Blood of the Moon, Children of the Sun

II-Post War

I was a little girl at the age of 8 when I visited the National Scholar's Museum of Wonder and Mystery-my dad was apart of the nationwide Scholar's Committee to research new stuff, or at least that is what he told me. At school we put on holo-masks and relived the history-not just read it. I was a Roman Priestess in 1200 B.C., a female worker in the factories of 1920, and an Avalonian in the 2000's. Apparently, all of the Avalonians died out in the 2400's by the notorious Adam Tygerious. The world leaders had trapped him inside for eternity as punishment-but that was a legend, nothing more. I tried to imagine what ruling the world would be like-shows and movies always depict it as a bad guy ruling the world.

Well, what I saw in the museum peaked my interests. It was called the "Panterian Cube", said to have held the most dangerous creature in the universe. Of all I had seen, all the alien planets I had been to, I could not imagine a more dangerous creature-and I felt sad for it. It had been trapped somewhere in the 2400's era-the scholars think it killed off all of the Avalonians-and it forever screamed 'precisely at 30 minute intervals'. But that is just a legend-it has been 10 years since that day, and today it is 3509-my birthday, January 11th. Today is the day I move out by law and when I go out into the 'real world'. I had upper-level classes and all, just more time, so today I visited that museum again. I re-did the tours and when the e-guide left to tour around, I stayed at the Panterian Cube. There was a holo-rope blocking me off, but I could still touch it if I reached far enough. The small screen on it was dark and almost lifeless, but I wanted to know if something lived in the cube-like the legends. I heard an automated bell that signified that the museum was closing. I walked away, giving one last look at the grey cube.

I visited the museum every day, hoping someone knew more, when it hit me. I could go to the library! Not many people visited the libraries anymore, only scholars and old nostalgic people. I entered the library and the library staff lady immediately ran up to me. "What can I help you with, ma'am?" I was keenly surprised but I told her "I'm looking for information on the Panterian Cube and the Avalonians, if you have them." She narrowed her beady eyes and glared at me "The Avalonians were named by the Old Rulers. There are about 200 documents still remaining showing the Turners." "The what?" "The Turners, ma'am. They shift to animal and back to humans, said to have the blood of the moon and born under the son-the bridge between animals and humans before the humans wiped them all out. But here, these are supposed to be... sacred documents, but you seem interested for a good cause so just take them, and if anyone asks I did not give them to you and Teresa did." I nodded and she hurried me out of the massive library. I held three bags worth of books of all kinds-e-book flashdrives, paper binds, scrolls, engravings, holo-books written by archeologists, and very more kinds.

I arrived home and picked out the oldest one-in the 700 B.C. to be precise. It was a scroll, from the Egyptians. It was fairly short and it said "Pharoh Takukamen is sending several thousand Eagle Warriors and Jaguar-kin to pillage your villages and raid your homes. Evacuate now, he is sending them out tonight-taking no prisoners. At night I can hear the warriors Turn and eat our children's flesh. I want to leave but my work isn't done here." It was a spy message-sent to a different city it seemed. I picked up another from 800 B.C. "Henry Tygerious's pet Tiger has killed and eaten 40. Send troops to kill it or we will all perish. -Dalius Aristotle." from Rome it seemed. I read more to the 2400's. They were everywhere, the Turners. I picked up a paperbound book from 2300 labelled "The War and The Enemy" and for once a Turner wrote it, describing every aspect of the war, though they said that the enemy was "The Dictators who ruled the earth, sky, and sea." There was a rebellion, and if not for history books, I would've thought it to be a novel. Once I completed it, I picked up the next book-dating from 2400 labeled "The Prison Project" by Silla Nightstalker depicting pictures of the Panterian Cube In construction. It said specifically on the last page "I am ready to face the ultimate enemy and tomorrow I will sit in my lounge chair completely satisfied that it is locked up in the ultimate enemy is in the ultimate prison." That was when I ran out of books except a dusty one from 2400. It was thicker by far than the rest, and I checked the time-1 am. It didn't seem like that long, but I went to sleep anyway.

