So if this were a video, I would have totally put in some sort of super cheesy packing montage. Because that's probably what defines me looking around the house for a bunch of things that I planned would help me survive best. However, I realized that I would need just the bare essentials, so I only raced around the house grabbing those. I packed my belongings, a sleeping bag liner, my A's cap, and my favorite jacket. It was weird doing all of this. I kept getting déjà vu throwing the things in my bag. I got this nagging feeling that my dream was not just coincidental that I fought a Verräter after packing up my things. Anyway, I decided to stay quiet about my dream and just grab my belongings. After swinging a drawstring pack onto my back, and grabbing my pool cue in my left hand, I headed down the stairs to where Jessica was waiting for me. On my way out of the house I left my mom a note that instructed her that I wasn't abducted (so she wouldn't call the police), that I would keep in touch, and I left my name signed at the bottom(so my mom knew it was genuine). I headed through the wreckage of what was left of the door and instinctively turned off the light in the hall. Jessica just rolled her eyes. I followed her out onto the porch and in the driveway I saw a mustard yellow Camaro parked.
"Is that your ride?" I asked incredulously
"Yeah. Is that a problem?" she asked sarcastically
"No, not at all."
You didn't know this about me, but I was raised by a single mom who works somewhere around 100 hours a week. It's ridiculous. She works so damn hard so that we can have a decent living. She's definitely the greatest mom in the whole world. Because of her, I have money enough to do what I need, but not anywhere near enough to do what I want. So seeing a Camaro parked in my driveway was really surprising. Jessica looked at me and gestured for me to shotgun. I happily obliged. I opened the door and sat down on an expensive leather seat. It was when Jessica pulled out of the driveway that I realized that she had not legally obtained the vehicle.
"You hot-wired this?" I asked somewhat disapprovingly.
"You're going to tell me off for stealing this car from some rich asshole who doesn't care about your existence?" Jessica retorted quickly.
"I'm just saying that stealing is unnecessary." I replied fiercely.
"You want to walk?" Jessica snorted.
I stayed quiet. We continued driving for about two hours before we stopped off at a gas station where she filled up on gas and I went to the bathroom. Upon entering the room, I was faced by a mirror with scratches and gang signs all over it. I felt like there was something peculiar about the mirror, as a certain gang sign scratched on it made me feel nauseous. It looked like this:
---------- /\----------////
/ ___\\ //_/
<>}----/ -----------\\\/
I assumed it was just some kind of fancy 'N' or something, so I just ignored it and walked over to the toilet. A minute later, I flushed and headed over to the faucet and washed my hands. Afterwards I decided to turn the faucet back on and let the cool water splash over my hands. I cupped my hands and splashed some water on my face to keep me awake, as I was feeling quite tired all of a sudden. My recent escapades must be catching up with me. I looked up into the mirror while the water was still dripping from my temples into the sink. That was when I caught my breath, as I noticed that there was not a mirror image of me looking back. Instead, there was a picture of a mountain, but the image was distorted, as though I were looking at the reflection of it in a pool of water. All around the mountain was a camp, but it looked like it had been razed to the ground. Random weapons and tent stakes were scattered about. At the base of the mountain was a small symbol shaped like a basketball. I put my hand out to touch the mirror and the image rippled and disappeared. The mirror returned to normal and displayed a confused looking sixteen year old with brown hair. I shook my head in disbelieve and hurried out of the bathroom. I guess I was acting hurried, as Jessica inquired upon my motivation to leave.
"Nothing. It's just that I realized if there was one Verräter after us, there might be another." I lied quickly.
"It wasn't after us, it was after you. And it will take atleast another month or so before the Verräter finds another host to corrupt and use as a body."
"You are way too okay with this." I replied seriously.
"There's not much we can do about it. Monsters are out there, and they will try to kill you. I spent my past year out in the real world dealing with death, so I'm kinda used to it." she supplied.
We were back on the road, and the city freeways and other cars we had been accompanied by had seemingly left us. We were the only car out on the road, and the surrounding area seemed much more natural than downtown suburbia.
"So where are we headed exactly?"
"Schlägerei. I already told you that."
"Yes, but what is Schlägerei?"
"It's where people like us hide from monsters. It'll be in a new location in a few months. It moves, and we can either move with it or leave."
"You say that like it's sentient."
"It is." she replied, staring me straight in the eyes.
I decided that the conversation was over, and chose to look out the window for the remainder of the ride. We veered off the road and went rumbling past a few large rocks. I blinked, and all of a sudden we were on dirt road, which led all the way up to the foot of the mountain. The very same mountain that I had seen in the mirror at the gas station. After heading down the dirt road for a few minutes, I was able to appreciate the grandeur and size of the mountain. It was probably around 500 feet tall. I was able to make out the campsites set up around the base of the mountain. Seemingly all scattered about, we drove through the campsites, and very few people seemed to notice us. We drove all the way through the camp until we reached the largest abode. It was styled like a tepee, and had a massive entrance. I immediately noticed the runes scratched into the ground around it.
Jessica and I got out of the car and she led the way into the tepee. I followed her in, and that's when I realized that there was a giant hole in the ground right in the middle of the ground in the center of the tepee. She grabbed a hold of the ladder that led down into the earth and began her descent. I followed. After reaching the bottom of the hole, I realized that the area that I had stepped into some sort of underground city. There were tons of tunnels leading in every which way.
A man standing a few inches taller than me walked up. He was wearing ancient roman armor, which was stained a bright green. He had short light brown hair, a big grin, bright blue eyes, and a two jagged swords which hung loosely at his sides. He extended his hand to me in a gesture of greetings.
"Sup," he said, "I'm Alaric."
YOU ARE READING
The Darksteel Eye
FantasyA teenage boy finds himself caught up in a world full of mystical beings that he didn't ever know existed. He is unlike others, and will find himself trying to deal with an issue which threatens the existence of the world.
