Warrior Games

Chapter One Change Kyle Sorenson ran through the streets, pushing and shoving when he came to a crowded place. Breathing frantically with his raven black hair all tussled up and in his sweaty clothes, Kyle earned a large number of stares. Although most of these stares were just ones of 'Ahh- he has come again with no surprise whatsoever being shown at the odd young man. Yes, in the eyes of the people and folks of Mystic Falls, Kyle Sorenson was a mad kid. One would think that having a very attractive appearance would save him from that title but that was just the way the society saw him. Every day, he would rush off to work very early, working and sweating himself our till his appearance changes so drastically that anyone who sees him would think he was demented. And no one could blame him since he was his own guardian. In fact, many if the society's elders actually admire the youth because of his determination to study though they never admitted such a thing out loud. The whole small community of Mystic Falls had tactically agreed to turn Kyle Sorenson into some sort of amusement. After all, in an island community gar away in the Atlantic, amusements were hard to come by. Kyle of course was aware of all this but paid no attention as a lot of things were always on his mind. Even at the teenage age of sixteen, Kyle was a busy man. He only cared about one thing and that was completing his education and getting a high paying job. Every other thing was not worth his attention. That was anyway, a long term goal. Now, his goal was to write his exams and gain the scholarship that came along with it. Only a scholarship could lessen his burden and make it more manageable to bear. And so he had made it a point to study particularly hard not only for the scholarship but also because, the exams he was about to write would decide if he would graduate into a higher institution or not. He stopped finally in front of a large and imposing gate, feeling as always the awe that came with it. Kyle had always dreamt of being a government leader and standing in front of this gate that seemed to be the embodiment of the government, always struck a chord of awe in him. Now, passing through this gate to the other side would determine if his dream would come through or if it would remain just that – a dream. Mystic Falls was a strange place, not only because it was situated so far in the Atlantic but also because it had a volcano. Of course, a volcano would have been normal on an island except that instead of hot lava coming out from its cavernous depths, hot water would come belching out instead, it's hot furious flood destroying everything not strong enough to hold out. This — luckily — only happens so rarely that the people usually forgot that they even had a volcano, albeit strange. Perhaps this was what earned the small island the name, Mystic Falls. And mystic it was. Many world famous scientists had come from different countries to examine and investigate the cause of this abnormal phenomenon but none had even managed to put forward a hypothesis. Every last one of them had come with high hopes along with excitement and burning curiosity but had returned with those same hopes dashed like a broken egg and the dying embers of their excitement. The curiosity remained though. Every now and then, a scientist would visit and try to investigate but none had ever had any luck. Kyle walked through the gate entrance and moved, along with many other students to the entrance that led into the equally imposing hall building. Before entering, his eyes shifted to the pole flag that stood to the left of the building, bearing a flag containing the depiction of a volcano against a snowy background. The world ruling government had never really cared about Mystic Falls and so the people had been allowed to pick the name and flag themselves, though this made their small island have the impression of a small village in outsiders. "Ahem," a teenage boy about the same age as Kyle coughed, signalling for Kyle to move on. Kyle dropped his gaze from the flag and looked at the growing line of teenagers at his back. "Hey! C'mon, get moving!" a thickset teen barked from the back. Then the lips of the teenager curled into a mocking sneer. "Mad kid." Kyle, who was about to move on suddenly froze in place, not shocked at all by the open malice in the words. The title, 'Mad Kid's was already like a middle name to him and so he had never minded being called that. But what made him pause in his steps was the possible source of hate laced with it. He looked back and saw the source. It was a teenage boy who looked like a giant with his intimidating height of six feet two and a shaggy thatch of black hair on his head. His two blue eyes contained a cold glint that Kyle felt must be intended for him and his lips were tilted in a mocking sneer. Of course! Kyle of all people had forgotten about him. The boy who had always opposed him right from the start. Keno — Keno Sykes. Keno Sykes had also been orphaned but life had gone less hard on him for he was adopted into another family and spared from life's full force of challenges. His hate if Kyle had stemmed from the fact that Kyle, who was an orphan, was not on the streets or in an orphanage like other orphans. To him, any orphan without a