The Imperial Warrior

Chapter 12- Falling

Alex knew something was wrong the moment he saw Will's face. The two of them always had an unspoken bond. They had met five years ago in England during boarding school and had been pretty much inseparable since then. It helped that Will moved with him to Arcane when his father decided to go back to their home town saying that it would help his chances with college. Will knew he couldn't stay in Yorkshire a moment longer, and the first opportunity he had gotten, he took the out. He hadn't been back since the last two years and his father hadn't bothered cutting him off so it had been working out just fine for them. They knew it was only a matter of time, so, Will had been working two jobs to save up enough money for him to go to at least a semi-decent college.

He knew he had been neglecting his friends since the whole thing with Anya had started but he couldn't help that either. Will had been busy with his second job and their timings never seemed to match anymore. And Kyle, up until a week ago, it had been a different story. Now, it was a whole new ball ground altogether. He needed Will's help. Desperately. But he couldn't keep on unburdening on him every time they met either.

"Hey man, everything okay?" He walked past his uncle's front porch and tried not to look around. Will's uncle had been kind enough to let him stay in his attic but that's where his kindness ended. The house was so poorly tended that without the lights on, it could have easily been mistaken for abandoned.

"I just got fired." Will told him grimly.

"What? Why?" Alex was already mad at his manager. Will was the most dedicated and determined person he knew. There would have been no reason to fire him. At least, he stayed with his uncle so he didn't have to worry about rent.

"He said he didn't need the extra help anymore." Will shrugged to show that there was little he could do about that. Alex wanted to argue, he wanted to tell him to go back and fight for his job but he knew that if there was anything to be done, Will would have done it by then. There is little to stop a desperate man from claiming all his dreams and Will Collins if nothing, was desperate.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked sincerely.

Judging his tone Will gave him a small smile and said, "Don't worry dude, I'll figure something out. Maybe there is an opening at that book shop Anya is always dragging us to." Even the mention of her name perked Alex up.

"Yes! You want to go right now and check it out?" Will looked at him dubiously. He knew Alex was never the one for bookshops, as much as he tried to keep that from Anya. She would have been scandalized at the thought. Will let himself have a chuckle at that.

"What you laughing at your misery, Collins?" Alex asked him lightly.

"More like at yours, Mathew." Alex ignored that and motioned towards his car, "Shall we?"

"No way, I'm driving." Will told Alex. Alex threw the keys at Will and sighed, "Once, man. I hit a tree once. And you still give me enough s**t for it."

"You know what they say, tree once, human twice."

Alex just shook his head as he followed Will to his car. Once Will was convinced with the safety of Alex's seatbelts he started the car and drove towards Arcane's only bookstore.

"That old lady just passed us, Will. You want to reach there before they close, don't you?"

Will didn't bother to glare at Alex but did increase the speed as he asked, "So, what's up?"

"Why does something have to be up? Can't I just spend time with my best mate for no specific reason?"

"Yeah, no."

Alex knew it was pointless pretending in front of Will so he got right out and said it, "It's Kyle."

"Isn't it always?" Will said to himself more than Alex but he heard him nonetheless.

"No, not like that this time. I'm worried about him, Will."

Now, Will looked sideways at him and raised his eyebrows.

"I was so mad at him because of my feelings for Anya, and then he pulled that shitty stunt at school, saying all those horrible things to her- which I will always be mad for by the way- that I didn't realize I had been avoiding him for an entire month. I got so occupied with myself that I didn't know something was happening to him." He was looking outside the window trying to assemble his thoughts when Will told him,

"Don't beat yourself up, Alex. None of us realized that Kyle had been going through, well, whatever he is going through."

"And yesterday, we saw him run away with Derek and I can't help but think it's all my fault. If I hadn't asked Anya to keep things from him maybe she wouldn't be going through all this alone right now."

"She has you." Will reminded Alex.

