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Chapter Zero: Lost Souls (Snippet)


My world spun as life came crashing back into my body from an icy force splashing against my face. I no longer hanged forward in my seat--bound by thick ropes and my feet chained to the floor, for I sat up in fright to face the unknown. While doing so, my heart pounded against my chest as I coughed violently to help push out the water that went down my throat without my consent. I wished for the world to stop spinning, but a hand grasped the bottom half of my face and jerked my eyes up into another’s.

"Yes...you are the one..."

I merely stared in complete silence, for I was unsure of the husky voice belonging to a man because of the light beaming down on us, but he didn’t allow me to study his features. Almost immediately, he drifted away in the darkness around me, and I was left alone in the circle of light.

"The infamous Scarlet. Age: 21. Sex: Female. Birthday: Pisces 28th. Place of Birth: Old Chattanooga residing in the destroyed state of Tennessee. Current household: Within the walls of Grimwald at the center of Old North America. Occupation: None--just a bonafide Delinquent."

As the voice of the man echoed, I felt eyes on my body as I scanned the darkness anxiously. The terms he used was vaguely familiar, but my mind wouldn’t settle due to the dizziness. The voice came again, but it had a foreboding tone to it, "You are Scarlet. The one who is against us, and the one who knows of our secrets. You started a civil war between the remaining human beings upon this planet, and lead vulgar bloodhounds calling themselves Tempest against us."

"What...what are you talking about?" I managed to softly say. "Scarlet? Tempest? Delinquent? I don’t understand any of that."

"Well, you wouldn’t," came another voice--this one a bit prissy and well spoken from a woman lingering in the dark to my right. "We’ve stripped you of everything. We sealed away your precious memories and will hold you captive to show you the fruits of our progress. We shall command this world with our technology and awaken The One Who Sleeps."

"The One Who Sleeps...?" I whispered, but as I did so, a sharp pain banged against my temples and I yelped.

"Think nothing of it, girl," said another man, but his voice was abysmal and jagged. "Anything you seek to remember will merely hurt you in the process. You have no hope of recovering."

Another shock of agony came from my forehead and it made my body jolt and snap open my mouth, but only a silent cry forced its way out. Slowly, the cry transformed into unconnected groans and shivering breaths that reflected my bewildered nature. The voice of the man who grabbed me earlier suddenly shot through my ears, "We are NOVA. People will remember our names from now to the future, for our names will be embedded into history as the ones who saved the world from dying. You, a mere outcast, cannot ever witness the light of our world. It is not suited for those who lack order."

"I’m...an outcast...?" I managed to say. "W...What have I ever done to you, huh?! I...I only want to...to live!"

"Those who wish to live must earn their place," explained the man with an abysmal voice. "No matter what method we chose to practice on you, your mind continues to reject it. You dream of being free and living life as you see fit, but the world doesn’t abide by your wishes, girl. In truth, there is a selection from birth. There are those who are meant for a purpose, and those who were meant to be the stepping stones of others. Clearly, you were meant to be our stepping stone, girl."

"I’m not a stepping stone! I’m not who you say I am!" I rebuttaled. "My...my name is...it’s--"

The woman who spoke earlier dismissed my speech with her keen words, "You have no name. Scarlet is merely your title, but beyond that...you are nothing. A nameless, nobody girl who believes to understand our new world."

"You’re wrong!" I argued, denying the violent headache.

"Who are you to say that I am wrong?! There is no hope for you, and certainly no hope for those who follow your cause. They will simply perish and be reduced to mere ashes under our foot."

"If it’s me you want...leave those who concerned themselves with me out of it!"

"We will not sit back and allow them to do what they want," said the deep voiced man. "We will strike them down now that the head has fallen. There is no alternative."

"No..." my eyes dropped to my scratched up feet and black nails.

"You will--"

Boom!

A blast of light erupted from in front of me, and accompanying that light was a reckless rumbling that made the floor underneath me shatter. Instantly, I found myself swimming through the sky in my confined chair, and everything became bright. It wasn’t long until I had hit the surface of the world and realized that a thick blanket of snow covered the land. Slowly, icy tears from the dull, grey skies fell and added to the growth of the snow, but my attention was drawn to the atmosphere. There were no trees, no wildlife, no mountains along the horizon, no people, and no sound. It was as if life had escaped the environment. Still, my gaze started to fade and I grew tired. The snow enveloped my body in a matter of moments and I drifted away...far away from reality.



Next Chapter: Chapter Zero: Lost Souls