The Wyverns: Nate by Nicola Collings (i can read book club .txt) 📕

Prologue

This tale takes place in the colourful, yet complicated City of Tyrell. Colourful because of it’s wide variety of people and complicated also because of it’s wide variety of people. It’s not an ideal place to live; in fact, if you were to move to the city, then I guarantee that within a week, you’d be looking at houses in another city! People don’t move to Tyrell City. People from Tyrell City move to other places in Tyrell City because other cities in the country would probably discriminate them for their origin.

                I shall explain; within Tyrell City, there are four regions. The city itself is built in a small but steep valley and it’s houses spreading right out to the surrounding highlands, but stopping and giving way to a vast desert beyond. At the centre if the city is, the quite astutely named City Centre. This is where you’d find the typical shopping centres, the schools, train stations, monuments and tourist attractions. It’s a shame that the only thing that the City Centre is missing is tourists. This is in the centre of the valley, deep in the heart.

On one side of the valley, the gold of the grey city, is Boundary. Boundary is filled with big, modern houses built from pale bricks, wide, tarmac roads, black, neatly paved drive ways, posh cars, neat, well-kept front gardens, trees and, most importantly, Horizon House. Horizon House sits at the top of Boundary, gazing over the surrounding Valley and it houses the Mayor and the people who govern Tyrell. Boundary is where you would find the successful business men’s houses, the policemen’s homes, the most expensive schools and the people who are most well off and can afford their electricity bill, along with taxes and gifts for their children at Christmas.

The opposite side of the valley is called The Wynde. Looking at The Wynde, you would notice the tall, dark brown-bricked, historical buildings built extremely close together, the narrow, cobbled roads running up the steep hill like black veins, the black, slate rooves, some which had ancient gargoyles nestled in the corners. This is probably the most historical part of the city, the only part with the original, iconic, gothic buildings from centuries ago. It is here you would find the people who live in small, confined flats down narrow streets, people who have no real jobs but get income by other, more shady means, people who dress in a certain way, people who are looked down upon by the rest of the city. Oh yes, discrimination is a big part of life in Tyrell City! People who live on The Wynde live in a tight community, look out for themselves, concentrate on surviving, not luxury.

The last region of Tyrell City is the Outskirts. People out here are middle-class, normal, in-between people who aren’t defined by where they live. They aren’t defined by money or status but go about their daily lives, rarely involving themselves in the conflict between the prejudice and the survivors.

There is another part to the city, a part that people learn about in their history lessons and are told about in the form of legend. The city’s Underworld lies beneath The Wynde and spreads out beneath the whole of the city and some of the desert or wasteland that surrounds the city. It is only legend, not many people speak of it. Years ago, in medieval times, the king decided to ‘cleanse’ the city of the vermin. To do this, he decided to build a wall around the section of the city where the peasants lived and dwelled. Doing this, he entrapped the peasants and effectively, ordered his men to build another city on top of their city. Their city was buried deep beneath, the only hope for them were the people who knew better, who knew that one day, the kings plan would fail him; vermin would find it’s way back into society somehow. So a secret group was created, people who were part of the kings court were given keys to secret entrances to their underground city. These people who were entrusted to passages to the Vaults, which in turn, would allow passage to what the people called The Warrens. These people were called the Descendents. People in league with the descendents, were known as disciples. Together, they believed that one day, the people of the Warren would once again, rise and punish the king for his actions. Of course, the legend was soon forgotten about.

This is who we are. We are survivors, living against the harsh inner rims of society who call themselves sophisticated but are really just tyrannical beasts posing as human beings. Or so I say; I’ve yet to meet someone who isn’t form The Wynde, who actually accepts us and isn’t a complete bitch. People say, however, that a Black Parade will soon rise and take back the city. What once belonged to the myths of the Warrens and what was once held in hands of black and gold, of The Wynde and Boundary will be reclaimed. Those who claim they are gods, who drove the warriors beneath the city itself, will fall to it. And all it’s descendents.

At the top of The Wynde is Duskgate Mansion. My house. It sits at the peak of the hill, surrounded by trees; it’s huge, gothic structure reaching above the tallest pine trees. My parents are dead, so I inherited it. The mansion itself is only the tip of the iceberg, there are more chambers running deep into the earth, reaching the Vaults through the Archives and the Cellars, through it’s many rooms. The mansion itself rivals the beauty that of Horizon House, the two houses stand face to face, forever locked into each other’s sights. It holds authority; as do I. As my parents died, I and the house inherited the secret of the Descendents. I know for a fact that the rumours are true. I am a key holder. I see the future from my bedroom window.  I can see almost all of Boundary from my bedroom window. It seems a shame that so few people can witness such a beautiful sight.

