Movement

Reitz was bruised but not battered. He had been up all night, but he already had somehow recovered already. It was interesting this had been the first time he was right at the very center of the grove. There was a myriad of Precantae as far as the eye can see.

He and Ezra had been lured the night before, it was a bizarre experience precantae and felbeasts working together in a coordinated fashion that would rival that of imperial knights. He had been fleeing toward the center ever since with Ezra in tow without consciousness but breathing. That was the only solace he had at the time.

He dared not fight back the hordes, it was practically suicide to so. The feeling was very much like fighting the Imperial Army in the full force the only logical option was to flee. Somehow, he had ended up going through a barrier of light. He was apprehensive at first, but he didn't have any choice, his back had thousands of creatures hounding him. Maybe he could have pushed forward back to the camp if he was alone but with Ezra unconscious it was an impossible task.

When he had crossed the barrier of light the creatures immediately backed off. He dared not go back lest he be met with a barrage of attacks left and right. After a few seconds he sensed a wave of magical pressure descending on him it was not as much as painful rather it was discomforting. Ezra was still dangling on his back as this happened.

The weird sounding trumpet still echoing in the background. He had slumped his back a bit in order to keep carrying his son. He wandered ever toward the middle of field. It was an odd patch since most of Irriton was so densely packed with trees.

'Seems like the center is actually a garden of some sort,' Reitz looked around as he observed the. As he walked ever toward the center he glimpsed back, then suddenly jumped from shock.

'What? There are actually two precantae behind me? When did they appear?' Reitz thought as he drew a stance oddly enough, they did not seem to bear any ill will and just stared at him. Retiz calmed down a little and tried to go back toward the barrier. However, his path was blocked by the two. Two more appeared out of the corner of his eye. These also did not seem to bare any ill intent.

He tried to proceed further, the precantae suddenly growled a monotonous sound almost as if it didn't come from their mouths. It was like a mechanical response.

`These creatures they seem to not want me to go back. ` Reitz mused.

`Looks like forward is the only way to go. Looks like more will appear if I try to go back any way. I need to eat and regain my strength if I want to push through. It is a task for later, I guess. ` Reitz scratched his head and preceded to walk further in. He thought that whatever was in store for them, he would deal with when Ezra was awake.

Upon reaching the middle he saw the most peculiar site, a plane with that was filled with precantae. None of them moving an inch, each had lifeless eyes however it was obvious that they weren't dead. The precantae that had escorted Reitz stood still upon reaching the area.

`Might as well stay here for the night` Reitz thought.

He didn't sleep at all, but oddly enough he felt refreshed. He could feel that some of his wounds were slowly healing. He had placed Ezra beside him. He stared calmly at his son. Ezra was frolicking while sleeping which worried Reitz a bit. Ezra was muttering a lot of unintelligible things which added more to the tension he was feeling.

`I got to find a way out of place, ` he thought, `tomorrow at midday if Ezra does not recover, I'm going to try to push my way back,` Reitz frowned trying to think of a way to get out of the ordeal

. . .

Dr. Faraday, you know the drill. A booming voice coming from the one-way mirror.

`Yes, yes, I know Major, ` Michael furrowed his brows. He was in a decontamination chamber. He had currently been exposed to what was thought of as radioactive material. It was just a precaution of course but he doubted that the material emitted enough gamma radiation for it to be considered lethal to him, let alone others.

This was just standard protocol however when it came to foreign bodies. He had been working in the military facility for quite some time, and their practices were strict. He had been working there for six months but he was not briefed on what exactly he was handling. It was so top secret that even with his clearance he didn't have total information. All he knew was that he was to record all his findings about the weird substance. He was very much tempted to activate the zero-day that he had in place in the facility, but he decided it was not worth it.

He was still in the stage of searching for his background and parents. Even with his status in the military he found it odd that there was no trace. It was as if they had never existed. He had found his birth certificate at coming from some small county in Oregon, but his parents were not listed. He had started his filling his void with understanding the world around him and one of the things that excited him the most was dark matter.

He had heard of a top-secret government project that was trying to look for particle physicists, but it was peculiar posting because from what he knew the facility was actually leaning on the Astro physics side. They had a huge budget and it was supposed to be dealing with asteroids that had fallen to earth.

`You, must go through the scanner again you know? ` the voice resounded.

`I know, I know you don't have to tell me! ` Michael Retorted, `honestly, I don't understand why I must pass through door to door and keep on scanning my fucking eye. Do I change eyes every time I go through a door? This is literally just one big pathway with one exit!` he muttered.

"Level 8 clearance required" the voice boomed again. This time it sounded metalic.

"Yes! Yes! I know!" Michael now bellowed fully he was really annoyed now.

"Level 8 clearance required." the voice resounded now sounding a bit feminine.

"What" Michael gasped as he strode, and reality seemed to be swaying. It was as if he was drugged. He was dizzy. Each step toward the scanning device made him wobble. For some reason a faint sound of a siren went out.

Michael fought for every step. "Why are they sounding the siren, isn't that just for a nuclear exposure?" He thought even though he was still fighting to get to the scanner.

"Level 8 clearance required."

"I kn..now," stuttering and now gasping for air. Somehow it seemed that every stride made him loose consciousness a little.

"Level 8 clearance required."

. . .

"EZRA GET BACK!" Reitz exclaimed.

The weird trumpet suddenly began to resound. Reitz hairs stood on end us suddenly all the inanimate precantae suddenly started to move. Reitz was even more started as Ezra started to walk towards the center where a structure was erected. It seemed like a small cabin but oddly enough it looked similar in style to Ezra's lab.

Looking at the scene Reitz was prepared to make a run for it and grab Ezra. The precantae all had the same eerie movement. As Ezra had already been in the middle of the paved pathway. Reitz was shocked that the creatures did not attack. He tried to run after his son but the precantae started attacking him left and right, back and center, however it was as if Ezra was not noticed at all.

The trumpet kept on sounding and there was a female voice that kept on repeating a phrase on the background, but Reitz kept darting and dodging trying to inch closer to his son.

"EZRA WAKE UP!" Reitz shouted again.

A chimera shot a piercing water canon toward him, it almost blew his head, but he still raced ahead.

He nimbly bobbed and weaved as more and more precantae started to attack. It was an eerie feeling. Normally you could feel the animosity of the creatures however their movements were mechanical. An odd contraption slowly raised as Ezra neared the edifice.

Peculiar red lights were rotating around the perimeter.

Reitz fought even harder to get to Ezra, he was worried of what all of this might mean.

Ugh! Reitz flinched as he took a stone directly to his chest but he backflipped away. He immediately noticed the precantae had stopped their attacks.

`Their trying to get me away from Ezra? That's what it's all about?'

Reitz paused and contemplated. He was still in his stance, but he wanted to test his theory. He backed away and the precantae in front started sitting again.

He backed away even further and sat. Even more of them sat down.

`Odd,` Reitz contemplated.

He looked at Ezra for a bit as he paced toward the device.

"Let's see how this plays out"

. . .

"Level 8 clearance required." The annoying metallic feminine voice resounded again. It was as if Michael heard it inside his head. It was as if he was crawling getting even though he was still walking toward the retinal scanner.

The sirens boomed and the dizzines ate away at his consciousness, all he knew was he should get to the scanner. He couldn't even think straight.

"Level 8 clearance required"

Michael opened his eyes and made sure the laser caught the scan. Everything then stopped. The voice, the siren, the headache and the wobbling.

"Identity clearance verified. Access to all level clearances granted. . .

Welcome your majesty, Kaizer Prometheus Fulmen-Caelesti the Fourteenth"