NightStorm

"I look in the mirror, and I don't even know who is staring back. A soldier? A kid? An experiment? A scientist? I don't know who I am. I just know what is expected of me." -NightStorm Earth died in 2146. With its death came silence between all its daughter planets. In the time of silence, each planet grew independent, developing its own way of living. When communications returned, the inhabitants of each planet refused to change and work under one government. This mindset changed in 2235, during the first alien attack. The humans learned that there was an alien group set on wiping out humanity for good. They also learned of an underground project called the Legendary program. A program that uses children to make super-soldiers. It was because of the super-soldiers that humanity survived the first attack. But in the following years, the Legends are dying. It becomes clear that the human's need to end this war or face extinction. At the same time, people are starting to question the products of these human experiments. Jade Ryder, aka NightStorm, is the product of a human experiment. The original test performed by her mother before she was born. Jade spent her entire life fighting to be accepted and taken seriously. She follows every order given - all except for one. Jade refuses to work in a team. When Jade is forced into a partnership with the last type of person she wanted, a Legendary Soldier, she is forced to face her hidden fears. Jade learns that there is more to this war than she was taught, making her question if she should follow her orders blindly or open her eyes. At the same time, an old childhood illness arises, forcing Jade to reevaluate what's truly important to her. Now, in 2261, Jade is forced to fight against the discrimination experimental upbringing while trying to find a way to end the war that took so much from her. With everything against her, Jade begins to question everything she once knew.

Flameryder88 · Sci-fi

Not enough ratings

29 Chs

Chapter 21 [Castle of Glass]

Aquarius 29/2261 16:54

Darkness surrounded me. The stench of blood filling my nose. Tears streamed down my cheeks, dripping to the floor. Exhaustion filled my entire body. I could feel blood pouring down my back and arms. Metal chains bit into my wrists.

"Fight for your life or die." A voice said. The chains vanished. Shadows jumped around me. I spun on instinct, reaching for the weapons behind me. The grate behind me was empty.

"No..." I breathed. The shadows lightened, showing only their blades. I took a step back as they drew closer.

"Fight. Shadowstorm. Fight or die." the voice taunted. All the shadows lunged. I screamed, throwing my hands up.

"Jade!" Vix yelled. I bolted up and bed, my eyes jerking around the room. My breath caught in my throat. My right hand shot out to touch the wall, and I rolled off the bed to a kneeling position. I held the knife close to my chest. Ready to attack anything. "Jade!"

I couldn't focus. My mind too scrambled. Too fear-ridden. My head jerked to see everything as fast as possible. Danger. Fight back.

"Jadien Ryder!" Vix screamed as loud as possible. Finally, her voice reached my mind. Vix. Vixen. A female earthen fox. The name of my mother's AI that was given to me when I was eight. Facts swarmed my mind. Friend. Safe? Am I safe? I gulped for air. I'm having a panic attack caused by my PTSD. Deep breaths. Inhale carbon dioxide. I dropped my knife and covered my mouth with both hands. I breathed in my own air. Slowly my breathing returned to my control. I fell against the side of my bed and curled my legs up, hiding my face behind my black hair. "Jade?"

Vix's voice was deadly quiet. Her tone was cautious. I rocked my body slowly, trying to calm my frantic heart. I couldn't stop the strangled scream that escaped my throat. It sounded like an animal in pain. Like one being torn from the inside out. Vix could only watch from her hologram. A pained expression on her face. I gripped my shoulders, my nails digging into my skin. ShadowStorm. No. No, no, no. My entire body trembled. Sweat plastered my skin, making my clothes stick to me. Calm. Calm down. I'm at the base. In my room. I am okay.

It took a while, but I managed to calm myself. I stood on shaking legs and stumbled to the bathroom. I emptied the contents of my stomach. After, I took a scorching hot shower. Everything hurt. After a few minutes, I stepped out and got dressed. Vix tried to talk to me, but I couldn't answer, my throat raw from screaming. I gathered my weapons and pack before stumbling to the hanger. My foggy mind was unable to remember which ship we were taking to Quetzalcoatl.

I felt something brush my arm. I jumped and spun on my heel. My hand drawing to my knife. My Legend stood beside me. He tilted his head at me in concern.

"Sorry, I'm just on edge," I muttered, looking away. My voice burned my throat. He raised his hands and signed, 'you look sick.' "No, it's okay. I'm fine."

I followed him to the Athene where Raven and another man were loading up. Raven looked up, and when she saw me, she froze.

"Damn girl, what happened? Legend and you get into a fight? First couple fight?" She teased. I narrowed my eyes and said nothing. I guess there was something about this glare that scared her because she quickly shut her mouth. Her eyes turned wide like a child's, and she stepped back. "Okay, just teasing. Are you okay? You looked like hell."

I ignored her instead of walking up the ramp and laying down on the bench. I stared at the ceiling, one hand on my bag I had dropped beside me. My other hand resting on my forehead.

"Stormy, maybe you should sit this one out. You look really bad." Raven entered the ship, followed by my Legend.

"I'm fine," I muttered. "Just fly."

The entire trip, I forced myself to stay awake. I refused to let Legend or Raven see how bad my nightmares got. To let them see I got nightmares to begin with. I ran through math problems mentally. Worked on the serum problems and read a bunch of articles. They still hadn't classified the new elements yet, so I read what they had so far. It wasn't much.

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