Erotica Anthology #5

Drifter

#25

Drifter

Universe: Fortis

Year: Unknown

Fortis used to be a prosperous world compared to some, with highly cultural architecture and some fairly adequate advance technology. But being at war with each other for almost a quarter of a millennia brings devastating causes to the state of its well-being, turning the once thriving universe into calamitous ruins and dead silence. Fortis became a dark and depressing lands, its sky remain forever grey.

It was the use of one lethal, experimental weapon, a neutralizing warhead created by one of the parties from the war, that managed to shatter the used to be beautiful lands and cities. The detonation expanded to most of the surface of the planet, making it ninety nine percent almost uninhabitable. The explosion was so great that the fabric of dimensions were torned apart from every different sites as another side effect. It opens up many dimensional breaches, causing more chaotic disruption to ensue.

The only remaining, somewhat untouched area of the planet, is a big continent down the south, which location was the furthest district from the heavy anti-strongpoint outbreak.

. . . . .

Universe: Unknown

Year: Unknown

In an alternate future of Earth, there exist an organization called T.H.E.M. These forces are known to have not so genuine purposes. What being made up of corrupt higher ups and supernatural beings who are originated from other dimensions. This group is lead by an entity known as H.I.M. There is nothing much else known about this organization and its members, especially with how they only wearing similar attires and masks whenever they represent themselves to the public. The only way to tell a difference is when H.I.M. wears a slightly different uniform, with a golden mask instead to stand out from the mass of silver, as well as a much darker cloak.

T.H.E.M. manipulates the world from behind the scenes, causing havoc in the society through taking advantage through the use of media, recruiting and forming local street gangs, as well as creating illegal experiments. The later which involves with using bribed and volunteered athletes, and even willing to sought out abducted and bought children. This organization is build from slyness and trickery in order to cause even a bigger chaos in the once peaceful community, just to reach their goals.

This might only be known to some very few people, most who are probably dead by now, but the reason why T.H.E.M. are so hell-bent on destroying Earth is because they have made a pact with a mysterious, all powerful being named Zoran, who is disillusioned with the idea of ruling the universe. And once it falls into the palm of his hands, who knows what worse things that might befallen.

The organization has a specialized scientific division called The Cradle. They work under the disguise of the government’s medical research faculty, when in fact they are conducting unethical experiments involving helpless, underaged individuals behind closed doors. These children are chosen based on their genetic potentials to harness special abilities, genetically engineered in their hosts only to be plucked from their early age. This is done by The Cradle in order to mold them into tiny little marionettes to control and train as they please, which they would not have been able to do if it were not for the brainwashing methods they applied on this kids. The Cradle’s words are sacred, and the children must follow what they wish for them at every whim. What is considered an acceptable standard is what they say, and that becomes the propaganda that is repeated in the children’s mind.

The Cradle monitors the children’s progress daily, putting them through tests in order to push each individual's to the limits. There are rarely any time when all children come out unscratched. These people are cruel, but they are the ones that these kids have ever seen. They do not have any life outside of this little world of tests and experiments. They were born and raised in this white laboratorium, never stepping out of this underground headquarter even for once. Their entire life, they have always been caged, never having the taste of freedom.

Aside from experimenting on children they breed on their own. The Cradle also targets athletes. The motive, to excel and master different types of sports. The Cradle uses the data they collect on the athletes in order to predict the outcome of their young experiment subjects, among other sinister purposes using illegal drugs and medicating methods, which obvious would have been banned, if they were any other organization. The Cradle has been careful with their moves, making sure that they stay under the radar on the surface, while their core team makes use of their share of the government funds to commit any illegal activities for their benefits. The enhanced drugs are beyond the recommended dosage, and it allows the athletes to earn greater strength in such a short span of time. This is also one of the main reasons why some adults even volunteered for their programs, despite knowing the risk. The greed of victory, money and fame is eating up to them.

Unbeknown to them, they are all just test subjects for The Cradle to use by the end of the day. The drugs the facility is using on them turns out to be a Hallucinogenic type, which are revealed to be have side effects on juggling the patient’s memory and mental stability, reducing them to the state of being easily manipulated. This makes them to be the perfect ultimate killing machines, and T.H.E.M. will use every single tools to their advantage. There is no level that can stoops so low when it comes down to getting things done for them.

