Legacy Of Altherion

As the end of the Festa drew near, Logan leaned against the bar with a glass in hand. Thankfully his replacement arrived, giving him ample time to indulge and unwind. He looked to the corner where Bradley and the dark angel were, laughed, and shook his head.

"They're still going at it?" he said, then glanced towards the entrance where Nathan ran off a short while ago.

He gulped down his drink, asked for another and continued observing the crowd. At that moment, an angelic voice echoed through the speaker system. He recognised the voice as the local singer Jess, invited by the University to perform at the Festa.

Her voice captivated the entire stadium, whether they were fans or not, everyone became entranced by her unique vocal abilities. Logan too listened with his thoughts seemingly floating somewhere far away. The music was slow but filled with passion, a sharp contrast to what played before.

Although he felt that the music was somewhat out of place for a Festa, he shrugged and continued gulping down another glass.

Some time past, the final artist took to the stage to close out the evening. The music went back to electronic dance and everyone started jumping around again. Logan still at the bar, looked around casually, undecided about what to do for the remainder of the evening. Noticing something in the corner of his vision, he turned to his left.

He saw a young woman with purple hair, ordering a drink a few seats away from him. It took a few moments for his brain to react, but then finally, he came to a realisation.

"Your music is cool, I enjoyed your set." he said.

The woman smiled. "Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it." she said.

Logan returned a smile, then shifted his attention back to the crowd. The woman sat on the bar stool, and placed her lips on the straw of her brightly coloured drink. She glanced at Logan, then continued drinking until the sound of air being sucked resounded at the bottom of her glass.

Logan peaked at the empty glass and grinned.

"Thirsty?" he said.

She turned away hiding her flushed cheeks.

"May I please have another?" she said to the bartender. She peaked at Logan before turning back to the counter.

The Bartender aimed a wry smile at him as he prepared the drink.

Logan felt strange. Normally, he would not have any issues talking to, nor approaching attractive women. For some reason however, he felt nervous around her. It was not due to her identity as Jess the singer, although captivated by her voice and beauty, there was something else.

He wondered why he felt hesitant, he avoided eye contact despite feeling her gaze on his cheek. He glanced at Bradley and the dark angel again, and clenched his fist.

‘Are you really going to let that idiot show you up?’

He found some courage by gulping down his fourth glass. He approached her and pointed to the seat beside her.

"May I?" he said.

She smiled and nodded, then quickly swallowed the contents in her mouth.

"I'm Logan." he said, extending his hand.

"I'm Jess." she said, presenting a closed fist.

Logan smiled and gently tapped his fist against hers.

"I like your style, handshakes are overrated." he said.

"Exactly, and besides it takes a lot of courage to fist bump a stranger, so it demonstrates your character." she said.

Logan tilted his head.

"What do you mean by courage?"

"Most people tend to be formal and somewhat closed off when they greet strangers, they present their hand by default simply because they are unsure as to how the other person will respond.” she said.

“In many ways, a fist bump is a representation of trust, at least in your subconscious. It's a gesture that you usually reserve for your friends and relatives. So when a complete stranger presents a fist bump during your first greeting, subconsciously you're presented with a dilemma. Do you accept the trust that the person is presenting to you, and respond with your trust in them, or do you remain closed off and keep your distance with a hand shake?" she said, then sipped from the straw.

"That's not to say that a handshake symbolises distrust, it's just that for many people when they greet a close friend or relative, more often than not they fist bump instead of shaking hands. This isn't scientifically proven or anything, it's just my personal opinion." she said.

Logan narrowed his eyes. "So you're suggesting that the subconscious dilemma is the reason why people hesitate or pause when they present their hand, while the other person presents their fist?"

She grinned. "Yes, something like that."

Logan nodded. "Courage...I get it."

"So, do you normally fist bump strangers at the bar?"

“Just the pretty ones." she said with a straight face.

"I'm grateful for my looks then.”

Jess giggled.

The two spent the next several minutes enjoying each other's company. As things began heating up between them, a woman approached, startling Jess. She smiled at the two of them, then proceeded to whisper into her ear. Jess nodded and whispered back.

The woman smiled at Logan before walking towards the exit. Logan glanced at her with a somewhat troubled expression, he guessed what the woman had whispered.

"You have to leave?" he said.

"Yes, my friends are waiting.”

"I see, can I walk you to the car?”

She smiled. "Well of course, you're coming with me after all."

Taken a back momentarily, he tilted his head.

"Sorry, what do you?" he attempted to ask, however, she cut him off.

"We're going to an after party, and I want you to join me.”

"Oh...yes of course, I'll go with you."

