Isle of Sanctum | The Aya Thrasher Chronicles | Book 1 |[Editing]

Book 2 Prologue

PROLOGUE

Metropolis of Nothing

May 22, 2036

SILAS

A blast exploded through my lungs, forcing my eyes to pop open. Slightly lifting my head, I panicked for air. I realized I was submerged in a slick, sticky substance. Paddling my arms and legs, I swam to the surface of the green liquid. My head escaped from the pool, and I took a long deep breath. Stale air floated down to my lungs, but it was enough to keep me satisfied for the moment.

After my breathing steadied, I lifted myself out of the tub, tumbling onto the ground beside it. The ground was cold and hard, and I flinched as my back collided with it. I allowed myself to lie there for a moment to collect my thoughts. Turning my head, I glanced at the tub. I knew what had happened. Searching around, I grew frantic. Where was it?

I rolled to my side and kneeled in front of the tub. My arms swayed back and forth, feeling around for my leather-bound journal. There was nothing there, except for the dye. I had made it through the dyeing process, but my journal had not.

Frustrated, I stood up and took in my surroundings. A cave's entrance loomed over me. I turned around, there was nowhere I could go because I was near the edge of a cliff. Underneath the cliff, dark turquoise-colored waves slammed against the base of the cliff. The angry sky above my head became darkened, and I felt as if the clouds were asking for a fight.

How had I gotten here? I twirled around, metal scraps protruded from the outside corner of the cave. I walked a few feet and peeked around the corner. More metal scraps were piled up. Upon closer inspection, I saw the remnants of a rocket engine.

"Mr. Avendur," I heard a familiar voice calling my name.

Turning around, I saw a heavy-set man with an over-grown, red beard. "Gotsam, it that you?" The green liquid dripped from his beard onto the floor.

"Yes, sir."

I took a few steps in Gotsam's direction. "Where are we? What is this place?"

"Nothing."

"Did we not make it to Earth?" I wiped some of the green dye away.

"I'm afraid I did not."

I raised a brow. "We did not."

"No, Silas," he said. That was the first time I heard Gotsam call me Silas since I met him. He rotated his body to face the cave.

"Wait, I do not understand." I took another step forward. Gotsam walked into the cave, and I followed him. "Please," I begged.

Gotsam turned around and faced me. His eyes were dead and foggy. "It's too late for me, but you can still save yourself." He wasn't himself. His skin had become wrinkled folds of grey flesh. He looked like a zombie.

"What happened to you?" I didn't understand. The dyeing process was supposed to protect us, but look at what it had done to poor Gotsam.

"You must make it out of here before it's too late." Gotsam vanished into the cave.

I wanted to run after to him, but I knew he was right. He was too far gone. I felt bad for him, but he seemed instant that I got out of there. I didn't know anything about where we were. It seemed like a peculiar place.

I closed my eyes and then re-opened them. The cave was gone. I rubbed my eyes to make sure, the dye hadn't compromised my vision. To my surprise, the cave was still missing. In fact, the entire landscape was changing.

The ground under me flattened, and skyscrapers arose from the ashes of the caves. Within the blink of an eye, the buildings were engulfed in flames. It was the strangest thing.

I walked on a road that led into the city. A make-shift wooden sign on the side of the road caught my attention. There were two arrows painted in bold red letters. The first pointed straight ahead, and the second pointed to my right.

Now, I was faced with two dilemmas. I thought about it long and hard and decided to take the road on the right. Was it the right decision? Only time would tell.