The Cradle have their operations on schedule, and it is only a matter of time before they recruit enough soldiers to be used at their expense.

. . . . .

Universe: Tero

Year: 2250

JJ is a eleven-year-old boy from the world of Tero. He lives in a normal life when everyday is about working part-time and taking care of his grandma. They do not have much, but JJ likes to think that they are managing quite well so far, living off from the money his late parents have left off. They were both dead in a plane crash. JJ tries not to think too much about it, deciding to solely remember them through the good times they had together. There is no use sticking up to the bad past.

Unaware of the danger that is going to befall him, The Cradle has actually been monitoring the boy from afar, waiting for any signs of awakening. They have been watching in the dark, until one night they decide he is ready for the reaping and on to the plan to kidnap him. They burst into the house while JJ and his grandmother are vast asleep, catching them in surprise. JJ’s scream is muffled when one of the men put a hand over his mouth, but he still tries to put up a fight through wild struggling. They had a hard time trying to contain the boy, and he is slippery enough that he manages to kick his attacker’s face and almost make an escape. Good thing the men acted fast, pushing a chloroformed fabric through his nostrils.

JJ’s grandma, having heard of the commotions, tries to stop these men from taking her only grandson away. She holds on to one of their legs dearly, not willing to let them get away. The men are harsh, and they are in a hurry. The man kicks her off, the force strong enough to make her body thrown a couple of feet back until the back of her head hits one side of a wall. JJ screams, his hands trying to reach her, but the men do not care. They take him from the safe haven of his house, with him staring at his grandmother’s unmoving body as the last thing he sees.

He hates that he can not do anything to help her grandma. She is his last living relative, yet he is too weakened to even defend her safety. Is she dead? No, that can not be, right? And where are they taking him? Why are they doing this to his family? JJ pounders in fear as unconsciousness take over him.

When the boy wakes up, he is welcomed with a series of torture. They are attaching cables that send painful electric shocks to his body, causing him so shake, snap and cry uncontrollably. They call themselves The Cradle, a facility that prides themselves to build a better future for the sake of mankind. But the more he is kept captive in there, the more JJ believes that they are all just a bunch of fakes who only enjoy their sadistic strikes.

At one time, the labcoats even put a test tube on JJ, pumping mysterious green liquid with glows in light. An oxygen mask is placed on him, being the only device that drowns his heart-wrenching screams. And that is how it goes every day. They wake him up, put him of torture, then repeat. There is not a day when the boy gets a break. The labcoats are always on him, always ready for a new kind of torture method. It goes on and on until he almost loses count on the how many days he has spent trapped in the place.

JJ does like always go down without a fight, though. His wild, rebellious persona will not allow him to give out without trying. He tries to trick the labcoats and manages to almost escape for several times, but he has always ended up getting caught. Their security cameras have no flows, that must be it. That is why they always manage to catch up to him whenever he tries to get away.

Several weeks have passed, he thinks. If that is correct, then this should be his birthday today. He is turning twelve. He would have celebrated it with his grandmother. They would have bought a cake and make huge dinner at home, if he had not been kidnapped. They would have been able to live out their lives peacefully. But no, the men of Cradles just have to took him away, hurting his grandmother in the process. JJ hopes that she is okay. If she is alright, he can take this torment. Please . . . if only he can somehow figure out if she is fine or not. The boy slowly finds himself giving out, his spirit disapparating after suffering from the depression. He has tried, so hard, but he kept getting failed. He is already running out of options. He does not know what else to do. After all, he is only but a boy, and they are all full-grown adults, with knifes, scissors, and other tool to keep them stayed upper handed.

JJ is just about to give up, when a person with a new uniform he has never seen before come across his holding cell. At first he suspects that she is just another labcoat who is going to torture him again, but the scientist appears to be shocked by his current state of physique.

