Out of Line | Teen Ink

Out of Line

March 5, 2009
By Joshua Bastacky BRONZE, San Geronimo, California
Joshua Bastacky BRONZE, San Geronimo, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Prologue

Rain began to fall. Dripping down our apartment window and into the abyss of the 32 stories of our building. I, Tom Jendson heard a distant stomping sound. I peeped out the window to see what it was. All I could see was a small group of reddish-brown dots, almost 160 meters below. Cold splashes struck my face with great force.

* BANG *

A single scream broke the weary silence.
I ran to our small kitchenette, looking for my mother's comfort. I found her stuffing food into a small travel bag.

'Quick honey, pack some clothes, we've got to go!'

The memory of her exasperated tone is still clear as crystal in my mind. That would be one of my last moments with my mother before' it happened.

Intro

30 years later

'Tom! Get up, grab your guns and get outside!' My friend Dane Carter of the W.W.M., (World Wide Militia) which is the army that we are in, whispered as he shook my sleeping body.

'Ug, what it is?' I questioned.

'Shh! We've spotted a Khardellance rusher. You have to be quiet.' He mumbled as he walked softly out of the tent.

'OK, I'll be right there, but what is a Rusher?' I inquired.

'A rusher is a huge Khardellance warrior, that is pretty much a massive berserker, no time to explain. We already have a night-shift sniper sighted on him. Now get outside.' Dane answered hastily.

The Khardellances are an alien invasion force, which is on Earth for no apparent reason.

* BANG *

A screeching howl broke the night air.
'He's dead.' The night-shift sniper whispered subtly.


Almost immediately, the ground began to shake. An ear-piercing crack, followed by several high-pitched howls exploded from a spot about 10 meters away.

'We were too loud, the Khardellances found us! We're all going to die aren't we? Oh no, oh no!' One of the 12 squad members wailed dreadfully.

'Get down!' the squad leader, Sgt. Penatratious howled as bullets began to soar, just missing our heads.

Luckily, we had all been standing by one of our camp's emergency, 1 meter high, sandbag cover walls.

Bullet after bullet, shock after shock. Incoming fire broke open the outer-most wall of sandbags. I rose quickly, hoisting my slug-launcher over and onto the weakening cover. A flash of light and a bang like no other erupted from the barrel of my gun. As I began to drop back into cover, an immense power struck my shoulder. I was thrown back, bleeding all the way. Luckily, the slug only left one gash, so I was not to die of blood-loss. The force with which I hit the ground brought me to the painless state of unconsciousness.


Ch. 1

Together Forever, Forever Together

As the mist began to clear, a barren plain was revealed. Light pouring in from one side, and a haze of clouds billowing down from peaks far above. All I could see were small shapes moving from side to side. The small beings were about the size of cats, but seemed to be colorless. I quickly rethought this as the sun cast a beam of light on one of them. It seemed to be a cat. At this moment, I noticed the strangest smell. Fish, I thought. As I peered down to examine the cat a bit closer, I saw that more of these creatures had arrived. A sharp spoke was driven into my left ankle. 'Ouch!' I yelped as I fell to the ground in agony. Crimson blood welled up in a puddle around my leg. More creatures began to crawl upon me. Chewing and tearing relentlessly.

A speck of light was illuminated, far off in the distance. Suddenly, a horrendous force swirled around me. The cats were lifted up, although they did not seem to have he power to resist. Seconds later, I realized that even with the whirlwind, their had been no sound.

The mangy beings dropped to the ground again without a sound. A power that seemed to take the pain out of my many cuts and scars lifted me to my feet.

A translucent figure approached me. It seemed to be a human, a young boy in fact. The light didn't seem to penetrate him, even though he was as clear as morning dew.

The young boy reached out and grabbed my hand. I tried to squirm away, but seemed to be powerless. Cold shot through my arm and into my veins.

The figure looked up at me, with a grim frown stretched across his face. Suddenly, an orange flame glinted in his eyes. All of his innards were now glowing as well.

Ice-cold memories poured into my mind like shards of glass hitting my helpless body. I didn't recognize any of the strange memoirs.

The boy's grasp tightened. As he clenched my hand, he twisted it with force that no boy could have. He stared intently at me. My body was filed with the warmth of the boy's inner fire, which startled me. Before I could relax with the warmth, the boy's grip tightened again. This time, his eyes erupted with red flame. Searing pain scorched me internally.

The boy loosened his grip, and began to fade away.

'Wait, who are you!' I yowled in desperation, for I wanted to be alone no longer.

As the strange boy became only a glint, hard to see with a bare eye, he whispered one phrase. 'I am you.' I heard. The voice was soothing.

The last of the boy was now gone. I dropped to my knees, feeling as if I had no power at all. My head drooped. At this point, a circle of black clouded more and more of my vision.

The author's comments:
This is just the beginning of a story that I am writing. The characteristics of Tom and Dane are molded around those of real people. Dane Carter is a loyal friend and ambitious protector, mostly inspired by my best friend, Nicholas.

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