guardian was supposed to suffer miserably and not have any aspirations or goals or dreams whatsoever. To him, orphans were supposed to be at the bottom rung of society's ladder. This view had been nurtured and nurtured in his heart right from childhood until it finally matured to hate for the one person who refused to follow his unspoken rule. Which was Kyle. Kyle who was looking now into the cold, blue eyes of Keno didn't know this and will probably never will. To him, Keno was a challenge that needed to be overcome, just another one of the hurdles blocking the path to his goal. So, with indifference in his eyes, Kyle turned away and entered into the hall building. **** Earth had always been seen as a beautiful planet. A priceless marble of green, blue and brown, dimly glowing in space like a beacon of beauty, its sight instilling peace in the heart of anyone looking upon its surface. Uliana was no different. Seating elegantly in her seat of control, she watched the Earth from the interior of a large spaceship, her eyes containing complex emotions — hope, anticipation, excitement, and deep in her violet coloured eyes, fear. But her visage was one of cold indifference, an expression befitting a war queen. Which she was. Although she had the appearance of a teenager, her whole being radiated experience and power and authority, enough to instantly cower the most proud and most stubborn men. And like every war queen, her only mission was to conquer every territory conquerable. Which does not exclude the beautiful planet she was gazing upon. As she gazed peacefully on the calming glow that surrounded Earth, she muttered something to herself, her voice taking in a defensive note. "Do not worry, father. Ours will stand." * * * Anxiousness, mixed with relief could be plainly observed among the various teenagers exiting the huge hall building. Anxiousness, for the results of their exams and in part, relief for they no longer had to be on end every time. In truth, many groups of teenagers chatted idly and laughed among themselves, each if them thankful for the free days ahead. So happy that they did not even notice a young teen with void dark hair saunter by. Kyle walked coolly towards the compound exit and was not bothered by the exams at all, unlike most of his mates. The questions were unexpectedly simple and by the time they were to stop, his head was already on his desk in a light snooze. Now, instead of going straight home to rest and probably sleep, Kyle still had to work. This made him release a tired sigh as he exited the government premises and began making his way towards his place if work. Where he would probably spend the rest of the day — and night— working himself out and enduring abusive remarks from his hateful boss. As usual. Kyle groaned. What he wouldn't give for a hot, nice bath and a soft, warm bed! Working in the bakery could really tax a person's body and mind. Even thinking of the work awaiting him as well as the usual abrasive remarks of his superiors already had him wishing for a nice, long rest and a good massage. Damn them...All of them...Ahh... Kyle stopped to buy a bottle of water and a snack before turning around a bend and spying the huge sign that hung on a factory building at he end of the closed street: Peace Bake bakery. Your one in a million source of nutrient-filled bread! Kyle only paid attention to the usual sign for a split second and then opened the small one-hinged gate that led inside the factory just as he had been doing for the past ten years of his life. And probably for more years to come, not even thinking for a second that there could possibly be any change. Immediately he passed the gate, the distinct smell of flour and bread hit him squarely. The scent was coming from two of the three moderate buildings in the bakery. He would have liked to work in in one of those two buildings but it was just not for him. No. What he was qualified for was the third building that stood farther from the rest, as if quarantined. The appearance of the building, though not run-down, looked less maintained than the other two. And as Kyle moved nearer, the suffocating smell of polythene filled his nostrils, making him sigh again as he opened the metal door leading into the building and stepped through it to, as usual, work like hell. * *. * An explosion. Shattering glass. The panicked shout of his mother. "Kyle!" "Mum!" Kyle woke up panting and sweating heavily. Almost every night, he had nightmares if his mum shouting and calling his name as if asking for help. He hated remembering. As he turned his head to check if it was yet dawn, his eyes widened in shock. It was dawn all right, but the sight that accompanied the rising sun was more like something unbelievable, something from a dream perhaps. But it was not. Instead of a window, there was only shattered glass along with the destroyed remains of his apartment wall. Along with the doubts that this was a dream. It took Kyle a whole minute to tear his eyes away and focus them on another, if not more shocking sight. Holy cow. High in the sky, to the far right of the rising sun, an object that could only be identified by Kyle as a spaceship floated domineeeringly above everything else, its intimidating canons preparing for another fire. It represented and foretold doom. And change.