The Ascendants

Chapter 5

The teenager led Liayn down a long hardwood hallway. Each and every floorboard creaked under the weight of their feet. The lighthouse was a lot bigger than it appeared on the outside. "I'm Blythe, by the way." The blue-eyed boy said. From behind, on his neck, Liayn could see smooth divots in Blythe's skin. Gills. "I'm not the only one here, this is more of a sanctuary, this lighthouse." Sure, enough in the hallway there were multiple doorways, all entrances to different rooms. "Newest member besides you was a few days ago."

Not once did Blythe ask him where he came from, all he would say was "You're not from around here." Blythe called him stranger or friend, and Liayn soon noticed he was extremely popular with everyone in the house. He felt like someone he could trust. "I-I don't know where I come from." Liayn whispered to him. Blythe turned to face him, and froze.

"How'd you make it here?" Blythe asked his first question.

"I woke up in a pod, it brought me here." Liayn replied.

Blythe started walking again, at a much faster pace. "I think I know someone who can help, he's the one I just mentioned, he just arrived here a few days ago."

Their room was halfway down the hall, Blythe knocked on the white door, which quickly swung open. A tall man with black hair and glasses opened the door. He looked strange to Liayn, who wasn't quite sure why. He didn't look like any alien he had seen, when he still had his memories.

The man cleared his throat,"Do you need something, Blythe?"

"You like books, right Gabe? Well I need some help with this one." Blythe placed his hands on Liayn's shoulders, forcing him to move into the room. Gabe's room was incredibly neat, with books filling up all of the small bookshelves inside. Gabe pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and sat down in a chair.

"What seems to be the problem?" Gabe questioned Liayn. Liayn sat down across from him.

"Is it unusual for someone to wake up in a ship without any memories?" Liayn threw the question out there.

Gabe's eyes went wide,"Do you remember waking up? What did you see?"

"I woke up in a pod, all I could see were stars." Liayn asnwered.

"Were any of them out of place, bigger than the rest?"

Liayn looked around, Blythe stood in the corner, his foot pressed against the wall, his arms crossed. Liayn thought hard, but now that he thought about it, when the pod had turned he had seen something. "There was a four-pointed star that I remember. Far bigger than all the rest."

Gabe stood up so quickly, the chair beneath him crashed to the floor. He rushed over to one of his numerous bookshelves, and pulled out a yellow-paged journal. "The Possibility, that's where you came from, here, take this."

Blythe was now interested in the conversation, and walked over to have a look for himself. Liayn took the book, and thanked Gabriel. All he did was nod in response, then turn away again. "Whelp," Blythe shrugged,"that was fast." Before they reentered the hallway, Liayn glanced back at Gabriel. Gabe held something metal in his hand, but Liayn couldn't make it out. Blythe opened the door, and light flooded the room. Liayn hadn't realised how dark the room had been. People were running down the hall now, most of them were teenagers.

"Yo, Blythe! Tonight we're lighting a bonfire, come outside." One of them invited.

Blythe smiled and turned to Liayn,"C'mon, this'll be fun."