"Huh? W-wwwhat is this place?" said the figure. "I can't see anything. Just blackness all around me. I can't even see myself. What's going on!" The figure plunged into a deep abyss of nothingness, just constantly falling. Falling forever. At least it felt like falling but there was nothing to tell if the figure was falling. Maybe it wasn't falling; perhaps it was floating or maybe he was just suspended in the blackness. Still, there was no way of knowing. Then, the sensation of falling was realised by a shooting, blue light from below.
"Whoa!" said the figure with a start, "What was that! It nearly hit me!" Then, another blue light screamed pass like a glistening, shooting star.
"Yyyaaahhhh!" screamed the plummeting figure as more and more blue beams shot past. The figure tried desperately to dodge them but the weightlessness was almost paralysing.
The blue lights were now coming in so fast that the whole area now changed from a never-ending black to a rich, royal blue. The area now had some means of structure and for the first time, the figure could distinguish its own body composition. He saw limbs, four of them; all with four white nails pointing down towards a flat bottom. He had a torso which had a peachy underbelly (which was facing upwards) and a reddish-brown skin colour with a deep mahogany, wavy strip following his spine. Suddenly, a fifth limb appeared from between his lower two, this one with nothing but a fine pointed tip and sharing the same colour code as the rest of his body. The creature breathed a sigh of relief, temporarily forgetting the fact that he was still falling. He looked around calmly still trying to figure something out. The feeling of falling had become second nature and he began to think nothing of it.
Suddenly, from down below, the opposite side to the four-legged creature, two brightly coloured curtains of light shot up and consumed the blue colour surrounding him in a perfectly even ratio. One red to the right and the other green to the left, both shining with the same glistening aura of the blue behind his own head. Then, the weightlessness feeling began to halt and a decrease in speed was felt. The creature felt something manipulating his body and rotated him onto all fours where he landed so softly, his knees didn't even budge an inch as he touched the ground. The tri-coloured aura swirled high above his head as he surveyed his environment like a caged animal released in the wild. Just as he came to grips with what was around him, there was a great flash of a blinding white light. He bowed his head sharply from the intense light and slammed his eyelids shut to protect his eyes. Slowly, he opened his eyes and the great white flare had dissipated and suddenly he became surrounded by a lush, green, fertile landscape full of life and creatures that resembled himself. The quadruped beamed as he stared open eyed at the familiar landscape before him.
"I'm home!" he yelped as the smile on his face grew wider and wider. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice from behind him call a name.
"Littlefoot! Hey Littlefoot, over here!" A hay-coloured triceratops was calling him by name to a stretch of water fed by a large waterfall.
"Cera!" he bellowed to the female dinosaur and ran to her. During his lengthy strides, a shadow cast over him and circled a number of times. Littlefoot looked up and recognised the silhouette that soared above him.
"Petrie!" he called out.
"Littlefoot!" the shadow responded as it landed next to Cera, "where you go? Me no see you all morning!"
"Yeah," the triceratops agreed, "where were you? Me and Petrie were looking for you but you seemed to disappear."
"Well, you'll never believe what happened…" Littlefoot's sentence was cut dramatically short when a rumbling could be heard overhead. The ground shook violently, trees waved dangerously in response to the tremors. Littlefoot felt a surge of panic rush through his mind as he yelled, "EARTHSHAKE!"
Trying desperately to remain calm, he glanced up at Cera and Petrie who stood unnaturally still and undisturbed under the waterfall they knew as "The Thundering Falls".
"C'mon you guys!" Littlefoot said with an urgency that made his voice hoarse, "we gotta get outta here!" Totally ignoring Littlefoot's desperate cry to retreat, Cera and Petrie remain motionless under the waterfall. Littlefoot couldn't understand what they were doing. Normally, Cera was streaks ahead of Littlefoot when it came to fleeing from danger be it an earthshake or sharptooth. Littlefoot stared at them hard and yet within their presence, he could sense no life in them as if they were made of stone. His two friends stood completely still as the rumbling got louder and closer. At that moment, he looked up and gasped as he saw a tidal wave of water rush over the peak of the Thundering Falls. Completely bewildered, Littlefoot saw Cera and Petrie turn away and walk towards the wall of water that was about to crash down upon them. In a panic-stricken flash, Littlefoot ran towards his friends trying frantically to keep up with them. Just as he made contact with them, the wall of water crashed on Littlefoot's head. He felt every drop pound on his skull as the swirling water engulfed him in a suspended prison of endless blue.
Opening his eyes, Littlefoot saw Cera and Petrie still walking away from him. He tried with all his might to paddle after them but a strange force seemed to be pushing him back. Amid his failed attempt to stay with his friends, who were now staring directly at him, Littlefoot felt his chest suddenly pull tight. His lungs screamed for air as he forcefully abandoned his attempt and struggle to the surface praying that he wouldn't drown before he got there. The tightness pulled even more as he squirmed his great weight up to the surface which seemed a lot heavier as he climbed what seemed to be for ever.
