Waylon Champion's Story

Ara followed While Tanya pulled out a note pad and a pen. She was writing down components for the next titan. She had plans in her head for one built around speed. She had a whole list just waiting to be put to paper. But some pieces needed to be bought. So she put the price of the things that she beside the things she had to buy.

Ara followed. It was getting close to night. That means that the next morning. They would have to travel first thing in the morning. That means they would make it in the afternoon. Ara almost released that excited squeal. She managed to stay calm but just barely. It was time to see what Walon wanted.

He had to tell them his past.

Waylon was dreading the response he would get, but it was the honorable thing to do. Not after that spiel would he hold back any information that might hinder their goals.

He caught his breath when they reached the bottom of the spiral steps. It was like a huge glittering cavern down here. The water was calm and still, no ripples to be found. The tips of the stalactites that formed on the ceiling glistened with moisture. It was a very serene scene. If you just looked up, it was almost equatable to a starry night sky.

Waylon sighed, "Look, I don't know if you should take me to this place you guard so dear. The past I've had...it's made me a dormant target, if that makes sense. I promise you, I don't have a bounty on my head. No one is actively seeking me at the moment and no one should so long as a few certain people don't know I'm alive. It's a long story as to why this is, but I don't want to hinder you all by any regard. I know how well you guys want to keep this secret. I don't want to hold anything back from you so that is why I'm telling you this now. If you still want to show me, that's fine. I don't plan to be found by my enemies. Just know that it's a possibility."

His exterior was calm, but inside he was tense.

Brandon looked at Waylon. "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", Brandon stared. Images of cannibalism ran through his mind. " Im Not hungry, I just wanted to know wat you eat around here, considering there aint hardly any creatures around here, do u grow ur food?" Brandon stared at him, showing no emotion in his mask.

Ara took a step back at this. "What? Are you one-hundred percent sure they think you're dead. Be honest." This made her a sad and worried inside. She might have to kill him if..... Well she hopes it doesn't come to that. It was a big day tomorrow. She didn't need blood on her hands.

Waylon could see her concern. He was still worried about being found himself. It was a daily concern of his that maybe they didn't believe the scene he'd displayed in front of them. Maybe...one day...when they needed him...they would come back for him...

No, that's crazy talk, he told himself. You left a scene that would've fooled even the most masterful of masterminds. No way in hell would they think you're alive. He'd covered his bases and left no loose ends.

"Well, I can say I left a pretty convincing scene." he finally replied to Ara. "I can also tell you that anyone who would recognize me reside in Aron and typically don't leave unless it's of dire concern. The farther away we are from Aron, the less risk there is and we are about three days travel from the city. How close is this place from Aron?"

Ara thought for a moment. Well it was longer than a moment. 3 days was quite a walk but were they were taking him it would be another day to get there. unless they were determined then there was no concern. But if they were trying to kill him then that means there would be a bounty out on him. Bounty hunters were determined. Ara Smiled but it quickly faded. "I..... If...... hm..." She didn't know what to say. "You have no idea what type of situation you just put me in."

Ara crouched and looked into the water. If she brought him he would be a danger if she left him he would be a danger. But she couldn't kill him because there is so much that points to harmless. Ara stood up. "If there is any chance that they may come looking for you 'here' then stay. otherwise come with us tomorrow morning we hit the road."

While Ara and Waylon talked Tanya started to cook a meal. She got some tomato soup in a can and some salted meat she picked up on her journey thus far. Unlike with ara This has taken 3 days for her to get to this point. She started to cook adding different spices and usually radioactive fruits and vegetables But put into a chemical spice dip The radiation practically fell off. It made for the best soup. After letting it cook for a bit She made some bread. By the time Ara and Waylon was done talking She was done making dinner. She Yelled "Ara, Waylon, Brandon, get your asses up here i'm done making dinner!"

She knew they would like it may not be the best but it was good. She learned it from the best.

"I..... If...... hm..." was all Ara could muster as she pondered over her decision. Well, at least she wasn't trying to kill him, Waylon decided. Still though, she was in close proximity and could make that decision at any time.

