THE DESTINED HERO: A Stranger's Chronicle.

Chapter 1. Destiny accepted.

NARRATOR:

For over a century, mankind has been FORCED to live in outer space on a vast ship called ETODAN, designed to stimulate every activity of their home planet 'EARTH' ranging from agricultural activities to the peak of science and technology one could ever imagine.

The generation that brought us up here is gradually fading and our population is growing fast. Several measures have been put in place to control this problem, which seem to be working effectively, until the Oxygen Generating Plants (OGPs) were compromised.

With our current population, we will be running out of air in less than a year, which is less time required to repair the OGPs, so the decision to kill or send half the population back to earth was made by the ruling class. Just like in any other society, those who are likely to pay this price will be of the lower class, and those whose skills and jobs didn't have much to offer.

******

A spaceship just crashed in the middle of a jungle, it was the fifteenth ship sent down in the space of four days, and every one of them was overloaded with more than fifty passengers. Very few have survived and were helping each other.

*Larry Parker, wake up.*

At the sound of that, a teenage boy opened his eyes breathing very fast. His whole body was still in shock so he could not move just yet.

*You need my help if you're going to make it. Do you accept it?*

"Of course, what kind of question is…."

*Very well, destiny accepted.*

He heard once again before he could finish his question, and instantly he felt strength flow through the rest of his body, and was able to move.

Getting on his feet, many of the survivors were fighting for their lives as they were badly injured from the crash.

Without pondering on the dialogue he had before getting up, he immediately began to wander around the crash site, helping the others in the little ways he could.

A couple of hours later, when all survivors were accounted for, attempts to re-establish contact with Etodan were made so as to call for help.

None of the survivors had a clue of their location, to the best of their knowledge, they were on an academic trip before the crash and the pilot who should know their location was victimised by the crash.

*You are not safe here and have thirty minutes to get clear of this area.*

Larry heard again. This time he was close to Toby Hayes who was trying to fix a radio transmitter.

"Did you say something to me?"

"No," Toby continued tightening the screws of the transmitter.

"I thought I heard something."

"Shh," Toby shushed him as static sounds were heard from the transmitter. It seemed like he got it fixed but only for a short period of time. As he tried toning it to a better frequency, it got busted. The circuit board got burnt beyond repair.

*You are running out of time, Larry.*

"Enough of your tricks Toby." Larry got pissed.

Toby was the closest person to him at that moment, and considering the situation they were in, it was the wrong time to pull such stunts.

"What in god's name are you talking about?"

"You keep saying something to me, and the next minute you act as though you didn't say a word."

"That's because I didn't say anything, maybe your brain has been affected by the crash or something. Now your distraction has cost us our only chance of getting home." Toby frowns his face, ready to unleash his anger on Larry.

"Don't try pushing the blame on me." Larry too was furious. The two of them were ready to bounce on each other.

*The earlier you stop fighting and get out of here the better for you.*

Hearing this while standing face to face with Toby, Larry realized Toby was innocent of his accusations. He heard the words but Toby's mouth didn't move, instantly, his angry looks began to fade away.

"I'm sorry," Larry sits back on the ground with his face turning pale, resting his head on his palm. "I think you're right, my brain is messing with me. It must be from the crash."

The rate at which his mood changed speedily got Toby concerned, he also sat beside him. They were all dealing with the crash in different ways. Being lost in a strange place with no means to contact their families was a really disturbing stuff, able to make one go crazy.

After a couple of minutes of sitting in silence, Toby jumped on his feet at the sound of strange noises coming from the jungle, "Did you hear that?"

Larry was lost in thought, that he didn't hear anything, not even the question asked.

"There's something out there," Toby shakes Larry's shoulder.

The other survivors around also heard the weird noises and were gripped with fear. Very few were strong enough to run or defend themselves against whatever was coming.

The reaction Larry saw from those around caused him to snap out of his head. Getting back on his feet, he joined in the panic and quest for a way out, but it was too late, they were already surrounded.

Strangers had come out from all corners of the jungle, armed to the teeth with swords, axes, bows and arrows, ready to use them on the survivors if any form of resistance was detected.

In such conditions, they were wise enough to act reasonably, raising their hands in surrender.

"Tie them up." Marcus Olson, the hostile commander instructed after noticing their inability to resist and willingness to surrender.

"But…"

"Not now, Tuner." Marcus knew what he was going to say and stopped him from completing his sentence.

Frank Turner, was second to Marcus and had made it his sole purpose to always object to every decision Marcus makes. It seemed they were never going to agree on the same thing, yet that was the quality that had kept him in his position for so long. And for the first time, Marcus was not ready to listen to his opinion on the matter.

"Who is in charge here?" Marcus asked after they rounded up all the survivors.

No one was able to answer that question since they came from a society where everyone was equal, at least that was what they were made to believe.

"I won't ask again, who is in charge?" Marcus began to circle round them, staring right into their eyes one after the other.

When it got to Larry's turn, he stopped. "You! Get him up."

"Leave him alone,"

"A female leader? I see?" Marcus turned to the girl that spoke up. "Help her up."

"Get your hands off me," she refused their help despite the wounds she sustained from the crash.

"What's your name, young lady?" Marcus admired her strength even in her condition.

First she looked at her peers whom she had crashed with, and Larry who was beginning to take into consideration the warnings he heard before the arrival of those strangers, gave her a signal not to answer the question.

Still she went on to reply to Marcus, "Stephanie Shelton, and what's yours?"

"You are in no position to ask any questions. Nevertheless, you can call me Marcus Olson." He moved his gaze to Larry, though Stephanie had drawn his focus, he was still interested in Larry, and had taken note of the sign he gave Stephanie before her response.

"Okay Mr. Olson, where is this place and why are we being restrained?"

"Didn't you hear anything he said? We do the questioning while you answer." Frank showed no likeness for her or any of them. It was seen clearly in his eyes that he wanted them dead.

"Hey, back off!" Larry shouted.

"Finally," Marcus takes a few steps towards Larry, it appears he was waiting for him to say something all along. Looking down at Larry, he cited. "And here I thought you wouldn't say a thing."

Larry was about to respond in a tough manner just like Stephanie had done, but Toby hits him with his leg, passing on a signal that he shouldn't say another word and let Stephanie handle them.

Marcus was very observant of all their actions since the moment they showed up, nothing skipped his eyes unnoticed, so he made a judgement call. "Kill the rest, but I need these ones alive." Spotting out Larry, Toby, Stephanie and two other female survivors without severe injury.