~ By Adeel Ahmed

Rated PG-13 for violence and language

Author’s Note: These are excerpts from a series of stories by Adeel Ahmed. The world is an alternative history Earth where Mythology and humans with special abilities existed through human history. It combines fantasy, Wuxia and superhero genres into it.

Zenon was lost. Where was she? Where was the cavern? With all the treasure and kids?  She felt like she was walking in a circle.

She noticed the same rock she used as a marker. It looked like a face. She kept seeing it again and again.

Zenon tugged on her hair in frustration, where was she? She ended up back at the entrance. Again. That cranky, mean boy was gone. She was alone. She groaned in frustration.

“There you are.”

A blonde man walked from out from the corner of the cavern passage, the same blonde man that had been following her mother in the mall.

Seeing him made her mad.

From the same corner walked a woman with a wolf head, covered in fur.

“Where are Khan and Shair?” said the blonde man, his tone acid.

“Who’s that?”

“The two tiger men that brought you up here. Where are they,” blurted the man, a vein popping from his pink forehead. He added a jerked emphasis to every word.

“I-I killed them. Totally did. Don’t… don’t mess with me, blondie,” stammered Zenon.

A gunshot rang through the cave.

The Anthropomorphic wolf woman fell, clutching her thigh.

Zenon and the blonde man looked above. Hanging from the ceiling was the silver blue-eyed boy, his boots sticking to the ceiling.

“You see, I don’t like shooting underlings and idiots. Most underlings are desperate men and women using their skills to put food on the table in the stupidest way possible.  I don’t like killing idiots. My best friend is an idiot, with stupid big grey eyes,” said the boy.

The blond man reached for a holstered gun on his side. As he drew it out,  the boy shot the gun out of the blonde man’s hand.

“I’m not finished. Don’t do that again. The best snipers in the world have to aim center mass or risk missing their targets. Not me. I can shoot better than them. My math is too good. Now let me finish,” chided the boy. “I hate killing Anthromorphs even more; poor bastards started out with the world stacked against them. Even the Myth have powers to defend themselves. Anthromorphs? The power of walking animals, not very impressive compared to a tank, is it? Humans crush them. So, pink man. Your not an Anthromorph like your friend. I’m not very partial to you. But I’ll give you a choice. Do you want to die? Or do you want to be sent away?” said the boy. 

 He talks a lot, Zenon thought. I think he’s enjoying it.

“You wouldn’t be so tough without the gun,” grunted the blonde man.

“You think I’m dumb enough to drop my gun? Do I talk like a child my age? One that can be tricked?” The boy said, his silver-blue eyes laughing.  “But I love a challenge.” The boy threw his rifle into a portal.

The blonde man rushed toward his gun. The boy jumped off the ceiling, doing a forward flip in the air, landing both his feet onto the blonde man’s chest.

Blondie stumbled backwards as the boy bounced off. As the boy landed, he drew a pistol from his belt like a cowboy, shooting bullets into the blonde man’s feet. The blonde man ignored the pain and charged. The boy dove out of the way and fired again, hitting the man’s arms, rendering them limp.

The boy charged into the man, knocking him into a portal behind him. “I’ve decided to capture him anyway.” Holstering his pistol, the boy opened a portal beneath the wounded Wolf Anthromorph, who yelped as she fell through.

“Wow,” gasped Zenon.

“What? Why is your jaw slack, fool?” snarled the boy.

“You were flipping around like a ninja. Better than a ninja. You reminded me of the Mixer,” said Zenon. No matter how much of a jerk this kid was, she had to tell him.

“Really?” said the boy, almost shy.

“Yeah. Just like those videos of him, he did cool stuff like you did. But he’s an adult. You’re a kid. You’re a kid, and you moved just like him,” said Zenon with wide-eyed admiration.

“Thanks. Most adults don’t think I can do what I can do,” said the boy. It was the first time he actually seemed to act his age.

“Man, even the way you talked. You scared the crap out of the guy. It was almost like the Mixer. You know, ‘I am the knight,’ and ‘You are a victim of my crusade against crime’. Your talk wasn’t as fancy as his, but man you really let them have it.” said Zenon.

“It’s only fun sometimes. Sometimes people die, sometimes I have to kill. Then it’s not fun. The Mixer, he never killed. I’m not as good as him,” said the boy, looking away from Zenon.

“The Mixer is an adult, buddy. You’re a kid. I’m a kid. My dad was Ubermensch, but I got kidnapped. My mom…they…my mom,” said Zenon, her throat suddenly feeling tight.

The boy brought his face close to Zenon, his silver-blue eyes looking deep into hers. 

“Are you angry?” asked the boy softly. “Do you want revenge?”

Zenon thought about it for a moment. What did she want?

“No. I just want my mommy. I just want to save all the kids in there. Help me. I have a friend in there. You can’t miss her, she’s a blue-haired half-snake Myth of some kind,” said Zenon, clutching the boy’s hand.

The boy began laughing. It wasn’t pleasant; it seemed almost sad and bitter.

“What a remarkable thing Allah’s plan is. Fate.” mused the silver-eyed boy. “Listen to me carefully you idiot. You ran inside, no plan, blind. Because you’re an idiot. But me? I’m not an idiot. I can make precise shots with my rifle because I can make calculations. I’m smart. All my equipment is of my own design. I am smart. You are not,” said the boy dangerously.

Jerk, Zenon thought, along with a few other words she’d heard mommy say before.

“Follow me, and maybe we can actually do what you want. You want to save everyone? Follow me.”

“Fine,” muttered Zenon scowling. I shouldn’t have said those things about him. I don’t want him to feel good.

The boy extended his hand. “My name is Khalid. You’re Zenon. I like your name,” said Khalid smiling. He reached into a portal and pulled out a compass. Slowly they walked through the cavern.  They came to a clearing and looked over a large cavern, the same cavern where the strange items and caged kids were kept.

Zenon noted the boy’s eyes flash as they caught sight of shining blue scales.

The boy cupped his hands, whispering to himself. He was praying. 
Kind of like mommy used to do. Only she kept her hands together.

Zenon could hear every word, but she wouldn’t let Khalid know about that. He was a jerk.

“Please let me succeed. Let me save the children, of all my missions please let this one succeed. Please protect Zenon, let her mother be okay.  Protect her; she’s dumb and innocent. She deserves happiness. Ameen.”

“I’m going to sneak down there. Stay up here,” said Khalid giving Zenon a cloak from a portal, “Pull on the strings, and no one will see you,” Khalid began walking down the wall. He reached into a portal, pulling out his own cloak, covering his body.

So cool.

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Image Credit: David Liew