The Carter Chronicles: World of Adventures

Chapter 1: Warrior Home

HE OPENED HIS EYES, listening to the splatter of rain against the window. His dirty blond hair shot up in all directions, and the blue eyes of his contained anger and sadness—his father leaves again for "work."

"Austin? Say goodbye to your father now!" His mother called.

He shot out of his bed and went down. The stairs creaked as his weight burdened on them. Picture frames of a happy family were on-display. The boy hugged his father and said, "Good bye. See you soon."

His father patted his back with one hand, the other holding a suitcase. He opened his blue umbrella and walked to the car. As he entered, his friend quickly drove away, and Austin waited for the car's silhouette to disappear before going back inside.

***

"Austin, wake up. It's your field trip today," his mother whispered in his ear, then went down to prepare.

He opened his eyes and groaned. Waking up for school is the worst, even though going on a field trip.

After taking a bath and changing clothes, his mother drove him to school. He stared out at the window as the buildings, cars and buses go by. Pop music blared on the radio. For once he saw a figure of a man with a knight outfit looking at him. Then a bus passed and the man disappeared. He blinked for a few seconds, then opened his eyes. He frowned. Seeing weird visions was not cool.

The car halted to a stop in front of his school. He walked inside and headed for the court, where the school buses were parked. He entered Bus 2, where he was assigned. He sat at the back row, trying to find where Walt and Lily, his two best friends, were. He whipped out his phone and contacted them. "The subscriber cannot be reached." It kept saying. This day was getting worse and worse.

The bus began to move. It's probably they're lazy, sick, or dead. They must have a reason. They wouldn't just leave Austin by himself.

***

They finally reached their destination, an uncanny museum called 'The Museum of Unexplainable Artifacts'. The building was Gothic style, like a medieval church. It had slender vertical piers, counterbalancing buttresses, and vaulting and pointed arches. Inside the so-called museum, it was dark and somber. The walls were designed intricately, with complex engravings. The ceiling was high. Low chandeliers lit the place. Glass cases sealed the displays. Weaved tapestries and paintings were hung on walls to add aesthetic. Among the artifacts were barbaric teeth, a collection of white chest hairs, statues of people who aren't even famous, and more.

But the item that most intrigued Austin was a painting of fourteen individuals. They were standing regally side-by-side. Some frowned, some smirked, most smiled. There was a chair in the center and there sat a man with a thick red beard. His hair was almost like a mane. Nevertheless, he looked like royalty. A crown was on his head and he wore what looked like a king's coat. He also had a staff. He seemed . . . related, always feeling a tingle. Austin ignored the thought and just listened to Mr. Grey, their tourist guide.

"We are about to enter the room of the artifacts related to the Fourteen Forebears. These forebears were the people whom you saw on the painting earlier." Mr. Grey motioned for us to enter. It had a low ceiling with amber lights that illuminated the hallway. Six feet statues dotted the sides of the first few meters. On the bases of these statues were plaques with weird letters. After the gallery of statues were glass cases containing pieces of parchment written in Old English. Austin barely understood.

"Here we have the statues. We haven't deciphered the plaques yet. . . These statues were believed to be portraits of the fourteen . . . And these are the prophecies made by an old man named Barlen, who is believed to be one of the fourteen," Mr. Grey said.