Annie is just one of the many staffs from the upper levels. Newbies such as her is not permitted to access the lower levels, bound to many good reasons. She knows that she is not supposed to be in there at all, and should have just bolted out the minute she realizes that she has venture too deep into the exclusive floor access. But the young scientist just can not bring herself to move away, too curious about what they are researching for at this level. She blames it on her overly inquisitive nature. But then again, if she is not, she would not have bothered with this occupation field at all in the first place. What she does not expect is to discover a bruised and battered body lying on a while holding cell, looking like a wounded animal trapped in a cage. And with that, an entailment of red warnings in her head. Annie has no idea what has happened, but no good practices allow such a thing to occur on such a harmless, helpless child. What have they done to him? He looks pretty much out of it. The boy has only enough strength to open one eye at her. Poor little thing! Annie does not stop to venture, but immediately tries to figure out a way to release him from the holding, going through the control. It seems like this medical research faculty is running some shady practices below ground.

“Hey, kid. Are you okay?” Annie goes into the cage and removes the strange green tubes that are attached to his arms. Needles are pulled out from flesh when she removes the tubes, unfortunately triggering some alarms in the security system at the same time. Red lights flash from everywhere, causing panic. The boy’s mind is too clouded. His eyes appears to be diluted, and he does not seem like he can stand still without tumbling down. To make it worse, his body is shivering hard, out of fear or effects from the drugs, she really has no idea. Perhaps both. Of course, she can understand. He has been held captive down here for who knows how long, and most probably went through difficult ordeals. Were they . . . experimenting on him? Those bastards! There is no way she is still going to work with them after this. She is going to report them. They are toast!

JJ has no idea who she is, or what her intentions are. Is she going to hurt him also? She does not think that he can take anymore pain. Once released from his bindings, out of pure instinct, he musters all the strength he has left and sprints the heck out of there. The woman calls out to him, but his ear function is way too messed up to hear her properly, or any other sounds for that matter.

The clock hits midnight when something inside him awakens. “Time drifter,” the labcoats often say in whispering thoughtfulness during his torment. It is not up until this point that the twelve-year-old finally realizes what it means. Something is happening to his body. His arms become partially transparent, looking like a withering dandelion, or a lost data. Is this the end of him? Ah, such a short life he has. He has not even seen his grandma for the last time. Will she be okay? Suddenly, the ground underneath him opens, like a pentagram gate. He loses all sense of gravity, falling into the bottomless hole.

. . . . .

Universe: Unelmia

Year: 1950

It seems like JJ has ended in some sort of a fringe neighborhood. The boy can see layers and layers of brick walls standing ever so crowdedly between each other. Narrow windows and small metal terraces hang from every side of the walls, creating this claustrophobic sense. The buildings look old and washed out. JJ never thought that they still have this type of living areas still in Tero.

The boy is glad that he is alive, or at least he thinks he is. He wakes up in the middle of the street, only to find this strange scenery surrounding him. Maybe he is dreaming still? Or is this just how the afterlife is? He pinches himself to test the theory, and he flinches a little bit from the stinging pain. Yup, still alive.

JJ begins to explore the area, encountering all sort of people who throw nasty glares at him. Why? Do they know that he is an outsider? Is it the way he dressed? True to be honest, he does dressed much better than them, despite still wearing a prisoner suit. It is still white and clean, only covered a little bit with dust from his rough landing before. Sure, they are dressed with freedom, but they look even much poorer then the boy, wearing patched up garbs and mismatched clothes.

“You don’t belong here,” an old woman throws at him rudely, scaring him off, as if he has not experienced a lifetime of being in fear already. The boy backs off a few steps, before launching himself through a narrow street. Each buildings only give enough gap for one person to pass through. He passes through the street in random direction, feeling like being trapped in an endless maze brick walls. He just keeps on running until he loses his breath and finds himself in a dead end.

“Hey, kid. Fancy clothes you have there. Mind sharing some with us?” He turns around to discover a couple of thugs coming his way. The boy is running out of places to run to. If he just forces himself to push through, there is no doubt that they will probably beat him. Usually, he can just up with a fight and brawl with his enemie. But right at the moment, he is still experiencing some side effects from exhaustion. He is not confident enough that he can handle this right now.

JJ backs away warily until his back collides with the wall behind him. He looks up. It is too tall for him to climb, and there is nothing around he can use to help himself. His head pounders. Great, a headache. The thugs closes up on him, chuckling menacingly, grinning to exposed their rotten teeth. He really does not like it here.

Suddenly, with that thought in mind, the pentagram appears underneath his feet again. It opens up, making him sinks fast into the black hole once again.

