(I started this novel awhile back, then got stuck on chapter 1. Lol life eh?)
Chapter 1
It feels like a bad dream.
Cari lay on the ground with her eyes closed; she felt the soft thick blades of grass outline her small frame. Not wanting to open her eyes she just laid there the wind blowing, her name being carried along it like a whisper calling her. Sitting up slowly, opening her eyes she reached out and grasped the quarter-staff that lay in the grass next to her; the old dark brown wood staff felt rough from the overuse it had seen in the last few years the ends splintered. Cari’s eyes scanned the forest she could have swore someone had said her name. She jumped up the butt of the quarter-staff digging into the damp ground; as she turned around to walk out of the forest. A strange figure caught the corner of her eye for but only a brief moment; out of nowhere she saw what appeared to be a huge gust of wind blowing straight for her. Bending the tree’s as it passed by, Cari watched as a feeling of horror and slight amazement washed over her.
Her integrated personal protective system (PPS) began flashing warning signs, her right arm flashing the word warning; it appeared to be a living tattoo, but was actually an implant underneath the skin, that ran on owners’ soul energy. The system within milliseconds kicked the warning level up to stage two; the system sounded an alarm that began to play inside her head and the word warning flashed in her left eye; the permanent digital contact lenses and hearing system were all linked and ran off her soul energy.
Cari seemed lost as she watched. The gust of wind barreled toward her, she snapped out of it as the system entered stage two, but by then it was too late; the gust of wind slammed into her on the moment of impact the wind screeched her name so loud that if it wasn’t for her hearing system her eardrums would have burst. Cari flew back several feet slamming into a tree; the impact sent her PPS into a wild frenzy of warning lights and sounds. The quarter-staff had flown from her hands when she slammed into the tree, the breath knocked out of her body; and her vision rippled from the force of the blow.
She laid there slumped against the tree barely conscious wishing the alarms would just shut off as they were giving her a headache. She could feel the adrenaline being pumped into her veins by the system as the words recovery system activated flash across her eyes in green letters. Cari had lay slumped up against the tree, her brown hair falling over her face it was a few more minutes before she finally felt well enough to lift her head up. Cari started to stand up as she groaned “Damn where did that come fro—” Her system flashed a warning just as a fist slammed into the right side of her face knocking her on her hands and feet; landing next to her quarter-staff. As she laid there the sound of a soul tech weapon can be heard charging and the distinct voice of a man saying;
“Target acquired, send for extraction”
Cari slowly reached out and wrapped her right hand around the weapon trying to figure out who was after her she hadn’t done anything wrong, and she wasn’t anybody special.
“I guess questions can wait till after!” she yelled as she jumped up and swung the quarter-staff around and smacking it across the face of her assailant; the wood made a loud crack as it snapped in half a chunk of the weapon flying off. Cari’s eyes widened as her system identified the man in front of her as a machine. Her thoughts wild she couldn’t figure out why someone would want her and she sure in hell didn’t know why an android was hunting her down.
“What do you want” she stammered out as she nervously backed away. Cari just watched in horror as he stood there with an unsettling stillness, the only thing moving was his eyes that followed her every movement. She was about 8 feet from him when he finally spoke bringing the soul tech weapon dubbed Whisper up aiming it at her. “Not one step farther” It was long silver weapon with a huge opening for the barrel, which looked like a gaping mouth. She knew she was in some trouble a direct hit from that could shatter her ear drums and crush most of her bones, it was a weapon used for long distance gorilla warfare causing turmoil and destruction to groups.
As Cari watched in horror as the weapon charged, something clicked with her she hadn’t thought of in all the turmoil and excitement that had been going on. “How can an android use a soul weapon they have no souls.” She thought and with this realization she started running, the PPS using her soul energy to augment her natural abilities; running at speeds impossible for a normal human. Cari hadn’t gotten far when she heard the weapon hum as it charged, then the familiar beep notifying the user that the weapon was ready to be fired. “James! Where are you?” she screamed as she zigzagged through the trees attempting to avoid another blast from that evil android’s weapon.
Bursting through the underbrush Cari felt a wave of relief wash over her as she spotted James in a clearing not to far from her. “James to me” she yelled as she ran toward her pet griffin. His feather’s around his head and wings was a dark raven black fading into a light dark black-brown fur; his eyes, beak, and talon were all dark gold. Cari couldn’t help, but smile as James raised his head from the deer he had been feasting upon and turned his head toward her. Cari heard her name on the wind seconds before her PPS went wild and the blast from the soul weapon slammed into her causing the world to spin as she flew though the air landing roughly on the ground.
Cari let out a weak groan reaching for James, as he took to the sky avoiding several blasts shot by the android. Cari laid on the ground her leg snapped from the fall, her PPS using her soul energy to slowly heal the wound. She could feel her bones realigning and the ripped muscle slowly reattaching. As her eyes glazed over from the painkillers her PPS had administered into her bloodstream, she watched James swoop down avoiding another shot from the android’s weapon and using his talons ripped a huge gash in the android’s shoulder. The weapon flying out of his hand as James landed a few feet from her before rushing toward her. Cari looked up at James as she felt his talon’s wrap around her and the gust of wind from his wings beginning to beat as he took to the sky, within a few seconds the android and that horrid experience disappeared; gone as the land seemed to pass by in a blur with each beat of James’s wings.