Heaven Saga 1: The Lost Hero
Read Heaven Saga 1: The Lost Hero Online
Authors: Marcus Johnson
The Lost Hero
By Marcus Johnson
Text Copyright © 2012 Marcus Johnson
All Rights Reserved
To my friends and family for all the support and
inspiration they gave to me
Chapter 9 – Good News, Bad News
Chapter 16 – Six Months in a Flash
Chapter 17 – Three Months of Music
Chapter 18 – Technical Difficulties
Chapter 20 – Seles’s Confession
Chapter 21 – Personal Relations
Chapter 30 – Synchronized Blades
Chapter 31 – His Star Disappears
Chapter 32 – An Unwelcome Homecoming
Chapter 35 – The Greatest Lie Ever
Told
Chapter 38 – The Maidens Awaken
Chapter 40 – Many Faces, Many Places
Chapter 41 – The First Wiseman
Chapter 42 – A Moment of Silence
Chapter 43 – Tombstone of Truth
Chapter 44 – Spread the Word of the
Goddess
Chapter 47 – Gaelic’s Last Speech
A lone figure stood at prayer in the Grand Temple of
Kali, goddess of the Kalaidian people. She stood shorter than a human by a
third, with long silver hair and deep purple eyes. Her skin was pale and she
wore the loose robes of a priestess, white and patterned with silver stars. She
wore a silver circlet with three leaves on it, studded with emeralds. Through
her hair pointed ears shown. She stood with her eyes and arms open, chanting in
a melodic language at a high pitch. In front of her was a massive blue stone
statue of a Kalaidian woman of exceptional beauty, naked with wings.
The main chamber stood nearly forty
vetres
,
with a massive stained glass dome at the center. Around her, water fountains
trickled between the massive hypostyle pillars. As the daylight faded to
moonlight the lady ended her chant. She blinked, looking up to the statue of
the goddess. She then knelt on one knee before the statue, bowing her head.
“Lady Kali, Director of the Great Story, please
deliver the one who will save us. Your people are suffering, and even I cannot
end this terror. Long ago, the Teacher came and showed us how to live. Now is
the time when his guidance is needed the most. Kalaidia is on the verge of civil
war and our population is declining rapidly. If you don’t answer soon, all will
be lost. I fear we won’t be able to aid the Warrior when the time comes.”
She sat in prayer a while longer. As the night
deepened a lone robed figure entered the temple in silence. It stood a little
taller than the woman, keeping its face covered by a dark hood. It walked up
next to the woman, standing stoically beside her. She turned to him, looking
quite tired.
“Am I a fool for believing in the writings of Kali,
Myden?” the woman asked.
“No my Queen, you are not a fool,”
Myden said telepathically.
“The one you seek will
be here soon.”
The cloaked figure pointed up to a stellar constellation
resembling a dragon.
“He who was born of the Great Dragon will come. The
Warrior will unite the Five Maidens and the Three Wisemen, leading us into the
future. As said by the one you call the Teacher, my Queen.”
It was a nightmare plaguing Brian since his childhood,
a nightmare that always came back. They came at night, beings with large black
eyes and pale skin that always filled him with terror. They came when he least
desired it and always took something, what it was Brian never remembered. All
he ever remembered was their black eyes and unemotional stares. This night
started as they always did with the Greys.
Brian was lying in bed, curled up in a thick blanket
as he always did on a cold December night. It was well past midnight and he was
still wide awake. Something inside him felt dread this night and he couldn’t
stand it. Tossing the blanket aside, he sat up at the edge of the bed and
stared out the window. The window was covered in frost; all he could see was
snow outside. Living in northern Minnesota meant living through winter, an
event lasting half the year. Every day was grey and it always snowed. He stood
up and put on his clothes, a pair of jeans and a dark t-shirt with a dragon on
the front. Not bothering to comb his long brown hair, he put it into a ponytail
and went downstairs. He put on his boots and a black leather trench coat.
He
walked out the door and headed into an alley. He began walking as snow fell
lightly around him. He sighed, looking up at the cloudy sky.
It’s been three
years since I last saw her.
He closed his eyes and shook his head.
I
wish I could forget I ever met her.
A few minutes passed before he noticed a bright object
glowing in the distance, a star on an overcast night.
There’s something
wrong with that
. He thought to himself. The star moved down and flew
towards him. Brian felt paralyzed by some unknown force as the object hovered
above him. A bright light covered him. He felt a cold shiver and was filled
with terror.
“Not again!”
The darkness of unconsciousness swept over him.
* * *
This is all just a bad dream, yeah, that’s what this
is.
