The Awakening

by Andrew Wichland

  “Don’t forget. You need to be ready for the exam by nine this evening,” his father called out to him as he raced for the door.

  “You got it, Dad!” Ryuu said. He bolted down the stairs, jumping the last few.

  “And I want you back here at least two hours before that,” his mother called. “Seven p.m. Okay?” She handed him a bag. “I’ve packed you a lunch. Maybe you and your friends can have a picnic.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” He stuffed it into his backpack. Then he headed down the stairs, and the door swung shut.

  He knew he would have to carry the sky surfer until he reached the village gates. Outside his house, he met up with one of his best friends, Bryan. Bryan was almost a head taller than him, with lighter skin that rippled with bulging, toned muscles. He had dark-red hair and brown eyes.

  “Hey, Ryuu!” he said, and they grasped hands.

  “Hey, LJ!” he said. “Ready to go meet the others?”

  “Ryuu, you are not Robin Hood, and I am not Little John!” Bryan said. He smiled and added, “You read those books way too much. Just because you’re the best shot and swordsman in the class and I’m the best staff man doesn’t mean we should change our names.”

  They began to run, dodging a few people on the street. When one shouted after them, Ryuu stopped running and turned to his friend.

  “I’m serious, LJ. Books and movies like Robin Hood give people hope. They remind them that folks can rise from the ashes of their loss. These heroes have one goal: to help save the oppressed and innocent from those who would do them harm. These are men of honor who have lost everything. But iinstead of seeking revenge, they’ve devoted themselves to saving the lives that tyrants like the Black Dragon and his Sentinels target.”

  He shifted his weight and continued. “That’s why I read those books; they give me hope for a bright future where we don’t have to be afraid—where we don’t have to look over our shoulders for an enemy who could be anyone we know.”

  Ryuu knew that Bryan had suffered more than any of his other friends. His entire family had been slaughtered by the Black Dragon’s Sentinels when their caravan was attacked. Bryan had escaped only because of his parents’ courage and faith to launch him out of the last escape pod. Now he lived with one of the many foster families in town.

  Like so many refugees calling Amal home.

  “You’re right, Ryuu,” Bryan said. “I understand. And I was just teasing. You can call me LJ whenever you want.”

  Then he grinned and the mood lightened. “Now come on, Robin, we’ve got to meet the others. Allison says that her brother has upgrades for the sky riders.”

  They raced each other down the center street, dodging hover cars and bikes as they went, showing off a few of the skills they had learned in school. In synchronized motion, Ryuu and Bryan flipped onto the hood of a hover car, ran along it, leapt forward, rolled along the ground, and continued running. The pair then darted for the sidewalk. People leaped out of their way, with some frowning at them while other emitted bursts of laughter.

  Soon they exited the village gates, pressed a button, and threw their sky surfers ahead of them. The units extended automatically, with the front curved and the thrusters behind. The sky surfers hovered in the air as the boys, still running, leapt forward onto them.

  As Ryuu landed, with his legs bent and his back heel pressed on the starter, his feet were bound down. Then, as the jets fired, the boys rocketed forward. They cheered as they soared up and above the trees, weaving left and right. They soon came to the stone arch in the woods that stood next to the crystal embedded in the ground.

  Standing next to the crystal and leaning against the arch were the rest of their friends, and Ryuu seized this second opportunity to show off. He leaned back on his board and shot higher into the air at a vertical angle at breakneck speed. Then, at the height of his climb, he pressed the button again with his foot, and the engine died.

  Ryuu closed his eyes, and a dreamy expression came over his face as he tumbled back to the ground. He twisted, flipped, and spun as he dropped faster and faster from the sky to the ground. Finally, he grabbed the nose of the board and spun a circle, increasing in speed even more.

  At the last second, as he approached the tree line, he slammed his heel onto the button, and the sky surfer dipped below the trees. Ryuu weaved left and right, avoiding the trees and branches as he sped forward through the forest. He broke out of the trees by zooming between two tightly spaced branches and out into the clearing, where he whizzed through the gateway, his friends cheering. He circled the clearing once and then landed with the board hovering about a foot in the air.

