Waylon Champion's Story

Night fell and the only thing that Waylon saw was fire and death.

He made a quick upper-cut to another sandbag, watching the grainy material spill out onto the concrete floor. Taking a side-step to the right, he stabbed into another bag roughly a hundred and twenty degrees apart from the sandbag that was bleeding it's contents. Retracting the blade, he made a final grunt and took a lunging swing out of anger...anger towards what had happened over the past two months...anger towards his father's killer...

The sandbag was sliced in two.

Breathing heavily, he realized he got carried away on that last stroke and practiced breathing. Inhale, exhale...inhale..........exhale...

He heard a massive commotion from a distance.

Inhale...

He listened to the sound of what appeared to be raiders getting slaughtered. Huh, he wondered, that typically doesn't happen. It's the other way around.

Exhale...

He found himself in criss-cross position and continued to breath slowly. His mind was clear.

He knew better than to leave the city at night. He could handle the raiders better than most people, but even he knew better than to be caught out there when the sun goes down. It wasn't the fact that he could slice through them as if they were paper mache. It was the sheer number of raiders alone that could take anyone down. You needed serious firepower to survive a night out in the wastelands. Firepower that Waylon didn't possess. His sword was the closest to firepower he had.

His sword...he opened his eyes and examined the unique blade once more. This sword was made in Aron and was given to him as a gift from his father. "Swords like this are illegal in major, powerful cities and priceless in all others." he remembered his father saying when he presented it to him as a birthday gift. "Whatever you do, don't show it to anyone but me. Don't even use it unless it's your last resort."

"But where'd you get it?" I remember asking.

"I got it in Aron, from a human blacksmith who works in the black market," he had replied. "It's got special properties to the blade that infuses it with your magical abilities. Speaking of which, have you practiced your incantation ritual."

"I have."

"What element have you decided on?"

That had been the question. All day he had thought through this very question, weighing the pros and cons of each, but never reaching a conclusion. He sighed and was about to tell his father that he didn't have an answer yet, but as he was about to speak, the light of the candle that lit the room called to him. He stared at it, transfixed by it's steady position. He had turned back to his father.

"Fire," he stated.

That night, a magic binding incantation ritual took place, binding Waylon's soul to the element of fire.

Almost a year has passed since then and he hadn't learned much. He could conjure embers and throw them at his enemy. That was about it. He couldn't even use his sword well enough to tap into the special property the sword contained within it's blade. No matter how hard he studied that book and practiced throwing fire at immobile, makeshift targets, he couldn't do it. Will wasn't the answer. So what was?

"I SAID ONE GOOD REASON AND YOU GAVE ME A CRAPPY ONE! ONE LAST FUCKING CHANCE OR YOUR DEAD! GIVE ME A GOOD REASON!!"

The shouting was faint, but articulate. He got up and walked out the door of the abandoned warehouse. But to be honest, what building wasn't abandoned in this city?

It was a hidden gem when it came to ruined cities. It wasn't inhabited or influenced by either faction. The raiders didn't know about it (or at least any inhabitants inside of it) and the rest of the world thought it was overrun by raiders or there was nothing to live on here.

You just have to know where to look...

He reached the city's edge and saw a slaughterhouse for raiders. The corpses were everywhere, staining the sand with their blood. In the middle of that lay a hostile fight. From the silhouettes, he could make out a Jamia versus Jamia Mexican standoff with two humans spectating the show. It was obvious from body tension that the Jamia in crouched position wasn't a part of the group. One of the humans was geared beyond belief. He contemplated what to do and realized that she would be the only way Waylon would be able to go anywhere and do anything. And he needed to find out who had killed his father.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Either kill the fucking cat or don't, but please keep your voice down while doing so. I haven't had a single raider problem here ever and I don't intend to now." He realized too late that he'd forgotten to grab one of his bows and would make easy pickings from a distance. He had a hand on his sword and remained in cover.

Brandon looked at the Intruder. This was Stupid. He had his pistol aimed on her head, keeping both hands on it, gripping it tightly. He was a little taken aback by Ara's outburst, and Tanya seamed to be critizing her like it was normal to do this. He looked torwd Tanya. "Is this normal, or do you two know her?" He asked, easeing his finger on the trigger. "and were In The hell did you get a Titan?" He looked at the destroyed mech, but only a for a second. Although it was kinda stupid whispering questions while in a stand off, but he couldn't imagine seeing anything like that actually working, well, except in cities. Then Brandon hard a voice comeing from the top of the wall.

