“Mom? What’s going on?” Fifteen-year-old Caiden yelled from the top of the steps.. Seeing Daav’s hands over his mother’s mouth sent him into a rage. He sprinted toward the soldier and tackled him. Daav, shocked by the child’s speed, agility, and strength, was winded from being bull rushed. Caiden pushed him up against the wall.
“Touch my mom again and I’ll kill you!” Caiden yelled, possessed by anger.
”Daav found an opening, picked up Caiden, and tossed him aside. By that time, Dana had the shock baton ready, thrusting it into his stomach and activating it.
”Daav let out a horrifying screech as he went limp and slumped to the floor.
“Caiden, get your stuff, baby, we have to go,” Dana said.
He responded without question. They ran about the house, grabbing enough clothes, food, and water to last them for a while. They ran back outside, threw their belongings in the trunk, and got in the car.
The projection rippled and flashed, interfering with the memory Rez and Caiden were watching.
“What’s going on?” Caiden asked.
“This is how the memory was constructed. Even I can’t figure out why it’s like this. But there’s more,” Rez said.
The memory seemed to skip forward in time by an hour or so. Chaos had taken over Integro. Houses were ablaze. Psi-Corp soldiers, armed to the teeth, were firing at citizens. Pipe bombs were going off. It was a slaughter; absolute carnage.
Caiden! Honey, listen to me, okay? I’m going to use this scrambler device now. It may sting a little bit, but when you wake up you will know what to do. A mother’s love never dies, Caiden. Don’t forget that. I love you!”
“Wait, Mom, wait! I don't understand!”
A flash from a few hundred meters east of them went off. A rocket-propelled grenade was launched! A bright explosion ensued! Just before the explosion, Caiden’s memories scrambled. Dana managed to push him hard and far enough away so he could clear the explosion. He was unconscious before he landed.
Dana, appeared to be killed in the explosion. There was nothing left of her body to account for.
The memory fast forwarded again.
Caiden stirred. He was lying down, unsure of where he was. He looked around. He seemed to be inside some sort of caravan. It was scorching hot. He peeked outside and saw nothing but desert. He was too exhausted to speak.
“Hey kid? You okay?” a man asked him.
“Huh?” Caiden uttered.
“Get him some water, quickly!” the man ordered.
A young girl lifted Caiden’s head and gave him a drink of water.
“Thank you,” Caiden said…” His voice was hoarse. “Where are we?”
“We’re in the Sun Desert. This is my dad’s traveling caravan. We’re heading toward the Greenlands, where the prestigious WaaveBoard Academy is. Know of it?” the girl asked.
”Caiden tried to respond, but he was weak from exhaustion and went back to sleep.
“Honey, let the boy sleep, okay?” Her father said.
“Sorry, Daddy. He’s kinda cute though,” she finished under her breath.
“He’s what?” the father asked.
The memory fast forwarded again.
There were kids outside in the schoolyard. Caiden kept to himself and retreated to a lunch desk. He sat there quietly eating his lunch and watching everyone else. A scuffle broke out. Two kids were arguing. It seemed at the disagreement was over a girl. She was in the middle, trying to push the two boys away when one of the boys threw a punch past her, hitting the other boy in the face.
The blond kid who got punched clearly didn’t expect it, as he stumbled back a few feet and fell over. The other boy jumped on him and started pounding him relentlessly. Out of pure instinct, Caiden leapt off the bench and sprinted toward the fight. He sent a flying kick to the kid’s head, knocking the bully away and sending him somersaulting into a fence.
The other children were shocked at the way the bully was dispatched, utterly in awe of the ‘new kid’, Caiden. He reached his hand out to the blond kid to help him up. As he stood up and brushed himself off, the boy smiled from ear to ear, unbothered by what happened.
“Thanks, man!” the blond boy said cheerfully.
“No problem,” Caiden said.
“Name’s Vantz, Vantz Marling!” he said excitedly while holding out his hand to shake Caiden’s.
“Caiden, Caiden Nyx,” Caiden replied with a small smile as they shook hands.
The memory then faded.
Rez and Caiden were brought back to the colorful astral space. Again, the final door dissipated into a burst of lights and flowed into Caiden.
“Now I understand everything,” Caiden said. Rez smiled triumphantly in response.
“You’re ready,” Rez said happily.
“So, I guess this it?” Caiden said as he held out his hand to shake Rez’s.
“This is only the beginning,” Rez said.
Rez began to fade and turned into a powerful stream of purple tinted, polychromatic light. The astral space began to swirl as powerful winds accompanied the light. The purple light began to wrap around Caiden’s entire body. The rest of the environment around Caiden was being drawn to the light, like a vortex. The brighter the light shined, the more tranquil Caiden felt. It all made sense, even if he couldn’t explain it. It was liberating. Caiden’s entire body relaxed. Caiden began to absorb the light, as if he were absorbing all of Rez’s knowledge and wisdom with it. He felt a powerful boost of energy and strength.
The noise, the powerful winds, the explosion of light gradually disappeared. The colorful astral space disappeared into blackness. Caiden was still floating, his body pulsating with purple light until it gradually stopped. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. For a brief moment, his eyes glowed and flashed a radiant violet color before glowing turquoise, then changing back to his natural iridescent gold.
“Do not be afraid to confront the memories. Push forward, and never give up. It will not be easy,” a voice from the darkness said. Caiden smiled.
“Thanks for everything,” Caiden said.
“You are
