17. Forgotten a bit.
Winter had grasped the streets of Spain, filling the surreal urban sprawl with an ashen hue. passerbys trudged along the icy sidewalks wearing full leather coats as snow drifted lazily from a sky clocked in pale clouds.
In one of the prosperous districts of the city, A dark haired young man sat in front of a tall commercial building displaying mystery products.
Zach cradled the ice tea in his hand, fully dressed in a sleek black winter coat.
Occasional passerbys couldn't help but to throw brief glances at the eloquent young man, his dark clothes contrasted sharply against his pale white skin, slim figure, shiny black hair, his striking dark grey eyes coupled with his dark attire made him difficult to ignore
Zach took a sip..then he eyes wide.
'Mm... sweet..?' he thought.
He had heard a lot about this ice tea but never actually tried it, well today was a significant day, since he won't be seeing this store in a long while.
Because he has scheduled for relocation..
Into the broken realm..
Don't got it wrong, Zach knew about the dangers of the astryx, but he also knew the dangers of being weak.
Standing up, he tossed the empty cup into the trash bin nearby.
Across the street, a black SUV with tilted window idled, engine purring low.
In front of this armored beast of a car a man stood, fully dressed in a black office suit.
"Welcome sir..." he greeted, opening the massive door of the iron clad Vehicle. Zach ignoring his greetings stepped inside.
And the door shut behind him.
Zach sat in the armored car as the news from the radio, cracked and began playing.
{Static}
"This is frequently 98.4, broadcasting beyond the reach of the towers, beyond the sanctioned signals... your listening to... Ghost hour.. where truth lives.. and sometimes wish it didn't"
The voice brought by the static caught Zach's attention.
A beat of silence, then the tapes rewinds..
"Today marks the forth month since sector 9 fell silent.."
The host paused..
"Four months since the sky cracked open, here in Spain, and something ancient screamed through our streets.."
The host leaned in...
"Now of you believe the official report... Two ridiculously powerful awakens fought, ignoring the government policy that no battle should take place among the awakeners... "
She spoke..
"But who could stop them though.."
Another host, intervene.
"The government said it was a 'controlled incident', let me ask you something, a controlled incident that had over 50 human casualties, is that really a controlled incident.. or the government trying to give excuses for their incompetence.."
Zach listened... the voice of the host seemed to fad away as his mind thought back to that moment.
After everything had died down, Zach miraculously woke up in the hospital, another hospital.
There he learnt the outcome of the battled that ensued.
Zach's eyes welled up.
Haruki had died..
And the heavenly knights whereabouts were unknown...
'He slipped out into the broken realm last minute' Zach remembered the words from the police officers.
Honestly Zach had feared this outcome would happen, but what he didn't expect was for the old man to leave his inheritance to him.
Zach was quite shocked at the lawyers claim. Zach had seen the old man as his grandpa but didn't expect such a fortune.
It was now Zach really knew how rich that old gezeer was.
Zach had attended his burial two months ago..
Off course no one was there to mourn him since all his comrades died in the old war.
Only Zach.. almond stood looking at the coffin.
'rest well old man' the thought crossed his mind as he walked away.
The A.M.P also know as the astryx migration program is like a five year course that prepares aspirants to brave the astryx.
There were so many costs that Zach hadn't even known people charged for.
"Wait-what.?. what do you mean sun gazing allowance.." Zach shot a puzzled gaze at tha receptionist.
Thankfully the inheritance that Haruki left far surpassed all the expenses.
Well.. there no going back now, he sighed.
The black SUV screeched to a halt and Zach stepped out.
The cold wind blew past his dark hair, as his eyes wandered.
They were at the airport.
The place buzzed like a hive of organized chaos, rolling suitcases thudded over tiled floor, and announcement were made over the speakers in a dozen different languages.
Zach dragged his suitcase across the tiled floor, a faint scent of burnt coffee lingered in the air, mixing oddly with the perfume trails of passing travelers.
Zach ignored the whole process, immediately, walking over to a secluded hallway leading to a private hanger.
The flight from Spain to the Tersian island would take about 5 to Six hours, considering the world government and the empire chose to put the only functioning path to the broken real in a completely Isolated island.
The flight was smooth, with Zach receiving the bachelors treatment all the way.
A private suite, luxury dishes, massage, and even a private sky view lounge...
This was Zach's frist time flying so he wasn't too comfortable at frist but after the massage all his worries disappeared instantly.
The flight came to an end too soon as the pilot announced the landing.
Zach, slightly annoyed, was escorted by two body guards, down the plane.
Zach shivered, during this six hours he seemed to have forgotten, how cold the outside really was.
The jet was parked alongside other jets as a group of people, not much older than him clustered, around in the wide gravel field. All wearing matching uniforms.
Your late Zachariah keal, the middle aged woman in front of the group of cadets, clicked her toungue.
"....I'm sorry.." Zach rubbed his neck.
"Save your sorry excuses for later and put on your uniform, she said throwing the black bodysuit with gold outlines at him.
Zach caught it, looking around.
"Ma'am were can I change.." he asked.
"Change.. ?", the woman's cold gaze meet Zach.
"You are late so you will change right here...", she said.
The group of cadet looked at him, muffled chuckles escaped the group of aspirants, and the blew into full blown laughter.
"So much for the frist day of service camp.." Zach sighed..