The Riders of Veradae

Prolouge

"Hurry up, Alexis!" Nate called from the boat.

"I'm running as fast as I can!" The young, blonde girl was running hurriedly across the dock. She was being herded by her older sister, Kelly.

Behind them, Erin was rapidly swinging her dagger, fending off the Lava Hounds that had been sent after them.

Suddenly, one broke from the pack and tore past Erin. It bounded towards Kelly, molten rock dripping from it's jaws.

Thinking fast, Kelly tore a lose board from the dock and brought it swishing down. It made contact with the dog's side and splintered. The hound staggered off the edge and fell flailing into the water.

She dropped what was left of the board and helped Alexis onto the small Island Charter.

Erin finally sent the last dog over the edge of the dock and into the salty water. She abandoned the others that were oozing hot lava from gashes in their sides, and took off in the direction of the boat.

A group of Datorites, fiery demons that resembled humans, were approaching. Actually, Datorites were born looking a lot like humans, but when they reached the age of three, they began to grow miniature horns and their skin would become scaly and slimy. Their eyes would turn either jet black or red and their ears would shrink to slits. They can withstand extreme temperatures, and can swim in lava.

However, if by the time you turn five, and have yet to show the slightest change, you are sent to the House of Specials, where children rarely see their tenth birthday.

Specials are used in dangerous experiments and are dummies in crash tests. Sometimes, Datorites would just kill them for fun.

Nate, Alexis, Kelly, and Erin were Specials, and extremely lucky. Kelly and Nate were both fourteen years old, Erin was thirteen, and Alexis was eight.

They all knew they wouldn't last much longer, so they planned their escape. On a boat.

Only one Special was said to have escaped and lived. He had been twelve years of age, and Specials said he now lived somewhere in the Hills of Ash in Datorious.

Erin grabbed the rim of the boat and flung herself over. Nate had started the boat and pulled up the anchor. He set the engine on full blast. The boat triggered a wave as it took off, and water splashed onto the dock. The Datorites quickly jumped back. Any sort of liquid under 100 degrees Fahrenheit was very dangerous for them.

The four smiled gleefully back at the cowering Datorites, and they set their course out of the bay and away from the land of Datorious.

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Hey, guys! Kelly here. Hope you liked the first part of our exchange story! Tell us what you think so far in the comments, and hopefully we'll have the first chapter up by Tuesday!

See you guys in the next part!
- Kelly