Nawx (Project IzeBorn Book 1)

by Andrew Jones

  "These people seem excited, that much please you," Eerie spoke as he stood up.

  Amaya nodded her head, "This place is no sanctuary yet, as it does need a lot of fixing up. But I'm sure Jet can arrange that."

  Jet stood up and grumbled as he looked around the room. There were many pictures, they were all in black and white. it seemed that a family of four lived here, and judging from the pictures, they were very independent people. They hunted their own food, purified their own water, and evidently lived miles from any other people. But one picture stood out to Jet more than all. He grabbed the picture frame from the wall and looked deeper at it.

  "Ay, Amaya. Come take a look at this." Jet called out to her.

  Amaya and Eerie both immediately look over at Jet, who is across the room by the frozen windows. They both walk toward him, as Jet quickly hands the picture to Amaya.

  "There was a family here. Like Eerie said, the family built this house, made a living here, and had two kids. But who the hell are all these?" Jet asked.

  Amaya stared at the picture, noticing that there were the four family members from the other pictures in the room in the center of the photo. But there were more children surrounding the family, approximately forty children were in the photo. She grew a concerned look on her face as she looked at Eerie and handed him the photo.

  "Could they have really been that cult you told us about?" Amaya asked.

  Eerie stared at the photo for a little while before dropping it on the ground and stomping on it. Amaya and Jet gasp as they hear the glass of the photo frame go everywhere.

  "The hell, man!?" Jet yelled.

  Eerie bent down and sorted through the glass as he picked up the photo frame. He was not able to pick his way through the frame and take the picture out.

  "You don't know how these photo frames work? You really haven't had much research of how the old world works." Eerie chuckled.

  Amaya frowned, but she noticed that Eerie's hand had been bleeding from him sorting through the glass.

  "You're bleeding..." Amaya muttered.

  Eerie ignored her as he turned the picture around and read the writing on the back, "This picture was taken about a thousand years ago... Maybe close to the beginning of this world."

  "Why are there so many children in that photo though? Were they kidnapping these kids?" Jet asked.

  Eerie shrugged his shoulders, "It wouldn't be bad to look around this place and find out the truth. Though, I'll let Amaya handle that. Jet, you were assigned to make household repairs, correct?"

  Jet nodded his head.

  "Then if that is settled, I shall go see how the others are doing." Eerie smiled before turned away from them and walking into an open door, leaving the room.

  Jet grumbled as he watched him leave the room. He leant down and began sweeping up the glass pieces, "That guy really annoys me. When is he going to leave?"

  Amaya sighed, "He isn't."

  "What did you say...?" Jet frowned as he looked up at her, "What does that asshole want?"

  "He requested to join forces with us, permanently."

  He sighed as he got on his feet, looking down, "That guy is a real creep."

  "I know..."

  Jet looked over at Amaya and placed his hand on her shoulder, shooting her an assuring smile before he stepped away from her. He didn't like when Amaya was concerned or worried of anything, so he really tried his best to cheer her up even when it was impossible for him to do so. If only he knew his efforts did more than he thought.

  She looked back down at the photo, noticing that none of the children had been smiling. In fact, they were all looking more upset or sad. Like they were being forced to pose in the photo, or something else. She proceeded toward the room Eerie went into. The next room was a narrow hallway, with rooms on both sides of the hall. The hallway led toward a staircase, so she proceeded forward up the stairs. This was the east wing, which on the map beside the staircase provided the information that the east wing was the more important rooms, but the rooms were unlisted. Every time she would try to open a door, the door would either be frozen tight or completely locked. She gave up and kept going forward toward another staircase, and up another staircase, going up until she hit the top floor.

  The room on the top of the last flight of stairs was just an office room. The computer monitors on the table looked really advanced but they were incredibly old. As she tried to operate the computer data, she noticed that the computer itself was frozen. She sighed before pushing all of the computer monitors off of the desk, hearing it all break as they made an impact with the ground. She sat back on the desk as she heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. It was Eerie, who was coming up to see what the loud sound was. He gasped as he saw the destruction in the room, but he went to Amaya's side to see if she was okay.