Brian was lying on a table, cold,
perhaps metal or plastic. A bright light shined down on him, he could tell he
was naked. The air was thick and temperature cool, giving the atmosphere a
cold, clammy feeling. Brian heard what sounded like people walking around him,
muddled sounds and voices in his head. He tried to move but his body was still
paralyzed. All he could do was look around with his eyes. That was the last
thing he wanted to do.
He looked, seeing them. Popular culture on Earth
called them the Greys, because that’s what they looked like. He saw the black
eyes, eyes that haunted him in his waking hours. Those cold, uncaring eyes
filled him with terror. They had small mouths, a tiny nose, and very small
bodies with gray skin. Their hands had four digits, fingers with suction cups
on them. They held macabre devices in those hands as they communicated amongst
themselves. The room around him was small with the ceiling barely reaching six
feet. The walls had numerous panels appearing to be computer monitors. The
lighting was dim, except for the bright light on Brian. They stood about three
to four feet tall, walking with an unnatural silence. To Brian, there was
nothing human about these creatures. He sensed no warmth, no emotion. These
beings are worse than the worst human psychopath, because at least the
psychopath has feelings deep inside. These things had no pity, no sense of
empathy.
Four of the Greys walked silently over to the table
Brian was situated on. They began examining him. He felt ice cold, looking into
the nearest one’s eyes, thinking to himself.
I hate you creatures, you cause
me great pain and never compensate me; all I can feel is hate and rage lying
here.
All he wanted was to punch the ugly creature, to feel he had some
control. They began poking him. They used their sharp and creepy instruments to
remove blood, hair, and other samples from the helpless human. As time passed
he felt the anger inside him swelling, reaching a crescendo. They silently
walked away, leaving him alone.
I must escape, I must get free. I have to get the hell
out of this nightmare.
When
Brian’s anger reached its peak he felt the numbness
melt away. Primal instinct took over. He rolled onto the swamp-like floor that
smelled terrible. He looked up, seeing the Greys running around frantically.
One walked towards him holding a metal rod. He stood up slowly as a Grey
stabbed him with the pole. A surge of electricity hit Brian, he didn’t care. He
stood steadfast and grabbed the pole from the Grey. It stood there dumbly as he
flipped the pole around and swung. He felt a surge of pleasure as its head
caved in. The Grey was sent flying from his attack and smashed into the wall.
He saw clear liquid spill, knowing it was the creature’s blood. Naked with a
small metallic pole in one hand, he looked around the room. Three Greys
remained in the room with many more running through the ship’s halls.
Vengeance
will be mine.
Brian walked from Grey to Grey and smashed them with
his newfound weapon. The three left inside his room were dead, he wanted more.
A high pitched alarm sounded. He smiled with satisfaction. All of his anger,
frustration, and pain would be visited upon these beings tenfold. Time seemed
to stop while he stalked the Greys down; killing them with a glee he had never
known. He hunted the creatures who had tortured him for years.
“This is for sixteen years of hell!”
Brian walked the halls and bludgeoned each creature
with the pole. He sensed their fear, if that’s what one could call it. They had
underestimated this human’s resolve, now they were to pay the price. When he
dispatched the last Grey, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction. But the
dream didn’t end and he felt like he was beginning to wake up. The cold and
humidity began feeling real as pain overcame him. He limped into a side room
and found his clothes. Slipping them on, Brian felt the slimy, clear blood on
his body. He wrapped his coat around him and went back into the foggy hallway.
It’s not a dream, this is real. Now how am I supposed
to get home?
He thought as he began
searching the ship, confused. He couldn’t find a central control system. He
went from room to room and found nothing of use. After a while he walked into a
room with a window. He cautiously headed towards it and looked outside. All
Brian could see was a vast sea of stars. He didn’t see the Earth. Looking to
his right, he saw a large monitor on the wall with what appeared to be star
map. He saw several colored points with names written in a strange hieroglyphic
language. The star map resembled the Milky Way. He saw on a distant edge, a
single blue point.
“That has to be Earth, but how do I fly this ship to
get home?” Brian asked.
Looking closely at the map, he could make out nearly a
hundred different points, most on the outer edge of the galaxy. Exhausted,
Brian slid to the ground and fell unconscious once more, this time with the
feeling of liberation.
The Grey ship floated lifelessly in a distant solar
system, dead because of Brian. A ship moved through the system, a heavy class
Kalaidian warship named Avoni. The vessel was a kilometer long, cylinder
shaped. On the back, four massive engines jutted out, the front and sides were
spotted with pulse cannons. Its appearance was like a fluid bird and fish mixed
together, with curves and fins covering the exterior.