Looking up, the surface of the water shattered in a screeching splash as Littlefoot gasped for air which rushed into him cooling his burning airways. Puffing and panting, Littlefoot opened his eyes and slowly walked over to the shore where he collapsed at the mere thought that his life nearly ended at that moment. Just when he thought he was safe, Littlefoot felt a rough textured, slimy object slap him on his right cheek. Startled, he leapt to his feet and glared at his surrounding searching for whatever had just hit him. Before he even knew where he was, he felt the attack again. Bewildered, he looked in the direction of the attack to see a large, heavily built stegosaurus paste his face with saliva. Seconds later, he then heard another familiar voice.
"Littlefoot! Hi, hi, hi!" a green saurolophus barked merrily from on top the stegosaurus.
"Ducky!" Littlefoot exclaimed breathing a sigh of relief that he wasn't being eaten, which was his initial thought, "and Spike!"
"Are you okay?" Ducky asked making sure every word was pronounced clearly so no colloquial slurring could be heard.
"Yeah, I'm all right. You frightened me though."
"We did?" Ducky turned to Spike, "we did not mean to scare you. Oh no, no, no."
"It's okay." Littlefoot giggled at the silly thought that he was being eaten.
"What is funny?" asked Ducky catching on to Littlefoot's snigger.
"Nothing," he smiled warmly, "it's just that…hey! Where are we? This isn't the Great Valley." Littlefoot looked around him confused. All he could see was an endless stretch of sand in both directions, all the time being lapped gently by the crashing of tumbling waves from the sea.
"This is the Big Water! What's going on here?" He turned to Ducky and Spike but before they could say anything, he felt another rumbling from beneath him. Fear charged into his mind again as he felt the tremors getting stronger.
"Another earthshake!" he yelled at the top of his voice and he checked to see if Ducky and Spike were reacting to it which indeed they were. Ducky's high-pitched screams echoed off the cliffs as they shook and struggled to remain on their feet. Suddenly, the ground began to split and this time, Littlefoot was sure this was real. He began to run but something was wrong. His mind was roaring at him to run away to safety but his legs refused to comply. His muscles felt like stones as he pleaded with his own body to move. Was he scared stiff? Was his so scared his body as frozen with fear? Either way, the zigzagging crack of the earthquake snaked its way closer and closer to Littlefoot's static position.
"Littlefoot!" cried Ducky on top of a dismal looking Spike, "do not stand there you silly longneck! RUN!"
It was no use; Littlefoot's body was completely paralysed with fear. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the zigzag crack removed the floor from under him. The last thing he saw was Ducky and Spike peering over the hole, staring down at him as he plummeted into the darkness.
Chapter 2: Littlefoot's AwakeningLittlefoot could do nothing but scream as he plunged yet again into a never-ending pitch black. By now, he had lost sight of the light coming from the surface and Ducky and Spike's faces were no longer visible. Deeper and deeper into the darkness he fell with no signs of stopping. He heard a whooshing sound pass his head and as he looked up at it, he realized that it was a rock surface. This then allowed crazy assumptions to leap into Littlefoot's mind as the blackness took form of a chasm with him falling down the middle. With the heavy force of the wind against him, Littlefoot rotated his head downwards and shrieked at what he saw. He saw the ground approaching him fast and his free-fall was not slowing down like last time. This time, it had to be real. No weird or magical force of the wind to stop him from crashing horribly onto the solid ground below him. Littlefoot's mind tortured him with visions of what his outcome would be after hitting the floor and his life ending in a split second. Thoughts of his friends and grandparents flooded his vision next as he thought he would never see them again. His final thought was that this time, there was no saving him.
As the ground came ever closer, Littlefoot fell silence. Grieving for his own loss he remembered in quick flashes the great memories he had since his hatching. Seeing his mother for the first time, meeting his friends for the first time, reaching the Great Valley despite all the hardships of the world they faced, seeing Chomper and Ali as they made their arrivals in the Great Valley and he even remembered when Spike left the Valley with that herd of other spiketails to escape the snowfall which everyone had dubbed the 'white ground sparkles'. The good memories of his life soon took its toll on Littlefoot has he wept silently whilst awaiting his cruel fate. He felt the cool, glistening tears run down his face and sharply whip off with the wind as he took one last look at the ground (which was nearly upon him) and held his breath. He felt the impact of the ground as he made contact but that was the last thing he felt before feeling nothing at all.