  "I'm all right..." Amaya whispered as she still had her face in her hands, "I was just... I just had an outburst, is all."

  Eerie, who was knelt down by her, grew a concerned look on his face. But he stood back up and nodded his head.

  "Come to me if you find anything out." Eerie mentions as he began to walk out of the room again.

  She sighed while she stood up and began to look down at the destruction she had caused. She picked up some of the bigger pieces of the computer monitors, but she saw a folded piece of paper on the ground within the destruction. It looked quite old as well. Amaya picked it up and begun opening up the page, it felt like it was going to break every time she moves the page so she had to be careful with it.

  Amaya began reading the page, just as her eyes widened from what was written on it.

  "Drenawx... Where have I heard that name?" She asked herself, "... I have to find Jet and see if he knows anything."

  After she spoke to herself, she ran down the stairs as quickly as she could. But in a sudden turn of events, she fell back in a shocking surprise as she saw some people of her group on the ground. Their skin was light blue, and they didn't move at all. It was like they suddenly became frozen like the ones in the past did on their way to the mansion, before they met up with Eerie. She screamed, as she placed her hand on the person's arm and felt how cold they were. They were so frozen that she felt the skin on her hand began to peel off of their arm, screaming from the pain. Her hand had it's skin peeling slightly which drew some blood.

  Jet rushed to Amaya after he had heard her scream, growing speechless as he saw what had happened to the people.

  "J-Jet, what happened!?" Amaya shouted as she sounded like she had been dramatized by the image of the frozen people.

  Jet sounded hesitant as he answered her, "I... Found some more frozen people..."

  "W-What!? I thought this place was safe..." Amaya muttered, sounding like she was bound to start crying, "B-But here..."

  Amaya handed Jet the page she found upstairs.

  "Drenawx... Why is he on here, along with Eerie?"

  "Why is the perfect question." Eerie's voice appeared out of nowhere.

  Jet and Amaya look forward as Eerie approaches them with a stun gun. A stun gun was feared beyond all the machines because a shock from it could instantly kill any machines, powerful or not. So Jet stayed cautious of the stun gun, but he was dedicated to protecting Amaya.

  "Care to explain why you're mentioned on here? Alongside Drenawx?" Jet asked harshly.

  Eerie laughed, "Read some more, maybe you'll recognize some more names."

  Jet looked down and began reading down the list, "Blaze... Nova... Atreyu?"

  "Yes. The children you saw in that photo are not children. You are standing in the ancient grounds where the development of the Machina really started!"

  "Huh?"

  "I've been trying to look for Drenawx's whereabouts for ages! And now I have proof that he was indeed responsible for what happened to me."

  Amaya grunted, "What do you mean?"

  "Well, how do you think Synths are made? Not through proper blueprints, that is impossible. They are made from Human
shells- or bodies. They kidnap Humans and make them into Synths. I mean, I, myself, is a Synth and I've been trying to find out why and by who."

  "And that is why you're a traveler... To find out why you've been made into a Synth and by who..."

  "You're correct."

  Jet stood up, "Eerie... I'm going through something similar. Look at my leg, It was cut off by a person who contracted Ruse. I remade it into a mechanical leg because of my desperation to walk again. Because of that, I've been at risk of getting hacked by the Armagna Network. I have regrets, but I don't act upon them. Just be happy you're alive."

  Eerie laughed at Jet, "You don't know shit! Luckily I came into contact with Lilith before I met you, or else I would've probably believed your sob story."

  "Lilith?" Jet asked.

  "The one who is responsible for the Armagna Network."

  Eerie spoke as he aimed his stun gun down at Jet, holding his finger on the trigger button. Despite the cries of Jet and the desperation he shouted up at him, Eerie shut his eyes as he pulled the trigger. The sounds of electricity came forth as Jet screamed. He dropped to the ground as Amaya began to cry.

