A Lost World

Riley yawned and covered it with his left hand. He couldn't believe how long that speech was. They could have just given the information to them over an announcement. Well now he supposed he should get some rest some where. He had off of work and there wasn't any class work that needed to be done either. Rubbing his neck tenderly he flinched. It was time to buy a new matress. It was a shame seeing as how it had been his for some time now and had gone through a lot. The wind passed over him gently and he put on his headphones so that his playlist, "Prelude" could finish.

 

Will smiled at Zack and let the sword slide into it's sheath. "Thanks. I just know how to use my equipment." He lifted his arm to show the unmarked gauntlet on his arm. "Silver pressed 75 times to make it stronger." He said, tapping it with his other knuckle.

 

"Very nice. Something like that must cost a pretty penny. But as you saw, such things only slow you down. The more weight, the harder it is to keep it stable. Thats why i don't wear any armor, shield, or other such none sense. Your choice though." He looked over to the doors just as people started filing out. He caught sight of red hair that looked VERY familiar. "Ah, and with that, I must be off. May your sword stay sharp Will." And with a wave, Zack headed over to the crowd.
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What a boring meeting. Why didn't we just get a hand out or something. Looking up, she saw Zack running to the crowd. She laughed as he tried to find a hole in which he could use to get to her. Eventually he had to concede defeat, and waved her over. "Emily! Did you forget our date?!" He shouted, barely making himself heard over the crowd.
"Wait for me!" She called back. She followed the crowd till it broke up, and then managed to fight her way over to her boy friend. She sighed as she felt his arms circle her. "You smell all sweaty. Were you fighting again?"
"You know me. I can't resist a challenge." He said in a bright voice. "How was the meeting?"
"Boring. The people next to me fell asleep. Something about some trip coming up." She replied, in a dull tone. "Enough, let's go do something."
"Do what?" He asked.
"I dunno. Surprise me." She smiled up at him. "You can do that, right?"
"I shall do my very best, madam." They laugh as they walk away together, holding hands.

 

Nicole picked up the case and walked outside to check her case to see two guys. Shel ooked at them. She got out her piccolo though and did a quick scale making sure the key's were ok. She put it away and wlaked over to the two of them. She knew the one Will, he was another kid there who was there a long time like her. She saw the guy walk off.

"Hey Will. You realise there's a meeting going on in there, right?" Nicole told him.

"Were you fighting again?" Nicole asked Will.

 

Zack and Emily both arrived at one of their most favorite spots on the campus. Zack was a master of ritual, and so the day he asked Emily out, he planted a flower underneath a cherry tree. The flower symbolized their feelings for each other, a continuation of life, despite the fact that it was shrouded in the shadows of every day life. Seeing as They had stopped by his room to pick up said flower, as it had been to cold for it recently, and were about to put it in its rightful place. They both knealed in the dirt, and Emily dug up the spot it had been in before. Zack took the flower and placed it in the hole. "There, back were you belong."
"It looks happier now." Emily said.
"It would be, it was stuck in my room for the whole winter." They shared a laugh, but one last thing remained before the spring time rtiual was complete. They both leaned over the flower, and kissed a long lingering kiss. After a few moments that seemed like years, they parted again. "This never gets old." Emily said quietly.
"That's the point of ritual. To continue a cycle that never ends. Such things never get old."
They sat quietly together, pondering over the year to come, and what it would bring.
Finally, Emily said, "So now what?" Just then a sudden wind picked up. Zack stiffened, as he got a sort of premonition. He looked up at the tree, almost in fear. There, in the center of a white blossom cluster, was a black blossom. Things like that spoke of endings. He knew this, and was saddened by it.
"What is it?"
"Look, over there."
"Its a blossom, so?"
"Black Blossoms are generally a bad thing for my people. They tell of things dieing. Lives, Relationships. Ends of stories." He said, sadly.
"Will that happen to us?" Emily asked wide eyed.
"To be honest, i have no idea." After a few minutes, "Well, let us not worry about the future. It will bring what it will bring. Lets go to the diner."
"Well, ok. If your buying." She said, then got up, brushing the dirt from her pants.
"I am don't worry."
The two walked off. And in the fading light, the black blossom falls, and touches their flower.