"You have no idea what type of situation you just put me in."

He did, actually. Choosing between a person's life and a person's goals was never an easy one. And the road to survival hinged on making the right decision in these situations. That was how he and his father survived all these years. And because of one wrong decision, his father paid the ultimate price. He could see how Ara would kill him within a blink of an eye. But something in his gut told him she wouldn't.

His gut was right. "If there is any chance that they may come looking for you 'here' then stay. otherwise come with us tomorrow morning we hit the road." she finally decided.

Now it was his turn to make the decision. Play it safe and stay here the rest of his life or take the risk as well as put the others at risk. It wouldn't be a hard decision if the risk factor wasn't so high. The price to pay if he were to be discovered was penultimate. And he wouldn't carry it alone. But the odds were in their favor. So what the hell?

He chuckled, "Well, no sense in staying here in this place my whole life. If you have a location that is hidden and has better living conditions, then that might be even safer for me. I'll go." he got up.

"Ara, Waylon, Brandon, get your asses up here i'm done making dinner!" Tanya shouted from the top of the stairs.

"Coming!" he called out and approached the staircase. He turned around and looked at Ara with dead serious eyes. "No one is looking for me. I'd bet my life on it." and began to climb up the stairs. "I was gonna make dinner though!" He shouted up to Tanya, "I was planning on making meatballs!"

Tanya smiled "Sorry wanted to make a proper meal I haven't done so in so long." Ara walked up the stairs looking around. She was trying to see where Brandon was. In a matter of seconds she was practically running through the house. Brandon was nowhere to be found. "Where is Brandon? She said as she looked into the kitchen. Tanya almost threw down the soup. But she put too much time into it. When it was sat down Tanya made sure she didn't spill a drop. "That fucker better not have ran off."

After looking for a few minutes Tanya started to complain that her soup would get cold Ara knew that he wouldn't do anything stupid. Would he? She shook the thought out of her head and helped set up the dinner. The poured it into bowls almost filling it up to the top. Three bowls had been filled. Ara sat down putting all three bowls down saying "Come and sit down Waylon."

Tanya cut the bread and put them on little saucers and carried them into the room. 3 pieces of seasoned bread all about the same size. Tanya let out a smile "I hope you all like it." She said as she sat down.

"Sorry...wanted to make a proper mean. I haven't done so in so long."

Well...fair enough. Waylon had plenty of times to create his own edible masterpieces. It was so easy for him to lose the thought of how fortunate he was to be able to do this since not many other people could possess this luxury, especially not humans.

"Well, go on ahead then," he urged her, "Let's see what you've made." He wasn't a culinary expert, but he did know a few things about spices and wondered if she'd used some.

When he approached the table, his jaw dropped. A warm and pleasing aroma came from three steaming bowls on the table with slices of bread sitting next to each. And she'd used more than some of his spices. She even went as far as using some of the dangerous stuff which, if cooked right, could make for a fantastic meal.

And she'd hadn't done this in so long.

Damn, teach me to be a culinary expert.

"Come and sit down Waylon."

Ara motioned him over. Waylon obeyed until he realized there were only three people.

"Um, where's Brandon?" he asked, confused. "I thought he was looking forward to food."

Ara looks down at her bowl. "I...Don't know. He is gone. But he knows better than to tell anyone so......" Ara then just started to eat. Tanya looked over to Waylon "So do you have any interests in magic" She was asking mainly to make the mood a bit better. Ara still had one thing to look forward to. Tomorrow was a new day. Ara quickly finished her dinner and went to go lay on the couch to fall asleep. Leaving Tanya and Waylon alone.

"I...don't know. He is gone. But he knows better than to tell anyone so..."

Waylon still had concerns. It wasn't the part about telling anyone about the secret location that made him anxious. It was the life of Brandon. Despite there being walls, there were plenty of dangers to keep in mind while in the city. Sure there were simple things to keep track of like to watch out for eroding debris falling from the tops of buildings, weak parts of the ground that would break away from a hiker and cause them to fall into the aquifer below, or even highly concentrated areas of radiation that would kill you if you stayed too long.