"Hey! Ether kill the fucking cat or don't, but please keep your voice down......." the voice yelled.

Brandon looked in the direction of the voice.

"I haven't had a single raider problem here ever and I don't intend to now." It continued.

Fuck. Brandon thought. It looked Like a immortal.....although without glowing eyes.....Brandon looked torwds Ara. She got the first intruder covered. And they didn't need a sniper on the lose. He pointed the gun torwds the immortal.....or at least, a immortal look alike. "Who the Hell are you?!" Brandon shouted to him so he can hear.

Brandon looked at Ara in the corner of his eye. Damn it. Brandon aimed the pistol back at the intruding Jamia. "You think this is a fucking game? And lucky for me im a human, and i don't care about your group, and like she said, she doesn't ether. Just scram, and we will not put a bullet to ur head. And ur stupid, because, there's 3 of us, one of u, so, weapons down, and In exchange, we let you live from threating us" Brandon said boldly. He was tired of fighting but he stood up straight, and his gasmask was prepped, looking as fierce as he can." then he shouted to the immortal up on the wall, " You try to snipe, u die"

"Taking orders from dogs? What the fu.... nevermind." Ara looks to the other new guy then back to the shadows. "Bitch thought she could scare me. Fucking idiot." Ara looked back to the other guy. "So who are you and why are you here?"

It's too late to be putting up with this shit right now.

Waylon Champion eyed the gun the male human pointed in his direction. "Who the hell are you?!" he called out. A natural inquiry for a person he never met before.

It was then that the intruding Jamia moved, taking out her bow, aiming it at the other of her kind, and talked about the crimes that would be brought against her if she were to be killed. Crimson realized that if she was telling the truth, then that made the arrow she had pointed at her fellow kind was about as lethal as a pillow. She wouldn't dare break her own code if the other didn't comply. Luckily, Waylon never had to find out as the Jamia retreated with an idol threat and some venom-filled advice. Fair enough, Waylon thought.

The attention was brought back on him however when the female Jamia spoke towards him. "So who are you and why are you here?" Despite his height advantage over the group, he didn't have his bow on him, meaning that they had the offensive. He still was behind cover, meaning that they wouldn't be able to hit him if they decided to attack.

"I think that question should go the other way around," he retorted. "I live here, so who are you guys and why are all of you here?" He wanted to show assertiveness while letting them know that they were intruding on his property.

Brandon had his gun trained on him. "Fair enough, immortal." Brandon shouted. "Im Brandon, that's Tanya. And this ca....I mean Jamia, is Ara, we been traveling for a couple of days and we kinda ran into, as u can see, a weird mutated raider incident. We were wondering if you could let us in, because u see, more raiders are more likely to show up. And im sorry for the gun." Brandon put his pistol n his holster. "You wouldn't let 3 strangers get murdered by bloodthirsty raider, right?" Brandon crossed his fingers behind his back in hopes he would let them in....

"I'm not an Immortal," Waylon responded. "I'm a very tall human. You can call me Waylon." He heard the sound of a pistol sliding into a holster. One down, two to go.

"I would be more than happy to let you in my gates for the night. After all, no one deserves to die from something as simple as raiders. I will let you in when everyone in your group drops their weapons." He stayed behind cover, never daring to peek over to see. His sense of hearing would tell all...

Ara reached for her weapon and started to put her auto pistol down along with her bow she went to put the rifle down when something hit her "Wait you said you live here but for how long?" Tanya looked over to her mech and with a pouty face she said "My weapon is already down." Ara looked around She remembered this place but he was new to her.

Waylon waited for the Jamia to put her weapon down, but she instead continued to grill him. "Wait, you said you live here, but for how long?"

He sighed. "I'll explain later when you're all inside, but for right now I have to be sure you guys won't be a threat to me. So put your weapon down or leave."

He heard the female human say with great sulkiness, "My weapon is already down." Dammit, he thought. Her vehicle was broken. He just had to hope that she could either fix it or get a new one. He would find out tonight.

Ara looked to Brandon "Don't start acting like the leader. I recruited you remember." Ara shifted her sniper "I need to bring this I think its broken. If it did turn out you want to kill us this would be the worst weapon to fight up close with. Ara pointed to the barrel I think its bent." Tanya looked at the titan "There is no fixing it. We will have to leave it I can build another." She looked to Ara "If we stay we have to leave at sunrise."

