By Clemence Mauger

Falling. I was falling in a darkness that had no end and no beginning. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, or even scream. There was no sound to be heard, I couldn't even hear my own breathing, or my heartbeat. I didn't know what was happening. After an eternity of falling, down or up, I didn't know, I landed. The shock brought a scream from my throat, as my body bruised from the impact. Well... At least I wasn't dead.

A few minutes later, when I felt like I could stand without fainting or throwing up, I sat up and looked around. I was in the middle of a city in ruins, fires burning here and there, the smell of charred rubber and burnt flesh thick in the air. The sky was a strange reddish orange color, like a sunset, only in this case, the twin suns were still high up in the sky. Where was I? I had no idea... I didn't know how I got here, or even why I was here. Hell, I didn't even remember who I was. All I knew was that I didn't want to stay in this place any longer. Who knew what could be creeping around here, with all this death still fresh. I stood, looked around, and started following what looked like a road, the sun at my back.

As I walked, I looked around. There was no sound in this ruined city. I felt uncomfortable. Maybe it was just paranoia, but I felt an evil presence lurking in this barren place, hiding in the shadows, just out of sight, content with the death and destruction that was spread all around. Finally, I left the ruins behind, and found myself walking across a vast expanse of emptiness. There was nothing stretching out as far as I could see. No signs of life, no man made constructions, no plants, no animals, nothing to relieve the unease I was feeling. Where was everyone? What was this dead place? How did I get here? Where was I? Who was I? All these questions raced through my mind.

All of a sudden, a chilling shriek pierced the quiet. I looked around for the source of the sound, but there was nothing around. Then, a large shadow passed over me, and I looked up. In the air above me circle a strange creature that looked like a giant raven or an eagle. Its large body was coal black; it had a large, sharp beak, and giant talons. Its eyes were dark red slashes. I stood staring up at it, not knowing what to make of it, when suddenly it swooped down, coming right for me. I screamed, and turned to run back to the ruined city, hoping to find some cover there. But it was already far in the distance, and with the sun beating down on me, I knew I wouldn't reach it in time. Still, I ran a fast as I could, the air in my lungs burning, the muscles in my legs screaming in pain as I forced them to move faster and faster. But it was of no use. The thing caught me with its razor sharp talons, planting them deeply into my shoulders, making me cry out in pain. When it had me firmly in its grip, it soared back up into the air, taking me with it.

I tried not to struggle; for fear that the movement would further tear my skin. The pain was hot and sharp, and I could feel the blood running down my arms, and soaking through my shirt. All of a sudden, the creature let out a piercing shriek, and started to fall, struggling to stay in the air, and keep me with it. The ground rushed up at us, and we landed hard, crashing on the ground. The thing released me, but I couldn't move, crushed under its weight. Then, it was gone. I was looking up at a guy, who looked to be about 20, and who had apparently dragged the carcass of the bird thing off me. He was tall, with strongly muscled arms, piercing blue eyes, and jet black hair. He was dressed all in black: a tight black t-shirt, black fatigue pants, and black boots. But it wasn't his clothing that struck me as strange. It was the weapons he was carrying. He had a holster with twin guns under his arms, a sword at his side, and a longer blade strapped to his back. I just sat there staring up at him, and he stared right back. I must have looked stranger to him than he did to me. My shoulder length dark hair all messed up, my shirt ripped, dirty, and bloodstained, as well as my jeans, with blood pooling in the wounds on my shoulders. Finally, to break the silence that was starting to make me uncomfortable, I said the only thing I could think of.

"Thanks."

He didn't answer, just looked at me for another long moment. Finally, he offered me his hand. I looked at it, and then back at him. I took his hand, and he pulled me to my feet. "Come on," he said. He turned and started walking east. I had no other choice but to follow him. He had saved my life, and I couldn't think of anything better to do. After about twenty minutes of walking we suddenly stopped. I frowned, puzzled. Why were we stopping in the middle of nowhere? I turned to him, about to ask what we were doing, when he spoke some strange words I didn't understand, and waved his hand across a space of air three times. The air shimmered, and my skin prickled. Then, out of nowhere, a door appeared. He spoke again, and the door opened. There was a stairway that led down, so deep, you couldn't see the bottom. "Where are we? How did you do that?" I asked. He didn't answer. He just started going down the stairs. I hesitated, and then decided to follow. Whatever was down there couldn't be worse than the dead empty spaces up here.

