Prologue This was it. Lana laid in a scarlet pool as her platinum blonde hair engulfed her body. Her eyes were wide open, frozen in fear for the four. She wasn't afraid of death, but she was afraid for the future. Her mind suddenly became a movie of flashbacks. She remembered the moment where she left the planet of her god at fourteen, she remembered arriving at The Academy at fifteen, and she remembered when she fell in love with a boy she couldn't love at sixteen. Her skin was pale and cold to the touch as she remembered how her life crumbled apart. As she approached seventeen, she was caught with the boy. It was cool outside being the Third Quarter, First Tripartite, but it wasn't freezing nor unbearable. Lana's second and Jason's third year at The Academy was going to start in the morning, so they both snuck out that night to see each other. They were caught within an hour. At eighteen Lana and Jason were sentenced a lifetime at Lakicerem, the prison planet, for breaking one of the most sacred laws. She laid in the frosty cell until she was thirty where she escaped, and she lived in the woods until she was shot dead at thirty-nine. In those nine years, she raised four children that were on the way to their god's planet, but crash landed. She taught them not the ways of the government, but how to follow their hearts and trust their minds. That's how she got in this position in the first place. “Lana? Lana!” A young child yelled running up to Lana. Her curly chestnut hair was in her face as her hazel eyes widened and tears fell down her cheeks. “Hey Willa-” Lana paused regaining the last bit of air she had, “It'll be okay, okay? Just- just remember what I taught you,” she muttered as she looked at the world for one last time. Willa started sobbing hysterically, but then stopped suddenly. She jerked up her head. Soldiers. She looked up from Lana, in the direction of the wound, and saw Esme, Hayden, and Finn in laser chains. It was useless. The man in the black coat was there too. The soldiers ran in the direction of which they shot, and Willa knew she wouldn't be able to out run them. She wasn't planning to leave her friends either. She was with them forever and always. Willa held her breath as the soldiers came up to her and Lana's body. “Willa Gauthier, please do not resist. Prisoner 14114 has violated the fourteen sacred laws. Since you have been under the influence of Prisoner 14114 you will have to be implanted with an artificial memory which will have to be paid back throughout your life. You will be sent to your god's planet until you are fourteen, and will have a tutor there and at The Academy,” a blonde soldier with piercing blue eyes said. The blonde soldier along with three other soldiers led Willa back to the other three children where she was put into laser chains as well. That was the last thing the four remembered as the blonde soldier pierced a needle through each one of their arms. “I'm sorry,” he whispered. Chapter One Willa I stumbled backwards as ACE was gaining up on me, but I was able to regain my balance. His blade came inches from my nose as I dodged out of his way. My heart was racing, my breathing was rapid, my stomach was cramping, and the sun beating down on my back wasn't helping either, but I had to keep running. There was a slope up ahead where I could get the high ground and put an end to this. Ace was right on my tail as I dashed up the slope. My head was pounding, but as I got towards the top, I turned around and buried my sword into his abdomen. “Advanced Combat Experience shutting down. Level five is complete,” ACE said. The harsh arena suddenly became the auditorium once again. “Thirty minutes in the arena, seven spent engaged in fighting,” Coach Khanna said, shaking her head disappointed, “Gauthier, you need to stop having a cat and mouse chase in there.” she said, scanning through the notes on her clipboard, “You need to retain good posture and relax your shoulders, but other than that, acceptable I guess,” she muttered. “Yes ma'am,” I nodded quickly before stepping out of the ring. “Callum, you're up!” Coach Khanna directed. I heard ACE activate again as I walked off of the stage and took my seat. After the school was built out last year, we got a new auditorium, so this one is used for ACE exams. The stage is where the arena formed, and you could see everything that was happening inside of the arena, but the person inside couldn't see out of it. The cool thing about it was it was virtual, but you can actively engage with everything. I saw Tyler engage fighting with ACE a split second after the arena formed. Within two minutes I heard, “Advanced Combat Experience shutting down. Level five is complete,” I looked up at the timer. He was able to complete level five in almost three minutes. Coach Khanna seemed content, “See? Melee weapons aren't meant for ongoing battles. You may retreat when it's absolutely necessary,” she looked at me at the last part, “Class dismissed. It was great knowing you all,” she said sincerely. I grinned a little. Coach Khanna was hard to please, but she was a great teacher. Although I felt like my time with her was way to short, my time here was way to short. I felt like there was still years of training I could get from this place, but it was time for all graduates of their god's planet to head for The Academy. I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder and headed towards