But that man from unit 9? Jay oh, one of the kids that Jacquard teaches, was right. The guy was just plain stupid. And besides, General Lane probably did not understand what these books represented. This was the inherited knowledge of mankind! If this was not stopped here, where would it stop? Only a librarian and Knowledgeable people, the scholars, could understand just how important it was. Suddenly in the distance, Jacquard heard a sound. The soft whoosh of an automatic door opening. For a moment a shaft of pale light cut through the gloom. As quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Jacquard frowned. If the thief had entered the room, the light should be coming on. But they were not. Maybe it was not the thief after all. Maybe someone had walked by and the door had opened automatically. Or maybe the thief had started to enter, but somehow sensed Jacquard's presence. There was no way to know. Whoever it was, was gone. He paused for a while, " I was told there were
The vast majority of what was once Abasia Kingdom was now underground. There were remnants of the ancient world left. The lions outside the Abasia Kingdom Public Library, the Silver- cald Empire State Building, and other monuments, and buildings. But the city was mostly a maze of tunnels and underground chambers that extended hundreds of feet deep and contained thousands of miles of corridors. For the most part, the underground was as bright and cheerfully lit as the outdoors. Beautiful iridescent murals covered the walls, and the nearly unlimited power sources available to the society meant that being underground never meant feeling as if you were in a cave.Well. . . Rarely. For about an hour, Jacquard had been tracking the thief who narrowly escaped. The thief left with a book. He did not know the title but he felt it will definitely be one of the ancient books. He went straight to the shelf as if it was pointed to him. He felt unrest. After the whole thing, still, none of the
After he was done chasing a thief and felt his efforts are fruitless, he decided to try again tomorrow. He turned to take his leave. As he was moving backward, he suddenly stopped. Looking confusedly, he did not know where he was and how to return back to the surface. He was there looking around, trying his best to recollect the path he took while he was running after the theif. He was just running after the thief without taking note of those path he took. Now he is lost. He was not even sure if he was still within the walls of Abasia Kingdom but he was so sure that it is impossible for an underground like this to connect with any kingdom or vilages. He said to himself, if such could happened, then the security of the kingdom will easily get comprised. Abasia Kingdom dugged those underground to prevent and protect her people from the effect and radiation from those giant machines and also to protect his heritage and keep his power source out of people. People can have access to the
The class arrived at the wilderness preserves early the next morning and disembark from the bus. As soon as they had unload their packs full of gear, the bus sped away.Jacquard had realized that a field trip to the preserve was actually the perfect answer. First, by bringing his class in the guise of an "educational filed trip," he would be granted access to the park so that he could recover the stolen book. But even more important, he would have the entire class with him. He hoped that during the course of the field trip, he would be able to figure out who had been to the park before, and that would tell him who had been to the park before, and it would be a nice break for the rest of the students to have some time outside. Often people grew so accustomed to the pace of daily life underground that they stopped coming above the surface to enjoy the beauty to behold there. As far as Jacquard was concerned, reminding his students of life up here was a helpful lesson for them. Okay, e
While the students perched themselves on a fallen log and began pulling out their lunches, Jacquard pulled out his comm again. It was still not working correctly. Then, for a moment, the antenna link strengthened, and he could see the route they should have taken on the tiny map. They were about two kilometers off the trail. There had been a fork, and he had taken the wrong path. He remembered it clearly and saw his mistake now. Fortunately, it would be easy to go back. He quickly checked the tracer to see if he could tell where Shena was. He was glad to see that the tiny red circle representing her location shiwed up brightly on the map. But then- to his dismay- he realized that she was not anywhere close to the shelter by the road. Instead, she was on completely the wrong trail. He zoomed in on her location. The trail she was on, he noticed m, actually out her close to the cave than Jacquard and the rest of the class were. He frowned. Why had not she gone back to the shelter? Was s
