Callidus Rising | Complete ✔️ | Book 1

Bonus Shortie Chapter :)

Callum's POV:

I take a deep breath of the fresh air, my stomach churning with anticipation.

The scent of coniferous pines courses through my nostrils and a slight gust of wind kisses my cheek.

My gaze slowly graces the unfamiliar horizon. Here, there is nothing aside from trees and the unique songs of different bird species.

I stand here on a large platform beside the Super Train's tracks.

Where we are is not an official station, but I chose it simply because it is remote, and this way I am not pent up in some glass container like a specimen.

I know my men mean well, but today I just want to feel the sun on my skin.

Around me, in black Nation-issue suits, boots, and tinted, contamination-proof helmets, stand 8 armed to the teeth soldiers. The logo of the Nation is sewn proudly onto their breastplates.

We're here waiting for something long overdue. For years now, since the Outbreak, I've been searching for a way to fix what has happened to my once-prosperous Nation.

I have given the order for many things that I am not proud of in the name of restoration.

I've lost comrades...The love of my life... My child...

But today, it's finally paid off.

I'll be able to fix the mistakes done by myself and my predecessors.

A call from further down the tracks is carried by the slight breeze into my exposed ears.

Around me, the soldiers all nod in sync at a message they've received over coms.

It's here.

I take a deep breath, raising my head to the blue sky. I stare long and hard into its bright but mysterious depths.

So much like the eyes of my Lizzie and Sam.

I shake my head, gritting my teeth.

Now is not the time.

I ignore the pain in my chest and focus on the rumbling of the tracks as the train roars around the bend.

The sunlight illuminates it like a charging white horse. A brave savior.

I don't flinch as it squeals to a gut-wrenching stop in front of me.

Two men move into the first-class capsule at the front.

They pause inside, their movements stopping. They signal to more soldiers until only two remain beside me.

"Sir! You'll want to see this," Buckingham says as he nears me. His voice sounds tense.

I nod, worry suddenly climbing my throat.

The doors slide open after assessing me.

Inside, blood coats the floor and one of the small beds. The metallic tang is ever-present.

My boot squelches as I step on an unnoticed puddle. I pull it away gingerly, only to pause mid-step when I spot the opened box in the far corner of the room.

My heartbeat speeds up.

It's not possible.

The only way to open that container is with specific genetic markers.

I gulp as one of the men moves forward, seizing it.

He keeps his helmet pointed at the floor, averting his gaze from me.

A light is shining green, indicating the box was opened without force.

Impossible.

Even if my daughter is alive, Samantha lacks all of my markers...

My hands shake slightly as I stare at my wild blue eyes in the shining metal of the box.

"Sir?"

I ignore the soldier.

"Sir. We opened the Data Feed. The only two people that were logged ever getting onto this train from the Central Station..."

He trails off.

I grind my teeth together before taking my head up to face him. As I do so, one of my peppery black locks escapes my precarious combing and covers my right eye.

"Well," I growl out, my chest boiling with irritation and confusion.

"Sir, the first was a previous Nation captain for about a year and a half... before he went off the map.. And the other of the two people... She was not logged into our citizenship base. She had your markers..."

"What. Are. You. Saying?" My annoyance is skyrocketing. I'm practically baring my teeth like an animal.

"Sir, Samantha Regal lacks one of your prominent genetic markers... The only way that opening this was possible is if this was your own... granddaughter," he says slowly.

Granddaughter?
*****
There's some Callum Regal for all of you :) For those of you who don't know, that is the father of Samantha Regal who (if you read this book you should know this) is the biological mother of Alexi Callidus (or Victoria Regal).
Ohhh, I wonder what he's going to do...

The above picture is Callum, but w/out the tatoos and slightly darker hair.