  "Don't touch him unless you want to be electrocuted," Eerie said as he put away his stun gun.

  Amaya frowned at him as her tears made her way down her cheek, "What now? What are you going to do to me!?"

  "That's easy. I'll just have to extract your brain and use that to find the whereabouts of Blaze, Nova, and Atreyu. My goal is to defeat all the Synths, and then off myself."

  Amaya grunted, "Y-You're insane!"

  "I might have a malfunctioned brain chip or two. But I didn't choose to be a Synth. I wanted to be a Human, and knowing I was once a Human crushes me even more..."

  Amaya stood up and carefully approached him, "Y-You don't have to do this. Revenge is not the answer... Those three don't want revenge..."

  "That's because they don't know the true origins of a Synth!"

  Eerie shouted at her with utter rage as he grabbed one of his arrows and aimed the tip at her.

  "N-No, Eerie! Please!" Amaya screamed as she backed away from him.

  "I wanted to be a Human, like you. And if I can't be a Human, no one can!"

  Amaya turned around and proceeded to run away, but Eerie quickly grabbed her from behind. As she struggled to get out of his grasp, his eyes turned red as he began to hear the voice of Lilith in his mind. He raised his hand that had the arrow aimed forward and quickly stabbed Amaya in the stomach.

  "I... I hope Blaze destroys you!" Amaya screamed as she felt the pain, knowing this could be her end.

  Eerie threw her on the ground, "Do not mention that name to me!"

  He yelled as he got on top of her and started to stab her with the arrow until it broke. When it broke, he quickly grabbed another and continued to stab her until it broke. He would continue to repeat this process until he had no arrows left, seeing that Amaya's stomach was torn open wide and deep. He was soaked in blood but he allowed his hand to transform into a big drill that would aim right at her forehead, as he attempted to extract her brain from inside.

  "Die, die, die, die, die, die, die! You don't deserve to enjoy the pleasures of being Human!"

  He shouted as he drilled into Amaya's head, laughing as his face became drenched in her blood. But as he noticed her brain was visible, he dropped his head in her open wound on her stomach and started sobbing.

  Verse XI

  Aethervox

  The skies were still dark, but it was still somehow day time. The magical barrier that prevented Nova and the others were still up. But that did not stop Nova from trying to break through the barrier. She would attempt to break it every so often with a strong attack from her dual blades, but it would only light up and deflect the attack back into her, pushing her straight to the ground. Blaze and Kryptonite laid on the ground and looked to have been tired from waiting there so long, but Atreyu tried his best to stop Nova.

  "Nova! Stop that, please!" Atreyu shouted at her as he grabbed her arms.

  Nova grunted and dropped both of her weapons, lowering her head as finally, she accepted the fact that they were stuck in there. Nova turned around to Atreyu and sat down on the ground, watching as he sat down next to him. She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. The wait for whatever was to come was excruciating to them. It felt like days had passed, but Blaze and Kryptonite took the time to relax. Moments ago, Atreyu had argued that they should do nothing and that they should wait. Blaze obviously had no complaints, but Nova wanted to get out of there. She felt like something bad was going to happen, as the bloody corpses of the Human remains were still on the ground around them.

  From above, way at the top of the castle, Drakkar peered from outside the window at them all. He chuckled as he watched each and every one's reactions from having to wait. He knew the battle between them was not over, but he questioned why they don't try to come inside the castle. Perhaps he had underestimated them all. He certainly underestimated Atreyu.

  "You see? Atreyu has somehow become contaminated with that damn Ruse virus." Drakkar huffed as he turned back away from the window, "Is this your doing?

  Lilith sat in a chair, her long hair had covered most of her face, but Drakkar already knew she had become hacked by her own network, the Armagna Network It had become too strong for her control, so the network realized it's creator's weakness and used that to control her. Drakkar could see it, the girl's red, dead eyes that seemed to look lifeless with no sense of emotion. He used that as a way to manipulate her, he dominated her because his power was otherworldly.