Littlefoot's body lay motionless on the ground, but strangely enough, he felt a growing warmth. Littlefoot twitched awkwardly and slowly opened his eyes. Was he dead? Had he died and gone somewhere? His head rushed with possible explanations for where he was. The most pressing of all was that if he had died, is this where his mother was? Is this where she said she would be constantly looking over him? Questions marched through his brain one by one but all without answers. As his vision slowly came into focus, he raised his head and looked around. Nothing. Pure blackness surrounding him again. He stood up slowly but discovered he wasn't actually standing on anything. Strange as it seemed, Littlefoot was sure he could feel a floor under him. After taking in the very little that was around him, he decided to call out for someone.
"Hello?" he bellowed. His voice echoed off walls that sounded like they were very close.
"Is any body there…?" Silence. Walking in one direction, Littlefoot decided to do what he normally did best when he was alive which was wander around and explore things. He walked for what couldn't have been more than about a hundred metres when Littlefoot felt his face hit something invisible. Invisible and rock hard.
"Ooowww," he groaned rubbing his face with his left, front foot making himself sound like he had a stuffy nose, "Ow! By dose! What der…?" He started his sentence but then he felt the black ground shake for a third time. Before he could notice this, Littlefoot saw a great beam of light shoot up from what appeared to be the centre of the room. It shot up high into the blackness above and rained down again as droplets of red, blue and green. The room took shape as the wall behind Littlefoot glowed blue, the wall to the left of him was green and the wall to his right glowed red. All three colours were in an exact ratio each covering one of three wall that all joined together to make a triangular shape. Staring in awe, Littlefoot looked around and watched the coloured wall glisten and sparkle like stars. Then he noticed the white beam of light in the centre slowly fade and take the shape of an old longneck.
Gasping, Littlefoot looked around him for a place to hide while the holographic image of the longneck became more and more real. As the last of the light faded, the longneck looked at Littlefoot staring him straight into his eyes which were still slightly damp from his tears. The gaze was piercing as if the longneck was staring deep into his soul. Then, it spoke.
"Hello Guardian," the old longneck said calmly.
"Hhh-hh-hello," Littlefoot stammered not quite understanding why she was calling him "guardian" as he has never protected anything in his life.
"Do not be afraid little one. I am here to guide you."
"Gg-guide me?" he said still a little nervous.
"Yes child. I am here to tell you about your destiny."
"My destiny? I don't understand. What is my destiny?"
"Your destiny is what you were born and placed on your world to accomplish. Everyone has a destiny. For some it is merely to grow old and for some it is to change something about the world that already exists and with it, the very essence of time and history."
Littlefoot stood still confused. What he was born and placed on his world to do? What's that supposed to mean?
"You are a chosen one set to bring about a change in the world."
"Change? What change?"
"A change that will save not only your world, but that of another as well."
"ME?" he exclaimed in surprise, "me by myself? Going to change the world?"
"Not exactly child. See, you are one of three chosen ones sent to restore peace to the world. Yours and theirs."
"Really?" The longneck nodded. Littlefoot still couldn't quite grasp the concept that he was supposed to bring a change to the world, but the idea sounded quite exciting. It would be like he was like Doc, the fabled "Lone Dinosaur", who saved the Valley, but he would have to save the entire world. Suddenly, Littlefoot felt his heart sink. Sensing this, the longneck asked him,
"What is the matter child?"
"I can't change the world though," he moaned, "I'm…dead." He shuddered at the thought.
"In one sense yes you are, but I can assure you child that you are more alive than ever; even more so now I have explained your destiny to you. As one life ends…another begins…" Astonished, Littlefoot rapidly looked himself over for signs of life. He could hear himself breathing, he could still feel pain (as his sore nose reminded him of his silly little incident earlier) and he could feel his temples throbbing which obviously meant his heart was still going strong as the wave of excitement made it hammer hard against his chest, making every beat noticeable. Relieved to have discovered he was still amongst the living, he stopped to ask,
"But, how do I know I am the right one you are talking about? Could you have gotten the wrong dinosaur?"
"Certainly not dear. You are most definitely the one destiny speaks of and your proof is the stone you possess," the old one answered promptly yet calmly.
"The stone? What stone?"
"You are a guardian, one of three other chosen ones. Each possess a stone that holds sealed power as do you."
"Sealed power? What do you mean?"
"Power sleeps within you child. In order to release that power, you must give it a structure to harness it." The old longneck continued, "you are a guardian. To save your world, you must meet with the other two, chosen by destiny, in order to free your world from the darkness that shall, otherwise, consume it." Now Littlefoot's mind was buzzing with questions, but before he had the chance to ask, the old longneck hushed him and simply said,
"Look up there child. There is your proof you are the chosen one."
Stunned, Littlefoot looked up and from the darkness, he saw small, blue object fall down out of the infinite black. One landed in front of him and splashed at his right side, a second landed directly on his sore nose. Littlefoot wiggled his nose as the wet substance tingled as if to soothe his pain. It then ran down his nose and into his mouth. It tasted sort of like the big water did when him and his friends met Chomper over on his island. Then he realized what is was.
"Is that…?" he began. The wise, old longneck nodded.
