The Rade Chronicles: Wide Awake

Chapter: 1

Gears

Blood from my nose ran down my face. I was sprawled across the floor.

"Get up," Cora said as she looked down at me.

I grunted and staggered to my feet, wincing, "Do you even know what 'going easy' is?"

Cora looked at me for a second like she was puzzled, then asked; "What's that?"

Is not wanting to have a near-death experience too much to ask for?

"Smart-"

"Watch your language young lady," She told me.

I threw two metal disks at her. She dodged them easily. Strands of blonde hair falling from her messy bun. Her Grey-blue eyes fixed on me. Cora's hands start to glow. I know what is coming next.

Merda

The ground started to rumble, cracks appeared on the floor, and hot magma started to leak out.

"Have fun with that, Gears."

Holy moly guacamole, I'm screwed. I tap my fingers to my gear glasses. "Essy, get me my Drift board." Luckily I made the adjustments on my board just in time.

"Sending the board of drift," Essy replied. "Will reach the destination in 3-," I quickly dodged wave after wave of molten lava. "2,1" I don't have much longer until I run out of energy. "0"

My drift board arrived just in the nick of time. I jumped on right before Cora sends another wave of fiery death at me. I swiftly dodged out of its grasp.

"Hey, watch it!" I yell, in which Cora just shrugged her shoulders, feigning innocence.

Cora had her awakening 4 years ago. Since I hadn't, I relied on my brain, technology and years of martial art's training. Either way, my awakening was the next day, and I wondered what class I was going to be. After all, who didn't? People wait, until their eighteenth year for the ceremony.

The tournament was completely optional, but almost everyone competes for the grand prize; a meeting with the one and only oracle.

"I'm not going to lose as bad as last time," I told myself, but Cora heard me.

"Awww, come on Gears, no need to get ahead of yourself," She purred.

Cora had blond hair like our mother's, fair skin, tall (5'8''). She always wore a tank top and leggings.

Unlike my short copper-brown hair that was about half-an-inch above my shoulders, that I pulled back into a low ponytail, tan skin smudged with grease from my workshop, a small dusting of not very noticeable freckles, rusty orange-colored eyes, and about half-a-foot shorter than Cora.

I dressed in grease-covered washed-out denim overalls and a gray t-shirt, stained from my work most of the time, but when I'm training I change into a simple white suit, plated with titanium.

"Please don't kill me!" I exclaimed, pitifully dodging my sister's flames.

Cora rushes at me quickly and I kick out my leg, my foot then crashes against her jaw, and she is sent flying back. Cora lays on the ground immobile. I know better than to fall for this trick, so I stayed where I was. A couple of seconds later she got up, clutching her face.

"Good job Gears that's the end of this training session for today." Cora complimented through clenched teeth. She then clapped, signaling Cora's A.I, Messi, comes through the coms.

"You called for me, miss?"

"Yes please send for a healer," Cora told her.

"Yes, miss!" Messi's mechanical voice then disappeared.

"Sorry for hurting your face..." I told her, I felt guilty even though she's broken almost all of my bones.

"Gears," She started then shook her head. "It's alright you've done what you were supposed to."

"Dislocating your jaw?" I questioned, I don't need a mirror to know my confusion showed.

"No, fight," she told me, wincing from the pain.

There was a loud slam of a door and Roxy came rushing into our training room. She's our healer.

"What have I told you two about training?" She yells, throwing her arms up in the air. "Last time Gears came in with four broken ribs and a fractured elbow," she exclaims then takes out her medical equipment.

"I say 'be careful, don't kill Gears.' But almost every time Gears comes back half-dead."

She turned towards me expecting me to be bleeding out, her eyes wide in surprise as she realized I was completely fine. She then turned her head to Cora and sees her holding her dislocated jaw.

"Well, this is new," she laughed clutching her stomach. Cora gave her a death glare, silently telling her to shut it, but instead of making her quit she just started laughing harder.

"You should shut up now," I warned. Trying to hide the amused grin spreading across my face.

"I know but it's just so ironic." She giggled. Her silly and almost giddy expression almost made me start laughing but in fear of my life, I put a sock in it.

"Yeah, yeah very funny. Now, please fix this-ugg," She winces.

"Sorry," Roxy said as she rushed over to Cora.

Static

OH JEEZE, OH JEEZE, OH JEEZE, CAN'T YOU MOVE ANY FASTER?! I will my legs to go faster and my lungs burned from the exertion.

All my muscles felt like they were about to melt right off of me as I forced myself, faster, and faster. My heart pounded in my ears as my feet thudded on the ground. "She's getting away! Don't just stand there you idiots, CATCH HER!!" No, don't catch me! Let me escape! Just as I thought I was about to faint, I heard the voices fade away. Just for good measure, I ran farther anyway. Suddenly, I tripped, and I face-planted in the dirt. My hood fell off of my head as I pushed myself over onto my back and laid on the ground for a moment to gain my bearings.

I realized what I had been carrying had fallen out of my bag and in panic, I scrambled to my knees and saw it an inch away. I sighed in relief as I picked it up and held it to my chest; the one reminder of the life I once had. I heard a small chirp and I opened my bag. "Sorry, Kiwi," I said. The little fruit bat chirped in response, as I gently took him out of the bag. He then proceeded to climb up my jacket to sniff the object in my hands. He chirped and looked at me curiously. I smiled and showed him the object: a small carved wooden bat.

"You know, Kiwi, we aren't so different, you and I." I carefully placed the wooden bat into my bag and opened it enough to let Kiwi back into it. I slowly stood up, pulled my hood over my head, shoved my hands into my pockets, and started to walk along the path.

I remember a time when I was little. I was always considered an outcast. Forever to be alone. I had absolutely no friends. Except. Except for the animals my parents worked with. As zoologists, they protected and studied the few thousand animals that were left. This was one of my most important memories. I had come home from an especially bad day and had gone straight to our little zoo instead of our house. I had stared at the animals, wishing I could be one of them. "You guys are lucky," I had muttered. "You don't have to worry about being hated for being different. You don't have to worry about a lot of things; you can do whatever you want."

"Oh little child, we have things to worry about." My head shot up as I looked at them in awe and surprise. "We have hunters, extinction, and our own children to worry about." I gazed at the animals. Did they... just talk? To me?

I hadn't dared to tell anybody, for fear they might not believe me and hate me even more, or even earn me the title of being insane.