The Lost Sentinel

17 Tan's first meeting with a magical beast.

On Mount G

Tan P.O.V

The drumming sound of rain fills the silence and my ears. They’ve been ringing ever since the fight. They are the only things that feel me that I am still alive, because everything on my body feels numb. I feel like I died, and then somehow lingered in a space of the living and the dead, since I am unable to wake up.

I know I need to wake up, sit up and move or something or else I’ll die in my sleep.

I force my eyes to open. Even my eyelids feel numb. I groan, breathing slow and even, as I try to wake up my body. 

I force them open and the stare at the ceiling in a daze. The half steel, half rock ceiling looks weird today or maybe my brain is no longer the same. But it looks luminous and slippery like. The roots that meander through the rock creating patterns look a bit wet.

Is the rain coming in? I ask myself still staring blearily at the ceiling. A drop of water choses that moment to drop down and hit me on the forehead confirming my suspicions.

Yes, the rain is coming in. I try to stretch my neck so I can look at the gap between the steel and the rock that leads outside. And from my angle I can see a few streams of water coming in.

Fuck…I sigh not liking that. This means that the floor is also wet.

Great. I hope it doesn’t rain hard or I’ll end up wet and in pain at the same time. That doesn’t sound like something I would want to go through.

I groan as I try to turn over to my side. My body resists me. But I force it pulling on the thin mattress with my right arm.

It tingles, not in pain, but something that feels powerful.

I raise my hand to my eyes, staring at the black strips. They seem to have grown to above my wrist.

I make a fist doing what I did to make my fist glow. This time it glows showing off a golden light that feels good coming off my skin.

This is more power than I had before.

I guess my other half is doing his best to get powerful. That’s good.

I wish I could tell him thanks for the power. I think it’s the only thing that’s preventing me from feeling the pain I know is thrumming throughout my body.

But there doesn’t seem to be a way to communicate with him.

I want to tell him that he doing a good job, making me strong and saving me from death. I should be dead from the injuries I got in that fight.

Damn… that alien almost killed me.

I close my eyes thinking about my first fight.  

That had been t*****e. I can’t go on like that or I won’t survive Mount G.

Another drop falls down onto my forehead, followed by another.

The rain is pouring now.

I tilt my neck to look outside, and the streams of water flowing into my room has increased. And this time they are carrying some debris with them – small sticks, rocks and loose soil roll into the room.

What?

I lean over the bed, to see the water pooling on the floor. And its rising steadily.

Damn…I try to sit up, but my body screams as pain suddenly shoots into me. I lie back down with a groan.

I guess I’m going to have to wait out whoever will come, and get me out of this wet pool, because right now I can’t do it myself.

I close my eyes as I feel suddenly tired.

I don’t know how long I slept, when I wake up with a start as I suddenly feel my body being pulled down into a wet abyss.

I flail my arms around pushing up so the water doesn’t drag me down. I reach for the ceiling snagging my fingers on the roots. There is still space between the ceiling and the water.

I take a deep breath as my head pops above water. My fingers slip, but I hold on onto the roots.

A siren goes off somewhere deep in the mountain, causing the water to vibrate around me, shaking and pulling me down.

I use all my strength to hold on. But I can feel myself weakening. I wasn’t strong to begin with. The debris that had streamed in with the water swirl around me, knocking into me as the vibrations continue. My fingers slip, and for a minute I allow myself to sink, after taking a deep breath of air, into the water.

I open my eyes in the slightly mucky water, so I can see the sticks coming at me. Something swim right past me in top speed. I recoil pushing to the surface.

And take a deep breath.

The water suddenly pulls me down as a suction sound fills the room. A whirlpool begins pulling at me and dragging me down. My grip on the roots in the ceiling rips, taking away a few roots along with me.

I am shaken as I am being pulled down.

I drop onto the steel floor with a resounding thud that causes pain to reverberate around me. I watch dazedly as the water is being drained down into the holes in the floor.

My eye catches a tiny thing amongst the debris fighting for its life as the water drags it down.  It looks like a tiny lizard.