Down and down we went, the decent taking us deep underground. Finally, we reached the end of the stair, and I found myself in a large, clearly lit room. On my right was a large alcove with a bed, and on the left were a table, chairs, and a large fireplace, with a small fire burning. There was a door on the wall facing me. I didn't know where it led. He pointed to a chair. "Sit," he said. I was getting really pissed at his monosyllabic orders. "Listen, I'm really grateful that you saved me and all, but I'm getting tired of the orders. I have questions, and I need you to answer them for me." He looked at me, his eyes widened in surprise. He looked me over again, as if he was taking measure of an opponent. "Fine," he said. "But first you need to sit down, and let me take care of your wounds, unless you want to die of blood loss or infection."

Wow. A speech. I guess that forcefulness was the only way to get through to this guy. I walked across the room, and gratefully sank into a chair.

Meanwhile, he went to the door that apparently led to a bathroom. He came back out with a first aid kit in his hands. He pulled up a chair, and started examining my wounds.

"This would work better if you removed your shirt," he said, in an absolutely disinterested voice. I considered it, and finally accepted. I took off my shirt that was ruined anyways, revealing a plain black bra. He went back to examining the ragged tears on my shoulders. I tried not to look at it. Instead I concentrated on the feel of his hands on my skin, poking, and prodding the wounds that were still oozing blood. Strangely enough, I couldn't feel any pain. Was I in shock? "Is it bad?" I asked him. His eyes flicked up to my face, than back down to my shoulders. "Not very. I will need to put in a couple of stitches here and there, but the wounds are relatively shallow."

Stitches? Was he serious? I didn't want him coming any where near me with a needle. "Is there any way we can skip the stitches?" I asked anxiously. "It would be better, but I suppose so."

I let out a relieved breath. He opened his kit, and pulled out some butterfly bandages, ointment, and gauze. While he was cleaning and bandaging me up, I started to ask him questions.

"So, what's your name?"

"Rafael." Finally, some useful information.

"Where are we?"

"The wastelands of the Ancient World."

"What does that mean?" I asked him. He looked at me, like I had said something ridiculous.

"Do you not know anything?" he asked me angrily. "Where are you from that you don't know where you are? And why were you wandering alone, unarmed, miles from any protected city? Did you want to be captured and taken to the Fortress?"

I stared at him in shock. There was a lot more going on here that I realized. Finally, I told him what had happened to me. "I don't know where I come from, who I am, where I am, or what I'm doing here! I don't even know my own name! So excuse me if you think I'm stupid to be out here on my own, "Ok?" I nearly shouted the last part at him, tired and frustrated. He finished cleaning my wounds in silence.

Finally, he spoke. "I'm sorry. Don't worry, we'll figure out what's going on. As for your name, why don't you just pick one?" I considered this. A name floated through my mind like a ghost. "Kylie," I said, with a surprised tone in my voice.

"Kylie", Rafael repeated. Finally, he pointed me to the bathroom so I could shower. He lent me a pair of black pants that were too big, but fit with a belt, and small black t-shirt was kind of tight, but the only thing he had that would fit me, and not hang to my knees. After being washed, and dressed in fresh clothing, I could hardly keep my eyes open. I lay down on the bed, and drifted off to sleep.
I woke up to find Rafael stretched out next to me. He was sleeping deeply. As I studied his face, I noticed small things that I hadn't had the time to see yesterday. He had a small scar slashing through his left eyebrow, a nicely defined jaw line, and the most beautiful mouth I had ever seen. The kind of mouth you just want to kiss without end. I blushed at the thought. I didn't even know him. Hell, I didn't know anything. Bad timing... I couldn't just lie there next to him, it would drive me crazy. A rumble in my stomach told me it was hungry. I got out of bed, and went to the fireplace. A small pot of what looked like stew was sitting next to fire. I sniffed it, and decided that it couldn't be too bad. I had just served myself a bowl, and cut myself a piece of bread from the loaf on the table when Rafael woke up.
"Hey," he said. "Sleep well?"