the exit when a tall girl with rich brown skin and dark wavy hair stopped me in my path. She was a good six or seven inches taller than I was and freckles dotted her face. “You ready?” Amari smirked. “No?” I laughed lightly. “Willa, you'll be fine-” I cut her off. “Yeah, but-” Amari then cut me off. “Hey, it's time. Aren't you ready to finally interact with other people from other places? Aren't you tired of being with the same people with the same purpose in life?” she asked. “I can't disagree with the last part,” I muttered. Amari raised her eyebrows and shook her head as she walked off, “I'm going to go pack,” she said promptly. I nodded and walked off in the other direction. I never really agreed with the system. Everyone lived on (Insert Center Planet Here) until they were six months old before being moved to their god's planet which is determined by the quarter and tripartite you were born in. From there, no one leaves their planet until their fourteenth year of teachings. Then everyone travels back to (Insert Center Planet Here) where they will work towards defining their purpose in life and finding their one true love. That's how the Deities explains it at least. It's more like the Deities chooses your job and decides your friends, enemies, and soulmate based on their relations with each other. My door made a creaking noise as I took a look at it for one of the very last times. I sighed as I flopped onto my bed before rolling over to check the time. The clock flashed 18:11 in a very vibrant blue and big font. I lazily reached for my black backpack that was on the floor at the corner of my bed, and started putting things into it that was on my nightstand. The things on my nightstand were the only things that were really important to me. A few books and half filled journals, a dull knife, and a golden necklace with a small yellow flower dangling from it. I was never sure where the necklace was from. One day I just woke up and there it was on my neck, but something tells me it was more than what it seemed. I slipped it on my neck. I only wore it on special occasions, however today didn't seem that special to me. Some people claim that this day was one of the most important days of your life, so I guess it was valid. I climbed off my bed, and proceeded to grab a duffel bag from my closet. I tore off my sheets and blankets, ripped my clothes off of the hangers, and stuffed some toiletries into a pouch before putting my luggage nicely into the bag. I zipped up the duffel bag and hoisted the backpack onto my shoulder. That was pretty much all I needed. My sword was sheathed at my waist, and my [communicator] was on my wrist. I approached the doorway only to find Amari. I jumped, “Amari!” Amari stood there with a small disk in her ear and her [communicator] on. I was invisible to her. “A-mar-ri!” I said louder, drawing out her her name. “Sorry,” she shrugged, a little taken back, ”You know how it is though, music in and worlds out,” I rolled my eyes as she shrugged, “So this is a new chapter,” she stated, removing the disk from her ear and placing it back on her communicator, “New world, new school, and new people,” she wrinkled her nose at people. I stiffled a laugh and looked at my wrist. I flicked my [communicator] on, it was 18:57. The shuttle leaves at 19:00. Amari glanced over me, “Ugh, all the good seats are probably taken,” she said, starting to speed walk in front of me. I ran after her, but then I froze. “Willa? Willa!” I heard Amari yell, but I couldn't move. It seemed like my whole body was chained by these invisible ropes. My feet seemed nailed to the ground, and I couldn't seem to spit words out of my mouth. Then my surroundings slowly began to change. I could hear a song by my favorite band, The Eunoias, blaring into my ears, but soon I was able to come back to my senses. “Willa? Willa!” Amari literally yelled at me. “Huh?” I shook my head, “Sorry, I just zoned out,” I muttered. She looked skeptical, but she seemed more annoyed, “Let's go!” she flicked on her [communicator], “We have a minute!” she said, literally sprinting down the hall. I hobbled behind her and luckily, we were able to get to the shuttle on time. I gaped in awe when I saw it. It looked like the [Sea Creature] from [Water Planet] with long silver wings and violet detailing. I always wanted to see the [Sea Creature], my guess this was the closest I was ever going to get to one as it was nearly a spitting image. I didn't have enough time to admire it as Amari grabbed me by the arm, and pulled onto the shuttle. “Welcome on board Silverwing number seventy-four. I'm Cassandra and I will be your guide for when you arrive at [Insert Center Planet],” she said, as I buckled up. She continued to talk as I glanced out the tinted windows. I saw many younger students standing outside of the marble building, and another ship landing with babies. The ship was a much bigger than our ship, but it was a dull gray color with not much design. Suddenly, I could feel the ship lifting up and there was a weird feeling in my stomach. I braced myself as the ship launched itself out of the atmosphere. The pit feeling in my stomach slowly resided, and I glanced over to Amari who already had her disk back into her ear. I looked out the window again, and I could see the galaxy in a purple shade. I started to drift off, and then I heard words echoing in my head. It was disorted, but it seemed oddly