The next few weeks I didn't have enough time to do much but study for my classes, so it wasn't until December that I opened the big black book. On the first page it said in a large paragraph:

"Whoever seeks to control, build, open, or destroy the Panterian Cube will seek this guide out in the prospects of controlling the Cube, or creating one. I forewarn you, mortal, the Cube is not easily controlled. Destroying it would be easier than controlling it. be warned that whomever decides to affiliate themselves with the Cube will spend eternity fusing itself to keep the cube alive. Therefore the Cube needs a living being to use as a living component and that being will never escape. Turn back, lest you get drawn into the Panterian Cube's trance."

I turned the next page, which showed several diagrams and drawings of the inside of the Panterian Cube. Apparently it needed a body inside, and they would live forever in torment and in return it would keep the Cube alive. I was drawn into every page, every word of the big black book. I turned to the last chapter, "How to Open the Panterian Cube" and it was very short. All you needed was the blood of the captive to open the cube. I scanned the other books, and I only saw one name relating to the capture of the Panterian Cube-Adam Tygerious. He was a legend, a myth. "The leader of the rebellion, killing millions of innocent people" as he was known. I dropped my classes and took my remaining money to travel to Rome, Egypt, the American-Canadian territory to New Pristine, to see if they had any graves of Adam Tygerious. In New Pristine, I was guided to Adam's three dead sons-died at birth. I waited until nightfall and dug up Felix's grave. I heard an owl, surprisingly close. I looked around but we were not around any trees, so I brushed it off. When I opened the airtight coffin, I saw that his son's small body was still intact. I took three syringes full of blood, and reburied the coffin. The next day I went back to Lower North America, where I lived. I ran back into my small apartment-for once glad I didn't have a social life. I spent my whole life alone, really. My parents passed away and I felt nothing towards them. I snuck into the museum and under the holo-rope with my vial of blood. I looked at the Cube, down at what I knew was the blood sensor, and thought Do I really want to open this? Eh, there's probably nothing in there anyway. I poured the blood into the sensor and the large grey box groaned. Electric blue markings ran up the sides and it opened at the corner. The two sides moved apart and within it, a human-sized figure. It was wired up at every point and angle. I walked up to it, and it opened its eyes. It didn't speak, and I started removing the tubes, one at a time. It had no hair, and all it was wearing was stained red sweatpants. It seemed human, and when I removed it all, the chains popped open themselves. The figure fell to the floor and the box closed. It didn't move and I thought it was dead. I looked around the museum and found a box lift. I put him on the lift and rolled him in the night to my apartment. I put him on the bed and cleaned up the wounds the needles had left. I also took a pair of handcuffs and shackled him to the bed-he didn't seem strong enough to leave. I worked at the sign-up offices in the spring, doing paperwork and calling people to fire them from their jobs.

I came home later tired, and I had forgotten about the strange thing in my bed. I entered to see his bright, exotic eyes digging into me. He hadn't escaped, or moved for that matter. "Who are you-what are you? Books say that you are the most dangerous creature that ever lived, but you don't... seem... dangerous..." The creature turned his head to the side and sighed. I brought him a glass of water and he drank it all.

It didn't speak until 3 months later. I had un-handcuffed him and he wasn't scary or dark-he just ate a lot. He got stronger with each passing day, but not nearly as strong as a wooden door. "I am Adam Tygerious." he finally spoke one Monday morning. His voice was somewhat deep and calm. His hair had grown into a short black stubble and most of the wounds had healed. "What are you?" "I am an Avalonian, human. Your kind put me in there." "The Cube?" "For 710 years." I went silent for a minute. "But didn't you kill all of the Avalonians? Why would you kill all of your own kind?" He looked up at me with a very disapproving stare. "I didn't kill them, your kind did. I led the rebellion against the Dictators and then they murdered my kind by the millions, and they made me watch. I am alone." "Oh" I said. "I'm sorry." He looked away with a cast-off look. "I will die soon. I can feel it." "How do you know?" He glared at me with bright orange eyes. "My body spent hundreds of years on life support, and now it has been quickly jerked away with haste. I will die because it cannot function on its own-though there is one alternative..." "What is the alternative?" I questioned. "Your kind has gone through the cybernetic age. If I was converted into a cyborg..." My eyes widened "No! No you cannot do that, it's madness." He looked at me with a sorrowful gaze