He shook his head again, "I'm not enough. The only person whom she will truly open up to is Kyle. I can't replace him." After a slight pause he added, "I don't want to. It took me a long time to understand their relationship. But I am not jealous of him any longer. They have been there for each other all their lives, that sort of bond can't ever be superseded."

"Now, when didn't you get so smart?"

"Ah! I'm a changed man, William." He said going back to his playful demeanor. Alex chucked in response. He pulled over to the bookstore.

"She told you she loved you, didn't she?" Will asked him, even though he knew the answer. It was written all over Alex's face.

"Yes, yes she did." Alex was positively beaming.

***

The next morning Kyle woke up with a remarkably clearer head. He recalled the events of last night with a little surprise and didn't really know what to make of them. He seemed to have made his way back to the same room, so he tried looking for any supplies around him. Unfortunately, the room was completely bare but at least it had a connected washroom. He wished he would have taken his bag out of Derek's trunk last night but then he didn't expect to be drugged into sleeping either. Once he had taken account of himself sufficiently, he opened the door to see that his bag was kept outside it.

He smiled upon seeing it and mentally noted to thank Derek the next time he saw him for always giving his things back, a kindness he didn't expect from his newfound friends.

He quickly had a cold shower to wake up his entire body, grabbed his favorite hoodie from his backpack and made his way to the reception like he had planned the night before. On his way down, he realized the lights weren't affecting him like they did yesterday and was almost sorry about it. He knew he could never have kissed Khia if he was completely sober.

Kyle had hoped the same woman would be at the counter but it seemed like his luck had run out yesterday. A plump bespectacled man was sitting behind the desk, typing away on the monitor. He looked around to see if anybody else was there, only to find no one again. He needed to find out why so few people were in the building.

"Umm, hi?"

The man stopped staring at the screen in front of him and silently removed a badge from a drawer and kept it on the counter, as if Kyle knew what to do with that.

Kyle didn't take it and instead told the man, "I came here yesterday with Derek and Khia Aukland. Do you have any idea where they might be?"

The man was already annoyed at Kyle. He made a great show out of removing his glasses, rolling his eyes at him and then nudging the badge forward. Perplexed, Kyle took the badge. It had the word GUEST written on it. There was no logo for Kyle to inquire about, in fact, the only other thing on the card was a barcode on its backside. He wore the badge.

"Go down the hall, take the first right, you will see an open door." The man's voice was disinterested enough to stop Kyle from asking any more details. For a minute, he wondered if he had met someone else other than Khia in his dazed state last night. He waved the thought out of his head as he went to the assigned location.

The creepy receptionist man was apt in his directions, much to Kyle's surprise. After knowing Derek and Khia, he expected half-answers and ambiguous sentences from everyone he met. The open door didn't have a title on it but it was clear enough where it led to. As he stepped outside the building, the morning sun hit his body, so he closed his eyes for a minute, letting the warmth seep into him. It had been far too long since he had felt warm.

"Kyle Jones?" A girl not much older than him was standing in front of him. She was wearing a bright pink parka with yellow polka dots and a neon orange cap. He blinked to make sure that he wasn't imagining her. She was too colorful to have come out of the bare white building he was just in.

"Yes?"

"Hi! I'm Nancy. I did your tests yesterday, when you were asleep." Her voice was just as chirpy as her clothing.

"What did you find out?" What he really wanted to ask her was if she was qualified enough to be fiddling around with his blood but after learning his lesson about underestimating Khia, he politely kept his questions to himself.

"Follow me." That was all she told him. Though Kyle wasn't so tall himself, being just about 5 feet, 8 inches, the girl was tiny even for him.

It must have been the backside of the building; for they were walking through a beautiful garden. Flowers were planted all around the place in a seemingly random manner. Like someone had tried their best to make at least the backside of the place as comfortable as they could. He thought back to the roses on Khia's table and smiled. Maybe she had planted these too.

He could no longer hear the mechanical murmur of electricity and a part of him wondered if he could lose control here. Nancy was too small to stop him. He silently put as much distance as he could from her after that.