"Not bad," I answered, trying not to remember the way he looked when he was sleeping.

He padded barefoot over to the fire, served himself and sat down across from me. We ate in silence for a moment when I decided to get him to tell me everything about this world I was in. As he began to speak, I was amazed at the strangeness of the world I had landed in.

"So long ago that no one could remember when, there used to be a great and powerful civilization dominating this world. It was ruled by an ancient family that had extraordinary powers. But the royal family was dying out, its powers weakened by centuries of inbreeding to keep the bloodline pure. In desperation, they married outside the royal family, in hopes that some of their children would retain the gift of magick. Unfortunately, it was too late. The children of the mixed marriages had only mediocre powers at best, and without a strong enough ruler, civilization began to crumble. Chaos and destruction raged on for centuries, till about ten years ago. A powerful descendant of the royal family took control, and has been ruling our world ever since. He has methodically searched the entire world for magickally gifted people, who are also the descendants of the royal family. People thought he meant to rebuild and strengthen the royal line, but soon it became clear as to why he was so powerful. He had found a way to steal their power, and add it to his own, through a ritual sacrifice. He has grown so powerful now that none dare defy him. The wastelands you saw were once the center of our lost civilization. He has destroyed it all, and built his own cities to the north. In these cities, the population is essentially captive. They must abide his every wish. He also controls the births, and any child born with magick is immediately taken away. No one knows what he does to them, though we suspect that he sacrifices them as well. For years now, there has been a resistance to his rule, others like myself... For I am also a royal descendant. We have managed to escape the cities, and taken refuge in the wastelands, by constructing these shelters. But we are in danger, because every day, more and more of us are caught by his creatures. If we do not succeed soon, we will never be able to be rid of him. But we have some new information that might help us defeat him..."

"So, that's how you made the door appear? Magick?" I asked, wanting to know more.

"Yes. The doorways to these sanctuaries are hidden by magickal deception and locking spells. You need to know they're exact location and opening spells, because they're not there unless called upon," Rafael replied.

"Was that one of his creatures that tried to take me?" I asked.

"Yes. Any one caught in the wastelands is assumed to be one of the resistors, and executed. You're lucky that I came along when I did," he answered.

"What is his name?" I asked.

Rafael hesitated. Finally he answered. "Rofocale."

"What information do you have that could stop him?" I asked.

"He is searching for someone, someone special, with natural power that would rival his own. You see, one of the powers he acquired was the Sight. It is a difficult power to master, but through it he has learned of this woman. If he manages to bed with her, and produce an heir, he will have succeeded in creating a royal so powerful that they will rule the world forever..."

"So, your big plan is to stop him from having sex? How are you even going to find this chick?" I asked.

"She will have a mark at the nape of her neck, in the shape of a perfect sphere," he replied.

"That's ridiculous!" I exclaimed.

Rafael's eyes darkened. "It may be a long shot, but it's all I have! I care about my world and my people, and if that is the only way to keep him from winning, than I am going to do my best to see that he never gets near that woman!"

"I'm... I'm sorry..." I stuttered. He ignored me, and got up to put his dishes in the sink. Way to go! You don't know who you are, where you come from, and now you've managed to insult the only person you know, who happens to be a total hottie! I sat there silently cursing myself. I just sat there as Rafael went to take his shower. When he came back out, he started packing two bags with clothes, come food, and weapons. "Are you going somewhere?" I asked.

He looked at me. "I have things to attend to. I'll drop you off to a safe place with some friends, you'll be safe there, and we'll start trying to figure out who you are." I panicked at the thought of being separated from him but looked down to hide my distress. A few minutes later, he handed me one of the bags, and we left the shelter. I didn't know what to expect, but I had no choice. After all, what else could I do? I sighed as we started walking.

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