Chapter 5 FIVE
“Nos volvemos a encontrar.”
She stopped beside a tree. The twelve creatures continued towards the base without giving any notice of Ken.
“I can sense you are confused.” Said AIDEN. “She said, we meet again.”
“I know. I'm only perplexed because reality has been tampered with. Or am I in another timeline?”
“You are currently in loop two not in another universe.” The voice responded.
“I have calculated and assessed the situation. Should I tell you the results or do you prefer to waste time?”
“Tell me”
“Because the enemy is aware of the loops and indeed thwarted reality, you have a 12% chance at survival, rating from your current skill level.”
“That's poor. What can I do?”
“Hope you are enjoying the standoff boy?” Lady’s voice came through.
Ken took a fighting pose. He flexed his hands and closed his fists ready to blow. With his right knee flexed, he was ready to sprint at any time.
“There will be no need for that. I see you still have not figured it out.” Her voice was low but with traces of mockery attached. “Have fun trying.” And with that she swirled her hands in a circular motion, summoning a haze of orange dust, before stepping and disappearing into it. She laughed continuously while it echoed slowly into the portal she created. Then it closed and the only sign of a former presence was the little breeze flapping the leaves and grasses.
Silence returned but not in Ken's head.
“What does she mean by ‘it’?”
“What am I to figure out?”
He straightened, thinking with his arms folded.
“That is an important question which I don't have answers to but I have recalibrated your senses which will be employed for the next task.”
“Which is?”
SYSTEM UPGRADE CONDITIONING: DESTROY FIVE CREATURES IN THE AREA
“Oh that's easy.”
“In the next two minutes.”
“What?” Ken screamed. “How do you…?”
“Three, four, five ,six…”
Ken sighs and runs towards the base. He gets there in a second, deeply marveled when his brain finally catches up with his body.
“Wow! I feel intense energy. This is amazing!” He said as he flexed his arm to look at the bulging biceps.
“You can only keep it if you fulfill the task. One minute and fifty seconds remaining!”
It was then he paid attention to the environment. It was a brutal battle. So many members of the Raven force were dead. One of the Z band soldiers fell with intense scream as fire fell from the sky and consumed him. He looked up. They were three suns which had suddenly grown more massive, red and burning with intense heat. The sky was blood red. No single cloud was in sight. There was no time to catch more glimpse of the battlefield because one of the twelve creatures was running towards him at full speed. He looked more closely at it. It was something between a bull and an elephant. Giant with three horns.
“That's a dinosaur, a triceratops to be specific.” AIDEN said.
“I thought they were extinct.”
“Yes, millions of years ago actually. But it's no ordinary dinosaur anymore. They were summoned and this time more powerful than ever before.”
“What do you mean?”
“Duck now!” AIDEN screamed.
But Ken sprints to the left only to turn and find the spot he was standing on emitting thick smoke.
Before he could comprehend what it was, a giant stone hit him hard on the back and hauled him to the wall of the fire base building, pinning him there.
“Ken! Ken!! Are you there?”
His lungs were compressed by the large rock making it difficult to breathe. A trickle of blood ran down his cheeks. He could not respond or react to the voices around. AIDEN tried to hack into his nervous system and prompt an emergent movement but it was not working.
A single light flashed across his dilated non reactive pupils:
SUBJECT DECLARED ALIVE BUT UNCONSCIOUS. MAXIMAL DAMAGE RETAINED.
“Ken!” Dave called as he got closer but his head collapsed on one side.
He raised his right hand and immediately they began to glow. In no time, two brown bears appeared and began to move the rocks. They finished and bowed to Dave before moving to his sides. He was the leader of the A band, masters of all beasts of the land and air.
Only the animals of destruction summoned by the Lady of Chaos could not bow to his power. Because they were not real animals but spirits of ancient, extinct ones called back.
He called a strong looking A band cadet who lifted Ken with ease and they all started towards the base.
The battlefield was still terrifying. Hundreds of Raven force soldiers had already lost their lives, yet, only two of the monstrous creatures had been killed. As they approached the building, some bricks began to fall off. One almost hit Dave before one of the bears caught it. They stopped as soon as crackle sounds began to fill the arena.
“Look!” A Z band cadet yelled at them. He looked up and saw a massive pillar collapsing onto their spot.
The bears instantly fell into position to catch it.
“Run!” Dave screamed at the A band cadet carrying Ken.
“I call on the strength of the ancient mammoth.” Within a second, he moved from a young teen to a god. His muscles became more prominent. His strength was unmatched beyond the limits of an ordinary man.
He balanced his posture to catch the collapsing pillar which surprisingly stopped on the tip of his fingers.
He was puzzled for a moment.
“Did I do that?” He shook his head in disbelief.
“Maybe…I guess,” a voice said behind him.
He turned his head towards it only to see a soldier with Z band insignia.
He smiled and removed his hand from the pillar. The bears followed suit and the Z band soldier tossed it off with the flick of a finger. His name was Mark.
“Nice save Mark,” Dave said as he offered a firm handshake. “You really caught me off guard.
“There's no problem. I'm only doing my job.” He smiled in return.
Mark waved before disappearing into the chaos and dust while the noises warped into the air frequency flowing into Ken.
Deep in his system, AIDEN had successfully transmitted restoration waves into his brains. It stimulated the release of his growth hormones, causing the rebuild of his damaged cells. His heartbeat returned to normal and his wounds stopped bleeding. From the point he was standing, Dave could see the wounds closing up in bits from the edges towards the center like a river dries from its banks.
He was astonished at the remarkable wonder happening before him.
He rushed over to the sleeping Ken and checked his vitals. They had all normalized. He was breathing soundly. His heart was steady and beating at a normal rhythm. He was still glued to Ken's healing skin and trying to determine if to call the others so that he didn't notice the burning asteroid falling in their direction.
He carried Ken gently to take him to a better area to heal faster before he looked up and saw his death approaching.
By now, AIDEN had successfully completed the restoration sequence and Ken was returning to conscious state.
SYSTEM RELOADED.
WELCOME BACK KEN!
He opened his eyes a little only to see a burning rock descending at a great speed.
Instantly, his senses sharpened.
He felt intense heat spreading from his chest outward to his head and feet. He pulled himself from Dave's strong grip, horror written on his face.
With the speed of light, he disappeared from the spot just as the asteroid hit the exact spot.
When he finally understood what was happening, he saw Dave on his hands instead and a large hole in the point he was standing.
He quickly dropped Dave, apologizing.
“I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to…”
“Oh my God! What just happened?” Dave's eyes wide in disbelief. “You just ran faster than any machine or animal I've ever seen.” Not a question
He took Ken’s arms and looked at them. “How did you do it?”
Ken stood there startled with no words forthcoming. But the moment was cut short by another falling asteroid.
“We will talk later and you must be ready to tender honest answers to me. You may leave.” Ken bowed to the commander before vanishing into air.
He was not going to make mistakes this time.
