The Chronicles of AzzaNation: Dawn of a New Age Page 5

  The group continued to move through the thick trees, until eventually, they passed into a clearing where they saw a pool of water. Leo couldn’t believe his eyes, at the sight that lay in front of him. The water of the oasis wasn’t blue or green…it was a bright and shiny metallic silver.

  The gentle breeze dancing through the air suddenly stopped as they approached. The water stood still and became a solid reflection of everything around it. Darrod parked the cart, and gave the mule some food, trying to keep it calm. Leo, despite every ounce of his being telling him not to, walked up to the edge of the pool of water and stared into its mirror-like surface.

  At first, he only saw his reflection staring back at him. He saw his cheap clothes and his ratty leather jacket. His pathetic blade held frigidly in his hand. His short brown hair was messy and covered in sand…His blue eyes seemed deep…like an endless pit. Black pupils turned into a dark cavern, vast and never-ending. Abyss stood in front of him, engulfing him, surrounding him—Time stood still in this place. Nothing ever was or ever will be. Leo ceased to exist. The world ceased to exist. All that remained was the nothing—the darkness. The engulfing and permanent darken—

  Leo breathed in suddenly and forced his body away from the pool—stopping the thoughts that were spiraling out of control. He was breathing heavily, and he quickly realized that he was being hypnotized—something about the silver water was incredibly powerful. As he looked up, he saw both Len and Darrod standing beside the water, staring deeply into it. Their bodies weren’t moving, and their eyes never blinked once as they stared into the metallic water.

  The young human moved to his crew with the intention of helping them break free from their hypnotic state, but something stopped him and caught his gaze. On a nearby rock, he saw a small lizard sitting and watching him. He stood in place and observed the small reptile, closely. It looked like an ordinary desert dwelling reptile. It wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, until finally it returned Leo’s gaze, staring at him. Their eyes locked and Leo knew something was wrong as he lifted his sword into a defensive stance.

  “Give it up man, he knows it’s you.”

  Leo flinched, almost dropping his sword, and saw Brian walking out of the trees, dragging their duffle bag behind him. The tall human walked with his usual arrogant attitude. Even in this strange environment, the blonde prick was completely sure of himself. At the sight of Brian, Leo quickly realized who the lizard was, and as he turned back to face the reptile, Jax transformed into his default form—the large and towering humanoid.

  “What are you two doing sneaking around?” asked Leo, returning his blade to its sheathe.

  “We didn’t know what this place was, and I wanted to be careful,” replied Brian. He walked up to Leo and smirked sarcastically. “To tell you the truth, I’m surprised you saw through Jax’s disguise, Exe.”

  Leo wanted to hit him, but he controlled himself.

  “To be honest, I didn’t know it was him until I heard your voice,” said Leo, “He only stood out because this place seems to be absent of any life.”

  “Hmm, well it seems that I gave you too much credit then. I’ll remember to lower my expectations of you in the future.”

  Leo’s body itched. His eye twitched with anger. He wanted nothing more than to grab his rusty blade and run it through Brian’s chest…But using all his willpower, he contained his urges and returned his focus to Darrod and Len. The sleaze was now walking towards them, cocking his head with curiosity.

  “Don’t look into the water, it seems to hypnotize anyone who stares into it.”

  “So, it would seem,” said Brian. “It even trapped Darrod…I’m curious to know how you escaped from its control.” Brian looked back at Leo with disdain and what appeared to be an actual accusation.

  Leo was caught off-guard by the thought. He never thought about how he was able to escape the trance. He had just assumed that his intellect training had allowed him to break free before any serious damage had been done…and yet, Darrod, who by all accounts was a more experienced and a far superior intellect, was still trapped by the spell.

  “I don’t know,” said Leo, wracking his brain on the thought, “I must have broken out early enough before the spell took full effect I guess.”

  “Ha! So, it’s luck then, Exe?” laughed Brian, moving a strand of blonde hair out of his eyes. “Well no matter then. If you could break free then we can obviously do the same for Darrod and Len. Come on Jax, what are you waiting for.”

  Brian grabbed a hold of Darrod as Jax did the same with Len. Simultaneously, the two men lifted and shook their friends, hoping to set them free.

  Nothing.

  Len and Darrod stayed in the same state, staring into the silver water with empty eyes. Brian was losing his cool, as he shook their leader aggressively. When no change appeared in Darrod, Brian began to slap the grifter’s face.

  “Come on boss, snap out of it already!”

  “What if we block their view of the water?” asked Jax.

  Brian sighed and finally gave Jax a nod and a shrug. It was the only idea they had, and it couldn’t hurt. He reached his hands up and placed them over Darrod’s eyes—Darrod immediately collapsed. His body went limp, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head before his body hit the ground.

  “What the—?” gasped Brian, in a light scream. He knelt beside Darrod’s body and saw that the grifter’s eyes were now white and empty. Brian placed his fingers on Darrod’s throat, trying to find a pulse, any small sign of life.

  Nothing.

  “He’s dead.”

  “What? How?” asked Leo, who was trying to stop his hands from shaking again. Nothing in this strange place made any sense, and now their leader—the man who had taken care of Leo and mentored him, was suddenly lying on the ground dead.

