Destined: 2 Be Continued

26. Eggs

Slowly, one by one, Alex's teammates trickled in. As soon as they were all gathered in the room, Alex stood and said, "Everyone, I have an announcement to make." The others quickly turned their heads towards him. August opened his mouth like he was going to make a joke, but stopped himself and closed it. As soon as he was sure everyone had his attention, Alex continued.

"I know the location of the first child of Locust."

"You mean the eggs that Locust said he laid?" Heather asked. Alex nodded, then showed everyone the coordinates carved onto his arm. "They're rounded to the nearest hundredth," Alex added as a disclaimer. The others seemed to understand, and August stood. "Come with me, and I'll program them into Loraine."

Alex remembered that Loraine was the name of the train. Loraine the train, August had told him. It was a rhyming joke. August led him through Jeremiah's blindingly bright room, through Alex's own room, and through an extremely hot room, full of machines, metal, and fire. 

There was much to be seen in this room. An entirely human-looking suit of armor, made of what was clearly Machinist's Bronze and Berserker's Iron, stood on the wall to the left. There was a table with a box on it, and the box seemed to be overflowing with metal objects. There was a square in the floor with fire coming out of it, making Alex question how exactly it was there. "Is this your room?" Alex asked his Spanish teammate, who was proudly grinning at him. 

"Yup. It's great, I know," August answered.

"Wow. Great with humility, man."

"Well, my family has a word for humility: las mentiras."

"What does that mean?"

"LIES."

"Oh." After just a few minutes more in the admittedly amazing room, the two reached the engine room. It was a small place, with simply a lever, a chamber to the left that was meant for energy storage, and a window in the front and one on each side. August walked to the left and tapped a few buttons. Alex followed him and saw a computer he hadn't noticed before.

"Let me look at your arm," August said suddenly, then grabbed Alex's arm without waiting for permission. "Let's see here...two...nine...point five...one...and...negative one six five...point eight...nine. There we go. Now, that's in the Pacific Ocean, and we're in Kansas right now, so that'll take...about thirty hours. That's about a full day and a half." August looked at Alex with a smirk. His curly hair bounced around as he stood up quickly. "Now, let's do absolutely nothing while we wait."

Alex and August went back to the eating room, but no one was there. Alex took his cold cinnamon roll and ate it whole as August simply said that he would see him later and went back to his machines. Alex, not knowing what to do, simply went to his own room and practiced the bo staff moves that Windigo had taught him.

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August dropped the smile he had been wearing in Alex's presence and strolled back to his room. He was glad that Alex had had the dream--mostly because the fact that the coordinates had been carved in blood. That, above all, seemed like it hurt like crazy.

"Armadura!" August called to his suit of armor. Its eye holes turned red, and its head turned towards him, signifying that it was active. August stepped up to it and opened its chest. He planned to work on some secret weapons.

The secret, of course, was an explosive backup plan. If August had been defeated, he could tell Armadura to explode, not only destroying him, but also destroying his attacker. It was useful, if not dangerous and stupid.

August already had the explosives ready in his closet. Most people would question why he would put explosives in the same place he put his clothes, and August would answer, "Because that's where I wanted to put them." He had no other answer, and no real reason. He took the explosives out of the closet. They were simple little things, ones that looked like ceiling lights. There were two of them, one for each of his manly pectorals.

Quickly, carefully, making sure not to accidentally squeeze them too hard and cause his own untimely demise, August placed the little explosives inside the cavities in his chest. Two little wires on each side wrapped around the explosives, holding them tight. Now that they were locked in, the explosives wouldn't explode if they were jostled around while he fought. They would only explode when August told them to.

Mission accomplished.

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"Are you sure you're sure you're sure you're ready for this?"Jeremiah asked, beginning to get on Alex's nerves. Alex bit his tongue yet again and said, through gritted teeth, "Yup. Can we please start?"

The two guys, along with Belle, were standing in the training room. Jeremiah had said that he had a surprise, but Alex was prepared for anything. Nothing would surprise him.

Jeremiah and Belle high fived. On contact, Belle seemed to roll up like a flag in Jeremiah's hand. The roll extended and narrowed into a sharp point, like a rapier. No, scratch that, it was a rapier.

"What is that?" Alex asked. 

I'm Silverhorn, the ultimate penetrator. Nothing can stop me when Jeremiah and I work together, Silverhorn hummed. It was strange, the hum, as if Silverhorn wasn't really talking, but communicating through the mind. It was clear, however, that Silverhorn's voice was a physical one.

Alex unfolded his staff. He pointed it towards Jeremiah and Silverhorn. "You won't beat me," Alex declared, then leaped towards them. He swung his staff overhead in a fast-as-light arc, but Silverhorn just parried the attack. Alex hit the ground as Silverhorn pointed towards his neck. "We win," Jeremiah grinned. Alex gulped, and the two let him stand back up.

"Do you want to go again?" Jeremiah asked, pointing Silverhorn straight up in the air. Alex smiled, then attacked without saying anything.

Much to Alex's severe disappointment, his attack was parried again, and he was left on the ground. But he would not stay losing for long. No, he would win one day.