Armageddon
Chapter 1.3

The entire class came to life, everyone pumping their fists, chanting, “Clash, clash, clash, clash.”

“Tia initiated the first blow. The two of you outside.” He snapped his fingers towards the girls, “Someone, explain to Vladimir what’s happening; he looks confused.” The Professor said as he stood up to head out the door. Chloe and Tia stayed at arm’s length as they followed him. Chloe was bombarding her with a slur of insults along the way.

The entire class went to the windows and pressed themselves against the glass, some going so far as to open them to lean out. The commotion drew the attention of neighboring classes, and soon nearly the entire side of the building was peering down and cheering to the girls below. A smaller female with thick black hair and wide-rimmed glasses tugged on Vladimir’s sleeve. Lost in all the commotion, he was thankful for the distraction.

“H-hello,” the bespectacled girl flustered about, playing with her fingers. “U-um... o-our generation is c-called the Titans. We’re supposed to be t-the ones w-who reshapes Humanity. S-so... w-well basically we all know how to fight. We’re trained since we can walk. To s-sharpen our perceptions and instincts, we can challenge each other. It’s called the ‘Clash of the Titans’,” the girl put her hand on the glass, looking down at the two girls. “In this instance, Tia is the one who in-initiated the challenge. N-no one has ever seen her fight, but she’s a legend in the Capital. Since she came here, she’s been under the radar... Chloe has attempted to get her to Clash before. But never f-face to face like this,”

Vladimir stood over her, a mystified expression on his face as he gazed at Tia’s red curls burning in the late morning light. Tia squatted low to the ground, bouncing in place as she tightened and loosened her hands. Chloe stood roughly six feet away, jumping up and down herself.

“Daddy’s girl won’t remember into next week by the time I’m done wiping the floor with your ass.” She snarled, the anger in her eyes now mudded with doubt.

Tia breathed in slowly. The sound of the students above faded away. The useless banter from Chloe drowned out. The Professor held his pocket watch before his face. The entire world seemed to stop moving. In the corner of her eye, she noticed a taller, older man step out of the glass building. Like the Grim Reaper himself, reminding her what she was about to do.

“Chloe, I give you ten seconds.” Tia breathed.

The Professor gave the signal.

Chloe turned white as Tia already was on her like a snake to their prey. She lashed out to try and hit her, but in one quick swoop, Tia spun with enough force the air around her seemed to whistle. Her foot came sailing from the side and made an impact with the side of her head. Her scream was cut off as she was sent sailing into the grass. The Professor scurried to the blonde as Tia stood up straight, eyes closed, face turned towards the sky.

“Just unconscious,” he called out as two medical assistants came up next to him. The thin man with grey hair approached Tia, his hands folded behind his back and a dismissive air about him.

“Your father would be proud,” he spoke with a monotone drone.

“No one asked you, sir.” She growled, refusing to open her eyes or look away from the sun. He peered down at her through the corner of his eye. Age seemed to cloud his once blue irises.

“This is a violation of your parole; I trust you will accept the consequences?”

“I would rather die,” she snarled, giving him she could muster. His lips thinned, and he turned to face her, looking her over once before turning back the way he had come.

“That can be arranged,”

“Do me a favor,” she screamed at his back before turning and running in the other direction. Vladimir surveyed the class briefly before stepping back into the shadows and dissolving. The girl with the glasses turned around, her eyes wide as she looked from each corner of the classroom.

“Where did he...?” She puzzled.

Tia ran out of the city limits. The giant fenced wall loomed over her as she kicked the dirt as hard as she could. It sprayed the metal, and a few rocks ricocheted off. The afternoon sun glistened off the sweat coating her hairline and shoulders. In a fit of rage, she ripped off the grey vest and threw it at the fence, screaming as loud as she could. She curled her fingers through the locks of her hair and paced in a circle, her chest falling and rising rapidly as her heart drummed loudly in her ear.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” She screamed again, kicking a rock in front of her. Her kick had enough force to knock her over as her foot missed the target. The air escaped her lungs when her back slammed against the ground. Laying on the ground, she stared up into the vast and blue sky. “I don’t want to be the face of your shitty army...” She breathed, remembering her father. “I don’t want to be betrothed...”

She covered her eyes with the curve of her forearm, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

It was early one morning, just before the start of school. Tia started getting up early to prepare her for the sudden change when she walked past her father’s study when she heard the sound of hushed voices inside. She hesitated there, peering through the partly cracked door. He spoke softly to a few men of his council. A screen displayed many numbers and charts; her eyes bounced from chart to chart when she realized it showed the population of her generation. ‘Project Titan’ was at the top of the screen, with a zero percent number next to it for odds of survival. She backed up instantly, her heart pounding loudly.

Looking around quickly, Tia ducked into a closet a few feet away. There she waited. She closed her eyes and stilled her breathing, either hand resting against the wooden frame inside the butler’s cabinet. What seemed like hours passed before finally, one by one, the men left her father’s office. Finally, her father himself walked past her, whistling cheerfully.

Tia jumped at the opportunity and dived into the office. Everything was cleaned up and put away. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants and jumped into work, opening his drawers and logging into his computer. She followed the trail of the most recent items opened and scanned the files before her. The more she read, the more she felt sick.

Their city was dying. They were running out of food, and one of the last waterways had recently dried up.

They were planning on sending her entire generation into the Dark Continent, over ten thousand kids, to wage war on the great unknown.

Likelihood of success, zero percent. Probability of survival, zero percent.

