To Find the Infection 2: Gladiator

Chapter 20: The Portal Opens

The marble white bedrock shined brightly in the new day. Erutan was snoozing on a patch of nearby grass, near the clear sparkling water of the oasis. It was Erutan's sleeping spot in the Sanctuary, his home.

Erutan's snores pierced the silence that lay dormant in the sky. The stars were still visible as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky. A runaway ray of sunlight began to warm the cold oasis. It made a quick run throughout the entire Sanctuary, until it lay exactly on Erutan, and nothing else. Erutan jerked and turned face in the dirt to try to get the sunlight away from himself.

"Morning already?" he grumbled, only half-awake after his slumber. Erutan stood up, stretched, and headed towards the pond. The looked at his clear reflection in the water, and reached down into it. His hand created a ripple that danced to the other side of the pond, and back. The water felt good inbetween Erutan's fingers as he let them sink into the water. Erutan licked his lips, and cupped his hand together in the water. He lifted a handful of water, and slowly enjoyed it as the water moved down his throat. He suddenly felt rejuvinated. He could feel his energy beign restored.

"Gotta love my water." Erutan thought aloud. Satisfied, Erutan walked into an open region of the Sanctuary. He cracked his knuckles, and stretched his arms over his shoulders, and stood silent. He grabbed his golden arm brace, and with slight caution, released it from his arm.

Unlike before, when Erutan was still young and naive, Erutan would have lost control of this power, but now, 4 years had past. He knew how to handle the power. He allowed his new energy to surge through his veins. He looked at his hands as they circulated fresh blood from his heart. He felt his pulse throughout his entire body. With a flash of light, Erutan's hair stood on end, and turned red. Water from the pond rose out of the body, and began to swirl around Erutan. The same could be said about the dirt beneath his feet. The swiling dazzled Erutan's eyes.

"I'm going to try this one more time." Erutan thought to himself. "If I can give out enough energy, almost as much as Majotte and Zain did on that day, or at least dirupt the Earth enough, I can create a rip that will lead me to Char." Erutan let his brace go, but instead of falling, it stayed afloat. Inbetween his hands, Erutan let it stay. He closed his eyes, and began to concentrate. A bead of water dropped from the sky, followed by another, and another. Clouds began to move in above the Sanctuary, thunder following not too far behind. Erutan thrusted his arms forward, and the brace shot towards the wall of rock, and shattered the rock. It was jammed into the bedrock in the wall, and began to glow.

"And now for the energy!" Erutan shouted. He quickly shot his hands towards the brace in the wall, and all of his energy immediately shot towards the brace. Erutan's hair quickly reverted back to its black color from the sudden energy drop, but Erutan stayed strong. The brace reacted to the immense energy it was given, then began to vibrate violently. A hole inside the brace began to open. The hole became wider and wider. The inside was pitch black, with blue electricity cackling around it.

"I did it.." Erutan said. "I final..."

Erutan was cut off by a strong force that came out of the portal. The energy was tinted a dark toxic black, and surrounded the area around Erutan. He panicked, and tried to escape, but the toxins began to quickly weaken his body. Within seconds, he fell to his knees. Erutan was then dragged by the energy force into the hole.

Erutan's vision suddenly got blurry, from the combination of toxins and lost energy to open the portal. He let the portal suck him in, knowing it was useless to resist. He could feel himself grow unconcious from inside his body. He let out a long sigh.

"God damnit." Erutan muttered between his lips, then fell into a deep sleep.