First Strikes Disaster Read online

  Acknowledgement

  To all my readers, May you find comfort in my words even when comfort no longer exists. Chapters☆

  Chapter 1- 3:13

  Chapter 2- 14:30

  Chapter 3- 31:55

  Chapter 4- 56:68

  Chapter 5- 69:82

  Chapter 6- 83:94

  Chapter 7- 95:105 Chapter 8- 106:118 Chapter 10- 119:132 Chapter 11- 133:143 Chapter 12- 145:156 Chapter 13- 157:167 Chapter 14- 168:176 Chapter 15- 177:195 Chapter 16- 196:211 Chapter 17- 212:219 Chapter 18- 220:230

  Chapter 1☆

  A cold that seemed to erupt inside you like fire was making its way to the people of the night. Rosalie felt it pass it's way through her, and used it to sprout beautiful ice crystals from her fingers. While no one was looking, she designed them in the shape of snowflakes and gave them wings and bodies. Soon enough however, a crowd of people stopped to watch and she carved the faces so they looked like them. One person tapped her saying they could pay, but she shook her head and gave it to them for free; before she knew it she had given away at least a dozen. For a time this was their main amusement, as nothing was happening on the stage yet. When one of the hosts spotted her and gave her a dark look, she quickly put them away.

  They were seated in a grand theater with well over a thousand people, almost all of them bright and cheery and carrying blood of the men of light. Rose herself was one of the youngest there and quite unnaturally alone. Her aunt Anastasia's face was the one that stood out as she stood at the head of the balcony, the light shining brightly on her brown skin, her dark curly hair falling to her shoulders, and pretty sparkling brown eyes that only Rose's seemed to match. She smiled at the dancers and laughed at the jokes, but many could sense the truth: all about her face was only boredom; a golden crown was the only adornment to her light blue dress.

  They were all dressed simply, for "tonight we shall not outshine" was stated clearly everywhere and that rang true for all the people not in the guard, as at the head of the biggest stage was a bright man who would soon give out many awards, including the "National Badge of Intelligence" and "Silver Medal of Honor".

  She was a child surrounded by warriors that had all killed many one way or another. That was not what they were celebrating, and yet it was what she kept remembering. All who came had been constantly reminded as children that the history of this event was stormed with violence. If you were undefeated you became the crowned winner, and the crowned winner was treated like a king.

  Even the forms of entertainment for the people were different, as they were chosen by the last winner. In various small stages scattered throughout, were people telling stories with the elements. A girl with long dark hair took red fire and crafted a dragon that went soaring through the crowd while another girl, Rose's age, with blond hair and bright green eyes turned green fire into a giant star and then erupted it into little diamonds that flew over the crowd.

  Rose, who was very in awe of it all, only got a little scared when she saw a diamond coming for her. She smoothed out her pretty floral dress, which felt out of place. Just as the man beside her turned to speak, she heard a familiar voice say "Rose," and she gasped.

  "Daniel.” Somewhat more fragile hands grasped her. It was dead in the middle of the summer and yet her uncle still wore a coat with snow on his head. Even now his eyes went to Ana first, and she made no sign that she noticed.

  Rose opened her mouth to say “what's wrong” but stopped when Daniel said "hold this," and began spilling contents from his pockets into her hands. Rose was only mildly interested until he pulled out a golden watch, and she asked, “Are you leaving?”

  “Not yet."

  “So why do you need your watch?"

  "To check the time."

  Rose was one of the few who knew why that couldn't be true. "Is it because they're staring again," she warned, which was true. Many eyes had diverted from the stage, and Rose normally grew astounded by this, but Daniel shoved it off.

  “They only do it when they think I'm not looking; I have half a mind to approach

  them.”

  “Don't. Ana wouldn't like that," she warned.

  He closed the watch and put it back, “Ana doesn't like many things.” “So you're staying the whole time," she said to lighten the mood.

  “If the man of light doesn't need me, he's always getting into trouble lately."

  Rose smiled, for the man of light was Daniel's best friend, something not many could say.

  “He should have come too. Who knows? Maybe he might have won.” This made them both laugh, as they knew that someone so against authority would

  never get one of these.

  “He has just as much chance of winning as I do.” With that he shook the last few

  flakes from his hair. Rose caught a few of them in her hand and smiled. “Where did all that snow come from?" she asked "There's none even close to here?” “Scouting,” he answered shortly.

  “For monsters?"

  “No, for treasure.”

  “But don't you have tons of that already?”

  “Have you seen your grandmother?" he asked and Rose thought suspiciously that this

  was a way to change the subject.

  “No but isn't she always late.”

  “I figured she might try to be on time this time,” he teased.

  “You remember what she said last time?”

  “No?”

  “That she's old now.”

  “Well it's not like I'm not getting old too.”

  Daniel put his hand on her dress, and when he pulled it back, a flower was on his

  palm. Something that usually made her laugh, but now she was afraid.