There was a giant circle of shrubs and bushes in the center of the garden, with a small pathway carved in the side. It was subtle enough that he would have missed it unless he was really looking for it.

Nancy was humming a tune to herself when Kyle couldn't resist asking her, "You aren't one of them, are you?"

She didn't look back at him while answering, "You mean an Imperial? Why, you don't think I could be?" She asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

Kyle remembered how he had offended Derek, so he kept his tone light while saying, "Well, they all seem so morbid and broody and you well, you seem so happy." Nancy's smile almost died on her lips but she composed herself quick enough and replaced it with a fake one this time. He wondered why all of them tried so hard to keep their façade up. It seemed like everyone had their act on, even the happy Nancy.

"I'm an Imperial, Kyle. And so are you."

Kyle kept quiet the rest of the way.

They curved around the bushes and came out in an open arena filled with people. No, not people, kids. All of them training for something.

Two girls were sparring with what looked like swords, he took a closer look and saw that they were fencing. Another group of boys were in hand-to-hand combat, three shooting arrows into a target and then noting something. He could see Derek and Khia fighting too, more intense than the rest.

"Focus, D. You know the moves, now anticipate mine before I kick your ass." Derek wasn't taking the criticism lightly, he looked for an opening and punched her right in her ribs as soon as she lowered her guard. Well, he tried. Khia had manipulated his moves and stopped his hand mid-air, then she proceeded to kick his legs and made him fall on the ground. She didn't give him a moment to recover before she got her leg on his chest and smiled. Derek tapped the floor twice to yield. Kyle almost clapped at the show before him.

"Welcome to the Imperial compound." He heard Nancy say.

If this were a movie, he thought, this would be the time the title track would play. Something that would set the pace for the rest of the show.

"What this is, knock-off Camp Half-Blood?" He asked her.

Nancy ignored his remark and went towards the only adult in the group present. To his relief, he wasn't in the middle of a match with any one of the kids. He hoped whatever was in store for him, didn't involve all this. He could barely make it through the school half-marathon, let alone such training.

"Kyle, meet Mr. Lanchester. Mr. Lanchester, our Imperial Warrior."

So, Khia had already spread the word about whatever he was. He sighed, expecting another lecture about their past.

"Oh, call me Alan. Or coach, if you'd like."

Alan was a broad-shouldered man whose muscles were big enough for Kyle to gawk at. He circled his own arm and saw that it could fit in his hand. Alan noticed it too and laughed. Then his eyes went towards his other arm in question. Kyle was going to shrug his query off like he usually did for all his injuries with his father but Derek's voice came from behind him, "Oh, our boy stabbed himself with a pen trying to master his urges."

Kyle turned to see him and Khia standing behind him. Khia was wiping her forehead with a towel while Derek was drinking water. Khia tipped the bottle while it was in Derek's mouth and it spilled on his shirt. She laughed loudly and snatched the bottle from his hand.

Alan ignored them and focused his attention on Kyle instead.

"You'll get plenty of injuries during training, Kyle." He chided him like they had known each other all their lives. On noting Kyle's reaction to the word training he added, "If you choose this path, that is. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't." His tone was casual but Kyle sensed that Alan was waiting for his answer. When he didn't say anything, Khia answered for him, "We haven't really told him anything." She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and threw the bottle back to Derek who gave her a pointed smile in return.

Alan nodded, more to himself than anybody else.

"Well, this is the compound." He gestured with his hand to the place around them.

"This is our safe haven. Most of us live here and those who don't are always welcome. We took this facility over from the government a few years ago." Kyle had promised himself that he would wait until the end for his questions but he couldn't stop himself from asking, "The government? They know about you," He corrected himself this time, "About Imperials?"

"They know everything, Kyle Jones." Alan told him bitterly.

"Did they tell you anything about our history?" He asked him nudging his head towards Derek and Khia.

"I know that we weren't always like this," Kyle told him. "I know that we were a kingdom once and that we became something else when we colluded with humans. Something cursed." Alan didn't seem to mind his choice of words.