. . . . .

The next world he lands on is a world of ruins — not that he is fully aware of the change of dimension either. JJ does not know which is worse, this one or the last one. At least the last one has people in it. This one looks like it was scorched to black, leaving remains of what was once supposed to be a great civilization.

“Hello?” he asks loud enough that the sound travels and echoes through the desolate lands.

No reply.

What is he going to do now? With no resources and no food, how is he going to survive in this wasteland? Not to mention that he is still tired from all the shifting and moving.

JJ climbs the stairs of some random building, trying to find a place he can rest on for the mean time. A find a slightly managed bed in some random room. Half of it is burnt badly, but the other half still appears with be usable. Dust rises up when he sits on the bed, but he tries hard to ignore it. His sensitive nostril can not help but to sneeze, having been living in an area that is clean of dust and dirt. He dreams of meeting his grandma in his sleep, and the boy can not help but to smile a little bit on that, despite the flowing tears that eventually dries up.

. . . . .

Universe: Unelmia

Year: 3050

Back to Unelmia, it is a decade or so later after JJ’s visit to the world, that another boy his age thrives. Leo is in another fight of his own, to combat and defeat a being known as the Time Seeker. He needs to seal it away, so that it may not kill another one of his kind ever again.

He has seen the horror of being caught by the Time Seeker. It eats Time Travelers and Time Drifters alike, just to fuel its power. Then, using the power of those it has consumed, it travels through many different dimensions, just to snatch more victims to its murder list. It enjoys the cries of exasperation and lost of its victims. Many wants to end this entity’s life, but many fails to do so. It can jump to any place or time as it wishes, thanks to having eaten a number of lives during its existence. The Time Seeker is hard to defeat. Its body is as large as a titan’s. People are running out of ideas on how to defeat it. They can only run and escape, hoping to preserve their lives somehow. But how are they going to keep this up? With this Time Seeker always hunting their kind, constantly hot on their trails?

The Time Seeker has existed for a very long time. Or is its? With its power to jump to any time it wishes, they are not even sure which time origin it came from. It is also known by another name, The Forbidden One.

One day, when Leo and his friends are in a fierce battle with The Forbidden One, a boy suddenly drops from the sky. His sudden presence is so majestic, they can not help but wonder if they are dreaming or not.

It is the legendary hero, JJ!

He has finally arrive to their world, and he is going to save them all. JJ is not much older than them — perhaps he is even in the same age as they are.

JJ and the Time Seeker are immediately involved in a ferocious brawl. They push each other to the edge, landing attach on each other. Their size comparison might not be as fair, with one being as tall as the sky, while the other appears like the measurement of a tiny ball in contrast. However, their fight is even. At some point, the boy is even able to open up a negative dimension and pushes the Time Seeker into it, just before the portal closes up.

The JJ that is now is not the same as before. He is much stronger, much wiser. He has went through so much. Anyone would have been able to see it in his eyes. Those are the eyes of someone who has went through a lot of hardships in life.

When The Forbidden One tries to escape by hocking its monstrous tentacles around the mouth of the portal, JJ fires a huge blast of energy. It damages not only The Forbidden One, but also the boy himself. Thanks to the creature’s tentacles deflecting some of the attack. Though thanks for the impact, he manages to push The Forbidden One through the breach behind him.

The portal shuts, sealing the monster that has been hunting Leo’s people for centuries. They all cry with tears of joy and victory, celebrating JJ’s winning. Unelmia is saved and in peace once again. JJ becomes a real life legend to its people. The tale of his battle and bravery is told and pass through from generation to generation to come, although they have never seen the hero shows himself up after that.

Perhaps he prefers to remain unknown, but the people of Unelmia will never forget the great, heroic deed that he has done for them.

. . . . .

Leo is twelve years old. He is born from a Time Traveler father and a human mother, thus making him a Dimensional Time Drifter. He is also blessed with the power of LUNA, allowing him to use the energy for combat. Just like his hero, JJ, he also prefers brawling and hand to hand combat. The boy has three close friends, who he works closely with, whether it is for combat or friendship.