  “Don't,” she said, and then, “Give it here.”

  “Don't worry, for you know there's not much they can say.” Daniel had had this

  ability for as long as he could remember. The day they met, Rose drew a picture of him,

  and Daniel had thought it would be a good joke to pull it off the paper. It took a lot to

  explain to her mom and dad why a giant person made of sticks was chasing them through

  the house, and since then he stuck to things that didn’t have the potential of hurting you.

  As long as he did that, no one seemed to mind.

  “I wish I could do it,” she said silently.

  “But you can do plenty of other great things. Come on now, let's go eat.” He took his arm in hers, and together they snuck out into the grand hall to get food.

  A family who was just arriving stopped and stared at them curiously, for it was very

  obvious that they were of important status. Daniel put a finger to his lips and showed

  them his badge, then kept walking - In the hall stood thousands and thousands of trays of

  food. Normally, everyone ate before the awards and went to their own parties after,

  making all this just for show. They always ate here, for Daniel never took her to the

  parties because he said there was no reason kids should be allowed to those. They were

  full of drunks and recounts of stories that never seemed to be true; only Daniel, Ana, and

  the other counselors could provide the real stories.

  After recalling last year, when the potatoes had been flaked with what turned out to be

  dolphin skin, Rose took the safe way out, grabbing a plate of fruit and some brownies. Daniel grabbed spaghetti, a nice-smelling baked potato wrapped in bacon, and chicken

  with a weird sauce. Then he hummed happily as he grabbed two plates full of every

  dessert that was offered. Rose shook her head.

  “Are you sure about that?” she asked, staring.

 
“The worst they could have done is poisoned it: whatever this is looks good." He indicated a cake with a chocolate swirl on top. “Now come on, let's go back in.” He used the air to carry three cups of cider in after them.

  The floating cider luckily went unnoticed as one of the counselors was speaking when

  they walked back in.

  As they settled down to keep watching the show, Rose felt the cold feeling again. It

  was as if something was wrong and instead of telling anyone, they sent messages through

  the air. Daniel, who had never really been one for temperatures, was engulfed in the

  words. He, who hardly ever came to events, had not heard the war speech on how

  Maxilennium rose and took his seat on the government. How cities of people turned into

  stone still existed. Daniel and Ana were known to be the ones who had stopped him

  brother and sister - but one took the power while the other watched. She knew he always

  wondered what story they told to explain and for that, she wanted to talk to him about it.

  However, when the part came up, she was distracted by a chilly feeling that had come

  from the outside; Rosalie turned back towards the door and stared.

  At first she thought nothing was wrong, and she was almost annoyed, but then she

  realized that a man had come in, who staggered down the middle aisle looking naturally,

  like he didn't belong. The man had on ripped jeans and a plaid shirt that was torn in many

  places. There was dirt all over his bright red hair, and it appeared as if he hadn't washed

  his clothes in weeks. The room began to grow quiet as all around people noticed. Some

  smiled, assuming it was part of the show, while others smiled as not to freak everyone

  out. He seemed to be looking at their faces for a long time; sizing them up and taking

  them in. As he moved closer, Daniel's eyes looked up, and it was then that the world

  stepped out of its slow motion.

  “Help,” he said before he collapsed to the ground, coughing as if he had one of the

  diseases Rose's mom used to scold her about.

  Daniel was up at once, for he knew he had to help the man soon or he would only get

  kicked out. He went to put one arm around his shoulder. Rose followed him and began to take the other arm, but Daniel stared daggers at her, and Rose went to get the door instead

  (her mother must have told him about the sickness too).

  “I assure you it’s not wise to do that,” a man's voice rang out.

  Daniel ignored him and told Rose, “Come on, we must get him out of here.” “Wait,” someone called, and Rose turned to see her aunt’s eyes looking at her uncle

  full of concern, then at her. When the realization of what she had done, kicked in, she

  staggered back unsure. Various people who knew them were confused. She and Rose had

  barely met and she'd never once acted the tiniest bit interested in her, yet now her eyes

  never left the two of them. “Rose, come on, we're leaving,” Daniel said, never looking

  back.

  They made their way out to the hall, and closed the door. Rose could hear that they

  had started up the speeches again, as if nothing had happened. Daniel's body twitched

  with anger and Rose grabbed his arm.​It isn't their fault,​she thought,​They were taught to

  ignore.

  When they were safe outside, Daniel twisted the moonlight so it shone on them, and

  after getting a few meters away, he asked. “What is your name?”

  “Ar…Ar.. Artisan,” the man coughed out.

  Daniel gave him a warm smile and evened out the ground so it was easier to walk on.

  “What happened to you?”

  Artisan balanced himself so he wasn't hunched over, “I had a ship and it sailed here.” “Were there other people on it besides you?”

  “At least fifty in total.”

  “And are they okay?” Daniel asked, ready to fly if he needed to.

  “Yes, we all made it.”

  “You were ambushed?”