"It is your very own tears." Amazed, Littlefoot looked up to see if anymore were falling. One last tear dropped from the black sky and dropped directly in front of him, but instead of splashing, it made a pinging sound as it hit the ground and bounced up in his face. As it stopped spinning and laid flat on the ground, Littlefoot looked closer at it to see that his teardrop was solid and strangely triangular shaped. In fact, it was a perfect, equilateral triangle. Picking it up in his mouth, he gazed cross-eyed at it. It seemed to shine with a radiant, deep blue. The old longneck continued.
"That stone is called the "Guardian's Tear Sapphire". It is the proof that you are the chosen one. There are two more stones like it which the other two chosen ones hold. You must keep that with you and never allow the dark hand to seize it from you. Otherwise the consequences will be dire." Nervously, Littlefoot asked,
"Like what?"
In response, the old longneck swished her mighty tail in front of Littlefoot's eyes and transformed the darkened area into what appeared to be a burning wasteland. Littlefoot gaped at the sight as he saw all the trees and greenery of the area burning with unnatural flames that licked bizarre colours. Littlefoot then gasped as he recognised the landscape and the inhabitants fleeing in terror. Volcanoes spewed a constant stream of lava from their summits and thick, black smoke rose out of their tops. He saw his own home burning and his friends and family running terrified from the flames as they engulfed everything in their path. What horrified Littlefoot even more was the sight of his own grandfather lying collapsed from exhaustion surrounded by the wild fire pleading for help.
"GRANDPA!" Littlefoot yelled and he began to run to him forgetting it was only a holographic image. Before he could reach his suffering grandfather, the burning land disappeared from in front of him and Littlefoot dug his heels into the ground to stop himself before he became reacquainted with the wall.
"I am sorry I had to show such a dreadful illusion child," apologised the longneck, "but you see that if the powers of darkness consume that stone… Your world will be lost forever."
Without turning around, Littlefoot lowered his head and said in a depressed voice, "But how do I know I'll be strong enough? What if I can't stand up to it? What if you're wrong?" The old longneck simply smiled and said,
"I know…you will be strong…guardian." And with that, the same bright light that filled the room to start with appeared again and the wise, old longneck disappear into it. Whipping his head around, he called after her, but she did not acknowledge. He still had so many questions; who she was for one. As the white light faded, the red, green and blue strips around him washed down off the walls as a great rumbling could be heard. Littlefoot panicked and looked around for an escape route. The floor was now being covered in a black mist and it welled up around Littlefoot's ankles. Gasping, Littlefoot snatched the sapphire from the ground and made a run for the opposite corner. Before he reached it, Littlefoot felt a vine-like object grab his hind legs, tripping him over. More panic-stricken than before, Littlefoot tried desperately to clamber his way out of the mist that was gradually pulling him in, but to no avail. With the stone in his mouth, Littlefoot felt more vines wrap around him working their way up his body until they managed to pull his head under. Littlefoot gulped for one last breath of air through his teeth and the stone before sinking into the murky black mist.
Chapter 3: A Friend's Gentle TurmoilLittlefoot wriggled and writhed to escape the clutches of the vines but they only held him tighter. It was almost strangling him to point where he had to screamed for freedom. Just then, Littlefoot's eyes snapped open to a crystal clear, blue sky. Clouds floated gently past on a southwesterly breeze and the tree rustled welcomingly either side of his head. Without moving from his place, Littlefoot looked around to find himself lying on his back in a sprawled out star shape on the ground. The sun was high in the sky as Littlefoot lifted his head up and yawned exposing all his plant-grinding teeth to the outside world. As he laid his head back down in the position it was before, he saw eight eyes staring down at him menacingly.
"WHOA!" Littlefoot shrieked and sat upright crushing his tail in the process. The eight eyes separated and all laughed playfully. Littlefoot turned around to see the usual gang clouding over him in a laughing fit. Littlefoot sniggered at his own stupidity and called to them rather sternly,
"Hey you guys! No fair! I was asleep."
"Yeah, we know," giggled Cera, "that's why we did it."
"It was very funny," laughed Ducky tagging her usual "yep, yep, yep!" on the end of her sentence.
"Me no see you jump so high Littlefoot," sniggered Petrie as his flew up high to demonstrate how high Littlefoot nearly jumped. Even Spike was laughing so much he was almost crying. A gentle smile spread across Littlefoot's face as he watched his friend roll around laughing kicking up the dust that lay around them. Amid all the childish giggling, Littlefoot's face suddenly turned into a very concerned frown. His smile wiped clean off his face as he tried to piece together what had just happened. The others looked at Littlefoot's depressed expression and their laughter stopped uneasily. Being the most sympathetic of the group, Ducky hopped down off Spike's back and positioned herself under Littlefoot's hanging head.
"Littlefoot? Are you okay?" she asked pouring as much sympathy into her voice as possible.
