Welcome to Gaia! ::

K. I've started a new story. I hope it turns out alright. It's from the point of view of a teenage boy. If there are any Christians reading this, just know that when I talk about the cross necklace, I don't mean that I don't like Christianity or anything. It plays a big role later on in the story, but I had to start it off like this.

Chapter 2

We arrived.
I didn’t really know where we had arrived at, but it was clear that we had arrived. I didn’t really know what we were going to do here, but we were here and we were going to do it. My heart quickened its already frantic pace. I had spent three hours in a pickup truck sitting next to my father, who had only just before taken control over my body. Could you really blame me for freaking out?
We were at the entrance of an underwater bridge. Cars zoomed by us to our left without a single glance. Their headlights would then disappear into a black void lighted only by cold, electric lights. Any one of them could look over and see a boy with his father on the side of the road. They would never think that the boy’s very life could be in danger because of the man who sat next to him in the pickup truck. I felt desperately alone, but I didn’t know what I could do. My mind was sluggish, paralyzed by fear.
“Get out of the car.” The command barely registered to that stirring red aura. I complied without hesitation. I stepped onto the rough asphalt of the sidebar and closed the car door. I didn’t even consider running away. My mind couldn’t comprehend anything but trepidation.
My dad appeared next to me and my skin prickled. He grabbed my arm and pulled me along behind him. I followed him into the dark tunnel without struggle, into what I thought would be my doom.
I wish I had been right.
We walked along the side of the tunnel, the halogen lighting dimly showing us the way. Cars came and went sporadically, and with each came and went a faint hope of rescue. My heart seemed to beat both indolently and faster than the speed of light at the same time. We came upon a steel door with no handle in the two-feet-thick concrete walls. A door? Where did a door come from? For a moment the red aura struggled against the bars of its cage. For a moment I caught a glimpse of definition in the shifting lurid relativity. But the moment passed and it fell silent.
My dad pushed gently on the door and it slid freely away on oiled hinges. Inside was pitch black. He dragged me inside and I heard voices.
“So this is the boy?”
“Yeah.” It was my dad talking this time. I was sure of it.
“I don’t get it. He looks like a wimp.”
“I agree. I can’t believe that this boy is stronger than all of us put together.”
“Are you sure you have the right boy?”
“Yes. I’m sure.” His voice sent shivers through my body, but it was a slow, gradual reaction. “You should have seen him earlier, when he wasn’t under the spell. He refused to do anything I told him and absolutely reeked of demon.”
“I don’t get it. He’s only a halfa. Why is he-“
“Don’t say that around him.” Everything fell silent, the voices surprised by my dad’s sudden command. “He doesn’t know yet.”
“He doesn’t?”
“Well he’s going to have to learn sooner or later.”
“I don’t believe you yet. Prove to me that this is the one.”
My dad’s voice was like a menacing growl. “Prove it? You want me to take the spell off?”
“Yeah. Just put him in the cell. He can’t get out, and we can tranquilize him from the outside if he gets to dangerous.”
“If all else fails, we can just shoot him.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
I could feel the pressure on my arm increase as my dad thought it over. I really didn’t like what he said next.
“Fine.” Then I fell forward, propelled by a gruff shove. I tripped and fell onto the floor. I could hear a heavy door swing closed behind me, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t really see anyways. What were the chances of escaping if I was blind?
“He looks pretty sedate to me.”
“Be patient. I haven’t taken the spell off yet.” My dad snapped, and the cross around my neck shattered.
At first I didn’t know what had happened. Then I wasn’t sure if what happened had really happened. But I didn’t care. I was getting out of here, and who cared if the necklace I had been forced to wear was shattered? I didn’t like it anyways.
Things started to become brighter, and I could see around me. Actually, I could see better than I usually could, besides the fact that everything was tinted red. My skin began to prickle uncontrollably as I gazed upon the people who had me trapped here.
There were four men, including my dad. One was a short man with a doubtful look in his beady black eyes. Another was tall and gaunt, with a twinkle of surprise crossing his face. The hunched over like an older man and had his back turned to me, so I couldn’t see his face. But the most disarming man was my dad. A hint of remorse, coupled with an odd mixture of curiosity and regret scarred his face. What could possibly be going through his head?
The tall one spoke. “Well, he can see us.”
“There’s nothing special about that.” The short one’s voice was squeaky, like a mouse. I wanted to jump at that man and silence that voice, but a wall prevented me from doing so.
“Besides the fact that he’s looking through three feet of reinforced concrete.”
“So? I can see him too.”
“Yes, but how clearly? Is he fuzzy or obscured? And what about him? How well can he see us?”
I spoke up, anger making my words ring strong in the confining cell. “Don’t you think it’s about time you stopped quarreling about my vision and tell me what’s going on?”
“The short one jumped back as if I had pointed a gun at him. “He can hear us too!”