  Brian exhaled in utter frustration, as he returned to his feet. “My guess is that once you break the hypnotic spell, the brain shuts down and they die.”

  “What kind of place is this?” asked Jax. The large shifter’s voice was trembling as he spoke. He looked at Len, still standing in front of him, staring blankly into the water.

  “I don’t know, but we should leave Len alone for now.” Brian walked towards the cart with the mule still attached to it. “We don’t want to kill her as well.”

  Jax slowly backed away from Len, not wanting to accidentally do anything that would result in her death. Meanwhile, Brian had thrown the second duffle bag onto the back of the cart and began rummaging through the rest of the group’s stuff. A few moments later, he took out several logs.

  “What are you doing?” asked Leo. “You can’t seriously think that we should stay here.”

  Brian looked at Leo and shook his head, in disappointment.

  “Leo…I knew you were a fool, but I never thought you were a coward too,” said Brian, as he placed the logs on the ground, making a make-shift fire pit. “It’s going to be dark soon and to leave at this point would be just as dangerous as staying. Len is still alive, so there’s a chance that we can figure out what’s behind all of this and we can stop it. We seem to be safe here as long as we don’t look into the water, so the best course of action is to camp here and come up with a plan.”

  “We don’t know if we’re safe here. This whole place could be a deathtrap! I think we should get as far away as we can, as fast as we can. Take the thetinum and just run.” Leo was trembling. He didn’t want to abandon Len, but the pit of dread was taking over. It was telling him to get out—screaming at him that death was in the air and he had to run.

  “I don’t care what you think Leo,” said Brian, coldly. “With Darrod dead, I’m now the leader of this gang and I say that we’re spending the night. If you want to run away like the little coward you are, fine. But you forfeit your share of the thetinum by doing so.”

  Brian astounded Leo with his arrogance. The self-absorbed sociopath had just taken the role of the gang’s new leader without discussion or debate. He clearl
y didn’t care that Darrod was dead—in fact, he was probably glad that there was one less person to split the thetinum with. Leo would have left right then and there if he actually thought Brian would let him leave with his heart still beating. The second Leo tried to leave, Brian would take his newly acquired ELC pistol, and end the younger man’s life.

  Leo knew that he could escape if he used his evolved ability—but he didn’t want to risk the sleaze living with the knowledge that Leo was an evolved. He looked at Jax who was now helping Brian build the fire, and Leo sighed. Fools traveled in packs, it seemed.

  Paranoia tore him apart inside. He was screwed either way. If he chose to leave, he risked Brian giving his name to the royals. However, if he stayed, he risked becoming a victim of this mysterious oasis. Trying desperately to find the answer, Leo stared at Len, whose body was still standing by the water’s edge, eyes locked on the shimmering silvery pool, and Leo realized his decision. Somehow, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to escape this place, even if he tried. Some people might call it fate, but in that moment, Leo just thought that it was bad luck.

  He walked to the newly made fire and unhooked his sword from his belt as he sat down. He held the old, rusted blade firmly in his hands and laid it across his lap. If something or someone was going to try and kill him, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  _________________________

  The pages on the old book stuck together, but the smell was so much better than a datapad. Instead of plastic, glass, metal—the combined smell of mediocrity—This tome, Kahl’s journey to Roalkenn was bound by thick dark leather, and strung together with the utmost care. It wasn’t a digital page on a screen. Oh no. It had been around for years and years. Written about the ancient all-father of AzzaNation, and one of his many epic journeys. The book held its scents for the generations it had seen. It had a tingly must to it…but a musty smell that had lived. When Leo read through these old books his father had collected, he knew that he was reading history.

  “You almost done?” his father asked from the kitchen. “Dinner’s just about ready, and I need the table cleared.”

  “Just about,” Leo responded loud enough that his father could hear him over the man’s own cooking. He focused like an athlete and sped through the last few pages of his tome. As he finished up, he thought he saw a red drop on the last page…

  What is that? he wondered. Then his father was sitting next to him laughing.

  “How’d you like it? Did you get to the part where Kahl challenges the mountain to a staring contest?” Karl Exe sipped his tea and smiled widely at his son.

  “He did no such thing, dad!” said Leo, his small hands struggling to lift the book from the table. He eventually pushed it into a stronger grip and managed to move it back to the secret storage case beneath their floorboards.

  “So, what is Madam La Flange teaching you in your ethics studies?”

  “Nothing new— ‘the right choice is always the one made by those in power’. Grindaull is good, Grindaull is God, blah blah blah.” Leo pushed his nose up with his finger and did a mock voice of the wretched teacher.

  “Ha!” His father spit out some tea as he laughed. “That’s pretty good son, but you’re missing a very important part…” Karl Exe raised his own nose and then lowered his head so his neck disappeared. “Shu hafth to add ja jowwwelllssss!”

  Leo burst with laughter as his father gave a perfect imitation of his teacher. “That’s too good dad!”

  “Messstar EXXSSSSSE! I ESSSPECT SHU TO LESSTEN WEN I TAWLK!”

