“Wow~,” Elias whistled as he looked down over the cliff before him, his black hair waving in the wind,. his backpack settled with a familiar weight. He was 5 ft 10 in. He had everything needed to survive in his backpack, as well as two Beretta M9s. He had dedicated quite a while to learn how to shoot “duel wielded”, but it had saved him in several occasions. He had always been an adventurous kid, but ever since his seventeenth birthday, he had taken to cliff climbing like a fish to water. Elias smiled faintly as he remembered the climbing he had done for his birthday. His parents had taken the family to the Rocky Mountains. The drive was tedious but the views of the mountains were worth the drive. His smile faded as he remembered what had happened shortly after his family had gotten back. No matter what he did, it always came back to “This Memory”
They had gone their separate ways, his parents living together, and him living with his sister. He had gone to visit his parents. As he approached their room, a red substance had leaked under the door. Shocked, Elias had opened the door, to find his parents murdered, and a note in his parents hands.
“Bring the money by tomorrow, or we take the girl.” The note had a date on it. 1-23-12. “That was two days ago!” Elias had thought to himself, he was starting to see red in his vision. As he ran out the door, all he could think was “Protect Grace, kill them, my parents, dead, death, death, death to them all!” Elias got in his car and floored the gas, ignoring all the traffic laws he had ever learned. as he got to the apartment he and his sister shared, Elias saw a car pulling out, and flooring it down the street. He quickly pulled the wheel to the right and followed them..
The kidnappers car suddenly took a turn. Elias quickly yanked the wheel to follow them. As the kidnappers pulled into a warehouse. Elias realized a fatal flaw in his rescue plan. he only had the stuff he had when he was at the Rocky Mountains, which was his combat knife, a canteen, some rope, and an MRE pack. “Phooey, not much to work with.”
His flashback rushed forward to when he had followed one of the kidnappers until he was alone.
As he slowly approached the kidnapper, who was currently crouched down looking at a screen, Elias started to smile. This wasn’t a happy smile, this was an insane one. Elias glanced at the screen, he realized it was the security cameras, and he was now coming into view. The kidnapper started to turn around just as Elias charged and stabbed him in the heart. His smile grew and he started laughing. This wasn’t a happy laugh, this was complete, utter, insanity. After he continued and brutally murdered everyone he came across, he finally got to his sister, Grace.
She was sitting in a dark room, a light suspended over her head. As Elias walked forward he noticed she was bruised and unconscious. Elias growled “When I find them, I’m going to kill them.
Now next to the chair, Elias heard a voice behind him. “You have already found them. and here I am.” He turned and saw complete red. He screamed and charged forward. Elias stabbed the man multiple times in the chest before stopping. Back in the present, Elias gasped. He had been trying for months now to repress that memory, because whenever he thought of it, the only thought that would go into his mind was “Death” . He had gone insane for a while until he calmed down again. He stumbled forward, out near the edge of the outcrop of the cliff.
*CRACK
Elias turned around to see a thin line running through the outcrop he was on. “OH, Shi-!” was all he had time to say before another resounding *CRACK was heard and the line between Elias and secure ground widened. Elias started running to make it across the line before the outcrop fell. He sprinted and jumped just as the outcrop was falling, barely grabbing the edge of the, now shortened, cliff. ‘Whew, thought I was dead for sure.’ thought Elias as he pulled himself up. As he stood up, a smaller, yet still resounding *CRACK echoed around. As Elias despeately looked around for the crack, he felt the ground below him give way. Now freefalling, Elias felt strangely calm. He looked up at the sky and thought to himself, ‘Never thought I was going to die doing this, I hope Grace is okay.” Elias closed his eyes for what he thought would be his last time, and was unable to see the mist slowly closing in around him as he fell. He hit a tree and was pierced through his chest while the branches slowed him down so that he became suspended on the trunk. Elias opened his eyes in shock as he felt the brutal pain faded into numbness as he started going into shock. Black slowly filled his vision and his last image was a body of mist looking at him sadly.
Character thoughts are expressed with italics.
Chapter 1: The Tree of Life
Elias groaned as he struggled to open his eyes. The sky, it was all around him. He was surprised to see the curvature of the Earth. Man, Elias thought to himself, I must be really high up... wait a min-OH GOD I’M FALLING!
Elias looked down to find out that he was indeed, falling.Elias tried to scream but nothing came out. he continued his freefall for a couple of minutes. As Elias got close enough to the ground to where he could see where he was going to land, He realized he was zeroed in on landing on a mountain.
“Does the universe fucking hate me!” Elias yelled as he got closer, and closer. Until Elias hit the mountain with a resounding boom. As Elias laid in the center of a twenty foot wide crater he made, he commented to himself, ”How are my limbs not halfway to Asia right now?” Hell, for all I know, this is Asia!”
After Elias had gathered his strength, he tried to sit up. He eventually got to a sitting position and checked his things. My food is a little squished, and my pack is torn, but other than that, everything appears to be in good condition. Elias thought to himself as he stood up. He did a quick spin around at the crater he had made. Elias slowly whistled as he saw how large it was. He walked to the edge and tried to climb up, only to slide down to the bottom. Elias tried again, but this time, got a running start. As he scrambled up the side, he grabbed for the edge. As Elias pulled himself over the side, he felt objects press into his side. When he looked down he saw his trusty beretta m9s, all dirty and grimed up. he could faintly read the inscriptions on the guns. One was labeled “Judgement”, while the other was inscribed with “Vindication” He smiled faintly from the feel of having them.
Elias stood up and looked around. He saw a bridge leading up. Seeing nowhere else to go, Elias walked up the bridge. When he got to the end, he saw an island, floating, with another bridge. As Elias stepped onto the island, mist moved in and obscured his view except for the island and the bridge ahead. Elias walked across the bridge to a slightly larger island, with a rock on in, and another bridge. Looking at the rock, Elias noticed an inscription, “The path of gods which mortals sought, a single fruit over which they fought. They killed each other with arrow and knife. But all for a fruit from the Tree of Life” seeing nothing else of interest, Elias walked across the next bridge.
What was on the next island was awe inspiring. a giant tree covered with thousands of fruit. The sight of all the food reminded Elias of how hungry he was. Seeing no harm in the action, Elias picked a fruit at random. Elias quickly devoured the fruit. Elias was about to grab another fruit, when he was suddenly propelled backwards. Confused Elias got up and reached for the fruit again, only to be propelled backwards, again. Taking the hint Elias backed away from the tree and started walking towards the bridge.
Elias’s brain suddenly exploded with memories, but they weren’t his. He heard in his brain. .....617 has been spotted in the area..... Elias stopped and looked around, wide eyed, looking for and explanation. His eyes fell upon the core of the fruit. His memory flashed back to the rock with the inscription. it mentioned the tree of life. Elias looked back at the giant tree. Could that fruit have been someone’s life? Elias looked around, shocked. Seeing nothing else to do, he continued across the bridge. on the next island was a stream. Next to the stream was an inscribed rock. The inscription said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Wet your hands and face for you must be cleansed of the spirit.” Elias closed his eyes and complied. Immediately the memories stopped flashing at him. It was like they became his. Elias opened his eyes and stared at his reflection. His eyes, instead of their normal blue, were dark red with black flecks in them. numbed by everything that had happened, Elias continued to the end of the Island, at the edge laid a stone with a simple command. “Jump!” Elias backed up, ran forwards, and jumped into the mist.