Waylon almost laughed at the thought of a human leading any kind of group, even if it was of a group of three. That's just not where we are in the world yet, he thought. Soon though, it would be.

His thoughts were put into words when the one called Ara reamed him for it. She then said, "I need to bring this. I think its broken. If it did turn out you want to kill us this would be the worst weapon to fight up close with. I think it's bent." By it, Waylon assumed she was talking about the barrel of the sniper.

The one called Tanya told the one called Robert that she couldn't fix it, but she could build another. They might be able to find some spare parts lying around here somewhere, but he didn't know if they would work. He wasn't a mechanic.

"Very well..." he decided. "Follow the wall down the left side until you hit a service gate. I can let you in there." He slipped down the ladder that brought him on top of the wall and walked in that direction, breathing a sigh of relief. He would keep his right hand on the sword hilt just in case it was a trap and they decided to attack. But by that point, he'd be within striking range. He was agile despite his lanky form and could maneuver around guns pointed in his direction if they were close enough.

When they reached the gate, he pressed the button that open it, ready for any kind of danger they may fling upon him.

Ara walked around her rifle on her back. Tanya followed shortly behind. She stopped next to the guy "So how long did you say you lived here for?"

Brandon fallowed in, a little mad about being showed up like that, but it passed. like all other emotions. Once they found this "Waylon" They could be closer to finding the oasis, not that it even existed. But sytill, he always wonderd wat a live tree looked like, and wat pure water tasted like without all the chemical to make it drinkable......but a place of blue sky and plants is nothing but a fairy tale. Then he saw Waylon. this time up close. He held his hand out, a sign of human greeting, the hand shake. "nice to meet u close up, Waylon"

Waylon Champion watched as the group filed in. They didn't have weapons pointed in his direction anymore, so that was a start.

Brandon walked towards him, his hand extended. "Nice to meet you up close, Waylon."

He accepted the handshake, nodding his head at him, and looked at the rest of the group. "Follow me."

He started leading the group through the abandoned streets, noting how eerily beautiful the scene looked in front of him. Man, if only he had a camera...

"So, how long did you say you lived here for?"

Ara was still suspicious of him. He could tell she would be the last one to greet him with open arms, if she ever did.

"I've been here for about two months," he replied. "This was one of three cities me and my father agreed to head to in case things went south. We chose this place because it was practically uninhabited and it had a built-in security system that actually worked. Not many abandoned cities that have that anymore."

He led them past his makeshift training facility he was at when it all went down outside. Sand was everywhere on the inside. He'd have to clean that up tomorrow. He took the group next door and opened the door.

"In here," he said, and went inside.

Ara thought for a moment. "I was wondering because we have been thru here a lot. Once a year every year for the past 2 years. This will be my third time." Ara looked around the house. "So im gonna guess you haven't seen the entire city yet" She held her breath This answer would determine if he could be trusted.

Tanya just walked in She looked to Brandon. "You asked about my titan. I made it of course. That's my fifth one"

"I was wondering because we have been through here a lot. Once a year every year for the past two years. This will be my third time."

An interesting response, Waylon thought to himself. If what she was saying was true, then what was the significance of this city to her that made her pass through it every year. Sentiments? Refuge? A pass to a destination with an annual event? He would find out later.

Tanya had turned to Brandon "You asked about my titan. I made it of course. That's my fifth one."

Good. She was experienced at building those contraptions. Hopefully, he could get her to build one for him or at least for all of them.

All of them...he reminisced on that thought. Would they all join him on his quest to Aron. It seemed unlikely, but maybe they all crossed paths for a reason...as if this was destiny.

He smiled on the inside. No, he controlled his fate. He would always be a fighter. It would be coincidence if they all had events to handle in Aron.

"So, I'm gonna guess you haven't seen the entire city," Ara mused casually. Waylon couldn't help but get the feeling that she was grilling him, but he answered.

"Well, my dad and I explored the entirely of this area when we set up our safe haven here three years ago...you know, to check for raiders and other forms of life. We ended up finding an aquifer spanning underneath the town. The water's not pure, but it's safe to drink and isn't touched by radiation." He led them to the door that spiraled downward to the aquifer. "See for yourself," he urged and went down.

Ara smiled "If you can spare the time to walk tomorrow I can show you something that will make the water here seem un drinkable" And not to mention Tanya needs a plus one." Tanya looked over and causally waved. She smiled as well. "Trust me you will love it."

