Advent

Game Start

Advent

Chapter 1: Game Start

The year is 2099. Technology has been receiving breakthrough after breakthrough without any apparent end in sight, and with all these new discoveries lie a few skeletons in the closet as well. Some things were just not meant to be made public, but the horrible truth is that sooner or later they catch up to you whether you're prepared to face it or not.

________________________________________________________________________

Gale Wolfe rose up from his bed with a rude awakening that lingered as he moved his head left and right. "it was just...a dream?" he thought, planting his feet on the early morning floor. "...It felt real enough though. Whatever...probably just a nightmare"

He quickly brushed the idea off his mind, turning his focus towards a more realistic thought.

"Start of a new year, huh?" Can't wait..." the boy said with a voice filled with sarcasm, and a face full of disinterest. It was a more realistic thought indeed, but it didn't mean it was really better.

At age 18, Gale currently attended a school called Signers academy, a place located in San Francisco. It was pretty much an average school. Everything was normal, with probably the only difference being its signature 'Platter Supreme' in the cafeteria which made the school quite popular in Northern California. People who found this odd quickly changed their minds once they'd tasted this juicy steak cooked to unbelievable perfection.

As Gale walked towards the simple but decently constructed school, a person nearby had quickly caught his attention. Waiting quietly by a tall tree was a girl with blond hair, light brown eyes, and wearing a pink sweater with a cheerful design. She seemed very familiar to Gale for some reason, but he couldn't figure out why.

At seeing the black-haired teenager, the young lady smiled with her hands behind her back.

"Did you have a nice dream last night?" she said, causing a memory to swiftly enter the boy's head like a bullet.

"You're...from the dream" Gale spoke with a suspicious tone.

"A dream? Nope, that wasn't a dream at all, silly. You almost died that night. If I hadn't come along, you'd still be sleeping right now. Not only that, but you'd be sleeping permanently"

It was hard to believe, but right now Gale put some thought into the situation. It seemed that she knew about the dream, and he was pretty sure he hadn't told a single soul of that recent experience.

The girl continued, "Just like I said before, my name's Kari Riel. This might sound weird, but I've been sent to recruit you. For what you ask? Well, I can't really tell you until you abide by a 'contract'"

The teenage boy paused for a bit, still trying to piece together his puzzled mind. To him, it all sounded insane in every sense of the word. "Whatever this is, I'm not buying it. See you" he replied with an irritated tone as he started off.

"They're coming back for you, just so you know" Kari remarked, stopping Gale dead in his tracks. "Those monsters aren't done with you. They'll just keep coming back till' they've had their way. Right now I'm giving you two choices. You can either choose to peacefully die in your sleep. No pain - no nothing, or you can choose to live. I'm not guaranteeing a long life...but you'll live. I'll make sure of it. One more thing...you can't tell anyone about this"

When he turned around, Gale could no longer see any trace of the girl. She was gone at the snap of a finger which convinced him a little more that he wasn't just having another dream.

__________________________________________________________________________

Those words she'd said had lingered on in Gale's mind through the rest of his classes. It distracted him, and people could clearly see that just by looking at his seemingly daydreaming face.

One thing that also made Signers Academy a decent choice was its rather good location. It was near a large mall with a variety of shops plus it was located right next to a beach for all those that wanted to take a relaxing stroll through clean white sand.

The beach was a place Gale would frequent but not because of a want to take a walk. At the very far end was a short ramp that extended about 30 feet. Once there, all the teen could see was crystal clear water, blue and shimmering for even the most tired of eyes.

"I knew I'd find you here, Gale" A voice called out from behind. It was a boy at more or less the same age as Gale, with spiky light chestnut colored hair with similarly shaded eyes. His name was Alex, a very close friend ever since they were in elementary. If Gale could trust anyone, it would be this person.

"...Hey" the spaced out teen responded. With a shrug, his friend smiled with a sigh.

"Yo, earth to Gale, I think you've been spacing out too long in there" Alex joked before taking a seat next to him. "Guess what? The doctors told me I'd finally have a break from all that surgery for a change"

At that, Gale suddenly looked at his friend with relief. "Really? That's good to hear"

"Yeah, I guess it is" Alex replied, lying down to take a good look at the sky. "Least I won't have to deal with 'artificial' heart attacks for awhile. Those things make me feel even worse than seeing the Giants lose a World Series match, you know?"

For the longest time, Alex had been burdened with heart failure due to an accident many years ago. If it wasn't for the current level of technology, he would've passed right then at that accident. Since then a tiny device had been implanted near his heart. It would send out 'pulse waves' to keep his heart beating at a normal pace. Unfortunately, the device isn't perfect and very occasionally it would cease for about a second, giving Alex a very short but extremely painful shock just as a normal heart attack would.

"So, what's going on with you?" Alex asked his raven-haired friend who drifted his eyes back to the water in front of him. He wanted to talk about what that mysterious girl had said, but he remembered her last words: to not tell a single soul. In the end, Gale reluctantly followed.

"Nothing much...I'm just not in the mood to really do anything today"

"That so? Heh, sucks to be you right now. But then again, I guess it does feel good to sit back every once in awhile. Oh, by the way" Sitting straight, Alex reached into his pocket and took out a small screw-like object that shone with a bright yellow color. "I finished the spark plug for your drift bike. Here"

Taking it into his hands, Gale pointed it towards the afternoon sun. "Thanks"

________________________________________________________________________

It was evening now, and Gale sat quietly in his room thinking about that very recent experience with the unreal. He didn't know when, but he knew that girl would be back. After all, she still needed his decision. 

His book was right there on his table, but he just couldn't bring himself to concentrate on it. Given the current circumstance, it could be hard for many to focus on something else. Instead of the everyday equations and info that would swarm his head, all he could think of was that girl - Kari Riel's words.

"They'll come back for you, just so you know. Those monsters aren't done with you. They'll just keep coming back till' they've had their way"

At that point, a sudden knock on a window caught the boy's attention. And speak of the devil, Kari stood there with an innocent smile. Gale knew, however, that it would be more trouble for him.