 

Mustering up the courage he opened the door. The old door squeaked as he opened it and stepped in. Quickly turning around he noticed that everyone was turned in their seats starring at him."Sry"As he raised his hand to the crowd. "Don't mind me!" Finding the closest open seat to him so he wouldn't atrract any more antention to himself the man down infront continued talking. Listening very carefully he heard something intrigued.
" This is the oppertuninty of a life time!! A select few of you will be allowed to embark on a journey of great scientifical conquest. A few of you will be allowed to leave the Ico-zones from which you were born into! There will be a drawing in the next 24 hours and those picked shall be those select few, who are elligable to do so."
Kardorious just rolled his eyes. "This is so stupid!!" "Whatever." Getting up from his chair as the audience started to leave a scalpel fell through the bottom of his vest and stabed the floor with a "SZINK!" Quickly pickingit up from the floor he looked around as a fellow colleage begin for the front to alert the teacher of the incident."Well, this could get me in a lot of trouble!"Chasing through the crowed he caught up to her quickly raping his long fingers around her neck and squeezing ever so slightly made her pass out from the pressure. Catching her he simply looked around to see if anyone had seen what he had done. Only a few were standing there looking at him. "It's alright, she wasn't feeling very well. I'll taker to the nurse." After dropping of his fainted mademoiselle at the nurses office he thought it time for him to go home. Lankely he got his things from his locker. Walked through the halls towards the exit. Passing the names jar for the so called "trip of a life time!"
"What the hell, I need to get out of this got forsaken town." Finding a piece of scratch paper he very neatley wrote his name on it. Placing it in the jar part of him actually wanted him to win. But another part of him felt uneasy about the whole thing. Quickly setting aside the bad thoughts he worked his way home. Stepping through the door he was malled by his cat. "Sebastion!""It is nice to see you to" Walking into the room he noticed that someone had gone through his things. Chairs were broken as well as personal effects. "Who could have done this?" Hearing a lound thump come from the other room he moved silently to the door. Slightly peering around the door hinge he noticed a man throwing papers from one hand to the other a stuffing them into a paper bag."What are you doing? Who are you?" The man turning around showing a black pistol of sorts. Firing a few rounds at Kardorious. Falling through the air he grabbed the scalpel that had prevously was in his vest threw it at the man an hit him dead center it the forehead. "What was that all about?!!?"

 

Will's head snapped up. "A meetings happening? Why didn't anyone tell me?" He asked, grabbing the guitar case next to the tree. "Thanks Nicole. Lucky I can always rely on you to find me here." He said to her. Nicole was Will's best friend here and she was really the only one he trusted. "And that guy was a newcomer, Zack." He said.

 

"Oh I see, I'm heading back to my dorm, I have sources to find out what's going on." Nicole said. She had her piccolo case in her hand and headed back to her dorm. She went up the stairs. She unlocked her doors. Throwing her keys on the desk in her room and set her piccolo on the counter in her dorm. Her odrm was different, it was a teacher type of dorm, she recieved her father's, it had a small, but full size kitchen, mini fridge, desk, small bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower and a small twin size bed. She liked her room though. She was fortunate compared to others.

 

Will waved to her as she strode off and he put the guitar case on his back with sheild, striding off to find the meeting. He had known Nicole for years and while most of the girls at the school thought he was wierd for playing guitar so much Nicole thought he was just fine. That's what he liked about her. She accepted him as he was.

 

"Riley!" A cheery and familiar voice shouted across the dorms vast hallways that Riley considered more of a prudish attachment. He always thought they should remove the hallways for elevators. When Riley had stopped to see who had called out his name he came face to face with Kevin Rosch. A man who, like Riley, wanted to become a psychologist and often thought of Riley as either a consultant or a friend, "Riley, man I'm glad I caught up to you. What did you think about that speech? Can you believe it? Their going to let us outside the Iso's!"
"I couldn't really care. It's just supposed to be desert." Riley replied in a even and discusising tone. Usually when Kevin acted this way, he would be up all night on the Iso's forums discussing the matter with other students. So it was nearly routine when Kevin came to him with this question.
"Ah~ Come on man, think about it! Maybe there are creatures that haven't been seen in ... well centuries!" Kevin exclaimed tossing his hands in the air and giving a excited smile to his psych friend.
"That is a valid point. But I'm sure if anything was out there our military would have reported it and the Iso Zone's news channels would be all over it. I mean, just imagine what some people would be signing up for in military courses just to get a chance at studying them, IF they existed."

 

By now Zack and Emily had signed up for the trip to the Iso's. Emily had taken some convincing though. Now they were both on a field around the back of the school, training. "No not like that. Step into the thrust, don't just jerk your arm around." Zack instructed. Both were holding practice swords made of wood, and were trying to score hits on each other. Well, Emily was trying. She was to novice for Zack to need to try.
"Like this?" She executed the move.
"Perfect. Just like that, but work up to it. Don't start with those right away, cause they can be easy to block." And with that, he went back to attacking and defending. Emily was getting good, but not very quickly. This was ok, Zack was a patient teacher.

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It was a little later, and Zack was walking through the halls by himself. Emily had turned in for the night, so he had bid her farewell, and decided to take a walk. It wasn't long before he heard voices. Probably some students talking about the trip. I didn't go to the meeting, so i should get some more info. He walked up to the two guys just as one of them said, "...IF they existed."
"If what existed?" Zack asked as he joined the two.

