Chapter 1 - Cody

Introduction of our first main character.

Austin, Texas

Cody’s hand lazily scratched at his scalp in concentration. The hair hanging down in front of his eyes was also getting too long. With a sigh he pushed the blond hair back and picked up the tin. His young 14 year old body bent over the work bench in the garage. A soldering gun was in one hand and a slip of metal held in the other. It was delicate work connecting the right points on the ardweeno module. With a tiny whiff of smoke the last pin was connected. Plugging in the power source the legs and arms of the robot started spazing out. He smiled in success, now he just needed to program the servos. The thing on the table was about a foot tall with 6 arachnid style legs. Where the body ended a human looking torso emerged. Stubby little square arms ended in three digit hands.

“Not long now my precious,” he coo’d softly over the small metal mech. Picking it up he admired the fake missile launchers and realistically painted armor plating. It had taken him a week to carefully color his creation. Reaching over he picked up a pen and made several notes on a yellow tablet. It was his check list for the articulated mechanized unit competition. The robot went back on the table and his hand scratched at his face. He prayed it wasn’t the itch of on coming facial hair. That particular part of growing up he wasn’t going to enjoy. Tomorrow morning he had class at Saint Augustine High School. Calculus was so boring and he had to take it with a bunch of juniors. He been doing second variable calculus for years now. Sometimes it really sucked being so ahead of the curve. It would be an early morning test, but he was confident enough.

He left the garage workshop to head inside. In the bathroom he brushed his teeth and gave his hands a rudimentary wash. They were still covered in dust and metal particles as he finished for today. Rachel his sister was in the living room as he came out. She had in that same Disney movie again. It wasn’t like he hated it but this was its 100th viewing at least. She looked back at him and stuck out her tongue. Cody politely returned it with one of his own. In the kitchen he got a bottle of water and a slice of left over pizza. It was meat lovers, not his favorite but his father had ordered it. Finally he found an extra carrot for his hamster. Going back into his room he saw the phone blinking. The text from his friend Rick was about an hour old.

*Hey man, I got the Module you suggested.*

Rick was a bit of mechanical genius like himself. He was building a submarine though. They’d met at a robotics camp a couple of years ago. Fingers moved across the phone as he texted back.

*Good, send me pictures when you get a chance.*

Setting the phone down he plugged it in so it could charge and stepped to his other life’s work.

On the south side wall was every movie, game, and book on the subject of fantasy. From floor to ceiling it stretched including some very rare pieces. Ebay was a wonderful thing indeed.

The original Hobbit movie still in it cellophane, had two. Early cartoons of Link and Zelda done in the 90’s. The Might and Magic series, Elder scrolls saga, even the DnD adaptations of the Temple of Doom. At least half the shelf was devoted to his Library Arcana. Nearly every fantasy novel written by any author of note. J.R. Tolken, R.A Salvatore, Terry Goodkind, even Terry Pratchett. He especially loved those dating before 1950 and early historical translations.

Tonight though he was tired and selected a movie. His fingers wiggled slightly as he brushed his hand over the DVD backs.

“What to watch,” he mused but his hand paused over one he hadn’t watched in some time. Taking the black DVD case out he cracked it open as he moved to the TV. Sliding in the Willow disc into the player he flopped down onto his bed.

After searching through his pillows he picked up the remote and hit play. Taking off his extra clothes he tossed each. With Michael Jordan like precision they sailed into the hamper on the other side of the room. He pulled a single bedsheet over himself due to the Texas night air. It was dry but still hot as a oven this late in the evening. Cody wasn’t more than 5 minutes into the movie when his eyes closed and he drifted off. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

It was an hour later while the baby was getting saved and evil witch tricked everything changed for Cody. A pin point of black appeared a few feet above his bed. Scientists would froth at the mouth to see the tiny bead sized hole in the universe. It hovered there as it pulsed with magical energy. The room brightened momentarily with blue green light. The sphere expanded suddenly fully engulfing the sleeping form. Mission complete the odd spherical effect collapsed on itself. The phone that had been charging for tomorrow lost all power and memory. The bed itself still remained along with the sheets and the pair of boxers Cody had been wearing. The only thing different was the total absence of the living creature laying in the bed. The entire event from beginning to end lasted only 2.8 seconds. If one wasn’t looking in just the right direction it would have passed without notice. There was though a single witness. Mr. Wiggles his pet hamster devouring a carrot. Cherubic cheeks stopped chewing as light danced across those cute beady eyes. A moment passed as the little creature thought about what it just saw. Then he went back to gnawing on the delicious treat.

In the coming days, weeks, and sadly months the disappearance of Cody Marlot would make national news. His parents never gave up hope in his search. Mrs. Marlot would fervently say she ‘knew’ her boy was alive. She would find him and bring Cody home. All evidence suggested he was a bright boy doing well in school with several close friends. All of them confirmed that he was in high spirits about the coming competition. Nothing indicated he was depressed or looking to run away. The investigation considered the case a kidnapping, in its own way it was.