Terry is merely a year younger than Leo. The lad, despite his size, has super strength and durability, which he tends to take great advantage of during battles. Like his friend, he is also adept in the arts of defence, having possessed martial skills. Though different from Leo, Terry has been professionally trained. His hair is half silver on the top and brown in the bottom half. Leo also has the same hair color combination, though Leo’s is more like light cream blonde mixed with brown strands.

In the actual matter, Terry’s hair is dyed. The boy intentionally does so because he does not want Leo to be alone. His friend’s hair was grown naturally like that, without any sort of chemical touch. Perhaps it is because the look comes from being a Time Drifter, or perhaps it be cause of his parents. Leo’s father has a much brighter hair color, which itself is usually unnatural, while the boy’s human mother has innate brown locks.

Yuka is the oldest of the bunch. He has blonde hair and golden eyes. The boy is highly intelligent, and specializing in analyzing. He is the brain of the group. Aside from that, he always have some mechanical knowledge and engineering skills. The boys have seen him fix up some cars and other vehicles. Yuka even managed to self-built a motorbike once, one that he modivates to fit the wilderness terrain outside the city.

When his friends show interested in the vehicle, Yuka even went as far as making another three, each for them. Well, at least that was the beginning of the plan. But Leo is not so skillful when it comes down to driving and coordinates. He bumps into too many rocks, walls, poles, fences, and pretty much any other obstacle one can think off. In the end, Yuka had to attach a sidecar to one of the motorbikes for him to seat on.

Leo is not so impressed by the different treatment, but at least he does not have to bump into anything every five minutes. Yuka is actually quite playful, and the sight of a grumpy Leo makes him laughs every time. The boy has a little bit of a prankster side to him, after all. Tricking people is also one of the things the smart boy enjoys.

Wearing pink outfit and makeup is just one of his hobbies, but despite his appearance, Ruri is just one of the boys. He is thirteen years old. His traits is the gift of energy shaping, which allows him to turn it into physical weapons, which machine guns, snipers and such. Side from that, the boy has an athletic physique for his age, fluent in acrobatic maneuvers and Close Quarters Combat (CQC).

Unelmia is a world of dreams for many. But because of a tragedy that struck a few centuries ago, a war erupted, changing everything. A once peaceful, united country is now in the brink of destruction, just like many other worlds. If this goes on, the fate of Unelmia will not be as far from turning into one like Fortis.

Many Dimensional Time Drifters who have ventured into different worlds have taken notes on how the worlds are changing. Their investigation leads them to a dark force known as the Time Seeker, who started it all. It likes to travel from various dimensions, just to find Time Travelers and Time Drifters. And once it finds them, it eats them alive. It does not care about the lengths it has to go through to get what it wants, leaving a trail of destruction at its wake. If this goes on, soon enough the creature will also reach their plain.

Despite the horrid prediction, a legend says that there is a premonition in which tells a story of a hero that will come from the past and stand up against all evil. The hero is not an adult, but a mere boy. Yet he possesses more power that anyone has ever seen. His named is rumored to be JJ, though other cultures have different version of name for the boy, and he is also a Time Drifter, just like Leo. One day, he will come to Unelmia and save all living beings. But until that day comes — if it ever comes — they will have to stay and keep their defence.

Leo boy is particularly swept by the story. He feels the sort of invincible connection to the hero in which he can not deny. So much that in his mind, he believes the premonition completely. Some might think that it is childish of him to have such wishful thinking, but Leo does not care. He grows up faithfully believing that the legendary hero exists, never faltering from his affirmity.

The Time Seeker has been proven to have visited Unelmia few centuries ago. And if any history is proven to be right, then it is only a matter of time before it shows up in their world again, most probably creating havoc. Unelmia will be turned into a dystopian wasteland once more, and all chaos will leave them in ruin.

But are they really going to give up and accept their fate? Watching the growing devastation pushes Leo to decide in taking matters into his own hands. Alongside his loyal friends, Terry, the son of titans, Yuka, the brilliant tech warrior and Ruri, the ultra cute CQC master and JR model form a team called the Go Force, a group of young heroes who battle villains and such. Together, they go for unlimited adventures in order to prepare themselves for the impending doom that is about to come.

