Birthday Trip

The sound of laughter could be heard as Thomas awoke from his sleep. He sat up in his blue bed and rubbed his hazel eyes as they adjusted to the sunlight peering through the window. Thomas turned 18 years old today and he could hear his friends outside his window yelling for him so that they could celebrate. Thomas quickly got out of bed and put on the jeans he had lying on his chair from the night prior, he put on a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket he thought made him look cool, before combing his soft black hair and running down the stairs. He waved bye to his mom as he stepped out the door and joined his friends. Overall it was just a nice normal day. 

Thomas had three friends with him. Billy was a chubby brown-hair guy who always wore the same black t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. Billy was always very kind though, and Thomas always assumed that was because of his father. Billy's father was a pilot for the IOP, the International Organization of Pilots, almost everyone who used a soul drive became a pilot for the IOP, but very few people actually had soul drives. This was because soul drives were incredibly hard to obtain, you'd either have to get one by conquering a dungeon, which is usually under protection by the IOP or you'd have to buy one from the IOP market, and even some of the lowest soul drives go for 10,000 credits. However, Billy's father was one of the lucky few that stumbled upon a dungeon he was capable of defeating, earning himself a soul drive and a spot in the IOP. 

Charles on the other hand was the opposite of Billy, he was a very skinny and bony man with long blonde hair. He never wore the same thing as his parents were very rich and would rather buy new clothes than wash old ones. Today, he was wearing a pink blazer over a striped dress shirt and black dress pants, he always dress to impress, especially since he was to inherit his parent's company. His parents weren't pilots like Billy's dad, but rather they were a prime marketer of soul drives. They would frequently buy soul drives from the IOP, advertise them, and sell them at a higher price to high-paying customers. 

Lastly there was Daniel, the son of a well-known doctor in their city, Slavika. Daniel had a large stature and a muscular body as he frequently worked out as a member of their high school's boxing team. He frequently wore shorts and a Hawaiian shirt like he was ready to go on vacation. 

"Hey, Thomas," Daniel began, peering over the sunglasses he tilted down to look at Thomas, "hurry up, you only turn 18 once." Thomas and his friends were planning to head to Jericho mountain, a large mountain just outside Slavika that was believed to be created by Xenon. They made a promise when they were kids that when they all turned 18 they would make a trip to the peek and enjoy the stars. Thomas, just happened to be the last to turn 18. 

Thomas ran over to the beautiful red car his friends were in. It was Charles' car, a nice convertible, with tan leather seats made by the company Zecheron, a popular manufacturer in Stelonia, the nation they lived. No normal family would be able to afford it, but Charles family never had an issue with money. Thomas hopped in the back seat next to Daniel while Billy turned up the radio and Charles took off down the road towards their destination, but little would Thomas know the secrets of Jericho would open up to him.