Factory Reset: Divine Corruption

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen: Gold-Standard-1

Ja'Kle had never been more terrified in his life.

There were moments where his heart would skip a beat. There were even some moments where Ja'Kle had assumed that he would die. There was even a time that he nearly died. None of them were as dread-inducing as this.

There was something about hurling through the atmosphere in a pod surrounded by a fireball that really got his blood going. The heat inside was just incredible, as was the feeling of freefalling in what basically amounted to a metal sarcophagus.

Mason was stoic beside him, though Ja'Kle could tell that he was also rather scared about this whole ordeal. His muscles were tense, flat against the backside of the pod, and his eyes were closed. Although, he displayed no fear on his face. In fact, he appeared more sad than anything.

Ja'Kle had another dose of pure, unadulterated dread as he looked out the window before him. Though it was golden-tinted, he could see the crust of the earth forming beneath him, through the clouds. And they were hurling at it fast.

He gripped Mason's hand tight as they descended, trusting him that they wouldn't just die in this metal thing. He might not trust the protogen with his life, or anything of the sort, but he trusted Mason.

How could he not? Mason was in the same position he was in.

They had been falling for nearly ten minutes, before the fireball outside the window finally started to dissipate. Ja'Kle could feel that the force of their fall was starting to feel less stressful. He could finally breathe more than a few puffs of air at a time.

Mason finally peeled open his eyes, his chest huffing a little as he drew in a breath. Mason placed a hand against the side of the door, awaiting for their arrival, so he could get out of the stuffy, hot thing as fast as he could.

Ja'Kle was thrown against the back wall of the pod as it struck the ground. Despite it being only half a percent of the speed they entered the planet in, they were shocked rather good. Both were groggy from the force of the slam.

Mason pressed open the pod's door just a few seconds after they had arrived, holding his chest with a dainty hand. The pod's front facing wall was blasted off, allowing the two to escape the metal prison. Ja'Kle stumbled out, falling onto his hands and knees with a cough.

Mason stumbled as well as he got out, though not to the extent that Ja'Kle was feeling. He braced himself against a nearby tree, taking in the surrounding area.

They had arrived in a public park, or at least, what was meant to be a public park. They had fallen right beside a large lake, one filled to the brim with some weird glowing fish. No one was around them, despite it being mid-day.

Mason walked out to the walkway, stretching as he got his bearing in order. He glanced up, and above the treeline where giant buildings stretched high into the sky. Mason sighed, rubbing his neck tightly.

"Well, at least we landed somewhat close. Ja'Kle, are you alright?" Mason asked, turning around to face the Mosomarian. Ja'Kle raised his face off from the dirt, feeling more than a little dizzy.

"Yeah, yeah... I'm fine." Ja'Kle replied, digging his palms into the dirt to push himself up. Mason walked over and helped him up, grabbing him by his arm and heaving him upwards. Ja'Kle gave a short thanks, breathing heavily.

Mason glanced back up at the sky, seeing almost fifteen more pods being sent down to the surface. He grabbed Ja'Kle by his hand and pulled him along, just to make sure that they wouldn't have a chance at being crushed by the pods. However advanced they might be, there was always a chance at being crushed by them.