And true enough, comes it does one day. It calls itself many names: The Time Destroyer, Time Seeker, and The Forbidden One, but most of all it likes to be referred to as Zoran. The self-proclaimed deity has return, and it is ready to devour its chosen victims. The young heroes have a couple of encounter with the dark god. They have tried to battle it, they never really got the chance to fight it off, only leading it off track whenever it is close enough to the residence.

But now that the hero JJ has defeated it, Zoran is no longer terrorizing their world. Still, Leo can not help but worry. As if it somehow ended up in another world? What if it is now terrorizing the living beings in there? Fearing for the worst, Leo can not bring himself to sleep soundlessly at night. The boy can not forget of how many lives it has taken, solely for the satisfaction of empowering itself. What if it is still doing the same thing right now? Hunting kis kind down in some other world? The thought bothered him so much that one day, he decides to confide with his friends. It seems like they are share the same thought, because Terry, Yuka and Ruri all advice him to chase after the creature, if it is really what he wants to do.

Thus Leo decides to travel. His friends would have went along with him, but they are not Time Drifters like him, thus not being able to come along for the trip. Leo will follow and defeat Zoran until it is not able to harm anyone ever again.

Leo entrusts the safety of Unelmia to them before parting ways, giving a friendly group hug as goodbyes. They will meet again, they know that, so they part ways with big smiles.

The last sight the trio sees of their friend is him entering a portal, heading to the next random universe.

. . . . .

Universe: Adeldot

Year: 2020

Abdul is a thirty two year old man living in the outskirts of a small town in Adeldot, just in between the beach that leads to the open ocean and a deep forest. He lost his arm when he was in such a young age. He had to admit, it was a struggling trying to survive on his own with just one functional hand, but he did not let that to hinder him. He has a strong will to live, not matter how rotten it is, it is still his. His life is the only thing that he truly owns, and he intends to keep it, no matter what.

He has no idea who his parents are. They have been dead for as long as he can remember. He grew up as an orphan. None of the town people were willing to take him in, much because they do not want to be bothered by an one-arm baby. So they threw him out, hoping that nature would erase him. Fortunately for him, he managed to survive on his own, somehow. Some of the scavenger took pity of him and tried to give him food and take care of him whenever it was possible. But often times, Abdul was left out in the open by himself. It was a wonder how he could have stayed alive living in such a harsh environment on his own, especially being a newborn.

Abdul had to learn fast. If he wants to survive, he has to act smart and quick. That is the only teaching that the scavengers taught him. Their words remain repeated in his mind, being the moral compass of his life.

It took him a while, but after sometime has passed, he was able to build a cybernetic arm on his own. The quality was crappy, but at least it got the job done. He was adept in gathering wild ingredients, so he used that skill to gather more resources to be sold to the town, which money he saved up to buy himself a real functional robot arm. He was already in his pre teen by the time he finally managed to afford one. It replaced his limb from the elbow down, and it made gathering resources plenty more easier. Despite the fact that he was able to gather enough money for the mechanical arm, he never stop gathering up ingredients and selling. He planned to use the money for maintenance, since he did not know whenever he would need it. Though overtime, he managed to well-endowedly saved up enough money to last for more than enough times.

Then when he had fulfilled his goal, Abdul did not have any other materialistic necessity toward other objects. He did not use that much money unless it is for his arm maintenance and upgrades, or to buy a handful of clothes enough for him to use in rotation. As for the rest of his daily needs, such as building a hoot for his house or food and cooking, he did all of them by himself without involving any trade or money exchange.

Time flies by. Abdul turns eighteen. He often hits the streets, and when he does, he always feel the urge to help those who are in need, especially poor kids like him. He always see a little bit of himself in them, and he has always been helping them by giving out the extra food that he has purposefully huddled in earlier on. Though sometimes he can not help but feel the lack of power to make a difference in the society. There has always been hungry people on the streets, yet the system do not care or do anything to help them. He does what he can in his position, but it always feel like he has not been doing enough. He hates feeling this helpless. There are simply too many people who have reduced to homeless beggars, abounded by passerbies to sink even lower without being cared by anyone else, while the rich only get richer. It is a dog eat dog world out here, and Abdul sometimes wonder if it is a good thing that he never grew up in it.