"Huh?" Littlefoot murmured as he realized he had spaced out for a moment, "Yeah, yeah. I'm okay."
"What wrong Littlefoot?" Petrie asked in a broken sentence that seemed to be missing some words.
"It's nothing," he said promptly trying to shake off any suspicion that something was troubling him.
"Come on Littlefoot," barked Cera examining Littlefoot's face, "we know you too well for you to suddenly say nothing's wrong. So what's up?"
"Well, if you must know, it's about this dream I keep having."
"The one about the dark place and the ghostly longneck?" Ducky asked shivering.
"Yeah, that's the one. I keep having it every night and it seems to be getting more and more worse."
"What's this about?" interrupted Cera now curious having not being told anything.
"Littlefoot keep having dream about falling and spooky ghost longneck," Petrie replied.
Littlefoot went into a little detail about the dream but found it increasing difficult to express everything the way he saw it. He also never mentioned the part about the destruction of the Great Valley as he didn't want to cause an uproar over something so trivial such as a bad dream.
"Guardian?" Cera said confused.
"Yes," Littlefoot assured her, "the longneck keeps calling me 'guardian' for some reason."
"You? A guardian! Ha!" Cera snorted, "you couldn't protect yourself from a fish out of water let alone protect the whole world!"
Littlefoot wrinkled up his face insulted but he'd expect that sort of thing from Cera; being a threehorn and all. Littlefoot then went on and explained about the stone. He didn't dare say if formed from his tears otherwise they would either think he were a crybaby or completely insane.
"What it called again?" Petrie asked unintentionally missing the 'is' part out of his question.
"I think she called it the 'Guardian's Tear Sapphire' or something like that."
"Hah," Cera snorted again, "a load of rotten berries if you ask me." Cera flicked her tail up vertical and waddled off towards the watering hole for a drink.
"It's not crazy!" Littlefoot called after her annoyed but Cera's stubby tail waving was all the response he got from her. Spike trailed after Cera and Petrie followed suit. Ducky, on the other hand, was about to leave but stopped and stared worryingly up at Littlefoot who still remained seated since they met that morning. His frown had reappeared.
"Have you spoken to your grandparents about it Littlefoot?" Ducky asked finally after a minute of silence. Littlefoot stammered for a brief second.
"Not really. I mentioned it briefly to Grandpa, but he said it was only a dream and dreams aren't real." Littlefoot felt depressed again.
"Well…" Ducky began uneasily, "I think that maybe your dream might mean something."
"You think so?"
"Maybe, I do not know."
"So you're saying you believe what my dream is telling me?"
"Well…uurrmmm…no. Not exactly but my mama says that if a dream always comes back night after night, then it usually means something. That is all."
Littlefoot felt betrayed for a second. At that specific moment he thought perhaps Ducky actually believed what he had told her about his dream but in the end, she just disregarded it as nothing just as the others did. He sighed and then said,
"Well, it doesn't really matter at the moment. C'mon, let's catch up with the others." With that, Ducky hopped onto Littlefoot back (using Littlefoot's head as a step) and they trotted towards the watering hole.
On the way there, Littlefoot, despite showing a brave smile to Ducky as he checked to see if she as alright, silently turned the thoughts in his mind over and over about his dream. What did it all mean? Could Ducky possible be right about it having some sort of purpose? Was he destined to save the world? Or was it just some crazy nightmare that had been haunting him from hearing one too many of Grandpa's bedtime stories? Nothing quite made sense and Littlefoot could find no link between any of the points his dream had told him for countless nights since he found that shiny, blue stone a couple of days ago. Other things that troubled him was that if he was indeed the guardian that ghostly longneck spoke of, how would he save the world and more pressing was… who were the other two chosen ones who would fight along side him? Upon reaching the watering hole, he shook the thoughts from his mind and bent his head down to take a long, cool drink from the crystal waters of the Great Valley's freshest watering hole.
Chapter 4: Another World; Same Planet"Get them! Do not allow them to escape!" the man yelled at his squad ordering them to seize the two escapees. A boy and a woman fled in terror down a twisted, unlit corridor trying desperately to evade the squadron of men chasing them armed with automatic machine guns. Ducking and turning down each gloomy passageway that all seemed to link together to form an endless labyrinth. The boy turned to see how far the guards were behind them.
"Don't look back! Keep running!" panted the woman as she pushed the child forward more to distance themselves even further. She clutched a pendent she wore around her neck as if to pray to the heavens that they would escape safely. The boy charged round a corner so fast that everything blurred as if he were running at supersonic speed. He barged into a person dressed, in what looked like a white trench coat, knocking him to the ground. He tripped over the person's flailing legs and hit the marble floor so hard the halls echoed.
"Jason!" the woman cried as she overtook him unknowingly, "Quickly!"
"Yes mother," he called after her picking himself up from the ground, "I'm coming."
