A Gain Of The Found

Chapter 1

Floyd's POV

           As I walk down the crowded halls with the aircraft captain, a loud noise sounds. It's a long, deep buzz. You can feel it pass through the walls and everyone freezes when they hear it. The loud noise finally ends and a shrill alarm sounds. Little disks on the wall start to flash a bright, red color as I stand there in confusion. The captain turns to me and says, "That's the S.S.; short for Psycho Sound. You're a newbie so we have to get you to the Dive Zone." He grabs my arm and starts to jog down the hall. As we take turn after turn, he explains everything. "The Dive Zone is where the shifters shift and get ready to fight. It's a rule here that if there's a newbie shifter, he shifts and goes out into the battle with a shifter who shifts into the same animal the first time the S.S. sounds while they are here. The S.S. is an alarm sent out from the War Zone when the shifters are needed. The War Zone is, of course, the battlefield. Get ready, because you're going to be going out soon."

         Today is my first day at Cancer, the shifters' regiment of the most elite army in the Universe. In the past two years, Cancer has become the greatest and most well-known protector of Bargeria. It has also become the strongest defense branch in Battle's Court, the Universe's Protector. Battle's Court is the strongest army, and it was chosen to protect the universe. Hence, the name Universe's Protector. For short, the U.P., is chosen by the people and aliens of the universe when the former U.P. can no longer fight.

      The U.P. is the top army and the universe's greatest defender. They also help the other Moral Armies keep in contact and coordinate attacks according to each other. Moral Armies are the armies of the universe that fight for the good of the universe against the Vile Armies. Vile Armies are armies that are under the command of Voltriss. Voltriss is an evildoer who has been trying to take over the universe for as long as anyone can remember. Before Voltriss was trying to control the universe, his dad was. But we only know that from the books.

        Three years ago, Voltriss almost captured Bargeria, the Universe's Cardinal. Bargeria is the universe's biggest planet and my home planet. It's also home to a lot of shifters. Shifters are people who can turn into another species. Not everyone is a shifter, and not all shifters are human. Two examples of a shifter would be me and The Bleak One. The Bleak One. I know, it sounds dreary and sad. Contrary to his nickname though, The Bleak One is actually the one who gave us all hope.

        Three years ago, when Voltriss had finally found a way past Bargeria's surrounding protective planets and armies, The Bleak One was the one who stood against him. Just as the Vile Armies were loading their canons and blasters, he flew up in a black blur and attacked, along with his handler Lance, of course.

        Every shifter that can shift into a ride able creature that has their own capability and a handler as well. A shifter's ability can be anything from walking through things to making things float. Any shifter also has the normal powers the creature they shift into has. When a shifter is in human form, they can also have some of the qualities of their animal. For example, a dragon in human form could have wings.

       A handler is like a shifter's partner. Usually, they are in a relationship with the shifter. A handler is unable to shift, so they ride the shifter and use material weapons to help them in a battle. A handler and shifter are called a duo and have a mind reading technique they use. It allows them to talk in their minds to each other. It also allows them to read each other's minds. To start it, they have to be in contact and wish to activate it. After they have been in contact, they can be away from each other and still use it. The distance they are able to be away from each other and still be able to use it is different for every duo. The average distance is about thirty miles. Along with their mind technique, each duo also has a natural stress signal linked to each other. It's a low-frequency wave that gets sent out when one of them is hurt or in trouble. The duo isn't the only ones who can hear the stress signal between them though. Others can too. Each duo has a different frequency so you know who's stress signal it is.

         Lance is The Bleak One's handler. Rumors say that they've known each other for years but no one really knows. The Bleak One has never accepted a Universal Interview before. All we know about him is that he is a male, he kept Voltriss out of Bargeria, he is part of Cancer, and his handler is Lance. Lance is more open and has accepted Universal Interviews. When he is asked about The Bleak One though, he always says that all the information he knows is not to be disclosed. We don't even know the Bleak One's real name or what his human form looks like.

           The day they saved my home from Voltriss is a day that everyone will remember forever. Not only did they demolish a part of the vast Vile Army, but they are also the reason Cancer was created. Up until then, shifters of all kinds had been feared and even hated. They shed the shifters in a new light. A light that made every shifter proud to be one. They stopped being mistreated and started to shine. Being a shifter became stylish and cool.

          I don't have a handler yet, but I'm here at Cancer in the hopes that I will find one. I also want to become the greatest shifter ever known. There are two problems with that though. One is that in order to be the greatest shifter, I have to surpass The Bleak One. The Bleak One can supposedly mind link Lance at any distance. I hope to surpass him, but I don't even have a handler yet. Talk about far-fetched. The second is that I'm not even a dragon shifter. I shift into a winged horse. I mean, I'm not even a full human. My dad is an elf and my mom is a human shifter. Another obstacle is that I can create electrolytes.

      Electrolytes are crystals made by planets. The planets have a species called Jumpers that take care of and harvest the crystals. They also make sure that they are protected and distributed to stores as they should be. Not every planet can make them.

        Electrolytes are used as energy. They're the new electricity, oil, and coal. They can be used to run just about anything.

         Now, when I say I can create electrolytes, it's probably no what you're thinking. I don't really know how I do it. When I hold my wings up into the sunlight, they turn a light blue. They become sort of transparent, the sun shines through, and little blue particles float up. Once there are enough particles, they float together and sink to the floor. When I lower my wings and all the particles are together, they harden and form electrolyte crystals.

        Other than that, I'm a normal shifter. My horse is basically a Gypsy Vanner with wings. A Gypsy Vanner is a white and black, brown and black, or gray and black Clydesdale horse with a long mane and tail. I'm black and white with black wings.

          Because I can create electrolytes, I'm highly sought and have to be careful. This means it can be a struggle to shift into my horse in the sun because it's hard to control whether I create electrolytes or not, and I can't let other people see that. This can cause problems in a battle because I have to concentrate in order to not make electrolytes.

           As we finally stop jogging, I notice that we have reached a giant door. It's about the size of a football field about. We stand back as the door opens, and I'm in awe as soon as I see the room's contents. The room is a giant square with about five hundred feet of wall on each of the four sides. Along the walls, there are coves the size of the door with dragons and supplies inside. There are runways leading from the coves to the middle of the room where a half circle looking thing protrudes from the floor. The half circle is big enough to fit a dragon and I assume it's the capsule they go into to be able to leave the ship. The whole room is very spacey and would be a great place to stretch my wings.

          Dragons are one of the few animals who can be in space without an air supply. They have a storage system in their stomachs where they store air. A dragon can be in space for up to one hour, but it's not seen often because their handler can't use the same technique.

          Every human in the room is scurrying around carrying things and preparing the dragons. There is one dragon who is sitting on a runway with no one around him and no handler gear on. He's the biggest dragon I've ever seen and he's all black. He's facing away from us, but as soon as we walk in, he turns his long neck to look at us. He has piercing light blue eyes. I take a deep inhale as he stares at us, and I hear the captain say, "Hey Bleaky. I got your newbie here."