But there were other more lethal concerns as well. While most animals that traversed the area were herbivores and docile, others were carnivorous and extremely territorial. One encounter with the wrong nest could leave Brandon a pile of limbs. There were also people that knew how to pass through the walls while they were up. Even Waylon knew a couple of passages, but he had a feeling that there were more. If Brandon found one of those people, anything could happen.

Best not to think about it.

"So do you have any interests in magic?"

His thoughts were broken by Tanya, who changed the subject. Waylon watched Ara leave the table and head to the couch. It was just him and her.

"I did," he told her, "I'm kind of on a frustration break at the moment. It's a little hard for me to do magic considering I'm human, so learning's a fucking pain in the ass. I can't even do much. What about you?"

"You got the part about humans and magic right." Tanya held out a finger and it started to shoot fire out like a blow torch. The fire was a bright blue. "This is about all I got to my name. I learned it from another human But that was all I could learn. I guess you could call me magically retarded." She let out a small chuckle Then turned to look to Ara.

"God I hope she is write about Brandon. So..." Tanya looked back to Waylon. "Well I think I'm going off to bed. See you in the morning. You better get some good sleep. Because we are going to take a LONG walk tomorrow. May be a few hours before we get there."

"You got the part about humans and magic right," Tanya responded, then went to shoot blue flame out of her hands.

God dammit, Waylon sighed in his head. Why can everyone just shoot flames out of their hands and all I could do is embers? Granted he was grateful that he could do anything with magic at all, but it wasn't that helpful.

"This is about all I got to my name. I learned it from another human, but that was all I could learn. I guess you could call me magically retarded," she chuckled.

So now he was beyond magically retarded? The depression of this sunk him lower and lower.

"God I hope she is right about Brandon."

There was no sense in just running out there at night. It would be better to look for him tomorrow had he stepped outside.

"Well, I think I'm going off to bed. See you in the morning. You better get some good sleep. Because we are going to take a LONG walk tomorrow. Maybe a few hours before we get there."

Really? he wondered. This "utopian paradise" was walking distance away from us? How had he not discovered this place if it was out in the open?

"Wait..." he called back to her, "You were talking about that wrecked vehicle before. Any chance you could make me one? I know it's a lot to ask since we just met and if you don't want to, that's fine. But if not, can I at least watch so I know how to make my own. I think it would be a very useful tool to have."

Tanya laughed. "It took me years to learn to make a titan. But I will see what I can do when we get there for now I really need some sleep." She thought about what she could make for him so far all her titans have been fitted for her only so she would have to change up her usual blueprints. She walked out of the room scratching her bright red, clearly dyed, head. Thinking. "Witch way to another sofa or guest bed?" Where ever he says she goes.

Tanya laughed. "It took me years to learn to make a titan. But I will see what I can do when we get there. For now, I really need some sleep. Which way to another sofa or guest bed?"

"Of course," he responded pointing to an unopened door. That entire hallway has guest beds. Feel free to pick a favorite."

It was a quite night of sleep. For Ara no dreams had come. Tanya's sleep was nothing but a shopping list. The morning was interrupted with The sound of Ara yelling "Wake up we need to start getting on the move." Tanya woke up and got her stuff together. Ara went outside to get her weapons. Brandon's were gone. Ara walked into Waylon's room. "So there are some rules that I have to tell you about this travel. Rule 1) As soon as we leave the house do not talk till I give the ok. Rule 2) When we get to the front door I will do the talking. Rule 3) Do not take any food or water with you. Do you understand?" She started to walk out to the front door. "If you disobey any of these rules then you will be killed. Because if you disobey these rules you could get us killed as well. We don't have time for questions. So get any thing you think we may need." Tanya was at the front door.