To fulfill his time, Abdul goes to the local kickboxing gym to polish his hand combat skills. The owner always complain about how slow the business was, having no customers visiting regularly. The gym is often become deserted for most of the time, though it is refreshing to have Abdul working out in the place for once in a while. The ex-trainer even give him a discount for paying to become a regular member.

Often time when practising, Abdul find himself pondering hard on the thought as he exercise and practice. If he can not defend himself, then he will not be able to defend anybody else. The thought pushes him to work even harder, increasing his body’s durability and defence.

Bob sees a familiar flare in the young man’s eyes — it reminds him of the time when he was his age. When Abdul has proven himself to possess the skills and potentials that the old trainer seek, Bob even take him in his own wing, treating the young man like the son he never have.

Eventually, not only has Abdul grows stronger by physical strength, but also by inner power. As it turns out, he can share memories with any of his alternative selves. The first wave occurred when he was in the shower, the first sight of what seems like a memory overpowered his sight. He does not remember ever having a girlfriend by the same Liva, is that he has parents and a beautiful huge penthouse by the beach. Even something about the beach is bluer and livier than the one he took reside in. Yet it all seems so real, as if it were a part of his own, that he started to suspect that he might be hallucinating. Is he going insane? Without any reasonable trigger?

Abdul tries to forget about it, not wanting to think too much about some of the things he never had. It works the first time, until the second wave hits him. It is a completely different scenery this time. He is in a war, participating as one of the soldiers. His comrade, Kent, is dying by his side, his leg gone, blood pouring heavily from the gashing wound. Abdul’s breathing becomes hard as he is affected by the traumatizing memory. He never has a friend before — not like Kent — and now he is losing him. He knows him for a lifetime in the short span of two minutes, and he is crying hard from the lost. Kent dies in his arms, as his alternate self is not able to do anything to help. It is not before long that his person is also shot from the memory, causing the young man to jerk wake in the middle of the night. Peaceful ocean waves and soft cricketing sounds welcome him in irregular rhythm, grounding him to his present day. What the heck was that?

The third time it comes, he is walking down the stairs. He briefly registers the stinging pain on his knees as he topples down while another alien memory plays out. Abdul’s heart almost skips a beat when he holds that new life in his hands. He is a doctor, and a father! His wife, Caron, has just given birth to their sun. The first strike of sunlight hits the baby’s sleeping form, causing the tiny living thing to stir in his hold. Abdul can feel tears slipping from the corner of his eyes, in the shade memory and in real time. He wants to cherish this moment forever. But as soon as it is there, it is gone. Abdul blinks bank to reality, feeling dejected. Bob notices the changes in his prodige, and he asks in concern.

They discuss his experiences, before Bob can conclude that Abdul has the ability to access memories from different versions of himself from alternate dimensions. The idea is so absurd, if Bob has not admit to having known a friend who used to be able to do the same thing. X-link, they refer to it.

It is half a decade or so before his mentor passed away from old age. Bob has taken the time to write his will, leaving the gym for the man to inherit. Now at the age of twenty five, Abdul becomes the new kickboxing master. He takes in kids from the streets so that he can train themselves, to defend and protect each other when they are out there. These kids becomes his dedicated disciplines. Abdul shares all the food and resources that he can to them. He educates them, as much as they can, so that these kids can build a better life for themselves.

He is thirty years old now. Good words travel fast. The gym becomes full of other trainers and students, yet he feels that his journey is far from over. There are still so many things he needs to do, but never seems to have time for himself. After those memory flashes, Abdul just can not bring himself to truly taste happiness. It is too risky, too attachful. He does not know what he will do if more people who he cares about disappears. He is affected enough as it is when Bob died. The man was like his own father. He has never known such warmth and kindness than what his mentor has shown him, and he does not think he will ever forget about Bob. Abdul cares about the kids he trains as well, much like how how Bob cares for him.

Abdul is thirty two now. He has been hearing on rumors about an individual called the Hermit, especially lately. The man has knowledge as vast as a walking library. He is said once to be a great hero who saves the town people whenever they are in dire danger, but has been living himself in solitude from some time ago. It seems like the Hermit has no plan to make a comeback, but Abdul believes that there is a good reason to.

