Awakening: The Elder Chronicles, Volume 1

by Scott Wieczorek

  The weight of it all took a toll on her. Without thinking, she blurted: What do you mean, you created me? She could not mask the mixed emotions boiling inside her. I came here for answers. To find out what it is I am. Why strange things are happening to me. To find out why some woman is trying to have me killed! And you go ahead and unload something like that. You created me. Isn't it bad enough I'm adopted and belong to some ancient race of Angels? Now I'm some freakish test-tube baby, too?

  Shock overcame her followed by a mix of conflicting emotions. Her words were meant to be half scolding, but also half inquiring. She craved answers.

  He chuckled softly in reply. You know, you share a lot of similarities with Her. In fact, you are nearly Her genetic equal.

  What do you mean, Her genetic equal? Her who?

  Don't be irrational, Elena. You already know the answer.

  Elena laughed lightly and smiled back. The Mistress. But how can I be her genetic equal?

  You and Lilith are both created from my genetic code. We three are nearly perfect matches. The difference is in you I joined my genetic code with a race of beings I greatly admired, humans.

  What or who are we? she asked. Where did we come from? Why did you make me? How come I can fly, but don't have wings? How can I do so many things with my mind? Are we good, are we evil? What other powers do I have? The questions continued to pour forth.

  The Elder raised his hand and stopped her abruptly. Before answering, I think I should properly introduce myself. My true name is unpronounceable by any human tongue, but I have been known for many as Yehoshua, or Joshua. I suppose in a way I inspired the story of what many religions revere as God. In truth, I am actually a genetic scientist.

  Elena gasped. The correlation logically made sense, but she couldn't view this man as God. He sat here right before her, not some almighty sitting in the clouds.

  Elders have existed for more than sixty-five million years. Though I share the Progenitor's DNA, I, myself, am the sixty-third in a series of Elders. I am a genetic copy of the Progenitor—a clone. I have been alive for nearly a million years. But the time of my body's demise is soon coming.

  Elena sat up a little straighter at the mention of his age. To look at him, he did not appear to be so old. She would have believed him to be in his early thirties.

  Regarding our origins, the Elder continued, I am sorry, but I do not know where we came from. The Progenitor knew and this knowledge was never written.

  The Elder paused, and she sat there watching as he studied her. I knew I was right to make you. A touch of pride infiltrated his voice. Whereas I was foolish to make Her. When I created Lilith, she was to be my companion and mate.

  Elena felt chills run up her spine. This powerful being had genetically created its own mate. It made her fear the answer of why she had been made.

  You, on the other hand, he continued, were created for another reason. You were created to be my replacement.

  The chills ceased, replaced instead by numbness. Her mouth felt dry. Replacement? So this was the purpose. She was to be the new Elder? But, how? Why? What did it even mean?

  He must have read the questions on her face. Elena, you were created to do what none other ever could. To be an Elder—the true Elder. You are destined to take my place, and to surpass me. The role of the Elder is to be a protector, a guardian—mankind's guardian. Elders have fostered the human race for millions of years. Sometimes we protect it from external threats, sometimes from us, and sometimes we even protect it from itself. Most importantly, we protect it from the cataclysm we know is approaching.

  Elena opened her mouth to ask a question, but the Elder raised his hand and continued speaking. All great civilizations implode. This truth has been passed along from Elder to Elder. Many times the human species was about to implode on itself. But we Elders were there to stop it. When human populations prospered and began to grow at a rapid pace, I created the Daimon race to help in my task. Earlier Elders had also created helpers, but always with the same result. The helpers ultimately sought to enslave those they were created to protect. The other Elders always slaughtered their helpers. My answer, however, was to create you.

  Elena cocked her head questioningly. When I created you, I combined my genes with human genes, and then redoubled them many times over, creating a genetic code with innumerable combination possibilities. Those combinations are what give you your powers. You asked what powers you have. Well, because of these combinations, your powers are limitless. And they are what will make you humanity's ultimate guardian. One day I am sure you will surpass me.

  The Elder stopped speaking and Elena sat silently, mulling it all over. In complete shock, she could not think. She had wanted answers. Answers about herself, her powers, and what happened to and around her. A ray of hope finally pierced the bleakness, fear, and despair she'd been feeling.

  The ray began to dim, though, as the weight of his words settled in. Yes, he answered her questions. But at the same time he handed her tremendous responsibility, passing the mantle of "Guardian of Mankind" on to her. She wanted her life back, not to save the world. She wanted a life as a college student. A life living at home with her mother and hoping to follow in her father's footsteps as a genetic researcher. A life with a mysterious man with startling blue eyes. A life, which made sense.

  The Elder instead told her she could no longer have life. It was a myth. A dream. Her life had been predestined through the simple act of her creation.

  The weight of it all overwhelmed her. She wanted to crawl into bed and hide. She crossed her arms and stared blankly at the chessboard.

  What if I don't want this? she asked.

  Then there will be no other to take your place. We will all die under Lilith's iron fist. I am dying and can no longer fend her off. I promise, if you stay with me I will teach you things of which you can only dream. I can give you millions of years of knowledge, more than all human scientists have collected since the dark ages. You'll learn to cure illness, and to manipulate genes—all with your mind.

  After a pregnant pause, he added, Stay with me and I can teach you.

  What about my life? What I want? An angelic face with piercing blue eyes came to mind. Her stomach twisted into knots at the thought of leaving Alec behind. She wanted to throw up. Sadly, she asked, How can I leave him?

  You don't have to, Elena. I don't want to take your life away. The Elder smiled warmly. I want to teach you to reach your full potential.

  To become the Elder, she completed his thought.

  Yes. To be the new Elder. Otherwise, the other life you want can never be. Don't you understand? Lilith will enslave all Daimones, she will enslave all humans, and she will kill you—the only being alive who could challenge her. But for you to survive, we must begin with your training. If you cannot control your powers, life as it is now known will end. He paused. So, what do you say?

  She understood his meaning. She had no real choice. The most logical step for her to go was forward. Without the knowledge of how to control her abilities, there would be no way for her to keep the ones she loved safe. Or for her to be able to reclaim her life someday.

  Elena stared hard at him. Okay, when do we start?

  Biography:

  Scott Wieczorek digs holes for a living. As a professional archaeologist, he has written numerous technical archaeological reports for a wide variety of clients. But his passion lays in writing fiction. He has been writing fictional tales since an early age, and has published with small houses, including Three Worlds Press and Lycaon Press, as well as self-published his novels. Visit his Amazon author's page at: amazon.com/author/authorscottwieczorek. He also maintains a blog at wieczorekfictblog.blogspot.com. He can be reached online through Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and LinkedIn.

  His other works include:

  Byron: A Zombie Tale

  Witness Through Time

  Boon's Arrival.

  czorek, Awakening: The Elder Chronicles, Volume 1