Book 1

THE PROTECTORS TRILOGY

  Book I

  By Arial Alexis

When Fantasy is Reality-

Fiction is Fact-

And Sci-fi is Who

And What you are...

Welcome to our normal.

What side are you on?

Anyone who said sixteen is supposed to be sweet is dead wrong; there is nothing sweet about it. Not for me.

I tried to rationalize, knowing this couldn’t be reality. But it didn’t feel like any dream. The creeping cold against my back was real enough. A steady pressure held me at my wrists, chest, and ankles. I looked down, and in shock saw why I couldn’t move. I’d been strapped down. I didn’t even notice that the steel restraints were cutting into my skin, not until I saw a small line of blood dripping from my numb fingers.

Worse than the feeling of helplessness, was the sorrow and rage that came with knowing I had failed. At what, I couldn’t be sure. I only knew the sting in my chest and the fire in my brain was caused by something, something I knew I had to find, if only so I could escape it.

Before I had time to think, a bright white light burst forth from every possible direction. I was blinded instantly. Loud, mumbled voices pierced the constant, electrical, droning of the wall of machines that surrounded me. The last thing I remember before it went black was being taken captive by a fear so consuming I knew it was only a matter of seconds before my heart stopped beating. And pain. Lots of pain. Coming from nowhere, hurting everything.

Yet, in the midst of this, I felt alive. More alive than I’d ever felt before. My whole body hummed with energy. My eyes went blurry and red with blood before everything was cut with pristine clarity. Each white, fluorescent light above me was surrounded by a dim rainbow, every flake of dust made visible. The minuscule dents in the ceiling were gashes, and all the shadow’s darkest points were revealed. A sharp, penetrating sensation lit each cell in my body, making even the softest sound of my breathing a thought drowning roar. I could feel everything that touched my skin, the faint powdery substance blowing through the too-clean atmosphere, the beads of hot sweat rolling down my forehead, or the sudden weight settling over my whole body that threatened to collapse my lungs.

I tasted the metal that laced the air. I was a man seeing the world for what felt like the first time. And, as I lay there, my pant-like breathing labored and my head pounding to the rhythm of my heart, I realized that no man was meant to see it this way. It was too much. The weight quickly grew heavier.

Too heavy.

The energy that had been sending sparks down my spine ignited...

I panicked.