The wind suddenly played with her hair, and a startling noise drew her attention back to the fence. Recognizing the chirp from the movies, she sat up immediately. Staring right at her, a blackbird with red eyes shut its white beak. Her jaw dropped.

“An Asian Koel,” she breathed, leaning forward onto her hands and knees. It bounced up a few notches on the fence and regarded her curiously. Its silky feathers reflected the sun, and its beady eyes looked like rubies in its skull. Opening its beak, it chirped loudly; it’s never yielding gaze not for a moment breaking away from her own. She winced at the sudden disruption in the silence and it took off down the fence line. Swooping through a corroded hole in the metal. A gap unusually large and ill-maintained compared to the rest of the stainless-steel wall. She got up and ran to the fence, gripping the cool steel between her fingers she watched it land on a tree. The evening rays of the sun cast down upon her, her shadow stretching out further and further with unnatural darkness.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up straight. The forest was all they knew that circled their country. They were able to explore it and see into it only a certain number of miles before their technology went dark. Something about it was strange; however, in the aspect they would cut down trees and practically overnight they would grow back.

It was dark and moist. Vibrant with life and nuts. Yet always silent. Eerily silent.

Slowly Tia walked along the fence line, following the bird in stepping through the break in the metal. She pressed her back against the fence, her fingers curling around the metal. There was a guard tower less than a quarter of a mile from her location. A sentinel was due to pass by here at any moment.

The bird seemed to hop from branch to branch as if waiting for her. As if calling to her. It chirped once, tilting its head to the side. A pang of overwhelming sadness gripped her heart and she quickly turned around, holding the fence so tight her knuckles went white. Tears streaked her face as she looked back towards the city.

Thinking back, she remembered how her father had been to her before his remarriage. A series of distant, pleasant memories toyed with her heart. She remembered the tournament for her hand in marriage. All the suitable male heirs of the royal bloodline fought each other to be the next in line. Once married to Tia, with an heir on the way, the winner would be crowned the next President. Tia had accepted her fate and blindly submitted to her father’s will until she learned of Project Titan. Her generation, her friends, the children of her age, would be sent into the Dark Continent to wage war. Success was never even considered to her father; he would send them all to their deaths. Resources we limited, jobs were full, food was sparse. This was the way the High Council had come to agreeance on. Send an entire generation to their deaths. That would leave them in power to rule over the next generation and temporarily fix the current issue at hand.

She remembered how she felt, stepping out of her father’s office and closing the door soundlessly behind her. She remembered looking up into his stone-like expression. Neither said anything, neither needed to. She lowered her head, and wordlessly walked away from him, back to her room. She stayed there for a few days, dismissing the servants as they tried to bring her food. It was then that a wave of determination gripped her by the heart. She grabbed her tablet and enrolled in the Government Exploration Program. She would not help him commit genocide.

She’d hoped to keep it secret from her father. Keep it confidential and leave behind the life he had envisioned for her. Unfortunately, not even a week passed before he had learned of her decision. Of course, he’d found out. She was his daughter; everyone knew of the life she was supposed to live, and of course, someone would approach him with concerns. He defunded the G.E.P. and demanded her obedience. But she refused to assist him.

They’d argued into the night. Even her stepmother refused to take part. He struck her to the ground, screaming into her face. She threw a lamp at him, a TV controller, anything she could grab. He followed her through the rooms of their mansion, yelling all the while. She wouldn’t listen to him; she wouldn’t yield to him.

As punishment for disobeying him, he’d cast her out to the boarders and told her if she sought to be the perfect little girl who didn’t believe in violence, then that was the life she was to live. If she ever, just once, raised her hand to strike down an opponent, he would bring her back and she would fulfill her obligations as a Princess.

Swallowing back her tears, she gave the district before her one final, hard look before turning around. With her head held high, she rapidly approached the tree line. The bird saw her coming and flew deeper into the trees, only to land on another branch to look back at her. She paused at the thicket, her hand resting on the trunk of another tree before gathering up her resolve and heading deeper into the forest in pursuit of the bird.

The outermost trees were young and sparse, but the deeper she followed the bird, the thicker and taller they became. What seemed like hours had just been mere minutes, but she found herself out of breath, now having to climb over roots the trees seemed to grow on top of each other. She wasn’t sure if there was even a ground anymore.

“Where are you taking me, little birdie?” She asked, wiping the sweat off her brow. It looked back at her and chirped one final time before disappearing completely. She swallowed and took a good look at her surroundings.

Moss covered the trees. The canopy was so high it felt like the night was already upon her. The forest was soundless; not even a breeze ruffled the leaves. “Great, Tia. Look what you’ve gotten yourself into. Following a bird to certain death,” she shook her head and sank into the roots. “I would welcome death,” her eyelids were heavy, her breathing even. Deciding she would only rest for a moment, she fell into the deepest sleep of her life.

A familiar black creature crawled its way up her leg, its teeth almost too big for its head. It looked at her intently. A thin tail twitched behind it; its black skin so dark it seemed to absorb any light left beneath the shade of the canopy. A gentle hand reached out of the darkness next to her. Vladimir brushed the hair out of her face. Malone, the creature on her knees, regarded his master carefully.

“At least she’s a fighter, my lord.” It commented. “Pretty good, for a Human.”

“And you make a pretty good bird, for a demon.” He retorted.

“We’re renowned for it,” he agreed, missing the insult. “Are you planning on waking her?”

“Sleeping Beauty will rest for now; I’ll wake her once she’s secure in my kingdom.” Vladimir reached down and gently lifted her into his arms. His dark eyes glowed mischievously as they disappeared into the shadows.

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