by Devin Cain
Legion
Devin Cain
Contents
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
About the Community
About the Community
Copyright
Legion
Book 1
Copyright © 2019 by Devin Cain
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written consent of the author, except in the instance of quotes for reviews.
No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the internet without the permission of the author and is a violation of the International copyright law, which subjects the violator to severe fines and imprisonment.
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and places are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real, except where noted and authorized.
Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events are entirely coincidental.
Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or names featured are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.
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SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Ellia Clarke FB
For letting me use the lyrics to her song, Lucifer.
Gary McGregor
For being the best mentor and friend.
The Beta readers
Tj Zuendt
Andrew Rose
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Chapter One
"And that there are the reasons why the four great fleets need to be dismantled! Just imagine the damage they could inflict if left to their own devices!" the commentator screamed on live tv. The glasses on the bridge of his nose squeezed down hard and forced him to speak a tone higher than usual.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the old fool. What the hell did he know? "Or maybe he wasn’t that wrong after all," I whispered. "No, he was just an idiot, as simple as that."
The effort all the Legions had put in and the sacrifices they made to finally rid our world of the unholy scourge that attacked Humanity, were tremendous. We barely survived, no thanks to the wealthy families and the bureaucrats that sat safely at home. Or idiots like this so-called professor who had devoted his life to studying the pros and cons of the Legions. It sure was a calling to die for, I reckoned.
I forced myself up and looked down to the street through the only window in my apartment. They were framed by exposed pipes that leaked in more than one spot. Beside me stood a broken coffee table and the frame of what used to be a chair, all taped up with pieces of plastic. Empty boxes from take-out food littered the ground along with empty cans of beer. The lights overhead flickered. I was awaiting the building owner to cut electricity every day now after not being able to pay the rent.
I wasn’t proud of my rusty grates covering the window, but they had more than once deterred a break-in. After all, I lived in one of the worst neighborhoods to live in for any half-decent Human being. The daily death toll was too high for my liking, but what to expect out of a megapolis, a city-country as people liked to call them. According to the latest numbers, over eighty-million citizens lived in New Phoenix.
Sirens flashed in the darkness up ahead as three police patrol floaters passed by. They must have been most likely called in to take care of random and desperate violence that had gotten out of control. Nothing new, but nasty nevertheless.
"Whatever," I whispered and turned away from the window, eyes glued to the screen on my left. More politics, and even more smart-ass ‘experts’ who didn’t even know how to wipe their ass, and even fewer speakers on essential topics such as the good our Legions did. And in the end, what about the ordinary folks? The backbone of society, those who provided the food, clothes, and all the other end-products?
"Maybe I should try one last time before I end up dying from hunger and desperation? I got nothing to lose anyway," I murmured and sat back on the run-down sofa. It was missing half of the fabric and more than a good chunk of sponge, but it was mine, and I was proud of it. "To die today or in a week, or even a month, there’s no one left who would grieve for me."
The computer screen flickered for a brief moment before it turned on. I couldn’t help but stare at it and bite my lower lip. Sure, I was fit enough to join, and I’d watched all the videos, both legal and illegal which had been force-fed to the public, but I’d already been denied once for mouthing off to the interviewer. It wasn’t my fault; they were idiots who had no idea what the right questions for such a job were. The blow to my ego had prevented me from applying again for the last two years. That all changed in the past few days when an indescribable itch took up residence in my mind.
I was more than smart enough to get a good job here on Earth in anything that had to do with analytics or number-crunching, but I hated it with a passion. No way was I going to slave on for a meager wage and kiss up to some spoiled brat who had inherited his father’s company, or some fat pig that would order me to do all kinds of things to keep my job. Fuck that!
"Who the hell do I apply to anyway? The main four fleets except for the Steel Legion, are mostly region-based and have strong hierarchies. But then again, they were the weakest and barely held out as it stood. It was either to join the Europeans, the Americans, or the Asians if you looked at it by nationality. But if I chose the former, I’d be signing up with a ragtag mix of everything."
