Destiny | The Blackened Heart | Discontinued

1: Eyes up, Guardian

"Guardian."

So cold... where... what's happening...

"Guardian?"

That sound... Wind? Grass? I draw a breath of stinging cold air.

"Eyes up, Guardian."

That voice again. The light is blinding as I blink slowly and look up, dazed and bleary eyed.

"It worked."  There is a bit of surprise in the voice, which changes to delight as I focus on the source of it.  "You're alive!"

It is a small creature. Or robot. Little bigger than my fist. Greyish metal, maybe iron for it is too dull to be silver, molded into a geometric star like shaped shell, encasing a small orb that swivels about. A diamond shaped camera-eye glows at its center, watching me.

"You have no idea how long I've been looking for you," it says. The voice is male, and somewhat patronizing, peppered with robotic squeaks and pips. "I'm a ghost. Actually now, I'm your ghost. And you... You've been dead a long time."

Dead?  Is that the chill?  I look down at my hands.  Gloved and strong and steady.  I flex my fingers then clench them into fists.

"So, you're going to see a lot of things you won't understand."

I try to think, to remember. The land looks so decimated. Rusted vehicles and crumbing roads and overpasses crowd the hill top we stand on. Actually, that I stand on. The ghost as he calls himself just hovers. To my right a massive wall rises, stretching farther than I can see. I shift forward, using my elbow to push myself up slightly from the car I am slouched beside. Dry, frozen grass and snow crunch beneath me. Where am I? Dead? What did he call me? Guardian? The name strikes a chord in me, though I have no idea what he means. It feels like a call. A purpose. A destiny.

At that moment an roar echoes across the open space between us and the wall. The ghost pivots in midair, the metal shell encircling his body shifting and clicking. My eyes dart across the open ground. That cry didn't sound friendly. Where could I find cover if attacked? What was the source of the sound? Is there anything nearby I could use as a weapon? I run my tongue over my dry lips, wondering where those impulse thoughts came from. After a moment he turns back to me, the camera that is his eye flickering between my face and the direction of the scream.

"Hold still." I don't even have time to react as he hums closer.  But the ghost never touches me.  Instead he vanishes, vaporizing into pixels that blow away like the snow.  Panic flashes through me for a moment before I hear his voice, but I'm not sure where from.

"Don't worry, I'm still with you."  I let out my breath. Inside my helmet, light flickers. In the top left corner of my vision, a circular monitor appears, tracking my position. Handy.

"We need to move. Fast."

Speed. This ghost sure expects a lot of me after being dead, if what he says is true.  I consider saying so, but the memory of the sound of the roar mutes me.  Instead I stand, shakily at first, but then more evenly.  I roll my shoulders as I stand straight, surprised at my own steadiness.

"We won't survive long out in the open like this," she ghost says, his voice sounding from inside my head.  "Let's get inside the wall."  Perhaps he is just in the helmet.  I take a step forward, and upon finding that my legs support me, break into a jog.

My face is protected from the frigid air by my helmet and face mask, but the wind still tugs at the shoulder length cloak hanging down my back and makes it flap like a flag, as I weave my way between the jumbled rows of cars toward the towering wall ahead.