familiar. Then I felt a fist hit my arm, “Willa,” Amari said with a beaming smile, “We're here,” I glanced out the window to find a huge castle at the edge of a waterfall, and in the distance there was a slightly smaller castle, “We're here,” I repeated. Chapter Two Finn “What is that?” Dylan yelled, sprinting besides me. “I don't know, but-” I was cut off by an explosion in front of us. I stumbled backwards. We were surrounded, there were ships in front of us and soldiers behind us. However, there was forest several yards ahead, “Over there and split up!” I directed, as I scrambled to my feet. I started to dash to the forest, I wasn't sure how many of my classmates were actually going to follow, but I knew Dylan was just a few feet behind me. We came to a stop after we knew we were covered. Three of Dylan's friends followed us and according to them, eight other students split off into the forest, “Who the [Insert One of Fire Deities Here] are they?” she yelled. “D! Calm down!” Blake said, massaging her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. As much as I loved Dylan, she had a bad temper and overreacted a lot. Dylan blew a strand of hair out of her face as I paced around trying to come up with a plan. “So what are we going to do?” Sabrina stammered. “Here’s a plan, don’t die-“ Dylan half joked before she froze, “Soldiers,” she whispered. Sabrina looked around, “How about that overhang?” she asked. I looked at everyone and nodded. We all ducked behind the overhang as the soldiers passed by. I narrowed my eyes as I saw a flaming vermillion crest on their shoulders. I didn’t recognize it from any of the planets. A girl with black hair and narrow eyes then interrupted my thoughts, “Well what do you all have with you? We can try to rendezvous with the other eight,” Dylan sighed, “Nothing much Val,” So Val was her name, “I have my [communicator], my dagger, and my backpack,” she said, twirling her dagger in her hand as she dumped her backpack on the ground. “What’s in the backpack?” Val asked. “Books and-“ she opened the backpack, “Another dagger and a bag of chips,” she said, tossing the sheathed dagger up to Blake. I then proceeded to take the lead, “Okay, what does everyone else have?” “A pocket knife and a [gun], but it has no amo,” he stated, “And a pen,” he shrugged. “So so far we have some weapons that won’t be exactly useful against their guns and a bag of chips,” Val stated, “What do you two have?” She asked glancing to Sabrina and I. I spoke up, “Nothing much. Just my [communicator],” Dylan gave me a disapproving look, “I was in astronomy!” I rolled my eyes, “Alright, but speaking of their weapons. What are they?” I asked. “I’m not sure,” Blake said, “They aren’t regular [guns], and it can’t be their electitelum.” “Our electitelums would be so helpful right now.” Dylan mumbled. “Yeah, I was really looking forwards to getting mine, but I guess I’m not getting it now. All the Silverwings probably left with all the students who made it,” Sabrina said, wincing when she said made. We all knew that there weren’t that many survivors. “Oh, all I have are these fruit crisps-” she added before Val cut her off. “Wait! Do you guys hear that?” Val asked, glancing up at the sky. “More ships! Get down, find cover, and get out of this area!” she commanded, ducking down and dashing off. The ships streamed red across the sky as they started dropping bombs down. I knew for certain we might not last the night. Val was already gone, so was Blake and Dylan. Sabrina was starting to head in another direction, so I went in the other. Splitting up was not a good idea, but it was our only chance of survival. There was a bomb dropped in the distance, and luckily I was out of the blast distance, but the red dust blurred my vision. I started coughing violently, and it seemed as there was a blade buried into my skull. I felt as I couldn’t walk on two feet, but I got to my hands and just started to crawl. Eventually I got out of range of the red dust, and my senses went back to normal. However, what I saw on the other side of the red dust was what I didn’t want to see. There were the two guys whose eyes were frozen in terror. Their bodies were sickly pale, and their veins were an emerald color that seemed like they were going to shoot out of their dead bodies. One person was shot in the abdomen, and the other one was shot in the head. They were two of the eight of the other students. I stumbled backwards, and I sat down by a tree stump. Who could those people be? They had to be a huge organization because there were thousands of soldiers with expensive weapons and ships. The only reason I could think of why someone would attack us like this was because they were a secret bounty hunter team, but my god would never allow that. I quickly scratched that thought out of my head as who would they even be looking for in the first place?

💫LOOK UP💫

(I LOVE IT Kat!!!!!!!)

if you ever need help just ask me! I’m writing a book about how the zombie apocalypse starts.

yeah me too but that’s the one I worked on today. but I have Origins (finished) Dawning (book two of origin series) What happened to Us? , Fistrium,

Missing Me,

Not Special, and finally, Happily Never After.

you are WAYYYY better at naming books then me 😂 those sound soooo good like I would go to a bookstore and buy them!!

maybe we could work on a book together

Niceee

What app do you use for your covers?