  His friend Allison was as tall as him. She had short, dark-brown hair, which shifted over her elven ears, and a muscular body which rippled under her ebony skin and grace that almost matched Ryuu’s. Her beautiful face, which included dark-blue eyes, usually caught the attention of the boys in school, but most wouldn’t dare approach her for a date. In fact, she had broken the finger of the last guy who had done so.

  She was one of the top students in school, but her progress was sometimes halted by her temper, which was on a shorter fuse than Ryuu’s. In class, she tended to be the first to volunteer answers without thinking, and outside class she was known for barreling into reckless decisions with hardly ever thinking about them.

  The two grasped hands. “Ryuu, you’re one gutsy guy. I like that; it reminds me of me.” They laughed.

  “Now I know I’m in trouble,” Ryuu said.

  Allison’s twin brother, Eric, came up and joined them. While Eric had more muscles and the broad chest of a young man, he generally matched his twin’s appearance right down to the last hair on his head.

  Allison, quick to fight, often stepped up to the plate while Eric puzzled things out from an intellectual point of view. He and Ryuu were top of the class in schoolwork. As well, Eric was a martial arts champion who was second to none with tonfa sticks.

  Ryuu looked at the last friend of the group: Aiolos. Known as the class clown, he was still quick-witted and did well in school even though the teachers needed to bring his attention back to the lesson every five minutes or so. Aiolos was a free-spirited blonde, whose carefree approach to life managed to clash enough with Allison’s reckless one that sometimes the two friends were at odds. Ryuu always appreciated his friend’s good nature, particularly during tough times. Now he and Aiolos grasped hands and pulled into a back-slapping hug.

  Aiolos stepped back, looked at Ryuu, and smiled widely. “Ryuu, your success with that nose grab spin was positively inspiring,” he said. The others looked at them and nodded.

  Ryuu said, “Thanks, man.” Then he turned to Eric. “What kind of upgrades do you have for the sky riders?”

  Eric smiled at this and walked over to a set of sky riders hovering in the air in a straight line. They looked like various sports motorcycles with no wheels front and back, and each had a small but powerful jet propulsion system where the taillights would have been.

  He patted the seat on a bright-yellow one. “Last night I initiated an overwrite of essential system programming. Also, I removed nonessential equipment from the primary source so the velocity should be doubled,” Eric said.

  Allison looked at Ryuu. “You speak Geek, so please, I beg you: translate for the rest of us.”

  Then she looked at Eric and added, “No offense, bro.”

  He shrugged.

  Ryuu laughed, shook his head, and tried to explain. “He said that he’s stripped them of excess body fat. And he overwrote the thruster protocols, which means that now we can accelerate beyond the original, restricted speeds. In other words, he’s given us some sweet rides now.”

  The group cheered and Eric gave a bow.

  They immediately decided to test out the modifications that Eric had made. However, before Ryuu put his helmet on, he grabbed Eric by the elbow and said, “You did put them at a speed where the thrusters won’t have a meltdown, right? The thrusters were set at those
speeds by the manufacturer for that very reason. So you didn’t exceed that heat buildup, did you?”

  Eric smiled. “Why do you think I removed that extra weight?” Then he placed a half ring around his neck and pressed a button on the side.

  Blue-colored metal plates with flames began to slide up and along the sides of his head, but they left a gap around the top half of his face. When the plates reached the ring around his neck and connected, an inflating sound occurred, and padding expanded from the inside. On the side of the head, a panel slid back, revealing three buttons one on top of the other.

  Eric pressed the middle one, a black-shaded visor lowered into place, and he hopped onto the blue bike.

  Ryuu sighed as he climbed onto his red bike and activated his own helmet, which was red with a gold dragon design. One of the main ways people can tell they’re related, but that’s half-elves for you, he thought.

  He pressed the ignition button, and the engine roared to life. Ryuu closed his eyes and smiled at the powerful noise of the engine. He twisted the gas. The engine roared louder, and his smile got wider with the sound of it.