"Nice Set up you got here. But tell me, wat you get for food here?" Brandon asked, Praying that this man wasn't a cannibal. He dealt With that a long time ago.....wasn't pretty. Then Brandon resigerd that Tanya said something "You asked about my titan. I made it of course. That's my fifth one." She said. "U built them?! How the hell u manage to do that? and wats it made of? Scrap?" Brandon asked. He mostly forgot about Waylon for the moment, but then he heard Ara "If you can spare the time to walk tomorrow I can show you something that will make the water here seem un drinkable And not to mention Tanya needs a plus one." No. She cant be, I mean, does she give the secrect out to everyone? Brandon thought. "Ara! I need u!" Brandon yelled

Ara looked at Brandon her eyes focused almost as if she was looking into him. When she spoke it was in a normal voice she had nothing to hide. "There is a reason I asked him to come along. I have a felling he can be trusted. If he proves otherwise I will kill him. If we are there when he proves otherwise.... well he will regret it. There is a reason this has been going on for 2 years. And why we only get a plus one. And there is a reason nobody else knows about it yet. Why you thought it was a fake. I know deep in my own heart that this Waylon person is a good choice. If I am wrong and he dose something to hurt it or even destroy it I will kill him, everyone he loved, everyone he knew, Then I would kill myself for letting such a thing happen. Trust me I would. I am crazy enough to do something like that."

Ara looked back to Waylon. "So here is the deal. If i show you this thing you cant tell or show anyone If you do we will know and we will hunt you down and kill you. Brandon the same goes for you."

Tanya stepped forward. "I case you don't remember me saying I killed my plus one because she had bounty on her I didn't know about until we started traveling. I shot her in the head. I didn't want the 1,000 credits on her. Nope. But she knew and that was enough to get her killed. I knew her for a year. And I will tell you one thing this crazy bitch Ara would kill you without flinching"

Ara nodded while Tanya continued "So if there is no more questions then lets continue the tour."

Rather than step toward the door, Ara smiled. "If you can spare the time to walk tomorrow, I can show you something that will make the water here seem undrinkable. And not to mention, Tanya needs a plus one. Trust me, you will love it."

Waylon didn't quite understand what Ara was asking from him. They were going to take a walk? To where? Should he go?

Brandon called Ara over there and the entire demeanor of the room changed. It was like the moment of possible friendship was torn away to reveal something else...secrecy. Waylon got the impression that besides Tanya and Ara, no one else here knew that much about each other. It was acquaintanceship. But they had to start somewhere.

Suddenly, Ara spoke to Brandon, "There is a reason I asked him to come along. I have a felling he can be trusted. If he proves otherwise I will kill him. If we are there when he proves otherwise.... well he will regret it. There is a reason this has been going on for 2 years. And why we only get a plus one. And there is a reason nobody else knows about it yet. Why you thought it was a fake. I know deep in my own heart that this Waylon person is a good choice. If I am wrong and he dose something to hurt it or even destroy it I will kill him, everyone he loved, everyone he knew, Then I would kill myself for letting such a thing happen. Trust me I would. I am crazy enough to do something like that."

She turned to him, "So here is the deal. If i show you this thing you cant tell or show anyone If you do we will know and we will hunt you down and kill you. Brandon the same goes for you."

Tanya spoke up, "In case you don't remember me saying, I killed my plus one because she had bounty on her. I didn't know about until we started traveling. I shot her in the head. I didn't want the 1,000 credits on her. Nope. But she knew and that was enough to get her killed. I knew her for a year. And I will tell you one thing this crazy bitch Ara would kill you without flinching."

It was in this moment that Waylon knew he could trust these people. People fighting and living their whole lives to protect and defend something they held sacred were honest people. Anyone that would rather put someone or something ahead of their own relations were the people you wanted on your good side, for they could never betray you unless you gave them a reason to. These were people he wanted to protect and hang around for a long time.

"So if there is no more questions then lets continue the tour."

He could feel his own manner change as he gave a genuinely kind smile, not the formal smiles they have been exchanging for the past few minutes. "Of course. Help yourself to anything you wish. Like I said, water is down here in the aquifer, but we keep bottles in the pantry. Brandon, I heard you ask about food. The pantry is through the door to your left, second door on your right in that hallway. There's some quick snacks in there, but I can prepare something if you'd rather wait. Ara, let me show you the aquifer, although something tells me you know it exists." He was actually wanting to be alone with her so that he could tell her something.