I grab it, closing my left hand around it so that it doesn’t get dragged down with the water. I lie there for a while, as the water goes down. Everything gets drained out, except for the debris.

A few minutes later hot air, gets pumped into the room drying everything. The tiny lizard in my hand releases a sound. I open my hand and stare at it.

Its big eyes look back at me. It has tiny grey scales covering its entire body, with four tiny legs beneath. A tiny yellow tuft of hair lies flat across its equally tiny face.  

It’s a little cute.

Imagine something like this dying like that. I shake my head staring at it.  

“You glad to be alive, right?” I say to it, pushing up to my feet. I shake off the fatigue I can feel lingering in my body.  I walk to where the rock meets the steel. I place the little lizard in the gap, and show him the way out.

“Go. Just don’t play in the rain again,” I say dropping it on the rock. I turn away just as the door whooshes open and the robot appears.

The screen computer blinks switching on: Fighter: GH42067 its time for clean-up. Step aside please.

I read on the screen, and then step aside. The robot does a quick job of cleaning my room, and changing the bed. The slot in the middle of its body opens up revealing fresh clothes. I take them out and place them on the freshly made bed.

The robot leaves the room. I change my clothes and fold the dirty one neatly. The robot comes back a few minutes later.

It opens the slot again in the middle of its body, and this time there is a tray of food. I reach for it suddenly feeling hungry.

The screen computer blinks switching on again: Fighter: GH42067 your next fight will be in the next 48 hours.

Wow, two days to rest. That doesn’t sound like enough.

It wheels out after a few minutes.

I take my tray to the bed and sit down. I am surprised that my body doesn’t feel as bad as it did a few minutes ago…I look around me wondering how long I slept before the room filled up with water.

Time runs differently here.

I even feel different.

I open the covered dishes and check out the food.

There is rice, and some kind of meat. In the next dish is a green salad with strips of chicken. And for a drink I have a bottle of water.

I could use some Redbull right about now.

I guess beggar can’t be choosers. I balance the tray on my thighs and pick up the fork.

A rustling sound comes from where the rock meets up with the steel. I turn there surprised to see the lizard rustling through the leave. It moves around and then stops to stare at me.

It’s not leaving.

“Why are you still here? Don’t you have home to go to?” I ask him turning back to my food. The lizard releases a small sound as if it’s trying to get my attention.

I look at it again.

“What do you want?” I ask staring at it. “This?” I stab a few leaves of lettuce and lift the fork.

It stares at me.

I shake my head, because I feel stupid for talking with a small lizard. I turn my attention to the food and eat. I finish up and then lie down on the floor.

I stare at the ceiling clearing my mind of everything. And then I lift my right hand. I stare at it, making a fist.

This time the glow of power instantly responds. I search for the coin in my pants. And I almost have a heart attack when I don’t find it. I remember that I had it in my dirty clothes. I go for them where I left them on the bed.

I thank God that the robot didn’t take them away yet.

I can’t lose Mak. He’s the only reason I am still alive.

I hold the coin in my hand, and will it again to transform its shape. It melts in my hand forming the strip again.

Yes! I smile to myself happy that I can do it again.

I lie back down and focus my thoughts. I found that when I meditate I can get in touch with my powers or some of it.

Before I can go deep into my mind, something cold touches my chin. I look down and find big lizard eyes staring back at me.

“Tiny go home,” I say lifting it off me with my right hand, but something zaps through me causing the hairs on my body to stand up. “What the hell?”

“Sorry. It’s my power,” a tiny voice says in my head.

I look down at the lizard.

“Did you just speak?” I say. I frown as it blinks at me as if to say duh. “Noooo,” I say jumping to my feet.

This is some crazy s**t.

“What’s so crazy about this…I am a magical beast, of course I can speak to whoever I choose to be my master.”

“What?”

An impatient sound fills my head, and I close my eyes as it causes my brain to vibrate.

“Stop that,” I say sitting down on the bed. How many more surprises am I going to get here?

The lizard jumps onto the bed.

“I am the one who healed you. Do you feel better?”

“Yes. Thanks,” I say with a shake of my head. “What is you name?” I ask it shrugging because so far whatever happens will happen. Might as well make the best of it.