"Right," He told him. "There was a time, before the humans when only the true-blooded once existed. Then, humans evolved and the mixing of the true-blood with human blood made us- The Imperials." Alan had begun to walk so Kyle scrambled to keep his pace with him.

"We are a mutation, Kyle. An anomaly nobody could truly understand. And you know how humans treat anyone who is different. Whether it is the color of their skin or the number of chromosomes in their DNA- it's all the same. There were Imperials all around the world, of course. And it didn't take long for us to be noticed. So, the governments of all the countries came together and formed an organization. They all operate individually, of course, but there is something going on at the international level. They have managed to keep it well hidden, so we don't even know the name of their organization. Locally, they work with the FBI.

"Anyway, so it wasn't difficult to put two and two together, that when the last true-blood family, our rightful monarchs, died in a mysterious fire, they had a hand behind it. And once the Black family was wiped out of existence there was no one to take control, we had no leadership and they knew it. They tried to capture as many Imperials as they could and set up what they called 'rehabilitation centers." Alan's tone was casual but his entire body had become rigid. Kyle's mind immediately went to the Nazi concentration camps but that thought went as soon as it came. These things didn't happen anymore. History had taught them enough lessons for the world to not repeat them.

Yet, he was wrong. They hadn't learnt their lesson.

"They imprisoned us, the ones that weren't killed at least." Alan stopped to look at Kyle. Judging from the horror on his face he said, "Oh g******e was the better option, Mr. Jones. The ones that were left, they conducted experiments on us. Turned us into lab rats."

"You were one of them weren't you." Kyle could guess that from the hollow look in the eyes of the man in front of him. He covered it well with his soft voice and kindness but his eyes betrayed him.

"I was."

"How did you manage to get out?"

"Oh, how they do in all great stories. We formed a coop. It's a tale for another day but what matters is that we got out. We freed Imperials from all the other facilities too." Pride was evident through his words. Kyle was glad that this haunted tale had a happy ending.

"The compound, as we call it, was where I was imprisoned in fact." Kyle stopped in his tracks. He was completely bewildered. The room he had slept in might have been someone's cell once. The pristine white of the floors tainted with stark red blood.

"Why would you still stay here?" He asked Alan.

"Some of us like our scars to fade, others like to look at them every day." He waved his hand to show that it wasn't a big deal. Kyle didn't buy any of it.

"I wanted to turn it into something else. Something good." He said, his voice much gentler.

"You see, when they started to experiment on us, they tried to understand why we got our 'urges'. They wanted to manipulate that power, harness it, stop it, among other things. In the end, it was a blessing in disguise. I understood what needed to be done for us to gain control."

"What?" The desperation in Kyle's voice was prominent.

"We have to train ourselves, Kyle. We have to learn to control all our whims, stop our emotions before they make us feel, because the moment we do—Well, I think by now you know what happens."

Kyle wished he didn't. He could recall every moment of the day he first had one. Hurting Anya and loving every minute of it. It was like a darkness had been planted in him and it was all he could do to not succumb to it.

"What happens if I can't train myself?"

"We give every Imperial who comes here two choices: to train or to submit. Those who can't train or choose to submit, go into the pit. And before you ask, it's for their own good. The pit is an underground facility, not far from here actually, where they live. We give them food and a place to live on the condition that they wouldn't leave the place."

Kyle didn't need Alan to sugar coat it to him. He understood the meaning behind his words- it was a cage. And he was the animal.

"Why would someone choose to submit?"

Kyle realized it as he asked the question. He would put himself in a cage if that meant his family was safe. If that meant he couldn't hurt anyone. He touched his bandage, in a reminder of the things he would do to keep in control.

It wasn't a choice for him. Not really.

"What time does training begin?"

"Ah, easy there boy. I'll let you sleep on it. In the meanwhile, I'll ask Liam to give you a tour of the place."

Alan didn't wait for him to answer. He was busy looking into his watch and muttering something about rounds as he walked away, leaving Kyle alone with his thoughts.