But that’s just the way things work.

My name is Cynthia, and I can see The Black Parade rising in the east; we are ready.

Part 1:  The Betterment of Human Society.

                Kayla stood poised in the shadows outside the warehouse, a heavy assault rifle at her side. Her four male companions were too, in waiting for Kayla’s signal, ready to strike. The shadows cloaked them, rendering them invisible to the soldiers dressed in black, bearing the traditional colour and dress of Tarragon Industries. Inside that warehouse was Wyvern Industries stolen research. Inside that warehouse was the goal of the operation of which Kayla and her four companions were to perform.

                Gale, Rafe, Seth and Nate flanked Kayla.

                Wyvern Industries Research Department liked to nickname the five-some the Wyverns. The five, enhanced soldiers were the special operations team, sworn to the protection of the company’s supposedly ‘life-saving’ research. Kayla didn’t know much about the research, nor her own life. The five of them had volunteered for a procedure that would enhance their already-trained bodies and turn them into super soldiers. A side-affect had been Amnesia, but it had been for a good cause. The betterment of human society.

                Kayla motioned to the four that flanked her, and she moved backwards, away from the group. She broke into a run, running through the shadows, around the warehouse, making her way to the back. When she saw there were no guards here, she stepped from the shadows, taking a grenade from her belt. She glanced at the small, bolted door to the back of the warehouse and pulled the clip on the grenade, throwing it close to the door. Leaping back into the shadows, she watched the small, yet loud explosion and listened out for the voices of Tarragon guards come running to see what the commotion was about. As guards thronged around the door within minutes, Kayla pointed her assault rifle at the group and pulled the trigger, burning through half a magazine until all the guards dropped to the floor.

                Kayla zipped through the door, before more guards came at the sound of gunfire, although she was sure the other Wyverns had heard their cue and burst into action.

                The warehouse was huge and filled with large metal crates, big enough for at least a dozen  humans to inhabit. Kayla searched one and found it was empty. Seeing no other guards or sign of life around, she listened instead and could hear the sounds of gunfire and fighting in the distance. Seizing her chance to do so, she smelled the air, smelling the blood from the bodies near the door, the gentle creak of metal and sweat... human sweat. Somewhere nearby!

                Kayla searched more of the crates, sniffing, following the stench of sweat and fear and blood. There was something else too....adrenaline, some sort of other drug...morphine?

                The smell got stronger as Kayla got further into the middle of the warehouse. The crate she came to stank. But wait...was this the research? She’d been told by superiors that Tarragon’s research could be anything from a stack of files to a living subject.

                The door to the crate was bolted. Kayla gripped the lock and squeezed, watching the metal crumple and the lock break.

                The door swung open, revealing it’s shadowy interior.

                Chained to a chair was a naked human. A man. She edged closer. He had tattoos in his shoulder, arms and neck and had shaved blond hair. His head was drooped against his chest. On his arms were what appeared to be injection marks.

                Kayla reached for his head and lifted it up. His eyes were half open and he was breathing heavily.

                “Help....m-me...” he whispered, his voice hoarse and cracked.

                It had to be the research. Kayla grabbed the chains and broke them without a second’s hesitation. She put a hand beneath his arm and lifted him from the chair. She took his full weight as she walked him out of the crate and leant him against the metal wall.

                “What is your name?” she asked.

                “C-Corey. Who...?”

                “My name’s Kayla. Come on, we have to move.”

                Trying to escape with the subject was awkward. Balancing him without letting him drop was an ordeal and on top of that, Kayla was aware that the gunfire in the distance had stopped and she could hear car engines somewhere.

                It was when Corey suddenly sagged with exhaustion, grabbing whatever was in front of him, which happened to be Kayla’s wrist.

                One thing about the procedure that Kayla and the other’s underwent was that in order for the ‘upgrade’ to be successful, they would have to wear inhibitor bands. Around their wrists and ankles were black, metal bands that made the enhancements possible. Or so Kayla had been told. One thing that was of the upmost importance was that they could never take them off. Never. Else the effects would be disastrous. They’d never been told what would actually happen. Only that it was imperative. It was just one thing they didn't question.

                That was until Corey grabbed her wrist, his face a picture of horror as he stared at whatever was behind Kayla.

                It was as if the next evens happened in slow motion. Two guards appeared, already on the triggers of their machine rifles, bullets already halfway to their destinations.

                Kayla lifted her wrist, in an attempt to shield Corey, knowing that to her, a bullet wound was but a scrape.

                Misjudging her position, she watched in horror as the bullet pierced the black metal of the band, ripping