I hated this stupid habit of talking to myself, but it helped me concentrate better when I was pacing back and forth, or sitting behind the
computer. Or at least I liked to think it did. The only time I didn’t speak to my persona was outside where people thought of me as weird. Besides, it had cost me more than a bloody lip and a black eye.
"Steel Legion it is then," I murmured as I opened their application site. To my shock, everything was already filled out. "The hell?" I whispered. And then it struck me. I’d filled the form out a couple of weeks ago and never sent it. Or at least I thought I did. Was I hallucinating again?
I sighed and shook my head. Alcohol was slowly getting the better of me it seemed. If I didn’t get my shit under control quickly, I’d die in a ditch before anyone had the chance to shoot or stab me to death.
"And, sent. There we go," I mumbled, leaning back into my chair. I felt tired, even more so than usual. It was as if something was trying to pull me into a deep slumber. Struggling to stay awake, I blacked out in my formerly-ergonomic gaming chair that had long since required countless repairs and hand-me-down parts to keep together.
"Dragon kings dying queens, where is salvation now,
Lost my life lost my dreams, rip the bones from my flesh!
Silent screams laughing here, dying to tell you the truth,
You are planned, and you are damned in this brave new world."
"Oh shit! A brave new world? I haven’t heard that song in years," I exclaimed and rubbed my eyes awake. For some reason, I didn’t remember putting any music on, so why was it playing? Light flooded over my eyes just before the image of a ceiling appeared above me.
I found myself laying in a lounge chair inside a dark, gothic-looking club. Tall black ceilings merged with arcs and beams to either side. Large, oval windows were covered with heavy metal grates. Stone statues of gargoyles and Demons littered the corners and sides of the enormous space, as black and mocha-colored leather sofas were arrayed around cast iron tables in a booth style.
To my left, I noticed a man sitting at a piano, singing Brave New World, one of my favorite heavy metal songs. Most people had gotten over the genre, and all they were listening to now was synthwave, electro-pop, and the like. It was disgusting.
"Ahh, you’re awake," the man chirped and stopped playing music, much to my regret. "Please, join me for a drink."
My body started moving on its own. I shuffled over to another lounge chair right next to the stranger and sat down beside him.
His short black hair was slick and glistened strangely in the dim light. A pair of fiery red marbles stared back at me along with a pearly white grin. His thick, black goatee almost looked fake, just as most of him did. The man was almost too perfect to my surprise, and for some unknown reason, he made my heart race.
"Who are you?" I asked as our eyes met for the slightest of moments before I started looking around the club. A female bartender popped up in my periphery. Her long, white hair covered most of a slim figure. Her tanned skin was almost bare, except for the tank top a few sizes too small and a leather skirt barely ten inches deep.
"Oh? You like my friend over there," he smirked. "Her name’s Gremory if you already want to know so badly. And let me make something clear, she’s very dear to me, so no dirty thoughts."
I turned back to the man, more curious than afraid. "Yes, sir. I’m sorry. Could you tell me why I’m here? And where that here is?"
"Well, isn’t that the million-dollar question? I’ll make it simple for you. I’m someone who can make any wish come true, including you joining up with Lady Death. In fact, she sat there at the exact same spot where you’re sitting now. It was about five decades ago!"
"Wait, no. What are you on about? I don’t understand," I said. Indeed, I had no idea who he was or what he wanted from me. And why I should even have the chance to meet up with the strongest awakened among all the known fleets?
"It’s not what you can do for me, but what I can do for you, my dear Cain. Yes, I know who you are and why your parents called you what they did. You killed your brother while you were still in your mother’s womb, didn’t you?"
I looked away embarrassed as if it had been somehow my fault. "As if I could have done anything about it. I was a damned fetus," I snapped.
"Hey, who am I to bring up nasty memories? No worries, you’re among friends."