The two escapees sprinted down to the end of the corridor when shuffling of heavy boots could be heard echoing at the other end.
"Open fire!" one man ordered as the platoon pulled the triggers of their assault rifles. Bullets flew dangerously close to their heads as the boy and his mother ducked and turned the corner. The jingling of empty bullet cases could be heard as they littered the polished marble floor. After tearing round the last corner, the mother stopped and looked back through her shoulder-length, jet-black hair to check on her son who had just emerged from the corner. The loud clapping of the squadron's boots was now getting closer after failing to hit them with over a hundred rounds of rifle shots. As her son caught up with her, she turned around again to look for even the smallest of hiding places. Then, she swivelled around and rattled a red door's handle. It was locked. In desperation, she then took a few steps back and kicked the door in. The door lock shattered as the doorframe gave way to the tremendous force of the blow and swung the door inwards. She grabbed her son round his waist and yanked him into the storage room and quickly shut the door. Holding their breath, the two of them stared up from the floor of the dark chemical cupboard as they listened to the squadron charge past the door and deeper into the complex.
Taking a breath and sighing loudly, Jason turned anxiously to his mother for answers to questions he was formulating as they were fleeing for their lives.
"Mother, what is this place?" he asked between hard, wheezing breaths realizing that the long sigh had not helped him catch his breath at all.
"This is Red Phoenix Laboratories," the mother answered once she had recovered enough breath to speak, "they specialise in a large number of scientific activities that are supposed to revolutionise the way our planet functions. They are specialists in chemical manufacture and energy formation in living creatures. They are currently searching for an energy source that is said to be ever-lasting."
"A perpetual energy source!" Jason said amazed, "but perpetual energy is not possible. Every energy source has an expiry time it can't possibly last for ever." The mother shook her head.
"I'm afraid not Jason. They have discovered essences that prove that such an energy source is obtainable through recent discoveries that we have made."
"How?"
"I don't know." Jason stopped to think for a moment.
"So, what has that got to do with us? Why do they want us dead?" The mother remained quiet for a while but Jason was eager for her to answer his question.
"Why mother? What do they want?"
"I… don't know…" she answered finally. She was clutching her pendent again. Jason remained silent but in his head, he was thinking so fast it almost hurt. The silence between the two of them felt very tense. Jason felt his body gradually cooling down as the sweat evaporated off his skin. He could feel the adrenaline that was coursing through his veins slowly dissipating, but his mind still urged him to ask more questions about why the Red Phoenix Lab personnel wanted him and his mother so badly. His mother was always a good employee here and he even got to know the other doctors she worked with. He especially like one particular doctor that she worked with who name he kept forgetting. Nevertheless, Jason found him quite entertaining despite the seriousness of his work. The doctor always played with him with all the doctor's equipment as if they were playing "Doctors and Nurses" and even gave him his own medical kit with old equipment they didn't use anymore. Jason's mother worked along side him and together they were working on a new project to help the people of their dying nation that was diseased by a deadly virus more potent than any nuclear radiation could possibly emit on a living being. There was an outbreak of this deadly virus when a Red Phoenix tanker, transporting a live sample of the virus, was attacked by protestors and over turned it. The virus was freed and it spread throughout the area travelling in the air, in the water and any other possible vector it could find. There was an antidote for virus but it could not be produced fast enough to cure the people. Then, the death toll of the area counted up; the virus spread and then infected neighbouring counties of South East England from the nation's capital. London was a derelict and no one was spared. Men, women and children of all ages all fell victim to the virus and died with symptoms related to bacterial decomposition of the victim's own flesh. Even government figureheads fell down ill with the virus to the point where the entire country was on the verge of collapse. The virus then spread by birds, rats and marine life to other countries where they fell victim to the virus too. The destruction of the world and the human race.
Jason looked up at his mother as he remembered the world as it used to be. He lost his brother and sister to the virus despite receiving the antidote. He envisioned their decaying bodies rotting from this sickly, merciless disease. Seemed as though the virus was mutating to the point where the antidote was becoming ineffective. Jason even had a sample of the antidote that he stole from one of the laboratories whilst his mother and her colleagues were on a break. One point that Jason couldn't understand was how the global spread of such a powerful virus could be achieved by one simple incident that happened about three years ago and still, the swindling human population of those who survived or did not become infected all seemed linked one way or another to the Red Phoenix group. Was it an accident? Or was something much deeper and sinister happening within the walls that were currently imprisoning them?
"We have to get going Jason," his mother said finally, "if we remain here, we'll be caught for sure."
"Huh?" he looked at her surprised, "do you have a plan mother?" The way she was sitting looked uncomfortable and troubled. Obviously his mother had thought of something as she stood up suddenly and removed the pendent from around her neck, held it close to her chest for a few seconds and then turned and lassoed it around Jason's head. She then stared him directly in his brown eyes and grasped his hands.
