3 From The Vision

Mason pov:

I'm known as a vision also known more specifically as a dying race one of the many in the world of never-ending evolution. Visions have always be used by good and evil as an attempt to come out on top, yet we have rules ingrained into our very nature that transcends life and death. Some rules are more like restrictions that if broken take a toll on our bodies or even take our lives. Once visions covered the earth in hearty numbers but that was prior to the war and people understood what we truly were capable of soon darkness filled every inch of our species. In the last century, our numbers dwindled and any who lived did so in hiding yet that lasted till a group of betrayers emerged and gave up the hidden in turn they were granted a swift death in place of the reward they were after. Few like myself escaped slavery by finding true bonds of honor my family for the last six generations served the great leader known as the ultimate ruler. The first was the best and died in an expedition to the north. Her name was Isabella Marque daughter of the sun and moon. She was mateless and ruled with an iron fist but the purest of hearts. I heard of her from my parents as they had from theirs, it's a sense of motivation and a reminder of the luck we have come into for who and what we are. The lifespan of a Vision is ultimately short and restricted to how often we use our ability and how adept our body is to handle the power inside. Many are lucky to live twenty years as our ability manifest by five and by fifteen we are at our peak or performance. Twenty-five is the lucky height but only three ever lived to the age of thirty the first, the last leader before the war, and the final who saw the downfall and wrote a cryptic end to our species. I am currently sixteen and took over my father's roles who died three years ago at the age of twenty-four after he saw the next war and the battle of the ultimate rulers. He like others who predict major events barely recounted the events before he crumpled up never to arise again.

The ultimate ruler is typically an offspring from an unlikely duo of deities or gods that procreated at a given point in time to produce a child of a certain caliber. I'm meant to watch and play behind the scenes never to interact personally no matter how desperately I or another desired. Compared to other visions I respected the rules and clung to them pushing emotions out the door and focused solely on the job at hand. A few years ago I thought my job was almost complete and my life could extend as my abilities wouldn't need to be in constant use. Dam girl rejected everything and chose to stay in her hellish reality. A short life span means you learn and adapt or die and I forget this logic is seen by many till their elderly as they live so freely. Since then I realized a few key harsh realities of the world surrounding her and that which was ultimately emerging. I was one of five who knew of my father's final vision and since I have had three smaller visions that extend or reveal more to the prophecy. The need for the return of the ultimate ruler was growing rapidly as the word was decaying and those behind the scenes were growing in size and influence. The ones in the castle were no longer pure and reserved for the ultimate and those on the outside were rapidly encroaching on the once sacred space.

Everything that was ever important to me changed a few nights ago when the values I held so high were tested and snapped with the weight of the decision that needed to be made. Three nights ago I felt a shift and from the trees, I watched and waited for any indication as to why. The second hand emerged with the other regular taunters covered with blood yet laughing. She was tossed into a rogue cell after acquiring some new wounds. Left alone blooded and in scraps of cloth wasn't anew for her or the pack but the attitude was different a sense of dread settled deep into my bones. Something was going to happen and soon but I couldn't see what no matter how hard I tried. I alerted the higherups but they refused to act saying even if they could it wouldn't do anything but break rules. This was the one rule they cared so much about and yet is the one I hated and fought with daily. " No ultimate ruler is to be brought in by a castle employee or saved by one till the appointed time in which they enter the castle and claim their birthright." The old rule bothered me more than usual, normally it was easy to brush off and keep a clear head but this round my head was running rampant. For two weeks they left her alone with no food or water and the worst part was that she hadn't noticed the time delay. Using a rare gift that was passed to me that allows the more personal visions. Using it was originally a hindrance but after training became easy and made my job easier. I made a habit to peer in and check on her but she never moved and her wounds stayed fresh and unhealed. Each night she suffered they partied and her mate slept with anew woman but always returned to her half-sister for a few rounds.

Tonight was particularly stuffy and thick with humidity but overall a very clear night that was lacking in clouds. This allowed the moon to perfectly illuminating the field in any other instance would be a stunning spot to relax and refresh. Focusing on my duties seemed tricky this night yet soon a simple vision of her screaming and shivering filled my mind. Minutes after I watched as a king, doc, and her brother Anton entered the cells a dark aura illuminating around them. Soon the alpha emerged enraged punching a nearby tree till it was no longer standing, and his knuckles were lightly coated in blood. Composing himself he cleaned his fist in the birdbath near the entrance of the house before adjusting his tie and disappearing into the house where he was soon celebrating his crowing of alpha and announcing his mate the fierce and fiery Kitty also known as the half-sister. Moments after his departure the doctor emerged followed by the brother whose fist was wrapped in my lieges hair as she bit her lip and clawed at his hand. Quickly annoyed he Threw her over his shoulder and proceeded with his task. I watched as my charge was carried off to an unknown fate. Rushing to a new position to avoid detection and to have a better angle on the situation.

