Half- Ruined (Book 2 in the Morph Trilogy)

Chapter 9: Taking the Reins

Cody:

I crouch behind a tree seeing the flash of silver in front of me. I pull Harvy next to me and order him to sit. I slowly inch foward and spot the silver machine looking into the distance.

It looked like a tiger.

No, tigers were extinct.

It couldn't be.

But it was.

Instead of stripes and fur, it was all just a shiny metal. It's tail was a thin blade that slowly moved back and forth, it's teeth silver. It's eyes were a light yellow the only thing that looked fully like the animal it represented.

It didn't look like an animal. It looked like a monster.

I took another step foward and a twig snapped under my foot. I froze in fear as the tiger's big head turned in my direction. It didn't move just watched, it's eyes staring.

Then it lunged.

I didn't wait to see what happend next I just yelled Harvy's name and ran like hell. I knew it would catch up with me, I just thought it would be after a few minutes.

The impact slammed me into the ground. I felt something warm and sticky run down my chin. I couldn't see anything except for black because I was squeezing my eyes to tight.

I felt it's gigantic paw on top of my back it's claws ripping my shirt and digging into my skin. I bit my lip trying to muffle the sound that threatened to escape my mouth.

I hear it's tail slicing through the air above me, and then feel it slice into my back. My whole body goes numb.

I open my eyes and he creature flips me onto my back staring at me intently.
It then proceeds to pick me up in its mouth. It has a good grip on my shirt as it dragges me through the dying grass.

It didn't even seem to care as it rammed me into tree after tree.

Someone told me we didn't have as many trees as we used to. That they died with the animals. The only thing that remained were the cities, build on top of the forests and jungles.

We lived close to a city only a couple miles away.

My Mom told me the cities were terrible. Soldiers were stationed everywhere making sure people did what they were told. One wrong look and you were sent to the prison.

No one ever came out of the prison.

When the rebels formed groups, he found them and sent them all to the prison. Now anyone that was caught plotting aganist the President was sentanced to death.

I didn't really understand how our world worked untill I have ten years old. I remeber that day as if it was yesterday. I remeber the look on my face when my parents told me my whole life was already planned out.

Everything I was good at would be my future and every weakness I would never see again.

They watched us at school. Figured out our careers and paired us with our perfect other half.

They told us what happend when people chose their own path. They showed us what happend. The rebels knew what the old world looked like and they still wanted a choice.

To have a choice is a freedom the world can't afford.

My head began to over flow with thoughts and I barly felt the pinch of something sharp hit my shoulder. I closed my eyes, suddenly realizing how tired I was.

Jax:

I hop off my bed, and run past the guards. I look behind me watching the guards, and fall into a door. I see Kiera and Zac, standing far off. Hundreds of morph bodies litter the ground. I can also see Kaine, he begins to speak.

"My boy, if you would have just stayed with your father and I none of this would have happend." I think back to a couple of days ago, when I had a dream like this, was it coming to reality?

Kiera looks at me and silently conveyed a message, Follow my lead and charge

I look back into her eyes and convey my own message, agreeing to her word.

"Kaine! I know you better than my own father did!" He yells, trying to beat the forthcoming wind.

"I know that all you want is power and control! And you know what?!" He steps up to Kaine, "I'm not going to allow it!"

"Ha! You foolish boy!" Kaine reaches behind him to pull out a wickedly sharp spear from the sheath on his back. Zac's eyes widen in shock.

"You will never be strong enough to beat me!" He smiles coldly, and I know what he's about to do.

"No!" I plead for Zac's life. "Stop! We can reason!"

He laughs, "After all this bloodshed?!" He nocks the spear, "To late NOW!"

He's about to through the spear to Zac, but suddenly I'm in the middle of them. I watch the spear fly through the air. My feet feel like they are in mud. The spears angles at me and goes right through me. I turn and watching horror as it hits a morphed out Kiera in the chest.

It all goes fast after that, Zac kneels down, says something. Then I'm suddenly in a room with Zac and Kiera standing over me, worried looks on their faces. It was the same dream, I had last time.