about this Drifter.
"Then, why are you here? How did you find us?"
The Drifter smirked, as he gestured at the ruins of the large house, its flames now extinguished by the snow.
"Kinda hard to miss a big signal like that out here, don't you think?" He pointed out. "And as for me being here? Business."
Before she could further ask about the supposed meaning of his "business", he shifted his eyes towards the boy by her side.
"He can talk, right?" He asked.
Alina glanced at Andrei, who in turn also met his eyes with hers, before she turned towards the Drifter. "Yeah. Why?"
The latter responded with a simple nod and put the bundle of bolts and blades in his arms down, before walking towards them both. Her arm subconsciously raised itself above Andrei's chest. An act of maternal instinct she wasn't even aware of.
Drifter saw Alina's reaction, and he was quick to defuse the tension. "Relax, I just wanna talk to the boy. I won't bite."
She glanced at the boy beside her shivering slightly, before looking back at the Drifter. He hasn't given her a reason not to trust him, not yet. So she stepped aside.
He knelt down to the boy, his height making it impossible to see him at eye level, and he spoke.
"Hey, buddy. You live here?"
Andrei nodded. He avoided looking into the man's eyes.
"Yeah, sorry about what happened... I know it's a hard time for you right now. But you gotta stay strong for yourself. It's how we all survive." Drifter continued, with a softer tone than before. The boy now looked up to meet his gaze.
"Now listen... can you tell me who did all this? Do you know what they look like?"
Andrei tried to say something, but he struggled to make any noise. He hesitated to say anything about his haunting experiences.
"Go on. I'll believe ya." Drifter assured him to answer. And he eventually did.
"They weren't... people."
Alina stood frozen. It wasn't an answer she expected.
'Not people?' She thought about whether the boy was truly telling the truth. Surely, he had no reasons to lie.
Drifter proceeded to ask the boy something she couldn't have imagined. "Lemme guess. Four eyes, four arms, anything like that?"
Andrei shook his head, and revealed what he truly saw. "Metal faces... and weapons that shoot... bright, blue bolts..."
Alina watched silently, her mouth agape. She couldn't recognise anything the man and the boy were talking about. Just how much more did she not know?
Drifter continued. "Anything else you see? Like where they left?"
Once again, he shook his head the same way. "My... mother... told me to hide. I... never saw her again..."
There was a considerable moment of quiet that followed.
Alina lowered her head in mourning. She could only imagine the pain of losing a loved one, though she wouldn't dream of going through it herself. She doesn't even know if she had anyone to lose.
Drifter put his hand gently on Andrei's shoulder, something she hasn't expected.
"Now listen, kid. Whatever happens, this sister's gonna keep you safe." He said, as he pointed towards her.
As the boy turned towards her, she reassured him. "Yes, I will."
Drifter stood back up and turned towards her.
"Okay, let's have a little talk, you and I."
He walked away from Andrei, and gestured her to come along. She followed suit. No longer within an earshot of the boy, Alina broke their silence.
"What was Andrei talking about?"
Drifter rubbed his chin, or rather the facial hair covering his chin, as he finally responded.
"Well... I think I got an idea. About what did all this mess we're seein'."
"You know who did this? You can find them?" Alina further inquired. This prompted the man to look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Why'd you wanna know? Think you wanna avenge the dead?"
"No, not that..." She denied showing the anger that, though faint, still remained within. But there are more important things at hand.
"I need to find a safe place for the child. But, I don't know where to go." Her tone immediately switched from one of remorse, to that of enthusiasm.
"But you know this place, right? And you know what I am." She must be right. How else could he have known? "So that means you're a-"
"-Hold your breath there, chestnut."
Her sentence was unexpectedly cut short by the Drifter, and his new unapologetic nickname for her.
'Chestnut?' Of course, she didn't know that word, and she was uncertain on how to feel about it.
"I never said I was a Guardian. I just said I knew you are."
Despite what he revealed, Alina didn't change her mind. And she already knew that he's known far more than her.
"But you know what Guardians are. Which means you've known others like me. So if there's a place out there that I should go, where those like me belong, you know where it is.
I know it may be too much to ask, but you can still help us, right? You can take us to another settlement, somewhere safe.
Not for me, but for Andrei. Please."
The Drifter stared at her for only a few seconds. Yet each of those seconds felt a hundred times longer than the last.
Releasing a deep sigh, he relented.
"Alright alright, I can help you."
Relief washed over her face. But before she could actually thank him, the Drifter held up a palm, stopping her again.
"But you should know, there ain't no other village within 10 miles of here that's gonna be safe. And the bad news is... well, if you wanna stick with me, then we're going on my ride. It's a little cramped, but it'll do."
Alina gave him with a puzzled look. "You're... giving us a ride? How is that bad news?"
"Because you won't like it. And it's gonna be a long ride."
He explained further. "Now before you say yes, or no, I got some ground rules.
Number 1, your Ghost buddy is keepin' his voice shut unless I say otherwise. Number 2, anything happens, and I tell you to do somethin', you do it. Understand?"
Her eyes were now narrowed as doubt began to surface. She now contemplated whether sticking with the Drifter was actually going to be a good idea.