Visions swarmed my mind till I was ultimately left with two ultimate endings one they inject her and she is left to slowly die in the frigid river numb and burning or two the option that was open as she somehow survives but is ultimately the alternative is hazy and unclear. Perched in a tree downwind but with clear sight, I watched as the first needle went into her arm and how everything in me changed as her screams shook the forest and the tears that leaked from once dry eyes. The second injection silenced her cries as she voiced silent screams, They stood and watched her suffer even as Anton vanished to retrieve the branding iron, and once he returned and placed it on the pack's mark her voice returned for a croaky scream of agony. More she screamed happier Anton was and soon I was left watching her take blow after blow from the branding poker till no sound escaped her lips and she was practically motionless and tossed into the river. His final words revealed a secret I knew she struggled with the past few years and seemed to close the chapter as he borrowed a smoke and lit up with the doc who sighed a sigh of sorrow for his lost project. Releasing a sigh of his own his eyes watched the river as she was quickly out of sight with each second his posture changed as did his attitude. " We did the right thing? right doc. She was a burden, regardless of who she was paired with couldn't change that one irrefutable fact. She wasn't really my family, no she was the reason we have had to suffer all these years." The more he spoke the more secure he sounded, the doctor sighed lighting anew cigar and pulling a long drag " No, it's not right what just took place but we merely following the orders of the alpha and the elders. He shouldn't have rejected her as it is going against the moon and the very foundations of our species. I hold no comment on the family side but boy listen to me she knew them as her folks thus she has mourned silently for years as she was continuously rejected over and over till death was her salvation. I lost a dear test subject who served to test and find new methods of torture and toxins that is when she was too busted to work. Then again I'm only a doctor what do I know?" snapping his bag he vanishes leaving a trail of disgusting smoke followed by a silent brother.

Once out of sight my resolve was firm as I burst forward throwing no regard to the rules as a need so potent took hold. Racing the current as her occasional screams shook me to the core. I tried to scream to her but to no avail. A simple thought raced my mind, she is a broken female of a future world yet to come. A queen in the making who rejected once but now is freed of her mental shackles. She must be saved no matter the consequences I will undoubtedly face for choosing to save her life. shifting my gaze I noticed normal animals standing at the edge of the forest crying out knowing they felt the same as me the breaking cord of unity that was held within her. The edge closest to her current location in the river was mere feet away yet felt like miles. The rushing of air past me was as engulfing as I was moving faster than I had ever moved and was evident by the pain in my sides as the poor state of the body was becoming very clear. As my feet left the ground and the frigid waters ripped into me a new shock and pain became clear, but I wouldn't stop pushing my way through the water as the distance closed up the realization of her blood loss became apparent. Holding on as we both flowed farther away till a fallen tree came into view and became the perfect anchor allowing me to pull her close and emerge from the frigid waters. Checking the surroundings to make sure we were as far as I had assumed only then would I move to further actions. Seeing all was clear no time was wasted as I carried her into the neutral territory away from everything. Shredding my shirt and the remainder of hers to expose wounds and wipe away the new blood. Quickly assessing her injuries and rough patchwork was completed before my senses returned and I fled for the time being. I wanted to do More but knew I shouldn't as I had already had done too much. For three days I sat close by watching her intensively. Days of screaming, sweating, shivering, and starvation seemed to never end. I knew she was dying slowly and more painful than the river but, she had to live she is needed. My thoughts were selfish but at least my actions gave her the possibility of survival. On the fourth day, a small clan of rouges appeared and were surprised by the sight as any should be but I found inner bravery and rushed the wolves shoeing them away from my leader. They stayed around but away from us for a few days before vanishing, seeing them go reminded me that I to should leave. I had missed my check-in by a week and if any more time was wasted Id risk losing my position, life, or a military search team. Her bones were set, wounds dressed, and fever at bay all to the best of my mediocre ability.

Weeks came and went by as the castle demanded answers of the girl and her state of being and any knowledge she had on the palace. After much work, I swayed them to my side after using a harder ability in my possession the ability to project my memories and or visions. Showing them my truth I swore minor involvement and left before she awoke. A technicality in my actions followed the regards of not bringing her to the castle or revealing my identity. The lead of the palace threatened me and sent me to reform school for three weeks to relearn rules and regulations as if he or any of the others had never broken a rule. Two months passed and I was allowed with a few guards to continue my original duty of watching from the sidelines. Finding her turned out to be quite tricky and took a month before we got a whiff of her trail. Over the months we were finally able to catch up and noticed immediately that she had changed in so many ways. The main change was that her timid nature was burned away and the girl before me was nothing like who she once was. Fear was evident from any and all who spotted her, once broken hollow eyes held hate burning deep inside. Her figure was filling out and her other sides were exercised and trained daily for hours. She seemed like a new person from her look, attitude, and overall energy shift. From the day she was caught and taken into the city and forced to fight under a mafia head to the day she rose up and befriended the boss and worked with them to manipulate the other crime bosses and gain insight into their worlds. One day she vanished without a trace leaving all scrambling to find her. Weeks pass before we picked up on a new hideout in the forest and worked fast to gather and return information. One day a mistake was made as I wondered to close and from then on it was a game of cat and mouse between us. The guards were caught within a week and tortured for information but ultimately left behind for me to find on the verge of death forcing me to either rush to the castle for aid or track her. Saving the guards wasted too much time and left little to gather and inspect from the spot they were found. Ten guards met the same fate but never did she come after me and soon enough the charade was dropped and all watching of the ultimate ruler was shutdown.

Two-years have passed since I was restricted to the castle and In the process, I've lost her in my visions, and the ones that I do have to grow darker by the day. Lately, the forest has been in an uproar as is the castle. Little of my attention has been paid to that as I continue to break the rules scavenging the remainder of her original camp amongst two of her later ones. Finding a camp that was hers was near impossible as she has evolved to successfully living fully off the land. The lands she once feared now fear her as she goes to them for fun to hunt rouges in a twisted game of killer tag. Twice I tracked her back to her old pack but the trail was as cold and as old as molded bread. Every missed step, every missed encounter drove me mad. Once I saw her all too much and couldn't stand it and know I can't even catch a glimpse of her and I hate it even more. How time changes things is always interesting in retrospect.