  “Ryuu!” It was Allison’s voice. He opened his eyes, and there on his visor was a 3-D image of her face.

  She gave him a sly smile. “Hey, first one around the mountain is the winner, eh?”

  He smiled back. “You got it, Ace. Let’s race. The rest of you guys in?” he asked, and images of his other friends popped up on his visor.

  “You know it.”

  “Affirmative.”

  “You’d have to beat me away with a stick.”

  “Okay,” he said. “One, two, three, GO!” Then he gunned the engine and took off like a flash.

  He sped above the forest. After a few seconds, he looked behind him and saw them catching up on their sky riders, with Allison on green, Bryan on yellow, Aiolos on white, and Eric on blue. Soon they were neck and neck, and as they sped on their way, the ground turned into a multicolored blur of endless motion. Ryuu gunned the engine and shot forward. He had no doubt that his friends were still in close pursuit.

  Ryuu rolled to the right and went into a light dive when they reached a ravine on the side of the mountain. Alongside his friends, he sped down the ravine at a breakneck pace, dodging the rocks that jetted out at odd angles and formation. They became neck and neck again after Ryuu put his sky rider into a spin and flew through a tight rock hole.

  For the next several moments they raced down the ravine in a tight formation, with each one fighting for the lead. Finally, as Ryuu ducked under a rock formation that stretched from both sides, the end of the ravine came into view. They raced on, gunning their engines. The rock wall got closer and they began to run out of space.

  At the last second, with Allison in the lead and Ryuu in a close second, they were up and out of the ravine. A few mountain goats being herded by some the villagers were spooked as the friends roared overhead, and the villagers shouted after them. Ryuu laughed with joy as they rocketed into the trees, out of sight from the villagers on the ground.

  Now they weaved left and right as they zoomed through the maze of towering mountain trees. Moments later, they burst from the tree line and zoomed upward.

  Ryuu lowered his head, then looked ahead again. The group rounded the corner, and once again, they were all neck and neck. Soon the gateway was in sight. He leaned forward and floored it, shooting forward.

  Seconds later, Ryuu and Allison were fighting for supremacy. He was in the lead; she was in the lead. At the last second Ryuu banked up, rolled around Allison, pulled ahead of her, and shot between the two stones a second before her. He thrust his fist into the air, cheering his victory.

  He came to a skidding stop and hovered in midair as the rest of the group ground to a halt behind him. Then they formed a circle, facing each other. Ryuu pressed the middle button, and his visor shot up into the helmet. Grinning, he looked at everyone.

  “It’s okay! You can say it!” He leaned on his bike.

  They each raised their visor. Allison rolled her eyes and said, “There goes his ego!” Then she smiled.

  Aiolos removed his helmet and grinned.

  “Yeah, his helmet is readjusting to fit his newly inflated head!” The sneering voice came over their coms.

  Before Ryuu could respond, he heard the rumble of sky riders coming up from the village toward them. He recognized their bikes and turned quickly to his friends.

  “Here comes trouble.”

  Chapter 2

  Team Locksley

  The riders sped toward Ryuu’s group, halted their bikes, and faced them. The teenager on the rider in front of Ryuu quickly pushed the button of his helmet, which retracted to reveal the short blond hair and handsome face of one of the most popular students in his father’s school: Dulgald. One by one, Dulgald’s friends followed suit. Most of them were big, strong muscular boys who, despite their bulging muscles, were stupid. The last person in line, facing Allison, was the only girl. She had long blonde hair.

  By name, they were Babieca, Bamber, Kade, and Melinda, and none of their smiles looked genuine.

  The two groups stared at each other for a few minutes. Finally, Dulgald leaned on his bike and broke the silence.

  “So. I see you and your friends still being inflated showoffs, eh, Alac?”

  Ryuu smiled. “It’s not our fault that you and your friends can’t fly, Dulgald. Besides, it’s not being a showoff if you can bring it.”

  Aiolos, who was next to Allison on Ryuu’s left, nodded.