"Jason, I want you to swear to me. Never allow these evil people to get their slimy hands on this pendent do you hear me!" Jason looked shocked. This was not exactly the response he had expected from his mother but he couldn't help noticing the fear in her that made her voice tremble and the silvery tears that had started to form in the corner of her eyes.
"I…I," Jason stammered. He wanted to say yes but the emotional barrier between him and his mother was overwhelming. She shook his wrists and almost shouted at him when he didn't quite reply.
"Jason! Look at me! Promise me you will never let these people take that pendent from you! Got it!" She released his wrists and cupped them over the blood red ruby that was wrapped in the gold frame of the pendent.
"Okay mother," he said finally. He suddenly felt very disheartened by his mother's words as if she was regretting what she was saying. Nevertheless, Jason placed his hands over his mother's as they both held the pendent together.
"Now, I have got an idea on how to escape. My guess is that now they have lost sight of us they will shut down all normal exits to the building. If we can activate the fire alarm system, the override should unlock all fire escapes. If we make it to the thirty-seventh floor, we can make our escape over the bridge to the emergency escape pods and we'll be home free."
Jason's depressed feeling suddenly disappeared on hearing this plan and already he was up and running for the door.
"Wait!" his mother called as he nearly turned the broken door handle, "First we need the fire." She smiled almost evilly as she pulled a number of small bottles off from the shelves above them. She took a specific selection, mixed them together and carefully opened the door. Jason cringed and pinched his nose at the rancid smell of the bubbling concoction his mother had just made. As she peered outside the chemical cupboard, she flinched awkwardly. One of the platoon's men was patrolling the corridor at the opposite end. She froze and flattened herself against the open door as she glanced round the corner again. Jason, too, peered around the door but his arm hit a bottle on the lowest shelf as he moved. It rocked dangerously as he turned around just in time to see the brown bottle fall and crash noisily onto the marble floor. The guard jerked in the direction of the sound and began to run towards them.
"RUN FOR IT!" his mother cried as they took off backtracking down the route they had just come from.
"Captain!" the guard called, "I found the targets!"
Once again, the squadron gave chase but before they could reach the corner Jason and his mother had just turned, Jason's mother threw the bottle at them which immediately erupted into flames as it hit the ground.
"Head them off!" the captain yelled as they were forced to take the longer route round.
Alarm sirens rang out as the fire alarm system took action. The overhead sprinklers began to rain water down throughout the entire complex as Jason and his mother ran up the stairs to the thirty-seventh floor. Shoulder barging open the stairwell door labelled "Floor 37" in large yellow paint, Jason and his mother ran straight to the opposite end of the corridor before hearing heavy footsteps of several people heading them off. With a quick glance upwards, Jason saw the barrels of the assault rifles just before they opened fire on him. The bullets shattered the glass windows decorating the walls as his mother grabbed Jason and dived to the right, out of harm's way.
"After them you morons!" the captain screamed agitated seeing his highly trained squad miss their targets again.
"This way Jason!" his mother cried as she pulled his arm and veered left towards a room. It appeared to be an office cubicle.
"We can cut through this office to get to the pods!" she added she saw Jason smash through the door. Jason glanced back to admire the distance he had created between him and the squadron when he was struck on the side of his head with the butt of a handgun. Clutching his head in pain, Jason looked up to find himself staring down the barrel of a weapon that read 'Beretta M92SF' down its side which was now pointing directly at his forehead. The room was so dark he could not see who was now in control of whether he lives or dies. As his mother burst into the room, she froze and gasped. The man then spoke raising his gun now up to her.
"Ah! I've found you both at last! My specimen."
"Specimen?" Jason's mother blurted, "What the hell do you mean by that!"
"You two are my test subjects on a very specialist project I've been working so hard on. I was so upset when you both disappeared I had to send the squad after you," the man cracked a devilish smile that Jason could only see from the reflection off of a broken, chrome lamp that laid on the desk. The man then turned to him.
"Ah, Alpha omega-1616, nice to see you again my boy."
"Alpha omega-1616? What's that mean?" Jason asked bewildered at the strange code the man referred to him as.
"Why, that's your name. Well, your specimen name anyway."
"I'm…I'm a specimen?" Jason was now terribly confused.
"Yes dear boy. For MY EXPERIMENT! I believe you and your mother have some connection to the incredible findings I have discovered."
Jason's mother's mind then picked up on something. That explained the large number of tests she and Jason underwent during the formulation and outbreak of the virus that happened three years ago. Jason ignored this detail and shook his head in disbelieve.
"No! IT'S NOT TRUE! You're a monster!"