As soon as Waylon had his stuff then they were gone. It was a 4 in a half hours when Ara stopped. She looked around. "Well sense it is ok to talk now, We must stop. We can't continue. The shadows have eyes. Hey the girl we met at the gates I know you are there. Please come out now."

Ara looked over to were Aura was. "Don't threaten me. If you really want to die just say so. I could have shot you so many time since we left the house. You don't scare me girl." She began to walk to Aura. "I can't have you sneaking in behind us. So... you walk in with the group or you die here." She drew her pistol. "Also if you tell anyone about this place I will not hesitate to hunt you down and kill you and everyone you care about." She looked down at her gun. "Its something I will do if I have to. You know this is true." Ara looked back to Tanya who just nodded. "Do you understand?"

Waylon took his own path to his room and fell asleep.

He actually dreamed a surprisingly vivid dream. In this dream, it was him, Ara, the other Jamia, and Brandon standing in a row with weapons drawn, against a fleet of raiders and immortals. At the back of that fleet, standing on a high mountain sat a figure in a black cloak, resembling much of what the Grim Reaper's appearance looked like. Tanya lay dead on the ground in front of them, a sword in her open palm, an arrow and multiple gunshot wounds all across her chest. It was clear she had gone out fighting.

The horde was almost upon them. Ara had her sniper out and was knocking off enemies one by one. Aura charged into the mass of bodies, claws swinging and slicing multiple dudes like sushi. Waylon felt something surge in his arm up to his hand. Suddenly, his sword was alight with blazing red fire. Amazing.

He fought his way through the crowd, slicing through raiders, watching them burn as he did so. The smell of burning flesh was a pungent one, but he fought on anyway. Suddenly, he found himself on the other side. He looked back. There was no sign of the Jamia or Brandon. Ara was fighting people off and holding her own fairly decent against a mass number of people. But he could tell she was getting weaker. It wouldn't be long before she would be overcome. He had to push on, had to take out the leader. He climbed the hill.

Reaching the top, Waylon discovered a council of five waiting for him there. Four of them wore gray hoods while the fifth was the black hooded one he'd seen earlier. One by one, the gray hoods took off their cloaks, revealing their faces. A bald man with brown eyes and a scar across his left cheek was first. The name Darius came to mind. The next person who took off their hood was recognizable. A man only known as Silver due to the color of his eyes, he had smooth skin, jet black hair, and was also his father's employer. The next person was also recognizable. Archon's face was painted red, orange, and yellow to signify something with fire, but his hair was very long and also black. He was the one his employer sent his father to work for. The last man in gray had blonde hair with purple and blue highlights and electric blue eyes. His aura sizzled with power and intimidation and only the most sinister of names came to mind: Malachai. Finally, the man in black stepped forward and walked the few steps to be mere feet away from Waylon. He merely took off his hood and Waylon let out a gasp. The man was his father.

He awoke from the dream with a start, gasping for air and sweating from every pore. He looked around, finding himself in the confines of his room. He sighed and lay down on his pillow.

What was that? he wondered. Why were Silver and Archon there? Who where the other two guys? And most importantly, why was his father in the dream, represented as leader of the evil side? His dad always told him that while most dreams were created from the human mind, sometimes the magic in us combined with our images to give us a glimpse of the future. Was that an example?

It was most likely so, but the question was what was going to happen and what wasn't? He said the one thing to keep in mind if you ever have one is that not all of the events in the dream are glimpses into the future. This meant that a number of details in the dream could be true while no entire scene was true either. For Waylon, it meant another fucking puzzle to solve while going on an adventure.

Suddenly, the door opened and Ara walked in. Waylon wasn't dressed and immediately covered himself up with the blanket. "Don't you knock?!" he cried.

Ara ignored him. "So there are some rules that I have to tell you about this travel. Rule 1) As soon as we leave the house do not talk till I give the ok. Rule 2) When we get to the front door I will do the talking. Rule 3) Do not take any food or water with you. Do you understand?" Waylon nodded his head and Ara turned to the door only to turn back at the frame. "If you disobey any of these rules then you will be killed. Because if you disobey these rules you could get us killed as well. We don't have time for questions. So get any thing you think we may need."

