Prism Core

Saving Brad (Part One)

GABE

The smoke had cleared from the attack we had launched. Both Kate and I were gasping in exhaustion, but we kept our guard up. A shadow revealed itself, the purple of his eyes shining brighter. "H-he's still standing..." Kate said, her voice shaking in fear. The sky's shade of purple had begun to brightened. Sunrise had started. "D-damn it, they haven't reported back. Something must have gone wrong," A voice said. Except, it sounded slightly higher pitch. I stared closely at the shadow. It appeared his helmet had cracked, revealing part of his face. He turned to me, and a flash of fear came from his exposed eye. Half of the helmet was missing. Immediately, the knight vanished into the shadows just as the sun fully came into the sky. "I think...I think he's gone," I said. I dropped to my knees. "Gabe! We need to get Brad to a hospital!" Kate yelled. Oh crap, that's right! Immediately, we ran to his side. He was unconscious. The moss and dirt around him was stained red. His wound was emitting a strange, violet glow. "This isn't good, he's lost a lot of blood!" I said. Kate then helped me lift him onto my back. "Is Ryan..." I turned to the tree. Kate looked away. "Let's just go."

BRAD

I could hear a voice. "Brad. I can see you. Can you see me?" I felt like I was floating in the ocean, except with no water. Maybe it felt like outer space. I saw nothing but darkness. "Brad. Brad. I'm here. It's a pleasure to meet you." I couldn't knock the voice out from my head. "I can't see you? Who are you?" A high pitched giggle echoed in my head. It's a little girl. "Oh, poor Brad. Your eyes are closed! You just need to open them!" Whaaaaaaat, for real? I reached for my eyes. I accidentally jabbed a finger on my eyeball. "Ow!" The girl laughed. "No, silly. Your true eyes!" My mind drew a blank. My head suddenly felt jumbled. "Oh no. We're losing him again!" The girl said. "Cora! Cora! What should I do!?" Co...Cora? The name sounded vaguely familiar. Where was this place anyway? "Don't worry, Twig. Just keep focusing on him. We have to make sure he doesn't die in the void. The others should arrive shortly." The voice sounded familiar too. "What about the other guy? What should I do with him?" There was a pause. "He'll be fine. I think they'll stabilize him soon." I sudden thought flashed through my head. Was this all there is? What was I? "Cora! The poison has broken most of him mind! We have to do something!" "Leave him. He'll be fine." "But-" "I SAID LEAVE HIM." There was another pause. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled." There was some soft crying. "Please don't cry. He'll find us a way home. We just have to wait..."

"It'll be alright."

GABE

We ran in all directions, but every part of the forest looked exactly the same. We could have been walking in circles for all we knew. "G-Gabe. Stop..." I kept walking. My back was moist. I didn't want to see the red. "We're making him bleed faster!" Kate yelled. I turned to her. "So what the hell do you want me to do!? Leave him to die!?" Kate looked startled, but then her gaze darkened. "His pulse is weak and we have no idea where we are. Maybe if we stay put, someone will come to help us." I couldn't believe it. "Who!? Who in this entire place do you think will help us!? We've gotten attacked by every thing we've encountered in this damn forest!" I was losing my cool. Sparks started to fly off my body. Kate looked at me like she saw a ghost. "So that's how it feels..." She sat down. Her eyes were covered by her blue hair. "I haven't been the nicest person. Especially to Brad. If he dies now, the last thing he'll remember of me is how much of a jerk I am." Tears were coming down. "So p-please Gabe. Let's just stop, okay?" My heart suddenly felt heavy. How could I have been so stupid!? I set Brad down, and I sat down next to him. "Okay Kate. We'll just stop." There was silence, but suddenly, the sun felt nice. The forest glowed green. Sounds filled the air. Birds, but really foreign sounding. Kate kept looking down. I felt awkward, I didn't know what to do. I looked around. Then, I saw a wolf cub. It was jumping around, pouncing a leaf. Its tail, however, was very fox-like. Brilliant, green fur covered the adorable thing. "Kate. Look!" She hesitantly looked to where I pointed. The wolf cub flipped over and landed awkwardly on its bottom. It then sneezed. The wolf cub then looked up, saw us, and sheepishly walked off. We burst out laughing. "Brad would have loved to see that," I said. We looked at him. He was pale and in bad shape. "You know. Maybe he's a goofball, but he makes all of us smile," Kate said. "I don't think we can survive without him." I nodded. Crick. We snapped our necks towards the sound. A branch was broken. "Kate, you don't think-" "Behind you." I yelled out and faced the voice behind me. "Bwahahahahha! You shoulda seen yer face!" It was a little boy with neon yellow hair. He wore what looked like a black athletic shirt, and sweatpants, but they were very fuzzy looking... "Who the hell are you!?" Kate demanded. The kid got wide eyed. "Ooh, you just used the H word! Anyway. My name is Ray! I'm here to invite you guys to join the resistance!" We looked at him in confusion. "The what? Resistance for what?" I asked. Ray looked over to Brad. "I don't think we have time to discuss the details. We can help your friend out," He said. I looked at Kate for a moment, and she looked at Brad. She then nodded. "Alright. We'll consider joining if you help him," I said. Ray grinned. "Okay guys! You can come out now!" From the bushes, two emerged. There was a young man, just slightly younger than us, with spiky black hair that went all over the place. He had large goggles and a worn red t shirt. Over them, he had dirty overalls, those that mechanics used, with a lot of pockets. His eyes looked strange, the red seemed faded. He was smiling though, a scar was on his upper lip. His tan skin was dirty. There was also a young woman, slightly older. She had short, green hair. She was tall, and quite skinny. Her face was serious, her green eyes fierce. She wore an orange leather vest, white tunic, and leggings. Her boots looked medieval, like Robin Hood's. "This is Al and Tay! They're some of the greatest members of our group!" Ray said. "Hiya!" Al said. His voice had a friendly tone, but a nervous undertone. "It's a pleasure," Tay said. She had a formal tone, a gentle one too. Confidence was apparent in it. "They'll take your friend back to camp carefully! Now, if you please, hold hands with me!" Without warning, Ray got between Kate and I and held our hands. "Look guys, I have parents now!" Ray yelled. "WHAT!?" Kate and I yelled simultaneously. Tay scolded him, "Ray! Don't embarrass our potential mew members!" Ray rolled his eyes. "Okay, let's go!" Thunder then boomed. "Whoa! Where'd that come from?" Kate said. "Ready for the greatest ride of your lives?" Ray asked. "W-what does that mean!?" I said. "Here we go!" Suddenly, everything shifted. It felt like we moved and didn't. It was a flash of light, and it felt like the heaving force of a roller coaster. Suddenly, we were in the middle of a make shift village. Houses made of branches and scrap were all over. In the middle was a circle of rocks with a fireplace. People of all shapes and sizes walked around. They talked, some big guys carries supplies and logs, and little kids ran around. "Blleeeeeeeeghhhhhhh!" I looked at Kate in disgust. "DON'T LOOK AT ME!" "Booooosssssss! We're here!" Ray yelled. We turned to see where he was facing. A fierce woman was there to greet us. "Welcome. My name is Giselle, leader of the resistance. We have much to discuss."

(I'm sorry, this chapter was too long, so I cut it in half. Look out for the next part in the next few days!)