Meeting the Hermit is not easy though, as Abdul has to take a few weeks off from the gym for the journey. The man is on to find the Hermit, and his students bid him good luck. There will be a few trails that Abdul needs to conquer, once he reaches the rumored to be grand mountain, where people believe that it is where he lives. Abdul does not know for sure, but there is nothing wrong in trying. The road is narrow and full of dangers. If not bandits waiting to attack and rob him, then the trail itself will be naturally too dangerous to follow through. Thanks to his training and hard work however, Abdul manages to defeat any danger that come his way, and his fit physique allows him to follow the path with ease, whether by going through a strait mountain road with rain and wind that causes the way to be slippery and dangerous, or even going as far as moving boulders and heavy tree trunks out of the way in order to pass through.

Abdul ventures deep into the mountains, until he reaches the place of which they called The Land That Once Was. Abdul recalls the saying. It is a place where time stops, a place which is on the other side of a cave, a place with nature, trees, waterfall and lake. A place where the Hermit decides to spend the rest of his life.

The man walks through a dark cave, a torce being his only guide. But even its flame is blown by the wind also. Relying solely on his instinct and senses, Abdul proceeds by crawling forward, eventually finding a light at the end of the tunnel that he can follow. He heads through the other side, only to be greeted by the breath-taking sight of rainbow, waterfall and vast green field and forests for as far as the eyes can see.

He is then greeted by an old man in a grey coat, sitting on top of the mouth of the cave, staring further into the horizon, as if already expecting him to come. “Hello there. It has truly been a while since I last got a visitor. What brought you here, young man?”

“Who are you?” Abdul asks, just to be sure.

“I think you already know the answer to that one, young man, or else you wouldn’t have went this far off civilization,” the old man replies wisely.

“Hm, so you are the Hermit,” Abdul states.

“And who is asking?”

“My name is Abdul, son of no one. I am here in need of your help,” he says.

. . . . .

Universe: Endulgia

Year: 1995

Jessi and Luca used to be inseparable. They are twins in every aspect of their lives, from their appearance down to how they act. The two are so much alike that it is difficult for anyone to tell the difference, even their parents. The twins take advantage of this fact and enjoy trading places in order to make funny pranks for their friends and family. The two work so well together, they would never suspect that something bad will happen to him, until it does.

A tragedy strikes. A mass bombing occurs in the name of T.H.E.M, and it destroys almost half of the city they live in. Their parents fall victim of the bombing, now dying in their hospital bed after being hit by a series of fatal injuries. Luca experiences some internal damages, which renders him to fall into a coma. The male twin needs a heart transplanted immediately, or he will not survive for much longer.

Jessi is left alone, untouched by the detonation. The girl is angry and lost. She has nowhere else to run. Everywhere she goes, the sight devastation follows her. She is just sixteen, and she has no idea what else to do. Her family is dying, and if nothing is done soon, she will lose her twin. What is worse is to be able to see his face, but unable to interact with him. Her brother is put in a critical condition. She has no money to pay for the bills, nor the heart transplant. She is running out of options, and the girl is stressed out from having to be suddenly thrusted into handling everything. What is she going to do? What if they all die? Where is she going to go?

They have no any distant family. Both grandparents each either side of her parents have already long gone. She has no one to turn to. The only thing she can turn to is by stealing. The world is already as chaotic as it is. Surely they will not miss a thing or two, right? But she manages to go through with it and pay some of the bills. Jessi makes some underground connections with several gangs. Dangerous connections. She knows the risk she is putting herself into, but for her family, she is willing to do just about anything necessary.

She thinks that she can go on with this forever, but it is not long before she is caught by a government agent, who has been trailing and observing her movements for quite some time. The agent admits that she is quite tough to keep up with, almost sounding impressed. She thinks that she is done for, until he suddenly comes to her offering the teen a job offer. He must have seen some potentials that she can not see for herself, because he wants her to take advantage of the underground connections she has to join even a bigger gang, eventually infiltrating the headquarter.

It is just at the town next door, and he can not emphasize how imperative that she completes her mission. The government needs information, especially in hard times such as this. Feeling partially guilty for all the wrongdoing she has done in the name of helping her family, Jessi eventually decides to agree. The agent even say that the government are willing to pay for all the hospital expenses for her family, including her brother’s heart transplant. The girl has no any other choice but to agree this time, especially since she will not have to steal anymore.

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