3.2: Unveiling

Reign

I put on my gears and wasted not a  second and turned my engine on. I don’t want these scums to escape without me knowing where they are stationed in my city. I was about to follow them but Jon grabbed my arm.

“Let’s wait a few minutes. I threw a tracker at the mecha. Don’t be impulsive, we might die there if we are not careful. They might lead us to a trap if we followed them now. Think, Reign!”

For a moment, I was stunned at what I heard. The bookish dude actually said something with complete sense and understandable sentences. I mean, he got a point. I should not underestimate these people as they can manipulate my surroundings and such, also I am f*cked. I can barely stand now as the effects of my power surge cut short after I put my bracelet back on. But what should we do if those were true? I don’t have any guns with me, nor fired one. We have no such things as war gears, we basically cannot do anything.

I was still sitting at my bike and my engine was still running. I really don’t know what to do but I did not turn the bike off,  and a few seconds have passed when something hit our gate and destroyed our garage door. Dust was all over the place and the guys covered their faces as they coughed. I readied to take my bracelet off so that I can still fight, whatever it takes.

But I was surprised to see what it was when all the dust were cleared from our sights. It was a humongous tank! The backdoor of that tank opened and the person operating it came out from there.

“What are you waiting for? Load the bikes inside!”

Oh it’s Gramps! I thought I would have to face another armored abomination again but instead, it’s gramps! The tank lowered a ramp from the back and I drove my bike inside it. As I hopped off my vehicle, I took my brother’s vehicle and loaded it too. The keys were still there, how idiotic that brother of mine.

As we finished loading our bikes at the back, gramps closed the doors with us inside and drove off. The three of us just lied down inside the tank floor. I feel exhausted, my face bled as all three of us may or may not suffer the same thing I did.

But there is something that still bugs me up to this day. That guy who was a pretender, I can’t distinguish his mark. I mean there is an emblem at his armor but there are no emblems such as those in this city. He knows how to read my movements and is very strong in the sense that I can be overpowered by his brute force if only not for the power surge I had back there.

Also, if that pretender is not really my future self, does that mean that all of those visions and premonitions as a kid were fabricated? Because it doesn’t make any sense now! Like, I know for sure those are absurd sightings and my mind could just f*ck me… but my brother has them too. He said that he dreams and sees these very same things that I am confused about.

In my dreams, it’s been Kanzeri. That mysterious Alliance of Kingdoms called Kanzeri is very strict and no one easily gets in or out. But if they are the root of this, I gotta know what their motive is. I don’t care if I am a kid in the eyes of my grandpa, I can take care of myself. What I don’t want is to lose my family, my friends, and the people I treasure. I can take the pain if it means protecting them.

As my train of thoughts kept going, I snapped back to reality when I remembered my siblings and friends. I stood up from the tank floor and slowly paced into the front seat as I can’t feel my legs right now. It’s like numbing or something.

I opened that sliding door that separates the front seats and the cargo part of the tank, as I had said it’s a humongous tank and the windows at the sides are mounted with machine guns. And there is this little staircase at the left side of the cargo just behind the operator’s seat which leads to the cannon at the top of the tank along with guns and sh*t. I proceed to that seat beside my gramps. I feel like I am a power ranger inside a megazord station or something like that.

I was about to ask him questions but I think he already know me too well and he spoke.

“Son, before you ask me some things. I know where the girls are, and I am glad Ashton is with them,” Gramps said.

“Are we going there now? To wherever they were at?” I asked. Doing some stretches to condition my body.

“Affirmative, but you won’t go with me, I will leave you at the our hideout and you must stay there until I come back,”  Gramps responded without even looking at me.

“It’s dangerous to go alone--”

“Son, don’t pull that Legend of whoever-that-is and try to insist on going with me. I can take care of this messy business. For now, stay at the hideout after I drop you all off. Do you understand that, Yrven?” Gramps said, cutting me off.

Oh, chilly. Okay fine, I am beat anyway. Man! I just wanna go and see for myself if they are safe and unharmed. But whatever gramps said, will be followed. Even if it is against my will for the time being. It’s for our safety, after all.

I stared outside my window and saw how devastated our city is. Lots of properties are burning and destroyed. I can’t hear screams for help and I hope it’s not because all of them are dead. Just a few seconds later, we stumbled across a roadblock, our tank stopped just about two blocks away and looked at me and the guys.

These people look like futuristic soldiers and their guns are glowing. And there are also tanks and trucks with soldiers on them. Some of them vaguely resembled that d*ck I beat a while ago.

“Yrven, go up and set up that weapon up there. Kevinjec, you cover the left; Johnny Rays, go and cover the right. You see those rectangle things out there? Just throw one by one as we pass these invading soldiers,” Gramps commanded and we immediately went to our stations. And when I got there-- Oh.

“Uhm, gramps? There’s a lotta buttons in here, what should I press?” I panicked as I can’t figure which is which.  

I think grandpa was muttering at the front but I can’t understand a damn thing he said. I tried to go back down but I think I pressed something and it locked me at the chair and put the seatbelt on. What the-- I tried to take it off but by struggling too hard, I smacked the lever in front of me and I accidentally pressed the red button.

Suddenly, the tank just fired some missile and it hit the tank of the enemy and it was sent flying. Oh wow, that was awesome. I just saw my grandfather rushed towards me and smacked my head.

“What are you doing, kid? I told you to fire when I said so!”

“I can’t even hear you, gramps! I wanna go down then this thing just locked me in!”

“You fire that thing as we go, okay? Now we need to do this the hard way, thank you.” Then gramps just walked away and started to drive the tank.

I am f*cked, aren’t I?