Young Writers Society

''Perhaps this Kartiel has returned, in a far different state from before. But it seems unlikely that the screen would know how to recognize such a change...but it probably would be designed to recognize a Wraith.''

The seriousness of this theory stopped me in my tracks for a moment.
Whichever one it was, we would be facing a powerful and insatiable being.
Eight against one would barely constitute an advantage against what was waiting. The writer part of my brain shared some ideas with me, ideas of bizarre and exotic deaths.
I shook it off, and resolved to work this out in a sensible way.

''In either case, we should prepare a contingency plan. Aegeas has his swords, I have a dagger. Is anyone else armed?''

Lola stood silently in the corner, the gravity of the situation only fully hitting her then.

“So this Wraith thing could very well kill us all. Not to mention the person who claims to be a god who can poof out of existence and change into different forms. Not to mention that half of us aren’t human and most of us aren’t even from the same timeline.” Lola breathed in shakily. “I think I need to sit down.”

Bo stepped forward to the screen, but kept himself calm. Kartiel's description of how wraiths killed people was all that was echoing in the back of his mind, but he wasn't going to let them panic. He wasn't going to panic.

"It's okay Lola. We're gonna figure this out. I have a gun on me," he pulled out his glock 19 pistol that was hidden under his jacket. "But I only have so many rounds. Depending on how hardy these wraiths are, this should take one out pretty easy with a clean shot. But that's only if this is a wraith, which, for now, let's just assume it is. If that's the case though..." his eyes scanned the rest of the map. There weren't any other red dots for now, which meant it was alone.

He turned to Nadira.

"Nadira, can you scan the system's security and see if there's any preemptive measures we can take before confronting the stranger? Like, if there's any way to seal off this - the control room - so that if me and either Aegeas or Boris go out, we know you'll be safe? Or if there's a shield that can be activated around Atlantis, or... yeah. Anything. I don't know how it works but, just see what you can find."

"I can," she confirmed, already searching through the city's controls to see what the protective measures were. She glanced over at Codix. She hated the thought of it, but she knew what they were likely going to have to do. She had to stay behind in the control to monitor the technical parts of the city. He could as well, but having a shapeshifting alien on your side was always a good thing in battle - especially when no one would expect it.

"I'll come with you-" Codix started to say, only for Nadira to cut him off.

She tapped the map with a finger. "I'm still looking through the city's protective measures, but I think I found something even more useful than that. There's an armory right on the way to the other tower. And, if I'm reading this diagram correctly, it's fully stocked."

"Oh! Fantastic." Bo nodded as he looked at the map. "Well, if that's the case, how about Aegeas and Boris, you stay here to protect the others - since you're already armed - and I'll go hit the armory on the way to see this maybe-wraith-guy with one or two of you. Do any of you already know how to fight or have any experience before?"

Raiden didn't know what a Wraith was, but at this point he was afraid to ask.
"I do, so to speak. I can fight, yeah. Not too sure about a gun though."

“I can use a gun, but only in self defense. I’m not too good at fighting.” Lola’s voice shook softly. It had been a while since she had used a gun, but the situation hardened her resolve and she was determined to help out in any way she could. “Or anything you can swing. Crowbars, baseball bats-anything heavy and painful would be a good weapon to look for. And they’re easy to use.” At her old home she would keep her softball bat next to her bed. Breakouts were common in that area, so she always kept some means of self defense in her room. Her grandparents neighborhood didn’t have hardly any crime, but the habit had always stuck with her, and now the memories came rushing back.

Aegeas had stayed by the back of the room, mainly to collect his thoughts. He wished he hadn't learned the truth at all. Nadira being some kind of a machine, and having the name Nadira? That didn't change his opinion of her, since she was still a living, thinking being; he was even impressed that she could keep up the act for so long. Kartiel coming back to life again? Honestly, Aegeas was relieved not to have killed him, but not happy with the prospect of fighting him again. An ancient, dangerous, life-sucking creature who wasn't Kartiel? That was terrifying. It took a lot of willpower to shake away a familiar feeling of dread.

"Why should I wait here?" Aegeas said, raising his hand as he looked at Bo. "I've got more experience fighting than most of you, and it looks like we need all the help we can get. Do you think something will come here?"

Nadira crossed her arms. "There's only one person on the screen," she added, trying to support Aegeas' point. She didn't like the idea of splitting up, especially when there was a much better alternative. "It might be better to overwhelm them with numbers. I can fight, and Codix can too."

“Well, let’s all head that way then! Works for me.” Bo replied agreeably - though he still wanted to make sure everyone was kept safe.

"Word of advice to everyone: Don't die." Raiden's face didn't show any hint of his statement being lighthearted. He meant what he said. Even though it may just be one entity, they might be super powerful. He'd know himself. The memories never left. He doubted they ever would.

Codix glanced over at Raiden. The comment was surprising - he had pegged him as just a normal kid. But the tone failed to suggest that he was scared; in fact, it sounded like he was speaking from experience. It was a tone that both Nadira and Codix had frequently used, to the ignorance of their peers. Only people who had seen death could truly understand how terrifying it was.

Aegeas rolled his eyes; he'd heard comments like that too many times for him to count. The serious tone did catch him off guard, especially since the speaker was one of the picnickers. Still, due to the memories that were starting to lurk in the back of his mind, it wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear.

"We'll try not to," Aegeas said, reaching one end of the control room and peeking out the entrance. Nobody or nothing dangerous appeared down any of the hallways extending into the city. "Everybody ready? Let's go."

There were only eight of us. I was very aware of that. And if we lost anyone, even just one or two, the rest of us would be the more jeopardized.
But then again, there was no guarantee that anybody would be safer left behind.
So in the end, I said nothing, and joined Aegeas and Bo at the helm of the group.

On the way, I asked them a question.
''If we do run into Kartiel, I should like to meet him with some understanding of his nature. Would you describe your encounter with him to me?''

Raiden looked a little more light hearted as they walked, though in comparison to before they found out about this entity, he was still rather subdued. Upon hearing Boris' question, he walked a little faster to get closer to Bo and Aegeas. He also wanted to hear about this Kartiel person.