"Great, let's go.”

The two of them headed for the exit and left the Festa to continue the party somewhere off campus.

Logan opened his eyes slowly, narrowing them in order to prevent the bright light above from blurring them. He turned his head for some relief, and the sight shocked him.

He stood up off the couch and surveyed the room. He did not immediately recognise his surroundings, but soon understood where he was.

He took a step forward and struck something with his foot. When he looked down, he noticed a young man unconscious in the middle of the floor. He waited for a response, however none came, the man slept blissfully unaware that he had been kicked in the face. Logan sighed in relief, then inspected the rest of the after party venue.

Logan looked in every room, bed and on each couch, however Jess was nowhere to be found. Everyone apart from him was unconscious, all drunk out of their minds. He attempted recalling some of the events prior to him losing consciousness, unfortunately, they were too hazy to discern, puzzling him.

He felt that he hadn't had that much more to drink after the Festa, so him passing out drunk was rather strange. He thought about it for a while, and deduced that he must have had a combination drink that tipped him over the edge.

He sighed. ‘It's no wonder she's not here, she must have seen me passed out and left with another guy. Loser!’

He made his way to the front door as he no longer had a reason for being there. As soon as he stepped outside, he noticed that the air was warm and calm, no breeze to cool him down.

‘I should make it home before sunrise.’

Logan walked down the concrete stairs and into the street, keeping his attention on his surroundings. He walked a few meters before deciding it would be best to start jogging. He knew the area well enough to determine the length of time it would take to get home on foot.

He started off slow before increasing his pace to a light sprint, then sped up some more. Logan felt a sudden urge to sprint as fast as he could, an unquenchable desire that he could not ignore. He released any and all restraint, surrendering to his desires.

He accelerated continuously, his speed vastly exceeded anything known to man. He blurred by houses and buildings, shattering windows as he moved from one street to the other. Despite all desperate attempts to stop, he could not, the most that he could do was alter his direction to avoid obstacles. He ran through a large fence like it was butter, and he a molten knife.

"Please just stop!"

He slid across gravel, sending small rocks hurtling into walls and trees, thankfully, it appeared as though he was slowing down, and at a rapid pace at that.

He slid alongside a yellow bus before coming to a screeching halt. Logan hunched over with his hands on his knees, panting, but soon realised that something felt strange. He was not out of breath, despite his unnatural lightning quick sprint across Bracken, he felt absolutely fine.

He stared at the ground wide eyed, wondering what in the world just happened.

The events of the morgue flashed into his mind, he shook his head and stood up right.

Logan looked around to see where he stopped. He became horrified when he realised that he entered Bracken High School's property. His first thought was to check for security cameras, he looked around and sighed. The school indeed had security cameras positioned at that location, fortunately, it appeared that they had been destroyed by the displaced gravel during his deceleration slide. Grateful that his visit to the school would not be recorded, he inspected the rest of his surroundings.

When his gaze fell on the school bus, he gulped. Shattered windows and riddled with holes, the bus too suffered as a result of his slide.

He heard the sound of dripping water, accompanied by a sharp smell that burned his nose and throat.

“No, no, no!”

He attempted to flee the scene, but he stopped abruptly. Excruciating pain enveloped his head, throbbing louder and more ferocious as each second passed. He fell onto his knees unable to withstand the pressure.

The pain intensified even further, to the point where it felt like his head was about to explode. He yelled and cursed at the top of his lungs, unfortunately, nothing eased the crippling pain.

He collapsed forward onto the concrete, unable to brace his fall due to his fingers digging into his scalp.

As sudden as it came, the pain disappeared. He panted, unable to move a muscle.

After a few moments, his composure returned, he then used the bus as leverage to help himself up. He barely made it back to his feet when the pain returned, only it had intensified, to five times the previous magnitude.

It felt as though a sledgehammer crushed his head, repeatedly, and without mercy. Unable to contain the pain, he thrust his hand against the school bus. The bus cannoned into the building at blistering speed, sending concrete and metal flying in all directions. Clusters of debris struck Logan, however, it merely bounced off his body as though it was made of rubber.

Logan screamed in agony, slamming his fists onto the ground creating deep depressions. In that moment, he stopped and looked up.

His eyes were glazed over, he stared at the wrecked school building and smiled. The next moment, an enormous explosion erupted inside the building. The shockwave and flames engulfed him, shattering his bones and scorching his flesh. At least that's what should have happened.

Despite his clothes being burnt to a crisp, Logan’s body remained unscathed. His eyes returned to normal and his expression changed to that of sheer horror, he shuddered staring at the destruction and flames.

"What have I done?"