As if sharing the very same mindset, her Ghost suggested loudly. "Why wouldn't we just drive on our own? We have time to learn how to get behind the wheel."
The Drifter scoffed. "You sure that's a bright idea, cueball? Where'd you think these hooded guys come from? You think they're all there is?"
Neither Alina nor her Ghost was able to answer for sure.
"And you think drivin' around in one of theirs isn't gonna get you some pryin' eyes? Especially from the ones who sent 'em here to begin with? Think about it." He pointed out.
She didn't admit it, but she understood what he meant. The deadly encounter with the hooded men was still unmistakably fresh in her mind. And she wasn't strong enough to consider herself a worthy protector, yet.
They called Andrei an "Infected". And they accused her as one as well. And that gave them enough of a reason to try to kill the both of them. It might be something to do with the black rocks on the boy's face, but why would they accused her of being the same? She certainly couldn't feel or recall anything growing from her skin.
Her memories were only a few hours old. There is still too much she doesn't know. Her only companion whom she could wholly trust is her own Ghost. But it seemed like he could only teach her the ways of the Light, not the ways of the world that she's a stranger to.
She turned around to look at the boy she, no... Drifter has saved, as he returned his gaze, still ignorant of what was going on.
It was a strange feeling, yet weirdly familiar. She only knew the boy for a few minutes, but she was already prepared to risk her life for his safety.
Maybe it was just a trait that came with her nature as a Guardian. She didn't need to worry of her own life. She has plenty of them to spare. But Andrei, he's only... human.
"Alina." The Ghost called for her attention.
"Do you know what to do?" He asked. She answered with a nod.
She turned back towards the Drifter. "Can I trust you?"
"Hey, you're the one who can shoot fireballs out of your fingers." He sarcastically replied with his hands spread out. "But yeah... as long as you prove I can trust you."
Alina proposed her ultimatum. "Promise me to keep Andrei safe. I'll do what you ask of me."
The Drifter smiled and extended his hand.
"So, we got a deal?"
Calm.
The calm was her only friend.
Her eyes, her three eyes, gazed upon the pale landscape.
And the ominous triangular shape of dark that dwarfed the sky above it.
Silhouettes lingered in the air around her. She had learnt to ignore them.
No one should belong here. But she chose to remain.
The nightmares still lurk, and they may never end.
More secrets still remained to be unearthed.
She still wishes to find out more.
Her experiments have given plentiful desirable results.
But it was still not enough.
"Eris."
Her radio flared to life. It hasn't done so in a while.
She recognized the voice calling her name. She wondered what the voice would need of her at this moment.
"Ikora. To what do I owe you the pleasure?"
The voice named Ikora sounded uncertain.
"Is this an unfortunate time? "
"It is not."
Whatever the voice on the other side of the radio would need, she would hear the call.
"Good. I've heard reports from several Guardians, and they are worrying, to say the least.
They're concerning the Drifter. And by that, I mean his absence."
Absence? He is gone?
"Do you happen to know anything about this, Eris? "
She only knew of this as much as the non-sentient rocks surrounding her base of operations would.
"I haven't seen him in over a month. I assumed beforehand that he was busy in the Tower."
In truth, she didn't assume much at all. She knew he was an eccentric man, sometimes even too much a hassle.
But the silence on his end in the last few weeks should have indeed, given her concern. Even if it's someone like the Drifter.
"He's not. In fact, I've enlisted some of my Hidden to go look for him. He's nowhere in the City."
Ikora's answer only served to further catch her attention.
"Really? Curious."
It was most certainly intriguing. Could that rat have other personal matters to deal with?
"I know the Drifter is... not a straightforward individual in the least, but I think even for someone like him, disappearing off the grid without anyone knowing of his intentions, seems a bit off. And considering everything that's in our hands, we can't afford to turn a blind eye on anything.
I'm only asking you this because you have spent some time with him lately for his assistance, and I thought you might have an insight on his whereabouts."
Indeed, she has spent time with that rat. But she wondered if that time was truly enough, to unravel the enigmatic mind behind that sly mask.
"Unfortunately, Ikora, I cannot help you. I have not maintained contact with him these past few weeks.
But the Drifter has been... instrumental in some of our efforts to understand the true inconceivable nature of the enemy lurking in our doorsteps."
The enemy that has haunted her since forever, now threatening the only home she, and anyone, has left. And now he is missing, off to who knows where?
"Are you saying you want to look for him as well? "
She truly did. Was it out of need? Or affection? At these times, it didn't matter either way.
"I do not think he would simply leave without as much as a short message. We will need his presence. And perhaps, he might need us."
"Understood. I'll see what I can find. Ikora out."
The voice disappeared as the connection was cut off.
Her experiments might have to wait. A new concern has arisen.
The calm greeted her once again.
It was no longer her friend.
Episode 0: Lost Light
0-2
A/N: So here's chapter two of the prologue(according to what I've planned out so far at least). To be honest, I didn't expect to write so much dialogue in this one, and I don't consider myself good at writing dialogue (or anything at all really), but I like to think it was enough.
As always, reviews and criticisms are welcome. I don't know when I'll be able to write the next chapter, and I don't have a schedule so please don't bark at me.
Thank you for reading.