I remained quiet, studying the guy. Somehow I didn’t trust his ‘among friends’ philosophy. He was so far off the chart of abnormal that I had no idea how to proceed. I could usually pass the ‘what kind of person is he’ test with ease, but not with this guy.
"Here you go," Gremory said as she offered me a glass of a clear liquid.
"Thank you, love. Now, back to you, Cain. I’ve heard you’re interested in joining the Steel Legion. Is that correct?"
I frowned. "Yes, I’ve applied, and for the second time at that."
"Hah! There it is! Now, how about I make that happen for you and even push you along a bit? Wouldn’t you like that?"
My right eyebrow shot up.
"What do you want in return?" I asked, indulging the crazy man. "And you still haven’t answered me as to where we are."
"Oh, you can be certain I’m not crazy. And yes, I can read your mind. Anyway, all that you need to do for me in return is to pledge your soul to me. Upon death, I get to absorb it. As to where we are, I don’t think you need an explanation. Deep inside, you know what I am, or rather who, and what this place is."
"Heh. Hahaha, right! You got me!" I laughed but wasn’t even so convinced of my own words. There was only one ‘thing’ that could ask for a soul in return for a favor, no?
And what was it with these ‘people’ and their looking down on us ordinary folk? Even going as far as to kidnap me. But then, my perception of the world changed when his face shifted. Horns sprouted from the sides of his head and twisted up toward the center. His skin turned blood red and became charred along his neck and cheeks. The suit he wore threatened to burst as his shoulders, chest, arms, and legs grew in volume.
"Cain, I’ll only say this once. Your father and I used to have a very ‘professional’ relationship. He left you his debt. It would be wise if you were to accept the deal. Otherwise, both your parents’ souls might find themselves in a terrible situation, if you know what I mean."
By then, I’d almost lost it. Either this guy was the devil in person, or he was so jacked up on some drug, that he could grow in size. The funny thing was that I had a hard time believing either. True, there were aliens hellbent on destroying Humanity, and they looked even worse than him, but what if he was the devil? Come on, who would have thought God, Angels, and Demons existed?
"I see. Then what is it that you’re offering?" I asked, taking a sip of the liquid Gremory put in front of me. Then, I turned my head toward her and stared in horror. "Is she also...?"
"Yes, but I’m far prettier than him, in every way imaginable," Gremory chimed in. "Speaking of which," she added and walked back over to the bar while as her hips swayed seductively. The leather hugged her thighs so tightly that I imagined it ripping in places and sliding down her legs.
"Eyes up here," the man growled.
I gulped and looked back at the man. Or the devil. Or whatever he was.
"Enough gawking for one day?" he asked. "Good. Now that we’re all on the same page, how about I send you off?"
"No, wait! You haven’t told me what we’re agreeing on!"
"You’ll join the Steel Legion and, well—there are so many things that are included in that package. For starters, what do you think about armaments? Enhancements not available to the public, a future command of your own? I’m not saying you’ll be getting any of this, but I won’t be saying you won’t either. In any case, Gremory here will join you, to make sure you do ‘what is right’ and don’t get any funny thoughts."
"Really? You made it sound like you’re sending me like a watchdog. I’d be up there anyway, so what’s with the pretense?" she murmured.
"Oh, she’s become rather brave since you’re here. Well then, let me introduce you to Gremory. Or Lady Death, as you migh
t know her. She’s the strongest awakened among the known fleets."
It was an understatement to say that he blew me away with that one sentence. She, the strongest Armament user, stood right in front of me, pouring us a drink, and acting like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. No, that wasn’t right. Armament users were even more precious than the rarest mineral, metal or gas. To be able to transform your body into a killing machine that can rival a planet at a higher level, or a country at the base stage was nothing short of miraculous.
"Gremory is Lady Death?" I asked, quite unable to believe him. He nodded slowly, a mischievous smile plastered over his face. "So what you’re saying, is that the strongest awakened is pouring us a drink? The one awakened who could stand up to a small fleet or assault a small planet by herself?"