  “No." Artisan shook his head. "We were making a normal nightly patrol and we

  crashed.”

  “On a rock?”

  “By the wind.”

  “Skies feel clear,” Daniel said hesitantly.

  “They weren't before.”

  Daniel met her eyes, and together they walked quietly down the path. Surely

  protective measures had been put up tonight.​Maybe Artisan is delirious.​Accidents that

  happened during important events always caused a distraction, so many times they'd clear

  the water of monsters, and drain the air of any wind before anything could happen. And

  somehow still as they walked up to the docks, it took no time to see it. A huge ship so

  broken that Rose wondered how it didn't sink and if anyone was even still alive. Rose

  stopped, frozen. Daniel, however, wasted no time. He sat the man down on the ground

  and began to climb up as soon as they were close enough.

  "Rose, my toolbox," Daniel said, and she checked his jacket pockets until she found

  it: small and red and shiny. Once in her hand, she threw it up, and Daniel froze it in

  midair and then reached out and grabbed it. He was up so high that it became scary to

  see, so she sat and studied Artisan while he worked. Even injured, his level of power was

  amazing. She noticed he was a sailor, Ana's crew, which she could tell by the tattoo of an

  anchor that was on his neck.​So why is he here like this? And does Ana know?​she

  wondered. She decided Ana must not, or she would have helped. In no time the ship

  seemed to come to life, and with the sound of the sails catching, Rose knew it was ready

  to go again. She finally willed herself to look back up. Daniel slid back down almost

  playfully, and they watched as the crew came out one by one.

  “We're saved,” men and women called from the deck as they looked their way. A

  man with short dark hair beamed at them, relieved. He called something they couldn't

  hear and lowered the ladder so he could walk down. The first thing he did was grab his

  friend and hug him, he was smaller than Artisan, but he radiated a strength that proved he

  was stronger. Another sailor, somewhat younger, and obviously a big fan, followed him down. Once the younger fully saw Artisan’s state, her face fell, and she asked, "What happened to him?"

  "What do you mean?” Daniel asked, passing Rose his toolbox to put in his pockets.

  “He came to us like this."

  "He wasn't like that when he left,” the girl proclaimed briskly.

  Daniel looked at her, concerned. "What happened to your ship?"

  "A wind. We were on our way to Nathan's port when we were pulled abruptly to the

  shore. It was stronger than anything I've ever faced; I swear it felt like something literally

  grabbed the boat.”

  “And none of your crew members were strong enough to make it stop?” “All of us tried, but the boat only shook crazily,” her pride was injured. “You should tell the queen about this."

  Rose stared; he never called Ana the queen.

  "I was just about to make my way. I hear she's at the award show; are you going there

  too?"

  "Yes."

  “The queen's brother,” Artisan said, and Rose wondered how he had known. “That would be me.”

  The sailors bowed immediately with faces of awe. “No person better to be here.” Daniel smiled at them. “I promise I'll make sure that what happened is found out,

  sounds like an attack.”

  “It was, and no one can tell me different.”

  “Are you attacked often?”

 
“No, but enough to know what it feels like.”

  “Part of the destruction made it appear as if the boat was destroyed after.” The woman coughed. “I wouldn't doubt it, we were shaken crazily in there.” "We should walk back together," the man hurried in quickly.

  Daniel steadied Artisan on his shoulder, and together the five of them began walking. “It's not far," Daniel told them. "Strange it happened so close.”

  “It's as if whatever it was did it on purpose.”

  Rose learned that the man's name was Marcus, and his friend, Angelina, and then after that she zoned out. After being allowed to listen to most of Daniel's conversations, she learned that adults would always find a way to hide the important parts.

  She thought about the cold feeling that had reached her earlier, and wondered if it would come back again. Instead the breeze felt good, sickly good. And everything, even the way the stars and moon shone down their light, had a sense of perfection to it. Maybe

  someone was just playing a game.

  “That was me,” Daniel's voice said, and she knew they talked about the war, about the

  great things he was known for. Though he didn't say it, Rose knew he wanted nothing

  more than to change the conversation, as Daniel hated talking about his past. For a brief

  moment they met eyes, and she gave him a “they'll stop one day” look. For the rest of the

  walk he was unusually cherry.

  When they made it back to the building, they saw they had missed nothing - the loud

  boom of the microphone proved that the show was still in full effect. More people must

  have arrived, for the chefs were putting out new meals and desserts. It made her stomach

  growl and, after feeling that she was dreadfully hungry, she asked both sailors if they

  would like a plate.

  The two sailors stayed behind with her to eat while Daniel and Artisan proceeded to

  the other door. The next thing happened so fast that Rose could hardly believe it was true.

  The doors opened wider than ever and she caught a glimpse of four men and three

  women on stage, and everyone, young or old, was cheering. It was the biggest honor of

  the night, known as the award to the top eight. Rose was wondering why she couldn't spot

  the eighth but then a bad feeling came over her, and one by one, each of the shadows that