Chapter Six – Trial By Fire
21st Dec 4:20 AM
Smoke filled the room quickly; the smell of burnt flesh and decay filled my nostrils. Blinking through the smoke I saw a murky shape, not willing to hope I just stood there. A hand shot out and grasped me by the throat, raising me high into the air. The owner of the hand stepped through the smoke, when it came fully into view I stopped fighting. Liz.
“Why?” she snarled at me in a voice that wasn’t her own, it was too cruel to be Liz’s voice.
“I’m so sorry, I tried” I whispered to her as I tried to prise her fingers from my throat.
“You could have saved me David” she roared as flames erupted all around us, “you killed me!”
“No” I muttered as tears flowed down my cheeks, “I couldn’t save you.”
The floor beneath me fell away suddenly, revealing roaring flames far below.
“You will burn David” Liz said, changing her tone from menacing to soothing, “burn as I burned. And know that no one is coming to save you.”
With that she released me, letting me plummet into the fires below.
“Fall Atlas” I heard her call from above me as I dropped, “Fall into fire.”
I closed my eyes and waited silently for the end.
The contents of room 7 in the Argonauts’ hall crashed to the ground as I shot out of bed, vaulting to my feet and breathing heavily. A bead of cold sweat ran down my nose as I calmed myself down. It was just a dream, just a bad dream. But it felt so real…
“Are you alright?” asked a voice from the doorway, it was one of the twins.
“Yeah” I croaked, feeling sick, “I think so.”
“What happened?” he asked, “I woke up and everything in my room floating, myself included.”
“Sorry” I replied, “Nightmare. I must have been using my ability in my sleep.”
He walked over and sat down next to me, not saying anything. I broke the silence.
“I don’t know if I can do it, the Harci Kísérletek. I’m not like you guys, I’m not an Argonaut.”
He paused for a moment before answering. “None of us were Argonauts when we began, it took time. You’ll get there eventually.”
I shook my head, “But what if I don’t want to get there? All my life I’ve been human. I want to stay human. I just want to get my answers and go home.”
“Go home to what?” he asked, “It’s too dangerous to let you out of Valhalla until you can handle yourself. Even then you can’t go off alone. Please David, the sooner you accept it the better off you’ll be. Your old life is behind you, a new one awaits.”
“I don’t want a new one” I answered, “Once I’m done here and I know what I want I will get out of Valhalla. And I will find who destroyed that plane.”
“Just give us a chance; you might end up liking it here.” he sighed, “Would it be so bad to be Atlas instead of David?”
“Yes” I said honestly, levelling my eyes to his.
He appeared to give up, standing up he walked to the door.
“The Harci Kísérletek begins soon; an Archon will retrieve you and take you to the arena” he said before exiting.
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Argonaut - The Kinetic (Part I)
Science FictionHeroes aren't born, they’re shaped by the events that both create and destroy their lives. Forced into an ancient war between powerful races, David Constantine must come to terms with death and destiny while trying to balance what he was, and what h...