  Lilith shook her head, "I have not done anything."

  Drakkar slammed his hands on the table in front of Lilith, seeing her snap out of her phase and become frightened.

  "No matter. I've already had someone go assassinate their friends out in the frozen lands. He should be back soon enough to finish off those four."

  Lilith stood out of her seat and walked toward the window, "Drakkar, I'm in this as much as you are. So it's only right if you let me in on your plan."

  Drakkar grinned as he sat down in a chair and turned back to her, "To create the new world, of course."

  Lilith giggled as she glanced down at the four of them as they sat around doing nothing. She crossed her arms and looked at Drakkar after observing them.

  "How are you going to do that without any Dragoonas? Even if you wiped the world of Humans and machines, you don't hold the power to do that. The only person who does is the girl down there by the name of Nova." Lilith explains.

  Kryptonite was laying on top of Blaze's stomach, but his head perked up. He noticed that everyone had fallen asleep all of a sudden, which wasn't good. He knew that they were vulnerable now, but this could be a good chance for him to sneak into the castle. He looked up at the top of the castle where he sees a dark figure on the side of the overshadowing window. But as he looked up there with some binoculars he had pulled out of his pockets, he saw that the person was not looking down at them. But who were they?

  He quickly shoved the binoculars in his pockets and crept toward the castle, crawling in a very sneaky way. He made it to the staircase, where he then jumped all the way up to the top of the stairs. The only problem now was that he couldn't open the doors. He grumbled, and then sighed, accepting the fact that Atreyu might have been right about them having to wait. However, he still decided to stroll around the castle just in case there was another way inside.

  Quickly, he dove into cover as someone had been walking toward the back entrance of the castle. He didn't know who the man was, but he looked like he could put up a decent fight, and he was covered in blood. Kryptonite was frightened, but he watched as the man opened the back doors using a special key that Drakkar gave to him. As he opened the door and walked through, Kryptonite rushed to the open door and jumped inside, rolling to the left side to get into some cover again. As he hid, he could hear the man sigh in relief and crack his neck, feeling somewhat relieve
d to be back supposedly. Kryptonite peered his head out of the cover space and saw the man walking up the stairs. The stairs were long and big, and it would be difficult for Kryptonite to jump all the stairs to the top. So he reached into his pockets and pulled out a hook shot.

  "I haven't used this baby in a long time," Kryptonite whispered as he aimed the hook shot toward the stairs.

  He pulled the trigger on the hook shot and released the hook, watching it shoot toward the stone wall and stab it. Pulling the trigger again, he felt himself being pulled into the stone wall and stopping just in front of the stairs. He looked up the stairs and took a deep breath before beginning his journey up to the top floor with the help of his hook shot.

  Drakkar yawned as he rested his legs up on the table, allowing Lilith to sit on the window sill and gaze outside at the dark side. The darkness in the sky was terrifying, but it was satisfying to her. She was still amazed to finally be out of her vault, with the help of Drakkar. She owed him for that after all, it was the main reason why she agreed to help him with his plan. But she was oddly curious about his plan and Drakkar himself personally. She thought he was suspicious, but he was definitely Human, who has been drowning in his urge to get revenge and satisfy his unknown need for bloodshed.

  She looked over at Drakkar. And at that moment of staring at him, she saw a real Human. A Human she had read about in her books within Drenawx's library. She didn't picture Humans to be so power hungry, or so dangerous and evil. Even though Drakkar was purely full of hate, he looked ever so innocent at that moment. But Lilith still didn't think anything of it. She knew appearances could be deceiving, just look at Blaze. Blaze is the most beautiful Synth Lilith has ever come into contact with, but she was also known as being the traitor. Even Lilith believed she was a traitor. In the past, they were somewhat friends whenever Blaze would come out of her shell and commence in conversation. But it was mostly just innocent greetings that were exchanged from one another.