Free Age of Darkness by Brandon Chen

brushed the rock, the entire cave pulsed. What
happened next was unexplainable.
    A massive explosion sent Keimaro, Yata, and
Aika all rocketing back through the air. The world began to spin wildly. Before
he knew it, Keimaro found himself on the ground outside with no idea how he got
there. His head was pounding furiously, and an annoying ringing battered his
ear. He winced and coughed a bit of dust, turning to find Aika lying on the
ground beside him. His heart was pounding, and he glanced back at the cave to
see that there literally had been an explosion that had erupted inside of it.
An odd blue smoke rose from it.
    Keimaro glanced down at his body, feeling
his chest growing extremely hot. He winced as he saw blue energy pulsing from
his chest and gasped, knowing that the meteor had done something to him. He
panted for a moment, staring blankly into the sky. He pushed himself into a
sitting position, gasping for air as he rubbed his eyes. He didn’t know what
had just happened, but touching that meteor probably wasn’t his best idea. He
glanced at Aika and Yata and saw that a blue current of electricity was surging
through both of them. He stared at them in absolute shock, unsure of what to
do. All of this was his fault….
    Yata stirred, and his eyes opened as he
rolled over onto his side, gripping his stomach with a slight twinge of pain
surging through him. “Gah … what the hell…?” he muttered, coughing before he
pushed himself onto his knees. His eyes were closed, and he groaned. “W-What
just happened?”
    Keimaro grunted as he pushed himself to his
feet, finding that he wasn’t harmed at all. Not even the slightest part of him
hurt. He shook his head at Yata, not particularly sure what to say, and reached
down to turn Aika on her back. He stared at the young princess’s unmoving body,
and a surge of fear burst through him. What if she was dead? It would be his
fault. She couldn’t be dead! He reached down and pressed his index and middle
fingers against her neck to feel for her pulse. She was still alive. A wave of
relief flowed over Keimaro, and he sighed lightly, lifting the princess up over
his shoulder and picking up his club as well. “It’s dangerous here. We need to
get back to the village. Let’s go, Yata.”
    “Look, it was my fault that we went in
there…,” Yata said, still on the ground. “I didn’t mean for…. I’m not sure what
just happened, but if anything did, I take full responsibility for—”
    “It’s fine,” Keimaro said with a reassuring
smile at his friend, placing his club down on the ground and offering his hand
to Yata. “Let’s get going.”
    Yata looked at Keimaro’s hand for a moment,
his lip quivering. It was the first time that Keimaro had seen even a sliver of
fear on his face. His hand shook lightly as it grasped Keimaro’s. He struggled
to his feet and took Aika from Keimaro, holding her in his arms instead. “Take
both of the clubs and wield them just in case something comes along.”
    “Why would you give me the clubs? You have
more fighting experience than I!” Keimaro exclaimed.
    “I don’t have fighting experience,” Yata
said with a chuckle. “I just have confidence. All it takes to fight is to swing
those things around. Your mental strength is what really matters.”
    Keimaro sighed and picked up both of the
clubs, holding the metal weapons in his hands. At Keimaro’s nod, the two young
boys began to race through the forest at incredible speed. Surprisingly enough,
no creatures of the night came at them. The faster they ran, the more
confidence seemed to rise in Keimaro’s heart. The heat in his chest radiated
throughout the rest of his body and pushed him onward to increase his speed,
letting off some energy. A gust of wind blew through his hair, and for some
reason, he felt good. No, not just good. He felt amazing.
    ***
    Two cloaked men stood outside of the mouth
of a cave with the remnants of the meteor. Mere pieces of the alien rock