She left the room, bringing Waylon back to reality. He sighed and go out of bed, then got dressed, wiping the dust off his white coat, then proceeding to gather his supplies. No food or water, so he was going to hydrate as much as he could while he could. He drank three or four bottles of water while packing. He grabbed his special sword, his recurve bow, a quiver and plenty of arrows. Apart from weapons, there wasn't really much anything else he needed to bring. He didn't want to over encumber himself and with food and water out of the way, he could pack lighter than he ever could before.

"Ready," he called and soon they were gone. Like before, the hike wasn't nearly as bad since he packed so light and because he'd drank water early on, he was hydrated throughout the hike. However, he'd forgotten to take food and was starving through most of it, but that was hardly a complaint as he could justs fill his stomach with the thought of curiosity as to what lied ahead.

He noticed that Brandon wasn't with the. He was also startled by how easily the two could just leave a person behind like that. He knew that Brandon took his weapons with him wherever he went, so maybe it was just that he'd lost faith in the expedition. Intuition told him otherwise.

"Well sense it is ok to talk now," Ara began to speak. "We must stop. We can't continue. The shadows have eyes. Hey the girl we met at the gates I know you are there. Please come out now."

Waylon turned around in shock to find that the Jamia from last night was indeed there. He was so concentrated on his thoughts that he forgot to be aware of his surroundings. The Jamia had her hand on her bow, but there was no tension in her hand. "Make a move for your weapons and I shall kill you all without even blinking," she threatened with no sense of fire power in those words. Why was she holding back?

"Don't threaten me," Ara shot back. "If you really want to die just say so. I could have shot you so many time since we left the house. You don't scare me girl." As she walked over to the Jamia, she made a decision. "I can't have you sneaking in behind us. So... you walk in with the group or you die here. Also if you tell anyone about this place I will not hesitate to hunt you down and kill you and everyone you care about." she pulled out a gun as if to prove the point. "Its something I will do if I have to. You know this is true. Do you understand?"

Waylon knew that the Jamia wouldn't attack and would probably concede, but he was trying to find out the motive of her being here. Was she a spy of some sort? An assassin? Or was she here for a different reason? It perked his interest and he wanted to find out more about her.

Ara took a deep breath and put her gun away. "Because if anyone found out about this there would be wars fought over it." She walked back to the group. "Well welcome to the group." Ara takes off walking with Tanya behind. It was another hour or two when They reached one of the zones. It had a sign that said highly radioactive. "Ignore them there is no radiation here." Tanya said with a smile. Ara led them deep into the Radiation zone. This was one of many. But this was just a way to camouflage. Ara leads them behind a building. It looked like a bunch of rubble. Ara squeezed threw some of the larger pieces of fallen building. This led to an Iron door. Knocked on the door. Eyes looked out of a little slot. "Family is home." Ara and Tanya said at the same time. The door opened. There was a Deros with a brown sleeveless trench coat. He spoke with a scratchy voice. "Hello. You must be Ara and Tanya. I have heard much about you. My name is Kijer I am one of the plus ones. These must be your plus ones?"

He led them to a room With some people in it. Kijer explained who was who. There was Dia'Aka Who was the cook He was a fat Gorthach, currently he was making dinner. Then the last plus one was Angle, She was Staris who wore a lab coat She was working on a drawing. Then there was the ones who were with Ara and Tanya. There was a human by the name of Issac he was in blue jumpsuit he sat back with a Jamos by the name of Sores he had dark fur and wore a lightly armored outfit. Then the last one was Mark. He was an african american, one armed, Immortal. He was tall even for an immortal and had Tribal tattoo that cover his entire arm. His eyes glowed red. Ara walked in and her and Sores hugged Then started to chat. Tanya looked over to Aura and Waylon. "This isn't the place but after dinner you and the other plus ones will get to see what we have been making a big deal about. But for now get to know everyone have a good time and just be patient."