Hey everyone, and welcome to a short story called A Plague Tale: A Pilgrim's Path. This is pretty much what the title suggests as it will establish Aiden Caldwell as a main protagonist (or as the tritagonist, if you prefer?) for my upcoming sequel, A Plague Tale: Part II. And this could also be considered an AU fanfic in some way, because it will deviate from canon - though some aspects from the plot will remain the same. :) I'm not exactly sure how many chapters this will have :( but if this might be of interest, please let me know. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic, Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Wonder Woman, 13 Reasons Why, Grand Theft Auto V, Hunger Games, Jaws, Death Stranding, Dying Light, Walking Dead, The Last of Us or The Cured. All rights go to the original owners. All of the characters and events in this story are fictitious. Other references to real life places, events and individuals, living or dead, are purely coincidental.

A PLAGUE TALE : A PILGRIM'S PATH

Chapter 1: Aiden Caldwell

I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other...

~ Mary Shelley's Frankenstein The Movie, 1994.

...

I'm not sure if every human being has experienced one of those moments. Do you know what I'm referring to? One of those moments where say, a chance encounter with an innocent bystander or a developing relationship with someone, affects you on a personal level and... influences you to see things differently?

I did.

It's quite rare for a former pilgrim to be affected by something that they've been putting a lot of work into - but for me, this was an exception. I don't know how I've managed to cope after... god, I want to say either twelve years or five months? I'm not entirely sure. Never mind. Anyhow; my younger sister, Mia, and I are pleased with our jobs and our time together is great, yet the nightmares continue to haunt me. They've done so to the point where I'm just...! I'm just pleasantly surprised she hasn't lost patience. She's a sympathetic person, but I imagine there must have been moments where she wondered why I couldn't bring myself to accept the trauma.

If she did, then I wouldn't have blamed her.

She wasn't the only one who has expressed concern. We're both associated with a group called the Nightrunners and they were regarded as a beloved faction that helped people in better days, even braving the dangers of the night to do so. I'll admit that I didn't think much of them initially, but now? I'm happy to say that I've found some genuine friends! I don't think many pilgrims would be lucky enough to say that, as well. I mean, sure, we can have disagreements every now and then - but it's good that we've decided to support each other after what we've been through.

It was also nice of a group of friends who originated from the outside to support us - but I'll admit that I was a little taken aback by the big man himself, Kyle Crane, joining the band-wagon. Why? Because I've heard him repeatedly being called a legend whilst I was on the road and if my memory isn't mistaken, he was one of the reasons why Harran stood for as long as it did. Lord knows what really happened out there...

But I'm going to save that story for later, because I imagine you must be wondering what I was doing before I travelled to the City of Villedor? Well if you are, then I'm going to have to take you back a couple of weeks. I had been on the road for five months since the mess that was referred to as The Fall and like any pilgrim at my age, I was eager to prove myself.

Not only that, but I secretly had a very important goal I needed to accomplish.