Shards: Intro- Part 1 (old)

Chapter One: Disembark

"Good. Now, I would like to speak my piece before you disembark."

Ugh, how much longer?

"It has been my honor to fly you across the Atlantic on this, the 7,337th Expedition. I wish each and every one of you the best. But some of you have one small task before this whole thing is behind you. All those with Shards, raise them."
About a quarter of the assembly raised a Shard.

*Alessandro, March 19th, 2002.*

I flinched. Who was that? I looked around me, and noticed a few other people with Shards looking around them. The rest looked confused and uncomfortable with the simultaneous flinches and head whips.

"What some of you just heard was the person you will be chaperoning today, and their date of birth. Every 16-year old is required by law to go on the excursion at the earliest opportunity. A clairvoyant provided me with the list of those in this division who are in need of a graduate to guide them and ensure that they are prepared for today's excursion. They make up the populace who will be unable to attend the embarking ceremony should they be left alone. Sufficient for this task are certain Echelon Three to Four graduates; those with Shards."

Which I don't have, so why did I hear a name?

The captain continued, "Those who have Shards and heard a name, register with me before leaving. That being said, Expedition 7,337.......Disembark!"

Large doors opened up on all sides of the assembly, and ramps fell onto their respective piers. The assembly went crazy and bolted out the doors. Obviously the captain knew disembarking protocol would have been a waste of time.

I took my time to stretch before heading toward the exit. It wasn't like I wasn't going to get trampled should I make haste anyway. As I was walking toward one of the doors on the port side, I felt a hand fall on my shoulder. I turned around to see the same ward from earlier.

"Paige," he said in a monotone voice. "This might sound irregular, but I want you to imagine something."

He held the platinum-plated ring from earlier in front of me. I leaned back a little out of discomfort and confusion.

"Relax, don't think about anything else. The yelling, my presence, discard any awareness in this place."
The ward made intensive eye contact with me and gently let go of my shoulder.
"Close your eyes, and imagine a separate part of your being inside this ring. Call on it, beckon it. Open it."

What the hell?

Trying not to think about how stupid that sounded from third person, I shut my eyes and imagined the ring in front of me. I must've looked ridiculous. I was literally standing in the middle of a loud assembly room with my eyes closed trying to imagine a ring being a part of me and forgetting about everything else. I was supposed to be leaving for God's sake!

After a few minutes of standing in that same spot, I was somehow eventually able to ignore and forget about the noise around me.

Suddenly, I wasn't hearing the mob around me. I was hearing individual voices, and seeing multiple images.....all around me. I didn't have to turn around to see them, I just......saw them. When I tried to look around, I realized I couldn't turn. I had no physical body whatsoever, yet I was just......there. But where? What is going on?

At light speed, clear images of random people and creatures passed through my head. Then it was pitch black. I can't explain how I knew what I saw in that infinitesimal amount of time, but I somehow knew.

"Who's there?" I thought I heard. It sounded like a whisper, or wind blowing down a shaft. I thought it was nothing, so I tried to stay quiet.

A few seconds later, the deep voice confirmed its existence. It sounded anxious, and angered.
"WHO'S THERE I SAID!? You will answer me!" said the source with a raised voice.

I gasped in shock. The voice was coming from all directions. If I had had a body, I would've recoiled in fear.

"Whoever is there, you will tell me where I am!" The source roared in anxiety. Behind all my fear and confusion, I could sense pain, loss, and hatred; for whom, I did not know.

"Please! Don't hurt me! I-I don't know!" I begged submissively.

The rumbling paused. Then the voice spoke again.
"I.....can't feel or see anything. Can you young lady? You are a female yes?" the voice asked quizzically.

"Y-yes. And.....no I can't see or feel anything," I responded carefully.

"Who are you, young lady?" the voice questioned.

"My name is....I'm...sorry, I shouldn't just tell you my name," I responded fearfully.

The source cackled softy and sighed.
"Then why are you here?" He asked.

"I don't know!" I shouted back at him.
"I could ask the same about you!" I shouted back.

"Well," said the voice again.

Suddenly I felt a hand; my hand; in front of me. It was holding a Purple crystal. The crystal glowed brightly, like a shard would.

The void around me became alit with a blazing inferno. Causing me to slip in surprise and fall on an ash-ridden surface.

My hands involuntarily clutched the crystal to my chest, and a burst of energy from it conjured a protective orb around my form. Purple streaks of light surrounded me and became thicker by the second.

Before they encased me entirely, I could see a shadowy figure looming above me. On its face was the most appalling smile I've ever seen a living thing make. Through gritted teeth, it said: "looks like we won't be finding out today, will we?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Welcome to the end of my first chapter! Yay us!

JUNE 10th: Before moving on to the next chapter of this installment, surely you have some questions or theories you'd like to share with me and fellow readers about what happens next?

Plz don't read ahead and "theorize or question" what you know already happened, these spoilers will be promptly removed.

What is a Boeing 757 doing in this story? Is that like....I don't know, a real thing? And isn't this a Fantasy story?

What was the Second Fray?

What is an Echelon?

What on earth did Paige see?

What do you think will happen next?