Julian

I woke up with a dark shadow lurking outside my window. I leapt out of bed, gripping the K-Bar knife that I kept under my pillow. I pressed a button on my bedside table and the window slid open instantly, and I dived out, onto the exterior of the tower. I hung on to the handholds created by various antennae and pipes sticking out the side of the tower, holding my knife with my teeth. I could see the shadow scurrying away, and I swung after it. I felt so stupid outside with the wind lashing me in my pyjamas, but hell, I had to catch that shadow. Who knew what it was trying to do. I caught up to it and saw it jump onto a catwalk on a floor below, still running. I jumped after it, and then took my knife out of my teeth. The catwalk ran between a hallway and a landing pad, and the narrow catwalk swayed in the wind, with me and the shadow completely at its mercy. I charged at the shadow – I was patently faster than it – and leapt onto it, tackling it to the ground. I held the knife to its throat, and screamed “Who are you!” It would appear to be a person wearing a cloak, and it replied “It’s me! Get the hell off of me!” It screamed, removing the hood of its cloak. “Sasha?” I gasped. “Who else!” she replied over the wind. “Why were you outside my window in a cloak?” I asked. “Because I needed to talk to you and my door was jammed shut! This cloak was the only decent warm piece of clothing I could find!” she replied. //Wow, this is awkward, // I thought. I stood up and helped her up. “Christ, this is weird. You alright?” I asked. “Yeah, I guess. I probably should have found another way to talk to you.” She replied. “Anyway, could we go inside and get back to our rooms? It’s freezing out here!” she said. We then started to make our way back to our rooms. While we were walking, she said “By the way, I forgive you for tackling me. I shouldn’t have snuck outside your room in a black cloak. Call it even?” She asked. “Yeah. We’re even. Now, I need a hot chocolate. It’s too damn cold this time of year.” **ANGER ** I’d just walked out of the shower, and while towelling my hair and noticed something wrong – the door was slightly ajar. I //never// left my door ajar. I whipped my head around, and saw all the usual valuable things in place – TV, Playstation 9, and wallet. Then my attention turned to my coffee table, and realised what was missing – my Sword. It was one of the few things I’d been found with on that beach, its hilt one of my only comforts in a warzone. One of the few clues to my existence. And more importantly, right now, it was gone. I felt a mix of rage and sadness bubbling up inside me, threatening to destroy me. Someone had dared to take away my Sword – it felt as if someone had taken away a chunk of my past. And someone... was going to pay. **PROLOGUE ** ** Stormy Sea ** **//  Hikaru //**  // “Goddamn it Hikaru! Where are you!” Shouted a haggard voice. I groaned with pain. “No! Hold on!” Screamed the voice. Can’t... let... go... I thought. My hand came free of the railing, only to be grabbed by another’s hand. I could feel myself being sucked into the void, into the nothingness of this endless ocean. “Don’t let go! You can’t go! We need to hang on!” A bolt of lightning struck the water nearby, and my body was wracked with pain. “No! I’m not gonna let this happen!” Screamed the voice. Where was I? I didn’t know. Explosions blasted our craft, and I realised, then and there, that I was going to die. Fires were everywhere, and it couldn’t be long before it broke apart. But the voice seemed more concerned with holding on to me than saving himself. “Damn! Hold on!” Screamed the voice. My other hand came free of the railing. The voice’s grip on my hand was hard as rock. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hit my hand, and the shock caused me to open it – letting go of his. “No! Hikaru! Noooo-” Everything went dark. //  <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I woke up on a beach. I groaned, and looked around. It was a nice beach, with a good view of the sea. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I tried to stand, but collapsed instantly. I thought back to how I’d gotten here, but couldn’t remember. Wait... who was I? I remembered that my name was Hikaru, but didn’t know how I’d gotten here or why I was wearing these clothes that were badly damaged and ripped. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Where was I from? I wondered. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Suddenly, I heard someone approaching. I tried to pick myself up again, but I was still too weak. How old was I? It was impossible to tell. I didn’t remember anything else now. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“What? Hey, you’re hurt!” said a voice. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I looked up, and saw a smiling face. A girl, about nine. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“Hey, what’s your name?” she asked. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“Hikaru.” I replied, groaning. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“I’m Sasha. What happened to you? You look like you were hit by a truck,” she said. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“I... don’t know. It’s blurry. Am I concussed or something?” I asked. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“No, I don’t think so. But you’ve got burn marks on your arm. Seriously, you need help, although they seem to have partially healed over, so they must have happened a little while ago.” For a nine year old, this girl seemed to know a lot about injuries. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">She helped me up, and I asked “This may seem an odd question, but how old am I?” I asked. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“I don’t know... nine or ten, I guess,” she said. “Hey, look – an aurora!” She pointed out to sea. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I looked over, and it was true – there was a huge aurora. It resembled an angel, actually. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“That’s an Angel Aurora. They’re beautiful, but really rare. They can happen anywhere in the world. No-one knows what they are or how they happen,” said Sasha. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“Hey, where am I?” I asked. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“Sydney, in Australia. It’s a nice place. Now, come with me. I’ll show you to the Doctor. He’ll know what to do with you.” Said Sasha. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Hell knew where or who I was, but Sasha seemed nice. She could help me. But, then and there, I made a resolution to someday, find out what had happened to me here. To find out who I was.