“Well duh. You guys are practically yelling.” Could this man get any more annoying?
“Alright, Arc, we believe you.” How did this tall guy know my dad’s name? My dad never disclosed his name, to anyone. Not even my teachers called him by his actual name.
“Aren’t you going to tell him what’s going on? It’s awfully lonesome to be left in the dark, even if you’re a demon.” It was that other guy, the one wasn’t looking at me. His voice sounded like a moldy, wet sponge and sent tremors through my body, although I wouldn’t admit it. He turned to reveal a gnarled face with many crossroads of scars, an assortment of burns, and an eye patch. The other two men shut up immediately. This guy obviously has some power in his old age. But what he said seemed to push my dad even deeper into thought.
“Why don’t you tell him, Wyvren. Enlighten him, why don’t you.” I already hated the short guy, but for once he had spoken some sort of sense. I was aching to know what was going on, and it was about time that somebody cleared things up. My dad sure didn’t seem like he was about to explain it soon, so this guy would have to do.
Wyvern opened the door to the chamber I had been locked in and stepped inside. Instinctively, I stepped back. This guy seemed to omit some sort of power, despite his age. Maybe it was his appearance. I noticed that the tall man and the short man behind the wall stepped back as well. Only my dad stood his ground, to preoccupied with whatever was on his mind to notice anything of any importance. Figures.
“Sit down.” Why did it have to always be a command?
“Why ?”
“I have a lot to tell you, and it may take a while to convey everything.” Wow. Wasn’t expecting that kind of answer. But now that I had taken a side I had to keep my dignity.
“I’ll stand, thanks.”
“Suit yourself.” Wyvern sat down onto a chair that hadn’t been there a second before. Wait a sec. A chair? I eyed the chair, wondering if it was just an illusion and this guy was some sort of street magician. He seemed to notice.
“You wonder about the chair?” I guess I gave my surprise away with my face because Wyvern smiled. It was a gross picture. His wrinkled face became more wrinkled, and his scares either pulled taught or became a crinkled map across his face. One burn looked particularly stretched out. I could see the veins underneath it popping into view. “You see, we can have anything we want just by wanting it. We wield power, more power than you could have possibly imagined. And you have it too.”
I sat down, a chair appearing underneath me. Wyvern’s doing, I guessed. “So, you can have anything you want?”
“Anything.”
“And I can too?”
“Yes. You just need to practice.”
“Then, why don’t you become kings or rulers or something?”
The smile slipped from his face like a stone, replaced by a look of disgust. “We are held in check, by filthy minions. They do as they’re told and they have been told to stop us from taking over, when it is our right to rule. When one has a gift, one should use it and enjoy it, right?”
“Right.”
“So one with power should use their power and enjoy it all the same, just as they would a gift.”
“I guess so. But who are these ‘filthy minions’?” I was utterly confused.
“They call themselves the Celestials, but they are no more than pawns blindly following their leader.”
“And who is this leader?” Were we really getting somewhere, or was this guy just telling a fairy tale to me?
“He is the worst of them all. He keeps his people in the dark, not allowing them to see him or share in his wealth. They call him the King.”
“And who are we?”
“We, being you and your father and the rest of us, are called the Hidden. We know all, do all, and rule all, except for those Celestials.” He spat their name out as if it tasted bad.
“Why don’t you just stop them? If you can do anything, why can’t you stop the Celestials?”
“Because the Celestials are supported by the King, who is powerful. He subdues us and then destroys us. He thinks we are evil, and so we must be… exterminated…” Wyvern seemed to be choosing his words wisely, and I could tell he wasn’t telling me everything. It was in his eyes, a certain gleam or twitch that gave away every feeling. But he wasn’t quite like an open book. It was more like looking through a kaleidoscope, where with each turn a new color was revealed and a new pattern born. Only I was watching the show while somebody else was turning it.
“Why am I just now learning all this? What do you want from me and what do I get out if it?”
Wyvern smiled wryly, the twinkle in his eye changing to a more amused look. A chill crept down my spine. “You haven’t been told because there wasn’t a need to tell you yet. But there is now. The Celesitals are gathering, so we must gather as well. As for what’s in it for you… if you comply you won’t be killed… by Arc.”
“What?!” I fell backwards in the chair. My own dad, kill me? Was this man out of his mind? Sure, we didn’t really have any fond memories together, but did Wyvern really think he could force my dad to kill his own son?
Bitter laughter echoed off the walls in the room and inside my head. The chair disappeared, replaced by shackles that appeared around my ankles, wrists, and neck. From the corner of my eye I could see a plume of smoke. Wyvern was on the other side of the wall again. The wall of cement had no door now. The short guy and tall guy were laughing along with Wyvern, but Arc remained silent. His eyes were clouded, the mix of emotions so great that I couldn’t tell exactly what he was feeling. I watched them all leave, Arc trailing after them. He didn’t say a word to me. He didn’t look at me. He didn’t wave good-bye.
He just left.