Once Jacquard had explained about Shana going into the area where wolves were, Jay said, " why don't we split up? Four of us can take Em back to the shelter and-" " Wolves can smell blood from more than three kilometers away. If the smell of Em injury attract them, I want us to have the largest possible group to fend them off." " Yeah, but-" Jacquard shook his head. " We are nkr separating again. That is final." He was not at all sure this was the right decision. At the speed they were moving carrying Em, he was not completely sure they'd be able to get to Shana and then get back to the shelter by nightfall. Part of him was not sure at all that he was making a good decision. Em's leg was still bleeding, and she need Ed medical attention. But he also know that the worst thing he could do at this moment was to show uncertainty. He was the leader. The kids needed to feel confidence in him. If he wavered, they had see it. And that would lead to more problems." Follow me," Jacquard sa
One wolf. Then two. Then five. Then more. " This way," Jacquard said firmly. " Girls, get the stretcher. Everybody else surrounds it. Jay, Roger, you are tye biggest. I want you in the rear." Four girls immediately hoisted Em and began to walk briskly down the trail. At the far side of the meadow, the wolves begain too move. The lead wolf was snow white. It crep toward them, head down, teeth slightly bared, sniffing the air. " Eric," Jacquard said sharply, " look for tree limbs on the ground. Two meters, no more than three centimeters thick. And they Can't knives and camping knives- had been outlawed centuries ago. Strictly speaking, the knife was illegal. But every serious camper Jacquard knew owned one. Eyes widened at the sight of the gleaming knife." Sticks!" Jacquard said, snapping his fingers urgently. " Now." " What are the sticks for?" Eric said. " Spare," Jacquard said. " We are making spears." At the rear of the group, Jay's face spilt into a broad grin. " Yeah!' he
Jacquard was not sure exactly what he would excepted. That the book would be sitting there in the middle of the cave waiting for him? Maybe. If that was what he had expected, it did not work out that way. The cave was not a large flat- floored room like you always saw in the vids. It was a slanted crease in the stone, no more than three or four feet wide. You could not stand upright in it. You had to lean your back on the slimy rock. The only good thing was that there was no way for the wolf pack to attack them. It was too narrow for more than one animal to enter at a time. Those were bad odds for the wolves- and the wolves knew it. After a few minutes of trotting back and forth in front of the entrance, the wolves suddenly turned and slunk back into the forest. They obviously felt they had wasyer enough time on the humans and were ready to find something that would be easier to kill. After the wolves disappeared, Roger said, "so should we head on back, Mr. Jacquard?" Jacquard sho
I'm still surprised that she remembers me by my first name. She lets me pick the books that I want to, after we've returned the previous ones to their rightful places.When I'm done, she leads me back to her table, and make me sign on the record book once again, after re-writing my name, and the new date.Outside, I have three textbooks, all cramped to my chest. Damn, these are heavy even when they'd looked as though they would be light.I am about crossing the road when I heard, "Rash." It's a familiar voice. I turn to the person. Dean's grinning. He wears a black jacket on top, inner white shirt under and a blue jean. The sole of his canvas kinds of lit under the day light. "Hey." I say back, coolly."Um, what're you doing here?" Whilst saying, his eyes dart to the library's building, "oh, came here?""Yeah." Is all I say, staring into his eyes. I see they are green. They are so bright. The beauty runs in the family, don't you think?"Hey, what's up with you?" He notices.Well, h
"Rash!" Oh, boy. I hurry up and get a plain blue towel around my waist while there's another in my hands, being used to clean my face and torso. I get out of the bathroom and go to the closet. I put on a simple nylon black shirt, long enough that the hem stops around my thighs, and a khaki short. On the way, I slip into my flip-flops, getting down the stairs, I see aunt Melissa, giggling to the screen of her phone. She's Face-timing with someone, and really, I don't want to know who it is. When she catch my figure, walking to the couch, she quickly wraps it up and tells me. "So, what's the plan?" I shrug. She's placing her phone away, and concentrating on me. "I don't know." "You're a dickhead." She says. Well, I have a dickhead, the thought comes abruptly but I quickly shake it away. "What do you think...wait, where's granny?" "She's not around." Remember that I said she and granny never gets along. This is one of the obviousness that I mean. Granny is religious on her si
As Jacquard fainted, Jack couldn't believe his luck. He had always envied his brother's skills and successes, and now he had the chance to claim the glory for himself. He approached the unconscious form of his brother and the princess, carefully picking her up and cradling her in his arms. He looked down at her sleeping face, and couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. He had always wanted to prove himself to the kingdom, to show that he was just as capable as his brother, and this was his chance. “Yes! This is my perfect victory. That’s right… I win!” He exclaimed joyfully. Jack's heart leapt with fulfillment although he did his best to conceal it. He felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders, and the weight of his envy and resentment had been lifted away. The mission to rescue Princess Diana was a success, and he was the hero who saved her. It was all he had ever wanted, and now that he had it, he could barely contain his elation.
