Planet X Vulcan

Chapter lV

Cody landed hard on his ankles. After scaling the 8ft wall with one arm shot, he thought he was a god. Now, after landing amongst boulders, taking the full weight of the fall on his ankles, he thought he was going to die. The pain shot up his foot, and he almost screamed. It felt like he had broken an ankle. Panic started to boil in him as he realized he'd be vulnerable to Doug's torture when they caught up to him. He forced himself to calm down and think. After steadying his breath, to his relief he found that his ankle wasn't broken and it was just from the pain of falling on misshapen rocks. He should have known since he'd broken his ankle countless times from falling out of windows and off walls. He remembered fondly the first time he'd broken his ankle. He was running from the cops as an orphan. A new law had been passed by the rich that all orphans must be snatched off the streets and sent to work. He and his partner in crime were being chased. His partner was very skilled at escaping. She told him to run off in one direction, while she distracted the cops. They were both very young, about 12 years old. He didn't want to but she insisted. The last he saw of her was her black hair disappearing over a wall, followed by two police cars and three armed cops. After that he jumped a wall, and fell on the other side, breaking an ankle. He never heard or saw her again. He spent days in grief, blaming himself.

Cody shook his head, coming back to the present. He stood up and found that his ankles were in fact still working. That much information was enough for him to take off down the road. He heard gunshots, and his lungs were burning from all the running, his feet were slowing, and his shoulder was blasting from pain. He ran past an old factory, and to his bad luck Doug was back on his heels. He ran faster, pushing himself to the limit. He saw another gang about to enter the factory, a girl struggling in their arms. He didn't have time to think about it because Doug was back with his gun drawn. He sprinted into a wider road, and had to swerve to avoid the man holes. Luckily he knew this area well and the others didn't and he heard the satisfying splash! as yet another goon fell into a hole. He risked a glance backward and saw that only Doug and one other guy remained. He didn't know what to do to get rid of them. He knew he couldn't keep running for long. His eyes darted side to side, trying to find something to use as leverage. He almost face-planted when he saw a girl appear to his right hand side, running as fast as he.

" Who the FUCK are you?!" he screamed very loudly. Truth was, when she appeared suddenly next to him, his heart skipped a beat. She managed to splutter out a few audible words, and all he understood was that another gang was trying to kidnap her. He turned around and saw that his own pursuers had disappeared, but he didn't let his guard down, although he did skid to a stop. He was panting so hard his mouth hurt. Sweat lined his forehead and his arm was throbbing from dull pain. His lungs would blast any second, and he also knew that he had to treat his bullet wound first before it got infected. The girl stopped next to him, doubled over and was breathing heavily.

" A little help?? " she wheezed.

" What do you want me to do? Blow air in your mouth? "he snapped.

Just when it seemed that they could finally relax, the girls captors rounded the corner. She cussed under her breath and straightened up, looking at him for help. He wanted to take her and run, but he knew she would slow him down and he'd only bring more enemies upon himself. Besides, Doug was still out there. He shrugged at her helplessly and took off, scaling a building wall and walking along the roof.

He managed to make it home before dark, and there was still no sign of Doug. Cody knew he'd have to sleep carefully tonight. He trudged through the dark streets and alleys, too tired to steal dinner. He hadn't eaten since morning and his stomach was protesting very loudly. He finally made it home at twilight, his feet sore and hurting. His ankle throbbed, and that wasn't even the most painful thing. His shoulder felt like hell. That's an understatement. He was trying very hard not to cry from pain and hunger as he slowly walked up the flight of stairs.

Gasping for breath, he finally made it to his room. He was going to pick the lock to his door when he stopped cold. The door was slightly ajar, and the lock was broken. His heart thudding loudly, he opened the door fully. His eyes stretched wide. Everything was ruined. His rug was burned, his money - all of it - was gone. His valuables were all smashed. There was broken glass on the carpet. He swallowed hard, fighting down his panic and fear. There was no doubt who did this. Doug. They hit his home before coming to find him. He felt his anger and pain combine together as misery. Everything he had stolen and earned his whole life, gone. He wanted to punch and scream. But he knew he couldn't. No, he had to keep his cool. He was tired, hungry and exhausted, he had to rest. The thing that scared him the most was the fact that he would have to face him.

I owe him a lot of money. I'll be dead if I can't pay him back. He's worse than Doug.

His mind was turning over all possible courses of action as he laid down on his burnt rug, not even bothering to tend to his shoulder. He felt himself go numb as he plunged into a well deserved sleep, plagued by nightmares.

He saw five beams of light, going through some sort of a portal. Below lay a massive forest, full of abnormal trees and unnatural rivers. There were five bodies, all unmoving. Cody could see one figure, tall and blonde, still alive. He was crouching over the bodies, obviously crying.

" I'm so sorry my friends. Zia, I hope you will forgive me. " the figure croaked. He stood up, wiping his tears. He looked at the sky defiantly.

" Xander! I am calling you, brother! " he yelled. He looked around, as if awaiting someone. He called again. Cody saw a figure materialize behind the blonde guy. He looked exactly like the blonde kid, except more fierce, his face ridden with scars. His pale blue eyes shone menacingly, unlike the warm sea blue of Cody's.

" Luke, brother. I see you have made up your mind? Mother will be pleased. " the figure spoke. The boy - Luke - turned around.

" Xander...... You came. " he said dumbfounded.

" Yes. Are you ready brother? You have a big task ahead of you. Show us where your loyalties lie, and mother might accept you back. " Xander spoke.

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Wow guys! What do you think? It looks to me like we're getting into the main plot, huh? Well, now that we know a little bit of our main characters and their stories, you're about to experience some MAJOR plot events, and we will be hearing from our favorites at Pandora. All I can say is, get ready for some major action! Haha, but seriously I love you guys <3