  At this, Dulgald’s expression turned to fury, and he sat up straight. “We can take you any time. Just name the time,” he declared. His friends nodded.

  Smiling, Ryuu looked at his friends. He knew that they got his idea when they each nodded, replaced their helmet, and zoomed away.

  Dulgald and his friends were clearly curious. In fact, the larger boys looked dumbfounded as they watched Ryuu’s friends go.

  Ryuu leaned more onto his rider. “They’ll be back in twenty minutes. How about when they get back, we play sky hockey, you against us. First team to reach ten wins.”

  Dulgald grinned. “Fine, you’re on. See you in twenty.” Then he pressed the button on his helmet ring, the visor replaced itself, and the group zoomed away.

  Sighing, Ryuu brought his rider to a rest about a foot above the ground by the gateway. He dismounted and looked back at the village, wondering if Allison would lose her temper or keep it in check. He smiled as he recalled that Bamber had been the recipient of the broken finger. Aiolos would probably be their strongest player. He tended to show a lot of his free spirit during a game, and the insults and banter usually flew out with rapid speed due to his quick tongue and wit.

  Soon his vision shifted from the village. He settled back onto the seat of his bike land looked up at the clear blue sky. His thoughts moved on to his mother and the reason why she’d left him when he was born.

  He closed his eyes, and a small tear ran down his cheek as he recalled the day when he found out that Jun and Chikako weren’t his birth parents. About a year ago, they had sat him down in the living room and explained the events of that fateful day. The shock had hit him pretty hard. Up until that point, he had felt like the villagers looked down on him. In fact, one of the main reasons he had always worked extra hard at school was to prove his merit. However, some of the teachers frequently accused him of cheating, and he had never felt accepted by anyone but his small circle of friends. Before he got his friends, contacts, and earplugs his peers would suddenly toss loud noisemakers, blow dog whistles, sudden flashes of light, and stink bombs near him, and put miniscule sour things in his food and drink. Then laugh as he writhed on the floor protecting his ears, stumble around blinded, cover his nose with whatever was on hand as he ran from the stink, and spit out whatever was in his mouth, but he had never known why. Finally, he knew.

  During the days that followed, he had questioned if he really belonged in the village and the clan. He had even made
plans to leave, but when he had tried to sneak away in the middle of the night, he had discovered that a small group of supporters was waiting for him. That night, his parents and friends had persuaded him to stay, and when he had finally agreed, the entire group had smiled. Some friends had even cheered.

  He brushed aside the tear. Still, even to this day, he wasn’t certain that his parents had told him everything about that night. However, they had not been willing to answer any more questions, and he didn’t want to appear ungrateful.

  As he delved deeper into his memory, he thought back to when he first met his friends. It was after one of the mandatory pilot classes where they all had to qualify. As per usual, he picked it up fast—and he spent most of the class getting snide remarks from both his teacher and his classmates.

  It was after one of the mandatory pilot classes where they all had to qualify. As per usual, he picked it up fast—and he spent most of the class getting snide remarks from both his teacher and his classmates.

  When the class finished, his mind was still on the lesson. As he walked down the hall, he planned how he could improve in the next one. Then there was a sudden loud noise behind him as he cringed in pain somebody shoved him from behind, knocking him down. He whipped his gaze around, teeth bared. Dulglad and his friends laughed as he attempted to get back off the ground. That’s how he first met Bryan, who came to his defense, offered him a hand, to haul him to his feet. Then, as the others hung back to watch, Ryuu launched himself at Dulglad, knocking him to the ground.

  A short while later, that was how his father found him: surrounded by teachers trying to break up the fight as some students cheered it on. At that point, Ryuu was in the middle, holding Dulglad over his head like a rag doll.

  Ten minutes later, he sat outside his father’s office, with Dulglad hunched on the seat across from him dabbing at a bloody nose. Bryan was in the office, and Dulglad’s father had also been summoned. Neither Dulglad nor Ryuu talked to one another, although they did exchange an occasional glare. Ryuu did his best to ignore the voices that seeped out through the closed door.