(Previously on Immortal Wars.)

(Again, we shall revel in my teenage originality.  Everyone groan in unison.)

Disclaimer: Immortal Wars was the book I came up with and wrote in high school.  I hadn’t even hit college by the time I wrote the first two books.  That means I hadn’t developed my style yet, wasn’t good at self-editing, and the story was fairly basic. So, you’ve been warned that this is the ultimate author throwback segment for my blog and will show my author origins.  FYI-  I put the first book (The Summoning) through a Print-on-Demand publisher and the second one (Light, Blood, & Tears) never saw the light of day.  Enjoy!

Fate’s senses return to the sound of loud, dripping water and the smell of rotting, half-eaten flesh.  The small room he finds himself in is extremely dirty and damp.  Pairs of tiny, red eyes look at Fate from the many shadows and patiently wait for him to lay down and die.  Distant yells and howls can be heard from the pit where the other three guardians are being toyed with.  Fate finally notices Infinity looking out of the only window in their cell.  They are trapped and neither of them can see a way of escaping.

“What’s happening out there?” asks Fate as he gets off the small, uncomfortable bed that he was lying on.  A small stretch causes the sound of popping joints to fill the room.

“Nothing interesting.  From what I’ve been able to piece together, they seem to be waiting for Psylon.  Adriana is getting very restless and screaming louder every time I hear her voice.  But Psylon must still be out cold where we left her.  You feeling okay?” replies Infinity while staring out the circular window, which is the size of a classroom globe.

“Great for someone who just got smashed into the ground by an angry immortal killing machine.  Are Draveon and Kilanus by the pit or are they stuck guarding us?”

“I think they’re stuck guarding us, but I’m not absolutely sure about that.  You have better eyesight when it comes to distance.  I’m so glad you made a foolproof plan that would be easy to follow.  Any other bright ideas, Fate?  Maybe we can escape and take on every villain out there with our arms cut off.”

“Stop with the sarcasm.  Just give me a couple of minutes to look around and maybe I can get us out of here.”  Fate walks toward the large, green door that is holding them in.  After a closer examination, he notices several badly camouflaged wires running along the hinges and finds a big battery hidden in the shadowy ceiling.  Other than the wires on the hinges, it appears to be a harmless cell door.

“Did you try to break this door down while I was knocked out?” mentions the Mars guardian as he kicks a human leg bone that is lying near his boot.  The bone bounces into the shadows where loud squeaks and sickening crunches follow the bone’s disappearance.  The noises help in making both teenagers a lot more nervous.

“No.  I wanted you to wake up and be able to walk on your own two feet.  You didn’t expect me to drag you out of this warship.  Why do you ask?” states Infinity while he turns away from the window.  He walks over to Fate and looks at the big door in an attempt to find the weakest spot to punch.

“It’s an electrified door.  Or at least has an alarm on it.  See those almost camouflaged wires on the hinges.  They go into the battery attached to the ceiling, which means electricity is going through the door.  There’s no telling how many volts are being sent through it.  It might be enough to knock us out for years or even kill us.”

“That could really wreak our day.  Hey, Fate.  Now I got a plan.  As soon as we get out of this walk-in closet, we’ll split up and try to find a way out of this warship.  We can figure out how to destroy it after we get the others and return to the sun base.  A retreat is definitely in order due to our lack of skill already.”

“What are you talking about?  We can’t leave this cell without the key or touch the damn door without shocking ourselves into unconsciousness.  This battle is over and we lost.  We weren’t ready for this.”

“Is that any way for the future leader of the guardians to talk?  I don’t think acting like all hope is lost will give any confidence to the rest of us.  So, shut up and we can get out of before those creatures run out of bones.”

“Who told you about me being the new leader?  It was only between me and Solix.  And probably SEAS if he was in that red diamond of his.”

“You kept mumbling about it while you were asleep on the bunk.  I warned you long ago that you tend to talk in your sleep.  Especially when dreaming about Miracle.  Thank god we don’t stay at each other’s houses anymore.  Anyway, don’t worry about it.  I have no problem with who’s in charge of us as long as it isn’t me.  Miracle will probably be happy for you, but Hydrana will want to be our leader instead of you.  No big surprise there.  Now stand back and marvel at my genius,” explains Infinity.  He points at the door and releases a spark of telekinetic energy from his extended finger.  The heavy door silently falls off its hinges and the two guardians escape into the dark hallway.  They swiftly put the cell door back up in order to make it look like nothing ever happened.

“Which way are you going, Fate?  Left or right,” whispers Infinity.  Before he turns around, he sees Fate running off to his left.  He tries to call to his friend, but the Mars guardian has already melted into the shadows.

“Okay.  I guess I’m going to the right,” mutters the Earth guardian as he leaves the cellblock.

Soon after they leaves, Kilanus arrives so she can give the prisoners their last, disgusting meal.  It is a bowl full of dead cockroaches and a thick green sauce covers them.  A pitcher also holds murky water with pieces of meat in it.  When she notices that no one is in the cell, she sprints off at top speed in the direction that Infinity had went.