  His ribs hurt from laughing so hard, and his eyes began to grow moist from the joy. He finally managed to wipe away the tears and look up at his father to see his skin missing.

  “Dad?” asked Leo, not knowing what to do.

  “WHHADSSS DA MATTTAR MMYY BOOOOYYY?!”

  Karl’s skinless head began to spin in circles, faster and faster, and blood began to pour from his eyes and mouth, spraying out over the room. Leo tried to run but he was glued to his seat. He turned to look away, but the room around him fell apart and red walls replaced it. Soon his father morphed into Madam La Flange with boils and jowls to spare.

  “SHU FAILED FOR DA LASSST TIMME, MESSTAR EXSE!”

  She produced a butcher’s knife in her hand and slammed it down into the table. Leo didn’t even realize his hand was where she struck, until he pulled the newly formed stump in front of his face. Blood spurting out like a spitting fountain. The next moment the knife was coming at his head…

  He woke up, breathing heavily. With every passing second, he regretted his decision to stay. He just wanted the night to be over so they could figure things out and leave. Somehow, though, Leo knew it wouldn’t be that simple.

  He sat up slowly and reached for his canteen. He took his time as he drank from it, allowing the cold water to run down his throat and refuel him. He glanced around and saw Brian and Jax sleeping in their respected spots. It was unsettling to see that they were sleeping so soundly. How come he was the only one who was disturbed? Didn’t they feel the air of death that surrounded them in this place? Even if they didn’t share his feelings of dread, they both witnessed their leader die before their eyes. Wasn’t that enough to make someone toss and turn a little while they slept?

  But then again, they were nothing like Leo. The whole gang enjoyed stealing and killing, but Leo knew he didn’t have the stomach for it.

  People like Jax and Brian didn’t feel remorse. That would require them to form bonds with each other—to trust one another. The truth was that Brian, Jax and Len would have killed Darrod themselves if they thought they could. Not out of hatred, but out of pure avarice. Scoundrels and thieves like them didn’t truly care about anything except staying alive and getting rich. Although, Leo would admit that it wasn’t entirely their fault. AzzaNation had a way of conditioning its people to behave like animals—survival of the fittest in its most extreme scenario. The scoundrels and criminals of AzzaNation may work together when it suits them—like Leo’s gang, but the sad truth was that every one of them is secretly waiting for an opportunity to look out for themselves. Leo wondered if he would ever become like them, blinded by their own avarice, unable to feel sadness when a friend dies. Not that he really considered Darrod a friend, but the grifter was the closest thing that Leo had, and it still left a sinking pain of grief in his stomach.

  He put those thoughts aside and looked towards the silver pool of water—and he immediately jumped up in fear at what he saw. He was expecting to see Darrod’s dead body and Len still staring into the reflective pool, but instead—there was nothing. There was no one by the water at all. Len and Darrod were both gone. Leo knew that this had to be another trick, some form of magic or power that he didn’t know or understand, but in that moment, he didn’t care. His worries had been answered in full and he intended on making the right decision this time. He turned to run away, when he saw Brian and Jax still sleeping.

  He could leave them to die. No one would know…except, that wasn’t true. Leo would know, and that was enough.

  He forced himself to walk over to Brian and shake the blonde prick awake. The sleaze woke up, clearly annoyed.

  “What the hell, Exe! What’s your problem?”

  “Brian, Len and Darrod are gone—look!”

  Brian turned and for the first time, Leo saw the man’s blue eyes fill with fear. Brian quickly grabbed his ELC pistol and moved to Jax, shaking him so the shifter would wake up. When Jax finally opened his eyes, he was confused and still half asleep, not sure what was happening.

  “Get up you big oaf!” shouted Brian. “Get up and arm yourself before I ram this ELC down your throat!”

  But Jax never had the opportunity to do anything. Leo saw her come from the trees, and as she pounced on the shifter, the blunt side of her bakon crushed Jax’s head. The force of the blow was unrelenting. Jax died instantly—his skull dented, and bits of it along with pieces of his brain scattered around the ground.

 
Len rose to her feet and turned her attention to Leo and Brian. She looked terrifying in the dark moonlight as she wielded her blood soaked bakon. Her eyes were pure black. She clearly wasn’t herself—something was possessing her, making her attack them. However, the details didn’t matter to Leo, in that moment. All that mattered was the fact that she was going to kill them if they didn’t stop her.

  Brian raised his ELC pistol. He gripped the handle tight, reaching for the trigger. But before he could take his shot, Len swung the spiked side of her bakon at him. The spikes burst through the blonde man’s neck. He coughed up blood from his mouth, while more poured out of his wound. Len pulled her bakon free from the sleaze’s dead body, as it collapsed lifeless to the ground. Len then turned to face a petrified Leo—he wanted to run, but his body wouldn’t move. He wanted to escape—use his ability to get away if he had to, but after he witnessed the gruesome murders of Jax and Brian, he found his body simply wasn’t working. Len was moving towards him now, her bloody bakon in hand. He knew he had to move quickly or he would be dead in a matter of seconds. He knew this was true, but still, his body refused to do anything.