1 CHAPTER 1: A STORY BEGINS

I want to tell you all a story. A story from a long time ago. A story that will shake you in your boots and make you rethink even the closest of friendships; the people you know and love and who you trust. I want to tell you all my story. The date was the seventh of May. The year 3035. The stars in the sky illuminated the night like lanterns. So bright was the moon that the very sands on the desert floor shined a ghostly white. A young man, weary from his travels, wandered aimlessly with a singular goal; find a place to stay to recover. Every step was dreadful and filled with pain. He scanned desperately on the horizon, for his will was too strong to let him succumb to his injuries and die. When he laid eyes on a light silhouette of a town in the distance.

My will drove me forward. I traveled into the town and a sign had greeted me warm-heartedly, from what I could tell. It spoke,

"Welcome to Yulesia! I hope you.." Then it would cut out and repeat all over again. I was annoyed by the repetition of the sign. I cut through it easily. The power of my attacks was either 0 or 100 because of how mentally exhausted I was. I knew I wouldn't be welcomed by the people of this old, pre-segmentation. I was armed to the teeth with a number of swords and daggers, I expected to defend himself. I walked through the town and noticed how dilapidated it was. Large buildings with the windows shattered. Smaller buildings with whole chunks blown out of it. I asked myself what had happened here. A possible skirmish from a surrounding encampment.

I was confronted by a man. In his 20's, thin and slender. Strong and with potential. He was armed with an old caliber gun, the thing seemed to still run on old bullets. His hair was a navy blue, almost black hue and was slicked back. He wasn't scared which was a surprise. He told me to stop and state why I wanted, or needed, to get into the town. He noticed the trail of blood following behind me. His facial expression shifted quickly.

"I need a place to stay," I said as quickly as I could

"I'm hurt. I need a medic." I fell to my knees while holding the slash in my side, blood seeping through my fingers slowly.

He replied simply with a nod and rushed me up to my feet with his support, and pushed forward. He was striking. Handsome even. Don't even know why that stuck in my head. His confidence held his walk in such a way that pulled me in but I had to keep my head on a swivel. I didn't know what this place was after all. My guard had to be up at all times to survive, no matter the circumstances. I walked with him into a back alley, a limp in my left leg slowed me down to the point that he stopped to make sure I was still breathing. I was losing blood as quickly as I could think about it. I wore a trench coat and tapered baggy pants in flat black. My feet were well protected by military grade steel toed leather boots. I'm not sure if my clothes even looked the same, or if they were even in one piece. I was covered in blood. I fell onto the wall, trying to support myself. I wiped the blood that had started dripping out of my mouth. He rushed to my side to help me."You need to get up. You're losing blood." He threw one of my arms over his shoulder and brought me to my feet. From that point on I must've blacked out.

The first day was split up into bits and pieces. The first time I awoke from sleep I only had my shirt and a pair of plain pants on underneath a weighted blanket, my gear was gone. I was alone. I looked around and noticed that the room was all white and completely plain. The next few hours were scattered and flashbacks of life before The Segmentation threw me back and forth through consciousness. The next time I woke up fully it was the next day. I sprung up out of the bed. I sucked in as much air as I could. I looked around to see the man sitting next to me.

"Hey! What happened to me?" I rubbed the scar on my neck in confusion.

"Why does everyone always have to yell? My name is Oliver. You wandered into city borders. You're technically not supposed to be alive right now," He said in a calm but firm way.

"So here's what's going to happen," He stood up and smiled while crossing his arms.

"In payment for the fact that I healed you.."

"Wait hold on.. What?" I jumped up and lifted up my shirt, revealing a scar where the slash in my side was.

"How long has it been?" I said confused.

"It's only been two days. But here's the deal," He pulled a remote out of his pocket, pressed a button, and the whole room flickered and changed into a run down, destroyed room that had a section ripped out of the corner of the it, revealing some of the outside world.

"We are going to travel together. I need to get out of this town." He scoffed. I smiled and jumped over the bed.

"Completely temporary." he said while looking down.

I grabbed my sword and jumped into a downward slash.

"You want to be a part of my mission? Show me what you got!" I swung my sword at him to see how he reacted. I jumped and stabbed and slashed at him relentlessly. Every attack I managed to throw at him he dodged. This kid was fast and smart! My hair was being pushed back from the force of my attacks. He grabbed his rifle and used it to block an incoming attack. I split it in half with one swift motion. I landed in a weird way, twisting my ankle and offsetting my balance. He took advantage of my defenselessness and kicked my leg from underneath me. He was smart and clearly new how to defend himself and work through environmental limitations. I hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me instantly. I managed to roll backwards and regain my footing. He kicked at me but I counterswiped at his foot. He dodged. No surprise there. As I was catching my breath he kicked me onto my back then put his foot on my chest showing that he had won. I laughed and moved it off me then stood up and as I smiled, I put out my hand.

"Nicholas. Welcome to my mission." He shook my hand and we went to a hidden room concealed by a bookshelf that was half blown up. He gave me back my gear, but it was all fixed. No longer torn up and tattered. I went on to suit up, buckling my belt in and throwing my coat over my shoulders. I bent down to tie my shoes and glanced up to notice that he was looking at me in a confused way.

"Hey so I have a question." He asked nervously. I stopped what I was doing and looked up at him

"Yeah?"

"So when I was healing you," He said hesitantly,

"Your scar on your neck started glowing." I was confused to hear something so bizarre. I touched my neck and laughed it off as nothing.

"It's probably nothing! We should get out of here while it's still dawn. We have a long trip from here. We still need to get to the city district.

Oliver grabbed A pair of old revolvers and put them in his hip holsters. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. He brought me to the back of a town building and took two horses from the stables. We rode out from a trail that would keep us hidden from sight for the time being. This was only the start. The start of something no one could stop. The start of new friendships and new challenges.