"But it is true! Both factors in fact" the evil man reassured him as he cackled hideously and kneeled down beside him. He whispered gently in his ear, "You are my test subject for a multimillion pound project that I will rewarded for proving my theory." Enraged, Jason leapt at the man and wrapped his hands around his throat in an attempt to strangle him. The man batted Jason off and threw him against the door on the opposite side to where his mother entered. The man whipped around disgusted and spat blood out from the corner of his mouth where Jason had caught him in the struggle. Jason rolled over and sat to find the man pointing the handgun at him again. This time, the man was livid and Jason noticed his index finger squeezing the trigger slowly.
"You little brat! How dare you attack me! You're going to make me rich!" Before he could go any further, Jason's mother pounced on the man with his back turned and struggled with him. The man thrashed around as he fought with Jason's mother. Jason could do nothing but stare in awe as his mother fought viciously with the monstrous man like a wild animal. Gunshots cracked and ricocheted off the walls as the man dropped the handgun in pain and attempted to grab Jason's mother who reversed it with a swift block and counter. As they interlocked hands and wrestled with each other, Jason's mother glanced over at Jason and screamed,
"Jason! RUN! Head for the escape pods at the end of his corridor. They're across that bridge. GO!"
"NO!" Jason refused, "I won't leave you!" He watched as his mother somehow managed to throw the man into the metal filing cabinet momentarily subduing him.
"GO NOW! I will follow you. Head back to your hideout and never trust anyone with a Red Phoenix badge ever! Now GO!" Jason did not argue this time as he fled to the end of the corridor. He climbed into the pod and sat watching and waiting for his mother through the closed, soundproof fire door. Jason saw his mother burst through the man's office door as the reinforced Perspex, overhead pod door slid down over his capsule. Jason waved at her to hurry up as the automatic locks clicked in place. Just as his saw his mother reach the fire door, Jason saw a bright, yellow flash from inside. He saw his mother flinch awkwardly and stop suddenly. As his pod pulled away, Jason was horrified to see a red bloodstain on the glass as his mother slid slowly down the glass door painfully.
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Chapter 5: Bad Memories"Aaaarrrggghhhh!" Jason yelled as his jumped up out of his hammock. Panting, he looked around his hideout to find himself sitting up in his hammock out of breath and shivering from cold sweat. He then slowed his thoughts down as he realised he had dreamt his re-occurring nightmare of his mother's death for a seventh time this week. He picked up his watch which read 3:27am, 14th of September 2113. He was quite amazed at the relatively small advancement the human race had accomplished over the last few hundred years. There were no flying cars or holiday destinations on other planets or anything. The way the world was now it didn't seem like any of that was due to happen either. The country was destroyed beyond repair as everything countless civilisations that humans had created in the capital now lay as fallen buildings and ruins thanks to the decision that was made to destroy what ever was left of England's urban landscape due to the viral outbreak ten years ago. Bad memories of a lost age so they nuked the place with small bombs. Jason couldn't even remember how he survived the bomb raid from other countries but he did remember trying desperately to grab their attention once they had finished decimating everything. They totally ignored him though. Looking at the date he thought of two things. Firstly, how close the human population was to reaching another antagonising year of destruction with the population of the country down to practically nothing. With no means of communication, Jason could not contact anyone and his area seemed to be completely dead. Secondly he thought about that day seven years ago when he and his mother tried so hard to escape the clutches of the Red Phoenix Labs group when he sped away as his mother lay lifeless on the floor by the fire escape door. The nightmare tortured and plagued his thoughts as he replayed that moment several times as mental images. Seven long years since his mother saved his life from that monster at the cost of her own. He was nine then, Jason remember the lonely sixteenth birthday he spent with nothing but a bottle of wine he had taken from a local supermarket that was now deserted as with the rest of his local area and the country thanks to the viral outbreak. That and the haunting memories of his mother being taken from him at such a young age. Still, there was one memory that Jason had kept that he could physically hold and that was the red ruby pendent his mother had given him minutes before she was murdered right in front of him. Since that day, Jason had never removed it.
Jason jumped out of his hammock onto the dusty, wooden floorboards, lit a candle with his last match and made his way over to the mirror that was placed on top of a table. He looked into it and his reflection showed all the signs of a bad night with his eyes bloodshot encased in dark rings and a damp forehead. He ran his fingers through his black, tight curly hair before wandering cautiously outside to see if it had been raining. Sure enough, the early autumn showers did not disappoint as Jason hauled two large buckets filled with rain water into his hideout and poured them into the large tankers dotted randomly around his small home. His mother had taught him well in how to look after himself and educated him in the ways of scientific knowledge so he knew how to treat contaminated water to make it drinkable and various other medical and chemical practices that Jason had now educated himself by reading the many reference books his mother used to bring home from a day's work at the labs. Jason raided his cupboards for anything edible and then slammed them in annoyance as he discovered they were empty. A six-foot-three lad was quite a chore to keep fed and happy with an appetite as large as his. The cupboard fell off its last hinge as Jason put his silver dragon hooded sweater on and trainers and marched out the door to the deserted supermarket to fill his rumbling stomach.