Alliance of Heroes

Chapter 11 - The Wanderers

Chapter 11 - The Wanderers

A strange scene lay before him.

                Jake Eno was standing in the middle of something that looked a billion years ahead of his time. Clean, white walls, gleaming lights with no discernable source, bright flashing signs, just like the ones that could be seen on the noticeboards in Gradi City, but these ones were larger, much larger, and they glowed with an eerie light.

                And people were there, his own people, human beings of all shapes and sizes - that was at least one sign that this place wasn't some sort of freakish alien planet. But they, too, were different. Their faces were differently shaped, their bodies clad in clothing that was sleek, clean, of bright colours and with elegant, smooth designs, as though they carried emblems of their country's government. There was no armour to be seen, and no weapons either. Their hair was differently styled, as well, bright and with not a shade of dirt, and some had an almost unnatural tint.

                But for some reason, despite all the people here, despite all their flapping mouths and smiling faces, there was no sound. A cold sweat broke out on his brow, and he turned, spinning, staring at all of them, watching as they strode past him, looking as though they had nowhere to go, and merely floated, talking to each other calmly, and he opened his mouth to talk, to ask someone what was going on, where he was, and suddenly he was blasted with sound, a screeching, high-pitched whine mixed with a monstrous combination of what felt like every single voice speaking: a man chatting pleasantly; a woman laughing; a baby crying for its mother - they were all yelling, laughing, screaming, brimming with emotions that were bottled up, and he could see their thoughts too, feel them inside his head,  feel all the pressure building up, his head on fire, fit to burst, he could feel it expanding like a balloon, could feel the blood seeping from his ears, his eyes, his nose, his mouth...

                And then the sound stopped. He was frozen there, and so were they. They stood motionless, stock still, limbs frozen in a half-walk. Jake felt himself shudder. Every pair of eyes in the entire place were on him, eyes of every colour staring into his, an unflinching gaze, judging him, examining him, and in each pair of eyes, he could feel the power, the loathing, the utter disgust.

                And his eyes snapped open.

                "Where are we?" Jake coughed, sitting up. They were inside a large steel cage which held all of the Alliance members on their trip in it. The cage was situated in a circle of trees, not far away from the clearing where they had originally made camp. The warriors who had caught them were talking outside their cage, looking over at them occasionally. Dawn was fast approaching, though it was still dark.

                "We have been captured," Maia replied.

                "I don't think trying to escape was the best idea," Versai said, landing in front of Jake.

                "No, it was not," Maia said. "But we cannot change what happened now. We have to find a way out of this cage. We are all unarmed and these cage bars are extremely strong."

                "I think I can solve this." Jake said. He focused his mind, reaching to where his magic lay, and ready to cast a spell to destroy the cage. But however hard he tried, the magic kept slipping out of his grasp.

                "I-I can't use magic!" Jake exclaimed, looking at his hands.

                "No one can," Maia said, shaking her head. "The people who captured us brought a spellcaster with them, who destroyed all of our magic before the warriors attacked. We will not be able to use it again until the spell wears off, which could be a few hours. Versai cannot use his fire breathing skills either, as he uses magic to channel the flame."