 

"What was that all about!!??" Getting up off the floor he decided to grab the bag to which the man was stuffing papers in. Wipping the blood from the thing he opened it. "You kill one and there is always another one." Flipping through the pages he kept seeing the same old symbol, that same old symbol of the searchers of his fathers work. Less than three years this has been happening and he has had to move from school to school because of it. This was the thirteenth school and he was getting pretty tired of it. He wanted to tell the intruders the truth, that what they are searching for isn't some piece of paper it is infact himself that was his fathers greatest work. But that would ruin the fun! "Ya know, Sebastion?" Gently running his hand through the cats fur. "I'm getting sick of moving. Mabye it is time for me to just do the unusual and run away."
"That's what i'll do, i'll try my hardest to go on this so called trip and at the first chance I get i'll leave the group and make it on my own!!" "Thanks Sebastion!" The cat gave a kinda what are you thinking meow before Kardorious disposed of the body and returned to tryin to get some sleep.

 

Nicole was already up in the girls wings. She walked down the hall, she was given a dagger and she always had her piccolo. Nicole wasn't much the fighter and didn't want to go on the trip. She has seen the real world her own father died defending people in the real world. She stopped and looked in a huge display case. There was a sword in the case with her father's name on it, pictures of him in it as well. One picture was with her and her mother. There was another picture however of Nicole looking over his dead body crying. She sighed as all the pictures and memories. He was a great man who suffered a horrible death she may have to face.

 

Will walked up next to Nicole, looking at the shield next to her father's sword. It was his grandfather's. He told them he wasn't fit to have it and told them to put it in here. His grandfather and her father were good friends... or had been. That had been how they met. "I still think about them too..." He muttered, looking away from the case. "Are you going on the trip?" He asked, straightening his sword's strap.

 

"Everyone has to." she said standing up. She was wearing her military unifrom rather then band. It was a khaki skirt and top. She had different awards on her shirt, some she earned from her piccolo and commanding, others were from her father's uniform. She looked at him.

"They said when I can fight, I get my father's sword and they'll train me to be tough like him." Nicole said.

 

Zack got out of bed, yawning. "Well i guess it starts." He walked over to a case, and opened it. He took out a black uniform, with a rose symbol on the left side of the chest. "I never thought i would wear the family crest like this." He put it on, brushing off some dust. He brushed his hair, then turned to his sword. The normal belt wouldn't do while he was in uniform. He slipped the sheathe off, the ran a silver belt through it. The belt could take 90 lbs before it began to break. 130 would snap it like string. He drew his blade, saluting with the sword flicking in front of him, then down to his side. Satisfied, he sheathed the blade, grabbed his back pack already outfitted with supplies, then walked out the door.
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Emily woke up at about the same time as Zack. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then slipped on her own uniform. His one was white, with the archery clubs mark on it. She grabbed her quiver and bow. Her hair rarely troubled her, always springing into a shape that was suitable for school. She never got bed head. She looked at a picture of her mother, now dead. "I'll come back mom. Don't worry, i'll tell you all about it when i get back from my trip." She turned and walked out the door. Zack had said he would carry supplies so that was good. She saw Zack waiting for her. "Hey!" She called, running up.
Zack looked disapprovingly. "Where's your sword?"
"You said i wasn't good enough with it yet."
"Go grab it, you can best a few things with it. And if you're all out of arrows you become a burden."
She ran back, grabbed her short sword and belted it on. She ran back out, now panting. "Better?" She asked sarcastically.
"Much." He said with a grin. "Hey, don't sweat it. It's just that i have a vested interest in keeping you alive. Oh, i recognize that guy." He pointed at Will. "OI! WILL! Wait up!" He shouted, running to catch up.

 

Will nodded. "They said the same to me about my grandfather's shield but I told them I wasn't fit to have it. He was a good man, they both were. If you want I can teach you a bit." He offered. He was one of gthe best fighters in the school. He was in the same uniform. Olive drab cargo pants, a khaki shirt, and a khaki jacket. When Zack called him he turned and nodded at him. "What's up?" He asked.

 

Nicole turned and looked. She open up a case on her hip, it was a minature portable piccolo case. She put her piccolo in it. She then closed it. She turned and looked at the sword. A commanding officer soon walked over.

"Excuse me..." The man said. He opened teh case and reached in. He grabbed the sword. He reclosed it. It was Nicole's father's sword, she decided to ask what he was doing with it.

"What are you doing with that sword?" Nicole asked him.

"It's for my officer, he's taking it with him to fight with, after all it was given to me after this man died. It's his now." The officer said. He then looked at the picture and at Nicole realising he said to much.

"WHAT!?" Nicole said outloud in anger.

"That's not his sword! That's my father's, my sword!" Nicole yelled.

"You'll have to take it up with my officer then." The officer said walking away. Nicole was just a cadet and wasn't allowed to argue.

 

Will was a captain so he had some chance. "Officer, stop! You have no right to take those!" He said. But then he saw the officer turn and take his grandfather's shield. "The hell is this???" He roared, about to draw his sword. He drew it partially, revealling the onyx metal with gold dust in it. This might have been his worst move yet.