The Adventure Begins

A Chapter by 404Random

Sitting up, I groaned and observed my surroundings. I was in a large room made entirely of metal. Part of the wall opened and a man stepped in.

He had curly brown hair, green eyes, and slightly pointed ears. He was dressed in a black shirt and jeans and grinned at me. The grin was slightly lopsided.

“Mr. Radel,” he said.

“Michael,” I automatically said.

The man shrugged. “Alright, Michael. I’m Dr. Furg. If you would follow me, we can get your initiation started.”

“Initiation?” I asked, confused.

Dr. Furg nodded. “What did you think you were here for?”

I felt my face go slightly red. “Well, I thought I was being arrested for dealing contraband goods.”

Dr. Furg laughed. “Is that what those idiots told you? No, of course not. If you would come with me, I will explain on the way.” He gestured to the door, and I followed him out.

The entire place was made of metal. There were very few people in the halls, and those that I did see seemed to be in a hurry.

“So what is this place?” I asked.

“You are officially beyond Zodiac control,” Dr. Furg announced proudly. I looked at him as if he were crazy. His expression faded. “You don’t know, do you?” He asked. I shook my head. “I thought Castor was supposed to brief you.”

“Who’s Castor?” I asked.

“You don’t even know who Castor is?” Dr. Furg shook his head slightly. “What has she been doing all this time?”

“She?” I asked, surprised. “Isn’t Castor a guy’s name?”

Dr. Furg chuckled. “If you end up meeting her, you can ask her why her name’s Castor. Anyway, the Zodiacs only control part of the world. That part’s known as the Zodiac Sphere. They’re trying to take over the rest of the world, but since humans are stubborn and love their freedom, we’re rebelling.”

“So you’re not a Zodiac?” I asked.

“No, not at all. In fact, most people here aren’t,” Dr. Furg said.

“Then how could those people who got me use magic?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“Those are called the Stealers,” Dr. Furg said. “They’re people who have no connection to any Zodiacs in their bloodline, yet they have magic. That’s what you are. And that’s why you’re here today.”

I stared at Dr. Furg, dumbstruck. “I have magic?”

“Yeah,” Dr. Furg said.

I continued to gape. At home, the Zodiac Sphere as he called it, anybody who hadn’t registered having magic were killed. And now I was learning that I could have been one of those people.

“So, why exactly am I here?” I asked.

“You see, numbers alone aren’t enough to win the war. We have to fight magic with magic. That’s why we’re recruiting.” Dr. Furg stopped in front of a door. “There’s an entire army of people about your age that we’re training to fight. You can refuse to help us and turn around now. We’ll be fine.”

My mouth felt dry. “What if I do choose to help you?”

“There is a chance that Zodiac power can be destroyed.”

“What about my mom and younger sister?” I asked.

“If you accept, then we’ll shift them to a refuge, and anyone else you care for in fact, to a safe place far from Zodiac control where they can continue with their lives,” Dr. Furg explained.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m in.”

“Excellent!” Dr. Furg beamed and swung open the door. “They’re having lunch. Just follow the mass mob afterwards.”

I walked inside the cafeteria. It looked like a typical school cafeteria. Everybody was about my age, and it looked to me as if the people here were already dividing themselves into the groups they were in at school. I grabbed my lunch and sat down at an empty table. I had barely taken a bite out of my sandwich when a boy sat in the chair next to me, and a girl joined me directly across.

“You a new recruit?” The girl asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

The girl looked gleeful. “I wonder how you’ll get on with Nick.”

I blinked. “Who?” I asked.

“Ah, Sally. Don’t scare him now,” the boy said.

Sally giggled. “You’re right. So, who was your Guardian?” She asked me.

“What?” I asked.

“Oh, sorry,” Sally said. “I’m Sally. That’s James.” Sally gestured to the boy sitting next to me.

“Michael,” I said.

“Great. So, Michael, who was your Guardian?” Sally asked again.

“I don’t know what a Guardian is,” I said.

Sally cocked her head. Blond curls cascaded down her shoulders, and her green eyes regarded me. “How much did you know before you came here?”

“Nothing,” I said. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Well, get ready for life to be turned upside down,” James said. He had brown hair spiked up with gel and mischievous brown eyes.

“That already happened when I got here,” I said.

“Oh! Nick really won’t like you! You’re a talker!” Sally laughed. “You Hypertravelled to get here, right?”

“Like I said, I have no idea,” I said.

“When whoever brought you here brought you here, did they pull you through a green hole in the air?” Sally asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“No wonder,” James said. “That’s the worst way to travel.”

“So tell me who your Guardian is!” Sally said for the third time.

“Lay off of it, Sally,” James said. “He obviously doesn’t have one.”

“What is a Guardian?” I asked.

“They’re supposed to tell you who you are, explain all of the stuff we’re explaining to you right now, watch over you, and begin your basic training until you come here,” James explained.

“I was supposed to have one,” I said. “She never came. Her name’s Castor.”

Sally nearly spat out her water. “Castor was supposed to be your Guardian!?” She exclaimed.

“Yeah,” I said. “Who is she?”

Sally settled back into her chair. “She’s the strongest person to ever live.”

“Yep,” James said. “Rumors say she knocked out an entire army of Zodiacs without getting a scratch, and she didn’t even have to use the full extent of her powers.”

“Is she a Zodiac?” I asked.

“Yeah,” James said. “Castor X. Dragon. Last Dragon to ever live.”

“What is she like?” I asked. I was curious. I wanted to know why my Guardian never bothered to even come and see me.

“She’s beautiful,” Sally said. “I’ve never seen anything like her. And it’s all natural.”

“She’s also ruthless, vicious, merciless, and everything in between,” James said. “She’s the kind of person who, instead of just beating an opponent, will crush them into the ground so hard that they won’t even have enough hope left to get back up, assuming they’re alive.”

“Sounds exotic,” I said. “What about Nick? The guy you mentioned?”

James snorted. “Half the girls here are thirsty for him. I have no idea why.”

“James!” Sally said. She turned to me. “He’s the kind of guy who has the looks and the cool factor, but they’re just plain hard to get. It’s so sexy.”

I raised an eyebrow, trying to determine if Sally was serious or not. “Will I ever get to see them?” I asked.

“Yeah,” James said through a mouthful of chicken. “They’re our instructors. Like I said, merciless. Oh, and Nick kind of hates everything.”

“You have some interesting people here,” I said.

“Mmhmm,” Sally said. “Oh, speak of the devil! Look who arrived.”

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