Jacquard started to panic as he realized how close the warriors were getting. He knew he had to think as fast as possible and come up with a plan that could at least put him on the higher ground of the table of turbulence. "What do I do now? It’s only getting more and more complicated!" Jacquard thought to himself, with a faint trace of fear. "I can't let them catch me with the princess. We’ll be done for." He said He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "Think, Jacquard , think," he whispered to himself. "What can I do to get out of this situation?" Just at the moment when he was still thinking, the memories of the charm song his mother taught him flooded his mind. "Maybe that's it," he said to himself. "Maybe the charm song can help me get out of this." He started to hum the song softly, hoping it would have the same effect as it did the last time. But as he hummed, he noticed that the warriors were getting even closer. He needed to sing the song louder. He too
Jacquard continued running through the night with memories of his past flooding his mind. He remembered the times he spent with his family before they were left by him and his brother, by the proposal of the neighboring kingdom's soldiers. The pain of leaving his loved ones was too much to bear, but the thought of the princess's safety gave him the strength to keep moving. He thought back to the time he and his twin brother, Jacquard uard, went to their friend's farm. They had so much fun working and playing together, but a little argument over who should carry the most harvest nearly ruined their day. Jacquard wanted to carry more than his fair share, but Jacquard insisted on carrying an equal amount. Jacquard smiled as he continued remember how the words of Lucky had diffused the situation in a lucid illusion. They all ended up carrying an equal amount and left the farm with big smiles on their faces. It was moments like those that made him miss his family even more. The memories
As Jacquard thought back to that day, he smiled to himself, remembering the fun they had at the farm. He could almost smell the scent of the fresh crops and feel the warmth of the sun on his skin. But his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rustling bushes nearby. He stopped in his tracks and listened carefully. “Shit!” He exclaimed. “What’s that? Oh my God I hope it’s not what I’m thinking?” He asked himself quietly in fear and trepidation. ”Is it the sound of Amah warriors approaching?” He continued to ruminate. He couldn't take any chances. He carefully placed Princess Princess Princess Diana on the ground and crouched down, ready to attack if need be. The sound of rustling bushes grew louder and louder, but to his surprise, it was just a small animal, a bunny for that matter, scurrying away. Jacquard breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the princess once more. “Such a drag. These animals sure can get one a really high blood pressure.” He said to himself, after wh
Jacquard was relieved that he had finally found some water. As he drank, he could feel his energy returning, and he knew that he needed to act quickly to save Princess Diana . He ran back to her side and gently placed his hand on her forehead. She was burning up, and he knew that time was running out. "Your Highness, can you hear me?" he asked, his voice trembling with fear. There was no response, and Jacquard felt his heart sink. He sprinkled some water on her face, hoping that it would wake her up. Slowly but surely, Princess Diana 's eyelids began to flutter, and she opened her eyes. She looked up at Jacquard , and for a moment, he could see the fear in her eyes. "Don't worry, Your Highness," he said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "I'm here to protect you. Just take it easy and drink some water." He held the water up to her lips, and she took a few sips. Jacquard could feel the tension in his body starting to ease as he saw her regain some strength. They couldn't st
Jacquard could still feel the weight of the princess pressing on his back as he moved further, making every step more difficult than the last. He could feel the heat of the sun bearing down on him, the sweat trickling down his face, mixing with his tears, and he just wished it would all end already. He couldn't help but think that they were doomed, that they would never make it out alive. But then he remembered his training, his years of preparation for a moment like this. He couldn't give up now, not when the princess's life was on the line. "Stay with me, Your Highness," he said, his voice strained with exhaustion. "We're almost there." He yelled. But Princess Diana remained unresponsive, her breathing shallow and weak. Jacquard felt a sense of despair wash over him. He couldn't carry her much further, and they were still far from safety. He didn't know what to do. As they continued to run, Jacquard could hear the sound of the Amah warriors getting closer and closer. He felt a
As they continued their treacherous journey, Jacquard's mind was racing with thoughts. “Could this be the end? After all I have gone through alongside my brother Jacquard ? Never! I won’t allow that. I promised mom I’ll be back. No! We will be back!” He swore to himself as encouragement. He couldn't afford to let the princess down. He had been tasked with her safety, and he was determined to see it through to the end. He could feel her weight on his shoulders dropping on every single one of his nerves, applying pressure on his well bred muscles and tendons, and he knew that if he stumbled, they would both fall. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins, but it was starting to wear off. The pain in his legs and back was becoming unbearable, but he pushed through it. "Are you okay, Jacquard ?" Princess Diana's voice was weak, barely audible over the sound of his footsteps. He was running as silently as possible to avoid any sneak attack… that was one of the military logics of the